The Hybrid
- Intent: To give the Galactic Alliance a new semi-unique lore heavy metal to use for highly specialized items.
- The author would enjoy, but does not require, having the crafting of said items in specific threads to showcase the personalization of each for the chosen wielders.
- Image Source: X
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Naturally occurring in specific Galactic Center satellite cores - meteorites, planetoids, rogue planets.
- The Galactic Alliance is attributed to refining the harvested ore into pure ingots for metallurgic use.
- Affiliation: Galactic Alliance
- Market Status: Closed Market
- Individuals within allied factions of the Galactic Alliance, such as the Silver Jedi Concord and the New Imperial Order, can request permits to utilize Starsteel for their own metallurgic use. These requests are heavily scrutinized by SIA and Jedi Agents, and if the individuals are found lacking in the qualities deemed necessary to wield Starsteel, they can and will be denied. Those whose requests are granted can then be viewed as true paragons against evil, for to wield Starsteel is to wield the hands of justice and truth themselves.
- Model: Starsteel
- Modularity: Yes
- Can be forged into a number of items, as described below.
- Production: Semi-Unique
- Starsteel is, curiously, only formed and thus only found within the boundaries of the Galactic Center every so often. The cause of this is currently unknown but is the subject of divergent and often clashing explanations. The two most prominent beliefs are that of the Force and that of simple science. Regardless, the metal can only be found in specific Galactic Center satellites, namely their cores, roughly two for every one hundred. This makes Starsteel not only a commodity for those who wield it but almost a legend due to its incredible and mysterious qualities.
- Harvesting the metal is accordingly and incredibly time-consuming and immensely dangerous no matter the size of its source - although harvesting it from rogue planets is easily the riskiest and often the most avoided route - as the Galactic Center is an infamously large supermassive black hole estimated to have a mass equivalent to four million stars. This severely limits the time those who do harvest it - appropriately named "Stellar Miners" - have, not to mention the copious amounts of protective gear said miners need to wear to even survive the space on the borders of the Center.
- Once Starsteel is safely harvested in whatever quantities are able to be gathered, the rough ore is then refined into ingots which are further maintained under intense lock and key in the depths of various Galactic Alliance outposts. Appropriately, due to their rarity, most wielders are only granted one Starsteel Ingot, although more can be granted in very rare circumstances.
- These wielders are usually high-ranking members of the Galactic Alliance forces, commonly found among the New Jedi Order's Masters and the Jedi Council itself. However, it is also common to see Starsteel wielded by men/women of notable merit throughout the entire faction. Additionally, allies of the Galactic Alliance can also earn the right to use this metal for personal items, as explained above.
- Material: As a naturally formed - albeit puzzling - metal found in the Galactic Center, Starsteel is not made from any second or third-party material and is only refined into pure ingots by the Galactic Alliance. When used in metallurgy, the metal is quite sufficient enough to make products on its own without the need for similar second or third-party materials.
- Classification: Ore | Metal
- Weight: Heavy
- Color: Cobalt Blue | Dark Cobalt Blue
- Resistances:
- Lightsabers and other Plasmic Weapons: Extreme
- Kinetic Weaponry: Extreme
- Blaster/Energy Weaponry: Extreme
- Disruptor Weaponry: High
- Corrosive Weaponry: High
- Ionic Weaponry: None
- EMP Weaponry: None
- Sonic Weaponry: None
- Electrical Weaponry: Very High
- Cold Elements: Very High
- Hot Elements: Very High
- Corrosive Elements: High
- Radiation Weaponry: None
- The Force: Average
- Magnetism: Low
- Gravity: Low
- Singing Strikes
- Blades of Starsteel are said to whistle and sing like an opera singer, ice on steel, or an animal's scream in its death throes, depending on their size and shape.
- Unnatural Edge
- Vigorous Defenses
- Symbiotic Connection
- Desires of the Wielder: Those chosen to use Starsteel find that their single pure ingot can fashion their true desired items without fail with aspects that defy reasoning in science and the Force - something that is all too common for this strange metal. To specify, a single ingot can craft: two handfuls of intricate trinkets (rings, necklaces, bracelets) or perfectly shaped arrowheads; a couple (2) of small blades (daggers, handaxes, short swords); one large blade (longsword, bearded axe, great arrowheads).
- Crafted Weapon - Sharpness of the Center: It is arguable that any metal besides beskar holds an edge like a Starsteel blade - no matter the form (sword, axe, halberd). Most known metals can be cut just as easily as flesh, and the crust of planets themselves are as simple to pierce as a rotted tree. Comparatively, Starsteel blades are as sharp as the ancient Force Swords of the Je'daii in ages past and require little maintenance to keep their edge.
