Name: Cortaan Yulan
Affiliation: Legion of Yulan
Era: Post-Legacy Era
Early Biography_____________________________________
-Childhood-
Born Cortaan Maktara Yulan on the planet of Kuat to a family of ship builders, Cortaan's upbringing would consist of anything but an average life. His father, Juocaan Yulan, was a project manager of countless ships at the Kuat Drive Yards. His mother, Marith Cortaan, cared for the home and shopped for any needed supplies. During his young childhood, Cortaan would spend most of his time roaming with his friends about the streets of Kuat City causing all sorts of mischief. Though young, he had developed quite the criminal record, having stolen from many shops a countless number of times and even went as far as stealing credits from those who were least suspecting.
At the age of 14, his father had had enough of his son's brash behavior and put him to work alongside him in the shipyards. At first, Cortaan did not take his punishment lightly, slacking off whenever he could and making enough minor "mistakes" that would eventually turn into major problems. But, despite the loss of time, his father kept him on the force and Cortaan would eventually grow somewhat fond of the operation. By the age of 16, his crime rate had essentially dropped to zero as he now spent most of his free time tinkering with gadgets in his room and even designing his own ships. One such design sparked the interest of his father who then set up a small side-project for his son's design to become a reality. The result was a small, single-seater starship capable of interplanetary travel that was equipped with shields and standard blaster canons hidden in the design. He would soon after teach his son to fly in their personal ship before allowing him inside the single-seater, but that didn't keep Cortaan from trying to get inside and fiddle with some of the controls. During one instance while on break, he mistakenly set off the blaster canons which ignited a brief chain-reaction of explosions and collapsing metal from a small amount of the machines used in the building process. Infuriated, having taken a big hit from his superiors, his father banned him from ever setting foot in the starship again, also hinting that his son would be working his rear-off like no tomorrow to help pay off the damages. Cortaan, though very knowledgeable about the mistake he made, thought his father's decision was unjust and overly harsh. A ship of his own design was now forever off limits to him. Redemption did not even seem to be an option at this point.
Cortaan retaliated. He no longer cared about the job he had at hand. He fled his home, he fled his family, he fled all that he had. His only accomplice he took along with him was an old B1 battle droid he had found in a junkyard years before which he had pieced together and activated himself. Taking a couple of his father's blasters that were hidden for emergency situations, he equipped both himself and the droid and then set off while his parents were out. His destination? Anywhere but Kuat. All he needed was a starship, and thanks to his father's teachings, he could get behind the controls of just about any ship with ease. However ... he didn't want any old starship ... he wanted his.
Getting to the ship would be quite the easy task. Because of the mass amounts of workers constantly going to and from the the orbital shipyards, he would be able to make his way between docking ports with little to no chance of being recognized. His droid would also make it through without issue as droids of all sorts traveled between the shipyards as well. Upon arriving, he quickly located his ship which thankfully had not been moved. He then had his droid fold into its de-active mode and fitted it within the small storage compartment. Because of the mass amounts of workers, they paid him no mind as he fired it up and made a successful departure. Never before had he left his home planet, and never had he gone any further then the outer border of the shipyards. He proceeded away from Kuat as he watched it shrink in the distance, knowing now for certain that this was exactly what he wanted to do.
-Independence and devastation-
Though a starship, it was not designed to travel very far, but thankfully his planned destination was just around the corner. Coruscant ... he had always wished to go there while growing up. Upon arrival, he found it to be far more difficult to navigate and interact with than expected. Having nothing more than the clothes on his back, his droid, his ship and a enough credits to barely get by on, he decided to scout around and find a temporary place to settle. However, that very night, he heard news of an attack aboard the Kuat Drive Yards, one of rather immense proportions. Cortaan may have fled to escape his father, but he still cared about him ... and he wanted to know if he was alright.
