[M4-25 - The Crew] - The Margrave Keresh Ve'tal's Personal Staff

[Mandalorianknight]

I don't think it's been explicitly stated, but the contest categories mesh in such a way that the crew figures created can be in the other categories (crewing the ship, visiting a cantina, fighting in rebellion), so here's my first throughline crew: The Margrave Ve'tal's personal staff.

(Center) Margrave Keresh Ve'tal: Eloquent and intelligent, Margrave Keresh Ve'tal spent years working alongside the republic in his role as the Kaleesh's leader, gathering a myriad network of connections and contacts along the way. Due to those connections, he was forgiven for his... inflexibility as the empire's gaze turned to Huk in the years following the war, and simply "encouraged" to retire rather than killed outright. While never part of the formal rebellion, in his new role as an archeologist and collector Ve'tal did a good deal of trading with the alliance and there are plenty of imperial incident reports matching the description of his ship and crew. Shortly following the end of the war, Ve'tal expanded his operation and crew size, leading to the five characters shown here.

From left-right:

Rajun Torc: A trained member of the Kage Warriors, Rajun fought back when the empire occupied Quarzite, using his skills to assassinate several officers. Torc's campaign shortly led to his capture and scheduled execution, though due to the fortuitous arrival of margrave Ve'tal and Lephan Hof in search of the planet's crystals, his escape from prison was arranged. Rajun is fiercely loyal to the margrave for saving his life and works as his assistant, chef, and- when required- assassin and warrior. The mute Kage's hatred of the empire has led to several skirmishes, but traveling with the margrave has allowed him to let out a more comedic side of himself, using his stealth skills to play jokes on the crew.

Zephan Hof: His Chevin bulk and intellect lending itself well to a role as a cartel lieutenant, through unfortunate choices in his youth, Zephan Hof found himself employed by the Hutts, where he met margrave Ve'tal in the latter's network of connections. Ve'tal sought out Zephan after being forced into retirement, convincing him to leave the cartel and hiring him as a bodyguard and historical analyst. Zephan is a through-and-through scholar and is close friends with the margrave, having worked with him for decades.

Margrave Keresh Ve'tal

Charkol Page: One of the margrave's more recent hires, Charkol grew up on Dantooine during the galactic civil war. Impressed with Page's mechanical skills, the margrave took him on in his crew, offering the mandalorian helmet he'd just obtained as a down payment on wages. Charkol is fascinated by mandalorian culture and in his employment by the margrave has worked to construct a full set of fascimile armor out of durasteel, as well as gadgets to aid in the crew's exploration efforts, such as a wrist-mounded shield or rocket boots. 

Leki Vrash: Vrash is the margrave's other recent hire. Growing up the daughter of a Corsec officer, Leki spent her adolescence racing the streets of Corellia, much to her father's chagrin. Encouraged to find a more productive outlet for her speed-seeking nature, the margrave (a friend of her father's commissioner) hired her as a pathfinder and scout to aid him in his exploration for artifacts a few years after the destruction of the second death star. Always the adrenaline junkie, Leki spends a lot of time riding her speeder and trying to convince the margrave's pilot droid to let her take the ship's controls. 

 

Galactic Civil War era staff:

Mando era hires:

Most of these characters came from a few parts and started out entirely different both in design and lore. Some ninjago parts and Moon Knight's arms turned my first attempt at the margrave's pilot into a kage warrior, a droid became a Chevin with a bionicle head, a hero factory helmet created- at first- a grizzled corsec officer who became a more agile scout, and the torso-legs-fur combination was the inspiration for an aristocratic margrave- originally a Duros, before I found how well the Grievous head worked with the fur. There was no such part usage for the mandalorian, aside from the scarf/cape combo I enjoy- but I just wanted a mandalorian in the crew.

[Agent Kallus]

Great part combinations here. Especially on the Margrave and the Kage warrior.

[Mandalorianknight]

On 5/7/2025 at 6:28 AM, Agent Kallus said:

Great part combinations here. Especially on the Margrave and the Kage warrior.

Thank you! One of my favorite things with the figure entries is finding parts that look like they were meant to fit together, like Beckett's torso and the mandalorian warrior legs (There's even a hint of navy on Beckett's torso that matches with the leg color, making it look like he's got a jumpsuit or body glove on under the robes, which I didn't notice until taking pictures for the entry).

Excited to see what everyone comes up with for this one- I think one of the coolest last year was @Oky using Maleficent's horns for an evil Ahsoka.

Edited May 14 by Mandalorianknight

[MKJoshA]

Some really creative parts combos here. The trench coat and Mandalorian pants work well together. Love the use of the Bionicle head.

[Mandalorianknight]

On 5/15/2025 at 1:50 AM, MKJoshA said:

Some really creative parts combos here. The trench coat and Mandalorian pants work well together. Love the use of the Bionicle head.

Thank you! The combo does work well there. I've had that bionicle head for years- it was a mistake on bricklink, I thought I was buying the mask and it was like a quarter so I didn't look too closely, but I've been trying to find uses for it ever since.