- "I can't abide this creature named Boc. He is one of the few that actually uses two lightsabers in battle. He is a crude individual that lacks both tact and teeth. Only a Dark Jedi can he be."
- ―Qu Rahn as a Force ghost, to Kyle Katarn
Boc Aseca (pronounced Bocas'eca in Twi'leki), nicknamed Boc the Crude, was a male Twi'lek who was one of the Seven Dark Jedi that Kyle Katarn faced and defeated in his quest to protect the Valley of the Jedi. Once dreaming to become a Jedi, that hope was taken from the Twi'lek when he was deemed too old by the Order. Years later, Boc joined the Galactic Empire and became Inquisitor Jerec's maddest and most sadistic disciple.
Biography[]
Early life and heroic visions[]
Boc was born on Ryloth in 32 BBY, but as a twist of fate, the system's Jedi Watchman Anoon Bondara was killed that very year. Although Boc was born as a Force-sensitive, it was not discovered until much later. Boc admired the exploits of famous Twi'leks Jedi heroes such as as Tottdon'eeta during the Old Sith Wars, and of New'arforrth during the Ruusan campaign; but when finally his talent was discovered by Nejaa Halcyon, he was already too old for Jedi training. His dreams crushed, Boc felt as though he was cheated out of his destiny.[1]
Boc was gifted with a psychometric Force power, which allowed him to read "memories" from inanimate objects through physical contact. Forrth's funeral ashes were crystallized into three idols that bore his likeness, and Boc used the Force to read the impressions from these idols, accessing shards of Newar's memory. He was mesmerized by the images he saw of Jedi victories at the Battle of Malrev IV and Ruusan. This only helped fuel his passion to become a Jedi Knight.[1]
The Empire[]
The rise of the Galactic Empire and the events of the Great Jedi Purge once again crushed Boc's dreams of becoming a Jedi. To make matters worse, the Empire also encouraged the Twi'lek slave trade. Boc found himself as the manservant of the harsh and bigoted Vice Admiral Terrinald Screed. Inquisitor Jerec noticed the Force-sensitivity in Screed's new servant and demanded that he be turned over to the Inquisitorius, to be executed; Screed complied and handed the Twi'lek over.[1]
Jerec had other plans for him though, sensing that Boc had information regarding the legendary Valley of the Jedi, for which Jerec was searching. Jerec used the Force to rip the information that Boc had gathered from his mind about Ruusan. He enslaved Boc and rewarded him with a cruel quasi-apprenticeship that fueled Boc's hatred toward Humans. In the end, however, Boc became a Jedi—a Dark Jedi.[1]
Dark Jedi[]
Boc was one of the six Dark Jedi, along with Yun, Sariss, Maw, Gorc, and Picaroon C. Boodle, that accompanied Jerec on his quest for the Valley of the Jedi.[2] During the Subjugation of Sulon, Maw and Boc were tasked with adorning the walls of Barons Hed with the heads of the defeated Rebels.[1]
During the Mission to Dorlo he was in the assault shuttle that boarded Duno Dree's transport, disabled over the planet. He ordered the Rebels to surrender, and after the ultimatum, he motioned his force of commandos to drill a hole in the hatch and shove a nozzle of sleeping gas; soon they strapped Qu Rahn and his companions to stretchers and brought them to the shuttle, which brought them to the Vengeance.[3]
When Jerec introduced his apprentices to Rahn, Boc reminded to Jerec that he had promised the Jedi's heart; Rahn taunted him saying that he can't win his heart, enraging the Crude Twi'lek, who started threating with cutting out his tongue; Jerec silenced him, pointing out that the Jedi was trying to distract Boc's anger, whereas he should focus it instead.[4] During the interrogation Jerec executed two of the Rebels, as Rahn refused to reveal what he knew about the Valley of the Jedi; then came the turn of Duno Dree, a young pilot who was crying and shaking in fear, yet as he bravely turned to Jerec, once more, defying him, Boc accepted the role of executioner, and in a fast move, he snapped the neck of the young Human. When finally Rahn remained alone, totally defeated, he stole Yun's lightsaber and attacked Jerec's peers. Boc awkwardly performed some spins and then gracefully attacked Rahn's head and missed; in a movement Rahn severed one of the Twi'lek's tendons, who fell down, but Yun pulled him away. He was later taken to the sick bay and his tendon was reconnected, but caused him pain and limping.[3]
