Behind the T-Visor

[Zef Halo]

It was time for a change.


Grim passed through the threshold of the infamous forge of Aunt Verd. A renown beskarsmith of Clan Verd, a clan that rose from the ashes of Clan Vizsla's continuos demise centuries ago. It was high time for the Aliit'buir of Clan Vizsla to step up his game and hone his meager skills in beskarsmithing by helping out Aunt Verd in the forging of his beskar'gam.

"Heya, aunt Verd. How's it a-goin'?"

"You're late as always, Grim." Aunt Verd's grumpy voice came in out of seemingly nowhere in the midst of the clattering sound of hammers hitting iron on anvil.

"We Vizslas ain't never on time, ya know that." The Vizsla chuckled.

"You ready to do some dirty work ?" The beskarsmith asked sharply.

"Ya bet I am, lady. As always." He scoffed at her with a grin behind his helmet.

"Then get ya ass outta that damn junk ya call an armor and let's begin."

 

[Zef Halo]

The Vizsla went forward into the 'depths' of Aunt Verd's workshop, droids buzzing around helping out with carrying different things to different places, while apprentices that were all of House Verd were hammering down different pieces of metal shaping and hardenin them to be useful. The hiss sound of molten hot iron being put into water was continous. There was no smoke going in from the numerous forges spread out throughout the large workshop of Aunt Verd. Grim was surprised, it did look quite smaller on the outside.

"Would you stop doing that, kid ?" The Aunt muttered behind him as he slammed his palm on a flying droid's head effectively turning it off as it retracted into itself and fell on the ground.

"Can't help it, Aunt. I've got this bad addiction with these droids since a kid." Grim laughed as he looked at Aunt Verd turning on the droid who went back to its duties.

"Pssht. Kids these days."

"So what now, where's the apron ?" Grim said feeling a bit naked with only his body suit on top. His armor had been taken away by one of the heavier object lifting droids.

"Catch." Aunt Verd's voice came in from behind when an apron covered his face and turned his world into darkness. The Mandalorian took it from his face and put it on himself. "There, right infront of you is a work table with the plates on it and the different hammers you're gonna need. The anvil is right behind it, while your forge as you can see is on the left side of the worktable, a few feet away. You still remember how to use the hammers ?"

The Vizsla proceeded to where he was going to spend probably the rest of his day at and noticed that the plates were simply just one large plate which had various lines drawn on it.

"Sure do but why's there only one big ass plate, I m-"

"You thought you'd have just to shape them, kid? I ain't got time to be doing your armor. Be damn thankful I've actually drawn lines with your measures on where to cut the damn plate into pieces - chest, abdomen, shoulder and all the rest of the yabba dabba."

"Aight, aight, lady. Got it. Sheesh."

"Take your time, there's food in the small sort of a mess down the workshop and to the left when you're feeling hungry. If you need help, let me know, kid."

"Aight, thanks, lady." Grim nodded with a smile as he went for the saw on his worktable.


Time to work.

 

[Darth Metus]

Plink. Plink. Plink.

Ever steady was the symphony of "Aunt" Verd's forge. The hammers of her apprentices filled the air with a perpetual din: one that sent shivers down the Survivor's spine. It was a jarring thing, to enter a forge for the first time, yet the Mother of the Forge had set the young woman up quite nicely. In light of her return from Dxun, she would be overseeing the creation of a fitting suit of armor. Beskar'gam, to be precise.

So, as the minutes rolled by, "Aunt" Verd initially set Skorri up on a table of her own. Just as was the case with [member="Grim Vizsla"], a sheet of beskar had been provided. Lines had been drawn upon the iron's surface, providing a rough guide that Skorri would have to chisel out. Thus was what the young Huntress undertook...until break at least. Hydration was important after all!

As such, with a water skin in hand, the young Brokarra made her way about the Forge. She inspected some of the tools, poked about here and there, and ultimately came to a halt behind the newest arrival.

"Water?" she inquired, offering the skin.

 

[Zef Halo]

Putting on his safe gloves, he began using the automated beskar saw to cut the plate into separate plates where the lines were drawn. The plates coming out of the separation process were with different shapes befitting the various positions they were going to be put on when the armor was finally done. Grim put those that were for his chest in the middle of his work table as he would be working on first to deburr with the diamond files that were spread on the work table. In the end, one would not want sharp edges on their armor. No matter if they were small. Especially when it came to beskar.

