Skirmish in the Operations Hangar A skirmish took place in 44 ABY in the Operations Hangar of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant . After being relieved of his duty by the Jedi Council , former acting Grand Master Kenth Hamner attempted to prevent a wing of StealthX s from launching to assist Luke Skywalker in dealing with the Lost Tribe of Sith , in fear that it would start a war between the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance ; the latter being unaware of the Sith threat and thus believing that the wing was aimed at the government . Hamner was confronted by Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne , who tried to stop him from preventing the launch . She defeated Hamner and sent him tumbling over a catwalk , catching him in the Force . However , he threw his lightsaber toward the hangar bay controls , and while she wrestled with him for control of the weapon , she lost her grip on Hamner . Sebatyne caught the lightsaber in the Force , allowing the StealthXs to launch , but Hamner fell to his death . Prelude . In 43 . 5 ABY , several Jedi Knights began to succumb to a Force psychosis , causing strained relations between the New Jedi Order and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances — the Jedi wanted their Knights available for study , while the Galactic Alliance demanded the Jedi to turn over all afflicted Knights into government custody to be encased in carbonite . Meanwhile , exiled Grand Master Luke Skywalker discovered a new Sith Tribe preparing to launch an invasion of the galaxy . The Jedi Order decided to mobilize a flight of StealthX s to help him , but were prevented from doing so by a Mandalorian raid on the Jedi Temple , the ensuing Galactic Alliance blockade of the Temple , and finally a Mandalorian siege — each ordered by Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala in order to force the Jedi to hand over the psychotic Knights . Meanwhile , interim Grand Master Kenth Hamner secretly struck a deal with Alliance Admiral Nek Bwua ' tu to ensure the Navy ' s cooperation with the Jedi launch , so long as Hamner waited until Bwua ' tu told him he could launch . Meanwhile , the afflicted Jedi suddenly recovered , and Daala was forced to lift the siege . However she decided not to release Valin and Jysella Horn from carbonite until the order surrendered to her will . The Jedi Council argued over what to do next , with most of the Masters favoring the launch of the StealthXs , and attacking the GA prison for the Horns were kept , but Hamner shot down the proposals — after an assassination attempt on Bwua ' tu , the Admiral had been in a coma , and Hamner feared launching the wing without Bwua ' tu ' s word . However , Bwua ' tu had not kept the deal a complete secret , and word eventually traveled to Han Solo and family from Senator Luewet Wuul . When Solo revealed to the Council that Hamner had struck a deal with Bwua ' tu , the Council felt betrayed and relieved Hamner of his duties , confining him in his quarters . Hamner soon escaped and made his way to the Operations Hangar , where he found the Jedi preparing to launch the starfighters . Fearing the launch to be suicide with the Galactic Alliance Sixth Fleet waiting in orbit — as well as treason against the Galactic Alliance — Hamner decided that he needed to stop it no matter the cost . He incapacitated Yantahar Bwua ' tu and Vaala Razelle , the two Jedi Knights guarding the hangar , then made his way inside and confronted Master Saba Sebatyne , who was directing the procedures . The skirmish . Hamner tried to convince the Jedi present that their actions constituted treason , and severed a tradition of the Jedi protecting the government that went back 25 , 000 years . The Masters remained against him , however — even the newest Council member , Barratk ' l , who Hamner had not long ago believed was his strongest supporter , turned against him . Master Kyle Katarn offered him a chance to step aside , saying that he understood the pressure Hamner had been under , but Hamner used the Force to bring a staircase crashing to the hangar floor . He refused to let the Jedi launch the fighters , and Sebatyne ordered Kyp Durron and the other Masters to continue with the launch while she stopped the former Grand Master . Hamner , meanwhile , had sprinted along the catwalk to the mag - lev generators in an attempt to cut their power supplies and prevent the wing from launching . Sebatyne rushed after him and was ambushed by the former Grand Master . He pushed her with the Force over the side of the catwalk railing , but she caught herself with her tail . Again she ran after Hamner , convincing herself that he had not meant to almost kill her ; and she sensed Master Cilghal in the Force , blocking out the balcony exit in an attempt to trap Hamner . Sebatyne found him not going after the generator power feeds , but rather the relay box controlling the magnetic seal between the doors which if tampered with would stall the launch indefinitely . She knocked him away with the Force , then caught him and pulled him back onto the catwalk . Hamner quickly ignited his lightsaber and attacked Sebatyne . The Barabel Jedi Master fended off his attacks and pinned him against a safety rail , but he continued his attack , and Sebatyne realized that although she was not prepared to kill him , he was willing to do whatever it took to stop the launch . Hamner managed to knock her away , and as she tumbled down the catwalk , he tried to push her over the edge , but she used the Force to counter his efforts . When Sebatyne stopped her roll , Hamner again attacked her with the Force , trying to shake her loose from the railing , but she steadied herself in an intersection . When Hamner realized that the launch was about to occur , he moved in quickly to finish her off . He Force - pushed her back , but she spun and knocked him down with her tail . As they both regained their balance , they began to duel for control of the intersection . Hamner at first kept her off balance , but Sebatyne refused to give ground , knowing that if she did so , he would simply hurl his lightsaber into the relay box and stop the launch . Hamner was suddenly distracted by Sebatyne ' s chronometer as it showed only thirty seconds to launch , and she took the opportunity to press the attack , pushing him backward . Hamner grew desperate and head - butted her armored throat , and as Sebatyne countered with a knee to the groin , he managed to stab her in the abdomen with his lightsaber . She tried to prevent Hamner from moving to the relay box , but he easily broke free from her grasp , so she decided to reinforce his own attempt to break away with an extra Force shove that sent him tumbling over the safety rail after his lightsaber cut through . Sebatyne managed to catch him with the Force . In the last seconds before the launch Saba again tried to persuade Hamner to give up but Hamner locked his lightsaber on and threw it at the relay box , directing it with the Force . She reached out and struggled for control of the weapon , fighting Hamner ' s grasp on it , but as she did so , she lost control of Hamner himself . Sebatyne stopped the lightsaber , sending it flying into one of the hangar ' s turadium blast doors , but Hamner dropped the remaining thirty meters to the deck to his death . Luke Skywalker also felt his death on Pydyr when hunting Abeloth . Aftermath . The StealthX wing successfully launched , and due to the Jedi ' s plan with Booster Terrik in the " Errant Venture " and his Tendrando Arms Celebrity Sabacc Charity Challenge — which stalled Galactic Alliance units in orbit — managed to leave Coruscant unharmed . The StealthXs , along with the " Errant Venture " , reached Skywalker on Pydyr and helped him fight off the Sith there . While Sebatyne recovered from her wounds , she was very shaken over her failure to save Hamner ' s life . Daala contacted the temple and demanded to speak to Hamner but Saba made it clear that he was unavailible and that the jedi are no longer at her mercy . However , the Council still supported her , and they unanimously appointed her as interim Grand Master in Hamner ' s stead — a role which she very reluctant to accept , and only took on at their continued insistence , stating that when Master Skywalker returned , she would be judged for her actions . She then decided that their next move needed to be to remove Daala from the office of Alliance Chief of State . Hamner was later given a funeral by the Jedi , during which his former apprentice , Izal Waz , lighted his body on the funeral pyre . Behind the scenes . The skirmish first appeared in " " , the sixth installment in the nine - part " " series , written by Troy Denning and released November 30 , 2010 . The event served to kill the established character of Kenth Hamner , who had been first introduced ten years previously in James Luceno ' s second novel in " " series , " " .