A'den SkirataFrom MercsWiki
SynopsisNull-12, also known as N-12 or CT-80/88-3009, and better known as A'den, was one of the six surviving Null-class Advanced Recon Commandos. Like the other Null ARCs, he was named and trained by Kal Skirata. A'den was also the only one of the Null ARC's who was a sergeant and not an officer. He chose this out of reverence to his training Sergeant, Kal Skirata. He was in command of the 7th Legion. In 21 BBY, he was sent to Gaftikar along with Omega Squad, to help train the local Gaftikari resistance. When Order 66 was given by then Chancellor Palpatine A'den, along with his Null brothers, Sgt. Kal Skirata and a close knit group of friends and family defected from the G.A.R. They relocated to a secret bastion in the Kyrimorut wildlands on the planet Mandalore. A'den and his brothers were adopted in traditional Mandalorian fashion, the statement of the Gai bal manda. His father or "Buir", Kal Skirata recited the following: "ni kyr'tahl gai sa'ad." Which translate to "I know your name as my child." At that time, A'den ceased to be Null-12 and became A'den Skirata. A'den, while second to none in black ops and it's related specialties, found his nitche in guerilla warfare and combat instruction. A'den means "wrath" or "rage" in Mando'a.
Kamino & Early Years"Highly intelligent, deviant, disturbed—and uncommandable." Orun Wa The Kaminoans attempted to enhance the Fett genes, but only six of the twelve prototype troopers survived the gestation period. They refused to follow orders, and were thus deemed unacceptable. The Kaminoans originally intended to "recondition" or terminate the "defective units", but they were saved from destruction by Kal Skirata, a Mandalorian training sergeant hired by Jango Fett to train clone commandos. Kal volunteered to train them as "black ops" commandos, named them, and taught them their Mandalorian heritage. During training, the Nulls were taught to resist interrogation. Though peerlessly efficient, the Null ARCs were quite unpredictable by clone standards, and loyal only to Skirata. The Null ARC's were also known as Skirata's private army. The experience of developing Null ARC troopers contributed much in the production of the Alpha-class Advanced Recon Commandos. During the Clone Wars, the Null-class and Alpha-class ARCs harbored a grudge against each other. Whereas the Alpha-class ARCs saw the Nulls as an embarrassment and shame to Jango Fett's legacy of a fully Republic-loyal clone army, the Nulls viewed the Alpha-class ARCs as even more stubborn than Jango and often referred to Alpha-class ARCs as "ordinary" ARC troopers. Life in the G.A.R.Despite the fact that their loyalty and their reliability to the Jedi was constantly in question, the Nulls' unique skills compared to the rest of their brethren was undeniable, and thus they and Kal Skirata were reluctantly tolerated in the Grand Army, if only to ensure their cooperation during the war. It should also be noted that all Null ARC's were officers, except for A'den. When asked why he was only a Sergeant by one of the Omega Squad commandos, A'den replied, "I preferred to be an NCO. If it's good enough for Kal'buir, it's good enough for me." Life as a Mandalorian SupercommandoThe following is Non-canon information Shortly after defecting from the GAR/Empire, The Mandalorians of Skirata Aliit with the help of Dr. Qaul Uthan were able to stop the accelrated aging process allowing them all normal life spans and an oportunity at as normal a life as a Mando'ade can lead. Being bred and trained to be the best warriors in the galaxy, A'den and his brothers found it impossible to lead simple lives as farmers and merchants on Mandalore. Outside of his home in Kyrimorut, A'den often used the alias' of A'den Mattran to hide his identity as a defected clone. The name Skirata was known as wanted men and clone defectors. However, as the Rebellion became more of a threat and the focus of the Galactic Empire changed from hunting down defectors and survivors of teh purge to the destruction of the Rebellion, he was able to drop his alias and be known by his given name. A'den eventually joined Mand'alor Fenn Shysa's resistance against the Empire of Mandalore. Eventually the Mandalorians and the Rebellion were able to drive the Empire off of Mandalore. After the end of the Empire, A'den became a Journey Protectorfor a short time on Concord Dawn. He served as a trainging Sergeant. Knowing these men would someday fight along side him for Mandalore, A'den wanted to make sure that their already substanial skills were improved and protocols were in place to pass on the training he had to offer. A'den returned to Mandalore and took up a place as Mandalorian Protector, wearing traditional colors of the title. He fought for Mand'alor Boba Fett as one of his Ori'ramikad against the Yuuzhan Vong. A'den tried to stay clear of major galactic events and generally steered clear of events outside of the Mandalore system. A'den was happy to stay within system and protect his home corner of the galaxy. Generally he only inserted himself ito galactic affairs at the call of the Mand'alor or the need of the clan Skirata. Physical AppearanceA'den, like his Null ARC brothers were enhanced clones of Jango Fett. The Kaminoan Clone Master intially tried to improve upon Jango Fett's genome. The result was a bigger, faster, stronger and more unstable "product". While the genera appearance of A'den and his brother's was identical to Jango Fett's there were some subtle differences. The enhancements made to the genome made the Null's slightly taller than their clone brothers. Proper nutrition and physical training also resulted in a bulkier/more muscular body type than Jango Fett. A'den had faint lines around his mouth that his brothers lacked. The lines were not a result of his accelerted aging but rather were a result of him often wearing a smile on his face.
PersonalityA'den was different from the other Nulls; he smiled, a fact less likely found amongst his brothers, though he did care about his clone brothers. A'den was very cynical of Palpatine and the Republic, and was annoyed at its reluctance to attack the CIS at the heart. Like the rest of his Null brothers, he harbored a deep hatred of Kaminoans, especially Ko Sai. When he was a boy he used to narrowly miss hitting them with blaster bolts from his position hanging from a high ceiling, causing much mirth from his brothers. Shortly before the formation of the Galactic Empire (or possibly earlier), A'den met and befriended Nyreen Vollen, who believed clones should have the same rights and lifespans as ordinary beings. Nyreen, or "Ny", would later aid the Skirata clan by bringing deserter clones to Mandalore to begin their new lives. Equipment and weaponsArmor: The Clone WarsDuring The Clone Wars, A'den wore standard ARC class armor. The armor consisted of 20 form fitting plastoid alloy plates and a sealed black undersuit. Being an ARC class trooper, A'dens armor was also equipt with a kama and pauldron as well as other enhancments which included a helmet mounted range finder, enhanced communication and weapons relay systems and was "hardened" beyond standard clone armor against EMP weapons.
A'den armor had green rank markings identifying him as a Sergeant. Armor: Mandalorian SupercommandoThe following is Non-canon information
Following his desertion from the GAR, Kal Skirata had made proper beskar'gam for all of his sons. A'den wears a customized set of beskar'gam. which was considered quite progressive for his time. The armor was very heavy and nearly all encompassing. This type of armor wouldn't catch on as the status quo until the time of Mand'alor Chernan Ordo. Like all of his brother's, A'dens armor was purchased for him by his adopted father, Kal Skirata, and built to A'dens personal specifications. The armor was top grade beskar - full density, 2% ciridium, no fancy lamination or carbon-alloys. It equated to thick, heavy plates as heavy is the best. A'dens kama was made from the hide of the Horax, a large creature native to the planet Nelvaan. The hide is highly resistant to energy and projectile weapons. In addition to his full armor, A'den also wore a sand gold armored collar. The collar was said to have belonged to Kal Skirata. A'den's armor was configured to a modular system meaning it could be worn as Heavy, Medium, Light or any combo thereof. A'den generally wore his armor in the heavy configuration. When acting in Mand'alors army, A'den was a member of the Assault Brigade's Heavy Assault division, placing him on the front line ground forces.
A'den wore the traditional colors of the Mandalorian Protectors. Mid green with deep yellow accents.
A'dens helmet was of tradtional modern era Mandalorian design and was smithed for him by the great helmet maker M-DSB. Like the rest of his armor, A'den helmet was made of Mandalorian Iron or, beskar. Being a member of the Assault Brigade, A'den wore the brigade crest on the dome of his helmet.
A'dens Mandalorian helmet recorded video and played it back on command, dispensed water, compensated automatically for low or high light conditions, picked up on minute sounds and amplified them and could connect with the onboard computer of any ship he slaved the controls too, assuming the transmission wasn't blocked. The helmet also had the capability of sealing to compensate for pressure changes, and holding 5 to 10 minutes of air. The helmet also contained a retractable straw, allowing A'den to drink without removing his helmet, a valuable commodity for a clone trying to conceal his identity. A'den could control weapons, sensors with verbal commands. His helmet's HUD (heads-up-display) featured information on the surrounding environment as well as a 360-degree field of vision. The HUD's data streams could be controlled by eye movements and blinking. In addition, an advanced penetrating radar allowed his HUD to provide information on nearby rooms, and could be used to scan the HoloNet and connect with databases, allowing him to perform tasks which would normally require a computer terminal, such as searching databases for individuals or even trading on the stock market and buying real estate, from anywhere that was accessible through the HoloNet. The macrobinocular viewplate could be magnified to allow A'den to see great distances, and was equipped with, among other things, an infrared scanner that could be magnified up to 50 times. The infrared scanner magnified light up to 100 times or displayed heat gradations. The helmet's broad band antenna was capable of intercepting and unscrambling comlink and starship comm transmissions. Also, with assistance from his ships computer, jamming transmissions or sending fake transmissions, even while not in his ship. The overlay also linked to A'dens weapons systems to display fire vector and range data. A'den fully sealed armor and flightsuit allowed him to spend limited time in the vacuum of space. It also had a full spectrum filtration system to filter out biohazards and other contaminants.
A'den also wore a custom Z-6 jetpack.
Evolution of the armor
WeaponsThe following information is Non-canon A'den carried a minimal amount of weapons by Mandalorian standards. He carried a custom Verpine rifle, a hold blaster and wore shuk'orok, or crushgaunts. At times, he carried a beskad.
The EE-3 carbine rifle was a blaster that was modeled after the E-11 blaster rifle used by Imperial Stormtroopers. The rifle consisted of a small handle attached to a long circular barrel. An alternate version of this model features a modified scope mounting and hand grips that run the length of the barrel. Although the target system on A'dens EE-3 was slaved to his HUD, he prefered to use the physical scope and take aim himself. A'dens EE-3 rifle was customized to his design specification by Mandalorian weapon smith Tahl Taab.
A'den carries two sidearms, a piar of custom EE-2 blasters. The first is a modified EE-2 blaser pitol manfactured by Jare Hansen, the other was of his own construction following Jare's design. The EE-2 is a weapon system similar to that of the EE-3 carried by the infamous Boba Fett but in a smaller model. A'dens has no external scope as it is slaved directly to his 360 degree HUD.
The crushgaunt (or shuk'orok in Mando'a) was a gauntlet designed to augment its wearer's strength. Developed by the Mandalorians, the armored glove used an unknown technology to enhance the natural hand-arm strength of its wearer. Its name was earned from the wearer's new ability to crush bone, metal or any other material with relative ease. Made of micronized Mandalorian iron, a crushgaunt was difficult to damage or destroy. Crushgaunts were used to collapse throats, crush skulls and shatter bones. Also, due to the unique properties of the micronized Mandalorian iron, the user of a crushgaunt could easily catch and hold a lightsaber blade in his grasp, or summarily block an opponents blade. The crushgaunt was later outlawed by the Mandalorians themselves at least 250 years before the Battle of Yavin, although it was brought back into use by the Mandalorian Death Watch. A'dens crushgaunts were made for him by an armor smith who's true identity remains unknown due to his production of outlawed weapons. The armor smith is only known as "Dragon Scale".
In addition to crush gaunts, A'den wore weapon platform style gauntlet. Both right and left were equipt with flame throwers, ejecting beskad'ikas and were spiked for melee combat. The left gauntlet housed a datapad and a specialized laucher for mini Kamino Saber Darts. The right gauntlet housed a holo emitter. Events attended
Behind the scenesIn real life, A'den is portryed by PJ Reindel. He is the Personnel Officer for the Mandalorian Mercs Costuming Club and the Ver'alor (Lieutenant) of Skirata Aliit, the MMCC's San Bernardino and East End Riverside County based Clan.
In 2007, he was so impressed with the character Null ARC Jaing/Mandalorian Jaing Skirata that he built a set of armor to costume as him. After becoming an Official Member of the MMCC and later the Personnel Officer, he upgraded the Jaing armor for his first trooping event at the Mandalorian Wedding at SDCC 08. Luckily, with the help of Novall Talon and Bevin Verhayc from the DSG Mando's, h was able to have Karen Traviss, Kar'buir, sign the Jaing helmet. After referring to him as "My Jaing!", Karen Traviss signed the helmet "To Jaing, Kaminoans make great gloves. Karen Traviss." At that time, Jaing was retired by him as a costuming character. He have since built A'den Skirata (Jaing's Null brother in beskar). There is no canon description of A'dens armor to date. The design shown is purely that of his imagination in combination with the influences and character descriptions provided by Karen Traviss.
He has 2 wonderful boys and step son that costume with him as Official "Verd'ika" with the MMCC.
Interesting FactoidsThe 5 handprints on the backplate of A'dens armor the handprints of his 2 children and his girlfriends 3 children. Lucas McCoy's Top 10 Mercs: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=485281337953&id=23202875 See more at
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