Calo Nord

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Calo Nord
Biographical information
Died	3,956 BBY,[1] Tatooine[2]
Physical description
Species	Human[3]
Gender	Male[3]
Height	1.5 meters[3]
Skin color	Light[2]
Chronological and political information
Era(s)	Old Republic era[1]
Affiliation	Exchange (Hired)[2] Galactic Republic (Hired)[3] Darth Malak's Sith Empire (Hired)[2]

[Source]

Calo Nord, a Human male, was an infamous bounty hunter who lived during the Jedi Civil War initiated by the former Jedi Knight and Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Revan, along with his apprentice, Darth Malak. On Nord's sixteenth birthday, he killed his slave masters. Afterward, Nord tracked down his mother and father, who had sold him into slavery when he was a boy, and murdered them. A bounty was placed on Nord, but he eliminated every bounty hunter that came after him. After the attempts on his life ended, he murdered those who had placed the bounty on his head. Nord then became a bounty hunter by trade, taking assignments from anyone, so long as he was paid. Nord often worked for the Exchange criminal syndicate boss Davik Kang and was also contracted by the Republic for operations in the Core.

During the final year of the Jedi Civil War, Nord was on the planet Taris in Kang's estate when Malak, who betrayed Revan during the Jedi and Republic's attempt to capture them both, ordered the planet's destruction, in an attempt to kill the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan. When the Sith began bombarding Taris, Nord and Kang tried to kill Shan, the amnesiac soldier Revan, the Republic commander Carth Onasi, and the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo, during their attempt to steal Kang's freighter, the Ebon Hawk. At the climax of the firefight, Nord was caught under falling debris and trapped while Shan and her companions escaped aboard the Ebon Hawk. The bounty hunter managed to escape Taris and the devastation wrought by the Sith and was subsequently hired by Darth Malak to track down Shan and capture her alive. Nord located Shan's companion Revan, now a partially retrained Jedi Padawan, in the Eastern Dune Sea on the desert planet Tatooine. The bounty hunter confronted Revan, who was searching for the Star Forge, an ancient Rakatan space station under Malak's control. However, Nord was no match for Revan and his companions, and the bounty hunter was killed.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and bounty hunter

Calo Nord on Taris

When the Human male known as Calo Nord was a young boy, he was sold into slavery by his mother and father. During his time as a slave, Nord learned to be ruthless and cold-hearted. When he turned sixteen years of age, Nord butchered his slave masters, then located and murdered his parents. A bounty was placed on Nord's head and the young man was hunted by many bounty hunters. Nord watched the bounty hunters track him and learned the tricks of their trade, using his newfound skills to pick them off one by one. After the attempts on his life ceased, Nord found and killed the people that had placed the bounty on his head.^[4]

Nord eventually became a bounty hunter himself, taking contracts from whoever paid him. He often worked for Davik Kang, a crime lord of the Exchange crime syndicate, who was based on the Outer Rim ecumenopolis of Taris.^[2] Kang would hire Nord to kill and bring back the heads of rancors so that the crime lord could mount the heads in his trophy room. Nord aspired to claim a pearl from a krayt dragon, a native creature of the desert world Tatooine. Nord considered one of these pearls to be the greatest hunting trophy.^[5]

After Nord ordered a custom suit of battle armor that was based on heavily modified Mandalorian designs, he murdered the armorer to ensure his suit would remain unique.^[6] At some point during his lifetime, Nord was also hired by the Galactic Republic for unknown operations in the Core.^[3] When he was on Taris, Nord could often be found in the Hutt Zax's bounty office in Javyar's Cantina, which was located in the Lower City. By the time of the Jedi Civil War, which was initiated by the former Jedi Knights and Sith Lords Darth Revan and Darth Malak,^[7] it was rumored that Nord had killed more people than the Iridian Plague.^[8]

[edit] Jedi Civil War

[edit] Battle of Taris

Darth Malak hires Calo Nord to capture Bastila Shan.

In 3,956 BBY, the final year of the Jedi Civil War, the reigning Dark Lord Darth Malak—who had taken the mantle from Revan one year earlier when Jedi and Republic forces tried to capture them both—ordered his fleet to blockade Taris so that the Sith forces could search for Jedi Knight Bastila Shan. Shan fled the Republic warship Endar Spire aboard an escape pod when the Sith fleet ambushed and boarded the ship in order to capture her.^[2]

During the Sith's quarantine of Taris, Nord, who was on the planet for business with Davik Kang, encountered the former Dark Lord Revan—who was betrayed by Malak, mind-wiped by the Jedi Council, and was now a Republic soldier—twice while Revan and the Republic commander Carth Onasi were searching for Shan, in order to escape Taris. Nord first met Revan in Javyar's Cantina in the Tarisian Lower City. In the cantina, Nord killed three Black Vulkars for disturbing him. Revan tried to engage Nord in conversation, but Nord, who was leaving the cantina, wanted to be left alone. Revan complied, not wanting to provoke the bounty hunter into attacking him. The second time Nord encountered Revan was when the soldier was exploring the Lower City's apartments; Nord killed two Rodians so that he could collect the bounties on their heads.^[2]

Shortly after Revan rescued Shan at the Tarisian Season Opener, a swoop racing event, the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo—who worked for Kang—approached Revan with a plan to bypass the Sith blockade and escape Taris. Sometime after Revan broke into the local Sith base and acquired the launch codes necessary to leave Taris, Ordo took Revan, Shan, and Onasi to Kang's estate.^[9] After Ordo introduced Revan to Kang as someone wanting to join the Exchange, Nord told the Mandalorian that it was not like him to take on partners and taunted Ordo. After Ordo retorted, Kang told the two mercenaries to stop. Nord accompanied Kang while the crime lord treated Revan and his companions to a tour of his estate, showing them his freighter, the Ebon Hawk. After the tour, Nord and Kang took Ordo, Revan, Shan, and Onasi to a guest room and warned Revan to stay in the guest wing of the estate. Kang left to look into Revan's background, as a standard precaution, and told Nord to come with him.^[2]

Calo Nord confronts Revan in the Eastern Dune Sea on Tatooine.

Aboard his flagship Leviathan, Darth Malak came to the conclusion that the search for Shan was taking too long, and ordered the Sith Admiral Saul Karath to have the Sith fleet destroy Taris in order to kill the Jedi. Nord and Kang attempted to reach the Ebon Hawk, unaware that Revan and his companions had left their quarters until they caught the group trying to steal the ship. Nord told Kang that he would kill them, stating that he had looked forward to it for a long time. Kang told the bounty hunter to hurry, saying that if they did not escape, the Sith's lasers would kill them all. While they were fighting Revan and his companions, Nord realized that he and Kang were outmatched. Nord tried to use a thermal detonator to kill everyone as well as himself, but was buried underneath rubble when the Sith's lasers partially destroyed the hangar. Kang had perished in the fighting and Revan's group boarded the Ebon Hawk. They picked up the rest of their companions and fled Taris as the Sith bombarded the planet.^[2]

[edit] Death

Nord survived, managing to escape Taris before the Sith completely destroyed the surface of the planet. When Nord had sufficiently recovered, he had a private audience with Darth Malak aboard the Leviathan. Admiral Karath told Malak that Shan had escaped Taris' destruction with Onasi's help. When Malak asked Karath how he acquired this information, Karath stated that Nord was an eyewitness. After Nord entered the bridge, Malak expressed his surprise that Nord managed to survive being defeated by Shan and Onasi, to which Nord replied that he was hard to kill. Karath told Malak that while Nord was hired for a hefty fee, Nord's services were worth the price. Malak told Nord that he desired Shan taken alive, if it was possible, but that Shan's other companions meant nothing to Malak. Before he left to locate Shan, Nord informed Malak of his former Sith Master Revan's survival, and his involvement in Shan's escape.^[2]

Nord then set out to find Revan and his companions. After Taris' destruction, Revan was retrained in the Jedi ways at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, becoming a Padawan. Revan was soon tasked by the local Jedi Council to find the Star Forge, an ancient Rakatan space station that was under Malak's control. Nord hired two Rodian and two Aqualish henchmen, then located Revan in the Eastern Dune Sea on Tatooine. Nord confronted Revan outside a krayt dragon's cave after Revan found a second Rakatan Star Map, which was needed to determine the Star Forge's location, in the cave. Nord gave Revan credit for evading him; however, Nord stated that no one could escape him in the end. When Revan asked Nord if they could work out a deal so as to avoid fighting, Nord refused, and attacked Revan. Nord and his accomplices were killed by the former Sith Lord and his companions.^[2]

Shortly after Nord's death, Admiral Karath informed Darth Malak of Nord's failure. Malak told Karath that the penalty for failure was death, but that the failure was Nord's, not Karath's. Malak dispatched his Shadow Hand, Darth Bandon, to locate Revan and kill him. Bandon was to also capture Shan and bring her to Malak alive, if possible. However, Bandon was also killed by Malak's former Sith Master.^[2]

