Altair Jiriad was a Mandalorian armorsmith of Kiffar origin, who fought as a supercommando against the Yuuzhan Vong in the late war.
Biography[]
Altair was the son to two Kiffars who had adopted Mandalorian culture and settled on Mandalore, in the capital of Keldabe. Altair was raised under both traditional Mandalorian training and some Kiffar influence, and he also earned the facial tattoos of the Kiffar Clan Jiriad. His family was member of the Mandalorian Clan Sateda, and Altair grew up with the twins Kyra and Jorso Sateda in a strong, nearly sibling-like relationship. Four years after his verd'goten, his coming of age, Altair married Scotah Nakoyr, a spirited young woman from the remote city of Shirok. For two years after his marriage, Altair underwent special supercommando training under then Mandalore Fenn Shysa, but although his skills in combat wouldn't have prevented him from such a career, he never felt quite comfortable with that line of work. Thus, he quit his training and started as an armorsmith, like his father, a job that fit him like no other. Eventually, Altair was to become so skilled in that profession that he would outrun his father in reputation. His smithy, his wife's small shop for repairing and upgrading speeders and swoops, and their actual living place were all in the same building in the outskirts of Keldabe.
Altair on a shooting lesson with his son, Skira
In 15 ABY, the couple adopted the one-year-old son of two fallen clan members, Skira, and raised as him with all the care of true parents. Six years later, they had their own child, a girl which they named Zoja. When the Yuuzhan Vong invasion emerged in 25 ABY, Altair was one of many to be approached indirectly by Mandalore Fett to undergo special counter-Yuuzhan Vong training on Raxus Prime, mostly due his background as a supercommando trainee. Just like several years ago, Altair refused, since he now had a profitable job and a growing family to care for. Two years later, when the Mandalorians still were officially allies to the Vong, Skira turned 13 and would face his trials, the verd'goten. Due to the ever-growing galactic conflict, however, Altair didn't see the usual trials suffice to prepare his son for the harsh and desperate situation the galaxy was currently in. Skira did pass the normal tests, but his father didn't announce him a grown man, yet, and wanted him to gain some experience in the real world, first, before he could be given the full responsibility of an adult.
Thus, Altair eventually decided to go to Raxus Prime after all, taking his son with him. The training regimen was as brutal as it had been said to be, but he could spare his son from most of the especially hazardous life exercises. The training there went for over a year, and Altair soon made friends with fellow supercommandos like Ronan Barec, Gladus Tite and Ayden Stone. Their first real fight against the Yuuzhan Vong was in the Battle of Mandalore, where Skira already proved himself to be more than just a simple teenager any longer, but his father still had one final task for him before he would accept his son as a grown warrior. After successfully helping in the defense of the Mandalore Sector, Altair left Skira with his family for the time being, and contrary to his former aversion for all the fighting and bloodshed, he took part in numerous battles, such as the Liberations of Ord Mantell, Caluula and Tholatin, among others. His reasoning for eventually leaving his family was that by fighting the Yuuzhan Vong, he would help to keep them away from Mandalore, and thus away from his family. And only by helping to drive the Vong out of this galaxy, he could ensure there was a dignified life and a future for his son and daughter.
As the war was coming to a close and the Yuuzhan Vong were losing more and more battles against the Galactic Alliance, Altair decided to take Skira with him for the one final task. Once his son passed the last trial, Altair would send him back to Mandalore to take care of and protect his little sister and his mother. But in the mission on Contruum that was supposed to be a blue milk run, something went terribly wrong and Altair's entire world collapsed.
... [due to spoilers on the fanfiction story, the last part of his biography will be added only in a few months] ...
Behind the scenes[]
- His name is from altair (Arabic for "eagle") and jiriad (Mando'a for "chalky/ashen-faced"). Correct writing would be Altaïr Jiriad, because the "i" is spoken (pronounced: Ahl-tie-EAR Gee-REE-ad).
- The Appearances listed below are fanfiction stories by Corran_Fett (me).