Arek Saris

"Who? Saris? He'll be caught or worse for sure, and we'll be exposed. We are not yet ready."

- Darth Massikus discussing.

 was a Shadow Assassin who lived in the Umbaran Sith Temple. He was the apprentice of Varad Zagg, the head of the Temple, and as such was effectively the second-in-command. Saris was crucial to the Shadow Conflict and the ultimate downfall of the Shadow Assassins. He captured Antimatter Squadron while in hiding on Felucia (LOTF, and lead them, along with Ganner Slarwalker, to Mandalore (LOTF), where they discovered Saris' recruitment of the Force-sensitive mercenary Xux. Ultimately, Saris perished alongside his master in a successful last-ditch effort to allow Xux time to escape during the Eclipse of Umbara.

Early history
Little is known about Saris' upbringing, but he was the prodigal apprentice of Varad Zagg and took Siri Tokolighter as his own apprentice. Some time, prior to the Felucia Jailbreak, he inserted Siri as a mole in Antimatter Squadron, a position she would hold for some time during the Shadow Conflict.

Into the Shadow Conflict
Saris was present when Ganner, Yula Ardinn, Bail Malakath, and Tyrral Thraxton discovered the Umbaran Sith Temple, and battled Ganner as he bought time for his friends to escape. After Darth Massikus was bound to Ganner and began to pursue the rest of the, Saris was by his Master sent to spy on Massikus and eliminate him if any opportunity to do so arose.

Saris would find such an opportunity on Dantooine, where an ever-weakening Massikus would force Yula, the lone survivor of his hunt, to fight him in the ruins of an ancient temple. However, Saris arrived sooner than he anticipated, and found himself combating Yula until Massikus arrived. They clashed without either side ganing a definite advantage until Massikus entered; he then took over, almost ignoring Saris at first and saving his chastising for later. Massikus easily defeated Yula, but Ganner began resisting Massikus from within, giving him a moment of hesitation Saris used to strike Massikus down. Just as he stabbed Massikus from behind, Galen Slarwalker appeared and engaged Saris in a brief duel, during which Yula made her escape. Galen easily incapacitated Saris and threw him threw the Temple's ceiling with the Force. Saris lived, presumed Massikus to be dead, and would move on to Felucia to reunite with his apprentice.

Saris infiltrated a Separatist base on the planet, assassinating the general there and reprogramming all the droids to believe that he was the general. When Antimatter Squadron attacked the base, Saris easily captured all of them, save for Hans Novastar, who escaped. Hans would encounter Ganner, who was now pursuing Saris, and team up with him to break out the prisoners. Saris saw that he was at a disadvantage, and chose to retreat, biding his and Siri's time to strike at Ganner while moving on to a new mission.

The Mandalore Operation
Saris made his way to Mandalore, but on the way there, was stopped by an early Republic prototye of an Interdictor cruiser. When he was captured, he declared himself to now be Darth Maricus and slaughtered everyone on board but Dylan Antiunknown, who was hiding. Ganner and Antimatter Squadron quickly followed, but Saris managed to escape by taking Siri 'hostage'. The group got a lead on Saris' plans from Dylan, and then went to Mandalore to stop him.

Saris sprang his trap while Ganner tracked him down and spied on his dealings with Pre Vizsla concerning the Force-sensitive Mandalorian Xux. Saris then battled Ganner, and was nearly killed but saved by Siri, who mortally wounded Ganner and retreated with her Master.

Eclipse of Umbara
Upon returning to Umbara, Saris was chastised by his Master for his near-failure in handling Ganner while Talzin (LOTF) resurrected Massikus into Yula's body. Saris, in turn, chastised Siri for the same thing (despite it not really being her fault) and sent her to train with Umbaran training droids while he watched Xux participate in a gladiatorial match to prove his worth. After the match was over, Ganner arrived over Umbara, bringing his newfound allies in The Brotherhood with him. Varad, testing Saris, asked him for tactical advice as the enemy forces began to land on the Umbaran Airfield. He advised laying a trap, and Varad ordered the Shadow Assassins to do so. Afterwards, Saris went and found Siri, readying her to take on Ganner and eventually Varad.

The Shadow Assassins on and near the airfield were eliminated when Varad sliced into Brotherhood communications and tricked Dylan into activating Eclipse Protocol, taking out a large portion of the forces of both sides. Changing his strategy, Saris sent Siri ahead with a front line of defenders of the entrance to the Sith Temple and retreated further with Varad to prepare to fight for time for Xux to escape. Ganner, now at the peak of his power, tore through the Temple's defenses leaving no survivors straight to the duo. They battled with the assistance of battle meditation from a group of Assassins, but Ganner ultimately overpowered even their best efforts. During the fight, Ganner raised his weapon as if to execute Varad but suddenly moved and stabbed Saris, who had raced towards Ganner to save his Master. He quickly began to die, but with his last words he mocked Ganner, telling him that Massikus had already escaped. Varad was quickly dispatched afterwards, but their deaths were not totally in vain; Xux escaped to Korriban (LOTF), where he would duel Ganner later.

Legacy
Saris' remains would later be discovered during an Imperial investigation of the Eclipse of Umbara. His and Varad's journals would prompt the Emperor to assign Decien the task of uncovering the secret of the Binding.

Personality and traits
Despite being the apprentice of the head of the Shadow Assassins, Saris was mostly looked down upon and seen as incapable. In contrast, Saris himself was very arrogant and ambitious, always seeking an advantage over his peers. In truth, Saris did indeed make significant blunders in never executing Ganner when he had the chance, but he was fast-thinking and hard to catch, and his insertion of Siri into Antimatter Squadron proceeded flawlessly. Saris expressed his desire to kill his Master to Siri, but ultimately died fighting loyally by Varad's side.

Powers and abilities
Maricus was decently powerful, fighting Jedi Master Yula Ardinn without gaining or losing an edge, though he would lose to both Galen and Ganner Slarwalker later on. However, many in the Temple (even Talzin) held him in contempt and did not consider him to be a skilled assassin.

Behind the scenes
Saris has always been part of the story of Ganner Slarwalker, appearing in the first draft immediately as Darth Maricus. Originally, he was to be the main antagonist, and would survive the Eclipse of Umbara and later slay Ganner on Carlac instead of Darth Massikus. He would survive the battle but go on to be killed by Antimatter Squadron in a sequel that would conclude the duology. Eventually, that plan was abandoned, but Maricus remained the main antagonist of the second draft for most of the story, until his death on Umbara. Finally, in the third draft, Maricus was renamed to Arek Saris and shared his role as primary antagonist with Darth Massikus.

Saris is one of the three characters to appear in each installment of Act One, along with Ganner and Dylan.

Appearances

 * LOTF: Ganner Slarwalker
 * LOTF: Dark Matter
 * LOTF: The Hunted
 * LOTF: Resurgence