Meetra Surik

"Malachor V should have been his grave. You saw it in his walk, and in the Force. It was as if he was already dead." — Atris

"True, an average student of the Force, but with a unique strength... (static)... is a natural leader." - Vandar Tokare

"You know war, You know battle." - Darth Sion

"What would you have be done with him, Atris? Be mindful of your feelings. This is not Revan who stood before you. This one walks a different path." — Zez-Kai Ell

"You are different. When I look at you, it is like staring at the death of the Force." — Kreia

The "Jedi Exile" was a Jedi Padawan, on par with most Jedi Knights of the time, who studied - and taught - at the Academy on Dantooine prior to the Mandalorian Wars.

Mandalorian Wars
Before he could begin his trials to become a Knight and take on his own apprentice, the Mandalorian Wars surged through the galaxy. The Exile, with overwhelming compassion for the lives lost on the Outer Rim, was soon lured to battle and joined Jedi Knight Revan's forces who had personally recruited him; never being ordained a Jedi Knight, and leaving his prospective Padawan, Mical, without a master.

The Exile was a General under Revan during the Mandalorian Wars. Overseeing the final battle at Malachor V, he gave the order to activate the Mass Shadow Generator. This generator crushed both the Republic and Mandalorian soldiers caught in the weapon's destructive sphere. The death and destruction caused such a substantial 'wound' in the Force that the shock of which would have killed the him had he not detached himself from the Force. The only Jedi under Revan able to turn away from the dark side after Malachor V, he was also the only Jedi who willingly returned to Coruscant and face trial for his actions - and also to defend them.

Despite an impassioned plea, the Jedi High Council decreed that because he had followed Revan to war, he was to be cast out of the Jedi Order. In reality, the Council feared the 'wound' in the Force that surrounded him. Some on the council felt that they were punishing the Exile not because of what he did, but because he was symbolic of the many Jedi that had fallen to the dark side over the course of history. These council members felt that he was the perfect opportunity to examine why and how so many Jedi fall to the dark side. More conservative council members, however, felt no need to do more than exile the former Jedi.

Full details of the Exile's adventures in the Outer Rim are unknown, but it is known that Atris had orchestrated the Exile's return to known space. In order to attract the growing Sith threat, she leaked his return to the galaxy and, predictably, attracted the Sith's attention.

Post-Jedi Civil War
The Exile's return to the Republic space occured in 3,951 BBY. The Harbinger, a Republic cruiser bound to Onderon, suddenly received an order to abort the trip and head to the Outer Rim instead. The Exile's description was included, and he was requested to be given status of a diplomatic passenger and escorted to Telos.

When the Harbinger was ambushed by a Sith warship, with the Exile onboard, the Ebon Hawk, a small freighter that once had played a major role in the Jedi Civil War, rescued him from an unappealing fate. With the help of the utility droid T3-M4, the Ebon Hawk was guided to the Peragus mining facility.

When the Exile woke up from his stupor in the mining facility, he found an old woman left for dead named Kreia, a mysterious Jedi Master (exiled by the Council because of her many failed apprentices; Revan included) who guided the Exile through his journey to find the missing Jedi Masters who sentenced him to exile. They found the facility to be completely abandoned, except for malfunctioning mining droids. While searching for a way off the station, the Exile found Atton Rand, a man imprisoned within the brig. After Darth Sion and a force of Sith Assassins arrived on the Harbinger, intending to kill the Exile (believing he is the last of the Jedi), the three escaped with T3-M4 onboard the Ebon Hawk, traveling to Telos, finding it to be the only available destination in the Peragus navigational charts. While being pursued by the Sith in the asteroid field around Peragus, laser fire ignited the volatile fuel within the asteroids. The resulting explosion destroyed both the facility and the planet itself, though the Ebon Hawk and the Sith onboard the Harbinger were able to escape.

