Tom Norton

Thomas Norton, more often known simply as Tom Norton, was a Human male Jedi Padawan during the. He had known fellow Padawan Ahsoka Tano since he was five and she was four, and was her closest friend. Tom became the Padawan of Carmen Conrose, before the latter's death at the hands of Sora Bulq. Tom then became the second Padawan of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He eventually entered a romantic relationship with Ahsoka.

Childhood
"Hello, I'm Thomas Norton from planet Bespin."

- Tom introduces himself to Ahsoka

Tom Norton was born in Cloud City on Bespin and was discovered by Jedi Master Adi Gallia while he was a young boy. When he was discovered Tom was old enough to be close to his parents and had one or two vague memories of them. Sensing his strong Force connection, Master Gallia brought the little boy to the Jedi Temple to be raised as a Jedi. At five years old he met Ahsoka Tano who became his best friend. They got up to mischief together and sometimes got in trouble during their training. One notable occasion was when they slipped Whoopee cushions onto every Jedi Council Members seat. Most of the Council was furious but Plo Koon thought it was amusing though he warned Tom and Ahsoka that he wouldn't be so playful if they did it again. Whoopee cushions were banned from the Jedi Temple after that.

Tom and Ahsoka were almost inseparable and they liked to train and spend time in the library and occasionally went swimming in the room of a thousand fountains. Tom also became close friends with Plo Koon through his friendship with Ahsoka. Tom's friendly feelings towards Ahsoka eventually evolved into a crush and he considered her very attractive despite being a different species.

During his childhood Tom developed a rivalry with a boy called Abron Stryfe and lost to him in his first fighting tournament when he was twelve before beating him in his second the year after and winning the third. After winning his third tournament Tom became a Jedi Padawan.

First mission
Tom was assigned to a green skinned Twi'lek Jedi Knight named Carmen Conrose, who had been the only Padawan of Saesee Tiin. He, his new Master and Jedi Master Sora Bulq (who ironically would become the very person who was responsible for Carmen's death) were sent to the planet Ryloth to rescue Senator Orn Free Taa from a group of criminals. On Ryloth they met Cham Syndulla who led them to the canyon where Taa was being held prisoner. The three Jedi and their guide found a large cave which would eventually become Cham's headquarters during the clone wars, and were surrounded by a large group of blaster wielding criminals.

The leader of the criminals, who looked almost identical to Orn Free Taa, except thinner told the Jedi that he intended to replace Taa in the Senate and become the successor of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. It turned out that the criminals were not interested in a ransom. The leader also offered them a chance to play along with the scheme. Tom, Bulq, Conrose and Syndulla fought the criminals and Tom felt slightly disturbed about harming living beings, especially when he saw Sora using Vaapad to kill most of them. They defeated the criminals and the leader agreed to hand over Orn Free Taa. Carmen meanwhile set about healing the criminals with the Force. Then the group handed the criminals that hadn't been killed by Sora's Vaapad frenzy over to the Ryloth authorities. Tom, proud about the success of his first mission, was looking forward to telling Ahsoka what had happened though he still felt a little uncomfortable about Sora's massacre.

Visit to Korriban
At some point before the Clone Wars Tom and Carmen were forced to land on Korriban on their way back from a mission because of a malfunction in the hyperdrive. While Carmen fixed the hyperdrive Tom went exploring. The Padawan accidentally stumbled upon the Valley of the Dark Lords, an ancient burial ground for dead Sith Lords. Tom sensed the dark side of the Force in the valley and, unsure what he was up against, he debated about whether to go in or not. He eventually decided not to go in and returned to his Master, asking her about the valley. Carmen told him a little about the Valley of the Dark Lords which she had read about as a youngling.

Battle of Geonosis
Four months after his first mission Tom and Carmen were sent on a negotiation mission on Demos 4. The mission was successful but the two of them had barely gotten back to the temple when they set out again, along with over two hundred other Jedi to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padme Armidala from Count Dooku on Geonosis.

Tom and Carmen fought bravely in the arena and Tom managed to kill the fearsome Ackley during the battle. Shortly before the end to the battle in the arena Tom was temporarily distracted by Jango Fett's helmeted head shooting past him and received a wound to the shoulder. Despite the wound Tom was one of the few survivors though his old rival Abron Stryfe was cut down in the battle. Tom had never been fond of Stryfe and they got on rather badly as younglings but even so the Padawan was slightly upset by his death.

Tom wanted Ahsoka to be his last thought when the droids finished him off but then Master Yoda arrived with clone reinforcements and all the Jedi in the survivors circle, with the unfortunate exception of, managed to get into a gunship and flee the arena. Tom and the other surviving Jedi fought alongside the clones against the Separatist droids. The battle was ultimately a victory for the Republic.

What Tom did in the next year of the war is currently unknown.

Beginning of the seige
"I'm an...okay pilot."

- Tom being slightly doubtful about his flying skills

Approximately a year after the beginning of the Clone Wars, during the beginning of the Battle of Falleen, Tom was sent along with Barriss Offee to take down a Separatist blockade with a squad of and another squad of. Carmen and Luminara Unduli planned to bring the cruisers out of hyperspace as soon as someone in either squadron activated their tracking beacon. That way the cruisers wouldn't be a target until later in the battle and they might not lose as many men.

During the space battle Tom was chased by a vulture droids missiles but Barriss used the Force to move the missiles into an enemy cruiser, saving Tom in the process. Tom managed to keep his ship in one piece long enough for Barriss to call reinforcements as planned. However, though Tom was, in his own words, "An okay pilot" he was shot in the wing. Barriss used the Force to guide his ship back into one of the Republic cruisers, saving his life for the second time within half an hour and Tom felt that he'd made a new friend. Barriss and Tom became closer during the siege.

Carmen's death
"Padawan...Let her go"

- Luminara Unduli to Tom Norton after Carmen dies

A month after the beginning of the siege Tom and Carmen fought on the outskirts of a forest. Luminara and Barriss had promised to help Carmen and Tom as soon as they could. Tom and Carmen were lured away from the main battle by a cloaked figure who revealed himself to be Sora Bulq. The three of the dueled in a forest but even together Tom and Carmen were unable to overcome the Dark Jedi who stabbed Carmen in the chest. Tom attacked in a fit of rage, wielding Carmen's lightsaber along with his own, but was no match for the Weequay who quickly sliced Carmen's lightsaber in half and knocked Tom's lightsaber out of his hands. Tom would have been killed if Luminara and Barriss hadn't arrived and forced Bulq to retreat. While the two mirialans duelled with the Dark Acolyte, Tom crawled to his dying masters side and had a short talk with her before she passed away. Tom was devastated by Carmen's death.

After winning the battle Tom had a nightmare about Carmen's death and was comforted by Barriss.

Reunion with Ahsoka
After winning the battle of Falleen Tom was sent back to the Jedi Temple to be assigned to a new Master. In the Jedi Council chamber Tom was assigned to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo Koon told him that another Padawan was going with him but he didn't tell him who the Padawan was.

When Tom got onto the ship that would take him to Christophsis he was delighted to find that his companion was Ahsoka. Tom temporarily forgot about Carmen's death in his happiness to see his old friend as he hadn't seen her often since becoming a Padawan and they went to Christophsis together to meet their new masters.

Battle of Christophsis
When Tom and Ahsoka arrived on Christophsis they met Anakin, Obi-Wan and CC-7567, more often known as Rex. The two Padawan's informed them that Master Yoda wanted them to return to the Jedi Temple but since the droids had trapped them on the planet they couldn't go anywhere. The four Jedi successfully managed to contact Yoda and managed to tell him about their predicament just before the hologram shut off.

After contacting Yoda, Obi-Wan introduced himself and the rather moody Anakin, properly. When Anakin blurted that he didn't want a Padawan, Tom glared at him before telling Obi-Wan that he would be his Padawan and Ahsoka would be Anakins.

Ahsoka and Anakin visited Rex at a lookout post and Ahsoka called Anakin "Skyguy" for the first time before Rex pointed out an incoming energy shield. Tom, Obi-Wan and R2-D2 joined them and Obi-Wan told Anakin and Ahsoka to go inside the rayshield and destroy the generator while he, Tom and the clones distracted the droids. After Ahsoka and Anakin left, Obi-Wan ordered his clones to try and blast their way through the shield with their large cannons but they had no effect. Meanwhile Tom was brooding quietly on his lost Master and perhaps worrying that Ahsoka might die too during the war. Obi-Wan noticed that he was upset and asked what was wrong but Tom said he'd tell him later.

The Jedi and clones waited until the energy shield past over them and Rex noted that they wouldn't be able to stop the droids so Obi-Wan ordered him and his troops to protect them while he and Tom delayed the droids. The droids surrounded them and General arrived in his tank. Tom was astonished when Obi-Wan surrendered but the Jedi Master mouthed at him to do the same. The droids took their lightsabers and Obi-Wan distracted Loathsome by negotiating with him. Tom was amazed at his calm demeanor and was even more astonished when he requested refreshments.

When Loathsome realised they were merely stalling he threatened that he would kill them both unless they called off their troops. Obi-Wan and Tom freed themselves from the droids and took Loathsome hostage in order to stop the droids from shooting them. Meanwhile Anakin and Ahsoka destroyed the generator allowing the clones cannons to finish off the droids.

Tom, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Anakin then met up with Yoda who assigned Tom and Obi-Wan to negotiate with Jabba the Hutt while Anakin and Ahsoka went to rescue Jabba's son, Rotta.

Negotiations with Jabba the Hutt
On the way to Tatooine, Tom and Obi-Wan spent the journey talking about their lives. Tom told Obi-Wan about Carmen's death and admitted that he was attached to Ahsoka. Obi-Wan told him that he hoped he wasn't too attached but other than that he did not lecture Tom on the detachment part of the Jedi Code, most likely because he too had attachments. In turn, Obi-Wan told him about the death of Qui-Gon Jinn at the hands of Darth Maul, to show that he understood the pain Tom was going through from losing his own Master.

When they arrived on Tatooine, Tom and Obi-Wan began negotiations with Jabba who promised them that he would allow the Republic to use the hyperspace routes in his territories in exchange for the safe return of his son,. Obi-Wan reported this information to Anakin, who was on his way to Teth where Jabba's son had been located, before informing Yoda and Chancellor Palpatine. It was suspected that the kidnapping was a Separatist plot, which aimed to turn Jabba against the Republic.

Battle of Teth
Once their negotiations with Jabba were complete, Obi-Wan and Tom headed to Teth and found Rex and the army heavily outnumbered by battle droids. With Obi-Wan and Tom's reinforcements, the battle was then even again and Kenobi and his padawan went to search for Anakin, R2-D2 and Ahsoka. Unfortunately, they ran into Asajj Ventress whom they battled through the B'omarr Monastery. After a vicious duel, during which Obi-Wan saved Tom from having his head sliced off by Ventress, the Jedi Master disarmed her and she gave up and called for a Vulture droid to rescue her.

Returning to their troops, the two Jedi learned that Skywalker had taken a B-Wing-like ship called the Twilight and had flown to Tatooine where he and Tano had battled Dooku and IG-100 MagnaGuards, before giving Jabba's son back to him. After fending off the droids, Tom, Obi-Wan and Yoda took gunships to pick up Ahsoka and Anakin, and Jabba confirmed passage through his routes.

The Malevolence
For the most part, Tom had little to do with the Malevolence crisis, though he was worried about the disappearance of Plo Koon. He spent most of his time with Obi-Wan during the crisis and wasn't involved in the mission to rescue Plo or the mission to destroy the Malevolence's ion cannons. Claiming that he hadn't had enough adventure and excitement, Tom decided to join Anakin and Obi-Wan on their mission to rescue Padme Armidala, who was taken on board the Malevolence by a tractor beam. Ahsoka went too and the four Jedi infiltrated the Malevolence by docking at one of the emergency airlocks.

They found Padme on the Malevolence's rail jets and Anakin leapt to her rescue. Tom and Ahsoka joined him and Anakin acted affectionately towards Padme causing them to become suspicious. Obi-Wan contacted them through Anakin's comlinc, telling him that he'd gotten separated from his protocol droid C-3PO. Padme told them that the hyperdrive of the Malevolence, which had been damaged during Anakin and Ahsoka's mission to destroy the ion cannons, was almost repaired. Obi-Wan said he would handle the hyperdrive so the three Jedi and Senator headed back towards the Twilight.

On the way there they fought a group of Super Battle droids and Anakin decided to go up to the bridge to reprogram the Malevolence's nava-computer, while Ahsoka and Tom got Padme back to the Twilight. On the way there, the Padawan's destroyed two droideka's and then realised that in all the excitement, they hadn't actually introduced themselves to the Senator. Meanwhile Obi-Wan escaped an encounter with General Grievous, R2-D2 found C-3PO and Anakin reprogrammed the nava-computer to send the Malevolence into a nearby moon. The Jedi, Senator and droids all escaped in the Twilight. General Grievous chased them briefly but decided to flee when he realised the Malevolence's nava-computer was going to send it crashing into the nearby moon.

Battle of Polis Massa
After the Malevolence crisis, Jabba the Hutt's spies told the Republic that the Separatists were planning to attack Polis Massa. Tom and Obi-Wan were sent to deal with them but at first it seemed that the Separatists weren't coming. Why the Separatists were delayed is unknown but they did attack Polis Massa, albeit later than expected, so Tom, Obi-Wan and the clones were forced to engage them in a space battle.

During the battle, Tom's starfighter was shot in the wing, and his astromech droid was destroyed. Tom managed to pilot the starfighter into a hanger but accidentally went into a Separatists hanger rather than a Republic one. Obi-Wan soon joined him and scolded him for flying into an enemy hanger. Tom responded by telling him that he'd had difficulty controlling the aircraft because of the damage it received and that he'd been so desperate to get out of it that he just flew into the nearest hanger, which unfortunately happened to be an enemy hanger.

