This is the character background for Dr. Tam Dakkar, a Level 1 Human Noble in an upcoming Star Wars Saga Edition game. Hope you enjoy it.
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I probably shouldn’t be keeping this journal. It seems foolish for a man to keep a journal of his own treasonous acts. Grim experience has taught me to trust my instincts though, and for some reason I feel compelled to write this down.
I don’t know who my real parents are. I was an infant when I was identified as force-sensitive and claimed by the Jedi. Like most people, I can only assume that my parents were proud that their son was going to be one of the chosen. After all, it is not like they knew what was going to happen.
I was six when Anakin Skywalker came to the temple. I don’t remember much of it. I do remember the chaos and confusion. I also remember the blood. Every color of the rainbow covered the walls. An older student, a Padawan I believe, led a group of us younglings through the winding corridors of the under temple. He hoped we could find passage to the streets of Coruscant and from there find safety.
It was a good plan. Unfortunately, Master Skywalker found us. The Padawan, a mere boy who I do not even know the name of, gave his life for us. Skywalker cut him down as easily as a reaping droid harvests wheat. He turned on us then. I expected to be cut down by his glowing green blade. Instead he just waved his hand and brought down the entire ceiling on us.
By happenstance I wasn’t crushed immediately. Somehow I willed myself into a healing trance. I wish I knew how I did it. Even now I find it difficult to do. How I managed it when I was six and terrified is beyond my comprehension. Was it the touch of destiny or dumb luck? It is impossible to say.
I remained in the trance a long-time. It must have been days or even weeks later when I was finally found. A structural engineer named Mak Dakkar was sent in by the newly formed Empire to ensure the former Jedi Temple had not suffered any permanent damage during the assault. He found our bodies quite by accident when investigating the lower levels.
At first he thought we were all dead. I sensed him though and instinctively willed myself awake. The trance had kept the worst side effects of hunger and dehydration at bay. I was able to call out to him, although my voice was more of a croak. I saw him hesitate for a moment, as if he was contemplating turning around. Instead, he dug me out of the rubble.
I owe my life to Mak Dakkar, as surely as I owe my life to my birth parents. He smuggled me out of the temple and brought me to his home at great personal risk. Mak and his wife Lana took me in at a time when it would have been easy to look the other way. I have heard it said that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. That day, the man and woman who would become my new parents chose to take a stand.
Not that it was easy. It soon became obvious that with the Jedi purge underway that they could not remain in the very heart of the Galactic Empire with a child who had been at the temple. Luckily, Lana had family on Alderaan, so obtaining the necessary visas to move there was not difficult.
Alderaan is a peaceful world with no weapons. As long as it submitted to the authority of the Galactic Empire it was mostly left to govern itself. It was the perfect place for my adopted family to raise me. Life quickly became normal again. I began to go to school, where I am proud to say I excelled. Although I will admit this was no doubt in part due to the rigorous training I had received at the Jedi Temple. Most importantly I stopped living in fear. Only then could I truly live again.
Living on Alderaan obviously was good for my parents as well. The deep concern that had often lined their faces back on Coruscant soon faded and were replaced by smiles. In fact, I soon found myself with surprised with a younger sister named Tilaa. Life was good, even though news of what was happening in the rest of the Galactic Empire continued to be troubling.
I continued to be quite the prodigy at my classes. I was especially adept at the life science and quickly decided I wanted to be a medical doctor. I could tell my father was a bit disappointed. He felt that droids were taking over the medical field and that there soon would be no place left for human doctors. I remained undaunted though. By the time I was eighteen, I had completed my coursework and applied for a residency on Ryloth. I was a bit surprised when I was accepted.
Leaving Alderaan was hard for me, but I am glad I did. On Ryloth, I got to see how hard it is for most people living under the thumb of the Galactic Empire, especially those who are not human. The actions of the Imperial forces stationed on Ryloth sickened me. They turned a blind-eye to the Twi'lek slave trade. They trumped up charges against the most influential clans and seized their assets. They even ignored increased involvement in the Ryl trade of the Hutts, as long as their pockets were lined with credits.
The hospitals on Ryloth were underfunded and undermanned. Much of the Ryl that the natives used for their most powerful medicines were shipped off-world. Medical droids were scarce and often reserved for the wealthy. I worked long hours for little pay, but it seemed to matter very little. I watched too many Twi'leks with treatable diseases die needlessly.
I soon began to realize regardless how much good I was doing that I was only treating a symptom. The only way to truly help the people of Ryloth was to cut out the black heart of the Galactic Empire itself.
Although Master Yoda once said “Size matters not”, I found it prudent to find like minded individuals in my quest to bring down the government. It took awhile to find a rebel cell. After all, it is not like one can advertize their desire for treason. Still, I trusted my instincts and soon found a group of Twi'leks who were as determined as I to throw off the shackles of the Galactic Empire.
I was a godsend to them. As a human, I was able to go many places they were not allowed to go. I am reasonably skilled with computers and in coaxing important information off of them. As a doctor I was able to funnel medical supplies to them when necessary. Perhaps most importantly, after nearly being caught several times, I soon found I was a better liar than I would have ever imagined.
We made substantial gains, at least on the local level. I was still restless though. If you kill the bureaucrat who is diverting precious Ryl off-planet, another bureaucrat will replace him within the week. I was assured by the cell leader that we were not working alone. He insisted that our small efforts helped the whole of the Rebel Alliance. He told me that there were big things in the works and I would soon get an opportunity to see what our small efforts allowed to be brought to fruition.
He was dead within a week. I am not sure how the Galactic Empire had found out about the rebel cell. All I know is that local news reports showed Imperial Stormtroopers raiding the cell’s primary base of operations and killing everyone there. My friends and conspirators were gone in one fell swoop.
Once again I had escaped a massacre by mere happenstance. If I had not been pulling a triple-shift at the hospital, I probably would have been there when the Stormtroopers arrived. I continued to act normally in order to allay any suspicion. Apparently luck was with me again and no evidence of my involvement with the rebel cell had been found. A last gift from my friends I guess.
The only gift I could give them was to mourn them. It is the only gift that survivors can ever give the massacred. I felt adrift and without purpose. It seemed as if something niggling in my brain, like I had forgotten something important.
Eventually, I realized it was the date. It was almost the fourteenth anniversary of the founding of the Galactic Empire. The fourteenth anniversary of the first massacre I had survived at the hands of these murderers.
I knew what I had to do. I was going to travel to Coruscant. I was going to stare into the black heart of the Galactic Empire on the anniversary of its birth. I do not know what I expect to accomplish. I only know that my every instinct tells me this is what I need to do.
As I mentioned before, I have learned to trust my instincts.
Signing off,
Dr. Tam Dakkar.
. Even though I am not a big fan of that edition (see below), I am looking forward to playing.
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