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, in order to travel with them into the Maw and force the dark side being Abeloth to join the Sith. After allying with the Jedi, the fleet waited at Klatooine for the businessman Lando Calrissian to arrive with an asteroid tug for assistance in navigating the Maw. Eventually, the Sith and Jedi agreed to continue their mission and wait for Calrissian just outside the Maw.

The fleet, with Calrissian's help, traveled into the Maw, to Abeloth's planet. There, Khai was chosen by Taalon to accompany him beyond shadows, where the Sith and Jedi attempted to locate Abeloth. Upon returning from the realm, the strike team found Abeloth and attacked her, and the Sith executed their betrayal of the Jedi as Khai attacked Luke Skywalker. Ben Skywalker quickly intervened, however, and began dueling Khai as the elder Jedi fought Abeloth and the other Sith, who were attempting to capture her. Eventually, Khai and his opponent were separated by a Force blast from Abeloth, who was then seemingly killed by the elder Skywalker. The Khais, Skywalkers, and Taalon then remained on the planet to investigate more into Abeloth, while Calrissian and the other Sith left.

Early life
"&hellip;how come Gavar Khai didn't marry a fellow Force-sensitive?''" "''I&mdash;I suppose becase he loved her."

- Ben Skywalker and Vestara Khai

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, 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.

Alliance with the Skywalkers
"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

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 retrieve 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.

The Jedi and Sith then traveled to Klatooine to meet up with businessman Lando Calrissian, who was to provide them with a Colossus I Beta Series asteroid tug, the Rockhound, for use in navigating the Maw. While there, Vestara and Ben Skywalker went planet-side along with the Force-sensitive Dyon Stadd, to restock their supplies. However, while there, Stadd succumbed to a mysterious psychosis, and in order to stop him from damaging the natives' precious relic, the Fountain of the Ancients, Vestara helped Ben capture Stadd, although all three were quickly detained by local guards. Gavar Khai and Luke Skywalker then went down to the surface to retrieve their children from the detention center. Khai confronted his daughter for helping the young Skywalker, but Vestara replied that she had helped him in order to cement his trust in her, and Khai's anger subsided.

Into the Maw
"You're good for a whelp.''" "''Should have done this the first time I saw you."

- Gavar Khai and Ben Skywalker, while dueling

Eventually, the Sith and Jedi decided that they could wait no longer for Calrissian's arrival and embarked on their mission, waiting for Calrissian and the Rockhound just outside the Maw. Calrissian and the ancient asteroid tug soon arrived with Jedi Knight Jaina Solo, and the fleet entered the Maw through Stable Zone One. However, the space station Sinkhole Station, their first destination in the Maw, had been destroyed; so the group decided to go straight to Abeloth's planet. Upon their arrival, Khai, Taalon, and Sith Captain Leeha Faal met with Vestara and the Skywalkers, and the elder Jedi suggested that they utilize the technique of Mind Walking to enter the realm of beyond shadows in order to locate Abeloth. Vestara warned the Sith against it, as she knew it was a dangerous practice, but Khai chided her and the Sith agreed to the task.

While walking at the Lake of Apparitions beyond shadows, Skywalker stumbled, but Khai steadied him. Faal stumbled and fell soon after and was dragged down into the Depths of Eternity, resulting in her death. Taalon attempted to help her, but Khai held him back, realizing it was too late. Skywalker then was visited by the spirit of his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, who revealed that the presence he had been feeling while aboard his ship had not been hers. He realized then that it had been Abeloth, and decided that they needed to leave the realm immediately. Meanwhile, Vestara had placed a homing beacon upon Stadd and freed him, and the Khais, Skywalkers, and the other Sith tracked him to Abeloth's cave. They found Stadd&mdash;no longer possessed by the psychosis&mdash;there, and he revealed to them that Abeloth had drained nearly all of his life energy, and then had gone deeper into the cave.

The Jedi and Sith eventually found her in the ruins of an old courtyard behind the cave, and while Abeloth attempted to trick Skywalker into believing she was his lost love, Callista Ming, the Sith began to weave a control web&mdash;a Force technique they learned from the Nightsisters&mdash;above Abeloth. Skywalker finally saw through Abeloth's lies and attacked her, and Khai, Taalon, and two more Sith Sabers joined in the battle, even as Abeloth attacked and nearly killed Khai's daughter. Abeloth held her assailants at bay with her Force powers, and one of Khai's attacks accidentally killed one of his fellow Sith Sabers. As the Sith and Jedi regrouped for another attack, Khai feinted as if to attack Abeloth, before suddenly initiating the Sith's betrayal of the Jedi and attacking Skywalker even as the other Sith lowered their control web over Abeloth.

Ben Skywalker quickly moved in to attack Khai, and Khai began dueling the Jedi Knight. As Luke Skywalker struggled against the Sith and Abeloth, Khai found himself hard-pressed to defeat Ben, attempting in vain to goad the young Jedi into giving into his hatred. Suddenly, Abeloth released a powerful Force wave that knocked everyone aside, allowing her to flee. The Sith and Jedi followed her, finding her back at the entrance to the cave, where Luke Skywalker defeated her. The Jedi and Sith then agreed to send Calrissian, Solo, and all of the Sith forces off-planet, except for the Khais and Taalon, who were to remain with the Skywalkers to investigate more into Abeloth.

Resuming the hunt
"A plausible story is not always a true one. By all accounts, Abeloth has lived on this planet for dozens of millennia. Why would she pick now to leave?''" "First, because she's wounded and being hunted. Second, because she can''."

- Gavar Khai and Ben Skywalker

Khai, Taalon, and Luke Skywalker found ancient ruins on the world and began to explore them, hoping to learn something from them about Abeloth's nature. Two days after the battle, the Sith finally decided to burn their dead, and Khai tended to the pyre while carefully watching Abeloth's corpse. As Taalon and Skywalker prepared to explore the Font of Power&mdash;a powerful dark side Force nexus&mdash;Taalon ordered Khai not to intervene unless the Jedi attacked. Meanwhile, Ben and Vestara arrived on the scene, and Gavar questioned what they were doing, as they were supposed to be on the Jade Shadow. Vestara replied that circumstances had necessitated her leaving her post.

When Taalon and Luke Skywalker returned, Taalon went off with Vestara to hear of the circumstances&mdash;she had in fact felt Ship returning to the world. Fearing that Taalon was beating her for her faliure to obey his orders, Luke moved to intervene. Gavar began to stop him, but Luke sent him flying forward into his grasp with the Force. Ben realized that his father was causing a distraction so that he could steal Abeloth's corpse, but as he neared the body, Vestara and Taalon returned and confronted him. As Ben and Taalon began to fight, however, Vestara shouted for them to wait. Luke and Gavar then came running to the scene in time to see Abeloth's corpse morph into that of Dyon Stadd&mdash;she had somehow switched bodies with Stadd before Luke could kill her.

Following a three-hour standoff, the Jedi finally convinced the three Sith that it would be in their best interests to return to the Jade Shadow. However, by the time they arrived, Abeloth had fled. As Ship arrived on the world, the tenuous allies decided to search through the jungle for Abeloth, but to no avail. Gavar began to suspect that the Skywalkers had actually already found Abeloth and hidden her body, and were attempting to get rid of the Sith so that they could flee with their prize. As the Jedi and Sith returned to their ships, the Jedi suggested that Ship had actually returned at Abeloth's will, to help her escape. When the Sith questioned why she would choose to do so now, after all evidence suggested that she had been on the planet for millennia, Ben revealed to the Sith that he and his father had found evidence that suggested that Sinkhole Station's purpose had been to confine Abeloth, but that the station had begun to malfunction, allowing her to grow in power and eventually destroy it.

Broken alliance
"Jedi treachery! I should have killed you days aaah&mdash;''" [Luke Force-pushes him away] "Days'' ago, Gavar, you might have had a chance to succeed."

- Gavar Khai and Luke Skywalker

The Sith remained dubious of the Jedi, and Taalon decided to converse with Ship. The vessel suggested that Luke Skywalker would know where to find Abeloth, and he was forced to reveal that Ship was referring to the Pool of Knowledge&mdash;a Force nexus that Luke had visited while beyond shadows at Sinkhole Station. Ship transported the five wary allies to a cleft near the pool, and they broke up into two search parties&mdash;Gavar, Luke, and Taalon in one, and Vestara and Ben in the other&mdash;to search for the pool. Vestara and Ben found it first, and despite Ben's warning that they should not intervene with such dangerous knowledge, Vestara summoned the other searchers. When Gavar and the rest of his party arrived, they entered the grotto containing the pool.

In the pool, Ben saw an image of Ableoth running toward their ships, and realized that Ship's bringing them there had been a ploy to allow Abeloth to escape. Gavar questioned his daughter whether she had seen the same thing in the pool, and she replied that she had not been looking at the time, but that she believed Ben was right. However, an image of Kesh, centered on Tahv and the nearby Takara Mountains, suddenly appeared in the pool. Certain that the Jedi were trying to uncover the Sith homeworld, Gavar furiously used the Force to dispel the image and then turned on Ben. Before he could attack, however, Luke sent him flying across the grotto with a Force push, warning him not to threaten his son. Taalon, meanwhile, ignored Gavar's predicament as he found himself gazing upon a Jedi queen on the Throne of Balance in the pool. Fearing that she might stop the Sith from taking over the galaxy, he demanded to know who she was.

The Jedi quickly ignited their lightsabers, choosing that moment to attack. Gavar threw his shikkar at Luke, but the Grand Master dove aside, and the bode shattered against the floor. Taalon, meanwhile, had jumped into the pool; Ben started to go after him, but Luke prevented him from doing so. Gavar then began to fire Force lightning at Luke, and Ben opened fire on the Sith Saber with his blaster, sending him slamming back into the wall. As Taalon jumped out of the pool and Luke moved to engage the High Lord, Gavar let loose his parang at Ben, who slashed the weapon in half with his lightsaber. However, Gavar continued to guide it with the Force, sending a broken shard of the parang straight between the Jedi Knight's ribs. Khai turned to engage Luke, but the Grand Master sent him crashing into Taalon and sliced off the Sith Saber's forearm. Luke was sent flying back by Force lightning, and the two Jedi quickly fled the grotto, collapsing the entrance as they left.

The Sith soon escaped, and Taalon and Gavar formulated a plan wherein they would beat Vestara and make it look like she was fleeing them, so that the Skywalkers would take her in and she could gain their trust and learn from them everything about the Jedi queen that Taalon had seen. Gavar feared that the Jedi would not be fooled unless they caused some disfiguring, and even suggested a broken nose or a burst eyeball, but Taalon disagreed. The two Sith then questioned Ben's feelings for Vestara, and hers for him; and Taalon revealed that he wanted her to fall in love with Ben, so that he would fall in love with her in turn, and she would gain his trust. They then released Vestara to catch up to the Skywalkers, chasing after her in order to stage her escape.

Vestara arrived at the beach where they had left their ships to find the Jade Shadow gone. Fearing that the Skywalkers had already left, she awaited her father and Taalon. Unknown to her, Abeloth had taken the Jade Shadow, and the Skywalkers were preparing to steal Taalon's shuttle, the Emiax. Luke saw her waiting and realized that her flight was a ruse; however, Gavar and Taalon soon arrived on the scene, and Taalon blasted Vestara with Force lightning, sending her flying over a sandy bank. Luke opened fire on the two Sith, but both dodged; two bolts clipped Taalon, but none hit Gavar. The two Sith began to return fire, and Luke retreated down to Vestara, continuing to cover his back with blasterfire. As Gavar and Taalon moved cautiously forward, they came across a thermal detonator that Luke had thrown near them. The resulting explosion cleared a large area of the jungle, and Vestara and the Skywalkers fled to the Emiax. Just as they began to board, Gavar and Taalon emerged from the middle of the crater left by the detonator. Luke again opened fire, and the two Sith dodged for cover as the Jedi escaped.

Pydyr
"This is the home of the Fallanassi? It looks like Abeloth's planet in the Maw!"

- Gavar Khai

After the Skywalkers left with Vestara, Taalon commanded Ship to take the two Sith out of the Maw. After leaving the Maw, they met up with other members of the Sith armada, and Taalon began to transform into the sime kind of entity as Abeloth. Meanwhile, Vestara and the Skywalkers tracked Abeloth to Pydyr, a moon of the planet Almania. In the Corocus Spaceport, Luke went to locate the Jade Shadow, and Vestara snuck off of the Emiax and sent a message from a public S-thread booth to a Sith relay center on Boonta, reporting that the Jedi had tracked Abeloth to Pydyr and that she suspected they had already called for reinforcements. In the Obuuri, a Kondo-class assault shuttle, Gavar Khai, Taalon, and several other Sith responded to the call, arriving on Pydyr&mdash;where they were forced to wear hazard suits due to a planewide plague&mdash;and quickly locating the Jedi. Taalon desired to know what he was becoming, but he needed Luke's help in finding Abeloth. He promised that he would let Ben leave Pydyr alive if Luke cooperated, and Gavar requested additionally that Vestara be released, as well. Luke at first declined and stepped forward as if to attack, and Gavar matched his movement, but Taalon ordered the Sith to halt. Taalon then swore that after Abeloth told him what he was becoming, he would kill her.

Gavar and Taalon joined Luke, Ben, Vestara, and fifty more Sith aboard the Jade Shadow as they traveled to the Fallanassi village on Pydyr, with the Obuuri following them. Luke tried to tell the Sith that wearing hazard suits would not pretect them from the plague&mdash;which, unbeknownst to everyone in the group except for Luke, was simply an illusion put forth by Abeloth via the White Current, the Fallanassi's perspective of the Force. Gavar accused Luke of trying to infect them, but Luke responded that Ben and Vestara had worn hazard suits, and they still showed signs of the disease; although he also lied that the Jedi had a technique for resisting the plague, which was why he was completely free from the symptoms, and why Ben was faring better than Vestara. Gavar was furious that Luke had not shared the technique with his daughter and began to threaten the Jedi, but Taalon cut him off, claiming that Luke was just trying to trick them into taking off their suits and catching the plague. As they approached the island that housed the village&mdash;which was also hidden by illusion to everyone in the group except for Luke&mdash;Ship suddenly appeared on the Jade Shadow tactical display; although the Fallanassi illusions made it appear to be a fleet of meditation spheres.

Taalon kept up a pretense of the meditation spheres being under Sith control, but as the illusions converged upon the Jade Shadow and Obuuri, the Sith shuttle opened fire on the fleet and Luke piloted his vessel straight into them. Gavar and the other Sith quickly grew distressed by the situation and incredulous at Luke's calmness. As they headed for a cliff of the island that was hidden to the Sith by illusion, Luke lied that a barrier had suddenly popped up, and piloted the Jade Shadow over it, but the Obuuri was unaware of the situation and crashed into the cliff. When Taalon questioned from where the barrier had come, Gavar suggested that it was likely a kind of Force wall, a misconception that Luke allowed the Sith to hold. Taalon began to demand that they return to shore and acquire reinforcements, but Luke suddenly dove them down toward the island, and as they neared, the illusion was broken. Upon landing, the Sith and Jedi were met by the Fallanassi, who agreed to help heal the Sith. Taalon finally realized that the disease was nothing more than a Fallanassi illusion&mdash;although Gavar and the other Sith remained unconvinced&mdash;and he demanded to know where Abeloth was.

As Taalon began to question the Fallanassi Akanah Norand Goss Pell, three more Sith shuttles arrived, and the Sith warriors began searching through the village for Abeloth. When Taalon did not receive the answers he was looking for, he signaled for Gavar Khai to hold another Fallanassi, Eliya, hostage. Eliya insisted that Pell not reveal anything, but she answered Taalon's next question&mdash;that Abeloth had come to the Fallanassi because she was a Fallanassi. However, when Luke asked whether that meant she had always been one, or whether she had only recently joined, Pell declined to answer. At Taalon's bidding, Khai ignited his lightsaber into Eliya's thigh, causing her to collapse onto his chest. He stepped back and let her fall all the way onto his blade, killing her. Pell&mdash;who was, unbeknownst to the Sith, actually Abeloth in Pell's body&mdash;suddenly conjured a vision of a green phantom attacking Khai; a vision only visible to its victim and those able to access the White Current. Quickly driven to madness, Khai began to run screaming from the scene, but his daughter knocked him to the ground with the Force, and when he remained beset by the illusion, finally knocked him unconscious.

The other Sith, except for Taalon and Vestara, were also driven insane by visions, and a fight broke out between the Skywalkers and the two Sith and Abeloth in a nearby gathering hall. Luke and Ben were both incapacitated and held captive, and Gavar was also brought into the hall, though he remained unconscious. Luke, however, managed to cause a distraction, allowing Vestara to kill Taalon to prevent him from turning into another Abeloth-like being. The Jedi then fought Abeloth off, forcing her to flee. Luke used the Force to awaken Gavar even as he praised Vestara for killing Taalon. Shocked at what appeared to be his daughter's betrayal, Gavar began to reach for his lightsaber. Vestara quickly knocked him out with a Force blast and fled with 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 wife&mdash;even though she was not Force-sensitive. He also cared deeply for his daughter, and when she was called to appear before the Circle of Lords, he was surprised. When she was subsequently chosen to be an apprentice, he attempted to mask his concern for her; however, she was able to read his emotions, 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 achievements on Dathomir. He confided in her that he, too, shared her grief over the deaths of Raas and Rhea. He also realized quickly that his daughter had developed a slight attraction to the younger Skywalker, and he suggested that she use it to their advantage, to gain Ben's trust and possibly even turn him to the dark side. Later, when confronting his daughter about helping Ben to capture Stadd, Khai grew angrier at her than he had ever been before; and Vestara began to perceive him as irrational. During the mission to kill Abeloth, Skywalker perceived Khai as exceptionally confident, but also naïve about some aspects of the galaxy.

Luke Skywalker came to admire Khai for for his love of his daughter, even though he believed he was too stern with her.

Khai wore full black Sith robes trimmed with silver, complete with blaster-resistant armor. He was significantly taller than Luke Skywalker and had even features, dark brown eyes, and long, black hair that he wore tied back in a topknot.

Powers and abilities
"Do not worry, Commander. You have selected only the strongest and most powerful Sith for this mission. No one will fail you.''" "''And I select only the strongest and most powerful Sith to accompany me now. Khai. You and Faal will accompany me."

- Gavar Khai and Sarasu Taalon

Gavar Khai was strong in the Force, completing his training in the dark side and achieving the rank of Sith Saber. High Lord Sarasu Taalon considered Khai to be a strong and powerful Sith, as he chose Khai for his mission to the Maw, and later to accompany him when Skywalker suggested that they enter the realm beyond shadows. Later, after betraying the Jedi during the battle with Abeloth, Khai dueled with Ben Skywalker. Despite being confident of a victory against the youth, Khai found himself matched by Skywalker's dueling prowess.

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
 * Allies
 * Vortex