Kyp Durron

Kyp Durron was a Human male who was a polarizing figure in galactic history, both a leading Jedi Master in Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order and a man responsible for many deaths during his anti-Imperial rampage in 11 ABY. Incarcerated in the spice mines of Kessel by the Galactic Empire at an early age, Durron's deep anger against his imprisoners was easily exploited by the spirit of Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun, once Han Solo rescued the young Force-sensitive and took him to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. Under Kun's guidance, Durron stole the Sun Crusher superweapon and embarked upon a vendetta, destroying several Imperial targets and unwittingly killing his own brother in the process. Only after Kun's influence had been banished did Durron begin a long quest for absolution which led him to become Skywalker's most talented pupil and one of the first Jedi Masters of the New Jedi Order.
Despite Durron's reformation, his desire to repent for his actions manifested itself in a high-profile campaign against smugglers in the Outer Rim Territories as part of a philosophy of direct action against those whom he perceived as wrong-doers. When the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong attacked the galaxy in 25 ABY, Durron was one of the first to meet the threat, losing his apprentice and many other fellow Jedi in the opening months of the war. His policy of aggressive action was enhanced in the face of the Yuuzhan Vong menace and Durron began leading like-minded Jedi to war, against the wishes of Skywalker. Following further losses, Durron briefly took Jaina Solo as his apprentice and was later reconciled with Skywalker following Galactic Alliance Chief of State Cal Omas' creation of the High Council, upon which both men had seats. Durron saw the war through to its conclusion and remained one of Skywalker's leading advisors on the newly formed Jedi High Council.
In 35 ABY, when a border conflict between the Chiss Ascendancy and the insectoid Killik species flared out of control, a group of younger Jedi departed to fight on behalf of the Killiks, provoking Chief of State Omas to attempt to gain more control over the Jedi Order. Durron, as the proponent of the philosophy that Jedi should follow the guidance of the Force rather than the policies of the reigning government, stridently opposed Omas, upholding his principles throughout the course of the conflict. The Jedi Master later found himself fighting the Galactic Alliance directly during the Second Galactic Civil War, when Jaina Solo's twin brother Jacen Solo took control of the government and attempted to impose Sith rule upon the galaxy as Darth Caedus. Following Jacen Solo's defeat, the galaxy entered into a period of reformation under the direction of Chief of State Natasi Daala, one of Durron's former Imperial enemies. Daala's policies included attempts to curb the autonomy of the Jedi Order, which Durron weathered alongside the emerging threat of a mysterious Force psychosis.
==History==
===Early years===
Kyp Durron, a Force-sensitive Human male, was born in 7 BBY on the planet Deyer, a colony world in the Anoat system. Durron, who was an active child during his childhood, had an older brother, Zeth, with whom he had a close relationship. As small boys, Kyp and his brother used to fish, swim and play in the lakes that covered the planet's surface.Champions of the Force Zeth, who was an intelligent youth, had dreams of attending Deyer's civil engineering school to help out in the running of the colony.The Jedi Academy Sourcebook Kyp, however, was six years younger than his brother and was content with his simple life on the waterworld.
The Durron family lived in one of Deyer's many raft cities, which floated upon the lakes as the inhabitants fished and sold their produce through a cooperative system which brought the backwater colony a decent profit. While Durron's parents were not, as far as the young man knew, Force-sensitives themselves, they were political opponents of the Galactic Empire, the authoritarian government that had come to power in 19 BBY following the dissolution of the Galactic Republic. Durron's parents believed that Emperor Palpatine could be convinced that moderate action was preferable to oppressive governance and protested during the anniversary of the Ghorman Massacre. The Deyer colonists in general, however, even though they had modeled the charter of the fishing cooperative on the ideals of the obsolete Galactic Republic, were largely ignored by Emperor Palpatine while they experimented with civil liberties, due to the planet's backwater status.
Following events in 0 ABY, however, the political activism of the Deyer colonists could no longer be tolerated. The Galactic Empire's Death Star superweapon was used to destroy the planet Alderaan, a world known for its pacifism, an action that provoked outrage across the galaxy.The New Essential Chronology Many of the colonists, among them Durron's parents, spoke out against the Galactic Empire's actions, believing that democracy and peaceful protest could effect change. Deyer's representatives denounced Alderaan's destruction and requested that Palpatine dismantle his New Order. The emperor's response came in the form of repression. In 1 ABY, Imperial stormtroopers moved in on the colonies, putting an end to the co-operative and its liberal propensities. Deyer's raft cities were rapidly overwhelmed, its capital city of Feiya conquered and its population rounded up for imprisonment.
Kyp Durron was eight years old at the time of the attack. One evening, stormtroopers melted down the door of the Durron family home. A stormtrooper captain read an arrest warrant accusing Kyp's parents of treason, before stunning them with blasters. When Zeth, who was fourteen at the time, attempted to protect his mother and father, he too was stunned. The four family members were taken into Imperial custody. While Zeth, who was old enough to be conscripted, was taken to the Imperial training center on Carida to be indoctrinated and trained as a stormtrooper, Kyp Durron was incarcerated alongside his elderly parents in the spice mines of Kessel, sentenced to hard labor.
===From prison to power===
====Incarceration and tutelage====
The spice mines of Kessel were a dangerous and inhospitable environment. Working in complete darkness, Durron and the thousands of other prisoners were forced to travel deep into subterranean tunnels in order to extract glitterstim, a euphoria-inducing drug activated by light. On the surface, Kessel's weak atmosphere ensured that the Human miners had to wear breath masks, precluding escape attempts. The mines themselves contained mysteries; throughout the course of his long incarceration in the mines, Durron and other prisoners observed bogeys, rare glowing balls of energy that drifted through the tunnels and fed on the glitterstim in the mines. Many were superstitious and frightened by the bogeys. For a time, Durron believed that the Imperials would return and take him to Carida to serve as a stormtrooper like his brother but the Galactic Empire never showed an interest in him following his original arrest. After 5 ABY, a prison revolt took place, and Moruth Doole, a corrupt Rybet administrator, and his right-hand man Arb Skynxnex, staged a coup and wrested power from the Imperial warden. In the chaos, Durron's elderly parents found themselves on the wrong side. Smugglers and criminals executed Durron's mother and father.
Several years after Doole's coup, the young Human made the acquaintance of a wizened elderly woman, who was seemingly in hiding and possessed a guilty and furtive demeanor and who identified herself as Vima-Da-Boda. Durron was skeptical of the old woman and her ramblings; nevertheless, as she explained to him that he had the ability to manipulate a pervasive energy field known as the Force, Durron listened to the brief lessons taught to him by the crone. The young man began to use the Force in rudimentary ways, deploying mind tricks and taking advantage of the precognitive powers which his abilities afforded him. In one of Durron's last lessons with Vima-Da-Boda, the old woman disclosed that he possessed tremendous potential in the Force and that he would be able to perform superhuman feats. Sometime after 5 ABY, the Imperials came to haul Vima-Da-Boda away and Durron was deprived of his teacher. Despite his unexplained abilities and the advantages which they gave him, Durron remained uncertain and confused by the Force and continued to wonder whether Vima-Da-Boda had simply been superstitious and insane.
====Flight from Kessel====
It was one black day in the mines, sometime in 11 ABY, that Kyp Durron met a Corellian and a Wookiee who would change his life forever. Durron noticed two new captives one day as the descent into the mines began. Intrigued by the prospect of news from above ground, the young Human clambered his way across the mine carts in pitch darkness, using a mind trick to distract a guard as he did so, before seating himself next to the new arrivals. Durron introduced himself and talked of his past. The Human, Han Solo, informed him of the news in the galaxy; Durron was happy to hear that the Emperor had been defeated at the Battle of Endor seven years previously.
Solo also introduced his Wookiee partner, Chewbacca, with whom he had come to Kessel as an ambassador from the New Republic, the fledgling galactic government based on Coruscant. Solo revealed that they had been incarcerated due to Moruth Doole's suspicions of their purpose on Kessel. As the day wore on, Durron acted as the guide for the Human male and the Wookiee, helping them orientate themselves to their new surroundings. Once they arrived at a glitterstim fault, Durron taught his new companions how to sort through the rocks to find the spice and worked alongside them for a long time in the darkness. Later, when a bogey moved through the area, the guard grew frightened and called an end to the shift. The workers returned to the lit sections of the mining complex and Durron introduced himself to Solo and Chewbacca under the artificial light, brushing off Solo's exclamations at his youthful age.
Over the next days, Durron formed a closer bond with Solo and Chewbacca, despite their advanced ages. After one shift, when an irate Solo threw a punch at one of the guards and started a small-scale riot in the muster room, Durron joined in the fight. Boss Roke shortly restored order; the workers were taken to their bunks and forced to go to sleep once Roke turned on the sleep-generating field. Due to their role in the riot, Solo and Chewbacca were obvious choices for a small team of prisoners that would descend into the lower tunnels, where more prisoners had recently gone missing, with Boss Roke the next day. Durron volunteered to accompany Solo, knowing the older man had something in mind. Roke selected the prisoner Clorr and another guard to fill out the team before the small group descended into the lower tunnels. Solo divulged that he believed that prisoners were not being killed, but were rather escaping, locating new tunnels to the surface. The Corellian felt that if Roke and his guard could be overpowered, they could all flee the spice mines together.
Boss Roke took the mine cart deep into the tunnels before ushering the small groups out of the vehicle and taking spice readings. As Roke had suspected, the tunnels were full of glitterstim deposits; the boss led Durron and the others deeper, until Clorr, who was at the front of the group, was suddenly whisked away into the darkness by a massive unseen creature. Moments later, Roke was grabbed; Solo, Durron and Chewbacca ran away from the mysterious creature as it began its pursuit. Solo was able to grab the infrared goggles from the last guard and observe as a giant energy spider impaled the man with razor sharp legs and fed on his body heat. Durron and Chewbacca raced to the mine cart and powered it up; once Solo was aboard, with the energy spider in close pursuit, the three prisoners took the mine cart at speed back up on the only possible course—the muster room. Durron proposed putting the mine cart on manual control and finding their own escape route but Solo, terrified by the thought of more energy spiders, rejected the idea.
On arrival in the muster room, Durron and his companions opened the door to find Arb Skynxnex waiting to execute Solo and Chewbacca. The three prisoners were forced to flee back to the mine cart and head back into the tunnels with Skynxnex and more guards in close pursuit. In their slower mine cart, made up of three carriages, Durron and his companions lost ground to their pursuit and Skynxnex began firing upon them from an individual mine cart at long range. Unknowingly relying on the Force to enhance his reaction times, Durron managed to swerve the mine cart manually out of a collision and avoid blaster fire from Skynxnex. When he realized, however, that the automatically inputted course was taking them back down to the lair of the energy spider, Durron took manual control of the mine cart, relying on his unusually enhanced senses to survive. When another bogey moved through an opening in the tunnel wall made by a stray blaster shot from Skynxnex, Durron followed it, taking the mine cart into what was, unbeknownst to him, the energy spider's lair.
Although Durron managed to evade the creature, Skynxnex drove his mine cart straight into it by accident and was killed. Solo directed the young Human to a new passage, which led them to the artificial upper tunnels. Once they burst out onto the brightly lit surface of Kessel, Solo took the controls. The next step was to find a starship and flee the planet; Durron directed Solo toward an atmospheric factory where they spotted a pair of supply shuttles. While Durron kept watch, Solo and Chewbacca attempted to gain entry into one of the shuttles but the trio were forced to switch to the second shuttle, a 500-X model, once Solo tripped the automatic lockout systems. Durron watched nervously as a team of guards on a routine patrol arrived and noticed the damage to the first shuttle. As the alarm was triggered and guards rushed out to prevent their escape, Solo piloted the shuttle away from the factory.
Moruth Doole contacted the trio of escapees through the communications system and informed them that their escape was doomed; the entire Kessel fleet, garrisoned on Kessel's lone moon, was scrambled to intercept them. Just as the 500-X shuttle neared the edge of Kessel's weak atmosphere, Durron received a premonition in the Force and slammed on the starship's acceleration. Moments later, Kessel's planetary shield was powered up—Durron had saved himself and his new companions from death by a fractional distance. Despite the close call, the trio was still in danger. Doole's forces jammed the shuttle's communications and pursued the fleeing starship. Solo pumped all power into the vessel's shields, which failed to offer much protection. Desperate but aware that his powers could give them a chance at survival, Durron told Solo to fly the shuttle into the Maw. The Corellian was deeply skeptical but when Durron divulged the knowledge of his tutelage under Vima-Da-Boda—whom Solo had in fact met previously—he decided to trust in Durron's abilities.
Shunting all power to the engines, Solo piloted the shuttle into the Maw at great speed. The Kessel fleet abandoned pursuit on the edge of the cluster of black holes. Durron took the controls from the nervous Corellian and closed his eyes, allowing the Force to guide the shuttle and its crew to safety. For a long period of time, in silence, with the black holes on all sides, the young Force-sensitive flew the shuttle toward the area of gravitational calm in the center of the cluster. By the time the journey finished, Durron was exhausted from the exertion of his abilities and encouraged a period of recuperation while they repaired the shuttle in the comparative safety of the region. On arrival in the center of the cluster, however, the trio of escapees discovered a fresh danger. Four Imperial I-class Star Destroyers were in orbit around a habitational complex built into a cluster of asteroids in the center of the region.
====Another prison, another escape====
The Star Destroyers immediately scrambled squadrons of TIE/LN starfighters and TIE/IN interceptors in response to the shuttle's arrival and, following the failure of the old starship's shields, capture once again appeared inevitable. To the surprise of the trio of escapees, the Imperials present aboard the Star Destroyers contacted them, requesting a security clearance code, in the belief that the 500-X shuttle was bringing news from the Galactic Empire. Solo's attempts to bluff the Imperials failed, however, and Durron and his companions were taken aboard the flagship of the four Star Destroyers, the Gorgon, for interrogation. In the Gorgon ventral hangar, a group of Imperial stormtroopers took them into custody. Leading the Imperials was a Human woman who identified herself as Admiral Daala, who had been on duty in the Maw, unaware of the Galactic Empire's collapse, for approximately the same amount of time as Durron had been in the mines.
Durron was separated from Solo and Chewbacca and subjected to deep interrogation, his pain receptors manipulated by an interrogation droid until he was desperately searching for useful information to stave off further torture. After it emerged that he knew nothing of the outside galaxy, the young Force-sensitive was thrown into one of the Gorgon detention cells, pronounced useless by the Imperials and sentenced for execution. While sitting in his sparse cell, Durron brooded, recalling the consistent role played by the Galactic Empire in preventing him from living in freedom. Angrily trying to wield his Force powers, Durron swore to himself that he would learn how to manipulate his abilities to prevent himself from ever being in such helpless situations again.
As Durron increasingly immersed himself in the Force, he was able to sense the emotions of those aboard the Gorgon and observed as the crew appeared to enter a heightened state of readiness. Convinced that something important was about to transpire, Durron prepared himself to attack the Imperials as he heard activity outside his cell door. When Han Solo killed the stormtrooper guard and entered the cell, Durron eagerly joined the Corellian and the Omwati scientist, Qwi Xux, with whom Solo had allied to effect their escape. The trio set off to locate Chewbacca, who had been drafted into a work detail in one of the Star Destroyer's hangar bays. Durron disguised himself in stormtrooper armor and accompanied Solo and Xux to Chewbacca's location, whereupon Xux—who was defecting due to her belated realization that the Death Star superweapon she had designed had been used to destroy planets—used her credentials to secure the Wookiee's release. Xux then urged them all to travel with her to Maw Installation where she promised that a starship could be stolen. Upon arrival, the Omwati scientist led the trio to a heavily secured hangar. Utilizing her official documents to facilitate their entry, Xux revealed to the group their escape craft—the Sun Crusher superweapon, a small starship clad in near-indestructible quantum-crystalline armor and armed with Resonance torpedoes capable of inducing a supernova in a star.
As the group boarded the superweapon, stormtroopers rushed to prevent their escape. Durron watched as Solo sealed the craft and used its laser cannons to blow a hole in the hangar roof before piloting the Sun Crusher through the gap to open space. Admiral Daala scrambled her forces to intercept the superweapon; while the quantum-crystalline armor prevented it from physical harm, the sheer quantity of TIE fighters in space around the Sun Crusher penned Solo in and as the fourth of Daala's Star Destroyer's, the Hydra, moved into their path, Durron's friend made a snap decision. Solo piloted the small craft directly toward the bridge of the Star Destroyer and punched the Sun Crusher straight through the superstructure. The Hydra, deprived of its command center, drifted into one of the black holes, its destruction enabling Durron to take over the controls and pilot the Sun Crusher into the Maw.
