Morit Astarte

"The Force is...weak with you. You are no Jedi. You are no Sith.''" "''That's the last thing I'd want to be. Jedi? Sith? They're history."

- Vader and Morit upon first meeting

Morit Astarte was a male human born to the Astarte line of Celanon during the last years of the Galactic Republic.

Early life
"The Astarte feared retribution, and passed their children to me to use in a way to redeem the line. They have been in my tender care ever since."

- Cylo to Darth Sidious

Morit was born, along with his sister, Aiolin, into the Astarte line of Celanon either before or during the Clone Wars. His family financially backed research of Doctor Cylo during this time. However, they sided with the Separatists during the war and, fearing the retribution of the new Galactic Empire, they gave their two children over to Cylo's care.

The arrival of Darth Vader
"I will not forget what you did here today." "Don't get sentimental. Only reason I saved you is, because in the long term, the old model is less of a threat than the new." "I have no interest in your motivation, boy. You interfered. That life was mine to take."

- Vader berates Morit for interfering in his business

Some weeks after the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader captured and killed Cylo-IV, after learning of Cylo's existence from Darth Sidious. Vader set out to Cylo's research base and stormed it with two platoons of BX-series commando droids. Shortly before, Cylo had assigned Morit and Aiolin to await their next test in the dojo, without telling them Vader had arrived to eliminate them as his rivals. The twins quickly destroyed one platoon of battle droids just before Vader entered the dojo. Aiolin informed her brother that the droids weren't a test: Vader had come.

Morit was pleased, and used his implants to close the door behind Vader; cutting him off from his droids. The twins attacked the Dark Lord using their lightsabers. Vader quickly realized Morit and his twin were able to execute Force-like abilities, even though he sensed the Force was very weak within them. Vader added that Morit was evidently neither Jedi or Sith. Morit stated and that he would never want to be a part of either order, because he believed the Jedi and Sith extinct, and that he was part of something new. Morit's attacks and swings were easily parried by Vader, so he backed off to allow Aiolin a turn at Vader, but she likewise was held at bay. Then, Cylo-V appeared, the next clone body of Cylo, who ordered the twins to cease hostilities.

Morit holstered his weapon while Vader expressed his confusion to the doctor: the twins were absent of the Force, but he had believed Cylo had been creating Force-sensitive apprentices to replace Vader as the Emperor's chief enforcer. Cylo clarified that the likes of Morit were not apprentices, but replacements, and revealed Morit's other colleagues to the Dark Lord, who activated his lightsaber and stated that what Cylo had created was blasphemy to the Force itself. Cylo, however, entertained that in many ways, they enforcers were Vader's children: they, like Vader, were more machine than man. Vader had heard enough, and prepared to strike Cylo down, but was stopped by Darth Sidious, who had materialized behind him. Therefore, Cylo revealed that he had arranged the demonstration with Morit and Aiolin, and ordered the five enforcers to attack Vader in order to prove they were worthy of serving their Emperor.

The twins, as one, attacked first. Morit ducked under Vader's swings, and jumped back with Ailoin and unleashed the flamethrowers built-into their hands. The other three enforcers dueled the Dark Lord next, however, all were held at bay by Vader. On the orders of Palpatine, Cylo ordered that the fight be a free-for-all, and to the death. Morit engaged Karbin in lightsaber combat, the Mon Calamari's four-arms that each held a lightsaber in full show. Meanwhile, Vader fought the Trandoshan and began to lose ground to the reptile. Morit rushed over and cut the Trandoshan down before Vader could recover; Morit had believed he had saved Vader's life.

After Sidious ordered the fighting to cease, he informed Vader that he had only saved him because he saw the "old model" of Jedi and Sith that Vader was a part of was not a threat, he believed the new world of cybernetics and clone that Cylo had created was far superior. Vader was unimpressed: he berated Morit for "interfering" in Vader's business by taking a life that was the Dark Lord's right to take. Sidious then informed the now four enforcers&mdash;Vader included&mdash;their mission in life: to strike down all who opposed the Empire and Sidious. He told them to remember in the end, only one of the enforcers needed to survive to serve him, he then left and Vader followed, leaving Morit and the others to prepare.

Hunting the Plasma Devils
"The Plasma Devils have been annihilated." "That wasn't your mission." "No, it was yours, Morit. You and your sister may thank us later. Now you have the afternoon free for decapitating more useful leads."

- Vader, Morit, and Thanoth report to Tagge

Some days later, Morit and the other enforcers traveled to the Grand General of the Imperial Military, Cassio Tagge's, Executor-class Star Dreadnaught, the Annihilator, in the Anthan system. Once Vader arrived, too, Tagge briefed Morit and the other enforcers on a criminal organization that had defiantly remained active even during the "Imperial crackdown" of criminal-forces: The Plasma Devils. (The Plasma Devils were in reality a small cell of Rebel Alliance pilots). The Grand General assigned Morit and his sister to take down the Plasma Devils, ignoring Karbin's objections to the twins' inexperience in running a full military campaign. Tagge then assigned the others&mdash;Voidgazer, Karbin and Vader&mdash;missions of their own, and dismissed the meeting.

Morit and his twin immediately set out on their mission to destroy the Plasma Devils. They began their search in Anthan Prime's underworld, which was located far beneath the surface of the planet. They brought along a division of Imperial stormtroopers and invaded a criminal-owned barely-legal droid fighting den. They ordered the stormtrooper captain to remain outside with the other soldiers, and entered the establishment. They quickly resorted to violence in order to scare the locals into revealing the loction of the Plasma Devil's base; Morit and Aiolin brandished their lightsabers and began systematically killing the den's patrons and gladiator droids, which attacked them.

However, a short time later, Darth Vader and his adjutant, Imperial Inspector Thanoth, arrived with the troopers whom Morit had stationed outside. Vader and Thanoth were surprised and angered to find that Morit and his sister had so recklessly revealed themselves to be looking for the Plasma Devils, but moved on and questioned Doowan, a Nautolan and front-man for The Dragon, a secretive crime lord who operated in the Anthan system. Morit and Aiolin then finished destroying the droids and criminals. After they finished, Thanoth introduced them to Doowan, who had supplied the Plasma Devils with weapons in the past&mdash;which led Thanoth to believe that he could be very useful in the twin's efforts to track down the Rebels. Morit agreed that Doowan should be questioned, but he instead decapitated Doowan with his lightsaber. Thanoth was enraged, demanding to know why Morit had acted so rashly. Morit explained that he and his sister were approaching the mission by intimidating the locals by showing them first hand that the Imperial hand was coming to deal out justice to any who opposed the Emperor's decrees, and it was going to be bloody. Thanoth and Vader disagreed with their methods, likening them to "children" acting immaturely. Morit and Aiolin then left to continue their mission.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 4: Vader, Part IV
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 5: Vader, Part V
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 6: Vader, Part VI
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 8: Shadows and Secrets, Part II
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 9: Shadows and Secrets, Part III
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 12: Shadows and Secrets, Part VI
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 16: The Shu-torun War, Part I
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 17: The Shu-torun War, Part II