Showdown in the Draay Estate

In 3963 BBY, the Jedi Order stormed the Draay Estate when Jedi Master Xamar attempted to exculpate Jedi Covenant founder Krynda Draay by implicating himself as one of the principal participants of the Padawan Massacre of Taris a year earlier. As the fugitive Padawan Zayne Carrick—who had been framed by the Covenant's First WatchCircle for the murders—worked to prove his own innocence, Xamar apprehended him and cleared the young Human's name upon conference with the Jedi High Council. Xamar then planned to bring an end to the Covenant's mysterious activities and his fellow WatchCircle members to justice in a scheme devised by himself, the High Council, and Carrick, which involved the latter pretending to have fully embraced the dark side of the Force. With Carrick in "custody" and seemingly under the thrall of an ancient Sith artifact known as the Muur Talisman, Xamar brought both the fugitive Padawan and his associate, Marn Hierogryph, to the Draay Estate on Coruscant, seeking examination by Krynda, at which time Xamar planned to spirit her away to safety. Instead, they were met and denied audience by Krynda's son and First WatchCircle leader, Lucien.
As Lucien prepared to kill Carrick and thus eliminate the last surviving witness to the Padawan massacre, Haazen, ersatz leader of the Covenant and Draay family steward, arrived to take control of the situation. Carrick then broke free of his captors while launching what seemed to be a dark side–inspired tirade, which was the cue for Xamar to exit and muster his forces—those Knights loyal to the actual Jedi Order and not to the Covenant. Haazen meanwhile denounced Carrick as a fraud and exposed his talisman a fake, but when he attempted to question the Snivvian Hierogryph, Xamar returned with scores of High Council operatives who proceeded engage the members of the Jedi Covenant in battle. As combat raged all around and throughout the Draay Estate, Haazen revealed his own treachery by issuing the command of Vindication to all Covenanters, an order which caused all those loyal to him and his clandestine organization to rebel against the authority of the Council. Much of the Draay Estate was destroyed by Haazen's machinations, and many Jedi were killed—including Xamar.
==Background==
Following the destruction wrought by the Great Sith War, a renowned Jedi Consular named Krynda Draay created a secret organization known as the Jedi Covenant, whose expressed purpose was to foresee and thwart the return of the Sith at any cost.Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Handbook One of the Covenant's members was the aide of Krynda's late husband Barrison, the failed Jedi apprentice Haazen. Unlike Barrison, Haazen had survived the war, despite losing three of his limbs after he secretly betrayed Draay to the Sith. Afterward, he privately maintained his dual allegiance by actively participating in Covenant affairs while also manipulating their efforts efforts behind the scenes as an agent of the dark side.Knights of the Old Republic 33
In 3964 BBY, the Covenant's concealed agenda was nearly exposed when the its foremost group of seers predicted the rise of the Sith among their own Padawans. Thus, they murdered their learners, but by a stroke of luck one of the Padawans, Zayne Carrick, escaped. The members of the First WatchCircle blamed the killings on Carrick, forcing him and his companion Marn Hierogryph to become fugitives. Two of the seers met their ends a year later while chasing Carrick, although he was not directly responsible for their deaths. While attempting to prove his own innocence and expose the Covenant's involvement in the Padawan massacre, Carrick came across information that linked the organization to a cache of Sith artifacts which had been hidden from the Jedi High Council. Carrick returned to Coruscant to present his proof to the Council but was captured by the Khil seer Xamar,Knights of the Old Republic 31 who brought him before members of the Jedi High Council in order to bargain for favorable terms. Xamar, who realized that Krynda's son Lucien had actually sanctioned the massacre, brought forth the truth of the First WatchCircle's guilt in testimony before the Council. He then agreed to help Councilors Vrook Lamar and Vandar Tokare engineer the Covenant's downfall, as long as Krynda would be granted immunity, as he believed that she only played a minor role in its operation. The Jedi Masters then formulated a plan which involved Xamar bringing Padawan Carrick—who would pretend to have given into the dark side of the Force—to the headquarters of the Covenant, the Draay Estate. After requesting an audience with Krynda, Xamar intended to whisk her away to safety, then a force of High Council–loyal Jedi Knights would converge upon the Estate and arrest the members of the Covenant.
