Cal Kestis

"You know I've been alone for... a while now. Without any...purpose. Just hiding. It's no way to live. Not for a Jedi. Or a droid. Maybe Cere was right. Maybe we're done hiding."

- Cal Kestis, to BD-1

Cal Kestis was a Force-sensitive human male Jedi Knight who survived Order 66 during the Clone Wars, due to the sacrifice of his Master Jaro Tapal. He became a member of the Scrapper Guild on the planet Bracca, working there as a rigger during the reign of the Galactic Empire. Before the rise of Emperor Palpatine, Kestis was a Padawan who served the Jedi Order during the final days of the Galactic Republic. He served alongside his mentor Jedi General Tapal in the galaxy-wide Clone Wars.

Everything changed for the young Jedi-in-training on the day of Order 66, the purge that all-but wiped out the Jedi Order. Betrayed by the clone troopers who served under their command, Tapal died protecting his apprentice from their former comrades. Having lost most of his fellow Jedi to the purge, Kestis went into hiding on Bracca but was ultimately discovered five years later by an Imperial group of Jedi hunters. Forced to reveal his secret connection to the Force, Kestis would reconnect with his Jedi roots as he sought to finish his training. To that end, he found a new mentor in the former Jedi Knight Cere Junda, who was on a secret mission of her own&mdash;to rebuild the fallen Jedi Order.

Early life
A human male, Cal Kestis was a young member of the Jedi Order during the last years of the Galactic Republic. During his training to become a Jedi, Kestis traveled with Grand Master Yoda to the ice planet Ilum and participated in The Gathering, a rite of passage where all Jedi younglings retrieved a kyber crystal to build their lightsaber. He would eventually be taken as a padawan by Jedi Master Jaro Tapal.

Clone Wars
During the Clone Wars that spanned across the galaxy, Kestis served in the Grand Army of the Republic while training as a Padawan under the supervision of Jedi General Jaro Tapal. Following their successful mission on the planet Bracca, Kestis and his Jedi Master were preparing to leave for Mygeeto when Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine initiated Order 66, declaring every Jedi an enemy of the state. The clone troopers of the 13th Battalion that served faithfully under the Jedi's command suddenly turned against their general, determined to kill them both.

Kestis was able to avoid most of the clones by sneaking through the ventilation system while Tapal sabotaged their ship's reactor, ensuring the Venator-class Star Destroyer's imminent destruction. Despite losing his original lightsaber, Kestis made it to the escape pods with his master, but both were attacked by clone troopers as they attempted to evacuate the Star Destroyer. Although they managed to enter one of the pods, Tapal sustained several wounds to the chest, fatally injuring him while Kestis received a minor cut to his jaw. Kestis was unable to save the life of his master, who died imploring his pupil to stay true to the Jedi way, await the Jedi High Council's signal, and trust only in the Force. Kestis, who kept Jaro Tapal's lightsaber, was traumatized by the ordeal.

Age of the Empire
In the years following the rise of the Galactic Empire, former Padawan Kestis went into hiding in order to escape the purge that killed most of his fellow Jedi. He found work on Bracca by joining the Scrapper Guild as a rigger, while the Empire consolidated its reign over the galaxy. Despite his efforts to remain hidden, the Imperial Inquisitorius ultimately discovered his connection to the Force, compelling Kestis to flee for his life once more. With the Empire's Jedi hunters pursuing him, Kestis sought to complete his training and become a true Jedi. In the course of his travels, Kestis fought the Empire by working alongside Saw Gerrera's Partisans and also discovered a new mentor in Cere Junda, a former Jedi Knight who secretly endeavored to restore the Jedi Order to its former glory.

Encounter with Darth Vader
"That doesn't look good." "It isn't. It's him."

- Cal Kestis and Cere Junda, on encountering Darth Vader

During his search for the Holocron of Jedi Master Eno Cordova, Cal ventured into the Fortress Inquisitorius to retrieve it back from Trilla Suduri, the Second Sister. After defeating her in combat, Cere Junda managed to convince her to turn away from the Dark Side. Upon doing so, Trilla senses and heard the presence of Vader lurking behind her, realizing he had witnessed her shift away from the Dark, Trilla could sense her final moments were near and quickly yelled "Avenge us!" to Cal and Cere before Vader struck her down. Cal and Cere activated their Lightsabers in response to the danger Vader posed.

Cere leaped for Vader head on with Trilla's Lightsaber, this proved ineffective as Vader was able to swat her away with a simple Force gesture sending her down the Fortress chasm. Cal completely outmatched and alone, Vader told Cal "You would be wise to surrender." Cal could sense the danger Vader posed and agreed with Vader's remark however he did not back down. Vader was able to effortlessly pick up Cal with the Force incapacitating him completely before throwing out of the room and down the walkway. As Cal stumbled to his feet, Vader hurled parts of the flooring at him. Cal was able to get back on to his feet and run for his life, with Vader right behind him sending Stormtroopers to their death and ripping the room apart Cal was just barely able to make it to the turbolift on the other side of the room and reach lower levels to escape.

When Cal opened the door to his escape, Vader was already waiting for him, attacking Cal unaware he was able to push him to the ground and stagger him. As Vader came in for the finishing blow he sensed the Lightsaber thrown at him from behind from Cere after escaping the chasm somehow. Vader was easily able to deflect her attack. Cere and Vader momentarily engaged in a duel, but Vader proved to be far superior, quickly forcing her to go on defensive and disarming her with one powerful strike. Before Vader could finish them off however Cere tapped in the Dark Side to slow down Vader, Vader sensing the anger in her tried to convince her to give in to her anger. Cal told Cere that she still had a choice and she doesn't have to do it, Cere realizing her mistake of giving in would not happen again. As Vader struck with his Lightsaber, Cere was able to put up a Protection bubble to block his attack, seeing this would fail quickly, Cal used the Force to destroy the already damaged glass holding the water out submerging them. Vader was able to hold off the large quantity of water with the Force but this action allowed Cal and Cere to escape.

Personality and traits
A human male, Cal Kestis served the Jedi Order as a Padawan before Order 66 ensued. After the fall of the Jedi, Kestis went to serve the Scrapper Guild as a rigger, a physically demanding and dangerous job. However, Cal was regarded for a focused work ethic and sense of humility he generally kept for himself, yet he was quiet and hard-working.

Lightsaber skills
As a Padawan, Cal originally had a single-bladed blue lightsaber until he lost it down an elevator shaft while trying to deflect blaster shots from clones. In the escape pod, Jaro gave Cal his damaged lightsaber, and he kept it with him until the crystal broke on Dathomir. Using its remains, Cere Junda's lightsaber and two pieces of a kyber crystal on Ilum, Cal built a double-bladed lightsaber that could split into two separate lightsabers. Like all Jedi, Cal's training made him highly athletically adept beyond the limits of normal beings, which he used to traverse difficult terrain and overpower Imperial soldiers with ease.

Cal also displayed competence with Jar'Kai. His skill allowed him to hold his own against Imperial Inquisitors: defeating Second Sister after a prolonged duel and overpowering the Ninth Sister. However his skills were not enough to defeat Taron Malicos, requiring assistance from Nightsister Merrin and even with Cere Junta's aid he was completely outmatched by Darth Vader, who disarmed him and with one strike, and knocked him on the ground.

Force abilities
Kestis was able to use Force push, Force pull and Force Stasis to great effect against the Empire. Cal was also extremely skilled with the Psychometry Force technique, being able to recall events in the past that left a strong Force residue behind years or even centuries after their happening. However he was no match for Vader, who broke his Force barrier and nearly choked him to death.

Other abilities
A speaker of Basic, Kestis also understood Binary.

Behind the scenes
Cal Kestis is the protagonist of the Star Wars video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which was released on November 15, 2019. He is portrayed by Cameron Monaghan. Before settling on Kestis, the game developers thought about having either an alien or female protagonist, but Kestis was ultimately used because they didn't want to "alienate" the player nor have a female protagonist competing with Rey, the sequel trilogy's protagonist.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order