Upcycling App // Cal Kestis

[out_of_order]

Name: Aya
Age: Well over 18
Contact info: trilobite_punch at plurk or Trilobite Punch#4073 at discord

Character: Cal Kestis
Canon: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Canon Point: After rebuilding his lightsaber and leaving the caverns on Ilum.
CRAU, Canon AU: N/A
Character age: 19

Canon Abilities/Powers:
Cal's athletic, an excellent climber and quite agile. Working on old starships demands a lot, and if you aren't quick on your feet then you're as good as dead. Cal's also learned quite a bit about engineering and mechanics, which he's put to use in upgrading his lightsaber and making repairs and upgrades to his little droid, BD-1.

As a padawan, Cal was a Jedi in training, strong in the Force, which is described as an energy field present around and within all living things that binds everything together. Through it Cal can gain a sense of premonition, or aid himself to accomplish superhuman feats such as leaping higher and farther or running on walls for short distances. He can extend his reach through it by grasping far away objects and targets, pulling things or likewise pushing them, sometimes forcefully enough to break through things like crumbling stone or warped metal, or shove back any opposing forces. In combination he can even levitate and manipulate an object without having to touch it. Cal can also slow things down for a brief time, reaching out with the Force to seize hold of objects in motion to hold them in place. Likewise he can also enhance his perceptions to better anticipate the movements of those he may be fighting against, which to him might make it seem like time's slowed down for those around him.

His special Force ability is psychometry, which Cere Junda called a rare skill even among Jedi. A tactile ability, Cal is able to read the "memory" or emotions attached to an object if he comes into contact with it. It's an impression or echo of the past through the Force. He can hear the voices and in some instances see what was seen, depending on the circumstances surrounding whoever something belonged to. While most of the time he is the one who initiates psychometric readings, if a memory is strong enough, it can override his senses and forcibly trigger itself.

By way of fighting he is skilled with a lightsaber. He can use several forms including a single blade, a dual-blade, or two blades at once.


What is their greatest negative emotion towards an object, situation, or person in their past?:
As a survivor of the Jedi Purge, namely Order 66, Cal has been left scarred by the trauma, both physically and mentally. The sudden betrayal of their troops, the death of his master- it was a lot for a young boy to go through, and being a lone survivor suddenly forced on his own after all of that has been a heavy weight upon his shoulders.

Most heavy is the guilt that he bears, and tying directly into that, failure, believing that he hadn't done enough, hadn't been strong enough to help his master in that vital time, despite the fact that he was but a child and a padawan learner. He had proven a capable learner during his training, rarely experiencing failure which in itself became a weakness meant to be specifically addressed by his master Jaro Tapal. For all his master's challenges that Cal had overcome, nothing had prepared him for the attack and the fear that overtook him, ultimately resulting in the loss of Tapal.


How aware are they of this negative emotion, and how do they act on it in canon?:
Cal is well aware of this guilt that plagues him. For five years he's hidden himself away, not daring to tap into the Force for fear not only that he might be discovered by the Empire, but because he feels his connection has been damaged because of that past experience. It's also like opening a door to the past, to allow those memories to flood back in.

He eventually does open himself back to the Force, still cautious, but knowing that he can't hide anymore. Little by little he's worked his way back up to the point that he'd been at by way of level of skill, and with it he'd thought he'd regained his confidence. He was proven woefully unprepared however when he was forced to face the past in a vision, a test on the planet of Dathomir during the mission he'd undertaken. Jaro Tapal appeared to him, goading him with words although not once did he strike back when Cal battled him, but his accusations hurt more than any physical wounds would have. As far as trials go for Jedi, often they're made to face their inner selves, and in this case it may very well be that Cal's negativity, the guilt he harbors, manifested in the form of his master whom he deeply believed he had failed. Allowing fear and frustration to take hold as his phantom master's words got the better of him, Cal struck out and supposedly impaled the Lasat. Tapal proclaimed that Cal was no Jedi, leaving him with a broken lightsaber and a shattered confidence.


What is their greatest virtue?:
For all that he's been through, Cal has not forgone what it is to be a Jedi. True, he's needed some pushing here and there, encouragement in some form or another, but in the moment, it's never been difficult for him to act at all, or to make the decision when it comes to helping someone in need. He used the Force to save his only friend on Bracca, despite the risk of doing so in Empire-swarmed territory. He was willing to throw in his lot with Saw Gererra and his Partisans in order to save the Wookies from slavery on their own home planet of Kashyyyk. Going hand-in-hand with his willingness to help people is his persistence. He hasn't given up, even if his persisting to survive for so long on his own had been bred from fear of being found out, it's instilled in him the will to keep going, no matter the challenges, the danger.


How aware are they of their virtue, and how do they act on it in canon?:
His inability to ignore someone in need is what gets him into trouble with the Empire in the first place, thrusting him onto an unknown path that coincides with a former Jedi's desire to rebuild the Jedi Order. His unwillingness to be caught and killed is what keeps him going, and he's finally found a purpose other than to simply stay alive. He knows there are things he can do that others can't, so if he's able to, he'll do what he can to help them.


Items: His lightsaber, arc welder, and rebreather


Samples:
TDM Threads

Special Notes: Cal will have his droid buddy BD-1 along, an exploration droid who loves to scan all the things and jump in boxes to find cool stuff.