Zessa Ra

Drawn by HolyHandGrenade

Zessa Ra was a Togruta big game hunter, herbalist, and occasional bounty hunter. Her quest to become the greatest game hunter in galactic history. To that end; she travels the galaxy and from ship to ship. Her biggest problem is finding a place or ship that can store her many, many trophies. Or the smell of the interesting blends she smokes from her Hookah.

Though if you like a drag and don't mind her gruesome trophies; she's more than willing to buy you a pint of Jawa Juice as she tells the stories behind each one.

## Biography

### 40-22 BBY

Born on Shili to a tribe of Togruta that still embraced their nomadic hunter heritage. Zessa Ra's life started somewhat dully. Taught by her tribe's apothecary to identify poisonous planets on their home world and learning how to hunt from her parents and elders. She often was able to close her eyes and hear exactly where Thimiars were in the most dense brush. It was with this ability that she saved her hunting party from a prowling Azul that had been stalking them. She was the only one to sense its presence in the tall grass.

Even at that age, her pride as a huntress demanded she stand her ground. She was a huntress not the hunted. She wouldn't back down. Be it Azul or Rancor she faced. Whilst her hunting party consisting mostly of fellow younglings scattered she alone held her ground against the beast. They circled each other and all Zessa could do was dive or roll out of the way of the Azul's pounces to avoid its killer bite and claws. Said claws came close enough to drag long cuts along her skin as it narrowly brushed past her.

She only managed to turn the tables when she landed in such a way that vines hanging off a nearby tree hung behind her. When she dived from yet another pounce the beast fell into the vines and became entangled. This gave her the opening she needed to finish it with a stab of her dagger to its heart. It was her first kill on her own. A fearsome predator whose kind terrorised entire villages at that.

Though she did question where the rest of her hunting party had disappeared to.

Even at that age, her pride as a huntress demanded she stand her ground. She was a huntress not the hunted. She wouldn't back down. Be it Azul or Rancor she faced. Whilst her hunting party consisting mostly of fellow younglings scattered she alone held her ground against the beast. They circled each other and all Zessa could do was dive or roll out of the way of the Azul's pounces to avoid its killer bite and claws. Said claws came close enough to drag long cuts along her skin as it narrowly brushed past her.

### 22-19 BBY

Her travels took her from world to world, hunting a few beasts and building her reputation as a competent huntress. Much of the time she funds her sojourns by taking high paying jobs to guide high society on safaris or hunts alongside selling the pelts, meat, herbs, and remedies.

Though the Tongrutan desire for belonging nagged at Zessa's mind once more. Thus she sought a crew out to hunt alongside once more. To be part of a tribe again. This came in the form of a Falleen man, Xetan, whom she met on Ryloth when she saved him from an attacking Lylek. Out of apparent gratitude, he asked her to consider joining his crew. An offer to which she readily agreed to without ascertaining what kind of crew he had.

Her want for a sense of belonging had her unknowingly join a Black Sun affiliated pirate crew. A fact that only dawned on her after they had departed Ryloth. She decided to play along. But it was clear that she was just hired for her muscle and imposing stature for intimidating the Weequay on Florrum. Through the deal went south quickly as she objected to the proposed trade of Twi'lek slaves hidden in the hold. Their cages disguised crates of Ryloth fungus. A fact that she wasn't told about until they had already left. Xentan had not thought Zessa would risk turning on him and being stranded on Florrum's hostile environment.

…Which is exactly what she did. The huntress tackled the Falleen Black Sun captain, grabbing his blaster to shoot out a Gonk droid near some starship fuel tanks, prompting its fusion reactor to go critical. The explosion destroying their other ships and badly daging the camp's sensor array.

In the ensuring chaos. Zessa distracted the mob as they boarded a ship to escape. Luckily one of the Twi'lek was apparently a pilot. For she didn't really have a plan once they were free.

Zessa was chased by a mob of angry Black Sun Syndicate gangsters and Weequay pirates. Enraged by the loss of their merchandise. But managed to use the treacherous landscape to evade them with the help of the Skalders. Eventually she managed to slip back into the camp to steal an SOS beacon. Planting and managing to flag down a rescue ship. The pirates and Black Sun being none the wiser.

### 19-4 BBY

Eventually the end of the Clone Wars brought a flood of cheap military surplus left over from the conflict. From mothballed GAR vehicles retired due to incompatibility with the Tarkin doctrine to fields of discarded weapons, armour and vehicles. From which she fashioned her dart rifle spear and purchased her AT-RT. As such she lives now. As a huntress for hire living from hunt to hunt and planet to planet.