[edit] Personality and traits

Nord killing a Sith trooper

Calo Nord was a diminutive Human male who seemed harmless at first glance. Nord moved with a careful, deliberate precision, and he possessed an expressionless face. He took contracts from anyone who paid him well, but his ultimate loyalty was to whoever offered him the most credits. Sometimes, he worked for the thrill of the hunt.^[3] He spoke and comprehended Basic, the Republic trade language, as well as Huttese.^[2] Nord was known to have feared no man, and he was also known for being cold, menacing, and unapproachable.^[1] Nord possessed innate instincts for survival and killing. Many people dismissed Nord's story as a myth that was created to scare aspiring criminals. No name was more feared among the criminals in the Outer Rim than Calo Nord's.^[4]

If someone disturbed Nord, he would count to three—with a number after each phrase from the person—and only fire at the speaker after the third phrase, giving them a chance to stop bothering him and escape his anger. Occasionally, people who disturbed Nord were not aware that the bounty hunter was giving them a chance to leave before he would attack. Even so, Nord would not give them a second chance, and killed those who bothered him without much effort. Nord would always find his prey, and he showed them no mercy, ignoring pleas and bribes.^[2]

The leaders of the secret bounty hunter guild known as the GenoHaradan considered admitting Nord in their organization, although he had not yet proven himself worthy of joining. However, due to his end at Revan's hands, the secret society's overseers decided to instead approach Revan with an invitation to join the GenoHaradan. Nord disliked the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo, who was also an employee of Davik Kang's, and would taunt him on occasion. Darth Malak's Sith apprentice, Darth Bandon, disliked Nord, viewing him as pathetic. When Bandon tracked down and confronted Revan after the former Sith Lord found the fourth of the five Star Maps, Bandon mentioned Nord to Revan, saying that while he might have been able to defeat Nord, Revan would be no match for the Shadow Hand.^[2]

Nord was a man of many possessions; he used two Mandalorian heavy blasters as his primary weapons,^[2] but he could also fight with a vibroblade when pressed. He also carried four stun grenades and two thermal detonators in his arsenal. He possessed a pair of goggles that granted him low-light vision when he wore them, and used a prototype energy shield of Verpine design for extra protection during battle. Nord carried 2,000 credits on his person,^[1] and also possessed a datapad which contained a record of his trophy kills. After Revan slew Nord, he had the opportunity to acquire the bounty hunter's datapad, armor, and blasters.^[2]

[edit] Behind the scenes

Concept art of Nord

Calo Nord was created by the developers at BioWare as a villain for the 2003 Xbox and PC video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.^[2] A miniature of Nord was released in the Star Wars Miniatures: Bounty Hunters wave of miniatures, for Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Miniatures role-playing game. The set was released on September 23, 2006.^[10] In The Sith Lords, the sequel to Knights of the Old Republic, there was a suit of battle armor called "Verpine Zal Alloy Mesh". In-game, this armor looks similar to the armor that Revan could acquire from Nord after killing him.^[11] Nord's entry in the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide incorrectly states that he died in the Sith bombardment of Taris.^[1] His entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia also incorrectly states that Nord was killed near Rakata Prime during the final battle of the Jedi Civil War.^[12]

The planet on which Revan battles Nord is determined by the order in which the second of the five Star Maps that lead to the Star Forge's location is obtained. Nord may appear either on Tatooine, the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, the Selkath homeworld of Manaan, or the ancient Sith tombworld of Korriban. On Tatooine, Nord is accompanied by Rodian and Aqualish henchmen, on Kashyyyk, Nord is accompanied by Wookiees loyal to the chieftain Chuundar. On Manaan, Nord is accompanied by two Twi'leks, and on Korriban he is accompanied by two Sith students from the Sith Academy.^[4] Should Revan have encountered Nord in the Hrakert Station on Manaan, Nord explains that he used an underwater vessel to reach the station.^[13]

The first time Revan met Nord was in Javyar's Cantina in the Tarisian Lower City. If Revan attempted to speak to Nord, the bounty hunter told Revan to go away. If Revan kept speaking to Nord, he counted to three. Should Revan have continued to converse with Nord when he reached the three-count, Nord attacked and killed Revan, because he was supposed to be too weak to defeat the bounty hunter at that time. It was possible for Revan to escape death by quickly leaving and re-entering the cantina.^[2] Should Canderous Ordo accompany Revan when Nord confronts the Jedi, Ordo will make note of the fact that Nord brought backup, and taunt the bounty hunter.^[14]

[edit] Appearances

Wookieepedia has a collection of images related to Calo Nord.

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (First appearance)

[edit] Sources

Star Wars Miniatures figure of Nord

• Knights of the Old Republic: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
• Star Wars Miniatures: Bounty Hunters
• "Tales of the Bounty Hunters" - Star Wars Insider 99 (Mentioned only)
• Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
•  Calo Nord in the Databank

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

•  Calo Nord in the Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia