Full Name: Nealla Varr
Species: Human [Mandalorian]
Homeworld: Concordia
Age: 34
Profession: Mercenary/Bounty Hunter
Description: A warrior through and through, most people will only ever see the armored, helmeted form of a Mandalorian. Those who see beneath the armor find a surprisingly feminine appearance with light blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Standing at 5'10, she fits right in with male warriors, though tends to be one of the tallest in the room when standing with other human females.
Major Strengths: Sharpshooting, Swordfighting, Discipline
Minor Strengths: Piloting, Military Science, Heavy Weapons, Explosives
Minor Weaknesses: Pride- Nealla takes great pride in her culture, and does not respond kindly to those who would besmirch the honor of the Mandalorian people. She can also occasionally be prone to poor choices based on matters of honor and pride, such as choosing to engage a foe in melee combat when a blaster shot to the head would do just as well.
Hates Imperials- She despises the empire, and it can make her prone to irrational choices at times. They took almost everything from her, perhaps more importantly, they forced her daughter to grow up without a clan, without a family. She's been known to give discounts on jobs that put her up against Imperials if the client couldn't afford her usual rates. Conversely, she refuses to work FOR the Empire.
Major Weaknesses: Daughter- Her daughter comes before anything else. This isn't a weakness easily exploited, as Mandalorian children are taught from a young age to be able to fend for themselves, and Shayn herself is 16, and thus a fully trained Mandalorian warrior in her own right, but the fact remains that there is nothing Nealla wouldn't do for her daughter.
Diplomacy- Nealla is also rubbish at diplomacy. It's not that she's unsociable, but rather that she says what she means, and becomes easily cross when others don't do the same. Of course, under the right conditions, there mere act of being an imposing woman, armed to the teeth and dressed in heavy armor can be an effective act of diplomacy in its own right.
PossessionsShev'la'kyr (Modified E-11s Sniper Rifle)- A "battlefield acquisition", this Imperial sniper rifle quickly became a favored part of Nealla's arsenal. It's undergone significant modification since she initially took ownership of it, increasing the effective range and power output, though at the cost of a slow rate of fire and limited capacity. The rifle's sobriquet is Mando'a for "Silent End".
Cuyan'kad (Custom Vibrosword)- Forged from beskar, also known as Mandalorian iron, especially for her by her father, this sword was outfitted with vibroblade technology to enhance it's deadly potential. Due to the energy-resistant nature of beskar, the blade is capable of parrying even lightsaber attacks. The sword's name is derived from "kad"; the Mando'a word for "sword", and "cuyan"; a simple, direct message passed on from a worried father to a daughter going off on her own, "survive".
DE-10 blaster pistol- Though she prefers to either engage the enemy at sniping distance, or close enough for a sword, the reality of combat is that you can't always engage the enemy on your own terms. As such, she keeps this blaster pistol on standby for situations where her primary weapons fall short.
Beskar'gam- The distinctive heavy armor worn by Mandalorians, it is both a fundamental part of their culture and a functional piece of military hardware. Beskar'gam's name comes from the fact that it is forged with beskar, which makes it incredibly durable and resistant to numerous forms of damage, including lighthsaber attacks; provided, of course, that they strike the beskar plates, and not the less durable undersuit. Armor made of actual beskar has grown rarer as the metal has been heavily mined, particularly by the Empire, but this particular suit is an heirloom passed down through her mother's family for generations, refitted and repainted for each new wearer. The current design is grey beskar with a black undersuit, and red highlights and shoulder cloak with her clan's sigil. It includes Z-6 jetpack, and the helmet contains a sophisticated HUD and rangefinder. Her gauntlets each contain a Dur-24 wrist laser to be used as fallback weapons with modified trigger mechanisms allowing her to fire both simultaneously.
Various Other Weapons- Nealla tries to keep a general assortment of spare and disposable weapons in stock, such as concealable holdout blasters and an array of grenades and explosives, as well as some common blaster pistols and rifles. This is not only so that she'll never be caught without a weapon, but so that if her daughter is home alone, she can defend herself against any would-be assailants.
Aniskiri- Nealla's ship and home. A Stathas-class freighter, it looks like nothing special at first glance. However, the ship is actually a cutting edge piece of hardware. Only 9 of these experimental models were ever produced by MandalMotors. Equipped with a quad laser cannon and a proton torpedo launcher, the freighter can be operated by a sole pilot or a crew of up to 4 (2 pilots and 2 gunners) and comfortably house up to 8 passengers at a time. The ship that would eventually be named the Aniskiri traded hands a few times, being purchased initially by a wealthy crime lord, and being traded via exchange, gambling debt or assassination before winding up in Nealla Varr's possession, who took it as compension after a client tried to weasel his way out of paying for her work.
PersonalityNealla is different things to different people. To her enemies, she is a merciless killing machine, who revels in the glory and carnage of war. To her friends, she is a loyal and selfless companion, who always has their back. To her daughter, she is a devoted and loving mother, who would sacrifice anything for the light of her life.
Nealla is Mandalorian, and that is the first impression most will have of her. Dressed in heavy armor, with a helmet abscuring her face, most are greeted with a cool, unflinching mercenary, who will take any job that pays well enough. Those who fight alongside her witness a woman with absolute discipline in the heat of battle. She does not break rank, she does not surrender.
Beneath the armor lies a much warmer woman, as evidence by the way she dotes over her daughter and showers her with affection. She is good natured towards her friends and enjoys spending her off hours with good company and good drinks. She particularly enjoys watching outsiders try her homemade tiingilar, and seeing how long it takes them to start begging for bantha milk to put out the fire in their mouths.
