Calo Nord

"I have to give you credit. You led me on quite a chase. But nobody gets away from Calo Nord in the end."

- Calo Nord, to Revan

Calo Nord was a famous bounty hunter in the time of the Old Republic, 4,000 years before the Galactic Civil War. The peak of his career came when he partnered with Davik Kang.

Biography
At a young age, Calo was sold into slavery by his parents, a traumatic experience for him that shaped his destiny. He learned during his time as a slave to be cold hearted and ruthless, so on his sixteenth birthday he killed his owners and then his own parents. He was then hunted by many bounty hunters for this crime; but in watching them track him, he learned the tricks of the trade and used his new found skills to pick them off one by one. Soon the attempts on his life stopped.

Life as a bounty hunter
"Davik's also expressed interest in hiring me. I may take him up on his offer, even though I still have yet to claim the greatest hunting trophy of all: a pearl from one of the Krayt Dragons of Tatooine."

- Datapad record of Calo Nord's trophy kills, sentient and otherwise

He soon became a bounty hunter himself and worked for Davik Kang's Exchange, rising in profile to become one of the most feared and successful bounty hunters in the galaxy, spending his earnings on equipment to help him in his assignments. He would always find his prey, and he gave them no mercy, ignoring pleas and bribes. When he ordered a custom suit of battle armor he had the armorer killed afterwards to ensure it would always be unique.

A twist of fate
"I am hard to kill, Lord Malak."

- Calo, to the Dark Lord of the Sith

When Darth Malak bombed Taris, Calo, who was on Taris for business with Davik, encountered Revan attempting to steal the Ebon Hawk from Davik's estate, only for escaping. Calo and Davik tried to stop them from stealing the freighter, but they were overmatched by Revan. Calo tried to use a thermal detonator to take everyone down with him but was buried under the rubble when the lasers destroyed the hangar. Calo's injuries were severe and he was nearly killed, but miraculously, he survived, although his injuries put him out of action for a short time. Davik himself had already perished. He swore his revenge on Revan and by good fortune was soon on his trail again.

When he had recovered sufficiently he took a contract from the Sith to hunt down Revan, Bastila Shan, and the rest of his entourage, as the job paid well and he had a score to settle with Revan and his companions. Armed with his two trusty Mandalorian heavy blasters, Calo was confident that this would be easy money and that the group would be no match for his eagle-eyed aim, but like so many before him he underestimated Revan's strength. Calo set out to find them with a group of his toughest thugs and confronted them. Revan and his companions slaughtered the thugs and eviscerated Calo with ease.

Hardly surprised at the failure of Calo, Darth Malak dispatched his apprentice, Darth Bandon, to hunt and destroy Revan and capture Bastila alive if possible. Unfortunately for Malak, his apprentice suffered the same fate as Calo.

Besides the Exchange and the Sith, Calo had also been hired by the Galactic Republic for unknown operations in the Core.

Personality and traits
"Go away&hellip; One&hellip; Two&hellip; Smart."

- Calo, to Revan after he backed down talking to him in the cantina on Taris

Calo Nord appeared as an unsuspecting short man in simple clothes, with his hair and eyes hidden. However, under these clothes he wore a custom body armor based on Mandalorian design, which provided a cutting edge on certain weapon technology. He also always carried two Mandalorian heavy blasters with him, and combined with his skill of using his weapons, he could be a formidable opponent.

When someone disturbed Calo, he would count to three, with a number after each phrase, and only fire at the speaker after the third phrase, giving them a chance to rethink their behavior and escape his anger.

Sometimes, people who disturbed Calo weren't aware that Calo was giving them a chance to leave before he would attack. Even so, the infamous bounty hunter wouldn't give them a second chance and killed those who bothered him without much effort. Therefore, disturbing Calo Nord was a very bad idea.

Due to his abilities, he was considered to be admitted into the secret bounty hunter guild called the GenoHaradan. However, due to his end at the hands of Revan, the overseers of the secret society decided it would be better if Revan were to be admitted instead, though Revan turned down their offer anyway.

Behind the scenes
Depending on the order in which Revan (the KotOR player) visits the planets, Calo Nord may appear either on Tatooine, Manaan, Kashyyyk, or Korriban. On Tatooine, he is accompanied by Rodian and Aqualish thugs, on Manaan he is accompanied by two Twi'leks, and on Kashyyyk, he is accompanied by Wookiees loyal to Chuundar. On Korriban he is accompanied by two Sith from the academy.

The first time the player meets Calo is in the Lower City cantina. If the player attempts to speak to him, he will begin by saying "Go away." If the player keeps attempting, Calo will count up to three. It is best if the player stops talking to him before he gets angry and attacks. Since the player is supposed to be too weak to defeat him at this moment, he is invulnerable, but the player can escape inevitable death by quickly leaving and re-entering the cantina.

His unique armor is not that unique in the sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, where it is called "Verpine Zal Alloy Mesh". This armor looks exactly the same as the original set and, even without any upgrades, has characteristics equal to the fully upgraded Calo Nord's armor from KotOR I.

Calo Nord's height presents a minor digetic coherence problem in the story line of KotOR. Firstly, 1.5 meters is extremely short, which is not reflected correctly when Nord is seen in relation to other characters in the game (though Nord is still rather diminutive).

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic