Chindal was a male Dronos Centurion of the Order of Keltrayu and one of the foremost diplomats of the Golden Empire, a close advisor of Queen Rin Sakaros. After suffering severe psychic trauma during the Second Swarm War, Chindal consented to Rin rewriting his memories so he could go undercover as a Jedi Master.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born in 97 ABY on Telacia in the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob, Chindal became the first Novice of the Order of Keltrayu after the Great Liberation at the age of five. He was identified as a Force-sensitive by Rin Sakaros herself, while she was touring her newly acquired member systems.
Though well-trained in combat like all his fellow Novices, Chindal developed a greater affinity for the Force, especially mind tricks and occasionally even visions, and spent a good deal of his free time in meditation and the study of conflict and its resolution. Intrigued by this, Rin instructed her brother to give Chindal occasional field assignments with the Ministry of Diplomacy and the Royal Integration Corps, where the young Dronos flourished. Chindal became a full Centurion of the Order in 120 ABY, at the age of 23.
Chindal was often assigned to arbitrate disputes between systems or between corporations and their labor forces on behalf of the Empire, and had a track record of success, almost always forging compromises that were mutually agreeable to all parties concerned. Due to his successes and his great loyalty to the Empire, Rin and Tariun later assigned him semi-permanently to the Ministry of Diplomacy, and more than one foreign world was brought peaceably into the Empire's fold through the Dronos's efforts. In this way, Chindal became one of a small group of Centurions to win widespread fame in the Empire for something other than military or law enforcement prowess.
Increasing responsibility[]
By 137 ABY, Chindal had become one of Rin's personal advisors on matters pertaining to new systems, and she considered him an expert in all aspects of integrating worlds to the Empire. He devoted a great deal of his time working with the newly conquered Chiss, trying to inspire loyalty and peaceful cooperation with the Empire. In 140 ABY, he assisted Tariun and Breek Zagrev in smuggling Andromeda Keane off Coruscant. Later that year, he was the Centurion sent to invite the Jedi Masters Souv Tanake and Jextar Cyern-Star to parley with Rin.
Chindal accompanied Rin to assist Sorrik in repulsing the Ssi-ruuvi Incursion and was present when Rin made an alliance with the P'w'ecks. By 149 ABY, Chindal was working with the Ministry of Diplomacy in territory formerly belonging to the Vagaari Empire, though he was sent to inform Kweerikirr and the P'w'ecks of Rin's intention to destroy Kizav, to ensure their people were not endangered.
In the aftermath of the Nightmare War, Rin sent Chindal, Tarzg Sav'lir, and Aria Nikina to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to observe Jex and the Jedi; Jex had abandoned Souv Tanake in the Empire and forged her resignation from the Order, leaving Rin blind to its operations. Chindal blended in so well with the Jedi that he attended meditation sessions with Jedi Masters who were oblivious to his deception. He enjoyed the tranquility of the Temple, and while he disagreed with many Jedi philosophies, Tarzg reflected that the mission had been more of a vacation for the Dronos.
The long mission[]
The art of diplomacy[]
Because of his gift for diplomacy, Rin selected Chindal as one of a trio of Centurions (along with Te`net Organi and Eskol Kaartinen) for a mission into Killik space. She had sensed impending danger from the Killiks, and Royal Intelligence backed up her fear with reports of Killik militarization. The Centurions were tasked with bringing the Killiks into the Empire or, failing that, neutralizing the threat. Chindal was informed in advance of the risk of joining, but voluntarily consented to the mission anyway. The three Centurions, their 10,000 Massassi soldiers, and their diplomatic staff departed in 154 ABY.
The Centurions arrived at Berassam to learn that the resident Alaala were under attack, and were appalled to discover that the last remnants of the Vagaari Empire, fleeing Rin's wrath over a decade earlier, had taken refuge in the Utegetu Nebula and been absorbed into the Mollom nest. The resulting agglomeration became known as the Vagaari hives, particularly after it spread to conquer nearby Killik subspecies. Having absorbed the Vagaari's memories of enslavement and empire, the Vagaari hives had set out to conquer the other Killiks.
Kaartinen sought to unite the remaining Killiks to meet the Vagaari in battle and prevent the war from spilling out of the Nebula into the Golden Empire. All three Centurions and their Massassi force met the Vagaari hives in battle at Berassam, shattering the first assault and sending the enemy fleeing. In the aftermath of the success, Kaartinen sent diplomats out to the other Killik nests to bring them together. He and Chindal worked to reinforce each other's will telepathically to resist joining, although Chindal began to experience the first hint of Killik influence due to spending time with the various nests, trying to learn their cultures. Subtly influenced, he downplayed Te`net's fear of the entire Royal force being absorbed.
Chindal became a major player in the unification of the nests into a cohesive fighting force. Fighting alongside and networking with Killiks of all the allied nests, he was the first Centurion to fully Join. His strength in the Force and otherwise-strong mind contributed to the unification among the nests. After the loss of the Star Destroyer Umbra in battle, Eskol eventually gave up resistance to Joining, and emerged as the dominant personality in the combined nest, although he and Chindal together imparted a strong sense of duty, dedication, and teamwork to the newly emerged Nest of Nests, which became known as the Imperium.
The swarm[]
As the Second Swarm War continued, Chindal continued to alternate between fighting on the front lines and helping the various Killik hives coordinate and integrate. He helped to rescue the Wuluw from the Vagaari hives, and thereafter was accompanied almost constantly by the diminuitive, highly telepathic Killiks. The Dronos helped the Wuluw contribute not only to the war effort—using them as living communication devices—but to the continued melding of the Imperium hives.
Both Joiners, Chindal and Eskol found their telepathic bond had strengthened even further. They worked effectively as a duo, and played to their strengths, with Eskol commanding the war effort overall while Chindal focused on unifying their allies. Some measure of Chindal's prior attitude of deference to Kaartinen as Prefect trickled into the collective Imperium mind, which only hastened the general acceptance of the Vuul as the leader of all the Killiks under the Imperium's sway. Chindal shared Eskol's pity for Te`net, whose Qua biology made him immune to the Joining process.
When Eskol extended his war outside the Utegetu Nebula to conquer nearby worlds for resources, Chindal oversaw resource acquisition and starship production, guiding the Killiks to use the facilities on those worlds to produce more weapons for the war. Chindal effectively "sat out" most of the remainder of the Second Swarm War, but he reunited with Eskol and Te`net for the climactic Battle of Roq, when the last living Vagaari among the Mollom and subordinate hives were hunted down and slain.
What might have been[]
Chindal supported Eskol's new plan in the wake of the war—with the Vagaari hives thoroughly conquered and all the Killiks slowly incorporating under the influence of the Imperium, Kaartinen planned to direct the Imperium to war with the larger galaxy and conquer it on behalf of Rin and the Golden Empire. Te`net—who alone of the Centurions, Massassi, and diplomatic staff had never Joined—sought to stop Eskol, but the Vuul defeated the Qua in a duel, cutting off both his hands and imprisoning him aboard the Unseen Queen. As Kaartinen outlined his war plans, Chindal developed a coordinate plan to spread the Wuluw and other Killiks as diplomats and communicators, easing the transition for other species to be conquered by the Imperium.
On the eve of the fleet's first real deployment, Chindal and Eskol were on the bridge of the Unseen Queen when they were confronted by Te`net, who had escaped from his cell and regenerated his hands over the months since his defeat. The Qua recovered his lightsaber while his brothers were briefly startled by his appearance, then the three Centurions fell into battle. While Te`net had previously been defeated because he hesitated to seriously harm Kaartinen, he had spent his convalescence steeling himself, and this time he went into battle without hesitation or mercy. Though both Te`net and Chindal were Ataru stylists, Te`net was a substantially more skillful swordsman, and he eliminated Chindal from the fight early on with a sweeping slash which took off Chindal's right leg and right arm. The shock of the injuries cause Chindal to black out; by the time he briefly recovered consciousness, Te`net had killed Kaartinen, and the Imperium was disintegrating.
Rehab[]
Te`net put Chindal into a hibernation trance and returned him to the Sith Star. There, Tillandra Moraes and Rayne Turgachia cared for the comatose Centurion while Vos'elk'eetash and Souv Tanake attempted to repair the damage to Chindal's mind. Eventually, they mutually agreed to awaken Chindal from his trance. They found him still deeply affected by Joining and suffering enormous psychic distress from the deaths of Kaartinen and so many Killiks.
Over the following year, the four worked to help Chindal through his psychic trauma and reverse the effects of Joining, with only mixed success. Chindal gradually reasserted a sense of individual identity, but often lapsed back into collective pronouns, and spent long hours in forlorn meditation. As they became convinced he was not an immediate threat, Rayne and Tillandra fitted him first with a cybernetic leg, then a cybernetic arm in 159 ABY. Rin monitored the work on Chindal and occasionally stopped in to help, but suspected the Killik influence and mental damage were too deep for Chindal to ever completely recover.
