Darth Talon

"I am your life. I am your death. You have passed your final test without flinching. I name you Darth Talon and you will now be one of my Hands&mdash;My own personal assassin. Henceforth, you will take orders only from me&mdash;report only to me."

- Darth Krayt

Darth Talon was a female Lethan Twi'lek who became a Sith Lady in Darth Krayt's One Sith in 137 ABY. Talon was styled with black Sith tattoos covering her body including her head and lekku; each tattoo had been earned in ritual combat and inscribed by Krayt himself. As a Sith apprentice, she was trained by a fellow Twi'lek Sith Lord named Darth Ruyn, whom she later killed on Krayt's command with a swift decapitating strike of her lightsaber, shortly before ascending to the rank of a full fledged Sith in Krayt's Order.

Recognizing her unshakable loyalty, Krayt anointed Talon as one of his two Hands, thus making her an extension of the Dark Lord's own will. In this capacity, Talon found herself working alongside her Hand counterpart, Darth Nihl. Talon was often tasked with her Master's most important missions, including the capture of the Jedi fugitive Cade Skywalker, and his training in the ways of the dark side of the Force, until her apprentice renounced the One Sith. Talon always remained loyal to her lord Darth Krayt, even during Darth Wyyrlok's attempted takeover of the One Sith, aiding Krayt in his recovery and along with Nihl fighting off the Sith who stood between Krayt and his former Voice, witnessing his return to power. When Darth Krayt finally fell during the Battle of Coruscant, she entered hiding along with the rest of the One Sith, working from concealment to achieve their goals by less overt means.

Training
"Apprentice&mdash;do you know why your Master had to die?''" "''Because you ordered it, Master."

- Darth Krayt and Darth Talon

The Lethan Twi'lek Darth Talon was a third-generation Sith, raised and trained in the Sith Academy on Korriban, an ancient Sith burial world that served as the secret location of the One Sith. Under the tutelage of Darth Ruyn, Talon's inherent abilities as a Force-sensitive were honed in order to transform her into a Sith assassin. Psychologically, she was molded to be completely susceptible to the tenets of the One Sith. Her ultimate loyalty, however, belonged without question to her order's founder, Darth Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith and emperor of the New Galactic Empire.

On the verge of her training's completion, Talon was greatly immersed within the dark side of the Force. Her final test of loyalty was to slay Ruyn in cold blood. Obedient to the will of Darth Krayt without question, the apprentice did not hesitate when she killed her own Master. With her final rite of passage fulfilled, Talon was elevated to the rank of Hand, thus making her one of the Emperor's most trusted assassins.

Pursuit of a princess
"I am Darth Talon&hellip;I am my master's hand&hellip;I am your death."

- Darth Talon to Wolf Sazen on Vendaxa

Darth Talon's first mission as a Hand was to locate and capture Princess Marasiah Fel in order to lure out her father, the deposed emperor Roan Fel, from hiding. Talon travelled to the planet Socorro where she discovered Fel, who had been hiding in the Imperial Mission. Although the Princess elluded Talon, her bodyguard and mentor, Imperial Knight Elke Vetter was defeated in combat by the Sith Twi'lek.

After amputating Vetter's arm and leg during the duel, Talon then tortured Vetter with the Force. Talon discovered that Fel escaped with an Imperial Missionary named Astraal Vao. With no further use for the fallen Knight, Talon killed Vetter and continued her pursuit of Fel. However, just before Talon was able to apprehend her target, Fel and Vao escaped from Socorro by boarding the Mynock, a starship piloted by the former Jedi-turned-bounty hunter Cade Skywalker.

Confrontation on Vendaxa
"My Master's patience is exhausted. Take the Princess. Darth Krayt will tear the location of her father's hiding place from her. Slay the rest&mdash;carrion for Vendaxa's scavengers."

- Darth Talon

Talon pursued Fel and her companions to the planet Vendaxa, where they were joined by two more Jedi, Wolf Sazen and Shado Vao. In order to prevent another escape attempt, Talon sabotaged the Mynock's flight systems and then rigged it with explosives. Through the dark side, she rallied a herd of vanx to her side. The creatures, under Talon's influence, attacked the group in a frenzy.

While Fel and her allies defended themselves against the beasts, Talon engaged in combat with Sazen and Vao and skillfully held her own against the two Jedi. After incapacitating Vao with a Force push, she turned her full attention to Sazen, whom she recognized as the Jedi Master who lost his arm in a duel with Darth Nihl during the Massacre of Ossus. The Sith Lady unleashed a barrage of Force lightning on Sazen, but was prevented from killing him by Marasiah Fel. The Princess, still enraged over the death of Elke Vetter, attacked Talon in the hopes of ensuring that no one else would have to die for her. Talon was further caught by surprise when Cade Skywalker used the Force to hurl a pile of wreckage at her. The impact of the attack sent the Sith soaring through the underbrush of the nearby jungle.

Despite the injuries Talon sustained from Skywalker's assault, she ultimately survived and awaited reinforcements from her Master. Soon after the Imperial Knights Antares Draco and Ganner Krieg arrived on Vendaxa in an unauthorized attempt to rescuse the Princess, the fighting resumed as Talon and her fellow Sith, including Darth Nihl, launched an all-out attack on the combined group of Jedi, Imperials and bounty hunters. During the ensuing skirmish, Darth Talon dueled with Shado Vao. Although Marasiah Fel was severely wounded, Talon ultimately failed in her objective to acquire the Imperial Princess, once again due to the intervention of Cade Skywalker. As the Mynock departed from Vendaxa with the injured Fel and company, Talon attempted to board the ship as well, only to be Force pushed out of the vessel by Antares Draco.

After the debacle on Vendaxa, Darth Talon returned to Coruscant in defeat and expected to be executed for failure. But when she informed her Master about Cade Skywalker's involvement, Darth Krayt chose to spare his Hand's life. Instead, Talon was instructed to hunt down and acquire Skywalker, supposedly the last scion of the bloodline of Darth Vader.

Duel in the Temple of the Sith
"How do you like me, schutta?! Think you can take me now?!"

- Cade Skywalker to Darth Talon

Shortly after the incident on Vendaxa, Cade Skywalker journeyed to Coruscant where he intended to rescue Jedi Knight Hosk Trey'lis. Although Skywalker infiltrated the Temple of the Sith and released Trey'lis, the two Jedi were confronted by Darth Talon. Their escape route blocked, Skywalker and Trey'lis were forced to confront the Sith assassin. Talon incapacitated Trey'lis, but was unable to overcome Skywalker's defenses. The fight caused the renegade Jedi to channel the dark side of the Force, until he finally overpowered Talon in combat.

Darth Nihl, who had been observing the duel from a distance, Force choked Skywalker before he could kill Talon. Despite being delivered from her imminent death, Talon resented the intervention of her fellow Hand. Regardless, Skywalker was subdued and rendered a prisoner of the One Sith. While Darth Maladi subjected him to torture, Krayt prepared for the task of luring him over to the dark side and the cause of the Sith; a task that Talon had an instrumental role in.

Training Cade Skywalker
"Darkness calls to darkness. It calls to you. You can feel it like a heart beating within this temple."

- Darth Talon

Shortly after Skywalker's capture, he was given a private audience with Darth Krayt, with Talon and Darth Wyyrlok present. The Dark Lord revealed his former identity as A'Sharad Hett, a Knight of the original Jedi Order and a veteran of the Clone Wars. He then recounted the events that influenced his fall to the dark side of the Force; the betrayal and near extermination of the Jedi, the rise of the first Galactic Empire, and Hett's self-imposed exile on Tatooine.

The revelation of Krayt's past, however, did not effect Skywalker in the least. When the former Jedi mocked the Dark Lord, Talon angrily attacked him&mdash;only to be Force pushed against a wall. Skywalker used the opportunity to display another feature of his unique healing ability: the power to reverse the effects of healing. As a result, he re-opened all of Talon's recently mended wounds, an act which nearly killed her. At Krayt's request, Skywalker repaired the damage that he inflicted on Talon.

