Jaden Korr

"You're the best student I've ever trained and a terrific Jedi."

- Kyle Katarn

Jaden Korr was a Human male Jedi Knight from Coruscant. A former student and apprentice of Jedi Master Kyle Katarn, Korr was one of his best apprentices and a key figure in resolving the Disciples of Ragnos crisis in 14 ABY. He continued to serve the New Jedi Order after the Yuuzhan Vong War and during the Second Galactic Civil War.

Biography
"So, where did you get that lightsaber?''" "''Well, it's kind of a long story; I found myself on..."

- Rosh Penin and Jaden Korr

Fourteen years after the Battle of Yavin, Jaden Korr, after constructing a purple bladed lightsaber with no prior knowledge of the Force or aid, was recruited from his homeworld of Coruscant and taken to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 by the Jedi. During the ride he met Rosh Penin, who would be apprenticed to Master Katarn alongside Korr by Luke Skywalker.

First encounter with the Disciples of Ragnos
"I saw a huge flash of light and ran over to find you just lying unconscious."

- Rosh Penin describing the encounter

As their shuttle approached the surface it was shot down by members of the Disciples of Ragnos cult. After the crash, Korr and Penin were separated from the rest of the students and proceeded to the nearby Massassi temple but ran into some stormtroopers and a member of the cult. After Korr defeated the cultist he investigated the temple. There he saw three figures, one of which was holding a scepter that was "glowing"; they were later revealed to be the Kothos Twins and Tavion Axmis using the scepter to drain the Force from the temple. However, Jaden's eavesdropping efforts were detected, and the mysterious figures turned on him, knocking him out.

Jedi apprentice
"A Jedi, me? No, not yet, I'm one of Kyle Katarn's students."

- Jaden Korr to Chewbacca

Upon awakening, Jaden met with Jedi Masters Kyle Katarn and Luke Skywalker, who welcomed their new student to the academy and questioned him about what he saw. Shortly thereafter, he and Rosh were assigned to Kyle as pupils, and they passed their standard Force abilities course. On the way Rosh set loose a lightsaber practice droid upon Jaden, in the hope of slowing him down so he could finish the course first but Jaden defeated the droid. After the training, Kyle admonished Rosh heavily for this careless decision, stating that it was not a race and that if the droid had been set to Master level, it would've killed Jaden. Jaden was angry that Rosh could do such a thing, but Kyle warned him not to feed his anger, and Jaden accepted Rosh's apology.

Korr and Penin were sent on a series of missions, helping to track down the growing cult. Jaden visited various worlds, including Blenjeel, Corellia, Tatooine, Taanab, Chandrila and Bakura. Although Katarn went with Jaden on most of his missions, due to unexpected events, all of Jaden's missions were more hazardous than expected. Through them all, Jaden kept a cool head and came out on top.

Later, Master Skywalker summoned all available Jedi to inform them that&mdash;during the downed shuttle crisis&mdash;someone had sliced into his records and stolen his journal containing names of places where he had found a very strong connection to the Force. Worried of what the slicer could be planning, he sent the Jedi to various places mentioned in his journal. Jaden went to Hoth, where Master Skywalker had had a vision of Obi-Wan Kenobi shortly before the Battle of Hoth.

Upon landing on the planet, Korr couldn't sense anything out of place there, but as soon as he started investigating, he found that the Imperials were guarding Echo Base. Jaden infiltrated the base and overheard a Sith Cultist talking on a comlink to Alora, Tavion Axmis's apprentice, about Skywalker having traveled to Dagobah after the battle. Korr defeated the Cultist and confronted Alora. The two engaged in a lightsaber duel, and were at first evenly matched. After Jaden began to gain the upper hand, Alora escaped through a caved-in section of Echo Base, taunting Jaden as she left. The accounts were documented in Korr and Katarn's datacard report entitled Tauntaun Feathers A1.

Rosh was captured during his mission to Byss, and Katarn spent time looking for him. Jaden, now promoted to Apprentice, worked on more missions, until Master Skywalker assigned the Jedi to investigate other strong Force sensitive places that weren't mentioned in his journals. The Jedi students were instructed to work in pairs because of Rosh's capture. Kyle and Jaden were assigned to investigate Darth Vader's Bast Castle on Vjun.

