X2

"My designation is X2. I have no other name."

- X2

X2 was a Force-sensitive clone trooper secretly created by the Kaminoans prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars. Cloned from the DNA sample of the Jedi Knight Falon Grey, X2 participated in the war, fighting for the Galactic Republic alongside his brother X1, created from the same genetic sample. The two fought in many battles of the Clone Wars, earning the reputation of valuable and skilled soldiers. During the final days of the war, X2 participated in the Battle of Cato Neimoidia, where he was ordered to kill his commander, Jedi Master Ferroda, when Order 66 was issued by the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. X2 complied, killed Ferroda, and entered the ranks of the stormtroopers, serving the newly formed Galactic Empire; he, unlike X1, was uncertain about this choice. After months of service to the New Order, X2's doubts intensified greatly during an attack to kill a fugitive Jedi taking shelter among simple villagers on the planet Dantooine. After learning that X1 was planning to kill innocent people who were hiding the Jedi, X2 defected from the Empire.

Siding with the Jedi&mdash;who turned out to be his "father," Falon Grey&mdash;he tried to help the civilians get off-planet, but X1 caught up with them and killed everyone except X2, who survived only because Grey managed to Force-heal him before dying himself. X2 spent the following fifteen years on Dantooine working as a simple farmer until he was discovered by Grey's former master, Rahm Kota, and recruited by him into the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Soon after becoming a member of the Rebellion, X2 rescued a captured group of Rebels on the planet of Geonosis, and they pledged their allegiance to him. On Kota's advice, X2 assembled the men into a military unit, christening it Grey Squadron in honor of Falon Grey. X2 and his men proved to be a valuable asset to the Rebellion, participating in many engagements throughout the Galactic Civil War, including the crucial battles of Yavin, Hoth&mdash;during which X2 faced off against X1, who was still serving the Empire&mdash;and Endor. During this time, X2 also began to explore his Force-sensitivity, guided by Rebel Jedi Luke Skywalker.

After the Battle of Endor and the death of Emperor Palpatine, X2 was elevated to the rank of Jedi Knight by Skywalker and given a lightsaber by him. Knowing that X1 was still roaming the galaxy, trying to rebuild the Empire, X2 vowed to find and stop him. Eventually, X2 tracked his brother down to the planet of Mustafar, where the latter, having captured Skywalker, planned to create an army of Force-sensitive clones from Skywalker's DNA. X2 faced off against X1 and defeated him in a lightsaber duel, though he refused to kill him. In response, X1 tried to kill X2 with his lightsaber by manipulating it with the Force, but X2 quickly reacted and jumped out of the way of the lightsaber, leaving X1 to be stabbed by his own weapon and to fall into the fiery lava below. After the battle, the rescued Skywalker promoted X2 to Jedi Master.

Early life
"The second of two clones created from the DNA of a Jedi, I looked up to my elder brother X1 from an early age. Raised in secret by the Kaminoans, X1 and I trained the Grand Army of the Republic before the start of the Clone Wars."

- X2

X2 was a Force-sensitive clone trooper created by the Kaminoans from the genetic template of the Jedi Knight Falon Grey. At some point prior to the Clone Wars, while he was still a Padawan of Rahm Kota, Grey was badly injured while traveling with his master, and Kota made an emergency landing on the planet of Kamino. The native Kaminoans healed Grey, but in exchange they took Grey's genetic sample without his notice or permission. From the sample, they produced two clones, X1 and X2; the latter was conceived one hour after X1 and thus became known as the younger "brother." The two clones grew up unaware of their origins, raised in secret by the Kaminoans alongside other clones produced on Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas' request from the bounty hunter Jango Fett's genes. During this time, X1 and X2 were responsible for training their clone brethren.

Clone Wars
"It was under the twin suns of Tatooine that this story truly began&hellip;"

- X2

When the Clone Wars began in 22 BBY, X1 and X2 became clone troopers in the Grand Army of the Republic. The two served together throughout the conflict, displaying exceptional skills. Taking their skills into account, the Galactic Republic assigned X1 and X2 to train newly grown batches of clone troopers in the art of warfare.

Toward the end of the war in 19 BBY, X1 and X2 were assigned to Jedi Master Ferroda on the planet of Tatooine, where they were to oversee the training of new clone troopers. On the planet, X2's first training course was cut short when a Confederate recon droid was spotted inside the Republic outpost. X2 chased it down and destroyed the droid. When it was revealed that the droid was only one part of an entire reconnaissance patrol, X2 took control of an AT-RT and destroyed the other droids. Flying a V-wing into space, he followed a transport ship from which the droids had been deployed and destroyed it as well.

Although the incursion was fended off, X1 realized that Tatooine was soon going to be invaded, and the two brothers started rallying defenses. The attack soon followed. X2 and his brother first assisted clone pilots who had been pinned down inside the base by the droids. The Separatists, however, deployed OG-9 homing spider droids onto the battlefield. Since they had no heavy weaponry to destroy the spider droids, the two brothers were forced to go through a battle droid-invaded cantina in order to bypass the spider droids. Once the cantina was cleared of the droid forces, X2 was provided with a rocket launcher from a fellow clone and destroyed the spider droids with it. X1 then sent in reinforcements, and X2 used an anti-aircraft turret to shoot down droid starfighters. He then manned the outpost's ion cannon, taking down the shields of a Separatist Providence-class carrier/destroyer above the planet.

