Star Wars Legacy - The New Jedi Order

Having finished my reviews of the Sith that rule the galaxy I know move on to cover the deposed guardians of the peace and justice - the Jedi Knights. Founded by Luke Skywalker the order has grown over a hundred years to a powerful order that numbers in the thousands. The Jedi helped protect peace and justice in the Galactic Alliance. They were dedicated to helping those in need until one act of charity turned against them. They decided to help their former enemies, the Yuuzhan Vong integrate themselves into the galaxy by having them use their biological 'shaping' skills to repair devastated worlds. The Sith saw this as an opportunity and sabotaged the project, giving a cause for war and a way to gain power. Now many of the Jedi are fallen, the rest are scattered to the stars hunted by Sith and Bounty Hunters alike.

Active Members

Wolf Sazen

Species: Zabrak
Sex: Male
Homeworld: Iridonia(?)
Position: Jedi Master
First Appearance: Legacy #1 (Broken, part 1)









One of the foremost leaders of the New Jedi Order, Wolf seeks to reunite the Jedi against the Sith, and he strongly believes this should be under the one remaining Skywalker - his former apprentice Cade. Trained by Kol Skywalker he became a Jedi Master and remained a close friend of Kol, fighting alongside him when Ossus fell. During the battle Wolf lost his arm and war brought to the brink of death, but was saved by Cade's extraordinary healing power. After his apprentice was lost Wolf went into hiding, but after seven years felt the call to find Skywalker and reunite the Jedi. He found Cade, but Cade has since fallen into the hands of the Sith.

Shado Vao

Species: Twi'lek
Sex: Male
Homeworld: Vendaxa
Position: Jedi Knight
First Appearance: Legacy #1 (Broken, part 1)










Shado is a dedicated Jedi Knight who has few equals in lightsaber combat. Formerly apprenticed to Kol Skywalker he has sinced gained his knighthood and now travels with Wolf Sazen, reluctantly aiding him in his quest to return Cade Skywalker to the Jedi Order. While unsure of Wolf's quest he is also sick of hiding and relishes opportunities to fight against the Sith.

K'Kruhk

Species: Whiphid
Sex: Male
Homeworld: Toola
Position: Senior Jedi Master
First Appearance: Jedi Council: Acts of War













K'Kruhk is a Master from the Old Times, serving the Jedi Order before the Old Republic fell. He served from a young age, playing a part in many conflicts. When the Clone Wars began he served, but had many doubts, though he saw the war through. Thought dead after Order 66 he actually survived and remained hidden for some time. Eventually he rejoined the Jedi Order but was again forced into exile as a Sith took control of the galaxy once again. He hid on his homeworld of Toola, but felt a calling in the force and returned to Ossus to find Cade Skywalker. Along with Wolf and Shado he helped retrain Cade, but expressed doubts. Somehow R2-D2 had fallen into his hands and he gave the droid to Cade as it was a "family posession." K'Kruhk agreed to remain on Ossus to safeguard what remained of the Jedi artifacts there.

Allies

In a dark galaxy few are willing to aid those wanted by the Sith. But the Jedi do have some allies, and they are unusual allies in general. Some are willing to offer passage or shelter, remembering what the Jedi have done as a force for good. But there is one group who are dedicated to helping them - formerly their bitterest enemies, the Yuuzhan Vong.

Nei Rin

Species: Yuuzhan Vong
Sex: Female
Homeworld: Zonama Sekot
Position: Master Shaper
First Appearance: Legacy#11 (Ghost, part 1)





Raised in a time of peace, but reminded of the time when her forefathers invaded and conquered a galaxy that still hated their race, Nei Rin gladly accepted an opportunity to bring peace between the galaxy and her kind. A skilled 'shaper' capable of manipulating life forms she was brought in to use her skills to change worlds devastated by war and other causes. She first changed Ossus, a world still reeling from a devastation several thousand years old. Ossus was transformed into a lush paradise and soon worlds were clamouring for the help of the Yuuzhan Vong. But the Sith sabotaged the project causing horrifict mutations on the inhabitants and the galaxy turned to war. Her homeworld, equipped with massive hyperdrive engines, fled- leaving her stranded. She sought evidence of what happened, but by the time she gathered it the Sith had destroyed the Jedi. She and her guardians went into hiding until Jedi returned to Ossus.

After the attack on Ossus it was estimated that half the Jedi still lived, though that will have dwindled since it still means that hundreds, if not thousands of Jedi remain in hiding, waiting for their time to fight back.

Well that'll do for now, like with the Sith I'll do another article about those who have fallen.

Species of the week #6 - Luxan

As I have stated previously I am something of a casual fan of Farscape and have been out of touch with the series for some time. However I do recall vividly sitting down to give this new Sci-Fi thing a whirl. One of the things that impressed me most was D'Argo, a warrior of the Luxan race. The species had the classic "human but different" stylings of Star Trek species, but at the same time were wildly distinctive. The further I got into the story I felt they had more in common with Wookies than Klingons.

Luxan

Designation: Sentient
Homeworld: Luxan Territories
Average Height: 5'6"-6'6"















Most of what I know about Luxans comes from D'Argo so I guess I'll be referring to him a lot. But everything about him, from his looks, his strength to his sword that doubles as a rifle this guy just screams originality and cool. What worked for the series too was that each of the characters was an exile and while exibiting traits of their species could not reliably be counted on as typical of them. Put simply you were interested in the character more than his race, which is a good thing. But of course it is nice to know where characters come from so I will detail the nature of the Luxan race. This will inevitably borrow heavily from the Farscape Wiki.

The Luxans are a proud warrior race. Their heads are adorned with armoured noses and heavy tentacles. They also have the ability to unleash a sting with their tongue, leaving them never without a defense. Lead by spiritual leaders called Oricans they have a deep sense of honour and will see a fight through and will never abandon an ally. They have been allies with the genetically similar Ilanics for a long time, aiding them in their war against the Scorvians. But a recent alliance with the Peacekeepers against the Scarrans may not be honoured by those they bargained with.

OK, I'm already copying enough as it is so I'll leave it there for now - I hope you got a sense of my respect for this race if not very much information on them!!

Species of the week #5 - Sangheili

The Sangheili, commonly known as Elites, are one of many species encountered in the Halo series of games. Their design is great and they make a formidable presence when they attack you in game as they are more or less on a par with your genetically enhanced character the Master Chief. Some races are even stronger and weirder, but this race has always been the most memorable of the Covenant races and that's why I picked them for this article. Spoilers for Halo 3 included.

Sangheili

Designation: Sentient
Homeworld: Sanghelios
Average Height: 8'6"









The Sangheili are incredibly well designed as opponents. They have the general humanoid frame, though large enough to make you duck for cover. What's good is that the designers stopped at this, they didn't make them just human with different facial features they created an original look. The Sangheili's jaw is split into four prongs that expand out and retract with eating and expressing emotion. I think that just this alone makes them a cool and original race.

The Sangheili are a proud warrior race, intelligent and cunning and technologically advanced. At some point in their early history they became part of the Covenant, a fanatically religious union of species bent on conquest. Their might and cunning put them in first place in this Covenant, the prominent force of the military, commanding the weaker Unggoy (Grunts), the stealthy Kig-Yar (Jackals) and the powerful but slow Lekoglo (Hunters). They even took the role of honour guard for the Prophets who lead the Covenant of their quest.

The Covenant encountered the Humans, who had colonised many planets, and waged a brutal war that nearly drove humanity into extinction. The Sangheili did think that the humans should have been invited into the Covenant, but as loyal members they continued to fight humanity and devastate their worlds. But things changed for all the species involved when the human colony of Reach was destroyed, one ship the Pillar of Autumn escaped and crashed on a mysterious structure - a ring shaped artificial world. This, it seemed, was the object of the Covenant's religious quest so they did everything to capture it and rid it of the humans that had been stranded on it. But, lead by a SPARTAN 2 super soldier known as the Master Chief (or Demon to the Covenant) the humans discovered that the installation housed the Flood, a super powerful parasite that consumed life. Worse if the Covenant activated the installation, all life in the universe would die.

