Darth Talon

"I am your life. I am your death. You have passed your final test without flinching. I name you Darth Talon and you will now be one of my Hands&mdash;My own personal assassin. Henceforth, you will take orders only from me&mdash;report only to me."

- Darth Krayt

Darth Talon was a female Lethan Twi'lek Sith Lord in Darth Krayt's One Sith as of 137 ABY. Talon was styled with black Sith tattoos covering her body, head, and lekku; each having been earned in ritual combat and inscribed by Krayt himself. As a Sith apprentice, Talon was trained by a fellow Twi'lek Sith Lord named Darth Ruyn, whom she later killed on Krayt's command with a swift decapitating strike of her lightsaber, shortly before ascending to the rank of full fledged Sith Lord herself.

Recognizing her unshakable loyalty, Krayt had Talon become one of his two Hands, extensions of his own will. In this capacity, Talon found herself working alongside the other of Krayt's Hands, Darth Nihl. Talon was often tasked with her master's most important missions; including the capture of Cade Skywalker. Indeed, for a short time, Talon acted as the Sith Master of Skywalker, however, he soon renounced the Sith, injuring Talon in the process; though she survived, her position in the eyes of her master was severely undermined.

Training
"Apprentice&mdash;do you know why your Master had to die?" "Because you ordered it, Master."

- Darth Krayt and Darth Talon

Talon was a third-generation Sith, raised and trained on the ancient Sith burial world of Korriban to serve as the second of Darth Krayt's two Hands, Darth Nihl being the other. Thus, she had no idea of what life was like outside the order and had no purpose to her existence other than to serve as the executor of Krayt's will. A test of her loyalty came early when Krayt ordered Talon to kill her instructor, Darth Ruyn, who had just presented her to Krayt for final evaluation. Talon responded without hesitation.

Pursuit of a princess
"I am Darth Talon&hellip;I am my master's hand&hellip;I am your death."

- Darth Talon to Wolf Sazen on Vendaxa

She was then instructed by Darth Krayt to find and kill Emperor Roan Fel. She therefore went after his daughter, Princess Marasiah Fel. She planned on the Princess fleeing to her father, or Roan Fel coming and assisting his daughter. Then, at that time, Darth Talon would kill them both.

Talon discovered that Marasiah Fel was on Socorro, hiding within the Imperial Mission there. In her pursuit of Marasiah, Talon encountered and battled the female Human Imperial Knight Elke Vetter, who was Marasiah's guardian and mentor. After Talon incapacitated the Imperial Knight by cutting off her arm and leg, she interrogated her through the Force to find that Marasiah escaped with Astraal Vao, one of the local missionaries. Then, Darth Talon killed Vetter and pursued the two through a maze of burning buildings.

However, Marasiah and Astraal were able to outrun her and make it to Cade Skywalker's starship, Mynock. The two were able to jump aboard before Darth Talon could make it on, and flew to Vendaxa. However, Talon was able to sense where they were planning on heading.

Confrontation on Vendaxa
"My master's patience is exhausted. Take the Princess. Darth Krayt will tear the location of her father's hiding place from her. Slay the rest&mdash;carrion for Vendaxa's scavengers."

- Darth Talon

Darth Talon pursued the Princess, Astraal, and the crew of Mynock all the way to Vendaxa, where the Jedi Wolf Sazen and Shado Vao rendezvoused with them. There, Talon set about sabotaging the unattended Mynock and setting explosives aboard the Jedi's transport. Then she summoned a herd of jungle beasts and used the dark side of the Force to direct the beasts into attacking Princess Marasiah and her party.

As the fleeing Princess and her escort, as well as the smugglers under Cade Skywalker defended themselves with blasters from the ferocious animals, Talon engaged the two Jedi, artfully dueling with them with a series of acrobatic flips and leaps into the air. The Sith Twi'lek drove off Shado Vao literally with a Force push, and then remarked to Master Sazen that Darth Nihl had marked him for death, and that she would finish the job. She electrocuted him with Force lightning, nearly shocking him to death if Marasiah hadn't drawn her own lightsaber and deflected the lightning. Cade Skywalker then used the Force to smash Talon with a large hunk of wreckage, sending her soaring through the underbrush of the nearby jungle.

Darth Talon was not killed, but instead was severely wounded. Darth Krayt felt her fall through the Force, and sent Darth Nihl and other Sith to reinforce her on Vendaxa.

As soon as two Predator-class fighters arrived, Darth Talon saw a great opportunity to make her move and make the kill. She now had both Marasiah and Roan Fel&mdash;or so she thought. The men that had arrived in the fighters were actually Imperial Knights coming to rescue the Princess. This was a disappointment to Talon, but she was not alone to fight her enemies. As soon as the Imperials arrived to protect the Princess, Darth Nihl and a group of Sith Lords arrived to make the fight even.

As the skirmish between the Jedi and the Imperials against the Sith started, Talon engaged Shado Vao in lightsaber combat. Soon, Marasiah was thought to be dead by her companions, but she was still barely alive. As the crew of Mynock, the Jedi, and the Imperials boarded Cade's ship, Talon attempted to board the ship as well, but was Force-pushed off by Antares Draco.

After the battle, Talon returned to her master, expecting to be executed because she failed her mission. But when she informed him that she had faced a Skywalker on Vendaxa, Krayt told her to bring Skywalker to him alive.

Duel at the Temple of the Sith
"How do you like me, schutta?! Think you can take me now?!"

- Cade Skywalker to Darth Talon

When Skywalker arrived on Coruscant, Krayt detected the Jedi's presence. Full of confidence, Cade infiltrated the Temple from below, releasing the Bothan Jedi healer Hosk Trey'lis. But Talon was in wait beside a long pool inhabited by an immense dianoga. She cut off their escape, disabled Hosk with a Force push, and engaged Cade. In the midst of a parry she revealed that both Jedi were wanted alive, infuriating him, and setting off the young Jedi's skirt with the dark side. He unexpectedly disarmed her and brought her to bay.

Unbeknownst to either, however, Darth Nihl was watching, though he had not been entrusted with the mission by the Dread Lord. He intervened, Force choking Cade and rendering him unconscious. Darth Talon, despite her apparent imminent loss, resented the intrusion. She prevented Nihl from killing her prize, but he went on to tell their master of Cade's capture.



Training Cade Skywalker
"Darkness calls to darkness. It calls to you. You can feel it like a heart beating within this temple."

- Darth Talon

After she brought Cade Skywalker back to the Sith Temple, Darth Krayt brought Talon, Darth Wyyrlok, and Skywalker into his private quarters. There he revealed Kol Skywalker's lightsaber under transparisteel, and he revealed to the three his true identity of A'Sharad Hett.

After Krayt told his story to Cade and Talon, Cade made a mockery of Darth Krayt. Enraged by this, Talon lashed out at Cade, attacking him with the Force, only to be Force-pushed into a wall by Cade. He then used his healing powers to re-open her recently healed wounds, almost killing her. Krayt ordered Cade to stop and heal her. Once Talon was healed, Darth Krayt ordered her to become Cade's teacher in the ways of the dark side. As she trained Cade, the two also shared a more intimate relationship, deepening the bond they had forged when Cade healed her. But Talon sensed that Cade was only pretending to be one of them. However, Krayt did not share Talon's concerns, as he felt that by pretending to be a Sith Acolyte, Cade would end up in the grip of the dark side.

Second duel
Talon, along with Darth Nihl, was present when Darth Krayt killed Hosk Trey'lis after Cade refused to do so. Cade took up his father's lightsaber and began a duel with the three Sith Lords. Talon was the first to be incapacitated by Cade when she was stabbed through the stomach by Cade, taking her out of the fight.

After Skywalker's narrow escape from the temple, Talon was seen being tended to by Darth Maladi. She was then placed in a bacta tank.

Had Abbadon
After recovering, Talon joined Krayt, Darth Stryfe and Maladi to Had Abbadon, where Skywalker was spotted. Talon dueled against Skywalker, taunting him that he's closer to the dark side than he thinks.

Personality and traits
"We all live or die as Krayt wills, Stryfe. At his word, I would cut out my own heart. Or yours."

- Darth Talon, to Darth Stryfe

Darth Talon was cold and dispassionate, and followed the commands of Darth Krayt without question or hesitation, as shown when she decapitated her Sith Mentor Darth Ruyn at his request. She was unmerciful like most Sith, keeping Elke Vetter alive only for the amount of time needed to extract the location of Marasiah Fel from the grievously wounded Imperial Knight.

Powers and abilities
Talon's ability in combat was considerable. She was able to kill her teacher, Darth Ruyn, in a single leaping strike, without having to engage him in a protracted lightsaber duel (although this can be argued, due to the fact that Darth Ruyn had only just presented Darth Talon to Darth Krayt for final evaluation, and [therefore] never saw Darth Krayt's upcoming betrayal to [Darth Ruyn] and order to [Darth Talon] to kill him coming). In addition, she literally and metaphorically "disarmed" Elke Vetter without taking any physical damage. Her skill at fighting was further exemplified by the fact that she was anointed as one of Darth Krayt's two Hands, as aforementioned. On Vendaxa, Darth Talon was able to outfight two Jedi Shado Vao and Wolf Sazen simultaneously, showing her aptitude at lightsaber combat. Only a last-second move from the nearby Princess Fel prevented Talon from slaying Master Sazen.

She was known to use acrobatic flips and leaps in lightsaber combat. These dexterous feats may indicate that Darth Talon is a practitioner of Ataru, a swift, powerful lightsaber form emphasizing the Force to propel users into such acrobatic maneuvers. Her talents at fighting, as well as her rank of Hand, put her at a status greater than the majority of the Sith.

Talon was also skilled in Force techniques such as Force lightning, by which she executed Elke Vetter. Darth Talon was also able to force the Imperial Knight to verbally reveal the location of the Princess by a Force technique where she summoned a cyan circle of light before her adversary. Darth Talon was also able to use Force push to shove Shado Vao to the ground with such force that he was unable to recover for some time. She was also able to shadow the Princess as she was running away from the burning Imperial Mission that was her former hiding spot, indicating her skill at concealment. Whether it was physical, Force-affiliated, or a mixture of both was unknown. If Force-affiliated, this might be indicative of the rare talent of Force concealment.

Talon also appeared to be a skilled pilot, knowing how to operate starships and a speeder bike. She also had Sith tattoos that were common in the new Sith Order.

Lightsaber
Darth Talon, like almost all Sith, was armed with a single crimson-bladed lightsaber. It was elongated and notched with crisscrossing grooves. The hilt was constructed of a material that physically did not appear to be metal, and instead resembled a sort of rock or plant.

Behind the scenes
In Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, it is incorrectly stated that Darth Talon was a Hand in 130 ABY. She did not gain either the name Darth Talon or the Hand title until 137 ABY.

In The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, it is incorrectly stated that Darth Talon was killed when Cade Skywalker ran her though with his lightsaber in Star Wars Legacy 19: Claws of the Dragon, Part 6.

An action figure of Talon was released in 2008 as part of Hasbro's Comic Pack line, paired with Cade Skywalker.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy: Broken
 * Star Wars Legacy: Claws of the Dragon
 * Star Wars Legacy 23: Loyalties, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 27: Into the Core
 * Star Wars Legacy 30: Vector, Part 11
 * Star Wars Miniatures: Legacy of the Force ad

Notes and references
Darth Talon Darth Talon Darth Talon