- "Objective was the arrest or execution of Cho'na Bene—the last of the three Jedi responsible for the Vaklin insurgency."
- ―Oniye Namada mentions Bene in a report on the Vaklin insurgency
Cho'na Bene was a Myneyrsh male Jedi Knight who served the Jedi Order during the final decades of the Galactic Republic. Several months after the end of the Clone Wars between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Bene began an insurgency against the Galactic Empire on the planet Vaklin along with two other Jedi. Imperial forces led by the Sith Lord Darth Vader arrived to confront the uprising, and Vader quickly defeated both of Bene's Jedi companions. The Myneyrsh, however, managed to evade Vader and continued to lead the insurgents in harassing the Imperials.
After Bene ambushed forces led by Vader in an area known as the Howling Ruins, the Sith ordered a purge of everything Jedi-related on the planet. The purge included the destruction of a Jedi sanctuary known as the Temple of Imperfect Repose, under which Bene was hiding. When Bene came out to observe the ruins, he found Vader waiting for him, and the pair engaged in a duel. Bene led Vader under the temple to a pocket of azetal gas, above which they fought until Vader gained the upper hand. Instead of killing the Jedi, Vader left Bene amongst the toxic gas, which he inhaled large amounts of before escaping. Weakened by the gas, the Myneyrsh made his way to the city of Vaklin Zenith to seek aid from the insurgents there, but before they could help him, he was shot by Imperial Security Bureau Major Oniye Namada.
Biography[]
- "I offer you compliments on your battling! Let us together turn our dead to smoke, and drink of the tranquility urn. For now there can be peace!"
- ―Bene offers Vader peace after ambushing him
A Force-sensitive Myneyrsh male, Cho'na Bene was trained in the ways of the Force by the Jedi Order, eventually ascending to the rank of Jedi Knight. He served the Order and the Galactic Republic in their final decades, before the latter was replaced by the Galactic Empire. In around 19 BBY, several months after the end of the Clone Wars between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Bene was among the few Jedi who survived Order 66, the betrayal of the Jedi Order and the execution of many of its members by the Grand Army of the Republic as the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge. Along with two others survivors—a reptilian Jedi Knight and his former Master—Bene ended up on Vaklin, a planet with a strongly pro-Jedi population.[3]
Bene led the other two Jedi in instigating an insurgency against the newly formed Empire, and many of the local population supported them, joining their cause. In response, Imperial forces quickly descended on the planet, led by the Sith Lord Darth Vader and supported by the Imperial Security Bureau. In the drawn-out conflict that followed, Bene and the reptilian Knight witnessed Vader kill the Jedi Master on a Twelve-bladed satellite of Shrokaan by exposing him to the void of space. Four days after his former Master's death, the reptilian Knight was captured by Imperials, leaving only Bene to lead the insurgents in harassing the Imperial forces.[3]
Bene ambushes Vader at the Howling Ruins.
Twelve days after the capture of his fellow Jedi Knight, Bene set up an ambush for Imperial forces in the area known as the Howling Ruins. Vader, who was out searching for Bene, led a patrol into the ruins, and at approximately 0930 hours local time, the insurgent forces attacked. Armed with blasters, the insurgents fired down on the Imperials while Bene remained hidden, watching. The Jedi waited until Vader had been pinned down before emerging, killing a pair of clone stormtroopers who were trying to aid the Sith. While the blasterfire kept Vader occupied, Bene took out soft targets within the patrol, destroying a 74-Z speeder bike and a TX-130 Fighter Tank. The destruction of the tank acted as a signal for the rest of Bene's insurgents, who hurled pyro grenades at the remaining Imperials to cover a retreat. Bene confronted Vader, complimenting him and then offering peace, before falling back himself into nearby caverns,[3] where he maintained a base beneath the Temple of Imperfect Repose, a structure built to honor the Jedi Order.[2] The Myneyrsh hoped that Vader would follow him into the dangerous caves, but around 0900 hours, the Imperials retreated, with Vader having seen through Bene's plan.[3]
Vader withdrew to the city of Vaklin Zenith, hoping to draw Bene out by keeping the captive Jedi Knight in the Imperial command center there. The bait did not work for Bene himself, but other members of the insurgency made a rescue attempt shortly after the ambush in the Howling Ruins. The attack was unsuccessful, resulting in the deaths of the entire assault force and the captive Jedi; however, it did result in the Imperials briefly withdrawing from the surface of Vaklin to Imperial starships in orbit while the center was repaired. The locals viewed the fallen insurgents as martyrs and celebrated what they saw as an Imperial loss. This attack drove Vader to try and reduce local support for Bene and his insurgency.[3] The Imperials began removing all traces of the Jedi Order from Vaklin, destroying commemorative statues and sites associated with the Order and even banning certain names shared with famous Jedi. The purge of Jedi culture culminated in the destruction of the Temple of Imperfect Repose, the ruins of which Bene visited after the bombardment that destroyed the temple.[2]
Bene is killed while Djon watches.
Amongst the ruins, the Jedi found the bodies of the Temple steward and a pair of Tuk'ata Nobilis, a tame breed of Tuk'ata, that had lived in the temple. As Bene grieved over the corpses, Vader emerged from the ruins and confronted him, revealing that the reptilian Jedi had given up his comrade's location before his death. The pair fought briefly until Vader disarmed the Jedi, who fled into the caverns beneath the temple, taunting Vader as the Sith followed. Bene drew Vader into an area filled with stone columns, which stood above a pocket of highly flammable azetal gas, preventing Vader from using his lightsaber. Vader informed the Jedi that azetal was also toxic, before the pair then fought. As they did so Bene claimed Vader's attempts to erase people's memories of the Jedi would never work so long as Vader himself obsessed over them and was a slave to his hatred. Vader then gained the upper hand, but—instead of killing Bene—left him in a weakened state to try and escape from the gas-filled cave.[2]
The Jedi managed to escape from the caverns, but not before inhaling large amounts of gas, and made his way to Vaklin Zenith, where he encountered Djon, a Ryn supporter of the insurgency. He begged Djon to help him reach one of the insurgency's safe houses, but before the Ryn could aid him, Major Oniye Namada of the Imperial Security Bureau—disguised as a stormtrooper by wearing a set of Stormtrooper armor—shot Bene and killed him. Almost two dozen civilians witnessed the Jedi's humiliating death, which was all part of Namada and Vader's plan to discredit the Jedi. Without Bene to lead them, the Vaklin insurgency began to deteriorate, and within a week, their activity had dropped to only seven percent of what it had previously been. The people of Vaklin's enthusiasm for the Imperials slowly increased as the Empire showed them the benefits of an Imperial presence. Namada recorded the entire Vaklin insurgency in a report titled I-1807-VAK.[2]
Personality and traits[]
- "KK…help…there was a safe house not far from here…is it?"
- ―Bene becomes desperate after inhaling azetal gas
Bene was a member of the Mynyersh species.
Cho'na Bene had white eyes, black hair, and blue skin, wearing darker blue markings on his face. In battle during the insurgency, he fought using mainly hit-and-run tactics, often trying to draw his opponents into areas where he would gain the upper hand. After defeating a large portion of Vader's forces, the Mynyersh complimented Darth Vader on his fighting prowess and offered him peace, although he fled before Vader could answer.[3]
Bene was greatly saddened by the deaths of the steward and the Tuk'ata Nobilis at the Temple of Imperfect Repose. He believed, despite Vader's attempt to erase the memory of the Jedi on Vaklin, that the Order would live on as heroes in stories. He also claimed that as long as Vader maintained his obsession with hunting Jedi, they would never be forgotten and Vader would never be content unless he showed compassion and left the surviving Jedi. After inhaling large amounts of gas, Bene became desperate and weak, begging for help and emerging in clear sight within an Imperial-controlled area.[2]
Powers and abilities[]
Bene was a capable tactician and was skilled enough in the use of lightsabers to wield three simultaneously due to his four arms.[3] He managed to hold his own for some time against Vader in a fight using lightsabers, the Force, and hand-to-hand combat, although he was eventually overpowered.[2]
Equipment[]
- "Chento—hett!"
- ―Bene uses his lightsabers to destroy a tank
Bene used three blue lightsabers during combat and wore golden armor on his shoulders, wrists, and arms, as well as a loincloth and a cloak.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
Cho'na Bene first appeared in 2012 in the comic book Purge – The Tyrant's Fist 1, which was written by Alexander Freed and illustrated by Marco Castiello and Andrea Chella. He also appeared in the next issue of the two-part story, which was released the following year.
Appearances[]
- † Star Wars: Purge: The Tyrant's Fist (First appearance)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Purge – The Tyrant's Fist 1 states that it takes place several months after the events of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, which—according to The New Essential Chronology—occurs in 19 BBY.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Purge – The Tyrant's Fist 2
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Purge – The Tyrant's Fist 1