Arrin Jakosa

"One down, 'bout two million plus to go. Bring it on."

- Arrin Jakosa, while providing close air support at the Battle of Geonosis Arrin Jakosa was a Jedi Ace that served with the Grand Army of the Republic, the Republic Navy, the Jedi Starfighter Corps, and the Jedi Order from 46 BBY to the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY. Driven into hiding following the Great Jedi Purge, he was eventually located and recruited by the founding members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and served as a scout and spy for them until several weeks before the Battle of Yavin, when he was thought dead on a convoy escort when his X-wing fighter imploded under the onslaught of an Imperial TIE fighter. Arrin resurfaced several years later, after the Battle of Endor, his death revealed to be a ruse to get the Empire off his back. He continued to fight as an Alliance and later a New Republic pilot, despite his advanced age compared to other pilots, and was soon one of the New Republic's best aces. When Luke Skywalker established his Jedi Academy, Arrin was a willing volunteer to help train the next generation. Unfortunately, Arrin's remarkable story ended there. When Ben Solo, better known as Kylo Ren, turned to the dark side and razed the new Jedi, Arrin was caught in the attack and killed. He remained behind as a Force ghost, and revealed himself to many Resistance pilots for years following his death.

Early Life
"Make sure he stays safe. Make sure he becomes the best Jedi he can. He will be a hero someday, in his own way.  For that reason and that reason only are we letting him go."

- Arrin's father Norrel Jakosa, at Arrin's departure from Sori Arrin Jakosa was born on Sori in 44 BBY. His parents, like those of many Jedi, are unknown, and Arrin was raised at the Jedi Temple starting at age two. The reason for his late start was that he was a Sorian, and at the time of his birth Sori was hidden from the galaxy. The Jedi Order still had access to Sori, the only group in history to be so honored, but there was a very lengthy process to allow Arrin to be trained, and according to Sorian law the parents had to have possession of the child for a certain amount of time before they could be taken. In addition, any child taken from Sori had to be eating solid food, capable of at least rudimentary locomotion, and have had sufficient time to be screened for any threatening conditions. When Arrin was finally given to the Jedi, he was kept in a secret nursery along with other Sorian Force-sensitive children to keep the secret of the Sorians safe. He was not brought to the Temple officially until age ten, when he was capable of maintaining a human form to keep his identity secret.

Jedi Training
Arrin's official training as a Padawan started at age fourteen, when he was apprenticed to Jedi Master Jerrek Cannos, who by tradition was also a Sorian. When he first started his training, Master Cannos spent the first few weeks just observing Arrin as he went through his normal routine. Noticing that the young Jedi spent a good deal of his free time in the Jedi Temple's hangar bay, Master Cannos had him tested in one of the Jedi Order's Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptors. As soon as Arrin's hands touched the controls, Master Cannos knew that his Padawan had found his niche. For the next six years of his apprenticeship, Arrin's training was focused on his starfighter skills. Arrin learned many Force techniques that helped him control his starfighter far beyond that of a normal humanoid, and though Anakin Skywalker was by far the superior pilot based on natural skill, by the time of his Knighthood Arrin could become so attuned to his starfighter through the Force that he was nearly a match for the Order's greatest aces in this regard. When he wasn't in the cockpit, Arrin was trained by Master Cannos in the Soresu and Makashi lightsaber forms. The reason for the combination was that Master Cannos knew that Soresu's defensive capabilites allowed a Sorian's fast-working analytical mind to analyze their opponent's tactics and Makashi's blade work allowed them the speed and precision to exploit their weaknesses. Though it did not turn him into a master duelist, the combo allowed Arrin to hold his own against most opponents, including Assaji Ventress, who he fought on at least one occasion during the Clone Wars, and General Grievous, who he also fought at least once.

Knighthood and the Clone Wars
When the Clone Wars broke out, Arrin was twenty-two and a master pilot. Receiving his Knighthood at age twenty, and his entrance to the Jedi Starfighter Corps a few days later, Arrin racked up a good deal of combat experience versus pirates before beginning his fight as a Jedi General in the Clone Wars. Arrin at the time of the Battle of Geonosis was already a teacher himself, having taken on the spunky young fourteen-year-old human Alisha Tarsoan as a Padawan a year after his Knighting. The two Jedi instantly became friends and wingmen, and had grown inseparable in their year together. Luckily, their friendship remained a friendship and nothing more, neither Jedi ever having any thoughts of it becoming anything else. Their bond as master and student, however, was unbreakable, and many a Speratist ace fell to their combined assault during the war.

When the Jedi strike force first prepared to leave for Geonosis, Arrin and Alisha were invited along, but refused on the grounds that both of them were much more capable in the cockpit than on the ground. They instead went with Master Yoda to Kamino, where they hitched a ride on a Republic assault ship and deployed their fighters alongside the clone gunships when they arrived at Geonosis. The two Jedi flew CAS missions as their first major act of the war, and put quite a dent in the Geonosian fighter squadrons as well as the droid ground troops. After the battle they flew missions to search for lost clone troopers, and participated in mopping up operations as well.

For the rest of the war, Arrin and Alisha flew at the head of an elite clone fighter squadron, the Howlrunners. Arrin notched up quite a kill record during the war, with over one hundred confirmed air-to-air and almost fifty confirmed air-to-ground kills during his many operations. Flying his unmistakable custom Delta-7, Arrin was soon almost as famous as Anakin Skywalker for his skill on the stick. Arrin flew the same Delta-7 for the entire war, refusing to transfer to newer ships when they became available and almost never being shot down. He also did brief stints in the ARC-170 and many other miscellaneous craft when his Delta-7 was unavailable or not optimal. His droid unit, R2-4DY, affectionately nicknamed "Fordy", stayed with him throughout the war and later was indispensable in faking his death.

The Great Jedi Purge
The Great Jedi Purge scarred Arrin more than the entire Clone Wars could ever have. When it began, Arrin was flying a pleasure cruise over Coruscant following his return from a successful campaign. A terrible feeling had plagued him for several days, and he had hoped that the flight would clear his head. He sensed trouble when the attack began, and returned to the Temple just in time to watch his Padawan cut down by 501st clone troopers as she raced to warn her master of the danger. Heeding his Padawan's last words, Arrin raced away from the Temple and reached his hyperspace ring just before a clone fighter unit arrived to engage him. Arrin then vanished from the galaxy, his destination unknown and untraced.