Kyle Katarn

"I'm no Jedi; I'm just a guy with a lightsaber and a few questions."

- Kyle Katarn

Kyle Katarn was a former Imperial trooper who defected to the Rebellion. Often paired with fellow Rebel agent and smuggler Jan Ors, he performed many covert missions for the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic, including the sabotage of the Dark Trooper Project.

Kyle was later informed of his Force sensitivity, and taught himself to become a Jedi while in search of the Valley of the Jedi. While on this journey, he confronted the dark side within both himself and in the form of Dark Jedi Jerec and his minions. Defeating them, Kyle went on to become a Jedi Master, teaching at the Jedi Praxeum, participating in the offensives against the Yuuzhan Vong and becoming a part of the Jedi High Council in the New Jedi Order.

Early life
"…it is precisely his experience in Imperial service that has turned him solidly against the Empire, and will, I believe, eventually convince him of the necessity of the Alliance."

- Jan Ors to Mon Mothma



Kyle was the son of Morgan and Patricia Katarn, farmers from the Sullust colony moon of Sulon. Growing up on the farm, Kyle had a brother of sorts in his father's custom-made labor droid, WeeGee; as a result, Katarn became one of the few Humans in the Galaxy fluent in the electronic language of droidspeak. Kyle enrolled for education 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. Morgan Katarn was also Force-sensitive, a trait he passed on to his son. Kyle began to suspect his Force potential when, during a raid on a Rebel asteroid base, he experienced several Force-premonitions that saved the lives of many of his strike team members. While on the mission, Kyle also met Jan Ors, an agent for the Rebellion. Kyle and Jan were on opposite sides of the war, but they experienced a strange connection that led Kyle to spare her life as well as the lives of many of the stations inhabitants.

Following this last mission, which was Kyle's final test in becoming an officer, Kyle learned that his father had been killed in a Rebel raid on his homeworld of Sulon. Kyle, recalling the lives he spared on the asteroid base, became extremely hateful towards the Rebellion, believing them to be murderers.

Defection
Putting his grief aside for the time, Kyle took a pleasure cruise on the Star of Empire, his last bit of freedom before officially becoming an officer in the Imperial navy. It was while on this ship that he ran into Jan Ors for the second time. After a brief chase and a brawl with some of Jan's fellow agents, Kyle's attention was grabbed when Jan dropped the name Sulon. Jan showed Kyle footage from the battle there, and she explained to him that it was in fact the Imperials who had staged the attack. The Imperials had painted Rebel insignias on their ships to make it seem as if the Rebels had been the aggressors- but their use of standard Imperial tactics gave them away. After seeing the footage for himself, Kyle defected, becoming a neutral mercenary. Jan introduced Kyle to Mon Mothma, the leader of the Alliance, and he became a rebel spy.

Soon after his own recruitment into the Alliance, Kyle was responsible for introducing the Twi'lek Rianna Saren to the organization. He first tasked her with infiltrating a Black Sun warehouse on Coruscant to discover how they were involved with the Empire. After Rianna successfully completed this mission, Kyle revealed to her that he was a Rebel agent and introduced her to Leia Organa.



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 and on the Death Star itself, to create a complete outline of the station.

Fighting the Dark Troopers
"A stormtrooper that can take out a Rebel base that quickly? I shoulda' kept working for the Empire."

- Kyle Katarn to Mon Mothma

Soon after the Battle of Yavin, Mon Mothma asked Kyle to investigate the destruction of Tak Base resulting from the Battle of Talay. Kyle accepted, and took on Jan Ors as his mission officer. Kyle's investigation revealed the Imperial Dark Trooper project, led by General Rom Mohc. Several clues led Katarn to Anoat, where he captured Moff Rebus, an infamous Imperial weapons engineer. After raiding a testing facility for phrik on the planet Fest, Kyle was led to the Gromas system, where said mineral was being mined and the first stage of the Dark Trooper was manufactured. After destroying the facility, Kyle had to rescue Crix Madine from an Imperial detention center on Orinackra and traveled to the Ramsees Hed docking port on Cal-Seti. There, he was able to track a smuggling ship that was making runs to the frozen planet of Anteevy, where the second stage of Dark Trooper construction was being completed. Kyle destroyed the facility on Anteevy and was led to Nar Shaddaa, where he located a nav card describing the activities of all the smugglers involved in the Dark Trooper project. Upon leaving the planet, though, he and Jan were briefly captured by Jabba the Hutt.



