Coming of Age (Attn: Kalis Affassa, Damien Daemon)

[Zagara Vao]

It was going to be a long day.

After countless solar cycles riddled with brutal training, near-fatal endurance sessions and a fastidious military diet - it came down to this. As was custom in Mandalorian culture, Zagara Vao, now nicknamed Sonorous for her deep, rich appreciation for a wide variety of subjects, now had to pull her weight to prove she was made of the right stuff - she now had to fashion herself a suit.

The seemingly simply but overwhelmingly rich task brought her to Mandalore first - the hunt for the rare and priceless Mandalorian Iron led her to a deep mine below the lower rungs of Sundari, the planet's capital city. The ore was critical to the Beskar'gam, and while cumbersome, was valued for its ability to protect its wearer from bowcaster quarrelers to lightsabers. But acquiring the iron was only the first part - there was the business of also acquiring the other metals she planned to integrate into alloys for this baby, and of course, actually building the suit. For this, she also decided to bring along an equally priceless asset - her fellow clanswoman and one of the most brilliant, however eccentric, minds this side of the galaxy - the Meran mechanic, [member="Kalis Affassa"].

The two, wearing only their utility workingman's outfits, headbands, goggles and carrying with them only their utility kits and a handful of remote Thermex charges, now stood down one of the many shafts that branched out from the mine's main pit. "So", Sonorous began with a chuckle but a sense of aweful dread as she turned her head slightly to Kalis, "you've done this before right? What're we looking for? What does it look like?"

It was going to be a long day - and it wasn't going to end there. They still had to leave planetside; the suit itself would be attended to during the lightjumps along the way.

[member=Damien Daemon"]

 

[Kalis Affassa]

[member="Sonorous Vao"] ( http://starwarsrp.net/topic/95317-soul-steel-factory-lore-challenge/i want to use this. lol better get my forge up)

Kalis just gave a dry look.
" im doing this old school i'll need logs leaves and mud. for charcoal. " she ofdered for the first part.
Forging was an old long process. and coal was a staple of a forge.
"i'll need to make Coal first that'll take a day or two. so lets go get iron eh?"

 

[Zagara Vao]

"What exactly does the iron look like though?"

Sonorous then turned on her illumination rod as she took a preliminary look around their dark cavern of choice. After laying a few marker glowsticks, she quickly made her way back to the mechanic - her unfamiliarity with Mandalore's underground unsettling her.

"Would you bop me over the head with a wrench if I told you I thought we'd also get some Phrik and from Gromas and Cortosis from Bespin?", she sheepishly said with a grin as if she tried to soften the blow by making it sound like a joke. She then pulled out her personal holo and activated it, showing both of them the Twi'lek's blueprints for her personal suit of Mandalorian armor. "I have no doubts you can make it work, [member="Kalis Affassa"]!" It was quite a high-profile little thing, pulling a complex, light, durable but extremely effective alloy comprised of carbon-enhanced Mandalorian Iron and a Phrik/Tyridium composite for its armor plates and helmet, and a Mandalorian Iron-Cortosis woven mesh to brace the flexicris/flexi-armor textile fabric underneath.

"I thought we could craft the T-visor from hard plastiplate and then just reinforce it with a clear Beskar film on top", Sonorous added as she tried to peek over the mech wiz's shoulder to see. "You really want to put a forge up here too if we're jumping to at least two other plants still, mate?"

 

[Kalis Affassa]

[member="Sonorous Vao"]

Like a rock. we are looking for ore not the stuff you see the " look at me im so manly manly or im a manly gurl."
She explained " it'll need refining first then smelting. "

 

[Matreya]

Damien, Alor to the duo, found himself within a few kilometers of their own mining. He knew they were there, and hoped they could manage to smelt and purify the Beskar properly. Just because one smelted the ore, did not mean it was properly ready to make into ingots or armor. There was many variants to properly making the Iron, but each held a less than noted reputation.

They were kept close to heart as some could manufacture the top tier, while others were hardly worth anything.

Knowing this though, Damien let them be. They would have come to him if they needed lessons. As well, misuse of thr ore could always be fixed at a later time if theyblet him. These thoughts rang through his mind as he commanded a servant to begin the drills start up. He was going to commemorate a past invasion, for the Manda, and would utilize the Beskar.

 

[Zagara Vao]

30 minutes later...

A loud pop echoed throughout the mine as Sonorous' diluted makeshift Thermex charges went off, leaving a cloud of dust and clay-smelling soot as a bright flash lit up the place as quickly and momentarily as a lightning bolt. The Twi'lek could be head coughing a little as she grabbed her goggles resting atop her brown Twi'lek headband high up her forehead, holding a molecular scanner in her hand as she quickly glanced over the small blast area. Aha. After quickly referring to her datapad as to the molecular properties of Mandalorian Iron, she knew what she was looking for by now. A quick reach into her utility kit for one of her plasma cutting tools, and a minute in the Twi'lek was right at home - the image of her working reminiscent of a Rylothi slave miner's average day back on their homeworld.

Her red skin lit up against the cutter's blue glow; a soft smile on her face suggestive of either satisfaction or insanity as she patiently let the cutter do its work. It's quite a dense ore, she thought to herself as she momentarily turned the cutter off to pull a chunk out with her thermo-gloves, and then went right back to the fireworks.

Molecular density suggests hard steel; one of the toughest I've ever seen! Composition analysis suggests that I can add carbon to it so that it's not quite heavy as a blast door, but still way tougher. Yes.

"Kalis?", she said loudly over the buzzing flare of her cutter. "You got a funny story or a joke to share?", she absent-mindedly asked as she kept working, her eyes closely watching the rock formations in front of her as what she could now make out to be the precious Mandalorian iron they were after now clear as a day - the un-purified ore, with its malleable properties, quickly giving way to the appropriate plasma temperature setting where it linked up with the rest of the clay earth around it. The metal itself however, to Sonorous' impressed surprise, was barely being scorched by the heat.

[member="Kalis Affassa"] [member="Damien Daemon"]

 

[Kalis Affassa]

[member="Sonorous Vao"]

" Funny Never. my jokes are never funny. but i do have one. you see Meran as a clan is not like others we are barely taught most of they is done by larger clan. in Meran it's learn or starve so we learn and learn to be a group. Merans on the battle field are more unified than a family. but any way one time my brother Servak a Zabrak the yellow kind took me along on a hunt for a Twi-lek cattke rustler. Cattke's are these small woolen creatures off Kamino used for pillow stuffing. so Servak and me are in a snipers nest when the call of nature arrived Sevak had no option but to answer. there he was when a Dewverg. those are these insects about 77 inches long pretty much just pincers and stingers with a personal space issue stings him on the bottom i swear the 400lbs guy flew. down the hill rolled over and landed on a Cattke's back with his pants around his ankles. just as the Twi-lek and the Farmer arrived. There Servak was trying to capture the guy while the farmer was chasing him around yelling. Seraak is yelling " its not like it looks." " She told trying to keep a straight face.
" So what we got here?"

 

[Zagara Vao]

"Pfft." Kalis managed to get a wheeze and a few short laughs from Sonorous as the latter used a large steelcloth "blanket" to drag her first batch of Beskar back to the Meran. "So how'd the story end?", she asked further with a smile with her back turned to Kalis, hauling the ore some some strain as she slowly began to fully understand the metal's properties; its nature. After finally stopping by Affassa's side, panting and sweating she straightened her back and pulled her molecular scanner again to get a closer look at what they had so far.

"Pure Beskar", she remarked with some swelling sense of pride as her excitement welled up and washed over her. "About 15lb's by the look of it. Are you going to work on the plates right away, or do we get the Phrik and Cortosis now for the alloys?" She took a deep breath, almost a sigh and wiped the sweat from her forehead before continuing, "we'll still need a little more Beskar. 15 will only cover the main body's armor plating. There's still the jetpack, the helmet and a little more for the T-visor."

She wasn't going to let the thin oxygen down here or weakness of the mind stop her. This suit was going to happen.

[member="Kalis Affassa"]

 

[Kalis Affassa]

[member="Sonorous Vao"]

" Oh i shot the Twi-lek as he tried to escape. your skulls are pretty weak right between those nodes." she said tapping Vao's fore head.
" You do know we have mining droids for this? why do you think i let you do all the heavy stuff?" she giggled.
" Ok lets get this stuff Putrefied. we need to clear it up first get it smolten then formed. then treated. there are a few things i cant show you."

 

[Zagara Vao]

"Interestingly", she added with a raised eyebrow but a half-grin on her face, "there's a Twi'lek word for thick-headed people. Admittedly we're not exactly a warlike people, but that doesn't stop people from trying right?"

Her smile then widened at the mechanic's following remarks, having felt that she was getting to see a side of [member="Kalis Affassa"] that few others probably did, barring the other Meran and perhaps a few master technicians that she probably got to work with in the past. "I saw the Alor with his server droids yeah, but I guess old habits die hard. I once worked the mines back on Ryloth, did I ever tell you that?" She left the mined Beskar deposit by the Meran's side as she retrieved the steelcloth and headed back.

Her breathing was a little more heavy now, less controlled as her body acclimated to the subterranean conditions and her unusually heavy working load. "There's a certain level of purity I'm going for with the Beskar", she explained with a small smile as she pulled out her plasma cutter again. "No time to program a droid and besides, if the Beskar'gam's going to be my new home, I'm going to build it like a Twi'lek would - sweat, tears and a sense of humor!"

 

[Kalis Affassa]

" Nope we worked mines as well. helped pay for the younger of the clan. look this is going to be a long hard task. the way i was taught this isnt the way most have. im adding Desh, Erikinite, Ciridium and Promethium to this stuff. im not using gadges or anything its alll done by eye and judgement"
"I cant and WONT tell you why. not that i dont trust you but this is the first date." [member="Sonorous Vao"]"

 

[Zagara Vao]

"I understand. Beskar. Closely guarded Mandalorian smelting and forging process, read it somewhere", Sonorous replied in resignation but with a smile as she hauled another 10lb back. "How about a little Carbon infusion to make it a little lighter?", she asked as she sat down beside [member="Kalis Affassa"], but faced the other way out of respect and pulled out a high-protein ration bar to take a bite before keeping it again. "And don't forget the headtails", she mumbled happily as she chewed and savored the spicy undertones of the Mandalorians' austere but efficient cuisine. "I guess that'll do for the Beskar right now right? Whenever you're ready here and have the refined Beskar ready, we should get going to either Gromas or Bespin", she said, unzipping her workman's suit's upper section to let her torso breathe and get a little air, revealing her black singlet drenched in sweat.

 

[Kalis Affassa]

" Puh lese trust me when im dun this stuf 'll feel like you're greases up im nerff butter and skinny dipping on Hoth. look if you want to learn this i'll let you help... but there is a Meran custom." she held out her hand and a knife.
" Take the knife and cut your hand."
[member="Sonorous Vao"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

Not quite sure what to say but knowing better than to protest, Sonorous took the utility knife and, pausing first and looking at both [member="Kalis Affassa"] and her own hand, gently ran the tip of the live end across her palm, letting a fine line of bright red blood form and puddle in her hand before handing the blade back and shakily holding hers out for the Meran.

"Now what?", she asked as passed the knife back; a small droplet of blood now starting to run down the side of her palm and drip down onto the mine's earthy ground. The pain was little more than a momentary sting followed by the sharp, soft sensation of opened flesh, but that was nothing compared to what she stood to gain. An introduction to working with Beskar? She could only dream. And yet, there was so much to learn, and for this particular piece alone -just one suit-, there was still so much that had to be done.

