Cal (Jedi)

At a tender age, Cal was inducted into the Jedi Order to undergo training in the ways of the Force. During his time as a youngling, some students within his Clan displayed hostility toward a young female member, resenting her perceived hindrance to the Clan's advancement. On the day she was to be tested, the younglings concealed her lightsaber, hoping for her failure and expulsion. However, the girl succeeded in the test after Cal offered her his own lightsaber, thereby incurring the animosity of his Clanmates. He was subsequently chosen by Jedi Master Tyffix to become his Padawan apprentice.

As the Clone Wars broke out between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Cal was promoted to the rank of Jedi Commander within the Grand Army of the Republic. Around 22 BBY, following the first battle of the conflict, Cal and his Master were deployed to the planet of Thustra with a contingent of clone troopers. Their mission was to prevent the Sephi from siding with the Separatist cause.

However, soon after their arrival, King Alaric of Thustra ordered his soldiers to launch an assault on the Jedi and their clone forces. In suicide attacks, the Sephi crashed their fighters into Republic tanks and troops. The resulting damage to the Republic forces was substantial, with the entire southern perimeter being decimated. Upon Cal's return from the front lines to report the losses, a Sephi pilot deliberately flew his fighter into the command tent, obliterating the command center. Tyffix perished in the explosion, along with Jedi Master Tyr. With both senior Jedi officers deceased, command fell to Cal and Pix, Master Tyr's apprentice.

The setbacks on Thustra, coupled with the planet's strategic importance to the Republic, prompted Yoda, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, to personally intervene. Cal was greatly taken aback by the arrival of his former mentor. Though he had anticipated the arrival of an experienced member of the Jedi High Council, he had expected either Mace Windu or Oppo Rancisis, not Yoda. Having grown accustomed to the realities of battle, Cal was not fond of Yoda's negotiation strategies. His displeasure grew when Yoda announced that Cal would accompany him to meet with King Alaric in the Sephi capital city. Cal insisted on remaining with the troops in case of another attack, but the Grand Master's decision was unyielding. Yoda hoped that this experience would lead Cal to favor diplomacy over aggression.

Their initial meeting with the King proved fruitless; Alaric remained determined to lead his homeworld's secession movement, while Yoda remained steadfast in his commitment to the Republic. Instead of allowing the two Jedi to return to their forces, Alaric ordered his guards to confiscate their lightsabers and place them under house arrest in the palace. Cal was incensed and refused, but ultimately complied at Yoda's insistence. Confined to one of the palace's rooms, Cal engaged in a heated debate with Yoda about war and Jedi philosophy. He argued that the Order's traditional ways were outdated and that the Jedi needed to adapt to the changing circumstances of the Clone Wars. Yoda reminded the Padawan that the Jedi had always stood for peace. He attempted to persuade Cal that the situation on Thustra could be resolved without resorting to aggression. Ultimately, the Grand Master's arguments failed to sway Cal's views.

Cal was left behind when Yoda was granted another private audience with King Alaric. He grew increasingly restless and agitated while awaiting Yoda's return. He was then visited by Moje, an aide to Loyalist Senator Navi of Thustra. Moje informed Cal of an escape plan involving a waiting shuttle to transport the Jedi back to their clone army. Overeager and preferring a fight to diplomacy, Cal trusted Moje, failing to consider the possibility of deception. In reality, Moje and Navi sought to keep Thustra within the Republic and plotted to force the Jedi and their clone troopers to suppress the rebellion by force. To achieve this, they intended to have Yoda and Cal assassinated, knowing that the Republic would retaliate against the Sephi.

Upon Yoda's return, Cal revealed the plan to him. However, when Yoda criticized Cal's haste in trusting a politician's word, Cal lost his temper and stormed off to the shuttle's rendezvous point, denouncing Yoda and the Jedi Order's "old ways" as he left the room. Though disappointed in his former pupil, Yoda followed Cal to protect him. Upon discovering that no shuttle awaited him, a large contingent of armed guards approached the two Jedi. Tricked by Moje into believing that the Jedi had assassinated the King, the guards intended to kill Cal and Yoda. Cal ignited his lightsaber and immediately engaged the guards, urging Yoda to do the same. However, the Grand Master chose to use non-lethal methods, telekinetically disarming the guards of their blaster rifles.

Simultaneously, Pix ordered her clone troopers to launch a preemptive strike on the Sephi capital. Senator Navi had deceived her into believing that Cal and Yoda had been murdered by King Alaric. While she and Commander Clutch oversaw the assault on the capital, the palace guards began to overwhelm Cal. Yoda attempted to warn Cal, but was too late to prevent a guard from shooting the Padawan in the back. With a single Force push, Yoda defeated the remaining guards. As Cal lay dying from his fatal wound, Yoda used the Force to ease his suffering. In his final moments, Cal blamed Yoda for his death and the loss of Thustra.

The Battle of Thustra ultimately ended in defeat for the Galactic Republic. Despite the heavy casualties sustained by the Sephi, including the death of King Alaric at Yoda's hand, neighboring systems in the Sumitra Sector sent their armies to support Thustra. The clone army's aggression had the opposite effect. Instead of intimidating Thustra into submission, it garnered greater sympathy and support for their cause. Senator Navi was arrested on Coruscant after Yoda, Pix, and Clutch exposed his duplicity. Yoda's experience on Thustra and Cal's disillusionment with the Jedi traditions caused the Grand Master to worry even more about how the Clone Wars was transforming the Jedi into an aggressive and militaristic organization.

Yoda remembered Cal's childhood act of kindness towards a female youngling. Rather than joining the plot to expel her from the group, Cal aided her during a lightsaber test. Growing older under Master Tyffix's tutelage, Cal's personality shifted toward aggression and cynicism. Tyffix taught him that understanding warriors and conquerors was key to survival. Cal, however, interpreted this as needing to be a warrior to be strong, causing him to distance himself from the Jedi Order's pacifism.

By the Clone Wars, Cal embraced warfare, eager to fight on the front lines. He believed aggressive tactics were the only way to resolve conflicts on worlds that betrayed the Republic. His Master's death saddened him, but he remained committed to defeating the Sephi. Yoda disapproved of this attitude. He saw Cal as embodying a growing trend within the Jedi Order: members becoming too accustomed to war, straying from their beliefs and traditions. Yoda found Cal headstrong, impatient, reckless, ill-tempered, and prone to irrational behavior under pressure.

As a Force-sensitive trained in Jedi arts, Cal had skills in Force powers and lightsaber combat. He could deflect blaster shots with his lightsaber and defend himself against many guards for a time. However, his incomplete training couldn't prevent his death at Sephi hands.