- "They are coming. I will seal the blast doors but if any cross your path, do not hesitate. Go. And may the Force be with you."
- ―Jaro Tapal, to Cal Kestis
A skirmish broke out on Jedi General Jaro Tapal's Venator-class Star Destroyer[1] Albedo Brave[3] during the final days of the Clone Wars, when the clone troopers in his unit, the 13th Battalion, received Order 66 from Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine. The soldiers that had served under Tapal's command during the successful campaign on the planet Bracca suddenly turned against their Jedi officers, attempting to kill the Jedi Master and his young apprentice, Cal Kestis.[1]
Tapal, in the middle of briefing his Padawan about the upcoming move to Mygeeto, sensed the mass murder of Jedi through the Force just as the Clone Commander of the unit received the order and attempted to carry it out, only for Tapal to quickly kill him with his double-bladed lightsaber. Though Kestis was unable to comprehend what was happening, Tapal quicky devised a plan for them to escape the cruiser via the escape pods; the smaller Kestis would take the maintenance tunnels to the escape pod bay whilst Tapal sealed the internal blast doors and distracted the clone troopers before meeting him there, though Kestis was to depart without his master if he had not made it there by then. The two Jedi then split up, Tapal heading to the Star Destroyer's reactor and overloading them in order to ensure its destruction and mask their escape. Both Jedi were confronted and engaged by clones at several points but whilst Tapal was able to kill multiple squads with relative ease, Kestis was overwhelmed and lost his lightsaber in the ship's turbolift shaft when it was shot out of his hand and fell to the bottom of the shaft. Kestis was nonetheless still able to help his master by opening several doors in his path, but a large number of clones caught up to them just as they were attempting to access an escape pod. Tapal did his best to protect his defenceless Padawan from the clones but was overwhelmed and struck multiple times by blasterfire, with one bolt striking the hilt of his lightsaber and sundering it in half. Kestis put himself between the clones and his wounded master and was wounded himself, but managed to use the Force to slow the clones enough for both Jedi to board the escape pod and launch from the cruiser, bound for Bracca.[1]
Onboard the escape pod, Tapal's wounds were revealed to be fatal; with his last breath he informed Kestis of his sabotage, warned him of the war to come and implored him to await the Jedi Council's signal and trust only in the Force. Tapal then entrusted his broken lightsaber to Kestis before breathing his last just as the Albedo Brave exploded as a result of Tapal's sabotage to its reactor, taking the remainder of the 13th Battalion with it.[1]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (First appearance) (In flashback(s))
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