Ben Skywalker

"I'm just afraid of placing an extra one on his shoulders. Suppose I named him Obi-Wan, as a salute to my old master? Would he think that means that I want him to grow up to be a Jedi? Would he think he had to live up to Ben's reputation?"

- Luke Skywalker

Ben Skywalker was the son of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker and was named after his father's first mentor, Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi. For most of his early life, Ben was sequestered in safeworlds so that his parents could fight the Yuuzhan Vong and keep him safe; however, the pain and suffering caused by the Yuuzhan Vong War caused Ben to withdraw from the Force. Later on, Ben began to open himself up to the Force due to the guidance of his cousin and informal teacher Jacen Solo.

With Jacen's guidance Ben became confident in his use of the Force and was becoming a powerful Jedi. During the Confederation-Galactic Alliance War, Ben joined the Galactic Alliance Guard against the Council's wishes, partly because of his desire to make a name for himself and escape his father's fame. On a GAG raid Ben made his first combat kill, an event which shook him to the core, and shattered his once unblemished view of his master, Jacen Solo.

Pre-birth (25 ABY–26.5 ABY)
"How long before we get to sleep through the night again?" "If this one is anything like the Solo kids, I'd say at least another twenty years."

- Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker

As Mara Jade was infected by Yuuzhan Vong coomb spores, she and Luke decided against having children. However, despite their efforts, Mara found, while attempting to heal her body with the Force, that she was pregnant. Mara and her nephew, Anakin Solo, were on Duro in 26 ABY when she sensed the unborn child, even though she had feared that the spores would render her barren. Although a temporary cure was found in the tears of a Fosh named Vergere and sent the disease into remission, it started to return and threatened Mara's health once the tears ran out. This was due to her efforts to keep the spores from attacking the child, which drove her to a near-death state while giving birth. Fortunately, the disease was permanently cast out of her body with the help of Luke, baby Ben, and perhaps the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi. During this ordeal, Luke had his first vision of Ben as a young boy by a river holding a stone. After his birth, Luke and Mara made it their primary goal to protect their son from any danger during those dark times. With his birth, Luke confronted his fears and pushed himself to the frontline of battle.

Yuuzhan Vong War (26.5 ABY–30 ABY)
"He could sense it. Think of what could happen to him!"

- Mara to Luke



During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Ben was born aboard the Star Destroyer Errant Venture, shortly after the Skywalkers were forced to flee Coruscant during heightened troubles between the Jedi and the New Republic Senate. The Skywalkers then moved into Eclipse Station, a secret base for the Jedi in the Deep Core. As a baby, Ben was brought to Shelter in the Maw black hole cluster by his uncle and aunt, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, with all of the other Jedi children along the Great River. He was then in the custody of Leia and Han and raised on Coruscant for a short time. Leia and Han enjoyed their nephew's company, but in some ways Leia was reminded of her late son, Anakin.

Ben had little contact with his parents, though became embroiled in a kidnap attempt by the treacherous Senator Viqi Shesh during the Fall of Coruscant. Viqi Shesh was caught on camera in the Solo's apartment kidnapping baby Ben while her guards killed Leia's bodyguard. Fortunately, Lando Calrissian and C-3PO were able to save Ben high above the Galactic capital. After this incident, Mara and Luke wanted to spend time with him, but all attempts were halted by the war and Luke and Mara's dedication to the order. During this time, Mara feared that this separation caused anxiety in young Ben. Mara, being overprotective of her son, hired a defender and nanny droid, Nanna, to keep him safe&mdash;though Ben would often trick the nanny droid into shutting down. He would later find this annoying and admitted that he wanted to be more like his uncle, Han&mdash;working on his own and doing things the hard way. During the waning days of the war Mara and Luke decided that Ben was safer with them and brought him to Ossus to be raised with them. Even when he got to spend time with his parents, he never really understood them&mdash;especially his mother.