Katarn and Korr infiltrated the fortress, but soon after became separated. Alone and ahead of Kyle, Jaden fought his way through the fortress, finally confronting none other than Rosh Penin in Vader's throne room. Rosh had turned to the dark side following his capture. He boasted of the power of the dark side to Jaden, and&mdash;along with the Kothos Twins&mdash;engaged him in battle. The battle seemed impossible to win, as the twins kept empowering Rosh with life energy. However, Jaden killed the Twins, hoping that Rosh would stand down without their influence. Nevertheless Rosh kept on fighting, causing Jaden's anger towards him to build again. After Jaden defeated Penin, Katarn reached the room. As Rosh lay disarmed on the floor, Tavion chose that moment to appear, declaring her part in the Cult. After rebuking Katarn, Tavion ripped Jaden's lightsaber from him with the Force, threw it at the heavy ceiling and brought the weakened ceiling down on the Jedi with the Scepter of Ragnos, destroying Jaden's lightsaber in the process. Thanks to Katarn's quick thinking, Korr was able to use Katarn's lightsaber to cut a hole in the floor for both to escape while Kyle held up the tremendously heavy rubble with the Force. Unfortunately, Tavion and Rosh fled. Kyle and Jaden returned to the academy and reported what they discovered and about Tavion. Jaden came up with the theory that Tavion might be using the scepter's power to not only absorb Force energy, but to also discharge the energy to empower and corrupt her followers, which Katarn and Skywalker found highly possible. Skywalker, impressed with Jaden's actions, promoted the young student to the status of Jedi Knight. Nevertheless, Kyle warned Jaden that he felt Jaden's anger towards Rosh, so (despite being a Jedi Knight), he must still beware of giving in to the dark side.

Jedi Knight
"Jaden, you handled yourself exceptionally well on Vjun. To confront three Dark Jedi and defeat them took both bravery and skill. For your efforts, I feel that you are ready to join our ranks as a Jedi Knight."

- Luke Skywalker to Jaden

Jaden built a new green bladed lightsaber and became even stronger within the Force. He continued to work at thwarting the cult's operations on Chandrila and other planets. When Luke Skywalker discovered the cult's intentions, Korr was recalled to the Academy to serve as part of a Jedi strike team that would stop the Cult of Ragnos from attempting to restore Marka Ragnos to life. However, Katarn pulled Korr aside and informed him that he had received a message from Penin, who had repented of his actions and wished to rejoin the Jedi Order. Katarn and Korr detoured to Taspir III to rescue Rosh from the cult. Korr finally reached Penin, but at the sight of him seemingly unharmed, his anger rose, believing that his former friend - who was always trying to beat Jaden - had lured him into a trap. Alora, who stood up above and watched, thought Jaden's feelings could drive him to the dark side, and tried to amplify his rage to gain a new ally which would have meant certain death for the redeemed Rosh. Rosh became afraid of Jaden's growing anger, but admitted to him that that he had fallen due to his fear. He also reminded Jaden that anger was also a path to the dark side. This, along with the help of Katarn's mental warnings, allowed Korr let go of his anger, realizing he had let it control him, and did not attack Rosh. At this point, Alora attacked, slicing off Penin's left arm, but Korr was able to defeat her in a hard-fought battle. When Kyle caught up with his students, he commended Jaden for not giving into the dark side, but Jaden gave the credit to Rosh for having reminded him.

Leaving Rosh in the care of Kyle, Jaden flew to the Sith world of Korriban, where he joined up with the Jedi strike force to stop the cult once and for all. He reached Ragnos's Tomb and confronted Tavion before she could resurrect Ragnos. Tavion fought with fury and hatred, using the Scepter of Ragnos to boost her advantage. However Jaden's skill outmatched and defeated her, but Tavion refused to surrender. She managed to somewhat resurrect the Dark Lord of the Sith, but he came out only as a spirit, who possessed her. After a duel with the possessed Tavion, Jaden destroyed the scepter and Ragnos left Tavion's body. Her body could not withstand the corruption and died shortly thereafter. Jaden left the tomb and sealed it. He joined Luke and Kyle on the steps of the mausoleum. There they proclaimed him to be a true Jedi Knight.

After the Yuuzhan Vong War
Following the Yuuzhan Vong War, Korr assisted Jan Ors in her hunt to locate his former master, Kyle Katarn, who had vanished while searching for missing Jedi Daye Azur-Jamin. They spent every spare moment, searching for any clues indicating where Kyle could have been. He later found and freed him from Daye Azur-Jamin who had become a Dark Jedi.

Second Galactic Civil War
He was stationed at the new Jedi Temple as of 40 ABY. He assisted Jedi Master Kyp Durron, Valin Horn, Dr. Seyah, and several other Jedi on a mission to destroy Centerpoint Station during the Second Galactic Civil War. During the mission, Korr and his team encountered stiff resistance from the Confederation and Corellian sympathizers. After a short battle, the soldiers and several members of the station's crew retreated into a cargo hold, blocking off the Jedi's way. Left without the time to force them out or negotiate a surrender, Jaden opened the hold to space, killing the soldiers and engineers alike. He would later reflect on this decision with doubt and remorse, despite having followed the orders of a fellow Jedi.

Quest for certainty
"There be dragons&hellip;"

- Jaden Korr on his doubts in himself, the Jedi and the Force

Six months later, Jaden had insulated himself from his friends and fellow Jedi, living in a Coruscant apartment outside the Jedi Temple, when he received a vision from the Force. In the vision, Jaden found himself on the surface of a frozen moon in the Unknown Regions surrounded by the voices of dead Jedi and Sith calling his name. One of the voices, belonging to Mara Jade Skywalker, told him, "What you seek can be found in the black hole on Fhost". The vision ended with a explosion in the sky that rained down dark side energy, leaving Jaden sickened and someone calling for help. Hoping to find answers that would bring him peace of mind, Jaden left for Fhost without informing the Jedi Order. Upon his arrival, Jaden learned that the crew of the salvage vessel Junker had stumbled on a automated distress beacon in the Unknown Region; convinced that it would lead him to his quest, Jaden approached Junker’s captain Khedryn Faal in the Black hole of Fhost Cantina. Obsessed with finding an answer to his moral confusion, he even used a Jedi mind trick on Faal, but was interrupted by his first mate Marr Idi-Shael, who urged Faal to partake in a Sabacc game, during which they lost the moon's coordinates to a local criminal. Sensing that the game was rigged, Jaden used the Force to help Faal win it back during a double-or-nothing round, and then helped Junker's crew to escape the following firefight. They then agreed to bring him to the frozen moon of his vision, but just after arriving in the system they witnessed the arrival of the Harbinger that had miss jumped 5000 years through time. Rescuing Jedi Master Relin Druur, who had caused the misjump 5000 years ago, Jaden learned that the dark side energy he felt in his vision and from Harbinger was caused by the cargo of Lignan crystals. Even though Jaden felt Relin falling to his anger over the death of his Padawan and Relin in turn felt Jaden lost in doubt, both agreed that they had to go their own way.

After convincing the crew of the Junker that the Force had brought them to the moon they decided that Marr would fly Relin in Harbinger's landing bay to destroy the ship while Faal would land Jaden on the moon. There they discovered a secret imperial research station where the scientists had combined Jedi and Sith DNA to create clones. Later, the clones had killed all the scientists and stormtroopers. Faal voted for leaving the moon at once, but Jaden was too obsessed to turn around now and continued alone to the lower levels. Hoping that clones who could use dark and light side like himself would provide him with answers to his dilemma, Jaden advanced through the carnage till he reached the Spaarti cloning cylinder "Mother" which the clones had filled with the remains of the scientists and Troopers. Here, he encountered a clone of Kam Solusar who informed him the clones would use Jaden's ship to leave the moon. They fought until the clone took three fingers off Jaden's right hand with his lightsaber and tried to drown him in the cloning cylinder. Faced with his fear of death, Jaden briefly unleashed Force lightning, but realized, just in time, that he had let the Dark Side swell in him. Right when the clone was about to deliver the killing blow, Jaden pulled out his purple bladed lightsaber and killed the clone by executing Shiak. Exhausted, Jaden left the cloning cylinder just to run into Kell Douro, an Anzati assassin who had been hunting Jaden since Fhost, believing that he would find revelation by consuming a Jedi's Soup. Too weak to fight back, Jaden was saved by Faal, who had returned to help his new friend. Leaving the station, they witnessed the remaining clones and their children leaving in the assassin's ship, as well as the destruction of the Harbinger. Marr related Relin Druur’s last words to Jaden, that there is no certainty just the search for it and the danger is if one thinks he found it. Jaden realized that he will not rid himself of doubt but rather embrace it. He accepted that his role as a Jedi personally involved the acceptance of doubt. He suspected that his Master had known this all along and that his ordeal with his new friends was designed to teach him this lesson. Jaden, Khedryn and Marr then decided to hunt the remaining clones together.

Rising tensions
Later, Korr would be stationed outside the High Council Chambers alongside a male Human and a female Mon Calamari apprentice by order of acting Grand Master Kenth Hamner while the High Council discussed how to proceed with the arrest warrants against Jedi Bazel Warv and Yaqeel Saav'etu. When Jedi Knight Leia Organa Solo and her husband arrived in the foyer to the chambers, Korr initially upheld his mandate to bar entrance to everyone. However, the Solos soon convinced him they had evidence of an attack by Mandalorians on the Temple, and he let them pass. Korr would later assist in moving the Jedi affected by Force psychosis and, along with Avinoam Arelis, helped the Solos defend against the Mandalorians in a lower level hangar in the Temple Precinct.

Powers and abilities
"The Force is a tool, Jaden. Sometimes a weapon, sometimes a salve. Dark Side, Light Side, these are distinctions of insignificant difference. Do not fall into the trap of classification. Sentience curses us with a desire to categorize and draw lines, to fear that after this be dragons. But that is illusion. After this is not dragons but more knowledge, deeper understanding. Be at peace with that."

- Kyle Katarn to Jaden

Korr was a powerful Force user, mastering his entire core Force abilities, as well as other Force powers. He demonstrated a remarkable level of telekinesis when he used the Force to push down a large pillar in order to make a bridge during the Battle of Korriban, and showed strong abilities in the areas of Force speed. But perhaps the most incredible of his abilities was his capacity for mastering both light and dark-side oriented Force powers. This can be in part attributed to the teachings of his master, Kyle Katarn, who also displayed similar feats through his use of Force lightning and Force choke. Unlike Katarn, Korr was plagued with doubt over his ability to utilize dark side techniques, questioning his identity as a Jedi. Throughout his lifetime, Jaden may have learned Force powers ranging from Force Protection, Force Healing, Mind trick, and Force Absorb to Force drain, Force Rage, and Force choke. Jaden displayed a sort of natural affinity for Force lightning, though he struggled with the implications of its use.

Jaden was highly skilled with a lightsaber, echoing his master's swordsmanship. He utilized the medium style, and perhaps even the fast and strong styles. Although he commonly carried two lightsabers, Jaden tended to favor using only one lightsaber in combat. He demonstrated masterful use of the lightsaber when defeating Alora, Tavion, and the Sith Spirit of Marka Ragnos. Jaden was adept in fighting multiple lightsaber/Force-wielding enemies, even up to a three-on-one match, as demonstrated by his duel with Rosh Penin. He was also able to hold his own against famed bounty hunter Boba Fett (who was an experienced Jedi killer). He was also skilled with a wide variety of blasters and other weapons, as evidenced by his encounter with Rax Joris.

Korr was a pilot, and frequently flew the Far Wanderer, his Z-95 Headhunter. When the Raven's Claw was beamed into an Imperial Dreadnaught, he also was shown to be at least a moderately skilled gunner, as he had to destroy some flying TIE Fighters. During his mission to Zonju V, he proved to be an adept swoop rider and demonstrated his mastery of mounted lightsaber combat techniques.

He was also able to understand Shyriiwook to at least a minimal extent as demonstrated when he met Chewbacca.

Equipment
Jaden Korr commonly carried two lightsabers. The first was purple-bladed and was constructed by Jaden prior to his force training&mdash;which was what brought him to the attention of Luke Skywalker. It featured a short, one-handed hilt, similar to a lightfoil. This lightsaber was assumed destroyed on Vjun by a blast from the Scepter of Ragnos, but was later recovered. Jaden's second lightsaber was green-bladed and constructed when he became a Jedi Knight. This was his primary lightsaber, even after recovering the purple-bladed one from Vjun, but was lost in combat on an unnamed frozen moon. He replaced the lost lightsaber with an unstable, red-bladed lightsaber taken from a mad clone of Kam Solusar. Jaden also carried a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol.

Occasionally, Jaden would arm himself with a number of other projectile, explosive, and energy weapons, including a DXR-6 disruptor rifle, a Wookiee Bowcaster, an Imperial Heavy Repeater, Destructive Electromagnetic Pulse 2 Gun, FC-1 flechette launcher, Stouker concussion rifle, PLX-2M portable missile launcher, thermal detonators, trip mines and detonation packs. He also employed personal energy shields while out on missions.

Korr utilized a hyperdrive-equipped Z-95 Headhunter named Far Wanderer to get from planet to planet when not flying with Katarn aboard the Raven's Claw or employing other transport.

Behind the scenes
"I was actually slated for a spin-off to Jedi Knight, but I don't want to talk about what happened there."

- Atton Rand

The male Jaden is voiced by Philip Tanzini. The female Jaden is voiced by Jennifer Hale, the same actress who voiced Bastila Shan in both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games.

Jaden was originally going to be called Atton Rand, and that name was later used in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

In the mission to Tatooine, which involves finding a droid, Jaden finds a black droid and says "This is not the droid we're looking for", obviously a reference to A New Hope when Obi-Wan Kenobi uses the Force to trick a patrol of stormtroopers.