Repeating his earlier technique, Durron surrendered control of his senses to the Force and navigated a safe path through the black hole cluster. Solo sat alongside him during the journey, which exhausted the young Force-sensitive. Once the Sun Crusher emerged on the other side of the Maw, however, it was met by Moruth Doole's onrushing Kessel fleet. Solo was perplexed by the fact that the fleet had apparently not moved in the days since they had entered the Maw aboard the 500-X shuttle but when Durron realized that the lead starship in Doole's fleet, Solo's own YT-1300 light freighter the Millennium Falcon, captured by the Rybet's forces, was in fact fleeing the rest of Doole's fleet.
As Natasi Daala's pursuing Star Destroyers emerged from the Maw and engaged Doole's fleet, believing it to be a New Republic flotilla, Solo acted quickly, contacting the pilots of the Millennium Falcon from the Sun Crusher, who happened to be Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and entrepreneur Lando Calrissian—Solo's brother-in-law and close friend, respectively. Having come to Kessel to search for Solo and Chewbacca, Skywalker and Calrissian had been forced to flee aboard the Millennium Falcon when Doole realized their purpose. As the light freighter's navicomputer was disabled, Solo sent the Millennium Falcon data from the Sun Crusher and the two starships made a hyperspace jump to Coruscant, the capital of the New Republic, leaving Doole and Daala to battle it out.
====Civilization====
Upon arrival at Coruscant, Durron was amazed by the scope and scale of the ecumenopolis along with Xux while Solo reunited with his wife and two twin children, Jacen and Jaina. The Sun Crusher was taken away by New Republic officials to be examined, while Durron came into Solo's temporary care. Shortly after their arrival on Coruscant, Durron and Solo met with Luke Skywalker, who was hoping to establish a Jedi Praxeum on the moon Yavin 4 where he could train Force-sensitives such as Durron in defense of the galaxy. Durron was excitable as Skywalker probed his Force potential, thankful that he would be able to prevent further misfortune befalling himself if he could wield the abilities with which he had been born. Firstly, Skywalker scanned Durron with a device that could measure his abilities. The device mapped Durron's abilities but delivered a reading that confused Skywalker, who subsequently attempted another test. Durron watched as Skywalker appeared to fall into a trance before the Jedi Master was suddenly thrown across the room. Shocked and surprised, Durron was relieved to hear that Skywalker had expected the response, as in probing the Deyer native's Force-sensitivity, he had triggered a subconscious reaction that was proof of Durron's power.
Skywalker later left for Yavin 4 with the promise that Durron could join him when the young Human was ready. For the time being, Durron remained on Coruscant with Solo, who helped to integrate him back into civilization. The two friends undertook a series of activities together and Durron began to feel as though he owed a great debt to Solo for all of the Corellian man's help. One day, Solo took Durron and his children to Coruscant's polar ice caps, where an alpine turbo-ski resort had been constructed. Although unaccustomed to the idea and slightly nervous, Durron and Solo prepared to ski on the beginner's slope while Jacen and Jaina went tobogganing with their droid guardian C-3PO. Rather than follow Solo on the beginner's slope, however, Durron fired up his turbo-skis and took a precarious and treacherous route, much to his older friend's dismay. Utilizing his reflexes, Durron raced over cliffs and chasms with Solo close behind, exhilarated by the freedom.
As the two men raced across a pristine glacier field, a mammoth ice-processing machine erupted from the snow without warning, forcing Durron and Solo to evade its lethal grinders before skiing over the edge of a frozen waterfall to land safetly at the resort center. As the two friends recovered from the excitement, Durron explained to Solo that he felt that he was ready to travel to Yavin 4 and commence his Jedi training. Although saddened, Solo promised that he would secure Durron a flight to the jungle moon, before a message droid arrived with the urgent news that Leia Organa Solo and Admiral Gial Ackbar, a leading New Republic official, had been injured in a shuttle crash on Vortex. Durron accompanied Solo as he collected his children and along with C-3PO the group departed the resort.
While Solo was absent caring for his wife, Durron traveled to where the Sun Crusher was being held under guard in order to take another look at the superweapon. Received with hostility by the armed guards protecting the superweapon as it underwent examination, Durron attempted to explain that it had been he who had piloted the Sun Crusher back to Coruscant. When two engineers panicked while examining the Sun Crusher, mistaking one of its message pods for one of the resonance torpedoes capable of inducing a supernova, Durron was forced to leave at gunpoint by the guards. Ironically, Durron was later informed that he would be traveling aboard the Sun Crusher to the gas giant Yavin Prime, where alongside General Wedge Antilles of the New Republic and Qwi Xux he would help deposit the superweapon in the center of the gas giant, before Antilles dropped him off on Yavin 4. Before leaving, Durron met with Solo at the older man's apartment in order to say farewell. The Deyer native received an expensive black cloak from Solo as a gift before the two friends parted ways.
Durron flew the Sun Crusher to the Yavin system while General Antilles piloted a New Republic transport in tandem. Before releasing the superweapon into the heart of the gas giant, Durron felt regret that the perfectly designed craft would be lost and unreachable in Yavin's high-pressure core. Programming the controls to chart a plunge into the heart of the gas giant, Durron docked the superweapon with the New Republic transport and watched from the cockpit viewport with Antilles and Qwi Xux as the Sun Crusher streaked down into Yavin's core. Once the superweapon had vanished into the thick gases, Antilles flew the New Republic transport down to the surface of Yavin 4 and landed the craft outside the Great Temple that served as the headquarters of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum.
====Jedi training====
Durron emerged from the transport behind Antilles and Xux to be greeted by Luke Skywalker and an assembled crowd of Jedi trainees. After helping to unload the transport alongside the other Jedi, Durron was introduced to life at the Jedi Praxeum and commenced his training. Durron became acquainted with his fellow students over the next days and was able to inform his fellow trainees of the events presently occurring in the galaxy. Having recently witnessed the mysterious death of one of their number, Gantoris, Skywalker and his inaugural class were disquieted, but Durron's arrival revitalized some of their enthusiasm. Durron threw himself into his training, progressing with a speed and confidence that awed the other trainees and Skywalker, who was forced to dedicate the majority of his time to Durron's instruction while Kam Solusar, one of the more experienced learners, took over the training of several others.I, Jedi
Within little more than a week, Durron had far outpaced his fellow Jedi-in-training. The young man kept himself withdrawn from many of the other candidates, such as the Human Jedi Keiran Halcyon, and refrained from socializing, although he did strike up a firm friendship with Dorsk 81, a Khommite clone. Along with Dorsk 81, Durron often traveled into Yavin 4's jungles to map the region and its numerous Massassi temples. Soon, however, Durron realized that the development of his Force-potential was moving at a pace with which Skywalker himself was having a difficult time coping. One day, as the Jedi candidates used the Force to move objects telekinetically, Durron's prodigious talent for the exercise resulted in his fellow classmates abandoning their own efforts and observing his. As the Deyer native lifted a number of objects into the air while extending his Force senses across the moon, he realized that Skywalker had come to observe his progress personally. When the Jedi Master brought the exercise to an end, Durron eagerly pressed the older man for more lessons and knowledge. To his slight disappointment, Durron was encouraged by Skywalker to meditate on his existing knowledge rather than attempt to expand it further. For the former mine slave, however, such advice was developing into what he felt were constraints upon his abilities.
===Rampage and return===
====Corruption====
One night as Durron meditated and practiced his skills in his bedchamber, the young Human used the Force to extend his senses throughout the Great Temple, wondering at the vast power he was able to manipulate. As he did so, Durron detected a foreign presence and realized that an apparition had emerged in his chamber. Confronting the cloaked and shadowed figure, Durron listened as the apparition revealed that he could allow Durron to tap into his full potential and abandon Skywalker's restrictive teachings in order to unlock new powers and abilities. Durron found himself fascinated, although nervous, and demanded to know the apparition's name. With mocking laughter, the hooded figure revealed himself to be Exar Kun, a long-deceased Dark Lord of the Sith.
====Legacy of the Sith====
Durron journeyed to Ithor, a verdant jungle world over which floated the Tafanda Bay, an Ithorian Herdship where Durron ascertained Qwi Xux was residing along with General Wedge Antilles. Durron infiltrated Xux's bedchamber and cloaked himself in the shadows of the room. Eventually Antilles and Xux returned; Durron waited until the New Republic general had left before emerging from the shadows and revealing himself to the panicked Omwati scientist. As Xux attempted to flee, Durron ensnared her in a Force grip and silenced her voice. Informing the terrified woman that he would remove the knowledge of her superweapons from her mind, Durron used the Force to explore Xux's mind and extirpated the Omwati scientist's years of learning and discovery, leaving her mind devoid of knowledge of the Sun Crusher, the Death Star, or any other superweapon. The self-proclaimed Sith Lord's technique was invasive and caused much mental damage to Xux, whom Durron left unconscious before departing the Tafanda Bay and returning to Yavin 4.
Filled with a sense of power and destiny, Durron landed Jade's Z-95 Headhunter outside the Great Temple and ascended to the summit of the ziggarut unannounced in order to manipulate the power of the ancient Massassi temples. The Deyer native reached the summit as the gas giant Yavin emerged overhead. Allowing the power of Exar Kun and the residual Sith energies on the jungle moon to augment his own Force abilities, Durron extended his consciousness into the heart of the gas giant and located the Sun Crusher, before using the Force to activate its controls and pilot the craft down to the moon. As the superweapon arrived, Durron slowed its descent and brought it to rest on the temple summit. Moments later, the young Human was confronted by a shocked and appalled Luke Skywalker, who condemned his actions and pleaded with him to return from the grip of the dark side of the Force. Durron scornfully criticized Skywalker's teachings and prepared to attack the Jedi Master.
As Skywalker ignited his lightsaber blade and begged Durron to return the Sun Crusher into Yavin's core, Durron, augmented with Kun's influence, froze the Jedi Master's weapon and rendered it useless. The ghost of the long dead Sith Lord emerged behind Skywalker. Triumphant, Durron blasted the Jedi Master with black Force lightning and, aided by Kun, summoned dark side tendrils to bolster the offensive. Together, they overwhelmed Skywalker and left him comatose on the ziggurat's summit. Durron boarded the Sun Crusher and, still guided by Kun's pervasive influence, departed the Yavin system with two targets in mind. First he decided to strike at Daala, his Imperial captor. Following Daala's destruction, Durron planned to travel to Carida and liberate his brother Zeth, whom he had not seen since the stormtroopers had burst into their home on Deyer, so many years ago.
====Vengeful rampage====
Guided by Exar Kun's spirit, Durron took the Sun Crusher to the Cauldron Nebula in the Outer Rim Territories, where Kun informed him that Natasi Daala and her two remaining Star Destroyers were located. Durron recognized the terror his destruction of the entire nebula would instill in the hearts of surviving Imperials and moved the superweapon, undiscovered by Daala's two warships, toward the seven stars that made up the nebula. Deciding that Daala deserved no warning, Durron launched one resonance torpedo into each star and settled in to wait. As time drifted by, Durron grew impatient, wishing he could taunt Daala before sudden death consumed the Gorgon and the Basilisk. When the two Star Destroyers went on the move, however, preparing to leave the system, Durron realized that he had to stall Daala. He raced the Sun Crusher toward the two warships and made his presence obvious. Daala scrambled TIE fighters against the superweapon in attempt to force Durron to dock the craft with the Gorgon, playing right into the Jedi's hands.
Durron easily used the small craft's speed to evade the tractor beams of the Star Destroyer and its TIE fighters, before communicating with Daala to mock her efforts. Durron watched as Daala finally comprehended his delaying tactic and ordered the Gorgon and the Basilisk to retreat. As the Star Destroyers moved away, the nebula's seven stars exploded, sending a cataclysmic shockwave of energy pulsing across the star system. The scores of TIE fighters were wiped out along with the Basilisk and, as Durron's viewports turned opaque due to the high quantities of radiation, he believed that he saw the Gorgon explode as well, bringing his personal vendetta against Daala to a close. Before leaving the system, Durron left one of the Sun Crusher's message pods behind with a statement claiming responsibility for the nebula's destruction and an explanation for his actions.
Days after the destruction of the Cauldron Nebula, Durron arrived in the Carida system, having set his sights on the academy to which his brother Zeth had been taken almost ten years prior. The young Jedi did not expect his brother to be alive and awaited the opportunity to destroy the system and its Imperial presence. Entering the orbit, he warned the academy personnel not to attempt to apprehend him, issuing an ultimatum when they attempted to tractor beam the craft down to the surface. When Ambassador Furgan, the head of the academy, communicated with him, Durron informed the Caridan that he would destroy the Carida system within the hour unless Furgan revealed the fate of his brother. When Dauren, the communications officer for the academy, informed him some time later that Zeth had died during a training exercise. Durron asked for the files to be uploaded, consumed by rage and grief.
When a large force of TIE fighters rose from the academy to attack the Sun Crusher, Durron realized that he had been stalled by the Caridans and decided to take vengeance on the planet immediately. Following an extended dogfight with the Imperial starfighters, Durron flew toward the star Carida, drawing so close to the sun that his pursuit retreated. The Jedi then loosed one of his four remaining torpedoes into the heart of the star and awaited the system's impending destruction, transmitting a message of victory to the academy. The system only had two hours and Durron watched as the Imperials scrambled to evacuate the system in time. When less than half an hour remained, Durron received an urgent message from Dauren on the surface of Carida.
Dauren informed the Jedi that Zeth Durron was alive and that the information had been falsified in order to keep Durron waiting. By the time Durron had raced the Sun Crusher back to Carida, he had only sixteen minutes left. Lieutenant Dauren brought Zeth before the communications display and Durron got a brief look at his older brother before he sped the Sun Crusher to the main academy complex. With only seven minutes left on the chronometer, Durron knew that time was running out as he neared the buildings and demanded the precise location of Dauren and his brother. The static tower defenses fired at the small superweapon as it descended over the academy, wasting Durron's time as he returned fire and steadied the Sun Crusher. With two minutes to go, Durron lowered the craft toward his brother and Dauren. Just as they prepared to clamber aboard, Dauren struck Zeth with a piece of material and attempted to climb aboard himself.
Zeth shot the lieutenant while Durron brought the ship back in reach—by this time, there was only one minute left. As his brother collapsed, dazed after Dauren's attack, Durron locked on to Zeth's body with a tractor beam and rushed to the Sun Crusher's hatch, just as the star exploded. Buffetted around the inside of the superweapon as an intense wave of radiation scoured Carida of life and killed Zeth in an instant, Durron could only watch in horror. Carida was cracked in half by the second pulse of heavier radiation; in his grief the young Jedi managed to fly the Sun Crusher away from the dying planet and enter hyperspace. The Destruction of Carida sent shockwaves of mental anguish through the Force, reaching across the galaxy to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, where Durron's former companions experienced the disturbance in the Force that was the destruction of the star system.
Consumed by grief, Durron headed to the Deep Core, where he was aware bastions of Imperial power remained. Kun's presence still remained with him, fueling his anger and rage. His next target was a shipyard and weapons depot in a small system on the outskirts of the Core. Durron released another resonance torpedo into the system's red dwarf and waited in the system as it exploded, wiping out the Imperial presence there. While Durron remained in the system, however, the Millennium Falcon came out of hyperspace. Han Solo and Lando Calrissian had pursued Durron on his destructive campaign and tracked him down. Durron immediately sped the craft toward a jump into hyperspace but the Millennium Falcon intercepted him. Solo began broadcasting to Durron but the Jedi refused to listen, firing warning shots at Solo's starship in order to ward the Corellian off. When the light freighter's tractor beam ensnared the Sun Crusher, however, Durron decided to put a halt to Solo's interference and brought the superweapon's torpedo launcher to bear against the Millennium Falcon.
A tense standoff ensued as Solo attempted to remind Durron of their friendship together; Durron began to relent, remembering the times he and Solo had spent together on Kessel and on Coruscant. Solo's words began to counter the ever-present voice of Exar Kun in Durron's mind, especially once Solo pointed out to him the role of the dark side of the Force in his vendetta. At that moment, however, an electronic signal from the Millennium Falcon powered down the Sun Crusher and Durron realized he had once again been tricked by a delaying tactic. Kun's influence came flooding back and Durron used the Force to restart the Sun Crusher's systems. As he prepared to launch the resonance torpedo, however, Kun's presence suddenly vanished as the Sith Lord's spirit was defeated on faraway Yavin 4. With the weight of Kun's influence gone, Durron's anger lifted and he realized what he had been about to do. Powering down the torpedo launcher, the Jedi surrendered to Solo.
====Judgment====
Kyp Durron was ashamed and guilt-ridden as Solo took him to Coruscant and the Council. On arrival, New Republic forces took the Sun Crusher away and Durron was placed under a heavy guard, separated from Solo. The young man was placed in a dock while the Council assembled; finally Chief of State Mon Mothma, deeply ill following an assassination attempt on her life, entered the chamber. Solo attempted to speak up on Durron's behalf but Jan Dodonna, an aged general of the now defunct Alliance to Restore the Republic, silenced the Corellian and read out a list of Durron's crimes. General Carlist Rieekan, another veteran of the First Galactic Civil War, reminded Durron that the Jedi had knowingly contravened their wishes when he had retrieved the Sun Crusher from the heart of Yavin. Durron announced that he would accept whatever consequences but when Senator Hrekin Thorm demanded execution, Solo spoke out, defending Durron on the grounds of Exar Kun's involvement. It was to be Mon Mothma who pronounced the final verdict; due to the role of the Force in the matter and Durron's killing of an untold number of sentients, the Chief of State decided to leave the matter of the Jedi's punishment to Jedi Master Skywalker, whom Durron learned had recovered following the demise of Kun's spirit.
Durron returned with Han Solo aboard the Millennium Falcon to Yavin 4. On arrival, Solo exited the light freighter to greet his family while Durron waited for Skywalker to approach. Terrified at having to meet the man whom he had put into a coma, Durron awaited his judgment. The young Jedi asked Skywalker if Exar Kun really had been vanquished; the Jedi Master confirmed the matter before asking Durron what he wanted to do with his potential. The young man was shocked that his training could continue but Skywalker revealed that he needed to determine whether Durron had irrevocably consumed himself with fear and anger or left himself the opportunity for redemption. Only when Durron promised that he would try to forsake the dark side did the serene Jedi Master become harsh, warning his pupil that he had to believe that he could become a Jedi if he wanted it to happen. Durron tearfully answered that he wanted to be a Jedi.
Once Skywalker had taken him back to the Jedi trainees at the Praxeum, Durron sunk into a cycle of refusing to use his abilities, ashamed as he was of what he had done and frightened of what he could do again. He came to wish he had never been born with Jedi abilities. One day, however, Skywalker asked Durron to accompany him into the jungles of Yavin 4, insisting that he arm himself with the lightsaber of the fallen Gantoris. Durron went with the Jedi Master, nervous around the presence of the man whom he had attacked and incapacitated. For hours he trekked alongside Skywalker through the jungle, eventually breaking the silence and asking the Jedi Master about the dark side of the Force. Contradicting the teachings of Exar Kun, Skywalker told Durron that whenever he used the Force for his own advancement, he was drawing upon dark side energy. The Jedi Master then brought Durron before the Temple of Exar Kun. Disturbed, Durron protested that he did not want to enter but Skywalker urged him to confront his fears.
Equipping himself with Gantoris' violet-bladed lightsaber, Durron crossed the lake entered the tomb of the dead Sith Lord once again while Skywalker waited outside, refusing to offer guidance. It was not long before Durron was confronted by a familiar black shadow who informed Durron that he lived in the Jedi's memory. Believing it to be the specter of Kun, Durron prepared to strike down the spirit with black Sith lightning, reveling in the irony of utilizing Kun's own teachings against the long dead Sith Lord. As the spirit remained cloaked and silent, Durron retreated from the use of Sith powers and took up Gantoris' lightsaber instead, meaning to vanquish his enemy with a Jedi weapon. When Durron realized that he did not need to resort to violence at all, the spirit revealed itself to be that of Zeth Durron and thanked him. Durron returned outside to Skywalker, who warmly received him back into the ranks of the Jedi.
====Righting wrongs====
Despite Durron's success in Exar Kun's Sith Temple, Skywalker decided that for his pupil's absolution to be truly complete, one final task lay in store for the young Jedi. The two agreed that the Sun Crusher, as the tool of Durron's destruction, had to be destroyed and that Kyp would have to be the man to do it. As the starship was indestructible, the only possibility lay with the black holes of the Maw, which the Sun Crusher could be dropped into and pulverized. As the superweapon still lay in the hands of the New Republic, however, Skywalker and Durron set off to Coruscant to speak with Leia Organa Solo, who had been appointed the new Chief of State by the ailing Mon Mothma, to secure permission for their venture. Upon arrival at Organa Solo's apartment, Durron was informed that Han Solo had traveled to Kessel with Lando Calrissian in order to liberate the spice mines from Moruth Doole for their new administration under Calrissian.
Once Skywalker asked his sister for permission to take the Sun Crusher to the Maw, Organa Solo grew skeptical but eventually relented. After an hours-long meeting with the Council, Chief of State Solo emerged and informed the pair, who were dining in a café, that they had permission to dispose of the Sun Crusher. Skywalker contacted his friend Mara Jade of the Smugglers' Alliance, which was operating on Kessel and asked for a ship on which he and Durron could return to Yavin 4 after the mission. Skywalker and Durron left for Kessel shortly thereafter; after a short trance to recover some of his strength, Durron began sharing memories of his childhood on Deyer with Skywalker, who revealed that he had undergone a test similar to Durron when he had entered a cave on Dagobah and encountered a vision of his father. Eventually, the Sun Crusher emerged over Kessel, only for the two Jedi to discover that the garrison moon had been destroyed and that a fleet of smuggling vessels were waiting in the system.
Skywalker explained the mission to Kithra, an officer in the Smugglers' Alliance, only to be informed that the Death Star prototype had exited the Maw, destroyed the garrison moon and retreated back among the black holes with Han Solo and Lando Calrissian trapped inside its superstructure. Durron and Skywalker took the Sun Crusher into the Maw, working together to navigate a safe path using their Jedi abilities. On arrival in the center, they discovered the Gorgon engaged with a New Republic fleet that had been sent previously to recover information from Maw Installation. Admiral Daala, having barely survived the destruction of the Cauldron Nebula, had returned with her flagship to the Maw to protect the installation. Durron piloted the Sun Crusher down to Maw Installation where General Wedge Antilles was waiting, while Skywalker communicated ahead. Upon landing, Durron accompanied the Jedi Master to a tense meeting with Antilles and Qwi Xux, who was also on the mission as an advisor.
Fortunately for Durron, Antilles was preoccupied, and the Death Star prototype soon emerged over the installation. As the Gorgon intensified its attack on Maw Installation, Durron absented himself during the chaos. He knew that it was his duty to destroy the Death Star prototype and Daala with the power of the Sun Crusher in an attempt at atonement. Aware that Skywalker would not have allowed him to go off alone, Durron used his Force abilities to ease his passage through Maw Installation, blanking memories and hiding his Force presence as he raced to the Sun Crusher. Durron powered up the small craft and left the installation, heading for the prototype. With only two more supernova torpedoes left in the superweapon, Durron was unsure of the best strategy. When the Millennium Falcon streaked out from the prototype's superstructure and an explosion blossomed from the Death Star's reactor core moments later, Durron was heartened and approached the prototype.
While the Gorgon destroyed Maw Installation in a final attack run and vanished in the explosion, with Natasi Daala presumed dead, Durron made a strafing run on the Death Star prototype's command center before launching one of the supernova torpedoes at the battle station. To his concern, however, the torpedo destroyed only seven percent of the battle station's mass—due to its framework structure, no chain reaction would occur. Durron decided instead to lead the Death Star prototype toward the black holes, hoping that in their overconfidence the pilots of the giant battle station would stray too close to one of the gravity wells. He piloted the Sun Crusher to the edge of the black holes and, as he had hoped, the battle station pursued the Sun Crusher, firing its superlaser beam at the flitting craft and missing. Launching his final torpedo against the battle station, Durron drew the prototype in closer to the black hole, making his calculations to avoid his own destruction.
As the Death Star fired again, the beam grazed the Sun Crusher, sending the craft spinning and damaging the navigation systems. Durron realized that he would be unable to escape the black hole and rushed to one of the craft's message pods. Utilizing the Force to deaden the vast pain, Durron crammed himself into the message pod, the inside of which could barely hold a child. Despite the breakage of many of his bones, including those in his limbs and ribcage, Durron managed to squeeze himself in to the message pod and placed himself in a hibernation trance. The pod fired away from the doomed Sun Crusher as the superweapon spiraled into the black hole. The Death Star prototype followed the small craft to its demise, unable to withdraw from the gravity well in time. The Millennium Falcon flew toward the black hole and intercepted the message pod before it could be lost.
When they discovered Durron's broken body in the message pod, Solo and Calrissian were shocked at the extent of Durron's injuries and pried him out of the small container. The young Jedi opened his eyes long enough to check that the two superweapons had been destroyed before sinking back into his hibernation trance to heal. The Millennium Falcon returned Durron to Yavin 4 to continue his recovery. It took considerable time for Durron's extensive injuries to heal but, a while after the destruction of the Death Star prototype and of the Sun Crusher, he was well enough to join Luke Skywalker and the other Jedi at the Praxeum for an address on the top of the Great Temple. Moving with a distinctive limp, Durron arrived with his fellow Jedi and listened to Skywalker's brief speech. Despite the outward calm he projected to others, however, Durron was in emotional turmoil and near-suicidal.
Haunted by guilt and misery, still wary of potential misuse of the Force and quietly hoping that someone would bring an end to his tormented existence, Durron set out on his own. There were many who could not comprehend Durron's fate. To the galaxy at large, Durron appeared to have escaped punishment for the destruction of Carida and his other actions at the helm of the Sun Crusher. To some he was a war hero, to others a mass murderer; the galaxy never forgot Durron's actions.The Essential Chronology Durron's case was often cited by those who espoused anti-Jedi sentiment,The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide I: Onslaught and for years after Durron's artificial creation of the Carida Nebula, sections of society would continue to call for an increasingly belated punishment.Fate of the Jedi: Outcast
===Atonement===
====Guilt-ridden====
Durron trusted the call of the Force, which led him to take upon himself a mission to investigate rumors of a powerful Jedi on Prishardia known as Ghitsa. Durron was motivated chiefly by fears that Ghitsa, unprotected and powerful, could be suborned by criminals and led down the same path as he had been. Durron made his way to Prishardia, a backwater planet located near Chad in the Outer Rim Territories. On arrival, Durron did not sense any powerful Force presences on the backwater planet and concluded that whoever Ghitsa was, she was no Force-sensitive. The guilt-ridden Jedi decided, nevertheless, to investigate the situation, trusting the call from the Force, and set out to look for Ghitsa. The rumors of Ghitsa were vague and Durron had a hard time tracking down leads; he hired a landspeeder and set out for Lesvol, the planet's second city, where reports indicated he could locate Fenig Nabon, Ghitsa's partner, and their starship, the Star Lady.
Unwilling to divulge his true identity, well-known among fringe elements such as Nabon and Ghitsa, Durron introduced himself as Zeth Fost and asked Nabon to take him to Ghitsa. The smuggler, following her initial abrasiveness, agreed and the two set off in the rented landspeeder. On arrival at the dwelling where Ghitsa had been living, however, Nabon and Durron discovered that Ghitsa was gone, kidnapped by the same group that had sabotaged the Star Lady hyperdrive a month previously and landed Nabon and Ghitsa on Prishardia. Durron and Nabon returned immediately to Levsol, with the young Jedi explaining to the smuggler that he would see the situation through, due to his guidance from the Force.
On returning to Lesvol, the two Humans were informed by Gibb, an associate of Nabon's, that Ghitsa had been taken to Nad'Ris City, Prishardia's capital. Nabon ordered Gibb to hack into Nad'Ris City's spaceport records, a task that the mechanic undertook with some nervousness on account of Durron's presence. Durron reassured Gibb that he was not interested in investigating petty crimes and quickly discerned through the guidance of the Force that the Rook was the starship they were looking for, a Class 720 freighter that had arrived around the same time as Nabon. As the Rook had filed for departure from Nad'Ris spaceport, however, it appeared that they would be unable to save Ghitsa in time. With Durron's Force powers unable to resolve the situation, Nabon used her expertise to ensure that the Rook was held at the spaceport for quarantine until they could arrive.
Durron followed the smuggler woman back to the disabled Star Lady while she equipped herself for the coming battle against Ghitsa's kidnappers with a variety of weapons. They then set off in the rented landspeeder for the long overnight drive to Nad'Ris. During the journey, Nabon, an introverted woman with a checkered past, began to open up to Durron, as she had begun to trust him. When Durron, still using his Fost alias, divulged that he had been imprisoned on Kessel for a time, the two swapped stories about the late Moruth Doole. Sensing Nabon's inner self and her hidden loyalties and emotions, Durron cautiously probed the smuggler about her past, learning that her guardian Jett Nabon had been killed when she was young and that she had issues with what she saw as Jedi self-righteousness and authority. As they talked and joked, however, Nabon made an off-hand comment that reminded Durron of Exar Kun. The smuggler noticed the young Jedi's sudden withdrawal and queried him on the reaction.
Durron decided to tell the woman about what he had done and a shocked and disgusted Nabon quickly realized that she was sharing both a landspeeder and her past with someone she viewed as a mass murderer. The smuggler halted the landspeeder, got out and vomited, leaving Durron to follow her tearfully and explain himself and his moral dilemma over what he felt was his undeserved freedom. Nabon physically attacked him in her shock and drew her blaster to kill him but when Durron encouraged her to pull the trigger, the smuggler realized that Durron was in emotional turmoil and refused to grant him the release he wanted. Deciding to use Durron to free Ghitsa she ushered the young Jedi back into the landspeeder. The journey continued in silence. When they arrived at Nad'Ris spaceport and Nabon began hacking into a service entrance that would take them to Ghitsa and Rook, the two finally spoke, with Durron drawing parallels between Nabon's revenge slayings of those who had killed her protector and the Imperial lives he had taken in response for the death of his brother.
Despite the similarities, Durron remained unable to come to terms with his grief and terror that he would repeat his actions. The smuggler, feeling some pity for the young man, told Durron to do the best he could and ensure that he never relapsed into the person he had once been. As Nabon's attempts to hack the door were failing, the smuggler led Durron around the outside of the spaceport wall near to the docking bay were the Rook was located. Durron revealed that he knew of Ghitsa's lack of Force-sensitivity but that he would help free the con-artist from her kidnappers anyway. Together they scaled the wall and ran along it to where the Rook was berth, before infiltrating the freighter from a top hatch. Before doing so, Durron urged Nabon to set her blaster to stun rather than kill Ghitsa's kidnappers; despite a short argument, the smuggler relented and followed the Jedi into the starship.
Unable to locate Ghitsa among the many individuals on the starship, Durron waited with Nabon until she captured Culan Brasli, one of the kidnappers, and used him to locate Ghitsa. They learned that Ghitsa, who had previously worked for Durga Besadii Tai of the Besadii Hutt clan, was being interrogated by Counselor Ral of the rival Desilijic clan for information on the affairs of Durga the Hutt. Ral was in charge of the kidnapping and demanded via Brasli's commlink to know what was going on. While Brasli stalled Ral, Nabon disabled the hull breach sensors and Durron cut through the hull with his lightsaber. The trio leapt out through the hole to the ground and fled the scene; as the Rook forward laser cannons powered up and began firing, however, Durron told the others to run while he deflected the incoming fire with his lightsaber.
Ghitsa soon discovered that the spaceport exit door was locked and Nabon rushed to Durron's side to aid him while her partner hacked the door. The increasingly desperate situation was only resolved when Gibb, piloting the repaired Star Lady, appeared overhead and began strafing the Rook with its own laser cannons. The Rook fled to the upper atmosphere, leaving the trio in safety. As Durron and Nabon congratulated each other, Ghitsa reminded them of the Rook undiscovered hull breach. Alarmed, Durron watched as the Rook streaked toward space and its imminent destruction, unable to use his powers to compel Counselor Ral to return and unwilling to use the Force in that manner anyway. Despite Ghitsa's attempts to warn Ral, the Rook continued into the atmosphere and was destroyed, much to Durron's distress.
Once Gibb landed the Star Lady, Nabon agreed to take Durron back to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. On arrival, Durron spoke briefly to Ghitsa, urging her to be true to herself, before heading outside to a crowd of his fellow Jedi. Tionne, slightly suspicious of Durron's new company, informed the young Jedi that Luke Skywalker had been injured and that they were awaiting his arrival. Durron returned to Nabon, waiting at the hatch of the Star Lady, to say his farewells. The woman, having warmed to Durron in their days together, wished him luck and offered him a place on his crew should the need ever arise. Durron thanked her in return for her help in helping him to deal with his turmoil before leaving with a silent message through the Force, telling her that it guided her actions as well. As Durron joined the Jedi on the ground and waited for Luke Skywalker's arrival, the Star Lady lifted off and departed the Yavin system. Upon Skywalker's return, the Jedi learned that their unofficial leader had defeated another of Emperor Palpatine's superweapons, the Eye of Palpatine dreadnaught, following the discovery of a plot conceived to anoint a new Emperor.Children of the Jedi
Skywalker brought back with him his lover Callista Ming, a former Jedi of the Old Republic whose spirit had been rehoused in the body of Cray Mingla, one of the Praxeum's deceased Jedi. The revelation of the Eye of Palpatine long-hidden existence, as well as Daala's campaign of the previous year, encouraged Durron's belief that the remnants of the Galactic Empire still posed a threat to the New Republic.Darksaber Others had the same opinion; Dal Konur, a Force-sensitive who had formerly been in the Alliance Special Forces, struggled with Skywalker's teachings just as Durron had and finally set off as a rogue Jedi on a mission to assassinate the Imperial leadership. Skywalker met with a group of adventurers at the Jedi Praxeum in order to assign them the task of tracking Konur down; Durron was on hand at the time to prepare a meal for the new arrivals. Konur was eventually apprehended and returned to Yavin 4.
Skywalker, who perceived Durron to be the finest of his students, eventually instructed the young Jedi to complete his final test—the construction of his own lightsaber. With his training period at the Jedi Praxeum at an end, Durron set about constructing his lightsaber. The Deyer native elected to construct a weapon with a silver blade. By this time, Durron felt that the time to leave the Praxeum and head out into the galaxy to aid the New Republic as a Jedi had at last come. The date of his graduation ceremony was set and Durron awaited it with mixed emotions of fear and eagerness. With him would be Cilghal and Durron's close friend Dorsk 81, who had also completed their trials.
====Travels with Dorsk 81====
On the day of his Knighting ceremony, Durron, Dorsk 81 and Cilghal proceeded out into the rainy jungle and took part in a short ritual with Jedi Master Skywalker and a number of trainees watching. After Skywalker's short congratulations speech, Durron and his two companions were announced Jedi Knights. Both Cilghal and Dorsk 81 elected to return to their respective homeworlds; due to the proximity of Khomm to the Deep Core, Durron decided to accompany his friend, proclaiming that he would serve the New Republic by investigating Imperial activity. The New Republic provided the two newly anointed Jedi Knights with a private spacecraft and they set off for Khomm. Upon arrival, Durron and Dorsk 81 were invited down to the planet's surface, where the Khommite revealed, to Durron's surprise, that his genetic duplicate, Dorsk 82, would be waiting.
At the city's main spaceport, Dorsk 81 was received by a massed crowd of eager spectators, as well as the city leader, Kaell 116. Kaell 116 drove the two Jedi Knights to Dorsk 81's old home, where Durron was introduced to Dorsk 80 and Dorsk 82. The orderliness and monotony of Khomm and its people unsettled Durron and he remained distracted by the prospects of Imperial activity in the Deep Core. When Durron accompanied the three Khommite clones to the city's central cloning facility, he bore witness to a confrontation as Dorsk 81 revealed to his predecessor and successor that he would not be resuming his duties in the laboratory and would instead be serving as Khomm's Jedi guardian. The response to Dorsk 81's decision encouraged Durron to ask his friend to accompany him on his scouting mission to the Deep Core, rather than remain among his species and fade into obscurity.
Setting off into the Core systems, Durron realized with mounting horror that the Deep Core Imperials were mobilizing and preparing themselves for a military campaign. The two Jedi Knights, having stolen an Imperial shuttle along with uniforms from an outer depot, observed mass migration, weapons depots, factories and construction yards, which churned out munitions, starfighters and capital ships. Encouraging the timid Dorsk 81, Durron convinced the Khommite to follow an Imperial convoy to a massing point of the fleet. Although his fellow Jedi Knight wished to report the Imperial buildup to the New Republic before proceeding further, Durron felt that he had to investigate further. Landing the stolen shuttle at a general deep space meeting point, the two Jedi Knights learned that an unknown admiral was preparing to deliver an address.
Disguised in Imperial uniforms, Durron and Dorsk 81 made their way to the center of the station, where a rally was taking place. There, Durron watched as Vice Admiral Gilad Pellaeon addressed the crowd and discussed the imminent Imperial campaign of the new United Warlord Fleets, which would open with an assault on the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. To Durron's utter shock, however, Pellaeon then welcomed Admiral Natasi Daala to the stage, announcing her as the leader who had unified the Imperials and made the mobilization possible. Unable to control his surprise, Durron loudly exclaimed his shock, prompting a disturbance. Confronted by Imperial stormtroopers, Durron was forced to draw his lightsaber and attack. In a fighting retreat, the two Jedi Knights made their way to the stolen shuttle and lifted off as the Imperials began their pursuit. The shuttle rapidly sustained damage and Dorsk 81 took it into hyperspace as soon as was possible. Returning to Khomm in an hour, the two Jedi Knights broadcast an emergency warning to the planet.
====Defense of the Jedi Praxeum====
While Dorsk 81 attempted in vain to rouse his species for the imminent Imperial invasion, Durron traveled to the spaceport communications center and informed the New Republic of the threat. The two Jedi Knights reunited and set off for the Jedi Praxeum in order to alert their peers to the threat. Shortly afterward, Khomm was devastated in an Imperial attack. Broadcasting a constant alert, Durron and Dorsk 81 arrived and rushed to the Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster, where Kam Solusar, Kirana Ti and the other Jedi trainees were working. To the Jedi Knight's concern, Master Skywalker was absent with Callista Ming, leaving the defense of the Jedi Praxeum up to the students. As Durron relayed the news of the impending Imperial assault, Streen announced that the task force had already arrived. Over the jungle moon, a fleet of seventeen Imperial-class Star Destroyers prepared to mount an all-out assault. Despite the consternation of several trainees, Durron encouraged his fellow Jedi that they could defend the Praxeum themselves, without Skywalker's help if need be.
Once a force of TIE fighters and bombers had been repulsed by the combined power of the Jedi at the Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster, Durron led his fellow students and Jedi Knights to the Great Temple. Ordering Tionne to head to the communications center and alert the New Republic, Durron rushed to the Imperial shuttle to collect weapons. The Deyer native failed to notice an AT-ST scout walker as it emerged from the forest, although Dorsk 81 was able to destroy the vehicle with the Force. Together the Jedi ascended to the Great Temple war room in order to coordinate their defense as Pellaeon's fleet deposited more forces on the jungle moon. Tionne revealed that the Imperial fleet was jamming communications, and Durron reminded his fellow Jedi that while they had repulsed the initial attacks, they would have to adopt new tactics if they wished to survive consecutive waves and ultimately repel the Star Destroyers.
During the desperate meeting, Dorsk 81 proposed that the Jedi combine their strength in the Force and channel it through him, enabling him to manipulate the energy field on a massive scale and cast the Star Destroyers out of the system entirely. Despite the general skepticism with which the idea was received, Durron backed his friend and trusted in Dorsk 81's faith. Following his friend to the top of the giant Massassi temple, Durron watched as the Khommite clone readied himself on the observation deck as the Imperial assault continued. As Dorsk 81 began drawing upon the Force, Durron and the other Jedi leant their own power to the Khommite clone, filling their friend with tremendous amounts of raw power. Durron felt as Dorsk 81 drew even deeper on the Force, hoarding its power in preparation for the effort. Finally, the Khommite loosed the built-up power in one massive exertion of the Force, hurling Pellaeon's fleet to the outskirts of the Yavin system.
Upon the release of the energy, the Deyer native collapsed, only to see his friend tottering on the brink of the Great Temple. Durron rushed to aid the Khommite, whose role as the conduit of the Force had burnt him from the inside out but found himself too late to save Dorsk 81. The Khommite managed to inform Durron that the Star Destroyers were gone before dying in his arms. Durron, although greatly saddened, had enormous respect for his friend's actions.Star Wars: Jedi Academy: Leviathan He lifted up the Khommite's lifeless body and took it down to the base of the Great Temple, where he was greeted by Luke Skywalker, Callista Ming, and Han and Leia Organa Solo, who had had to evade Admiral Daala's new flagship—the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Knight Hammer—which had emerged in the Yavin system to continue the Imperial assault. Skywalker gathered the Jedi outside the Great Temple and ordered them to spread out into the jungle and conduct a guerrilla campaign against the Imperial ground forces until New Republic relief came.
Durron accompanied Han and Leia Organa Solo, as well as Chewbacca, to the Millennium Falcon where Solo hoped to provide air cover for the Jedi as they conducted their defense. The Jedi Knight occupied one of the light freighter's quad laser turrets and helped to pick off several TIE fighters, although Durron remained determined to take the fight to Admiral Daala aboard the Knight Hammer. Having encouraged Solo to take the Millennium Falcon in on a strafing run, Durron remained in the cockpit as Daala scrambled four squadrons of TIE fighters in response to Solo's communication that himself and Durron were aboard the light freighter. Just as the Millennium Falcon was swarmed by the pursuing Imperial starfighters, New Republic Admiral Ackbar arrived at the helm of the Galactic Voyager and launched an assault on Daala's Super Star Destroyer. Solo took the Millennium Falcon into the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser's hangar; Durron accompanied his companions to the bridge of the Galactic Voyager.
The New Republic forces were soon attacked by twenty Victory-class Star Destroyers, reinforcing Daala and placing the advantage firmly with the Imperials. Three of the four Corellian gunships that had accompanied Ackbar were destroyed and the Galactic Voyager shields collapsed beneath the punishing onslaught. As Ackbar raced the Galactic Voyager toward Yavin in an attempt to evade pursuit, the Knight Hammer was abruptly wracked by a series of internal explosions and began to drift into the gas giant. Several of the captains of the Victory-class Star Destroyers pulled their vessels back to aid Daala, granting the Galactic Voyager some respite. The Knight Hammer soon drifted into the heart of Yavin and was destroyed, prompting the majority of the Victory-class Destroyers to retreat and enabling subsequent New Republic reinforcements to repulse the remaining Imperials.
It transpired that Callista Ming had given up her life to sabotage the Knight Hammer; Skywalker's partner joined Dorsk 81 alongside the fallen Jedi honored by Durron and his companions following the battle. In the aftermath of Daala's assault, Durron decided that rather than return Dorsk 81's body to Khomm, his friend should be buried on Yavin 4 with the others who had fallen. Interring Dorsk 81 in Yavin 4's jungles, Durron then set to work with the other Jedi repairing the damage to the Great Temple. When Luke Skywalker returned to Yavin 4 from Coruscant, Durron and Tionne went to greet the Jedi Master and informed him of their progress, before going back to their work. Durron remembered Dorsk 81 fondly and with pride, sometimes heading out to his friend's grave in the jungle to meditate.
====Mission to Corbos====
Later in 12 ABY, Kyp Durron was on Yavin 4 with his fellow Jedi when Luke Skywalker gave a short address to some of the trainees in which the Master emphasized the importance of putting their training to use in the wider galaxy. One morning, Skywalker summoned Durron to the landing site outside the Great Temple, where the Deyer native watched as the Praxeum's supply ship landed. Durron was shocked when a Khommite who appeared identical to the late Dorsk 81 descended the starship's landing ramp, although upon introductions he realized that it was in fact Dorsk 82, who had survived Daala's attack on Khomm and had come to Yavin 4 to explore his Force potential.
Durron led the clone out into the jungle to the resting place of Dorsk 81 and gave the fallen Jedi Knight's lightsaber to the timid Khommite. As they talked, a battle hydra emerged from the jungle and attacked the two men. Durron swiftly interposed himself between Dorsk 82 and the beast and hacked it down with his violet lightsaber, inspiring his new companion to agree to train in the ways of the Force. When the two had returned from their sojourn in the jungle, they were called to a meeting with Master Skywalker, along with Kirana Ti, Streen and Tionne, to be informed that a mining colony on the isolated world of Corbos had sent out an urgent distress signal before falling silent. Skywalker dispatched Durron to investigate, who in turn asked Dorsk 82 to accompany him. Durron was to call on Kirana Ti and Streen if need be, but for the time being took a donated starship, the Celador Sash, to Corbos.
Dorsk 82 continued to doubt his own abilities as the two Jedi plotted a course to Corbos. Eventually Durron reminded his new companion that Dorsk 81 had doubted himself as well but that the Khommite had ultimately saved the entire Praxeum during Daala's attack on Yavin 4, sacrificing himself to do so. On arrival over Corbos, Durron attempted to contact the mining colony to no avail. When the two Jedi brought the Celador Sash in for an overhead pass, they observed in horror the extensive destruction that had been wreaked on the colony. Landing the starship in one of Corbos' regular storms, Durron began to hear screaming voices in his head, howling in grief and anguish. The telepathic voices disturbed the Jedi Knight, who attempted to assuage Dorsk 82's fears and boost the clone's confidence as they unloaded supplies from the Celador Sash and explored the ruins of the colony together.
The Jedi Knight's trepidation mounted as he and Dorsk 82 made their way through the colony's damaged interior. Following a brief scare, the two Jedi arrived in the colony's central control room, where they found blood on the walls and evidence of a struggle. Durron then led Dorsk 82 to the family quarters, where they decided to rest for the night. Durron remained confused as to how he was hearing voices in his mind if all the miners were already dead; as Dorsk 82 drifted off to sleep, the young Human remained unable to silence the voices in his head. Eventually their cries intensified and Durron sprang to action, setting off alone to a perilous cliff face, at the top of which he sensed was the source of the screaming voices in his mind.
Durron scaled the clifftop and found the location where a number of miners had awakened something mysterious and powerful by mistake. The Jedi Knight sensed through the Force what had happened in a rapid series of visions—a leviathan had been aroused from its long hibernation by the miners and had attacked them, absorbing their life-forces as it did so, before going on to wipe out the colony. Climbing higher, Durron came face to face with one of the enormous creatures. Dealing the huge beast little damage with his lightsaber alone, the Jedi Knight fled before turning to hurl a grappling cord onto one of the protruding horns on the creature's back. Once he had climbed onto the giant beast, Durron plunged his lightsaber into a blister pod on the leviathan's back, releasing, to his shock, a number of trapped souls. The leviathan was able to toss Durron off its back, whereupon the Jedi Knight lost his lightsaber, was wrapped up into one of the beast's tendrils, and brought toward its maw.
At the last minute, Durron was able to stab the leviathan in one of its four eyes with a sharpened stick. Leaping off the wounded creature, the Jedi Knight tapped into the energy of Corbos' storm and eliminated the leviathan with a burst of manipulated lightning. Once the beast lay dead, Durron stabbed the remaining blister pods with his stick, freeing more trapped souls. The screaming in his head, however, refused to fade. Kirana Ti and Streen arrived on the scene with Dorsk 82, having been summoned by the Khommite clone, who returned Durron's lost lightsaber. The young Human alerted his companions that he could still hear voices; his fears were confirmed when a much larger leviathan appeared out of the gloom. The various tactics employed by the four Jedi proved ineffectual, however, and they were forced to resort to their lightsabers. As the battle took place, the ground began to crack and fissure, before the entire plateau gave way. The leviathan plummeted into a pool of molten lava while the Jedi managed to avert disaster by hanging on to ropes.
Once the Jedi had descended to the cavern floor, Durron worriedly announced that he could still hear the screaming voices. Moments later, the leviathan burst from the lake of magma very much alive. As Durron, Kirana Ti and Streen futilely engaged the beast, Dorsk 82 fled to a nearby power generator, before shouting that he could electrocute the leviathan if they could lure it to the electric cables supplying the colony. While Kirana Ti lured the beast toward him, Durron leaped on top of the power cables. As the leviathan lurched forward to strike at the Jedi, Dorsk 82 threw the switch, electrocuting the leviathan. The beast died and in the process the trapped souls of the miners were freed. Weeping with joy, Durron realized that the screaming voices in his head had at last stopped.
Feeling both triumphant and regretful, as the end of the leviathan threat had only come about following the deaths of nearly 800 miners and their families, the four Jedi returned to their ships. Durron and Dorsk 82 took the Celador Sash back to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. Once again, Durron accompanied Dorsk 82 out to the grave of his predecessor, where the Khommite announced his desire to commence his training and emulate Dorsk 81. Durron happily took on the task of helping his new companion become a Jedi Knight, before leading Dorsk 82 back to the Great Temple. Dorsk 82 did indeed rise to the rank of Jedi Knight by 26 ABY.