While attempting to find answers about the Yuuzhan Vong, Luke, Mara, and Ben's cousin Jacen traveled to Zonama Sekot, where Luke had his second vision of an older Ben flying a starfighter of an unknown design. It was here that his father learned more facts about his grandfather from the Magister Jabitha. According to Jabitha, Anakin and his master Obi-Wan Kenobi came there to find Jedi Knight Vergere&mdash;the same Vergere whose tears had cured Mara's illness&mdash;and were interested in the planet's living ships. Jabitha went on to explain that that the planet was attacked by Wilhuff Tarkin, and how Anakin saved her from a Blood Carver by using the Force to kill him. However, when Luke tried to tell her what became of Anakin in the following years, she tensed up and told them not to ruin her memory of him.

Though Ben survived the Yuuzhan Vong war, the pain and suffering he had sensed through the Force during that dark time caused the infant to cut himself off from the Force. During this time, Ben developed the ability to hide himself in the Force, which made it difficult for his parents to locate him. It was then that his parents realized that their son had pulled away from the Force because of all the bloodshed, pain, and suffering during the war. He didn't want to use the Force or follow its callings, because he feared it will bring more trouble in his life. It was also during this time that his empathy with Humans began, particularly around his parents and aunt. Luke and Mara were careful with their emotions around Ben, in fear that their son would pull farther away from his powers and Jedi heritage. Despite this, Ben continually refused to use the Force, a disturbing development his parents did not know how to overcome. However the experience left Ben wary of his parents which caused him to resent his parents, especially his father, and chafed against authority.

Meeting Gorog
"I just hope Ben grows up to be as fine a man as Anakin was. Nothing could make me more proud." "Thanks. He will."

- Mara Jade Skywalker and Han Solo

Ben went with his parents to the Unknown Regions during the war. Han Solo discussed to Mara how Ben inherited many of Anakin Solo's traits including a headstrong defiance of others. When Ben was eight years old, during the buildup to the Swarm War, he befriended a Killik named Gorog, thinking of the creature as his friend. Ben was unaware, however, that by befriending Gorog, he had put his mother in grave danger. Secretly, Gorog attempted to brainwash the child to join the Dark Nest, but the plot was uncovered by Mara, who was forced to kill the Killik. Despite this, Ben was still able to sense the Gorog nest's presence and thoughts.

A year later, his cousin Jacen Solo took on Ben as an informal apprentice. Ben felt comfortable around Jacen, and slowly began to open himself up to the Force with Jacen's guidance. Luke and Mara saw it as their only way to get Ben to open up to the Force. Mara and Luke reluctantly let their son train with Jacen, but Mara still had doubts about Jacen and didn't trust him. During the time Ben spent with Jacen, his raw Force power sometimes boiled to the surface. The time and distance away from Gorog, however, had done nothing to weaken his connection to the Dark Nest and only narrowly avoided becoming a full joiner. During the war he accompanied Jacen in his Starskiff to Hapes where he served as a co-pilot.

When they arrived in Hapes, Queen Mother Tenel Ka presented her child to Ben, and he was able to figure out that the Gorog were planning to kill the baby of Jacen and Tenel Ka. Although he attempted to persuade them not to, his nest-mates managed to convince him to help them, which caused Ben to instinctively apply an untrained powerful Force Push against Tenel Ka, due to his overwhelming connection to the Gorog. However, this connection allowed them to avoid the bugs and escape only to be confronted by Tenel Ka's grandmother, Ta'a Chume, who hired agents of the Dark Nest to kill Allana. He then witnessed Jacen use the Force to give her a brain hemorrhage that sent her into a coma. Jacen decided that he could not trust Ben with the knowledge he had, and erased Ben's memory of the visit.

When Luke was told by Lowbacca and Tesar Sebatyne that Jacen had tampered with Ben's memory, Luke confronted his nephew. Jacen responded with a cover-up story, explaining that when a group of Ewoks on Endor had been captured and killed by a Gorax, Ben had felt their deaths in the Force&mdash;and thus erased the traumatic memory from Ben in order to prevent him from retreating further from the Force. Although Luke was able to sense that Jacen was hiding something, he accepted the story. Mara, however, became suspicious of Jacen and became disturbed by his behavior. After the incident, Ben kept his father company when he was looking for answers about the death of his grandmother in the memory banks of R2-D2. He was presumably present with his parents and Jacen when Artoo showed them holograms of Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Becoming a Jedi


Prior to the outbreak of the Swarm War, Ben was present at the Conclave on Ossus along with the rest of the New Jedi Order. His father had summoned all the Jedi throughout the Galaxy using the Force as he was concerned for the New Jedi Order and its future, but using the Force to call the Jedi, together with his old age, made him temporarily weak. Luke and Mara then told Nanna to bring Ben as Luke felt that his son should be there. It was then when his father declared himself the Grand Master of the Jedi Order.