Kyle was able to regain the card, rescue Jan, and escape Jabba's space cruiser. Katarn and Ors infiltrated the ISO building on Coruscant, where he was able to decode the nav card. He also fought and defeated Boba Fett there. Using the new information from the card, Kyle and Jan tracked one of the smuggler ships to the Refueling Station Ergo. Kyle hijacked this ship and used it to sneak onto the Executor, which was the only ship that knew where the Arc Hammer could be found. Once on board, he smuggled himself aboard the Arc Hammer, where the third and final stage of the Dark Trooper was being manufactured. After a battle against General Mohc in the only Dark Trooper Phase III exoskeleton in existence, he proceeded to blow up the Arc Hammer and escape, destroying the Dark Trooper Project for good. In gratitude for his bravery, Mon Mothma awarded him the Star of Alderaan.

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


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 on various worlds like Kashyyyk, Boudolayz and Garos IV.

Valley of the Jedi
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 discovered the Valley of the Jedi on the planet Ruusan, where the spirits of many Jedi and Sith lay quiescent, trapped there after a cataclysmic battle thousands of years earlier. This site was a nexus of power from which Force-sensitives could draw great energies of the Force. The locals on Ruusan prophesied that a "knight shall come, a battle will be fought, and the prisoners go free." Morgan could have been that knight, but chose instead to keep the knowledge of the valley safe, telling only the Jedi Rahn of its existence.

Kyle located a recording from his father in his old farmhouse on Sulon 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, who coveted the valley's energy for his own dark ends. Kyle's father, believed to have been killed in the battle of Sulon, had actually died at the hands of Jerec because he had refused to reveal the location of the Valley of the Jedi. But Morgan had created a map that was later discovered by Jerec anyway; it had been etched into ceiling tiles in the Katarns' house. Kyle was one step behind the Dark Jedi, however, arriving after the map had been taken away. Infiltrating Jerec's tower in the city of Baron's Hed, Kyle located the droid 8t88, who had created a digitized version of the map. Kyle was prevented from walking away with the prize, however, by Yun, one of Jerec's dark pupils. Kyle defeated Yun but spared his life, and had to escape without either version of the map. He tracked 8T-88's shuttle, however, to a fuel station outside Baron's Hed, and he stowed away aboard a frigate headed for Ruusan, where the Valley was located. While on board, Kyle encountered and defeated two more of Jerec's pupils, the symbiotic "twins" Gorc and Pic, who had recently killed 8T-88 to dispose of any witnesses. Kyle took the droid's severed head and managed to escape the vast ship alive.

Brush with the dark side
Arriving on Ruusan, Kyle infiltrated Jerec's outpost and defeated the Dark Jedi Maw, killing him in a violent rage as Maw told Kyle that it was he who had placed Morgan's head on a spike for all to see. Jerec confronted Kyle, revealing a captured and bound Jan Ors, offering Kyle a place at his side. Despite the temptation of the Valley's power and the dark rage and fear emanating from his heart, Kyle refused, staying true to his father. Disappointed, Jerec blasted Kyle with dark side energy, damaging parts of the outpost. Trapped in Jerec's cargo ship as it fell to the valley floor below, Kyle made his way through the tumbling vessel and attempted to flee in his ship, the Moldy Crow, but crashed one of the wings into the rock wall, damaging the vessel beyond repair. Upon hitting the planet surface, Kyle was rendered unconscious. Two of the remaining Dark Jedi, Sariss and her apprentice Yun, pulled the unconscious Jedi from the wreckage. Boc, another Dark Jedi, destroyed Katarn's lightsaber tauntingly in front of him before leaving to assist Jerec. Sariss was about to kill Kyle when Yun, out of sympathy for Kyle, who had previously spared his life and feeling guilty for executing so many people, blocked her blow with his lightsaber. Sariss' blade was deflected and struck Yun, mortally wounding him. As Kyle came to, he heard the young man's final words: "He is a Jedi. He deserves a battle."

- Yun

Yun breathed his last, possibly returning to the light side. With his own lightsaber destroyed, Kyle picked up Yun's saber and defeated Sariss, being careful not to fall to the dark side in doing so.



Kyle rushed to the Valley of the Jedi and rescued Jan. Disguising himself as one of the statues that littered the Valley, Boc revealed himself and attacked Katarn. Boc wielded two lightsabers but was no match for Kyle's dueling skills. Giving way to the dark energies, Kyle struck Boc with an ancient dark side technique known as spear of midnight black. Immediately Kyle feared he was lost to the darkness, and tried to remember how many steps it took to follow the dark path forever. It was then that Kyle truly realized he was a Jedi; it doesn't matter how far down you follow the dark path once you have returned from it.

Final confrontation with Jerec
Defeating every one of Jerec's lackeys in mortal combat, Kyle descended into the Valley Core to face the Dark Master himself. The two Jedi dueled, and though the Dark Jedi Jerec had already begun drawing power from the Valley of the Jedi and used its power to heal himself, Kyle was able to defeat him with the light. Disarmed, Jerec tried to turn Kyle to the dark side by reminding him of his father's murder, urging Kyle to strike him down and claim the Valley's dark power for himself. Kyle, not wishing to feed his hatred, but also not willing to spare Jerec's life, tossed the Dark Jedi his lightsaber, and as Jerec was about to stab Kyle in the back, Kyle defended himself and killed Jerec, freeing the souls of the countless Jedi trapped by Lord Kaan for over a thousand years, just as the prophecy had foretold.

Further missions
Luke Skywalker offered to train Kyle further, but Kyle declined, still holding a great fear of the dark side.

Approximately five 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 pair moved to Altyr 5 to support the New Republic bases. While sabotaging an Imperial assault, Kyle discovered 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.



Luke made a second offer to train Kyle when he founded the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, and Kyle accepted, believing it would help him tame his dark self, during which he put Yun's lightsaber away and built his own blue saber as part of his training. 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 succumbing multiplied. Kyle gave up the Force, entrusting his lightsaber to Skywalker, and returned to his mercenary ways as Jan Ors' partner. During the next three years, Katarn was noted several times by NRI investigators for his overzealousness in eliminating Remnant soldiers. After a mission on Tatooine, he had only left one Imperial survivor for questioning who was so distressed from his ordeal that he could barely relate what little information he had while under interrogation. All that the interrogation staff could get him to say was that his orders had come from Kejim.

Kyle was sent to the world of Kejim to act on this information and en route fragments of Remnant communication intercepted by the New Republic were relayed to Kyle and Jan which further affirmed the Republic's suspicions that something was going on. Kyle was at first hesitant to go; the transmission had made mention of the Valley of the Jedi. There was indeed a Remnant base on the planet where, upon a detailed inspection of the base, Kyle found strange crystals which, when analyzed were found to be very similar to ones used in a Jedi's lightsaber. Their mission would have ended there. Kyle didn't want to get involved with anything that involved Jedi, but Jan accepted the job on his behalf&mdash;having been offered twice their usual fee by Mon Mothma.



The Empire Reborn
It was soon revealed that the Empire Reborn movement under Admiral Galak Fyyar was using the planet to experiment with these crystals and the Force, particularly in infusing non-Force sensitives with Force potential. Although Kyle successfully infiltrated and shut down the outpost, Jan was later captured and apparently killed by the Dark Jedi Desann and his student Tavion Axmis.

Angered by his partner's death, 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 Luke's. Luke and Kyle then set out across the Galaxy to bring Desann to justice. While Luke secretly went to the Valley of the Jedi to look for Desann, Kyle tracked Desann's shuttle to Reelo Baruk on Nar Shaddaa. While on Nar Shaddaa, he encountered Lando Calrissian. With his help, Kyle escaped Nar Shaddaa and killed Reelo in the process with Lando. Still, Kyle became haunted with the memories of hearing Desann's cold order to his apprentice to murder Jan and then her screams. These only served to make him desire revenge even more. He eventually got the chance to exact his revenge at Bespin. There, he encountered Desann's apprentice, Tavion, the same woman who killed Jan. Tavion informed Katarn of his blunder in revealing the location of the Valley to her and her master. Tavion was defeated by Kyle in lightsaber combat. Kyle levitated Tavion over a Cloud City platform and held her there. Tavion confessed to everything there. She revealed that Jan still lived and her location. Kyle spared Tavion's life and tossed her aside. Tavion ran away, only to plot her revenge on Kyle for sparing her.

Taking Tavion's freighter to the Cairn Installation where the Doomgiver was docked, carrying Jan, Kyle met up with Luke again. He learned of the purpose behind the crystals he had discovered on Kejim and of Desann's troops being the Valley of the Jedi. Kyle infiltrated the Doomgiver as it launched into hyperspace. Kyle successfully found Jan and released her. Jan informed Kyle of Desann's fascination of the Academy on Yavin IV. Kyle realized where the Doomgiver was headed and with Jan's help, he was able to shut down the Doomgiver's shield generator. Allowing for Rogue Squadron to destroy the vessel. At the same time, Kyle was able to prevent the mad scientist Galak Fyyar from assuming his throne as "Emperor Galak Fyyar the first".

As the Doomgiver exploded, Kyle and Jan escaped to Yavin IV. After separating, with a kiss, to assist the Jedi Academy, Kyle fought through the jungles of Yavin IV against the legions of new Shadowtroopers and Reborn. Kyle eventually made it into the Academy itself and faced off with Desann. Both Desann and Kyle attempted to make the other join his side but Desann attacked Kyle. Kyle defeated the Dark Jedi, ending his plan for domination. Luke thanked Kyle for his assistance and offered him a place at the Academy. Kyle declined. At least for the moment. Until he decided to join the Academy, he and Jan spent time together on the beaches of Spira.

Shortly after this, the Academy was attacked by a Nightsister and her band of outlaws who were seeking ancient Sith artifacts they had discovered the Academy owned. Despite the fact that they took advantage of the Academy's weakened state, Kyle and a group of others managed to push them back and kept them from retrieving the artifacts

Instructor
After Desann's defeat, Kyle kept his lightsaber and continued in the ways of the Force as an instructor and Jedi Master at Luke's Academy. Kyle took on two students, Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin to train in the ways of the Jedi. Both students were talented, progressing quickly under Kyle's tutelage. When a new threat, a Dark Jedi cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos, began threatening the galaxy, Kyle and his apprentices investigated numerous worlds on the trail of the Disciples. Their investigations spanned the galaxy, from Deep Core worlds such as Byss to Outer Rim worlds such as Vjun. Katarn submitted numerous datacard reports to the Jedi on their success, including Tauntaun Feathers A1 from Hoth.

The Jedi Order discovered that the leader of the Cult was none other than Tavion Axmis, the former apprentice of Desann earlier defeated by Katarn. His investigations revealed she had acquired the Scepter of Ragnos from Commenor and planned to use it resurrect the ancient Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. While Katarn was away, his apprentice Penin was kidnapped and eventually succumbed to the dark side, joining the Disciples of Ragnos.

Kyle's other student, Jaden, joined with Katarn to investigate the toxic world of Vjun. There the two were forced to split up when Katarn lost his balance and fell down several floors. Korr, reaching the top of the building alone, faced off against the fallen Penin. Overcoming both Rosh and killing the Reborn Twins, Vil and Dasariah Kothos, Korr pleaded with the fallen Jedi to return to the light side. His appeal was unsuccessful however, and as Katarn rejoined him at the top of the tower, Tavion emerged and stated her role as the leader of the cult. Using the Force to pull Jaden's saber from his grasp, she used it to bring down the roof, and she escaped with Rosh. Korr's actions on Vjun and Kyle's recommendation saw to Skywalker promoting Jaden to Jedi Knight.

Katarn later received a transmission from Penin pleading for help. Given his own experience of redemption at the hands of Mara Jade, Katarn determined to answer the call. Requesting Korr to join him, the pair set out once more, this time to Taspir III. Once again separated, Korr went on ahead and confronted Penin. Urged on by the Alora, he considered killing Rosh as retribution. In the facilities below, Katarn sensed his precarious position and telepathically urged Jaden to spare Rosh's life. Following his master's wishes, Jaden spared Rosh's life and fought Alora, who, severed Rosh's left arm. Jaden killed Alora just as Katarn arrived. Kyle ordered Jaden to aid the Jedi on Korriban, as he rushed Rosh off to a medical facility.



Kyle went on to became the academy's foremost battlemaster, educating many other Knights, and fighting in the Battle of the Jedi Praxeum where he stopped and killed a rampaging former Emperor's Hand by the name of Jeng Droga.

Yuuzhan Vong War
During the Yuuzhan Vong War, 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 Galactic Alliance, 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 across the Galaxy to the Cloak of the Sith, near Roon. Kyle went missing there. Jan Ors and Jaden Korr set out to locate him.

Mara Jade Skywalker, Jaden Korr and a group of Alpha Blue specialists led by Jan Ors tracked Kyle to Roon and freed him from Daye Azur-Jamin, who had been missing since early in the Yuuzhan Vong war, and had subsequently turned to the Dark Side. Daye was eventually redeemed, revealing the presence of a Force-sensitive Yuuzhan Vong. Kyle returned safely, and took an active role in Jedi affairs, being appointed to the Masters' council.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Kyle proposed marriage to Jan Ors on many separate occasions. She has rejected his proposals on the basis of not wanting to get married because every day might be their last.

Jedi Master
Five years after the war with the Vong, Kyle was a 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. As the Killik crisis expanded, Kyle led a Stealth-X squadron of Jedi Knights against Lomi Plo's Dark Nest.

At some point during his service to the New Jedi Order, he wrote the Spy Primer, a guide for espionage agents.

During the Second Corellian Insurrection, Kyle voiced his concerns along with Cilghal to the Master's Council upon Jacen Solo's extreme actions towards Corellian citizens. In a separate Council meeting he voiced the opinion that maybe the Council should exile Leia, something Master Luke Skywalker disagreed with. Kyle later said he didn't want to exile Leia in the meeting, admitting that he was the Master who had the least personal connection to her and even then, he realized that Jedi sometimes had to act beyond the government.

Characteristics
Kyle's personality was almost a Janus-faced one. On the one hand, Kyle appeared very self-confident and possessed an almost cynical dry sense of humor. On the other hand, he often doubted himself and always gave every choice a good deal of thought. He was an independent and free-thinking person, but at the same time his primary concern was always the safety and well-being of those he cared for. An ever-present factor appeared to be fear - fear of dying, fear of doing the wrong thing.

Soldier for the Empire
Katarn's blend of personalities made him a promising cadet leader while at the Imperial academy. Sergeant Major Hong especially appreciated the young cadet's skills, admiring Kyle's rational approach to his assignments. He also appreciated the fact that Kyle was not too proud to ask questions and ask for advice.

Hong was therefore fully confident that Kyle would handle his Omega Exercise well, which in Kyle's case consisted of an assault on a small Rebel operation on the planetoid asteroid of AX-456. Here Kyle showed that his heart was softer than most other Imperials, as he could not bring himself to order the execution of the Rebels his men had captured, but instead chose to let them go. Kyle's team ended up barricading themselves in the kitchen of the Rebel base. Once more displaying the mixture of cynicism, reason, and concern for others he inspired his team by giving them the following order: "Alright, men, stack some furniture in front of the door, and check the exits. It's time for lunch." Furthermore, he ordered some of his men to ransack the cooler storages of the kitchen, offering an overnight pass to the trooper who would create the most outrageous sandwich. Eventually, Rebel forces attacked, but Kyle's team managed to keep them at bay - suffering great losses though - until Imperial reinforcements arrived.

Kyle was injured in the process, but returned to the academy an Imperial hero.

Rebel agent
When Morgan Katarn died, and Kyle learned the truth about his death, Kyle changed. He became bitter and developed a strong hatred for the Empire. Accepting missions from the Alliance primarily directed at the Empire, he got the opportunity to kill many Imperial agents and thwart many of their plans. His fear of dying had vanished, but the fear of doing the wrong thing remained. While throwing himself into one death-defying situation after another, Kyle was always careful not to harm innocents and cared greatly for the safety of his partner Jan Ors. Ors considered Katarn reckless and saw his death defiance most of all as a result of Katarn constantly having to impress others. During his years as a Rebel agent, Katarn was a lone wolf, who preferred to work on his own, and teamwork was, according to Ors, not one of his strengths.

Jedi
"Why can't you Jedi just do things the simple way?"

- Kyle Katarn to Luke Skywalker

In his early years after becoming a Jedi, Kyle was strong in Force potential, but was unsure about this way of living. Because of this, he appeared weaker than he really was. During his youth he was never thought of as some superior Force user&mdash;not knowing his latent connection with the force&mdash;and thus his contact with it left him feeling overwhelmed and out of his place.



Although a powerful warrior, Kyle as a Jedi seemed to keep a low profile, being reluctant to embrace the Force itself. He repeatedly denied the ways of the Force, at one time going so far as to completely sever his own connection to it. The core of this reluctance was his fear of the dark side and distrust of his powers. He knew that deep inside, he was driven by lust for revenge and hatred against those that killed his father, which he knew all too well was an emotion fed by the Dark Side. He did call upon the Dark Side of the Force twice in the scramble for the Valley of the Jedi, as he had killed Maw in anger and used a dark side technique to defeat Boc. It was after the Dromund Kaas incident that he severed the bonds with the Force completely. His motivation for reconnecting with the Force was ultimately also motivated by revenge, as he sought to avenge Ors, whom he thought killed. But even in his darkest hours there would always be some light inside him and he would spare the lives of his worst enemies more often than not. When he learned that Ors was not dead, Luke Skywalker observed, Katarn changed, his hatred being replaced with hope, his lust for revenge being replaced with compassion.



Eventually, he came to accept his destiny as a Jedi Knight and seemingly adopted the Grey philosophy of the Force, arguing that no Force power is inherently dark or light, but that it fully depends on how and for what one uses it. He taught his students Korr and Penin this during their very first training session. Rather than being ashamed of his brushes with the Dark Side, he would openly share his experiences with his apprentices so that they would not make the same mistakes as he did. When Penin finally managed to reject the temptations of the dark side and returned to the ways of the Jedi and Korr managed to steer clear of the dark path altogether and emerged the hero of the crisis of the Disciples of Ragnos, Kyle finally realized that he was a worthy and powerful Jedi and a great teacher. His confidence increased&mdash;and it was clear that whatever hesitancy he may have once had was long since gone. With his doubts cleared away, he became one of the most powerful and revered Jedi Masters in the New Jedi Order.

Talents


"Your failure as a Jedi hasn't weakened you, it's only made you stronger."

- Desann to Kyle Katarn

Despite being almost completely self-trained, Kyle became one of the New Jedi Order's most respected Jedi Masters. With relatively little lightsaber combat training, Kyle defeated seven trained Dark Jedi: Yun, Gorc, Pic, Maw, Sariss, Boc, and then Jerec himself—an amazing accomplishment for the neophyte he was at the time. Kyle again showed great skill by defeating the Dark Jedi Desann during the Empire Reborn conflict. However, it should be noted that Kyle revisited the Valley of the Jedi to quickly restore his connection to the Force, which increased his raw Force potential as a side-effect. This may have allowed him to relearn powers of both the light and dark sides of the Force in a relatively short amount of time. It is also possible that because he had used them before they therefore naturally came back, as in the case of Darth Revan, an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith. Kyle showed a strong will, resisting the many taunts and mind tricks Desann used on him in the Yavin temple. During the events of the Disciples of Ragnos Crisis, Kyle had already become one of the strongest swordsmen in the New Jedi Order and successfully trained Jaden Korr, arguably the most famous hero during those events.



"Remember: powers are not inherently good or evil, it's how you use them."

- Kyle Katarn

Despite knowing the dangers of the dark side and constantly questioning his own adequacy, Kyle utilized the dark powers of Force Grip and Force lightning even as a Jedi Master. This, combined with a number of Kyle's statements, indicates that he was probably a gray Jedi and could have believed in the Potentium theory of the Force. While Kyle's fighting style may be a fighting style created by the New Jedi Order, it's also possible that it is a personal style based in part on fencing experience while at the academy. If the player chooses the Dark Side in the computer game, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Kyle uses many Force techniques, such as Force pulling an opponent's lightsaber away during a battle, as well as many physical attacks such as disarming an enemy, grabbing the character with one hand, and punching them with the other. However, it should be noted that Kyle did learn many techniques from the spirits of Qu Rahn and the ancient Jedi Tal in the Valley of the Jedi, such as the Flowing Water cut and the Falling Leaf attack.

During the events led by Desann, Kyle showed a great mastery of the Force by relearning powers of both the Light and Dark Side of the Force in a relatively short amount of time. An extraordinary swordsman, Kyle became the New Jedi Order's foremost Battlemaster. His general mastery of the Force was incredible and surpassed all but the strongest Jedi Masters.

Alternative endings
"Why do I need you, Jerec, when I can take all the power of the Valley myself?"

- Kyle Katarn

Kyle's story has alternative outcomes in some of the games in which he appears. Although the abovementioned story is canonical, the player has the option to follow the alternative dark side path in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.

In this version, Kyle killed Jan Ors when prompted and became the rival of Jerec. Yun, not particularly touched as Kyle proved to be just another fallen Jedi, fought him alone after Kyle escaped the falling cargo ship. Kyle corrected his previous mistake and killed the youth. After he defeated Jerec in the Valley of the Jedi, Kyle absorbed its power and took his position in Coruscant as Emperor of the galaxy, with Sariss at his side. He ordered her to destroy a small Rebel uprising on Danuta, which was ironically the location of his first major mission for the Rebel Alliance. Then, he took out the holo of his father saying, "I want you to remember, while you're at the academy, how very proud of you I am," the same holo he had been reflecting on when his mission against Jerec first began. He then dropped it on the floor and crushed it with his boot, removing all his connection to the past and the light.



The same option is available to Jaden Korr in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. In this version, Jaden turned to the dark side by killing Rosh instead of staying in the light by forgiving him. Jaden later dueled Kyle, overpowering his master with the Scepter of Ragnos he had stolen from Tavion, and escaped. Reflecting on the incident with Luke Skywalker, Kyle questioned whether or not he himself should be a Jedi, taking a leave of absence to apprehend Jaden. It is not yet certain that this is the apocryphal ending; however, the fact that Jan Ors later sought out Jaden to rescue Kyle from the Cloak of the Sith suggests that the light side ending is the canonical one.

