The Dark Forces Saga, Part 1

By By Abel G. Peña and Jason Fry

As the saying goes, every saga has a beginning.

By 1994, the LucasArts company had already created several wildly successful games based on the Star Wars films. But that particular year, they created a PC game that took gamers and fans by storm. The multiple award-winning Dark Forces, the premier Star Wars first-person shooter, crafted a unique storyline deeply integrated into the Star Wars mythos. Who had stolen the Death Star plans, and how? Star Wars fans were about to find out, and the hero of Dark Forces, Kyle Katarn, was about to be propelled into Expanded Universe stardom.

Since then, LucasArts has created dozens of impressive Star Wars titles, including two other Kyle vehicles, Jedi Knight and Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast -- as well as Mysteries of the Sith and Jedi Academy, in which Kyle has smaller roles. Each game contributes to the immense tapestry of the Star Wars mythology. The adventures of the mercenary Kyle Katarn have spilled over into Star Wars guide books, children's stories, comics, novels, and even audio dramas, from a thousand years before the events of The Phantom Menace to beyond Return of the Jedi.

Every saga has a beginning, but perhaps some are never meant to end.

Kyle Katarn, Jedi Knight

No one said fulfilling a Jedi prophecy is easy -- just ask the Skywalkers. For Kyle Katarn, it stole his innocence, took his parents, and nearly plunged him into the dark side.

Kyle grew up a farmboy on Sulon, a satellite of Sullust. Raised by Morgan and Patricia Katarn, Kyle enjoyed a modest but good upbringing until tragedy struck. The shoddy sensor package on the Katarns' used BT-16 perimeter security droid, programmed to blast small creatures harmful to cropland, malfunctioned one evening, mistaking a late-working Patricia Katarn for a viable target. Patricia's death was devastating for the Katarn men, both emotionally and financially. Without the extra hand to help on the farm, they would be more strapped than ever for credits.

Thus, Kyle joined the Academy on Carida as soon as he turned 18, hoping to alleviate some of the burden on his father while getting a first-rate free education. At the Academy, Kyle excelled at cybernetics systems theory and information engineering. Tragedy struck again, however, when the Dark Jedi Jerec discovered Morgan Katarn's Rebel ties and personally beheaded him. When Kyle discovered the treachery of his Imperial masters, he went rogue, working as a mercenary, pirate, and loose Rebel operative with his close friend Jan Ors to undermine the Imperial war machine.

Kyle's missions for the Alliance included the capture of part of the Death Star plans and the destruction of General Rom Mohc's deadly Dark Trooper project. Kyle also took part in a SpecForce mission put together by Rebel operative Corwin Shelvay, in which he teamed up with Force-sensitives Shira Brie and Erling Tredway to render inoperative the superlaser of the second Death Star en route to D'rinba IV.

One year after the destruction of that battle station at Endor, Kyle fulfilled the ancient prophecy that set free the Jedi spirits on Ruusan -- originally trapped during the Light and Dark War by Sith Lord Kaan -- by defeating no fewer than seven Dark Jedi. But the cost was great. Kyle often found himself relying on the dark side in order to defeat his powerful opponents. Only the combination of the Jedi Master Rahn's guidance, Kyle's love for Jan, and the memory of his father kept him from succumbing completely to the dark side in his final confrontation with the Dark Jedi Jerec.

Kyle continued working with Jan for the New Republic on odd missions, hooking up with living legend Bey and the mercenaries Dash Rendar and Guri on an insertion mission to the Tof fortress world Saijo, and teaming up with a demented, pint-sized lagomorph and nearly razing Space Station Kwenn while apprehending the freelance Ketton spy Derrida. Kyle eventually took a more permanent role with the New Republic and served with Page's Commandos, executing missions from Kashyyyk to Boudolayz to Garos IV. During this time, Luke Skywalker offered to further Kyle's Force training, but Kyle's fears of the darkness within him kept him from accepting. One person who understood Kyle's reluctance was Mara Jade, the former Emperor's Hand. She and Kyle took up the rare bond of reciprocal apprenticeship, a facet of the Jedi Concordance of Fealty little practiced since the Cleansing of the Nine Houses. When Kyle fell to the dark side on Drommund Kaas, Mara was able to turn him back, if only temporarily.

Kyle realized he still carried the taint of the dark side from his conflict with Jerec. When Master Skywalker made a second offer to train him, Kyle immediately took him up on it, believing it would help him tame his dark feelings. Kyle developed a friendship with fellow Jedi trainee Corran Horn, but when two of Luke's students fell to the dark side, the anxiety Kyle felt about his earlier brush with darkness multiplied. Kyle surrendered his lightsaber to Luke, relying instead on his trusty Bryar pistol, and exiled himself from the New Jedi Order.

Kyle again went rogue, working loosely with Jan on unofficial New Republic missions. Nearly eight years after Kyle defeated Jerec on Ruusan, the valley was threatened once again, this time by a former student of Master Skywalker called Desann, forcing Kyle to work alongside Luke to protect the galaxy. After defeating the Dark Jedi, Kyle returned to the Jedi academy with renewed confidence.

Kyle became the academy's foremost battlemaster, honing the skills of countless Jedi students like Jaden Korr, and stopping the dark side berserker Jeng Droga. During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Kyle helped develop strategies against the invaders, freed the human captives of the Imperial Remnant world Ord Sedra, and flew a living Sekotan starship in the final battle for the planet Zonama Sekot.

