Tey Sirrek

Tey Sirrek was a Sephi male thief who lived during the High Republic Era. A former Guardian of the Whills, Sirrek instead became a vigilante thief in the hopes of helping people. In 382 BBY, he had ultimately uncovered a conspiracy in which many artifacts went missing throughout the Holy City of the moon Jedha, but his investigation lead him to be implicated in the bombing at the Temple of the Kyber, and was thus imprisoned by the Guardians. After freeing himself from the temple while it was being raided, Sirrek fought alongside Jedi Matthea Cathley and Vildar Mac in the Battle of Jedha, which was sparked by the anti-Jedi Path of the Open Hand cult.
Near the end of the battle, Sirrek and Mac confronted Werth Plouth, the Path's Herald and the Children of the Open Hand, a subgroup of the Path, successfully defeating them despite their use of the living weapon known as the Leveler and getting Plouth arrested. Sirrek formed a strong kinship with Mac due to the experience, and the two shared their beliefs that the Path had been behind the bombing and the artifacts going missing. In the aftermath of the battle, Sirrek was given a seat on the Convocation of the Force, a council of religious groups, where he independently represented those without affiliation to said groups. 
About 150 years later, in 229 BBY, Sirrek resurfaced on the planet Kindosorn, where he was on a mission to prevent Nihil scientist Baron Boolan from kidnapping any more force-sensitive children to experiment on. Jedi Keeve Trennis had led a crew there following leads that her former master Sskeer was still alive, and Jedi Goonral Monshi and OrbaLin had been stranded on the planet since the fall of Starlight Beacon.The High Republic (2023) 4 Sirrek revealed himself when he protected Monshi, OrbaLin, and Ceret from an attack by a Falanassi Child of the Storm and a Nameless,The High Republic (2023) 5 while Trennis and former Nihil Lourna Dee discovered Sskeer protecting a force-sensitive Yacombe child. When the child was kidnapped, Sirrek joined the Jedi team in a mission to rescue her from Boolan's laboratory. 
==Biography==
===Life as a guardian===
Tey Sirrek was a Sephi male who joined the Guardians of the Whills as a member. In 387 BBY,The High Republic (2022) 3 takes place after Vildar Mac's arrival on Jedha and before the Battle of Jedha. As Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia dates both events to 382 BBY, The High Republic (2022) 3 must take place in that year. Additionally, the issue states that the flashback takes place five years before the present event, placing it in 387 BBY. Sirrek was stationed as a guard at the Temple of the Kyber. While on duty, he caught a young Cragmoloid Flim pickpocketing from a passing civilian with the help of a small droid SK-0T.The High Republic (2022) 4 Sirrek quickly left his station, chasing after Flim; however, he failed and lost the small thief. During a training session with other guardians, Sirrek brought up the name he had heard from the thieves, Anst Wozo, to Captain Oklane Viss. Viss initially dodged the question, though he later told Sirrek that Wozo is "bad news."
Sometime later, Sirrek caught onto Flim but was stopped as Wozo approached the two. Before Sirrek could do anything, he was called back by Viss and left. The next day, SK-0T showed up for help and Sirrek immediately rushed after the droid. SK-0T guided the Sephi to a room full of unconscious children, including Flim. Viss who followed Sirrek ensured that the kids were still alive. Sirrek checked on the young Cragmoloid, though he did not make it. Sirrek confronted Viss about the cause of it but the captain refused to answer, telling him that it was not their responsibility. In anger, Sirrek followed and attacked Wozo, killing him.
===Life as a thief===
Later he considered himself a defender of the oppressed and was a skilled thief. In 382 BBY, Sirrek discovered that there had been robberies of artifacts all over the Holy City of the Pilgrim Moon Jedha. He arranged a meeting in the Wayfarer Quarter of the Shrine of Sarrav with a Sarravi woman named V'Kara who had information about the robberies, but was not listened to by the groups she went to with her information.
Before the planned time of the meeting, Sirrek went to the Jedha marketplace where Ran Yaltan, who claimed to be the last of the Truthsayers of Bpfassh was putting on a show. A member of the crowd claimed that Yaltan was a fraud, but Sirrek went to calm them, telling them that they shouldn't be unpleasant right before the Festival of Balance. When asked, Sirrek told them that the Convocation of the Force announced it, but the individual said that the Convocation didn't have a right to force their celebration upon them. Then Jedi Padawan Matthea Cathley inserted herself into the conversation, giving Sirrek the opportunity to steal an object from the annoyed individual. However, Jedi Master Vildar Mac, who was with Cathley, spotted Serrik steal and chased after him, but Sirrek managed to elude the Jedi.