Having cleared the base's hangar, X2 and X1 boarded V-wings and took the fight into space. After taking down some of the Vulture droid starfighters, X2 and several clone troopers boarded the unshielded cruiser. X2 then destroyed the ship's reactor core and escaped on his V-wing right before the cruiser exploded. The Battle of Tatooine was won by the Republic. For their bravery, X1 and X2 were invited to the galactic capital of Coruscant to receive medals from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine himself. In the midst of the award ceremony, however, Separatist forces attacked the planet. After telling several clone troopers to get the Chancellor to safety, X2 and X1 took separate ways through the streets of Coruscant. On his way, X2 encountered and defeated an IG-100 MagnaGuard&mdash;a type of droid serving as a personal bodyguard of the Separatist General Grievous&mdash;and he realized that Grievous himself was behind the attack. He soon spotted Grievous, followed him to a skylane transportation hub, and engaged the cyborg in battle. X2 used explosives against Grievous, throwing him into the planet's traffic with the blast waves and injuring him.

Having been faced with a challenging enemy, Grievous decided to retreat and continue with his main objective, the search for Palpatine, whom he eventually kidnapped and transferred to his flagship, the Invisible Hand. X2 and X1 took nearby Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighters and joined the space battle, engaging Separatist Vulture droids. Soon enough, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived at Coruscant in order to rescue the Chancellor. X2 flew as their escort, picking off droid starfighters. As the Jedi closed in on the Invisible Hand, however, they noticed that another destroyer was moving in to assist the flagship. Kenobi dispatched X2 to hijack that destroyer, and when X2 had infiltrated the ship, Kenobi sent two more troopers to assist him. The clones successfully reached the starship's bridge and secured control of the vessel, and X2 used its weaponry to destroy the Invisible Hand turbolaser defenses, as well as some Vulture droids that were attacking the approaching Jedi and stationary Vultures inside the hangar, allowing the Jedi to land inside the ship and rescue the Chancellor.

In the waning days of the Clone Wars, X2 and X1 were assigned to the planet of Cato Neimoidia alongside Ferroda. When the Republic fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers arrived at the planet, the ship carrying X2 was boarded by battle droids. X2 managed to fight off the invading forces and later used the ship's orbital strike cannon to bombard Separatist defenses on the surface of the planet. He then piloted an ARC-170 to the surface, joining the ground battle. As Ferroda and the clone troopers advanced on the Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray's palace, X2 provided covering fire with a sniper rifle from the landing platform; he then destroyed the controls of an enemy ion cannon. During this time, Ferroda sensed X2's Force potential and promised to take him to the Jedi High Council when they returned to Coruscant after the battle. Meanwhile, X2 infiltrated the Viceroy's palace as well and reached the droid control terminal there, shutting down all Confederate droids on the planet.

At that moment, a transmission came from Coruscant. Palpatine, claiming that the Jedi had betrayed the Republic, ordered the clone troopers on Cato Neimoidia to execute Order 66 and kill Ferroda. The troopers complied with the order and attacked the Jedi Master, but he killed most of the clone platoon and wounded X1; only X2 remained to confront him. Ferroda tried to reason with the clone, telling X2 that he was not his real enemy and urging him to search his heart. X2, angered at what the Jedi had done to his brother, killed him, though this action would haunt him for the rest of his life.

A family reunion
"I've&hellip;turned my back on Palpatine's Empire. I have no army, now."

- X2

Soon after Order 66 was issued, the Republic was reformed into the Galactic Empire with Palpatine as its Emperor. X1 and X2 became stormtroopers and began their service in the Empire, eventually earning a reputation as two of the Empire's most trusted agents. However, ever since Order 66, X2 felt that he was not doing the right thing and began to show sufficient signs of concern that X1 noticed. At some point between 17 BBY and 15 BBY, the brothers&mdash;under the supervision of the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker&mdash;were assigned to hunt down a fugitive Jedi, who was hiding among villagers on the planet of Dantooine. Vader believed that the clones would help him to exterminate the remains of the Jedi Order. When X2 hesitated to embark on the mission, X1 told him to follow orders.

X2 complied, and the brothers, along with other troopers, took ARC-170's and headed for the planetary surface. X1 issued an order to enter the atmosphere and destroy the village where the Jedi was hiding. X2, not wanting to kill innocent people, protested, believing that they had come for the Jedi only. X1, however, was certain that the villagers deserved to die for harboring a Jedi. X2 continued to argue, and X1 ordered Zeta Squadron to escort him back to the carrier ship. X2, angered by X1's commands, decided that he could not follow him anymore. He said goodbye to his brother, intending to defect. X1 immediately branded him a traitor and ordered X2's squadmates to kill him. X2 dispatched his attackers and landed on the planet, where he met with the hooded Jedi fugitive and warned him about the incoming attack. The Jedi revealed that the local militia had already prepared for the attack, but X2 offered his help in fighting the Imperials, and the Jedi agreed. Together with the village militia, X2 and the Jedi repelled the attack. The Jedi then revealed his face&mdash;which was an elder version of X2's&mdash;and told him that his name was Falon Grey and that as soon as he had seen X2's face, he had realized that X2 was his genetic "son" and had understood the circumstances of his creation. Grey strongly believed that he had failed the Jedi Order for not sensing Palpatine's treachery, and when X2 told him that he had done terrible things in his life, Grey offered to seek redemption together.

