Confrontation in the Caverns of the Hidden One

This duel was a battle of Force powers between exiled Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker and Koro Ziil, leader of the Hidden Ones, in the Throne chamber of the Caverns of the Hidden One.

Prelude
"They lied. About Charsae Saal. He didn't die, and they didn't cremate him."

- Luke Skywalker, to his son, Ben, after Saal's "funeral"

Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben, arrived on the planet of Dorin after Luke's exile from the Jedi Order. They hoped to find out why Jacen Solo had fallen to the dark side and become a Sith Lord by retracing his steps during his five year journey. The Skywalkers met with the Baran Do sages and trained under them for a short time.

One of the Baran Do, Charsae Saal, decided that it was time for him to die. According to the Baran Do culture, when one decided to die, they simply gave themselves over to the Force. Luke and Ben attended Saal's funeral, along with the other Baran Do sages. Luke, however, was not convinced that Saal had indeed died. He later scouted out the area with Ben, and they found that the platform upon which Saal had "died" was in fact a trap door leading to an underground chamber. There the Skywalkers confronted the Baran Do sages, and convinced them to alow them passage to wherever it was that Saal would be going next. They got onto rolling carts that led them down a long passage to the Caverns of the Hidden One.

The Baran Do residents of the caverns called themselves the Hidden Ones. They tried to make the Skywalkers become one of them, telling them that they could never leave, and that they must change their names. Luke, however, found that their leader, Koro Ziil&mdash;now known only as the Hidden One&mdash;was paranoid and corrupt, and filling the Hidden Ones with lies. He decided to prove that the Hidden Ones' power was weakening every minute they stayed down in the caverns.

Ben and Saal
"Master, I am this boy's superior in fighting skill. I am strong in the Force. But he won. He won through the will to win. Through conviction, through strength of purpose. I lost because I lack these things."

- Charsae Saal to Koro Ziil, after Saal's defeat at the hands of Ben

In order to prove this, he suggested that Ben, who was barely a Jedi Knight, duel the Hidden Ones' newest addition, the masterful Charsae Saal, now known as Chara. Chara accepted the challenge, and both combatants were armed only with hardwood staffs. Chara immediately took control, landing the first blow. Ben recovered quickly, but as the duel progressed, Chara clearly had the upper hand. But then Ben got a blow in on Chara's head, and from that point on, the elder combatant began to lose the will to fight. Ben finally got an opening to hit Chara in the chin with his palm, and the Kel Dor went down. Now Saal and other Hidden Ones began to believe that Luke was right. They were growing weaker, not stronger.

The Hidden One's reaction
"I'm sorry. But the Skywalkers are clearly too dangerous to live among us, and they know too much to be free."

- Koro Ziil

Koro Ziil, however, refused to accept this. He grew very angry at the Skywalkers and the other Hidden Ones, and revealed that he had told those on the surface that the Skywalkers had died in a collapse of a cave, so any more oxygen-nitrogen canisters would not be necessary. Within a day or two, the Skywalkers would die from the poisoning atmosphere of Dorin that only the native Kel Dor could breathe. Several of the Hidden Ones, including Ithia and Burra pleaded for him to change his mind, but he refused.

The Duel
"I cannot let these humans remain among us even for the time it would ake them to suffocate. Their influence is too strong. I will show you life. I will show you the Force."

- Koro Ziil, shortly before attacking Luke

Koro Ziil stepped forward and hit Luke with white Force lightning. Luke, however, absorbed it with his lightsaber, but the strength behind the attack threw him backwards into a pillar. Luke got up and began moving slowly towards Ziil. The Hidden One created a Force whirlwind, but it was not enough to stop Luke's advance. Meanwhile the other Hidden Ones were evacuating the throne chamber with Ben directing them out the blast door. Ziil broke off the lightning and increased the power behind the whirlwind and sent it straight at Luke. Luke deflected it off to the side, and it slammed into aa pillar. Deactivating his lightsaber, Luke started forward again. The whirlwind began moving from pillar to pillar, until it paused directly behind Luke, hammering continuously at a pillar there, until the pillar broke free and toppled down towards Luke. Luke caught the piller in midfall, and redirected it, dropping it down to the ground. Ziil then picked up his throne with the Force and hurled it at Luke, who had just thrown the fallen pillar at Ziil with the Force. They collided in midair, and the pillar fell to the floor. Luke pushed it forward with the Force, forcing Ziil to jump over it. Luke charged forward and kicked the unprepared Hidden One in the stomach, sending him flying. Ziil began to get up, but could not, and collapsed to the ground.

Aftermath
Ziil tried to enforce his rules, even after his defeat, but now the Hidden Ones had turned against him, as well. When he still would not listen to reason, Ben set off an explosive that collapsed what Ziil claimed to be the only exit from the caverns. Ben continued to reveal all of Ziil's lies to the Hidden Ones. Ziil, however, still refused to admit to the existence of another tunnel out of the caverns. Then Burra gave in, revealing he knew the location. The Hidden Ones had been freed, and Skywalkers left Dorin soon after.

Appearances

 * Outcast