==The showdown==
While Masters Lamar and Tokare went to muster the necessary Jedi Council devotees, Xamar escorted Carrick and his associate, Marn Hierogryph, into the Estate. To further support his feigned dark-side fall, Carrick wore red-yellow contact lenses and bore a fabricated version of the Muur Talisman, a Sith amulet highly sought after by the Covenant. Carrick's lightsaber was hidden within the replica, though, in case the plan unraveled more quickly than Xamar expected. The Khil Master presented his "prisoners" to fellow WatchCircle members Lucien and Q'anilia. However, Hierogryph played along with the facade, claiming that the Talisman had corrupted Carrick, who had since been employed by the Snivvian. In response, Lucien ignited his lightsaber and prepared to strike Carrick down, but Xamar interjected and demanded he be submitted to Draay's mother for examination. Haazen arrived at that moment and denied access to Krynda, instead offering to probe the rogue Padawan. Xamar was adamant about seeing Krynda, but Lucien perceived Carrick as a threat and also refused to allow Xamar to have an audience with his mother. Suddenly, Carrick broke free of his restraints and launched into what seemed to be a dark side–inspired rage; he then claimed to be in possession of more Sith artifacts than just the Muur Talisman, a statement which spurred the interest and surprise of Haazen. Xamar corroborated the story and was ordered by Haazen to retrieve them. Although Krynda had not been rescued as he had originally planned, Xamar seized the current opportunity to make his exit and rejoin the legion of Jedi gathered by Masters Lamar and Tokare, which laid in wait outside the Draay Estate for the signal to attack.
Meanwhile, Haazen ordered two of his servants, Covenant agents Garragor and Klydeker, to retrieve his diagnostic equipment, which he intended to use during his examination of Carrick's supposed dark side possession. Against the warnings of Q'Anilia, Haazen approached Carrick and seized him by the throat, while also confiscating the false Muur Talisman which exposed the lightsaber held within. As Lucien and Q'Anilia named Hierogryph the mastermind behind Carrick's treachery, Haazen advanced upon the Snivvian, who pleaded for help. Carrick attempted to intervene but was interrupted by the sound of security alarms—Xamar's forces had mounted their offensive and stormed the Draay Estate in an attempt to arrest all of the members of the Jedi Covenant.
==Aftermath==
While Xamar's forces pressed further into the Estate, Haazen contacted all Covenanters and issued the command of "Vindication," which ordered them to attack the Jedi High Council and its loyalists, whom Haazen claimed had been infiltrated by the Sith. He also revealed that he had been manipulating Lucien Draay all along, and had used him—in Draay's position as a member of the Jedi High Council—to bring about insurrection within the Order. Carrick then announced Xamar's plot to bring the Covenant's dealings to a halt, but Haazen was prepared; he halted their advance by causing an explosion which destroyed the Estate's skybridge and eliminated the Council-loyal Jedi's possibility of escape. Taking control of the Republic Navy in orbit over Coruscant, Haazen next initiated another command that caused the fleet to fire upon what remained of the bridge, resulting in the deaths of many Jedi, including Master Xamar. Much of the Estate was caught in the blast as well, and as Carrick, Hierogryph, Draay, and Q'Anilia recovered from the explosion, Haazen stood before them and professed his allegiance to the Sith, a secret he had held since the end of the Sith War.
==Behind the scenes==
The showdown in the Draay Estate appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 32, written by John Jackson Miller and illustrated by Brian Ching and Michael Atiyeh. The showdown was the first significant event of Miller's Vindication story arc, one which brought about the deaths of several prominent Knights of the Old Republic characters, including Vindication main antagonist, Haazen.Knights of the Old Republic 34Knights of the Old Republic 35
==Appearances==
*Knights of the Old Republic 32 
*Knights of the Old Republic 36 
*Knights of the Old Republic: War 4 
*Star Wars: The Old Republic 
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles during the Old Sith Wars
Category:Battles of Coruscant
Category:Duels
Category:Events during the Mandalorian Wars