User:Ifindyourlackoffaithdisturbing/Workbench

First section
Zona Luka, a female Vultan, was born in the years leading up to the Great Sith War. Luka was eventually discovered as a Force-sensitive, and was taken by the Jedi Order to be trained in the Jedi way. Luka was taken as the appentice of Jedi Master Dominus, who considered the Vultan his dearest student. Luka eventually passed the Jedi Trials, becoming a full-fledged Jedi Knight. In 3,996 BBY, Luka was on the Jedi world of Ossus when a Jedi Knight named Exar Kun began preaching in the Gardens of Talla regarding a renewal of the Jedi way. Luka and a group of fellow Jedi, including Cay Qel-Droma, Oss Wilum, and the Cathar Jedi Crado, gathered in the Gardens to listen to Kun's words. Kun proclaimed that he had discovered great secrets of the Force, and would share them with any Jedi who would join him. Kun told the assembled Jedi that the old Jedi Masters had failed to contain the dark side, and Luka agreed, citing Master Arca Jeth's failure to destroy the spirit of Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon Nadd on Onderon. Kun replied that Luka was exactly right, and proclaimed that he had destroyed the spirit of Nadd, succeeding where the Jedi Masters had failed.

When Cay Qel-Droma asked Kun to prove his boasts, Kun produced a powerful amulet, which mesmerized Luka. As the assembled Knights stood transfixed by the amulet, Kun asked the Jedi to join him on an exploration of the most ancient and powerful Jedi secrets, promising that they could change the galaxy. After a period of deliberation, Zona Luka, Crado, Oss Wilum, and several others decided to join Exar Kun on his journey. When they found Kun at the entrance to Master Odan-Urr's chambers, the Jedi was in possession of the Draethos Jedi's robe and staff. Kun claimed that the ancient Jedi Master had passed away peacefully; in reality Kun killed Odan-Urr after a short duel; and revealed that Odan-Urr had promoted him to the rank of Master and gave him a rare Jedi holocron. Although Kun was lying, and he had taken the holocron from the murdered Jedi Master, Luka and the other Jedi believed him.

Second section
Zona Luka and the other followers of Exar Kun set out on their journey to learn the ancient mysteries of the Force. The group took Kun's starship Starstorm One to the moon Yavin 4, with Kun promising that the moon was the home to many secrets and forgotten knowledge. Traveling across a marshy area on Yavin 4, the group of Jedi arrived at a large temple. However, Kun's trainee's were beginning to grow impatient, and Luka asked the Jedi Knight to finally back up his talk. Uncomfortable by the dark side taint of Yavin 4, a nervous Oss Wilum attempted to leave the group and return to the ship. However, the Vultan Jedi found himself confronted by a large group of Massassi warriors native to the moon, and Luka and the other Jedi Knights sprang into action. The assembled Jedi banded together to fight the Massassi, until Kun commanded the natives to stop their attack. Determined to prove himself to Luka and his other would-be students, Kun produced the holocron he had taken from Odan-Urr. Kun revealed it to be a Sith holocron, not a Jedi holocron as previously believed, and asked Luka and the other Jedi to assist him in ridding Yavin 4 of the holocron's dark taint.

Kun declared that he was going to destroy the Dark Holocron, instructing Luka's group to hold out their hands to block the flash caused by the artifact's annihilation. However, unbeknownst to Luka and her Jedi brethren, Kun did not intend to destroy the holocron; instead, he planned to release the device's dark power. As Zona Luka looked on, Kun crushed the holocron in his hand, releasing the Sith remnants trapped within. The shards of the Dark Holocron became embedded in Luka's skin, showing her the past glory of the Sith, and incorporating the teachings and powers of the Sith into the shocked Jedi. The fragments disappeared, and Zona Luka was no longer a follower of the light; she, and the other Jedi that had accompanied her on this journey, were now Sith apprentices. With Luka and her Jedi companions, with the exception of Crado, now Dark Jedi, Kun ordered them to return to the ship; they had a mission to carry out. Their target: the Jedi Order.

Third section
Exar Kun, now presiding over a new Brotherhood of the Sith, ordered Luka and his other new followers to strike down their old Jedi Masters, in order to make way for a new order. Luka set out to find Master Dominus, and tracked down her former Jedi Master at his home. After a verbal exchange where Luka professed that her attacking the Jedi Master was nothing personal, she and Dominus dueled briefly with their lightsabers. Luka was able to strike down the aging Jedi Master, but Dominus killed his fallen apprentice with the Force as he lay dying. After the battle was over, the scene was investigated by Jedi Knights Dace Diath, Qrrrl Toq, and Shoaneb Culu, all of whom wondered why Luka would kill Master Dominus.

Personality and traits
Although Zona Luka was strong enough in the light side of the Force that the respected Jedi Master Dominus considered her his best student, she displayed curiosity towards the dark side and the forbidden secrets of the Force, being swayed by Exar Kun. Luka held doubts toward the teachings of the old Jedi Masters, a belief that Kun played upon in convincing her to join him. Luka was also easily captivated by Kun's Sith amulet. All of these factors contributed towards Luka's joining Exar Kun on his journey to reveal the Force's secrets, although she displayed un-Jedi-like impatience after Kun did not immediately back up his claims of hidden knowledge. Luka was very loyal to her fellow Jedi, recklessly charging into battle with the Massassi to assist her friend Oss Wilum on Yavin 4. However, once she was exposed to the spirits inside the Dark Holocron, Luka changed, becoming willing to do anything, even betray the Jedi Order, for Exar Kun. This new Zona Luka carried off her mission to kill her former Master without hesitation, although she assured Dominus that she still had no personal issue with him.

Powers and abilities
Zona Luka was adept enough in the Force that Master Dominus considered her to be his favorite student, and Luka was able to attain the rank of Jedi Knight. However, when she was turned to the dark side by the powers of the Dark Holocron her powers in the Force increased ever more, at least according to Exar Kun. Luka was skilled with the lightsaber, striking down Master Dominus and defending her fellow Jedi against a horde of Massassi, but was not able to prevent the dying Dominus from killing her with the Force. Luka possessed at least two different lightsabers: while on Yavin 4 she wielded a lightsaber with a purple-colored beam, while she utilized a blue one during her duel with Jedi Master Dominus.

Behind the scenes
The character of Zona Luka made her first appearance in Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War, a story arc of the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi comic book series, written by Kevin J. Anderson and released in 1995. Luka appeared in the first, second, third, and fourth issues of the arc, with Luka being killed in the fourth issue. In her appearances, Luka was illustrated by Dario Carrasco, Jr.   In addition to these appearances, Luka was mentioned in an article in Star Wars Insider 26, the third edition of A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, the Star Wars Encyclopedia, and in 2008 she was given an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia''.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 1: Edge of the Whirlwind
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 2: The Battle of Coruscant
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 3: The Trial of Ulic Qel-Droma
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 4: Jedi Holocaust