Krayt wasted no time in his bid to lure Cade Skywalker over to the dark side. He decided to pair Talon and Skywalker together as master and apprentice. Although she was unconvinced that her new acolyte had any intention of becoming a Sith, Talon nevertheless complied with her own Master's will. During their time together, she recalled the history of the One Sith, as well as how its philosophy was inspired by the teachings of XoXaan. She also tried to convince Skywalker that his destiny was inevitably tied to the dark side and the Sith. The two gradually became closer as their time together progressed, a result of the bond that developed between them due to a side effect of Skywalker's healing power. They presumably slept together, but Talon remained convinced that her apprentice was only feining interest in the Sith. But Krayt ignored Talon's suspicions because of his belief that that Skywalker would ultimately come to embrace the dark side, regardless of any kind of initial resistence.

Second duel
"Something to karkin' remember me by, schutta."

- Cade Skywalker to Darth Talon

Darth Talon and Darth Nihl were present when Darth Krayt issued Cade Skywalker with an ultimatum: kill Hosk Trey'lis or die. Skywalker, well aware of the fact that Krayt could not afford to kill his only hope for survival, refused to execute his fellow Jedi. Enraged, Krayt struck down Trey'lis with his own blade. The act of murder succeeded in causing a reaction in Skywalker, but the spirit of Master Kol Skywalker prevented his full submission to the dark side.

After witnessing the apparition of the long dead Jedi Master, Cade Skywalker took up his father's lightsaber, which had been kept for years as a trophy in Krayt's throne room. Darth Talon was the first to attack, only to be impaled through the abdomen by her own apprentice. As a result, she was utterly incapacitated and unable to prevent Skywalker's escape from Coruscant. Afterward, she was forced to spend much time in a bacta tank in order to recuperate from her near fatal wound.

Had Abbadon
After recovering, Talon joined Krayt, Nihl's replacement Darth Stryfe and Maladi to Had Abbadon, where Skywalker was spotted. Talon dueled against Skywalker taunting him that he was closer to the dark side than he thinks. The duel ended shortly before explosives were detonated by Jariah Syn, leaving her and the other Sith minions unconscious. Shortly after, the man she had pledged her life to, Darth Krayt, was killed by his most trusted servant, Darth Wyyrlok.

Division
Sometime after her recovery, Darth Wyyrlok assigned her to guard Darth Krayt's tomb and to let no one in. However, Darth Nihl, convinced by Darth Maladi, traveled to Korriban to inquire as to Darth Krayt's survival. Talon prevented him from entering the tomb but chose to follow him when Nihl claimed that Krayt himself had summoned him with his mind. However, Krayt's body had vanished and only his armor remained. This shocked both Talon and Nihl.

Sometime later, however, Talon mysteriously disappeared from the Temple. Deep within Korriban's tombs, she had found a very much alive Krayt, who declared that his rebirth had begun. Darth Nihl later found her and attacked her, but Krayt intervened. He then led both Sith deeper into the tombs and showed them that he had been creating a new breed of Sith whose devotion was completely unquestionable. He then used his magnified powers to reach out to everyone in the galaxy that had touched the dark side to tell them that he lived.

Assault on Coruscant
In 138 ABY, Talon accompanied Darth Krayt in an attack he orchestrated in revenge for Darth Wyyrlok's betrayal. At first, Krayt, alongside Darth Talon, Darth Nihl and two Sith troopers, was confronted by five Sith allied to Darth Wyyrlok; however, Krayt and his followers quickly cut through them.

Finding the Jedi
Talon was involved in Darth Havok's plan to break his prisoner, Imperial Knight Antares Draco. He created a Force illusion about the day that Havok killed Empress Elliah Fel and nearly died at Draco's hand. As Draco relived the duel, Havok appealed to his guilt and claimed that he had been too weak to save her. Havok then projected another illusion onto Darth Talon, making her appear to be Marasiah Fel. He told Draco that Vao and Krieg had been killed during their escape from Korriban and that Marasiah had been recaptured; Talon planted a kiss on Draco's lips to promote the deception. When Havok threatened to kill her if Draco did not tell him any valuable information, Draco broke down and revealed the existence of a Jedi Hidden Temple on Taivas. Talon left to relay the findings to Darth Krayt as Havok continued to torture Draco.

Krayt was eager to face Cade Skywalker in combat again and bade Talon to present a broken Draco to him as a gift. Talon had Draco frozen in carbonite and brought him to the Wheel, where Skywalker was meeting with Calixte, now an enemy of Krayt after being outed as Fel's spy. Talon infiltrated the Mynock and placed Draco in its cargo hold before briefly dueling Skywalker and fleeing the space station.

Defending the Dark Lord
After their defeat at Taivas, the allies attacked Coruscant before the Sith could prepare to invade Bastion. A strike team led by Cade Skywalker including Wolf Sazen, Shado Vao, Morrigan Corde, Ganner Krieg, Azlyn Rae, and Sigel Dare infiltrated the Sith Temple on Coruscant. Darth Talon, Darth Stryfe, and other Sith were waiting to defend Darth Krayt. As the fight ensued, Talon engaged Skywalker in a duel. She tried to use the Force to defeat him, but was overpowered. When Skywalker was distracted by his master's death, she took advantage of the opportunity and escaped. Fearing for her master's life, Talon realized that Skywalker was more powerful than before and sought to warn Darth Krayt.

Talon's efforts to protect her master, however, ended in failure. Skywalker and Krayt fought once more as the final battle of the war raged on around them. After the young Jedi succeeded in killing the Dark Lord, the One Sith was left in complete disarray. As the Empire swiftly crumbled without its emperor, thus making way for the rise of the Galactic Federation Triumvirate, Darth Talon and the remaining Sith went into hiding across the galaxy in an effort to ensure that the One Sith would not die with its founder. According to the orders of Darth Nihl, the new Dark Lord, all Sith followers were tasked with infiltrating every planetary government in the galaxy in order to strike back against the Alliance and the Jedi from the shadows.

Personality and traits
"We all live or die as Krayt wills, Stryfe. At his word, I would cut out my own heart. Or yours."

- Darth Talon, to Darth Stryfe

Like most Sith, Darth Talon was cold and dispassionate, and followed the commands of Darth Krayt without question or hesitation, as shown when she decapitated her Mentor Darth Ruyn at his request. She was unmerciful like most Sith, keeping Elke Vetter alive only for the amount of time needed to extract the location of Marasiah Fel from the grievously wounded Imperial Knight. Devoted to the Rule of One as few, she held little regard for her life, as she told Cade Skywalker during his brief training that she would welcome death when his training was complete if such was the will of Darth Krayt. She also had Sith tattoos that were common in the new Sith Order. Despite her power and high rank in the Sith Order, she was clearly never meant to rule, she was a fanatic like most Sith and did not have the capacity to lead as Darth Nihl, nor his independent thought, as such, she became one of the Sith who served Nihl's command to sabotage the galactic governments.

Powers and abilities
Talon's ability in combat was considerable. She literally and metaphorically "disarmed" Elke Vetter without taking any physical damage. Her skill at fighting was further exemplified by the fact that she was anointed as one of Darth Krayt's two Hands, as aforementioned. On Vendaxa, Darth Talon was able to outfight the two Jedi Shado Vao and Wolf Sazen simultaneously, showing her aptitude at lightsaber combat. Only a last-second move from the nearby Princess Fel prevented Talon from slaying Master Sazen.

She was known to use acrobatic flips and leaps in lightsaber combat, possibly making her a user of Ataru lightsaber combat. As she had often&mdash;if not always&mdash;fought one-handed, she may have had some application of Makashi. Her talents at fighting, as well as her rank of Hand, put her at a status greater than the majority of the Sith. Talon was also skilled in Force techniques such as Force lightning, by which she executed Elke Vetter. She was able to verbally reveal vital information from an Imperial Knight by a Force technique where she summoned a cyan circle of light before her adversary. She even manipulated the minds of beasts to aid her in her battle against the Jedi. And she was once able to Force push Shado Vao to the ground with such strength that he was unable to recover for some time. She could also sense Darth Krayt's life force and release him from stasis, which she accomplished with the aid of Force lightning.

Darth Talon was able to shadow a Princess as she was running away from the burning Imperial Mission that was her former hiding spot, indicating her skill at concealment. Whether it was physical, Force-affiliated, or a mixture of both was unknown. If Force-affiliated, this might be indicative of the rare talent of Force concealment.

Talon also appeared to be an able pilot, knowing how to operate starships and a speeder bike.

Lightsaber
Darth Talon, like almost all Sith, was armed with a single crimson-bladed lightsaber. It was elongated and notched with crisscrossing grooves. The hilt was constructed of a material that physically did not appear to be metal and instead, like the majority of the One Sith's lightsabers, appeared to be constructed of Yorik coral.

Behind the scenes
"When designing the Twi'lek I was attempting to call to mind a sci-fantasy version of a female Pict warrior&mdash;tattooed and fierce in appearance. Perhaps she is someone who uses their tribal markings as their armor&mdash;as if through some 'magic' she does not need actual armor."

- Jan Duursema

Darth Talon was created by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, the architects of the Star Wars: Legacy comic series. While designing Talon's appearance, Duursema attempted to create a tatooed, fierce, science fiction/fantasy version of a female Pict warrior. Duursema revealed this information at the Jedi Council Forums in 2006 while responding to accusations that the scantily-clad character was intended to be exploitative&mdash;Duursema stated that covering up Talon's tattoos would have removed the primitive quality that she had wanted to instill in the character.

Talon was, in many ways, the face of Legacy right from the series' inception. An image of the character was used on the cover of Legacy first issue, Star Wars: Legacy 0; when the series was first announced by Randy Stradley, Dark Horse Comics' Vice President of Publishing, in February 2006, the image of Talon was one of three pictures that accompanied the press release. Another solo image of Talon was used on the cover of 2008's Star Wars: Legacy 0½, and the character was featured on a large banner at Dark Horse's booth at 2007's Celebration IV. Talon has been merchandised as a plastic figure four times&mdash;in 2008 as a Wizards of the Coast miniature figurine and as a 3¾ inch Hasbro action figure, and in 2010 as a Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Figure and a Gentle Giant mini bust.

Within the pages of Legacy, Talon played a recurring role as a major antagonist throughout the series' fifty-issue run  and throughout its followup miniseries, Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War. She has also been mentioned in such guidebooks as 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia and 2009's Legacy Era Campaign Guide. In the May 2014 issue of Game Informer magazine, a former video game developer revealed that a Darth Maul–themed game codenamed Damage which was cancelled by LucasArts in 2011 was set to feature both Darth Talon and Darth Krayt, their involvement reportedly sanctioned by George Lucas himself. Game Informer also revealed several pieces of concept art for the game, including an ensemble shot of Maul, Talon, Savage Opress, and the Mandalorian Death Watch. Although Talon's character design was identical to her Legacy appearance, other concept art depicted a suggested redesign of Darth Krayt and an officer of the "New Empire."

Several continuity errors exist regarding Darth Talon. In Legacy nineteenth issue (February 2008), she is impaled by Cade Skywalker's lightsaber, and The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia later went on to claim that the move killed her.Legacy 23 showed her recovering in a bacta tank. Additionally, Legacy second issue (July 2006) has Talon ascend to the rank of Sith Hand in the year 137 ABY, but 2007's Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force claims that she is already a Hand in the year 130 ABY.

In August 2009, the kids' section of StarWars.com showcased an article that taught children how to draw Talon. Three years later, a piece of artwork by Mark McKenna called "Duel of the Twi'leks" was featured on the site&mdash;the work depicted Talon dueling prequel-era Jedi Aayla Secura, and was later available for sale at Celebration VI. Talon has appeared in broader popular culture, as well: Sideshow Collectibles' bust of the character can be seen in the bedroom of the character Howard Wolowitz in The Hawking Excitation, a 2012 episode of The Big Bang Theory. Talon has also been cited as an inspiration to Sariah Gallego, a young girl who briefly became an internet celebrity in 2011 for swearing allegiance to the dark side at Disneyland's Jedi Academy. Since Legacy inception, Talon has proved a popular character for Star Wars cosplayers.