Ferren Barr

"A time will come, decades from now, when the ships of the Mon Calamari are at the forefront of a great rebellion. And then, again, decades after that. Your people's vessels will be a symbol of freedom and defiance across the galaxy. And it all started here, Your Majesty. With you."

- Ferren Barr, to King Lee-Char

Ferren Barr, a Force-sensitive Iktotchi male, was a Padawan of the Jedi Order during the decline of the Galactic Republic. In the aftermath of the Clone Wars, Barr was one of the few Jedi who escaped into exile following the commencement of the Jedi Purge under the Galactic Empire. Seeking to overthrow the new regime, controlled by the Jedi's ancient enemies, the Sith, Barr recruited several followers to his cause and formed a secret alliance with the Mon Cala monarchy, having foreseen the Mon Calamari's role in the Rebellion against the Empire.

Knowing that the Rebellion would eventually cause Emperor Palpatine to topple from his throne, the former Padawan undermined diplomatic relations between King Lee-Char of Mon Cala and the Empire. However, Barr's presence on the Mon Calamari homeworld attracted the attention of the Emperor's Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, and his Inquisitors. The Dark Lord of the Sith succeeded in killing most of the Jedi fugitive's acolytes, although Barr was able to trick a squad of Inquisitor clone troopers into turning against Vader's Jedi hunters, all of whom were former Jedi themselves, and therefore, targeted for extermination. Barr died in single combat against Vader, whom he knew to be the former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, but was confident that his actions facilitated the eventual downfall of the Sith Lords.

Clone Wars
"I fought alongside the clones once, but now I know they are merely machines. Little better than droids. They must obey their programming. As the Inquisitors were once Jedi themselves, and the clones were built to kill Jedi, well&hellip;you see the result."

- Ferren Barr, on the clone troopers

Ferren Barr began his training in the ways of the Force as a Padawan of the Jedi Order during the last years of the Galactic Republic. Like his fellow Jedi, he participated in the Clone Wars as a leader in the Grand Army of the Republic. He fought alongside the Republic clone troopers until the commencement of Order 66&mdash;the command to execute all Jedi as enemies of the state. Although Barr survived the immediate massacre, thousands of his brothers and sisters in the Force were exterminated by their own soldiers, both at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and across the galaxy. As a result, he fled into exile while the Sith, ancient enemies of the Jedi Order, returned to power through the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Exile and investigation
"I've been studying the purge, trying to understand how we could lose so completely, so quickly. I learned about Order 66, poor deluded Dooku, just how deeply it went&hellip;but still, we should have been able to foresee our doom. We were peering outward, when we should have been looking at ourselves."

- Ferren Barr, on the fall of the Jedi Order

Fascinated by how swiftly the Sith decimated the Jedi Order, Barr set out to uncover the truth behind the conspiracy that enabled the Jedi's enemies to regain control over the galaxy. In time he learned about Order 66 as well as the roles that Count Dooku and the clones played in it. He also learned that Anakin Skywalker&mdash;Jedi Knight and the Chosen One of the Force&mdash;had turned to the dark side of the Force. Aided by a slicer, Barr hacked into a Coruscant Security Force holocam and discovered footage of Skywalker leading the 501st Legion's attack on the Jedi Temple. Knowing that Skywalker was, in fact, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine's apprentice and enforcer, Barr was also aware that other Jedi had fallen from the light side of the Force and became an elite group of Jedi hunters known as the Inquisitorius. His findings were downloaded into the R1-series astromech droid Endee for record keeping.

In addition to his investigation, Barr recruited several acolytes to his cause. Nipaltoo, whose sister was one of the younglings in the Jedi Order, was distraught when she witnessed Palpatine's speech regarding the Republic army's military response to an alleged Jedi rebellion. Orvek was one of many civilians who were forcefully relocated from their homes by the clone shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard; Daren felt a debt of gratitude to the Jedi&mdash;in particular, Anakin Skywalker&mdash;for saving his life during the Clone Wars; Rebb and Stell opposed the Empire and all that it stood for. Although Barr's acolytes sympathized with the Jedi Order and resented the Empire, he utilized his Force powers to guarantee their allegiance.

