Shado Vao

"You delude yourself, Jedi! You are no match for one Imperial Knight, let alone two!" "Now that's an interesting theory."

- Antares Draco and Shado Vao

Shado Vao was a Rutian Twi'lek Jedi Knight living around the time of the Second Imperial Civil War. Prior to the Massacre at Ossus, he was the Padawan of Jedi Master Kol Skywalker and a close friend of Kol's son, fellow Padawan Cade Skywalker.

Early life


When their parents' ship crash-landed on the planet Vendaxa, Shado and his twin sister, Astraal, were orphaned. Taken in by the Imperial Mission, Shado was later recruited by the Jedi and became known for his exceptional lightsaber skills, with a single blade or with a less traditional double-bladed lightsaber.

At the end of the Sith-Imperial War, with the Galactic Alliance already defeated, the forces of the One Sith led an assault on the Jedi Praxaeum at Ossus where Shado was training. As Masters Kol Skywalker and Wolf Sazen fought off oncoming waves of stormtroopers and Sith Lords, Shado and Cade were charged with getting the Jedi Younglings off-planet. However, when Cade disobeyed his father's orders and was seemingly killed, Shado was forced to abandon his good friend to protect the children.

Reunion
Afterwards, Shado became Sazen's Padawan, completing the path to Knighthood he had begun under Kol Skywalker. Shado left Master Sazen after earning the rank of Jedi Knight. They were reunited after Wolf called a meeting of four remaining Jedi: himself, Shado, Rasi Tuum and a Human woman. The meeting was ambushed by the Sith, but only after Wolf informed the group that Cade was the galaxy's only hope. After the Sith assault on the convocation, Shado and Wolf were all that survived.



Knowing that if ever they were in danger they should try to meet up on Vendaxa, Shado brought Wolf with him to the site of their parents' deaths. There, amongst the wreckage the Twi'lek Jedi was reunited with his sister. The reunion was cut short, however by the appearance of Darth Talon, who had apparently trailed Astraal and the Princess Marasiah Fel from Socorro.

Astraal Vao, having prearranged a rendezvous with her brother Shado if ever they were in trouble, guided the crew of Mynock and Princess Fel to the crash site where Shado and Astraal's parents died. There, they came under attack from an acklay, and only the timely arrival of Shado and Wolf Sazen saved Astraal from being impaled upon the acklay's foreclaw. The immediate danger over, Princess Marasiah set about arranging safe passage with the two Jedi, revealing that she knew of Mynock crew's intention to turn her in for the bounty on her head. Not wanting to be recognized by his former Master, Cade stayed in the shadows and did not argue with the Princess. However, Jariah called him on his wanting to cut his losses, using his name as he did so which attracted the attention of the two Jedi. Turning to face the Jedi, Cade calmly stared down his former Master and admitted his name was Cade. If Wolf recognized his former pupil after their years apart, he gave no sign; instead choosing to turn to direct Princess Fel to where he and Shado had secreted their own ship. A sudden explosion signaled that ship's destruction, however and was quickly followed by an attack by Darth Talon, who used the dark side of the Force to provoke a number of native cannoks into attacking alongside her.

Encounter on Vendaxa
"Your plan has a flaw&hellip;it assumes you can kill me."

- Shado Vao taunting Darth Talon



Talon singled out Wolf Sazen and brought him down with Force lightning, intending to kill him, but Marasiah intervened, hoping for revenge for the death of her Master, Elke Vetter. Sia was no match for the Sith, however and Talon swatted her away with the Force. Wrapped in Force lightning, Wolf was still able to ask Cade to take the Princess to safety, but the captain of Mynock only stood by numbly, his mind flashing back through the years to a similar situation on Ossus.

Snapping back to the present with an expletive, Cade unloaded both barrels of his Rawk chopped special at the Sith, and after a moment both Blue and Syn joined him, the former declaring they'd all gone insane, the latter saying it was a "good" insane. Darth Talon however, easily deflected their blasts and disarmed them with a wave of her hand then advanced upon them, her lightsaber at the ready.

With an angry cry, Cade used the Force to lift some nearby wreckage and hurled it and Talon into the nearby forest. Retrieving his blaster, Cade calmly directed the stunned onlookers to head for Mynock. However, they were soon to discover that Talon had sabotaged Mynock, forcing them to remain on Vendaxa until repairs could be made. Meanwhile, Darth Talon remained hidden in the shadows nearby.

Shortly after, the two Imperial Knights Antares Draco and Ganner Krieg came to Vendaxa in order to save the princess. The two knights were immediately shot down by Sith fighters. The Imperial Knights jumped out of their burning ships and Darth Talon quickly greeted them. Darth Talon was quickly followed by a group of Sith that included Darth Nihl, who's mission was to kill all of the Imperial Knights and Jedi and take the princess. Shado Vao began to duel the skilled Darth Talon in a deadly duel to the death. Shortly into the fight Shado activated the other end of his blue lightsaber, showing his impressive double-bladed saber and resuming the fight. They fought for a time, but Shado escaped, leaving Talon standing behind in anger. After they escaped the Sith, he and Master Sazen were offered a ride by Cade, but was told he was not sure if he would rejoin the order.

