Souv Tanake was a female Arkanian Jedi Master of the New Jedi Order who ultimately defected to the Golden Empire and became a Centurion of the Order of Keltrayu.
Biography[]
Jedi Training[]
Souv was born on Corellia to a pair of humble farmers; she had one elder brother. Unlike most Jedi of her era, her affinity for the Force was discovered at an early age. After studying in various academies in the Core worlds, she was taken on as a Padawan learner by a renowned Jedi Master named Hayden Ragnos-Sakaros when she was only ten. Along with the Force, Souv also learned her master's unorthodox approach to problem-solving and the galaxy at large. At the age of eighteen, she took her Trials and passed, becoming a very young Jedi Knight.
Being more of a free-thinker than what most of the Order was comfortable with, Souv was often categorized as a Gray Jedi, as Hayden himself had been. Souv took a young Human woman named Odala van Meer as a Padawan shortly after her arrival on Nar Shaddaa. Souv and Odala survived the Sith-Imperial War, escaping the Massacre on Ossus where Hayden was struck down. With the Jedi Order forced underground, Souv occasionally left Odala in the care of other Jedi when she undertook particularly dangerous missions. Her skill and loyalty to the Force earned her the title of Grand Master, though she was sent to lead a small, struggling academy on the Outer Rim moon of Nar Shaddaa.
On a mission to Myrkr, Souv partnered with the renegade Imperial Knight Reiko Kaytana to root out a faction of slavers. Souv herself was killed on the mission, but Reiko used her uncommon dark transfer power to bring Souv back. Souv, who had found brief peace in the Force, found the experience intensely jarring, and struggled for some time to come to terms with what she had been through.
Desperate Times[]
Nar Shaddaa was filled with criminals, the negative Force energy swirling in the moon's city was enough to choke most Jedi. Still, Souv vowed to teach the students there...to make them stronger because of it, and most of all, to give them a chance where other temples refused. It earned her heavy skepticism from other Jedi, and often led to conflicts between Souv and more mainstream Jedi, though she was on decent terms with Jedi Master Jextar Cyern-Star. She took a smuggler, Flinton Hawk, as a lover.
On the Smuggler's Moon, the Jedi were often in danger from local criminal elements, but Souv saw the danger becoming much worse with the arrival of the dark sider Tak Sakaros, who had become first an agent and later underboss of the Merquise Syndicate. The two had a testy relationship; Tak was unafraid to kill Jedi who interfered with Merquise business but, knowing Souv's master had been his son, refrained from killing her or even challenging her directly. The two also sparred over Reiko Kaytana; she had come to the Jedi Academy seeking refuge, but Tak sought to lure her away and into the Syndicate. Souv was not pleased when Tak himself also took an apprentice, Alluria Quinn, a former Jedi who had been incarcerated in the spice mines of Kessel for years.
Odala opposed her master's alliance with Tak, but master and Padawan had other concerns. Odala had been injured in 137 ABY, forcing her to take a prosthetic leg below the left knee. Despite her injuries, Souv continued to train her student, inuring her to the brutality of Nar Shaddaa to prepare her to face any threat.
Matters came to a head when it emerged that the Sith Lord Vegal Ein had secretly backed Ara Merquise in forming the Merquise Syndicate. When Vegal kidnapped Ara, Souv and Tak allied to rescue her and bring the Sith Lord down. In a rescue mission to Khar Delba, the two failed to save Ara, whose mind had been irreversibly damaged by Vegal and whom Tak euthanized. However, they joined forces to kill Vegal; leaping off Souv's shoulders, Tak impaled Vegal while Souv cut him in half. At Tak's urging, Souv confiscated Vegal's Sith mask, which was imbued with the dark side. Out of respect for Souv's help, Tak offered to cement the truce between the Merquise Syndicate and the Jedi Order, and Souv accepted.
The Sakaroses[]
Tak ascended to leadership of the Merquise Syndicate after Ara's death, and Souv led her Jedi in opposition to the various Hutt kajidics on Nar Shaddaa without interference from the Syndicate. After Roan Fel and Darth Krayt died and the Galactic Federation Triumvirate was established, Souv reconnected with a newly revitalized Jedi Order, though she remained on the periphery, particularly given her alliance with Sakaros.
In 139 ABY, Tak and his erstwhile friend, the Sith Lord Gav Daragon, became involved in a fratricidal conflict that decimated much of Nar Shaddaa's surface. When Daragon captured Tak's apprentice Alluria, Tak agreed to a duel with Gav, and Souv accompanied him as his second. Both Sith died in the conflict, but Ventresca Tan, the new boss of the Syndicate, agreed to preserve the Syndicate/Jedi truce. When Reiko gave birth to Tak's posthumous child, Nagarian, Souv's bond with the Syndicate was strengthened even further.
