Quinlan Vos

"I am not part of the dark simply deeper in the shadows"

- Quinlan Vos

Quinlan Vos was a Kiffar Jedi Master in the Jedi Order and a General in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. He hailed from the planet Kiffu in the Inner Rim Territories.

With long, dreadlocked hair and a band of pale yellow across his upper face, Vos was gifted with psychometric powers which allowed him to "read memories" from inanimate objects through physical contact.

Vos had an ongoing struggle with the dark side of the Force, particularly after he sustained recurrent amnesia after he overdosed on an illegal drug administered by an enemy shortly after the Battle of Naboo. The Sith Lords Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus both showed an interest in him.

He was a prominent participant in the Clone Wars, one of the few survivors of the Great Jedi Purge and, with his lover Khaleen Hentz, conceived a son named Korto Vos.

Vos was openly disdainful to clones, which lead to him being disliked by clones and hated by Sergeant Kal Skirata.

Early life
Quinlan Vos was the son of Quian and Pethros Vos, members of Clan Vos, the rulers of Quinlan's homeworld. Quinlan was born with psychometric powers, and thus destined to become a Guardian like his parents. Most Kiffar had psychometric ability to some degree, but Quinlan's latent ability with the Force enhanced his own, and he was considered by many to be the best exemplar of the ability that had ever been seen.

Initially, Quinlan's people were unwilling to give him up to the Jedi Order, as that would require him to relocate to Coruscant, cutting him off from his homeworld. As a compromise, Jedi Watchman Tholme agreed to train Vos initially on Kiffu.

This changed when both of Quinlan's parents were murdered by Anzati and Quinlan's aunt, Tinté Vos, forced him to use his abilities to read the memories implanted in his deceased mother's medallion. Quinlan screamed for days on end, and only Tholme was able to calm the boy. Knowing that he would never be safe on his homeworld now that his aunt was ruler, Tholme took the boy to the Jedi Temple, and he entered into regular Jedi training.

As a youngling, he trained alongside other Jedi hopefuls such as Siri Tachi, Bant Eerin, Shylar, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vos trained as a Jedi under Jedi Master Tholme. As a young apprentice, he fought beside his master in the Stark Hyperspace War, where he became close friends with fellow Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. When the war was over, Tholme went away for a while, leaving Quinlan with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn on Ragoon VI. While trying to show off each other with different moves, Quinlan accidentally tumbled into the water. Obi-Wan jumped in and they were saved by Qui-Gon. When he was a young boy he was responsible for saving the infant Aayla Secura during a mission to Ryloth with Master Tholme. Quinlan immediately felt a strong connection to Aayla (who was being concealed amongst slaves for her protection) through the Force. Sensing she was in danger, Quinlan rushed to her rescue. Quinlan was able to communicate with Aayla through the Force and together they defeated a rampaging wampa. Quinlan persuaded Master Tholme to test Aayla on Coruscant for Jedi training where she passed the tests, and later she became Quinlan's own Padawan.

Also during his apprenticeship, he had a romantic relationship with fellow Padawan Shylar. They eventually ended it, knowing the Jedi Code forbade such attachments. This relationship would come back to haunt Vos during the Clone Wars.

It is known that in 32 BBY, Vos was in Mos Espa on Tatooine on an undercover mission, at the same time Qui-Gon Jinn found himself temporarily stranded there. Vos later mused that, had he been aware of Qui-Gon's plight, he would have undoubtedly aided him in reaching Coruscant.

Vilmarh Grahrk
A year after the Invasion of Naboo, Quinlan suddenly found himself inside of a burning building on Nar Shaddaa, with no memory of who or where he was, nor what he had been doing. He was able to escape to the roof, encountering a small group of bounty hunters upon doing so. Acting instinctively, he Force pushed them off the edge, sending them to their deaths. Diving into one of Nar Shaddaa's many dark alleys, Vos encountered Vilmarh Grahrk, a Devaronian smuggler.

Using a commandeered speeder bike, the two managed to find a place to hide, avoiding assassins at every turn. Villie, as he liked to be called, explained to Vos that the local criminals had made bets based on how long Quinlan would survive on Nar Shaddaa, knowing of his Jedi origins and his amnesia. Once they were safe, Villie put his blaster to Vos's head and pulled the trigger, but it turned out that Quinlan had switched the weapon's power cell while using it against enemies on Villie's speeder.

Quinlan kicked Vilmarh to the ground and, after grabbing the blaster and switching its power cell once again, demanded Grahrk tell him everything he knew, or he would kill him. Before he could do so, two beings carrying lightsabers walked into the room, claiming to be Jedi. Vilmarh told him that they were in fact "bad boys," and with that the two attacked. Quinlan instantly killed one with Villie's blaster, then grabbed his downed opponent's green lightsaber.

As it touched his hand, visions suddenly flowed through his mind, including that of his Padawan, Aayla Secura, and his own name. With a great deal of his power returned to him, he quickly killed the other lightsaber-wielding foe, a Gotal. Villie revealed that, while Quinlan was killing the fake Jedi, he had made a new bet: that he would get off Nar Shaddaa alive. After being convinced to go with Grahrk, Quinlan grabbed the other lightsaber which he could sense belonged to Aayla Secura. With that, the two began their trek off the Smuggler's Moon.

Leaving Nar Shaddaa


On the way, Quinlan encountered more intense visions; of Tatooine, Bib Fortuna, Tinté Vos, and glitteryll, primarily. After learning Grahrk knew of Bib Fortuna and his possible whereabouts, Vos quickly convinced him to help find the Twi'lek and, knowing they could never leave the moon until doing so, Grahrk agreed. Vos and Grahrk located the Twi'lek, and the Jedi asked Fortuna aggressively what glitteryll was. Bib only revealed that "someone in a high position on Coruscant" was behind it all before a group of guards burst into the room.

Vos and Grahrk quickly dispatched the guards, though Fortuna was able to escape during the melee. After the emergence of a droideka, the two escaped through a window, stealing Bib Fortuna's parked speeder, and immediately made their way to Grahrk's ship, the Inferno. Upon arriving to the ship's docking bay, Vos discovered Grahrk had failed to mention he lost the ship in his recent betting on Vos's possible demise, so the ship now had security droids surrounding it, conveniently forcing Vos to help Grahrk regain his ship.

Upon entering the ship, Vos and Grahrk were not allowed to take off due to the Inferno's onboard navigation droid, NT 600, correctly claiming that Grahrk was no longer the owner. With annoyed bounty hunters and gamblers fast approaching, Quinlan quickly told the droid that activating the ship's shields would "protect the new owner's investment." Agreeing with this logic, NT activated the shields, though they began deteriorating instantly due to an ion cannon-wielding bounty hunter firing upon it. A Quarren named Gorzima suddenly came on-screen, accusing Villie of stealing back the Inferno. Vilmarh promised that he would simply fly the Inferno off-planet, collecting his soon-to-be winnings due to Vos escaping Nar Shaddaa, and allowing himself to buy the Inferno back. Gorzima disagreed, but Vos was able to persuade him, allowing the two to fly away from Nar Shaddaa.

Grahrk transferred his newfound credits to Gorzima once out of the atmosphere. With Quinlan not being sure where to go next to fill out his memory a bit more, Villie reasoned that the best place would be where he was born. So, NT 600 scanned the Jedi and discovered that he was a Kiffar from the planet Kiffu. After granting him transport to his homeworld, Villie stayed behind on the Inferno, allowing Quinlan to seek out his past, and perhaps learn a little more about himself.

On his home planet, Quinlan met with his aunt, Tinté Vos, the Sheyf of Kiffu and Kiffex. Though she shunned the Jedi, as well as Quinlan's Padawan Aayla Secura, she told him that a few weeks ago he and Secura had come to Kiffu to learn of a drug called glitteryll. She said that it was a combination of glitterstim and ryll, that the Corporate Sector Authority was interested in it, and that he and Aayla had investigated the matter on Nar Shaddaa and Tatooine. She also echoed Bib Fortuna's statement on Nar Shaddaa that someone high up on Coruscant was behind it all. She told him to go to Ryloth to seek information, and his Padawan.

Seeking Aayla Secura
Once on Ryloth, Quinlan and Villie were met by Asanté Vos, a fellow female Kiffar and Quinlan's cousin. Quinlan didn't recognize her, and, after a brief moment of disappointment, Asanté brought him to Pol Secura, a Twi'lek chieftain on Ryloth and uncle of Aayla Secura. Quinlan explained his situation to Pol, who said that, last time Vos and Aayla came to Ryloth, they found nothing in their investigation and went to Kessel, the place of origin for glitterstim, one half of gliteryll's components. Weary from his ordeal on Nar Shaddaa, Quinlan stayed the night at Secura's residence.

