Jon Ternath was a Force-sensitive Human male Jedi Master of the Jedi Order. During the Clone Wars, he served as the Jedi General of the Grand Army of the Republic's 96th Legion. His legion fought against Confederate Marshal General Yosip Zagoonga throughout the war, being defeated by him at Zanjurro and Jakol. With the leadership of General Ternath however, the 96th Legion managed to halt Zagoonga's advance at the Battle of Foless. The 96th then spearheaded a major offensive against the Separatist Alliance in the southern areas of the galaxy.
Ternarth and Lokka attempted to hunt down Yosip Zagoonga during the Outer Rim Sieges in hopes of bringing the war to a slightly quicker end. After scoring several victories against Zagoonga including the Battle of Hosnian Prime and Siege of Quadan VI, Ternath and Lokka confronted and fought the feared Separatist at the Battle of Lagobah. Before they were able to finish the fight, the Great Jedi Purge began with the execution of Order 66. Master Ternath was able to hold off the clones long enough to save his Padawan, although he did not last long against the troopers that had served under him throughout the war.
Biography[]
Early years[]
Jon Ternath was born on the Colonies planet Foless in the year 69 BBY. As a newborn he was subjected to the Galactic Republic's mandatory blood testing, which revealed that he had a high midi-chlorian count. Ternath was subsequently taken by the Jedi Order, being far too young to retain any memories of his birthplace or family.
Jedi Training[]
As a Jedi Initiate, Ternath was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Like other younglings, he was taught about the Force by Grand Master Yoda, and was eventually taken to Ilum where he acquired a green kyber crystal to construct his lightsaber.
By the time of his adolescence, Ternath had become recognized for his relatively strong Force abilities. He became the Padawan of Master Yaddle and trained under her for several years. In 49 BBY, when Ternath was twenty, he passed the Trials to become a Jedi Knight.
Pre-Clone Wars[]
As a Jedi Knight, Jon Ternath successfully trained several Padawans. Sometime after the Invasion of Naboo, he was granted the rank of Master by the Jedi High Council in recognition of his accomplishments and devotion to the Order.
In 23 BBY, Ternath took on the Twi'lek Jedaana Lokka as his Padawan.
Early Clone Wars[]
Shortly after the beginning of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, Jon Ternath was given the rank of Jedi General and command over a clone trooper corps in the Grand Army of the Republic, which included the 96th Legion. Ternath believed that the Confederacy of Independent Systems was a massive threat to the ideals of the Jedi Order and the Republic, and that it thus needed to be defeated.
Battle of Zanjurro[]
Ternath's first engagement took place on the planet Zanjurro in the Expansion Region. His legion used the Acclamator-class transgalactic military assault ship Intrepid to travel there, and was sent along with the 79th Armored Division led by Jedi General Ropar Umnaro. Their goal was to ensure Zanjurro did not fall under the control of the Confederacy, which it was at a significant risk of doing due to its connection to the Frenzanian Kingdom.
The Intrepid and Umnaro's assault ship landed on the Uyazzo Salt Flat, a short distance from Zanjurro's capital of Etosh City. Ternath was aware that Frenzanian military forces were present, however he hoped to persuade them to surrender without any casualties. This plan quickly failed, as the Republic was hit by an artillery barrage from the Frenzanians, initiating the Battle of Zanjurro. Generals Ternath and Umnaro ordered a counterattack, but this stalled due to the Frenzanians having entrenched positions.
Despite the city's defenders holding out for several hours, Ternath was confident that his forces would soon emerge victorious. However, substantial Confederate reinforcements soon arrived, commanded by Marshal General Yosip Zagoonga of the 39th Region Army. Separatist landing craft deployed thousands of battle droids and many ground vehicles, leading to a firefight across the salt flat. Ternath decided to divert most of his clones away from Etosh City to fight off the droids, which Umnaro agreed with.
Ternath and Lokka soon noticed that the Separatists had TMAV-28 super-heavy tanks, immense ground combat vehicles which the Jedi had never seen before. Ternath advised extreme caution in dealing with them but Umnaro disagreed and instead led an all-out charge with an HAVw A6 Juggernaut. His vehicle was subsequently destroyed and he died. Across the battlefield, it became apparent that the overwhelming droid numbers were winning against the clones.
Realizing that the battle was lost and wanting to save as many of his troops' lives as possible, Ternath ordered an immediate retreat back to the Acclamator-class assault ships. The Jedi Master and his Padawan were the last ones to board the Intrepid before it took off. However, they were attacked by Separatist frigates, and the ship carrying the 79th Armored Division was destroyed. Ternath was disappointed in himself for not being able to save the the thousands of clones aboard the ship, but the Intrepid managed to successfully get out of the system.
Battle of Jakol[]
After his defeat at Zanjurro, General Ternath was ordered to take the 96th Legion to Jakol in the Inner Rim. A number of Republic Military leaders questioned Ternath's competence, believing that his objective on Zanjurro should have been easily fulfilled but that he instead fled like a coward. Ternath assumed that his orders to go to Jakol were meant as a punishment, as the planet was not expected to be attacked by the Confederacy. Instead, the 96th Legion was forced to deal with rampant riots and lawlessness on Jakol, a task which the clone troopers found demeaning.
Unbeknownst to the Republic, several Separatists collaborated to attack Jakol, most notably Marshal General Yosip Zagoonga and Jakolite politician Ogval Goshal. In 21 BBY, a sizable CIS naval force, known as Task Group Xeron, arrived to conquer the planet. Republic ships led by Admiral Enrit Falor were unable to stop the Separatists from landing their forces on the ground. The 96th Legion was tasked with defending the city of Polura, located at Jakol's north. The city was assaulted by around two hundred thousand battle droids along with a few thousand Frenzanian soldiers.
Ternath ordered his clones to hold the line, not wanting to retreat a second time to Zagoonga, who was actually directly leading the attack on Polura. They managed to inflict significant casualties on the Separatists and were able to defend the city for a few days, but simply lacked the numbers to continue fighting. Concluding that the 96th Legion could not win, General Ternath contacted Admiral Falor, telling him to get the Intrepid onto the planet's surface so that the entire legion could board it and leave. This plan was successful, with the Intrepid evacuating all the clones and retreating from Jakol with the rest of Battle Group Iota-4. Ternath struggled with the fact that he had lost twice in a row to Zagoonga, but he tried to prevent his negative emotions from taking over his mind.
Battle of Foless[]
Months after the Battle of Jakol, the 96th Legion was stationed at the planet Foless, which was the homeworld of Ternath though he felt no personal connection to it. This time, the Republic was expecting a major attack against the planet by Zagoonga.
Eventually, Marshal General Zagoonga arrived with his most powerful invasion force yet, consisting of over a hundred capital ships and millions of battle droids. As soon as droids landed on the surface of Foless, the 96th Legion attacked them. Most of the battle consisted of urban combat, and General Ternath directed his legion using lessons learned from Jakol. His clones frequently carried out ambushes, managing to cripple Separatist numbers and stall the enemy advance.
Once additional clone legions arrived, Ternath led the 96th in a push to defeat all the battle droids on Foless. This planet-wide counterattack was successful, with all the droids eventually being destroyed on the ground while Republic warships gained the upper hand in orbit. Soon, Zagoonga lost half his fleet and the vast majority of his ground forces, and was forced to retreat. General Ternath received much of the credit for the decisive Republic victory, proving himself and his legion, and setting the stage for an offensive against Zagoonga.
Personality and traits[]
Jon Ternath was a Human male who stood at 1.81 meters and weighed 81 kilograms, having a strong physical build. He had light skin, blue eyes, and black hair.
Ternath was a loyal member of the Jedi Order, and closely adhered to its ideology. He trusted in the will of the Force and sought peaceful solutions whenever possible, but believed that the Jedi needed to stand against aggression wherever it existed. Ternath was regarded as tough but fair with his Padawans, wanting to push them to do their best while also not setting unrealistic expectations. He also taught his apprentices to embrace failure and learn from it, something which Ternath himself did during the Clone Wars.