====The Battle of Nam Chorios====
In 13 ABY, Durron joined Han Solo on a mission to the Meridian sector, where an Imperial plot to take over the region had been discovered. Chief of State Organa Solo had traveled to Nam Chorios, a world in the region, to discuss the request, made by political leader Seti Ashgad, for New Republic intervention in the affairs of the planet. Organa Solo had been captured by Ashgad, however, as part of the politician's plot to conquer the galaxy by unleashing the deadly Death Seed plague. Ashgad had allied himself with Imperial Moff Tol Getelles and the Loronar Corporation; the former wished to invade the Meridian Sector once the plague had reduced its defenses and the latter wished to harvest the sentient tsil crystals of Nam Chorios for use in its Centrally Controlled Independent Replicant technology, which would enable them to field mass-produced pilotless, computer controlled fighters. Solo, discovering his wife's plight, assembled a makeshift New Republic fleet to defend the Meridian Sector against Ashgad's plan and Getelles' invasion. Durron accompanied the fleet, personally piloting the Sundance, a light scoutship.Planet of Twilight
When Solo's fleet emerged over Nam Chorios it was assaulted by the CCIR needle fighters. The small craft, powered by the sentient tsil crystals and directed by CCIR technology, were able to overwhelm the New Republic forces while Ashgad departed Nam Chorios to rendezvous with one of Getelles' warships, once the Moff's forces, led by Admiral Larm, arrived to conquer the world. Durron took part in the battle, which soon had Getelles' forces outnumbering those of the New Republic three to one. As Ashgad's personal vessel, the Reliant, bearing the Death Seed Plague, neared its Imperial escort, Luke Skywalker appealed to the tsil crystals through the Force and beseeched them to turn on Ashgad and the Imperials. The CCIR needle ships complied, destroying Ashgad's starship. Once Admiral Natasi Daala's forces emerged over Nam Chorios and forced the remains of Getelles' forces to surrender, the crisis was over.
It transpired that Daala had renounced the affairs of the Imperial warlords and attempted to relocate to Pedducis Chorios, a nearby planet, with the crews from her fleet. Learning of what she saw as a distasteful alliance between Getelles and Ashgad, Daala decided to come out of retirement and use her military forces to end the threat. Following the Battle of Nam Chorios, Durron's nemesis then vanished to the Deep Core. Daala later emerged to battle New Republic General Garm Bel Iblis and the Fourth Fleet in a campaign running from 17 ABY to 18 ABY, although following a defeat she vanished into hyperspace aboard her flagship. Visiting the Jedi Praxeum only briefly during the next years in between missions assigned by Skywalker, Durron nevertheless built up a reputation among the younger Jedi. Admired by the new generation for his boldness, Durron became something of a legend.
Following Luke Skywalker's marriage to Mara Jade in 19 ABY,Union 4 the Jedi Master decided to alter the teaching methods of the Jedi Praxeum. Along with Streen, Kam Solusar and several other of the more advanced Jedi, Durron was instructed by Skywalker to begin training students one-on-one in the wider galaxy. Due to his hands-on approach, Durron eventually became a mentor to many new trainees, and stories of his exploits and adventures were common among the youngest of the Praxeum's students.Young Jedi Knights: The Lost Ones Although Nabon had eased much of his guilt on Prishardia, Durron remained embarrassed and typically unwilling to discuss many of the events of 11 ABY.
====Further assignments====
Devoted to the Jedi, Kyp Durron remained at the forefront of Skywalker's Order, proving himself instrumental in many missions. In 24 ABY, Kyp Durron paired with Streen to complete a high-risk assignment for Master Skywalker. Upon its completion, the two Jedi Knights returned to Yavin 4, where the training of the next generation of students, including the sixteen year old Solo twins, was underway. Exhausted, both Durron and Streen recuperated in the Great Temple in preparation for their presence at a speech Skywalker was delivering to the new trainees that evening. At the base of the temple, Skywalker had a bonfire built and addressed his students. The Jedi Master spoke of the need to be protected during the learning process but emphasized too much in the way of sheltering would stunt advancements. As Skywalker made his point, Durron emerged in front of the assembled students and discussed how he had made mistakes due to his impatience. Durron stayed at the Great Temple that evening in order to rest.
The next morning, Durron's old friend Han Solo arrived to visit Jacen and Jaina, both of whom were studying at the Jedi Praxeum. Durron set out to meet his friend and the two exchanged warm greetings with one another before journeying back to the Great Temple with Solo's children in tow. The two men discussed Durron's actions during the past years, including the Deyer native's mission to Corbos of 12 ABY. As they talked, Solo revealed the reason for his visit; he had been offered the chance to oversee the prestigious Blockade Runners Derby on Ord Mantell and was collecting his children so that they could accompany him. Regretfully, Durron explained that he and Streen would no doubt be dispatched on another mission in the near future, preventing him from journeying with the Solos to Ord Mantell. Before leaving, however, Solo and Durron managed to spend some time reminiscing further about events of a decade prior.
As it happened, however, Durron and Streen were next called up to help none other than Solo himself. Events at the Blockade Runners Derby led Solo and his children to war-torn Anobis, where a civil war between miners dependent on Imperial trade and farmers aligned with the New Republic was in process. In the process of resolving the dispute, Solo contacted Durron and asked him to pick up the Hapan passenger cruiser Rock Dragon—the personal starship of Jedi trainee and Hapan princess Tenel Ka Djo—from Ord Mantell before bringing the starship to Anobis to aid him. Accompanied by Streen, as well as the Chironian Lusa and Raynar Thul, both of whom were trainees at the Jedi Praxeum, Durron piloted the Rock Dragon to Anobis. Durron and his companions arrived just as Solo, aboard the Millennium Falcon with his children, Djo and trainee Zekk, was in the process of disarming extensive minefields laid during the civil war.
Greeting those aboard the Millennium Falcon, Durron and the other Jedi spent the afternoon using the Force to sense the various mines and traps laid during the civil war and remove them from the safety of their low-flying spacecraft. Once the planet's fertile lands were eventually free of traps and snares, Durron landed the Rock Dragon alongside the Millennium Falcon and met with Solo once again. With the situation resolved, the group enjoyed a meal before returning to Yavin 4. Durron returned to his duties as a Jedi, although his hands-on approach to which a younger generation of Jedi had proved so receptive soon developed into a policy of proactive response to the ills Durron saw as prevalent in the galaxy.The New Jedi Order Sourcebook Eventually Durron took on a single apprentice, Miko Reglia, who had great respect for his new teacher. Reglia rose to the rank of Jedi Knight under Durron's guidance, leading to Skywalker's own promotion of Durron to the rank of Jedi Master.
Durron's high-profile campaign against those who threatened galactic peace and stability had the effect of splitting the New Jedi Order into two blocks; those who supported Master Skywalker and his traditional approach of using the Force for defense and the protection of innocents, and those who believed that Durron's policies of striking first against enemies and wielding the full power of the Force to do so made more sense. Durron's assertive attitude swayed younger Jedi Knights to his side, such as the Chandrilan woman Octa Ramis, who was in love with Miko Reglia,The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin and two brash younger Jedi, Wurth Skidder and Ganner Rhysode. Durron's followers, who acted as mentors to Skywalker's younger students, propagated the newly-anointed Jedi Master's ideals and won more support among the next generation. Most of Durron's former classmates, such as Streen, Corran Horn and the Solusars, stood by Skywalker in the matter, with the result that the Deyer native became the leader of his faction and a rival Jedi Master.
===Maverick===
====Anti-smuggling crusade====
As the target of his campaign against criminality and societal ills, Durron decided to take action against smugglers and pirates operating in the Outer Rim Territories, mindful of the criminals who had killed his parents deep within the spice mines of Kessel so many years ago. The Outer Rim was a region traditionally recognized for its lawlessness and Durron felt that Jedi could do much to rectify the problem. With Reglia, he formed the Dozen-and-Two-Avengers, a squadron of non-Jedi starfighter pilots led by himself and Reglia dedicated to pursuing vigilante action against outlaws. Durron's squadron quickly gained prominence, coming to be known as a force to be reckoned with. Likewise, Durron himself won a reputation as a skilled pilot.
Operating with the official support of the New Republic military, the Jedi Master's Dozen-and-Two Avengers regularly visited military bases for supplies and assignments, completing missions until routine set in and Durron moved the squadron of elite pilots onto another base. Durron and Reglia flew T-65XJ X-wing starfighters while the rest of the squadron was composed of a number of different craft such as B-wings and A-wings. Attempting to make a name for his squadron, Durron staged grand displays, leading the Dozen-and-Two Avengers through complex aerial maneuvers when departing or arriving and occasionally having orchestral music played while doing so.The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse He hoped that the Dozen-and-Two Avengers would one day gain the same status as Rogue Squadron, a legendary New Republic starfighter unit and trained and drilled his pilots accordingly.
Durron's actions, however, had not merely split the Jedi Order. Sentiment was emerging among elements of the New Republic that indicated opinion was turning against Skywalker's students. With the New Republic Defense Force ensuring the safety of the galaxy, the actions of the Jedi, unsanctioned by the New Republic Senate, were increasingly seen by Bothan Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya and several other prominent senators such as Fyor Rodan of Commenor and Niuk Niuv of Sullust, as needless vigilantism and a danger to the peace. Matters were further complicated by the possibility that certain senators were connected to the Outer Rim smugglers pursued by Durron and his squadron.
Reports of Durron's activities frequently made their way to the New Republic Senate where they were discussed in terms of Jedi attacking civilians unprovoked. Durron held firm to his beliefs that his actions were in the defense of innocents who would be otherwise unprotected and refrained from involving himself in galactic politics, as Skywalker did. He continued to train his pilots, making use of the entrepreneur Lando Calrissian's newest venture in the Dubrillion system. There, Calrissian had set up a starfighter obstacle course known as Lando's Folly within an asteroid field, in which pilots would fly a heavily shielded and modified TIE/Advanced starfighter and attempt to remain within the field for as long as possible. Several members of the Dozen-and-Two Avengers became record holders on the course. Reglia held seventh place, while Durron himself topped the board with a time of eleven minutes and thirteen seconds.
Early in 25 ABY, Durron and the Dozen-and-Two Avengers set up an observation buoy in an uncharted star system in the Veragi sector in order to monitor illegal traffic before returning to Dubrillion and Lando's Folly. On Dubrillion, Durron met with Luke Skywalker, who was present with the Skywalker and Solo clan on the planet. Although Skywalker did not condemn Durron's approach to his anti-smuggler crusade, the senior Jedi Master did ask Durron to temper his choices, leaving Durron with the impression that Skywalker deeply disapproved of his actions. While on Dubrillion, Durron learned that Jaina Solo planned to fly in Lando's Folly. The Jedi Master observed the young woman's flying from vidscreens in Dubrillion's main city, watching as Solo went on to beat Durron's score for the asteroid run by two and a half times. Impressed, Durron sought her out and discovered Solo and her two brothers, Anakin and Jacen, exploring Calrissian's home. Durron complimented Jaina on her flying but was soon confronted by Jacen Solo over his campaign against smugglers and criminals.
Dismissing the young Jedi's arguments as identical to those which he had heard from Luke Skywalker, Durron left, informing the three teenagers that they were welcome to fly with the Dozen-and-Two Avengers should they wish, aware that should the three Jedi join the squadron it would become one of the most renowned starfighter units in the galaxy. Musing over the future of the Dozen-and-Two Avengers, Durron subsequently led his squadron to the hyperspace beacon in the uncharted star system, departing Dubrillion to the tune of Dembaline's Crested Wake with much fanfare. Once the Dozen-and-Two Avengers had arrived at the observation buoy's location, Durron's astromech droid, R5-L4, downloaded the data for Durron's perusal. The only data that struck Durron as out of place was the record of an outdated Spacecaster-class shuttle. The Jedi Master was able to determine that the Spacecaster-class shuttle had left a scientific research outpost on Belkadan, a world in the nearby Dalonbian sector, due to a storm, and had traveled to the Helska system, where the shuttle had subsequently disappeared. Deciding to investigate the Helska system, Durron left a report concerning Belkadan in order that others could travel to the planet if need be.
====Shattering losses====
Upon arrival in the Helska system, Durron led the Dozen-and-Two Avengers in a series of maneuvers that would evade scanning as the Jedi Master attempted to discern the whereabouts of the Spacecaster-class shuttle. From the fourth planet of the system, however, arose a large number of seemingly mobile asteroids. As Durron flew in closer to investigate, R5-L4 informed him not only that lifeforms were aboard the small asteroids, but also that a large energy sphere surrounded the fourth planet, which was in appearance a lifeless ice world. Disturbed and shocked, the Jedi Master attempted to retreat as the small asteroids began to pursue his X-wing, revealing themselves to be of an unknown class of starfighter. Durron, Reglia and the rest of the squadron engaged the asteroid-like starfighters, initially gaining the upper hand.
Suddenly, reports of shield failures began to occur, and several pilots were eliminated in quick succession, while more of the alien starfighters approached from the direction of the ice planet. Rapidly overwhelmed, the Dozen-and-Two Avengers were taken to pieces. Reglia was lost in the chaotic engagement and Durron lost his shields, abruptly discovering that only himself and a sole A-wing pilot remained. As Durron attempted to escape, in order to return and report the unknown threat, a series of alien creatures were dispersed by the unnamed foe, which attacked and destroyed the A-wing as it attempted to leap into hyperspace. The Jedi Master managed a short hyperspace jump before discovering that his X-wing was carrying two of the vacuum-based creatures. Deep in space, Durron managed to fight off the two creatures with his lightsaber, climbing out of his canopy in a lifesuit as the insectoid creatures damaged his X-wing and tore R5-L4 apart.
Stranded in deepspace with no canopy, Durron was in a seemingly hopeless situation. Aware that he could well die in the attempt, the Jedi Master decided that he would nevertheless engage the hyperdrive and try to reach civilized space in order to warn others of the threat his lost squadron had encountered. Through the use of the Force and his basic engineering skills, Durron was able to manipulate his X-wing's ion drive in order to provide a makeshift shielding in place of the canopy. Sinking into a Jedi trance, the Deyer native was then able to engage the hyperdrive in a series of short jumps, with his destination the nearby planet of Sernpidal in the Julevian system. During the journey Durron recorded an appeal for rescue and set his communications system to broadcast the message on an automatic loop, before sinking further into his trance. Eventually, Durron's damaged X-wing starfighter emerged in the Julevian system.
Over the planet Sernpidal, which had been destroyed in mysterious circumstances by a collision with its moon while Durron had been on his mission, the Jedi Master was discovered and rescued by Han Solo and his son Anakin aboard the Millennium Falcon. The two Solos had been running supplies for Lando Calrissian to Sernpidal but had lost Chewbacca when the moon had collided with the planet. Towing Durron's craft to safety, Han and Anakin Solo extended a docking tube and welcomed the Jedi Master aboard. As Durron alerted his old friend to the threat, the trio discovered that more of the asteroid-like starfighters had arrived in the Julevian system and were gaining on the refugee convoy heading out from the ruins of Sernpidal. Solo flew the Millennium Falcon to Dubrillion and the light freighter arrived in the star system a short time later.
Calrissian prepared his resources to defend Dubrillion and its sister world of Destrillion. Still shaken by his ordeal, Durron elected to accompany Han and Leia Organa Solo aboard the Millennium Falcon during the imminent invasion, serving as a gunner in the YT-1300 light freighter's top quad laser turret. Soon enough, a swarm of the asteroid-like starfighters—dubbed "coralskippers by the defenders—emerged in the Dubrillion system. Solo flew the Millennium Falcon into the engagement and Durron began targeting and destroying coralskippers. The Jedi Master was able to cover for several of Calrissian's pilots during the dogfight but the swarm of coralskippers attacking the Millennium Falcon encouraged the three Solo children to fly up to defend their parents. Durron kept up his gunnery fire and the Solo children were able to lead the coralskipper swarm into Lando's Folly, saving Dubrillion for the time being.
Durron remained on the Millennium Falcon as Han Solo and his wife searched for Anakin Solo, who had made a jump into hyperspace during the frenetic battle. Eventually Leia Organa Solo was able to locate her youngest son through the Force and the Millennium Falcon returned to Dubrillion, where Masters Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, having responded to Durron's message concerning Belkadan, had returned from the planet with further news. The Skywalkers revealed that on Belkadan they had found the abandoned ExGal-4 scientific research outpost and that Jade Skywalker had fought and killed a warrior who had identified himself as a member of an invading species. Luke Skywalker had subsequently traveled to the Helska system and its fourth planet, Helska 4, where he had discovered the same hints of an alien base that Durron had noticed on the icy planet.
