Don-Wan Kihotay

"Thus, it is my sacred duty to travel the galaxy, championing the causes of peace and justice. I pray you, let me join you, young sir, in whatever holy mission you undertake...that I may continue to be worthy of the name of Jedi Knight!"

- Don-Wan Kihotay

Don-Wan Kihotay, born Hess Korrin, was a Force-sensitive male Human who served as a librarian on Obroa-skai. A fanatic of the extinct Jedi Order, Korrin fantasized about being a Jedi Knight, as he had much spare time to read their lore and history. When the Imperial Security Bureau shut down Korrin's antiquities wing on Obroa-skai, the man snapped, and became "Don-Wan Kihotay," a lightsaber-wielding warrior who genuinely believed that he was a Jedi.

He escaped the notice of the ISB, and found himself on Aduba-3, where he was a source of amusement for the local spacers. Kihotay later joined the Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3, a ragtag team assembled by Captain Han Solo to defend the township of Onacra from the Cloud-Riders of Serji-X Arrogantus. Kihotay participated in the defense of the town and even did battle with a gargantuan Sithspawn. He later passed away on Telos IV, in a medical station when it fell under attack from the bounty hunter Beilert Valance.

A librarian without a library
Hess Korrin was a Human male who worked as a librarian on the academic world of Obroa-skai. He was tasked with the cataloguing of antiquities, and spent much of his time on his own. Korrin spent years researching the Jedi Order. He became a total fanatic of the Jedi, and an expert on all there was to know about them. The man began indulging in wild fantasies, and his grasp on reality weakened. Korrin was taken by surprise when the Imperial Security Bureau ordered that the antiquities section of Obroa-skai be closed down, citing a "public safety issue." The bureau destroyed Korrin's entire wing.

Korrin's mind snapped, and his hold on reality vanished utterly. He was determined to preserve the memory of the Jedi Order, and believed it to be his sacred duty to maintain and revive their crusade for peace and justice throughout the galaxy. He adopted the name of "Don-Wan Kihotay" in honor of his new question, and equipped himself with a yellow-bladed lightsaber, replica Jedi armor, and Jedi robes. Such views and undertakings were heretical under Emperor Palpatine's Galactic Empire, and "Kihotay's" Ithorian manager realized that the man's heresy would get him executed. Kihotay was clandestinely transported offworld by the Ithorian, but the ISB gave chase. At Aduba-3, the manager was killed by agents of ISB, but the bureau was still utterly unaware of Kihotay's existence.

Knight-errant
Sporting his lightsaber and Jedi armor, Kihotay wandered Aduba-3, and he was found to be harmless by the local spacers, who were amused by his obsolete antics. In 0 ABY, Kihotay heard that a posse was being assembled in the spaceport of Tun Aduban. Making his way to Locru's Central Saloon, he waited in a queue to be interviewed for inclusion in the posse. All he knew was that the posse was being assembled to defend the innocent. Introducing himself as a Jedi Knight, Kihotay was told by his interviewer, Han Solo, that the Jedi had been outlawed since the rise of the Galactic Empire. Kihotay held firm to his claim, however, and drew his lightsaber, hoping to be included in Solo's "holy mission" so that he could continue to be worthy of the Jedi Knights. The old man knelt before Solo, and the Corellian agreed to let him join, but only if he swore to uphold the Galactic Republic, and serve as a "defender of the right." Kihotay pledged his allegiance, and assured Solo that he would not let the posse down, before being harangued by a tetchy Lepi, Jaxxon, who was next to be interviewed.

Dawn, the next day, Kihotay assembled with the rest of Solo's posse&mdash;Jaxxon, the Wookiee Chewbacca, the Human female Amaiza Foxtrain, the Spiner Hedji, the young Jimm Doshun&mdash;or "the Starkiller Kid" as he was apparently known, and the tractor-robot FE-9Q. As they were assembled a group of skyspeeders flown by Serji-X Arrogantus and the Cloud-Riders gang approached. As they did so, Solo explained to the posse they they would be defending the farming village of Onacra against Arrogantus and his hoods. Solo and Arrogantus bandied words and threats, before the Cloud-Riders rode off. The posse saddled up on banthas, and rode out to Onacra. Kihotay in particular donned his Jedi armor, and armed himself with a lance. While approaching the village, Doshun, who was actually a native on Onacra, pointed out pack of attacking high-hounds ahead. Solo led the posse into an attack, and they engaged the predatory creatures. Drawing his lightsaber, Kihotay was able to slay one of the creatures, and Solo managed to save a local farmgirl, Merri Shen.

The posse eventually made it to Onacra, and stabled their banthas. Solo later put them and the villagers to work assembling makeshift defenses against Arrogantus' inevitable attack. When their work was done, the posse assembled, and Jaxxon noted that the Cloud-Hoppers, led by Arrogantus, were incoming. With his lightsaber, Kihotay battled the attackers, before Solo and Chewbacca called for support from he and Foxtrain. Although Foxtrain quickly dispatched one Cloud-Riders, she was grappled from behind by enother. Inscensed that the beautiful Foxtrain was being manhandled, Kihotay moved to her defense, cutting down his foe in the name of righteousness. However, he was too slow to notice a skyspeeder approaching from behind him. Kihotay sustained a blaster bolt to the back, and fell, bidding Foxtrain farewell. His armor, however, had sustained the force of the attack, and the old man survived.

The Sithspawn
Complicating matters was the emergence of the Behemoth from the World Below, a gargantuan beast resistant to blasters that could fire massive concentrated blasts of lightning from an organ on its head. The posse regrouped, but were forced to disperse when the creature caused a landslide. Despite that, it was clear that the Behemoth was attacking the Cloud-Riders exclusively, and was being controlled by a villager known as the Old One. Kihotay pointed out that while his armor might have shielded him against a blaster bolt, it would likely be of little use while facing the Behemoth. Solo advised him to keep himself covered behind the nearby rocks. When both Arrogantus and the Old One were killed by the Behemoth, Doshun pointed out that the Behemoth would likely go on a rampage and destroy Onacra. Although there was dissent from Foxtrain, who believed that since Arrogantus was done they had fulfilled their obligation, the posse remained intact. After Jaxxon attempted to destroy the creature by himself, Kihotay clandestinely separated himself from the others, and, believing that only a Jedi Knight could conquer the Behemoth, prepared to confront it by himself.

Scorning his fellow posse members, Kihotay called out to the Behemoth, issuing forth a challenge. He attracted the beast's attention, and even as the other members of the posse called out in despair, he progressed towards the monster. It fired a blast at him, which missed wildly. Resolving to destroy the beast, the old man continued his approach. Another blast missed Kihotay, and Hedji approached, urging the old man to face the reality of the situation and accept that he would not survive against the beast. Kihotay was adamant that the Spiner should not interfere with his quest to slay the monster. Nevertheless, Hedji fired a barrage of quills at the beast&mdash;it responded by obliterating the Spiner. Undeterred, Kihotay continued his approach yet again, until Solo intervened, wresting the lightsaber from the old man's grip. The old man thought the proceedings blasphemous, but Solo was able to successfully plunge the weapon into the Behemoth's chest, causing it to disintegrate. Assured that the power of the Force was with them, Kihotay watched on as the monster was vanquished. Victorious, the posse regrouped, and was paid by the villagers. Doshun stayed with his people, but the rest of the posse rode off on banthas.

The posse would later come to be known as the Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3, and were the subject of a holodocumentary produced by Tri-Nebula Entertainment. The Behemoth had in fact been a sithspawn created by the Sith Lord Seviss Vaa, a sworn enemy of the Jedi Order, during the New Sith Wars. Kihotay eventually fell ill, and his delusion began to consume him. He went to Anglebay Station on Telos IV, where he was treated for his ailment. The station was subsequently attacked by a group of thugs under the command of the bounty hunter Beilert Valance. As the thugs entered Kihotay's room, he believed they had come to bring him his lightsaber. He announced that he was once again ready to fight alongside Han Solo and the Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3. He alluded to a "boy" who had a "droid,"&mdash;Jimm Doshun and FE-9Q respectively, but Valance's thugs interpreted his words as reference to Luke Skywalker and his droids R2-D2 and C-3PO&mdash;the individuals Valance hunted for. Kihotay then fell silent, and the station was destroyed. Kihotay perished as a result. Two years later, he was profiled by historian Voren Na'al for the Alliance to Restore the Republic's historical records. Kihotay was considered by Na'al to be the oddest of Solo's team.

Personality and traits
Kihotay, or Korrin, was obsessed with the tales of the Jedi, their life, culture, and purpose, and became an expert on the order. So thorough was his obsession that he began to fantasize about being a Jedi himself, so much so that his holds on what was real and what was fictional slipped. When the ISB destroyed his antiquities wing, Korrin slipped totally into his fantasy Kihotay persona, never to return to his original personality. He fully believed that he was a Jedi Knight, and saw it as his duty to uphold their ideals. As such, he swore to uphold the Republic and defend the innocent against the unjust. He felt that if he were to not do so, he would be unfit to bear the title of Jedi Knight. It was his belief, and that of those around him, that he was the last of the Jedi. His sense of chivalry and righteousness was offended when the voluptuous Amaiza Foxtrain was manhandled by a brute, and Kihotay was roused into action as a result. Kihotay also saw it as his mission to destroy the emergent Behemoth from the World Below, and felt that he was above mercenaries such as Han Solo. When Solo wielded Kihotay's lightsaber, the old man protested, and saw the act as blasphemy against the holy ritual of the Jedi.

Powers and abilities
A Force-sensitive, Kihotay possessed a particularly low midi-chlorian count nonetheless. Had it been higher, he would have likely joined the Jedi Order he so revered, and would likely have been exterminated along with them. He had the ability to perform mind tricks. Kihotay could also read and write Basic, Cerean, and Zabraki. In the heat of combat, Kihotay was able to put his lightsaber to use against high-hounds.

Behind the scenes
Don-Wan Kihotay first appeared in Star Wars 8: Eight for Aduba-3 (1978), written by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin. The character was later killed off by Archie Goodwin in Star Wars 16: The Hunter (1978). Kihotay was categorized as an "oddity" of the Star Wars line from Marvel Comics in the article "Comic Marvels" (2006), written by Jason Fry.

Appearances

 * Star Wars 8: Eight for Aduba-3
 * Star Wars 9: Showdown on a Wasteland World
 * Star Wars 10: Behemoth from the World Below
 * Star Wars 11: Star Search
 * Star Wars 16: The Hunter

Notes and references
Don-Wan Kihotay Don-Wan Kihote