The only time the Jedi were able to win a war was the Mandalorian Wars, and even then Revan had to go against the Council to do it. If Revan had stayed with the Sith during the Jedi Civil War the Republic would be dead. The Jedi are too unpredictable to trust. We trusted you once during the Mandalorian Wars and it nearly cost us everything. We can defeat the Sith ourselves this time.
—Joshua Reytel while speaking to Jar Todur with Cos Jonathan Dashin
Joshua Reytel was the Supreme Commander of the Galactic Republic military during the Great Sovereign Crusades. During his early military career, he was a capable and recognized officer who helped in the fight against many of the pirate factions that remained after the United Pirate Crusades. He built his career around the event and it helped him gain promotions through the ranks until he eventually was appointed by the Galactic Senate as the Supreme Commander of the Republic Military.
Because they had once refused to help him during a battle at Dantooine that resulted in the deaths of dozens of crewman, Joshua had a strong distrust of the Jedi High Council and a low opinion of the Jedi Order in general. This caused him to help Ussej Padric Bac III and Ein Nightblade force the Jedi off of Coruscant during their holy war, an act he later came to regret as it allowed the Third Sith Empire to invade and capture the planet. After remaining on Baltimn and strengthening the Republic fleet for three years, Joshua participated in the liberation of Coruscant where Ussej Padric Bac III killed Emperor Invidius and aided the Republic in finally defeating the Third Sith Empire.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Joshua Reytel, known as Josh to those close to him, was born on Alderaan five years after the Great Rim Lines War. Despite the peaceful nature of Alderaan, his family had a long tradition of serving in the military from the Great Sith War to the Great Rim Lines War, the latter of which his father served in alongside Cos Jonathan Dashin. As a boy, Joshua grew up learning about the military tradition of his family and about the military in general, which prepared him for a life in the armed forces.
Throughout his years in school, Joshua got high marks in his subjects though it was only so he would be prepared to enter the Republic Military Academy on Coruscant. After being accepted, he spent four years there learning everything he needed to know to become an effective officer, which was the route he had decided to take in his career. When he graduated, he was assigned to patrols in the Outer Rim Territories as a first class tactical officer.
While on patrol, Joshua and the fleet he served on fought their way through pirate ambushes and the occasional Mandalorian patrol every so often, though there was nothing truly eventful for them to participate in. After several years of patrols, Joshua returned to the Core Worlds and served as the captain of the vessel Liberty, making him one of the youngest Core World captains at that time. He also helped to oversee the deployments of a reconstruction battalion of engineers and medics that traveled throughout the Republic helping the billions of people who were still suffering because of the wars that had happened years earlier.
Promotions[]
Joshua (right) while in combat with a group of pirates.
It was during this time that Joshua formed a friendship with then-Supreme Commander Cos Jonathan Dashin. As Dashin made his way into the political arena, he was able to help Joshua gain favor with additional military commanders, allowing Joshua to be able to rise through the ranks. Members of the Jedi Order, however, believed that Joshua was being promoted unfairly, though the military assured them that he was not. Joshua began to resent the Jedi Order, though he still trusted them to help the people.
Joshua and his ship were sent on a patrol to Dantooine to investigate supposed pirate activity there. When they arrived, they came under attack by a pirate fleet and sent a message to the Jedi on Dantooine to help them. The Jedi Council of the planet, however, did not take action and dozens of men on Liberty were killed, though they were able to force the pirates away from Dantooine nonetheless. Before heading to the surface, they held a memorial service for the men they lost.
When additional forces arrived to aide his own vessel, Joshua made his way to the surface of Dantooine and went before the Jedi Council to ask why they had not helped him. To his confusion and anger, they told him that the pirates may have been part of a larger threat like they had been during the United Pirate Crusades and that they would need to investigate the matter before engaging them. Despite the high respect Joshua always held for the Jedi Order, they lost his respect and trust. When he arrived back on Coruscant, he told then-Senator Dashin what had taken place and Dashin told him that he too had a distrust of the Jedi Order.
Shortly thereafter, Joshua took an administrative posting on Coruscant. He learned many of the necessary skills that he needed to advance in rank further and he also took the opportunity to relax after years of fighting. He continued to rise through the ranks during this time, eventually to the rank of Republic Colonel. After his promotion, he returned to active duty in command of a fleet on the Republic border, once again finding himself facing pirates, Mandalorians and other large mercenary groups.
During a large battle with several pirate groups, Joshua was able to destroy their forces and cripple their base of operations after breaking their command codes. Because of this, he was promoted to the rank of Republic General. He continued hunting down the pirate group for over two years, reducing their forces at each engagement. During the final engagement of what seemed to become a war, Joshua served alongside the Supreme Commander of the military, who ended up being killed when the bridge of the Liberty was nearly destroyed.
Joshua and the rest of the injured were returned to Coruscant where they were healed. When he recovered, he learned that he was being considered for the position of Supreme Commander. He did not expect to receive it, as he felt that there were others who were more qualified. Regardless, the Galactic Senate decided that they needed a Supreme Commander with a great deal of battlefield experience and expertise, so Joshua was appointed to the position.
Outbreak[]
After a radical group of Dark Jedi attacked the Galactic Senate, the Supreme Chancellor resigned in disgrace for allowing it to happen. Shortly thereafter, Dashin was elected to the position of Supreme Chancellor, which came as a great relief to Joshua as he had wanted to work with someone competent ever since he was promoted. Joshua served during the First Battle of Onderon in the beginning of the Great Sovereign Crusades in an attempt to repel Mandalorian invaders, though the Republic was unsuccessful and the planet fell to the Mandalorians.
A few months later, Joshua received word that the Mandalorians had invaded Utapau and had kidnapped Dashin's daughter, Isabella Dashin. Shortly thereafter, Joshua met with Ussej Padric Bac III and Kalel Esunkit on Coruscant where they began uncovering intelligence that suggested Isabella had been taken to Onderon. The three of them began putting together a rescue plan which also served as a liberation plan. During a classified meeting, Ussej presented the final plan to Joshua, Dashin and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dashin approved it and put Ussej in charge of it, as Joshua decided that he would remain on Coruscant because of what had happened during the previous battle.
When the battle was over, Isabella had been recovered and the Republic was victorious. After being briefed by Kalel and then in turn briefing Dashin and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joshua approved a request from Ussej and gave every officer and soldier involved in the battle a commendation. He also gave many of them a promotion. Despite calls from the press for Joshua to speak more about the subject, he declined as he did not want to appear to be the one who had been behind the rescue.
After many more months of fighting, Joshua learned that Ussej led his Bendu Order into an alliance with Ein Nightblade and his Shadourian Order, an alliance which launched a holy war against the Jedi Order. Although he was forced to condemn the so-called terrorist acts in public, he personally hoped that the Bendu and the Shadourians would be victorious as he no longer wanted what he perceived to be a corrupt and incompetent order to reside on Coruscant.
Regardless, the Jedi attempted to strengthen their relationship with the Republic, so the council sent Jedi Master Jar Todur to try to negotiate a stronger alliance with Joshua and Dashin. They made the meeting difficult for Todur as they wanted nothing to do with him, and they believed that he was ill-equipped to properly discuss terms with him. Therefore, they forced Todur out of the Galactic Senate building in disgrace.
A few months later, the Bendu Order bombed the Jedi Temple. Later that morning, the commanders of the Republic fleet began moving their vessels into the atmosphere and surrounded the Jedi Temple. Ussej, Ein and Joshua were on the bridge of the lead ship and Ussej made contact with the Jedi Council, giving Grandmaster Khaluq Chan'drane and the rest of them two options: the Jedi Order would give up its mandate as the guardians of peace and justice and leave Coruscant peacefully, or they would die as the fleet fired upon the temple. The Council reluctantly agreed to leave and, by the end of the day, the Jedi Temple was completely empty. Joshua felt that with the Jedi off of Coruscant, the people would be much safer.