At the age of nine, Ben attended the Praxeum on Ossus where he learned how to handle a lightsaber. Closely guided by his mentor and childhood hero, Jacen, Ben began to gain confidence in his use of the Force.

The lost lightsaber
Years later, presumably after completing his training at the Jedi Praxeum, Ben managed to track down his father's lost lightsaber, previously owned by his grandfather Anakin, which was in the possession of a Dark Jedi. The Dark Jedi was preparing to imbue the weapon with the power of the dark side, but Ben took it from him before he was able to do so. Though it is not known what happened in the ensuing battle, it can be assumed that Ben slew the Dark Jedi as well as the other dark-siders who were present and took his grandfather's weapon as his own.

Mission to Adumar and aftermath
"I'm sure he'll grow up into a fine Jedi Knight&hellip; years and years from now."

- Admiral Niathal

After several years of training under Jacen, Ben became more open to other people and the Force. He viewed Jacen as a father figure and attempted to mirror some of Jacen's traits. In 40 ABY, a thirteen-year-old Ben and his master, Jedi Knight Jacen Solo, were sent on a mission to uncover an illegal missile factory on the planet Adumar. By this time, Ben displayed a greater maturity and willingness to use the Force. He and Jacen were there to investigate whether or not Adumari missile-manufacturer Dammant Killers were developing concussion missiles for planets close to rebellion, as Galactic Alliance regulations chafed against planetary interests. When they got to their destination, Ben and Jacen were given a tour of the facility by an Adumari tour guide named Testan ke Harran, who commented on Ben's lightsaber. The two Jedi were to pose as Jedi investigators for the Galactic Alliance and use the Force to detect any uneasiness from the workers or foremen at the plant. The mission ended in a violent ambush when the two discovered a secret room containing missiles. Despite being confronted by twenty Adumari guards, Ben managed to transmit information to the Alliance.

The incident sparked political unrest that threatened to ignite into total rebellion that could have shattered the young Galactic Alliance. In a desperate attempt to avoid such a fate, the Alliance readied a preemptive display of military might in a bid to bring the rogue worlds to heel. In a display of poor decision making, Corellia, the Solo home planet, was chosen as target of this exercise. To prevent Corellia from using its main planetary repulsor, Centerpoint Station, Luke sent Jacen and Ben to disable it, though both Luke and Jacen had their doubts about Ben participating in the mission&mdash;for Thrackan Sal-Solo had somehow been able to use Anakin's biometrics to activate the repulsor. Before they were able to start their mission, the Alliance Intelligence and Ben's father, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker convinced scientist Toval Seyah to assist him and Jacen in their mission to destroy or disable Centerpoint Station. Seyah put the Jedi pair through several simulated scenarios and provided the two with a datachip that he thought could cause the ancient station to tear itself apart.

After the simulations, the pair went on their mission to the Centerpoint Station. While Jacen created a diversion by destroying many of the CorSec guards, Ben, separated from his Master, went inside the control room only to find a four meter tall droid that believed itself to be Anakin Solo. Thanks to Ben, Thrackan Sal-Solo's plans to use the Centerpoint Station were foiled. This action was not only due to Ben's successful persuasion, but because the droid still contained Anakin's morals. Ben, for his part, kept his meeting with the droid a secret from everyone, except his father, who later advised him not to tell his aunt and uncle.

