Ganner Rhysode

"Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass."

- Ganner Rhysode

Ganner Rhysode (&mdash;28 ABY) was a Jedi from Teyr who studied under Luke Skywalker at the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV.

Biography
Not much is known of Rhysode before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, save for his training on Yavin IV. Except that he was described as a brash, headstrong and opinionated, he agreed with Kyp Durron's views of the role and rights of the new Jedi.

At the onset of the invasion, Rhysode was assigned to work with Corran Horn, which proved a difficult pairing, as a result of their clashing personalities. After a few mishaps, they started to gain a tenuous respect for each other, and together they tried to rescue the slaves on Bimmiel. After trying to evacuate all the slaves he could, Rhysode felt Corran's life force dim due to an amphistaff bite, and rushed to rescue him, saving him from being eaten by slash rats.

After Corran recovered, they were accompanied by Jacen Solo on a mission to Garqi. Where they discovered that pollen from the bafforr tree native to the planet Ithor had the ability destroy the vonduun crab armor worn by the Vong. Confronted by Krag Val, a Yuuzhan Vong, Rhysode received a long scar that ran the length of his face. This event marked a change in his personality, humbled, he chose to keep the scar to remind him he was not all-powerful.

Ganner next journeyed to Ithor, which had become a target of the Yuuzhan Vong, as it contained a large population of the tree.In order to reach the surface of the planet, which the native Ithorians considered sacred he had to undergo a ritual of self-purification. During the ceremony he renounced his pride, another sign of his changing personality. Ganner and Corran fought in the Battle of Ithor, which was won by the New Republic, It was a hollow victory though as the Vong had turned the once lush planet into a barren wasteland.

Gannner then accompanied Kyp Durron on a raid on the Creche, a yammosk-carrying ship. After they had boarded the ship they found their fellow Jedi, Wurth Skidder dying from wounds he had suffered at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong. Ganner and Kyp avenged his death, slaughtering all the Yammosk and Vong on board.

Rhysode was one of the Jedi selected to the Myrkr strike team to destroy the voxyn queen and voxyn cloning cente. As the oldest member of the team, his role was to act as decoy leader when in reality the real leader was Anakin Solo. Although the mission was a success the mortality rate was high, Ganner was one of the few Jedi to make it out alive.

After returning from the disastrous Myrkr mission, Ganner traveled to Hapes where he was eventully joined by Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, the three soon left the Hapes Cluster along with several other Jedi for Borleias, where he particpated in the Battle of Borleias.

After escaping Borleias, Rhysode heard rumors that Jacen Solo was alive, so he took it upon himself to hunt down the source of the rumors. He located the source, who was Jacen in disguise. Rhysode was captured and was planned to be sacrificed by Jacen, who was seemingly working alongside the Yuuzhan Vong. However, the pair turned on their Vong captors, and while Jacen Solo headed towards the Dhuryam, Rhysode defended the entrance by himself against a multitude of Yuuzhan Vong warriors lead by Nom Anor. During the fight, Rhysode issued a challenge "None shall pass!" and engaged the Vong warriors in one-on-one combat. During his fight, Rhysode achieved a state of oneness with the Force that is only rarely achieved, the Force became him, and he became the Force.

Calling upon this enormous power, Rhysode defeated one Yuuzhan Vong after another, killing hundreds, possibly thousands of warriors. When the situation looked as if Rhysode might survive the fight, the Vong Warriors abandoned their sense of honor and took on Rhysode as a whole. Knowing that the fight could not go on for much longer in these circumstances, Rhysode performed the ultimate sacrifice. Using the power of the Force, Rhysode collapsed the ceiling on everyone in the chamber, including himself and Nom Anor, thus allowing Jacen and Vergere to escape.

Legacy
During their journey back to New Republic space, Vegere confided in Jacen a Force vision she had seen in her dreams. According to this vision, the Yuuzhan Vong would eventually come to live amongst the population of the galaxy, and their mythology would acquire a new demon that would guard the entrance to the underworld. This demon would be known as “The Ganner”, and a statue of him would be placed in the former entrance to the World Brain. Carved above this statue would be the words written in Galactic Basic, "None Shall Pass."

Appearance
Ganner was a tall, broad shouldered human male with a narrow waist and hipline and muscular physique. His hair was dark black that was combed back from a widow’s peak and his eyes were bright blue. Considered handsome, Rhysode was commonly seen in blue and black Jedi robes and used a sulfurous-yellow bladed lightsaber.