Having solicited the support of a New Republic task force in order to combat the threat of the Praetorite Vong, as the aliens were then known, the Solos and Skywalkers prepared to mount an assault on the base on Helska 4. Durron chose to pilot a starfighter into battle. Before the New Republic task force, led by Commander Warshack Rojo aboard the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Rejuvenator, had arrived the Solo twins set off to Helska 4 without permission in order to penetrate and reconnoiter the Praetorite Vong base. Durron boarded the Rejuvenator as the Star Destroyer led six Ranger-class gunships to the Helska system and, upon arrival, exited the hangar with the other starfighters and contacted Jaina Solo, who had infiltrated her twin brother into the Praetorite Vong base moments earlier. Durron sped his starfighter into battle and the New Republic forces were initially able to inflict losses against the Praetorite Vong.
Rojo ordered his forces to pursue a group of retreating coralskippers to Helska 4; it soon became apparent, however, that the commander had been lured into a trap. Two of the Ranger-class gunships were swiftly destroyed and as coralskippers swarmed the New Republic starfighters, Durron requested urgent assistance from the Rejuvenator. The Star Destroyer was of no use to Durron. Overwhelmed by coralskippers the capital ship raced toward Helska 4, only to be destroyed in a concentrated barrage from the base's planetary defenses. Stunned, Durron called for a general retreat. The remaining New Republic forces began jumping into hyperspace and returning to the relative safety of Dubrillion. Jacen Solo was extracted along with Danni Quee, one of the original scientists from Belkadan.
Quee, however, related the news that while Miko Reglia had survived the Battle of Helska IV, Durron's apprentice had been tortured mentally and physically before finally dying in a successful attempt to protect Jacen Solo and Quee as they retreated. Quee also named the hitherto unencountered alien species as the Yuuzhan Vong—the Praetorite Vong was an advance force for a larger invasion fleet intent on conquering the galaxy. Durron agreed to join the Skywalkers and Solos, along with any remaining members of Rojo's task force, in a second assault on the Yuuzhan Vong base. By utilizing shieldships in the possession of Calrissian to reflect the sunlight from Helska onto the ice planet, Durron's companions hoped to cause mass evaporation on the world which would freeze the Yuuzhan Vong inside their base and eliminate the yammosk—a telepathic creature deployed by the Yuuzhan Vong to coordinate warfare—which resided in Helska 4's core.
Placing much stock in the element of surprise, Luke Skywalker led the diminished but determined task force back to the Helska system. Durron and the starfighter squadron he led emerged dangerously close to Helska 4 from hyperspace, along with the other starships that made up the assault force. Six of Calrissian's shieldships moved into formation and began reflecting the heat from Helska onto the icy world. Durron and the other starfighter pilots had to contend with less coralskippers than during the previous engagement, due to the fact that many of the Yuuzhan Vong pilots had left the system to strike at new targets. As Luke Skywalker lured the bulk of the coralskipper defense force back to Helska 4, Durron and his pilots flew cover for the shieldships. Despite the loss of four of the vessels, the tactic worked. The artificial evaporation process rapidly stole heat from Helska 4's core, freezing the planet entirely before it shattered and blew apart, wiping out the Praetorite Vong.
====Discussing Galfridian====
After the planet Artorias was subjugated by the Yuuzhan Vong, Luke Skywalker brought Prince Finn Galfridian to the Praxeum to be trained as a Jedi. As Galfridian and some of his fellow Jedi encountered a Tuk'ata—an ancient Sith creature—in Yavin 4's jungle, Kyp, Skywalker and Jedi Master Lar Le'Ung arrived to see if everyone was okay. The three Jedi Masters then discussed Galfridian's future as a Jedi, with Kyp believing that all the anger Finn had could be used as a weapon against the Yuuzhan Vong if properly harnessed. After Luke said that Galfridian's training will not be rushed, Kyp reminded Luke that his own training was rushed, and Skywalker countered by saying that his father's training was also rushed.
When the Yuuzhan Vong launched an attack against the planet Rychel, the Jedi were asked to aid in the evacuation, which led to Luke leaving Durron in charge of the Praxeum while he and Le'Ung were away. Luke considered taking Galfridian with them, but Kyp told Luke that if he wasn't ready and something happened it would be a waste, though Finn soon arrived determined to follow Skywalker on his mission to Rychel.
====New agenda====
In the days following the Battle of Helska IV, Durron joined elements of the New Republic military in hunting down the remaining Yuuzhan Vong present in the region. The New Republic Senate, however, reacted to the news of the impending mass invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong with disbelief and remained unconcerned, convinced that the threat had been both exaggerated and resolved. Luke Skywalker, on the other hand, convened the Jedi Order on Yavin 4 to discuss the coming invasion. A small memorial was erected for Miko Reglia, in the same site where Gantoris and Durron's friend Dorsk 81 lay. Durron's apprentice had died a martyr and, when the Deyer native arrived on a shuttle, he was greeted by a large crowd of followers, including Skidder, Rhysode and several younger Jedi. The Jedi assembled in the Grand Audience Chamber in ranks, dividing themselves between those who supported Skywalker and those who supported Durron's aggressive and proactive approach. Durron had the majority of the adult Jedi on his side but lacked support from the senior Jedi.
When Skywalker entered the chamber with Corran Horn at his side and asked the younger Jedi to leave, Durron once again formed ranks with his supporters, facing off with Streen and Horn. To Durron's surprise, Skywalker asked him to brief the assembled Jedi on what he knew of the Yuuzhan Vong; once he had recounted the events of his first encounter with the aliens over Helska 4, the Jedi discussed the New Republic's apathetic response to the threat. Durron was vocally scornful and promised to fight the Yuuzhan Vong without New Republic support if necessary. His comments and those of his supporters received retorts from Streen and Jacen Solo and ultimately Skywalker intervened and requested unity. Following the discussion, Skywalker dispatched Jedi off on different assignments. Eventually, Durron reformed the Dozen-and-Two Avengers, drawing together veteran mercenary pilots to rebuild his lost squadron. Having lost the finest starfighters at Helska, however, the squadron became more ragtag, with a number of old and battered vehicles taking the places of the lost X-wings and B-wings. In order to ease relations with both the military and Master Skywalker, Durron renamed the squadron Kyp's Dozen.
The Yuuzhan Vong continued their advance, seizing planets in the Outer Rim Territories such as Dubrillion. Elements of the New Republic military began to take note, among them Bothan Admiral Traest Kre'fey, who directed his forces against the Yuuzhan Vong despite the apathy and irritation of a bloc of New Republic senators. Durron grew to admire Kre'fey, perceiving in the admiral a kindred spirit.The New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory II: Rebirth A major engagement was fought at Dantooine, where the New Republic suffered heavy losses. The Yuuzhan Vong took the world following the New Republic defeat there; Durron once visited the planet, observing with disgust a massive pit filled with the bones of slaves and sacrifices and the Yuuzhan Vong treatment of their captives.
Skywalker summoned sixty of the more adult Jedi to Coruscant for a second meeting, which Durron assumed was a council of war. Eager to commence proceedings, Durron hurried the other Jedi along and ensured that the meeting would be held in the afternoon rather than later in the day as Skywalker had intended. Maintaining a semblance of decorum, Durron informed the Skywalkers and Corran Horn that the meeting was about to take place, only to be challenged first by Horn, who admonished him on his aggressive approach to the developing conflict, and then told by Skywalker to delay the convocation of the Jedi until the next day.
Skywalker did, however, leave the arrangements to Durron, who set up the auditorium in which the meeting was to be held in a manner which opposed his bloc against Skywalker's. The Deyer native sat alongside Wurth Skidder and Ganner Rhysode and a Twi'lek Jedi, Daeshara'cor and listened to Skywalker's opening announcement. Durron was surprised when the senior Jedi Master snubbed his seating arrangements but was soon able to air his views to the assembled crowd despite this. Skidder and Rhysode questioned Skywalker's stance on conflict, before Durron asked how the Jedi could inspire the galaxy if they calmed refugee efforts rather than fought the Yuuzhan Vong on the frontlines. Despite Daeshara'cor's involvement in the discussion on Durron's side, Skywalker was able to counsel against offensive action and encourage the Jedi to restrain themselves until the Yuuzhan Vong had focused their attack and could be opposed by a united front.
When Durron and the other Jedi were informed by Skywalker that the New Republic government would not be sanctioning or directing Jedi missions in the invasion corridor, however, the Deyer native was shocked and disappointed. As Skywalker informed the Jedi that they would be aiding refugees until a Yuuzhan Vong offensive had revealed itself, and that only one mission, to the agricultural world of Garqi, would be taking place, Daeshara'cor spoke out angrily against the Jedi Master. Durron, however, paid heed to Skywalker's counsel for the time being. The Jedi waited until the Yuuzhan Vong had prepared an offensive and readied themselves to strike at Ithor. On Garqi, Corran Horn and Ganner Rhysode had discovered that bafforr tree pollen, native to Ithor, had a lethal effect on Yuuzhan Vong armor. As it was vital that Ithor should be defended, Skywalker convened the Jedi on Tafanda Bay, the same herdship upon which, fourteen years previously, Durron had wiped Qwi Xux's memories while under the influence of Exar Kun.
====Battle of Ithor====
In order for the Jedi to be able to defend the Mother Jungle, which the Ithorian race viewed as sacrosanct, they were obliged to attend a ceremony presided over by High Priest Relal Tawron during which each Jedi was required to renounce a part of themselves, effectively excising aspects of themselves in order to become closer to the Mother Jungle. As Tawron explained the ceremony, Durron was forced to calm Wurth Skidder as his friend displayed cynicism and frustration. Master Skywalker began the process be renouncing responsibility, followed by other Jedi. Eventually Durron's term came and the Jedi Master renounced pride, phrasing his statement in a manner that suggested that an individual's glory was shared with that of his companions. Upon the conclusion of the ceremony, Skywalker informed the assembled Jedi that they were free to choose assignments selected by the New Republic Defense Force in their defense of Ithor and its herdships. Durron paired with Skidder for the imminent battle.
The Yuuzhan Vong armada arrived on the outskirts of the Ottega system weeks later, by which time the Jedi, along with Admirals Traest Kre'fey and Gilad Pellaeon—the latter of whom was representing the Imperial Remnant—had prepared the battlefield. Once the Battle of Ithor had commenced, it became apparent that the Yuuzhan Vong planned to attack the Tafanda Bay. Large numbers of Yuuzhan Vong warriors boarded the herdship along with Chazrach reptoid soldiers. Durron and Skidder joined battle against the warriors as they penetrated into the heart of the herdship. Together Durron and his friend soon found themselves combatting several warriors at once and suffered minor injuries during the skirmish. As Mara Jade Skywalker joined the battle in their aid, Skidder's lightsaber arm was badly wounded and Durron was forced to protect the Jedi Knight alongside Jade Skywalker. Once the immediate danger had passed, Durron was ordered by Jade Skywalker to take Skidder to safety, despite his protestations that he wished to fight by her side.
The Battle of Ithor came to a temporary halt as Corran Horn issued a direct challenge to the Yuuzhan Vong commander, securing a week's ceasefire in return for a personal duel. A week passed and the duel took place, with Horn ultimately victorious over the commander. Nevertheless, despite the Yuuzhan Vong commander's promise that Ithor would be spared if he lost the duel, the Yuuzhan Vong fleet deployed an airborne biotoxin over Ithor that rapidly consumed all life on the surface of the jungle world. In retaliation, Kre'fey and Pellaeon were able to inflict a punishing military defeat on the Yuuzhan Vong. The damage, however, was done. Durron observed in dismay as Horn was vilified by the galaxy for ostensibly gambling with the fate of a planet. The destruction of Ithor hardened Durron's resolve that the Jedi had to fight to stop the invasion and turned him further against the New Republic government. During the battle, Daeshara'cor was also struck down and killed, much to Durron's anger.
====Deceptions====
Several weeks after the Battle of Ithor, Durron was summoned to Coruscant once more in order to be addressed by Master Skywalker in the Ministry of Justice building. Along with a score of other Jedi, Durron arrived and waited for Skywalker to explain his decision to call the latest convocation. Skywalker soon revealed that New Republic Intelligence Service had two Yuuzhan Vong defectors in custody, much to Durron's excitement, who had suspected internal discord among the invading species. Skywalker went on to reveal that one of the defectors had requested a meeting with the Jedi. Both Cilghal and Streen suspected a trap, as did Skywalker. The defector, however, had claimed to possess knowledge of the disease currently afflicting Mara Jade Skywalker. Master Skywalker had therefore decided to run the risk and meet with the defector, although only with his wife as a precaution. Durron, Skidder, Rhysode and a number of the other assembled Jedi voiced their support and informed Skywalker that they would stand by him as he met with the defector. Gratified and thankful, Skywalker informed New Republic Intelligence that the Jedi Order would meet with the defector.The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
As it happened, Durron's resolve to meet with the defector alongside Master Skywalker would have placed his life at risk if the defector had ever reached the Jedi. The Yuuzhan Vong defector had been an assassin, carrying a biotoxin in her lungs with which her superiors had hoped to eliminate the Jedi. Han Solo discovered the ruse and any potential danger was thwarted. The Yuuzhan Vong advance, however, continued. Soon Gyndine, a planet in the Expansion Region, fell to the Yuuzhan Vong, and Wurth Skidder, who had been defending the world, was declared missing in action. Durron was present on Yavin 4 and awaited the arrival of Talon Karrde, a smuggler who would be providing information on recent developments pertaining to the surrender of Hutt Space to the Yuuzhan Vong. Durron watched alongside Streen, Cilghal and several others as Jacen and Anakin Solo debated the latter's invite to Centerpoint Station, an ancient space station in the Corellian system with vast destructive power which the New Republic military hoped to deploy against the Yuuzhan Vong.
Anakin Solo, whom Durron regarded with great respect, eventually agreed to travel to Centerpoint Station along with Jacen. Luke Skywalker and Talon Karrde arrived in order for the smuggler to deliver his report on the Hutts; Karrde revealed that the cessation of the Hutt spice trade into certain star systems had led him to believe that the Yuuzhan Vong were preparing attacks on those systems and had warned the Hutts away. The Corellian system, the Tynnani system and Bothan Space, to which the flow of spice had ceased, were consequently perceived to be under threat. Although skeptical of Karrde's motives, Durron believed that the information had merit. When Karrde proposed a meeting with certain Hutt-aligned smugglers in order to determine whether the flow of the spice trade and the Yuuzhan Vong advance were linked, Durron agreed to accompany Karrde, along with Ganner Rhysode.
Durron and Rhysode thus accompanied Karrde and his bodyguard Shada D'ukal to the Ryloth system, the homeworld of the Twi'lek race, in order to meet with a number of spice smugglers. Durron and the other three members of the group disembarked Karrde's vessel on the Starmaster, a bulk freighter where Karrde's contacts would be waiting. Once the group had been vetted by security, a Twi'lek identifying himself as Rol'Waran emerged to confer with Karrde. In order to ascertain the reasons behind the fluctuating flow of the spice trade, Karrde offered to purchase a large order, much to Rol'Waran's skepticism. Durron was able to speak on Karrde's behalf, although he did not reveal his true name; eventually, however, after Rol'Waran refused to deliver spice to the Tynnani or Corellian systems along with Bothan Space, the crime lord Crev Bombaasa arrived to take charge of the situation.
Bombassa recognized Kyp Durron for who he was and mocked the Jedi Master's campaign against smugglers, to Durron's irritation. Despite Bombassa's attitude toward the Jedi, however, he obliquely confirmed that which Karrde had suspected by revealing that Borga Besadii Diori, the Hutt dealing with the Yuuzhan Vong directly, had ordered the cessation of spice shipments to the three star systems due to their status as the next targets for the Yuuzhan Vong. With Karrde's information verified, the group left the Ryloth system. Tynna subsequently fell to the Yuuzhan Vong, seemingly lending credence to the theory that either Bothawui or Corellia were the next targets. A short time later, Durron was contacted by Talon Karrde, who requested a meeting on Kothlis II, an orbital station over the Bothan colony world of Kothlis.
Durron first checked with Luke Skywalker for approval to meet with Karrde, before securing military permission to land his squadron on the space station. During the journey, Durron observed the massed New Republic Fifth Fleet protecting Bothan Space. Once Kyp's Dozen had landed on Kothlis II, Durron and Rhysode met with Karrde and D'ukal. Durron was informed by Karrde that despite the fact that the spice trade had been resumed in Bothan Space, the Fifth Fleet was to remain on station, leaving Corellia open for attack. Although confused by the news, both Durron and Rhysode were surprised to learn that Karrde had ascertained that Wurth Skidder, missing since the fall of Gyndine, was known to be located on a Yuuzhan Vong vessel soon to be present at the nearby Kalarba system. Thanking Karrde for the information, Durron and Rhysode led the squadron to the Kalarba system in order to rescue Skidder.
====Major defeats, minor victories====
Upon arrival over Kalarba, Durron set up his squadron in an ambush position behind Indobok, the second of the planet's two moons, and attacked the Yuuzhan Vong clustership bearing Wurth Skidder once it arrived. Durron and his pilots destroyed eight yorik-et starfighters in rapid succession and took the battle to the clustership, targeting the dovin basals that served as its propulsion system in an attempt to cripple the vessel. Despite their efforts, however, Durron and his pilots were unable to prevent the clustership from accelerating away from the combat zone in preparation for a hyperspace jump. The Jedi Master ordered Deak and the other squadron pilots to calculate possible course projections. Moments later, the clustership leaped into hyperspace; Durron was informed by his squadron that its destination had been Fondor, where the Fondor Shipyards, vital to the New Republic war effort, were located.
Durron and his squadron emerged in the Fondor system hot on the heels of the clustership, only to discover that a Yuuzhan Vong armada was launching a fierce assault on the planet and its shipyards. The fluctuations in the spice trade had been a ruse orchestrated by the Yuuzhan Vong to shift attention to Corellia and Bothan Space. Determined to rescue Wurth Skidder, Durron pressed the attack on the clustership, his squadron's firepower augmented by support from a black YT-1300 light freighter. Once the clustership had been disabled, Durron contacted the YT-1300's pilots, only to realize that he was talking to Han Solo, who had painted the Millennium Falcon black during a series of journeys he had begun following the death of Chewbacca. Durron discovered that Solo had been pursuing a collaborationist freighter full of captured refugees to the Fondor system and assigned two of his pilots to support the Millennium Falcon, before blowing a hole in the side of the clustership. Leaving a further two pilots to fly cover, Durron guided the rest of his squadmates inside.
Despite an initial lack of resistance, Durron and his companions were soon confronted by thirty unarmored Yuuzhan Vong and a pitched battle was joined inside the clustership. Fighting alongside Rhysode, Durron was able to make short work of the warriors with the support of Deak and the other pilots, as the warriors were, in the Jedi Master's opinion, inexperienced compared to his prior encounters with Yuuzhan Vong. Nevertheless, two of the pilots died by the time the fight was over; proceeding through the vessel, Durron located a hold full of prisoners and was apprised of Skidder's location. Along with Rhysode, Durron discovered Skidder naked and bound to the floor, having been subjected to intense torture. Although the three Jedi were able to fill in gaps in one another's knowledge, Durron realized that Skidder was in no condition to leave the clustership. His fears were confirmed when Skidder revealed that he was dying, having been physically and mentally exhausted. Before leaving Skidder to pass on to the Force, Durron was asked to rescue the Hutt Randa Besadii Diori and locate Yuuzhan Vong Commander Chine-kal.
Durron and Rhysode did as Skidder requested, rescuing Randa the Hutt, who proved a helpful ally as they raced to find Chine-kal. Once the two Jedi and the Hutt had located Chine-kal and his bodyguards in a chamber containing the clustership's yammosk, they overwhelmed the Yuuzhan Vong. Rhysode killed the yammosk, triggering a death reaction aboard the vessel. Offering a chance for the Yuuzhan Vong to accompany the squadron on their way out, Durron left with the surviving pilots and informed Han Solo that one hundered or so captives were in need of rescue, including Roa, a personal friend of Solo's. Solo brought the Millennium Falcon to dock with the dying clustership. Once the prisoners had boarded the light freighter, Durron led his squadron out of the disintegrating Yuuzhan Vong vessel into open space. At that moment, however, a colossal beam of energy blazed through the Fondor system, eliminating the majority of a Hapan fleet that had been reinforcing the New Republic forces defending the shipyards along with half of the Yuuzhan Vong armada.
Durron and his pilots survived, though the Jedi Master later learned that Centerpoint Station had been reactivated and fired, albeit inaccurately, upon the Yuuzhan Vong fleet. Following the losses incurred at Fondor, the New Republic Defense Force pulled back from the Colonies region to the Inner Rim. A new wave of Yuuzhan Vong warships arrived to lay siege to the Corellian Run. Recognizing that Bothan Space was genuinely imperiled, Durron stationed the Dozen at Bothawui in order that his squadron could rapidly respond to any Yuuzhan Vong threat. Although Bothan Space was not targeted, before long the Jedi Master led his squadron to the Ku'Bakai system, where the Yuuzhan Vong had launched an assault on the planet Kubindi. Durron and his squadron were able to hold off the attacking Yuuzhan Vong force until the Kubaz had evacuated every spaceworthy vessel, although the planet fell nonetheless.The New Jedi Order: Balance Point
As the Yuuzhan Vong advance continued up the Corellian Run, a number of prominent worlds fell to the invaders. The Yuuzhan Vong scored their greatest victory of the year at Duro. Having weakened the planet's defenses by means of collaborators and the infiltration of agents, the Yuuzhan Vong struck with overwhelming force and secured Duro as a platform to launch an invasion of the Core Worlds. Durron learned with disappointment that despite the presence of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, their nephews and niece and Leia Organa Solo, the threat posed to Duro had not been discovered in time. The Jedi Master blamed Skywalker's attitude to warfare for the loss of Duro; furthermore, the fact that Jacen Solo had, as a pacifist, refused to use the Force at all throughout his time on Duro until his mother's life had been placed in mortal danger disturbed and frustrated Durron.The New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory I: Conquest Durron and the Jedi were soon faced with fresh danger, however, as the Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster, Tsavong Lah, delivered an address following the conquest of Duro, calling for the citizens of the galaxy to turn over the Jedi to the invaders in return for peace.
====Final schism====
In the next weeks, Durron lost several of his fellow Jedi to those who took the Yuuzhan Vong warmaster at his word. His friend Dorsk 82, with whom Durron had battled the leviathans of Corbos fourteen years previously, was shot to death by a mob on Ando. The Khommite clone was followed by Swilja Fenn, who was tracked down by the Peace Brigade on Cujicor and killed in captivity by the Yuuzhan Vong. Seyyerin Itoklo, an Etti Jedi Knight, also met his death at the hands of the invaders. On Devaron, the Jedi Knight Hivrekh'wao'Cheklev was forced to escape the citizens of his planet when they attempted to sell him to the Yuuzhan Vong.The New Jedi Order: Star by Star Each report of persecution and death was abhorrent to Durron, who became disgusted by the attitude of the citizens of the galaxy and exasperated by what he felt was Master Skywalker's lack of resolve in the face of the new threat.
When Skywalker convened the Jedi in order to discuss the warmaster's ultimatum and the response of the Order, Durron decided to travel to the galactic capital and learn whether the older Jedi Master had chosen to unite the Jedi and lead them against the Yuuzhan Vong. When he discovered that Skywalker had not elected for such an approach to the war, Durron nevertheless took the chance to publicly air his views once again in front of the assembled Jedi. As Skywalker tried to placate Durron by claiming that he understood the Deyer native's anger and frustration, Durron contended that if the Jedi Master truly comprehended, he would be fighting for the lives of the Jedi who were being lost to the Yuuzhan Vong. Durron championed a "Jedi for Jedi" approach, as he believed that the New Republic and its citizens had betrayed the Order. Skywalker called Durron out on his use of aggression in warfare but the younger Jedi Master reminded his teacher that during the Galactic Civil War, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine had been defeated through aggressive action.
The conclave was silent as Durron and Skywalker disputed the role of the Jedi in the conflict; when Durron launched into a speech about Skywalker's unwillingness to strike back against those who had killed Dorsk 82, Fenn and Itoklo, however, Jaina Solo spoke out against the Deyer native, defending her uncle's actions. Durron merely went on to criticize the actions of his peers during the Battle of Duro, singling out Jacen Solo as a prime example of the prevarication and pacifism that he felt was losing the Jedi the war. As Skywalker attempted to warn Durron of his aggression, Durron grew irate and accused Skywalker's lack of response to the persecution of the Jedi as a step away from condoning it. After a heated exchange, the young Jedi Master condemned the attitude of Skywalker and his followers—including Jacen Solo and Cilghal, the latter of whom stated that the Jedi still had allies in the New Republic government—and left the chamber, frustrated and aggrieved.
Durron was stopped in the corridor outside by Jaina and Anakin Solo, who urged him to listen to Skywalker's advice and refrain from encouraging a schism in the Jedi Order. The Jedi Master was disappointed with the two teenagers, whom he had felt would be on the frontlines alongside him battling the invaders. Criticizing their uncle, as well as their brother Jacen, for debating philosophy instead of fighting the Yuuzhan Vong, Durron warned the two Solo children against such an approach, using their mother's near-death experience on Duro as an example as to why Jedi had to use the Force to fight an aggressor. With that, Durron left to rejoin his squadron, reminding the two younger Jedi that there was always a place in the Dozen for them, should they choose to accept it.
Following his return to the frontlines, the Jedi Master once again took the offensive against the Yuuzhan Vong. It transpired that Durron's beliefs concerning the New Republic government was vindicated, as Chief of State Fey'lya gave his blessing to Yuuzhan Vong access to the Yavin system, where the invaders purportedly wished to mine a comet. Shortly afterwards, the Yuuzhan Vong attacked the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. The Great Temple in which the Deyer native had been trained was demolished by the Yuuzhan Vong, while a young friend of Anakin Solo's, Tahiri Veila, was captured and experimented upon by Yuuzhan Vong scientists. Fortunately for the Jedi Order, Talon Karrde and Corran Horn's father-in-law, Booster Terrik, were able to evacuate the Praxeum and drive the Yuuzhan Vong off the moon. On the surface of Yavin 4, Anakin Solo rescued Veila, raising Durron's opinion of the young Jedi still further.
===Pariah===
====Recruiting Jaina Solo====
One day, Durron was alerted to the fact that an X-wing starfighter had entered the isolated star system. As the intruder's craft approached the icy world into which the Dozen's base had been constructed, Durron flew out with a wingmate and hailed the X-wing pilot. When Jaina Solo answered, having been dispatched to meet with Durron, the Jedi Master decided to hatch his plan to secure the aid of Rogue Squadron and the New Republic Defense Force. Informing Solo that he had discovered a grave threat, he invited her down to the base. On arrival, Solo informed him that Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya had called for the arrest of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, who had subsequently fled Coruscant. The news perturbed Durron, who was skeptical when Solo went on to tell him that the Skywalkers were searching for a secret Jedi base from which they could coordinate the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. The Jedi Master did, however, agree to meet with Skywalker and combine intelligence and resources networks.
Solo later rejoined Durron in the base's war room, whereupon the Jedi Master soon brought up the images of the ruins of Sernpidal which he had been able to capture. Once he had related the tale of his efforts to scout the Julevian system to Solo, Durron began to lie to the younger Jedi, explaining that the growing worldship in fact a gravitic superweapon capable of collapsing a star with enormous singularities. To back up his story, Durron showed Solo an image of a solar flare from Sernpidal's star being sucked toward the young worldship; rather than truthfully informing her that the Yuuzhan Vong had achieved this by means of a long chain of dovin basals, the Jedi Master claimed that the "superweapon" had literally pulled energy out of the star from a distance of over 100,000 kilometers. Shocked by Durron's assertions, Solo was taken in by the Jedi Master's deception.
Durron accompanied Solo to Chandrila, where Rogue Leader Gavin Darklighter's wife Sera owned a hilltop ranch. On arrival, however, Wedge Antilles greeted Durron with disgust and anger, still bitter over the Deyer native's actions of 11 ABY. Durron attempted to reason with the New Republic general and apologized for his treatment of Qwi Xux but made little headway. Eventually he showed the same recording of the manipulated solar flare to Darklighter and Antilles. While Antilles pointed out that the recording was ambiguous, he did agree that an unsanctioned military mission would have to be organized in order to take out the "superweapon". The general, once he had ascertained Solo's and Darklighter's readiness, warned Durron that although he would contact Admiral Traest Kre'fey and solicit for support, Kyp's Dozen would be subordinated to the military for the duration of the strike on Sernpidal. Following his success at securing military aid, Durron tracked down Jaina Solo in order to ask her whether or not she would consider becoming his apprentice. Although the two Jedi continued to fence verbally with one another, Solo agreed to put some thought into the request.
====Strike at Sernpidal====
Durron's next meeting was aboard the flagship of Admiral Kre'fey, the Bothan Assault Cruiser Ralroost. Antilles, Darklighter and Solo accompanied him, and, despite a brief argument, Durron was relieved to learn that Kre'fey had agreed to coordinate a mission to destroy the Yuuzhan Vong shipyard and the "superweapon" it was constructing. The fact that the Julevian system was strewn with gravitic anomalies and shifting hyperspace entry and exit points posed a threat to the mission's success; but Kre'fey planned to jump an old Immobilizer 418 cruiser into the system in the hope that the resulting gravitic fluctuations would open up a new plottable hyperspace entry point. Durron agreed to the scheme. Following a subsequent meeting several hours later, Kre'fey's forces began preparing for their unofficial assault. He briefly took on Jaina Solo as an apprentice and there were hints of a budding relationship between them, but she lost much respect for him when he tricked her into destroying a Yuuzhan Vong worldship that he claimed was a gravitic superweapon. While it did not destroy his level of support among the Jedi, there was a growing consensus that Durron was no longer stable.
Two years into the war, Durron had managed to perfect the art of the shadow bomb to give the Jedi and the New Republic a small advantage over the invaders. The technique emptied a proton torpedo of its propellant and called for Jedi to telekinetically hurl the projectiles at Yuuzhan Vong warships. Without drive emissions, the torpedoes were next to impossible to see or track, especially for the Force-blind Yuuzhan Vong. During the Fall of Coruscant, Kyp's Dozen was a crucial element in the Jedi-led starfighter wing based at Eclipse Station. Led by Luke Skywalker, these squadrons were able to maneuver amongst the Yuuzhan Vong invasion fleet and inflict significant damage. However, in the middle of the battle, reports quickly circulated that Kyp's Dozen had gone missing. In fact, only Durron and Jedi Knight Octa Ramis survived; with the latter swearing she would never fly with Durron again after he inadvertently caused the deaths of the rest of the squadron when he hurled aside a ship in the battle.
After the Battle of Coruscant, Durron was one of those who managed to reach Hapes. As he watched Jaina Solo come close to falling to the dark side, Durron used his own understanding of the dark side to convince her to stay with the light and on one occasion defend himself from her lightning. Jaina Solo managed to come back from nearly crossing the edge into darkness, and she re-apprenticed herself to Durron. Leia Organa Solo, however, warned him that if he ever hurt her daughter again, the Yuuzhan Vong would be the least of his problems. After this incident, he became a much more stable person, and since his reformation he gained greater acceptance among the other Jedi.
Though Durron disagreed with many of Luke Skywalker's policies, he was appointed to the High Council prior to the Battle of Ebaq. Durron eventually learned to work out his differences with Skywalker, who admitted that much of what Durron said before was not wholly wrong, merely poorly planned out, and the other Jedi, even though their views on certain subjects often differed.The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way
At the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Durron, Leia, Han, Judder Page, Meloque and Wraw worked on Caluula while the Galactic Alliance fought at Dac and Alpha Red destroyed every living Yuuzhan Vong on the planet. During their mission the team was imprisoned by Malik Carr and was to be killed, but Booster Terrik, Shada D'ukal, Calrissian, Talon Karrde, Crev Bombaasa and Mirax Terrik Horn from the Smugglers' Alliance rescued Durron and the others with the Errant Venture. Later, Durron was one of the Jedi to fly a Zonama Sekotan fighter in defense of Zonama Sekot. After the end of the war Durron was present at the Conclave on Zonama Sekot.
===Discontent with the Order===
By the Dark Nest Crisis, Durron was on the Masters' Council. However, he was once again at odds with the other Jedi. Though he no longer opposed Master Skywalker, he was, along with Mara Jade Skywalker, a leader of the faction which felt the Jedi had a duty to the galaxy at large before the Galactic Alliance. This stance was reminiscent of Revan during the Mandalorian Wars and Count Dooku's during the Clone Wars. This brought him into conflict with Corran Horn and Kenth Hamner, who felt that the Jedi were answerable to the Alliance. When Skywalker was out of contact on Woteba, Chief of State Cal Omas attempted to disorganize the Jedi by appointing Horn the Order's interim leader.Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen Durron refused to take part in it, saying that Luke Skywalker led the Jedi, and that there would be no peace as long as Cal Omas was Chief of State.
