Bio: The Cathar Sisters

Name: Hish'ka and Akh'shi Che'daje

Pronunciation: (HEESH-kah and AHCK-shee chay-DAH-jay)

Homeworld: Cathar

Born: 41 BBY

Physical Description:

Species: Pureblood Cathar

Gender: Female

Height: 5' 10'' (1.7m)

Hair color: Black (Hish'ka) and Brown (Akh'shi)

Eye color: Yellow (Hish'ka) and Blue (Akh'shi)

Fur Color: Light Brown

Era(s):

Clone Wars

The Dark Times

Rebellion Era

Affiliations:

Confederacy of Independent Systems (Hish'ka)

Galactic Republic (Akh'shi)

Galactic Empire

True Mandalorians

Mandalorian Protectors

Clan Artay

• Birth and Childhood
  

The catlike Che'daje sisters were born as the youngest of a litter of six. Raised by a prominent warrior family on the Cathar's arid homeworld, the Che'daje were groomed almost since birth to be fighters. Their parents were great warriors among their clan, and raised all of their litter to follow in their footsteps. They were trained in hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, and infiltration techniques, as well as battlefield strategy and Cathar history. From a young age, Hish'ka proved to be an accomplished tracker and scout, while her sister was simultaneously groomed to be an infantry trooper. Each sister played to their own personal strengths both in their training and their lives beyond.

As time passed, the Che'daje sisters remained close despite a healthy sense of competition that grew between them. During their training, Akh'shi took her people's traditions to heart, cultivating a healthy sense of honor and loyalty – as well as a healthy hatred for the Cathar's ancient enemies, the Mandalorians. Hish'ka became almost exactly the opposite; she grew increasingly aggressive and reckless, drawing scorn from her people by respecting the strength and brutality of the Mandalorians and even admiring them on occasion.

Both women, along with their four brothers, enrolled in the Cathar military at age thirteen, as was custom among their people. They served with the Cathar military for almost six years before the eruption of the Clone Wars drove the two sisters apart.

• Clone Wars
  

When news of the Battle of Geonosis reached the galaxy at large, both sisters began watching galactic events intently. Both were fascinated by the hostilities that had erupted, and both were equally swayed by the propaganda that was released by both sides. Soon, Akh'shi began formulating plans to resign from the Cathar military and join the Grand Army of the Republic. But Hish'ka, infuriated by the Republic's indifference to the plight and poverty of the Cathar homeworld, began to grow more and more approving of the Separatist movement. The two sisters began arguing more and more over the “right” decision.

Eventually, things reached a breaking point. The two sisters had a massive falling-out, as well as a brawl that almost resulted in Akh'shi's death. After that, the Cathar sisters parted ways. Akh'shi joined the Republic military auxiliary, while Hish'ka began taking work as a private contractor for the Separatists.

Both women served their particular employers with honor and skill, but it was Hish'ka's experiences that would shape both the sister's futures. Working as a bounty hunter for the Separatists, Hish'ka was exposed to another group of contractors for the Separatists: the Mandalorians. Hish'ka was well aware of her culture's near-2,000-year hatred of the warrior culture, but she quickly befriended her Mandalorian companions. She began training under several notable Mandalorian warriors, even joining an expert team of Mandalorian mercenaries on several missions.

When the Clone Wars ended and the Empire was formed, Akh'shi was discharged with several awards and honors, and Hish'ka managed to successfully escape any Imperial backlash because of her Separatist connections. Both women returned to their homeworld to a grudging reunion. Their childhood friendship was shattered, but they eventually re-forged a bond of trust in the period after the Clone Wars.

• Pilgrimage to Mandalore
  

When Hish'ka eventually decided to travel to Mandalore to catch up with several former compatriots, Akh'shi reluctantly agreed to travel with her. Seeing all that Mandalore had to offer, Hish'ka almost immediately decided to move from her homeworld and join the Mandalorians. Akh'shi tried re-applying to the Cathar Royal Military, but was denied because of several injuries sustained during the Clone Wars. Not wanting to live the rest of her days idle on Cathar, Akh'shi grudgingly decided to follow her sister to the frontier world of Mandalore, despite her reservations about the people.

Hish'ka quickly grew to see her Mandalorian friends as a kind of second family. A few years after their move to Mandalore, she swore to obey the Resol'nare and converted to the Mandalorian way of life. Akh'shi, unable and unwilling to overcome her dislike of the Mandalorian people, refused to follow suit.

Despite their difference in lifestyle, the two decided to work together for the foreseeable future. Both found life in the equatorial jungles of Mandalore preferable to the deserts that reminded them of their poverty-stricken homeworld. In that spirit, both applied to work with the Mandalorian Rangers, warriors tasked with the preservation of Mandalore's frontier. They applied for service guarding the Werda Kurs, the Dark Forest, and were charged with protecting the settlers from the beasts and raiders who called the forest home.

• Rangers
  

Within the Rangers, both sisters found purpose. Akh'shi, the more level-headed and practical of the two, became one of the primary liaisons between the Rangers and distant Keldabe. Hish'ka, by comparison, trained as a hunter in order to lead expeditions into the jungle. Both sisters were praised for their sharp intelligence, endurance, and ferocity in battle and gained such prestige among the Rangers that diplomatic relations between Mandalore and Cathar began easing out for the first time in centuries. It wasn’t long before Akh’shi was promoted to the prestigious position of Ranger-Commander. Her sister became her second-in-command.

Their first pitfall among the Rangers was very nearly their last. When one of Hish'ka's routine patrols stumbled across a hidden camp of Jedi fugitives in the jungle, the Cathar was very nearly killed. Only swift reaction from Akh'shi's nearby team saved her from that fate. But during the battle, a fugitive Jedi Knight severed Hish'ka's right hand at the wrist.

Wounded, cut off, and far from medical help, Hish'ka almost died from the wound. Fortunately her sister and the surviving Rangers fell back to their perimeter base and she managed to recuperate from her injury. After the wound had healed, Hish'ka was outfitted with a crude, three-fingered prosthetic, the fingers of which she later sharpened to razor edges. A month after the attack, she gathered a force of Rangers and struck back into the jungle, managing to destroy the camp of Jedi and take revenge for her injury. The debilitating wound left the woman with powerful emotional scars, but she continued her service despite the attack.

• Present Day
  

Today, Hish'ka and Akh'shi remain in Mandalore's jungles with the Rangers. They are some of the most respected and deadly Rangers on the planet and are frequently called upon to serve with the Mandalorian Protectors. Hish'ka is an adopted member of the Artay Clan, which constitutes much of the jungle guard Rangers. Akh’shi has since developed a deeper respect for her Mandalorian compatriots, though she still refuses to convert to the Mandalorian way of life. This has been the cause of some controversy among Mandos at large, since it is the first time an aruetii has been promoted to the position of Ranger-Commander. But Akh’shi serves the Mandalorian people with distinction and honor, despite her reservations about the culture itself.

• Personality
  

(Hish'ka)

Hish'ka has adopted the aggression and loyalty typical of her people, but lacks the cool-headed, honorable philosophy of the Cathar. She is quick to anger, quick to rise to a challenge, and not easily defeated. But years of living with Mandalorians has imparted some of their cultural traditions as well. She is strong-willed, determined, and very loyal to her new people. Though the loss of her hand left her with deep emotional scars, she overcame the wound through sheer force of will and emerged stronger than ever. She is a deadly warrior, a skilled hunter, and a loyal friend.

(Akh'shi)

Akh'shi is the cooler head of the two. She is calm, intelligent, and level-headed, with a strong sense of loyalty and determination. Despite her dislike of Mandalorians, she has grown to respect her fellow Rangers. As one of the primary Rangers in charge of the defense of the civilians who live along the perimeter of the dangerous Werda Kurs, she is the definition of the traditional honorable warrior and will die before she betrays her companions.

• Armaments
  

(Hish’ka)

Hish’ka Che'daje is known to wear typical Mandalorian armor, heavily modified by Ranger technicians to operate at peak efficiency within the harsh elements of the jungle. Her armor is colored green and yellow, with camouflage patterns emblazoned across the shoulder pads and chest plates. Surprisingly, Hish’ka does not wear a traditional Mandalorian helmet, instead opting for a heavy cloth turban with a matching face mask. She claims this choice of dress reduces the chances of sunlight glare on her helmet visor that could give away her position in the jungle – though her sister secretly claims the choice comes from a personal fear of tight, enclosed spaces. Additionally, the loss of her left hand led Hish’ka to be outfitted with a crude, three-taloned prosthetic. Rather than upgrade her prosthetic, Hish’ka has transformed this tool into a weapon of its own, sharpening the fingers to razor points.

As weapons, Hish’ka has been trained in the use of dual pistols. However, the border guard of the Werda Kurs rarely has fresh shipments of ammunition to supply such weaponry. In the absence of blasters, Hish’ka often uses a traditional Mandalorian combat spear, plated with beskar and sharp enough to slice through bone.

(Akh’shi)

An already-controversial figure because of her status as an aruetii Ranger-Commander, Akh’shi drew further scorn from Mandalorians at large when she began wearing repurposed stormtrooper armor as her choice protection. Decorated with badges of honor from the Cathar, Republic, and Mandalorians, Akh’shi’s armor has been painted with deep blue highlights and designs to signify her place of prominence among the Rangers. Unlike her sister, Akh’shi has no problem wearing helmets, though she refuses to wear Mandalorian armoring. Instead, she wears a worn-but-reliable Clone Wars era clone trooper helmet, similarly decorated white and blue.

While training with the Grand Army, Akh’shi grew comfortable with the use of the standard-issue Republic DC-15A blaster rifle, as well as the smaller DC-15S variant. However, lack of supplies in the jungles has led her to also grow accustomed to the use of the traditional Mandalorian beskad saber. While she does not enjoy using Mandalorian equipment, she has been forced to admit that the blade has served her well over her many years in the jungle.