While in Imperial Remnant space, Kyle heard a rumor that the Sith had possibly survived all these years after Endor. Due to his personal experience with mysterious Sith magic on Drommund Kaas, Kyle took it upon himself to investigate after the invasion, following clues from Ord Sedra in the Clacis Sector to Yaga Minor, and finally striking out into the region known as the Cloak of the Sith. There's been no word from Kyle for some time, and it's feared that he's succumbed to the same fate as the Jedi Daye Azur-Jamin, who inexplicably disappeared during the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Kyle Katarn (NJO): Male Human Scoundrel 4/Soldier 4/Jedi Guardian 7/Jedi Weapon Master 3; Init +3 (Dex); Defense 26 (+13 class, +3 Dex); Spd 10 m; VP/WP 139/18; Atk +17/+12/+7 melee (1d6+2, unarmed) or +17/+12/+7 melee (4d8+4/19-20, lightsaber) or +18/+13/+8 ranged (3d4+1, Bryar pistol); SQ: Deflect (attack –4), deflect (defense +1), Jedi Knight, illicit barter, increase weapon damage (lightsaber), lucky, precise attack +2, superior weapon focus (lightsaber); SV Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +7; SZ M; FP 7; DSP 0; Rep +8; Str 14, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 14.

Equipment: Bryar pistol, thermal detonator, combat jumpsuit (DR 3), lightsaber, personal data assistant.

Skills: Astrogate +6, Balance +3, Bluff +9, Computer Use +4, Demolitions +7, Diplomacy +3, Disable Device +11, Disguise +3, Gather Information +5, Hide +11, Intimidate +6, Jump +4, Knowledge (streetwise) +4, Knowledge (Jedi lore) +4, Knowledge (tactics) +5, Listen +8, Move Silently +14, Pilot +9, Read/Write Basic, Repair +7, Search +5, Speak Basic, Speak Huttese, Spot +8, Treat Injury +5, Tumble +8.

Force Skills: Affect Mind +4, Battlemind +16, Enhance Ability +11, Heal Self +3, Force Stealth +4, Force Push +6, Move Object +5.

Feats: Ambidexterity, Armor Proficiency (light), Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (lightsaber), Expertise, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Martial Arts, Mobility, Skill Emphasis (Move Silently), Spacer, Spring Attack, Starship Operation (space transport), Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (Bryar pistol), Weapon Focus (lightsaber), Weapon Group Proficiencies (blaster pistols, blaster rifles, heavy weapons, simple weapons, vibro weapons).

Force Feats: Alter, Burst of Speed, Control, Lightsaber Defense, Sense.

Rom Mohc, Soldier for the Empire

A ground-pounder serving under the decorated Republic Grand Army General Locus Geen during the Clone Wars, Rom Mohc saw action in the Coruscant Insurrection of the Separatist's cortosis droid army. A cybernetics specialist obsessed with personal combat, Trooper Mohc fought the droids mano-a-mano, exploiting the weaknesses he had observed in the battle droids' designs. For his bravery, Mohc was touted as a hero all over the HoloNet.

An eccentric intelligence prone to violence, Mohc's mania for personal combat continued into his service with the Galactic Empire, earning him numerous commendations, including three Imperial Medals of Valor and the Distinguished Medal of Imperial Honor. Over the years, Mohc also set up a trophy room full of battle droids he had personally defeated in man-to-droid match ups, including a prototype IG97, a deadly ZQ infantry droid, and Mark IX-XI Executioners. It was thus during his time as a Zero-G Imperial Spacetroooper that Mohc became increasingly convinced he could build a warbot superior to anything the galaxy had ever seen. To this end, he studied the designs of mechanical soldiers throughout history, from Xim to the Sith to the Iron Knights of the Old Republic. The ultimate result was General Mohc's awesome Dark Trooper project.

Mohc at last met his match when the Imperial traitor Kyle Katarn, whom Mohc had last seen receiving the prized Medal of Valor, confronted him on the Arc Hammer. Despite donning one of the only Phase Three Dark Trooper exosuits produced aboard the massive craft, Mohc was defeated by the Rebel in hand-to-hand combat. The general was atomized along with the rest of the Dark Trooper project when Kyle destroyed the mobile production facility.

Rom Mohc (A New Hope): Male Human Noble 1/Soldier 5/Officer 4; Init +5; Defense 17 (+6 class, +1 Dex); Spd 10 m; VP/WP 59/17; Atk +9/+4 melee (1d6+2, punch) or +8/+3 ranged (3d6, blaster pistol); SQ bonus class skill (repair), call in a favor, leadership, requisition supplies; SV Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +5; SZ M; FP 2; DSP 7; Rep 7; Str 14, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 11.

Equipment: Multichannel comlink, code cylinder, blaster pistol, Phase Three Dark Trooper exosuit,* Arc Hammer.

Skills: Astrogate +3, Computer Use +14, Demolitions +7, Diplomacy + 6, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (tactics) +8, Knowledge (cybernetics) +10, Listen +5, Pilot +5, Read/Write Basic, Repair +10, Search +3, Speak Basic, Spot +4.

Feats: Armor Proficiency (light, medium, heavy, powered), Dodge, Gearhead, Heroic Surge, Improved Initiative, Martial Artist, Toughness, Weapon Group Proficiency (blaster pistols, blaster rifles, heavy weapons, simple weapons, vibro weapons), Zero-G Combat.

*See the Rebellion Era Sourcebook, pages 104-105.