The two Jedi quickly eliminated the droids in the hanger and called for a gunship to pick them up since both of their ships were damaged. However, they were then confronted by none other than Sora Bulq. As soon as Tom saw the Dark Acolyte he was reminded of Carmen's death. The two Jedi duelled Bulq briefly but then escaped when their gunship arrived to pick them up. Though they were victorious in the battle, Bulq managed to escape in his personal fighter.

After winning the battle Tom and Obi-Wan had a discussion about the anger Tom had displayed during his duel with Bulq. Tom was still mourning the death of his first Master so Obi-Wan once again told him about the time he lost Qui-Gon Jinn and then admitted that he'd fallen in love with. After the discussion Tom and Obi-Wan decided to do some piloting training since that was the second time Tom had been shot down in a space battle.

Mission to Orto Plutonia
Tom and Obi-Wan briefly met up with Anakin, Ahsoka and Padme Amidala on Rodia where Ahsoka separated from them to guard the Separatist viceroy,. Tom, Obi-Wan and Anakin meanwhile were contacted by Yoda who told them that they had to investigate what had happened to a Republic base on Orto Plutonia. Padme lent them her protocol droid, C-3PO thinking that since Orto Plutonia was a largely unexplored planet, only explored by people from the nearby planet Pantora, they might encounter creatures they couldn't communicate with. Her hunch proved correct; on Orto Plutonia, Tom, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Rex and two representatives from Pantora, Chairman and Senator, encountered the native Talz. Chairman Cho thought that the Talz were trespassers and savages and wanted to show them that Orto Plutonia belonged to Pantora. The Jedi tried to reason with him but despite their attempts Cho declared war on the Talz.

Tom was sent along with Rex and the clones to protect the Chairman when he led the assault against the Talz, while Obi-Wan, Anakin and Chuchi spoke to one of Pantora's highest ranking people in an attempt to get Chi Cho to stop his assault against innocent creatures. Meanwhile Tom, the clones and Cho were attacked by the Talz. Tom instinctively killed two Talz in self defence and when the clones retreated with the seriously wounded Cho, he engaged in a brief duel with the leader of the Talz,. He quickly defeated Thi-Sen, but, shaken about the fact that he'd killed two living creatures who were basically innocent, he spared the Talz leader allowing Thi-Sen to make peace with Senator Chuchi after Chairman Cho died from his injury. Tom met up with Obi-Wan and Anakin and spoke to Obi-Wan about the Talz he'd killed. Obi-Wan told him that in war people always got hurt and also said that if he hadn't acted on his instincts he might have had his head torn off by one of the Talz. He helped soothe Tom's troubled conscience.

Battle of Ryloth
Tom later fought during the battle of Ryloth where he and Obi-Wan attacked the city of Nabat where several cannons had been built to prevent Republic cruisers from landing. They discovered that the citizens were being held hostage and on their way to the cannons they were attacked by. Tom was very impressed when Obi-Wan used Animal Friendship on all the Gutkurr's at once and once Obi-Wan had lured them under a bridge, which was brought down by the clones to trap the Gutkurr's, Tom asked his Master to teach him Animal Friendship. Shortly afterwards they met with two scouts, and  who were accompanied by a little girl called  who helped them free the hostages and destroy the cannons. Following the destruction of the cannons, Mace Windu landed his cruisers and congratulated Tom and Obi-Wan.

Tom fought in the Jixuan Desert but Obi-Wan ordered him to report to Master Windu who was preparing to find Cham Syndulla. Because Tom's deceased Master had a history with Syndulla, Mace requested that Tom help negotiate with him. Tom left Obi-Wan to finish the battle in the Jixuan Desert and joined Master Windu. When they met Cham, Tom sadly told him about Carmen's death. The two of them had a talk about her before Cham agreed to help them. Tom fought with Cham during the assault on Lessu and after the battle Cham told him he was a good Jedi. Tom formed a weak Force Bond with the Twi'lek General which was developed from their love for Carmen.

Blue Shadow Virus crisis
During the crisis with the Blue Shadow Virus, Tom accompanied Ahsoka and Pepi Bo to find Dr Nuvo Vindi's laboratory where Padme Armidala and Jar Jar Bink's were being held prisoner. The two Padawan's reported back to Anakin and Obi-Wan who ordered them to create a distraction by setting off an explosion at one of the entrances allowing the adult Jedi and clones to get into the lab. Ahsoka used the Force to maneuvre a thermal detonator onto an entrance and blow it up giving their allies time to get into the lab. Tom and Ahsoka quickly joined the fight.

At first the mission seemed to be a success since Dr Vindi was arrested and the bombs containing the Blue Shadow Virus were disarmed. However one of Vindi's droids managed to get a missing vial of the Blue Shadow Virus into a bomb and blow it up sending the deadly Virus through the facility. Padme and Jar Jar were safe because they were wearing protective suits but Ahsoka, Tom and the clones were forced to flee to a safe room. At first it seemed they weren't going to make it but Tom used the Force to hold open the door and everyone got inside. Unfortunately some of the Virus got in through the door before it closed.

While Tom, Ahsoka and the clones struggled against the effects of the Virus, Padme reported that there were still droids in the facility. Ahsoka pointed out that since they were already infected they might as well try and stop the droids and tried to comfort the others by saying that she believed Anakin and Obi-Wan would find a cure.

They destroyed all the droids in the facility but by the time they were done the Virus was beginning to take its toll. Padme had also been infected because her suit had been breached. Tom was convinced that they were all going to die and when Ahsoka fainted he caught her. Thinking that this might be his last time with her, Tom kissed Ahsoka in front of the clones, Padme and Jar Jar. Ahsoka briefly regained consciousness after he kissed her but then fainted again. When a medical droid arrived with the cure Padme and Jar Jar were the only people who were still conscious and Tom had his arm around Ahsoka while they were unconscious.

Tom and Ahsoka felt awkward around each other for a few days and this was noticed by Plo Koon. Though he had never had a romantic relationship, Plo's friend, Qui-Gon Jinn, had and had told Plo about his feelings for. Plo told Ahsoka that it was not wrong to fall in love and as long as they didn't allow their emotions to control them they could get into a romantic relationship. After her discussion with Plo, Ahsoka and Tom shared another brief kiss in a training room.

Kidnapped by Cad Bane
Shortly after a disastrous battle on Felucia, during which Ahsoka refused to retreat from an overwhelming number of enemies, the young Togruta was assigned to guard the Jedi Temple's library. Tom offered to help her, even though he hadn't disobeyed orders. Tom claimed that he felt like he was being a "teachers pet" due to the fact that Ahsoka was getting in trouble and he wasn't.

The two Padawan's spent most of the day in the library until the Temple was infiltrated by Cad Bane and Cato Parasitti who were there to steal a Jedi Holocron containing a list of Force-sensitive children. Ahsoka defeated and captured Parasitti but after leaving Tom alone in the library, the older Padawan discovered Bane behind a shelf. Tom fought Bane briefly but the bounty hunter managed to shock him into unconsciousness and took him away from the Temple. After a brief conversation with his employer Darth Sidious, Bane travelled to Devaron to collect a kyber crystal from Bolla Ropal, taking Tom with him. He murdered Ropal and took the kyber crystal and then started torturing Tom to get him to open the holocron he'd stolen.