On several occasions, Chindal had night terrors, which bled into the Force telepathically and distressed several Novices. Though Souv encouraged rehabilitative therapy, Aria would not allow Chindal a lightsaber, and so the Dronos practiced sword forms with a wooden stick.
Permanent Vacation[]
By 159 ABY, Chindal's erratic psychological state had not abated, and both Rin and Souv doubted they would be able to improve him further. Rin considered allowing Chindal to retire, but feared the damage he might cause to civilians if he snapped. Chindal himself put up a brave front, but suffered greatly.
In the end, Chindal accepted Rin's last-ditch suggestion: she would wipe away his memories of the Empire, and Master Jextar Cyern-Star would insert him into the Jedi Temple as a Jedi Master. Chindal was eager to be relieved of his endless, tormenting memories and psychic scars, and Rin foresaw that Chindal, as a Jedi, would make "prophecies" of her coming which, while not endangering the Empire, would inspire future generations of Jedi to accept the Empire rather than fighting. Before the procedure, however, Chindal met with his friends to say goodbye, and took special care to meet with and console Te`net.
Over two days of intense, focused meditation, Rin wiped Chindal's memories of his life in the Empire and his service to the Order of Keltrayu, blurring some to appear as Jedi experiences and erasing others altogether. She and Souv also joined forces to give Chindal new, false memories that would bolster his cover, seating them deeply enough that Rin felt her deception would never be detected. They then put Chindal in a hibernation trance and gave him over to Jex's care.
Jex transported Chindal to the known galaxy, awakening him in the Outer Rim under the pretense of having just found him. Disoriented, Chindal "remembered" his Jedi identity, and returned with Jex to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He remembered being there before, but attributed it to his Jedi past. Chindal fit in among the Jedi as well as one of them as he had while a spy for the Order of Keltrayu, and most Jedi accepted his presence without suspicion. Indeed, many Jedi Initiates sought him out for training because of his patient and supportive attitude.
Powers and abilities[]
Like all Centurions, Chindal was trained extensively in telepathy and telekinesis, though he preferred to negotiate or use persuasive Force powers than fight whenever possible. He was trained in lightsaber combat like all his siblings, and adopted Ataru as his style. However, the intense effort he devoted to studying history, politics, and diplomacy took away from his time for weapons practice. While he met the Order's standard of competence in swordplay, his skills were a far cry from the Order's masters, such as Tariun Sakaros, Kieran Sapphire, and Rajj-Yo.
On the other hand, Chindal was a negotiator almost without peer among the Empire's diplomats and mediators. He had great empathy for other beings, which manifested itself in both skill with Force empathy and an ability to connect with others verbally, putting them at ease and drawing them toward compromise. Aside from the use of protocol droids as translators, he single-handedly convinced multiple systems to join the Golden Empire.
Like his siblings, Chindal was fluent in Sith and Orhyo; he also mastered Basic, and though he had a slight accent, he could speak as well as a native. He was also noted by the Jedi Master Souv Tanake for having a remarkably disciplined and controlled mind, as she could not get even a faint hint of Chindal's thoughts or emotions.
Appearance and personality[]
Chindal was 5'10" (1.78 meters). In youth, he had brown hair and an athletic physique; his body rounded out slightly as he aged, given his tendency to engage in conversation and not combat. His hair also turned iron gray around the time he turned forty; he usually wore it in a queue on the top of his head. He had dark brown eyes. He preferred a robe to the cloak common to other Centurions, and wore his straight-hilt lightsaber slightly inconspicuously on his belt.
Chindal effected a pleasantly polite demeanor at nearly all times, appearing to others to be patient, interested in what they had to say, and mildly curious. His calm was almost impossible to shake, and it allowed him to calm others whose passions were heating. His smile was described by others as "reassuring". When he ultimately took on a Jedi persona for his own sanity and as a final service to Rin, Rin felt the deception was possible in the first place because Chindal's temperament was well-suited to the Jedi.
Chindal was, like the rest of the Centurions, devoutly loyal and respectful to Rin Sakaros. However, he took seriously her charge to advise her, and would give her candid advice whenever asked, regardless of whether he was disagreeing with her. As a result, Rin came to trust him implicitly, sending him on missions requiring the greatest tact or discretion. Chindal agreed to lose his memories and become a Jedi not only for his own sake, but to help Rin in a way no other Centurion could.