Grey and X2 then set off to another village, hoping to evacuate its citizens. On their way there, they cleared a barn that had been converted into a communications center by the stormtroopers. When they had reached the village, they found it invaded by more Imperial soldiers. X2, Grey, and the militia members fought off the attack. X2 then manned the village's anti-aircraft turret and destroyed incoming LAAT/i gunships. In order to evacuate the militiamen, X2 and Grey escorted them to the ruins of the old Jedi Enclave. Through a series of caverns connected to it, they reached a secret hangar with a LAAT/i standing by. However, the hangar's doors had been jammed from the outside by large boulders. X2 made his way back through the caves and to the other side of the door and destroyed the debris with explosives. He then returned to the village and used an ion cannon to disable an Imperial-class Star Destroyer in space before it could blockade the planet. Making his way back to the hangar, X2 collapsed the rocks behind him, sealing the way into the caves from the Empire's troops.

Once X2 opened the hangar's door, however, X1 and his stormtroopers landed in LAATs. They killed all of the remaining members of the militia and wounded X2 with a blaster bolt, but Grey used the Force to blast off the stormtroopers and attacked X1, who was armed with a force pike. The two dueled and Grey emerged victorious. Sensing that there was still some good in X1 and wishing to draw him from the path of darkness he had taken, Falon Grey spared him and even returned his force pike to him. X1, however, attacked the Jedi again and took hold of his lightsaber. He then shot Grey with his blaster and cut X2 with Grey's lightsaber, leaving his brother to die as he and the stormtroopers departed the planet. Before dying, Grey was able to reach out with the Force and heal X2's wounds. X2 survived and spent the following fifteen years working as a simple farmer on Dantooine. At some point between 2 BBY and 0 BBY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic sent Jedi Master Rahm Kota to recruit Falon Grey to their cause, whom they still thought to be alive. Kota, who held no respect for clones, was disappointed to find only a "pale imitation" of his former Padawan. Still, he sensed the Force resonating in X2 and made him an offer to join the Rebellion, which X2 accepted.

Formation of Grey Squadron
"Looks like you have a new squadron, X2, whether you like it or not."

- Rahm Kota

During this time, the Rebel Alliance was conducting a campaign against the new Imperial superweapon, the Death Star. X2's first mission on behalf of the Alliance was to go to the asteroid-based Desolation Station, where components of the Death Star's superlaser were being assembled and later transported to the Death Star itself. X2 was to infiltrate a transport carrying the last of those components, the tributary beam, and ensure that it would not reach its destination. The transport, however, was protected by a defensive shield corridor that did not allow X2 to sneak on board the ship. To this end, Kota dispatched him to Desolation Station in order to find controls for the shield and deactivate it. When X2 had reached the station, he received intelligence from Kota regarding some Wookiee slaves who were being held inside.

X2 liberated the slaves and reached the shield control center, where he deactivated the transport's defensive corridor. X2's actions put the entire facility on alert, but&mdash;with the help of the liberated Wookiees and some Rebel fighters who had been dispatched as his backup&mdash;he managed to reach a TIE fighter hangar and steal one of the starfighters. Once off the station, X2 was pursued by enemy TIEs, but he managed to hold them off until some Rebel X-wings arrived, dispatched by Kota to cover his tail. While the X-wings engaged the TIEs in a dogfight, X2 flew to the transport and destroyed its turbolaser defenses. He then landed inside, fought his way to the weapons control room and destroyed Desolation Station with the tributary beam, effectively halting the construction of the Death Star. Following the completion of that mission, X2 was formally initiated into the Rebel Alliance.

Some time later, X2 received a communication from Kota, who told him that a Rebel strike team sent to infiltrate an Imperial base on the planet of Geonosis had been discovered and captured. Kota planned to rescue them with X2's help and set off to Geonosis. He told X2 that he would leave a speeder bike for him at the landing zone and rendezvous with him at the base. When X2 arrived at Geonosis in his X-wing, however, he was attacked by the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who mistook him for Kota; Fett wanted to claim the bounty put on Kota's head by the Empire. After realizing that the X-wing's pilot was not Kota, Fett planned to capture X2 and use him as bait for the Jedi. X2 engaged Fett's ship, Slave I, in the asteroid ring around Geonosis and ultimately defeated him, forcing the bounty hunter to retreat. X2 then landed on the planet and took the speeder bike left by Kota to the base. After meeting with the Jedi inside the base, X2 liberated the imprisoned Rebels and helped them to a landing pad.

Grateful to X2 for their rescue, the Rebels pledged their allegiance to him and asked him to lead them as a military unit. X2 was initially reluctant to become a leader, but eventually agreed. On Kota's suggestion, X2 named his new unit Grey Squadron in the memory of his late father, Falon Grey. X2, now Grey Leader, led his squadron across the galaxy, and it soon became known as a unit of fierce and loyal fighters. X2 himself acquired the reputation of a reliable figure in the Rebel Alliance. Rahm Kota continued to look after him, in memory of Grey.

Death Star threat
"The Death Star is a fearsome invention indeed. We must find a way to destroy it!"

- Rahm Kota

Armed with the exact location of the construction site of the Death Star, the prison planet of Despayre, the Rebel Alliance planned a daring reconnaissance mission to infiltrate the station in order to learn more about its capabilities and rescue prisoners held there. When X2 received word of it, he volunteered for the mission. Flying his X-wing, X2, along with some other Rebels, reached the Death Star, which was guarded by an Imperial-class Star Destroyer and a number of TIE fighters. After clearing his way through the TIEs, X2 infiltrated the Star Destroyer and, guided by Kota over the comlink, used the ship's orbital strike cannon to destroy the Death Star's defensive autoturrets. Meanwhile, as a result of the Rebel attack, the battlestation's hangar shield went off; X2 returned back to his X-wing and left the Star Destroyer for the Death Star.

Upon landing there along with some Rebel troops, X2 headed for the prison cells. On his way there, however, he stumbled upon a conference room and saw a holographic transmission from X1, who reported that he was soon going to deliver the tributary laser to the Death Star. This way, X2 discovered that his brother was still alive, though he had no time to reflect on this at that moment. Hoping to create a diversion, Kota told X2 to head for the superlaser control room and use the superweapon to destroy the Star Destroyer. X2 reached the controls and fired the yet-unfinished laser, obliterating the Imperial ship. Kota was amazed with the laser's firepower and told X2 that it was urgent to deliver the information regarding it to the Alliance High Command. Before that, however, X2 still needed to rescue the prisoners. He liberated them from the detention block and deactivated the station's tractor beam. X2 and the Rebels then escaped aboard two stolen Lambda-class T-4a shuttles.

X2 and Grey Squadron were later stationed at the Rebel base on the moon of Yavin 4. During this time, Kota recommended a female bounty hunter named Shara to be inducted into Grey Squadron, and X2 accepted her commission, trusting Kota's judgment. As soon as she arrived at the base, however, the Empire initiated an attack on the planet, landing a force of stormtroopers that attempted to capture the Yavin Temple and employing TIE bombers for bombing runs. X2 and Shara made their way to the temple, evading TIE bomber attacks. The two cleared the temple's surrounds, only to find the base's anti-aircraft turret deactivated. X2 repaired the turret's power stations, activating the weapon. Afterward, the two entered the base, and Shara received a transmission from the Rebel General Jan Dodonna, who revealed that the invading Imperials had placed jamming beacons throughout the base, preventing the Incom-designed X-wings' engines from functioning properly.

X2 and Shara destroyed all of the jamming beacons and, after clearing the base of the invading enemy forces, took X-wings to join the battle in space against the Death Star, which had arrived at Yavin 4 and&mdash;with its superlaser now fully functional&mdash;was preparing for a devastating shot to destroy Yavin 4. The Rebel Alliance planned to hit the Death Star's two-meter wide thermal exhaust port with proton torpedoes, thus hoping to start a chain reaction that would destroy the massive station. Toward the end of the battle, Rebel pilots Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter attempted to make a run through the trench leading to the exhaust port, but were followed by Darth Vader in his TIE Advanced x1 and two wingmen. X2 steered his X-wing into the trench just behind Vader's ship, hoping to provide backup for Skywalker. Vader, however, ordered all of the nearby turbolaser batteries to fire at X2; TIE fighters also strafed him with fire from above the trench.

X2 was not able to help Skywalker, but the latter was saved by two smugglers, Han Solo and Chewbacca, in their ship, the Millennium Falcon. Solo killed one of Vader's wingmen; the other one panicked and collided with Vader's fighter, sending him spinning into the vastness of space. Seconds later, Skywalker was able to place the necessary shot by using the Force and destroyed the Death Star. X2 and Shara were among the handful of pilots who had survived the battle. A short time later, the Empire established a blockade of Yavin in the hopes of preventing the Rebels from escaping. The codes to bypass the blockade, however, were located in a transponder device that had been kept aboard the Death Star. X2 and Shara were dispatched aboard X-wings to the station's wreckage in the orbit of Yavin to try to find the device. The retrieval mission soon turned into a battle, as Imperial TIE fighters arrived to reclaim the codes. X2 distracted the TIE fighters until Shara located the transponder in the wreckage. X2 retrieved it, and the two returned to base.

The continuing war
"An Imperial probe droid had discovered our secret base on Hoth. The Empire launched a full-scale invasion, planning to crush the Alliance once and for all. The evacuation of Echo Base was our first priority. But soon enough, I would have to attend to family matters."

- X2

Soon, the Empire launched an assault on Yavin 4 in an effort to destroy the Alliance. As a battle ensued, X2 and Shara reached the Yavin Temple and attempted to issue an evacuation signal before the Empire arrived in full force. However, TIE bombers took out the communications tower, preventing the Rebels from sending out the signal. X2 destroyed the Imperial starfighters with the base's anti-aircraft defenses and, along with some Rebel troops, took a T4-B heavy tank to the communications tower. The tower was located on an unreachable platform, however, and X2 had to Force Jump there, thus beginning to explore his Force-sensitivity. After X2 repaired the tower, Shara began the evacuation procedure and left the planet in a starfighter. After destroying several more TIEs, X2 also headed for the hangar in order to evacuate. On his way there, he received a communication from Col Serra, the commander of the newly formed Renegade Squadron, who told X2 that he needed his help in space. Taking control of an X-wing, X2 joined the space battle, where Serra told him to assist Renegade Squadron in taking down a communications array of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, in order to prevent it from calling reinforcements. Once the array was destroyed, Serra and X2 landed inside the ship itself, destroyed its reactor core, and evacuated from the doomed vessel before it exploded. That day, the Alliance was ultimately able to escape from the planet.

Three years later, X2 and Grey Squadron were stationed at the Alliance's Echo Base on the planet of Hoth when an Imperial probe droid discovered it. Soon, the Imperial fleet approached the planet and ground troops were deployed onto the surface, beginning the Battle of Hoth. X2 first participated in the space battle in his X-wing, destroying TIE interceptors and preventing the Imperial landing craft from reaching the surface. He then headed for the ground and made his way to Echo Base's hangar. There, X2 was tasked with holding off the invading Imperials until Princess Leia Organa could escape. X2 called in Grey Squadron, and they defended the hangar against waves of snowtroopers. X2 was then contacted by Shara, who told him that Echo Station 5-7, where the Rebel v-150 anti-orbital ion cannon was located, needed help against Imperial walkers. Taking a snowspeeder, X2 reached the station and used its defensive network of DF.9 anti-infantry batteries to repel AT-ST attacks. He was then told by Shara to man the ion cannon, and he used it to disable the tractor beam of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer in orbit, allowing some of the Rebel evacuation transports to escape safely.

X2 was then contacted by a member of Grey Squadron, who requested his assistance in the space battle. Taking off from the planet in his X-wing, X2 reached the space above Hoth and was once again contacted by Shara, who told him to infiltrate the Star Destroyer Avarice and destroy it. Before doing so, X2 distracted the Avarice by engaging in a dogfight with its TIE fighter complement. Once he landed inside the ship, Shara informed him that thanks to his distraction, most of the transport ships had escaped from Hoth, and that Skywalker had sent Grey Squadron to help him. X2 told Shara and Grey Squadron to rendezvous with him in the engine control room, where they would plant explosives. On his way there, however, X2 was stopped by none other than his brother X1, who was armed with Falon Grey's lightsaber and was using Force powers. Engaging in battle with X1, X2 ordered Grey Squadron not to wait for him and to set the explosive charges and clear the ship.

During their fight, X1 offered X2 a chance to join him, but X2 did not agree and continued to fight his brother, ultimately defeating him. X2 tried to reason with him, to make him realize the Empire's true nature, but X1 did not listen. Instead, when an explosion of the detonated Grey Squadron's charges distracted X2, he Force-pushed him out of the way and ran away, evacuating from the ship. X2 escaped from the Avarice as well. Having witnessed X1's usage of the Force, X2 began to reflect on his own Force-sensitivity and whether he should use it to aid the Rebellion.

A year later, the Rebel Alliance discovered that the Empire was building a new Death Star in the orbit of the forest moon of Endor. When it was revealed that Palpatine himself would visit the station, a daring attack plan was formulated to destroy both the Death Star and the Emperor with a single blow. The plan involved destroying a deflector shield generator on the surface of the forest moon that projected a shield protecting the Death Star. To this end, a strike team led by Han Solo was dispatched to infiltrate the moon and destroy the shield generator bunker; Renegade Squadron also landed on the moon to assist Solo. Soon, the Rebel fleet made a hyperspace jump to Endor for a final assault on the Death Star II. Grey Squadron arrived there as part of the Rebel force. It was soon discovered, however, that Solo's team had not yet deactivated the shield. Moreover, the whole affair was revealed to be a trap masterminded by Palpatine; the Death Star's superlaser turned out to be operational, and the Imperial fleet was brought in to battle the Rebels.

Seeing this, the Rebel Admiral Ackbar ordered X2 and Grey Squadron to regroup at his flagship, Home One, and defend it against Imperial starfighter attacks. The fighters, however, were revealed to be only a diversion, as Imperial forces boarded Home One and assaulted its primary reactor. X2 landed inside the flagship and assisted Ackbar in securing it. Immediately afterward, X2 was contacted by Serra, who requested that X2 assist Renegade Squadron on the surface of Endor's forest moon. X2 used one of Home One escape pods to reach the ground. Serra informed X2 that several of the native Ewoks, who had been helping the Rebels, had been taken prisoner by the Empire. X2 liberated the Ewoks and was told by Serra to meet him at the shield generator bunker. Serra approached the bunker in his X-wing, but was shot down by a turbolaser battery and crashed into a tree.

X2 rendezvoused with him at the downed starfighter, and they made their way inside the bunker, where Serra sabotaged the Imperial communications network. Leaving Solo to destroy the bunker, X2 and Serra set off to an Imperial ion cannon in order to use it against enemy Star Destroyers. Soon thereafter, Solo's strike team, assisted by Renegade Squadron, managed to destroy the shield generator bunker, lowering the Death Star's shield. This allowed General Lando Calrissian to fly the Millennium Falcon into the station's inner structure and destroy the power generator, starting a chain reaction that destroyed the Death Star; prior to that, aboard the station itself, Darth Vader had been turned back to the light by Skywalker and had killed the Emperor, but had sacrificed his life in the process.

Although the Death Star was destroyed, the massive Imperial fleet was still battling the Rebels. In order to help their comrades, X2 and Serra reached the controls of the Imperial ion cannon, and X2 used it to lower the shields of two Star Destroyers, allowing Rebel frigates to destroy them. The battle was not over yet, as two All Terrain Armored Transports assaulted a nearby Ewok village, but X2 destroyed them with a rocket launcher, targeting their cranial section. Ultimately, the Battle of Endor was a victory for the Alliance.

Trials of a Jedi Knight
"Vader and Palpatine were slain&hellip;and the Death Star obliterated. For a brief moment we celebrated. But X1 was already drawing up plans for a new Galactic Empire, with himself at the throne."

- X2

After the destruction of the second Death Star, X2 realized his Force potential under Luke Skywalker's tutelage. Eventually, Skywalker bestowed upon him the rank of Jedi Knight and gave him a lightsaber. Although X2 still believed that he was just a soldier and not a Jedi, Skywalker convinced him that at such unconventional times, they were all forced to become someone they had never expected to be. Although he accepted the title, X2 still retained his commission as Grey Leader. He also realized that X1 was still alive, and he vowed to find him and bring him to justice. Prior to that, however, X2 was called upon to assist Calrissian in the liberation of Cloud City, a tibanna gas mining colony of the gas giant Bespin.

Calrissian, who had been the colony's Baron Administrator prior to the Empire's occupation, guided X2 via a comlink while the latter piloted an X-wing, engaging Imperial starfighters and an Imperial-class Star Destroyer above Cloud City. Following Calrissian's advice, X2 shot down a mining platform, making it fall on the Star Destroyer, destroying it. After eliminating some pursuing TIE fighters, X2 set his X-wing down at the landing platform and met Calrissian there, who informed him of his plan to liberate the city. Calrissian hoped to rescue his aide, the cyborg Lobot, who had been imprisoned by the Empire, and regain control over Cloud City with his help. X2 escorted Calrissian to a computer terminal, and the former administrator located Lobot, held inside one of the prison cells. X2 liberated Lobot, escorted him to Cloud City's central computer, and protected him until he transferred all command functions over the city to Calrissian. The Empire attempted a counterattack, but X2, Calrissian, and Lobot intercepted all Imperial forces&mdash;including some dark troopers&mdash;at the landing platforms and eliminated them.

With Cloud City liberated, X2 began searching for his brother. He soon tracked X1's forces to the planet of Dathomir, where X1 possessed a base, and arrived there with Grey Squadron, landing in a swamp in order to avoid detection by the heavy security of X1's base. On the surface of the planet, X2 sensed that X1 had been working on something important inside the base. He and Grey Squadron took speeder bikes to X1's base, where X2's Force sense ability told him that the place resonated with the dark side, although it did not feel like X1. At this moment, he was attacked by a lightsaber-wielding woman, whom X2 recognized as a member of the Nightsisters clan of the Dathomiri Witches. He defeated her, but more Nightsisters appeared, attacking Grey Squadron. X2 rescued his unit and was informed by them that the Nightsisters had been trying to break into the base. X2 went inside, telling his men to wait for him at the entrance, because he sensed something very powerful and dark in the base.

Entering his brother's lair, X2 was confronted by the Nightsister Matriarch, who was riding a rancor. After a battle, he killed the rancor, and ultimately, the Matriarch herself. Regrouping with several members of Grey Squadron, X2 proceeded further into X1's base and found a laboratory there, where X1 had attempted experiments with cloning. X2 realized that his brother had left the base and the Nightsisters had since overrun it. In order to retrieve any important data, he broke into X1's office. Locating the main computer, X2 called Shara to help him recover the data from there. After the mission was completed, the two returned to the landing pad to meet with Grey Squadron, only to find the place completely devastated; an Imperial had infiltrated it and planted detonation packs on Grey Squadron's X-wings. Many members of the unit died, including Tavoy, Watkins and Ryder, but the saboteur was captured. X2 tried to interrogate him about X1's plans using a mind trick, but the man had been trained to resist such methods and did not tell anything. Angered, X2 slipped into the dark side and Force-choked the Imperial, but was then calmed down by Shara and regretted his actions.

Realizing that the Empire was aware of their presence on Dathomir, the remainder of Grey Squadron took the ships that were left intact and tried to escape from the planet. However, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer had already arrived there, and fighting ensued. X2 destroyed the ship's turrets, and Shara told him that they would now be able to escape. Still emotionally shaken by the loss of his men, however, X2 decided not to run from the Empire anymore and was determined to destroy the Star Destroyer. He wiped out the vessel's TIE fighter escort and made an attack run on the bridge, placing a shot at the bridge that started a chain reaction and destroyed the entire ship. X2 and the remaining pilots of Grey Squadron escaped from the planet and informed the New Republic command of what had transpired on Dathomir.

Showdown
"As his brother, it was my sworn duty to stop him."

- X2, referring to X1

Later, X2 discovered that X1 had proclaimed himself as a Sith Lord and sought to learn the secrets of the dark side. To this end, he had traveled to the planet Vjun and had occupied Bast Castle, the former residence of the late Darth Vader. X2 was determined to prevent X1 from learning too much from Vader's castle and set off there, guided by Skywalker via a comlink. Arriving at the planet, he took out a network of security satellites in space in order to avoid detection. Hoping to learn more about X1's operation on the planet, X2 boarded an Imperial-class Star Destroyer in orbit and sliced its mainframe. The ship's log indicated that X1 had already left the planet, but he had left a Sith holocron inside the Castle. Skywalker hoped to determine X1's location by analyzing that holocron. After reaching the planet's surface and dealing with a starfighter garrison, X2 infiltrated Bast Castle. Inside, he was forced to fight against droid bodyguards that the late Vader had used for sparring. While inside the Castle, X2 also received intelligence from Skywalker, who told him that X1 had been keeping Falon Grey's lightsaber in Vader's trophy room. X2 reached it and retrieved the weapon. He then proceeded to Vader's meditation chamber, obtained the holocron, and escaped on a TIE bomber before more droids could arrive. The data on the holocron helped track X1 to Mustafar. Skywalker went ahead to stop the self-proclaimed Sith, but X1 managed to capture him, planning to use Skywalker's genes to create an entire army of Force-sensitive clones.

