Saesee Tiin/Legends

"I'm hard-headed. It is my greatest strength. And my strength has never failed me."

- Saesee Tiin

Saesee Tiin was a male Iktotchi Jedi Master and Jedi Council member. Tiin served as a High Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. He was a renowned Jedi ace.

Biography
An Iktotchi from the moon of Iktotch, Saesee's toughened skin and blunt features were a result of his species' evolution to cope with the battering winds of their homeworld. Saesee also shared his species' natural telepathic ability.



At an early age, Saesee's family realized that he had more than normal awareness and that he must have Force abilities. Before he was sent to Coruscant to be tested by the Jedi, however, Saesee Tiin had already become a pilot of higher-than-average ability. Piloting craft through the turbulent atmosphere of Iktotch, Saesee learned how to react to every twist and turn of the winds, to keep his craft stable. Saesee's flying practice also helped to hone his Force abilities.

By the time he arrived at the Jedi Temple, he was already adept at channeling his Force connection. As he progressed in the Order, he was acknowledged as having one of the strongest Force abilities of all the Jedi. He was trained by the renowned Wol Cabasshite Master Omo Bouri. Bouri was responsible in part for Tiin's serious demeanor and extreme devotion to the Jedi. When Omo was lost on an ill-fated mission, it only served to make Saesee Tiin dedicate himself even more completely to the Jedi Order.

Despite the importance of Tiin's master in his development, the Iktotchi Jedi accepted no Padawan of his own, making him one of the few Jedi promoted to master without having done so.

Over the course of his distinguished career, Saesee fought in many battles and proved his worth both in the field and as an advisor within the Jedi Council. As early as 44 BBY, Tiin had joined the Jedi Council as a long-term member. It seemed the death of his master, Omo Bouri, who would later visit him as a Force ghost, had deeply affected Tiin. Shortly after his election to the Council, Saesee took part in the Stark Hyperspace War&mdash;a dangerous conflict in the Outer Rim Territories. A Jedi team had been sent to settle the dispute, but had been caught up in the fighting. With his telepathic abilities, Saesee was able to channel the Force of the rest of the Council and so communicate with the away team over vast distances. When it came to be a fighter attack against Iaco Stark's forces, Saesee, with his astonishing flying skills and firm leadership, was an obvious choice to command the fighter squadron. He led Red and Blue Squadrons to victory in the Fifth Battle of Qotile. "He talks more to that starship than he does to me."

- Adi Gallia



On numerous occasions, Master Tiin's flying skills saved the lives of his fellow Jedi. During the highly dangerous mission to Yinchorr, Saesee was the pilot of one of the Republic cruisers delivering Mace Windu, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi to the trouble spot. On arrival at their destination, the Jedi were ambushed by Yinchorri fighters. The Republic cruisers were unarmed and so Saesee was forced to take evasive action. However, his ship was caught between the planet and the ambushers. Saesee flew directly at the planet and then engaged the hyperdrive engine for a split second, which took them to the other side of the planet. It was a highly dangerous maneuver, and one that only a pilot with the skills of Saesee could have performed successfully. On the same mission, Saesee also demonstrated his skill and bravery in ground combat. In the middle of battle with the Yinchorri, Saesee single-handedly defeated a battle tank with just a lightsaber.

Of all of Saesee's epic acts of bravery and skill, none surpassed those he achieved in his own specialized starfighter, Sharp Spiral. Saesee had been awarded the SoroSuub Cutlass-9 patrol fighter by a group of grateful Duros diplomats after the Jedi had saved them from space pirates. Due to his skills as a pilot, Saesee was permitted to keep the gift and immediately set about modifying it. The already superb performance of the ship was improved to levels that matched Saesee's skills. He saw about the removal of electronic sensor systems and map systems, since these have little use to one attuned to the Force. With the removal of these systems, it made the SoroSuub even more nimble than it was, making it a very formidable dogfighting starship.

It was in Sharp Spiral that Master Tiin, performed one of his most famous deeds. For some years, Saesee had established close links with a group of independent conscience-fighters called Sons and Daughters of Freedom. The group fought for the cause of liberty and were usually allies of the Republic. However, when a faction within the Freedom's Sons became corrupt, Saesee set out to apprehend them. It was an unbalanced fight&mdash;Saesee in Sharp Spiral and the rogue Freedom's Sons in three battleships. Despite outgunning Saesee many times over, the renegades could not land a single shot on Sharp Spiral. With cool calm, Saesee went about destroying the shields, engines, and weapons systems of all three ships. He then left the ships stranded for the Republic forces to pick up.

Saesee kept his place on the Council, although with typical humility he always expressed surprise at his position. Although he was often silent, the advice he did offer was valued for its directness and foresight. In 32 BBY, over ten years after the Stark Hyperspace War, Saesee was on the Council in the run-up to the Invasion of Naboo. He was one of the Jedi team sent to the planet Asmeru to investigate an attempted assassination of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. There, armed with his lightsaber, Saesee defended his fellow Jedi from the Nebula Front militia. He was present on the Council when Qui-Gon Jinn presented Anakin Skywalker to the Council. He supported the decision to allow Anakin Skywalker into the Jedi Order.



