Lorelai Whitesun Sakaros

Lorelai Whitesun Sakaros was a Jedi who turned to the dark side and became the apprentice of  Tak Sakaros. Tak's favorite apprentice, she also became the lover and ultimately the wife of Tak's oldest living son, Tariun.

Childhood
Lorelai was born on an unknown planet in the. Her world was attacked when she was three, and her parents killed. It was later alleged by her Jedi Master that Tak Sakaros's forces had been responsible for the attacks; Tak neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, claiming to be unaware of their veracity.

Regardless of the source of Lorelai's loss, she was identified as a Force-sensitive by the while being considered for adoption placement. She studied at the on  for years before she became apprenticed to the  Kai-Dyn Velzar in 23 ABY.

An uncomfortable apprenticeship
Kai-Dyn had been considered a brave and resourceful Jedi by and other early members of the Order. However, the Battle of Dorian IV had changed him. Velzar had been among the Jedi who struck down Khrado Sakaros; in dying, the Sith Lord released an of dark side energy which washed over all those nearby. Many experienced nightmares in the aftermath, but the lure of the dark side worked more subtly on Velzar, twisting his perceptions over time.

Lorelai's initial eagerness for her apprenticeship was quickly tempered as she began to sense there was something wrong with her master. Velzar was constantly critical and quickly became emotionally abusive. As she developed into a young woman, Lorelai began to fear other kinds of abuse, especially as she and her master became increasingly distanced from the other Jedi during the. She took to keeping her hair unkempt and her clothes dirty, and allowed herself to become unhygienic to stave off any potential "interest" her master might have in her.

The two fought side-by-side in the Yuuzhan Vong War, but never developed much of a and were often at odds. Lorelai's outspoken nature and impulsiveness often provoked her master's wrath, and her entire worldview soured as a result.

The Force shall free me
In 30 ABY, Kai-Dyn and Lorelai were on when they encountered the Sith Lord Tak Sakaros. The two Jedi dueled him, but he was able to fend them off and escape. In a second duel, he knocked out Velzar; unaware at the time that Velzar was among the Jedi who had killed his son Khrado, Tak left Kai-Dyn alive and focused on Lorelai. She had attacked with a fury that was quite unlike the Jedi, and Tak sensed potential in her. Rather than kill her, he offered her the chance to become his apprentice.

Tak withdrew, leaving Lorelai conflicted. When Kai-Dyn awoke and berated her for her failure, however, she seized the first opportunity to flee and find Tak. Though leery of the Sith on principle, she cautiously submitted to studying under Tak. His first lessons in the dark side forced her to confront her latent anger and fear, but as she started to harness them into strength, the power of the dark side intoxicated her.

Not long after Lorelai started studying with Tak, Kai-Dyn came looking for her. Tak allowed them to duel, and in unleashing her anger, Lorelai found herself willing to kill her former master. Having largely been consumed by the dark side himself, Kai-Dyn blasted Lorelai aside with. Seeing his new apprentice about to be overwhelmed, Tak finally interceded; as Kai-Dyn focused solely, almost obsessively, on Lorelai, Tak drew his own lightsaber and cut off the fallen Jedi's hands.

Tak urged Lorelai to kill him, and she stabbed him in the chest. As he gasped, Tak—who had learned of Velzar's role in the Battle of Dorian IV—cut off Velzar's head.

Wild child
Being Tak's apprentice was a liberating experience for Lorelai, who could exercise the Force as she desired more or less without restraint. Tak's on-and-off rivalry with Ye'keb and Viprous Auroras and Maximus Kironis, the Jedi Masters overseeing the, caused occasional clashes with the Order, but Tak kept Lorelai out of sight as she developed her strength.

Lorelai's rebellious nature had not subsided, but unlike Kai-Dyn, Tak encouraged it to some extent. She occasionally questioned her master's teaching methods, but he took the time to explain them, even if he made them all the more brutal later on. Encouraged by the bond she had always lacked with Kai-Dyn, Lorelai trained harder than she had under the Jedi and advanced more quickly in turn.

Not long after beginning her apprenticeship to Tak, Lorelai met his son Tariun. The Jedi assumed Tariun was dead, and the two Sith were in no hurry to correct them. Lorelai found Tariun handsome, and he flirted casually with her as was his wont, although Tak separated them not long after. As she grew increasingly confident in her powers, Lorelai became all the more sarcastic, although she had genuine affection for her master.

When Lorelai committed to mastering, Tak gave her the lightsaber of his dead son Marquand, himself a Makashi stylist. The significance of the gesture was not lost on either of them. Tak attracted a small retinue of Dark Jedi to himself on Naboo, but even when more fully trained warriors joined the small alliance, Lorelai was always Tak's right hand.

Strength in adversity
In 32 ABY, Tak and his old friend Gav Daragon devised a plan to betray the Alliance, openly warring against one another in hopes of drawing the Jedi into the conflict. Lorelai executed missions on behalf of her master, but the planned Jedi and Alliance reaction never materialized beyond a token force; Gav's "threatening" Empire in the and  was simply too small to be taken seriously. The two elder Sith Lords began to quarrel.

In 34 ABY, Tak's blood-sister Valadyn Ragnos came to Naboo, bearing the comatose body of Tak's niece Adrienne Keane and her daughter Andromeda. When Valadyn died shortly after, victim of the same toxic exposure that had knocked Adrienne into unconsciousness, Tak took his sister away for burial, leaving Lorelai, Andromeda, and the Syrth Akai under Tariun's "protection".

Being himself, Tariun seduced both Syrth and Lorelai. However, as he spent more time with Lorelai, he found himself attracted to her beyond mere lust. Lorelai, for her part, kept up her smart-mouth nature, giving as good as she got the Sith Lord's teasing and banter. When Tak returned, he was irritated by his son sleeping with his apprentice, but let it go, as he had greater concerns on his mind.

Hit and fade
The tension between Tak and Gav came to a head in early 35 ABY, when the two Sith came to blows. Gav's resources were not enough to trouble the Alliance, but more than enough to keep Tak and his allies on the run. Tak took Lorelai with him, continuing to train her as a warrior and assassin, but she sometimes executed missions on her own or with Tariun.

Gradually, Tariun and Lorelai became lovers, though they saw each other infrequently as they dodged Daragon's forces. When Ye'keb gave birth to Tak's daughter Rin, Lorelai sometimes acted as a bodyguard for the baby girl as she was moved from one safehouse to another. Having rarely been around children, Lorelai quickly came to love Rin, whom she treated as a baby sister.

In 38 ABY, while on an unrelated mission against Daragon's forces, Lorelai encountered a Jedi Knight whom she had met at the Praxeum as a child. Sensing the dark side around her, the Knight attempted to bring her back to the Jedi, but Lorelai had absolutely no interest in abandoning her master or the power he had given her. The argument became a fight, and in short order Lorelai her opponent's lightsaber. Startled, he opened his mouth to speak when the.

Impressed with his apprentice's achievement, Tak declared her a full Sith Lord. Though her time as an apprentice was ended, she elected to continue aiding Tak out of a combination of loyalty to her former master, affection for Rin, and her growing feelings for Tariun.

Private time
During the, Tariun and Tak argued about the proper role of Naboo and Tak's Sith fleet in the conflict. Tariun and Lorelai both volunteered to assassinate, alone or together, but Tak refused them permission. Tak and Tariun fought about that as well, and Lorelai found herself caught between them.

When Tak took the Senate seat for Naboo after the war's end, Tariun and Lorelai began spending more time together away from him. They roamed the Outer Rim, looking for adventure together. They fought sub-groups and pirates, allowing themselves to be drawn into engagements to test their skills against their enemies. They also sparked a gang war among three factions, escaping before anyone could associate the events with them.

