Confrontation in the Caverns of the Hidden One

Prelude

Following Luke Skywalker's trial and subsequent exile from both the Jedi Order and Coruscant, the galactic capital, in 43.5 ABY, due to his failure to prevent Jacen Solo's descent to the dark side of the Force and his subsequent reign of terror as Darth Caedus, the Sith Lord, Luke Skywalker, the Jedi Grand Master, and his son, Ben Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, journeyed to the planet Dorin. Their intention was to converse with Koro Ziil, the Master of the Baran Do Order, who had briefly trained Solo following his travels after the Yuuzhan Vong War, to ascertain the reasons behind Solo's fall to darkness. Upon meeting with the Baran Do Sages, the Kel Dor Force-based organization, the Skywalkers learned of Ziil's recent death. Unable to speak with Ziil, they chose to remain in Dor'shan and undergo training with the Sages for a short time.

Several days following their arrival, Charsae Saal, a senior combat instructor and former apprentice of Ziil, determined that it was time for him to die. In accordance with Baran Do culture, those who decided it was their time to die would simply surrender themselves to the Force. Luke and Ben, along with the other Baran Do Sages, attended Saal's funeral. However, Luke remained unconvinced of Saal's actual death, suspecting that he had concealed his presence in the Force and utilized a hidden exit. Subsequently, Luke and Ben investigated the area and discovered that the platform upon which Saal had "died" concealed a door leading to an underground chamber. There, they found Saal alive, accompanied by Tila Mong, the current Mistress of the Order, and two other Sages. After confronting them, the Skywalkers were permitted to accompany Saal in rolling carts down a long passage leading to the system of caverns that served as the home of the Hidden Ones, a secret sect of the Baran Do dedicated to preserving the Order's knowledge.

Upon arrival, Saal adopted the name "Chara" and informed the Skywalkers that, to protect their secrecy, they could never leave and must change their names. Saal also revealed that Ziil had joined the Hidden Ones, becoming their leader and adopting the name "The Hidden One." Luke and Ben met with Ziil and discussed Solo, but Ziil offered little insight into the former Jedi's transformation into a Dark Lord of the Sith. During their conversation, Luke and Ben found Ziil to be paranoid and corrupt, and they discovered that he was filling the Hidden Ones with lies. The Skywalkers were instructed to begin excavating caves, where they would reside for the remainder of their lives.

A few days after the Skywalkers' arrival, Ithia, a female Kel Dor and formerly the best fighter in the Baran Do Order, engaged in a series of three duels with Chara. Chara emerged victorious in each match, a feat he had never accomplished before. Luke began to believe that, by accepting their death and turning their backs on life, energy, and the will to fight and survive, the Hidden Ones had turned their backs on the Force. Luke resolved to demonstrate that with each minute they remained in the caverns, embracing their "deaths," their power diminished.

The confrontation

Demonstrating the theory

Luke gathered the Hidden Ones into Koro Ziil's throne chamber by announcing that he and Ben were finally going to adopt new names. However, Luke had no intention of doing so. Instead, he explained his theory to the Hidden Ones and proposed that Ben, a relatively inexperienced Jedi Knight, should duel Chara, the Hidden Ones' best fighter and newest member. Luke promised that if Ben lost, he would accept their fate and remain in the caverns. Ziil permitted Chara to accept the challenge, and both combatants were armed only with hardwood staffs.

Chara immediately gained the upper hand, landing the first blow on Ben's ankle. Ben quickly recovered, but as the duel progressed, Chara clearly had the advantage, slamming Ben into a pillar with the Force and striking Ben's ankle again, causing the young Jedi to limp. However, Ben managed to strike Chara's head, and the elder combatant began to lose his will to fight. After a series of glancing blows, a kick from Ben connected solidly with Chara's chest, knocking him down. Now in control, Ben intentionally allowed Chara to disarm him. Surprised, Chara lost his balance, and Ben capitalized on the error with a series of punches. Finally, an attempt by Chara to attack with his staff was met with an open-hand strike from Ben that shattered the weapon into two pieces. The follow-through landed squarely on Chara's chin, and the defeated Kel Dor fell to the ground, unable to rise immediately.

Seeing the light

Chara and other Hidden Ones began to believe that Luke was right; they were growing weaker, not stronger. Ziil, however, refused to accept this revelation. He became angry at the Skywalkers, as well as with the other Hidden Ones who began to agree with the Jedi. When his former apprentice, Chara, admitted that he believed the Skywalkers could be right, Ziil declared that the Skywalkers were too dangerous to remain among them. Ithia and an elderly Kel Dor named Burra spoke out against his statement, but the Hidden One revealed that he had already informed those on the surface that the Skywalkers had died in a cave collapse and that sending any more oxygen-nitrogen canisters would be unnecessary. Without the canisters, the Skywalkers would die within a day or two from the helium-rich atmosphere of Dorin, which only the native Kel Dor could breathe. Several of the Hidden Ones pleaded with Ziil to change his mind, but he refused. As the Hidden Ones continued to protest, Ithia told Ziil that the Hidden Ones, which she referred to as the "experiment," had failed. Ziil ordered the assembly to be quiet and obey, but Ithia refused, and the Hidden One finally lost control.

Master vs. Master

Ziil declared that the Skywalkers' influence among the Hidden Ones was too great, and they could not be allowed to remain in the caverns, even for the short time before their deaths. He stepped forward and blasted Luke with white Force lightning. Luke absorbed the attack with his lightsaber, but the force of the lightning threw him backward into a pillar. Managing to deflect the lightning, Luke got up and began moving slowly toward Ziil. Ziil created a Force whirlwind, but it was not enough to stop Luke's advance. Many of the other Hidden Ones fled from the throne chamber, as Ben directed them out a blast door.

Ziil ceased the lightning and increased the power behind the whirlwind, sending it directly at Luke. Luke deflected it to the side, and it slammed into a pillar. Deactivating his lightsaber, Luke started forward again. The whirlwind began moving around the room until it paused directly behind Luke, and it hammered continuously at a pillar until the pillar broke and toppled down toward Luke. Luke caught the pillar in midair and redirected it, dropping it to the ground. Ziil then used the Force to pick up his throne and hurl it at Luke. To counter the blow, Luke threw the fallen pillar toward Ziil with the Force. They collided in midair; the throne shattered, and the pillar fell to the floor. Luke rolled the pillar forward with the Force, forcing Ziil to jump over it. Luke charged forward and kicked the unprepared Hidden One in the stomach, sending him flying. Ziil tried to get up, but he could not stay on his feet and collapsed to the ground.

Aftermath

Even after his defeat, Ziil attempted to enforce his rules. He stated that he would tell those on the surface that his earlier message about the Skywalkers' deaths was a mistake, and he promised to free his servants and appoint a board of advisors, and in a couple of years they would reassess the situation. However, the Hidden Ones had turned against him. When Ziil still refused to listen to reason, Ben set off a secret explosive that collapsed what Ziil claimed was the only exit from the caverns. Ben continued to reveal all of Ziil's lies to the Hidden Ones; Ziil, however, still refused to admit to the existence of another way out of the caverns. Finally, Burra relented, revealing that he knew of a secret turbolift chamber that led to the surface. The Hidden Ones left the caverns, returning to the Baran Do on the surface, and the Skywalkers left Dorin soon after.

Behind the scenes

This showdown was depicted in Fate of the Jedi: Outcast, a 2009 novel penned by Aaron Allston as part of the Fate of the Jedi series.