===Second Galactic Civil War (40 ABY–41 ABY)===
During the Second Galactic Civil War, Durron kept a low profile as a member of the Masters' Council, though he did put out the suggestion that Jacen Solo be made a Jedi Master to bring him back into the Jedi Order and exert some control over Jacen's activities.Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines Directly after the Battle of Hapes, he was chosen to investigate the incident involving the Skywalkers' son, Ben Skywalker, and Zekk. After having a discussion about it with Luke and Mara Skywalker, Durron decided not to investigate.Legacy of the Force: Exile
Durron later admitted to fellow Masters Skywalker that he had found a woman who liked his hair long and didn't mind the gray in it. He also told them that both Cal Omas and Cha Niathal wanted Jacen to be elevated to the rank of Jedi Master. Despite his own belief that Jacen Solo should be elevated to the rank of Jedi Master, in the meeting with Cal Omas and Niathal, Durron sided with Grand Master Skywalker who thought otherwise, since he believed that Jedi problems were worsened when politicians interfered. Durron would later go on and offer assistance to Mara Skywalker when she decided to hunt Lumiya, which she refused. He also told her that he didn't understand why Grand Master Skywalker had tolerated Colonel Solo as long as he had and believed making him a Master would change his views and priorities. Again, he would offer his assistance in the hunt for Lumiya after Mara Skywalker's death.Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice
Durron was one of the Jedi who attended Mara's funeral. During the Battle of Kuat, he commanded Shadow Saber squadron before the Jedi left the battle.
After the Battle of Kashyyyk, Grand Master Skywalker ordered Durron to organize a Jedi plan to feign an assassination of Jacen Solo. He also assisted scientist Toval Seyah in the destruction of Centerpoint Station. Durron was present during the Battle of Uroro Station, when Darth Caedus, as formerly Jacen Solo, was killed at the hands of Jaina Solo.Legacy of the Force: Invincible
===After the war===
Two years after the Second Galactic Civil War, Kyp Durron was among those present when Luke Skywalker was placed under arrest, and in a move to help humanize the Order in the eyes of the public, when acting Grand Master Kenth Hamner asked for a volunteer to be a consultant for an upcoming holodrama, Master Durron accepted. He was also present when GA forces arrived to take Valin Horn away from the temple. His anger was evident when a GA Security Captain, Oric Harfard, insulted the two Jedi guarding the entrance, but was calmed by Cilghal.
Durron was one of the Jedi who grew impatient with Grand Master Kenth Hamner's cautious approach. He later participated in a Jedi coup to remove Chief of State Daala from power.
==Personality and traits==
==Powers and abilities==
Kyp Durron was one of the strongest Jedi in the entire history of the Jedi Order. He was regarded as Luke's best student and personally considered himself to be more powerful than his teacher,The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream who was himself the son of the Chosen One of Jedi legend, Anakin Skywalker. DVD commentary The fallen Jedi Knight Vima-Da-Boda recognized the young Force-sensitive's vast potential in the spice mines of Kessel and, when Luke Skywalker tested Durron's power in 11 ABY, he was stunned by the scale of the teenager's natural affinity for the Force, as it was unlike anything he had witnessed since training under his own teachers, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Durron did not believe his parents to have been Force-sensitive and was surprised to learn of his abilities. Within a week of intensive training, Durron had surpassed all other trainees at the Jedi Praxeum. By 13 ABY, Skywalker perceived Durron to be "frighteningly powerful" and regarded him as his prize student.
Under Vima da-Boda's tutelage, Durron learned the rudiments of the Force. He became proficient in the employment of mind tricks and practiced the abilities taught to him by the old Jedi after she was taken away, although Durron did not understand their provenance or science. The Deyer native mostly reacted without understanding during this period and was unable to utilize his powers at will. Even untrained, however, Durron had strong powers of precognition. These gave him fast reaction times, enabling him to avoid death in the Kessel spice mines and over the surface of the planet, when he had a premonition of the activation of Kessel's planetary shields. This ability also enabled Durron to navigate his way through the dark spice tunnels and the Maw, the latter of which was a feat mastered only by a handful of other Jedi. As Durron began developing his abilities, he rapidly gained mastery over many aspects of the Force.
The power of telekinesis was picked up by Durron early on in his training, although the Deyer native had already seen fractional success with the ability when he was incarcerated aboard the Gorgon in 11 ABY. Following his week of intensive training at the Jedi Praxeum, Durron was capable of advanced feats of telekinesis. Contrary to popular belief, the Deyer native did not tear the Sun Crusher out of the heart of Yavin with raw telekinesis alone—rather merely pushing the controls to make the craft fly towards him, although Durron did slow the superweapon's descent as it approached the Great Temple. In later years, Durron began utilizing telekinesis in his invention of shadow bombs, hurling proton torpedoes with great speed toward Yuuzhan Vong starships during the Yuuzhan Vong War. During the fall of Coruscant, Durron also made use of a destroyed freighter as a telekinetic weapon despite its large size. Later during Operation Emperor's Hammer he moved an artificial black hole generated by the Dovin Basal protecting a Yuuzhan Vong warship onto the ship it was protecting, utterly annihilating the craft—a feat that lead him to presume to consider himself to be the most powerful Jedi currently alive. Moreover, he could punish or kill his enemies by choking them.
His telepathic and mind-affecting powers were quite effective, as he was so skilled with Mind Tricks that he could mind control whole rooms of servants.
Durron was able to use the power of Alter Environment to call down lightning from storms—on one occasion killing a Sith Leviathan with a lightning bolt.
Kyp possessed skill with the Dark Side of the Force, able to use both Force Lightning and also Sith Magic in the form of Aura of Uneasiness, as well as a variant of Force Drain to draw sustenance from small animals. Moreover, he could use his anger to improve his combat and piloting skills and he had the power to dispel Force Lightning when it was used against him or he touched one who was casting it—a power he attributed to his own mastery of the technique.
The dark-haired Jedi was also able to use telekinesis on other Force-sensitives with success, such as when he hurled fellow Jedi Master Corran Horn across a hangar in 36 ABY to punish him for his insolence in trying to stop Kyp from aiding Luke Skywalker after the latter destroyed his ship with a lightsaber.
Testament to his powerful abilities, Kyp was the only Jedi outside of the Skywalker bloodline to be considered by Vergere and Lumiya as a candidate for the next Sith Lord. However, he was passed over due to his unpredictable and stubborn nature.Legacy of the Force: Tempest
==Behind the scenes==
===Development===
====Bantam Spectra====
The character of Kyp Durron was created for Kevin J. Anderson's The Jedi Academy Trilogy, the first installment of which, Jedi Search, was published in March 1994. The early 1990s bore witness to the creation of several key Expanded Universe works upon which years of future continuity would be built. Despite a bloc of negative reviews Anderson felt he received from a narrow section of Star Wars fans, the three books of the Jedi Academy trilogy were all best-sellers and elements of his new continuity, such as Kyp Durron, the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, Admiral Natasi Daala, Cilghal, Tionne and Streen went on to become firmly entrenched in the Expanded Universe. Anderson later stated that he felt that his biggest contribution to the Star Wars Expanded Universe was his creation of the next generation of Jedi Knights. Kyp Durron's destruction of Carida and the death of his brother Zeth, which secured a high rank in an online poll of the greatest moments of the Expanded Universe, was also frequently referenced throughout continuity over the next years.
Kyp Durron next featured prominently in Darksaber, written by Kevin J. Anderson, which comprised of the middle novel of a loose trilogy of Bantam era installments known as the "Callista trilogy," all three of which were released in the years 1995 and 1997, and which dealt with the romance between Luke Skywalker and female Jedi of the Old Republic named Callista. The cohesive planning of the trilogy undertaken by Anderson and Barbara Hambly, who wrote Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight, allowed for Durron to be referenced in both of Hambly's novels.Interview with Kevin J. Anderson, conducted by Greyman.
In May 1998, Kevin J. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta made use of Kyp Durron's character in the twelfth book of their Young Jedi Knights, entitled Young Jedi Knights: Return to Ord Mantell and set in 24 ABY. Several days later, prolific Star Wars author Michael A. Stackpole's novel I, Jedi was published. I, Jedi was set in the first person and featured the Force-sensitive New Republic pilot Corran Horn as the main character. The novel was notable in that it retconned the Jedi Academy Trilogy to include Horn as having been present at the Jedi Praxeum contemporaneously with Durron, along with other characters such as Gantoris, Tionne and Mara Jade. Several scenes were included in which Durron, when he was "off-screen" during Jedi Academy Trilogy events, was revealed to have been interacting with Horn.
The publication of new materials in which Durron featured continued to be placed erratically in the in-universe timeline, as was customary during the Bantam Spectra era. The Jedi was used as a principal character in Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy: Leviathan, a series of four comics that debuted late in October 1998 and continued with monthly releases into 1999. The Jedi Academy: Leviathan comics were set after the events depicted in Darksaber. Published by Dark Horse Comics, the series was notable in that it provided numerous illustrations of Durron, who had hitherto been drawn only in reference guides such as The Essential Guide to Characters. The Jedi Knight was drawn throughout the series by Dario Carrasco, Jr. and colored by Ray Murtaugh.
On the various covers of the series, Durron was depicted by Ray Logo for Jedi Academy: Leviathan 1, and by Paul Chadwick for issues 2 and 3. On the cover of the trade paperback collection of the four Leviathan comics, Durron's hair was erroneously colored blond, despite his portrayal within the comic, and through the Expanded Universe, as a man with dark brown hair. The cover artist on this occasion was David Michael Beck. The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, released in 2008, utilized the image in Kyp Durron's entry, confirming that it was indeed Durron depicted on the front cover.
Durron's final appearance in Bantam Spectra novels and short stories was in December 1999, when the void in Durron's history between 11 ABY, in which the Jedi Academy Trilogy was set, and 12 ABY, in which Darksaber took place, was filled by a short story, Simple Tricks. Authored by Chris Cassidy and Tish Eggleston Pahl, Simple Tricks and explored Durron's grief following his redemption, placing him alongside Fenig Nabon, a creation of Cassidy and Paul and a recurrent character in their Star Wars short stories. Simple Tricks also tied into events depicted in Children of the Jedi and Darksaber. In the five years since his debut in the Jedi Academy Trilogy, therefore, Durron had appeared directly in, or had been mentioned in, a significant quantity of Expanded Universe works.
====Inclusion in the New Jedi Order====
In 1997, the license for Star Wars novels had been renegotiated with Del Rey, a division of Ballantine Books, whose contract included the rights for the release of a sequential series—an idea that evolved into The New Jedi Order series. Bantam Spectra's contract for Star Wars novels was scheduled to come to an end in 1999, leaving the fate of the extensive Bantam era continuity uncertain. Del Rey and Lucasfilm planned the series together in 1998, deciding upon certain over-arching plot elements such as the death of Chewbacca and the excision of the status of primary hero from Anakin Solo's character.Star Wars: New Jedi Order Round-Robin Interview By August of that year, the author of the first novel of the nineteen-book series, R. A. Salvatore, was contacted and introduced to his task. Despite not having read any of the Bantam era novels and having an unfamiliarity with the Expanded Universe continuity, Salvatore was aided in this regard by Lucasfilm, who provided the author with information on the Expanded Universe.
Due to the fact that The New Jedi Order series was intended to secure a new range of readership, Del Rey did not wish to inundate the upcoming novels with Bantam era continuity and communicated this desire to R. A. Salvatore. The Del Rey staff felt that new readers could be put off by their unfamiliarity with Expanded Universe lore, their last experience of Star Wars having been, presumably, the Original trilogy of films. Despite Del Rey's edict and the author's personal desire to make the first novel of the series, to be titled The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime, accessible, Salvatore did not deliberately contradict the Bantam era material, including key aspects such as the relationship of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, the Solo children and veteran New Republic politician Borsk Fey'lya, as well as more obscure references such as the shieldships from Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire.
Salvatore refrained from utilizing other well-established Expanded Universe characters such as Cilghal or Tenel Ka as he felt they would distract new readers and could be incorporated by later authors. The character of Kyp Durron, however, was not originally included. When Salvatore wrote in a rogue Jedi character in Vector Prime, who would serve the purpose of encouraging Luke Skywalker to consider creating a new Jedi Council to constrain maverick Jedi activity, Lucasfilm recommended that he fit Kyp Durron into the role and sent Salvatore information on Durron. It was in this way that Durron, a prominent Expanded Universe figure, went on to play a role in the Del Rey era continuity. Durron's anti-smuggler crusade in Vector Prime was tied in to his hatred for lawless types who had killed his parents in the spice mines during his youth.
====Beyond Vector Prime====
Following his appearance in Vector Prime, Durron was developed throughout The New Jedi Order series as Luke Skywalker's opponent among the Jedi. Michael A. Stackpole, who had already explored the relationship between Corran Horn and Kyp Durron in I, Jedi, expanded upon the rift among the Jedi in his Dark Tide Duology, including Durron in both installments. Durron was taken up again in this role in James Luceno's Agents of Chaos Duology, albeit in a greater role in the second novel, The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse. While not a villainous character, Durron was portrayed as the antithesis of Luke Skywalker's view of how the Jedi Order should act. Durron's stance served to explore the motives of the Solo children, who similarly questioned whether defense or affirmative action should be employed when fighting the Yuuzhan Vong.
Durron received a mention in Kathy Tyers' The New Jedi Order: Balance Point, playing a more prominent role in The New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory II: Rebirth, in which Durron suborned the aid of Jaina Solo and the military in the attack on Sernpidal. In The New Jedi Order: Star by Star, by Troy Denning, Durron featured in a support role. During one interview, Denning hinted that he had wanted to kill off Durron's character in Star by Star but was prevented from doing so due to instructions from Lucasfilm editors. Denning had revealed previously that he felt that Durron was an advocate of total warfare and possessed a "dangerous lust for blood".
The division between Jaina Solo and Durron was explored further in The New Jedi Order: Dark Journey; in Elaine Cunningham's novel, which revolved around Solo, Durron played a major role as her mentor. The events of Kevin J. Anderson's The Jedi Academy Trilogy were heavily referenced in the novel, in which Durron underwent an evolution of character to become a less arrogant and headstrong figure. This change was featured in Aaron Allston's first installment of the Enemy Lines duology.
Following the resolution of the Jedi division plot in The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way, Durron's was developed as one of several Jedi Master characters who played supporting and background roles in the later novels. With The New Jedi Order finishing in 2005 with James Luceno's The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force, the future of Kyp Durron's character in Star Wars novels lay with Troy Denning, Aaron Allston and Karen Traviss, who were contracted to write the Legacy of the Force series. Prior to Legacy of the Force, however, was Denning's Dark Nest Trilogy, in which Durron emerged once again as a faction leader, this time championing his belief on the High Council that the Jedi should remain separate from the Galactic Alliance. By the time he was writing the Dark Nest trilogy in 2004, Denning claimed that he had warmed to Durron's character, due to the character's development in Dark Journey and in the subsequent novels.
In the High Council plotline, Durron's character was featured alongside original Kevin J. Anderson creations such as Cilghal and Tionne Solusar, as well as other prominent Jedi figures introduced and developed in Del Rey's continuity; Octa Ramis, Saba Sebatyne, Tresina Lobi and Kenth Hamner. This hybrid Bantam and Del Rey era group played a background role in the Legacy of the Force series, in which Durron advised Luke Skywalker in the fight against Jacen Solo. In 2009, Durron was featured in minor roles in Fate of the Jedi: Outcast and Fate of the Jedi: Omen the first two installments of the new Fate of the Jedi series. Since Dark Journey, Durron has therefore featured consistently, albeit in subsidiary roles, in Del Rey continuity.
===Continuity errors===
In The New Jedi Order: Dark Journey, Durron's name has incorrectly been spelled Kip on one event. It also states that he dragged the Sun Crusher out of the heart of Yavin however, in Dark Apprentice he used the Force to remotely power up the ship and fly it out of the gas giant.
Kyp's destruction of the Carida system has varied from writer to writer, with some laying the number in the billions. Carida however has been known to have 25 million sentients, making it the official kill count for Durron.
Durron's eye color changes from black to brown in earlier appearances, to blue in the Jedi Academy Comics then finally to green in the New Jedi Order series.
==Appearances==
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Dark Lords of the Sith
Category:Galactic Alliance individuals
Category:Humans
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns
Category:Jedi Coalition personnel
Category:Jedi Council members of the New Jedi Order
Category:Jedi Guardians
Category:Jedi Masters of the New Jedi Order
Category:Males
Category:New Republic Starfighter Corps personnel
Category:Redeemed Jedi
Category:Sith acolytes and apprentices