Daye Azur-Jamin

"There is much good in you, but your pride and your pain make you a lesser man. Give your life to service, and you will save it."

- Agapos, to Daye Azur-Jamin

Daye Azur-Jamin was a Human male from Druckenwell, a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and later a Jedi Knight of the New Jedi Order. He worked for I'att Armament, a weapons factory on his homeworld, as the Second Undersupervisor to Tinian I'att, the company's heiress. The two fell in love and got engaged, and Azur-Jamin confided in her his Force-sensitivity. Early in the Galactic Civil War, Azur-Jamin helped develop a revolutionary anti-energy field for stormtrooper armor, which I'att Armament hoped to sell in bulk to the Empire. However, Imperial Moff Eisen Kerioth double-crossed the arms manufacturers, executing Tinian's grandparents and claiming the technology as his own. Azur-Jamin destroyed the factory from the inside so that Tinian could escape; grievously wounded, he turned to the Rebel Alliance for medical treatment.

After having Tinian informed that he had perished in the explosion, Azur-Jamin was taken to a Rebel cell on Silver Station, but his stay in a bacta tank was cut short by an Imperial raid. His injuries&mdash;crushed legs, damaged arms, loss of clear sight, and head wounds&mdash;became permanent, and Azur-Jamin's cybernetic body parts were almost as numerous as his organic ones. Ultimately, after his eyesight was restored by the Sunesi on Monor II, he decided to track down his lover, and they were eventually reunited. Azur-Jamin joined Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order, as did his and Tinian's son, Tam, becoming a revered Jedi Knight. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Daye served as a scout, going behind enemy lines to monitor damage done by the Yuuzhan Vong. However, during a botched mission on Nal Hutta, he lost contact with the Order for over a year, and was turned to the dark side of the Force by a Dark Jedi. After kidnapping Kyle Katarn, he was apprehended by a team of commandos led by Jan Ors and Mara Jade Skywalker, who attempted to redeem him.

Early life
Daye Azur-Jamin, a Human male, was born on the industrial world of Druckenwell during the time of the Galactic Empire. Azur-Jamin was Force-sensitive, and although he never received any formal training, he slowly taught himself to use the Force, particularly in times of stress. As the Empire ostracized and often imprisoned those attuned to the Force, he kept it a closely guarded secret, though despite the possibility of persecution, Azur-Jamin stayed true to his laurels and continued to explore his abilities in the Force. Although he did not speak against the Empire publicly, from an early age Daye Azur-Jamin saw the Empire as corrupt and untrustworthy.

Hoping to make a life for himself, he moved to Druckenwell's capital city, Il Avali, but like the majority of Druckenwell's population, Azur-Jamin ended up working for I'att Armament&mdash;an Imperial weapons production company owned by the I'att family&mdash;as a worker-class assembly droid maintenance technician. He worked diligently, earning several promotions and rising through the corporate ladder until he was made Second Undersupervisor to Tinian I'att, the company's heiress. Azur-Jamin perceived I'att&mdash;who was about the same age as him&mdash;to be lonely in her management position and life with her two grandparents. The two became friends, and Azur-Jamin eventually confided in her his Force-sensitivity; likewise, I'att told him of her own worries and troubles. The two eventually fell in love, and planned to marry when I'att inherited her family's company. I'att's grandparents and guardians, Strephan and Augusta I'att, approved of his relationship with Tinian, and Azur-Jamin knew them well; however, he was occasionally at odds with Strephan, who had a great many ties to the Empire.

Incident at I'att armories
"Some brave, suicidal lunatic musta wanted to take it away from the Empire pretty badly."

- Woyiq

Some time during the Galactic Civil War, Azur-Jamin helped I'att Armament develop a type of personal anti-energy field which prevented energy from penetrating a meter-wide radius; Augusta I'att had developed a rare degenerative syndrome which was too expensive for the family to afford at that time, but they hoped to seal an Imperial contract for the anti-energy fields. If all went as planned, Augusta and Strephan would leave to seek treatment and retire, turning the factory and business over to Azur-Jamin and their granddaughter. They arranged a meeting with Imperial Moff Eisen Kerioth of the Doldur sector at the factory, with the intention of proving the anti-energy field's worth and negotiating a deal to sell them en masse to the Empire. Despite his qualms about the Empire's methods, Azur-Jamin knew that such an opportunity was too potentially valuable to his closest friends to turn down.

