"Coded Transmission: Jan Ors to Mon Mothma" is an in-universe transmission from Jan Ors to Mon Mothma released as part of Dark Forces Manual: Coded Transmissions[2] on February 15, 1995.[1]
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Kyle Katarn is presented as an Imperial defector who once commanded operations, during which people were killed. He later became an occasional non-aligned freelance agent and mercenary for the Rebel Alliance, but without formally joining (it is suggested that Katarn and Jan Ors had met Boba Fett in the past). Because both his background and stance raised concerns, Ors sent to Mon Mothma a coded transmission titled "Reliability of Kyle Katarn," reassuring her that Katarn's experience with the Empire turned him against it, and would eventually bring him closer to the Alliance.[2]
Ors proceeds with his personal story: Katarn was a farmboy from Sulon, who enrolled to the Academy in order to follow better his father's trade, discovering his talents in cybernetics and information engineering, without noticing the Empire's growing hold on the Academy. In an Imperial cover-up, Kyle learned that both his parents were killed in a Rebel ambush during an Imperial rescue operation on Sullust. He was devastated when the Academy refused an extension of his leave.[2]
Fueled by hatred, he accepted a commission in the special operations division, where he served for years. While there, he crossed paths with Ors, who was working as a double agent, and could see past his façade a traumatized man, disillusioned with the institution he was serving. The two became friends, and Ors saw an opportunity to pass towards him reports about what really happened on Sullust.[2]
When Ors's identity was revealed and she was arrested, Katarn was forced to choose his path. He saved her from torture and helped her escape. He deserted his position to return to the Outer Rim when he met Ors at a Rebel base. There he spent time with smugglers and pirates and learned his unorthodox techniques as a deadly efficient saboteur.[2]
Ors concluded that his background made him unable to see the ideals of the Alliance, until they could win his loyalty, but his hatred for the Empire was unquestionable.[2]
Continuity[]
The manual contained the original version of Kyle Katarn's backstory. This version was later contradicted by Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire (although the writers acknowledged and adapted portions of it). The Dark Forces Saga attempted to explain this by stating that between Katarn's defection to the Rebel Alliance and his first mission for them, Jan Ors was exaggerating about Katarn's history in an attempt to convince Mon Mothma that he was trustworthy.[3]
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Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, New Edition — Based on corresponding data for Star Wars: Dark Forces
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Coded Transmission: Jan Ors to Mon Mothma" — Dark Forces Manual: Coded Transmissions
- ↑
The Dark Forces Saga: Part 2: Unsung Heroes of the Light on Wizards.com (original site is defunct)