Gavar Khai

"Soon, if you do not wish to be angry, you will not become so. If you do not wish to be afraid, you will cease to be. Even happiness can interfere. You will learn to use your anger, your fear, your hatred. You will choose which emotions you will feel and when. They will become weapons, just like a lightsaber, and you will be their wielder."

- Gavar Khai, to his daughter, Vestara

Gavar Khai was a male Human Sith Saber in the Lost Tribe of Sith, from the remote planet of Kesh. Khai married a non-Force-sensitive woman, Lahka Khai, with whom he had one daughter, named Vestara. In 41 ABY, Ship, a Sith Meditation Sphere, arrived on Kesh and spoke with Gavar's daughter, resulting in her apprenticeship to Lady Rhea. As an apprentice, Vestara was to live at the Sith Temple, and Gavar arranged for his daughter's necessary possessions to be sent to her.

In 43.5 ABY, after a strike team failed their mission to kill the Jedi Luke and Ben Skywalker, Vestara Khai, the sole survivor, contacted the Tribe to retrieve her from the planet Dathomir. Gavar Khai was chosen to be a part of the force led by High Lord Sarasu Taalon to retrieve Vestara and then ally themselves with the Skywalkers.

Biography
"You did fine work on Dathomir. And even though your Master is dead, you are still to be granted the rank of apprentice. We will find a new Master for you when this business with Abeloth and the Skywalkers is complete. I am sure many will be eager to teach you."

- Gavar Khai to his daughter, Vestara

Gavar Khai was a male Force-sensitive Human from the remote Wild Space planet of Kesh. He was the son of Thallis Khai, a member of the Lost Tribe of Sith&mdash;descendants of a group of Sith whose starship, the Omen, had crash-landed on Kesh around 5,000 BBY while attempting to transport Lignan crystals to Sith Lord Naga Sadow during the Great Hyperspace War.

With the Tribe, Gavar Khai was trained in the ways of the Sith. Eventually, he completed his apprenticeship and was pronounced a Sith Saber. Khai fell in love with a woman, Lahka Khai, and married her, even though she was not Force-sensitive. In 27.5 ABY, they had one child, a girl, whom they named Vestara Khai. Gavar was present in 37 ABY, during the festivities known as Presentation, when Vestara entered a competition to obtain an uvak, in which she won Tikk. 4 years later, a Sith Meditation Sphere, Ship, arrived on Kesh. Vestara, who was at that time a Sith Tyro, was the first to communicate with Ship.

Vestara was called to the Circle Chambers in the city of Tahv by the Circle of Lords, the Tribe's ruling council. Gavar was concerned for his daughter and inquired as to whether she'd done anything wrong. Vestara, however, had not, and he stopped by his daughter's chamber the next morning as her attendant, Muura, helped her prepare for the appointment. Gavar attempted to mask his concern for his daughter, but she was able to sense that he was troubled. He also revealed that he would not be going with her to see the Circle of Lords; Vestara would have to go alone. At her meeting with the Lords, she was assigned to be the apprentice of Lady Rhea, since Vestara had been singled out specifically by Ship. As an apprentice, she was to live at the Sith Temple and would not be permitted to see her family, so Gavar arranged for his daughter's few necessary possessions to be sent to the Temple.

In 43.5 ABY, Vestara was chosen to be a part of the strike team sent to kill Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben Skywalker. However, the mission failed, and Vestara was the sole survivor. After fleeing to Dathomir, she sent out a hypercomm message to the Tribe to retrieve her. She also created a plan to capture the dark side Nightsisters of Dathomir. Gavar Khai was chosen to be a part of the force of eleven ChaseMaster frigates, under the command of High Lord Sarasu Taalon, to retreive Vestara and the Nightsisters and confront the Skywalkers. Confronting the Jedi in orbit over Dathomir, the Sith feigned forming an alliance with the Skywalkers to take down Abeloth, a powerful dark side being whom the Skywalkers and Vestara had previously encountered. Khai then convinced the Jedi to let him come aboard their ship to speak with his daughter. There, he reassured her and gave her a shikkar so that she could eventually kill one of the Jedi.

Personality and traits
"I certainly do not want you to fall in love with this Ben Skywalker. But if you do feel genuine affection or desire for him, do not be afraid to let him sense that. Especially if he can sense it in the Force, he'll know it's real, and that will take him off guard. He'll begin to lower his own walls, tell you more, trust you more. You can use that. You might even be able to turn him."

- Gavar Khai, to his daughter, on Ben Skywalker

Gavar Khai was very loving of his daughter, and when Vestara was chosen to be an apprentice, he attempted to mask his concern. She was able to read his emotions, however, sensing that he was worried, saddened, and proud. Later, he was eager to meet with his daughter aboard the Skywalkers' ship. He was very proud of her and of the honor that she had brought to the Khai family by being a part of and surviving the strike team's mission, as well as her achievments on Dathomir. He also realized quickly that his daughter had developed a slight attraction to the younger Skywalker, and he suggested that he use it to their advantage, to gain Ben Skywalker's trust and possibly even turn him to the dark side.

Powers and abilities
Gavar Khai was strong in the Force, and he studied as a Sith in the ways of the dark side. He completed his training and achieved the rank of Sith Saber.

Behind the scenes
Gavar Khai was created by author Christie Golden for her first Star Wars novel, and the second novel in the nine-part Fate of the Jedi series, Omen. Khai was later featured alongside Luke Skywalker on the front cover of the fifth novel in the series, Allies, also written by Golden.

Appearances

 * Imprint
 * Omen
 * Abyss
 * Backlash
 * Allies