Saul Karath

"I thought everybody did, but Admiral Saul Karath is the commander of the entire Sith fleet. He's half the reason Malak has done so well in the war."

- Carth Onasi to Revan

Saul Karath was a decorated officer in the Republic Navy during the Mandalorian Wars. After successfully keeping the Mandalorian forces at bay at the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line for six weeks, as well as commanding the fleet at the battle of Vanquo, Karath was promoted to Admiral. He went on to lead the Republic fleet at the battle of Serroco.

After the war, he defected to the Sith Empire, and served as the main commander of its starfleet during the final stages of the Jedi Civil War, personally overseeing the bombardment of several worlds, including Telos IV, Taris and Dantooine.

Mandalorian Wars (3,964 BBY–3,960 BBY)
"I'm not a cruel man, but I'm pragmatic when it comes to protecting my forces."

- Saul Karath



In 3,964 BBY, Captain Saul Karath helped organize the defense of Taris and its nearby systems from Mandalore the Ultimate's army. From his flagship, the Courageous, he managed to halt the Mandalorians' progress at the system of Suurja through four large-scale battles, thus keeping the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line intact.

Not long after, Captain Karath was sent to defend the trade post of Vanquo from the invading Mandalorian fleet. As he had predicted, the attack was only part of Mandalore the Ultimate's main plan for invading the Republic; while Karath's forces were busy at Vanquo, the Mandalorians charged the remainder of the Republic fleet at Taris. Karath saw this as a positive thing&mdash;he was certain that when an important world like Taris was threatened, the Republic Senate would put more troops into the conflict. During the battle, he spotted the ship, the Last Resort, speeding away from the planet and entering hyperspace into Mandalorian territories. When informed that it was the ship of the suspected Jedi murderer Zayne Carrick, he vowed that he'd deal with him personally, provided that he survived the day.

He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 3,963 BBY. Soon afterwards, at Serroco, Admiral Karath finally got his chance to deal with the traitor Zayne Carrick when his protégé, Carth Onasi, unknowingly brought Zayne to Admiral Karath. Karath jumped to the conclusion of Zayne being a Mandalorian spy despite his protests and of his vision of the destruction of the Stereb cities. At that point, Mandalorian ships dropped out of hyperspace and launched nuclear bombs towards the Republic fleet. Karath attempted to counter the attack but the missiles, instead of heading towards the fleet, continued towards the planet surface completely devastating the Stereb cities. As Zayne wept on the bridge of the Courageous, Karath knew it was time to rethink their strategies against the Mandalorians. Karath promised to Zayne to hand him over to the Jedi since he knew that what the Jedi would do was far worse then he could ever do. Until then, Karath had him sealed in cell.

Karath soon found himself in another large battle that caused the Courageous to catch on fire. Forced to abandon ship as Mandalorian shock troopers invaded the vessel, he reluctantly accepted to take Zayne Carrick along with him and Carth Onasi as they fled to the Deadweight.

At some point, Karath met up with Lord Adasca and Mandalore the Ultimate aboard an unknown ship.

Jedi Civil War (3,959 BBY–3,956 BBY)
Though not one of those who followed Revan into the Unknown Regions directly after the Mandalorian Wars, he was quick to defect to the Sith cause upon their return to the Republic, attempting&mdash;and failing&mdash;to convince his protégé and friend, Carth Onasi, to do the same. His first act was to give them the codes to bypass a Republic Navy docking bay's scanners&mdash;allowing the Sith forces to sweep in and destroy over half of the docked ships before they had time to react. At some point after this, Karath was promoted to commander of the entire Sith fleet by Revan himself. Not long after, the new Sith Admiral was ordered by Darth Malak to lay waste to the surface of Telos IV.



Karath continued his service even after Malak usurped power of the Sith Empire from Revan. He was in command of the blockade over Taris, and attacked the planet, reducing it to ruins in order to prevent Bastila Shan from escaping the planet. He was also responsible for the attack on the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, which killed many Jedi. However, the Jedi Council on Dantooine was able to escape death and joined the Republic in the Battle of Rakata Prime later on.

During one of the Ebon Hawk's travels around the Outer Rim, the interdiction field of the Leviathan drew the small freighter out of hyperspace and dragged it aboard the heavy starship, allowing Sith forces to capture its crew. Admiral Karath particularly ordered the torture of three crew members: the pilot Carth Onasi, the Jedi Padawan Bastila Shan and the amnesiac Revan.

Revan and his companions eventually escaped from their cells and confronted the Admiral on the bridge of his ship. Despite the protection of Sith troopers and Dark Jedi, Saul was mortally wounded in the ensuing battle. As he lay dying, Karath summoned Onasi to his side only to deliver him the shocking truth: his loyal companion whom he had fought side by side with was none other than Darth Revan, the former Dark Lord of the Sith. Admiral Karath died immediately afterwards.

Personality and traits
"In war even the innocent must die."

- Saul Karath

Interestingly, though Karath would attempt to justify the devastation of Telos IV to Carth Onasi upon their meeting on the Leviathan, other evidence points to his distaste for such wanton brutality, as evidenced in his questioning of Darth Malak over the destruction of Taris, though it's possible that Karath had some connection to the planet in which he protected from the Mandalorians eight years before its destruction.

Behind the scenes

 * Saul Karath was voiced by Robin Sachs.
 * Saul Karath may very well be named after the Old Testament character King Saul, who was a military leader himself. The myth tells that, as a servant of the Lord, King Saul (like Saul Karath) became corrupt, placing military might above God's law and betraying his people. It is interesting to consider this information given two other Biblical/Star Wars references: first, Saul Karath was commander of the Leviathan (a beast mentioned in the Book of Job); second, King Saul visited the Witch of Endor (largely credited as George Lucas's inspiration for the planet Endor, as well as inspiration for the character Charal) during his lifetime. Significantly, the Hebrew word 'Saul' means 'destroyer'.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 0: Crossroads
 * The Taris Holofeed: Prime Edition
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 8: Flashpoint, Part 2
 * The Admiral's List: Jimas Veltraa Memorial Edition
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 14: Days of Fear, Part 2
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 15: Days of Fear, Part 3
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 17: Nights of Anger, Part 2
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 19: Daze of Hate, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Notes and references
Saul Karath