Planning for the future
"Once the galaxy sees what the Empire is capable of, they will resist. Jedi and Sith are abstract ideas for most. Already, they feel like relics of a lost age. But oppression and freedom&mdash;these are concepts anyone can understand."

- Ferren Barr

After recruiting a sixth acolyte named Verla, Barr brought the six of them to Mon Cala where he came to influence King Lee-Char's negotiations with the Empire. The King's negotiating caught the attention of the Emperor who sent Darth Vader and three Inquisitors to investigate. The three inquisitors were none other than the former Jedi Prosset Dibs, Bil Valen and Masana Tide, now named Tenth Brother, Sixth Brother and Ninth Sister. Vader arrived simultaneous to the departure of Ambassador Telvar, with Barr managing to sabotage Telvar's shuttle, which killed the entire crew. This prompted Telvar's superior, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, to invade Mon Cala with his troops. Lee-Char, realizing that an attack was imminent told Barr of Vader's arrival and Barr instantly knew it was Skywalker.

A battle subsequently raged on in Dac City and Vader and the inquisitors were tearing away at the Mon Calamari and Quarren defenses. Barr told Lee-Char to sacrifice the surface cities in order to sweep away the first wave of Imperial troops. Barr then notified his acolytes of Vader's&mdash;or in this case: Skywalker's&mdash;arrival and told them what he knew about the man's role in the fall of the Jedi Order. Lee-Char ordered this before being captured by Vader and the inquisitors. Ninth Sister interrogated Lee-Char and obtained the location of Barr from him. That was the moment when some giant creatures emerged to the surface and generated large waves, destroying the surface cities.

The waves had swept away everything on the surface of Mon Cala, taking out the invading Imperial forces and sending Vader plummeting below the ocean surface. Lee-Char was too injured in the cataclysm and his Chief of Security, Gial Ackbar, rescued him. Upon regaining consciousness, Lee-Char remembered that he Barr's location had been compromised and immediately notified him that Vader was likely on his way. Unlucky for Barr, Vader was indeed on his way after being picked up by the inquisitors on an Imperial submarine. He, knowing Vader's arrival was inevitable, ordered the evacuation of his refuge and set the place to self-destruct.

Barr and his acolytes fled the refuge to find Vader had arrived. They immediately scattered, except for Nipaltoo who attacked Vader's submarine only to have his helmet crushed. The rest of them made for Bel City and as Vader grew nearer to catching them, Orvek sacrificed himself to slow him down. Barr and the four remaining acolytes made it to Bel City where Rebb and Stell decided to stay behind to slow Vader down. Vader and the Inquisitors arrived, backed by their squad of elite clones, and Vader left them to find Lee-Char, under the orders of Moff Tarkin.

Barr, Daren and Verla made for a landing platform, which they found to be empty. Daren was then cut in half by the inquisitors who trapped them on the platform. Barr stopped Verla from attacking them and faced them himself. Barr confronted the Inquisitors, identifying their past names to them. Ninth Sister denied that their past was any problem to them and snapped back at Barr about his own past. Barr, however, was cunning, and pointed out the role of the clones in the destruction of the Jedi, telling the Inquisitors that they were still Jedi inside. Barr then used a mind trick, telling the clones to execute Order 66.

To Verla's amazement, the gambit was successful- the clones immediately turned on the three Inquisitors. Barr explained to Verla that the clones were obedient and little more than droids, and that he knew they would attack the former Jedi if ordered to. However, Verla pointed out that he was also a Jedi once, and Barr agreed. He then told her to do as he had taught her and leap using the Force; doing so, the two escaped the Inquisitors and clones. In the ensuing crossfire the Tenth Brother was gunned down, and in a similar attempt to escape the Ninth Sister was left to die after being wounded by the Sixth Brother, assuring his escape.

