Showdown in the Draay Estate

"Lay down your weapons! This estate is under the investigation of the Jedi High Council!"

In 3963 BBY, the Jedi Order stormed the Draay Estate after Jedi Master Xamar attempted to exculpate Jedi Covenant founder, Krynda Draay, by implicating himself as one of the principal participants in the Padawan Massacre of Taris a year earlier. As the fugitive Padawan Zayne Carrick—framed by the Covenant's First WatchCircle for the murders—worked to establish his innocence, Xamar apprehended him and cleared the young Human's name after conferring with the Jedi High Council. Xamar then devised a plan to end the Covenant's mysterious activities and bring his fellow WatchCircle members to justice. The scheme, developed by Xamar, the High Council, and Carrick, required Carrick to pretend that he had fully embraced the dark side of the Force. With Carrick in "custody" and seemingly under the thrall of an ancient Sith artifact known as the Muur Talisman, Xamar brought the fugitive Padawan and his associate, Marn Hierogryph, to the Draay Estate on Coruscant, seeking Krynda's examination, while planning to spirit her away to safety. Instead, they were met by, and denied an audience by, Krynda's son and the First WatchCircle leader, Lucien.

As Lucien prepared to kill Carrick and eliminate the last surviving witness to the Padawan massacre, Haazen, the Covenant's ersatz leader and Draay family steward, arrived to take control of the situation. Carrick then broke free of his captors and launched what appeared to be a dark side–inspired tirade, signaling Xamar to depart and muster his forces—those Knights loyal to the actual Jedi Order and not to the Covenant. Meanwhile, Haazen denounced Carrick as a fraud and exposed his talisman as a fake; but when he attempted to question the Snivvian Hierogryph, Xamar returned with scores of High Council operatives, who engaged the members of the Jedi Covenant in battle. As combat raged throughout the Draay Estate, Haazen revealed his treachery by issuing the command Vindication to all Covenanters, causing those loyal to him and his clandestine organization to rebel against the Council's authority. Haazen's machinations destroyed much of the Draay Estate, and many Jedi were killed—including Xamar.

Background

"I am no longer competent to decide. But I will no longer let Lucien Draay decide. I asked him before the murders if Krynda had approved them. I should have sssensed his lie then."

―Xamar, concerning his involvement in the Padawan Massacre^[4]Following the devastation caused by the Great Sith War, a renowned Jedi Consular named Krynda Draay established a secret organization called the Jedi Covenant. Its stated purpose was to foresee and prevent the Sith from returning at any cost.^[5]One of the Covenant's members served as the aide to Krynda's late husband, Barrison, the failed Jedi apprentice Haazen. Unlike Barrison, Haazen survived the war, although he lost three limbs after secretly betraying Draay to the Sith. He subsequently maintained his dual allegiance in secret, actively participating in Covenant affairs while manipulating its efforts behind the scenes as an agent of the dark side.^[6]

In 3964 BBY, the Covenant's hidden agenda was nearly revealed when its foremost group of seers predicted the Sith's rise among their own Padawans. They therefore murdered their learners, but, fortunately, one of the Padawans, Zayne Carrick, escaped. Members of the First WatchCircle blamed the killings on Carrick, forcing him and his companion Marn Hierogryph into hiding as fugitives. Two of the seers died a year later while pursuing Carrick, although he was not directly responsible for their deaths. As Carrick sought to prove his innocence and expose the Covenant's role in the Padawan massacre, he discovered information connecting the organization to a cache of Sith artifacts concealed from the Jedi High Council. Carrick returned to Coruscant to present his evidence to the Council, but the Khil seer Xamar captured him,^[7]who brought him before members of the Jedi High Council to negotiate favorable terms. Xamar, who realized that Krynda's son Lucien had in fact authorized the massacre, presented testimony to the Council revealing the First WatchCircle's guilt. He then agreed to assist Councilors Vrook Lamar and Vandar Tokare in bringing down the Covenant, provided that Krynda received immunity, since he believed she had played only a minor role in its operation. The Jedi Masters then devised a plan in which Xamar would bring Padawan Carrick—who would pretend to have given in to the dark side of the Force—to the Covenant's headquarters, the Draay Estate. After requesting an audience with Krynda, Xamar planned to take her to safety, after which a force of High Council–loyal Jedi Knights would descend on the Estate and arrest the Covenant's members.^[4]

The showdown

"It is what I told you before, Lucien. I have brought Zayne—and he hasss the Muur Talisssman_. Or_ it hasss him_." "Then…we were right to do what we did. We were right._"

―Xamar and Q'Anilia^[4]

As Masters Lamar and Tokare departed to gather the necessary Jedi Council devotees, Xamar led Carrick and his associate, Marn Hierogryph, into the Estate. To lend further credibility to his supposed fall to the dark side, Carrick wore red-yellow contact lenses and carried a counterfeit version of the Muur Talisman, a Sith amulet greatly coveted by the Covenant. His lightsaber was concealed inside the replica in case the scheme unraveled sooner than Xamar anticipated. The Khil Master presented his "prisoners" to fellow WatchCircle members Lucien and Q'anilia. However, Hierogryph maintained the ruse, asserting that the Talisman had corrupted Carrick, who had subsequently worked for the Snivvian. Lucien responded by igniting his lightsaber and preparing to strike Carrick down, but Xamar intervened and insisted that he be taken to Draay's mother for examination. Haazen arrived at that moment and refused to grant access to Krynda, offering instead to examine the rogue Padawan himself. Xamar firmly demanded to see Krynda, but Lucien regarded Carrick as a threat and likewise refused to let Xamar meet with his mother. Carrick suddenly broke free of his restraints and erupted into what appeared to be a dark side–inspired rage; he then declared that he possessed more Sith artifacts than merely the Muur Talisman, prompting Haazen's interest and surprise. Xamar confirmed the account, and Haazen ordered him to retrieve the artifacts. Though Krynda had not been rescued as he had initially intended, Xamar took advantage of the opening to leave and rejoin the legion of Jedi assembled by Masters Lamar and Tokare, which was waiting outside the Draay Estate for the attack signal.^[4]Meanwhile, Haazen instructed two of his servants, Covenant agents Garragor and Klydeker, to fetch his diagnostic equipment, which he planned to use in examining Carrick's supposed dark side possession. Despite Q'Anilia's warnings, Haazen approached Carrick and grabbed him by the throat, while also taking the counterfeit Muur Talisman, thereby revealing the lightsaber concealed inside. As Lucien and Q'Anilia identified Hierogryph as the architect of Carrick's betrayal, Haazen moved toward the Snivvian, who pleaded for assistance. Carrick tried to intervene but was cut off by security alarms: Xamar's forces had begun their assault and stormed the Draay Estate in an effort to arrest every member of the Jedi Covenant.^[4]