Bardan Jusik

"So how do we justify what we are doing now? Breeding men without choice, and without freedom, to fight and die for us? When do the means cease to justify the end? Where is our society heading? Where are our ideals, and what are we without them? If we give in to expedience in this way, where do we draw the line between ourselves and those we find unacceptably evil? I have no answer, Masters. Do you?"

- Bardan Jusik, as a Jedi Knight, addressing the Jedi Council on the matter of clone troopers.

Bardan Jusik, later known as Gotab, was a male Human Jedi Padawan to Master Arligan Zey. He was also a Commander at the time of the Clone Wars and aided in briefing clone commandos before a mission. He was against the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic and even addressed his negative ideas to the Jedi Council. He was later promoted to Jedi Knight and became a General in the GAR. He later abandoned the Order to join the Mandalorians, saying that he couldn't fight for a Council that approved the slave labor that was the GAR.

Biography
"Bard'ika, I'll take that image to my grave."

- Kal Skirata, on Jusik wielding a lightsaber in full Mandalorian armor

Early years
Little is known about the childhood of Bardan Jusik, but it seems likely that he spent most of it at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant under the training of Master Zey.

Mission to Coruscant
Jusik took a liking to a Null ARC Trooper named Ordo, and worshiped him as a hero. Because of his rapport with Ordo, Kal Skirata selected him to be part of a black ops team whose mission was to neutralize CIS terrorist cells operating on Coruscant. For this mission, Bardan would work with Skirata himself, Ordo, Null ARC trooper Mereel, Delta Squad, Omega Squad, Mandalorian warrior Walon Vau, and fellow Jedi Etain Tur-Mukan.

Throughout the course of the operation, Bardan grew steadily closer to the clones and Skirata, the former often referring to him as "vod'ika" (an affectionate form of the Mando'a word for "brother"), and the latter often calling him "Bard'ika" (Mando'a for "Little Bardan", expressing fatherly affection). By the end of their mission, he had been accepted into the fold as a Mandalorian warrior, even donning his own set of Mandalorian armor for the final battle with the terrorists.

Jusik fought the terrorists valiantly and he and his comrades won the day. Following the battle, Bardan knew that his affinity for the Mandalorian culture would be viewed by the Jedi Council as attachment, but he did not see it in the same light. He decided that if he were asked to choose, he would be Mando.

Bardan would continue to serve in the GAR, leading troops on several fronts until he was assigned to track Ko Sai with Delta, though he was forced to blow the mission in order to allow Skirata to get to Sai first. After being confronted with increasing amounts of evidence pointing to clone executions by the Republic, Bardan declared to Zey that he would follow his heart; that of a Jedi's, and protect innocents. By doing this he resigned from the Order, stating he couldn't betray his men to death. Zey was sorry to see him go, but allowed him to keep his lightsaber.

Life as Gotab
"At least I lived to see the day. Su'cuy, Mand'alor, gar shabuir."

- Gotab, on witnessing the meeting of Boba Fett and his nephew Venku

Jusik's activity during the rest of the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War is unknown, but he would come to live on Mandalore under the name Gotab, posing as a Kiffar healer with psychometric abilities. Bardan now appeared as thin-featured, with a beard turned white with age, although his hair still retained traces of its dirty-fair color; he still wore full Mandalorian armor.

He was an associate of Fett's genetic nephew Venku, the son of clone trooper, Darman. Venku's protective, emotional attitude towards Gotab had once led the bartender of the Oyu'baat, a tapcafe in Keldabe, to think that the younger man could be Gotab's son.

In 40 ABY, Bardan, pretending to be simply a random passerby, made a point of witnessing the first meeting of Boba Fett with Venku.

Shortly afterwards, when Boba and his granddaughter Mirta Gev were looking for clues on how Sintas Vel had died, they decided to have the Heart of Fire read by a Kiffar, in the hope that the psychometric abilities of Sintas's people could give them some information. Venku then reintroduced them to Gotab in the Oyu'baat.

Mirta gave him her half of the necklace for him to hold, and after saying some things to Boba to overturn the old bounty hunter's initial skepticism, he told both Boba and Mirta that Sintas went after a gangster on Phaeda. This led them to the discovery that Sintas had been frozen alive in carbonite by Hidu Rezodar.

When Jaina Solo came to Keldabe to receive training from Boba Fett, she noticed Bardan and Venku's force sensitivity. He also noticed hers, and, while she had not told anyone else of her status as a Jedi, he knew, and held a blaster to her face, saying "Hello, Jedi". She later revealed to Fett and Goran Beviin that he had been a Jedi. Beviin was very surprised that he had not found that out by himself.

He was later called upon by Jaina to help heal the recently freed Sintas Vel, who, after being frozen for thirty-odd years, was blind and had amnesia. The effort taxed the elderly man greatly, and after Sintas had regained some sight, Venku stepped in, and said that that was enough for one day. Bardan would come back at regular intervals, healing more and more of Sintas's shattered mind.

After the Battle of Fondor, in which the Mandalorians had taken part, Bardan and Jaina had a long discussion about the Jedi Order, compassion, and what Jaina should do about her Sith Lord brother. He revealed that he had twenty great-great-grandchildren, through the many sons and daughters he and his wife had adopted. He also shared an anecdote with Jaina about a pet strill that had gone mad, attacking its loved ones because of a tumor in its head. He said that the owner had to shoot the poor creature, ending it's life for the good of itself, and the other. Jaina felt the strill was likened to her brother, and that she would have to kill him to save her family, and himself. Bardan showed her that he still carried around his lightsaber, and that Venku carried around two blue ones, one belonging to his mother. He also said that he had taught Venku how to use the weapon, but not for the reason Jaina believed. As Venku and Jaina squared off in a sparring match, Bardan watched on, signaling for them to begin.

Behind the scenes

 * With the release of Republic Commando: True Colors Karen Traviss verified that Gotab is indeed the former Jedi Bardan Jusik. This was later confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt with Jusik's own confession in the novel Revelation.

Appearances

 * Republic Commando: Hard Contact
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Republic Commando: True Colors
 * Sacrifice
 * Revelation