Saul Karath

"When I think of all the people who betrayed us, the one that stands out above all of them is the one I respected the most – Saul. ... 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

Saul Karath was a decorated Naval Captain and hero from the Mandalorian Wars, and later an Admiral of the Sith armada during the Jedi Civil War.

Biography
"Even innocents must die in war."

- Saul Karath

In 3,964 BBY, as a captain in the Republic Navy along the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line, Karath prosecuted the defense of the Outer Rim system of Suurja through four large-scale battles, and then commanded the fleet that defended Taris from the oncoming Mandalorian forces. His flagship was the Courageous.

During the Battle of Vanquo, Captain Karath 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 Jedi "traitor", Zayne Carrick, he vowed that he'd deal with him personally, provided that they survived the Battle of Vanquo.

He was apparently promoted to admiral sometime during the Mandalorian Wars.

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.

Not long after, under Darth Malak's direction, the new Sith Admiral laid waste to the surface of Telos IV to prove that he had truly left the Republic behind. This act would lead the man who had once looked up to him, Carth Onasi, to swear vengeance upon him and would for a long time prevent him from trusting anyone ever again.

Some time after the supposed death of Darth Revan, Admiral Karath became the commander of the entire Sith Fleet under Darth Malak. Karath was in command of the blockade over Taris, and attacked the planet and reduced 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. Fortunately, 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 enjoyed torturing three members of the crew: the pilot Carth Onasi, the Jedi Padawan Bastila Shan and the former Jedi Knight/Dark Lord of the Sith who was later revealed to be Revan. According to Carth's words, corruption from the dark side had turned him into a sadistic monster.

Eventually the heroes managed to escape from their imprisonment and confronted the Admiral on the bridge. Despite the protection of Sith troopers and Dark Jedi, Saul was mortally wounded in the ensuing battle. As he lay dying, Karath summoned Carth 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 due to his wounds.

No regrets?
"Your predecessor once made the mistake of questioning my orders, admiral..."

- Darth Malak

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 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. 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.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 0: Crossroads
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Flashpoint
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords