Ge'tal Gra'tuaFrom Mandalorian Mercs - MercsWiki
BiographyEarly years (c.50 BBY)Ge'tal Gra'tua is said to have been the only child born to a Mandalorian human and Arkanian couple, and was raised on many worlds. His extreme intelligence was evident from the early years of his youth. When children his age were keen on spending their free time on childish games, Ge'tal delved into the Arkanian archives of his parents. Because of his unusual antics, he was often shunned by those his age and spent a lot of time alone. It was during this seclusion that he developed his skills in the arts and sciences. He built his first blaster from spare parts when he was only 7, and by 12, he had put together his own beskar'gam. He was trained in the traditional ways of the Mando'ade, and had the reputation of being a crack shot with his home-made blaster. However, in an unfortunate accident around 34 BBY during the Battle of Galidraan, Ge'tal lost memories of his past. It was reported that Jango Fett was the only survivor of the battle, because Ge'tal was classified at "Killed In Action". He managed to survive, but just barely. Amazingly, he managed to retain all of his intellectual knowledge and skills. Ge'tal then made his way to Coruscant, where he was absorbed into the Senate Guards. It was here that he met K'raam Xrati, who managed to restore part of his past as a Mandalorian. At about 30 BBY, he left the Guards because of his non-conformist personality would not let him take orders from "inferior" superiors. It was during this time that he met a young girl by the name of Ni'Sya. He was on one of the planets on the Outer Rim, selling his services to the highest bidder. He used his skills as a marksman and a weaponsmith to their full potentials. He rescued Ni'Sya from a band of pirates and took her in as his apprentice and helper. She was just 6 years old then, and eagerly absorbed everything that he had to teach her. Soon, the pair made a name for being among the best weaponmakers in the Outer Rim. Being Mandalorian, Ni'Sya began developing romantic notions towards Ge'tal, and vice-versa. When Ni'Sya was 11 (25 BBY), they got separated because her family managed to track her down and demanded that she return to her home planet of Mandalore. She refused, and her family sent a squad of bounty hunters to retrieve her. Ge'tal was overwhelmed, and they took Ni'Sya away from him. Frustrated, Ge'tal left the weapons trade for a while and drifted aimlessly among the worlds, making his living with occasional assassinations of low-profile targets. About a year later, Ge'tal was absorbed into the clone training programme as one of the Cuy'Val Dar. He specialised in unarmed combat and marksmanship. The search for Ni'Sya (19 BBY) By the end of the Clone Wars, he decided to go and look for Ni'Sya on Mandalore. It was then that he found out Ni'Sya was missing in action on a routine training exercise to the Outer Rim territories. Ge'tal vowed to find Ni'Sya, no matter what it took. It was confirmed that her cruiser was shot down by a cloaked, unidentified vessel that ventured into Mandalorian space. This vessel belonged to a previously unknown species of creatures, the Yautja. Attempts to locate the ship had failed, and after a year, the Mandalorians decreed that there were no survivors. Ge'tal refused to give up. He set up a new forge, accumulating enough resources to support his search for his beloved Ni'Sya. He vowed to slaughter every Yautja until he found her - dead or alive. Little did he know that the Yautja were a formidable match for a Mandalorian. His search led him to a remote planet on the Outer Rim, where he discovered the remnants of a Mandalorian cruiser. He used his scientific skills and the arcane knowledge of the Sith that were in his Arkanian archives to determine what had happened to the cruiser and her crew. He found out that the entire crew was massacred by the Yautja, except for a young girl - Ni'Sya. He also had his first glimpse of the creatures known as the Yautja - fierce hunters in their own right. However, Ge'tal was fortunate because his Arkanian lineage allowed him to see well into the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. This allowed him to track down a cloaked Yautja with ease, further augmented by his advanced helmet-mounted visual sensors. It took him a couple of years, and many Yautja fell to his blaster and beskad. He took their dreadlocks as trophies, and suspended them from his right shoulder. He had painted his armour black and gold, Mandalorian for justice and vengeance. He was known amongst the Yautja as "The Hunter of Hunters" and was greatly feared and respected. During one of his hunts, he came across a Jedi who helped his quarry to escape. He casually dispatched the Jedi and took his lightsaber as a souvenir. Ge'tal became the stuff of nightmares for the Yautja (if they ever had any). Nonetheless, vengeance was not in their culture. They revered Ge'tal as a great hunter and tales of his exploits were common in the Yautja community. Nonetheless, they never figured out why this Mandalorian hunted their numbers mercilessly. It was on a small planet near Dantooine that Ge'tal managed to catch up with a Yautja hunting party, apparently just returning from a training hunt. There were three of them, two adults and a young one. As usual, Ge'tal dispatched the adults after finding out that they had no relevant information for him. The young one braced herself as Ge'tal drew his beskad. She noticed the Yautja dreadlocks on his shoulder and assumed that this was the infamous Mandalorian the Yautja called "The Hunter of Hunters". Struggling to find the correct word in Mando'a, she managed to scream "PARER!!" just as Ge'tal swung his beskad at her head. The sharp blade stopped just millimeters from her helmet. Ge'tal, taken aback from the Mando'a word that the young one had uttered, sheathed his beskad and decided to examine her closer. He yanked the dreadlocks on her head, and they came off! Ge'tal grabbed her and brought her to her feet. "Who are you?! What are you doing with these... 