Tao (Jedi)

Tao was the sole survivor of a group of Jedi Knights who fought against Darth Vader on his homeworld of Shumari, the rest of whom died so that he may live. Though he picked up his own lightsaber to fight after they had died, Vader sensed the raw anger in the young man and so made him his apprentice and hid him from Palpatine.

After this incident, Vader attempted to train Tao in the ways of the dark side but was unable to get Tao to fully submit, as he lacked the anger. Shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star, Vader returned to Coruscant and faced the wrath of his own master, Palpatine, who was displeased that Vader was unable to stop the Death Star from being distroyed. Upon ending this meeting, Vader returned his meditation chamber and, upon exiting, was confronted by Tao who informed his master that he seemed different; though he usually felt his masters sadness, instead he sensed that Vader felt happy.

Upon donning his full armor once more, Vader demanded that Tao come at him with all his anger in an attempt to strike him down. Tao was unable to do so, however, and stopped the fight with his master's disproval at lacking both hatred and anger. Attempting to fuel his anger, Vader reminded Tao of all he had taken away from him; his home world, his people, his friends, and his family, but still Tao did not give in to his anger. The fight ended with Vader informing Tao that there was no place for weakness in his life and Tao, in return, vowing to become stronger.

Soon after, Vader learned the identity of the one who had destroyed the Death Star; it was his son, Luke Skywalker. Returning to Coruscant, Vader again entered his meditation chamber and was met once more by Tao upon exiting. Though he informed Vader that he had been practicing, and he believed himself ready, Vader informed Tao that he had no time for him and that he was free to go and do whatever he wished from then on. Tao, shocked, demanded to know why Vader had not simply let him die back on Shumari but received no answer.

Tao's freedom did not last long, however, as he was captured by Palpatine and taken by the Emperor's Royal Guards to meet back with Vader on board the newly christened Executor. Palpatine, displeased that Vader had betrayed him by hiding his disciple, demanded that Vader strike Tao down. Though Vader did not wish to do so, he was unable to control his body as he lit his lightsaber and struck his blade down Tao's torso.

This did not kill Tao straight away, but it was a mortal blow and both he and his former master knew he did not have long to live. Vader took the young boy back to his home world, landing on the planet in a Lambda-class shuttle and carrying Tao to the site where he was born. Vader thought that Tao would hate him, but instead was thanked for letting him die where he was born. Before falling from consciousness, Tao informed Vader that there was still some good in him and pleaded that he not give in to the Emperor and remain true to himself. As Tao lost consciousness, Vader felt remorse for the first time in many years.

The moment of sadness was quickly interrupted, however, by a Tusken Raider wielding a modified gaderffi who had been hunting down Anakin Skywalker ever since the destruction of his village on Tatooine. The Tusken quickly gained an advantage over Vader, destroying a part of his helmet and bringing him to his knees. Vader felt in the Tusken a form of pure anger and hatred, the dark side personified. It was then that the Tusken revealed that his gaderffi had been modified to house two lightsabers and, just as he was about to strike down Vader, was intercepted by a revived Tao who gave his last ounce of strength to save his master, telling Vader to let go of his anger before finally dying.

Vader screamed in anger for his fallen student and, upon recovering, built a simple monument for him by carving his name into a stone tablet which became the last piece of man-made structure on the planet.

Appearances

 * Perfect Evil