Mission to Sulon[]
Jerec probed Rahn's mind and learned that the secret to the Valley of the Jedi he was coveting was somewhere on Sulon, the home of Morgan Katarn whom Jerec had killed years earlier. Boc, Sariss and Yun were sent to Sulon to investigate, and there they discovered a map carved on the ceiling of the farmhouse. There, the three Dark Jedi numbered the tiles and removed them, loading them on a shuttle with a grav pellet. He argued a little with Yun when he complained about his aching leg, and about how Jerec tolerated them. When Yun asked for instructions, Boc prompted him to Sariss. Before leaving, Boc sensed that they were being watched; Sariss dismissed his worries, considering that they had attracted some attention, but Boc pointed out that he was a Force-sensitive. Then they left for Baron's Hed. It turned out that the presence he sensed was Kyle Katarn, who returned to his home.[3][4][2]
Invading a lost planet[]
Eventually the Map provided with Jerec all the necessary knowledge and his fleet moved to the lost planet of Ruusan where the Valley was located.[3] While in orbit, they discovered Fort Nowhere, a settlement of smugglers and dissidents. Upon Jerec's orders, Sariss took with her Boc and Yun to go down and "negotiate" with the settlers, and the three made a reconnaissance flight on an assault shuttle; Yun wondered what was so awful that made the dissidents relocate to such a dumpsite, and Boc remarked that they were fleeing from them: the Empire.[5]
Marie Peeno allowed the shuttle to land in the Fort, attracting many curious settlers around; they were surprised to see the three individuals carrying lightsabers, among them "a worm-head". After Sariss made an example of a dissident, fear filled the rest, who started to disperse, making Boc to laugh hysterically, bringing even more fear on their faces. While Sariss interrogated the officials, Boc and Yun investigated the Fort and found no evidence that the settlers had knowledge about the Valley or the planet's past. Sariss lied that the Empire would leave the colonists alone after their cooperation, but prepared an attack soon after. The three Dark Jedi participated in the following battle of Fort Nowhere, emerging from assault shuttles to slaughter the citizens. Boc was finishing off the wounded.[5]
Back on the Vengeance, Jerec sent for Yun and Boc opened the young Jedi's hatch. Yun, who was having one of his nightmares, sensed the light, rolled off his bed and activated his lightsaber. Boc laughed seeing him nervous, and notified him about Jerec needing his "scrawny presence". Yun made a threatening step forward, causing one more laugh from Boc, who advised to save this aggression for later.[5] Asked about dreaming about blood, Boc replied to Yun that what keeps him warm every night.[6]
It turned out that Jerec wanted Yun to be present in the "excavations" or looting of the artifacts found in the Valley of the Jedi. The operations had stirred the trapped spirits of the ancient Jedi and Sith, who, after centuries of imprisonment, screamed and harassed the Imperials. As a result, the powers of a Jedi were required to hold them back. Yun was disappointed to be sent to such a lowly task and thought that Boc would perhaps be "too unpredictable" for it. After a couple of days Yun was reassigned by Sariss to investigate a missing patrol squad, and Sariss put Boc on the matter of screamers.[5]
On the planet, Boc was with Jerec and Sariss when they set a trap for Kyle Katarn, which involved the capture of his partner, Jan Ors and brought her to the Valley Tower.[5][6] Boc gave her a beating for his amusement.[6] Oblivious to all these, Kyle made his way to the tower, and was lured to the Dark Side by Maw, whom he slew defenseless. Jerec's trap to corrupt the fledgling Jedi had sprung, and the three Dark Jedi emerged from a door. Boc shoved captive Jan forward, with Jerec prompting Kyle to kill her and join them.[5][6] Boc hopped like a fool expecting for the next death.[5] Kyle retreated to the Sulon Star and Jan tried to reach him, but Boc slammed her down and put his foot on her chest laughing.[5] He offered to run after the fugitive[6] but the ship fell by itself pushed by Jerec's Force powers.[5] Jerec ordered his three remaining servants to find Kyle and destroy him.[6]
Encounter with Katarn[]
The Dark Jedi found the wreckage of Kyle's ship and found him unconscious inside, subsequently pulling him out to the night air. He took the lightsaber that Kyle had been used, and with which he killed Maw earlier. It was night when the captive regained consciousness, still paralyzed from the shock and pain, allowing Boc to tease him sadistically. The Twi'lek produced the Jedi's lightsaber tauntingly in front of him, dropped it and raised a rock above his head. Kyle could only watch in his pain as the Dark Jedi crashed it under the rock, commenting that older lightsabers were better, pointing out that Katarn was not smart enough to build one by himself. Boc's taunts made Sariss tired and sent him to Jerec to report the finding of Katarn and his execution, pointing out to their victim that he shouldn't expect something more welcoming for them, and left laughing with maddening glee.[5]
Boc ended up in the Valley of the Jedi near Jerec harnessing the power of the Force nexus. Jan Ors who was Katarn's partner, friend, and love interest was kept nearby, tied on a column, vulnerable to Boc's taunts and harassments.[2] At dawn, Kyle Katarn entered. Boc had taken the position of a statue, motionless and unseen among the hundreds of Jedi statues that adorned the Valley, and spied on Katarn. Having constructed a mind shield, his presence was concealed by the Jedi's senses. In his thoughts he wondered how the Rebel was still alive, and where were the other two; he got his answer when he noticed that Katarn wore Yun's lightsaber.[5]
It was when Kyle released his partner when Boc revealed himself, offering Jan to "silence" for her the annoying voices inside her head.[6] He ignited one of his lightsabers, and clashed it on Katarn's. Smiling, he told Katarn to send regards to the dead Dark Jedi peers he killed earlier. Momentarily, he ignited his second lightsaber which surprised Katarn and passed right in front of his face. Boc sensed the Jedi's fear and moved forward, weaving patterns in the air with his double bars of humming energy. He felt triumphant but sensed another threat; Ors tried to support Kyle by throwing rocks at Boc. The stones were no match for his lightsaber flurry, nor she for his mental attack[5] and he started to play with Ors by giving her small wounds.[6] But the distraction gave enough time to Katarn who struck Boc with an ancient dark side technique known as spear of midnight black. Boc dropped his lightsabers and moved his hands as if trying to "remove" the spiritual weapon from his chest. He collapsed at the feet of Newar Forrth's statue.[5][1][2]
Personality and traits[]
- "Standing here counting these grav-sleds go by are making my leg ache."
"You'd better not let Lord Jerec hear you complaining, he'd make you wish it was only your leg aching!"
"Jerec talks like a Hutt ganglord, but he wouldn't dare harm one of us. Arent we his prized Dark Jedi?"
"Face it, Boc for all our power we are his tools. He'd throw you away like a worn-out hydrospanner."
"Then curse him! Even if he did teach me everything I know."
"Boc, we are Jedi, we don't believe in curses!"
"Really? Tell that to the spirits trapped in this Valley of the Jedi... if it exists." - ―Boc arguing with Yun
As Boc matured in the dark side of the Force, his hatred became overshadowed by a highly developed madness. He would speak with distinct pauses, often laughing between words, and he managed to remain a joker even in the most serious situations. Despite this, Boc's speech was eerily precise, he was quite capable of maintaining rational conversation, and he never allowed his deranged manner to distract from his focus on a situation.
It is unknown how much of Boc's personality was actually insanity that had consumed him, and how much was a creative ploy. Many who encountered Boc perceived his wild emotions as a testament to his weakness. Sariss, one of Jerec's other Dark Jedi, would shout orders at the Twi'lek with spite and impatience. In the brief moments when darkness clouded Kyle Katarn's thoughts, he regarded Boc as a mere "nuisance," and even the late Jedi Master Qu Rahn was inclined to dismiss the Dark Jedi as a crude one who lacked "tact and teeth"—in a word: ineffective.[2]
Someone who enjoyed tormenting living creatures, Boc was in cheerful mood whenever he was on the field, leading a mission, thinking of the suffering he would cause. The fact that he often found himself leading a task force of (mostly xenophobic) humans, with absolute authority over their lives, without thinking of anyone's opinion, gave him pleasure. His eagerness brought him leading his forces from the front, unlike what most of his peers would do, something appreciated by the men under him.[3]
Boc was grateful to Jerec for teaching him all that he learned. But when Yun warned Boc that Jerec would discipline them, Boc didn't take Jerec's threats seriously, considering that he prized his Apprentices, although Yun was more realistic about it.[4]
Jerec certainly saw enough power in the Twi'lek to have him by his side often, and the crazed Dark Jedi was the last challenge to stand between Katarn and Jerec himself. Regardless, madness was Boc's final passion: when he realized that Katarn had struck the death blow against him, he laughed maniacally with his last few breaths before finally collapsing.
Powers and abilities[]
- "His sadism makes him an excellent Dark Jedi."
- ―Jerec
Boc's lightsaber skills and Force mastery grew in proportion to his growing anger and madness. As a practitioner of Form VI, his fighting style was described as unorthodox and unpredictable. Boc also often tricked opponents into believing he wielded a single wide lightsaber, but it was in reality two lightsabers—in the midst of battle, the Twi'lek would separate the modified weapon and launch into an awkward, seemingly clumsy, but deadly imitation of his idol's two-bladed Jar'Kai style.[1] One of his combat strategies included jumping about incessantly, making it as difficult as possible for his opponent to make a physical strike against him, all the while laughing and taunting his foe.[2]
His senses were perhaps more acute than those of his peers, as during their mission to Sulon he was the only one, among Sariss and Yun, who felt Kyle Katarn's presence, and his wish to take revenge on them; something the other two had difficulty to realize.[4] Other than Jerec, Boc is the only known individual to have been adept in the use of Force Destruction, a rage-powered manifestation of the Force. He could also draw on the ability to telekinetically throw debris at his enemies. Further, he had at least a limited ability to conceal his presence, both physically and from other Force sensitives, as Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors learned when one of the supposed statues in the Valley of the Jedi suddenly leaped from its pedestal to confront them.
Behind the scenes[]
The name Boc Aseca is an anagram of the Spanish words "Boca Seca", which literally translates to "Dry Mouth".
While realized by a computer-generated imagery character in the game itself, Boc is portrayed by actor Time Winters in cutscenes after completion of certain levels.
There are two disparate accounts as to how Boc officially died. According to the illustrated novella Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, Katarn used the dark side of the Force to forge an invisible spear of midnight black, which he hurled at Boc, killing him almost instantly. In The Dark Forces Saga, Katarn put an end to Boc's Jedi dreams by cutting the Twi'lek down with his lightsaber at the foot of the statue.
Appearances[]
- Dark Forces: Rebel Agent
- Dark Forces: Rebel Agent audio drama
- Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (First appearance)
- Dark Forces: Jedi Knight
- Dark Forces: Jedi Knight audio drama
Sources[]
- "Building a Better Jedi: Justin Chin on Dark Forces II" — Star Wars Insider 31
- Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II - Characters on LucasArts.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- "Straight from the Horse's Mouth" — Star Wars Insider 40
- "The Dark Forces Saga, Part 4" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- "Underworld: A Galaxy of Scum and Villainy" — Star Wars Insider 89 (Indirect mention only)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 27 (Star Wars A–Z: J) (Indirect mention only)
- 2010 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Series 5 (Card: Sketch Cards)
- Aseca, Boc in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Katarn, Kyle in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Essential Reader's Companion
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "The Dark Forces Saga, Part 4" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Dark Forces: Rebel Agent
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Dark Forces: Rebel Agent audio drama
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 Dark Forces: Jedi Knight
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Dark Forces: Jedi Knight audio drama