Ussej Padric Bac

"Redemption comes from the release of self, not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed. One lone candle is enough to fight the darkness. Love is more than a candle. Love is the answer to the darkness. Love can ignite the stars."

- Ussej Padric Bac

Ussej Padric Bac was a Jedi Master and Sith Lord during The Great Territorial War, and a Bendu High Priest and eventual Shaman of the Whills in Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac by Brandon Rhea, as well as its two sequels. In the mind of his creator, he is portrayed by actor Alec Newman.

A Hero Rises
Ussej Padric Bac was born into the prestigious Bac Family of Alderaan twenty-four years before the rise of Empress Viea’s Sith Empire. His father was the honorable, non-corrupted Senator Padric Curtis Bac and his mother, Talia Bac, was a homemaker. Ussej’s grandfather, Curtis Padric Bac, had been an old, freeloading Senator who ushered in a new era of corruption on Alderaan. However, Ussej’s father challenged him for re-election. In a rarely seen father vs. son campaign, the son won out and was able to fix the damage his father had done. However, when he and Talia were visiting Coruscant for a healthcare seminar, they were both killed by a mystery assassin. The case was never solved.

Ussej, having no family left, was taken in by the Jedi Order. During his early years as a Jedi Padawan, the Jedi Council took notice of his potential. For months they believed him to be the “Chosen One” spoken of in an ancient Jedi Prophecy until they found out who his parents were. They soon changed their theory, as the “Chosen One” was to have been born to a virgin mother and Ussej had a father.

Ussej studied for years under Jedi Master Brarh Kefle and became good friends with Damien Nightblade and Remer Ather. Two years before his trials, the Sith attacked the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. To the surprise of many, Ussej survived the battle after taking out numerous Sith militants. The Jedi emerged victorious and Ussej took great pride in himself. He did indeed make Master Kefle proud that day.

When Ussej was twenty-six, he met a woman named Laili Jeyna Rendar. She claimed to be the sister of Jedi Master Kit Corwin Rendar, the man who was now known as Darth Ravinos, Apprentice to the Dark Lordess Viea. After spending the night with Laili, she disappeared and Ussej left to face his trials. After becoming a Jedi Knight, Ussej found Laili facing the wrath of Darth Ravinos on Corellia. After rescuing her, he was able to convince her to learn the ways of the Force on Onderon.

During a training session in the Jedi Enclave on Onderon, Ussej angered Laili enough for her to leave in tears. The next morning, he apologized and professed his love for her. It was there that they became engaged to be married. After taking over a small, abandoned nearby apartment, Ussej and Laili made love and conceived a child.

A Hero Falls
The next morning, Ussej told Laili that he had received a message that he was to meet his old friend, Grandmaster Damien Nightblade, on Kashyyyk and that he would be back in a day or two. When he arrived on Kashyyyk, tensions flew and he and Damien engaged in a violent argument. Believing that Damien was trying to steal Laili away from him, Ussej left in anger. When he returned to Onderon, he and Laili had a huge fight as well which resulted in Ussej leaving. The next morning, Ussej still had not come home so Laili left for another mission. However, she ran into Kit and an old friend, a bounty hunter named Mathias, was forced to save her.

While Laili was gone, Ussej became an advisor to Onderonian Queen Arael EbonClaw. She advised him, however, to apologize to Laili and show her that he truly loved her. Arael believed that a love as strong as Ussej and Laili’s could not be turn apart by a mere fight. When Laili returned, Ussej stood at the starport waiting for her with flowers. As the ship landed, Mathias held Laili in his arms as she had been injured and Ussej believed this to be an act of betrayal on Laili’s part. Laili ran after him but collapsed in pain. Lying in Ussej’s arms, her life signs were fading. He rushed her to the nearby medical center and she was placed into their care.

Damien soon arrived at the medical center and bestowed the rank of Jedi Master upon Ussej. Unsure why he would choose this moment to do so, Ussej questioned Damien’s motives. Before Damien could respond, the doctor revealed to Ussej that Laili was pregnant. Ussej was shocked. When Laili awoke, Ussej told her the good news and she was ecstatic. However, Ussej could not help but wonder if the child was really his.

After spending a few days in the hospital, Ussej and Laili returned to their home and began talking of their future together. Ussej told her that he believed that even if the Galactic Republic was to return to power again it would not last forever, and neither would the Jedi Order. However, he told her that it would most certainly happen in the far future. As he got up to go to bed, Ussej began to turn ghostly white. He collapsed to the floor, and all became white as a vision came to him....

'''It was as if he had been living a dream as he walked through an area completely blanketed in nothing but white. Soon, his surroundings changed to that of a small, medical center. The cries of a young woman could be heard from around a corner. Though her face was a blur, her presence was familiar to him. Turning the corner, he could see the pregnant figure of the young woman lying on a delivery table. A man, apparently a Jedi Knight though his face was a blur to him, stood over her. The young woman cried out in terrible pain while a nurse droid stood at the end of the table. With one final scream, the young pregnant beauty delivered a child.'''

'''Though he was still in the same area, the circumstances had changed. As the labor moved into delivery and the child was born, the young beauty had grown increasingly weak. She looked up to the Jedi Knight, and all that could be heard was “There is good in him....” The woman fell limp, succumbing to death.'''

Ussej passed out in a cold sweat and almost fell into shock. Soon, he quickly awoke and ran outside only to throw up in the streets. He fell against the wall of the apartment, believing the woman in the vision to be Laili. The next morning, Ussej told her that he had to speak with Damien once again on Kashyyyk. Fearing that the Jedi would try to make a move on her while he was away, he brought her to a small moon of an Outer Rim world and dropped her off with enough supplies to last for weeks, should the worst happen.

However, Ussej never traveled to Kashyyyk. He went to Korriban to confront Darth Ravinos, as he knew that he would somehow be behind whatever would happen to Laili. After a heated exchange of words and a brutal fight that injured them both greatly, Ussej conceded. He knew that he had to find out the truth about Laili and Mathias while trying to save her at the same time. He bowed before the Apprentice to the Dark Lordess Viea and was dubbed Darth Mantus, Lord of the Sith. The two Sith Lords left Korriban to find Laili once again on the Outer Rim world. As they were attempting to persuade her to come back with them, Mathias arrived. In his anger, Ussej murdered Mathias and tried to put that part of his life behind him. Using her strong sense of family values against her, Ussej was able to finally convince Laili to come with them. She took his hand and they left together, along with Darth Ravinos.

Three months later, Laili went for a walk in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. In an attempt to anger Darth Ravinos and Darth Mantus, the Grand Admiral Invidius attempted to kill Laili and her unborn child. Mantus was able to save her, but she had lost a great deal of blood and was suffering from heavy premature contractions. Mantus was able to sustain her injuries in his shuttle and took her to Telos where she would be far from the hands of the Grand Admiral. When they landed, Laili received medical attention. It was there that the vision that had plagued him months earlier returned to him.

Mantus and Laili not the only ones who had traveled to Telos. Damien, along with Jedi Master Remer Ather who was a good friend of the former Ussej Padric Bac, followed them to the world and engaged Darth Mantus. Mantus thought it hardly worthy of a challenge and continued the fight, toying with them. Damien was knocked across the room and Mantus faked an injury, allowing him access into Remer’s guard. Remer fell to the ground and died soon after. Realizing that his effort’s had been futile, Damien fled the medical center and Mantus went back to check on Laili.

A Hero Returns
Mantus trained heavily with Darth Ravinos in the following months until the day that he received a message from the medical center on Telos that Laili had been taken to the medical center after going into labor. He rushed back to find that she was ready to deliver the baby. After a painful labor and an even more painful delivery, Laili gave birth to their son whom they named Ussej Padric Bac II, although Mantus was hesitant about giving his son the name of his former life. Just days after the delivery of their child, Mantus and Laili became husband and wife.

