Dorjander Kace

"Varda accepted the dangers of life as a Mandalorian, but she deserved a fair fight against the Republic itself&mdash;not a rigged game against its Force-using dupes! But why expect better from the Republic? That fool captain Morvis is exactly who they are&mdash;no judgement, all ambition! At least Mandalorians believe in something, Zayne. Yes, they can be indiscriminate and brutal, but with our guidance, they can change. The Republic can't. We're on the wrong side! Even with Revan's meddling, the Mandalorians will win. They're stronger this time. But it could take decades&mdash;unless I get more Knights. There's no time to build a Jedi tradition from scratch. But we're good at converting the conquered."

- Dorjander Kace to Zayne Carrick

Dorjander Kace was a former male Human Jedi Master of the Jedi High Council and the leader of the Mandalorian Knight faction during the Mandalorian Wars.

Prisoner of the Mando'ade
"You want to see wrong, Zayne? Let me show you. Here! Her name was Varda. She taught me their traditions&mdash;and I learned to love her. We were expecting a child&mdash;until she was killed by a Republic bomb. A Republic bomb&mdash;launched by the hand of a Jedi!"

- Dorjander Kace, showing an image of Varda to Zayne Carrick

Dorjander Kace was a Human male Jedi Master active during the Old Sith Wars. During the Great Sith War, Kace fought on behalf of the Galactic Republic against the forces of the Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun and his Mandalorian allies. At some point of the conflict, he was taken prisoner by the Mandalorian Crusaders and forced to live in captivity among them. However, while living among the Mandalorians, Kace fell in love with one of them, Varda, who taught him the Mandalorian traditions. Varda became pregnant with Kace's child, but she died in a Republic bombing raid led by a member of the Jedi Order. Kace was grief-stricken, believing that Varda's death by the hand of a Jedi was wrong and that she deserved a fair fight against the Republic, not its Force-using servants. When the war ended in 3,996 BBY with the defeat of Kun and the Mandalorians, the grieving Kace returned to the Jedi. He served with distinction in the following decades, even attaining a spot on the Jedi High Council.

Twenty years after the end of the Great Sith War, the reorganized Mandalorians launched their second conquest of the galaxy. For ten years, the Republic allowed the Mandalorians to roam through the Outer Rim Territories, capturing worlds outside of the Republic jurisdiction. Finally, in 3,966 BBY, the Republic took action by granting the Outer Rim world of Taris membership in the Republic and establishing a defense of the world against a potential Mandalorian attack. Over the course of the next two years, the Republic and the Mandalorians fought a series of minor skirmishes in the region. In the wake of those battles, the charismatic Jedi Knight Revan started lobbying for the Jedi Order's intervention in the conflict. The Council was hesitant to accept Revan's proposal and be drawn into another conflict so soon after the devastating Great Sith War, and of all the Council members, Kace was the one who opposed the Jedi's involvement in the conflict the most. Nevertheless, Revan's cause gathered allies within the Order, and his group grew into the fully-fledged Revanchist movement. In 3,963 BBY, Revan organized the Revanchists under the banner of a Republic mercy corps, which prompted the Jedi Council to sanction Revan's involvement in the war. Consequently, Kace's strong position of non-involvement was not met well with the Republic, so they found a way to force Kace to step down from the Council and be replaced with Master Lucien Draay.

The Mandalorian Knights
"I know it offends some of you to have former Jedi in your ranks. Mandalorians win with arms, not tricks and magic! But that's why we joined your movement. My friends believe in a fair fight&mdash;not a corrupt Republic that leans on Jedi for protection! So this time, when some Jedi began fighting for the Republic, I didn't just mouth objections, like the Council. I set the balance right&mdash;by giving the Mandalorians their own Jedi!"

- Dorjander Kace addressing his Mandalorian soldiers on Halthor

Disillusioned with the corrupt Republic, Kace firmly believed that it could not be changed for the better and that it would lose the war, although it might take decades for that to happen. On the other hand, he considered that with the guidance of the Jedi Order, the Mandalorians could be swayed from their violent ways and become the only hope for a brighter future of the galaxy. To this end, Kace formulated a plan to bring about the Mandalorian victory sooner by evening out the odds and providing the crusaders with their own Jedi Knights. Gathering a number of Jedi Masters who shared his beliefs, Kace formed a clandestine group called the Mandalorian Knights and secretly pledged his allegiance to the Mandalorians. Keeping his true motives secret and still remaining within the ranks of the Jedi Order, Kace then volunteered to join the Revanchist movement. He led his disciples to the front lines of the war, planning to eventually reveal his true allegiance and steal a Republic vessel. The Jedi Master then hoped to use the captured ship to infiltrate the Jedi Enclave on the planet Dantooine and kidnap the Jedi Younglings in order to raise them among the Mandalorians and turn them into new Mandalorian Knights. The leader of the Mandalorians, Mandalore the Ultimate, agreed to let Kace and his Knights keep the kidnapped children once the operation was over and allowed them to establish a training center on the planet Ordo. Mandalore then assigned a detachment of his warriors to assist Kace and ordered them to follow the Jedi's command.

In 3,962 BBY, Kace set his plan in motion by leading the Republic troops in an assault on the planet Essien, which had been recently occupied by Mandalorian forces. As the Republic did not have a regular army, it instead relied on local militias to fight the war. Under Kace's command was the Phaeda militia, a regiment of beings native to the planet Phaeda and drafted into military service by the Republic. The militia operated from the Axehead frigate Reciprocity, commanded by Captain Dallan Morvis. The militia's supposed target was a Mandalorian bastion established under Mount Savage, a mountain located on an island. After landing on the planet, Kace and his Mandalorian Knights took speeder bikes and, under the pretense of leading the charge onto Mandalorian defenses spread over the island's beach line, rode away, leaving Morvis and his militia to fight the Mandalorians on the approach to the beach. After putting up a substantial fight to keep up the illusion of the island's defense, the Mandalorian forces retreated, although they suffered casualties when Morvis refused to cease fire at the beach, hoping to annihilate his enemies completely. Kace and his Knights then returned to Morvis's position, only to witness the Captain arguing with a member of the militia, Zayne Carrick, who was against the decision to fire on the retreating enemies. Claiming that his Knights had secured the beach, Kace lied to Morvis that the remaining Mandalorians had retreated into the forest surrounding Mount Savage. The Jedi Master told Morvis that his men would lead the attack on the mountain, but they would need the Phaeda militia to root out the Mandalorians in the forest. Instead, Morvis suggested using their supply of the Tibanna Six explosive to burn the forest to the ground and kill all the enemies. This once against raised Carrick's protests, but Kace agreed with Morvis's plan and instructed the captain to bring every crew member from the Reciprocity for the attack, claiming that there were prize vessels available for capture at the Mandalorian base.

At nightfall, Morvis and his men went toward Mount Savage, using Tibanna Six to burn the forest ahead of them. Having done that, the Republic troops found piles of scorched Mandalorian armor, leading them to believe that there were no survivors of the Tibanna Six detonation. However, the Mandalorians were never present in the forest, and the armor had been preemptively left there to trick Morvis and his troops. This deception was uncovered by Carrick, who had ventured into the forest before the attack in an effort to warn the Mandalorians of the Republic's intentions but had found nobody there. Carrick's discovery did not help the Phaeda militia, as Kace and the Basilisk war droid-mounted Mandalorians surrounded them. Having captured the Reciprocity, Kace revealed his true allegiance to Morvis and informed the members of the Phaeda militia that they had just been forcibly drafted into the ranks of the Mandalorians. The next step in Kace's scheme was the deactivation of Republic transmitter stations en route to Dantooine, in order to shut down the Jedi Enclave's contact with the Republic. The first of those stations was located on the planet Halthor. Using the Reciprocity, Kace's Mandalorians and the newly recruited Phaeda militia reached the planet. Sighting the Republic ship, the Halthorians deactivated the planet's defense shields and allowed the Reciprocity to land. The transmitter's defenders were taken by surprise as Kace and the Mandalorian warriors disembarked from the ship and attacked the station. After a brief battle, the transmitter was captured, and the Mandalorians quickly established a camp on the planet.

