Tao

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Tao was a Human male from the world of Shumari who served as a Jedi and later a Sith apprentice during the years of the Galactic Empire. He was the sole survivor of a group of Jedi who fought against Darth Vader on his homeworld, the majority of his companions being murdered by the Dark Lord of the Sith. Tao, however, gave into his anger and chose to continue fighting after the other Jedi, including his master, had been killed. Sensing the raw anger in the young Jedi, Vader decided to take Tao as his secret apprentice, therefore hiding him from Emperor Palpatine. When the Emperor discovered that Vader had a secret apprentice, he forced Vader to mortally wound the young boy. As a result, Vader would return Tao to Shumari to die, but Tao ended up saving his master from an enemy attack that would have killed the Dark Lord. Letting go of the anger that had been rooted in his heart, Tao died in the wastelands of his homeworld.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Battle of Shumari 1.2 Vader's apprentice 1.3 Sacrifice 2 Personality and traits 3 Appearances 4 Sources 5 Notes and references

Biography

Battle of Shumari

In response to rebel and Jedi activity on the planet, the Empire launched a mission to Shumari to subjugate the planet. The Imperials ordered several Star Destroyers to orbit around Shumari and subject it to a heavy orbital bombardment.^[1]

Meanwhile, the Jedi that were on the planet were busy fighting the stormtrooper legions which were operating under the command of Darth Vader. Vader, however, was able to singlehandedly kill several of the defending Jedi, while several more were overrun by waves of stormtroopers. Nonetheless, both Tao and his master were left to stand against Vader's onslaught. In the ensuing fight, Tao's master was easily killed by Vader—upon witnessing the death of his master, Tao gave into his anger and wished to continue fighting the Sith Lord. Vader, however, could feel the hate and anger that radiated off of Tao into the Force, and decided to spare the young boy in order to take him as his own secret apprentice.^[1]

As Vader and Tao departed the planet, the Imperial fleet unleashed a massive bombardment which totally annihilated the surface of the planet, essentially turning it into an uninhabitable wasteland.^[1]

Vader's apprentice

Following the devastation of Shumari, Vader attempted to train Tao in the ways of the dark side, but was unable to get the boy to fully submit to his anger, nor to his teachings. Meanwhile, Vader was called away to deal with the Battle of Yavin which saw the destruction of the first Death Star. Upon returning to Coruscant, the Dark Lord was faced with the wrath of his own master, Emperor Palpatine, who was displeased that Vader was unable to stop the Death Star from being destroyed. Upon ending this meeting, Vader returned to his meditation chamber feeling angry and frustrated, and was confronted by Tao. Angry at what had transpired in the Yavin system, Vader demanded that Tao come at him with all his anger in an attempt to strike him down. Tao, however, was unable to do so, thus stopping the fight, and earning his master's disapproval at lacking both the hatred and anger required to be a Sith. Attempting to fuel Tao's anger, Vader reminded his young apprentice of all he had taken away from him; his homeworld, his friends, and his family, his master, but still Tao was not able to use his anger to strike at Vader. The fight ended with Vader informing Tao that there was no place for weakness in an apprentice of his—Tao, in return, vowed to try harder so he could one day become stronger.^[1]

Soon after his training session with Tao, Vader learned the identity of the Rebel pilot who had destroyed the Death Star—it was his son, Luke Skywalker. Unsure of what to do with this information, Vader began to meditate on it, only to be approached by Tao once again. Though he informed Vader that he had been practicing, and he believed himself ready, Vader told his apprentice that he had no time for him, nor his weakness, and that he was free to go out into the galaxy. Tao, who felt shocked and betrayed, demanded to know why Vader had not simply let him die back on Shumari to die, but received no answer from his former master.^[1]

Tao's freedom, though, did not last long—he was captured by Palpatine and taken by the Emperor's Royal Guards to confront Vader aboard the newly christened Executor. Palpatine, displeased that Vader had betrayed him by hiding his young apprentice, demanded that Vader strike Tao down. Though Vader did not wish to do so, he was unable to do otherwise in the presence of Palpatine, and he used his lightsaber to strike Tao across his chest. The blow, however, did not kill the young boy; instead it was a mortal blow that limited the time he had left to live. Unsure why he felt that he must, Vader took Tao back to his homeworld of Shumari, and carried the dying boy to the site where he was born. Vader believed that Tao would hate him for what he had done, and was shocked when Tao thanked him for allowing him to die on his homeworld. Before falling from consciousness, Tao informed Vader that there was still some good in him, and pleaded that he not give in to the Emperor's hatred. As Tao lost consciousness, Vader felt remorse for the first time in many years.^[1]

Sacrifice

Vader's moment of sadness was quickly interrupted, however, by a Tusken Raider wielding a modified gaderffii who had been hunting Anakin Skywalker ever since the destruction of his village on Tatooine. The Tusken quickly gained an advantage over Vader, destroying a part of his helmet and bringing him to his knees. Vader could sense in the Tusken a form of pure anger and hatred—the dark side personified. It was then that the Tusken revealed that his gaderffii had been modified to house two lightsabers and, just as he was about to kill Vader, was intercepted by a revived Tao who gave his last ounce of strength to save his master, using his lightsaber to kill the Tusken on the spot. Moments later, Tao passed into the Force, but not before telling Vader to let go of his anger. Feeling incredible remorse for the young boy, Vader screamed out in anger and frustration at what he had allowed to transpire.^[1]

Before his departure from Shumari, Vader built a simple monument in honor of Tao, carving his name into a stone tablet which became the last man-made structure on the planet.^[1]

Personality and traits

Tao was an extremely ambitious and talented individual who held great potential within the Force. However, due to events outside of his control, his young mind was able to be twisted and corrupted by violent warfare. Following the murder of his master, Tao was taken by Darth Vader, who attempted to turn the young boy to the dark side. Though Tao harbored great amounts of anger with regards to the destruction of his homeworld and the murders of those he loved, he was not able to fully give into the dark side and satisfy the demands of Vader. Due to this, Vader disowned Tao as his apprentice, and was forced by Palpatine to mortally wound the young boy. Tao, however, did not hold any anger towards Vader and was able to let go of the anger that he held over the colored events of his past.^[1]

Appearances

• Perfect Evil (First appearance)

Sources

• Vader's Legacy

Notes and references