One year later, the Macabre Alliance of Sith Lords attacked Korriban itself. Invidius would fight no one other than Mantus and the two engaged in a brutal duel of destruction and mayhem. After almost killing them both, Invidius fled and prepared to make his final assault against the Sith Empire. Mantus returned to Laili, where she sensed something in him had changed. Through Laili’s love and for the sake of his child, Ussej Padric Bac returned and was able to redeem Kit Corwin Rendar. The two traveled to Coruscant where they engaged Empress Viea, slaying her. With her death, her Sith Empire fell with her. Soon after, the Macabre Alliance attacked Coruscant. Darth Apocalus and Darth Invidius stormed the throne, hoping to kill the Empress, but engaged Ussej and Kit when they saw that Viea was no more. However, Ussej and Kit were forced to flee when they realized that they could not win. As they were leaving, a Jedi led-Republic army stormed the area. Ussej quickly met up with his old friend, Damien Nightblade, and explained to him the situation. Though hesitant, Damien thanked his old friend for almost sacrificing his life, as well as being a true friend for over twenty years. As Damien rushed into battle, Ussej and Kit left Coruscant. They never saw each other again. Ussej and Kit quickly picked up Laili and Ussej II on Telos and began a long journey towards the Unknown Regions.

Months after the new Sith Empire rose to power on Korriban, the group of escapees was picked up by a ship in the Unknown Regions. Fearing for their lives, Ussej and Kit prepared for a fight. However, the unknown people were not attackers: they were rescuers. The people introduced themselves as Bendu Knights, part of the Bendu Order. They had been on an exploration mission in the area. The Bendu explained their philosophies and Ussej and Kit were stunned to learn that the Bendu had once been part of the Jedi Order. Normally, the Bendu would not allow outsiders to become part of their order but they believed Ussej to be the one spoken of in an ancient Bendu Prophecy, so they made an exception for them.

A Hero's Destiny
The journey to Kal’Shabbol took three months, but it was well worth it. Laili received Bendu training, but she decided not to become an active Bendu Knight so she could raise Ussej II. She and Ussej had another child, a girl named Talia, but the child died of a leukemia-like disease on her eighth birthday.

It wasn’t long before Ussej and Kit became Bendu Priests, traveling throughout the villages to conduct sermons and such. Ussej II became a Knight on his eighteenth birthday, which was one of Ussej and Laili’s proudest moments. Ten years later, Ussej and Kit were appointed to the Council of Priests and, after the deaths of the two High Priests to old age, Ussej and Kit took over the roles.

On the fortieth anniversary of their arrival on Kal’Shabbol, a terrible storm began ravaging the area surrounding the Bendu Temple of Light and the Ashlan Mountains. During the storm, Ussej II’s wife Bara went into labor. After hours of despair, Ussej realized that the storm was meant for him. He climbed to the Holy Ridge atop the Ashlan Mountains and sacrificed himself to save his family and friends. At the same moment of Ussej’s supposed death, Bara gave birth to a baby boy. This joyous event was marked by sadness as Laili, Kit and Ussej II were devastated by the loss of a father, a husband and a friend but they soon came to terms with his sacrifice. At that moment, Ussej II decreed that all first born males in the Bac family would carry the name of his father, so he and Bara named their son Ussej Padric Bac III.

There are still many who believe that Ussej Padric Bac did not die that day. They believe that he now dwells within the light of the Ashlan Nebula with the Whills on Ashlan Four. The believers say that he is now telling the story of the Great War so that the Whills can record it within the Journal of the Whills. Some believe that Ussej Padric Bac will show himself again someday. One wise man prophesied that he shall return with The Skywalker when the Chosen One brings balance to the Force. The Bendu have dismissed this as just wishful thinking, but some...including the Bac Family...believe that the prophesier could in fact be right....

Ussej did indeed dwell within the light of the Ashlan Nebula, and he did tell the story of The Great Territorial War to be recorded into the Journal of the Whills. But, he was not all that he had seemed. He was no longer living, yet he was not dead. He no longer had his elderly body, but instead the body of his youth from when he was in his prime had been returned to him. Should he have materialized on Ashlan Four, his body would look the same as any other persons. But, should he materialize on any other world he was simply a shimmering, blue-tinted spirit of what once was.

