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The Dark Forces Saga, Part 2Unsung Heroes of the Light | ||||||||||
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As the sacrifice of Morgan Katarn illustrates, the story of Kyle Katarn overlaps with the stories of many other unsung heroes. In this article, we look at two: the Rebel operative Jan Ors, with whom Kyle shares a deep love, and Qu Rahn, the Old Republic Jedi Master who kept Kyle from falling to the Dark Side. Both were instrumental in helping Kyle fulfill the prophecy of the Valley of the Jedi, and they've served the cause of justice in their own ways throughout the whole of their lives. Jan Ors, Rebel AgentUnlike most Alderaanians, Jan didn't become a Rebel due to her homeworld's destruction. Her mother and father (a ballet choreographer and an aerospace engineer, respectively) disagreed with Alderaan's pacifistic stance following the Clone Wars, and they helped Earnst Kamiel found the anti-Empire terrorist group the Justice Action Network -- or JAN, after their daughter. When she was old enough, Jan was brought into the family business.
Why Jan Ors left the extremist group for the Alliance is one of the operative's many mysteries, though it's suspected that the close relationship her parents shared with Mon Mothma years before had something to do with it. Jan had already infiltrated Imperial Intelligence under the name Jan Strange when she contacted the Alliance, providing priceless counter-intelligence. Within Intell, she and Imperial cadet Kyle Katarn had their first brief interactions, though the two remained largely oblivious to each other. Yet the stage was set. When Jan crossed paths with Kyle again during a wild and bloody Imperial raid on the asteroid AX-456, the extreme circumstances, including Kyle's newfound self-confidence (not to mention facial hair), along with Jan's Rebel fatigues, combined to create a surreal encounter. Locking eyes for the first time, Jan and Kyle shared a heart-stopping moment of vague recognition, as if they'd once met in a dream. Their destinies henceforth became permanently intertwined. Jan falsified accounts of her first meetings with Kyle in coded transmissions to Mon Mothma and others, exaggerating the depth of their early exchanges in order to convince the Alliance leaders of Kyle's trustworthiness as a Rebel defector, which Jan felt in her heart. Once Kyle joined the Alliance, he and Jan took on several missions together in the busted starship the Moldy Crow, including the capture of a partial Death Star schematic and squashing General Mohc's dream of a Dark Trooper army. Kyle even saved Jan when her Imperial cover was blown trying to assassinate the Head of the School of Torturers. All the while, Jan's feelings for Kyle grew, though she tempered them for fear of letting someone get too close. Her attitude changed, however, during the race for the Valley of the Jedi, during which Jan and Kyle declared their love. As freedom fighters, Jan and Kyle's relationship was far from ideal, particularly with Kyle's dark mood swings and the close bond he formed with the former Emperor's Hand Mara Jade, but the pair pulled through. On Mon Mothma's recommendation, Jan joined Admiral Hiram Drayson's secretive Alpha Blue intelligence agency, where she helped expose the Yevethan hypocrisy. She also kept a vigilant eye on ambiguous threats like the socialites of the Order of the Canted Circle and the Azurite Society of Lords, and the "retired" Grand Admiral Grant. In her new capacity, Jan was able to assign Kyle and accompany him on off-the-record missions against the Imperial Remnant.
Eventually, Admiral Drayson retired from Alpha Blue and Jan took over his position -- just in time for the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. During the crisis, she enlisted the aid of Lurrian genetic engineers and the Chiss, among others, for a way to defeat the enemy, ultimately resulting in the genocidal concoction codenamed Alpha Red. More recently, she has spent every spare moment working with Kyle's one-time Jedi apprentice Jaden Korr, zealously searching for any leads to Kyle's whereabouts. Jan Ors (NJO): Human Female Scout 5/Soldier 5/Officer 5; Init +3; Def 21 (+8 class, +3 Dex); Spd 10m; VP/WP 101/16; Atk +12/+7/+2 melee (2d6, vibroblade), +14/+9/+4 ranged (3d6, blaster pistol); SQ extreme effort (1/day), heart +1, leadership, requisition supplies, skill mastery (Disguise), tactics, trailblazing, uncanny dodge (Dex bonus to Defense); SV Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +8; SZ M; FP 5; DSP 1; Rep 9; Str 12, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 15. Equipment: Blaster pistol, comlink, thermal detonator, vibroblade. Skills: Astrogate +4, Computer Use +8, Demolitions +9, Diplomacy +5, Disable Device +6, Disguise +9, Gather Information +8, Hide +5, Knowledge (politics) +12, Knowledge (tactics) +8, Move Silently +6, Pilot +8, Repair +6, Search +5, Sleight of Hand +4, Spot +5, Survival +8 Feats: Armor Proficiency (light), Blind-Fight, Cautious, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Influence, Martial Artist, Persuasive, Quick Draw, Sharp-Eyed, Starship Operation (space transport), Stealthy, Toughness, Weapon Group Proficiency (blaster pistols, blaster rifles, heavy weapons, simple weapons, vibro weapons).
Qu Rahn, Jedi MasterOne of the survivors of the Jedi Purge, Master Qu Rahn had been trained by Master Yoda years earlier while a Jedi youngling in the Katarn Clan, so named for a deadly Kashyyyk predator. A passionately loyal Jedi, Rahn was among the Jedi hidden at the location betrayed by the Jedi Halagad Ventor to Darth Vader. Deeply sickened by the actions of Jedi traitors like Vader, Ventor, and Jerec, Rahn made a risky visit to Yoda on Dagobah to soothe his troubled mind. Instead, Yoda digressed cryptically about a "valley of Jedi souls," handed Rahn a gold lightsaber, and elevated him to the rank of Jedi Master, promising Rahn that one day he would understand. Puzzled, Rahn accepted the gift, vowing to protect the lightsaber as it would him. Rahn spent the following decades looking obsessively for the so-called Valley of the Souls, but the place seemed as mythic as Millinar or the Lost City of the Jedi. What's more, the Inquisitorius looked for Jedi just as obsessively, and eventually the Inquisitor Jerec learned about Rahn's search. The race was now on. At times, Rahn almost hoped Jerec would find him, so he could exact justice on the traitor. Rahn even heard one day that another of the Jedi betrayers, Ventor, had been found by a Rebel team and redeemed, but Rahn dismissed the incredulous rumor. "Once you start down the dark path," Yoda had said, "forever will it dominate your destiny." Turncoats like Ventor and Vader were beyond redemption. After long years of fruitless investigation, Rahn nearly gave into despair, but then a vision led him to a man tellingly named Morgan Katarn. Morgan knew the coordinates of the Valley of the Jedi on Rusaan, and he told Rahn of the natives' thousand-year-old prophecy: "And a Knight shall come, a battle will be fought, and the prisoners go free. Rahn, having also foreseen his own capture in the vision that brought him to Morgan, told the mystified farmer to give the coordinates to his son Kyle, along with Rahn's personal lightsaber. Rahn was eventually captured by Jerec and his Dark Jedi, and Yoda's lightsaber stripped from his possession. Having foreseen this event, Rahn attempted to will himself to die, but such Jedi tricks were old hat for Imperial Inquisitors. Jerec prevented Rahn from taking his own life and leeched the information he required from the Jedi's mind. Failing to keep his master's weapon and betraying the secret of the valley, Rahn was crushed. He was no better than the Jedi traitors he despised, he realized. At that moment, the Jedi Master gave into despair, stealing the Dark Jedi Yun's lightsaber and launching himself aggressively at his Dark Side captors.
All proved for naught, however, as a telekinetic blast of darkness from Jerec brought Rahn to his knees, and the Dark Jedi approached to slay him. Yoda's promise of understanding echoed in Rahn's mind as Jerec struck him down. At that moment, an explosion of light filled Rahn's vision and the glowing spirits of Anakin Skywalker and Halagad Ventor appeared before him, men the Jedi Master had never known yet had truly hated his entire life. Rahn smiled at this, Master Yoda's final lesson, before fading into the Light. Qu Rahn: Male Human Jedi Consular 13/Jedi Master 2; Init +1; Def 19 (+8 class, +1 Dex); Spd 10m; VP/WP 89/13; Atk +11/+6/+1 melee (5d8, crit 19–20, lightsaber), +12/+7/+2 ranged; SQ block, deflect (defense +2, attack –3, extend defense and attack), Force secret (Fear), healing; SV Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +13; SZ M; FP 14; DSP 3; Rep 9; Str 11, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 15. Equipment: lightsaber, Jedi robes. Skills: Computer Use +4, Craft (lightsaber) +4, Diplomacy +7, Gather Information +5, Knowledge (Jedi lore) +11, Read/Write Basic, Read/Write Socorran, Sense Motive +7, Speak Basic, Speak Socorran, Survival +6, Treat Injury +6. Force Skills: Empathy +12, Enhance Senses +18, Farseeing +11, Fear +10, Friendship +12, See Force +15, Telepathy +16. Feats: Dodge, Endurance, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (lightsaber), Force-Sensitive, Martial Arts, Persuasive, Skill Emphasis (Empathy), Weapon Group Proficiency (blaster pistols, simple weapons). Force Feats: Alter, Burst of Speed, Control, Force Mastery, Force Whirlwind, Lightsaber Defense, Master Defense, Sense.
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