In the aftermath of the fight, Kace gave a speech to the Mandalorians, telling them that he understood their reluctance to allow Force-users in their ranks. He assured his followers that the reason he joined the Mandalorians was to teach the Republic the ways of the Mando'ade, providing the female Devaronian communications technician Koblus Sornell as an example of the true Mandalorian way, citing her determination to fight for her people while raising her son Gheedor alongside her husband Haarm. With Halthor secured, Kace prepared for the next part of his plan&mdash;attacking Phaeda. In order to accomplish that, Mandalore agreed to dispatch three Kandosii-type dreadnaughts staffed with over a hundred thousand warriors to assist Kace's troops. The night after the conquest of Halthor, Kace witnessed his men detaining Morvis, who had tried to kill Ko Sornell in her sleep. Morvis was then put under guard alongside other members of the militia. Also present at the scene was Carrick, whom Kace recognized as the rogue Padawan of Master Lucien Draay. Two years ago, Carrick had been falsely accused of being the perpetrator of the Padawan Massacre of Taris and was forced to run from the Jedi Order, using a variety of ruses and schemes, until his name was cleared. Refusing to be reinstated as a Jedi and returning to his homeworld of Phaeda, Carrick had been drafted into the militia and put under Kace's command for the attack on Essien. Kace and Carrick had a conversation, with Kace revealing to the former Padawan his intention to attack Phaeda. As the three dreadnoughts arrived at Halthor, Kace, recognizing Carrick's talents for subterfuge, presented the latter with an ultimatum&mdash;either he would witness the destruction of his homeworld and the death of his family who were living there, or he could come up with a plan to sever Phaeda's connection with Dantooine without the need for an all-out assault.

Final moves
"This is it then. For Varda, for our child, for all the galaxy's children&mdash;the future of the Jedi is about to change!"

- Dorjander Kace, right before the landing on Dantooine

Hoping to save his planet from annihilation by Kace's forces, Carrick indeed came up with another idea. He offered to use the Reciprocity to infiltrate Phaedacomm, a Bith-managed high security space station located at the outskirts of the Phaeda system. As Phaedacomm handled all signal traffic for Phaeda, connecting the planet to the rest of the galaxy, holding the station for a few days would satisfy Kace's needs to shut down Phaeda's communication with Dantooine and provide the commanders of the dreadnaughts with certain information that they required to follow Kace to Dantooine. Following through with Carrick's plan, Kace and a strike team of Mandalorian Knights and warriors took the Reciprocity to Phaeda. On their approach to the planet, they were intercepted by the Phaeda Planetary Defense Force cruiser Derapha. Since there was no word from the Reciprocity since the battle on Essien, the Derapha refused to let the ship approach Phaeda without speaking to Captain Morvis. However, Carrick answered to the cruiser's hails, claiming that he was the only crew member left standing, as Morvis and the rest of the militia were in sickbay after they had been exposed to an unknown biological weapon used by the Mandalorians on Essien. Kace then interfered, saying that he and his Jedi were unaffected, but Carrick required immediate medical attention. Afraid of letting loose the unknown disease on Phaeda, the Derapha forbade the Reciprocity to land on the planet, but instead directed the Republic ship to Phaedacomm, which possessed a medical station with a quarantine area, just as Carrick had planned.

After docking with Phaedacomm, Kace and his Knights delivered Carrick and the Mandalorian strike team inside the medical facility, using sealed biohazard-containment bags, lying to the Bith station operators that the bags carried the infected members of the Phaeda militia. Before the bags could be delivered inside the quarantine area, Carrick, wearing makeup applied to make him look infected, broke out of his bag, calling for help. According to Carrick's plan, the Bith would have no choice but to quarantine the entire station or risk the disease breaking out. However, the Bith wanted to evacuate from the facility instead. Kace tried to use a mind trick to convince them to stay, but at this point, the Mandalorians, led by the Togorian Rally Master Kra'ake, broke free from the containment bags, tired of waiting and acting discreetly. Kra'ake and his men opened fire at the Bith, leaving Kace and his Knights no choice but to join the fight. As a result, all of the Bith were killed, and a fight broke out between Carrick and Kra'ake, the former being angered by the unnecessary killing. Kace stopped their fight, explaining to Carrick that the Mandalorians were warriors by nature and they had already been pushed to their limits with all the subterfuge. Kace considered the mission a success, and congratulated Carrick on saving his home planet from invasion, assigning Ko Sornell to watch over the former Padawan. With the Phaedacomm in Kace's hands, the Jedi Master received access to information he hoped to learn on Phaeda and give to the dreadnaught chiefs. Kra'ake then departed for Halthor to deliver the information.

Shortly afterward, Kace was confronted by Carrick, who had managed to uncover a file that the Republic Ministry of Defense had been keeping on the Jedi Master since the Great Sith War, learning about Kace's time in captivity. Carrick also traced Kace's attacks, deducing that the next target was Dantooine, although he thought that Kace was going to kill the trainees there. Kace then explained his true goal to Carrick, telling him about Varda and his own views on the Republic, the Mandalorians, and the war. The Jedi Master tried to convince Carrick to join his cause, but when the latter declined, he ordered Ko Sornell, who was supposed to stay in charge of Phaedacomm, to lock the former Padawan inside the station's quarantine area, hoping that he would change his mind by the time Kace returned with the younglings. Rallying his Knights and Mandalorian warriors aboard the Reciprocity, Kace gave a final motivating speech before they embarked on their mission. He was also surprised to find Sornell aboard the Republic ship; the Devaronian claiming that the Jedi Master would need his best warriors during the operation. Upon entering the Reciprocity bridge, Sornell punched the technician who was supposed to monitor all communications with the dreadnaughts. When Kace asked her why she did that, the Devaronian replied that the man had welched on a bargain with her sixteen years ago. Admiring the woman's spirit that briefly reminded him of Varda, Kace let her stay and assigned her to take the knocked out technician's station. Little did Kace know that Sornell had volunteered on the mission with the purpose of sabotaging it. Having come to respect Carrick after he had saved her and Gheedor's lives on Essien, Sornell had let him go instead of locking him down as Kace had ordered her.

When the Reciprocity reached Dantooine, it was intercepted by a squadron of Aurek-class tactical strikefighters from the local security force. However, when Kace introduced himself, one of the Enclave's Masters, Zhar Lestin called back the starfighters, apologizing before Kace and saying that they did not know about his arrival since Dantooine's communications with Phaeda and the Core Worlds were down. Continuing his bluff, Kace claimed that the communications problem was the exact reason for his arrival, stating that the Republic had sent him to reinforce Dantooine's military force until the issue was sorted out. Lestin believed Kace and let him through. Before proceeding with the landing, Kace asked Sornell to contact the dreadnaughts and find out if they were following as planned. The Devaronian replied that they did, although she had in fact received messages that the dreadnaughts' approach was halted when a "Jedi Brain Fever" broke out aboard the dreadnaught Parjai. The "Jedi Brain Fever," in fact, was nothing more than a ruse created by Carrick, who had returned to Halthor, liberated the members of the Phaeda militia, infiltrated the Parjai, and forced its crew to abandon ship by pretending to be infected. Unaware of those developments due to Sornell's lies, Kace gave his troops the signal to land on Dantooine.

Once there, Kace's troops rounded up the Enclave's staff and trainees. Kace instructed his men not to use blaster fire, afraid of harming the children. The teachers initially put up a defense, with Lestin engaging Kace in a lightsaber duel. However, as he witnessed one of Kace's dreadnaughts arriving, Lestin realized that the fight was lost and he and his men stood down. Kace's men locked Lestin and the rest of the staff inside the local Jedi Council's convocation chamber. As Kace explained to the Jedi children that they were going to be joining the Mandalorians, a Shaadlar-type troopship landed near the enclave to bring the trainees to the dreadnaught. Kace and his Mandalorians escorted the Jedi children to the troopship, where they met a Mandalorian Field Marshal, who introduced himself as Glomkettle, the commander of the dreadnaught Parjai in orbit. Noting the absence of the other two dreadnaughts, Kace asked Glomkettle what had happened to them, and the Field Marshal replied that they were delayed. Glomkettle assured Kace that the Parjai was ready to take aboard the Jedi children, but the Jedi Master then brought up the subject of Reciprocity. Believing that it had served its purpose, and that dividing the troops to bring it to the Mandalorian territory would be unwise, he proposed to scuttle it. As soon as he mentioned the scuttling of the Republic ship, Kace noticed one of Glomkettle's Rally Masters reacting suspiciously horrified by that perspective, leading Kace to believe that the Rally Master was in fact, Captain Morvis in disguise. Glomkettle then informed Kace that apparently, the Mandalore had assigned Kace's Knights a new secret mission which would require further usage of the Reciprocity, while the Jedi children were to be taken to Mandalorian space aboard the Parjai. Kace, however, then spoke to the suspicious Rally Master as though he was speaking to Morvis, telling that he was glad to see the Captain again. Distracted, Morvis blew up his cover and responded to the greeting.

Ordering his men to cut off the newly arrived Mandalorians&mdash;the members of the Phaeda militia&mdash;from their troopship. Meanwhile, Kace took Morvis and "Glomkettle," or rather Carrick, into custody, ordering Carrick's troops to surrender. Revealing that he had a backup plan, Carrick remotely activated the troopship's self-destruct mechanism, blowing the vessel up and knocking Kace onto the ground. In the ensuing chaos, the Reciprocity crew evacuated the Jedi children onto the frigate and took off. Refusing to surrender, Kace activated his jetpack and flew toward the Republic vessel, lightsaber ignited. He was intercepted mid-flight by Carrick, who used his own jetpack to crash into Kace. The two men crashed through the Enclave's glass rooftop, landing inside the Jedi Council chamber, much to the surprise of the academy staff still chained there. After kicking Carrick in the gut, Kace once again tried to fly toward the Reciprocity, but he was stopped by Carrick. Sornell then entered the chamber, intent on stopping the fighting, saying that adapting orphaned children to the Mandalorian way was one thing, but kidnapping them was unacceptable for a Mandalorian. She also revealed that Kace was left alone in his fight, as the other two dreadnaughts had been recalled by Mandalore after the stunt Carrick had pulled and the loss of the Parjai. Enraged, Kace poised to kill both her and Carrick. However, Sornell revealed that she was pregnant with another child, and Carrick, reminding Kace of Varda, asked him if he was willing to commit the same thing the Jedi had done to Varda and her unborn child. Convinced that he was wrong in his plan all along. He deactivated his lightsaber and released Lestin and the other teachers. Taken into custody by Lestin, Kace asked only one thing from the Jedi Master&mdash;to let Sornell go back to her family.

Brought to the galactic capital of Coruscant, Kace and the rest of the Mandalorian Knights stood trial before a large audience, with Minister of Defense Koa Delko standing as the prosecutor in the Senate Hall. Even there, Kace refused to give up his dream of turning the Jedi to the Mandalorian side and proclaimed from his platform on the righteousness of his cause for nine hours.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic&mdash;War