Akar-Deshu

Akar-Deshu (often called "Desh" by his friends) was a male Mahran who served as a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars. A close friend to Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, Akar accompanied him on multiple missions during the war. Akar died shortly after the arrest of Vos and Count Dooku during the second battle of Christophsis, when Vos used the Force to push Akar away, causing him to inadvertently use his stinger and kill fellow Jedi Knight Kav Bayons. The loss of his stinger caused Akar's body to fill with venom, leading to his death. To spare Akar an agonizing death, Vos killed him before escaping with Dooku.
==Biography==
===Working with Quinlan Vos===
Akar-Deshu was a Force-sensitive Mahran male who was a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars. Desh was a close friend of the Jedi Master Quinlan Vos and the two Jedi worked together on multiple missions. Shortly after the Separatist attack on Mahranee, Desh received instructions from the Jedi High Council to fetch Vos back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for a new assignment. Desh tracked Vos down to Otor's Hub where the undercover Jedi Master was infiltrating the Koorivar merchant Sheb Valaad's black market operation, which specialized in selling merchandise that had been taken from murdered individuals. Desh stumbled on Vos, who was disguised as the Kiffar "Tal Khar", in the middle of a meeting with Shed. Desh's arrival inadvertently exposed Vos' cover, who was forced to end his undercover mission early. Joining forces, the two Jedi used their Force powers and lightsaber skills to knock out Sheb and his henchmen, who were promptly arrested by other Jedi reinforcements.
While traveling back to the Jedi Temple, Desh briefed his friend Vos about the Separatist genocide against the Mahran species. Later, the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi briefed Vos about the Jedi Council's secret plan to assassinate Count Dooku in order to bring a speedy end to the Clone Wars. Following Vos' briefing at the Jedi Council chambers, Desh met up with Vos within the Temple's dining hall. He listened as Vos outlined his new assignment and expressed his unease about working with Asajj Ventress, a Nightsister and Dooku's former Sith apprentice. Their conversation was interrupted by Kenobi who told Desh to excuse them while he discussed the mission with Master Vos. Desh complied with Master Kenobi's wishes and moved to a different table.
In Desh's absence, Vos managed to make contact with Ventress who agreed to assist with his mission but insisted that Vos had to be instructed in the ways of the dark side. Despite their preparations, Vos and Ventress were no match for Dooku's mastery of the dark side. Dooku captured Vos but Ventress was able to flee. After a prolonged period of torture and deprivation, Dooku managed to drive Vos to embrace the dark side fully by revealing Ventress' complicity in his late Master Tholme's murder. As a result, Vos became Dooku's newest Sith apprentice and spurned a rescue attempt by Ventress, who subsequently informed the Jedi that Vos had joined Dooku. As Dooku's apprentice, Vos adopted the persona "Admiral Enigma" and helped the Separatists score several victories. In secret, Vos had joined Dooku in order to uncover Dooku's master Darth Sidious and destroy the Sith once and for all.
===Rescuing Vos===
Several months later, Kenobi sent Desh to make contact with Ventress. The Mahran managed to find the Nightsister in Coruscant's Level 1313 and informed her that Kenobi had invited her to the Jedi Temple to discuss Vos' rescue mission. When Ventress expressed her suspicions that Desh was leading her into a trap, Desh pleaded with her to trust him. Together with Ventress, Kenobi, and the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Desh entered the Council chambers. During the meeting, Desh listened as Ventress admitted she had instructed Vos in the dark side but stressed that she genuinely cared for Vos and had abandoned the Sith.
While the Jedi Masters deliberated, Yoda instructed Desh, Skywalker, and Ventress to wait outside the Council chambers. After the Jedi Council received a hologram from Admiral Wullf Yularen about Dooku and Admiral Enigma's latest movements, Kenobi ushered Desh, Skywalker, and Ventress back into the chambers. Desh was present when the Jedi offered to pardon Ventress for her crimes if she agreed to help them rescue Vos. This rescue mission was a success and Vos was reunited with his Jedi comrades. Unknown to Desh and his colleagues, however, Vos had already embraced the dark side and was still secretly loyal to Dooku.
===Enemy in the ranks===
Before leaving the Jedi Temple with a clean record, Asajj Ventress warned Desh that "something was wrong" with Quinlan Vos. While Vos had managed to prove his loyalty to the Jedi Council by performing several small assignments, Desh was concerned that his close friend had been avoiding him. Desh raised his concerns about Vos with Master Kenobi before they were about to embark on a mission to raid a Separatist supply storage base. Vos had been assigned to the mission after the Council had deemed him safe. Kenobi suggested that Vos was avoiding his close friends because he had realized the damage that attachment could cause due to his recent partnership with Ventress.
Desh and Anakin Skywalker waited outside while Kenobi, Vos, and the other Jedi Council members discussed the mission. For the mission, Desh and his fellow Jedi Vos, Kenobi, and Skywalker flew Eta-2 Actis-class interceptors to scout the asteroid base. After shooting down several vulture droids, Desh and his Jedi colleagues landed in the asteroid base and found it well-stocked with ample supplies of food, medicine, weapons, and ship-repair materials. Before the Jedi and their clone trooper colleagues could salvage the supplies, Vos discovered that the asteroid base had been laced with explosives. The Jedi and vlones managed to flee before an explosion devastated much of the base's interior.
Despite the explosion, the asteroid remained intact. Under Kenobi's orders, Akar led a Republic transport on a mission to load salvageable debris. Meanwhile, Vos and the other Jedi took part in a mission to destroy a Separatist listening post on Vanqor. However, Vos had secretly informed Dooku about the mission and the Separatists were able to evacuate the facility before Republic forces arrived. Due to the coincidence of these two incidents, the Jedi came to suspect that they had a traitor within their ranks, who was leaking information to Dooku.