Once again, he blasted off in his starship with his sights set straight back for his home-world, and upon arrival, what he saw made him want to turn back. There, directly before him, was an essentially destroyed sector 8 of the shipyard, the sector managed by his father. Being unable to land due to the whole station being on lock-down, he made his way into Kuat City to find his mother. He hoped his father would be present as well. This, however, was not the case. He entered his home, his mother in the corner, her face shoved into her hands as she sobbed. Marith was startled at first, but upon seeing it was her son, ran to him in tears and hugged him tightly. She told him that a sith had made his way into the shipyards with what looked to be a jedi in close pursuit. Somehow the sector then exploded, but not until after the supposed jedi made his escape, leaving everyone who remained inside behind to suffer a horrifying fate ... Juocaan included. What happened to the sith was unknown, but it was presumed that it died along with the others.
Devastated by the news, Cortaan dropped to his knees. The only look on his face was disbelief as his thoughts raced around in his mind. A jedi ... a jedi was the only one that had survived the explosion ... an explosion on a sector filled with hundreds if not thousands of workers. How could he be the ONLY one to survive?? Cortaan was becoming infuriated. HOW could that JEDI be the ONLY ONE TO SURVIVE??? He barged his way out of the house and made his way towards his ship. He wanted answers, no matter the cost. Heading deeper into the city, Cortaan landed and asked anyone he could find about what had happened. One of those was a shipyard worker who claimed to have been in the next sector over at the time of the attack. He said that he had seen what looked to be a sith land in the docking bay, only to have a jedi of sorts following directly behind. A fight then ensued, sabers clashing, workers fleeing. The sector then began to go under emergency protocol and sealed off all entrances into it, though there were many still on board. The man then claimed that just before the airlock had fully closed, he witnessed what seemed to be the jedi attempting to crush one of the reactors within the complex without even touching it, the sith with his hands aimed in the same direction. What happened next after his view was cut off was unknown ... except for the sight of a fleeing ship, the same the jedi arrived in, spotted out of the view ports of the next-door sector which was then followed by a massive explosion behind the blast door.
-The "truth"-
Cortaan almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't WANT to believe what he was hearing ... surely it was the sith who was destroying the reactor, right? Feeling even more enraged at this point, he fled back to his ship and set course back for Coruscant where he would make his way back to his temporary settlement. Typing in the security code for the door given to him by the leaser, the doors swooped open to unveil a dark, robed figure facing the window on the opposite end of the room. Cortaan jumped back for a moment and drew his blaster, his battle droid following suit. The robed figure then spoke, a very low sounding voice echoed about the walls, telling him how it felt a strong vibe of the force emitting from Cortaan. Cortaan, however, was not about to take any more shenanigans and demanded the figure show his face. Upon request, the figure turned slowly, and once facing forward, it lowered its hood to expose an all black humanoid male being with a blue stripe down it's center head. Demanding to know who he was, the being said that his name was Krool Abcardan. Right after hearing this, Cortaan noticed what looked to be a lightsaber hilt attached to Krool's belt. In a still demanding tone, he asked Krool if he was the sith at Kuat. What followed as Krool spoke was the stuff of nightmares for Cortaan's ears. In summary, Krool was a non-sith being pursued by a jedi who had followed him to Kuat. Having nowhere else to go, he landed inside the docking bay of sector 8 and immediately defended himself from the jedi's attacks. Krool was there because of an anonymous deal made with Kuat Drive Yards to supply ships. Because the jedi was knowledgeable about this, Krool claimed that the jedi attempted to prevent the progression of the deal by damaging the station. Just before reactor exploded, the jedi took off and he boarded a transport ship just leaving the docking bay before the sector ignited.