Moff Kerioth arrived at I'arr Armament escorted by a contingent of stormtrooper escorts, which kept both Azur-Jamin and Tinian's Wookiee bodyguard, Wrrlevgebev, suspicious and on edge. Kerioth, a condescending Human male, watched as Azur-Jamin and Strephan I'att demonstrated their new technology on a demonstration employee. Azur-Jamin patiently explained how the device worked and why it would be of use to the Empire to Kerioth, though the moff was unhappy that the demonstration employee flinched during the process; he demanded that Strephan I'att prove his confidence in the energy field's effectiveness by providing one of his senior employees for another demonstration. Kerioth&mdash;who had been insulting Tinian and questioning her presence throughout the meeting&mdash;requested that Strephan's granddaughter don the armor and anti-energy field. The owner of I'att Armament refused immediately, but Tinian, wanting to demonstrate her bravery, agreed. Strephan and Augusta I'att were dismayed, but Azur-Jamin understood her decision and wished the Force to be with her.

Skeptical of the anti-energy field's abilities, Kerioth ordered three of his stormtroopers to fire their blaster rifles at Tinian; her confidence wavered as they fired and she attempted to duck, though the anti-energy field worked to perfection, and she was left unharmed. Relieved, Azur-Jamin believed they had successfully pulled the sale they craved. Kerioth was impressed with the device; so much so that he decided that none but himself could know how it operated. He had the exits sealed and demanded that Azur-Jamin and the I'atts travel with him to the Doldur sector so that any rebels against the Empire would be unable to discover the anti-energy field's secret. As Augusta was too ill to travel, Tinian and Azur-Jamin offered to go with Kerioth and let her and Strephan find treatment, but Kerioth insisted they all leave with him. When the I'atts steadfastly refused to comply, Kerioth had his men execute both Strephan and Augusta I'att there and then.

Shocked&mdash;but ready to lunge at the moff&mdash;Azur-Jamin asked Kerioth why he had killed the two elder I'atts. Kerioth told them that Emperor Palpatine had been funding research undertaken by Kerioth into anti-energy technology, and that he planned to showcase Azur-Jamin's and the I'att's work as his own. Azur-Jamin prepared to attack the stormtroopers, but Tinian's Wookiee bodyguard was quicker than him; he activated a blast door, trapping Kerioth and two of his stormtroopers, and separating them from the four other stormtroopers. Wrrl and Tinian fled out one of the exits, while Azur-Jamin went the opposite direction, hoping to draw the majority of the troopers away from his lover. He was pursued by numerous stormtroopers&mdash;reinforcements called for by Kerioth&mdash;and during his attempt to distract them a blaster bolt hit him in the thigh.

Eventually, Azur-Jamin was able to hide in an empty service tunnel, though he knew the Imperials would find him before long. Using his comlink, he tapped into Kerioth's personal frequency to monitor the moff's forces; he learned that Kerioth has escaped and ordered more reinforcements from Il Avali's spaceport, and that Wrrl had given his life to buy Tinian I'att time to escape. Kerioth had sent repulsorlift vehicles in pursuit of her, so Azur-Jamin knew he needed to cause a distraction in very little time if he hoped to help her escape. Through Kerioth's comlink frequency, Azur-Jamin learned that the factory was being cleared of all personnel so that the Imperials could locate him via infrared scanning; this meant that the young Force-sensitive needed not worry about the lives of innocents when making his distraction. He hatched a plan to use the anti-energy field to backfire into the power grid, which would destroy the factory&mdash;and would mean that the Imperials could not steal his and Strephan's brainchild.