Following the Vanqor incident, Kenobi contacted Desh via hologram. After learning about the suspected leak, Desh informed the Jedi Council that his salvage team had discovered that Republic bombs had been used to blow up the asteroid base. Due to Desh's information, the Council came to suspect that Vos was secretly working for the Separatists. Two days later, Master Yoda ascertained that Vos had indeed fallen to the dark side during a private conversation with the Jedi Master but was unsure whether he had joined Dooku. To test Vos' loyalties, the Jedi Council assigned Vos on a mission to kill Dooku but sent Kenobi and Skywalker to trail him.
===Murdered by a friend===
With the help of Asajj Ventress, Quinlan Vos discovered that Dooku's Providence-class Dreadnought was visiting Christophsis. Desh and a Chagrian Jedi Knight named Kav Bayons stayed aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer Vigilance while Kenobi and Skywalker sneaked aboard Dooku's dreadnought in a Separatist shuttle. The two Jedi subsequently witnessed Vos besting Dooku in combat. However, Vos failed to kill the Sith Lord and instead demanded that he lead him to Darth Sidious. With ample evidence of Vos' dealings with Dooku, Kenobi and Skywalker arrested the two men and brought them aboard the Vigilance.
Desh and Bayons were aboard the bridge of the Vigilance with Clone Commander Cody when they received the news of Vos' treason from Master Kenobi. Desh and Commander Cody complied with Master Kenobi's orders to bring several Clone troopers to the hangar to escort their prisoners to the brig. Desh felt betrayed by his friend's actions and asked Cody how many men they should bring to the hangar. Commander Cody joked about bringing 200 men but instead felt that 24 of his best Clone troopers would suffice. As Kenobi and Skywalker's shuttle landed, Desh regained his composure by using the Force to calm himself.
Desh was assigned to lead Vos into custody while Bayons was tasked with guarding Dooku. Kenobi and Skywalker then departed for the bridge to inform the Jedi Council of the grim developments. As the Jedi and clones escorted their prisoners to the ship's brig, Vos told Desh that he was making a mistake. Desh angrily responded that Vos had already made one and that he might have to die for it. Unable to stay calm, Desh asked Vos why he did it; prompting Dooku to reply that Vos had his own reasons.
As they moved through the ship's corridors, Vos abruptly stopped and turned to Desh. He offered to tell his former friend why he betrayed the Jedi and Republic. Despite the advice of a Clone trooper to ignore Vos, Desh approached Vos and asked him. Vos then proceeded to insult the Jedi Order for their unwillingness to use the dark side and derided Dash as weak and pathetic. While Desh was distracted, Vos used the Force to summon his blue lightsaber. Vos then Force-shoved Desh into the Clone troopers behind him. Vos then freed Dooku and the two Sith proceeded to fight their way through their captors.
Armed with Desh's lightsaber, Vos charged on the Mahran. Desh tried to grab Vos with the Force but the former Jedi Master leaped over him and his Clone escorts and raced towards the hangar with Dooku. Desh and Bayons attempted to give chase but Dooku used his Force powers to hurl the corpses of two fallen Clone troopers at them. Bereft of his lightsaber, Desh resolved to sacrifice his own life to kill Vos. Desh released the stinger in his right wrist and attempted to stab Vos with it. However, Vos anticipated his attack and used the Force to hurl Desh against Bayon; killing the other Knight. Since Desh had released his stinger, the Mahran's body was deluged with his own venom. To spare his former friend the agony of a painful death, Vos killed him with his lightsaber.
===Legacy===
Desh's murder at the hands of Quinlan Vos led his Jedi colleagues to believe that he had truly joined Dooku. In reality, his alliance with Dooku was a ruse to coerce the Separatist leader into revealing his master Darth Sidious. Vos planned to destroy the two Sith Lords once and for all. Following the Second battle of Christophsis, Vos returned to the light side with the help of Ventress, who seemingly died protecting him from Dooku. At the Jedi Council, Vos confessed to colluding with the Separatists and murdering Desh among other crimes but stressed that he had truly repented. The Council accepted Vos' repentance as genuine and readmitted him to the Jedi Order.
==Personality and traits==
Akar-Deshu was a loyal and committed Jedi who had a close friendship with Master Quinlan Vos. The two enjoyed sharing drinks together and reminiscing about old times. As a Mahran, Desh was saddened by the Separatist attack on his homeworld of Mahranee and their genocide against his species. He looked up to Vos and felt betrayed when he learned that Vos was secretly colluding with the Separatist leader Count Dooku. Following Vos' betrayal, Desh was so consumed by rage towards his former friend that he was willing to kill him with his poisonous stinger and die in the process.
==Powers and abilities==
As a Jedi Knight, Desh was skilled in both melee and lightsaber combat. As a Mahran, he was born with a stinger in his right wrist that allowed him to inject poison into another lifeform's body. Since this anatomical feature would lead to the death of the poisoner, Desh resolved only to use it in the most pressing of circumstances. An opportunity to use this stinger arose when he was forced to fight his former friend Quinlan Vos.
==Behind the scenes==
Akar-Deshu was created by Christie Golden and debuted as a supporting character in Golden's 2015 novel Dark Disciple, which was based on eight unproduced screenplays from the canceled Cartoon Network TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Dark Disciple is part of the Canon The Clone Wars Legacy, an ongoing multimedia project using material from the canceled TV series. He was given a point-of-view passage in the book's 37th chapter.
==Appearances==
*Dark Disciple 
*Battlefront II: Inferno Squad 
==Notes and references==
Category:Jedi Knights of the Jedi Order
Category:Mahran
Category:Males