Jorj Car'das

"You have excellent insight into the hearts of others."

- Thrawn

Jorj Car'das was a Human male from Corellia who lived during the time of the Galactic Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the New Republic. Early in his life, Car'das joined the crew of the Bargain Hunter, working mainly as a smuggler for the Hutts. In 27 BBY, Car'das, Dubrak Qennto, and Maris Ferasi became the captives of Commander Thrawn of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. Thrawn wished to learn the language of the Republic from the smugglers; they stayed in his base on Crustai for several weeks, teaching him Basic and learning the Chiss language, Cheunh. Car'das assisted Thrawn in defeating both the vicious Vagaari and the Outbound Flight, before being allowed to return to the Republic.

Car'das eventually parted ways with his companions after being given an offer by Sith agent Kinman Doriana to start a smuggling organization which would double as an intelligence operation for Darth Sidious. Car'das's organization flourished, and he built up a huge repository of information. However, he was kidnapped by a group of Dark Jedi during the Clone Wars, and although he was rescued by Jedi Master Yoda, Car'das left the encounter a changed man. He became extremely ruthless during the time of the Empire, though his health began to deteriorate; Yoda healed him with the Force initially, though the second time Car'das visited Yoda's planet of residence, Dagobah, the Jedi Master refused to heal him, sending him to the Aing-Tii monks instead. Car'das ultimately spent over a dozen years studying with the Aing-Tii, learning of their views on the Force. He later settled down on the planet Exocron, though in 19 ABY he was approached by smuggler Talon Karrde, who was seeking an intact copy of the Caamas Document in the hopes of ending the crisis, though Car'das did not possess a copy. He was, however, privy to top secret information about Moff Vilim Disra's plot to impersonate Thrawn, which Karrde used to help end the crisis.

Early life
Born and raised on Corellia during the waning days of the Galactic Republic, Jorj Car'das lived an unremarkable early life. He was well educated, though he rarely traveled and had a limited knowledge of other parts of the galaxy and their native species. By 27 BBY, just a few years after leaving school, Car'das was a navigator aboard the Bargain Hunter, a smuggling ship rented by Captain Dubrak Qennto. The Bargain Hunter had just three crew members&mdash;Car'das, Qennto, and Maris Ferasi&mdash;though they made a reasonably lucrative trade smuggling firegems and other illicit materials to Hutt gangsters in the Outer Rim.

Meeting Thrawn
In 27 BBY, the Bargain Hunter was on a smuggling run transporting firegems hidden within stolen furs to Drixo the Hutt. Drixo's rival, Progga, had learned of the operation, and launched an attack on the Bargain Hunter on the fringes of the Outer Rim. As navigator, Car'das was forced to make an emergency hyperspace jump, and the ship ended up deep in the Unknown Regions. Qennto was furious at the Corellian for jumping blind, but Ferasi defended Car'das, knowing that he had had no choice. However, they followed by Progga, who believed that Qennto had as secret treasure hold. Just as the Hutt prepared to fire on them, an unknown group of alien ships&mdash;three fighter-size craft and a larger cruiser&mdash;arrived, deploying a group of Connor nets which disabled the two ships. The Bargain Hunter was left floating adrift in space for several minutes, as the unknown alien force who had deployed the nets attacked Progga's larger ship. They destroyed the Hutt's with ease, leaving Car'das and his companions fearful about their capabilities.

Qennto and Ferasi departed the bridge to check the extent of the damage caused by the Connor nets, leaving Car'das alone on the bridge, ready to reply to any attempts at contact made by the attackers. They made no attempt to communicate, however, and Qennto and Ferasi were able to restore the majority of the freighter's systems while the attackers searched Progga's vessel. Eventually, one of the smaller alien ships beckoned for the Bargain Hunter to follow them towards the largest ship, where they docked. Upon exiting their ship, they were escorted by a pair of blue-skinned Humanoids to a being named Mitth'raw'nuruodo&mdash;known by his core name of Thrawn. After finding a language which both parties were proficient in&mdash;Sy Bisti, a local trade language&mdash;Thrawn identified himself as the leader of a frontier picket force of the Chiss Ascendancy's Expansionary Fleet. He expressed a particular interest in Car'das, inquiring as to who they were and what their purpose was. Car'das answered mostly truthfully, omitting any mention of the firegems, though Thrawn was suspicious that they were scouts for an invasion attempt, and requested to examine their cargo. Qennto, Ferasi, and Car'das were taken to their temporary living quarters while Thrawn's soldiers searched the Bargain Hunter.

After being held for a while, Thrawn spoke to them, fearing they were the beginning of an invasion force. He asked that Car'das alone answer his questions, much to Qennto's annoynace. Car'das felt that it would not be wise to lie to the Chiss commander, and answered him truthfully, once again irritating Qennto, who felt it was not wise to tell Thrawn their occupation, and motives. Car'das protested that Thrawn had seemed to know already, and had an aura of one whom it was not wise to lie to.

Thrawn kept the three Humans aboard his ship, somewhere between guests and prisoners; over the months that followed, Car'das learned Cheunh, and after the defeat of the Vagaari and the destruction of Outbound Flight, he boarded the ship and discovered the surviving Lorana Jinzler. He promised Jedi Jinzler to deliver her brother, Dean Jinzler, to the remains of Outbound Flight, before he left her and Thrawn's brother, Syndic Mitth'ras'safis, to Outbound Flight. Later, he and Thrawn parted as friends. He returned to the Republic with Kinman Doriana, who offered him a job as the head of a smuggling organization that would also serve as an intelligence operation for Darth Sidious.

Smuggler
"In his own way, he was even more ruthless than Jabba the Hutt."

- Talon Karrde

By the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Car'das had acquired a reputation as an up-and-coming smuggler. Although his organization was small compared to what the Hutts had, it grew steadily: for instance, he took control of Booster Terrik's operation when Booster was sent to Kessel by Hal Horn.

27 months after the Battle of Geonosis, Car'das's ship was commandeered by one of the Dark Jedi from Bpfassh, who killed all the crew aboard his ship and demanded passage. Car'das survived the Dark Jedi's battle after receiving treatment from Jedi Master Yoda on Dagobah. However, somehow Car'das was changed by the encounter. He began taking his organization to higher levels, creating a small empire that was involved in a number of criminal activities but not dominant in any one of them. This allowed him to become quite rich and modestly powerful, and his organization began to rival the Hutts' outfits. He somehow seemed to know the right move in any situation, and was always outthinking his opponents. It was during this time that Car'das also began amassing a huge library of datacards, storing information away like it was free credits.

Sometime later, he established the Car'das syndicate that was later taken over by Talon Karrde.

Disappearance
Then, one day around 0 BBY, Car'das boarded into his private yacht and disappeared. His health finally started to fail, and the new life he had been given by Yoda evaporated. Car'das traveled to Dagobah to demand that Yoda put everything right. Yoda simply took his blaster and the beckon call from his ship and flung them into the swamp, then berated Car'das for wasting the gift he had been given. He also told Car'das that he couldn't help him any further, since he was busy preparing for the arrival of Luke Skywalker. Car'das realized he was so embarrassed by his actions that he couldn't return to his group, so he fled to Exocron, where Yoda had indicated he might receive help from the Aing-Tii monks.

His organization continued to thrive for several months, but the lieutenants began to discuss the need for a true leader. Rather than put it to a vote, Talon Karrde&mdash;one of Car'das's most trusted students&mdash;simply took control of the organization. The other leaders weren't happy, but the new operation flourished for the next twenty years. After the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Karrde sent Lando Calrissian and Mara Jade to search for Car'das, a search which took seven years and ended up with Car'das somewhere on the planet Exocron. The lone clue was the beckon call Luke Skywalker had recovered on Dagobah.

Reunion with Karrde
Later, Lando thought that Car'das held information which could help the New Republic diffuse the Caamas Incident, but Karrde refused to bring Car'das into it. During the Incident, Karrde finally realized that he had to confront Car'das; if not to confront his own fears, then to recover a copy of the Caamas Document. Car'das played an elaborate ruse on him, first appearing as a withered old man bed-ridden on the planet Exocron. Car'das's fortress was built into the side of a mountain, and Karrde was surprised at the other man's advanced age.

However, Car'das had been planning this for some time&mdash;ever since he learned of Calrissian and Jade's search. Car'das used Karrde's desire to locate him as a way to draw the crimelord Rei'kas to Exocron and near the Kathol Rift. Car'das and Trey David knew Exocron couldn't stand against Rei'kas's fleet, but they also knew that the Aing-Tii monks wanted to eliminate Rei'kas. By allowing Karrde to get to Exocron, Car'das and David also gave Exocron's location to Rei'kas. However, Rei'kas' fleet was destroyed by the Aing-Tii monks when it tried to attack Exocron. This maneuvering was nearly transparent to Karrde, who realized that Car'das was more than a frail old man. He returned to Exocron and confronted Car'das again, who was no longer an aged man but a healthy man of somewhat advanced age. He also revealed the true size of his fortress, with its immense library of datacards. Within it, Car'das was unable to locate a copy of the Caamas Document. He was, however, able to dig up a wealth of information on Grodin Tierce, Moff Disra, and the conman Flim. Karrde and Shada D'ukal brought this information back to Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, after saying their goodbyes to Car'das.

Fulfilling a promise
Car'das vanished from the galactic scene for a couple of years, before Dean Jinzler revealed that he had received word of Voss Parck's mission to locate the remains of the Outbound Flight Project from Car'das himself. Car'das then made sure Jinzler arrived, going so far as to trail Jinzler and help repair his ship in the Flacharia system. Jinzler told Luke Skywalker that Car'das was only trying to fulfill a promise he'd made years ago. Car'das then accompanied Jinzler aboard the Chaf Envoy when Aristocra Formbi greeted them, although Jinzler couldn't comprehend the discussion between Formbi and Car'das.

Behind the scenes
Car'das's depiction on the cover of the Japanese edition of Outbound Flight bears a strong resemblance to a young George Lucas. It might not be a coincidence as their first names, "George" and "Jorj", are very similar.

Appearances

 * Outbound Flight
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * I, Jedi
 * Specter of the Past
 * Vision of the Future
 * Survivor's Quest
 * Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse

Notes and references
Jorj Car'das