Ussej Padric Bac III

"If they ever tell my story, let them say that I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat of Dantooine, but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Cos, the tamer of a galaxy. Let them say that I lived in the time of Isabella, the tamer of the arrogant. Let them say that I lived in the time of Kalel."

- Ussej Padric Bac III

Ussej Padric Bac III was born to a long line of legendary war heroes, politicians, Jedi Knights, Sith Lords and Bendu Priests. His ancestor, Jonathan Bac, was the first Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. His grandparents were Laili Jeyna Rendar, the sister of his great-uncle Kit Corwin Rendar, and Saint Ussej Padric Bac who went on to become the Shaman of the Whills. His mother, Bara ErMez, came from the village of Vattica and his father, Ussej Padric Bac II, was a Bendu Priest and the one who fulfilled the first passage of the Prophecy of the Nine Prophets.

The third Bac to bear the name “Ussej Padric”, he served as the sole Bendu High Priest during The Great Sovereign Crusades and was instrumental in the disastrous Holy War that brought the Sith Empire to power, exiled the Jedi Order and brought the Galactic Republic to the brink of destruction.

However, his mistakes during the war brought about an age of awakening for the Bendu Order. After he died on Mustafar, the newly elected High Priest Josiah Rendar helped the Bendu Order rebuild itself from the ground up. During this time, not only were there changes in appearance to a more formal and monk-like style, but also a change in the way that the Order viewed itself. The three men of the Bac Family helped them to realize what happens when pride gets the best of people, including those held in such high regard.

After The Great Sovereign Crusades, the Bendu analyzed The Skywalker’s Prophecies once again and realize that the fallen High Priest was actually one of the Nine Prophets spoken of in the Prophecy of the Nine Prophets. Because of this, his mistakes would be forgiven and he would be worshiped for thousands of years.

Early Life
"The real test of a hero is knowing when the greater good will be served by an evil act."

- Ussej Padric Bac II

Ussej Padric Bac III was born to a long line of legendary war heroes, politicians, Jedi Knights, Sith Lords and Bendu Priests. His ancestor, Jonathan Bac, was the first Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. His grandparents were Laili Jeyna Rendar, the sister of his great-uncle Kit Corwin Rendar, and Saint Ussej Padric Bac who went on to become the Shaman of the Whills. His mother, Bara ErMez, came from the village of Vattica and his father, Ussej Padric Bac II, was a Bendu Priest and the one who fulfilled the first passage of the Prophecy of the Nine Prophets. When he was five, his father was set to become the next High Priest of the Bendu Order. However, before taking the position, he elected to travel to Dxun with Bara to recover an ancient Jedi Bendu Artifact that had been detected. Before leaving, his father spoke with him about responsibility and the final words of the conversation would live with the young boy for the rest of his life.

The trip to Dxun took one month in the modified hyperdrive engine of Laili’s Rose. However, his parents soon found themselves caught up in the Battle of Dxun, the final battle of the Great Rim Lines War. His father fought valiantly along side a young Republic Colonel named Cos Jonathan Dashin against the Mandalorians and the Sith Empire. However, he was shot and he and Bara were captured by the Mandalorian forces.

Because the Mandalorians believed them to be Jedi Knights, they were tortured for information. After deciding that they were not worth the effort they were putting into finding out information about the Jedi Order, the two Bendu were executed.

After sending out a scouting party to Dxun and learning of their deaths, Ussej was put under the care of the new High Priest Neil Rendar, Kit Rendar’s son. Neil had a son named Josiah and became so close that many believed them to actually be brothers. Ussej and Josiah recieved Apprenticeship together and, ten years later, they both became Bendu Knights. It was Ussej’s proudest moment. All he had done had been in the name and memory of his father, so he only hoped that his father would have been proud as well.

Love, Loss and Life
"Everything will be fine. Trust me...."

- Jana DesOrz

When Ussej was twenty-seven, he was elected to the position of Bendu Priest. Again, he was incredibly proud of himself and hoped his father would have been as well had he been alive to see it. As his first task as a Priest, he traveled to the village of Vattica, where his father had met his mother years before, to give a sermon to those who had become sick with a deadly, yet contained, strain of a virus. In the village, he met a young woman named Jana DesOrz. He felt a strong connection to her and, after only six months, married her in a small ceremony on the shores of the Ashlan Ocean.

One month after their marriage, Jana found out that she was pregnant with Ussej’s child. They couldn’t have been happier as both of them had always wanted children. However, Ussej could not help but be worried as his own birth, as well as the birth of his father, was filled with complications. However, he tried not to let that preoccupy him during such a happy time. In the beginning, they decided that they did not want to know the sex of the child or anything else about it other than whether it was healthy or not.