===Conflict with the Jedi===
Sirrek then went to the Shrine of Sarrav to meet with V'Kara, but discovered her dead on the shrine's floor. Master Mac spotted Serrik in the shrine and recognized him as the thief from earlier, immediately jumping to the conclusion that Sirrek had killed her and swung his lightsaber at him. Sirrek dodged all of Mac's strikes easily to the Jedi's bewilderment, Sirrek claiming that he could do so because he had mastered many Force powers, including Vitali, Cry of the Broken King, and Morichro. Mac claimed that Morichro was a myth, but Sirrek placed his hand on Mac's chest and stopped his heart, claiming that he had used the technique. In reality, Sirrek had just used a pheromone his ancestor's had developed that temporarily knocked people down.
After Mac came to, the Jedi used a unique Force ability to track Sirrek to Enlightenment, a bar in the city. Mac spotted Sirrek going to leave and threw a knife into his cloak that halted his movement. Mac claimed to the bar's owner, Kradon Minst, that Sirrek was a dark side user who had used Morichro, but after Mac described the ability, Minst turned to Sirrek and asked if he should tell the Jedi or allow him to. After ripping his cloak to get free, Sirrek introduced himself to Mac, claiming he was a righter of wrongs, with Minst adding that he was a Sephi. When Mac claimed Sirrek was a murderer, Sirrek showed him a hologram recording that his droid projected and explained that he had discovered her dead and was really going to meet with her about missing artifacts. He also explained that he had used no magic against Mac and explained the special pheromone. He then gave Minst extra credits for his trouble and left, ignoring Padawan Cathley's suggestions at working together.
Sirrek then met with a Condluran named Briff, knowing that Briff bought special items. Sirrek then offered Vildar Mac's lightsaber, which he had stolen from the Jedi in Enlightenment, though the Condluran turned it down. Sirrek then spotted a statue of a starbird made out of kyber crystal in one of Briff's crates and picked it up. Briff held a blaster to him, but then Master Mac jumped down from above and disarmed Briff, but they had another blaster in their other sleeve and shot at the Jedi. Sirrek jumped in the way of the bolt, though was not hurt due to his body armor. After Briff took off in a speeder, Mac noticed that Sirrek had saved him, but Sirrek thought it was ironic considering Mac was meant to be aligned with the Force. Mac also said that stealing from a Jedi took audacity, and that he was almost impressed by Sirrek. Cathley commented that they had lost their only lead, and Sirrek confirmed that he had been trying to find out who was in the market for stolen artifacts. He told them that he knew where the statue of the starbird was from, saying that if they had thought stealing lightsabers was hard, it was a much bigger deal entirely.
Upon entering the Temple of the Kyber, Sirrek, Mac, and Cathley were suddenly surrounded by members of the Guardians of the Whills, including Viss. As the guards moved to throw Sirrek out of the Temple, he threatened to use his supposed Morchiro technique, but Mac pushed him away with the Force, scolding him for his trickery. Sirrek then walked out of the Temple and away from Mac and Cathley. Viss revealed to Mac and Cathley that Sirrek was a former Guardian, while Sirrek sulked outside, telling SK-0T that he was never going back and was better off alone. However, he snuck into the temple through a window, hoping to check the logs in order to find out who stole the starbird statue. Cathley and Mac were already there with the Guardians to check the security footage, and Mac sensed Sirrek's presence. Sirrek was holding an explosive when Mac spotted him, which the others assumed he was planting. Mac warned everyone to get down just as the explosive went off, but was still injured in the blast. Sirrek was taken into custody by the Guardians.
