Bordo
- "Take the controls, Weeg. I'll teach them some manners."
- ―Kyle Katarn prepares to open fire on Bordo and the Grave Tuskens
A male Tusken Raider, Bordo was one many Tuskens to be recruited by the Galactic Empire affiliated Dark Jedi Maw. Originally from the planet Tatooine, Bordo was a follower of the Tusken Jedi A'Sharad Hett. When Hett was unmasked by the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hett's protégé KkH'Oar'Rrhr led Hett's followers offworld. Once discovered by Maw, they were transformed into a mercenary swoop gang known as the Grave Tuskens, and were used to rob ancient Jedi graves. KkH'Oar'Rrhr eventually left the gang, and the Tusken Rogg took his place as the leader of the Tusken band, acting under Maw. Bordo became Rogg's second-in-command, a relationship that proved strenuous.
Bordo grew to hate his leader and sought to replace Rogg with himself. During the year 5 ABY, the Tuskens were on the moon of Sulon with their forces scattered around the Katarn family compound and the city of Barons Hed. When Kyle Katarn returned to his home and commandeered a T-4 troop transport to run from the occupying Imperial forces with, Bordo and the Grave Tuskens gave chase on their swoop bikes. During the course of thechase, Bordo shot Rogg, took brief control of the gang, boarded Kyle's T-4, and was subsequently shot off of the transport by Kyle. The Jedi escaped, and a number of the remaining Tuskens slammed into an Imperial blockade.
Biography
Birth of the Grave Tuskens
Born on the planet Tatooine, Bordo was a Tusken Raider male,[1] and a member of the tribe of the Tusken-raised Human A'Sharad Hett.[4] Sometime during or after the year 22 BBY,[5] Bordo learned of the massacre of the Rrhr hunting band, although he was unaware of the culprit:[4] Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.[6] One day, Bordo's companion, KkH'Oar'Rrhr—also known as Hoar—entered the home of the Jedi hermit Obi-Wan Kenobi, and found the Jedi's lightsaber weapon. Activating it, Hoar experienced a vision of a masked lightsaber wielder striking Hoar down. When Kenobi returned to his hut, Hoar fled, and later told Bordo and the Tusken Sliven about the vision. Both Tuskens told Hoar that the being in the vision must have been the Rrhr clan's killer.[4]
During the year 17 BBY,[7] Hett's clan attacked the homestead of a man named Owen Lars. However, they were intercepted by Kenobi, who battled Hett. Kenobi won, and tore off Hett's face covering bandages. As having one's face uncovered was an act of shame according to Tusken standards, many of Hett's followers abandoned him.[4]
The Tusken Jedi ended up leaving Tatooine behind. Hoar, Bordo, and a multitude of others did not give up on Hett so easily. Hett was pursued by those who still admired the fallen tribesman. The Tuskens' search brought them to the Outer Rim Territories, and they visited planets such as Portug and Dromund Kaas. While on Dromund Kaas, however, they encountered a Dark Jedi follower of the Galactic Empire emperor, Palpatine. The Boltrunian's name was Maw, and the Dark Jedi took the rogue Tuskens under his wing, turning them into a swoop gang. To honor Hett, the new gang of Tuskens adorned new masks that bore to the galaxy their bare faces.[4]
After robbing Jedi tombs on the planet Tython, Maw officially named his new henchman the Grave Tuskens. Eventually, the Imperial agent Arden Lyn discovered Maw's followers, and took Hoar away to train in the combat art of Teräs Käsi.[4] During 2 BBY,[8] the Tusken Rogg became the gang's leader, while Bordo fell in as Rogg's second-in-command.[1]
Second to none
During 4 ABY,[9] the Empire had been dealt a serious blow with the death of Emperor Palpatine.[10] One year later,[2] the Dark Jedi Jerec rose from the ashes. Maw had since become a member of Jerec's cabal,[1] and naturally, the Grave Tuskens followed in his footsteps.[1]
Despite holding the rank of second-in-command, Bordo nonetheless chafed under Rogg's leadership and grew resentful of his superior. At some point, Rogg had wished to abandon the Tusken tradition of the chief leading attacks from the front, instead proposing to bring up the rear. Bordo and two or three others cried out against this decision, and Bordo felt that his continued compliance to Rogg and the chief's self-important attitude was enough to choke a krayt dragon.[1]
Eventually, the Tuskens were sent to the moon Sulon. Jerec had tasked his forces with the raiding of a farm that belonged to Morgan Katarn, a man Jerec had previously murdered. Katarn's farm held a map to the mythical Valley of the Jedi embedded in its ceiling, which Jerec valued greatly. Grave Tuskens were stationed all about Katarn's home, as well as the nearby city Barons Hed.[1]