Ussej eventually realized that his eternal life was granted through the compassion and selflessness he demonstrated by sacrificing himself for Kal’Shabbol during the great storm. The Skywalker spoke to him and told him that the great storm was a test to see if he was ready. It was revealed to him that it was pre-ordained at his birth that he was to be the Shaman of the Whills should he have passed The Skywalker’s tests. Becoming a Jedi Master, turning to the Dark Side, sustaining his relationship with Laili for over forty years, his redemption and his sacrifice were all tests that The Skywalker had put before him and he had passed them all.

The effects of his new state were not all that he had discovered. At the same moment of his realization of what he had become, he discovered the truth about the Force. He knew that the Jedi way had been flawed for years, but on Ashlan Four he discovered that, for the most part, it was flat out wrong. It was not their conservative way of viewing things and their conducting of training that the galaxy needed. It was the Living Force that guided all life. The Living Force, or the Ashla as the Bendu would call it, was what a living being truly needed to believe in to survive without the shadow of the Dark Side falling upon them.

Ussej was not done helping people, however. Forty years after his “death”, a new Dark Lord of the Sith emerged from what was thought to be extinction. After a large disturbance in The Force, Ussej knew that it was time for his grandson, the Bendu High Priest Ussej Padric Bac III, to begin the fulfillment of the destiny that had been pre-ordained at his birth so he ripped him through time and space to Kal’Shabbol. It was there that they spoke of destinies and how it was up to Ussej III to put aside his prejudices held against the Jedi and seek out the Jedi Council to help in the fight against the Dark Lord of the Sith in order to prevent the galaxy from being thrust into turmoil. Ussej III agreed and the Bendu Order left Kal’Shabbol. Unbeknownst to the High Priest Bac III, this journey was the beginning of his tests that The Skywalker and Ussej had laid out for him.

The next three and a half millennia seemed like mere minutes to him. After being killed on Naboo by the Dark Apprentice of the Sith, a powerful Jedi Master named Qui-Gon Jinn appeared before him. Being a believer of the true way of the Living Force, Qui-Gon was able to decipher what the knowledge of eternal life meant and was granted the ability to do so. However, because he had to teach it to others, his abilities had to be limited to appearing only as a disembodied voice. Ussej then instructed him to teach the ability to those who needed it the most: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, the soul-surviving Jedi Masters after The Great Jedi Purge. However, they were able to return as a spirit much like Ussej had been able to because they were not charged with the responsibility of passing on the knowledge.

Ussej eventually met both of them on Ashlan Four, where they all appeared as their younger, more youthful selves. It was only a matter of days after Yoda’s arrival that the Chosen One named Anakin Skywalker fulfilled his destiny and destroyed the Sith Order forever. Because of the nature of his destiny and the circumstances surrounding his death, Ussej and the others were able to combine their powers to rip Anakin’s soul to Ashlan Four where he too appeared as his younger self. Questioning what had just happened, Ussej revealed to Anakin that they had granted him eternal life. That was not all that was revealed. Ussej told them that, should they wish to, their bodies could appear as they did at any point throughout their lives at any given time if they so chose. That night, Obi-Wan and Yoda chose to appear as they did at death when they appeared before Luke Skywalker, but when Anakin materialized before him he kept his youthful features. His son had always wanted to know the young Jedi Knight that was his father, so Anakin felt that Luke deserved to see who that man was.

As Luke turned away with his beloved sister, Ussej and Qui-Gon materialized and stood next to the other three Jedi as they watched the Alliance to Restore the Republic celebrate the fall of the Galactic Empire. Ussej took pride in the fact that he was able to help in the completion of an epic story of love and loss, courage and sacrifice, brotherhood and betrayal and the birth of dreams. But, as was the way of life, he knew that with this ending a new story was about to begin.