Jariah Syn

"Always go for the sure thing!"

- Jariah Syn

Jariah Syn was a Human bounty hunter active at the time of the Second Imperial Civil War. He was co-pilot of the starship Mynock, the crew of which also included his friends Deliah Blue and Cade Skywalker.

Early life
"Zareb Syn—yer Da—saved his captain. Be sure I'll do well by you in his memory."

- Rav, to a young Jariah Syn.

Syn's father Zareb Syn was an associate of the Feeorin pirate Rav. When Syn was seven years old, he sneaked aboard a ship his father and Rav were piloting. Their destination was a mining world named Roon, and Rav and the elder Syn were there to perform a raid. Having felt a disturbance in the Force, the Cathar Jedi Rasi Tuum showed up at the location that Rav and Zareb were plundering and tried to defend the miners from the two pirates. Rasi Tuum cut off Rav's leg and slew Zareb Syn in the ensuing confrontation, while a panicked Syn rushed out of the ship to his slain father. Rasi Tuum loomed over Syn, seemingly about to kill him too, but Syn was saved by a blaster bolt fired at the Jedi's chest. To repay his fallen comrade, Rav raised Syn in Zareb's stead. Having been told some falsehoods about the Jedi Order as a whole by Rav, as well as having witnessed his father's death at the hands of a Jedi, Syn developed a strong hatred for all Jedi.

In 130 ABY, having heard about the Massacre at Ossus, Rav, Syn and the rest of Rav's crew decided to go to Ossus to plunder the Jedi Temple and remove any goods of value from it. Upon arriving, Syn and Rav found Jedi trainee Cade Skywalker floating in the rubble over Ossus. Upon retrieving Skywalker, Rav assumed he was a Jedi and wanted to throw him to the vacuum of space. However, Syn insisted that Skywalker was not a Jedi because he had no lightsaber, and fought to keep him alive because he assumed Skywalker was a part of rival pirate group who might have already been dirtside. Syn reasoned that if they kill Skywalker, they might never know what traps, if any, were put in place. After Skywalker lied about being a trader that knew the layout of the Temple by heart, Rav relented and let him live, but stated he would throw both Syn and Skywalker out of the airlock if Skywalker led them into a trap. Skywalker then led the pirates in plundering the Jedi Temple.

After the event, Rav decided to take Skywalker on as an apprentice. Syn and Skywalker became close friends, although given Syn's hatred of Jedi, Skywalker never revealed to his friend his last name or the fact that he used to be a Jedi. After many years as Rav's apprentices, Syn and Skywalker became bounty hunters, and Syn joined the crew of Skywalker's ship, the Mynock, as co-pilot. At some point after striking out on their own, the pair recruited the Zeltron mechanic Deliah Blue as their third crew member.

Bounty hunter
In 137 ABY, Syn, Skywalker and Blue were contracted by Rav to locate gambler Naxy Screeger. After locating him on the planet Lok, the group also came across a Jedi named Hosk Trey'lis. Savoring the opportunity to capture the Jedi and make more money, Syn attempted to kill the Jedi to make capture easier, but was stopped by Skywalker. After Blue's attempt to capture Trey'lis failed, Syn threw a thud bug at the Jedi's back, and the group left Lok with both Screeger and Trey'lis in tow.



On their arrival on Socorro, their Jedi captive put up a struggle, but Skywalker was able to subdue him long enough for them to turn their two captives over to Rav. When Rav paid the crew with just enough to refuel the Mynock and buy a few drinks, and gave Skywalker deathsticks as a bonus that was added to the crew's tab, Syn was furious. Skywalker then told him that it was his ship and his life, and that if Syn did not like being a part of the crew, he could find a new ship. Skywalker then took his leave, and Syn and Rav had a short argument about Rav's motivations for keeping the crew of the Mynock in debt. Syn accused Rav of using Skywalker's deathstick addiction as a way of keeping the crew on a tight leash. Rav replied that he liked having the crew owe him, as it reminded him of the "good old days". When Syn pointed out that he and Skywalker earned their freedom from him and that Rav owed them, Rav replied that the only person he owed was Syn's dead father, and that debt was paid. Syn then received an admonishment from Rav, telling Syn that he'll "always be owned". After the argument with Rav, Syn admitted to Blue that he felt Skywalker had lost his edge as a bounty hunter.

Afterwards, Blue and Syn returned to the Mynock, but found they were locked out due to Skywalker consuming his deathsticks in private. Once the door opened, Syn powered up the Mynock to leave the planet. However, a disguised Princess Marasiah Fel and her companion Astraal Vao fled towards the ship, demanding passage to Vendaxa. After questioning why, Skywalker saw that the Sith Lord Darth Talon was pursing the pair, and shuttled them onboard. The crew then discovered the true identity of their two passengers, and with it the huge bounty attached to Princess Marasiah. Syn wanted to turn their two passengers in to the Imperials right away, but Skywalker wanted to take the two to their destination in order to collect the bounties on both the Princess and her father, deposed Emperor Roan Fel.

