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 annointed 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. Talon eventually fell into the role of a Sith Master when she was assigned to train Skywalker in the ways of the dark side of the Force. However, her stint as a master was short-lived when her apprentice renounced the One Sith. As a result, Talon was injured during Skywalker's attempt at escape. Although she survived, her position in the eyes of her own Master had been severely undermined.

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 jungle beasts 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 attack Coruscant before the Sith can 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 in to 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. 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 force Imperial Knights to verbally reveal vital information by a Force technique where she summoned a cyan circle of light before her adversary. 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
In Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, it is incorrectly stated that Darth Talon was a Hand in 130 ABY. She did not gain either the name Darth Talon or the Hand title until 137 ABY.

In The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, it is incorrectly stated that Darth Talon was killed when Cade Skywalker ran her though with his lightsaber in Star Wars: Legacy 19: Claws of the Dragon, Part 6.

An action figure of Talon was released in 2008 as part of Hasbro's Comic Pack line, paired with Cade Skywalker. A piece of artwork called "Duel of the Twi'leks" by Mark McKenna of Talon dueling prequel-era Jedi Aayla Secura will be available for sale at Celebration VI.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Miniatures: Legacy of the Force advertisement
 * Star Wars: Legacy: Broken
 * Star Wars: Legacy: Claws of the Dragon
 * Star Wars: Legacy 22: The Wrath of the Dragon
 * Star Wars: Legacy 23: Loyalties, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Legacy 27: Into the Core
 * Star Wars: Legacy 30: Vector, Part 11
 * Star Wars: Legacy 31: Vector, Part 12
 * Star Wars: Legacy 34: Storms, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Legacy 35: Storms, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Legacy 46: Monster, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Legacy 48: Extremes, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Legacy 49: Extremes, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Legacy 50: Extremes, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 1
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 2
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 3
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 4
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 5
 * Star Wars: Legacy&mdash;War 6