- Crafted Weapon - Power of the Center: Whether by the Force or by plain science, Starsteel is a naturally and immensely strong metal. When refined into a weapon, it possesses ungodly power behind its strikes - especially when wielded by warriors who have mastered the combat forms behind their forged weapons. Durasteel bars are like bone against the impact of a Starsteel blade; stone is like an ashen corpse; the natural environment like paper thrown into a firey pit. This power, when combined with the skill of a true masterful warrior, can reach such unified might that a Starsteel blade can shatter a lightsaber's own in a few strikes, similar to the synthetic Kyber Crystals many Sith have used throughout history, or create a feedback loop similar to cortosis through pure power. Of course, this particular feat is nearly impossible to achieve even for the aforementioned master warriors, and those who have achieved it are known as the greatest fighters alive to date.
- Crafted Trinket - Intellect of the Center: Similar to Starsteel blades sharing universal effects in strength and sharpness, Starsteel trinkets are equally desired for their improvements of the mind. Writing and reading speed, information absorption, memory, speech, authority, language development, and similar mental faculties are markedly advanced for the well-being of the wielders' lives.
- Crafted Trinket - Quickness of the Center: Wielders of Starsteel trinkets find that their speed, agility, and physical/mental reaction time have been greatly enhanced. If already enhanced by the Force, Force users can become almost blur-like on the battlefield and can wield their weapons with greater proficiency, especially against ranged opponents. Non-Force Sensitives can now move and react at speeds as if they were already Force-sensitive, although they lack the physical resistances that come with this, meaning they must be careful when using such momentum. This is especially useful for soldiers, pilots, and diplomats, as they are able to react to developments - unexpected or otherwise - with near-perfect accuracy and keep moving with little to no sluggishness.
- Resistances: Starsteel, as an ore, ingot, trinket, or weapon possesses an uncanny resistance to many forms of physical and elemental damages, including heat, cold, electrical, kinetics, blaster, disruptor, and plasmic weapons such as lightsabers. Even the Force itself can be thwarted by the might of Starsteel, although this resistance is less so compared to the more physical resistances.
- Symbiotic Connection: Arguably the greatest strength of Starsteel is the infuriatingly inexplicable symbiotic connection that forms whenever a chosen wielder forges their weapon out of the legendary metal. This connection grants the wielders a voiceless dialogue with their item as if the metal itself were alive - it may very well be despite the efforts of its harvesters to determine this. This dialogue additionally grants the wielders a great number of effects to aid them in battle and life, in general, depending on the most secret traits of the wielders. These effects can only be cast upon the direct wishing of the wielder, and it is not a certainty that the effects will cast. The effects granted by this symbiotic connection are:
- Crafted Trinket - Battlemind: A greatly increased preternatural sense/understanding of the immediate battlefield. Often used by Non-Force Sensitives to enhance their battle tactics, such as Moffs, Admirals, Generals, and squad leaders, although Force Users can use it in conjunction with their already enhanced battlefield acuity.
- Crafted Weapon - Unseen Servant: The ability to subconsciously and consciously control the blade without touching it or utilizing telekinesis (i.e. using it to combat one enemy while using another handheld weapon to fight another).
- Crafted Trinket - Truthseeker: The ability to quickly determine the truth behind any statement not veiled behind intricate levels of deception. A powerful but flawed ability as Force Users can hide their intentions behind a million veils if they are skilled enough in deception. This is still incredibly useful on species known for their penchant for deception such as Hutts.
- Crafted Weapon - Flames of Justice: The blade becomes an incorporeal mimic of itself, wreathed in smiting flames that inflict judgment upon the soul of living Dark Siders to cripple/incapacitate them in battle. This ability is unique in that it can be occasionally altered by the Force if the wielder of the Starsteel weapon is a Force User. If so, the Flames can instead be used to slay Dark Side Spirits.
- Weight of the Center: No matter the size of the item, no matter its shape, and no matter its intent, a Starsteel item is heavy on the wielder and can become quite uncomfortable to unbearable after enough time has passed. This makes frequent usage something that should be avoided lest the wielder becomes bogged down with exhaustion.
- Risk of Harvesting and Rarity: Merely harvesting this metal is a near-impossibility due to its location in the Galactic Center and several lives have been lost due to the risks. This makes harvested samples and thus refined ingots incredible rarities.
- Pull of a Legend: Starsteel blades are as infamous as they are famous, and attempts to steal said blades by non-Chosen (Dark Siders, Pirates, etc) are entirely too common and a threat Chosen must be on guard for almost every day. In fact, a particularly notorious crimelord was once able to assassinate a Chosen for their Starsteel daggers some years ago, although this inevitably did not last long due to the Pull as well as the following weakness.
- Symbiotic Connection: Curiously, the very same strength that grants Starsteel wielders incredible abilities also curses them with grave weaknesses, such as some acting as a beacon to Dark Siders. Arguably one of the worst weaknesses, and what appears to be the only universal one, is the constant feeling of being drawn to inevitable doom - perhaps a result of its assumed origins near a supermassive black hole. This wears down a wielder's mind over time to the point of nihilism and/or insanity. Only the strongest of Starsteel wielders have ever proven to resist this effect for longer periods of time than others, but it would seem that the effect is a permanent fixture on the wielder.
- Frost of a Dying Star: Curiously, as the Starsteel's weaknesses bear down on its wielders, the crafted items begin to lose their Symbiotic Connection to their wielders as time goes on. This connection can only be reforged in the cold energy of dying stars in the Deep Core. As to be expected, this is an incredibly dangerous venture not only due to the dangers of Deep Core space but also because of the dangers of being near dying stars in general. Neutron explosions and similar events are all a risk for those seeking to remake their connection with their blade.
- Non-Chosen Wielders: While not a direct weakness to the wielders, those who manage to steal a Starsteel item will find themselves suffering the universal deterioration of the mind at an incredibly rapid pace before - ultimately - dying as a result. Strangely, this does not seem to affect those who have been gifted a Starsteel item by a formerly chosen wielder.
- Unreliability: While the effects the wielders can cast are undeniably powerful, they are not the most reliable and can fail at the most critical of times. In fact, these effects have developed a known average of failing nearly half the time they are attempted to be cast. This weakness is greatly enhanced the more debilitated the Symbiotic Connection becomes.
- Cannot Craft Armor: Entirely meant for trinkets or weapons, Starsteel ingots cannot be used to craft armor of any sort, meaning that chosen wielders must be even more mindful of what they desire to craft.
- Ionic, EMP, Sonic, and Radiation: While holding some of the strongest protections against environmental damages and many types of weaponry, Starsteel boasts absolutely no protection against Ionic, EMP, Sonic, and Radiation damages. This is certainly to be unanticipated by new wielders who may be expecting the metal to offer complete ranged protection from all manner of damages - often to their detriment or demise.
- Severing the Link: Contact with these types of damages has a negative effect on the metal's Symbiotic Connection to the wielder, increasing the rate of decay it suffers over time which can result in a pre-mature severing.
- Magnetic Weapons/Abilities: Starsteel is highly drawn to magnetic weapons and abilities with the potential to snap free from the wielder's grasp. If the Starsteel has been used to craft a weapon, there is a possibility of the blade being completely removed from the hilt.
- Vacuum: Despite their space-bound origins, the mystical effects of Starsteel items fail to operate entirely in space, forcing their wielders to stay within an artificial or natural environment (i.e. planet, starship, space station, etc) in order to utilize their weapons properly. Combined with their unchanging weight, this makes space combat an impossibility at worst or an extreme risk at best.
- Nullification: Adding credence to the supposed origins within the Force, Starsteel items are as affected by Force Nullification as any other Force Weapon or Force User, which gives those armed with Void Stone or similar weapons/abilities a distinct advantage against Starsteel wielders.
- Gravity Weapons/Abilities: Weapons and abilities that drastically/abruptly increase the immediate gravity surrounding a Starsteel item and its wielder negatively affect it to the point of possible destruction. This may tie into its origins within the Galactic Center, where the unharvested Starsteel meet their doom in the supermassive black hole awaiting them.
- Continual Damage: Despite their incredible physical and elemental resistances, Starsteel items are susceptible to damage and destruction under the pressure of repeated heavy strikes, either from ranged weapons or - more commonly - melee, and the elements such as lava or acid pits.
Located within the cores of specific and sparsely appearing satellites either orbiting or actively being sucked into the Galactic Center - a supermassive black hole boasting the density of four million stars - Starsteel is more of an enigma than it is a definable metal.
Beyond its curious color and the difficulty in retrieving it, Starsteel holds many qualities that defy reason and logic for both science and the Force. As such, much of the metal remains shrouded in mystery, including its history, why these qualities exist, and why it only shows up every so often rather than being a consistently located metal. Perhaps most vexing of the latter mystery is its appearance in the cores of rogue planets which makes its retrieval and study that much harder.
However, despite the lack of conclusive answers surrounding the metal - as well as the more detrimental side to its qualities - its usefulness and legend cannot be denied. Already, Starsteel has become something of a symbol of excellence among certain circles of its chosen wielders, representing them as the absolute best of their respective factions/organizations. It is easy to see why, as the metal is only given to a select few who are granted the opportunity to use it to forge either a handful of trinkets or a weapon/weapons of their choice. From these trinkets, a host of abilities are granted and appear including a Symbiotic Connection that eludes understanding to this day - yet another mystery that only the wielders could ever hope to understand.
Still, regardless of whether or not these mysteries will ever be solved, Starsteel will remain a useful tool that only the best may wield.
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