Humanity succeeded in destroying the installation, and the Sangheili race were cast into disgrace and replaced by the Jiralhanae (Brutes) - one leader was demoted, but given the role of Arbiter, acting for the prophets and acting on the most suicidal missions. The Sangheili were not content with their treatment and began to see through the Prophets and their misguided teachings. A Heretic movement was formed, which the Arbiter tried to quell. But eventually the race as a whole turned their back on the Prophets and allied themselves with the humans. They helped to turn the tide of the battle and gave humanity a chance for survival. The Covenant and the Flood were eventually driven back and an uneasy peace with many hard memories was established between the Sangheili and Humanity.

Star Wars Legacy - The Sith: Inactive Personnel

First an apology for neglect of this blog - I will try and catch up with species of the week soon and post two or three articles next week. I covered the still active members of the new Sith Order in the first series of articles and now I will discuss the fallen and see what they can reveal about the nature of the order in a changed galaxy. All details are current as of issue 16, and since the characters are dead, things are likely to stay that way!!

Darth Ruyn

Species: Twi'lek
Sex: Male
Homeworld: Ryloth?
Position: Trainer
First Appearance: Legacy #2 (Broken part 2)













Darth Ruyn was an aged teacher who trained many of the Sith of Darth Krayt's new order. The best that he had trained was Darth Talon who became Darth Krayt's hand. He and Talon were close and Talon admitted to caring about him yet when ordered to kill her master she decapitated him without hesitation, completing her training and bringing the career of Darth Ruyn to a close.

Darth Maleval

Species: Quarren
Sex: Male
Homeworld: Mon Calamari?
Position: Appointed leader - 407th legion
First Apperance: Legacy#4 - Noob
















Darth Maleval was a ruthless leader in the Sith Order who delighted in inflicting pain on enemies in a variety of ways. He was sent to lead a legion of stormtrooper against another legion that was trying to defect and had been stranded on Borosk. He launched himself into the attack, not seeming to care about the risk of harming his own men and delighting in the use of both his lightsaber and an electrified whip. He demanded absolute loyalty from his troops and pushed them to breaking point when he ordered the lieutenant in charge to execute his own brother who had defected then killed them both when he refused. This enraged the squad who was with him and he was gunned down from behind by one of the troopers.

Darth Kruhl


Species: Human
Sex: Male
Homeworld: Korriban?
Position: Assasin
First Appearance: Legacy: 13 (Ready to Die)













This brutal dark lord was totally dedicated to the Sith Order and completely willing to face death to further the cause. Kruhl organised the Empire aquisition of Munto Codru by manipulating the tribal leaders and eliminating resistance. Next he was given the assignment of infiltrating Imperial stronghold Bastion and assasinating former Emperor Roan Fel. Fel bested him with tactics as well as skill, but the attempt served an alternative goal of making Fel complacent. Whether Kruhl new this or not he was still willing to give his life for a chance to bring down opposition to the Sith.

Jor Torlin

Species: Human
Sex: Male
Homeworld: Korriban
Position: Adept and Sith Agent
First Appearance: Legacy #9 (Trust Issues part 1)










Jor Torlin was trained to be Sith on Korriban, but never had a great enough connection to the force to join the ranks of the Sith. Instead he was trained as an agent, working for Sith Intelligence and Assasination with his latent force powers giving him an edge over other agents. Torlin was given the task of tracking Cade Skywalker and found him on the wheel where he also bumped into Imperial Agent Morrigan Corde who coerced him into working with her to break up an alliance between Fel and the Galactic Alliance. Torlin pursued Skywalker to Ossus then turned on Corde, mistrustful of her, but Corde had alreanty implanted him with toxins which she released - quickly killing him.

Darth Wyrrlok the 1st and 2nd

Not much is known about this particular order other than all the members are Chagrians from the same family and are given the role of loremaster and advisor to Darth Krayt - his most trusted counsil. A thirs Wyyrlok is currently serving and a fourth is in training.

Darth Krayt's Hand

Before Talon could be trained Darth Krayt's "hand" died. Darth Nihl had been intended for the position of "Fist" - in charge of the military forces of the Sith, but this change meant Nihl became a Hand even though Krayt doesn't fully trust him.

Many more Sith have fallen at the hands of Jedi and others, but the Sith are still strong and a great number. But it is important to remember the fallen and they can teach us as much about the group as those who still serve it.