Duel and death
"You are no Jedi." "Perhaps not. Not anymore. Makes two of us, eh? But I made my choices. And I might not be a Jedi... but I still beat the Sith."

- Darth Vader and Ferren Barr just before the latter's death

Barr asked Verla to leave him and continue her training elsewhere, claiming that other Jedi could still be alive. He then proceeded to the King's quarters, where he found Darth Vader as he forced Lee-Char to watch the bombardment of Mon Cala. Barr ignited his lightsaber and engaged Vader in a fierce duel. During their combat, Vader noted that it was pride that led Barr to fight him, despite knowing he could not possibly win; Barr agreed, saying that he should be proud as the one that brought down the Empire. He admitted to Lee-Char that he had always planned to destroy the negotiations between the Mon Cala and the Empire, as he needed them to fail in order to get the wheels of rebellion turning, to the king's horror. The duel continued, as did the bombardment, despite the King ordering the Mon Cala to surrender. Laughing madly, Barr stated that he did not lie when he told Lee-Char that Mon Cala would save the galaxy- he then informed him in detail of his premonition that the Mon Cala ships would go on to be the instruments of rebellion in the coming decades, and eventually symbols of hope in the following years. Though billions would die in the current conflict, Barr believed them a necessary sacrifice to save trillions more.

Vader then remarked to Barr that he was no Jedi, to which Barr agreed—he may not be a Jedi due to his choices, but in his view his actions would still lead to the Empire's defeat. However, Vader was clearly the more skilled fighter and he had already managed to wear Barr down. As Raddus's ships escaped, Vader struck Barr down, informing Lee-Char that Mon Cala was no more and that only the Empire remained.

Legacy
Despite Barr's immediate failure on Mon Cala, his premonitions came true- Raddus joined the early Rebellion and eventually became among the leaders of the Rebel Alliance, playing a pivotal role at Scarif. Mon Calamari ships eventually became the backbone of the Rebel Alliance Fleet, as Barr predicted. A Mon Calamari ship later played a key role in the Resistance's war against the First Order, again as Barr predicted.

Personality and traits
Ferren Barr was an Iktotchi male with brown skin and brown eyes. As an Iktotchi, Barr had two horns, although his right one was broken sometime before or early into the first year of the Imperial Era. Although a Jedi Padawan, Barr was incredibly aware of the past and believed it to be important, especially after the events of Order 66. Barr was very manipulative, being able to recruit six acolytes by either using his words or his ability in Jedi mind tricks. He subsequently led those acolytes to sacrifice themselves for him when they were on the run from Darth Vader. Barr had studied the various ways Darth Sidious had gained control of the galaxy, including the true role of clone troopers. He depicted their role in Order 66 and used it as an attempt to turn an elite squad of clones against the three Inquisitors&mdash;who used to be Jedi&mdash;in Bel City.

Barr's revelation to King Lee-Char that he planned the war on Mon Cala as a spark for future rebellion against the Empire demonstrated clearly his sociopathic tendencies, so much so that Darth Vader himself remarked that he was "not a Jedi". Barr himself agreed, believing that he had to do what needed to be done in securing the future. Ironically enough, his premonitions turned out to be extremely accurate, and his actions would lead to a freer galaxy in the future.

Behind the scenes
Ferren Barr first appeared in the canon comic Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 13: Burning Seas, Part I and identified in the subsequent Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 14: Burning Seas, Part II, both written by Charles Soule and penciled by Giuseppe Camuncoli.

Appearances

 * Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 13: Burning Seas, Part I
 * Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 14: Burning Seas, Part II
 * Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 15: Burning Seas, Part III
 * Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 16: Burning Seas, Part IV
 * Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 17: Burning Seas, Part V
 * Star Wars 48: Mutiny at Mon Cala, Part V