During the negotiations at Toryaz Station, Ben, the Jedi, and the politicians were attacked, causing him to feel that the assassination attempt was his fault due to his success of destroying Centerpoint Station. After the attack Ben and his Master, Jacen, went to Lorrd to investigate the mysterious tassels and the events at Toryaz Station. According to the locals, Force ghosts took the image of someone they loved and appeared before them, making them insane like the local Ordith Huarr. There Ben saved many people by warning them to run away from a Y-wing about to be blown up by the Huarr. He found the shuttle the Jedi were looking for. Ben met Nelani Dinn, a Jedi Knight assigned to Lorrd at the time, and developed a crush on her.

Along with Jacen and Nelani Dinn, Ben followed a woman named Brisha Syo to an asteroid lair of Darth Vectivus. Later, Syo revealed that she was none other than Lumiya, a Sith who had once known Ben's grandfather and father. While Brisha attempted to subvert Jacen to the dark side, Nelani and Ben battled the Force Phantoms conjured by Lumiya to keep them at bay. Ben had to battle a Force Phantom that looked like his mother; he would have won, but at the last moment decided not to kill the phantom because it had his mother's face, so the ghost defeated him and rendered him unconscious. After Nelani's confrontation with Jacen and Lumiya, Ben was then told that Nelani Dinn and Brisha Syo had been killed by a Sith Lord. Jacen left the asteroid to search for an apprentice of his own, as Ben had been deemed too steeped in Jedi ways. When they left Jacen again tampered with Ben's memories and removed the memories of Lumiya from him.

Growing up
"Ben has grown up very, very fast."

- Luke Skywalker on his son

During Jacen's fall to the dark side, the Confederation-Galactic Alliance War was well under way, creating a rift between the Solos and Skywalkers as they took opposing sides. Due to attacks on Coruscant by Corellian dissidents, Ben's mother was given the opportunity to lead an anti-terrorist organization, which she refused. After she refused, the job was given to Ben's Master, Jacen, who gladly accepted, creating the Galactic Alliance Guard with Ben at his side, something his father and many other Jedi Masters were not pleased by.

As Jacen fell further to the dark side, Ben was shocked as Jacen tortured and killed the bounty hunter Ailyn Habuur during an interrogation. Jacen didn't find the information he was looking for, but Ben successfully deduced that the bounty hunter had been tracking the Millennium Falcon. During the chaos Ben befriended Barit Saiy, a Corellian living on Coruscant. In order to understand Corellia's reason for attacking Coruscant, Ben decided to investigate on his own. Shortly afterwards Ben stumbled onto a GAG raid where he saved a Galactic Alliance officer from being killed.

After visiting several Corellian parts of Coruscant, he participated in a Galactic Alliance raid that resulted in him killing two people, one that was unarmed protecting a member of the GAG. Sometime after this he realized that the Corellian he had befriended, Barit, might be up to no good, and informed Jacen to his whereabouts, resulting in Barit's arrest. During this period, Ben was constantly trying to piece together how Nelani and Brisha had died, believing that what Jacen had told him made sense and yet no sense at the same time. He also failed to understand the true nature of the war and believed that everyone was fighting themselves, a belief once held by his grandmother, Padmé Amidala. Shortly afterwards, he revealed to his parents a murder he committed during the GAG raid. Ben began to wonder about Jacen and even considered that he didn't want to be like him any more. Despite this, Ben continued to train under Jacen, believing that he could teach him techniques that he desperately wanted to learn.

"...you were acting like a Jedi wannabe."

- Jaina Solo to Ben

Shortly after the disastrous incident, Luke decided to test his son in order to see if he was corrupted by Jacen's teachings. The test involved a sparring match in which Ben was supposed to make his father activate his lightsaber. The young boy showed Luke that he knew how to fight and survive in battle but lacked good sparring ability. He couldn't break through his father's defenses. After disarming Luke, Ben picked up the lightsaber and tried to ignite it, to no avail. His father's saber didn't even have a power cell inside. Upset, Ben asked his father if he could have regular duels with him, which Luke happily agreed to. Jacen began teaching Ben lightsaber combat and even started to influence Ben to use emotions associated with the dark side without Luke's knowledge. Shortly afterwards, Ben was sent to rescue Jaina and Zekk after their StealthX's had been destroyed by Miy'tils owned by Ducha Galney. Once rescued, Jaina and Zekk began to talk with Ben and Ben unknowingly gave away a few secrets of his training. Jacen also began to teach him how to lie; not even Jacen himself knew when Ben was lying to him in their practices. During Jacen's hunt for Han and Leia, Ben attempted to arrest Han aboard the Millennium Falcon while it was being shot at by the Anakin Solo under Jacen's orders. During the incident, Ben accidentally wounded Zekk with his lightsaber.

Following the battle, Luke informed Ben and Jacen that he was returning Ben to the Jedi Temple for training, and removing him from Jacen's tutelage. Though Luke claimed it was due to his suspicion of Lumiya trying to get at Ben, he secretly believed that Jacen was falling to the dark side, and thus decided it was better for Ben to train at the Temple.

Ben was later sent a message through Seha Dorvald by Lumiya (posing as Jacen) to recover a Sith artifact, the Amulet of Kalara. After leaving the Jedi Temple and Coruscant against the wishes of his parents, Ben started his search on the Almanian moon of Drewwa. There, he discovered that the amulet seemed to have been stolen by a man called Faskus. During his mission, Ben came across an R2 unit named Shaker, who tagged along.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad. For my fourteenth birthday, I killed a little girl."

- Ben Skywalker saying a potential reply after seeing a holographic message from his parents

Surviving by his wits, Ben tracked Faskus to an encampment on Ziost and retrieved the amulet. Faskus was dying of injuries that Ben's attack worsened but that he initially received while saving his young daughter, Kiara, from their transport as it was strafed by a TIE fighter. Before dying, Faskus requested that Ben take care of Kiara, and he explained that a Bothan named Byalfin Dyur had been the one to steal the amulet and had ordered Faskus to take it to a cave on Ziost. Ben abandoned the little girl at first, but then reconsidered and decided to take her with him as he searched for a way to leave Ziost. Along the way, Ben, Kiara, and Shaker battled predators that resided on the planet and were observed and strafed by several TIE fighters under Dyur's command. Ben struggled with the dark influence of voices that haunted his dreams and even urged him to kill and eat Kiara when they ran out of food. However, Ben resisted these voices and realized that Kiara seemed able to sense the dark side within him. Ben also realized that, just as he had initially prioritized his mission over Kiara's life, it was possible that Jacen might also sometimes be wrong in his priorities.

After following the guidance of the voices, Ben and his companions discovered a living ship, actually a Sith Meditation Sphere. Ben used what he had learned from the voices to activate and fly the ship off Ziost and into a dogfight with Dyur's freighter and its remaining TIE fighter. Using his anger to fire the ship's weaponry, Ben destroyed the TIE fighter and damaged the freighter, presumably killing Dyur too.

Ben returned Kiara and Shaker to Drewwa and headed to the ship Anakin Solo, where he handed the amulet over to Jacen before returning to Coruscant. The unpleasant ordeal on Ziost had negatively affected Ben's idolism towards Jacen though as evident in his less enthusiastic reactions towards Jacen's praises.

Behind the scenes
"Is he also invited to comment on major story developments as well (such as marriages or children?)"
 * In a Hyperspace celebrity chat, Mark Hamill voiced his support of the decision of the EU authors to name Luke and Mara's son Ben, saying that "Pablo just told me about this. It doesn't surprise m[e]. Somebody using's their head. George had talked about me handing Excalibur down to the new young hopes if there ever was a sequel trilogy, and not having hooked up with anyone, it makes sense that Ben ends up being the most influential person in Luke's life. It all makes sense, and I'm glad the caretakers are doing such a good job with the galaxy."
 * At the forums on starwars.com, Sue Rostoni was asked the following question (about George Lucas):

- from poster laureilie

To which she responded, "No, not necessarily. I believe we let him know that Luke was getting married, but I doubt we informed him of Ben."

- Eeusu Estornii

Appearances

 * Balance Point
 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Star by Star
 * Dark Journey
 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * Destiny's Way
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Equals and Opposites
 * Force Heretic II: Refugee
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * The Unifying Force
 * Dark Nest I: The Joiner King
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * The Lost Lightsaber
 * Betrayal
 * Bloodlines
 * Tempest
 * Exile
 * Sacrifice
 * Inferno