Azur-Jamin carried out his plans, destroying the I'att Armament factory and its research facility and preventing his technology from falling into Imperial hands. He survived, barely, but lost an eye, incurred serious head injuries, and completely lost strength in his left arm; additionally, his legs were badly crushed by falling debris after the explosion, and he had suffered many internal injuries. A Gotal named Toalar Yalom Yalom and a Human named Woyiq, both members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, found him before Kerioth's Imperials could, and pulled him from the rubble. They evaded the Imperials and took Azur-Jamin to a safehouse, though they had no proper medical equipment and could do little to treat his wounds. With all the energy he could muster, Azur-Jamin had the two Rebels seek out I'att and tell her that they found no survivors; he hoped she would leave Druckenwell and make a life for herself. Toalar and Woyiq located I'att and relayed to her the "bad news," before returning to Azur-Jamin at the safehouse.

Joining the Rebellion
"I mean to dedicate what's left of my life to bring down the Empire."

- Daye Azur-Jamin, to Una Poot

Toalar and Woyiq smuggled Azur-Jamin offworld, intending to take him to a Rebel cell led by one Una Poot on Silver Station, located not far from Druckenwell and close to the Dragonflower Nebula. There were delays at Doldur Spaceport, so Azur-Jamin's companions had to use up the last of their medpacs several days before their arrival at Silver Station, and his condition deteriorated. They hoped that Poot would have access to a bacta tank, though secretly Toalar and Woyiq believed he might die. When they arrived, security measures were stringent, and Poot demanded an audience with Azur-Jamin before committing to grant him any medical supplies. He told her of his background working with Strephan I'att, but she was immediately suspicious of I'att's Imperial ties. When he mentioned the prototype armor, however, she presented to him a set of the armor&mdash;Tinian's set.

Azur-Jamin's lover had recently signed up with Poot's Rebel cell, but was offstation at the time. When Azur-Jamin was able to identify various components of the armor, Poot admitted him into the Rebel Alliance, though she warned him against contacting I'att; she believed there were more important things than love, and fighting the Empire was one of them. Azur-Jamin agreed, and was taken to the medical ward and a bacta tank. He spent more than a day in the bacta tank, mulling over his decision not to try and find I'att, though his stay in the tank was cut short when Toalar and Woyiq used a chair to smash it; Silver Station was under attack by the Empire. The two Rebels told a dazed and confused Azur-Jamin that the station was severely damaged and would not hold for long, and stormtroopers were en route to the medical facility. Barely able to walk, Azur-Jamin had to be helped toward the exit by his two Rebel companions; eventually, the stormtroopers caught up with them and began firing. Knowing that he was slowly the others down considerably, Azur-Jamin ordered them to leave him behind, but Toalar and Woyiq refused.

The trio were eventually surrounded by stormtroopers at both ends of the corridors they were in, but Woyiq used a sort of slime to inhibit their approach. Eventually, the group escaped to a lower level through a hatch in the floor, though Azur-Jamin's injuries worsened after the descent. They made their way to a docking bay, where Una Poot was sending off the last of the ships; she was relieved to see Azur-Jamin safe and sound, as she knew that he was integral in their struggle against the Empire. She hoped that his skills and experience designing and manufacturing armor would help her Rebel cell mold their own armor at low cost. Azur-Jamin knew that the attack on Silver Station and his abrupt end to bacta treatment would ensure that his injuries would be permanent and that he would need cybernetics&mdash;and so did everyone else.

They boarded the Sitting Duck and left the station just as it collapsed into itself. As the pilot attempted to evade the TIE fighters in pursuit, Poot pointed out Tinian's ship as it escaped the station, telling Azur-Jamin that she had been partnered with a Wookiee freedom fighter named Chenlambec; Azur-Jamin was concerned, knowing Wookiees didn't live the most quiet lives, though Poot silenced him. The Sitting Duck entered hyperspace and fled for the Rebel cell in the Monor system.

The Sunesi
"She is sick with grief. Why have you deceived her?" "So I could give myself to the Rebellion. It was better, sir&mdash;to let her think I had died&mdash;than to let her see me like this." "You too are grieving, but for the loss of your old life. She would care for you as you are. [...] You made a great sacrifice, brother-son. But you are too proud of it." "[...] You say she is ill?" "She is trying to kill her capacity to love. She may succeed."

- Agapos, and Azur-Jamin

The Sitting Duck eventually reached safety, where Azur-Jamin's injuries could be properly examined. His two legs were braced, and a shattered shoulder was replaced by a false one. Due to cranial damage, Azur-Jamin's right eye was 85% blind, while his left was constantly blurred; a chip placed beneath his cheek allowed him to utilize a powerful monolens, which restored most his vision. Despite this, however, he continued to serve with Toalar and Woyiq, and began to work on duplicating the one, intact set of energy resistant armor Tinian had supplied to Una Poot. Around this time, Poot made an alliance with the Sunesi, Monor II's native species, whose leader, Agapos IX, had been marked for death by the Empire for speaking out against it. Poot arranged for Toalar, Woyiq, and Azur-Jamin to smuggle weapons to the Sunesi on Monor's surface, despite the strong presence of Imperials in the area.

On their first gun run, the trio successfully cached thousands of weapons on one of the system's moons, without incident. However, they still had to send a small message pod to the Sunesi rebels on the surface to inform them where they could find the weapons; en route to Monor II's surface, they were intercepted by an Imperial vessel. The group's transponder code was out of date, and the Imperials believed they were criminal smugglers. Toalar managed to send the pod away and tried to outrun the Imperials, but they caught the ship in a tractor beam. The system's administrator, Fugueé, was not particularly harsh when dealer with smugglers, and Toalar tasked Azur-Jamin with using his Force abilities to persuade Fugueé they were no threat. Burdened by the pressure, Azur-Jamin wondered if the others had too much confidence in his abilities, which were untrained and often erratic.

A group of Imperials boarded the Rebel ship, and Azur-Jamin learned that a new, stricter administrator, named Brago, had been installed in place of Fugueé; evidently, the Empire wished to deal with the Sunesi through force. Knowing that for every moment the Imperials were distracted the message pod would be closer to reached the Sunesi, Woyiq attempted to delay the Imperials, attacking them until they knocked him unconscious. Azur-Jamin feared the pod would be located and shot down before it hit the surface, but Una Poot arrived in her ship and lingered for a time, hoping to obscure their view of the pod. Azur-Jamin was taken away just as one of the Imperial gunners claimed to have destroyed something, but Azur-Jamin sensed something peculiar in the Force; confused, he was taken to meet with Administrator Brago.

Brago questioned Azur-Jamin and Toalar about their cargo and motivations, though, not having prepared for such an eventuality, they refused to reply. Correctly assuming that the Gotal was the leader of the trio, he had him scheduled for interrogation, and told his subordinates to execute all three of the Rebels after the Fete Week feast. After depositing him in the cell, Azur-Jamin's two escorts removed all of his external cybernetics, mocking him and claiming that he was more droid than man. Chagrined and infuriated, he lay still in the cell for hours, contemplating his life and how long he had before Brago would order him killed.

Some time later, an Imperial entered his cell, accompanied by two Sunesi and a protocol droid. He revealed that he was in fact Urek, one of Una Poot's Rebel spies who'd infiltrated the Empire during Fugeé's tenure, and that he had come to rescue Azur-Jamin, Woyiq, and Toalar. The droid carried the immobile Azur-Jamin as they attempted to escape the ship, pursued by several stormtroopers; Azur-Jamin and his companions made it to safety, but one of the Sunesi, Nee, was left badly wounded by a blaster bolt. To Azur-Jamin's astonishment, she healed herself&mdash;ostensibly through the Force&mdash;with ease, and came out feeling refreshed and invigorated. Intrigued, Azur-Jamin vowed to learn about the healing power and have it applied to himself if possible. He felt a great healing in himself, too, realizing that his eyesight had been restored, and he greatly anticipated meeting the Sunesi leader&mdash;and chief healer&mdash;Agapos, for the entire journey to Monor II's surface in a stolen Imperial shuttle.

