That's sithspit! I mean, apologies, my lord.
—The Apostate to Sith Lord Karros
Suri Sunrunner, 17th Countess Sunrunner, more commonly known as the Jedi Apostate, was a Jedi Consular Padawan and Revanchist Gray Jedi who elected to leave the Jedi Order following the end of the Mandalorian Wars. Her search for knowledge outside the conventional understanding of the Force ultimately led her to Korriban, where she encountered the Force ghost of the ancient Sith philosopher Lord Karros. She and Karros traveled the galaxy in her ship, the Bayaway, debating the nature of power, religion, and the Force.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Suri Sunrunner was born in the Sunrunner Palace in the Upper City of Taris to the noble family House of Sunrunner, a family notable for producing many Force-sensitive individuals. Taken to train at the Jedi Tower precinct, Sunrunner showed a particular aptitude for the use of arcane, unconventional Force powers, which led to her inclusion into the ranks of the Jedi Consulars.
With the rise of the Mandalorian Neo-Crusader threat in the Outer Rim, and Revan's call to action, Sunrunner left the Order to join the swelling ranks of the Jedi Revanchists. During the war, Sunrunner, then a Padawan, served as a Jedi Commander in the Republic Military, fighting briefly under General Meetra Surik's command.
With the end of the war, and the subsequent fall of Revan and Malak to the Dark Side, Sunrunner left to wander the galaxy. She obtained a former smuggling freighter named the Bayaway, and traveled about the galaxy. Threatened by Revan's former Revanchist Dark Jedi minions, she initially fled to search for her former master, but was met with suspicion and hostility from the Jedi she encountered, and was left with no alternative save to flee from the coming conflict. She took the name "the Apostate" to solidify her lost faith in the Jedi Order and remind herself of her vow to never return to her former teachings.
Travels[]
Sunrunner spent the years prior to the outbreak of the Jedi Civil War wandering about the galaxy, searching for renewed meaning and a more thorough understanding of the Force. Now finally free of the overly dogmatic views of the Jedi, she began experimenting with different philosophies regarding the nature of the Force, and eventually found her way to Korriban, where she sought specific knowledge of the Dark Side of the Force.
Unable to master the challenges of the tombs located in the Valley of the Dark Lords, she instead cast her gaze upon the tombs of the lesser lords, located in the mountains surrounding the Valley to the north, wherein she found the Tomb of Karros. Upon braving the tomb's defenses, she encountered the Force ghost of the tomb's titular Sith Lord, Karros the Editor, a Pureblood Sith Lord renowned for his wisdom and accordingly referred to as the "Lord of Lore."
Rather than smite the intruder, as he had so often before with other tomb-raiders, Karros conversed with her, noting with interest her insatiable thirst for answers and knowledge. Together, they conversed about the nature of the Force. Karros, weary of millenia spent musing in the depths of his dour resting place, decided to accompany Sunrunner in her travels, promising to train her and instruct her in the ways of the Force. As such, he taught her the art of Force walking, binding his spirit to her and allowing him finally to leave his tomb.
Taking with her his lightsaber and holocron, and once again donning her Sunrunner robes, she and Lord Karros traveled about the galaxy, hiding from Dark Jedi and avoiding members of the Jedi Order while discussing and debating the nature of power, religion, culture, and the essence of the Force.
Personality and traits[]
As a Jedi Consular, Suri Sunrunner fit most of the stereotypes associated with her branch of service; she possessed a natural gift for negotiation, complemented by a strong intelligence and remarkable powers of wisdom. In her debates with the Sith Lord Karros, by all accounts a manifestation of the antithesis of the Jedi Order and a representation of all the Jedi despised, she showed great restraint and respect, and approached his views with an open mind. Despite her polished powers of persuasion, she too possessed a quick wit and snarky demeanor that manifested itself from time to time at the most disadvantageous times.
Equipment[]
As heir to House of Sunrunner, Suri had access to the vast collection of artifacts housed within the family mansion. At the start of the Mandalorian Wars, she donned the Sunrunner robes over her Republic-issue fiber armor, and, as was fashionable among the Revanchists, carried a double-bladed lightsaber colored green for her branch of service.
After her first encounter with Sith Lord Karros at the war's close, she carried his lightsaber and holocron with her on her travels.
Powers and abilities[]
As a Jedi Consular, Sunrunner possessed a strong grasp of the use of Force powers, including a number of arcane and unconventional abilities further expanded upon and augmented by her studies under Lord Karros. Though at least moderately gifted in the art of lightsaber combat, her main focus was in the use of the Force as a weapon and defense.
As a budding philosopher under Karros' direction, she displayed an excellent intellect and great powers of retention, and Karros remained impressed at the speed with which she grasped and applied his teachings to real world situations.
Relationships[]
Revan[]
Like most Revanchists, Sunrunner was enthralled by and admired the personage of Revan. His steadfast conviction in his cause and his otherworldly aura of command, mixed with his natural charisma, convinced Sunrunner of the veracity of his cause, and she gladly took up arms to defend the Republic against the Mandalorian invaders.
Though most Revanchists knew Revan only as the dominating masked figure whose trademark double bladed lightsaber carved through Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders like a butcher's knife, Sunrunner was one of the few to catch a glimpse of the man without his mask. She related to Karros that she best remembered his eyes, which shown "blue, bright as a midday sky without a dash of cloud... piercing and probing the darkness like some ageless fire..."
Malak[]
While Revan largely remained aloof from his followers, his best friend and trusted ally Alek often spent time alongside the other Revanchists, including Sunrunner. Alek was a favorite of the Revanchists for his indomitable sense of humor, and his general friendliness with the Jedi under his command. Sunrunner respected him for his battlefield prowess and looked up to him as a surrogate "big brother" of sorts. It was his fall to the Dark Side, not Revan's, that severely damaged Sunrunner's belief in the infallibility of "good" over "evil" and brought home to her the danger the exposure to power posed.
Meetra Surik[]
Suri Sunrunner served briefly under fellow Jedi Consular Meetra Surik during the last days of the Mandalorian Wars, and personally admired the general for her mastery of the Force. Though the two only spoke briefly prior to a battle, Sunrunner strove to emulate Surik both as a leader and as a Jedi.
Karros[]
Sunrunner was initially suspicious of the Force ghost of the Sith Lord Karros and his ambiguous morality, though she envied his comprehensive understanding of the Force and his philosophical approach to the study of the "Great Mystery." Eventually, she came to think of him as her master, and gave proper reverence to his "unorthodox" teachings, though she was hesitant to adopt Karros's gray, ambiguous moral system as her own.
Behind the scenes[]
The character of Suri Sunrunner was initially supposed to be a male Zabrak Jedi Sentinel Revanchist rather than a female Consular. The dynamic of a Zabrak Jedi and a Sith Lord, neither of which race was known to possess great emotional restraint, seemed too much, so a wise, respectful female Consular was deemed a better choice for the character of the Apostate.
Suri Sunrunner was voted "Best Light-side Character" in the The Tenth Wiki Awards.