Roblio Darté was a male Human Jedi General and Jedi Master who participated in the Clone Wars. He was well-known for his proficiency with the crossguard lightsaber. Although he made it through Order 66, Darth Vader killed him during the Conclave on Kessel.
Roblio Darté, a male Human who was Force-sensitive, underwent training in the Force by the Jedi Order. After successfully completing his Trials of Knighthood, he achieved the rank of Jedi Knight. Darté, who was skilled with a lightsaber, constructed a rare crossguard version for himself that featured two blue blades. Darté was then elevated to the rank of Jedi Master by the Jedi High Council after further service to the Galactic Republic.
In 22 BBY, when the Separatist Crisis between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems escalated into the Clone Wars, Darté assumed the rank of General within the Grand Army of the Republic, commanding clone troopers in battles against the Separatist Droid Army. Throughout the conflict between the Republic and the Separatist forces, he was deployed to the marshy battlefields of Parcelus Minor. The Republic was unable to land any of its heavy equipment because of the planet's unstable surface, and Darté and his soldiers were forced to fight without transportation or artillery. To make matters worse, Republic Intelligence severely underestimated the number of Separatist troops on the planet, and Darté discovered that his forces were outnumbered by a factor of ten. The disaster was compounded when a CIS fleet appeared behind the small Republic fleet, trapping both the orbital support ships and the army on the planet.
Despite being severely outnumbered, Darté and his clones managed to hold off the droid army for a while, but they suffered significant losses. The Separatist commander eventually grew tired of the battle and gave the order to bombard the planet from orbit. As the Separatist turbolasers rained down on the world, decimating both Republic troops and Separatist droids, the tzeotine produced by the native flora ignited, engulfing the entire planet in flames. Darté gave the order for a complete retreat, trying to save as many clones as he could, but he was forced to abandon a large number of wounded soldiers. Darté suffered multiple injuries himself, and he lost his left eye. Ultimately, more than 90% of the clone troopers engaged in the battle were killed, and some later compared it to a second Battle of Jabiim.
Darté returned to Coruscant two days after the evacuation to report the catastrophe to the High Council. The bandaged and scarred Darté knelt before the twelve Masters in the High Council Chamber as he recounted the events. Senators Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Ask Aak entered to listen during his report because the media and the Galactic Senate had largely downplayed the truth of the report. Senator Aak left the chamber in a rage, blaming the Jedi for the destruction of another world.
In 19 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Republic—who was secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith—issued Contingency Order 66 to the Grand Army, instructing them to kill their Jedi Generals. Darté somehow made it through the slaughter and went into hiding, avoiding being found by the newly formed Galactic Empire. Darté was contacted by fellow Master Shadday Potkin in the months following the fall of the Order and the Republic. She wanted to hold a conclave with other survivors. Darté and his companions gathered in an abandoned mine on Kessel and talked about the Order's future and the next steps they should take. Their opinions varied greatly; while Masters Bultar Swan and Tsui Choi argued against making direct attacks on the Sith or the Empire, Koffi Arana suggested that any action, even giving in to the dark side of the Force, was worth the risk if it meant defeating the Sith. Darté and Ma'kis'shaalas intervened in the argument, and Darté stated that justice needed to be served and the Republic needed to be restored.
Master Potkin revealed that their arguments were pointless because she had assumed they would discuss their options without taking any action, so she had already decided what they would do: the conclave was actually a trap she had set to draw Sidious' Sith apprentice Darth Vader to his death. She knew that Vader was looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi, so she spread false information that he would be at the conclave. Her goal was to weaken the Emperor and the New Order while also letting the galaxy know that the Jedi were still alive. Potkin sensed Vader's arrival in the Force as Choi recoiled in shock at her choice, and she urged the others to get ready.
Darté and the majority of the Jedi attacked when the Sith Lord entered the chamber and demanded to know where Kenobi was. Sia-Lan Wezz charged ahead of the others and was stabbed in the chest by Vader. Darté, Arana, and Ma'kis surrounded Vader, but the Dark Lord pushed Arana across the room and sliced through Ma'kis's chest, killing him. Farr managed to injure Vader with a blow to the back, but Vader jumped away, followed by Potkin. Potkin had brought a cortosis blade to the fight, believing it would give her the advantage she needed to defeat Vader. She was able to deactivate his lightsaber, but Vader simply threw the weapon aside, used the Force to lift Potkin, and broke her neck. He then took her blade for himself. Darté, Farr, and Arana attacked Vader once more, but their lightsabers were quickly deactivated as well. Choi acted wisely and saved the others by severing Vader's hand, while Swan slashed him in the leg, causing him to stumble.
Vader gave up to the Jedi, but Arana thought it was a ruse and demanded that Vader be put to death. When Swan tried to stop him, he took her lightsaber, gave in to his rage, and murdered her with her own weapon. He lunged at Vader, and Vader saw his opportunity, flinging his own severed hand, still clutching the cortosis blade, into Arana's chest. Darté stood with the other two surviving Jedi, Choi and Farr, and attacked Vader by using the Force to levitate rocks and equipment and hurl them at him. Vader was unable to overcome their combined power and succumbed to the assault, falling to his knees.
Choi came to the conclusion that Arana might have been correct and moved closer to Vader, getting ready to kill him after all. At that point, stormtroopers hurried onto the walkways above and started shooting at the Jedi. Darté was able to use the Force to lift a large piece of metal, which deflected their blaster shots. While Choi also used his lightsaber to deflect the attack, Farr was not as quick and was shot in the head and chest. Darté pleaded with Choi to flee while he still had the chance, but Choi disagreed, charging at the stormtroopers and telling Darté to run instead. Vader used the Force to stop Choi before he could attack the stormtroopers, who then killed the Aleena. Darté screamed Choi's name as he too was cut down, shot multiple times in the chest, killing him.
Emperor Palpatine, who was aware of Vader's personal goals to hunt down Kenobi, had ordered the stormtroopers to arrive. Palpatine informed Vader that the battle would be used for Imperial propaganda, even though Vader was embarrassed that he had disobeyed his master's orders. The lies that the New Order would spread would terrify their adversaries while driving any other Jedi who had survived further into hiding.
John Ostrander is the creator of Roblio Darté. While the character made his debut in Republic 61, and his name appeared in the comic's script, the name was not made canonical until Star Wars: Purge. Ostrander surmised that Darté was born in 50 BBY.
Darté is the first character seen wielding a forked lightsaber, which has a smaller blade angled off the main blade at the hilt. This distinctive weapon can be seen in Republic 61: Dead Ends and Star Wars: Purge. The smaller blade appears in Purge, but in several panels, it is colored as if it were a part of the hilt.