While she doesn't make a habit of sleeping around, the life of a mercenary can get lonely for a single mother, and so she has been known to take lovers from time to time, with little preference for gender. Of course, sex is one thing, and love is another, and that is something she has not found yet since the loss of her wife.
BackgroundBorn to a Mandalorian family on Concordia, Nealla's father was a blacksmith, while her mother ran a cantina. Of course, being Mandalorians, both were also warriors, and Nealla was also trained, from the age of 8, to be a warrior as well. She took to it well, especially favoring swordfighting and sharpshooting. When she turned 13, she was put to the test in the tradition of her people, the verd'goten. She was tested in her ability to fight and survive, and once she passed, she was officially recognized as both an adult, and a true Mandalorian. She was also given her first taste of Ne'tra gal, a sweet black Mandalorian ale, at her mother's cantina.
The newly minted Mandalorian was eager to prove herself, and rushed off at every fool chance at honor and glory. She received several very valuable lessons in humility along the way, though she only grew more gifted in battle with experience. However, what she found along the way proved to be far more valuable than glory. She grew close to one of her peers, Ran Stett, and before long, the two were wed in a small private ceremony, as is Mandalorian custom. Of course, though the ceremony itself is generally private and intimate, the celebration at her mother's cantina was so wild, she still only has patchy memory of it.
The two women set off on their own, with Nealla's father granting her a sword he forged specially for her, and made her promise to return home alive. They were on their own for some time, until they undertook a campaign for the Imperials. Nealla's parents had tried to keep out of politics, though the events of Empire's rise to power had not gone unnoticed by her family. Just like many others, they were wary, but credits were credits, and the Empire had plenty.
The job was to help put down an uprising. The resistance was well armed and filled with righteous fury; a great opportunity for glory. Fighting accross the planet was fierce. Nealla and Ran took to making games of competing for kill counts, with often... intimate wagers on the line. The mercs were sent in to do all the heavy lifting, while the Imperials strolled in afterwards to secure the flank. The mercenary camp was generally rowdier than the neighboring Imperial fortifications. Many were scoundrels, gifted in the art of war, but lacking in honor. Of course, there were other Mandalorians as well, and in the company of their own people, Nealla and Ran would drink and feast and laugh the night away in between all the fighting.
In the wake of the final battle, however, the couple happened upon something they hadn't expected. The orphaned child of the fallen, merely a baby. If they'd learned anything of the Imperials during all the fighting, it was that they were honorless, and merciless. They would murder an innocent child to prevent them from ever becoming a threat. The Mandalorians were not without hearts, and decided to steal the child away from the planet in secret.
They eventually decided to name her Shayn, and adopted her as their daughter. With Nealla speaking the words, "Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad", "I know your name as my child", the child became Shayn Varr, and from that day onward, she was raised as a Mandalorian. The next twelve years of Nealla's life was a dream; glory on the battlefield, a loving wife and a child to dote upon and teach the ways of their people. Shayn took well to her lessons, and the couple was confident their daughter would pass her verd'goten with flying colors. They decided that she would do so on Concordia, and made plans to return and spend the year leading up to the test back home with Nealla's family.
In what seemed in retrospect like the hand of fate, their ship, the Vercopa, was having some issues with it's hyperdrive, and so Ran went off ahead, booking passage on a transport, to make preparations while Nealla took the ship to get repairs. Nealla wanted Shayn to go with Ran, but she didn't want her mother to be lonely, and insisted on staying with her. By the time they arrived on Concordia, they found only Nealla's childhood home in ruins, and everyone dead, the bodies burned. The attackers had been thorough in covering up evidence, but Nealla's search was relentless, she examined everything, and she knew there was only one possible culprit: the Empire. The footprint formations, the blast patterns, but most tellingly of all, a chipped off piece of white plastoid composite armor. Stormtrooper armor.
She was furious. She wanted revenge. She wanted to take her ship and fly straight to Coruscant. She wanted to storm the Imperial Palace herself. It was Shayn who talked her out of it, who reminded her that she still needed her mother. She calmed herself, and she mourned. She comforted her daughter. Once her daughter was asleep, she reclaimed one important piece of salvage, intending it as a gift.
After that, they set out for Ran's people, to inform them of their loss. They would wind up staying with them over the next year, as Nealla finalized her daughter's training. Then, just as planned, she took her out on her verd'goten. When they returned, Shayn was an adult, a true Mandalorian. It was then, amongst the drinking and celebration, that she revealed her gift. Over the last year, she had been repairing and refurbishing this special gift in secret. Though she was no smith like her father, she'd gotten help from their hosts. When her daughter laid eyes on her fallen mother's armor, she wept, and Nealla wept with her. It had been refitted, just for her, and she would wear it from that day forth, to bring honor to her mother.
After the celebrations, the pair said their goodbyes. The hospitality of family was welcome, but their home was their ship, now renamed the Aniskira, Total Revenge. They left and took to the stars. Now an adult in the eyes of their people, Shayn could take care of herself, but she knew that her mother needed her now more than other, and chose to remain alongside her. Nealla would even sometimes take her daughter out on missions, though Shayn would often remain behind to make sure they had a home to return to. Making dock in shady ports for mercenary work often meant that ship theft was a reasonable concern.
Nealla has since taken every chance to hit back at the Imperials. She gives discounts whenever a client can't afford her rates. She'd do the work for free, if she didn't have to worry about food and ship maintenance. She also began to dabble in bounty hunting, though never for the Empire. Eventually, she and her daughter made their way to Smuggler's Run
