Nomen Karr

Nomen Karr, also known as the Sith Lord Retrost when undercover, was a male Human Jedi Master who was one of the Jedi Order's most seasoned veterans during the Cold War between the Republic and the Sith Empire. Karr was also the personal nemesis of the Sith Lord Darth Baras. A gallant Jedi, Karr was known to touch the dark side of the Force while within the lines of the Sith Empire, yet remained true to the Jedi Code. Intent on the exposure of Imperial spies in the Galactic Republic, Karr trained Jaesa Willsaam as his Padawan. His activities caught the notice of Darth Baras, who sent his latest apprentice, the future Emperor's Wrath, to destroy him.
==Biography==
===Early career===
A Force-sensitive Human, Nomen Karr was educated in the ways of the Force by the Jedi Order, attaining the rank of Jedi Master and constructing a green-bladed lightsaber. Although valued for his experience, Nomen Karr was known to challenge the Order's rigid precepts in his crusade against evil in the galaxy. When the Sith Empire returned to Republic space, Karr went behind Imperial lines under the alias of "Retrost" in an effort to gather information on the Empire and the Sith who populated it. The determined Karr even dared to touch the dark side during his time behind the Imperial border, but emerged a valiant champion of the light. He was convinced that the Republic had been infiltrated by the Sith Empire, and hoped to prove the Jedi High Council wrong for trusting the word of a Sith. Karr's efforts led to the capture of Darth Ekkage, Baras's sister. Baras managed to expose Karr before their duel on Nal Hutta ended in stalemate before the latter fled. As a result of Karr's betrayal, the two became bitter enemies.
Karr was driven to expel the Imperial infiltrators which he believed were hidden throughout Republic and Jedi ranks, he sets himself to find these spies and bring them to justice, though Baras continued to thwart him at every turn. In this endeavor, he spent his time in the undercover area of the Empire. Learning of an Alderaanian young woman with the extraordinary gift of being able to discern a person's true nature at a glance, Nomen Karr immediately claimed her for the Order and as his student. He dedicated his life to her tutelage and protection, hoping she could expose those that Karr believed to be a threat to the Galactic Republic or the Jedi Order. However, the Jedi High Council continued to remain skeptical that Karr's Padawan's power was foolproof. As part of their training, he sent his apprentice to Tatooine to be trained by the respected Jedi Master Yonlach.
===Last days===
During the Cold War, Karr learned that his old enemy, Darth Baras, had acquired an extraordinarily strong new apprentice. As part of his continued surveillance of Baras' assets, Karr ordered a Republic orbital monitoring station in Hutt Space to monitor and track the movements of the apprentice's ship. The apprentice was headed to Balmorra and Nar Shaddaa, which Karr assumed to be providing extraction for Baras' agents.
When Baras and his apprentice found out about the surveillance, the latter arrived at the listening station and put a violent end to the spy stationed there. Karr, monitoring the station via hologram, pleaded for the lives of Hirosho and other technicians. The Sith refused his plea and slaughtered them before Karr's eyes. Horrified by what he has just seen, Karr declared the Warrior to be every bit Baras' minion. He then calmed himself, telling the apprentice that he had no idea of Karr's plans But the Sith surprised him yet again, revealing that he knew of his Padawan and claimed her powers to be a sham. Briefly unsettled by the revelation, Karr declared that he would protect his Padawan from the taint of the Sith, even though the Warrior promised "to keep her skull as a trophy." Proclaiming the Sith to be unreasonable, Karr summoned a squad of elite troopers, claiming them to be the Republic's finest and demanded the Sith surrender, but was refused. The apprentice swiftly slaughtered the attack squad. Noting how ferocious the Warrior was, Karr stated that he now had insight for their eventual confrontation.
The listening post incident proved instrumental in Karr's undoing. Noting how protective Karr was of his Padawan, Baras ordered his apprentice to find and kill the people who had been closest to her, starting with Yonlach on Tatooine, and eventually her parents on Alderaan. Baras' plan was to unbalance Karr's apprentice and draw her out so she could be killed.
The plan ultimately proved successful and Jaesa contacted Baras' apprentice to arrange a one-on-one meeting. Karr soon discovered her arrangement and branded it foolish and rash. He forbid her to attend the meeting, and in her place sent a pair of trained Jedi Knights, Ulldin and Zylixx, to end the threat permanently. The pair proved no match for Baras' apprentice, and were quickly defeated.