Fortunately Ahsoka, Anakin and Obi-Wan arrived to rescue him. While Obi-Wan, Anakin and their clones went to find Bane, Ahsoka freed Tom and they met up with their masters before engaging Cad Bane and his droids. Because he was tired from the torture, Tom wasn't able to help much but found new energy when he saw Ahsoka chasing after Bane. Knowing how dangerous the bounty hunter was, Tom followed them.

When he caught up with them, Tom found Ahsoka trapped in an airlock and agreed to open the holocron for Bane even though Ahsoka tried to persuade him not to. Bane betrayed them and opened the airlock but Tom, who had been expecting the betrayal, telekinetically summoned his lightsaber and used Force Speed to destroy Bane's droids and almost beheaded Bane himself but the bounty hunter managed to avoid being killed and escaped. Meanwhiler Tom performed a remarkable telekinetic feat by holding Ahsoka beside the button that closed the airlock whilst being sucked at by the vacuum of space. However the effort of performing this feat caused him to loose consciousness. Anakin, who had been held up by a group of Magnaguards, arrived and carried Tom to safety while Ahsoka followed him. All of them managed to escape the ship which was seconds away from exploding but they also accidentally rescued Bane who disguised himself as a clone to get on their shuttle. When they got back to the Resolute, Bane managed to escape in a stolen ship taking the stolen holocron with him.

Search for the children and holocron
After Bane escaped the Jedi returned to Coruscant and through meditation, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu and Yoda managed to get visions of the future. Tom and Obi-Wan were sent to Rodia where they arrived too late to rescue one of the children Bane had been ordered to kidnap. Tom actually leapt onto the front of Bane's ship in an attempt to stop him but was thrown off.

Ahsoka and Anakin however had more luck and managed to capture the Bounty Hunter. Obi-Wan and Mace attempted to get information from Bane but the Duros refused to talk. Obi-Wan, Mace and Anakin used mind tricks to force Bane to take them to he holocron. Afterwards, Bane took Tom, Obi-Wan and Mace to the holocron while Anakin and Ahsoka went to Mustifar to rescue the children. Though the Jedi managed to find both the holocron and the children, Bane managed to escape.

Second battle of Geonosis and aftermath
During the second battle of Geonosis Tom was reunited with Barriss Offee. Ahsoka briefly displayed some jealousy about Tom and Barriss’ relationship but Tom assured her that he only looked on Barriss as a friend. When Ahsoka and Barriss got trapped under the remains of a droid factory when they blew it up, Tom sensed that Ahsoka was in danger even though he was halfway around the planet at the time. He briefly spoke to her telepathically through their Force Bond begging her not to blow up the factory and when she did he demanded that Commander Cody take him to her location going so far as to leave Obi-Wan to fend for himself. When he found out she and Barriss were alright he hugged both of them in front of Luminara Unduli and Anakin Skywalker. Skywalker didn’t mind about his display of affection for the two girls but Unduli was disapproving and Tom was separated from Ahsoka for the remainder of the battle. When Obi-Wan caught up with Tom he was furious with him for putting his attachment to Ahsoka and Barriss before the success of their mission.

Tom joined Obi-Wan and Anakin to rescue Luminara after she was captured by Geonosians where they discovered brain worms that had the ability to bring dead Geonosians to life, albeit without being truly alive. Although Unduli was grateful for the rescue she convinced Obi-Wan not to allow Tom to accompany Ahsoka and Barriss when they took a supply ship to the Ord Cestus medical station. Like Skywalker he was willing to torture Poggle the Lesser to tell them how to save Ahsoka and Barriss from the brain worms that had infiltrated their ship.

Search for Ziro
During the battle of Geonosis, Cad Bane had successfully infiltrated the senate and rescued Ziro the Hutt. As soon as Tom and Obi-Wan returned to the Jedi Temple they were assigned to help Quinlan Vos find Ziro and Bane. Tom relished the opportunity to get even with Bane and immediately took a liking to Vos even though Obi-Wan warned him that Quinlan was “unorthodox”. Quinlan openly admitted to the Padawan that he had been a Separatist agent earlier in the war but assured Tom that he’d had a change of heart.

After searching the Hutt’s homeworld, the three Jedi discovered from Ziro’s mother that he had gone to Teth to fetch a holodiary. When they arrived they found Ziro’s corpse and Cad Bane waiting for them. Bane told them that he had not been responsible for the murder and Obi-Wan and Tom reminded Bane of some of the crimes he’d committed, specifically the murder of Bolla Ropal, Tom and Ahsoka’s painful experiences aboard Bane’s Separatist cruiser, Ahsoka nearly getting sucked out of an airlock and the kidnapping of innocent children as well as the hostage crisis in the Senate. Bane fought all three Jedi at once putting up a remarkably good fight but quickly realised that, although in one on one combat he was a match for even the strongest of Jedi, against three Jedi at once he stood little chance. Bane’s Techno Service Droid, Todo 360 was destroyed when it tried to attack Tom with the lightsaber Bane had stolen from Bolla Ropal. Bane himself wielded the lightsaber against Obi-Wan but was easily defeated by the Jedi Master. Just when it seemed that the Jedi had won however, Bane activated his flamethrower and, moving in a swift circle, attempted to cover the Jedi with a wall of fire as they tried to surround him. They were all forced to take cover behind rocks to avoid being burned to death and Bane fled in his ship. Tom grudgingly admitted that although he hated Bane the Bounty Hunter was definitely a formidable opponent.

Saving the Zillo Beast
When the ferocious Zillo Beast went on a rampage around Coruscant, Tom overheard Master Windu and Master Fisto speaking about exterminating the creature. Having overheard that the Zillo Beast was an innocent life form, Tom decided to intervene. He found Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda, Aayla Secura, Padme Amidala and Chancellor Palpatine while a group of gunships surrounded the Zillo Beast. Tom pleaded with Obi-Wan not to allow the death of the Zillo Beast. Palpatine secretly commanded the Clones to exterminate the creature but Tom saved the Zillo Beasts life by using the Force to deflect all their missiles into the ground, risking his own life and the lives of the Chancellor, Senator and Jedi in order to spare the Zillo Beast. Fortunately Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda and Aayla protected them from the toxic gas the missiles contained by combining their powers together and forming a Force Barrier. When the gas had cleared Tom came up with a solution that was so obvious that all the other Jedi had overlooked it; use Animal Friendship.

Tom and Obi-Wan combined their powers together to control the Zillo Beast, who stopped its rampage while under the effects of Animal Friendship. The Zillo Beast, who had realised that Tom had saved its life, formed a Force Bond with the boy out of gratitude. Having found a way to stop the Zillo Beast, whom Tom named Zillo, without killing it, Tom and Obi-Wan were told to take it to live on the planet Arapia. On the way there they discussed Tom's unique Force Bonding ability.

Return to Felucia
"You just saved my life. Thank you."

- Tom grows to trust Sugi after she saves him from being blown up.

A few weeks later Tom, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Anakin returned to Felucia after losing contact with a medical station near the planet. They crash landed on Felucia and found a seemingly deserted village. While exploring they met four bounty hunters, Sugi, Embo, Seripas and Rumi Paramita. At first the Jedi and bounty hunters were hostile towards each other but then the village leader Casiss stopped them from trying to kill each other.

