Jol Zackin was a Human male who served as the Galactic Republic senator of the planet Corellia during the latter years of the Cold War between the Republic and the Sith Empire. As the Galactic War broke out in 3641 BBY, Zackin was dismayed to see Corellia's ruling council aid the Empire in conquering his homeworld, and Zackin aided the Republic Military during the subsequent Battle of Corellia with his knowledge of the planet and its people. He enlisted the aid of the Jedi Knight known as the Hero of Tython, the Supreme Commander of all Jedi forces on the planet, to rescue civilians who had been kidnapped by the Empire from Corellian prisons.
Hailing from the prestigious Core World of Corellia, Zackin was serving as senator of his homeworld in the Galactic Republic Senate by the end of the Cold War between the Republic and the resurgent Sith Empire. Around a decade after the Treaty of Coruscant of 3653 BBY, the Corellian Council—the ruling body of Corellia's government—was gradually bought out by the forces of the Sith Lord Darth Decimus, and after several months of preparation the Empire launched an invasion of the planet in 3640 BBY. The Corellian Council aided the Empire in its assault, declaring Corellia to be a subject of the Empire, but resistance from the native Corellians disrupted the occupation. When the Republic reestablished communications with Corellia and learned of the invasion, it immediately launched its forces to aid the Corellians in driving back the Empire.
As the battle wore on, Zackin traveled to Corellia himself and began to aid the forces of the Republic Military there with his knowledge of his homeworld. When the Empire began raiding Corellian prisons and forcing civilians who were in custody awaiting trial into labor, Zackin was outraged and begged Colonel Brint, one of General Var Suthra's subordinates in the district of Axial Park, to commit some of his forces to rescue the civilians. However, Brint believed that the rescue attempt would be a waste of resources and was quick to dismiss those civilians as unworthy criminals, as the Empire was sending extermination patrols to the Republic's medical evacuation sites and killing their wounded. When the Jedi Knight known as the Hero of Tython, the Supreme Commander of the Jedi forces on the planet, arrived at Brint's command post in the Corellian Science Museum, Zackin asked the Jedi to help rescue the captive civilians.
Zackin was outraged when Brint attempted to bribe the Knight with advanced combat equipment from Balmorra, but to the Senator's relief the Hero agreed to commit the Jedi forces to Zackin's cause. While the Knight destroyed the Imperials' Firestorm Turbolasers and halted the plans of the Sith to cause massive casualties, the Jedi's Lieutenant Unaw Aharo led the Hero's forces to rescue the civilians. The Senator later expressed his gratitude to the Hero before the Knight led the other Jedi deeper into the heart of Coronet City as the Republic gained ground against the Empire.
A Human male with dark skin, brown eyes, and gray hair, Zackin cared deeply for the people whom he served as senator. When he learned that Corellians were being kidnapped from prisons, he believed that they should be saved regardless that they were in prison—to Zackin, they were innocent until proven guilty. He was also outraged when Colonel Brint attempted to bribe the Hero of Tython, finding the officer's desire for revenge and his willingness to commit crimes to be morally reprehensible.
While serving as a member of the Corellian Council, Jol Zackin wore the tan and brown robe that all Councilors wore in that era, which featured golden highlights and silver ornamentation on the gloves.
Jol Zackin first appeared in the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic, released by BioWare and LucasArts in 2011. He is a character in the Jedi Knight class mission "Firestorm" on Corellia, in which he presents a moral decision to the player. Zackin asks the Jedi Knight to commit Jedi forces to rescuing Corellian civilians from the Empire, while Colonel Brint offers combat equipment to the player in exchange for attacking Imperials in revenge for Imperial attacks on Republic medevac sites. If the player chooses to support Brint entirely, two squads of Jedi will be lost, while aiding both Brint and Zackin results in only one squad's death. As a Republic character, the Jedi Knight is assumed to only choose the moral light side options, so this article likewise assumes that the player supports Zackin and therefore loses no squads at all.