| “ | Tahiri, you don't wanna do that. I know you don't, because you're no better suited to be a Sith apprentice than I was. | „ |
| ~ Ben Skywalker, to Tahiri Veila |
| “ | With all due respect sir, you can shove that order down the nearest black hole. You're the one who turned me into a killer. | „ |
| ~ Ben to Jacen Solo. |
| “ | Doing the right thing isn't something special. It's the minimum. It's where we start each morning, not where we try to end up one day in the future. You taught me that. | „ |
| ~ Ben to his father, Luke Skywalker. |
Ben Skywalker was one of the main protagonists in the Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi series. The son of Grand Master Luke Skywalker and Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker, Ben was named for his father's late mentor Obi Wan Kenobi.
Biography[]
Early life[]
The son of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker, Ben was born shortly after the Battle of Duro. Named to honor the memory of Jedi General Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi, Ben Skywalker was born aboard the converted Star Destroyer Errant Venture during the Yuuzhan Vong War. He was separated from his parents shortly after he was born, both to protect him and to allow them to fight against the enemy. Skywalker was taken in by his aunt and uncle, Han and Leia Solo and brought up on Coruscant. When the Yuuzhan Vong launched their attack on the capital planet, Skywalker was kept in several secure locations for the rest of the war.
Ben as a baby
With the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong, Luke and Mara resolved to spend more time with their son, but the rigors of leading the New Jedi Order conspired to keep them apart. During the Swarm War, Skywalker unknowingly befriended the assassin bugs of the Dark Nest, unaware that he was putting his family in danger. It was during this time that Luke and Mara discovered that Skywalker opened up more around his cousin, Jedi Knight Jacen Solo, and they asked Solo to take Skywalker under his wing. Over time, Skywalker began to tentatively touch the Force, and his connection was strengthened with Solo's help. As a Padawan, Skywalker adopted the ancient tradition of growing a single braid of hair to indicate his status, despite the fact that this was not required by the modern Jedi Order. He displayed an ability to remember things that he had seen and heard with uncanny accuracy - possibly inherited from his mother, who had once served as the Emperor's Hand.
Apprenticed to Jacen Solo[]
In the wake of the Swarm War, Skywalker continued to train as a Jedi under Solo's tutelage. When he was thirteen, he accompanied Solo to Centerpoint Station on a mission to disable the facility before Solo's cousin Thrackan Sal-Solo could reinitialize it as a weapon. However, they were forced to split up when Solo was captured by Sal-Solo, and Skywalker set out to complete the mission on his own. Skywalker discovered the unusual droid that had been programmed to "become" Anakin Solo and convinced it to shut itself down before it was used as a weapon.
Luke and Mara Skywalker, Ben's parents
Upon returning to Coruscant, Skywalker became aware that he was no longer a child, especially when he came to the realization that much of the growing conflict between the Corellians and the Galactic Alliance was rooted in his disabling of Centerpoint Station. Skywalker befriended a Coruscanti youth named Barit Saiy who had joined the Corellian cause, and the encounter forced Skywalker to choose between his friend and his duty to the Galactic Alliance. In the end, Skywalker provided the location of the Saiy family to the Coruscanti police.
Solo and Skywalker next traveled to Hapes to stop an assassination attempt targeting Tenel Ka. The culprit proved to be Ducha Galney, who was willing to destroy her own family estate in an attempt to kill the Jedi. They managed to thwart the plot thanks to the arrival of the Solos aboard the Millennium Falcon, but Skywalker placed his aunt and uncle under arrest because he believed them to be Corellian insurgents. Skywalker also wounded the Jedi Knight Zekk when he tried to intervene, leaving Skywalker even more unsure of how to gauge the loyalty of those closest to him.
Doubts[]
In the wake of the Hapan action, Solo gave Skywalker a secret assignment: recover the Amulet of Kalara. He traveled to the Sith world of Ziost, where the energy of the dark side tempted him to give in to his basest instincts. Skywalker returned to Solo with a Sith ship he had located on Ziost, expressing his doubts over the mission and his conflicted feelings over his role as Solo's enforcer. This concerned Solo's Sith advisor Lumiya, who questioned Skywalker's suitability as Solo's apprentice.
Jacen Solo, Ben's first Master
Solo then suggested that Skywalker lead the mission to assassinate Corellian Prime Minister Dur Gejjen. Skywalker traveled to Vulpter with agents Jori Lekauf and Lon Shevu, and shot Gejjen in the head, killing him instantly. Security agents flooded in, forcing Lekauf to sacrifice his own life to ensure that Skywalker and Shevu could escape. Lekauf's death greatly shook Skywalker, since the two had become good friends.
Skywalker met his mother on Coruscant to confess his crimes, filling Jade Skywalker in a rage over how Solo had twisted and manipulated her son. Soon, in a space battle above Kavan, Solo and Lumiya forced Jade Skywalker's StealthX fighter to crash on the planet below. Skywalker desperately tried to locate his mother, but instead felt her death in a wave of Force energy. He found Jade Skywalker's body in a storm tunnel. Solo suddenly appeared to offer comfort and a pledge to track down Jade Skywalker's killer.
Seeker of Vengeance[]
After returning his mother's body to Coruscant, Skywalker revealed to his father, who had killed Lumiya in vengeance, that the Sith Lady couldn't have been the culprit. Skywalker came to believe that Solo (now the Sith Lord Darth Caedus) killed his mother, but Caedus instead implicated the former Chief of State Cal Omas. Skywalker confronted Omas to gain Caedus's trust, and Omas - realizing that only his death would allow Skywalker to expose Caedus's evil actions - sacrificed his own life.
Skywalker returned to Caedus's side. He failed to kill the Sith Lord during the assault on Kashyyyk, but the bold action gave Caedus reason to believe that Skywalker still might become a Sith. Caedus placed Skywalker in the Embrace of Pain aboard the Star Destroyer Anakin Solo, but Luke infiltrated the ship and freed him. Skywalker plunged a vibroblade into Caedus's back before he could attack Luke, and the two left the Sith Lord to die. However, Caedus survived the duel to continue his scourge.
Ben helped redeem Tahiri Veila.
Skywalker was determined to track down his mother's true killer. He buried his strong feelings that it had been Caedus and concentrated on the detached forensic procedure instilled by the Galactic Alliance Guard training. With the help of Shevu, Skywalker was able to prove Caedus was the killer. At the same time, he repaired the strained relationship with his father and helped Luke come to terms with Mara's death.
Knowing that Jacen Solo had succumbed to the dark side, the Skywalker-Solo family and their allies gathered to formalize plans to bring him to justice. Skywalker was elevated to the rank of Jedi Knight and assigned to accompany Jaina Solo on a Jedi-sanctioned mission to destroy Darth Caedus. The mission was nearly cut short when Skywalker was intercepted by the Sith Lady Tahiri Veila on Coruscant and taken away for interrogation.
Using a Force-blocking technique he had learned from Caedus, Skywalker refused to answer any questions. Veila even tortured and then killed Shevu in front of Skywalker, but he remained resolute. With Shevu's life no longer a bargaining chip, Skywalker realized that he had the upper hand. He goaded Veila into slapping him hard across the face; that knocked him over his chair and provided a moment of confusion in which to act. Drawing upon the Force, Skywalker shoved Veila into her two guards and freed himself.
Luke Skywalker, Ben's second Master
Returning to the hidden Jedi outpost on Shedu Maad, Skywalker was placed in charge of the evacuation of the Jedi younglings after it was learned that Caedus had followed his sister there. The battle over Shedu Maad grew complicated with the arrival of Imperial forces led by Veila. While dueling Veila, Skywalker appealed to her to break off her attack, hoping to return her to the light side. With Caedus's defeat imminent, Veila's options were vanishing. She started listening and Skywalker offered to help her regain her standing in the Jedi Order. Veila questioned that, but realized that Skywalker had been right about Caedus all along and finally surrendered.
Aftermath[]
Following the defeat of Darth Caedus, Skywalker began working directly with his father. When Chief of State Natasi Daala sentenced Luke to a ten-year exile, Skywalker offered to accompany his father. As they departed in the Jade Shadow, it became clear that the Skywalkers' mission was to discover what Solo learned during the five years he was out of contact with his family that made him join the Sith. In doing so, the Skywalkers began studying with the same obscure Force-wielding organizations Jacen Solo had years before. During time, they met and spoke with the spirits of Anakin Solo, Mara Jade Skywalker, and the redeemed Jacen Solo.
Powers and Abilities[]
The Force Connection: As the son of two powerful and famous Force-users, and the grandson of the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, Skywalker was immensely strong in the Force from the moment of his birth. Although his growth was hindered by his withdrawal from the Force after the Yuuzhan Vong War, he was able to become a talented Force-user.
- Telekinesis: Ben utilizes Telekinesis for either offensive or defensive purposes.
- Force Push: Ben utilizes Force Push to send his opponents flying through the air, causing them serious injury or temporarily incapacitating them/knocked them unconscious.
- Force Pull: Ben utilizes Force Pull to pull objects towards him or rip apart Star ships.
- Force Grip: Ben utilized Force Grip to lift his opponents off the ground and into the air to immobilize them. He also can hold a ship together with the Force.
- Force Crush: Ben utilizes Force Crush to crush objects, including droids.
- Saber Throw: Ben can throw his lightsaber or another weapon and guide it with the Force
- Telepathy: Ben can also utilize Telepathy to mentally communicate over small or vast distances with other individuals or learn their names and plans of attack.
- Mind Trick: Ben can utilize Mind Trick to control the minds of other sentient beings, however, it does not work on individuals who have very strong wills. He can make people sleep.
- Mind Probe: Ben utilizes Mind probe to sift through the thoughts of a sentient being.
- Force Sense: Ben utilizes Force sense, to sense another sentient being's emotions, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events, or impending danger and the presence of the Dark Side.
- Force Vision: Ben utilizes Force vision to have visions of the past, present, and future. However, like all Force-users, his visions are not always clear or sometimes has visions even when he is not utilizing this power at will.
- Force Dash: Ben utilizes Force Dash to move at amazing speeds.
- Force Jump: Ben utilizes Force Jump to jump or leap at great distances.
- Force Rage: Ben utilizes Force Rage to channel his anger to increase his speed, strength and ferocity. However, doing so runs the risk of being corrupted by the dark side.
- Force Healing: Ben utilizes Force Healing, to heal himself or other sentient beings, remove poison, slow down his bloodstream, or even resurrect his own dead cells.
- Force Cloaking: After being taught by Jacen Solo, Ben is able to utilize Force Cloak to manipulate light and sound waves around himself, rendering him invisible or disguised to visual and audio, as well as from living individuals, droids, and other non-living individuals. Ben can even hide from the Force and become impossible to detect.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Ben's eye color has changed in the books, as his eyes were grey upon his birth, but were said to be blue in Troy Denning's Dark Nest I: The Joiner King and green in Christie Golden's Omen. His eyes were said to be blue once again in Golden's Allies.
