Nico Diath

"My uncle Nico, he was a true Jedi Master. All of us combined barely equal his power, wisdom, and will."

- Tae Diath

Nico Diath was a Human male Jedi Master who lived during the final decades of the Galactic Republic. Diath was descended from the ancient Jedi Master Sidrona Diath, and took his nephew Tae as his Padawan, helping him to control his telepathy. As a Jedi, Diath roamed the Outer Rim and emancipated more than one thousand slaves. He rarely visited the Jedi Temple on Coruscant but was regarded as a legend of the Jedi Order. Four months after the initiation of the Clone Wars, Diath was assigned as the leader of a team&mdash;comprised of fellow Jedi Jon Antilles, Knol Ven'nari, Fay, and Obi-Wan Kenobi&mdash;on a mission to the planet Queyta.

Diath and the team were assigned to infiltrate a mobile Separatist facility that rode on one of Queyta's lava streams, and acquire the antidote for swamp gas, a chemical weapon the Separatists planned to use against the Grand Army of the Republic. After Diath's group infiltrated the base, they confronted Separatist agents Asajj Ventress and Durge. Durge shot two Skakoan sentries, which caused them to explode, and the ceiling of the facility to begin collapsing. Some lava fell on Diath as he stood on a catwalk, and he fell to his death in the lava stream. Kenobi recovered the antidote and returned to the Jedi Temple as the only survivor of the mission. A holographic memorial was held at the Temple in honor of Diath and the other fallen Masters.

Biography
"Nico Diath, part of the Diath clan that has produced a great number of Jedi Masters. He roamed the Outer Rim freeing more than one thousand slaves. The Hutt slavers hated him&hellip;"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, regarding Diath

Nico Diath, a Human male, was born into a family that was known for producing a number of Jedi Masters. He was descended from the ancient Jedi Masters Sidrona and Dace Diath, who both fought in the Great Sith War. During the final decades of the Galactic Republic, he was trained in the ways of the Force by the Jedi Order and eventually achieved the rank of Jedi Master. During his time in the Order, Diath took his nephew Tae as his Padawan. Whenever Tae lost control of his telepathy, Diath made his nephew listen to his thoughts, which calmed the young man. Diath rarely visited the Jedi Temple on the galactic capital Coruscant; instead, he roamed the Outer Rim Territories and liberated over one thousand slaves, which caused their Hutt slave owners to hate him. By the beginning of the Clone Wars, during which the Galactic Republic waged war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Diath was regarded as one of the legends of the Jedi Order.

Four months into the Clone Wars, Diath traveled to the world of Queyta and met with Jedi Masters Jon Antilles, Fay, and Knol Ven'nari in order to recover a sample of the antidote for the Separatists' chemical weapon known as swamp gas. The Separatists had successfully tested the airborne gas against the Gungan colony on Ohma-D'un, a moon of the planet Naboo. Diath was placed in charge of the team, and his group was soon joined by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. After he arrived, Diath and his fellow Jedi successfully infiltrated the mobile Separatist facility, which was located on a small island moving through one of the planet's lava streams.

After accessing the facility, Diath and Ven'nari noted the lack of battle droids guarding the base. As Ven'nari prepared to attack the guards that were manning the base, Antilles noted that the guards were Skakoans&mdash;a species that breathed methane and was forced to wear pressurized armor&mdash;and that attacking them with a lightsaber would cause them to explode. Diath realized that the team would have to avoid the Skakoan sentries. Kenobi searched the facility's schematics and located the laboratory where the antidote was located. After reaching the laboratory, Diath and the Jedi confronted the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress and the Gen'Dai bounty hunter Durge, who were allied with the Confederacy. They informed Diath and his group that their spies had already informed them of the Jedi's presence in the facility. As Durge shot two of the Skakoans and caused them to explode, Ven'nari used her pyrokinetic abilities with the Force to pull the fire toward her. After the fire subsided, Diath and the team found Ven'nari with extensive burns. He used the Force to comfort Ven'nari as she passed away.

When the facility started to sink into the lava stream due to the explosion caused by Durge, the four surviving Jedi pursued Ventress, who had the antidote in her possession. However, both the Dark Jedi and the bounty hunter caused the facility's ceiling to begin to collapse. Some lava fell on Diath as he stood on a catwalk, burning the Jedi Master and causing him to fall into the lava stream. Before Diath was incinerated, he implored Antilles, Fay, and Kenobi to get out of the facility.

Legacy
After Diath's death, Antilles and Fay were murdered by Durge and Ventress, respectively. Although only Kenobi survived, he was able to acquire the antidote and returned to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. When Kenobi recuperated from his wounds, a holographic memorial service was held in honor of Diath and the other three Jedi Masters. During a Republic campaign on the planet Jabiim, Tae Diath came to believe that his uncle was stronger and more powerful than he and his fellow Padawans combined. Yet, due to Diath's death, Tae was losing control of his telepathy. Tae was killed during the conflict on Jabiim.

Personality and traits
"Our only concern is retrieving a sample of the antidote, regardless of the risk. If we fail, the clone army is doomed."

- Diath, regarding his Jedi team's mission to Queyta

The Human male Nico Diath wore a set of brown Jedi robes and owned a lightsaber containing a blue crystal. He was regarded as one of the Jedi Order's nomads, rarely visiting the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Diath, however, still fought for peace and freedom in the galaxy. During the mission to Queyta, Diath made it a point to stress the importance of their mission, despite the risk involved. As Knol Ven'nari died, he took the time to ease her suffering. After her demise, he was determined to pursue the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress. Before his death, he ordered Jon Antilles, Fay, and Obi-Wan Kenobi to flee from the facility.

Powers and abilities
"When Nico was alive, he made me listen to his thoughts whenever I lost control. It was like listening to an ocean breathe."

- Tae Diath, regarding his uncle Nico Diath

Diath inherited the Force-sensitivity of his family's bloodline, and eventually earned the rank of Jedi Master. When he trained his nephew Tae&mdash;who was a telepath&mdash;Diath encouraged Tae to listen to his thoughts whenever his nephew lost control of his telepathy. During the mission to Queyta, Diath demonstrated his ability with Force flight, using this to infiltrate the Separatist facility.

Behind the scenes
Nico Diath was created by W. Haden Blackman for the standalone comic Blast Radius, the fifty-third issue of the Star Wars: Republic comic series. He was drawn in the issue by Brian Ching. Diath&mdash;along with Jon Antilles, Fay, and Knol Ven'nari&mdash;was indirectly mentioned in The New Essential Chronology entry on the mission to Queyta. He was also mentioned in The Official Star Wars Fact File 111, and later received an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Republic 53: Blast Radius
 * Star Wars: Republic 56: The Battle of Jabiim, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Republic 57: The Battle of Jabiim, Part 3