Skirmish on Vendaxa
On Vendaxa, Syn and the rest of the Mynock crew protected their two guests from the native beasts while en route to a meeting point established by Astraal and her brother long ago when they were children. When Astraal's brother Shado Vao and Shado's Master Wolf Sazen showed up at the rendezvous point and helped the group kill an acklay, Syn was disgusted when he discovered Astraal's brother was a Jedi. Princess Marasiah then informed the Mynock crew that the craft the Jedi had arrived in would be the way off Vendaxa for her and her companion. Having strongly suspected the Mynock's crew intent to turn her in for a bounty, Princess Marasiah informed the Mynock crew that neither she, Astraal or the Jedi had the credits to pay them for their transport. Syn was furious at being duped and appealed to Skywalker to do something, but Skywalker just shrugged it off and told his crew to cut their losses and prepare the ship for flight. The Princess, Astraal and the two Jedi were about to board the Jedi craft when it was destroyed by Darth Talon. Upon seeing the explosion, Syn snidely told the princess that the fee for transport just doubled. Darth Talon, who had tracked her quarry to Vendaxa though the use of a Force technique, took this opportunity to spring her attack, and used the Force to drive the native beasts to attack the group at her command. Syn then joined Blue and took part in the battle against the Sith Lord by shooting at her with a blaster. After Talon ripped the blasters from their hands using The Force, Skywalker Force-hurled an old shipwreck at her, delaying the Sith long enough for her to call for reinforcements.

While repairing the Mynock, which had been damaged in the battle, Syn contemplated turning Skywalker in for a bounty after he discovered his longtime friend was a Jedi. The pair got into an argument after Skywalker confronted Syn about it, and Syn even went so far as to threaten to shoot him in the face. However, just as Syn was about to shoot him, Skywalker used the Force to grab Syn's blaster out of his hand, dropped it on the ground, and walked away.

The Sith attacked again, this time with Darth Nihl and a small retinue of other Sith fighting at Talon's side, and the newly-arrived Imperial Knights Antares Draco and Ganner Krieg fighting alongside the Jedi. Syn and Blue prepared the Mynock for flight. When Blue stated that she was not leaving without Skywalker, Syn said that if Skywalker was one of them, he'd already be on board. Blue replied that if Skywalker was left behind, she would jettison him into space.

Princess Marasiah had been wounded by an Iridonian Sith while protecting Skywalker, and the Jedi covered the Imperial Knights as they brought the Princess on board the Mynock. At this point, Skywalker had engaged in a duel with Nihl, his father's killer. Just as the two men were about to square off, Syn shot at Nihl with his blaster, hitting him in the chest. Nihl retaliated by Force shoving both men, and Syn left Skywalker to finish the fight.

After all Jedi, Imperials, and bounty hunters were on board the Mynock, the crew was instructed by Draco to fly to Bastion. When Syn questioned why they would fly to the stronghold of the Sith, he was informed by Draco that Emperor Fel had recently retaken Bastion, and that it was the only place that had the healers and medical supplies needed to save the Princess. Syn pointed out that it was going to take time to fly to Bastion, and Blue said that the engines can only go so fast. Draco then got upset and threatened to kill the pair if they did not make the ship go as fast as possible. Syn then watched as Skywalker healed the Princess using the Force, and when the Mynock arrived on Bastion, Syn and Blue were abandoned by Skywalker due to his lack of trust of Syn.

Sith captive
Despite this, Syn and Blue found a way off Bastion and traveled to Socorro, as Rav had contacted the pair to do a job for him. Having gambled away his share of the reward Emperor Fel gave the pair for safely returning Princess Marasiah, Syn badgered Blue for her share so that he could use it as a down payment on a Chume Sen cruiser. Blue replied that she had already put half of her share on a deposit to use the Grinning Liar to transport them to Socorro. Upset with Syn for pestering her and Skywalker for abandoning them, Blue stormed off. A short while later, the pair met with Rav, who inquired about Skywalker's whereabouts. Syn lied and said that the pair told Skywalker to "jump in a black hole" and that they no longer needed him, and neither does Rav. Syn then asked about what the job entailed, and Rav told the pair it was a job only they can do. Rav then led the pair into a room to talk privately.

Standing in the room Rav had taken the pair was Nyna Calixte, Imperial Moff and head of Imperial Intelligence. Flanked by a pair of stormtroopers, Calixte informed the pair they were under arrest for harboring a Jedi named Cade Skywalker. Blue and Syn denied that Skywalker was a Jedi, with Blue stating that it was deathstick-induced delusions that make Skywalker think he was a Jedi, and Syn challenging Rav to let the Imperials shoot them. Rav then made Syn watch the security cam from when they had turned in Hosk Trey'lis, which had recorded Skywalker using the Force to subdue the Jedi. Rav informed the pair that their antics on Vendaxa had already alerted the Empire to Skywalker's identity and that they were now known as his associates, and that he had arranged for the Empire to capture them. Rav then played to Syn's hatred for Jedi, telling him that Skywalker had played him for the biggest fool of all, and that Syn owed Skywalker nothing.

Calixte then stated that she had no interest in the pair, other than for them to reveal the whereabouts of Skywalker. She stated that if they divulge that piece of information to her, they will have been considered "hostages of the Jedi" and be allowed to go free. Syn took this opportunity to express his disgust of the Sith and the Empire, stating that he hate them more than he hates Jedi. Syn then lied and said that if the Imperials wanted to find Skywalker, then they should look no further than the slythmongers on Coruscant. Calixte, having seen through the lie, expressed the opinion that she hoped to get the information the easy way. She then activated an interrogation droid and unleashed it on the pair, expecting the torture it inflicted would force them to talk. The pair still refused to cooperate with the Imperials, and at some point they were turned over to the Sith and implanted with Yuuzhan Vong coral seeds.



Skywalker had gotten himself captured by the Sith while attempting to rescue Hosk Trey'lis, the same Bothan Jedi he had turned in for a bounty, from the Sith Temple on Coruscant. In an attempt to get Skywalker to demonstrate his healing power, Darth Krayt arranged to use Syn and Blue as his test subjects. When questioned by Krayt about Skywalker's healing power, both Syn and Blue lied about having witnessed it, so Krayt instructed Darth Maladi to use Force lightning on them, accelerating the growth of the coral seed implants. Krayt then offered Skywalker a choice: use his power to save one of his friends, or watch them both die. After telling Skywalker to get his Jedi hands of him, Syn told Skywalker to save Blue and let him die. After telling Syn to keep quiet, Skywalker then expended a large amount of Force energy to heal them both. Impressed, Krayt demanded that Skywalker join the Sith. Skywalker only accepted Krayt's offer on the condition that Syn and Blue be allowed to leave the Sith Temple safely.

Skywalker had recorded a message to Syn and Blue prior to his capture by the Sith, and left it and the access codes to the Mynock in the care of the Hutt Queen Jool, owner of Rik's Cantina on Coruscant, with the instructions that Syn and Blue get them next time she saw them. When Syn and Blue were released from the Sith Temple, they headed to Rik's Cantina, and Jool gave them the access codes as promised. The message stated that if the pair were viewing it, then he wasn't going to be coming back and urged them to take the Mynock and go. Syn was all too happy to do just that, but Blue said that Skywalker saved their lives, and they owe him. When Blue threatened him with a blaster after he said that Skywalker was the reason they almost died in the first place, he urged Blue to shoot him.

The argument between Syn and Blue was interrupted by Kee, a Devaronian smuggler, and the Wookiee Chak, Kee's partner and the owner of the Grinning Liar. The pair demanded the return of their ship, but Syn informed them that Rav had taken it when he had double-crossed Syn and Blue to the Imperials, but they were welcome to take the Mynock instead if they wanted. Chak stated that he did not want the Mynock, and tried to coerce Blue into helping him retrieve it by threatening to rip her arms off if she did not. Blue replied that she was not leaving the planet until they got Skywalker back from the Sith. Again, the argument was interrupted, but this time it was by Nyna Calixte, in her guise as Imperial Intelligence agent Morrigan Corde.

Rescuing Skywalker
"And Syn, I want them to go 'Boom'" "'Boom' is always good!"

- Morrigan Corde and Jariah Syn referring to the Vong Bugs

Corde stated that she had a plan to rescue Skywalker. When Syn stated that he wanted no part of such a plan, Blue again berated him, telling him that Skywalker saved their lives and asking Syn to remember all the times Skywalker had gotten them out of seemingly impossible situations. Syn then asked Corde why she was helping them, to which she replied that she was Skywalker's mother. Syn expressed his disbelief of this claim, even dismissing the family holo Corde showed the group of herself, Kol Skywalker, and a young Cade, as a fake. Chak confirmed the holo as real, having worked at the Jedi Temple on Ossus around that time period. Having secured the group's cooperation, Corde then instructed them to fly the Mynock to a specific set of coordinates and meet her there.



A short while later, Corde had secured three dozen Vong bugs, taken from a batch that the Imperials had confiscated from the criminal organization Black Sun. Corde boarded the Mynock with the bugs and dumped them on a table in front of Syn, who was overjoyed at how many there were. Due to his knowledge of how to handle the bugs, Corde tasked him with making sure they were kept comfortable while Kee wired them with some bio-microcircuitry. Some of the bugs would be fit with spy cameras, others would act as boom bugs, but it was Syn's responsibility to make sure they all obeyed.

Having programmed the bugs, the team sent them into the Sith Temple on Coruscant, and shortly after were successful in locating Cade. Jariah, Deliah, Morrigan, Kee, and Chak prepared to rescue Cade, and Jariah asked Morrigan what she would do if Cade refused to return with them. What she would do if Cade had truly turned to the Sith? Morrigan simply replied saying that she would disown and kill Cade if he committed to the Sith.

When Cade revealed himself to be merely pretending to be in the thrall of the dark side Jariah flew the Mynock towards the Sith Temple, beginning their rescue operation. After Corde left the Mynock using a jetpack, she blasted the window in Krayt's throne room where Krayt and Cade were dueling. Cade jumped out and was caught by Syn. With Cade on board, the crew of the Mynock entered hyperspace.

Travel to the hidden temple
Together they visited Rav and retrieved the Grinning Liar after they defeated some thugs hired by Rav. Chak and Kee headed their own way and Skywalker, Blue, and Syn visited an old friend, Bantha Rawk, who was in fact Nat Skywalker the older brother of Kol Skywalker. There they rested for a few days and met Azlyn Rae a former Jedi student and friend of Cade. After they found themselves in an Imperial raid and the Sith Empire announced they were searching for Skywalker and were willing to pay a bounty Bantha Rawk, Rae and Cade's party departed for a hidden Jedi temple.

Rae, who became an Imperial Knight after the Jedi were scattered, relayed the location of the temple to Princess Marasiah, Antares Draco, and Ganner Krieg. The Imperial Knights followed the Mynock into the temple using a cloaked ship. After a brief confrontation with Cade and Shado Vao the knights were invited to attend the council meeting together with Cade.

Blue, Rae, and Syn had to wait outside the council chamber and were accompanied by a few Jedi. Rae met her former master, Rasi Tuum whom she had believed to have been killed when protecting her. Syn recognized Tuum as the Jedi who had killed his father and was determined to kill him as he had planned it a long time. When he first recognized the killer of his father he seemed depressed and Zabrak Jedi Master Mai asked him if he felt ill but, enraged, he knocked her unconscious. Then he headed for the Mynock to acquire the necessary equipment to kill Tuum.

His attempt, however, failed and he was detained by Tuum and subsequently learned the circumstances that led to his father's death at Tuum's hands. He then left the temple with Cade, Blue, Shado Vao and three Imperial Knights on a mission to kill Darth Krayt.

Personality and traits
A very pragmatic man and a weapons expert, he was known for using unconventional, and sometimes illegal weapons, such as Yuuzhan Vong thud bugs and razor bugs, having known a Yuuzhan Vong crewmember on the Crimson Axe. He was not a merciful man, and had no problem bringing in a bounty dead (rather than alive), reasoning that a dead bounty was a "sure thing."

Syn also displayed a distaste for Jedi, believing that they could take control of people's minds and make them kill themselves. Once he realized that his good friend Cade Skywalker used to be one, he threatened him with a blaster. This dislike for Jedi seems to exist, because the Cathar Jedi Rasi Tuum killed his father.

Syn also spoke in Huttese often, usually when using derogatory terms such as "sleemo" or "koochu". He also used excessive amount of profanity.

Behind the scenes
Jariah Syn was created by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, and made his first out-of-universe appearance in Star Wars Insider. His first in-universe appearance was in Star Wars Legacy 2: Broken, Part 2.

In several panels of Star Wars Legacy 2: Broken, Part 2, his eye color changes between green and brown.

Jariah Syn's likeness appears to be based on that of Gary Dourdan as "Christie" in the film Alien Resurrection.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy 2: Broken, Part 2
 * Star Wars Legacy 3: Broken, Part 3
 * Star Wars Legacy 5: Broken, Part 4
 * Star Wars Legacy 6: Broken, Part 5
 * Star Wars Legacy 7: Broken, Part 6
 * Star Wars Legacy 9: Trust Issues, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy: Ghosts
 * Star Wars Legacy 14: Claws of the Dragon, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 15: Claws of the Dragon, Part 2
 * Star Wars Legacy 16: Claws of the Dragon, Part 3
 * Star Wars Legacy 17: Claws of the Dragon, Part 4
 * Star Wars Legacy 18: Claws of the Dragon, Part 5
 * Star Wars Legacy 19: Claws of the Dragon, Part 6
 * Star Wars Legacy: Loyalties
 * Star Wars Legacy: The Hidden Temple
 * Star Wars Legacy 28: Vector, Part 9
 * Star Wars Legacy 29: Vector, Part 10
 * Star Wars Legacy 31: Vector, Part 12
 * Star Wars Legacy: Storms
 * Star Wars Legacy: Tatooine

Notes and references
Jariah Syn Jariah Syn Jariah Syn