On Ossus
They went on to Ossus, where after Cade asked his former master Sazen to finish his training, Vao served as his training partner. During a practice lightsaber duel, they both fell into a hidden room filled with valuable Jedi artifacts, where they were set upon by two Yuuzhan Vong, Liaan Lah and Choka Skell. However, Master Shaper Nei Rin ceased the attack and explained to the Jedi everything of her survival and how she gave Kol Skywalker's body a Jedi funeral. Then Shado watched with Sazen, K'Kruhk, and Rin as Cade left on a mission to rescue Hosk Trey'lis. Shado stated to K'Kruhk that he could sense that every time Cade used his power to revive the dead, he touched the dark side, and that he would be the one to kill Cade if he fell to the dark side.

While in the ruins of the Jedi Praxeum on Ossus, Shado along with K'Kruhk and Wolf Sazen had a vision of Cade turning to the dark side. He began wondering if he could get his chance of what he said days earlier. After a squad of Stormtroopers found them, he used a mind trick on them to forget they saw the Jedi. However, Darth Stryfe ordered the destruction of the Academy.

A Knight of the Old Republic


Shado, alongside Wolf, Nei Rin and her Vong Warriors all survived the destruction of the Academy thanks to Master K'Kruhk, though the latter was gravely injured in the process. K'Kruhk revealed to his fellow Jedi the location of the Hidden Temple and was taken there to be properly healed. Shado remained in the Hidden Temple and welcomed Cade when the latter appeared there alongside his crew and former Jedi Nat Skywalker. Shado introduced Cade to Master T'ra Saa, a legendary survivor of the Clone Wars and the Great Jedi Purge.

After hearing of Cade's plan to assassinate Krayt, Shado grew worried that Cade may be a Sith himself, but when Cade left to assassinate Krayt, Shado went with him. The Mynock went to Had Abbadon to draw Krayt's attention. However, an interdictor field from a drifting Star Destroyer came into view. The crew investigated the ship, only to be attacked by strange creatures that were once called rakghouls. Cade and Azlyn were bit or scratched and some woman separated them from the others. Shado did his best to get through the door but had no success until it opened from the outside, revealing that the woman, Celeste Morne, a Jedi Master of the Old Jedi Order, had decided to join Cade's cause.

After the attack on Had Abbadon, Shado had a vision while meditating about him, slaying Celeste from the Oubliette she was freed from and the Muur Talisman possessing him. He talked with Morne, informing her that should Cade turn, he promised to take him down. But Morne warned him that he might fall and that Karness Muur may draw on something dark in him.

Krayt later took the bait, and traveled to Had Abbadon with several other Sith Lords. With the trap sprung, Shado leaped out with the Imperial Knights while Morne set the rakghouls on Krayt. Shado dueled Darth Maladi, who complemented him both on concealing himself from her and the trap, saying it was worthy of a Sith.



Shado was able to hold his own against the rakghouls when Muur turned them against them. The battle ended when Morne force-pushed a weakened Krayt off a cliff. Shado later witnessed Cade effortlessly resist the Muur Talisman's influence and his destruction of the Sith Artifact.

Cade tried to use his healing powers to save a mortally wounded Azlyn Rae, but she was hurt beyond his abilities to heal. Shado advised Cade to let his old love go, but he refused to do so. Blue suggested getting her to Cade's aunt Droo, and Cade agreed. As they were leaving, Krieg and Draco approached them. Cade refused to allow them to come since they tried to secure the Talisman for Fel. When Krieg drew his lightsaber to try to prevent them from taking Azlyn, Shado force-pushed him and Draco away, saying that Azlyn was a Jedi before she joined the Imperial Knights, and was therefore staying with them. They departed before the Knights could interfere further.

Return to the Temple
Shado and the rest of the Mynock crew traveled to Kiffex, where they were forced down by an electrical storm. Cade handed Azlyn over to Droo and Nat Skywalker. When the storm let up, Shado took his fighter back to the Hidden Temple, with a message to the Council that Krayt was dead.

Weapons


Shado Vao was highly skilled in lightsaber combat, proven numerous times, such as when he dueled Darth Talon. He carried a blue-bladed lightsaber with a hilt that resembled a regular lightsaber, if only slightly longer. By all outward appearances, there were no indications that a second blade could be ignited, turning the weapon into a dual-bladed lightsaber. Shado often did not ignite this second blade right away when engaging an enemy, either due to his prowess with a single blade, or for the element of surprise. Due to the notable length difference of the lightsaber hilt when both blades are active, it is possible that Shado's lightsaber hilt extends when using the second blade.

Behind the scenes
Shado's surname has led some fans to assume he (and his sister) were in some way related to Mission Vao and her brother Griff; the two families are, however, unrelated.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy 1: Broken, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 2: Broken, Part 2
 * Star Wars Legacy 5: Broken, Part 4
 * Star Wars Legacy 6: Broken, Part 5
 * Star Wars Legacy 7: Broken, Part 6
 * Star Wars Legacy 9: Trust Issues, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy: Ghosts
 * Star Wars Legacy 14: Claws of the Dragon, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 16: Claws of the Dragon, Part 3
 * Star Wars Legacy 17: Claws of the Dragon, Part 4
 * Star Wars Legacy: The Hidden Temple
 * Star Wars Legacy: Vector
 * Star Wars Legacy 34: Storms, Part 1

Notes and references
Shado Vao Shado Vao