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Atton Rand, nicknamed "Jaq", was an Echani-trained pilot that helped the Jedi Exile defeat the Sith Triumvirate.
Biography
- "I'm a deserter. It's what I do."
- ―Atton Rand
Atton fought in the Mandalorian Wars as well as the Jedi Civil War. He originally served the Republic, but when Revan defeated the Mandalorians and assumed the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, Atton defected to his side, along with a great number of Republic forces that had served him in the war. During the start of the Jedi Civil War, Atton was part of an elite unit of assassins, trained to hide their presence and thoughts from Force-users. He and others like him who were not trained to feel the Force, were sent on missions to kill or capture Jedi, that would be broken and converted to the Sith.[1]
The ruthless Atton seemed to have a natural talent for it, and his superiors recognized his passion for wanting to make Jedi suffer in any way he could, but most of all by making them fall to the dark side. Near the closing days of the war, Atton was eventually confronted by a female Jedi who informed him of his Force-sensitive nature, warning him that the Sith would undoubtedly come after him and break him into a Dark Jedi if they found out. Atton believed her since he had already heard rumors of disappearances of those who were found to be Force-sensitive in the ranks, but his hatred of the Jedi wouldn't allow him to see reason, and in retaliation he captured her and tortured her nearly to death.[1]
Then just when he thought she would die, she awakened the Force inside him, and allowed him to see life, to see what he was doing to it all around him when he harmed others. Atton would later reveal to the Jedi Exile that at first, he thought he would love to kill her, but at the end he killed her because he loved her (this could mean that he hastened her death to end her suffering, or to spare her from being broken by the dark side). Disillusioned and pained with self-loathing, he deserted the Sith and went into hiding until the end of the war.[1]
After fleeing the Sith, Atton hid in the refugee sector of Nar Shaddaa, blending in with tens of thousands of refugees who had been displaced in both wars. It was here that he became a smuggler, transporting slaves, refugees, spice and other kinds of vice to and from the Smuggler's Moon. He eventually came into contact with Coorta, a greedy miner working on the Peragus Mining Station, who was planning to smuggle an unconscious Jedi Exile to Nar Shaddaa to collect a standing bounty on the Exile. Coorta needed Atton's skills in order to accomplish this. Unfortunately he was caught by the station security and left imprisoned within a force field. Ironically this predicament actually saved Atton's life. Shortly after being imprisoned, the mining droids and ventilation systems became corrupted and they effectively cleansed the facility of all life while Atton remained safe within his security field.[1]
As luck (or the Force) would have it, he was soon discovered by the awakened Jedi Exile and, after a brief introduction, was rescued. They agreed to work together until they could escape from the station, but due to circumstances and being chased by the Sith, he, the Jedi Exile, and Kreia were forced to stay together as far as Telos. When they were imprisoned by Atris, Kreia became suspicious of Atton's lingering fear of the Jedi, and used the Force to probe his mind involuntarily. Despite his skills for shielding his thoughts, he was unable to prevent the powerful Kreia from unearthing his entire sordid past. She then used this knowledge to black-mail him into staying with the Exile, for despite his uncaring demeanor he didn't want her to know what he had done, or who he really was.[1]
- "I don't know how you became such a manipulative witch – but why a vicious old scow like you would even bother with me is a bigger mystery."
- ―Atton Rand to Kreia
Atton's web of lies eventually came crashing down; while on Nar Shaddaa the Exile was approached by two shady Twi'lek's who told her that they had seen Atton when he was first in hiding there, and that he wasn't a mere smuggler, but a murderer. She confronted Atton about this, and while angry at her persistent questions, she had earned enough of his trust at this point that he told her the whole truth about his past. She forgave him for what he had done and welcomed him to stay with her on her journey to stop the Sith, and at his request she awakened him to the Force once again, and trained him to become a Jedi Sentinel. From that point on Atton traveled with her and her entourage to several key worlds (Korriban, Dxun, Dantooine) until they would part ways at the Battle of Telos IV (or possibly Malachor V). Afterwards, the Exile left to follow Revan into the Unknown Regions, leaving Atton and the other behind–knowing she could not take anyone she cared for with her.[1]
Personality and traits
- "I've hunted a lot of people in my line of work, but I never met someone who wants to get lost more than you do."
- ―Mira
Atton Rand
Atton faced the galaxy with dismissive apathy. His laid-back attitude and unwillingness to take a position of responsibility often jarred with Kreia's grimness as the two traveled together. He also had an irrational hatred of droids – on Peragus, he asked the Exile if she had destroyed the HK-50 because "droids can't be trusted," referred to T3-M4 as a "trash compactor" and even accused that T3 had stolen the Ebon Hawk on Telos, saying "He's probably joyriding around the system right now, laughing at us — laughing at me!" Where this dislike for droids stems from is unknown.
The most remarkable aspect of Atton's nature was his resistance to Jedi mind techniques. He originally taught these to himself so that he would make an effective assassin, as they would prevent him being detected and give him some resistance to Force powers. The defense was so effective that even Kreia had to make a concerted effort to probe his mind. He later taught the Exile the technique he used; it simply involved a repetitive task to keep the mind occupied. These could be as simple as counting pazaak cards in his head.
Atton was also a man who refused to give up, often standing to rejoin a fight even when seriously wounded. He furthermore relied on his gut instincts to see him through. These instincts turned out to be surprisingly reliable, though this could well be attributed to his Force sensitivity.
Behind the scenes
- Atton Rand is a character in the computer and Xbox game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. He is voiced by Nicky Katt.
- The name "Jaq" is seen inserted between Atton's first and last names, but it is most likely in fact his original name, as Kreia and he himself alludes that "Atton" is not his true identity.
- To train Atton as a Jedi Sentinel, the player must first obtain sufficient influence points, and then speak to a pair of Twi'leks in Nar Shaddaa's refugee sector. Atton will then divulge his past, and ask to be trained.
- Atton is the game character who repeats the classic line, "I have a bad feeling about this", as a reference to the movies. He follows in the footsteps of the previous game's character Mission Vao, in this respect. Atton's "bad feeling" is also used as a small in-game feature: The game notes that when Atton is in your party and expresses his "bad feeling," then it is a good idea to save the game.
- According to Chris Avellone [1], Atton was patterned after a developer called Darren Monahan.
- Atton Rand was originally supposed to be the name of the main character of the early production version of Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, but was cut out of it. The player character was eventually named Jaden Korr. If the player beats the game at least twice and gets both "light side" and "dark side" endings, the next play through Atton will introduce himself by mentioning this very fact.
- If Atton falls to the dark side, Darth Traya predicts Atton will go back to being a murderer and will hunt down and kill Jedi at every opportunity, until he too is consumed by his hate.
- Atton was featured in many plot crucial scenarios that were eventually cut from the final game:
- He and the other companions of the Jedi Exile would group together on Malachor V, and attempt to kill Darth Traya before the Exile arrived. Their plan failed, and like the others Atton was quickly defeated and imprisoned.
- If the Jedi Exile had more influence with Mical than himself, Kreia twists his jealousy until he falls to the dark side, and travels to Malachor V where he awaited and challenged Mical to fight to the death.
- Atton duels with Darth Sion, and after losing is severely tortured and mutilated before being left for dead. If this happens, he would not be included in the companion confrontation with Kreia.
- After being left for dead, the Jedi Exile would find him and stay until his final moments. He poured his heart out to Exile, and if the player was female, finally confessed his love for her before dying in her arms.
- Alternatively, Atton survives and rejoins the Exile after Darth Traya is defeated. In his usual cocky tone he asks where they're going, as the two leave Malachor V behind them forever.
- Despite the fact that he asked the Exile how she could understand droidspeak, or "garbage," he later understood what T3-M4 was saying when T3 returned after stealing a ship ID signature from Vogga the Hutt.
- Like many other names in the game, Atton's name suggests a word – atone, or atonement.
- Reporter Kella Rand may be a distant decendant of Atton's family line.
- It can be assumed that Atton is one of the "lost Jedi" Darth Traya mentions in her last moments, the Jedi who would re-build the order after its near total destruction. Traya was evasive about Atton's role in the future, as she had a long running animosity with him, and considered him nothing but a fool, but a fool that the Force looks out for.