After arriving at the massive Citadel Station in orbit around Telos, the Ebon Hawk and T3-M4 were stolen and brought to the Telosian surface while the Exile and his crew were held for questioning in the Peragus explosion. After Republic investigations proved their innocence, they utilized alternative transportation to get down to the surface, where they were shot down by Czerka air-defense turrets. A Zabrak engineer named Bao-Dur, who designed the Mass Shadow Generator and served under the Exile at Malachor V, saw the crash and pulled the three unharmed from the wreckage. While on the surface, they learned that the Ebon Hawk had been taken to the old planetary aquaducts in the polar region of the planet. Stealing a shuttle from an abandoned military compound, they traveled to the aquaducts and found Jedi Master Atris there, a member of the Council that sentenced the Exile. Atris was attempting to recover lost Jedi teachings and had surrounded herself with several Echani sisters. These sisters, known as Handmaidens, had vowed not to learn the ways of the Jedi. After a heated debate over what the Jedi should have done during the Mandalorian Wars with Atris, the Exile and his party left with the Ebon Hawk and T3-M4. He soon discovered, however, that Brianna, the Last Handmaiden, abandoned Atris to join him on the Ebon Hawk. Despite the rest of the crew thinking she was a spy sent by Atris, and in defiance of Kreia's protests, the Exile allowed Brianna to stay after revealing herself on board the ship.

After leaving the academy, T3 revealed that he had managed to download Atris's database while being held, including a recording of the Exile's trial where the last five remaining Jedi Masters were hiding: Atris on Telos, Kavar on Onderon, Vrook Lamar on Dantooine, Zez-Kai Ell on Nar Shaddaa, and Lonna Vash on Korriban. The crew went off to these worlds in search of the Jedi in an attempt to unite them against the Sith and to find the answers as to why the Exile was sentenced as such.

After locating and conversing with all of the remaining Jedi Masters, the Exile returned to Dantooine to find the rebuilt Jedi Enclave. There the Jedi had formed a council in which they would decide his fate. Right before the Jedi reestablish his Exile and try to strip him of the Force, Kreia stormed into the meeting to save him at the last moment. The Exile, still under his stasis state established by the Masters, was left helpless to defend them as Kreia put the Jedi Masters through the same suffering the Exile had felt on Malachor V, leaving them not only dead, but void of the Force.

When she left, the Exile finally regained his strength and departed for Malachor V to battle Darth Sion and Darth Traya. After destroying Sion, he confronted Kreia, who had revealed her true identity as a Sith Lord. Kreia and the Exile battled. In the end the Exile defeated Kreia and spared her, but she knew her fate was sealed. Before she gave her life to the Force, she told the Exile information of Revan's location in Unknown Regions. Before the Exile could escape the dead planet, Bao-Dur's remote reactivated the Mass Shadow Generator to completely destroy the planet. The crew of the badly damaged Ebon Hawk retrieved the Exile, who then left the known galaxy, searching for Revan.

Behind the scenes
The Jedi Exile is the main character in the PC/Xbox videogame Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Following the tradition of the first KotOR game, the aforementioned Light Side story is usually presumed and will likely be canonical, even though the official position has not been determined yet.

The alternate Dark Side story only differs in the fates of the planets the Exile visits (Onderon is usurped by Vaklu, Dantooine is captured by Azkul and his mercenaries, and Malachor V remains intact), as well as one party member (Hanharr joins the player's party instead of Mira).

The Jedi Exile is fully customisable by the player, and so can take several different appearances and either gender. The male and female storylines have minor differences, with the most notable one being one of the player's party members (Brianna only joins a male Exile's party, and Mical only joins a female Exile's party). Promotional images present the Exile as male, and so masculine reference has been used throughout the article for the sake of simplicity.

It should be noted, however, that on August 19, 2005, Leland Chee made a statement on the starwars.com forums in which he said he is trying to make the canonical Exile female (as opposed to the canonical Revan being male). Also, the introduction of an official name for the Exile is being considered.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords