Bastila Shan



Bastila Shan was a Human female that served as a Jedi Knight during the Jedi Civil War. Born on the planet Talravin to Helena Shan and a treasure hunter, her mother gave her up to the Jedi Order, believing that their lifestyle of travel and exertions was not a suitable for the young Shan. Shan was found to have an exceptional gift with a Force power known as Battle Meditation; which increased her allies' morale while demoralizing her enemies. Shan sided with the Jedi Council when the Jedi Knights Revan and Malak rebelled against the Council and joined the Galactic Republic in its war against the invading Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. One year after the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars, Revan returned from the Unknown Regions as the new Dark Lord of the Sith, with Malak as his apprentice, at the head of a new Sith Empire. Two years into the Jedi Civil War, Shan was the leader of a Jedi strike team sent to capture Darth Revan and Darth Malak. When her team boarded Revan's vessel, they managed to corner the Dark Lord on the bridge. Before they could engage Revan in combat, Malak, who was separated from his Master during the battle, betrayed Revan by ordering the guns of his flagship Leviathan to fire on Revan's vessel, in an attempt to destroy both the Jedi and Revan.

However, Shan survived and managed to use the Force to stabilize Revan, who was near death. This act created a bond between the two, and Shan brought the comatose Revan to the Jedi Council. Both the Council and Shan came up with a plan, and temporarily erased Revan's memories, reprogramming Revan with an identity of a soldier loyal to the Republic. The Council hoped that Shan, through her bond with Revan, would be able to coerce Revan into revealing the location of the Rakatan space station called the Star Forge, which was now under the new Dark Lord Darth Malak's control. In the final year of the war, Shan's Republic warship Endar Spire was ambushed and attacked by Malak's fleet above the Outer Rim planet Taris. She managed to flee the ship aboard one of its escape pods, assisted by Republic commander Carth Onasi. Shortly after her pod reached the surface, Shan was captured by a swoop gang known as the Black Vulkars. After Revan and Onasi landed on Taris, they managed to track down and rescue Shan. She, Revan, and their companions teamed up with the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo, managing to steal both the launch codes necessary to escape Taris and the Exchange crime lord Davik Kang's light freighter Ebon Hawk. Shan and her companions escaped during the Sith's bombardment of Taris, and headed to Dantooine, where a Jedi Enclave was located.

After Shan met with the Dantooine Jedi Council, they began retraining Revan in the Jedi ways. After finding a Rakatan Star Map in the burial mounds near the Enclave, the Council tasked Shan, Revan, and their companions with finding the Star Forge. During their travels, Shan watched Revan closely to ensure that he did not fall to the dark side. Shan eventually fell in love with Revan, who despite his past stayed true to Jedi code. After Revan found a fourth Star Map—which was necessary to locate the Star Forge—Shan was captured by Malak, and fell to the dark side after a week of torture at her new Sith Master's hands. However, Revan eventually confronted Shan Shan aided the Republic in the Battle of Rakata Prime through means of her battle meditation. Revan then vanquished Malak, and the Republic fleet successfully destroyed the Star Forge, routing the Sith forces. One year after Darth Malak's death, Revan left for the Unknown Regions, seeking to eliminate a hidden Sith threat that Revan had discovered during his time as Dark Lord. He left all that he cared about behind, including Shan. She went on to survive the era of strife that followed the Jedi Civil War.

Early life

 * "Your father loved you so. He wanted you to be just like him... he wanted to take you on his hunts, but I said they were too dangerous."
 * ―Helena Shan, to Bastila Shan concerning her father [src]

Bastila Shan, daughter of Helena Shan and a hunter, was born on Talravin. Shan shared a loving and powerful relationship with her father. Despite this relationship, she was not on good terms with her mother, Helena, believing that her mother pushed her father into dangerous hunts so they could live in wealth.[2]

At a young age, Shan was discovered to be exceptionally gifted with the Force.[4] She did not wish to leave her father behind and join the Jedi Order, but her mother felt that the life she and her family led —one full of relentless travel and fruitless exertions— was not good for Shan. She believed that her daughter's life would be better with the Jedi, and gave her to them. Shan was separated from her family and began her training, quickly proving to be an exceptional Jedi Sentinel.[2]

Shan was discovered to be gifted with a Force power that would gain her considerable renown later in life: Battle Meditation. It was a rare skill that increased the morale of her allies in battle and reduced her enemies will to fight. This ability would make her a considerable asset in the Galactic Republic's plans to defeat the Sith Empire during the Jedi Civil War.[1]

As a young Padawan, Shan was present when Malak, on behalf of his best friend and mentor Revan, delivered a passionate speech that denounced the inaction of the Jedi High Council against the invading Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. Though Shan refused to join Revan's growing rebellion, she witnessed several Jedi, including the future Jedi Exile, willingly submit to Malak and Revan's cause.[3] Later, when those same Jedi returned as Sith during the Jedi Civil War, she became one of the most active supporters of the Jedi Order.[2]

[edit] Jedi Civil War

 * "When I used my Force powers to keep you alive on that bridge it created our bond. I convinced the Council that I could use that bond to draw out your memories and lead us to the Star Forge."
 * ―Bastila Shan, to Revan [src]

Bastila Shan and her Jedi strike team face Darth Revan, the man she would love.In 3,957 BBY, the Jedi Council sent Shan and a strike team to capture Darth Revan.[5] Along with at least three other Jedi, Shan managed to board his flagship and fought their way to Revan. Her team had just cornered the Sith Lord on the bridge, but before they could engage him in combat his apprentice, Darth Malak, betrayed him and fired upon the ship. Revan was left clinging to life. Shan, remembering that a Jedi seeks to preserve all life, was able to keep him alive and preserve his mind using the Force. This act resulted in a powerful Force bond between them.[4]

Shan then brought Revan to the Jedi Council. The Council then decided that they would use the Force to temporarily wipe his memory, even though being considered an immoral use of the Force.[4] Revan was then reprogrammed with a new identity, one that was loyal to the Republic. They hoped that, with time, his submerged memories would cast some light on the many mysteries surrounding him. They were especially interested in finding the Star Forge and stopping the legions of Sith invaders that were attacking Republic affiliated planets.[2] [6]

Following Revan's apparent death, Darth Malak declared himself the new Dark Lord of the Sith. He knew that the Republic fleet had been saved from certain destruction by Shan's gift with battle meditation. His primary objective became to capture Shan and turn her to the dark side of the Force. He would then use her skills with battle meditation to crush the Republic.[2] This section of the article assumes 100% game completion of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Alternate stories are noted in the "Behind the scenes" section. Note: The events in this section may or may not be canon.

[edit] Destruction of Taris

 * "The search for Bastila is taking too long. Destroy the entire planet."
 * ―Darth Malak, to Admiral Karath [src]

One year later Shan and a reprogrammed, amnesiac Revan, assumed by everyone to be a simple Republic soldier, were on board the Hammerhead-class cruiser Endar Spire over the planet of Taris. Revan had been assigned to the ship, where Shan was commander, at the last minute so that Shan could maintain a vigilant watch over him. Without warning, part of the Sith fleet ambushed the cruiser. A small assault team of Sith soldiers and Darth Malak's apprentice, Darth Bandon, besieged the ship. Bandon's mission was to capture Shan alive, but he was ultimately thwarted by Ensign Trask Ulgo.[2] Shan, held prisoner by the Black Vulkars.Shan, Revan, and Republic pilot Captain Carth Onasi, were forced to evacuate the ship in escape pods just before the Endar Spire was destroyed. Shan's pod crashed in the Undercity of Taris, and she was quickly captured by a Taris swoop gang known as the Black Vulkars. She later revealed that the reason she had been captured so easily by the Vulkars was due to her lightsaber being "misplaced" during the crash. She conjectured, with embarrassment, that it must have fallen from her belt and rolled under her seat in the escape pod.[2]

Without her lightsaber, Shan was able to keep her status as a Jedi a secret, and the Vulkars assumed she was a Republic officer. She was imprisoned by the gang to be used as a prize in the Tarisian Season Opener. Onasi, who had crashed in the Upper City with Revan, informed him of Shan's importance to the war effort, and the two began a search for her. The Sith were also searching for Shan on the surface of the planet, and had blockaded Taris to prevent her escape. Revan, seeking to rescue the Jedi, made an agreement with the Vulkars' rival gang, the Hidden Beks, and entered the swoop race on their behalf. He managed to win the swoop race using a prototype accelerator designed by the Beks that he retrieved from the Vulkars' base with help from Twi'lek Mission Vao and Wookiee Zaalbar. This helped the Beks to maintain their control of the Lower City and their leader, Gadon Thek, agreed to allow Revan and Onasi to free Shan.[2]

By the end of the swoop races, the Vulkars had realized that Shan was a Jedi, and had fitted her with a neural disruptor. Unwilling to give up such a valuable prize, Brejik, the leader of the Vulkars, stated that Revan cheated and tried to keep Shan so he could make a large profit selling her on the slave market. Shan managed to free herself and, with the help of Revan, fight and kill Brejik and the nearby Vulkars. Shan was shocked to see that her rescuer was the former Sith Lord, and treated Revan and Onasi very poorly after her escape. She displayed a sense of arrogance and pride that aggravated Onasi, but Revan managed to keep the peace between the two of them. Shan was impressed that Onasi and Revan had managed to locate her, and was horrified to discover that Revan was having flashbacks of his capture.[2]

Following Shan's rescue, Revan was soon contacted by Canderous Ordo, a Mandalorian mercenary in the employ of Davik Kang, a local crime lord for the Exchange. Impressed with Revan's performance, Ordo offered a proposal for getting past the Sith blockade, and asked Revan and Shan to retrieve the launch codes from the local Sith base. Shan was wary of trusting the mercenary, but sensed no deceit from him. She and Revan infiltrated the base, with the assistance of the droid T3-M4 Kang had commisioned from Janice Nall, and managed to steal the codes after defeating the Sith Governor Malak had placed in charge of Taris. Ordo then took the group to Kang's base, telling Kang that they were potential recruits. Ordo's intention was to steal Kang's ship, the Ebon Hawk, which would be able to outrun any Sith pursuers once they used the launch codes to bypass the blockade.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-14">[2]

Frustrated with his fruitless searching, Malak ordered Admiral Saul Karath to destroy the planet. If he wasn't able to find Shan and take advantage her abilities, he wanted to be sure the Republic would not have the opportunity to do so either. The urban centers of Taris were utterly obliterated in a hail of indiscriminate turbolaser fire, while Shan's group was still in Kang's base. After defeating Kang, Shan and Revan barely managed to escape with their companions aboard the Ebon Hawk before Taris was completely leveled by the bombardment.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-15">[2]

[edit] Searching for the Star Forge

 * "They may have found something on each of the other worlds that completed this map. Maybe if we find all the pieces they will lead us to the Star Forge... and some way to destroy it."
 * ―Bastila Shan [src]

Shan suggested they seek refuge at the Jedi Enclave located on Dantooine. They could also seek the advice of the Jedi Council located there to determine their next steps. The council decided to allow Revan to re-train to become a jedi. He and Shan often sparred together and he would come to Shan for advice and aid when he needed it. After only a few weeks Revan had recovered a great deal of his former skill and power with the Force. During this time, Shan and Revan shared a dream of Revan and Malak discovering something in the nearby ruins. Shan rushed to the Jedi Council in the enclave and discovered that she and Revan shared a very powerful Force bond that had been forged when she saved his life.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-16">[2]

Soon after, the Council sent her and Revan to the ruins that she and Revan had been receiving visions of. Inside they found a partial Rakatan Star Map. It was an artifact that had been discovered by Revan and Malak five years earlier. It's data, when combined with that from the four other such Maps, would reveal the location of the Star Forge—an ancient factory of immense power that was being used by Malak to build the seemingly infinite Sith fleet. The Council sent Revan on a mission to find the Star Forge and stop Malak, with Shan guiding him along the way.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-17">[2]

It was around this time that Shan began to find herself becoming attracted to the former Sith. Revan took a great delight out of teasing Shan after he caught her staring at him. Calo Nord, a bounty hunter and former associate of the late Davik Kang, was hired by Darth Malak to kill Revan and the others, while bringing Shan before the Dark Lord alive, but was killed by Revan shortly after they found the first Star Map. While searching on Tatooine for clues about the Star Forge, Shan would be reunited with her estranged mother Helena. With Revan's help, they were finally able to reconcile. She was saddened to learn that her father had been killed while hunting a canyon krayt dragon for it's pearl, which he thought would provide enough credits to pay for the treatment of an unknown fatal illness that Helena suffered from.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-18">[2]

During their quest, Shan would closely monitor Revan, searching for any possible signs that he might have been slipping back to the dark side, although she tried to hide it. She still held a dislike for the man who had done so much damage to the galaxy, yet she was also attracted to the man he had become after he had his mind wiped. Instead of being the monster she imagined and feared he would be, Revan proved to be a true servant of the light side, displaying many acts of kindness throughout their journey together.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-19">[2]

Though this may have been attributed to the programmed identity that replaced his former persona, Revan's compassionate nature may have also been caused by subconscious aspects of his former personality before his fall to the dark side. She soon found herself admiring his passion and unrivaled power and, despite her best efforts, began to slowly fall in love with him. She resisted such feelings, partly because it was forbidden for Jedi to fall in love and partly because she was unable to come to terms with who he really was. Shan later noted that it caused her a great deal of pain and guilt. Though he was now a true Jedi and a good, honest man whom she cared deeply for, he could still return to the Dark side of the Force. If that were to happen, Shan would be forced to stop him before he could rejoin Malak. Shan also worried about what would happen when he found out who he really was. Revan tried to convince Shan that she could love him and they even shared a kiss aboard the Ebon Hawk before Bastila swore she would not allow herself to love him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-20">[2]

[edit] Malak's last apprentice

 * "The dark side calls to you, Bastila. You hunger to taste it. Become my apprentice, and all its power can be yours!"
 * ―Darth Malak, coaxing Shan to join the Sith [src]

Bastila Shan as Darth Malak's prisoner.During the quest to find the Star Forge, the Ebon Hawk was captured by the Leviathan, Malak's flagship. Shan, Revan and Carth were placed in their own cells apart from the others. Saul Karath proceeded to torture the three in an attempt to get Revan to tell him where the Jedi Academy was, what they were looking for, and what their mission was.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-21">[2]

After they were freed by one of their crew members, Shan, Onasi, and Revan headed to the bridge to release the tractor beam. When they reached the bridge, they engaged in a firefight with Karath and his troops. Mortally wounded, Karath told Onasi of Revan's true identity. Onasi then demanded answers from Shan. She promised to answer his questions once they escaped.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-22">[2]

Just before reaching the docking bay, however, Darth Malak halted their escape. Casting Onasi aside with ease, he told Shan that he had spent far too much energy arranging her capture to let her escape, and he wanted to see his old Master in person. He told Revan about his former life as the Dark Lord, and Shan was forced to come clean to him, telling him about his mind-wipe by the Jedi council. Malak told Revan that he had been a mere puppet of the Jedi Council. Revan struggled to understand with both Shan and Malak giving him a different story. Malak made it seem as though Shan was using Revan to indulge her own interest in the power of the dark side, Shan telling Revan that she was trying to redeem him and save the galaxy. After Revan told her that he understood and forgave her, Malak was enraged, and used Force stasis on Shan and Onasi, preventing them from helping Revan while Malak engaged him in a duel. The duel between the two was brief and Revan managed to drive Malak to the brink of defeat before Malak used Force stasis on Revan. Shan sacrificed herself by attempting to distract Malak so that Revan and Onasi could escape and find the Star Forge.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-23">[2]

After subjecting her to torture by Force lightning, Malak eventually succeeded in forcing her to give in to her hate and fall to the dark side. She became convinced that the Council was holding her back, using her, and so she took her place as the Dark Lord's apprentice, replacing the slain Darth Bandon.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-24">[2]

In time, she would reunite with Revan atop the Temple of the Ancients on the world of Lehon, though under unexpected circumstances. Shan told Revan, Jolee Bindo, and Juhani that she had sworn allegiance to Malak and was now his apprentice, boasting that she would aid Malak in taking over the Galaxy, taunting an anguished Revan. She engaged all three of them in a lightsaber duel, but was no match for the three Jedi. Shan threw a Force wave at the three in order to save herself from defeat. After seeing how powerful Revan was despite what the Council had done to him, she came to believe Revan deserved to be the Dark Lord of the Sith.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-25">[2]

Revan gave in to the dark side. He and Shan killed Jolee Bindo and Juhani (if Revan spares her earlier in the game). When returning to the Ebon Hawk, Revan persuaded the rest of the team to join the dark side. The droids HK-47 and T3-M4 were already programmed to do so, and Canderous Ordo pledged his loyalty to the man he believed would bring him battles in which he could find honor, as he had in the Mandalorian Wars. Carth Onasi refused and ran away. Mission Vao refused to believe that Revan had returned to the dark side and did not run away. Zaalbar initially agreed to join the dark side as he owed Revan a life debt and even agreed to kill Mission to prove his loyalty.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-43">[2]

(Note that the player could fail to persuade Zaalbar to attack Mission; in this case, the player must personally engage Mission, with an option to kill Zaalbar as well.)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-44">[2] More up-to-date concept art of Shan.Before approaching the Star Forge, Shan persuaded the Republic to attack the Sith fleet there as a measure to defeat the Republic. The Republic believed that she would use her battle meditation against the Sith, but she turned it against the Republic just before Revan faced Malak. Master Vandar Tokare realized the truth after Shan applied battle meditation against the Jedi, but could do nothing to stop her. After Revan defeated Malak, he re-assumed the title of Dark Lord of the Sith and made Shan his apprentice and lover. Together, they set out to conquer the galaxy.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-45">[2]

However, Revan soon left the known galaxy for the Unknown Regions, leaving the Sith and Shan behind on Korriban. Before his departure, Shan installed secret commands into T3-M4. She knew that Revan would not take her into the Unknown Regions, fearing their bond would be a weakness. She also knew that Revan would take T3. She ordered the droid to return to known space should something happen to Revan. If T3 was unable to locate her, the droid was to find anyone, Sith or Jedi, who could help. She ordered T3 to keep this last command a secret from Revan.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Sith_Lords_2-5">[3]

Shan, left behind, seeing disorder among the Sith—and seeing none left with the power to control the Star Forge, devouring those too weak to harness its power—realized that Revan never intended to keep the Forge operational. She recorded her concerns in a Sith holocron placed in the Sith Academy on Korriban—shortly before the Sith Empire, along with most of the Order, completely collapsed. At the end of the holocron, Shan stated that she was leaving for the Unknown Regions, to find and bring Revan back. It had not yet been proven if she left before Korriban fell into ruin, or died there before leaving.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Sith_Lords_2-6">[3]

Also, in the dark side ending, on the Command Deck, instead of facing Bastila, Revan faced Malak's three most powerful Dark Jedi (Each with different robes), Malak promises that the one who delivers the killing blow to Revan will become his new apprentice. Revan and Bastila fought and killed all three of them.

[edit] Legacy
At some point after the Jedi Civil War, Bastila conceived and gave birth to at least one child. Her family line would eventually lead to Satele Shan, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order during the post-Great Galactic War era.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Satele_6-0">[7]

Personality and traits

 * "Bastila was strong, but she was always impatient and headstrong. Malak preyed upon her weaknesses."
 * ―Jolee Bindo [src]

Bastila Shan.Shan possessed many qualities that set her apart from her peers and destined her for greatness, but these same traits and the inexperience of her youth set her down the path that would eventually lead to her fall.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DB_0-6">[1]

Brash, impulsive, and somewhat overconfident (thanks in no small part to the rare gift that was her battle meditation), Shan acted as though she were unstoppable, though she was constantly aware of the responsibility resting on her. Despite the warnings of her masters, Shan continually sought to prove her worth by devoting herself to defeating the Sith.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DB_0-7">[1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-31">[2]

Shan's relations with the Jedi Council and the Jedi Code were complicated. During the Mandalorian Wars, she trusted the Council's wisdom, rejecting Malak's proposal to join the fight—and years later, when the Jedi Civil War was at its culmination, still believed it was the right decision. Nevertheless, she thought the Jedi Masters were self-absorbed and stodgy—not to mention edgy, critical and overly secretive, traits that Revan would note in Bastila herself. Shan thought the Council intended to use the quest for the Star Forge to test her abilities and determine if she was worthy of the rank of Jedi Master—only to discover that she was, in the end, far from it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-32">[2]

Shan tried to follow the Jedi Code as strictly as possible, to the point of expressing even more radical views than some Jedi Masters—she believed that nobody deserved death without a chance of redemption, a belief that would later result in Revan's return to the light side. However, she was not always able to suppress her emotions, and sometimes disregarded the very idea that love should be outlawed among the Jedi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-33">[2]

Seeing Revan, once the Dark Lord of the Sith, climbing up the path of the light apparently without any trouble or internal struggles made her question her own devotion to the Jedi Code, even though she and Revan agreed to prevent each other from diverging from that course—and the development of this self-doubt later played no small part in her eventual downfall to what she feared most: the dark side.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-34">[2]

[edit] Powers and abilities
Shan (as a Sith apprentice) uses Battle meditation to help the Sith fleet.Despite her youth, Shan was skilled in the rare power of battle meditation—through the Force, she could affect the outcome of a battle by thought alone. Through this power, one side was granted strength and a boost to their morale, in addition that side would be granted perfect coordination and the ability to respond instantly and perfectly to the enemy's every change in formation and strategy. These effects caused significant damage to enemy morale and fighting effectiveness thus causing two important shifts in the battle towards the user's favor.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-35">[2]

Shan had a very strong Force Sense and could sense disturbances in the Force such as Darth Malak's presence, although this might have been merely telepathy or an extension of her Force bond with Revan. She could also use Force Stun and was capable of using the Jedi Mind Trick on Hutts, such as Motta.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-36">[2]

During her time as a Sith apprentice, she was capable of using Force powers such as Force Insanity, Force Choke, Force Wave, Force lightning, Force Plague, Force Breach, Drain Life, and Force Stasis Field. From her point of view, she was more powerful than all but a few Jedi Masters, Malak, and of course, Revan himself.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-37">[2]

Additionally, Shan was a skillful duelist, capable of taking on the redeemed Revan, Jolee Bindo, and Juhani atop the Temple of the Ancients and emerging relatively unscathed, albeit defeated.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-38">[2]

[edit] Equipment
Bastila Shan's lightsaberAs a Jedi Sentinel, Shan used a single yellow-bladed lightsaber for a time. After Revan's "death," she exchanged the weapon for a double-bladed lightsaber, although she later lost it. Brejik found it when he salvaged her escape pod, and when Revan killed Brejik during the aftermath of the Taris swoop race, he returned it to Shan. When she became a Sith apprentice, she replaced the yellow crystal inside the lightsaber with a red crystal. However, when the player faces Darth Malak on the Leviathan, he puts her in a Stasis, and the player receives all her items she has equipped when she is captured, including her lightsaber, so Malak may have given her a new saber all together.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-39">[2]

Shan preferred wearing a tight and flexible full-body suit, kept in the color scheme of the traditional Jedi robes; however, she did wear a typical Jedi robe over it at times. As a Sith apprentice, she wore a suit of black Dark Jedi robes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-KotOR_1-40">[2