The alternative ending of Jedi Academy, although not canonical, also gives some insight into Kyle's psyche in a case of failure and disappointment. Failure empowers his existing 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. However, as a final desperate act (and probably as an honorable act of self-punishment), he moves to personally find Jaden and correct his failure.

Portrayal


Kyle Katarn was originally voiced by Nick Jameson for Dark Forces. Actor Jason Court portrayed the character in the full-motion video sequences of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. For the close-ups of Kyle's hands and feet, actor and VFX artist C. Andrew Nelson doubled for Court. The in-game model was of course based on Court's appearance. 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 Rino Romano (in Mysteries of the Sith) and Jeff Bennett (in Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy). In Empire at War he is voiced by Brian Bascle and for the audio dramatizations of the Dark Forces novellas, he is portrayed by Randal Berger. This makes Jeff Bennet the only person to have voiced Kyle more than once.

Other

 * Although created only for the needs of a video game, Kyle became surprisingly popular, having the most appearances of all of the Inaugural Class Jedi Masters. One reason is obviously that the computer games he appears in became hugely successful and widely referenced. This success has been further developed by comparisons to Chuck Norris, which have prompted Star Wars-themed variations of the popular Chuck Norris facts.
 * According to the Dark Forces review of PC Gamer, Kyle was intended to be a 'blank' game character (more or less like Jaden Korr, Jedi Exile, Keyan Farlander, Rookie One, Revan and many other game protagonists like the one from Myst), with a customizable name, a mysterious past and an unseen face, in order to help players imagine themselves with the protagonist. It seems that this concept was abandoned; his name and background history are told in the manual of the final product. However the games still demand to enter a player name in order to save their progress.
 * Kyle was originally 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. This also allowed Kyle to finally make his comic book debut in Equals and Opposites&mdash;almost three years after the release of Star by Star in the United States.
 * Kyle Katarn appears as one of the hero character units in Empire at War and is one of only two Expanded Universe characters (Mara Jade being the other) in the game. His special abilities are "thermal detonator" and "sprint." He has no Force powers since the game takes place before his discovery of his connection to the Force, but it is possible that his sprint ability is meant to be an unrefined instantiation of Force speed, the first Force power he learns in Jedi Knight.




 * In the Dark Forces and Jedi Knight video games, Kyle is shown as having been clean-shaven during the Rebellion era. Curiously, recent products have retroactively abandoned this Rebellion-era depiction and replaced it with Court's bearded image. The Kyle Katarn action figure, the Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire novella, and the Empire at War and Lethal Alliance video games all present a bearded version of Kyle in this early period.

Products

 * An action figure of Kyle Katarn was made in 1998 as part of the Expanded Universe assortment of the Power of the Force 2 line. Although the figure was supposed to be from the Dark Forces game, he appeared to be an amalgam of Kyle Katarn from Dark Forces and Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight. His appearance was based on Jason Court from Jedi Knight, and the image on the blister had an altered image from Dark Forces with a beard added to make him resemble Jason Court. The figure came with a bryar pistol and a Rail Detonator from Jedi Knight, but not a lightsaber. He was later taken into consideration for a second figure rendition during ToyFares Fan Choice but lost to Quinlan Vos and Darth Revan.


 * A miniature of Katarn was released with the Star Wars Miniatures set Star Wars Miniatures: Universe. Kyle has a Very Rare level of rarity (circled star). The depiction is from his appearance in the Jedi Knight game, as he is shown holding his green lightsaber, and, while he has a small Force rating, he does not have any actual Force powers. Unlike most Jedi miniatures, he has the ability to use a blaster against non-adjacent enemies.