He proceeded carefully with the saw cutting the large plate into smaller plates, sweat was already forming on his brow and urged him to go on faster. Grim refused knowing how important it was to be precise on things that were going to be used in fatal situations. Beskarsmithing was not just hard physically but also mentally due to the large amount of concetrantion one needed to make beskar items as they are supposed to be - supreme.

"Finally..." The Mandalorian muttered to himself as he set the last piece of beskar plate on the work table and switched off the saw putting it back in its place.

"Water?"

Grim turned to the feminine voice speaking in Mando'a. A skin of water was being offered.

"Why the hell not?" The Vizsla spoke in Mando'a taking the skin gently and poured the life essential liquid into his mouth. He realized how much his mouth had dried out from simply sawing the plate. "Thanks."

The Mandalorian looked over the girl infront of him as he gave her back the skin. She was a decade or so younger than him and had a bit of a unaware presence, if that made sense. The primitive nature of the water skin told him so.

"Ya know what, we need some food. Droid!" He shouted to a droid, ordering him to bring some snack for both the Vizsla and the girl. Grim then turned to the girl in Basic. "So, you trying to be a smith here under that damn grumpy old Aunt Verd."

"I heard that, Vizsla..." Aunt Verd's voice boomed throughout the various noise of hammers hitting iron, coke burning and molten hot items being put into water.


[member="Skorri"]

 

[Darth Metus]

Upon taking the water skin, the Vizsla was greeted by a warm smile on the part of Skorri. However, that expression began to wane in light of what came next. Droid? What the heck was a Droid? Turning, she momentarily placed her gaze in the direction of Grim's yell...and what she saw sent ice racing down her spine. Monsters she was used to. Humans she was used to. Automatons? Not so much.

Yet there it came, hovering over with not a care in the world. Skorri bared her teeth at the mechanical monstrosity before looking back at Grim. He was speaking in Basic now; meaning his words fell upon deaf ears. She could understand only a fraction of what she heard, but given what she faced, it mattered not. As the Droid moved closer, Skorri reached out and picked up the nearest tool she could find. It just so happened to be a chisel.

She aimed. She threw. The chisel impaled the Droid square in its receptor, causing sparks, sputtering, and a waste of food.

"I.." she breathed, "Sorry."

The quick apology was accompanied by a half-wave of the hand. Skorri then put as much distance between herself and the fallen Droid as possible, opting to return to work on her armor. She set the totality of her attention upon the task at hand, trying to put aside the scene that had just unfolded. Armor. Yes. Damn. It was heavy. Mobility was more important. Was there a way to make it lighter?

[member="Grim Vizsla"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Grim lofted an eyebrow at what had just occured infront of him, was she some sort of a droidphobe ? He'd never heard someone suffering from such an illness. Moreover, the Vizsla found it quite surprising that such a person would be in a place such as this full of all sorts of technological things and many droids that hovered around. The Mandalorian thought that there was no point for him to linger on what the hell just happened, so he simple shrugged and decided to go get something himself.

"You want something from the fridge, kid ? Aunt Verd's generous. Sometimes." Grim spoke Mando'a in a higher voice at the girl due to him furthering the distance from her as he made his way towards where a large fridge was. Opening it, a grin lit up his face. It was full. "Ne'tra gal, come here, my friend."

The Vizsla spoke to his favorite beverage - the infamous Mandalorian black ale, as he picked two bottles from the fridge and looked around for a specific thing on the cupboard next to the fridge - bantha jerky. Taking two packs of one of his favorite snacks, Grim made his way back towards the girl and to where his worktable was.

"So, who you be, kid ?" Grim asked in a friendly manner the confused robophobe as he took a piece of jerky and stuffed it into his mouth.


[member="Skorri"]

 

[Darth Metus]

Doubtful.

She had tried to put on beskar'gam before, back on Dxun. It was heavy. Cumbersome. It offered worlds of protection, but at the cost of being able to get around as quickly as she'd like. Skorri needed something different. Her current "get up" consisted of leather here and tanned hide there...but what if she added a handful of plates to the mix? Nothing too crazy, but just enough to cover the vital areas. Maybe that would do? Beskar'gam was armor, and that would count. She hoped.

Rough idea in mind, Skorri picked up the chisel only to be addressed by [member="Grim Vizsla"]. Yeah, she wasn't getting off that easy it seemed.

"Okay." she said, shelving her budding concept. She stepped over to the man, more so for the delicious ale than anything else. While rare following the crash, Skorri and the other Brokarra had kept a stash or two. Special occasions only.

"My name is Skorri. Clan Brokarra, House Verd. Who are you?"

She then looked expectantly at the ale.

 

[Zef Halo]

"Brokarra, huh ?" He rhetorically asked as he chewed the last piece of jerky and downed his beer.

Grim had never heard of the Brokarra but apparently they were affiliated to the large House Verd, it also explained her presence here. This all belonged to the Verds and Grim was thankful for their hospitality and support for his goal to make his own beskar armor. The Brokarra girl seemed very confused in the workshop so the Vizsla decided to be friendly and grateful to the Verds as well.

"You know what, kid? I will forge ya armor for ya. You just tell me how you want it." The Mandalorian directly went towards where her beskar plates were and took them to his worktable, carefully putting them to where his own beskar plates. He decided he'd do hers first and then his after.

Taking the automated saw, he began cutting the plates where they were marked by lines. If she had any particular thing to ask him for, he was sure she'd do it. Otherwise, Grim would keep on working on the beskar.

[member="Skorri"]

 

[Zef Halo]

The Vizsla proceeded with cutting the beskar plates for Skorri's armor carefully. He was taking a few moments to soak with a small towel the gathering flood of sweat from time to time so it would not bother his work and have him make a mistake somewhere. It did not take long to cut through the beskar plates for Skorri's armor because they were much less than those for his armor. Something told him it had to do with the primitive aura she emanated. Eitherways, she was a Mandalorian and of House Verd, the House that had been greatly hospitable to the Aliit'buir of one of the most disliked Mandalorian clans - Vizsla.

"Well, it seems your armor ain't gonna be that much of work. You've got twice less beskar plates than I do." Grim commented as he took a cigarette break with another bottle of the famed Mandalorian black ale. He took his time smoking as he knew the file part where small sharper edges had to be equalized so the user would not hurt himself was the part he found to be quite bad at.

Grim knew he'd request a droid to double check his file work after he had done it. The Vizsla definitely did not want such basic and newbie mistakes on the armors he was to make. Armors that would be born in deadly situations.

 

[Zef Halo]

Grim extinguished his cigarette and downed the rest of the Mandalorian black ale in a few gulps. He had work to do. Taking the diamond file from the assortment of tools on the worktable, Grim began filing the sharp edges that were very hard to see with the naked eye but easily felt when working with the file on them. The Vizsla began with the beskar plates of Skorri's future armor, he always believed that he had to do the easy work first before dispatching the harder one. He belived that made it easier.

"Droid, another towel." Grim yelled out at a passing droid which went to do his bidding. He had completely soaked the current one with his sweat on his frow so he requested a new one. After two minutes of pause, the towel arrived and the Mandalorian mopped his forehead before proceeding with his work again.

Soon, filing his own armor would be done and he'd call the droid to check it out.

 

[Zef Halo]

Grim finished the filing of the beskar plates for Skorri's armor and decided it was yet another time for a cigarette break along with a few sips of the Mandalorian black ale rather than a whole bottle. Calling the droid to check how his work had gone, and if anymore filing was needed, the Vizsla lit up his cigarette and opened the black ale that the droid brought to him as it came for its inspection. He just hoped that Skorri would not appear out of nowhere and slam the droid as she did previously with another one.

"The beskar plates filing process has been completed with no further work on it needed." The droid confirmed. "Do you require anything else inspected ?"

"Nope."

The droid left the Mandalorian as he extinguished his cigarette before he began the shaping of the beskar plates in how they were supposed to be. How they were supposed to be was something he did not know and as such, Grim logged on a datapad next to him to find the blueprints for her armor.

"Aunt Verd, what's the damn password for the damn datapad. I need this girl Skorri's armor blueprints so I could shape 'em."

"IsleyIsAVase123." Came Aunt Verd's voice out of basically nowhere.

"Why am I not surprised?" Grim muttered to himself as he logged on to find what the girl had requested for her armor.

 

[Zef Halo]

Going by the blueprints he had just accessed on the datapad, Grim knew perfectly well what he was to do. Taking the cross peen hammer made out of beskar and energy augmented, he began hammering down the plates into the shape each one of those were supposed to be. Skorri's armor was definitely not going to be a heavy one, it seemed she was really focused on maximum mobility. The majority preferred a full body worn armor, she was one of the minority that sacrificed total defence for the prospects of better mobility and unrestrained movements. Very, very few Mandalorians felt that a full armor was like a capsule.

The shaping proceeded until he took a cigarette break once again and called a droid to inspect what was going on. Grim wouldn't dare to bother Aunt Verd until he had completed the armor, otherwise she'd smack him hard. While the droid was inspecting the armor shaped and observing the blueprints, the VIzsla felt he needed another pack of bantha jerky. Taking a pack from the cardboard next to the fridge where he had taken ales beforehand, Grim relished the idea of enjoying the whole cardboard which was full of bantha jerky packs.

"The armor forging is going as the blueprints. No need of revision. You can proceed."

"Got it." Grim confirmed as he took a bite of the tough jerky and enjoyed his short break. Looking at a digital watch on the wall, it seemed it was just past noon. He was glad he had come quite early in the morning.

 

[Zef Halo]

The Mandalorian did not waste too much time on the break as he wanted to. There was a lot of work to be done in the forge and he had to get his ass down. Breaks had to become much rarer now, Grim wanted to push himself further without going for a cigarette. He was already feeling the negative effects of the tobacco, the Vizsla wanted to smoke less.

Taking the hammer cleansed his thoughts from the nicotine as the Mandalorian proceeded with shaping the rest of the armor carefully, going by the blueprints that were next to him on the datapad. From time to time, Grim would tap the datapad for further details on some of the parts that needed extra precision whether be it an edge or an aesthetic. He numerously swapped the cross peen hammer with other hammers such as the ball-peen hammer or the straight peen hammer.

His call for a cigarette as his mouth dried from the intense metalworking made his mind be taken over by the desire for smoking. Grim immediately halted his forging as he knew that if the tobacco stayed in his head, he would do a bad job with the armor. The Mandalorian took a look at the watch on the wall and realized that he had gone much further without smoking than previously. The forging was soon to be done as well.

Just after this cigarette.

 

[Zef Halo]

Extinguishing his cigarette, Grim went back to work with the desire to finish the shaping process before taking another break for smoking. His mind had cleared after he had satisfied his needs for nicotine. The Mandalorian began relentless working on the last plates of the beskar. The final ones would be those for the notorious Mandalorian helmet where a lot of precise work was needed. It housed possibly the most important function of the whole armor - command.

Grim finished the last of the beskar plates for the armor and focused on the helmet. He grabbed the datapad from the worktable and inspected thoroughly how the helmet should be. Finally, the helmet's image and the way it should be forged were stamped in Grim's head. He began working on the helmet, with every next strike of the hammer, the Mandalorian realized how he was slowly gathering more experience and skill in this profession.

Grim relished the idea that he had to forge not only his armor but the armor of someone he did not know which was quite hard for someone who simply knew how to forge something that was born in his own mind.

 

[Zef Halo]

At last!

The armor was fully forged and Grim immediately went for to quench his thirst for black ale and a cigarette. At the same time, the Mandalorian ordered a droid to inspect the armor once again before he would go on to call Aunt Verd to check it out and find flaws, if any, by herself. Grim remained leaning on the wall next to the fridge, enjoying his ale and opening a pack of jerky just after he had extinguished his cigarette. The droid soon returned with positive news.

"Aunt Verd, c-"

"I am already on it." The grumpy woman of clan Verd had appeared out of nowhere and had headed to where he had just finished with Skorri's armor to inspect it by herself.

The Mandalorian awaited impatiently until he could take it no more and made his way with the pack of jerky towards his worktable where Aunt Verd was currently checking his work.

"This is too wide." She took a hammer as she pointed at the curve of one of the breast plates. "I'll narrow it down for you, kid."