After getting acquainted with the villagers and bounty hunters, Skywalker and Kenobi met an old acquaintance, though hardly a friend, Hondo Ohnaka and his pirate gang. Tom and Ahsoka were both present when Ohnaka arrived though they hadn't met him before. Kenobi tried to get Ohnaka and the pirates to leave they village in peace but the Weequay wanted to get his hands on the villagers spice harvest for profit. The pirates gave the villagers until morning to prepare the harvest before leaving the village and regrouping with the rest of the pirate forces.

After the pirates left, the Jedi and bounty hunters started to prepare for their return. They tried to train the villagers to fight, with limited success. During the preparations, Tom told Sugi about his and Ahsoka's experience with Cad Bane and told her that the experience had made him distrustful of all bounty hunters. Sugi had heard of Bane and told Tom that she wasn't like him, pointing out that she had refused to break her contract with the villagers even though Ohnaka had offered her a better fee. Tom was later fully convinced of Sugi's morality after she saved him from being blown up by Hondo Ohnaka's tank.

Along with the other Jedi and the bounty hunters Tom defended the village from the pirates and eventually they managed to defeat them, forcing them to retreat. Sugi then offered the Jedi a ride in her ship since theirs had been destroyed, which they accepted.

Adventure on Mortis
Tom later met Ahsoka when she, Anakin, Obi-Wan and he were going to rendezvous with Captain Rex. As soon as they were away from any other Jedi, Tom playfully flirted with Ahsoka, who had grown since they'd last seen each other, and commented that he liked her new look. Ahsoka reprimanded him, reminding him that the Council had been keeping an eye on them ever since Tom had abandoned Obi-Wan and his clones on Geonosis. Noticing her new Shoto, Tom asked when she'd started using the weapon. Ahsoka admitted that she'd been somewhat influenced from duelling Asajj Ventress and General Grievous, who were both Masters of Jar'Kai. Tom slightly disapproved of her taking up the fighting style of two of their enemies, but Ahsoka thought that two lightsabers were better than one and defeated Tom in a sparring match to prove her point.

Whilst travelling to rendezvous with Captain Rex, Tom, Ahsoka Obi-Wan and Anakin were transported to the mysterious planet of Mortis, where they met Daughter, Son and Father. After being separated from Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, Tom and Anakin followed Daughter to the home of Father. Whilst resting there, Tom overheard Anakin talking to Son, who was in the form of Shmi Skywalker, and learned about Anakin's massacre on Tatooine after Shmi was killed. Unsure how to react to this horrifying news, Tom kept his distance from Anakin until Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were brought to them by Son and Daughter. Tom watched Anakin control both Daughter and Son in order to force them to release his Padawan and former Master. This confirmed to Father that Anakin was the Chosen One, although Tom had doubts due to what he'd overheard the previous night.

When the Jedi attempted to leave Mortis, Ahsoka was kidnapped by the Son and turned to the Dark Side by the Son's unique Dark Infection ability. When Tom and Anakin found her, Ahsoka angrily accused Anakin of not trusting her and not being proud of her. Then she turned on Tom accusing him of only being interested in her because of her physical appearance. Tom and Anakin were both shocked by these accusations and tried to reason with her, but Ahsoka ignited her Lightsaber and Shoto. Tom asked Anakin to stay back, saying that he'd known Ahsoka longer than Anakin and knew her better than anyone. He knew that deep inside the new darkness that had engulfed her, Ahsoka Tano must still exist. Tom tried to reason with Ahsoka whilst duelling her, telling her everything he loved about her, openly declaring that he was in love with her but nothing seemed to work until Ahsoka finally stabbed him in the stomach. Then Tom's emotional and physical pain shot across their Force Bond and was strong enough to break through the Darkness that the Son had infected Ahsoka with. Horrified by what she'd done, Ahsoka dropped her weapons and knelt beside Tom, who was dangerously close to dying. Anakin and Obi-Wan, who had arrived wielding the Dagger of Mortis, both rushed over to them.

Meanwhile Son, who had just finished duelling with Daughter, was shocked that Ahsoka had broken free of his Dark Infection, having believed that it was impossible even for a strong willed person. He angrily used the Force to wrench the Dagger out of Obi-Wan's grip, which had slackened while he was focussing on his seriously injured Padawan. Turning to his Father, who had arrived to break up his duel with Daughter, Son said that he had one person he wanted to kill, before murdering Father. Realising that the Son took Ahsoka's resistance to Dark Infection as a personal insult, Anakin and Obi-Wan knew he was referring to her and both tried to attack him, but Son blasted them with a powerful Force Repulse and then lunged at Ahsoka. Ahsoka, too wrapped up in her shame and grief, didn't notice Son until Daughter threw herself between them blocking the blow with her own body. The Son stared at his sister in disbelief, unable to understand why she would sacrifice herself for someone who she barely knew, and then howled in rage and grief and fled.

With both Tom and Daughter dying, Ahsoka begged Father to save them. When she realised that only one of them could be saved she instantly chose Tom and so did Anakin and Obi-Wan who had recovered from Son's Force Repulse. Father tried to persuade them to change their minds, saying that Tom could use his remaining Life Force to save Daughter, but Ahsoka said that if Tom died because of her, she would kill herself. Realising that she meant it, Daughter decided to sacrifice her own life to revive Tom. As soon as he regained consciousness, Ahsoka appologised uncontrollably until Tom told her to shut up and kissed her.

Later Anakin was also turned to the Dark side after seeing a vision of Darth Vader, his future self, through the manipulation of the Son who wanted to use him to help him fill the Galaxy with darkness. Fortunately the Father wiped Anakin's memory, causing him to forget that he'd forseen and returning him to the Light side for the time being. Anakin's brief fall to the Dark side caused Tom to become even more wary of him but he still kept Anakin's secret for Ahsoka and Obi-Wan's sakes.

Eventually, during their final confrontation with the Son, Father stabbed himself with the Dagger of Mortis in order to weaken Son. Overcome with remorse, Son begged Father not to die, confirming to Father that, despite the fact he was a living incarnation of the Dark side of the Force, there was still good in him. Anakin then stabbed Son with his Lightsaber and Son died accusing his Father of betraying him. Father himself died soon afterwards but first he warned Anakin to be wary of his own inner darkness. This statement also affected Tom, even though it wasn't directed at him, causing him to become more aware of his inner darkness. After Father's death the four Jedi were returned into the middle of space and continued on to meet Rex and the fleet. According to Rex they had only been gone for a few seconds although for the Jedi the event had taken place over a couple of days.

Personality and traits
Tom Norton was a nice person but in the first five years of his life, he was rather shy and solitary and spent most of his time by himself. Most of the other younglings didn't even attempt to interact with him and though they sometimes let him play with them, none of them became friends which sometimes made Tom feel lonely. During his early years, Tom would seek the company of adult Jedi if he felt lonely and enjoyed listening to stories that they told him. Though Tom got on well with older Jedi, and was often content to be by himself, he secretly wanted to have at least one true friend that was around his own age, but didn't know how to get one. Yoda told him that unless he tried to interact with people he would never get a friend.

