K'Kruhk

"I've been almost killed several times. I'm not dead. I hold no ill will to any who did try to kill me."

- K'Kruhk to Jeisel on Saleucami

K'Kruhk was a Whiphid Jedi who lived around the end of the Galactic Republic. The apprentice of Lillit Twoseas, K'Kruhk survived his master's death during the Yinchorri Uprising and went on to serve with distinction in the Clone Wars. A disastrous loss of life at Teyr led to K'Kruhk to question his cause, and he joined a dissident movement on Ruul. Betrayal by one of his own, however, caused him to reaffirm his absolutely loyalty to the Republic and the Jedi Council.

Despite countless brushes with death, K'Kruhk survived both the Clone Wars and the Jedi Purge, living to see the demise of the Empire and the return of the Jedi.

Some period after the Yuuzhan Vong War, K'Kruhk rejoined the order and was still active even past the rise of Darth Krayt.

Early Life
"You know me, Master Windu. You were there when my first master ... Lilit Twoseas...was killed."

- K'Kruhk

Born over five decades before the Battle of Yavin, K'Kruhk enjoyed a conventional upbringing as a Jedi, raised from an early age in the order after being identified as an infant. He was raised in the Jedi Temple of Coruscant, his actual homeworld of Toola a distant memory.

Before the age of thirteen, K'Kruhk was selected by Lilit Twoseas as a padawan. Based on Twoseas' apparent youth, K'Kruhk was likely her first and only padawan.

As her Padawan, he fought alongside Micah Giiett, Plo Koon and Qui-Gon Jinn during the Yinchorri Uprising. A trick that Giiett performed to K'Kruhk and Obi-Wan Kenobi would teach the padawans an important lesson: do not always rely on the Force, as there are far more mundane ways to confound and mislead one's enemies. K'Kruhk remembered this and used the concept to help the Jedi evade a pursuing Yinchorri starfighter.

It was in this mission that his Master was killed, battling for her life on Yinchorr. Maddened by the loss, K'Kruhk went into a battle frenzy, not halting his slaughter of Yinchorri until he was able to recover his master's body. Although he would complete his training under another Jedi, the loss of his first mentor would haunt him for the remainder of his life.

Certainties and Doubts
"I, too, had questions. Every battle I have with fallen Jedi like you answers them."

- K'Kruhk to Quinlan Vos

In the following decade, K'Kruhk matured into a dedicated and capable Jedi Knight. When the call for Jedi to serve as commanders came after the Battle of Geonosis, K'Kruhk obeyed without question.

In the early months of the Clone Wars, General K'Kruhk led Republic clone troopers on the planet Teyr. Many clones died under his command, and he was so distraught he dropped out of the war entirely, leading many to believe he was dead. It was soon discovered he had gathered with other Jedi unsure of the war on Ruul, led by Master Sora Bulq. When their refusal to serve in the war became known, Mace Windu came to negotiate with them. Unlike other dissidents, such as Sian Jeisel and Rhad Tarn, K'Kruhk never doubted that Windu's appeals were made in good faith, but he sorely misjudged the motives of Bulq.

In truth, the whole event was a set-up, organised by the Sith, to either kill Windu; or, failing that, kill other Jedi and blame it on the Jedi Councilor. The apprentice of Dooku, Asajj Ventress arrived at Ruul, ready to carry out the plan and engaged the Jedi in several lightsaber duels. After the deaths of Tarn and Mira, it became apparent Bulq was part of the conspiracy. The Weequay had gone to the dark side and allied with Count Dooku. His duel with Ventress had been a sham to conceal their alliance.

Chastened, K'Kruhk rejoined the war effort, declaring simply that "Evil must be opposed".

The Walking Dead
Soon after, K'Krukh was chosen to be part of a strike team on Hypori, led by Jedi Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi and Shaak Ti. The mission was a disaster from the start and turned into a Separatist trap. Orbital mines destroyed most of their fleet and the surviving troops and Jedi, including K'Kruhk, were marooned on the surface of Hypori, forced to make a desperate last stand against the droid armies.

It was here that K'Kruhk became one of the first Jedi to face General Grievous and live to tell the tale. Halting the advance of his legions of droid troops, Grievous took on the surviving Jedi alone, displaying dazzling ability with dual lightsabers. Tarr Seirr, Daakman Barrek, Sha'a Gi were killed, and K'Kruhk struck with a near-fatal blow that felled the Whipid.

Mortally wounded and thought dead, he was left behind by the rescue that recovered Ki-Adi-Mundi, Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura. In reality, K'Kruhk had entered a state of hibernation, allowing himself to heal his wounds while feigning death.

After the departure of the Grievous, K'Kruhk awoke, and was able to escape Hypori to once more assume the role of General in the Grand Army of the Republic. However, Grievous did steal K'Kruhk's green lightsaber on Hypori and later used it against Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau.

Recuperating, K'Kruhk was reassigned to Coruscant, and charged with the protection Senator Viento. He silently observed his ward as the Senator went about his business in the Senate and at political functions. At one such soiree, Viento was deep in discussion with the Supreme Chancellor when K'Kruhk noticed a mysterious Kiffar taking unusual interest in the pair of politicians. The Kiffar was a disguised Quinlan Vos, and he managed to leave the premises before the Whipid could discover his plans. Later that evening, Vos bypassed K'Kruhk as the Whipid guarded a sleeping Viento, and broke into the Senator's apartment, preparing to dispatch Viento there and then. The sound and smell of the ignited lightsaber alterted K'Kruhk to the crime, and the Whipid was forced to battle the rogue Jedi to protect the Senator.