Grim nodded as he watched her masterful work upon the armor. After narrowing it down, Aunt Verd used her master skills in beskarsmithing to improve the different aesthetics the armor had.

"Paint ?"

"She'll do it herself when the whole thing is done. Get on with the electronics and the whole 'soul' of the armor thingy." Aunt Verd ordered and made her way out of his space

 

[Zef Halo]

Grim began handling the insertion of various elecrtronics throughout the armor. Droids helped him with the application of power liners and different augmentations for the armor, along with putting on the attachments that the armor needed according to the blueprint. A couple of droids were making numerous courses bringing different materials that were to be put on the armor to improve its functionality and give it a 'soul'. Otherwise it would simply be a pile of strong metal with no uses.

Despite the armor being much less in terms of plates, it had enough for it to be turned into a typical Mandalorian walking armory. Mandalorians were profficient in turning the little you have into a deadly combination of a variety of arsenal. Arsenal that was quite unpredictable and often was the upper hand for Mandalorians against their enemies. Grim knew that even the primitive nature of Skorri would find great use and benefit of the armor he was currently forging for her. He was sure the blueprints were made from Aunt Verd.

Who better would know what armor you needed than good ol' Aunt Verd ?

 

[Zef Halo]

The attachments and additional gadgets that the armor needed were fully in place. The droids were testing the faraday cage with shocks of ion and electricity. They proceeded after to check the electronics and the software utilized for the HUD. All seemed to fine. The armor was good to go, it needed simply the paint that [member="Skorri"] was supposed to do. That is what Aunt Verd had informed him about.

The Aunt came once again as a shadow out of nowhere to inspect the final version of the armor. Grim knew that it would take her quite some time so he went for the necessary black ale and lit up a cigarette. Leaning on the wall, he relaxed his tense muscles that had been aching from the whole heavy physical work that he had done. Hopefully, it woud serve the young Mandalorian girl of Clan Brokarra well in the future.

Grim kept his eyes focused on where Aunt Verd was inspecting the armor, noticing that she was at her final round of inspections. The grumpy beskarsmith master took the helmet and put it on. Turning around with it and moving a bit, Aunt Verd took it off and seemed pleased. She turned her head towards the Vizsla and simply nodded.

The Mandalorian exhaled a breath of relief.

He had done it.

 

[Darth Metus]

It seemed as though protesting was out of the question, for by the time Skorri parted her lips, the Vizsla had already begun. At that point, there wasn't much the Survivor could do; save observe for the time being. She made mental notes of his technique, made light quips about her concerns over weight...and then made herself very scarce when the next droid came over.

So, as Grim worked his budding Magick upon the plates of beskar, Skorri came to hover about the mistress of the Forge. Aunt Verd did not seem to mind her presence much, especially since the young woman made a large effort to stay out of the way. She remained quiet. Observant. And even lender a hand in passing the Beskarsmith tools or lifting heavy pieces to the grinder.

When it was all said and done, Skorri had a fresh layer of soot and sweat upon her skin. Yet with it came a feeling of satisfaction. The Forge was not her forte, nor home, yet it was somewhere she was beginning to feel comfortable. It was a new sensation, as if this was one of the several pieces that had been missing from her life. Moving across the Forge, Skorri marveled at the finished product. It was perfect. Unlike most beskar'gam, this one offered protection over the vital areas...but was basically built around an emphasis on mobility.

And for an archer? That was perfect.

"This is amazing! Thank you." she said, briefly offering the man a toothy grin.

Now it was time to make the beskar'gam her own.

She reached for her knife and pressed the blade upon the flat of her palm. It rested upon a scar, one that had been made a long, long time ago. Skorri made a small slice, just enough to get the blood flowing, before opening and closing her hand. She then placed her palm flat upon the shoulder of the beskar'gam, marking it with a palm-print of blood. Thus was the symbol of Clan Brokarra. No excessive graphics, no elaborate design. Blood. Simply blood.

She would allow that to dry and work to preserve it upon the beskar. From there, a new layer of paint would be added. Yet now? Gratitude. Turning, she offered the Vizsla a refreshment of his Netra'gal.

"I will wear it well. I promise."

[member="Grim Vizsla"]