Tom listened to Yoda's advise and was the first youngling in his class who tried to welcome Ahsoka Tano when she began her training, as he knew how she felt about entering a class full of strangers. Ahsoka was the first true friend Tom ever made. As he grew older, Tom started interacting more and became more confident about being among others. Along with Ahsoka, he even got confident enough to start playing pranks on the Jedi Masters, which he would have never done before he met her. However he could suffer from a certain level of stage fright and disliked talking to or being in front of a large number of people. With Carmen's help, Tom got more confident about speaking to numerous people, though he usually preferred to let others do the talking.

Despite finding difficulty in interacting with others and suffering from nerves, during his first few years at least, Tom was confident in his lightsaber skills, and rather enjoyed combat, which sometimes exasperated Carmen and later Obi-Wan. However Tom didn't like to kill if he could help it and was uncomfortable about Sora Bulq's massacre on Ryloth. Tom also felt guilty about killing two Talz on Orto Plutonia seeing them as innocent creatures who were merely acting in self defence. Tom also showed concern for the life of the Zillo Beast and saved its life on Coruscant by intervening before missiles filled with a lethal gas could kill the creature. He also came up with the idea of using Animal Friendship to calm the Zillo Beast when four fully grown Jedi did not.

In his early years Tom was curious about life outside the Jedi Temple and was interested about what ordinary people did for a living. He was also quite adventurous, exploring a little during his and Carmen's brief landing on Korriban and stumbling upon the Valley of the Dark Lords though he decided not to enter the valley due to the dark presences he sensed there. At the beginning of the Clone Wars, having survived the devastating Battle of Geonosis, Tom thought that he and Carmen were an invincible team and thought that the war was a good time to have adventures. He believed that he and Carmen would get through the war together. However after Carmen was killed by Sora Bulq, Tom realised that war was a terrible thing. Carmen's death affected him deeply, causing him to become more aggressive and paranoid about the safety of his loved ones. Nevertheless he still enjoyed going on adventures, although he was more cautious than before and aware that the next adventure could be his last, or the last of one of his friends. He decided to join Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi during their mission to rescue Padme Armidala from the Malevolence, simply because he felt he hadn't had enough adventure that day.

Although Carmen Conrose and Cham Syndulla had said that Tom was a good Jedi, he was far from perfect and was shown to have a darker and more aggressive side of his personality. He would often become enraged if people insulted, threatened, harmed or worst of all, killed, people he cared about. Because of this he got into a brief fight with Abron Stryfe after the older Youngling bullied Ahsoka. Tom was both grief-stricken and furious when Sora Bulq killed Carmen, attacking Bulq with all his rage and grief but was nevertheless defeated. Tom also displayed anger when he encountered Bulq a second time above Polis Massa. Unlike many Jedi, Tom wasn't very good at letting go of people he cared about. Carmen's death made Tom more aware of his friends mortality and therefore he tried his best not to let any of them die. However this often caused him to be overprotective and prevented him from looking at the bigger picture which meant he sometimes endangered many lives in order to save someone he cared about. Tom even displayed a willingness to use torture to get information and believed that Cad Bane deserved to be tortured after what he'd done to him and Ahsoka.

Tom was capable of feeling hatred and often ignored the Jedi Code when he was enraged or upset. After Carmen's death, Tom developed a hatred for Sora Bulq and even after Obi-Wan helped him recover from Carmen's death he was unable to fully let go of his grudge against Bulq. He also grew to hate Cad Bane after Bane tortured him and nearly killed Ahsoka. Tom thought that people should be allowed to release their emotions rather than bottle them up. Unfortunately, even when he did release his emotions, Tom often had trouble letting go of them.

Tom also had a tendency to be slightly selfish and whilst duelling Ahsoka on Mortis, he openly admitted this trait, saying that Ahsoka was more selfless than he could ever be. When he was being tortured by Cad Bane, he refused to open the holocron Bane had stolen, but this was mainly in order to keep himself alive, although the moral choice of complying with the Bounty Hunter also played a part in his refusal. Ahsoka sometimes had to remind him that Jedi were supposed to be selfless. Despite being quite selfish at times, Tom was willing to die to protect his loved ones, though he did not display any willingness to die for people he wasn't close to. However he would risk his life if he felt that there was a good chance that he and the person he was saving would survive.

Despite his Jedi training, Tom had a habit of forming attachments, though it should be noted that this trait was linked to his natural talent for forming Force Bonds. Though he wasn't very good at making friends, he cared a great deal about the few friends he had. His loyalty to people he cared about allowed him to form Force Bonds more quickly than most Force users. Tom was sceptical about the Jedi's rule of not forming attachments, feeling that the Jedi Masters were acting as though they didn't want Jedi to make friends. Tom also disliked the word "duty" feeling that duty was a way of losing free will. Despite his doubts about the Order and the fact that he often ignored the Jedi Code, Tom thought of the Jedi as his family; a family with too many rules and restrictions but a family nevertheless.

Tom also had a habit of using bad language at times. However he rarely cursed in front of Jedi Masters or Knights, though he would say "damn" in front of them at times. Strangely Tom didn't mind swearing with his voice, but he didn't like swearing with his fingers. Therefore he altered the Niman opening stance slightly since the traditional stance made him feel like he was swearing.

Ahsoka Tano
"Ahsoka, you've been my best friend since I was five years old. I still remember the day Master Plo brought you into my classroom. We've been through so much together and I'd die for you without hesitation. It's not just your appearance that I love about you; you're strong, brave, more selfless than I could ever be and you've got so many talents, one of the most notable ones being the fact that you're a bloody fantastic fighter. Ahsoka, I love you!"

- Tom tries to snap Ahsoka out of the Son's control whilst duelling her.

Tom Norton had a very close friendship with Ahsoka Tano and over time he developed romantic feelings for her despite being a different species. Tom and Ahsoka became friends very quickly despite the fact that, before they met, Tom was rather solitary. Tom was kind to her when they first met and helped her with her training and she felt that she owed him her friendship in return. Despite the fact that they had both been shy during their first few years, Tom and Ahsoka both became far more confident as time went on, partially because of their friendship and partially because they were both among the most talented Younglings in the Jedi Order.

Ahsoka and Tom were virtually inseparable - until Tom became a Padawan - and did almost everything together. Tom was a bit more cautious about the pranks they played on the Masters but usually went along with them and sometimes he and Ahsoka got told off for playing them. They were also known to tease each other from time to time. Tom missed Ahsoka when he was a Padawan and though he was very fond of his Master he wished he had more time to be with Ahsoka. He was delighted when he discovered that Ahsoka was going with him to Christophsis, so delighted that he temporarily forgot about Carmen's death though it would return to haunt him later.

Tom's feelings for Ahsoka grew stronger as the Clone Wars progressed and during the crisis with the Blue Shadow Virus they shared their first kiss (although Ahsoka was unconscious at the time). After the kiss they had a brief period of awkwardness but with the help of Plo Koon they came to terms with their feelings and allowed themselves to enter a romantic relationship with one another. Their first kiss where both of them were conscious was in a deserted training room.