The Golden Queen[]
Odala was further injured in a building collapse, requiring a prosthetic arm and a metal plate in her head. In the wake of her injuries Souv tried to help her student focus, but Odala nursed anger over the death of her friend and fellow Jedi Kalron Rendalle in the collapse. She was briefly kidnapped by the Desilijic kajidic, but rescued by Souv, Alluria, Jarek Solios, and a handful of other, unidentified beings who were ostensibly agents of the Syndicate, though Souv questioned this. Odala took the Jedi Trials in 140 ABY, but failed, and refused to return to Nar Shaddaa thereafter.
Not long after, Chindal arrived at the Nar Shaddaa academy to invite Souv and Jextar Star to a parley at the Denarii Nova. Souv agreed to attend and was surprised to find the Sith Star and the Prime Fleet, with Queen Rin Sakaros, Tak's only daughter, at its heart. She was equally surprised that both Alluria and Jex were already Rin's allies. Rin asked Souv to be an ally, protecting her brother Nagarian and shielding the Empire from discovery by the Jedi.
At the parley, Souv gave Rin and her brother Tariun a gift—the opportunity to view her memories of both Hayden (their half-brother) and Tak. Rin gave Souv free run of the Sith Star during her stay, and Souv spoke with many of Rin's Centurions and military and diplomatic personnel. She came to the (correct) conclusion that Hayden must have been covertly supporting his sister by suppressing information about her exploits before it could reach the Jedi Council. Persuaded by a mix of trust in Hayden's judgment, what she had seen aboard the Star, and her own experiences allied with Tak, Souv ultimately conceded to Rin's request.
Sith Infiltrators[]
Souv returned to Nar Shaddaa as Rin's ally, but was perturbed that Odala had become Alluria Quinn's Sith Apprentice. The arrangement became even more complicated as Souv began working with Alluria's own boyfriend, Jarek Solios, to help him improve his Soresu swordplay and his strength in the light side. For the first time Souv was generally allowed access to Ara Merquise's Fortress, a privilege even Tak had denied her. When the Syndicate went to war with the Desilijic Clan, Souv kept the Jedi ostensibly neutral, although she used them to protect innocent people, which often meant checking the Hutts.
As the Galactic Federation Triumvirate established firmer control over the post-Krayt galaxy, Souv was sometimes called away from Nar Shaddaa to deal with pockets of One Sith agitators and infiltrators. On several of these missions she partnered with Jedi Master Elrabin Ralvik, a Kiffar who had been shaped into the Jedi Council's assassin, rooting out and killing Jedi who felt to the dark side. Elrabin's training, insisting on strict Jedi orthodoxy, made him uncomfortable with Souv's alliance with Alluria, but he and Souv got on well nonetheless.
On one mission, Souv, Jex, and Elrabin fell into a Sith ambush. Though they survived, Jex lost a few fingers and Souv was blinded by a Sith's lightsabers. She learned to master Force Sight over the following months. Souv's niece, Sigea, made her aunt a set of cybernetic eyes which she also used on occasion.
Shift in Destiny[]
Odala gave birth to her daughter, Azalyn Kass`l, in 143 ABY, and Souv became a friend and protector to the little girl, as was Rin. Over time the blended ziggurat family—Jarek, Alluria, their daughter Octavia, Reiko, Sigea, Nagarian, Reiko and Sigea's adoptive son Kylar, Odala, her husband Veli, his brother Broll, and Azalyn—began to consider leaving Nar Shaddaa. Souv helped cover their tracks when they moved to Belsavis in 146 ABY, and followed them herself to serve as a Jedi Watchman in the Bozhnee sector.
Around the same time, Elrabin began to grow curious about Souv's uncommon commitment to protecting Nagarian. Eventually she revealed the existence of the Golden Empire to him; after meeting with Rin himself, Elrabin defected and became a Novice, and Souv made more frequent trips to the Empire.
In 148 ABY, Alluria and Odala were captured by a group of Sith headed by Darth Nihl. Rin took a force of Centurions to rescue them while Souv protected the Sakaros, Solios, and Kass`l children. Alluria was rescued, but Odala died, and Souv became a source of comfort for her half-orphaned children, Azalyn and Tae.
After the Nightmare War of 149 ABY, Souv was visiting the Empire when a distraught Jex Star, feeling the Empire needed Souv, reported her resignation to the Jedi Council without her knowledge or consent. Effectively marooned in the Empire, Souv was furious, but stayed in the Empire under Rin's protection and continued her relationship with Elrabin (now a Centurion himself), which had become romantic. In 151 ABY, Rin granted her consent for them to marry.