X2 then set out to Mustafar with Grey Squadron to confront X1 and rescue Skywalker. Reaching the space above the planet, X2 infiltrated an orbiting Star Destroyer, trying to find some information about Skywalker's location. Aboard the ship, he again met X1, corrupted and disfigured by the dark side. After a duel, X1 retreated to the planet's surface, taking a TIE Interceptor. X2 followed him, taunted by his brother. On the surface, he rejoined with Grey Squadron inside the crust of a wrecked starship, from which they began to make raids onto the Imperial positions. X2 assisted his men, taking down a deflector shield and allowing a Y-wing to bombard X1's defenses. Soon, X2 met X1 inside one of the buildings. After yet another duel, X1 retreated, but not before releasing a swarm of cloned Wookiees, a result of his cloning experiments, upon X2. X2 killed all attackers and pursued X1 all the way to a mining platform. After a final battle, X2 managed to overpower X1; the latter asked his brother to kill him, but X2, abiding by the Jedi Code, refused to do so. Then, in a final act, X1 manipulated his dropped lightsaber with the Force to kill X2. X2 jumped over the lightsaber, causing X1 to be impaled by his own blade. With the lightsaber in his chest, X1 stepped back over the edge and fell down into a lava river to his death. The battle was won and Skywalker was liberated. In gratitude for his long service to the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic, X2 was promoted to the rank of Jedi Master by Skywalker.

Personality and traits
"Ah, I understand&hellip;Identical, but separated only by a few hours&hellip;perhaps separated by something more."

- Palpatine, upon first meeting X1 and X2

X2 looked up to his brother from an early age, and the two were initially very much alike. However, as time passed, X1 became more cold-blooded, violent, and craved power, something X2 had begun to notice by the end of the Clone Wars, and at which point he started to feel irritated by X1 ordering him around. After learning that his brother was alive during the raid on the Death Star and after meeting him aboard the Avarice, X2 became determined to stop him, believing that as his brother, it was his sworn duty to do so.

Throughout his years of service to the Republic, X2 earned the reputation of a brave and skilled soldier, a fact reflected in him receiving a medal from the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine himself. Unlike his brother, who openly spoke out against the Jedi's pacifist views, X2 supported the Order's stance. He was loyal to the government he served too, as long as his loyalty did not contradict his moral qualities. On Cato Neimoidia, he executed Order 66 and remained to serve the Empire; though he was disturbed by his actions during this time and deeply regretted them, he was persuaded by X1 to follow orders and continue his service. X2 found his murder of Ferroda to be a terrible act and regretted not having the Jedi Master around when he needed his advice. However, on Dantooine, X2 could not follow X1's orders to kill innocent people and defected from the Empire. After joining with his father on the surface of the planet, he confessed the things he had done and gladly accepted Grey's offer to seek out redemption together. After Grey was killed, X2 distanced himself from the politics of the galaxy and chose the life of a farmer. The situation changed when Kota found him and persuaded him to join the Alliance.

As a Rebel agent, X2 once again displayed exceptional skills in combat, completing many missions against the Empire. Despite this, he did not want to assume a leadership position, preferring to be just one of the many soldiers serving the Alliance. It was only due to Kota's words that he agreed to become the leader of Grey Squadron. As Kota became a mentor of sorts to X2, the latter came to trust the veteran General's judgment completely, willing to accept the former bounty hunter Shara on his recommendation without questions. Eventually, X2 was considered to be a respected figure in the Alliance. After he discovered the Force in him and witnessed X1 using it for evil, he began to question whether he should use his abilities to help the Rebellion, still viewing himself as a soldier and being afraid to slip into the dark side like his brother. However, X2 was eventually convinced by Skywalker&mdash;who thought very highly of his accomplishments&mdash;to accept the title of Jedi Knight, telling him that facing the dark side was a test every Jedi had to endure. X2 faced such a test on Dathomir, when he, wishing to avenge his fallen men, stepped into the dark and Force-choked the Imperial infiltrator and destroyed a Star Destroyer. Nevertheless, when confronting his brother on Mustafar, he managed to overcome his angst and spared X1's life.

Powers and abilities
"I'm&hellip;a Jedi?''" "''What makes a Jedi are things that cannot be cloned. Knowledge, courage, wisdom. The choices we make will determine our fate."

- X2 and Falon Grey on Dantooine

Although X2 was initially oblivious to his Force-sensitivity, his potential was strong enough to be sensed by Ferroda on Cato Neimoidia, and the Jedi Master even wished to take him to the Jedi Council to study this matter further. When he finally became aware of his heritage, X2 was shocked by this discovery, but he did not explore it for many years because of his self-imposed seclusion on Dantooine. Even without any training, the Force was still strong enough in X2 for Kota to sense it during their meeting years later. X2 first called upon the Force during the evacuation of the Yavin base, using it to aid him in jumping to an otherwise unreachable location in order to give out the evacuation order. After this battle, however, X2 did not concentrate on his powers for three more years, until the encounter with X1 on the Avarice gave him some food for thought regarding his possible fate as a Jedi.

After the Battle of Endor, X2, persuaded by Skywalker, was granted the title of Jedi Knight and eventually mastered several Force abilities, including various incarnations of telekinesis, such as Force push and Force repulse. X2 also became quite skillful with the lightsaber given to him by Skywalker and was able to perform a lightsaber throw. His Force sense ability was also well-developed, as he was able to sense a dark side presence on Dathomir and could distinguish it from his brother's presence. Later, during the same mission, he sensed the Nightsister Matriarch's aura inside the abandoned base. On Dathomir, however, X2 also allowed his anger to take control of him and Force-choked the Imperial saboteur, although he was able to restrain himself immediately after the incident. In addition to his Force powers, X2 was proficient with a wide variety of weapons, from melee weapons like staffs, to blasters and sniper rifles, to rocket launchers, to ground- and starship-based weapon emplacements. He was also a skilled pilot, flying his X-wing during many missions and managing to defeat such foes as the seasoned bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Behind the scenes
The character of X2 was created as the protagonist of the 2009 video game Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron for the PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo DS, developed by Rebellion Developments and N-space and published by LucasArts.