Saesee took interest in the young Skywalker's abilities as a mechanic. He traveled to Naboo for the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn and took the lead in investigating Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator discovered there. Tiin, along with Skywalker, had the ability to astrogate hyperspace without the need of a navigation computer.

Prior to the Battle of Geonosis, Master Tiin helped Adi Gallia flight-test a Delta-7 Aethersprite prototype over Coruscant. Thanks to this trial, Saesee Tiin made several modifications to the starfighters for increased performance. He participated in the Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY, where he took part in the rescue attempt of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Senator Padmé Amidala in the execution arena, and was one of the few survivors of the task force. When Yoda arrived with the Grand Army of the Republic, Saesee followed Luminara Unduli onto a Republic gunship with fellow Jedi Roth-Del Masona and Shaak Ti. After being dropped off, he took off in his starfighter, Sharp Spiral, to aid Adi Gallia in the battle above Geonosis. He was mistakenly reported killed in the conflict&mdash;this error was later attributed to the confusion of wartime journalism.

Clone Wars
"I can fly anything..."

- Saesee Tiin to Na-Jia

As the Clone Wars spread, Tiin took the mantle of High Jedi General, commanding both ground and air/space forces. While skilled, Tiin was not without the occasional injury&mdash;a low-altitude ejection from Sharp Spiral led to a broken horn. His horn having quickly regrown, Tiin leapt back into action in the war. His starfighter was replaced with one of the first new Eta-2 Actis-class interceptors, a product of his encouraging Skywalker's customizations on Azure Angel and Azure Angel II.



When the war spread to his homeworld, he fought alongside Mace Windu to defeat the Separatist Droid Army and a prototype B3 ultra battle droid. The pair continued to work together to infiltrate the Rig and, with the assistance of Kit Fisto and Agen Kolar, ended Crimson Nova's attacks on Jedi.

Another notable mission for Tiin was the sabotage of an advanced Separatist droid factory on the icy world of Diado.

Tiin preferred to fight the war with few restrictions, which saw him appointed as the Council's liaison to Freedom's Sons and a defender of the unorthodox methods and tactics of Jedi like Skywalker and Quinlan Vos. At the Battle of Boz Pity, Tiin commanded Gold Squadron. He was later given command of the Republic fleet sent to Rendili to prevent the transfer of their fleet of Dreadnaughts. His mission complete, Tiin returned to Coruscant and was assigned command of the Venator-class Star Destroyer Impavid.



During the Battle of Coruscant, Tiin took to his green Eta-2 and led a squadron of ARC-170 starfighters into the orbital battle between the Republic's Open Circle Fleet and the Confederacy's navy, led by the feared droid leader General Grievous. When a Providence-class carrier/destroyer collided with Impavid during a hyperspace exit, he landed in the dying Star Destroyer and led its stranded clone troopers in a boarding of the enemy cruiser Prosperous. With a specialized space suit and his green lightsaber, Tiin cut through the floor of the ship's landing bay, allowing him and his forces to enter the interior of the ship, eliminate its minor crew and take control.

Upon the death of Grievous on Utapau at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tiin along with Kit Fisto and Agen Kolar was selected to accompany Mace Windu to the Chancellor's office in an attempt to get Palpatine to relinquish his security powers. On the way, the four Jedi Masters were informed by Anakin Skywalker that Palpatine was in fact Darth Sidious. In the Jedi's subsequent attempt to arrest Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the Jedi were caught off guard by the Sith Lord's vicious attack. With Agen Kolar being the Sith's first victim, Saesee Tiin was the next to fall, slashed open at the chest by Sidious's lightsaber. Soon afterwards, Kit Fisto was killed by the Sith Lord and, after an intense fight and the interference of Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu also fell. These deaths marked the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge.

Talents
Saesee Tiin was a particularly talented Jedi, and he was personally chosen by Mace Windu to help arrest the Sith Lord Chancellor Palpatine. Saesee Tiin performed well in all of his previous conflicts, the best known being the Battle of Geonosis. In addition to being a formidable warrior, he was also believed to be the greatest pilot in the Jedi Order after Anakin Skywalker. Tiin's Iktotchi heritage granted him strong telepathic abilities, and thus he relied on the Force to instinctively astrogate his way through lightspeed, having no need of a nav computer. However, Master Tiin had the skill to carry out space navigation calculations involving the simple data provided by a nav computer. He had a keen eye for flight technology.

Behind the scenes
In the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, Tiin was the first victim in the duel instead of Agen Kolar. Palpatine, pretending to be in a panic over the threat of his arrest, asked Master Tiin: "Master Tiin, you're the telepath. Tell me what I'm thinking right now." Saesee was trying to read Palpatine's mind, and Palpatine caught him off guard. He then quickly cut Master Tiin's head off. George Lucas considered this type of death too violent for the movie, and therefore changed it.

Saesee Tiin was played by Khan Bonfils in The Phantom Menace and Jesse Jensen in Attack of the Clones, brother of Zac Jensen, the actor who played Kit Fisto in the same movie. Jensen was replaced by Kenji Oates in Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Joe Paulino in the game Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter and by T. C. Carson in Star Wars: Clone Wars.