Upon arriving, however, the motley group learned that a distress signal had been sent by the Sunesi on the surface; Agapos had been ambushed and seemingly killed by unknown assassins. Agapos' second in command, a droid named Bee-Kay-Four, informed Azur-Jamin that the weapons delivered to Monor II's moon had yet to be recovered due to the furor surrounding Agapos' supposed death. As the Rebels greeted the Sunesi township they had arrived in, an unidentified ship, presumed to be that of Agapos' killers, made a break for the atmosphere. Although not normally a vengeful people, the Sunesi prepared to fire upon the ship, but Azur-Jamin, recognizing the vessels as Tinian and Chemlanbec's from Una Poot's descriptions, pleaded with them to wait. Piecing the information together, he concluded that Tinian had faked Agapos' death so that the Empire would not see the Sunesi as a threat, and that the Sunesi leader was aboard the ship; life-form readings confirmed this.

The Sunesi scrambled to cancel their order to fire upon the ship, though several missiles did hit, crippling its shields. Worried that the Empire might intercept the struggling vessel and find Agapos, Azur-Jamin and his companions began to pursue, following them in hyperspace to Tekla Point. The space station was packed with sentients, and Toalar wanted to cut their losses and return to Monor II, but Azur-Jamin persisted, and he eventually located Agapos through the Sunesi leader's presence in the Force. I'att and Chenlambec had already left the station. Agapos conversed with Azur-Jamin; the young Human eventually revealed his past life and involvement with I'att. Agapos had just spent a great deal of time with I'att, and told Azur-Jamin that she was still greatly mourning his death; and attempting to kill her capacity to fall in love again. Worried, Azur-Jamin offered to join the Sunesi way and become a disciple of Agapos, though the Sunesi leader told him that it would be a long time before he could fully heal himself; instead he told him to seek out I'att, and that she would accept him for who he was, despite his grievous injuries.

Jedi Knight
"Daye Azur-Jamin on Nal Hutta hasn't reported for almost a week. I asked his son Tam to head out that way&mdash;carefully&mdash;and see if he could get any leading through the siege force's shadow." "Daye's a good man."

- Luke Skywalker, and Cilghal

Eventually, some time after 3 ABY, Azur-Jamin and I'att were reunited, and together they bore a son, named Tam. However, his injuries were nver fully healed, and a large part of his body remained robotic. Daye became a Jedi Knight in Jedi Master Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order, and despite his cybernetics he proved to be a talented and greatly revered Jedi. Tam followed his father's path and himself became a Jedi Knight, and along with Tinian they often worked together on missions for the Order. Daye was also close to Cilghal, a Mon Calamari Jedi Healer, and she thought very highly of him.

In 25 ABY, the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong began their invasion of the galaxy, which the Jedi attempted to stop. The Hutts, among others, attempted to forge a deal with the aliens, but both they and the Yuuzhan Vong double-crossed each other, and the Hutt homeworld of Nal Hutta was eventually conquered and invaded by the Yuuzhan Vong, who used Hutt Space as a safe haven from New Republic forces. Daye was sent on a reconnaissance to Nal Hutta to monitor Yuuzhan Vong forces there and to ascertain the damage done by the invasion, with Tinian and a Wookiee Jedi named Lowbacca not far behind him in Hutt Space. The Yuuzhan Vong seemed absent in the Force, and in large numbers they damped it out so that Jedi could not sense their comrades in such areas, so it was a dangerous mission.

Things went awry, and Daye was a week late in reporting back to Master Skywalker. Tinian and Lowbacca fled to Kashyyyk, while Daye's son Tam was sent to Nal Hutta to investigate. Tam was unsuccessful, and over a year on, the Jedi Order knew nothing about Daye's whereabouts. Tam Azur-Jamin was greatly saddened by his father's disappearance, and it prompted him to investigate the relationship between the Force and droids and other technology. Tam wrote an essay, titled Droids, Technology, and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena, in which he defended his father's ability to be a good Jedi despite his cybernetics, comparing him to Jedi martyr Empatojayos Brand. Much of Tam's report was response to critics who claimed that those with a large amount of cybernetics in their bodies were somehow "less Human," and more susceptible to the dark side of the Force.

Ironically, Daye Azur-Jamin had been turned to the dark side some time during or after the war, by a Force-sensitive Yuuzhan Vong female. She was a Dark Jedi, with a powerful master of her own, and she was able to twist Daye to do her bidding after the Yuuzhan Vong War's close in 29 ABY. Jedi Kyle Katarn, acting upon a rumor that the Sith had returned since the Emperor's demise at the Battle of Endor, began investigating the region known as the Cloak of the Sith, where Daye kidnapped and held him captive. Intelligence agent Jan Ors and Jedi Mara Jade Skywalker, concerned about Katarn's disappearance, formed a crack team comprised of Alpha Blue agents and Jedi Knights to track him down. They ultimately found Katarn and Azur-Jamin; the group freed Katarn and attempted to turn Azur-Jamin back to the light. Ultimately, the cyborg Force-user informed them of the being who had turned him to the dark side, and that she likely had a master.

Personality and traits
"Liberty's flame must be filled with out blood, mingled with that of the tyrants."

- One of Agapos IX's writings, which Azur-Jamin memorized and used as a personal motto

In his youth, Daye Azur-Jamin was an idealistic man, and he hated the Empire for its corruption and immoral behavior. He had faith in the Force, and maintained this faith even though he knew he would be punished severely if the Empire discovered it. He cared deeply for his lover, Tinian, and her grandparents, despite his qualms with their ties to the Empire. Azur-Jamin also had a deep care for life, and he went out of his way to ensure his actions never harmed any innocent beings. During the incident at I'att Armament, he ensured that the factory was cleared of all civilians before triggering its detonation, even though the delay ate into Tinian's time to escape Kerioth's Imperials.

Azur-Jamin was a man of great pride, and he felt that he was lesser person after his injuries and cybernetic implants&mdash;for this reason, he believed Tinian would not want to see him again, and had her informed he'd been killed. Throughout his life, Azur-Jamin was ostracized because of his cybernetics; from hateful Imperials who considered him a droid, to those who doubted his ability to avoid the dark side during his time as a Jedi, many people considered him "less human" than themselves.

Behind the scenes
The character of Daye Azur-Jamin was created by Kathy Tyers. He first appeared as one of the protagonists in Tinian on Trial, a short story published in the Star Wars Adventure Journal 4 in 1994, later appearing in To Fight Another Day and Only Droids Serve the Maker in subsequent Adventure Journal issues in 1995 and 1996. He was mentioned in Tyers's contribution to Tales of the Bounty Hunters&mdash;The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk&mdash;in 1996, but then went unreferenced for several years.

In Tyers's New Jedi Order novel, Balance Point, released in 2000, Daye Azur-Jamin is briefly mentioned by Luke Skywalker, who reveals that he had a son, Tam. Troy Denning became the first author aside from Tyers to reference the character, giving him a brief mention in 2001's Star by Star. Who's Who in the New Jedi Order, an article appearing in Star Wars Insider 57 written by Daniel Wallace in 2002, established that Tinian and Daye had been reunited, which was hinted at in Balance Point. Abel G. Peña featured Daye Azur-Jamin in a number of online supplements in 2005; the character was mentioned in a Star Wars Hyperspace article, Droids, Technology, and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena, and later featured in a roleplaying game seed as part of The Dark Forces Saga on the Wizards of the Coast website. In the seed, players can attempt to redeem Azur-Jamin and turn him back to the ligth side, or interrogate and kill him, though the canonical outcome is unknown.

In an image in Who's Who in the New Jedi Order, Azur-Jamin is depicted with his monolens, which he acquired in Only Droids Serve the Maker, after becoming a Jedi. However, near the end of Only Droids Serve the Maker, his eye is healed and he is depicted alongside Agapos without the monolens. This descrepancy has yet to be addressed in canon, though it is possible Azur-Jamin's eyesight deteorated after the events of Only Droids Serve the Maker.

Appearances

 * The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk
 * Balance Point
 * Star by Star
 * The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk
 * Balance Point
 * Star by Star

Notes and references
Daye Azur-Jamin