When Jana was six months pregnant, she became worried because she felt she was abnormally large for someone in their sixth month, as she felt she looked more like she was seven or eight months along. They decided to go back to the medical headquarters to see if everything was alright and what they found came as a surprise: they had conceived twins. Not wanting to wait anymore for the surprise, they decided to ask what the sexes were. They were ecstatic to find out that it was a boy and a girl, though Ussej was still nervous as he now feared more complications.

Later that day, they picked out names for the two children. The girl would be named Elizabeth Bara Bac, in honor of both of their parents, and the boy would be named Ussej Padric Bac IV, in honor of the tradition started by his father. Ussej confided in her about his fears, but she assured him that everything would be alright and that he should be concentrating on the happy life that they would be living with their family.

Jana went home to Vattica for the two months to spend time with her parents, but returned to the Bendu Temple of Light at the beginning of her ninth month. Less than a week before she was due, Jana wanted to take a shuttle back to Vattica to visit her parents one last time before she became a mother. Ussej, however, protested. He said that it was too dangerous considering she was only a few days from giving birth, but she disregarded her warnings and left anyway without his knowledge, as he was on the other side of the planet tending to plague victims in the far away villages. She told herself that she would only be gone for a few hours and that he would never notice anyway.

However, tragedy soon struck. Not even fifteen minutes into her flight, Jana went into labor while flying over the Ashlan Mountains. She was able to keep flying for a few minutes but, because of the intensity of the pain that the contractions brought, she quickly lost control of the shuttle.

Ussej was informed of the crash and, with a Bendu Medical Officer, he took a shuttle into the blizzard that had formed in the mountains. When they arrived, medical technicians were already on the scene. From what Ussej could gather, Jana had been thrown from the shuttle before it had become mangled and filled with twisted metal. As he approached her, he could see that she had hit her head and that there was blood everywhere, most of it from childbirth. When he approached, he saw a small bundle wrapped in the arms of one of the medical technicians and was told that it was Elizabeth who, unfortunately, did not survive. However, they believed that the boy would live.

When the boy was born, the medical officers quickly took him away to get him to the warm shuttle for treatment. Jana laid dying in her husband’s arms as he was able to keep his composure long enough to let her pass in peace. With her last breath, she told him not to worry and that everything would be fine again. She apologized for taking the shuttle and told him that he was right, though he calmed her by telling her not to worry and that it was not her fault. With that, she died in his arms, shattering the heart and mind of the Bendu Priest. The next day, Jana and Elizabeth received traditional Bendu burials within the Bac Family Cemetery. Jana’s parents were present and they thanked Ussej for everything that he had done for their daughter. Ussej, his son in his arms, did not know how he would be able to survive without her.

The Curtain Falls
"We will get to the promised land."

- Ussej Padric Bac III

Ten years after the death of his wife, Ussej was now the sole Bendu High Priest within the Order and Josiah had become his most trusted Priest on the Council of Priests. Ussej’s day to day tasks included monitoring the training of all Bendu Apprentices and making sure that all Priests were being sent out where needed, as well as dealing with the governmental affairs of Kal'Shabbol as he was, in a sense, it’s king.

The now ten-years old Ussej Padric Bac IV had also gained Apprenticeship at the age of ten, remarkably earlier than most others in the order due to his strength with the Force of Others. He began training under his father, who had yet to find love again. Ussej did not really want to after Jana’s death, but he decided that someday he would if he found the right woman.

Out of nowhere, a large disturbance in the Force of Others was felt by everyone in the Bendu Order. Ussej attempted to meditate on it, but he soon found himself in the middle of a soft wind on the mythical world of Ashlan Four, the planet of the Whills. His grandfather, the Saint Ussej Padric Bac, appeared before him and told him that a new Dark Lord of the Sith had awakened, even though the galaxy believed the Sith to be extinct. He told his grandson that the Bendu Order would have to put aside their prejudices against the Jedi Order and travel out into the galaxy to help them. Ussej accepted this task, albeit reluctantly.

That evening, Ussej addressed the entire Bendu Order and all of the citizens of Kal'Shabbol and told them that the Bendu would be leaving the planet to assist the Jedi Order. He wished all of Kal'Shabbol well and, the next day, Ussej bid goodbye to his son and Josiah and an eager Bendu Order boarded their flagship to head out into the galaxy under the watchful eye of Saint Ussej the Shaman and The Skywalker.

Upon completing their month long journey, the flagship, which had been dubbed Ashla’s Light, began searching worlds that the Bendu Order knew to be presently or at one time Sith worlds. First they travelled to Korriban, yet they found nothing. Then they travelled to Ziost, yet they still found nothing. They then travelled to Thule where they located a large outpost with only minimal lifesigns. Choosing to go ahead and scout the area, Ussej took a shuttle down to the surface and landed at the bottom of a small ridge. On the way down, he was able to spot a fierce duel between what he believed to be a Jedi Knight and, quite possibly, the new Dark Lord of the Sith.

