Jorj Car'das
Jorj Car'das was a Human male from Corellia who lived during the time of the Galactic Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the New Republic. Early in his life, Car'das joined the crew of the smuggling ship Bargain Hunter, working mainly as a bootlegger for the Hutts.
He was kidnapped by a Dark Jedi after the Clone Wars, and although he was rescued by Jedi Master Yoda, Car'das left the encounter a changed man. He became extremely ruthless during the time of the Empire, though his health began to deteriorate; Yoda healed him with the Force initially, though the second time Car'das visited Yoda's planet of residence, Dagobah, the Jedi Master refused to heal him, sending him to the Aing-Tii monks instead. Car'das ultimately spent over a dozen years studying with the Aing-Tii, learning of their views on the Force. He later settled down on the planet Exocron, though in 19 ABY he was approached by smuggler Talon Karrde, who was seeking an intact copy of the Caamas Document in the hopes of ending the crisis. Car'das did not possess a copy, but he was privy to top secret information about Moff Vilim Disra's plot to impersonate Thrawn, which Karrde used to help end the crisis.
Biography
Smuggler
- "In his own way, he was even more ruthless than Jabba the Hutt."
- ―Talon Karrde
By the outbreak of the Clone Wars, several years after he had accepted Doriana's offer, Car'das had acquired a reputation as an up-and-coming smuggler. Although his organization was small compared to what the Hutts had, it grew steadily: for instance, he took control of Booster Terrik's operation when Terrik was sent to prison on Kessel by Hal Horn. When the galaxy became embroiled in the conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems in 22 BBY, hordes of smugglers used the galaxy's suffering to their advantage in the hopes of making large sums of money; Car'das was among them, and he and his organization lucratively smuggled both contraband and necessities to war-torn worlds.[2]
In approximately 26 BBY Car'das was smuggling in the Bpfassh system when he was inadvertently caught in the middle of a large battle between a group of rogue Bpfasshi Dark Jedi and the combined forces of the rest of the Sluis sector. While Car'das's ship was on the surface of one of the planets in the system, one of the Dark Jedi arrived and commandeered the vessel with Car'das and his four other crew members, demanding that they grant him passage out of the system. The Dark Jedi—who Car'das suspected was insane—went into a furious frenzy, torturing and later killing all aboard the ship except for Car'das, whom he left mostly alone. Car'das was, for one of the first times in his life, genuinely frightened, and he thought of plan after plan for escape as they dodged enemy ships and escaped the system, each more futile than the last. Eventually, the Dark Jedi had Car'das set down on Dagobah—a remote swamp world.[2]
The Bpfasshi expected them to be alone on the planet, though they were not; Yoda, exiled Grand Master of the Jedi Order, was waiting for them, and for over a day Yoda and the Dark Jedi engaged in a frenzied battle that horrified Car'das. Eventually, Yoda was able to defeat the Dark Jedi, though Car'das was left badly injured by his experiences with the darksider. Yoda took it upon himself to nurse the Human back to health with the Force, until Car'das was eventually able to repair his ship and leave the planet.[2]
However, Car'das was changed by the encounter. He perceived that a tiny amount of Yoda's power had transferred to him during the healing process; not enough to allow him to physically use the Force, but enough that he was able to out-think his opponents. Car'das was able to guess his competitors' strategies and plans and stop them; he eventually realized that there was no limit to what he could do and began absorbing his competitors one by one. Car'das's organization boomed, and he became a wealthy man. However, his personality had also been changed by his encounter with Yoda, and he became a ruthless, merciless man, not unlike Jabba Desilijic Tiure. It was during this time that Car'das also began amassing a huge library of datacards, storing enough information to rival the galaxy's greatest libraries.[2]
Disappearance
- "As I sat there panting on a rock, swamp water seeping into my boots, he told me in exquisitely painful detail just how badly I'd squandered the gift of life he'd given back to me a quarter century earlier. How my utterly selfish pursuit of personal power and aggrandizement had left me empty of spirit and vacant of purpose. By the time he finished, I knew I could never go back. That I could never, ever face any of you again."
