Osk

'''The contents of this article are non-canon, and much of the information presented has been directly retconned. However, it is possible this character will be reconciled with Canon in the different role.'''

Osk was a male Zabrak mercenary and Jedi hunter who lived in the years leading up to and during the formation of the Galactic Empire. Born Rosk Daronn. He made a name for himself for his durability and effectiveness hunting dangerous targets despite possessing only a limited assortment of specialized armament. First accepting contracts on Force-sensitive targets for the Empire, Osk eventually became a bodyguard for hire, putting his skills into protecting rather than hunting. He continued this line of work for twenty years until being landed with the protection of his colleague Redjaw's young daughter. This brought him to the rebel [Team|Casaya Team], which he joined forces with, primarily after a request from Redjaw to protect the undermanned team in their assignment to hunt down and kill notorious assassin [Blood|Major Blood].

Most readily identifiable by his helmet, Osk made it a point to never show his face in public. Originally a means of job security, the practice eventually led to the mercenary completely abandoning his previous identity, thinking the mask his true face, and Osk his true name.

Information
Born: 60 BBY; Iridonia.

Species: Zabrak.

Affiliation: Galactic Empire, [Team|Casaya Team].

Occupation: Bounty Hunter, For-Hire Bodyguard.

Early Life
Born 60 BBY and raised on Iridonia for most of his childhood, Rosk was subjected to the harsh conditions of his homeworld for the majority of his youth. Having to contend with Iridonia’s landscapes and people meant that by his teenage years, he was sufficiently battle-hardened. At the age of sixteen, Rosk decided to leave his family and home behind, setting out to become a man amongst the galaxy at large.

Wandering as a young loner, a few short months after his departure from Iridonia, Rosk was caught stealing by a mercenary group known as the Jagged Talons. When the mercenaries saw the teenager’s fighting spirit, they decided to take him in, adopting, raising, and training him. Composed primarily of ex-Mandalorian’s who had left their brothers and sisters in the wake of the Mandalorian Civil War, the group proved to be excellent tutors in the ways of combat.

Brother in Arms
From 44 BBY to 32 BBY, Rosk and the rest of the Jagged Talons worked as a fairly standard mercenary outfit, offering their services as armed aggressors or defenders in exchange for credits. Taking part in no major conflicts, the mercenaries never managed to make a name for themselves, but none the less proved successful in their endeavors. Throughout the years, members would come and go, voluntarily or as casualties. But Rosk and the group’s founding members remained a steady constant. The hardy Zabrak proved incredibly hard to kill, even with his propensity for suffering grievous injuries over the course of assignments.

Things changed for Rosk and the Jagged Talons with the advent of the Separatist Crisis. With the new period of galactic tension, opportunities more mercenary work only grew. As various planets and systems withdrew from the Senate and the Galactic Republic, they found themselves in needs of armed forces without the ability to raise a standing army. For the next few years, the group made the majority of their credits off of wealthy capitalists in need of protections and security.

From 32 BBY to 22 BBY, the Jagged Talons had their best years of operation, earning credits and a name for themselves in the galactic scene. During this time, Rosk managed to earn a place of leadership amongst the three founding members that remained: Oren Deviks, Tria Vel, Zhed Kashern. The four of them together led the Jagged Talons, which had grown to a group more than a dozen strong. As tensions between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems grew, a divide began to grow between the mercenaries regarding whom they would support if forced to choose.

Separatist supporters were responsible for much of the group’s recent successes, but few were ready to align with them if the Republic declared open war. Zhed was adamant in his desire to leave the Republic behind, but Rosk managed to mitigate the conflicts between the founders. He decided that no decision would be made until absolutely necessary, but believed it okay to prepare for any contingency. As a result, the mercenaries trained in order to be take out any target, even Jedi.

When the Clone Wars began, the decision had to be made of whom the mercenaries would take jobs from. Zhed and Tria wanted to continue working for the CIS; Oren wanted to support the Republic; Rosk favored sticking to neutral systems, staying out of the conflict entirely. The rift caused the Jagged Talons to disband. Zhed and Tria left, taking the majority of the group’s subordinates and resources with them. Unwilling to abandon his friend, Rosk stayed by Oren’s side, and the pair led the remainder of the Jagged Talons.

The Clone Wars
With only a limited amount of fighters and resources, Rosk and Oren tried to reestablish themselves as a formidable force aligned with the Republic. Unfortunately, the sudden appearance of a standing army of clones meant they never found a comfortable level of occupation. The work was sparse, and throughout the years, the Jagged Talons dwindled in name and number. Barely able to maintain operations for a group of five, Rosk was the first to suggest a change.

Rather than attempt to continue the Jagged Talons as a mercenary group, Rosk proposed that he and Oren become bounty hunters, scaling back operations to only the two of them. Oren proved unsupportive of the change, wanting to stay the course. Believing the war to be their salvation, Oren thought the only thing holding them back was a lack of notoriety. Thus, he began a recruitment drive under protest from Rosk, but the Zabrak wasn’t willing to cut ties, so he went along with the plan. Having been personally trained by each of the Jagged Talons' founders and best fighters, Rosk oversaw the new recruits.

Once more returning to their previous size of dozens of mercenaries, Oren offered their services to planets and governments currently in the sights of the CIS. Even though the group was out of funds on operating on a deficit, he believed that one successful mission would solve all of their troubles. The first mission that did come along, was in 21 BBY.

Hired as a security force  for a colonial outpost, the Jagged Talons were expected to provide intermittent protection whilst they awaited an accompaniment of Jedi and Clone troopers. Unfortunately for the mercenaries, the reinforcements never arrived. Weathering a small siege by a droid army, the mercenaries and local defenders were defeated within a week of fighting. Amongst the few survivors, Rosk was the only one belonging to the Jagged Talons.

Hunter
Following the devastating defeat and loss of his companions, Rosk found himself alone. Rather than attempting to reach out to Zhed and Tria, Rosk continued to operate alone following his time of mourning. Selling what remained of the Jagged Talons' assets, he paid off whatever debts Oren had accrued, and attempted to start a new life as a bounty hunter. Using second-hand weaponry and armor, Rosk utilized his basic skills as a tinkerer to get whatever utility he could out of his sub-par equipment.

The Blood Corps
With the Jagged Talons completely disbanded, Rosk set out on his own for a while. This course led him to become associated with the assassin cartel known as the Blood Corps, which was currently under the oversight of the Fist of Justice. He worked with them for a time, notably taking part in an operation against the CIS on Muunilist, but found that work as an assassin was not suited for him and he began developing a distaste for the excessive and heartless killing done by members of the Blood Corps. Though he, officially, left that organization, his path crossed with that of the Blood Corps several more times during the war, the final encounter taking place on Riaan, where this time Rosk was hired by an independent mining company that was setting up an operation on that moon. The Blood Corps strike team was fought off, in large part due to Rosk's aid, and they were not heard from again.

This was the first of many encounters Rosk had with a young man who went by Redjaw. He had been part of the Blood Corps for a few months in training, but had been unable to escape with them from Riaan and was apprehended by Rosk. Rather than turning him in to the Republic (there was a sizeable bounty on any captured or killed member of the Blood Corps), Osk let Redjaw go free, seeing that the man had potential in this line of work and hoping this mercy might set him on a better course.

Osk
Later that year, Rosk contacted a guild of bounty hunters and sought to officially register his new status and occupation. Joining over a poorly-connected holocomm, Rosk’s name was mistaken for the aurebesh character “Osk”. Attempts to correct the entry proved unsuccessful, and eventually, the Zabrak came to embrace the pseudonym. Concealing his face behind a helmet, Osk was able to operate without prejudice regarding his species or past.

Operating as a low-level bounty hunter, Osk managed to stay out of the conflict still taking place throughout the galaxy. In 19 BBY, when the Clone Wars came to an end, he found a new source of employment. After the Jedi were declared enemies of the Republic, there was a demand for those willing and able to hunt down the traitors in hiding.

Receiving contracts from the newly established Empire, Osk sought out low-level Jedi, believing fully in the stories of their Order’s betrayal. From 19 to 17 BBY, he killed and captured a number of Jedi, utilizing the skills he had learned from his time amongst the Jagged Talons. Osk began making a name for himself as a capable hunter, but one contract brought an end to his career.

Killer
In 16 BBY, Osk received a special contract. His target was a group of former Jedi in hiding, protected by a full-fledged Knight. The bounty was his largest yet, promising a substantial sum of credits if he could take care of the group of Force-sensitives. Following the group to an agricultural world, Osk found the Knight and those he was protecting hiding as farmers in a rural outpost.

Revealing himself to impede the hunter, the Knight and Osk engaged in battle as the rest of the Force-sensitive took shelter in a nearby home. The strongest target he had faced, Osk was forced to use all of his equipment over the course of the engagement. After spending all of his specialized darts and his blaster’s energy cells, he was forced to engage the Knight in melee combat. With only a vibroknife, Osk relied on a technique he had learned from Zhed to deal with Force-sensitive opponent.

Placing himself in a trance, Osk blocked out everything that did not have to do with survival. Dedicating every fiber of his being to the fight, he sought to cut himself off from the world around him. The idea was that by doing so, he could better resist the enemy’s Force powers and not be hindered by any distractions. The technique worked. Too well, in fact. Having never utilized the technique before, Osk had no idea the actual effect it would have on him. The trance mixed with his Iridonian physiology turned him into an unstoppable, unthinking killing machine. With only his knife, he managed to defeat the Jedi Knight and break into the shelter where the other Force-sensitives hid.

Only after several minutes did the trance and bloodlust subside. Regaining consciousness, Osk found himself covered in the blood of him victims: the Jedi Knight, and the group of he had been protecting. Unknowing of the identities of the secondary targets, the hunter was shocked to see the bodies of younglings baring the marks of his blade.

Seeing what he had done, Osk resigned from his profession as Jedi hunter.

Protector
Disenfranchised with his work and his self, Osk sought out a new way to use his talent. Having seen what he was capable if he lost control, he chose not to seek out companionship as might have once done amongst fellow mercenaries. Instead, he decided to remain a private contractor, but shifted his focus from hunting to defending. Knowing how much people were willing to pay to have someone killed, he figured those being targeted were willing to pay even more for safety.

Thus, in 15 BBY, he began his career as the anti-bounty hunter, the mercenary medic, the contract bodyguard.

During these years he encountered Redjaw several times, typically on the other side of a blaster as the younger man was in employment for the Empire until 13 BBY and remained a bounty hunter for years after that. Some time later, in 8 BBY, Osk joined a small protectors' guild of sorts, other members of which were Rakal Dominn, Yutora Betassil, Melissi Gabar, and Redjaw. Ultimately, the idea never really came to fruition and by 6 BBY had been disbanded, leaving Osk to return to solo work. Despite this, he remained in contact and often worked with the surviving ex-members of the Esaro Guild.

Casaya Team
In 5 ABY Osk found himself pulled out of solo work once more as, by an unexpected Imperial attack on Dominn and Betassil, Osk was now left with Redjaw's eleven-year-old daughter while he worked as a double agent for the Rebel Alliance in the resurgent Blood Corps. Redjaw, upon learning of the situation, asked that Osk find and join up with the rebel [Team|Casaya Team], saying that the team could care for his daughter, Rose Gabar, and that they could really use Osk's skills for their current assignment against [Blood|Major Blood], commander of the Blood Corps.

Osk joined the team and proved to be a valuable asset for not just his fighting skills but also his abilities as a medic and a pilot.