NOTE: In reality, the assumed sith was there to cease the development of enemy ships by destroying the reactor (resorting to force crushing vital controls to it), the jedi then reaching out to try and stop him. However, just as the damage was irreversible, Krool killed the jedi and boarded the jedi's ship to stage it as the jedi being responsible.Cortaan, enraged like no other, threatened to kill Krool for not stopping the jedi from killing thousands of innocent lives, including his father's. Krool however was very calm, using his persuasive techniques to eventually turn Cortaan toward his view of things, claiming that the jedi's techniques were at fault. He mentioned how Cortaan had an exceptional vibe of the force and how he could be trained to reak revenge upon the jedi for their incompetent ways, to help prevent furthur deaths by these "defenders of the galaxy". Cortaan was skeptic about the force claims, but lowered his weapon and acknowledged to serve as Krool's apprentice. He would make the jedi pay for what they had done ... for they were not true defenders ... not in his eyes. No ... they were too dangerous to be left alive.
A new life_____________________________________
-Training under Krool Abcardan-
Years past as Cortaan discovered his force abilities and practiced like no tomorrow. He also learned more early on of Krool's non-affiliation with the sith though sharing similar views. Krool prefered it as he was able to preform his practices freely without any codes to follow except his own. This pleased Cortaan as this allowed him to be more flexible in many aspects. Krool had also taken interest in the battle droid used for his training, deciding that it would be a good idea to put the B1 battle droids back into action ... and he knew just how to get it done.
Now 21 and accompanied by a couple of purpose-built battle droids wherever he went, Cortaan was ready to set forth on his first assignments. He was quick and he was quiet. Hardly was he able to be spotted as he acted as both spy and assassin, though his main targets were not jedi ... at least not yet. In most cases, if spotted and attacked, he would set his droids upon the target and make his escape. In others, he would take his attacker out himself.
-The end of a master-
Cortaan felt that, after all these years, his master was not progressing him as fast as he should be. He had grown powerful, at least to his knowledge. He had succeeded in every training that Krool had put him through, however he was always being sent out on the same types of missions again and again and again. It had been requested before that his talents be tested in a much broader environment; however. his master would always claim that Cortaan had yet to reach such potential. Each mission that Cortaan completed, he would wait for his time to finally come. But ... as time grew on ... his patience began to run thin. His anger continued to swell within him, using all his might to hold it back in hopes that he may finally get his chance! ... Unless ... unless he already had that chance all along. Yes ... it had all become clear to him now. Krool was merely using him as a tool! A tool to do all of the dirty work for him! How DARE he!! It was at that moment that Cortaan stormed into his master's meditation chamber and lashed out mercilessly, not wasting a moment to turn what once was a living creature into a pile of flesh.
The deed ... was done. Cortaan Yulan had once again achieved independence, and this time ... he planned to keep it that way.
The birth of a Legion_____________________________________
-Creation-
Shortly after the death of his master, Cortaan set forth in creating what he hoped would be a growing adversary against his sworn enemy, one he had yet to face. With the company of his personal droid, he would establish the
Legion of Yulan.
-Foundation-
Shortly after its beginning, Cortaan went in search of a new home to establish a base of operations. Multiple planets were visited but none had shown much promise. It was when he eventually made his way to Kalee that his hopes were re-established. Knowledgeable of the inhabitant's war-like nature, he proceeded with great caution. It was within a valley near the ocean that he would stumble upon a small settlement around some ancient ruins. Barely after arriving, he was confronted by a local Kaleesh how stated himself to be
Mathazar Signas, guardian and leader of the tribe. The Kaleesh warned him to leave the planet immediately, however Cortaan did not come all of this way to simple be turned away. Before getting out a proper response, the Kaleesh charged and proceeded to attack. Without drawing a single blade, he managed to defeat (but not kill) his skilled opponent. The being pleaded that he leave his people be as they could not take any more lethal attacks. It was then that Cortaan stated his actual intentions, assuring the tribe leader that he was not there to kill, but rather look for a possible settlement. To help reach his goal, he offered assisted protection if he would be given enough land and resources needed to form the foundations of his new legion. Mathazar was hesitant, but agreed under one condition ... that he be allowed to join Cortaan at his side. Cortaan, knowledgeable of Mathazar's skills, thought it over and finally agreed. Perhaps he would serve him very well.
