Calo Nord

Calo Nord, a Human male, was an infamous bounty hunter who lived during the Jedi Civil War, a galaxy-spanning conflict initiated by the Sith Lords Darth Revan and Darth Malak. Nord was sold into slavery by his mother and father at a young age. On his sixteenth birthday, he killed his slave masters and tracked down his parents, murdering them as well. A bounty was placed on Nord, but he eliminated every mercenary that pursued him. Once the attempts on his life ended, Nord murdered those who had placed the bounty and became a bounty hunter by trade, taking assignments from any party that paid. Nord occasionally worked for the Exchange criminal syndicate boss Davik Kang but had been also contracted by the Galactic Republic for operations in the Core.

During the final year of the Jedi Civil War, Nord was on the planet Taris for business with Kang while Malak, who had betrayed Revan and usurped control of the Sith Empire, had the planet quarantined in order to search for the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan. Malak eventually ordered the planet's destruction in an attempt to kill Shan. When the Sith began to bombard Taris, Nord and Kang attempted to flee aboard Kang's freighter Ebon Hawk and caught Shan and her companions during their attempt to steal Kang's flagship. A firefight ensued, which ended when Nord was caught under falling debris and trapped. The bounty hunter was able to flee Taris and evade the devastation wrought by the Sith. He was subsequently hired by Darth Malak to track down Shan and capture her alive. Nord located Shan's companion, Revan&mdash;now a partially retrained Jedi Padawan&mdash;in the Eastern Dune Sea on the desert planet of Tatooine as he was searching for the ancient Rakatan space station known as the Star Forge. As Revan and his team exited some ancient ruins, the bounty hunter confronted Revan. Nord was overmatched by Revan and his companions, resulting in his death.

Early life and bounty hunter
"Calo Nord's one of the most famous bounty hunters in the galaxy. He's killed more people than the Iridian Plague!"

- Mission Vao

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. After turning sixteen years of age, Nord butchered his slave masters. Free, he located his parents and murdered them. A bounty was placed on Nord's head, and the young man was pursued by many bounty hunters. Nord observed the means and methodologies of the bounty hunters who tracked him, learning and acquiring trade skills. He used his new-found skills to eliminate each one that was in pursuit. Eventually, the attempts on his life ceased. Nord, however, found and killed the people that had placed the bounty. Nord became a bounty hunter himself, taking contracts from whoever paid him. Among these contracts were operations on behalf of the Galactic Republic in the Core.

He occasionally worked for Davik Kang, a crime lord of the Exchange crime syndicate whose operations were based on the Outer Rim ecumenopolis of Taris. When contracted, Kang hired Nord to kill and bring back the heads of rancors so that the crime lord could mount the heads in his trophy room. Among the locations Nord visited while on Taris was Hutt Zax's bounty office, an establishment contained within the Lower City locale of Javyar's Cantina. By the time of the Jedi Civil War, a galaxy-spanning conflict initiated by Darth Revan, Darth Malak, and their Sith Empire, it had even been said that Nord had killed more people than the Iridian Plague.

Battle of Taris
"A Jedi and a war hero&mdash;it's a wonder you survived the encounter.''" "''I am hard to kill, Lord Malak."

- Nord, to Darth Malak

In 3,957 BBY, Darth Malak usurped the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith when he betrayed his Sith Master Revan as the Jedi and Republic forces tried to capture them both. One year later, Malak conquered Taris and ordered his fleet to blockade the planet so that the Sith forces could search for the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan.



During the Sith's quarantine of Taris, Nord, who was on the planet for business with Davik Kang, encountered a Republic soldier named Revan on two occasions. Revan, who was unknowingly the former Dark Lord of the Sith, had been marooned on Taris with Republic commander Carth Onasi, and they were searching for Shan. Nord first met Revan in Javyar's Cantina, where the bounty hunter killed three Black Vulkars for having disturbed him. Revan tried to engage Nord in conversation, but the departing Nord desired not to be bothered. Revan complied, not wanting to provoke the bounty hunter into attacking him. Nord later encountered Revan when the soldier was exploring the Lower City's apartments. There, Nord killed two Rodians so that he could collect the corresponding bounties.

After Revan located and rescued Shan, he joined forces with Canderous Ordo, a Mandalorian that worked as Kang's enforcer. Having crafted a plan for escape, Revan broke into the local Sith base and acquired the launch codes necessary for any vessel to depart Taris. Ordo then took Revan, Shan, and Onasi to Kang's estate and introduced Revan to the crime lord as an individual interested in joining the Exchange. Nord, who was also present, told the Mandalorian that it was not like him to take on partners and taunted Ordo. 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.

Aboard his flagship Leviathan, Darth Malak concluded that his troops' 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, hoping to flee the bombardment, entered the hangar where the Ebon Hawk was housed, but they discovered that Revan and his companions were attempting to steal the ship. Nord revealed his intent to kill the group to Kang, stating that he had looked forward to doing so for a long time. Kang told the bounty hunter to hurry, saying that if they did not escape, the Sith's lasers would be their demise. In the ensuing firefight, Nord realized that himself and Kang were outmatched. Kang perished, and Nord&mdash;who was not willing to let Ordo, the Republic soldiers and the Jedi escape&mdash;tried to use a thermal detonator to kill everyone, including himself. Instead, the bombardment partially destroyed the hangar, causing Nord to be buried underneath a heap of rubble. Leaving Nord and the deceased Kang, Revan's group boarded the Ebon Hawk and gathered the rest of their companions before fleeing Taris and the Sith bombardment.

Death
Even though he had been buried in rubble on Taris, Nord survived the attack and was able to escape the planet. He was later granted an audience with Darth Malak aboard the Leviathan. Admiral Karath brought Nord in as an eyewitness of Bastila Shan's survival. When the bounty hunter entered the bridge, Malak expressed his surprise that Nord had managed to survive his encounter with Shan and Onasi, to which the bounty hunter replied that he was difficult to kill. Karath informed Malak that Nord agreed to capture Shan and assured the emperor that the bounty hunter's services were worth the demanded price. Malak told Nord that he desired Shan taken alive, if possible, but that the Jedi's other companions were of no value. Nord and Karath then privately met with Malak away from the crew on the Leviathan bridge, during which Nord revealed to Malak that his former Sith Master, Revan, had survived and was one of the members responsible for Shan's escape.

Nord set out to find both Shan and Revan, who was now a retrained Jedi Padawan tasked with searching for the mysterious Rakatan Star Forge space station under Malak's control. The bounty hunter located Revan in the Eastern Dune Sea on the desert world Tatooine and hired two Rodian and two Aqualish henchmen to confront the elusive Jedi. Nord set an ambush while Revan was inside a cave where a krayt dragon had taken nest. Nord confronted Revan after the Jedi found a second Rakatan Star Map, which was needed to locate the Star Forge, inside the cave. Nord gave Revan credit for having evaded him thus far but stated that no one could ultimately escape him. When Revan asked Nord if they could work out a deal instead of fighting, Nord refused and attacked. Nord and his accomplices were overmatched and killed by the former Sith Lord and his companions.

Legacy
"Calo Nord is dead, Lord Malak. He has failed in his mission. Forgive me."'' "''The penalty for failure is death, Admiral Karath. But the failure was Calo's, not yours. You may rise."

- Saul Karath and Darth Malak

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 belonged to Nord, not Karath himself. Malak dispatched his Shadow Hand, Darth Bandon, to kill Revan and capture Shan, needing someone with more superior training and skill with the Force. Prior to his death, the leaders of the secret bounty hunter guild known as the GenoHaradan had considered admitting Nord into their organization, although he had not yet proven himself worthy of joining. Due to Nord's death at Revan's hands, however, the GenoHaradan's overseers opted to approach Revan with an invitation instead.

Personality and traits


Calo Nord was a diminutive Human male who seemed harmless upon a first glance. He moved with careful, deliberate precision and possessed an expressionless face. He was willing to take contracts from anyone who paid him well. Even though his ultimate loyalty was to whomever offered him the most credits, Nord also worked for the thrill of the hunt. He spoke and comprehended Basic, the Republic trade language. Nord had a reputation of being unafraid of potential adversaries, in addition to his regular perception of being cold, menacing, and unapproachable. He also possessed innate instincts for both survival and killing. 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.

Calo Nord enjoyed toying with other mercenaries. In a couple cases, when someone disturbed Nord, he counted to three, with a number after each interjection. Having counted to three in order for the being to escape his anger, he opened fire on the nuisance for bothering him. The bounty hunter always found his prey, and he showed them no mercy, ignoring pleas and bribes. Nord aspired to claim a pearl from a krayt dragon on Tatooine. He considered one of these pearls to be the greatest of hunting trophies. Nord was not willing to let anyone defeat him and would go to great lengths to ensure that an individual did not defeat him. When Shan, Ordo, Revan, and Onasi defeated him on Taris, Nord threatened to kill himself with a thermal detonator in an attempt to ensure their deaths.

Nord disliked the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo, who was also an employee of Davik Kang, and periodically taunted him. Darth Malak's Sith apprentice, Darth Bandon, however, disliked Nord, viewing him as pathetic. Bandon expressed this opinion to Revan when the Sith confronted the Jedi. Bandon also said that even though Revan defeated Nord, the Jedi would be no match for the Shadow Hand.

Equipment
Calo Nord used two Mandalorian heavy blasters as his primary weapons, but he was capable of fighting with a vibroblade when pressed. Nord 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 and employed a datapad, on which he kept a record of his thoughts and trophy kills. At some point during his life, Nord ordered a custom suit of battle armor that was based on heavily modified Mandalorian designs. After the suit was completed, Nord murdered the armorer to ensure his suit would remain unique.

Character development
Calo Nord was first created by the developers at BioWare as a boss-like villain for the 2003 Xbox and PC video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. A miniature of Nord was released in the Star Wars Miniatures: Bounty Hunters, an expansion set of Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Miniatures role-playing game. The set was released on September 23, 2006. Unlike the in-game outcome, Nord's entry in the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide states that he died during the Sith bombardment of Taris. His entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, however, states that Nord was killed near Rakata Prime during the final battle of the Jedi Civil War.

Player options in ''Knights of the Old Republic
The planet on which Revan battles Nord is determined by the order the five Star Maps are obtained. Nord may appear either on Tatooine, the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, the Selkath homeworld of Manaan, or the ancient Sith tomb-world of Korriban. On Tatooine, Nord is accompanied by Rodian and Aqualish henchmen. Nord confronts Revan with Wookiees loyal to Chieftain Chuundar on Kashyyyk. On Manaan, Nord is accompanied by two Twi'leks, Should Revan encounter Nord in the Hrakert Station on Manaan, Nord explains that he used an underwater vessel to reach the station. On Korriban, Nord is accompanied by two students from the Sith Academy.

The first time Nord is encountered in gameplay is in Javyar's Cantina in the Tarisian Lower City. If the player attempts to speak to Nord, the bounty hunter simply replies to go away. If the player opts to keeps speaking to Nord, the bounty hunter counts to three. Should Nord reach the end of his three-count, the bounty hunter attacks. It is possible to escape death by quickly leaving and re-entering the cantina, however. Should Canderous Ordo accompany the player when Nord confronts Revan, Ordo will make note of the fact that Nord brought backup and taunt the bounty hunter.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic