User:Cavalier One/Workpad

"According to Imperial records, Master Rahm Kota was a respected general in the Clone Wars."

- PROXY

Rahm Kota was a Human male Jedi Master and General.

Early life
Born and raised on an unidentified planet, Rahm Kota fought in the brutal trench warfare that ravaged his homeworld from before the age of ten. Eventually, the Jedi Mace Windu was dispatched to the planet to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Windu met and befriended Kota, now aged eighteen, and found that he was strong in the Force. After completing his mission, Windu sought to have Kota return with him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to train in the Jedi arts. Despite the fact that he was well past the traditional age of acceptance for new apprentices, Kota was inducted into the Order and trained under Jedi Master Yoda himself. During his training, his gruff and forthright personality earned him few friends. After attaining the rank of Jedi Knight, Kota often questioned the Jedi Council's decisions, and voiced his opinion that the Order should adopt a more forceful approach when dealing with criminals or negotiating treaties. However, no one doubted Kota's commitment and loyalty to both the Republic and the Jedi, or his courage, as he always chose the most dangerous and hazardous assignments.

The Clone Wars
"Master Kota was a military genius, but felt the clone soldiers were unfit for battle. Instead, he relied on his own militia."

- PROXY

By the beginning of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, Kota was a Jedi Master, and was appointed as a Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic alongside his contemporaries. However, Kota believed that the clone troopers produced by the Kaminoans were not fit to be soldiers, and refused to lead them into combat. He did not believe that clones could be as creative or as intelligent in the field than non-clones. Instead, he organized and trained his own militia, comprised of dedicated beings from across the galaxy that included members of local planetary militias, mercenary groups, and even Separatist prisoners-of-war. Kota and his Militia served with distinction, fighting as both a regular unit and a special operations force, on several fronts, including several successful offensives in the Outer Rim Territories. Kota began to grow weary of watching his troopers and friends killed in the war, and firmly believed that the conflict would eventually see the destruction of both the Jedi and the Galactic Republic, and the rise of Chancellor Palpatine.

Three years after the start of the war, Chancellor Palpatine issued Order 66 to all clone units, which stated that the Jedi had become a threat to the Republic, and had to be eliminated. Palpatine was actually a Sith Lord operating under the name Darth Sidious, and the entire war was part of an elaborate plan to destroy the Jedi Order and have the Sith rule the galaxy. Palpatine named himself Emperor, and reorganized the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Kota's decision to lead his own troops spared him the fate that befell most of the Jedi commanders in the Grand Army by the simple fact that he had no clones under his command. A squad of Antarian Rangers serving with Kota learned of the order, and immediately took him and his troops into hiding. Stealing a Republic cruiser, Kota and his forces disappeared into the Outer Rim. Kota's fears had become reality. Following his disappearance, Kota was officially listed as dead in Imperial records, although Lord Darth Vader was aware that he survived.

Striking back at the Empire
Kota fled to the Outer Rim Territories, where he decided to dedicate his life to opposing the new Galactic Empire. Establishing a number of small bases, new recruits flocked to his banner as the Empire tightened its grip on the galaxy. Kota and his Milita remained hidden, emerging only to strike at Imperial targets in well-executed and carefully planned raids. Kota allied himself with Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, who was fermenting rebellion within the halls of the Imperial Senate and secreting assisting fugitive Jedi who had escaped Order 66. Organa began feeding Kota data on Imperial targets, allowing the general to strike deep at the Empire's war machine. Through Organa, Kota was able to maintain communications with other Jedi, including Ylenic It'kla, who was serving as the senator's aide; Shaak Ti, who was in hiding on Felucia; and Kazdan Paratus, who had taken refuge on Raxus Prime. While conducting his rebellion, Kota took an intense interest in Darth Vader himself, attacking targets that appeared to have some level of importance to the Dark Lord of the Sith, such as assaulting a factory that he had recently visited, or stealing a shuttle that Vader had used as a personal transport. Kota's main aim was to finally draw Vader into a confrontation with himself so that the Sith Lord could be eliminated once and for all.

Drawing out the Dark Lord
"A boy? Months of attacking Imperial targets, and Vader sends a boy to fight me?"

- Rahm Kota to Darth Vader's secret apprentice

In 3 BBY, using information gained from Organa, Kota struck at a TIE Fighter Construction Facility in orbit over Nar Shaddaa, hoping that the bold action would finally force Vader to face him. Kota and his Militia boarded the station, engaging the station's stormtrooper complement and securing the command center and placing explosive charges throughout the facility at strategic points. As Kota's Militia secured the command center, a vessel was detected on approach to the facility. Kota believed that the ship was bringing Darth Vader to face him, and ordered the containment field on hangar twelve to be lowered so that the Dark Lord could board the facility.

Kota waited in the facility's command center for Vader, but was surprised to find that the intruder was not the Dark Lord of the Sith, but a young man who was Vader's own secret apprentice. Despite his shock, Kota engaged the apprentice in a lightsaber duel, and found the boy stronger in the Force than he had thought. Unwilling to let the apprentice live, Kota used the Force to detach the command center from the construction facility, continuing to battle the Darksider as it plummeted towards the surface of Nar Shaddaa. The two continued to duel, but the apprentice was stronger and Kota began to tire, taking several hits that reduced his robe to a smoking ruin and caused one of his shoulder pads to glow red hot. Kota was caught in a chokehold by the apprentice, and battered with flying debris until he was knocked to the ground. Vader's apprentice brought his lightsaber blade down, engaging the general in a saber lock. Kota received a glimpse of the apprentice's future as the combatant's blades were forced closer to his face, sensing that Vader would not always be his opponent's master and that he had not been turned fully to the Dark Side of the Force. He was also astonished to see that the apprentice's future included himself. In that moment, the apprentice pushed the locked blades into Kota's eyes, blinding the general.

In agony, Kota sent out a wave of Force energy that shattered the viewports of the command center, dropping his lightsaber in the process. Wind howled through the command center as debris was sucked out during to the drastic change of pressure, and Kota followed, dropping spread-eagled into the Vertical City below. Vader's apprentice retrieved Kota's lightsaber, taking it as a trophy of his victory.

Fall from grace
Although blinded, Kota survived the fall from the command center and went into hiding on Nar Shaddaa. Falling into despair, the general found his connection to the Force severely diminished and turned to alcohol to ease the loss. He also used a bandage to cover his blinded eyes. Several weeks after the incident, he was found by Bail Organa who wanted to recruit him in a mission to rescue his adopted daughter, Princess Leia Organa. The princess had been sent to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, ostensibly as an Senatorial Observer and the guest of Captain Ozzik Sturn. In reality, Leia Organa was being held as a hostage to stop her father from speaking out against the Empire in the Senate. Kota refused to help Organa, feeling that his condition made him useless for such a task. The Senator arranged transportation for Kota to Cloud City on Bespin via Ziost, informing him that he would seek help from Master Shaak Ti on Felcuia instead. Although Kota warned him against that course of action, Organa went anyway.

An unlikely apprentice
"We need to rally the Emperor's enemies. And I need to find someone who can teach me the things that Vader couldn't&hellip;" "Sounds like we're still hunting Jedi." "And I know one that might still be alive." "General Kota?" "Yes. When I fought him, he said he'd be part of my future. Well, let's hope he was right. Head to Nar Shaddaa."

- Galen Marek and Juno Eclipse

On Cloud City, Kota took refuge in the Vapor Room, a bar that catered to Ugnaught miners, paying for exclusive use of a table. Ignoring the galaxy at large, Kota let his appearance degrade; his hair became greasy and ill-kept, and his robes were loose fitting and stained. Despite attempting to keep a low profile, word of the presence of a blind man who could nevertheless pour a glass of Corellian Brandy without spilling a drop reached the ears of the Empire.

Months after his encounter with Vader's apprentice over Nar Shaddaa, Kota was woken from a drunken stupor by a force-sensitive individual requesting his help. Kota pointed out that he was of no use due to his injuries, although the young man countered by informing him that he needed his mind and experience in fighting the Empire, not his eyes. Through his weak connection with the Force, Kota suspected that the individual in front of him was the same man who had duelled and blinded him over Nar Shaddaa. Feeling that Vader had not turned him completely to the dark side, Kota found something within the apprentice&mdash;a single bright spot that burned within him, that gave him hope and that he clung to.

At that moment, Imperial forces, tipped off to Kota's presence by a local informant, raided the Vapor Room. The apprentice fought his way out of the bar, covering Kota while the blind and drunk Jedi Master attempted to navigate his way out of the watering hole. During the ensuing battle, Kota became separated from the apprentice, and making his own way to the balloon dock where the young man had arranged a rendezvous with his ship. Despite having come to believe that the Empire was unbeatable, and nothing that they could do would ever defeat it, Kota agreed to help the apprentice, noting that he had a friend in the Senate who could use his lightsaber. When he asked the young man if he had a name, the apprentice told him he had none.

Gathering allies
"It's a fool's errand, boy. The Empire's army is infinite. You'll eventually be killed&hellip;or worse. And nothing will have changed." "Wouldn't you rather die on your feet than drown in some cantina?" "I don't know. But I do have a contact in the Senate who could use your lightsaber."

- Rahm Kota to Galen Marek on Cloud City

Once aboard the Rogue Shadow, Kota met with the other members of the crew&mdash;the pilot Juno Eclipse and the droid PROXY. Given access to a communications console, Kota attempted to contact Bail Organa but failed. Remembering that Organa had attempted to recruit him to rescue his daughter, Leia, he reasoned that extracting her from Kashyyyk might make the Senator more liable to listen to the mysterious young man. He directed the ship to Kashyyyk, telling his new companions that there was something of value to the Senator on the surface, and retreiving it would be in their best interests, although he neglected to mention that it was Organa's daughter. On approach to the Wookiee homeworld, Kota questioned Captain Eclipse over the vessel they were in; the former Imperial pilot told them it was stolen, and tried to forestall any further conversation in case she gave away that the ship was the same one that had ferried the apprentice&mdash;who she knew by the codename "Starkiller"&mdash;to Nar Shaddaa. Kota told her not to worry as they were all fugitives, and he wasn't about to turn her in to the Empire.

While the apprentice fought his way through Imperial forces on Kashyyyk, Kota continued refusing to tell him exactly what he was looking for, telling him that he would know it when he found it. When he did eventually find the princess, she refused to go with him, telling the apprentice that she could not leave until the skyhook that was being constructed in orbit was destroyed. The apprentice agreed to attempt to destroy it so that the princess would take her shuttle and leave planet. En route to the tractor beam mooring that kept the skyhook in orbit, the apprentice stumbled across a hut that he was drawn to, and asked Kota for advice. Kota warned him off from entering it, telling him that there were some things that he wasn't ready to learn, and that if he entered, he had to face whatever was inside alone. The apprentice ignored him, and entered. Through his weak connection to the Force, Kota felt something of the apprentice's experience, which caused him to sag against the control panels.

Eventually, the apprentice destroyed the skyhook and returned to the Rogue Shadow, where he demanded to know the identify of the woman he had just rescued. Kota filled him in on her identity, and that of her father, and the apprentice demanded to speak with him. Kota admitted that he had been unable to reach Organa since they left Bespin, and that he had gone to find Shaak Ti. Before he could reveal that Felucia was their destination, the apprentice revealed it himself. Kota commented that he must have been strong in the Force in order to read his thoughts.

On Felucia, Kota refused the apprentice's offer to join him in retrieving Organa, stating that he was pretty much useless in his current condition. The young amn succeeded in his mission, defeating Shaak Ti's corrupted apprentice Maris Brood in the process, leading to a reunion between Kota and Organa. Organa revealed that Master Ti was dead, and Kota commented that her killer was probably the same individual who had blinded him. In return, he revealed to Organa that he could not contact Paratus on Raxus Prime and feared the worst. In a conversation between them and the apprentice, the young man brought up the concept of open rebellion against the Empire. Kota commented that they would need a victory&mdash;a big target&mdash;to convince potential allies that they were not just talking but were prepared to take action. The apprentice told them that he would meditate on the matter, and eventaully returned to Kota with a target in mind&mdash;a new Imperial shipyard that was producing Star Destroyers that had been established in orbit over Raxus Prime.

As the apprentice recovered from pulling the Star Destroyer down, Kota informed him that he had set up a meeting with Corellian Senator Garm Bel Iblis on Cloud City. Travelling there in the Rogue Shadow, Kota told the young man to find Lobot, the city's cyborg administrator to be told of Bel Iblis' current location.

Prisoner
Taken prisoner by Imperial forces, Kota was taken to the Death Star, an enormous battlestation being built over the planet Despayre in the Horuz system. Along with Organa, Mothma and Bel Iblis, Kota was taken before Emperor Palpatine himself for interrogation and eventual execution. Before the Emperor could enact his plan, the apprentice&mdash;who had infiltrated and fought his way through the Death Star after being recovered from Corellia by Captain Eclipse&mdash;came to their rescue.

A declaration of Rebellion
"He's at last one with the Force." "You always knew who he was, didn't you?" "I suspected, yes." "Then why did you help him? After all the things he had done?" "When he came to me in the bar, among all his dark thoughts, I glimpsed one bright spot. One beautiful thing he held onto, even at the end." "What?" "You."

- Juno Eclipse and Rahm Kota, discussing Galen Marek

On Kashyyyk, Eclipse confronted Kota, asking him if he always knew that Marek had been the one who had blinded him. Kota told her that he had indeed suspected as much. When Eclipse asked him why he had helped them, knowing what Marek had done, Kota told her of the bright spot burning within the young man that he had felt in the bar on Cloud City&mdash;and that it was her.

Personality and traits
Rahm Kota was a hardened soldier, who was noted as being an excellent tactician and combat commander. Regarded as cold and militant by his fellow Jedi, Kota always advocated the use of aggressive force in punishing those who disrupted law and order. Nevertheless, Kota was loyal to the Jedi Order&mdash;even if he disagreed with some of their policies&mdash;and was committed to the stability of the Galactic Republic. He gained a reputation for nevering abandoning those in need, and during the Clone Wars, his leadership style instilled confidence in his troops. However, as the war dragged on, Kota came to the belief that the conflict would see the end of both the Jedi and the Republic, and he grew weary of seeing soldiers and trusted friends killed in battle.

Powers and abilities
"Vader thinks he's turned you. But I can sense your future. And Vader won't always be your master. I sense only&hellip;me?"

- Rahm Kota sees a vision of the future

Kota was a skilled lightsaber duellist, and was a practitioner of Juyo. Well trained in the use of the Force, Kota was able to use telekinesis to move objects or deflect incoming attacks and projectiles, and to throw his lightsaber with extreme accuracy. He also had training in farsight, and was known to have received at least one vision of the future.

Despite being trained in the most aggressive of the seven forms of lightsaber combat, Kota prefered to adopt a defensive stance in combat, using the Force to protect himself until he could launch a counter attack. He also employed telekinesis to hurl objects at enemy combatants or repel them from his presence.

Old biography




When Galen returned to Raxus Prime to destroy a Star Destroyer construction station with an ore cannon, one of the Destroyers can crashing through the atmosphere. Kota told Marek to use the Force to gently put it down before it crushed the Rogue Shadow.

As the Rebels gathered on Corellia, Kota, who had removed his bandages, offered his experience and wisdom to the Alliance. But just as the Corellian Treaty was signed, the empire attacked and Vader reveals that Galen had lured them out to be captured. Kota tried to fight Vader but was caught in a Force grip and thrown aside as he was taken prisoner. He and the Rebel Senators were take to the Death Star to be interrogated, tortured and then publicly executed to crush further resistance. But Kota knew that there'd be another rebellion, as Galen, who had followed them, battled both Vader. When the cyborg Sith was badly damaged, Palpatine tried to entice Galen to finish his apprentice but Kota rushes in, snatching Palpatine's lightsaber with the Force but gets hit by Force Lightning. Galen distracted the Emperor while Kota recovered outside the forcefield that had formed. But as he had the emperor at his mercy, Kota told the redeemed Jedi that he shouldn't strike the Sith in anger. Palpatine then takes advantage of their distraction to attack him with Force lightning, but Galen interceded, buying time for the Rebels to escape on the Rogue Shadow.

Regrouping on Kashyyyk, in the old hut where Galen's family once lived, the Rebels resolved to continue the work their founder started, using the insignia of his family as a symbol of hope. Kota then comforted a worried Juno, saying that when Galen found him at Cloud City, he glimpsed one bright thing in all of the dark thoughts in his mind: Juno.

After the loss of his sight, Kota became disillusioned in his planned attempts at defeating the Empire and became a solitary drunk who was left alone. He believed that defeating the Emperor was a fool's errand as its vast warmachine was unbeatable with anyone attempting to achieve such a task being killed or facing a far worse fate. However, Marek's continued attempts at defeating the Empire inspired Kota to be reinspired in helping defeating the Emperor.

Behind the scenes
Kota is voiced by actor Cully Fredrickson, whose likeness was also used as the basis for the appearance of the character.

Kota as portrayed in the video game version&mdash;both in-game and in promotional shots&mdash;of The Force Unleashed has brown eyes. However, in the novel of The Force Unleashed, his eyes are referenced as blue just prior to the apprentice blinding him with their locked sabers.

Kota's character was originally going to be the disembodied spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn.

In the Wii version of The Force Unleashed, Kota is found in a bar on Nar Shaddaa instead of Cloud City. Also, as Marek recieves the vision of his father following the completion of the Trial of Spirit in the ruins of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant rather than in his former home on Kashyyyk, he attempts to discuss his experience with Kota prior to the mission to the Wookiee homeworld. Kota is not interested in talking about it, however.

Leaked Hasbro toy catalogs were the first sources to hint at Kota's character as a "Samurai Jedi."

In the video game, if you enter MANDALORE as a cheat code, you can play as Rahm Kota.

Appearances

 * The Force Unleashed novel
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comic
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game

Notes and references
Category:Humans Category:Jedi Generals Category:Males Category:Post-Ruusan Jedi Masters Category:Rebel Jedi

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