===The Battle of Jedha===
Despite insisting that he was attempting to deactivate the explosive, Sirrek was confined to a cell in the Temple of the Kyber. While he was in captivity, the Herald of the Path of the Open Hand, Werth Plouth, incited rioting all over Jedha City, which was exacerbated by the presence of the Leveler. When combatants forced their way into the temple, SK-0T was able to sneak in and free Sirrek. Despite his initial desire to simply save himself, Sirrek went back to rescue Archivist Oranalli from the raiders.The High Republic (2022) 5 One raider held Sirrek at gunpoint and demanded to know where the Rod of Daybreak was, which Sirrek didn't know. Oklane Viss blasted the raider, who escaped using a flash grenade. Viss gave the order to seal the Temple so no one could get in or out, just before SK-0T alerted Sirrek that Vildar Mac was trapped inside the collapsed Path Almshouse. Despite Viss' insistence that the Guardians' only duty was to protect the Temple, Sirrek convinced him to go help the people of the city.The High Republic (2022) 6
Sirrek, Viss, and a group of Guardians helped rescue people from the ruins of the almshouse, where Mac was using the Force to keep it from coming down on the people trapped inside. With the combined efforts of Mac, Sirrek, Matthea Cathley, the Guardians, and even some of the Path members inside the ruins, the rubble was lifted and everyone inside could escape. Unable to get the injured through the crowd to a medcenter, Mac and Sirrek led the group to Enlightenment for a safe sanctuary. Owner Kradon Minst was reluctant to let them in, but relented at the approach of armed rioters, saying that if the Jedi protected Enlightenment, he would allow their friends to take shelter there.The High Republic (2022) 7 
Overwhelmed by the attackers, Mac and Cathley retreated inside as well. Sirrek asked Mac what they were going to do. Mac wanted to remain in the tapbar, but Sirrek and Cathley argued that they should be outside helping people. Just then, the back entrance to Enlightenment was blown open by enforcer droids, launching Tarna Miak, representative of the Sorcerers of Tund, inside. Mac defeated the droids, Minst activated Enlightenment's energy shields, and Sirrek attempted to puzzle out the connection between the riot and the raid on the Temple of the Kyber. Miak's reports of people dying in the riots galvanized Sirrek's determination to leave the tapbar and help, but Mac was still reluctant. Sirrek pushed back, reminding him how powerful he was and that he could do incredible things. Finally, Mac told the group about the Sorcerer of Tund who attacked his village as a child. Cathley concluded that since that incident, he had always tried to follow the rules and play it safe, concerned about what can happen when a powerful force user crosses the line. The interpersonal conflict resolved, Sirrek encouraged them to listen to the force, drawing everyone's attention to Mac's comlink, which was transmitting Oliviah Zeveron's call for help.
==Dalna==
Around 228 BBY, The events of The High Republic: Tempest Breaker occur around two months after the events of Temptation of the Force, they must take place around the same year. As the events of The High Republic Adventures – Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone 4 occur not long after Tempest Breaker, they must also take place around the same year. Sirrek and his companions responded to a distress call on Dalna. They were attacked by Drayos who saw Lourna Dee in the group and assumed that they were all Nihil. Sirrek used the Hand of Siberus to defend himself, but it was ripped off his hand by vines and destroyed. He was overwhelmed and encased by the plants. He was released when Ty Yorrick managed to calm the plant-mage Vila down.The High Republic Adventures – Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone 4
==Equipment==
Tey Sirrek utilized a flying spherical droid designated SK-0T (nicknamed "Scoot") that could record its surroundings and play them back with a hologram.
==Behind the scenes==
Tey Sirrek first appeared in the first issue of the 2022 comic series Star Wars: The High Republic published as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project's Phase II. The issue was written by Cavan Scott, and published by Marvel Comics on October 12, 2022. On May 26 of that year at Celebration Anaheim, Scott first indirectly mentioned him as part of the then-upcoming comic series. Tey Sirrek was first identified by name in a StarWars.com post on September 22, 2022.
At Celebration Europe the following year, Scott expressed his thoughts on the then-ongoing comic issues Sirrek and Mac featured in. The author indicated that the latter half of the series would show the two growing closer together during their trials on Jedha, confirming for an interviewer that their relationship would further their bromance with a bit of romance. This aspect was later evidenced by the issues released after Scott's interview,The High Republic (2022) 8The High Republic (2022) 9The High Republic (2022) 10 culminating in a kiss both share in The High Republic (2023) 6.The High Republic (2023) 6
==Appearances==
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Convocation of the Force representatives
Category:Force-sensitives
Category:Guardians of the Whills
Category:LGBTQIA+ individuals
Category:Males
Category:Sephi
Category:Thieves