Ussej chose to climb the ridge so that his presence would be a surprise to the Dark Lord. Ussej ran to the aid of the Jedi, who told him that his name was Arlon Kyjar, a member of the Jedi Council. The opponent was, as he feared, the Dark Lord, one called Darth Viscerus. Now in the heat of battle, Ussej was able to quickly ascertain how powerful this new dark one was. Tragically, Kyjar was struck down and Ussej was forced to flee, but not after he severely injured the Sith Master. With Kyjar’s body over his shoulder, Ussej made it back to his shuttle and quickly returned to the flagship, which quickly changed course for Coruscant.

A Shaky Alliance
"We share a common enemy. As long as all sides of this alliance do not try to impose their ethical, moral and philosophical views onto others then we should be able to coexist well enough to focus our strengths on defeating the Sith."

- Khaluq Chan'drane

After half a day of travel, the Bendu Flagship arrived in orbit around Coruscant. Ussej took Kyjar’s body into a shuttle and flew to the surface, landing in the Jedi Temple’s docking bay, the entire complex having been rebuilt after the Great Territorial War. He introduced himself to the Jedi Council and presented Kyjar’s body before expressing the importance of stopping this war before it truly begins. At that moment, a legendary alliance between the Orders of the Jedi Order, Bendu and Shadourians, a group that was able to use the shadows and their neutrality in the Force to their advantage, was forged.

After leaving the Council chambers, the leaders of the three factions began putting together a plan to attack Yavin IV, as they believed the Sith to be hiding there. Once the plans were completed, Ussej left the flagship and returned to the Jedi Temple. At the base of the staircase, a large parcel was handed to him by a Thulian slave. Inside was the body of Darth Viscerus, the Dark Lord. Ussej was able to come to two possible conclusions as to why the Dark Lord died: first, he died due to wounds received during the duel on Thule; second, he had an apprentice that killed him to usurp the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. He assumed the latter, though he knew that assumptions could be dangerous at such a trying juncture.

He carried the body of the former Dark Lord back to the Jedi Council chambers where it was decided that, along with the mission to Yavin IV, a small team would be sent to Thule to investigate his death. Ussej then went back to the flagship to ready his men for the likely battle they would be partaking in on Yavin IV. When the Jedi and Shadourian forces arrived, the ships shot into hyperspace.

Ussej was the first to land on the fourth moon of Yavin. Once he scouted the area, he sent the strike team the coordinates just a few kilometers southwest of his position where he detected a lot of activity and Dark Side presences. When the team arrived at the temple, they found the Sith, along with Kalessh warriors, waiting for them. A fierce duel erupted and Ussej managed to fight his way into the temple, as he knew that whoever he was looking for would be inside. He found his way to the throne room and found a large Chiss that he assumed was the new Dark Lord of the Stih. However, the man introduced himself as Carden Mannux, the Commander of the Obsidian Guard. Not knowing what the Obsidian Guard was or what it was capable of, he knew he would have to be cautious.

The throne doors slammed shut and a fierce duel erupted between Ussej and Mannux. It was not the fiercest duel the galaxy had ever seen, nor was it the longest. However, as Mannux ignited his lightsaber and Ussej drew his blade, the two crowning forces of good and evil clashed in a spectacle of talent that would amaze even the strongest of Force users. Ussej used an ancient Bendu Power on the commander, subduing him. Ussej felt that because he was not the Dark Lord he was not worth his time.

When Ussej left the throne room, what he saw amazed him, though not in a good way. The Jedi were failing in their mission, though in his mind “failing” would have been an understatement. The Sith were running rampant across the area, and he even saw two Jedi Apprentices kiss one another as a Knight came down from the roof, preparing to attack them. At that moment, he realized his worst fears: the Jedi were incompetent. He did not intend to let that stand. Ussej ordered his men to retreat and Ein did the same with the Shadourians. The Jedi were reluctant, though they followed suit and the teams abruptly left the fourth moon of Yavin.

Of Jedi and Failure
"I’m afraid the prejudice is beginning to come out."

- Ussej Padric Bac III

In the weeks following the Battle of Yavin IV, Ussej could not help but be amazed at what the Jedi Order did, or in this case did not do. For two weeks, Alderaan pleaded for the Jedi to help them as a virus had been spread by Sith warriors into their water supply. The Republic was unable to deal with the problem due to threats from the Sith and the Mandalorians, as well as limited supplies and resources, so they turned it over to the Jedi. However, the Jedi Council simply debated it rather than acting upon it. Similar reports then came in from Corellia and Mon Calamari, yet the Jedi continued to debate until millions were dead on the three planets. Ussej let them know how disappointed he was, though they turned a blind eye to his protests.

