Ben Skywalker (Jetiise Vode)

Ben Skywalker, the son of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker and the brother of Owen Skywalker, was a Jedi Knight of the New Jedi Order. He was apprenticed first to his father, and later his cousin, Jacen Solo. When Ben was a teenager, the Dark Jedi Kueller attacked the Jedi Academy, resulting in the apparent death of Jacen Solo. Because of this, Luke went into a self-imposed exile.

Ben was eventually knighted by Kam Solusar, and he became a Jedi Ranger&mdash;a Jedi who wanders the galaxy to right smaller wrongs. Ben was eventually contacted by his father, who said there was darkness in the Unknown Regions. After a brief scuffle on Tatooine, Ben and his family journeyed into the Unknown Regions, where they discovered that Jacen was still alive and was leading an order of secret Jedi. However, the order was, in part, secretly led by Jacen's second-in-command, Brisha, who was the leader of the Reborn Sith Order. One of the Sith, Ahli Keros, dueled Ben, and he defeated her, although she managed to survive and flee. Jacen killed Brisha, and the Jedi returned to Yavin IV.

Early childhood
Ben was born in 10 BBY to Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker. Ben was raised on Coruscant in his early years, both by his parents and his aunt, Leia Organa Solo. He was good friends with his cousins, Jacen and Jaina. Ben developed his Force sensitivity at an early age.

Training
At age five, Ben's father began training him to use his Force abilities, after he accidentally knocked over several cabinets in his bedroom with the Force. Luke was impressed with Ben's advancement in the Force, though he took the training slow.

Shortly thereafter, Ben's mother conceived a second child. The child, a boy, was born, and named Owen. Ben and Owen grew close and had a brotherly bond similar to that of Luke and Leia's.

Ben's training continued after Owen's birth, and at age ten&mdash;when Owen was five&mdash;Ben was officially accepted as his father's apprentice. He began training with a practice lightsaber, and quickly advanced his physical skills. He also trained with his cousin, Jacen, who was three years older than he.

Attack on the Jedi
When Ben was eighteen years old, the Jedi Academy was attacked by Kueller, one of Luke Skywalker's first apprentices. Jacen, Jaina, and Ben were given command of the frontline defense. Kueller's armies landed on Yavin IV, but were pushed back by the Jedi.

Jacen then led the forces to Kueller's flagship. During the battle, Jacen was struck down by Kueller, but this bought time for the others to sabotage the ship. The resulting destruction killed Kueller and most of his forces, and the remainder of the fleet retreated. Ben and Jaina returned to Yavin IV, mortified by Jacen's death. The Skywalker and Solo families were left grief-stricken in the aftermath of the incident. This led Luke to go on a personal hermitage, away from the Jedi.

Jedi Knight
On his twenty-first birthday, Ben was knighted by acting Grand Master Kam Solusar. Ben left the Jedi Academy and became a Jedi Ranger&mdash;a Jedi known for roaming the galaxy and righting small wrongs, rather than focusing on the big picture. Ben traveled the Outer Rim and assisted the New Republic Army, as well as local militias, in putting down criminal and terrorist organizations.

Over the years, Ben returned to his family on Yavin IV. Mara had taken a young man by the name of Damien Farrell as her apprentice. Damien and Jaina had struck up a friendship, and were quite close. Ben's brother, Owen, had left the Academy and worked with Mara's old friend, Talon Karrde.

Eventually, Ben began to serve with his uncle, Han Solo, on his ship, Retaliation. During this time, they began to find evidence of resurgent Imperial extremists, though Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon insisted that none of his people were behind it.

A New Journey Begins
When Ben was twenty-five, he was suddenly contacted by his father, who had been on his hermitage for so long. He said that he had seen visions of a rising danger in the Unknown Regions. Ben immediately contacted his mother and, along with Jaina and Damien, they took the Retaliation to meet with Luke. The ship then headed for the Unknown Regions. However, the hyperdrive mysteriously malfunction during the trip, and Han suspected sabotage.

The breakdown was near the planet Tatooine, so the five Jedi aboard took their X-wings and went on ahead to Tatooine to contact the New Republic for aid. When they arrived, Luke and Mara went to look for help, while Ben, Jaina, and Damien explored Mos Espa. As they did, they were approached by a man in ratty clothes, who snatched Ben's lightsaber and ignited it. Mandalorians descended on jetpacks and surrounded them. In the ensuing fight, Ben retook his lightsaber, but the man who had taken it fled. Jaina pursued him into the desert, while Ben and Damien finished off the Mandalorians.

When the fight was over, they had captured one Mandalorian alive, though the first attacker&mdash;who had named himself Etera Fett, son of Boba Fett&mdash;had escaped. Luke and Mara had managed to get a hold of the New Republic, who commissioned a replacement hyperdrive to be sent to Tatooine. While they waited aboard the Retaliation, Ben interrogated the Mandalorian, who was unable to reveal anything behind Fett's motives.

Darkness in the Unknown
The Retaliation was eventually repaired, and they set out again for the Unknown Regions. When they arrived, they were attacked by a squadron of TIE Defenders. The Jedi, along with Rogue Squadron, launched and repelled the attackers. Han contacted Admiral Gilad Pellaeon of the Empire, who was unable to explain the TIE Defenders' presence in the Unknown Regions. He promised to send reinforcements to find out what was going on.

The Jedi traced the Defenders to an unknown world, where they found a temple built on a superstructure in the ocean. Luke and Mara, along with Ben, Jaina, and Damien, went down to investigate. They landed at the temple and two acolytes met them. They told them their master was eager to meet them. One of the acolytes led them to a private chamber. There, in the chamber, the acolyte removed his facial wraps&mdash;and revealed himself to be Jacen Solo.

Battle with Dark Jedi
Ben was cautious at first, though thrilled to see his cousin alive. Jacen had created a Jedi Order that would keep watch for returning darkness. Ben and Damien toured the temple together and were in the library. While there, Ben met a young woman named Ahli Keros. The two got along well, and she showed him around the library. However, she was secretly a member of the Reborn Sith Order, and she revealed herself after getting a signal from her master.

She and Ben dueled in the library, and other members of Jacen's Jedi who had secretly been serving the dark side all along turned on their comrades. At the same time, Etera Fett's Mandalorians revealed themselves and battled the Jedi. Ben, along with his mother, managed to fight off Ahli. The dark Jedi retreaded from the temple, but they captured Jacen alive and took him away. Ben and the others took to their starfighters and tried to chase down the dark Jedi, but they escaped.

Defeating Brisha
Ben and the others eventually tracked down Brisha and battled them in a snowy forest. However, Brisha had warped Jacen's mind and he fought on her side. Ben fought Ahli Keros and, after a fierce fight, destroyed both of her lightsabers. Meanwhile, Mara and Luke together managed to talk sense into Jacen, and he realized Brisha was lying to him. Turning on her, he killed her. However, Ahli Keros managed to escape.

During the battle, Damien had been injured and Vezragh, Leia's Noghri bodyguard, killed. When the battle was over, the Jedi returned to Jacen's temple and rounded up those Jedi that were still loyal to him. They began ferrying them to Yavin IV on the Retaliation.

Return to Yavin IV
After several days, the Retaliation finally returned to Yavin IV with Ben and the remaining Jedi. Ben was greeted by his friends Raynar, Tenel Ka, Tahiri, and Zekk. Ben explained to them Jacen's survival, and they rushed over to see their long thought-dead friend.

Several weeks passed, during which Tahiri became close to Aren Lical, one of Jacen's Jedi. Ben and the others began helping the Unknown Regions Jedi settle in and get Masters. Meanwhile, Luke had been preparing to set out once again, hoping to stop the remaining members of the Reborn Sith Order before they could recuperate. He and Mara contacted Owen, whom Luke believed would be closely tied with the fate of the Sith. Owen told them he'd come to Yavin IV after a brief mission. Not willing to wait, Luke and Mara set out to track the Sith. Ben insisted on coming with them, and they headed for Moraband.

