Kyle Katarn

Kyle Katarn was a former Imperial trooper who became a Jedi Master and celebrated hero of the Rebellion and later the New Republic. Kyle shares his name with the predatory katarn, an animal native to the planet Kashyyyk.

Debut
Kyle was the son of Morgan and Patricia Katarn, farmers from the Sullustan colony moon of Sulon, Kyle was educated at the Imperial Academy on Carida when his mother was killed by a malfunctioning BT-16 perimeter security droid. He became a decorated Imperial stormtrooper officer, but his father, unbeknownst to him, was a supporter of the Rebel Alliance. During an attack on his homeworld of Sulon (which the Empire claimed was a Rebel attack), Morgan Katarn was killed. Kyle became immensely hateful toward the Rebellion, and supervised many Imperial operations against it.

However, he soon learned from Jan Ors, a double Imperial Intelligence agent who was actually working for the Rebellion, that his father was tortured and killed by the Empire for treason. He agreed to free Jan and defected, becoming a neutral mercenary. Jan introduced Kyle to Mon Mothma, the leader of the Alliance, and he became an important spy.

Kyle's first mission for the Alliance was the infiltration of an Imperial facility on Danuta to retrieve the plans for the first Death Star as a part of Operation Skyhook. These partial plans were eventually combined with those captured at Toprawa to create a complete outline of the station.

Soon after the Battle of Yavin, Mon Mothma asked Kyle to investigate the destruction of Tak Base on Talay. He uncovered, investigated, and managed to stop a dangerous imperial project known as the Dark Trooper Project.

Kyle also was a member of a SpecForce mission assembled by Corwin Shelvay, in which he teamed up with Force-sensitives Shira Brie and Erling Tredway to sabotage the superlaser of Death Star II en route to D'rinba IV.

New Republic
One year after the Battle of Endor, Kyle was visited by the spirit of the Jedi Qu Rahn who told Kyle of the Jedi heritage of his father: Morgan had helped the Jedi Master close off the Valley of the Jedi.

Kyle located a recording from his father as well as the lightsaber of the late Rahn, setting him on the path to become a Jedi. He embarked on a journey to locate the Valley of the Jedi and protect it from a faction of Dark Jedi led by Jerec, the killer of his father. The Valley was the site where many Jedi and Sith had been trapped by a thought bomb created by Lord Kaan at the end of the Battle of Ruusan. This site was now a nexus of power allowing great energies of the Force to flow through its user. Jerec was attempting to gain this power for his own ends. Kyle dispatched Jerec's minions and finally dueled Jerec himself, slaying him and freeing (according to the prophecy) the souls of the Jedi. During this adventure however, Kyle lost his ship, the Moldy Crow.

Kyle continued working with Jan for the New Republic, cooperating with Bey, Dash Rendar and Guri on an insertion mission to the Tof fortress world Saijo, and nearly razing Space Station Kwenn while apprehending the Ketton spy Derrida. Kyle took a more permanent role with the New Republic and served with Lieutenant Judder Page's Katarn Commandos, executing missions in various worlds like Kashyyyk, Boudolayz and to Garos IV.

Luke Skywalker offered to train Kyle further, but Kyle was too afraid of the Dark Side.

Approximately 5 years after Kyle faced Jerec, former Imperial assassin Mara Jade came under the tutelage of Kyle, taking up the rare bond of reciprocal apprenticeship, a facet of the Jedi Concordance of Fealty little practiced since the Cleansing of the Nine Houses. During this period, the both moved to Altyr 5 to suppot the New Republic bases. While sabotageing an imperial assault, Kyle discoveed a lead to the Sith ruins on Dromund Kaas, a long dead world. Kyle investigated the ruins but came under the influence of the Dark Side of the Force. His former pupil Mara Jade went to him and convinced him to come back to the Light. After nearly succumbing to the dark side, Mara helped him turn back.

Skywalker made a second offer to Katarn when he started his Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, and Kyle accepted, believing it would help him tame his dark self. Kyle developed a friendship with fellow Jedi trainee Corran Horn, but when two students of the Academy fell to the dark side, Kyle's fear of the Dark Side multipled. Kyle gave up the Force, entrusting his lightsaber to Skywalker, and returned to his mercenary ways as Jan Ors' partner.

Three years after the events on Dromund Kaas, Kyle encountered many enemies like the Rodians Beedo and Reelo Baruk, the Gran Ree-Yees, and the Dark Jedi Desann and his apprentice, Tavion.

Jan Ors was taken prisoner by Desann and apparently killed by Tavion. Angered by his partner's death (who had become a love interest), Kyle regained his Force powers by using the power of the Valley of the Jedi and once again treading dangerously close to the Dark Side. He went to the Jedi Academy to retrieve the lightsaber he had left with Skywalker, where he learned that Desann was a fallen student of Skywalker's. Luke and Kyle then set across the galaxy to bring Desann to justice. During his travels, he learned that Jan was still alive. She was eventually rescued, which allowed Kyle to overcome his thirst for revenge. Eventually he learned that Desann had discovered the Valley of the Jedi by following Kyle and had begun to create an army of Dark Jedi warriors called the Reborn to rule the galaxy. Kyle tracked Desann back to the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, and after an intense lightsaber duel, killed him, ending his plan for domination.

Jedi
After Desann's defeat, Kyle kept his lightsaber and continued in the ways of the Force as an instructor at Luke's Academy. Kyle became the master of two students, Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin. Both students were talented, quickly learning through Kyle's wisdom. However, a new threat, the Sith cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos, began threatening the galaxy. Rosh eventually succumbed to the Dark Side and joined the Disciples of Ragnos. Kyle again met Tavion, who was the leader of the cult. She possessed a device known as the Scepter of Ragnos and planned to resurrect the ancient Sith Lord Marka Ragnos.

Kyle's other student, Jaden, eventually became a Jedi, choosing to forgive Rosh rather than slay him; Kyle was proud of his students, who defeat Tavion.

Kyle became the academy's foremost battlemaster, educating many Knights like Jaden Korr, and managing to stop a berserking former Emperor's Hand by the name of Jeng Droga. During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Kyle helped develop strategies against the invaders and freed the human captives of the Imperial Remnant world Ord Sedra. Near the end of the war, the living planet Zonama Sekot agreed to help the Republic, and Kyle was one of several Jedi Knights bonded to seed-partners and provided with Sekotan starships in the final battle.

After the end of the invasion, Kyle heard a rumor that the Sith still existed. Due to his personal experience on Dromund Kaas, Kyle investigated, following clues from Ord Sedra in the Clacis Sector first to Yaga Minor, and then halfway acroos the galaxy to the Cloak of the Sith, near Roon. Kyle was missing in action, and Jan Ors and Jaden Korr set out to locate him.

So far what happened in the previous situation remains a mystery, how Kyle was found and where is still unknown, along with the fate of his lover Jan and Ex-Student, and Jedi Knight, Jaden. What is known is that Kyle returned safely, with or without the help of his two allies, and has taken an Active role in Jedi affairs.

Five years after the war with the Vong, Kyle is known to be an respected Master not afraid to voice his opinion and along with Han, Leia and Kyp traveled to Kr, fighting on the ground while Han and Leia helped Luke and Mara.

Katarn's character
Katarn since becoming a Jedi, appears relatively weak and unsure about this way of living. It seems that during his early years he was never thought of some superior Force, therefore his contact with it makes him feeling overwhelmed and out of his place.

Although a powerful warrior, Kyle as a Jedi seems reluctant. Several times he denied the ways of the Force, being too afraid of the Dark Side and too untrustful for his powers.

The alternative ending of Jedi Academy although not canonical, gives some insights of Katarn's psyche in a case of failure and disappointment: He seems guilty for having lost two Apprentices (Penin is dead, and Korr becomes a Dark Jedi), and confesses to Luke that he is unsure if he should be a Jedi Master at all.

Quotations

 * "Why can't you Jedi just do things the simple way?" (Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast)


 * "I'm no Jedi. I'm just a guy with a lightsaber and a few questions." (Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast)
 * "(To Desann:) You should have known it would take a failed Jedi to take out another failed Jedi." (Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast)
 * "Never trust a bartender with bad grammar." (Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast)
 * (To Luke:) "You always sense a disturbance in the Force." (Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy)
 * "Ugh! Of course, it has to be a garbage pit. Well, let's go…no one ever said being a Jedi was glamorous." (Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy)

Behind the Scenes
Katarn's story has an alternative ending in some of the games in which he appears. Although the abovementioned story is canonical, the player has the option to follow the Dark Side alternate ending in Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.

There, Katarn kills Jan Ors and becomes the rival of Jerec. He also fights against Yun instead of Sariss. After he defeats Jerec in the Valley of the Jedi, he absorbs its power and takes his position as an Emperor in Coruscant, with Sariss on his side.

The same option is available to Jaden Korr in Jedi Academy. Jaden may turn to the Dark Side by killing Rosh instead of staying in the Light by forgiving him. If Jaden goes to the Dark Side, Kyle later duels Jaden, who overpowers him using the Staff of Ragnos, stolen by defeating Tavion. Jaden escapes, and Kyle then questions whether or not he should be a Jedi, and takes a leave of absence to apprehend Jaden. It is not yet certain that this is the apocryphal ending; however, the fact that Jan sought out Jaden to rescue Kyle from the Cloak of the Sith suggests that the Light Side ending is the canonical one.

Kyle was orginally slated to die in the novel Star by Star, but the scene was removed at the last minute, to leave open the possibility of any New Jedi Order era games.

Although created only for the needs of a video game, Katarn became surprisingly famous, almost as famous as Mara Jade and became a well established EU character. He appeared in various media since then, from comics to books.

Portrayers
Kyle Katarn was originally voiced by Nick Jameson for Dark Forces. The actor Jason Court acted as the character in Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Full motion video sequences. The game sprite was of course modelled after Court's looks.

Likewise, in Mysteries of Sith, Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Kyle is exclusively a polygonal model, without FMV scenes, made to look like a slightly older Court. In these appearances, he is voiced by Jeff Bennett. For the audio dramatizations, he is portrayed by Randal Berger.