 

[Kalis Affassa]

[member="Sonorous Vao"]

" Now you get a med kit man you are easy. look this bit is basic i'll let you help i need the help. any way hammering and shoveling. "
she dug in to her pockets and brought out a bacta spray.
" way to go with the commitment though. "

 

[Zagara Vao]

"O'sikla", Sonorous whined as she sprayed the bacta onto her small wound and took a seat beside [member="Kalis Affassa"], wiping her forehead again against the roaring fire from the furnace she prepared. She was used to working in mines and in some of Ryloth's great forge-sectors, but the Mandalorian Iron she was working with now seemed to have a much higher melting temperature, hence the need for a stronger fire. Putting her goggles back on and using a small rag to cover the rest of her lower face, she got to work and started to help her buddy out by feeding more coal into the forge furnace and feeding some more of the Beskar in, while observing which ones were ready for an initial hammering based on what Kalis was doing, and removing the molds with smolten Beskar in them.

"What's the melting point of this metal?", she asked over the roaring fire. "Seems like you have to drop it onto Mustafar just to get it to liquify!", she cried as she watched the dirt particles float to the surface and vaporize from the molten Mandalorian Iron.

 

[Kalis Affassa]

Kalis shrugged nodding to the fire. " dunno look at the fire. see the colour? how red it is? like a red setting sun? thats how it needs to look the trees here have a chemical in them that burns hot each clan has it's own thing. that's why you get different types of Beska. " she explained " some parts are the same. " [member="Sonorous Vao"]

 

[Zagara Vao]

Sonorous nodded. So it's not always so cut and dry - the techniques vary, which is probably why it's so hard for outsiders to get a hold of the techniques we Mandalore use too, huh? By now she was shuffling molds of molten Beskar in and out of the furnace to assist [member="Kalis Affassa"]. She soon learned it was a lengthy, tedious and repetitive process - almost religious in its fastidiousness and its mysticism - how little hacks, augmentations and techniques inserted here and there were perceived to make a big difference in how it all came together. There seemed to be a certain holiness to the atmosphere - at how the two girls seemed to be right at home here in what looked like the bowels of hell, beneath the underbelly of this sand-blasted planet's capital, working on a unique item - a trinket in the grand scale of things, yet one that, when used properly, could bring thousands to their knees, and countless more to the grave.

 

[Kalis Affassa]

[member="Sonorous Vao"] ( aah my words. gone all gone.)

" Sett your self in we'll be here for 40 to 50 hours this is about composition we are altering its state on a molecular level. " she said gazing at the red hot coals. " Most of these farjaks use modern tools blast furnaces temperature gauges. to rush out inferior stuff thay's as heavy as farjak. this is about making it light and durable. this is an ancient method " she beamed. " Its ready for it's first folding sprinkle powdered Desh then its 40 strikes then back in." she pulled oit a glowing orb. "we'll need two more metals Frasium and Gentithium"

 

[Zagara Vao]

"I picked up those substances earlier! Hang on."

With a notable degree of exasperation but also diligence, she quickly stuck her arms out forward and swung herself back upright into a standing position before stretching a little, and only then finally heading back to the far wall she'd been manually mining from for the past hour - or so, or more, she didn't know anymore.

While the Gentithium was easy to spot and extract, the Frasium was a little tougher due to its relatively modest deposits. It took an entire hour of plasma-cutting and two small Thorium charges before she could clear a small concave cavity that sufficiently exposed the two ores to her liking. Another hour, and she pulled a sizable load back to [member="Kalis Affassa"] on her makeshift steelcloth "cart", if one could call it that, now panting and having to remove her headband just to wipe at the now glossy, sweaty skin underneath.

"Jeez, Kalis (rhyme!), any more and I'll be tough enough to wear two suits at once", she said with a laugh as she started separating the two compounds and arranging them in helpful stacks next to both of them.