In the mission to Ord Mantell, Jaden encounters Boba Fett; this is the second time Fett appears in the series: Kyle Katarn had fought him in his mission to Coruscant.

In the Mission To Hoth, the player can save a Tauntaun from a Wampa with Force Speed, but due to the difficulty involved, this is likely non-canon.

There is a glitch in Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy when playing on the dark side. If the player has a blaster equipped when fighting Tavion, the cutscene shows Jaden bashing Tavion with the blaster but it makes saber sounds.

On Sep 29, 2008, Sue Rostoni announced in her blog a new paperback novel titled Crosscurrent said to involve Jaden Korr is in development by Paul Kemp and is said to "sort of" take place during the Great Hyperspace War. The book was released January 26, 2010.

Character customization
"Two apprentices were always assigned to guard the entrance, but today they were being overseen by a tall, brown-haired Jedi Knight with a slender face and dark, piercing eyes."

- Narrator (Troy Denning)

Originally, Jaden's true nature was ambiguous: The in-game avatar for Jedi Academy is customized by the player, and so can be a male or female Human, female Twi'lek, male Rodian, female Zabrak or male Kel Dor. However, Jaden is referred to as a "he" in The New Essential Chronology, and is often portrayed in promotional art as a male Human with reddish-brown hair. The author Paul Kemp of the new novel Crosscurrent confirmed on his LiveJournal that Jaden will be Human. Jaden Korr's subsequent protrayal in Crosscurrent describes him as bearded, tall, and with piercing gray eyes.

The Galactic Campaign Guide specifies that Korr is one of the most common surnames amongst Kel Dorians, translating into Basic as "male ruler" or "king." However, this information is still inconclusive, since both Vani Korr and Drama Korr had this surname and were both Human. Jaden was also portrayed as a Twi'lek female in the Planet Hoppers&mdash;Hoth: Under the Ice, but this representation is non-canonical considering the above.

A single sentence in the novel Abyss eliminates Kel Dor and Rodian from consideration, as Jaden Korr is described as having brown hair, and later in the same chapter is described as male, eliminating the possibility of the brown-haired Zabrak female. The Rodian and Kel Dor males are naturally hairless, and there is only one brown-haired human male model available in the game.

Lightsaber customization
In Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy the player can choose the hilt and the blade color of Jaden's Lightsaber at the beginning of the game, and can build two new lightsabers or a double-bladed one after the Mission to Vjun,leading many to believe that Jaden's first lightsaber was lost on Vjun. Paul S. Kemp, author of Crosscurrent, stated that he assumed the lightsaber was later recovered from Vjun, and may consider portraying this event in a short story.

Alternative ending
"No Rosh, you were weak."

- Jaden Korr to Rosh

Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy presents two possible endings for Jaden: the light side ending, detailed above for the sake of reference, and the dark side ending, as follows:

When Jaden meets Rosh at Taspir III, he gives in to his anger and strikes down his former friend in cold blood. After that, Tavion's apprentice (Alora) offers Jaden the possibility of switching masters with Tavion. Jaden confidently turns down the offer arguing that changing masters would be foolish, immediately defeating and killing Alora. Soon afterwards, Jaden travels to Korriban to take down Tavion and with that become a true Sith Lord. On Korriban, Jaden faces alone both Tavion's forces as well as his old fellow Jedi. He has to simultaneously fight Jedi and Dark Jedi alike (as well as stormtrooper forces) before dueling and defeating Tavion herself in the Tomb of the Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. At that point, his now former master Kyle Katarn (who is after Jaden) arrives to try and bring Jaden back to the Light Side. Nonetheless, Kyle fails in persuading Jaden to change his mind. Master and Apprentice duel in a final fight, which results in Jaden vanquishing Kyle to a hole in the floor with the use of the Scepter of Ragnos after the heated battle. Jaden escapes through the wall (opening a hole with the Scepter again), escapes with his ship to a Star Destroyer orbiting Korriban. Meanwhile, Kyle pursues Jaden to fix his mistake in anguish for losing both of his apprentices. Finally, in the nose of the Capital Ship and with the Scepter of Ragnos in hand, Jaden sets a course for an unknown destination.

The light side ending of the game is canonical, as referenced in The New Essential Chronology. However, as a result of the amount of enemies faced on the Dark Side path, it is noteworthy that the Dark path is much more difficult to complete.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Fury
 * Crosscurrent
 * Riptide
 * Abyss
 * Backlash

Notes and references
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