'things'?" he demanded. She stuttered, trying to find the right words... it has been years since anyone had spoken to her in Mando'a. Besides, this was the forst time she was face-to-face with an enemy known to have no compassion whatsoever for the Yautja. At last, she reached for a pool of Yautja blood, dipped her finger in it and wrote "Ni'Sya" on a nearby wall. Ge'tal could not believe his eyes. He felt like his heart was wrenched out. He fell to his knees in disbelief. Ni'Sya was astounded at what happened. Her Yautja training told her to take the opportunity and take out this Mandalorian hunter, but her Mandalorian heart told her otherwise. She knelt before The Hunter, and looked straight into his visor. There was something familiar with this Mandalorian, she thought. Ge'tal absently checked his instruments for atmospheric readings and disengaged his life support system from helmet. He then took it off and looked straight back at Ni'Sya. She could not believe her eyes. It was her long-lost 'brother' Ge'tal! She immediately took off her helmet and held him tight. For the first time since they parted, tears fell down her cheeks. At long last, they were united again. After a brief period of silence, they made their way to Ge'tal's ship and took off for Mandalore. They were both so excited but nervous at the same time. Ni'Sya knew of The Hunter's hatred for the Yautja, and how many of them he had killed. Some of them were her friends, the last two being her mentors. She was torn in half. At the same time, she was extremely happy to be united with her loved one once again. Return to MandaloreThey spent their time on Mandalore, with Ni'Sya once again helping Ge'tal with his workshop. It was a modest business, but it afforded them the lifestyle they were comfortable with. Soon, their relationship took a new step ahead: Ge'tal proposed to Ni'Sya for her to become his wife. It was rather late for a Mandalorian to get married, but they went ahead anyway. They held a small ceremony with some friends at Ge'tal's workshop to solemnize their ties, in Mandalorian tradition. They also managed to get Mand'alor Boba Fett to attend their little function, which was an extreme honour for the newlyweds, who took the name "Gra'tua" as a reminder of Ge'tal's past exploits to recover Ni'Sya.  Shortly after, the Gra'tua couple left Mandalore and set up a small armoury on the planet Shogun, where they forged customised weaponry for well-to-do customers. Because of his knowledge of the Senate Guards' requirements (who later became Imperial Royal Guards), the Galactic Empire asked Ge'tal to fine-tune their TIE Interceptors for use by the Royal Guards. This was a major contract that boosted the Gra'tua's economy. They were later joined by the force-sensitive Qyra, who was an expert in materials. She was accepted into the Gra'tua clan, and became Ge'tal's chief research engineer. They were joined later by several other Mandalorians, and clan Gra'tua became one of the strongest (but also among the most discreet) of Mandalorian clans. They returned to Mandalore when Boba Fett called for the return of Mandalorians to their home planet some years later, and moved their entire operations to Mandalore in an effort to build up Mandalorian economy. Physical appearance and personality traitsGe'tal had a rather small stature for a warrior, but his training had taught him that "size matters not". He had always been different, and preferred to be alone and ponder on the marvels of the Universe. He was extremely intelligent, thanks to his Arkanian ancestry. He is also mild-mannered, but many who mistook this for a weakness soon found out that his wrath was very much greater! Ge'tal is normally relaxed, taking things as they come. But this seemingly calm exterior belies the active and ever-moving interior of this formidable warrior. He had dedicated his life to two things: the preservation of the Mandalorian way and his soulmate, Ni'Sya. Equipment and weapons Being a scout sniper, Ge'tal is armed with a customised Draymak G-45 Heavy Sniper Rifle. He uses a custom-built sidearm and also a custom beskad, forged from a rare black beskad given to him as a gift from Novall Talon upon his arrival to Mandalore. His helmet is equipped with special sensors to detect and track Yautja and other cloaked beings. It is said that his equipment is so sensitive he can detect force-adept creatures. Armor/clothing In his early years as a trainer of the Senate Guards, Ge'tal wore a standard suit of beskar'gam, painted white with yellow chevrons. This was, of course, after his meeting with K'raam Xrati and the revelation of his Mandalorian background. After leaving the Senate Guards, he changed the colour of his armour to black with gold chevrons, signifying justice and vengeance as he hunted the Yautja who had apparently killed his beloved. He had also modified his helmet to house infrared sensors to track the cloaked Yautja. Once he was reunited with Ni'Sya, he changed his colours again to black and red chevrons, but retained some gold to signify his clan name "Gra'tua", which meant vengeance. He also wears a Journeyman Protector sash, a gift from a friend on Concord Dawn. He has Yautja dreadlocks on his right shoulder instead of Wookie braids, and also other "souvenirs" from those he had hunted down. There is even a lightsaber on his belt, which he took from a Jedi knight who helped one of his quarries escape (The Jedi being themselves, just could not let the Yautja get slain...). Behind the scenesGe'tal Gra'tua is a character created by [M.Hanif] for use in costuming events and conventions. The story of Ge'tal Gra'tua is actually based on his real-life experiences, which he expresses through the design of his armour and equipment. For him, costuming is the best form of self-expression because one gets to design and create one's own artwork, and then publicly display them as an interactive form of art. Most costumes also continually evolve as the owners gradually upgrade and add items and details to the original piece of art. This evolving, "growing" artwork is for him, the epitome of artistry as it represents life itself, always changing and developing. He calls it "Scientific Art, Artistic Science" because of the art and science it takes to put together a costume. In real life, Ni'Sya Gra'tua is his companion and soulmate, Butterchoc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