The Sith Return
On Moraband, the three Skywalkers rushed into a tomb where they sensed a disturbance. Inside, they found Owen facing down Ahli Keros and a tall man. Owen's fellow mercenaries, the Red Sabers, had turned on him. Luke lunged at the tall man, who identified himself as Darth Ruin and proceeded to easily Force-hurled him into a sarcophagus in the tomb, and he, Keros, and the Red Sabers departed through a back hatch.

Ben and Mara helped Owen and Luke back to the Jade Sabre, and they tracked the Red Sabers' ship. Ben boarded his X-wing and fired on the ship, but it made it to hyperspace. Ben docked his fighter with the Sabre and they tracked the Sith ship to an abandoned space station. They sensed many Sith gathering and realized an attack was imminent.

Defending Yavin IV
The Skywalkers quickly returned to Yavin IV, but they were too late&mdash;the Sith had already arrived and attacked the moon. The Retaliation was defending the planet from orbit, but many Sith and mercenaries had landed and were assaulting the praxeum. Ben once again boarded his X-wing and cut through the mercenaries' starfighters. He landed on the planet and rushed inside the praxeum, fighting off Sith to protect several injured Jedi. During the fighting, Ben was cut off from the other Jedi, and he was herded into a dead-end hallway by a Sith woman. She knocked him out and took him prisoner.

Ben awoke after the battle. Many of the Jedi had retreated, and others had been captured or stranded on Yavin IV. Darth Ruin made a call to Luke, who had been one of the escapees, and demanded that he surrender within forty-eight hours, or he would begin executing Jedi. To make his point, he stabbed Ben in the back, leaving him lying dead in front of the holographic image of his father. However, Ruin had been studying the holocron of Darth Plagueis, and after ending the transmission, he revived Ben and sent him down to the cells.

Captivity
Ben was kept in the Praxeum's cells for weeks after. He was brought to Jacen's cell by Darth Ruin when the Sith Lord showed Jacen the power to bring others back to life. Ruin said that he was dying, and wanted Jacen to ensure that he survived. He brought in Damien, as well, and killed the young man before Ben and Jacen. He then proceeded to bring him back to life, as he had Ben. He then had Ben returned to his cell while he talked to Jacen.

The young Jedi tried to find a way to escape his cell, but discovered that there were ysalamiri nearby keeping him from using the Force. However, one of the stones in the wall was loose, and he managed to pry it free. On the other side of the wall was another cell, inhabited by Jacob Nion, another Jedi. Ben and Jacob agreed to escape together as soon as possible.

Escape
After several more weeks of planning, they made their move. When a guard brought Ben his food, Ben jumped the guard, knocked him out, and took his keys. He freed Jacob, took the guard's blaster, and together the two of them freed the rest of the captive Jedi. One of the guards, Ahli Keros, agreed to leave with Ben and Jacob; she had been killed by Ben's brother Owen during the battle, and Ruin had revived her, but punished her by making her a cell guard. Ben agreed, and left Ahli under careful guard.

When they reached Jacen's cell, however, the Sith Judicar was waiting. Ben told Jacob to take the other Jedi out, and that he would deal with Judicar. Judicar wore Ben's lightsaber on his belt, so Ben was forced to initially fight him unarmed. Once he got Judicar out of range of the ysalamiri bubble, he Force-pulled his lightsaber to him and dueled the Sith. After a grueling fight, Ben killed Judicar. He then opened the last cell, and was surprised to find his father inside.

After a joyful reunion, Ben and Luke rushed to the hangar and met up with the other Jedi, along with Kameron Antilles and the rest of Wraith Squadron, who had come to Yavin IV to free the Jedi. They escaped together and went to Nar Shaddaa, where Ben's mother, brother, and the other escaped Jedi had made a base.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Fragile Peace
 * Star Wars: Restoration of Darkness
 * Star Wars: Masters of the Force