Mal Kavian
| Malkavian | |
 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Race | Togorian |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 2.7 meters |
| Coloring | Slate-grey fur |
| Political Information | |
| Affiliation | Mecrosa |
| Title | Dukha Combat Master |
Malkavian is a Togorian male. Standing nearly 2.7 meters tall, Malkavian towers over many sentients. His thick powerful frame cuts an even more fearsome image. His dark fur is thick and medium length, colored a slate grey that blends in with the night. There is a small assortment of adornments tied into his mane. Malkavian can speak and understand Basic fluently. Due to his large carnivorous teeth and jawline, he tends to speak slowly and is prone to adding grunts and snarls.
Biography
Early Years
Malkavian was born into a life that many can only dream of, the son of a high ranking politician and a lifelong security official there was nothing that was off limits to Mal. Wanting for nothing, Mal was a naturally happy lad through his youth. While his parents tended to turn a blind eye to the minor mischief he got himself into this was a trade off for their absolute unyielding insistence that he perform well in school. They were grateful for the comfortable lives they lead and took nothing for granted. They would pass on these values to their son, often reminding him that everything could be lost in the blink of an eye. This meant that Mal would sometimes have to sacrifice going out with his friends to study for an upcoming test. Sometimes he would get angry about this but overall he knew it was worth the trade off. Though he was frequently chased out of girls bedrooms by angry fathers, they changed their tune when they heard of the accolades young Mal had received in his classes.
After graduating with top honors Mal spent several years living the life of a privileged playboy. Late in his school years he discovered a talent for singing. Aided by his mother's political influence Mal was able to generate his own funds putting on occasional concerts for the family's large and well to do friends. Even this life grew tedious to Mal after a few years, the Corellian wanderlust itched at his soul. He consulted with his father about his lack of satisfaction and the retired security chief recommended that Mal take a job on a luxury liner or some similar endeavor that would allow him to see the galaxy in the comfort he deserved. As with most things in his life, it wasn't hard for him to get what he wanted. He took a singing job aboard a touring L-500, the guests included the sort of influential figures Mal had known all his life except that now they hailed from all over the galaxy.
In his free time Mal would spend hours at one of the many cantina's aboard the large ship. He was more than eager to hear the stories the travelers had to tell about planetary conflicts, political scandals and dangerous rogues. He was absolutely happy here. Of course he was no stranger to trouble here either and now he did not have his parent's influence to rely upon. He quickly had to learn to rely upon his wits and his lethal charm. Mal found himself in the debt of more than a few of the more labor-oriented staff personnel on the starship for keeping his mischief to themselves. He counted his blessings for his parents having taught him respect for all people regardless of their social status. This open minded kinship led Mal to even more knowledge as some of the staff would occasionally give him lessons on how to fire a blaster or fight with his bare hands. Mal was no stranger to combat as it was part of his school curriculum but what he learned here was something entirely different. It wasn't fancy or pretty, in fact the moves were quite gritty and dirty.
During a visit to a luxurious remote world Mal received an urgent message from his home world. Taking part in a rather routine visit to one of the planets in their system, his parents and several other influential individuals had been taken hostage by a band of marauding pirates. Though the command staff of the liner sympathized with Mal there was little they could do. Altering their course would spell millions lost in lawsuits, the best they had to offer was a Y-Wing BTL-A4 Longprobe normally used for scouting ahead if the liner flew through dangerous areas. Though Mal was a decent pilot he could not make the trip in time. By the time he reached Corellia the memorial services for the lost politicians had already started. Mal was rendered numb. His parents were getting up in age but they were perfectly healthy and if it hadn't been for this incident they were likely to be around for many more years. Consoling himself with whatever booze he could get his hands on fast enough the lessons his parents had taught him tortured him. 'Everything could be lost in the blink of an eye.' How right they were.
Several family friends offered to take Mal in and let him stay with them while he mourned but every face just reminded him of what he had lost. He contacted the liner and arranged a transfer of credits for the Longprobe he did not intend upon returning. Visiting his childhood home for the last time, Mal packed only the barest essentials. He left behind the tailored suits, jewelry and other luxuries. In his stupor he began rummaging through his parents belongings and found his father's old security uniform. The colors were faded navy blue and grey and the shirt bore several insignia that had been rendered obsolete long ago. The final piece was the thick grey long coat which fit Mal's tall and lean frame perfectly. Taking only a few other odds and ends and whatever cash remained in his old home, Mal stocked the Longprobe and set about to lose himself in the stars.
At first Mal flew from world to world, aimless and with no real purpose. Soon enough though he realized that this wasn't what he was after. He flew to the edges of the Unknown Regions and beyond. Beyond charted space, beyond civilization, there was only blackness. With no stars for thousands of light years, no light could penetrate this far into deep space. And it was here that Mal found what he was after, absolute isolation. He had shut down all non-essential systems on the Longprobe, leaving only life support and the barest of diagnostic systems to alert him of any internal problems. There... he simply floated, no current would carry him anywhere. For all practical purposes Mal Kavian had disappeared completely.
To Black and Back
Time had long since lost meaning as Mal lay quietly in the Longprobe. He had reclined the pilot chair as far back as possible for comfort but it didn't to a terrible lot of good. He shut down all ship systems except life support and simply drifted. His mind eventually shut down as he lapsed into a trance like coma. He remained in this state for a long while until something seemed to call to him. At first barely noticed like a small thing off in the distance but steadily becoming more audible as if getting closer. When it was almost audible Mal noted that it seemed as though he were hearing through a tunnel. Finally it was somewhat understandable, the voice a plain and matter of fact human female. '...Kavian...need you... ... . .. arms dealers.... come back.'
Before he realized he was able to move his fingers were plotting a course in the nav-computer. The small ship quickly went through start up diagnostics that were built in to the ship's routines. It was hard to tell when he opened his eyes. In the middle of the black it made little difference. But slowly at the peripheral of his vision he realized he was seeing the red and green glow of the ship's instrumentation. There was a gentle rumble as the ship made it to it's engine start up procedure. Mal raised the seat the few degrees forward back to standard flight position. Now the glow of the instrumentation was directly at eye level, the heads up display showing the course he had plotted. The place was no where he had heard of; it was just some rim world away from too many eyes.
He met a woman that he was supposed to know but for some reason he had no idea who she was. He accepted a job as a delivery pilot without bothering to ask about pay or details. Mal felt as though his life were somehow on auto-pilot. Something other than his own will was driving him along. Knowing that he would be using a company ship at all times he opted to put his old Longprobe up for sale. The economy had changed considerably since his departure and he managed to get a decent pocket full of credits to start off with. During his delivery stops he would often visit the local cantinas; making new friends and hearing countless exaggerated tales of previous adventures. While Mal had no memory of his prior adventures he was quick witted and so when the mood struck him he would spin his own tales of space adventures. Who knew whether they were true or not, he was gone within a day.
Mal continued, oblivious to where his destiny lay, simply living job to job. Having to float in system for a few hours while clearances were established was not out of the ordinary either. It was only when Mal's boss ordered him with a nearby privately owned station that it got a bit odd. Mal was used to following orders without question so he simply shrugged off the odd tingle the sudden diversion caused him. He moved quickly from his drop point to the station and when the ships confirmed that docking was successful, Mal clicked open his comm to inform whoever was listening that he had arrived. After a brief wait a new voice greeted him and bade him to enter the station for a few moments. Again the odd tingling, Mal was a bit hesitant to just waltz in to some private station where the law didn't apply. But he trusted the boss so if the boss said get on the station, Mal was already on his way. Though not blindly, he was on his way to the docking tube but he stopped at his locker to load himself up with some 'last resort's.
Mal pressed the compression switch on the docking tube and the door slid shut. The ship's programming took care of the gentle cycling of the ships air pressure during the transfer. As soon as the air had been fully cycled the door on the station's side of the tube slid open. Mal stepped through the tube and set a cautious foot down on the floor of the station. His finger itched to shoot towards his blaster if something popped out of no where. 'You will not need those' a voice seemed to respond to Mal's thoughts. Part of him leapt in fear but some other hidden part of him was rising to the surface. The voice went on to explain why he was here and how his life was about to get a lot more interesting.
Several weeks it seemed that Mal was back into a sort of auto-pilot life. He flew from job to job without question. What Mal discovered was so far out of his realm of experience he had no idea how to process it. Part of him wanted to see things in simple black and white. He knew that darkness was not his destiny. He had been to the deep reaches of space, Mal already knew about darkness. It was time to step into the light. Or so he thought. He discretely put in his notice to his superiors who were more than understanding. It seemed that Mal had some larger purpose now, though he didn't feel any particular calling. Setting off on his own, Mal transmitted his information. Formally leaving the Mecrosa and submitting his application to join the Jedi Order.
He understood that the application process might take some time as all of his information would be checked thoroughly. This gave Mal some time to do a bit of personal traveling. After securing his own ship and a small crew to man it, Mal set course for Corellia. He was drunk with the spirit of things, flying a ragtag crew under the radar of the big government. In the end it was a bit disappointing. Lack of functional weapons technology allowed for non-existent security measures. Nevertheless he was able to hire a few Corellians onto his crew thus taking some of the piloting burden off of him. There was one more stop that he knew he wanted to make if time allowed.
Nearly a week later he had still heard nothing so he set course for his next destination, Naboo. Mal had heard of the bounty placed on the heads of any Gungans and thought it was madness. Clearly the work of warped madmen. Mal knew he would not be able to do much for the thousands of Gungans that found themselves stopped at starports and taverns across the galaxy. They would be brought in the moment they set foot on the ground, hunted like cattle. The least Mal could do was bring along a small family and even that stretched the available space in the Delta shuttle. He brought the family safely to a nearby world. Given assurances from the local government contact that the family would be safe within their borders, Mal hid them away within a private home. He also rented land transport for their stay.
After transporting several families in this way, shuttling back and forth between worlds. Once all the families that wanted to leave were moved nearly another week had gone by again. Not a word from the Order. He filled the remaining slots aboard the Delta by hiring some of the more experienced Gungans to work on the ship. Now it was truly time to wander. Finally though, Mal did hear from the Order. They accepted him in their ranks but explained that new security measures were being implemented and it would be some time before Mal would be able to access the private channel to obtain instructions. Mal took a breath and steadied himself, he would have to master patience after all...wouldn't he?
But things would continue like this over and over with the Order. Finally, still drifting aimlessly, Mal decided this was not the way for him. He did not believe completely in the Order, there was a constant nagging in the pit of his stomach that told him it wasn't right. But viewing things in simple black and white, he figured between the two major sides the Order was the one he disagreed with least. But there were infinite possibilities for him, things were not black and white. Maybe his own study had brought him the benefit of clearer thinking or perhaps he just needed time to process things, either way Mal was back with the Mecrosa where he belonged.
Mal quickly plotted a course back to Mecrosa shipping lanes and made contact with his superiors. It was a simple enough matter to re-add Mal to the roster so he would pick up the next available job that suited his talents. The odd thing was later the same evening Mal noticed an anonymous message sent via the holonet. Apparently someone had already learned of his dissatisfaction with the order and wanted to extend a hand of friendship... under the cloak of anonymity. The key thing here was the someone was leaking information from within the Order. Of course in typical Mal fashion, he immediately explained that he had no interest in other organizationns or duties but friendship was always rewarding enough. Mal never received any word back officially stating any response from the anonymous 'friend' however he did receive another anonymous message stating simply 'knob'.
More than anything the little messages amused Mal, for some reason now he could see through the plots and maneuverings that others would attempt to ensnare him with. Every word was translated into revealing some underhanded scheme. Was this insight... or paranoia? Continuing his mundane tasks, Mal also continued his training. He could reach out farther now and with far greater control. The bruises the covered his body attested to the pain of the trial and error method, but that was all he had. First his mind, then his body. When the mind was too worn out from training to be of any great help, that was when Mal would do his physical training. He trained with several members of the crew but it was only when he sparred with the Gamorrean or the Hutt that the entire crew would gather to watch.
The Beast Within
Years had passed and all seemed well for Malkavian. He had a successful career with Mecrosa that also gave him the freedom to explore any personal interests that he desired. While on a routine construction job events began to unfold that would change him forever. It started with a series of dreams. In his dreams he was a giant beast with claws and fangs. The world this beast lived in was torturous. Mal understood that whatever this creature was, it had been a slave used for it’s enormous strength. He never caught much detail from the dreams. They were a splattering of blood and fire. Perhaps this beast was part of some war.
Malkavian had been taught that most those in touch with the Force rarely dream. There was no clear answer as to why but Mal speculated that they were so in touch with their thoughts and minds that no random dream could ever intrude. So when they did dream, it usually meant something. Mal had no real teacher to turn to. Everything he had learned about the Force he had dug out of archives or learned through painful trial and error. It seemed as though the creature he had dreamt about was cat like in it’s face but massive and powerful. The best answer he could come up with was the Cathar. Perhaps their homeworld was under attack.
With his usual lack of hesitation, Mal headed off-planet. Once again abandoning his responsibilities for no logical reason. The dreams became a nightly ritual that were now joined by daily headaches. With no one to discuss the situation with and weeks before he would arrive at the Cathar homeworld, Malkavian had nothing but time to ponder what was happening.
It seemed as though others in the dream world called him Malkavian as well. At first it was easy to dismiss that as his mind filling in the blanks. But the night that he encountered the dream world’s version of Dac Kain he woke up drenched in sweat. This Dac was not a friend and co-worker, in this reality Malkavian was a slave owned by the Dac Kain the Blood Emperor of Corellia.