- ―Car'das, recalling his reunion with Yoda
Then, one day around 0 BBY, Car'das boarded into his private yacht and disappeared. His health finally started to fail, and the new life he had been given by Yoda evaporated. Car'das traveled to Dagobah to demand that Yoda put everything right. Yoda simply took his blaster and the beckon call from his ship and flung them into the swamp, then berated Car'das for wasting the gift he had been given on his selfish ambitions. He also told Car'das that he wouldn't help him any further, since he had to conserve his time and energy for training Luke Skywalker, who he expected to arrive on Dagobah very shortly. Car'das realized his actions had been abominable, and he was consumed with shame. Yoda told him that the only chance to postpone his death was to seek out the Aing-Tii monks in the Kathol sector, an alien species who had mastered the Force in ways unknown to either the Jedi or the Sith.[2]
Car'das made his way to the Kathol sector in Wild Space. The Aing-Tii were able to heal Car'das with ease, though they wished for him to stay with them to learn about their philosophies of the Force. Car'das agreed, and although he was given permission to return to the wider galaxy after a time, he decided to stay with the Aing-Tii for almost a dozen years. Although he was not Force-sensitive, Car'das was able to manipulate the Force after his time with the Aing-Tii; he could make an object instantly transport itself from one location to another.[2]
Eventually, Car'das left the Aing-Tii and took up permanent residence on planet Exocron, where he built a secret home in the side of a mountain. Here, he gathered all his information sources and created a personal library with secrets even the New Republic knew nothing of. Car'das's errands were taken care of by his loyal assistant, Entoo Needaan E-elz, while all housework and maintenance was performed by droids. He also remained in contact with the Aing-Tii, who were happy to come to his aid whenever Exocron fell under attack by slavers.[2]
Car'das's organization continued to thrive for several months, but the lieutenants began to discuss the need for a true leader. Rather than put it to a vote, Talon Karrde—one of Car'das's most trusted subordinates—simply took control of the organization. The other leaders weren't happy, but the new operation flourished for the next twenty years. Karrde, however, was ever fearful of Car'das and was constantly prepared for his return. Karrde believed that Car'das would seek vengeance for Karrde's taking over of the organization and thwarted several attempts at his life by other members of the group, who claimed they had been sent by Car'das.[2]
Eventually, after the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Karrde sent Lando Calrissian and Mara Jade to search for Car'das, a search that took seven years and ended up successfully pinpointing Car'das' location on Exocron. The lone clue was a beckon call Luke Skywalker had recovered on Dagobah. With Car'das within arm's reach, however, Karrde decided to give up the chase, unsure of what Car'das's reaction would be. The old Corellian was actually eagerly awaiting Karrde's arrival; he wanted to congratulate him on how well the organization had progressed under his leadership.[2]
Reunion with Karrde
Later, Lando thought that Car'das held information that could help the New Republic defuse the Caamas Document Crisis, a situation where Bothans had been revealed as the guilty parties in the destruction of Caamas years earlier. Tensions where high, with many groups demanding the Bothans be punished. However, despite Lando's hopes, Karrde refused to bring Car'das into it. As the crisis unfolded, Karrde finally realized that he had to confront Car'das; if not to confront his own fears, then to recover a copy of the Caamas Document. Car'das played an elaborate ruse on him, first appearing as a withered old man bed-ridden on the planet Exocron. Karrde was surprised at the other man's advanced age.[2]
However, Car'das had been planning this for some time—ever since he learned of Calrissian and Jade's search. Car'das used Karrde's desire to locate him as a way to draw the crimelord Rei'Kas to Exocron and near the Kathol Rift. Car'das and Admiral Trey David of Exocron's Navy knew Exocron couldn't stand against Rei'Kas's fleet, but they also knew that the Aing-Tii monks wanted to eliminate Rei'Kas. By allowing Karrde to get to Exocron, Car'das and David also gave Exocron's location to Rei'Kas. However, Rei'Kas' fleet was destroyed by the Aing-Tii monks when it tried to attack Exocron. This maneuvering was nearly transparent to Karrde, who realized that Car'das was more than a frail old man. He returned to Exocron and confronted Car'das again, who was no longer an aged man but a healthy man nowhere near death. He also revealed the true size of his fortress, with its immense library of datacards.[2]
Car'das allowed Karrde and his bodyguard Shada D'ukal to spend the night at his fortress. That night, D'ukal slipped from her room and headed to Car'das' massive library, hoping to find a record that would identify the faction that had destroyed her people's homeworld, Emberlene. Instead, she encountered Car'das, who informed her that her world had been destroyed by a mercenary force, hired by the other peoples of the sector, who had been victimized by Emberlene's war of conquest - about which Shada and the rest of the Mistryl had deliberately never been told. Car'das offered her a choice between two data cards: one that would identify the destroyers of her world, or another that could end the Caamas Document Crisis and prevent civil war within the entire New Republic. She chose the latter, conscious that by doing so she was giving up her last chance to be reinstated within the Mistryl, from which she had been expelled. Pleased with her choice, Car'das promised her that she would find her place in the galaxy.[2]
Though Car'das was unable to locate a copy of the Caamas Document, he was able to dig up a wealth of information on Grodin Tierce, Moff Vilim Disra, and the conman Flim, the members of the Sinister Triumvirate who were leading the Empire in its last-ditch effort to defeat the New Republic. Karrde and D'ukal brought this information back to Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, after saying their goodbyes to Car'das. The information he gave them, along with information possessed by Pellaeon, helped end the crisis and pave the way for the peace treaty that ended the decades-long Galactic Civil War.[2]
Personality and traits
- "Car'das is a vengeful man; but like Bombaasa, he likes to consider himself cultured."
- ―Talon Karrde
When Car'das received his gifts from Yoda, he changed, however, growing to become a cutthroat competitor. He was determined to get what he wanted, while forgetting his earlier beliefs. Yoda was sickened by this, and so stripped Car'das of his talents. Car'das realized the error of his ways then and once again changed, this time becoming the kind man he had once been.[2]
Behind the scenes
Jorj Car'das was created for Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology, where he was revealed to be the creator of Talon Karrde's criminal empire. His backstory was later expounded on in the novel Outbound Flight. He also appeared in the Choices of One helping Thrawn. The Essential Reader's Companion incorrectly states that Car'das was in possession of a copy of the Caamas Document.
The illustration of Jorj Car'das on the cover of the Japanese edition of Outbound Flight was drawn by artist Tsuyoshi Nagano. Japanese editor Junzo Takagi thought the character was probably named after George Lucas and asked Nagano to use him as the model. Initially, Nagano completed a rough draft modeled after Lucas in his twenties, which was approved by Lucasfilm. However, the colored illustration looked too much like Lucas, and he was asked to redraw it. The Lucasfilm staff also immediately contacted Timothy Zahn and asked him what Car'das looked like. Zahn's response was generally as follows: "Late teens or very early twenties. He has dark, Mediterranean-like skin (not pitch black), slightly Asian eyes, dark hair, and a beard that he is trying to grow out in the hope that one day it will grow into a full beard." Nagano completed the cover based on these instructions.[4]
Appearances
- I, Jedi (Mentioned only)
- Specter of the Past (First mentioned)
- Vision of the Future (First appearance)