Eventually, Katarn's son, Kyle, returned to his home shortly after the map had been recovered by Imperial forces. Katarn was also looking for clues about the Valley of the Jedi, as well as information regarding his father's demise. Katarn found the family droid WeeGee, and the two alerted the Imperials with their activities, forcing them to flee down a bridge on a T-4 speeder. With that, Bordo, Rogg, and a number of other swoop riding Tuskens gave chase to the fleeing son of a farmer. Kyle attempted to use a gun on the speeder to shoot at the Tuskens, and Rogg was nearly killed in an explosion. His survival, however, angered Bordo.[1]
Eventually, Bordo flew up on the T-4's left side and boarded alongside another Tusken. Finally, Bordo felt that it was time to usurp control of the gang from Rogg, and he shot the Tusken leader in the face, killing him. Meanwhile, the T-4 ended up in the shadow of Kyle's starship, the Moldy Crow. As Kyle communicated with the pilot, Bordo and Kyle simultaneously raised their blasters at each other. However, the man, who was a fledgling Jedi himself, proved faster with the trigger than Bordo, and shot the Grave Tusken through the chest. Bordo died, and his body fell over the speeder's tailgate and onto the road. The second Tusken was also shot and killed by the Jedi. Kyle and WeeGee were extracted from the speeder by the ship, which then slammed into an Imperial blockade. Several of the other Tuskens, who had been going way to fast to slow down, also crashed into the blockade and were killed.[1]
Personality and traits
When Hett was unmasked by Kenobi after a fierce duel, many Tuskens abandoned their leader due to the shame associated with being unmasked. However, Bordo was one in a handful of Tuskens that continued to look up to Hett. Following Hoar, Bordo ran among the stars in search of Hett, but instead found a new master: the Dark Jedi Maw.[4] Later yet, the Tusken Rogg came to act as the leader of the Tuskens[1] under Maw.[4] However, Bordo found Rogg's command to be a grating experience, and grew tired of his leader's command. When Rogg proposed to change an old Tusken tradition, Bordo spoke out against the change, and stopped Rogg from implementing it. Since Rogg wanted to lead his men from the rear, instead of the front, Bordo believed Rogg to be a coward. During the speeder chase on Sulon, Bordo became angry when Rogg survived a small explosion. By this point, three years of Rogg's command was enough. After boarding Kyle Katarn's speeder, Bordo's first order of business was to turn around and shoot his commander, and act that caused him to smile. Before moving on to engage Kyle, Bordo made sure that his murder was lost in the confusion of the chase.[1]
Equipment
Like the other Grave Tuskens, Bordo operated a swoop bike. The Grave Tuskens' bikes normally stood vertically when not in motion. The bikes were equipped with blaster cannons. Bordo also carried a blaster on his person.[1] Although many of the Grave Tuskens took to wearing masks that revealed their skin as an honor towards Hett,[4] Bordo still covered his face in bandages.[1]
Behind the scenes
Bordo was created for the 1998 novella Dark Forces: Rebel Agent, written by William C. Dietz. Although the Tuskens in the novella are not named Grave Tuskens,[1] the video game that the novella is based upon, Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, establishes the name of the Tusken group affiliated with the Empire.[3] Bordo and the other Tuskens do not appear in the audio drama based on the novella.[11] Bordo was later mentioned again in the second part of the Star Wars Blog article, Barely Tolerable: Alien Henchmen of the Empire, which explained the history of the Grave Tuskens.[4]
Appearances
- Dark Forces: Rebel Agent (First appearance)
Sources
Barely Tolerable: Alien Henchmen of the Empire, Part 2 on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 Dark Forces: Rebel Agent
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The New Essential Chronology dates the events of Dark Forces: Rebel Agent to the year 5 ABY.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Barely Tolerable: Alien Henchmen of the Empire, Part 2 on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology dates the events of the Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones to the year 22 BBY.
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- ↑ The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi dates the duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and A'Sharad Hett to the year 17 BBY.
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology dates the events of Dark Forces: Rebel Agent to the year 5 ABY. The text establishes that Rogg had been in command of the Grave Tuskens for three years. Using simple math, the start of his command can be pinpointed at 2 ABY.
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology dates the events of the Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi to the year 4 ABY.
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- ↑ Dark Forces: Rebel Agent audio drama