Tom cared about Ahsoka very deeply; however this often caused him to be overprotective which annoyed Ahsoka. Tom was willing to open the an important holocron when Cad Bane was holding her prisoner, despite the fact that he had been resisting opening the holocron for several hours. When Bane opened the airlock he was furious and developed a grudge against the bounty hunter much like the grudge he held towards Sora Bulq. Tom even abandoned Obi-Wan during the second battle of Geonosis when he sensed Ahsoka was in danger. Because of his strong attachment to her Luminara Unduli suggested that they should be separated. When he found out she'd survived the explosion of a Geonosian droid factory he hugged her in front of Anakin Skywalker (who approved of their relationship) and Luminara Unduli (who did not). Although Tom was often overprotective he respected Ahsoka's abilities and knew she was a formidable warrior. However although he knew she could take care of herself he also knew that she was not immortal and after loosing Carmen, whom he had naively assumed would be with him all through the Clone Wars, he was frightened of loosing Ahsoka too. Ahsoka sometimes reprimanded him for this trait and got annoyed with him if she felt he was being overprotective.

Ahsoka would also help Tom control his more aggressive urges, often without even realising it; her mere presence was often enough to calm Tom down when he was angry. Tom considered Ahsoka to be the light which prevented him from falling into darkness, although when Ahsoka turned to the Dark Side on Mortis, he considered her to be the darkness that caused him to stay in the light; in other words, seeing what Ahsoka would be like if she turned evil had caused him to become more wary of the Dark side. Despite this he knew that Ahsoka had faults of her own, being aware that she sometimes acted recklessly and could be quite aggressive at times; however he considered her to be a better and stronger person than he was. Tom believed that if Ahsoka died a huge part of him would die with her and also thought that the grief and rage would cause him to lose control and turn to the Dark side.

When Tom and Ahsoka met shortly before their adventure on Mortis, Tom flirted with Ahsoka saying that he liked her new look. He was slightly disapproving of the fact that Ahsoka had been influenced to learn Jar'Kai by two of their enemies, Asajj Ventress and General Grievous but after Ahsoka defeated him in a sparring match he decided that there was nothing wrong with her studying Jar'Kai.

When Ahsoka was turned to the Dark Side by the Son, Tom asked Anakin to stay out of the fight, thinking that there was a better chance of him snapping Ahsoka out of the Son's Dark Infection if he challenged her himself. Tom was not ready for Ahsoka's ferocity and due to the fact that he was unfamiliar with her using Jar'Kai, having only sparred with her once since she'd made her Shoto, Ahsoka quickly forced him to use Soresu throughout most of the duel. During the fight, Tom told Ahsoka everything he loved about her, attempting to get her to realise what she meant to him, but the enraged Togruta stabbed him in the stomach. However due to their Force Bond, Ahsoka felt Tom's physical and emotional pain and broke free of the Son's control. After Tom was revived by Daughter, Ahsoka appologised for nearly killing him but Tom simply told her to shut up and kissed her, showing that he felt no resentment towards her, despite the fact that she nearly killed him.

Obi-Wan Kenobi
Tom had a close relationship with his second master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. However he was incredulous about Obi-Wan's calm attitude when they were unarmed and surrounded by Separatist droids, indicating that Carmen, despite being a skilled negotiator, had never acted that calmly when surrounded by enemies. He was also amused by the Jedi Masters dry sense of humor. As time went on, Tom grew as close to Obi-Wan as he was to Carmen, thinking he was a good teacher and, at the same time, a good friend. Obi-Wan also helped Tom recover from Carmen's death and admitted to him that he'd fallen in love with.

Although Obi-Wan was generally accepting of Tom's attachments, he could sometimes lose his temper with his Padawan. When Tom abandoned him during the second battle of Geonosis he furiously reprimanded him for leaving Obi-Wan and his clones to fend for themselves. He then told him that Tom had cost them more men than neccessary after Tom argued that they would have won the battle anyway. Tom was very ashamed of himself for allowing his protective nature to cloud his judgement and appologised to his Master and to the clones due to the fact that his abandonment of them had cost them more of their brothers. From then on he worked harder on controlling his attachments. However he could still lose control of his emotions from time to time.

Tom loved Obi-Wan like a father and considered him to be the most important person in his life apart from Ahsoka.

Carmen Conrose
Tom had a very close relationship with his first Master, Carmen Conrose and loved her a great deal. In fact the only people Tom loved as much as Carmen were Ahsoka and later Obi-Wan. He was sometimes playful around his Master, even levitating her with the Force at one point, to Carmen's annoyance. Tom also felt that Carmen was a good teacher despite her lack of experience in training a Padawan. Tom naively assumed that Carmen and he would survive the Clone Wars together but eventually realised the harsh reality of war when Carmen was fatally wounded by Sora Bulq. Tom was devastated by her death and after being defeated by Bulq whilst attacking him in a blind rage, he cried over her body ignoring the fact that Bulq, Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee were duelling only a few meters away. It took him several weeks to learn to deal with Carmen's death. Even after he finally learned to deal with his loss, Tom continued to remember Carmen and grew determined not to let anyone else that he loved die.

Plo Koon
Tom took a liking to Plo Koon and through his friendship with Ahsoka he became friendly with the Kel-Dor though he wasn't as close to the Jedi Master as Ahsoka was. While Ahsoka considered Plo to be like her father, Tom considered him to be more like an uncle. Like Ahsoka, Tom received some private training from the Jedi Master. Tom was worried about Plo after the Jedi Master's fleet was destroyed by the Malevolence.

Barriss Offee
During the Battle of Falleen, Tom befriended Barriss Offee who saved his life twice at the beginning of the siege. Within only a month, Tom formed a Force Bond with the young Mirialan, though this bond wasn't as strong as the ones he shared with Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Carmen. Barriss tried to comfort Tom about the death of his Master and was literally his shoulder to cry on. Tom once commented that Barriss was wise beyond her years and also said she was a good friend.

Tom confirmed to Ahsoka that he had no interest in Barriss romantically and simply looked on her as a friend. After discovering that she had survived the explosion of the droid factory on Geonosis he openly displayed his affection for her by giving her a hug.

Anakin Skywalker
Although they were not particularly close, Tom respected Anakin Skywalker and Anakin liked Tom in return. Anakin trusted Tom enough to admit that he'd fallen in love with, and married, Padme Amidala, feeling that since Tom was in love with Ahsoka he would understand.

However during the mission on Mortis, Tom overheard Anakin telling the Son about the massacre he had committed on Tattooine after the death of his mother. Horrified by the revelation, which included the slaughter of children, Tom was unsure what to do; he knew that the right thing to do would be to tell Obi-Wan but he didn't want to ruin Obi-Wan's relationship with Anakin. He considered telling Ahsoka, but again he didn't want to ruin her and Anakin's relationship. Eventually he decided to keep it a secret for the time being but he was wary of Anakin and never fully trusted him again. Anakin is currently unaware that Tom knows his secret.

Although Tom no longer trusted Anakin, they had many similarities in their personalities. Both of them had suffered deeply from the loss of a loved one and they were both unable to let go of the past. They also both shared a determination to do anything to protect their loved ones, even if it meant breaking the Jedi Code or getting many other people killed. However there was one crucial difference between them; Anakin's love for Padme caused him to turn to the Dark Side while Tom's love for Ahsoka prevented him from turning to the Dark Side.

Abron Stryfe
Abron Stryfe was Tom's rival when he was a youngling and the two of them had a mutual dislike of each other. Tom's dislike of Stryfe increased after Stryfe bullied Ahsoka. Stryfe was one of the few younglings who could defeat Tom in lightsaber sparring. However as time went on they became more civil to each other and Stryfe showed respect for Tom when he defeated him during his second dueling tournament. Tom also felt some sorrow when Stryfe was killed during the battle of Geonosis, feeling that he had died long before he was supposed to.

Zillo
On Coruscant Tom formed a Force Bond with the Zillo Beast after saving its life. This was quite possibly the most notable example of his Force Bonding ability since he bonded with the Zillo Beast within only a couple of minutes. He named the creature Zillo and on the way to Arapia treated it almost like a pet. Tom was the only person who seemed completely at ease around Zillo due to the Force Bond he had formed with the creature. Zillo also acted affectionately towards Tom and was grateful to him for saving its life, revealing its softer side. When Tom and Obi-Wan left Arapia, Tom commented that he'd never thought he would become so attached to an animal in such a short period of time.

Powers and abilities
"I'm still just a Padawan.''" "''You're a very talented Padawan."

- Tom and Obi-Wan Kenobi

Lightsaber training


Despite his age, Tom was a very talented fighter and was easily one of the most powerful Padawans in the Order. He often sparred with Ahsoka Tano and they were very evenly matched while using standard grip, or when Tom was using standard grip and Ahsoka was using reverse grip. However when they were both using the reverse grip style Shien, Ahsoka won eight times out of ten. In addition to using Shien, Tom was a practitioner of Ataru and Soresu.

Tom sometimes sparred with his Master, Carmen Conrose and though he had never bested her, Carmen admitted that it did sometimes take her some effort to beat him. Carmen taught Tom the Lus-ma technique which he tried to use on her during one of their sparring matches. By using Lus-ma, Tom nearly managed to land a blow on Carmen but was once again defeated. Carmen admitted that Tom adapted to Lus-ma more quickly than she did. She also helped him increase his Soresu skills and Tom became skilled enough to survive the battle of Geonosis at the remarkably young age of fourteen. After that Tom, realising that if he'd used any other fighting style he would have been killed, used Soresu frequently during the Clone Wars, though he retained his fondness for Ataru and sometimes used Shien.

During his training with Obi-Wan Kenobi Tom received some training in Niman, and like his Master, he sometimes used the styles opening stance. However Tom used a slightly alternate version of the Niman stance; instead of pointing his index and middle finger at the enemy, Tom simply showed them his palm. This was because using his middle and index finger in the stance made him feel like he was swearing. Strangely he didn't mind swearing with his voice but he didn't like swearing with his fingers. Tom had enough skill in Niman to use the Draw Closer technique which he used to cut down two battle droids on the Malevolence.

Tom managed to survive the Battle of Geonosis with no serious injuries making him the youngest Jedi to survive the battle. He also survived two encounters with Sora Bulq first on Falleen and later above Polis Massa. Along with Obi-Wan Kenobi, he managed to fend off Asajj Ventress but was temporarily disarmed and nearly beheaded during the duel. Fortunately, Obi-Wan saved him at the last moment, giving Tom time to retrieve his lightsaber. After his mission to Ryloth, Sora Bulq gave Tom some training in Jar'Kai while they were heading back to the Jedi Temple. Tom would later use Jar'Kai against the same man who had taught him the style, wielding Carmen's lightsaber along with his own during his duel with Bulq on Falleen. However Bulq easily deprived him of both lightsabers and he only survived because of the arrival of Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee.

Force powers
Tom possessed a strong connection to the Force and had the potential to become an extremely powerful Jedi. Though Tom's Force powers required more training he was capable of a reasonably strong Force Push from a young age, using it on Abron Stryfe after Stryfe bullied Ahsoka while they were Younglings. His Force pushes became stronger over time and eventually expanded into the similar but more powerful Force Wave power, allowing him to throw several opponents simultaneously. Tom was also able to use Force Jump and Force aided acrobatics.

While rescuing Ahsoka from Cad Bane Tom displayed incredible skill with telekinesis by holding Ahsoka in front of a button that closed the airlock they were in despite being sucked at by the vacuum of space at the same time. However the effort required to perform this feat, and the fact that the vacuum was sucking away the oxygen, caused him to lose consciousness. It should also be noted that Tom's powers were augmented by the strong emotions he was feeling at the time which were desperation to save Ahsoka and rage at the treachery of Cad Bane. If not for these powerful emotions it is unlikely that he would have been capable of such a feat.

Tom also learned Animal Friendship while training with Obi-Wan and when he and Obi-Wan combined their powers they were able to tame the ferocious Zillo Beast. Tom's Force Bonding talent contributed to this ability allowing him to learn Animal Friendship faster than any other known Jedi.

Tom's most notable Force power was his talent for forming Force Bonds and he was able to form them more quickly than most Force users. He quickly bonded with Ahsoka Tano, Carmen Conrose, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Barriss Offee, Plo Koon and the Zillo Beast. However for a long time Tom was unaware of this ability, forming Force Bonds without even knowing it. Obi-Wan thought that one of the reasons Tom was talented at creating Force Bonds was because he was very loyal to people he cared about. Another contributor to this ability was the fact that Tom had a habit of forming attachments, despite his Jedi training. As soon as Tom became attached to someone he would subconsciously form a Bond with them.

Tom's Force Bond with Ahsoka was so strong that he managed to subconciously use it to break Ahsoka out of the control of the Son. When Ahsoka stabbed him, Tom's emotional and physical pain broke through the darkness that had consumed her and she managed to fight of the Son's Dark Infection. Son had thought that it was impossible to break free of Dark Infection which is further evidence of how much Tom and Ahsoka loved each other.

Other abilities
Despite Tom's advanced lightsaber skills and strong connection to the Force, the Padawan was slightly doubtful about his flying skills. During the Clone wars, Tom was shot down on at least two occasions; the first time Barriss Offee had to use telekinesis to save him and the second time he survived through pure luck but also accidentally flew his damaged starfighter into an enemy hanger. Tom was, in his own words "an okay pilot" but was less skilled than Ahsoka, Obi-Wan or Anakin and preferred fighting on the ground, feeling safer when he was using his lightsaber rather than flying a space craft. After the battle of Polis Massa, Tom asked Obi-Wan to help him improve his flying skills since he couldn't always rely on others or on luck to keep him alive.

Tom also had very little skill with mechanics and when he and Carmen were forced to land on Korriban he said he would probably blow up their ship if he tried to fix the hyperdrive. Carmen thought he was joking but Tom said that he'd been serious.

However Tom was quite knowedgeable about Jedi history which he learned from the Jedi Temples library and Carmen Conrose.