Tiring of the endless intrigues, Karr then contacted Baras directly to arrange a duel to finally end their conflict. The stage was set for a final battle at the site of Karr's betrayal years earlier. But because Baras feared a trap, and because he knew of his apprentice's great strength, Baras sent the Warrior in his place. Karr was sorely disappointed to see the Warrior alive and in place of Baras, but he was confident that he would be able to defeat the apprentice and expose Baras' network of spies. But the Warrior proved to be stronger than he expected, both physically and in the ways of the dark side.
Karr succumbed to the Warrior's taunts and turned to the dark side for the strength to win their fight. The Jedi Master failed and was defeated by Baras' agent. Mortally wounded, Karr felt that the dark side has underestimated him, and began to fight his way back to the light, ready to die in order to protect Willsaam. However, the Imperial operatives dispatched by Baras were able to stabilize him so that the Warrior could use him as bait to draw Willsaam into the trap. In a moment of true darkness, the Wrath chose to torture Karr, promising he would "suffer as no one has ever suffered". The ruse was successful and Jaesa arrived to witness her master twisted by the dark side into something she couldn't recognize as he spewed his hate for both Baras and his apprentice. At first she considered the possibility that Karr had been hiding this all along before she accused the Sith of corrupting her Master. The Warrior told her that the only way to find the truth is to use her power on him. Willsaam complied and saw these dark traits within Karr but refused to believe it. The Warrior continued to taunt her into giving into her anger as well and lash out. She engaged the Sith Warrior in fair combat, but she turned out to be no match against the Sith apprentice. Surrendering herself and following the path towards the dark side, Jaesa became the Warrior's new apprentice. Karr fought the dark side within him, and showed part of himself in the light.
He tried to tell his apprentice that she was not fully trained to fight a Sith, but Willsaam wanted to follow the Sith Warrior's path since she was fond of this new power - using brutality to force the truth to the surface - and, as the Warrior pointed out, Karr was a master of the light himself but had failed as much as she had.
As Willsaam was concerned of what to do with her former master, the Warrior eventually ordered her to kill him as her first test in becoming strong in the dark side. Feeling regret for facilitating his apprentice's corruption and letting himself become a slave to the dark side, Karr pleaded her not to become a murderer, but Willsaam retorted that the Jedi were hypocrites for taking lives themselves, and immediately decapitated and killed her former master.
==Personality and traits==
Being a Jedi Master, Nomen Karr demonstrated unwavering devotion to the light side of the Force. It was this that drove him to try and expose the Imperial infiltrators in hiding across the galaxy, despite Baras' constant interference. In spite of his love for the light, he was not averse to using the dark side. To him, the dark side, though abhorrent, could be used if the situation required. However, he arrogantly believed in the light's superiority over the dark side, showing a darker sense of pride.
Beneath his noble and passionless demeanor lay a hidden dark persona. It was this dark reflection that Karr assumed he left behind after his infiltration of the Sith, but was later brought out by the Emperor's Wrath. Karr momentarily gave into his anger and frustration in the belief that it would defeat his enemy, and save his padawan, for whom he cared deeply. In doing so he showed he was a hypocrite to the Jedi teachings. The dark side clouding his mind, he began to let out all his repressed hatred for both Baras through his apprentice.
In the final moments of his life however, Karr began to feel remorse for his errors. In a feat that showcased significant willpower, the Jedi Master was able to fight himself back towards the Light, urging his apprentice not to succumb to the darkness. Regardless of this plea, his former apprentice succumbed to the dark side and became a Sith.
==Powers and abilities==
Nomen Karr was a master of lightsaber combat. He excelled greatly in Soresu, being able to catch, absorb, and deflect many of the Sith Warrior's attacks. When he turned to the dark side for further strength and power, he became much more aggressive, resorting to Form IV, at which he was also exceptionally skilled. Karr was able to switch seamlessly between both forms at will. With the Force, he could leap back and forth with such speed when between two opponents and throw a lightsaber. On occasion, he would use Force push to distance himself a few feet from an adversary before closing back into the duel. Karr was also able to utilize Tutaminis very effectively. Having such abilities, he was a force to be reckoned with.
When he fell to the dark side during his duel with the Sith Warrior, Karr used the techniques of Force choke, lightning shield, and Force rage. All of these significantly augmented the Jedi Master's already considerable strengths, and made him a much more deadly opponent. Karr's Force rage allowed him to gain a large burst of energy for a short period of time. Unlike other Jedi that utilized the same technique, Karr was able to somewhat control its power, and even though he resorted to the dark side, he was not entirely consumed by it. This was due to his prior experience behind Sith lines, during which time he also utilized the power of the darkness, but ultimately remained steadfast in his beliefs.
==Behind the scenes==
In The Old Republic, if the player chooses the dark side dialogue, they would be the one to kill Nomen Karr since Baras wanted him dead instead of letting Jaesa kill him. The player could also send Karr to Dromund Kaas and have Baras decide his fate, which pleases the Sith Lord greatly.
Nomen Karr is voiced by actor Michael Gregory in Star Wars: The Old Republic, who also provides the voice for Harron Tavus.
===Light side story===
If the player chooses to remain with the light side dialogue options, Karr's responses would be different from that from the dark side story.
While Karr watches the Sith Warrior spare Hirosho and the other technicians in the listening station via hologram, he is taken aback, stating that "your temperance is remarkable." That does not prevent him from bringing out the Republic soldiers on the Warrior, however. After the Warrior defeats them, the Sith attempts to convince Karr that they can finish this peacefully. Karr acknowledges that he wishes it was possible before cutting transmission.
In Karr's safe house on Hutta, the Warrior tries once again to explain that they have not come to fight Karr, but the Jedi Master will not listen.
After the first part of the fight, Karr digs deeper with the dark side. The Warrior tries to persuade him to give up, but Karr refuses and attacks again and again.
Soon, Karr is seriously wounded and prefers to die, that way no one would reach Jaesa. The Warrior tries to convince him that they are not here to kill Jaesa, but Karr believes it to be lies before falling into unconsciousness. Imperial troops arrive and patch him back to health.
After Karr awakes, shackled to a chair, he assumes that the Warrior saved him so Jaesa would believe they were "pure," which is true, in the case of Light Side Sith. When Jaesa arrives and sees Karr in his maddened state, the Warrior tells her to use her power on Karr, to see what he really is. Reluctantly, Jaesa does so and finds "pride and... envy and hate... and vengeance" in her Master. Karr argues that it's all a trick and tells Jaesa to use the power on the Warrior, to which the Sith agrees. Jaesa sees "mercy... and fairness and... even perhaps compassion." She knows this now because the Warrior had previously spared Master Yonlach on Tatooine and her parents on Alderaan. Karr is unconvinced, saying that the Sith is trying to disguise both of them so Jaesa would "doubt" her powers. Jaesa is confused, believing that both Karr and the Warrior are trying to drive her mad. Karr pins the blame on Darth Baras' manipulation and orders Jaesa to kill the Sith Warrior so that she can see. The Warrior does not intend to fight, but a lost Jaesa activates her lightsaber and tells her opponent to raise their defenses.
Jaesa is defeated and the Warrior holds back the killing blow. Jaesa now sees that the Warrior's sense of darkness is a "mask" and Karr holds a "much... uglier one." The Warrior assures her that the Jedi Master's Force connection is "flawed." After having put through many lies, including those from the Jedi, Jaesa sees that the Warrior has the power to reveal someone's "true nature." She agrees to become the Warrior's Sith apprentice, but in a lighter sense of the term.
Karr is detained by the Imperial soldiers either to Baras, left to his "misery," or to the Jedi Temple on Tython to atone for what he has done. Angry, he will see that Jaesa is disavowed and labeled an enemy of the Jedi Order, but she feels that he "took me as far as you were able." He is led away, ranting.
On the Fury-class Imperial interceptor, if Karr is left alone or taken to Tython, the Warrior has the option to lie to Baras that the Jedi is dead, gaining affection points from Jaesa and Vette.
Even if he is taken to Tython for healing, his old apprentice, Somminick Timmns, states that his emotions have since been stunted, and he no longer communes with the Force, suggesting that he had a crisis of faith.
====Light side alternate path====
Instead of urging her to fall to the Dark side, the Sith warrior urged her to stay true to her ideals and bring balance to the Force.
As Willsaam was concerned of what to do with her former master, the Warrior prompted that do she dispose of Karr or that they hand him over to Darth Baras. Initially hesitant at the prospect of him being turned to the Dark side, Willsaam instead watched her former Master be struck down by her new master, the Sith Warrior. With Willsaam now an agent of the Sith, but still holding on to her Jedi training and moral, she became a force for reforming the Empire.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: The Old Republic 
*Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire 
==Sources==
*
*Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia
==Notes and references==
Category:Fallen Jedi
Category:Humans
Category:Males
Category:Pre-Ruusan Jedi Masters
Category:Spies