## Personality

### Positive personality traits

As a capable hunter, Zessa can be patient, observant, and cunning. Moreover, she's persistent in the extreme. If she's on the hunt there's precious little in nature that will stop her other than a more worthy quarry. Her kills are usually consumed without waste. If the meat can be eaten; she would try to sell or eat it all. The bones, if strong enough, will be used to make blades or parts of clothes. As will the hide and pelts. If there are organs that cannot be used they will be buried and returned to nature. Such is her respect for the law of nature. The hunter and hunted. Be it her turning the tables on her quarry when threatened or vice versa.

### Negative personality traits

Zessa's fixation on the Hunt can be a near obsession. Though she tends to use her skills in tracking animals to track people for the occasional bounty or job when she needs credits to get by… it’s received mixed results. The Togruta’s more traditional hunter mindset often backfires when tracking intelligent people that act in contradiction to nature, unfortunately. She has a reluctance to use blasters of any kind. Blasters would ruin her trophies from the prey. This proves to be a disadvantage when facing intelligent enemies. She’s hyper competitive as far as hunting is concerned. Even idle conversation regarding animals in her proximity leads to her butting in with tales of her own accomplishments. Often this puts others off.

### Neutral personality traits

Her insistence on consuming all that she reasonably can of her kills often leaves her on a planet for weeks or months at a time. Usually this makes her frequent bars to pass the time as she sells her wares. Her frank, blunt way of expressing herself also can be at odds with some. Nearly completely tactless socially; she can come across as insensitive and dismissive of others when speaking of her skills. Usually this confidence is not mistaken.

Given her Force Perception; Zessa feels empathy on a deeper level than most. She goes to great lengths to not cause too much damage to her quarry or anyone she fights in most cases. Both for their sake and hers.

## Skills

### Echolocation

Zessa’s Montrals; in common with all Togruta, gives her a passive echolocation. This makes her senses sharper. However, this also makes her sensitive to sonic weapons and loud noises.

### Force Perception

She’s always been sharper than the others of her tribe. Even many of the experienced hunters. Though the reason is her connection to the Force; Zessa isn’t aware of this. She believes that she has good Montrals or a natural hunter’s instinct. However, this force sensitivity isn’t nearly strong enough to be actively used.

### Proficient dart Marksman

She’s an excellent shot with her dart rifle. Able to calculate projectile drop and counter factors like wind speed and direction by observing things like the sway of trees and grass in the wind. Having always used dart based weapons, her skills don't apply well to Blasters which she isn’t nearly as good with.

### Expert close quarter combatant

Zessa is most dangerous up close. Where her speed and powerful build can be brought to bear. To this end; she's skilled with all manner of melee weapons. Her preferences are spears, knives, and throwing weapons like Bolas or boomerangs.

### Master Huntress

Zessa has always been one of the best hunters of her tribe. That skill set has only grown since her nearly two decades since leaving Shilli. Everything from trapping, tracking, and making the kill itself; Zessa is a master of the hunt.

### Herbalist

Years of training… along with some messy cases of trial and error have made her able to recognize the properties of herbs and different animal parts. She can identify herbs across the galaxy by their smell, colour, and local environment. Be it for healing tinctures, poisons, aphrodisiacs, or any other herbal remedies one may need. So long as she has the reagents in question; she can make almost any concoction… including some questionable alcoholic beverages.

### Poison resistance

Over years of trial and error alongside long term exposure to herbs and poisonous reagents. Zessa has built up a passive resistance to poisons and pheromones. Whilst not as strong the natural biological resistance to most herbal poisons that some creatures have. Though this doesn't apply to artificial substances like Spice.

### Crafting

Zessa is excellent at using nature's bounties to make all she needs. This applies equally to food and medicine as it does to her weapons and clothes. Though not good with most forms of technology; she can make do without them if need be.

## Education

She's had basic schooling. The rest was taught by her tribe or self taught. Many times; this resulted in amusing and sometimes painful mishaps when she got the wrong mix of herbs.

==

Weaknesses/Personal failings ==
In terms of ability Zessa is capable in her field. But only in those fields. In some ways she's overly specialized in her chosen field with little interest in improving. With very little experience operating outside of her comfort zone. This reflects  in instances where she uses thought more befitting animals to Hunt people, her poor marksmanship with blasters, unfamiliarity with manufactured or unnatural poisons and drugs, and finally her refusal to use more effective forms of manufactured armour or weaponry.