-Development-
Not intending to back down on his word, Cortaan set forth in creating the means necessary to keep the local tribe safe. Using connections he had back on Kuat, he managed to strike a deal using very "persuasive" tactics to have built for him a constant production line of B1 battle droids. If his personal B1 droid was able to serve him well all of these years, then he knew a whole army would do wonders. Quickly, the droids came in, almost immediately being put the the test under Mathazar's command as the raiders who usually visited to pillage the valley for valuable goods were quickly killed before they could escape or spread word of their existence. At the same time, Cortaan was converting the ruins and building structures of his own. Everything was going according to plan.
The accident_____________________________________
-Out of nowhere-
It had been approximately two years. His Legion with the local Kaleesh had grown a great deal and his droids were holding off all forms of attack with ease, his apprentice converting into a much stronger and brilliant leader. Little did he and Mathazar know, however, that during a recent raid, a transmission managed to slip out regarding their location and who they were (spy droid). The recipients of the transmission were unknown, but they did not share any information with others. Instead, they planned a surprise attack. Being brilliant and forging transmissions, the beings managed to fool Cortaan into thinking that he was needed at the Kuat Drive Yards, the location where the droid were being made, to deal with a suspicious Jedi.
As Cortaan prepared to depart, Mathazar standing by on the landing pad, a rouge rocket came out of nowhere and destroyed the ship as it was clearing the tree-tops. The fireball of Cortaan's personal star ship came crashing down only to land on Mathazar who failed to evade in time. Unbeknownst to them, their battle droids managed to fight off the proceeding ground assault without any direct command, all traces of their opponents knowledge of their whereabouts remaining secret.
The locals rushed to their aid and managed to use the recourse brought in by Cortaan to retrieve help. The duo was quickly retrieved, both individuals being horribly injured. Cortaan had heavy damage to his face, eyes, throat and chest. He was quickly operated on once at a proper care facility, his organs that were damaged beyond repair being replaced by prosthetics. When he woke ... nothing looked the same. His vision ... it was as if her were staring directly through a transparent computer screen. He was able to look around and see clearly, but it looked like a live video feed. He reached up and touched his eye, hoping he would feel some sort of pain ... but instead ... it felt hard. No longer did he see through his own eyes. As he looked around, he then noticed a circular disk protruding from his chest, a light circulating around the perimeter. He tapped it a couple times, feeling the the vibrations reached down below the skin. He again began to feel enraged as he realized that not only were eyes replaced, but his heart was too. The light on the prosthetic heart began to circulate faster to indicate and increase in blood flow like a real heart would do when under stress. Cortaan breathed heavily and suddenly tried to growl ... but ... nothing came out. Nothing at all. He attempted to speak but noticed that it was only air. His panic settled in now knowing that his voice was gone too. WHAT ELSE COULD HE HAVE POSSIBLY LOST?? He rage was set in full now, the recent memories of the transmission coming through warning of a Jedi, the immediate blast right as he was taking off. Could it have been the Jedi that discovered his location and set him up? It had to be! Surely no other being would dare attempt such an attack with the hoards of battle droids around.
His anger was about to unleash when he suddenly calmed himself and remembered Mathazar. After that moment of realization, he rose from his bed and attempted to see if his apprentice had survived. As her exited his room, sure enough ... there he was. Or ... what was left of him. Mathazar was seen floating in a bacta tank, his legs gone, his arms gone ... all that remained was his torso and head. Wires protruded from all over the end of his missing appendages. He attempted to speak with Mathazar but again remembered that he had no voice. Cortaan concentrated and attempted to speak through to him using the force. Mathazar promptly spoke up, assuring him that whoever did this to the two of them would not live their mistakes down. Cortaan immediately began planning to have him rebuilt, along with finding a way for himself to speak.
The Jedi would never ... ever ... live this down.