Tariun and Lorelai had similarly irreverent senses of humor, and they sometimes flagrantly broke the law and got one of them caught for the fun of the other one breaking him or her out. Tariun taught Lorelai to play (and how to use the Force to cheat), and the pair of them broke the banks in multiple casinos throughout the galaxy. Constantly seeking new experiences to share, they did everything from picnicking on to wave-riding on storm-ridden.

When they did visit Tak on Coruscant, both Lorelai and Tariun spent much of their time with Rin. As she grew old enough for basic training, Lorelai taught her "little sister" the basics of Makashi.

True love
Lorelai and Tariun were in the Outer Rim during 's campaign against the Jedi and the ; after briefly considering trying their skills against any or all of the factions, they opted to avoid the whole business. Not long after, they decided to give some formality to their long-standing relationship and were married privately on. When they told Tak of the wedding, he was disappointed at not having been invited, but blessed the union anyway. Rin, meanwhile, was ecstatic that Lorelai was her "sister for real now".

The two lovers initially decided not to have children. Tariun, who had lost two brothers to the Jedi and seen the sheltered, secretive life Rin was forced to lead, had grave reservations about putting any more children in that sort of danger. Lorelai, meanwhile, recalled her early sufferings in life and wondered whether it would be cruel to bring children into the constantly changing galaxy. Both of them wanted children secretly, but did not argue the other down.

Lorelai and her husband doted on Rin instead, wandering the galaxy and bringing back trinkets and presents for "their" sister. Rin always loved to hear their stories, though they made her jealous she could not tag along. Both Tariun and Lorelai offered to take her, though Tak and Ye'keb usually refused. As she hit puberty and acquired a teenager's level of development, Rin became more comfortable talking to Lorelai about "girl stuff" than to her mother or Jadian Star.

Parting ways
Tariun and Lorelai eventually decided to risk having children, but their initial ecstasy at the idea quickly soured when they proved unable to conceive. Lorelai experienced her first real regret at becoming a Sith, wondering if the power of the dark side had somehow altered her fundamentally. Tariun was depressed as well, but their sufferings wound up bringing them closer together, as each relied on the other for comfort and succor.

Tak asked Tariun for a favor in 60 ABY, and the Sith Lord returned to Coruscant, promising to meet Lorelai on. When they rendezvoused, however, Tariun was furious. Tak had used him to distract Rin aboard the Sith Star so Tak himself could murder Ye'keb in a lightsaber duel, hoping to turn Rin into a true Sith. Rin was heartbroken and outraged, and Tariun livid at having been kept out of the loop. Lorelai herself was aghast at Tak murdering his own child's mother, regardless of his motivation.

United in their disgust, the two spouses spent the next five years avoiding Coruscant. Lorelai could see the changes in herself; past fifty, she looked like a Human of her age, although still fit and strong. Tariun, meanwhile, did not look a day over thirty, and Lorelai could see the changes in the way people looked at them together.

Last hurrah
In 65 ABY, Tak asked for their help in planning a trap for Maximus. Neither Tariun nor Lorelai was eager to help, but Tariun relented when Tak added that Rin would be participating as well. Lorelai wanted to go too, and she and Tariun had an acrimonious argument about the idea. Lorelai was adamantly opposed to Tariun going and fighting without her, but he finally convinced her that the presence of too many dark siders would make their numbers and abilities impossible to conceal and would ruin the trap; Rin's presence alone was already pushing the issue.

Lorelai compromised by taking up a sentry position on a camouflaged buoy, observing the assassination attempt. When Maximus and his Jedi boarded Tak's craft, Lorelai swam to and boarded the Jedi vessel. As she expected, Maximus had left a handful of troops from the on his ship in case he needed to call for backup. Lorelai slaughtered them all, preventing the Jedi from summoning reinforcements or reporting their fate when Tak, Tariun, and Rin defeated them.

The four Sith met briefly after the battle. Rin announced that she was leaving her father and departing to study the Force on her own. Tariun and Lorelai offered to accompany her, but when they were unable, they merely wished her well. The lovers knew that the time was right for their own departure, and informed a startled Tak that they were leaving as well, and not to expect further communication. Though Lorelai had some lingering regret at the effect her words had on her old master, she was still too upset with his killing of Ye`keb to be swayed.

Where it started, where it ends
Over the next few years, Lorelai and Tariun journeyed the galaxy a bit more, but eventually tried to settle down. They bought or rented luxury apartments on several worlds in the Core and Mid Rim, living in each for a year or two, but finally moved back to Naboo. Living in disguise, they took over the estate which had once belonged to Syrth Akai.

Lorelai's physical fitness and lifetime of training kept her in decent shape for her age, but her health began to deteriorate. Tariun rarely left her side in her final years. She asked to be buried on Naboo, and Tariun promised to be buried alongside her when his time came. Lorelai died in 86 ABY.

Legacy
Lorelai's death shattered Tariun. After burying his wife just off the grounds of the Akai estate, he spent the next year wandering aimlessly and drinking extensively until Rin found him on. She recruited him to help her found the Golden Empire.

Rin and Tariun missed Lorelai terribly, although Rin was careful not to discuss her around Tariun unless it was absolutely necessary. Losing Lorelai narrowed Tariun's focus to Rin and helped develop the unbreakable bond between them. Tariun eventually married again in 145 ABY, but only when he had been forced to confront his lingering bitterness about Lorelai's death.

Powers and abilities
Trained as a Sith Lord by Tak Sakaros, Lorelai was proficient in the use of a number of dark side powers, including and. She could also her movements with the Force, a feat she regularly performed in lightsaber combat.

Lorelai elected to specialize in, favoring its precision and grace, as well as its ability to overwhelm more physically powerful enemies with pinpoint strikes.

Appearance and personality
Pale throughout her life, Lorelai had dark brown hair and blue eyes. She was 1.70 meters (5'7”) tall and had a thin but athletic build. She wore her hair long, but usually tied back. As a trainee she often wore simple exercise clothing or Sith robes, but had a number of “special occasion” outfits in which she would indulge when out with Tariun. As a Jedi she carried a standard lightsaber with a blue blade; when she became a Sith, Tak gave her the red-bladed, of his late son Marquand, which remained her weapon for the rest of her life.

Lorelai's early experience of abuse at the hands of Kai-Dyn Velzar left her paranoid and distrustful, and it was rare for her to trust anyone or feel much affection for others. There were major exceptions to the rule, however, including her master Tak, her husband Tariun, and Tariun's little sister Rin. Lorelai retained a deep hate for the Jedi in general and would kill them without hesitation, as she would an enemies or threats; however, she did not kill without reason, and shared her master's disdain for killing defenseless beings, especially children.

Relationships
Having suffered under Velzar's training, Lorelai was initially confused and suspicious about Tak's legitimate desire to see her improve, albeit through harsh training methods. By repeatedly forcing her to keep herself clean and presentable, the Sith Lord finally broke through Lorelai's defensive walls to resocialize her. Tak came to consider Lorelai his favorite apprentice, and they developed something resembling a father-daughter relationship.

Lorelai and Tariun Sakaros were initially merely attracted to one another, and both treated their early sexual liaisons as merely sport. However, their tough, snarky personalities complemented one another rather than conflicting, and they gradually fell into emotional as well as physical attraction. Lorelai took great pride in being the first woman to win Tariun's heart, and she kept his ego in check even as she came to rely on him as her emotional other half as well.

Lorelai doted on Tariun's little sister Rin; though she initially had no desire for children of her own, she loved Rin and was glad to help bring the little girl up. Rin, in turn, considered Lorelai a big sister and adored her. Lorelai was Rin's first exposure to Makashi as a young trainee. Her death hit Rin hard, all the more because she could not discuss it with Tariun for fear of hurting him worse.

Behind the scenes
The character of Lorelai Whitesun was created and role-played by a friend of Sakaros, who granted him permission to write this article on her behalf.