Socially speaking. Despite being similar to the majority of Togruta in terms of her ideology, desiring communion with a group; somewhere she really belongs. She’s often lonely due to both the compromises she’s made to pursue her own goal of hunting dangerous and exotic quarry all over the galaxy and her abrasive attitude. She craves to be with a crew to fill the void that once was her tribe. But due to her frank and blunt personality; Zessa offends others unintentionally.

In addition. Zessa is absolutely hopeless with technology. None of her training or education covered any aspects of computer or mechanical design. Nor was she ever inclined to it in any way. All of her skills pertain to the natural.

## Religious beliefs

### Togruti Gaianism

This poorly understood religion is never elaborated on by Togruta to others. It's a unique mix of Darwinism and Gaianism. Having a deep respect for the environment that provides for them as well as a recognition that only the strong survive.

## Equipment

### Dart Rifle/Spear

Zessa’s preferred weapon is a rifle that fires darts. This custom made weapon uses darts which vary in make according to what she can find or purchase. From making them out of hollow seed pods to light Alum syringes. The only consistent feature Is the rifle itself. A custom order weapon built off the frame of an E-5s blaster sniper rifle. A weapon found in common use by the CIS during the Clone Wars and is still in use by the Galactic Empire.

###

By expanding the repulsor field system used to propel blaster bolts and removing the gas chamber for a rotating bolt action system, Zessa has a dart weapon with the ballistic force of a slugthrower rifle. It holds 5 darts in a fixed cylinder, requiring each dart to be loaded manually. Additionally, the frame and barrel of the gun has been replaced with a far stronger one made from Durasteel and later reforged with some Phrik and cirillium so it can be used as a spear. She attached the tips of Lylek's claws as spear tips. Sometimes she coats it in poison of some sort.

It fires a variety of ammunition. From syringe darts to disposable shock power cells. The rifle is far simpler than its original form. The scope, gas, and targeting systems having been replaced, making maintenance far simpler. The revolving cylinder allows for a pre loaded selection of darts that can be swapped if the situation demands it.

### Black Sun repeater pistol

This pistol was taken off the Black Sun she had escaped from when she was captured on Florrum. She isn't very good with it compared to her rifle. But she uses it more for situations in which her rifle would be of no help. The two barrels reciprocal fire helps lay down a barrage of bolts. So her rather poor accuracy is somewhat compensated for.

### Bone knives

Made from the tusks of a Bladeback Boar. A pair of long knives Zessa uses usually strapped to the small of her back. She also has a number of bone knives meant for throwing. Usually made from weaker bones or chitin. These are parts were too weak and brittle to use as armour. Sometimes she coats them in poisons.

These knives come in various lengths, shapes, and sizes. Each serving different purposes: skinning, stripping meat, cutting, bleeding, and of course; fighting.

## Armour

Zessa 's armour is made from various pieces of previous quarry that are blaster and blade resistant. Alongside her vest made from the scales of Kell Dragon. Various plates of chitin and bone supplement it: vambraces from a Lylek, thigh and shin plates from sheets off a Gutkurr, and a chest plate from the crest of a Blixus. The usual Togruta Akul tooth headdress is supplemented by a section that frames her face. This comes from the large lower tooth of an Anooba split into two.

## Vehicle(s)

### AT-RT walker

A piece of military surplus from the Clone Wars. She chose this vehicle for its reliability and relative simplicity and ruggedness compared to speeders. Plus, its resemblance to an avian runner helped away her choice. Zessa's AT-RT is modified to house an extending solar charge panel taken from a TIE fighter. This also serves as a roof when deployed and a half-cabin shield around the pilot when stowed. At rest it serves as a shelter tent by extending a canvas around it. The Blaster cannon is still present. Though a coaxial large net launcher has been added.

## Miscellaneous belongings

Various medicines and poisons made from flora and fauna for medicinal use are carried in vials to be planted in hydroponics labs. Provided with the right facilities and fertilizers; Zessa can get a herbal hydroponics rack ready for harvesting within a week. This helps keep her supply of herbs sustainable for both her own personal use as well as for medicinal supplies. This is a great selling point for crews that take her on to ease burden on medical supplies. Depending on how she mixes them; these can be deadly poisons as well.

The helps she usually grows includes:

Pommwomm, Algarine torve weed, Barenth healing plant, Grey Gabaki, Guroot, Luna-weed, and Viptiel.