Console differences
The two versions of Elite Squadron are very different in their portrayal of certain events. This article tries to incorporate elements from both console versions, noting elements exclusive to one or another edition. However, there are some plot points that directly contradict each other. This article approaches the latter situations on a case-by-case basis, and notes the other portrayal below.

For instance, the Battle of Tatooine's depiction in the Nintendo DS version is entirely different from the PSP version's, which is currently described in the article. In the Nintendo DS version, X1 and X2 are assigned to oversee the construction of a Republic outpost instead of training new troopers. The two are busy working at the outpost when the Separatist attack begins, and they are completely surprised by it. They make their way to an invaded Republic garrison and clear it from droids. The two then take BARC speeders to another base across the desert where they rendezvous with Ferroda. Alongside the Jedi, X1 and X2 make their way to the hangar and take ARC-170s into space. There, X2 infiltrates a Lucrehulk-class battleship instead of a Providence-class destroyer. Additionally, while the PSP version claims that Tatooine was an "early" victory for the Republic, the Nintendo DS version explicitly states that the battle takes place in 19 BBY.

This article describes the Battle of Coruscant as depicted in the Nintendo DS version in order to incorporate the award ceremony held by Palpatine. In the PSP edition, X1 and X2 immediately engage Separatist forces in orbit around Coruscant. First, they fight enemy droid fighters, and eventually X2 and some clone troopers board a Providence-class carrier/destroyer. Inside the ship, X2 commandeers its orbital strike cannon and uses it against Separatist ground forces that have been deployed onto Coruscant's surface. This provides the Republic a great deal of support by hampering the Confederacy's ground invasion. X2 and other clones then depart the ship in escape pods and reach the planet's surface in order to support the Republic's ground troops. X2 reaches Jedi General Mace Windu's location, and Windu tasks him with repairing a defense turret in order to blast Separatist barricades surrounding the Senate Building. After X2 has completed the task, he and Windu reach the building and face off against Grievous and his MagnaGuards. After a short battle, the droid General retreats.

The battle of Cato Neimoidia in the article follows the PSP version's storyline. The other edition claims that X2 is assigned to Cato Neimoidia "months" after the Battle of Coruscant, while in fact, far less time elapses between the invasion of Coruscant and the ending of the Clone Wars. Cato Neimoidia is also protected by an energy shield powered by three satellites in orbit, but X2 and X1 manage to deactivate them.

The article describes the Battle of Hoth as presented in the Nintendo DS version. In the PSP version's depiction of the battle, the ion cannon is erroneously located right next to the Rebel hangar instead of Echo Station 5-7, and during the battle it registers a fault. After defending the hangar, X2 is tasked with escorting an astromech droid to the ion cannon's controls in order to fix it. He then uses the cannon to take down the shields of a Star Destroyer in orbit. When Vader's stormtroopers storm the cannon's control room, X2 retreats to his X-wing and sets off into space, where a boarding party has already been assembled to infiltrate a Star Destroyer and destroy its orbital strike cannon. X2 protects the boarding party's LAAT/i gunships and proceeds inside the Star Destroyer. After he has destroyed the ship's orbital strike cannon's controls, X2 is attacked by X1, who is armed with a blaster instead of Grey's lightsaber. When explosions start to tear the ship apart, the two brothers break off their duel and escape on an X-wing and a TIE fighter.

The Battle of Endor in this article follows the PSP edition's story. In the Nintendo DS portrayal of the events, Grey Squadron arrives at the Ewok village during the early battle, and X2 is contacted by Ackbar, who informs him that he has lost contact with Solo. X2 establishes contact with Organa, who tells him that their team has run into heavy resistance at the bunker, but that they will be able to handle the situation themselves. While X2 and Grey Squadron defend the village, the strike team defeats the Imperials and starts planting explosives in the bunker. Having been informed of that, X2 and Grey Squadron take speeder bikes to the Rebel landing platform and rendezvous with Shara there, who informs X2 that the platform has been overrun with Imperial troops. After fighting their way through them, Grey Squadron takes X-wings and joins the space battle. There, they are contacted by Calrissian, who requests X2's men to provide cover for him. While X2 battles against waves of TIE fighters, Solo takes down the Death Star's shield. Seeing an opportunity to download the encrypted data from the Death Star's mainframe, Ackbar dispatches X2 inside the station. X2 leads his R2 unit to the mainframe, downloads the data, and escapes from the station before it explodes.

Finally, the article uses the PSP version's portrayal of the battle on Mustafar. In the Nintendo DS version of the game, the New Republic lands forces on the planet, but they are stalled by an energy shield protecting X1's base. Also, a powerful planetary shield activates, preventing them from receiving support. In order to help the troops on Mustafar, X2 infiltrates X1's Executor-class Star Dreadnought during a decoy attack by the New Republic fleet, hoping to use the ship's weapons to destroy shield generators on the planet's surface and take down both shields. X2 executes his plan, however only the base shield goes down, so X2 rams the massive Star Destroyer into the shield, destroying it in the process, but making it through to the planet's surface. Once on the planet, X2 is faced with reactivated Separatist battle droids left after the Clone Wars. During the mission, X2 rescues Skywalker, and they make their way through the droids until they reach the platform with X1. There, Skywalker tells X2 to proceed alone, stating that he has to pass this final test by himself. One other difference between the two versions is the color of X2's lightsaber. In the PSP version it is green, whereas in the Nintendo DS version it is blue.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron