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- "They need this final hunt done quickly and quietly… and we're the best."
- ―Guun Han Saresh
In 3993 BBY, Jedi Knights Duron Qel-Droma, Shaela Nuur, and Guun Han Saresh were sent on a secret mission to hunt terentateks on the Sith homeworld of Korriban. Having established themselves as the best hunters in the Jedi Order in the Great Hunt of previous months, the three Jedi were specifically handpicked by the Jedi High Council to undertake this task. After journeying to the planet, the group began its investigation in the Dreshdae settlement. However, before they fought a single terentatek, Saresh left the group, disapproving of the budding romance between Qel-Droma and Nuur. Without their compatriot, Qel-Droma and Nuur proceeded onward into the Valley of the Dark Lords, where they believed the terentateks were living.
Venturing into a cave, Qel-Droma and Nuur eventually came across a terentatek. Although Qel-Droma planned to confuse the beast with a mental Force power, he realized that he could not make contact with the terentatek and was killed before he could react. Consumed with grief and anger at the death of her lover, Nuur chased the terentatek deeper into the cave, eventually coming across the beast in the ancient tomb of Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow. There, she was attacked by another terentatek and was killed.
Prelude
- "After all, Duron, Shaela and Guun Han are our greatest hunters… together, they can resist the dark side."
- ―Aleco Stusea
Duron Qel-Droma, Shaela Nuur, and Guun Han Saresh are given their mission.
In 3996 BBY, the Great Sith War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire led by Sith Lords Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma drew to a close, with a Sith defeat. Although the Sith armies had been bested, many Sith-created monstrosities still survived on planets across the galaxy, posing a threat to the Jedi Order and the general populace. In response, the Jedi High Council organized the Great Hunt, a collaborative Jedi effort aimed at eliminating these beasts wherever they trod. During the Hunt, a Jedi posse including Jedi Knights Duron Qel-Droma, Shaela Nuur, and Guun Han Saresh garnered considerable renown as the very best the Order had to offer. The group traveled to worlds such as Onderon, Tython, and Yavin 4, focusing on battling terentateks[1]—vicious, highly dangerous creations of Kun that fed off Force-sensitive blood.[2]
After a successful Jedi mission to Tatooine, an official end was called to the Great Hunt. However, the Jedi Council handpicked Qel-Droma, Nuur, and Saresh to undertake a secret mission. The Jedi would travel to the Sith homeworld of Korriban, a planet deeply steeped in the dark side, and eliminate terentateks that were believed to exist on the world. Together, it was believed that they would be able to resist Korriban's dark lure. Once on Korriban, the three Jedi stopped in the Dreshdae settlement and began their investigation into the whereabouts of the terentateks. However, the group became strained, as Saresh disapproved of the budding romance between Qel-Droma and Nuur. Feeling that their relationship put the mission in danger, Saresh left the group in order to hunt a "great beast" he had heard lived in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk. Before he departed, Saresh gave Qel-Droma and Nuur a keycard that would grant them access to the Valley of the Dark Lords—where they believed the terentateks were—leaving his compatriots to take the beasts on by themselves.[1]
The cleansing
- "I can't make contact…"
- ―Duron Qel-Droma, immediately before his death
Duron Qel-Droma lies dead in Shaela Nuur's arms.
Three days after Saresh's abrupt departure, Qel-Droma and Nuur ventured forth into the Valley of the Dark Lords. As they approached a cave, the two Jedi sensed something through the Force—they realized that, at that moment, Saresh had died in his pursuit on Kashyyyk. Although disturbed by the loss of their friend and former teammate, Qel-Droma and Nuur pressed on into the cave. Together, the hunters slew several lesser beasts, including shyrack and kinrath, as they progressed farther into the caverns. Finally, at long last, they encountered a terentatek. Although Qel-Droma planned to use mental Force powers to confuse the beast while Nuur attacked it up close, he realized to his horror that he could not make mental contact with their target. Before he could react, the terentatek tossed Nuur aside and grabbed Qel-Droma in one of its large claws, fatally wounding him.[1]
Nuur rushed to her fallen lover in grief, but Qel-Droma reassured her—as he lay dying, the Jedi had a prophetic vision, showing him that a Jedi named Revan would eventually find his body and use his robe to help him defeat a Sith Lord. After relaying this hopeful message to Nuur, Qel-Droma died. Nuur was left alone and was filled with rage at her lover's death. Her mind set on vengeance, Nuur set out after the wounded terentatek, following the cave system into the ancient buried tomb of Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow. Within, she found the injured beast but was surprised by a healthy terentatek that was hidden in the shadows. With no way out, Nuur deactivated her lightsaber and allowed herself to be killed by the terentateks.[1]
Aftermath
- "The Council felt it was too dangerous to send anyone else in search of their remains, so their exact fate is not known. But let their deaths serve as a warning to you, Padawan. The terentatek are an abomination, they are ruthless engines of death and destruction. The Council had no choice but to destroy them, for the greater good of the galaxy. There is not much I can tell you other than their names: Duron Qel-Droma, Guun Han Saresh and Shaela Nuur. They disappeared nearly forty years ago, long before my time at the Academy."
- ―Deesra Luur Jada, to Revan, years after Qel-Droma's death
Although the Jedi Council was relatively certain that Qel-Droma and Nuur had perished on Korriban, due to the danger inherent in sending someone to find their bodies, their exact fate remained uncertain.[3] In 3956 BBY,[2] Qel-Droma's body was discovered by Revan, during the Jedi's quest to find the Rakatan Star Maps—as Qel-Droma had predicted in his dying words, Revan took the Qel-Droma robe and soon afterward defeated the Sith Lord Darth Malak.[3]
Behind the scenes
The Great Hunt skirmish on Korriban made its first appearance in "Shadows and Light", one of the stories in 2005's Star Wars Tales 23, written by Joshua Ortega. In the comic, the action was illustrated by Dustin Weaver.[1] The battle was first mentioned two years earlier, in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. On Korriban, the player-character, Revan, can encounter the dead body of Duron Qel-Droma.[3] The skirmish was also mentioned in a Codex entry of the 2011 video game Star Wars: The Old Republic,[4] to go along with a mention in the reference book The New Essential Chronology.[2]
Appearances
- "Shadows and Light" — Star Wars Tales 23 (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (First mentioned)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (Codex entry)