K'Kruhk unfortunately, failed in his mission. Vos murdered Viento and eluded capture. K'Kruhk suffered severe injuries from the battle after falling from an airspeeder. The physical injuries were great, but perhaps less so than the enormous emotional trauma. Vos had been a childhood friend of K'Kruhk and Vos' apparent betrayal of the Jedi wounded the Whipid deeply. In anger, K'Kruhk declared Vos no better than Sora Bulq, Dooku and the countless other traitors to the order.

The Siege of Saleucami
After extensive bacta treatment and months of recovery, K'Kruhk returned to the front line during the Siege of Saleucami. Ironically he would serve alongside Quinlan Vos, recently returned to the fold after the Rendili Crisis. To the surprise of other Jedi like Jeisel, K'Kruhk had apparently forgiven Vos, accepting that the Kiffar's actions had all been done with the sole intent of maintaining his cover and that no malice had been intended. By this stage, K'Kruhk's many injuries and brushes with death had given the Whipid a developed sense of gallows humor, and he joked that he had learned to carry basic medical supplies with him at all times.

K'Kruhk trusted totally in the leadership of Oppo Rancisis and believed that with the Jedi Councilor's fine grasp of tactics and Battle meditation, the battle would swing the Republic's way. Understandably, K'Kruhk was devastated when Rancisis was murdered and, though he believed Quinlan Vos to have good intentions, was horrified by the fellow Jedi's plan to "read" Rancisis' battle plan from the head of the Thisspassian's corpse.

Vos and Aayla Secura infiltrated the Separatist base, K'Kruhk and Jeisel led the ground assault, while A'Sharad Hett co-ordinated actions from the air. With help from Tholme, the Jedi were victorious, and Saleucami fell to the Republic. Their task over, K'Kruhk prepared for depature and re-deployment, but did so reluctantly. He believed it was shameful for Jedi to leave war-ravaged worlds so devastated when in the past, Jedi had assisted with reconstruction. Vos' assurances that it was merely the way of "war" did not assauge the Whipid's doubts.

Survival
"I've died any number of times in my life. Or so I've heard."

- K'Kruhk



With the onset of the Great Jedi Purge, K'Kruhk was one of the few survivors. He took a fellow survivor under his wing and followed clues to the mysterious "Hidden Temple", a rumored place of refuge for harried Jedi in those dark times.

During the early years of the Empire, K'Kruhk would travel for a while with Bomo Greenbark, assisting Greenbark in covert attacks on Imperial interests.

K'Kruhk survived the Purge and joined the New Jedi Order at some point, even having a hand in Cade Skywalker's early training. He was again presumed dead at the Massacre of Ossus, but once more survived, hiding on Ossus until 137 ABY. Using the Force, he was able to heal the mental injuries to Skywalker's spirit. On Ossus, near the ruins of the Jedi Academy, K'Kruhk and Wolf Sazen would oversee the completion of Cade's training to be able to stand against the Sith.

Personality and traits
"The fourth precept...'There is no death, only the Force'... is hard for me."

- K'Kruhk to Mace Windu

Unlike many of his kind, K'Kruhk was a gentle and thoughtful individual. Eschewing the Whipid reputation for ferocity, he fully embraced the pacifistic creed of the Jedi. This, coupled with his deep respect for life, led to anxiety and soul searching during the Clone Wars, feelings that culminated with K'Kruhk's abandonment of his military duties to join Sora Bulq's dissidents.

It was his dedication to justice and his desire to right wrongs that would lead to K'Kruhk rejoining the order. These experiences would forge in K'Kruhk a deep and abiding antipathy for those Jedi who abandoned the narrow path - such as Bulq, Quinlan Vos, and, presumably, Anakin Skywalker.

Character origin
K'Kruhk was created by author Randy Stradley and debuted in the comic series Jedi Council: Acts of War, but it was not until a popular appearance in Jedi: Mace Windu that the Whipid became a recurring character.

In Star Wars: Clone Wars, K'Kruhk was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. . Along with Aayla Secura he was one of only two original Expanded Universe characters (outside those introduced in the series itself) to appear in the animated series. Unlike Aayla, however, K'Kruhk had not previously appeared in the films.

Lightsaber Design
Strangely enough, the design for K'Kruhk's lightsaber was actually developed by a fan, who, failing to find a clear official depiction of the saber in a comic, invented an original design to display on his own website. By chance, artist Jan Duursema used the website as a source when illustrating Jedi: Mace Windu, thinking the design was based off a canon source, and, in the process, inadvertently canonizing the depiction herself.

Cult Following
K'Kruhk has developed a cult following among fans, especially on such online forums as TheForce.Net's Jedi Council Forums. This is, at least in part, due to having survived several near-death experiences.

This incredible ability to evade certain death was apparently winked at in The Siege of Saleucami arc, where K'Kruhk comments that he's learned to carry basic medical supplies with him.

K'Kruhk's hat


One aspect of K'Kruhk's following is a running joke about a straw hat he wears in several of his comic appearances.

In one forum thread, his hat is credited with amazing powers, including being responsible for K'Kruhk surviving his multiple brushes with death, and is repeatedly described as "freakin' sweet" &mdash; a description, like the joke itself, which originates from a forum user's signature.

Appearances

 * Jedi Council: Acts of War
 * Star Wars Republic: The Devaronian Version
 * Star Wars Tales 4 intro
 * Jedi: Mace Windu
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * "Chapter 20"
 * "Chapter 21"
 * Star Wars Republic 63: Striking from the Shadows
 * Star Wars Republic 65: Show of Force, Part 1
 * Star Wars Republic 72: Trackdown, Part 1
 * Star Wars Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novelization
 * Star Wars Dark Times 6: Parallels, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 11: The Ghosts of Ossus, Part 1

Notes and references
K'Kruhk