Unfortunately, Joshua was proven wrong. Dashin was attacked by a Sith Lord and was forced to resign as Supreme Chancellor, leaving Romulus Augustus to take over. Just days later, Augustus ordered the fleet away from Coruscant as he stated the Mandalorians were going to attempt to launch an invasion. As Joshua brought the fleet towards the Outer Rim, the forces of the Third Sith Empire invaded and took over Coruscant, something that Joshua did not find out about until Emperor Invidius addressed the galaxy. Joshua made his way to Baltimn after being ordered to do so and found that it was going to be a hidden Republic capital until a counter-attack was launched. After Joshua put significant pressure on the Senate, Dashin was re-instated as Supreme Chancellor.
Liberation[]
For three years, the Republic decided not to engage the Sith on Coruscant. Instead, they focused on rebuilding their crippled fleet and they were able to do so successfully. After they began considering an attack, Ussej arrived on Baltimn after having disappeared following the fall of Coruscant. Joshua was somewhat reluctant to trust him as it was his actions that led to the fall of Coruscant, though he knew that he could not blame Ussej entirely as Joshua had allowed prejudices to cloud his better judgment as well. Therefore, he and Dashin listened to what Ussej had to say.
During their meeting, Ussej helped them begin formulating a counter-attack against the Sith to take back Coruscant. Ussej believed that if the Republic was able to decimate the Sith fleet then he would be able to kill Invidius. Joshua and Dashin agreed and they immediately began making preparations. Dashin asked Joshua to request the assistance of the Jedi Council, though the Council refused to be a part of the attack as they assumed it would fail. They believed that more time was needed to allow the Sith to become complacent, and they did not trust Ussej to help lead the attack.
Personality and traits[]
The numerous conflicts that Joshua was a part of, including the war, was what shaped the man he ended up becoming, as the harsh reality of constant fighting changed the way he perceived things. He was a strong willed man who believed strongly in the Republican cause, so much so that he was willing to give his life for it. His confidence in this regard also allowed him to speak to the point and made him unflinching when dealing with other people, which was necessary as the Supreme Commander of the military.
Joshua Reytel, a true soldier until the very end.
For many years, Joshua strongly, yet privately, opposed the Jedi Order as being a part of the Republic, brought on by his experiences with them on Dantooine. Despite this, he was thought of as being a kind and caring man even during war time as he felt that strength, yet compassion, was necessary for any good leader. This always helped him to remain centered and to serve the greater good of the Republic. He treated lesser men with the same respect as he did his superiors, as he believed that all members of the military deserved the same amount of respect regardless of rank.
Talents and abilities[]
Joshua was said to have been an extremely effective fleet commander that possessed strong combat skills. He was able to work his way through the military to learn all of the skills that came with such promotions, and more. His administrative skills, combat skills and ability to influence others when necessary served him well during his time as Supreme Commander. He also possessed skills with a rifle with normal standard weapons, and his hand to hand combat skills were also well known during traditional boxing matches on board fleet ships. Regardless, he never won any championships, as there was always someone better than him.
During his early years, Joshua went through a great deal of field training so he knew effective survival skills for if he ever needed them. He was also well versed in first aid and could work well with a team, something that helped him throughout his life. While he was in the process of his promotions, he also received some Republic Commando training which was considered one of the most difficult training exercises in the Republic. Because of all of this, he felt that he was a truly complete soldier and trained his own men in the same fashion.
Behind the scenes[]
Joshua Reytel was a role-playing character of Matthew Tarrant, a veteran role-player and current Role-Play Administrator on TheStarWarsRP.Com. He was chosen to be the Supreme Commander when Brandon Rhea's character, Cos Jonathan Dashin, became Supreme Chancellor.
Appearances[]
- Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac III (First appearance)