A New Order[]
Though Souv enjoyed her time in the Empire, she eventually felt uncomfortable residing there and enjoying Rin's hospitality without giving back. In 152 ABY, she requested and received permission to join the Order of Keltrayu herself. Given her extensive experience, she was quickly promoted to full Centurion after sailing through her exams.
Souv spent much of her time in the Citadel, training Novices alongside her husband and helping Azalyn in particular. In 154 ABY she picked up Makashi instruction for a heavily pregnant Jira Zaffrod.
The Murderer[]
After Luna Raquelsei captured the Impar serial killer Rha'Ko Celisee in 154 ABY, Souv, Zeth Kezzerek, and Benzeel Rikos were assigned to guard him during his trial and while he was awaiting sentencing—both to prevent the Force-sensitive Impar from hurting anyone else and to protect him from vigilantes. Though not trained, Celisee had become adept at radiating a nauseating dark side aura into the Force, and Souv and her comrades had to mutually reinforce one another to keep it from dragging them down.
Celisee was convicted and condemned to death, and the three Centurions escorted him to the execution sight. When Celisee sought a stay of execution to reveal the full list of his victims, Souv instead ripped the information from his mind. However, as Celisee had intended, the exposure to his sociopathic psyche was intensely traumatic for Souv.
Rehabilitation Efforts[]
Celisee had hoped Souv would become a killer in turn, poisoned by his mind. She resisted that full psychological collapse, but suffered nightmares for years and took several months to be ready for further fieldwork. She spent much of her convalescence aboard the Sith Star with Elrabin.
After Operation Broken Chain in 156 ABY, Souv cared for Rin's aunts Ariana and Katie and her cousin Raven on Queen's Garden.
When Rin's mind fell silent in 157 ABY, Souv assisted Vos'elk'eetash in trying to break through Rin's mental walls, though both failed. After Chindal was returned from the Second Swarm War, Souv attempted to mentally rehabilitate him, with only mixed success. When he and Rin finally agreed to Rin wiping Chindal's memories so he could be implanted in the Jedi Order, Souv helped Rin create fake memories for Chindal's mind.
Powers and Abilities[]
Souv's master, Hayden Ragnos-Sakaros, himself widely respected by other Jedi for his strength in the Force, believed Souv to be an exceptionally powerful telepath, gifted in mind tricks and reading thoughts. This opinion was shared by many Jedi and Centurions, and even Rin Sakaros thought Souv was the second most powerful mentalist in the Golden Empire after herself, on par with the Chiss Centurion Vos'elk'eetash. After she was blinded, she became adept at Force Sight.
Souv mastered both Makashi and Soresu, providing her a particularly strong offense and defense in lightsaber combat. One of her few weaknesses, common to Makashi stylists, was fighting multiple opponents simultaneously, and it was during such a stacked fight that she was blinded. Nonetheless, she was able to defeat the Sith Lord Vegal Ein with Tak Sakaros's help and prevailed in numerous duels over members of the One Sith. She also trained in a variety of other weapons such as knives and blasters.
By the time she became a Centurion, Souv spoke Basic, Huttese, Arkanian, Sith, and Orhyo proficiently.
Appearance and Personality[]
Though Arkanian, Souv's black hair and blue-and-white eyes suggested she was not of entirely pure Arkanian blood. After she was blinded, she had cybernetic optics implanted in place of her eyes, which glowed with red-orange light when she was using them; more often, she wore a simple cloth to cover her eyes. She had a curvy, fit build and stood 1.73 meters (5'8") tall. As a Centurion she carried a curved-hilt lightsaber with a dark blue blade.
Despite her lightsaber proficiency, Souv preferred Form "Zero", and often used words to defuse hostile situations or, when combat was inevitable, fought with the Force.
Already something of a free thinker in her youth, Souv became even more so under Hayden Ragnos-Sakaros's tutelage. Like her master, she was often regarded as a Gray Jedi; unlike her master, she was sufficiently removed from towing the line that the Jedi Council's suspicion of her orthodoxy overrode their respect for her abilities, leading to her posting on Nar Shaddaa. Souv's willingness to see shades of gray even in relation to dark siders strongly contributed to both her alliance with Tak Sakaros and her eventual fealty to his daughter Rin.
Like many Jedi of the New Jedi Order, Souv allowed herself to form attachments to others. She was particularly close with her husband Elrabin and her apprentice Odala, and took it upon herself to help train Odala's daughter, Azalyn. Allowed more attachment and emotional expression as a Centurion, she quickly became well-respected by her comrades.