The dreams grew more and more troubling and the pain in his head spread through his entire body. Mal administered painkillers to ease the pain but they made him tired. The painkillers brought on deeper and longer dreams. He understood that he was a part of a war started by Dac Kain. They were after something important but this Malkavian had no knowledge of what it was.
Mal had no idea how long he had been traveling or how long it would be until he reached his destination. Time lost meaning. Sleep was filled with the pain of war and an unfamiliar world. Awake, his entire body felt as though it was on fire. Until one day he woke up and it was gone. He felt slightly numb but nothing worse than he would feel the day after a heavy workout.
It was still worrisome but at least this gave him the opportunity to have a meal and check his nav-computer. Still three days out from Cathar Prime. The more he thought about it though, the less sure he was that this had anything to do with Cathar. To take his mind off things a bit, Mal opted for a light workout in the cargo hold. Physical exertion always helped him to relax. After a workout and a shower, Mal lay down to what he hoped would be a dream free night.
The night was not dream free but this time it was different. The beast Malkavian was perhaps injured. He was hiding out in a barely standing structure. Mal could feel the pain pulsing through every part of his body. In the distance explosions rang out and occasionally rubble would splatter in from the many holes in the building. With effort Mal pulled himself to his feet. He could feel how tall this creature was and noticed the thick grey fur that covered his massive body. Every dream before had been a battle or some trauma so there was no time to notice the little details.
He took his time walking across the room through the pain. He came to a wall that had a poster still hanging, some corporate positive message poster. But it wasn’t the words or the picture that caught his attention. But his own reflection. Instead of the feral grey furred face that he expected, he saw the reflection of a human looking man with dark black hair. With a shock Malkavian realized that his beast self was seeing his human self reflected. Perhaps it was again just some coincidence of the mind. But the beast spoke as though addressing his reflection.
“I know your face.” the beast Mal spoke in a low snarling tone.
“I have seen you in my dreams since I was young.”
He paused and looked out to the sky the was filled with the flashes of weapons launching and the explosions that resulted.
“I wonder if I will see you when I am gone.”
With that an enormous flash of light burned through the sky and Mal could feel the heat of a thousand suns roasting his flesh. He felt the screams and agony of every living being in that world and it ripped into his mind. He thrashed violently out of his bed. He was covered in sweat and his clothes were torn. But the pain from the dream remained. He felt his flesh being torn and burned at the same time. He screamed in pain only to realize he had been screaming for a while already.
Mal saw that his arms were bright red and beginning to swell. He fell to the ground when the bones in his legs started to snap and reform. He could feel the muscles inside his flesh tearing and rebuilding over and over. The pressure in his head built until his skull cracked. The pain and the sound of his own skull breaking caused Malkavian to vomit. His mind retreated into itself and his body was left a cracking screaming thing on the cold floor.
It would be several days before he awoke again. The pain was not gone but he could tell the worst was over. He reached up to grab some kind of support and saw that his hand was the fur covered claw of the beast Malkavian. He fell back in shock. Now taking in the details of what his eyes had ignored. He was naked, covered in thick grey fur. But he was still aboard his ship. Was this a new twist on the dream.
But just as his eyes took a moment to process what they saw, so did his mind. He remembered the dreams that he had of the beast Mal but he also remembered the dreams that the beast had about human Mal. He remembered being bought by Emperor Kain as a child and also the times he and Dac had gotten drunk together after work.
“Their...my world was destroyed.” He uttered aloud, explaining to himself as the understanding of both universes merged within his mind.
“We were bonded. The same soul in different places.”
The Force could work miracles to heal a wounded body and it was no different for the mind. Malkavian understood both his own history and the history of the beast Malkavian. He could feel the primal urge within himself to hunt and kill. But he could still consider a high society social gathering an exciting affair. The two were one somehow. But the beast Malkavian’s body had won.
Mal rose to his feet, sore but able to feel the power of his new form. He picked up his shredded clothes and the concerns of reality made themselves apparent. He stepped over to the comm unit in his room and with his new fur covered hands punched in a message. It was a message to Dac. Part of him had issues that he would be taking orders from the man that destroyed an entire universe. But he could just assure himself that it was a different Dac that had done that. He had no idea how to begin explaining this situation so his message was simple.
“Bossman, sorry I’ve been gone. I’m coming home. We need to talk.”
With that he punched in the coordinates for the Mecrosa homebase and began his adventures as the beast Malkavian.