Unable to deal with what they were saying to him, he left Coruscant and returned to the Bendu flagship. He remained there only for a few days before receiving an urgent distress signal from Ein Nightblade saying that the Jedi Temple and it’s surrounding area had come under attack by the forces of Darth Dire, the Dark Lord of the Sith, and King Bree Mibu of Kalee. Adding to that, the distress signal warned that a deadly toxin had been spread into the atmosphere, much like the toxins that that had been released on Alderaan, Corellia and Mon Calamari.

Hours later, he arrived at the Jedi Temple. Running to the lower levels in an attempt to help Jedi who were trying to escape, he was suddenly overtaken by a group of Kaleesh warriors, though they were no match for a Bendu High Priest. Still searching for Jedi who were trying to escape, he ran to the upper levels and once again came face to face with Carden Mannux. However, as they fought, a deep, low rumble was heard and fires broke out around him. Parts of the great spire of the Jedi High Council began to telescope down on itself, and Ussej and Mannux were directly underneath it. They both ran in their separate directions to avoid the rubble and within minutes they found each other once again, continuing the fight.

Ussej knew that he had no time for a fight with the Chiss. As he began to retreat back, another explosion went off nearby, throwing them both to the side. Ussej sprained a bone in his leg and managed to hobble away, all while avoiding a barrage of dark Sith lightning being thrown at him from the hands of the Obsidian Commander. He was able to escape to the upper levels, hiding his presence from the Sith disciple.

Mannux eventually caught on to his charade and became fed up. Using all of the energy he had, he sent the rubble that Ussej hid in crashing through three stories of the temple, though Ussej was able to move out of the way before it all fell on top of him. Because the Obsidian Commander was arrogant, he assumed that he had killed the High Priest and left the area. However, Ussej moved to the edge of the Jedi Temple and Mannux was able to see this. As Mannux charged towards him, Ussej called upon the Winds of the Ashla to teleport him away from the Jedi Temple, using a variant of a Unifying Force power, as the Jedi would call it. Mannux was able to stop himself from falling off the ledge, though he vowed revenge on the High Priest.

A New Alliance
After Ussej left Coruscant, he sent a message to the flagship telling them to pull his vessel into the docking bay, but he warned not to open the door because they would risk being contaminated by the virus. He then moved into the back of his craft and entered into a stasis sleep, shutting down all bodily functions and ridding himself of the virus he had acquired. Soon, he would be back with his people and would be able to begin planning a counter attack, as well as letting the surviving Jedi know just how he felt about their complacency and incompetence.

Days later, Ussej eagerly awaited the transmission from the Jedi that told him the coordinates to the new Jedi base, which would be codenamed “The Station”. However, before the transmission arrived, a different transmission arrived. It was from Ein Nightblade, requesting that Ussej meet him outside of Theed on Naboo. Once he arrived, Ein began speaking of an alliance to be formed only between the Bendu Order and Shadourian Order, an alliance that would be opposed to the Jedi. This alliance would launch attacks against the Jedi Order in a Holy War. Ussej was opposed to this at first, but after he considered everything that had happened he knew it could be an option. Ein left, urging him to think about it.

A New Love
After he formed the alliance with Kage Tatsujin, he was contacted by Cos Dashin, Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. The Supreme Chancellor told him that his daughter was headed for Naboo and that she would need protection. Ussej III questioned what that had to do with him, and the Supreme Chancellor told him that he would rather of a Bendu such as the grandson of Ussej Padric Bac protect his daughter, as he did not fully trust that the Jedi could handle a mission of such great importance to him. Ussej III accepted the mission, albeit reluctantly, though he requested that no reward be given for the successful completion.

Two days later, he found his way into a bar on Theed for relaxation. A young woman, referring to herself only as "Bella", sat beside him and requested that he try to get two men that were following her out of the area. With a simple wave of his hands and a bit of help from the Force, the guards left. They got to talking and she eventually mentioned her father and how he sent her to Naboo for "protection". Through his skulking, it took him much longer than was necessary to realize that he was talking to Isabella Dashin, daughter of the Supreme Chancellor. After a few moments, he felt a connection felt only once....when he first met his late wife. The feeling puzzled him, and he was not sure if he could handle such a connection once again. The two took a trip to the waterfalls, as Bella had always been mystified by them, and Ussej III told her stories of his time in the known galaxy away from Kal'Shabbol. It was here that she gave him the nickname "Voyager", symbolizing the many voyages he had taken in the past two years. Little did Ussej III know that "Voyager" would end up being much, much more than a nickname.

A few days later, he and Isabella checked into a Theed hotel. She shared a room with her servants, though she asked Ussej III to stay down the hall as she still was not comfortable with having a bodyguard. One morning, Mandalorian forces assaulted the capitol city. Ussej III, with the help of Tribunal Knight Kalel Kitsune and Isabella, launched a rescue mission in an attempt to save the Queen of Naboo, the one they perceived to be the real target. Once they entered the Throne Room, Kalel left to contact Supreme Chancellor Dashin. When it seemed to be too late, Ussej rushed the Queen to safety only to see that Isabella had been left behind. He dove onto her, knocking her to the ground as a war droid slammed through the walls. Ussej was knocked out, but as the darkness was overtaking him he saw Mandalore, leader of the Mandalorians, entering the Throne Room. He later awoke to scolding from the young Tribunal Knight. When he asked why he was being scolded, Kalel told him that the First Daughter had been kidnapped.

Ussej III made his way back to Coruscant and, with the help of the Military commanders, formulated a daring rescue plan. In a classified meeting of the Joint Chiefs, Ussej III presented the plan to the Supreme Chancellor who approved it. Minutes after the meeting ended, Kalel Kitsune attended a meeting with Ussej III in the Supreme Chancellor's office where tensions rose once again. Kalel could not bare to be part of a mission led by Ussej III, but he eventually backed down. Twelve hours later, three-quarters of the Republic fleet took off on it's way to rescue Isabella and liberate Onderon from the hands of the Mandalorians.

The mission was easier than any of them expected. While Kalel led troops to Dxun to wipe the Mandalorians off of the map, Ussej III led a squadron of fighters to Iziz to take out the orbital and anti-aircraft defenses. The now-landed troops stormed the palace while Ussej III found a way through the outer-wall into the Throne Room. He found Isabella and brought her to Laili's Rose. When he arrived on Coruscant, he was thanked by the Supreme Chancellor and, after checking on Isabella, returned to his flagship for a much needed meditation session. However, on his way to Ashla's Light, he contacted Kalel Kitsune and thanked him for all he had done, though Kalel naturally blew him off. After returning to the flagship, he began to reflect on what had happened since he arrived on Coruscant and what was yet to come.

A Savior's Test
Ever since he had arrived, Ussej III and the entire Bendu Order had been discriminated against by the Jedi Order. At first, the Bendu High Priest assumed that the discrimination would subside as the two great orders got to know each other more and were able to interact with one another. But, this was not the case. Ever since the blunder that was the Battle of Yavin IV, the Jedi Order has thought lowly of the Bendu Order. They were never able to understand this, as the Bendu were able to hold their own better than the Jedi were. Eventually, the Bendu High Priest became fed up with this. The discrimination was a bias he held when he was forging the plans for war with the Shadourian Order. Finally, after a meditative session where he became angrier than he ever had before, he was thrust into another sector of the galaxy. He was on Ashlan Four, surrounded by the Whills who were entrusted with maintaining the sacred Journal of the Whills. He found his grandfather, Ussej Padric Bac, waiting for him. He told his grandson that he should not be bothered by simple, primitive discrimination. He also went on to express his disagreement over the impending holy crusades that the Bendu and Shadourian plan to launch against the Jedi Order. He asked his grandson what his reasoning for doing so was, and the third man to carry the name Ussej Padric Bac replied by saying that the Jedi had become old, corrupt and incompetent; they were unable to act until the Sith were right under their noses, as evident by the catastrophe’s at Yavin IV, Mon Calamari, Alderaan, Corellia and Coruscant. The great Ussej Padric Bac told him that it was up to him to do what was necessary and disappeared. The Bendu High Priest rose above the discrimination, but swore not to give up on the Holy Crusade. The storm was soon to come.

After his second disorienting visit to Ashlan Four to speak with his grandfather had ended, Ussej III marched straight into the Jedi Council Chambers on Hoth with Kage Tatsujin to let them know just how he felt. He stated how he was going to rise above the discrimination instead of returning it in vengeance. He also stated his dissatisfaction with their handling of the Battle of Yavin IV, as well as the crisis’ on Alderaan, Corellia and Coruscant. And, he stated that they were now forced to split up across the galaxy with a minimal force, whereas the forces of the Dark Lord Lettow were growing each day. Ussej III decided to stay on the Jedi Council as a liaison from the Bendu Order, as he had to keep a low profile to avoid suspicion about the storm that was drawing nearer day by day.

When the eventful meeting had ended, he met up with Kage on his flagship to discuss the first series of attacks against the Jedi Order. They agreed to set up the first one or two missions in a way that the Jedi Order could not trace anything back to either of their organizations. Ussej III's plan was to hire Jensen Adun, an ailing mercenary that had always dreaming of dying in the blaze of glory for a cause that he believed actually meant something. So, after the meeting had ended Ussej went to Nar Shadda to find Jensen, who was currently living in the refugee sector. Under the cover of darkness and a dark, black robe borrowed from the Shadourians, he met with Jensen and told him of the plan. Jensen would pose as a Port Authority Mechanic and load gas tanks onto the Jedi shuttle. Once aboard, he would ignite the fuel and destroy the starport. Jensen agreed and made his way to Barab 1 to wait for a Jedi envoy that would soon be arriving for a diplomatic mission. He returned to his flagship and headed into the Outer Rim, a mere hour away from Barab 1 so that he would be able to monitor the progress of the first attack.

After Ashla's Light detected the explosion on Barab 1, they closed into orbit. Ussej III sent a transmission down to the surface, hoping to pick up any Jedi survivors and how them just how many errors they made, thus leading to the death of two Jedi Knights and a Jedi pilot. After making contact with Jedi Master Sen Helto, he took a small convoy of shuttle down to the planet's surface. After retrieving the Jedi shuttle's cockpit recording devices, the Bendu and the Jedi returned to Ashla's Light and made their way back to Coruscant.

Ussej III returned to Coruscant at the behest of Supreme Chancellor Dashin. After he had rescued Bella, the Supreme Chancellor had asked Ussej III to court her for marriage. He was stunned, which is why he disappeared for quite some time. Now that he had returned, the Chancellor had given him the ring that Bella's mother had worn until the day she died and asked Ussej III to propose to Bella with it. And, he did. However, Bella was not at all enthused. Ussej III saw a look of disgust and embarrassment on Bella's face, so he quickly left to return to his flagship. Yes, he was crushed, but he loved her enough to want her to be happy, even if that meant being happy without him.

After the embarrassment in Bella’s apartment, Ussej III headed out into the night rain and walked the streets of Coruscant. He thought about all that had taken place, what with the successful completion of the first attacks and his not-so successful proposal and soon made his way towards the Senate Office Building to speak with the Supreme Chancellor. However, before he was able to enter the building he noticed a thin, red blade moving towards the window outside of the Office of the Supreme Chancellor. He took out his electro-binoculars and centered on the figure. Though he had only seen him once, he knew full well who the man was: Carden Mannux, the former Dark Lord Lettow. The window shattered and Carden moved into the Supreme Chancellor’s Office. Using the Force to speed his very movement, he burst through the halls of the Senate Office Building at an alarming speed, hoping to get to the Supreme Chancellor’s Office before any real damage could be done.

By the time he arrived in the Chancellor's office, the Supreme Chancellor had been knocked unconscious and Bella was in the hands of Carden Mannux. The former Dark Lord threw a wave of invisible energy at him and escaped into orbit but Ussej III was quickly on his tail. The battle between the two did not last long, and Carden used a trick that made Ussej III believe that ship had exploded, thus killing Bella. Unbeknownst to Ussej III, Bella was still alive. Overcome with grief, Ussej III unleashed his anger in a wave of Force Lightning that engulfed the entire vessel. Pulling himself together, he began his journey back to the Supreme Chancellor's Office to deliver the terrible news. He did, to the best of his abilities, but the Supreme Chancellor told him to leave and never to return. Honoring his request, Ussej III left and vowed never to come back unless asked to.

Ussej III remained in solitude for the next few days, deeply distraught over his error in the battle. But, as his mother had always told him before she died, life always moves on and death is only the beginning of the true walk of life. He finally left his solitude to attend a meeting with a few Jedi Masters at the Jedi Temple, still behaving as if he had not committed any acts of terrorism on Barab 1. After the meeting was over, all available Jedi were called into the main hall to find that Uric Kyrtus Kressh, Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, had gone missing a few days earlier. Ussej III took this as an opportunity to grandstand the meeting that was taking place around him, letting the Jedi Council know through non-vocal means his dissatisfaction with these events. At the perfect moment, he revealed that he was the one behind the terrorist attacks of Barab 1 and within minutes left the planet, leaving the Jedi dazed and confused.

A Savior's Destiny
For the next few weeks, Ussej III remained on Ashla’s Light in solemn meditation, wallowing in his grief and sorrow over what he had done to the woman that he loved. One fateful day, Kalel Kitsune had finally tracked down the massive Bendu flagship and requested permission to board. Ussej III granted it, knowing full well what was about to take place. However, he was so caught up in his own guilt that he did not care if he lived or died. After a heated exchange of words, an epic and legendary fight ensued between two of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. A large part of the ship was destroyed in the fighting, though they persisted. Eventually, Kalel gained the upper hand though Ussej III was able to conflict the young warrior with the memory of Isabella, causing him to spare the High Priest’s life and leave the vessel. There was only one person Ussej III could talk to now, and he was to be sure he would talk to him no matter what.

That person was his grandfather, the great Ussej Padric Bac. However, in Ussej III’s mind he was not as great as many made him out to be. Ussej III made the two week trek back to Kal’Shabbol and, under the cover of darkness, landed on the far side of the Ashlan Mountains so that he would not alert the Bendu Order that he had returned. He climbed through the mountains all throughout the night until he finally made it to the Holy Ridge, the site where Ussej Padric Bac sacrificed his mortal life to save Kal’Shabbol and the Bendu Order, at daybreak. Ussej III pleaded with his grandfather to bring back Isabella, but it was no use. However, the arrogance of his grandfather gave him a newfound resolve to continue forward with the Holy Crusades and ensure that no harm ever came to someone he loved again.

When he finally returned to Ashla’s Light a month after he had first left, he found Kage Tatsujin waiting for him. Though they had originally spoken of attacking the Great Archives of Ossus or, to damage the Republic, attack Centerpoint Station over Corellia and take control of the Trade Routes there, they decided to take a more simplistic approach. Ussej III led his forces to Telos IV and, with a group of technicians, landed just outside the ancient Jedi Academy on Telos IV’s northern pole. There, they planted explosives and reduced the legendary Jedi Academy to ruins. At the very same instant, Kage and a squadron of Shadourian fighters made their way to Taris and targeted the long-abandoned Jedi Tower, removing it from the Tarisian skyline that had already been greatly damaged by a ruthless attack by Darth Malak one hundred years before in the Battle of Taris.

Once Ussej III and Kage met back up on Ashla’s Light, they contacted the Jedi Council and informed them of the destruction on Telos IV and Taris, as well as informing them that no one, not even a Jedi, was killed in the attacks. However, this didn’t soften the blow to the Jedi Council. They were obviously greatly disturbed by this turn of events, but the High Priest gave them an alternative to bloodshed: the Jedi Order was to immediately and unconditionally surrender to the forces of the Bendu Order and Shadourian Order, giving them the authority as the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. The Jedi Council quickly rejected, and Ussej III promised that more attacks would follow.

It wasn’t long until Ashla’s Light set her eyes on the next site that would be attacked: the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. While en route to Dantooine, the vessel was intercepted by The Omen where the Bendu High Priest came face to face with Darth Udun, the Dark Lord of the Sith. The Dark Lord was also planning on assaulting Dantooine when he learned that the Bendu vessel was en route as well. To spare Bendu losses in the battle, Ussej III allowed the Dark Lord to take control of the mission so long as the Bendu could take their own hostages prior to the main battle. Lord Udun agreed and a Bendu fighter squad knocked out all communications and one of two hangar bays, leaving Dantooine isolated from the rest of the Galactic Republic. Bendu shuttles were quickly sent to the surface where four Jedi Knights were killed and brought back to the shuttles. Three Jedi Knights and Jedi Master Kal Yast, the Bendu’s primary target for the attack, were taken hostage and brought aboard the Bendu flagship.

Hours after the Bendu had left the Sith forces behind on Dantooine, Ussej III planned on using the hostages as leverage for forcing the Jedi Order to surrender its position as the “guardians of peace and justice” in the Galactic Republic. Even after beheading the Jedi Master Kal Yast in cold blood via HoloNet, the Jedi Order still refused to leave the Galactic Republic. Ussej III now knew that more drastic action would have to be taken in order to ensure victory, even if he was beginning to question whether or not he was doing the right thing by waging war against the Jedi Order.

Ussej III soon returned to Coruscant in a vessel stolen from Corellia and made his way to the Galactic Senate Office Building. It was there that he professed his deepest sorrow and regret to the Supreme Chancellor for Isabella’s death, though the Supreme Chancellor was surprisingly understanding. The Supreme Chancellor told him that he had forgave him long ago and now he only needed to forgive himself. With the apologies out of the way, the Supreme Chancellor told the Bendu High Priest that something needed to be done. Telling the Supreme Chancellor that he would do whatever needed to be done, Ussej III was granted full authority and full access to any and all Galactic Republic resources he would need.

Later that afternoon, the Bendu High Priest ordered a group of Republic technicians to begin altering two Republic shuttlecrafts so they could be controlled via remote control. High-grade explosives were then placed into the cockpit. Kilometers away from the Jedi Temple, a Republic technician piloted the shuttles into the traffic lanes with the Bendu High Priest watching on. Swiftly and suddenly, the shuttles veered out of the traffic lanes and were rammed into two of the great spires of the Jedi Temple. Though the spires themselves remained intact, the sides of the spires collapsed to the ground leaving interior exposed. Dozens of Jedi Knights died in the resulting explosions, exactly as Ussej III had planned it.

That night, the commanders of the Republic fleet began moving their vessels into a calculated orbit around Coruscant. When dawn came and the star that Coruscant orbited cast its first rays of light upon the city, Ussej III and Supreme Commander Joshua Rydal stood on the bridge of the flagship of the Republic and prepared to remove the Jedi from the Galactic Republic once and for all. Ussej III made contact with Jedi Master Khaluq Chan’drane and gave her two options: first, give up their mandate as guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic and leave Coruscant peacefully; two, watch and die as the Republic fleet fired upon the Jedi Temple, destroying it. However, the second option never came to fruition. Master Chan’drane and the Jedi Council agreed. By the end of the day, the Jedi Temple stood empty with not a single soul within its great halls. After months of war, the Bendu Order had finally won their holy crusades against the Jedi Order. The Shaman of the Whills was wrong and his grandson had seemingly proven that.

As he left Coruscant, the Force of Others drew him to the remote planet of Anaxes, though he knew not why it would do so. But, it did not take long to discover why. Khaluq Chan'drane was there, and he knew it was time to finally slay her. He followed her for a time, but when she realized he was behind her the search for her became harder. He followed her to an abandoned warehouse where he was able to bring out her darker emotions, angering her to her very core. When the time came, she used her anger to strike against her though she was no match for a Bendu High Priest. However, when he was in a position to finally strike her down, he hesitated. He would not destroy an unarmed opponent, and after careful consideration he realized that she truly was not worth the effort it would take to kill her. He knew he had bested her and that was enough for him.

Savoring his victories, the Bendu High Priest returned to Ashla’s Light and began to meditate on what had transpired. However, his meditations were interrupted as the ship’s tractor beam locked onto a small shuttle that had been drifting through space. Ussej III made his way to the shuttle bay to discover something he never thought possible: Isabella was alive, though her body was naked and battered with obvious signs of torture and rape. As Isabella was rushed to the Medical Wing, the High Priest contacted Kalel Kitsune to deliver the news.

A day later, Kalel arrived at the Bendu flagship. At first, he simply struck Ussej III across the jaw, cracking the bones. Kalel accused Ussej III of bringing this entire ordeal upon them and talked of how tortured he had been thinking that Isabella was dead. Ussej III desperately wanted to tell him that he too was tortured, as he cared deeply for Isabella and thinking that he killed her tore him up inside. But, he couldn’t. He discovered a fundamental truth about himself and a truth about his feelings for Isabella. He did not truly love her. He loved the idea of her and the idea of filling the empty and lonely void within his heart that had been there since his wife had died. He knew that Kalel and Isabella were destined to be together and he would no longer stand in the way of that. He let Kalel enter the room alone, walking away as the two lovers were reunited.

After leaving the Medical Wing, he stepped onto the bridge where he found a HoloNet broadcast of a live speech by Chancellor Dashin. In it, he told the Galactic Senate that he was attacked by a Dark Lord of the Sith who threatened that he and his family and loved ones would be murdered unless he resigned. The Chancellor announced his resignation and then placed his full support behind long-time friend and political ally Senator Romulus Augustus. Ussej III returned to the Medical Wing to tell Kalel this, as well as to report the results of a medical report: Isabella had given birth to a child, a child that belonged to her and the Bendu High Priest. The three were shocked to hear this news. After a few days, Isabella and Kalel left leaving the Bendu to prepare to go home to Kal’Shabbol, as Ussej III now knew that the Holy War was the wrong course of action.

Days later, Isabella went to the Outer Rim world where the Bendu Order was preparing their vessel for takeoff. She and Ussej III argued about his leaving, but in the end she left without so much as a true goodbye due to her frustration with him. Ussej III regretted the things he had said, but knew that regrets no longer mattered. Hours later, he met up with the Shadourian flagship where he told Kage Tatsujin his feelings on the Holy War and that they were going home to Kal’Shabbol. Ussej III left the ship, seeing the look of betrayal and anger in the eyes of the Shadourian Master and hoped that he wouldn’t do anything rash.

After a few weeks traveling into the far reaches of the galaxy, Ashla’s Light landed in the plains of Kal’Shabbol. Thousands of people came to greet the return of their noble knights, including the apprentices and priests that had never left to go to war. Ussej was greeted by his old friend Josiah Rendar and the two were obviously happy that all who had survived were now home. As he entered into the temple for the first time in three long years, he immediately walked in the direction of the living quarters. It was soon where he found his son, and the two shared a joyous reunion. They immediately began talking about how far the young Ussej Padric Bac IV had advanced in the time that his father had been gone, and it was if the discussion from three years before had never ended.

A year passed by and the Bendu Order returned to their mandate of serving all those who dwelled on Kal’Shabbol. There were sermons and prayer ceremonies at the same time that they were held three years ago, and everyone enjoyed the return to normality. However, that soon changed. Shadourian fighters fell from the skies, and in an instant they destroyed most of the Bendu Temple of Light, as well as the lives of dozens of Bendu. The High Priest and his son were injured, but not severely. Ussej III knew there was only one person he could talk to in order to settle the mess he had gotten himself into. That person was his grandfather, Ussej Padric Bac....

To Be Continued - Character Still Being RPd

Behind the Scenes

 * He is first featured in Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac II as well as its sequel
 * In the mind of his creator, he is portrayed by actor by Viggo Mortensen
 * "Ussej" is a respelling of "Jesus"
 * He was Role-Played from December, 2005 - April, 2007