Smithing Ain't Easy

[Lord Gaius]

Gaius Vel was a big man by anyones standard. Not just in height, standing at six-foot-three, but in muscle. He was laden in it, his body rippled and flexed with every strike of his hammer. The art of Beskarsmithing was a sacred one, and that which he would not reveal easily, even to his fellow Mandalorians. He stood in a forge, six kilometres from his homestead on Concord Dawn, and it felt as if that both day and night, someone was coming around to order the smithing of their own personal Beskar'gam, not that he didn't mind. It was his profession, after all. Though he tirelessly laboured on his own project, the pinnacle of his career. The masterpiece. In his eyes, it would be perfection. He had little time in the coming days for the projects of others, even if it meant he was to be paid. They could wait.

 

[Lord Gaius]

The Nexu had cost him a sizeable sum. Weeks prior he had travelled to Cholganna with a hunting team, fellow vod who had shown keen interest in the feline species. Most of them were farmers with large slughthrowers looking for a good time, a few of them wanted to see what Nexu tasted like, all the while Gaius merely wanted its hide. It was an ornamental piece, and while it would be nothing more than decoration. He had still been willing to pay for a return ticket to Cholganna. They had moved stealthily through the forests by night, and slept during the day in tents, while one stood watch. They kept on a rotation shift. One night, as Gaius kept watch. He had spied a Nexu with his keen sight, and unsheathing his vibroblade, he had waited until it was nearest him before he pounced. Activating the blade, it buzzed. He swiped down, then reversed his stroke before coming around to slash for its eyes. While he had been clawed, shirt asunder and blood oozing out of fresh wounds, he was alive. And his vod had awoken with surprise. Gaius had set to work, skinning the animal, and shortly after they had left the planet.

 

[Lord Gaius]

Terentatek was a whole different level of extreme, all for decoration. Dromund Kaas was one of the few places a Terentatek could be found, otherwise you'd be snooping around the Republic quarantined Korriban, or sniffing up the tree of the One Sith. Neither was a pleasant trip, least of all the Sith. They bred the Terentatek as though they were playthings. Slicewire was intricately placed around a forest where it was rumoured a Terentatek roamed freely. It was nothing but a rumour, but it was all they had to go for. They waited in trees, strapping themselves to branches with rope. Their hammocks were hoisted, so that when they grew tired, they may sleep without risking an attack from one of the beasts. A rustle in the leaves, when the sun was highest in the sky, caught their attention. With a pair of macro binoculars to his eyes, Gaius peered, both legs swaying from his branch. He saw the great beast emerging from the clearing. Gaius clicked his tongue, reaching higher in pitch each time. With the Terentatek's attention caught, it began to charge for the tree, lowering its head so as to knock the trunk down. Before it could reach it, it had run through the slice wire, bisecting the beast from the abdomen. It fell in two heaps, momentarily struggling before dying as a result of Gaiu's vibroblade to its skull. The tusks were carefully extracted, and the hide was cleanly skinned.

 

[Lord Gaius]

Photo-reactive crystals was something Gaius had never heard of, until his tour on Kesh. The locals revered the gemstones, and for a small bagful of them was a handsome amount. You were better off buying a speeder, at least they were more useful. The usefulness of the crystals were revealed to Gaius when during the Battle of the Vale of Dreams, he encountered a man that seemingly emerged out of nothing. Gaius Vel had been leading the charge with the vanguard when a saboteur leapt from the bushes, his armor coated in the fine crystals that reflected light and acted as a form of meagre camouflage. The eye found it hard to focus on the outline of the form, but to those who were knowledgable in the crystals, and searching for one hiding, it was not awfully hard to spot them. To those who were unused to the crystals, or simply not looking for that form of active-camoflage would find themselves at odds end in discovering the predator in waiting. After his jump from Dromund Kaas, he took a hop, skip and leap back to Kesh on the far side of the galaxy. Two days travel across the continent by carriage and sailboat until he arrived at the Vale of Dreams, and bought two bagfuls of the tiny crystals. Enough to coat his armor.

 

[Lord Gaius]

A flash of bright light, rising acrid smoke and the spew of embers. That is what he found most pleasurable in his environment, where others may find the cooing of a morning bird, or the howl of a distant wolf, the falling of snow, to be calming and relaxing, it was the burn of the forge that captivated the heart of Lord Gaius. A broth of molten Beskar was poured into what appeared to be a cast for the torso armor piece. His steady hands and finesse in his craft was reputable in his region, but few have heard of him beyond his local town. White hot metal rested besides him, and he fondly remembered a time not too many months ago. An apprentice had come in, Gaius had had a small white-hot diamond-snapped scrap of metal sitting on his workbench. The temperature eased only the most minuscule amount, enough to bring its colour back. The apprentice had been foolish enough to pick it up, and the sheer heat of the object was enough to shear the skin off his fingers. He almost laughed at the memory.

 

[Lord Gaius]

Equipment splattered across his workbench. The metal was forming in their casts, and would soon resemble his chest and back piece, helmet, calves, bicep, wrists and thigh-guards. Most of the equipment had been bought by third-party companies, such as a jetpack that would be attached to the back piece, or the flame thrower that would be located on his left wrist-guard. Though he puzzled over the other accessories, such things as the HUD, broadband antennae and an assortment of wirings he couldn't begin to fathom. Usually he fashioned just the pieces, and the rest of the work would be given to the Mandalorian who would then hire someone to instal the tech. Well, he guessed it was now time to hire someone of his own. At least it gave him something to do while he waited.

 

[Lord Gaius]

Spook was an odd individual, and Gaius had met many. Not odd in the way someone looked like they had crazy eyes, but in that he seemed different from everyone else. He had a knack for technology unlike anyone he had ever met, and seeing as Spook owed Gaius a favour, he may as well call him in now. Not to mention, Gaius had no idea what his real name was, the bloke just called himself Spook, and he was exactly that. "I'm going to have a field day with this," Spook said, Gaius raised his brows, half-uninterested, half-confused by what he was seeing. Spook was leaning over the forge workbench, a pair of players in his hand next to a toolbox, and from what Gaius could tell, he was mingling with the wirings he had bought for his com link. Digital text scrolled across the panels of his dark glasses, and while Gaius was intrigued, it seemed Spook was not. Gaius turned his back to his 'friend' and moved for the casts, the metal looked ready enough.

 

[Lord Gaius]

Gaius tore the helmet from its mould, and looked it over. As of now, it was nothing more than a piece of metal, with no cushioning on the inside or visor. He gave a wary glance to Spook, and checked on the other moulds before settling the helmet on the far corner of his workbench. He took a chisel, and with a sharp thundering of his hammer, he cracked open the thin film that was layered across the small slit that would act as his visor. Gaius wasn't sure how it worked, he never was, he just created the armor, not the tech, but somehow Spook was capable of creating a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view for Gaius using the visor. He didn't question it, he just accepted it. It made him wonder how all the other Mandalorians had 360 degree views, with only a small slither of a T-visor. He pushed those thoughts aside, cracked out the components of the visor and began to set them into place.

 

[Lord Gaius]

A layer of black foam was added to the inner-side of the helmet, providing cushioning to the wearer. Though the moment he had finished plastering the foam on the inside, and fitted the visor into its place, Spook had snatched the helmet off of Gaius. He had no complaints, but he was ever so slightly irritated. Nonetheless, he went to work, wrenching the heavy chest and back pieces out of their moulds and slamming them down on the freed up workbench. Spook to the helmet and his gadgets to the far side of the forge, now sitting on a set of stairs and operating from there. Gaius rinsed and repeated, adding thick straps to keep the armor in place when worn, metal buckles and all. There was no doubting the sturdiness of this beskar'gam.

 

[Lord Gaius]

Much of the forging had been complete. Buckles and straps had been placed on the remaining pieces of armour, and now Gaius was standing on the far corner of the forge, arms crossed and shoulder resting against the wall of which he leaned into. He watched Spok with a meticulous eye, trying to figure out just what exactly he was doing. The man was efficient, that much could be assumed from what he saw. He was lightning quick as he brought the wires up and through the helmet, connecting the pieces. He placed the third-party equipment on the wrist guards and back plating as if he was playing with a puzzle, and he knew exactly where the pieces fit. Gaius pushed himself from the wall, rose a finger and off-handedly remarked, "You should teach me some time."
"Nah," Spook said, looking up briefly before diving his attention back to his craft, "It takes more smarts than you have to do what I do," he paused, "No offence." Gaius' brows rose, and he chuckled. Clearly even this slicer understood the simple fact that you didn't insult a Mandalorian and his craft without some sort of reaction from him. A good thing they were friends, otherwise he may have been more offended.

 

[Lord Gaius]

Gaius took a step forward at the beckoning of Spook. "Try it out," he said with delight, "I've just finished the touch-ups, I added a zoom ability to your visor, I thought you might need it." He began to place his index finger on a series of locations throughout the helmet and body pieces, explaining what they did and how they put them together. The word had become a mumbled blur as Gaius lost both attention and interest. "Alright, I get it, you've got more brainpower than I do." Gaius undressed with modesty, and pulled himself into the armorweave body glove. Once complete, he began to piece-by-piece assemble the armor onto him, making sure the fitting was right. And it was. He pulled the helmet over his head, tusks attached, the next fur was lined over his shoulders and neck, and the terentatek hide curled around his throat. There was nothing else to say, he felt mighty.