When he awoke, he was contacted via hologram by Vilmarh Grahrk, who told him to meet him by the Rock Gardens. Upon arrival, Quinlan was confronted by another Devaronian, Holmar Grahrk, Villie's cousin. Holmar was quickly shot down by the approaching Villie, who told Quinlan that he had recently made another bet that he would get off Ryloth alive. Quinlan wasn't ready to leave just then, and the two investigated a nearby cave, Quinlan picking up traces of his and Aayla's visit there.

When they arrived, the two found a mass web of giant spider eggs; the kind found normally on Kessel, and used to make glitterstim. They were soon attacked by a group of hatched spiders, resulting in Villie being knocked down a pit, though he was able to survive by landing on a spider web. All of a sudden, Asanté Vos walked in wielding a blaster, and shot Quinlan in the back. She explained that he and Aayla had gotten too deep into the glitteryll situation, and that she and Pol Secura had overdosed them with glitteryll to wipe their memories, in the process protecting them from higher-ups behind the scenes. As she prepared to kill Quinlan, pulling her blaster up to his head, she was stabbed from behind by the mother spider. With a recovered Villie's help, Quinlan was able to kill the spider and, with his new information, decided to visit Pol Secura once more.



Quinlan and Vilmarh barged into Pol Secura's quarters overlooking the caves of Ryloth, aggressively demanding to know where Aayla was. Pol fearfully revealed that she was now one of his servants, motioning to her, mere meters away. Quinlan introduced himself and asked if she remembered him, but she didn't. He handed her the lightsaber and encouraged her to ignite it; even when she did, she recalled nothing. Quinlan threateningly asked Pol what he had done to her, and he explained that she had to be given more glitteryll every day to suppress her Jedi memories.

Quinlan interrogated Pol with Force lightning, demanding to know who was behind selling the drugs to the Corporate Sector. After suffering much pain, Pol yelled that it was Chom Frey Kaa, a Senator from Ryloth. As Quinlan prepared to kill him, Aayla instinctively Force-pushed them both off the ledge, leaving Quinlan hanging on the edge and sending Pol plummeting to a stone platform, killing him. As Aayla rushed to her uncle, Vilmarh Grahrk pulled Quinlan up, explaining to him that going after Aayla would be useless, because to her he was nothing more than the man who made her kill her uncle. Quinlan reluctantly agreed, and the two made their way back to the Inferno, flying out of the atmosphere.

Confronting Chom Frey Kaa
Soon after entering outer space, Vos and Grahrk were contacted via hologram by Jedi Master Mace Windu, who said that he had learned of Quinlan's memory loss from Tinté Vos, as well as his assassination of Pol Secura on Ryloth, and that he was to come back to Coruscant for retraining immediately. Quinlan cut off the transmission and, against Villie's cautioning, decided to go to Coruscant to find Chom Frey Kaa.

Landing in the underbelly of Galactic City, Quinlan displayed unsureness as to where to find Kaa. Without warning, Villie shot Quinlan in the back, presumably with a stun blaster. When the Jedi awoke, he found himself handcuffed, laying next to Chom Frey Kaa, a large white Twi'lek, and Vilmarh Grahrk. Kaa revealed that in fact Grahrk was the one who transported the spider eggs from Kessel to Ryloth in the first place, and that he also brought Quinlan from Ryloth to Nar Shaddaa after his memory wiping. Villie however made his third betrayal of the day, tossing Quinlan's lightsaber to him, allowing him to unshackle himself and destroy the Twi'lek's battle droid guards.

As Quinlan prepared to kill the Senator, he was interrupted by Mace Windu, who told Quinlan that to kill him would be to succumb to the dark side of the Force. Quinlan was disobedient, not willing to let Kaa survive. After a brief lightsaber duel between the two, Master Windu, with his pacifism, was able to make Quinlan see the error in his actions, and Vos pledged himself to the Jedi Order's retraining, with only one request: that Aayla be retrieved from Ryloth and taught the same.

Unbeknownst to those involved, the entire debacle had been engineered by Palpatine, who aimed to bring Vos to the dark side as a new acolyte. However, even though Vos returned to the light side, Palpatine recognized how close he had come, and that in the future he would be even more at risk of falling.

Slave of the Witches
Three months into his retraining, Quinlan Vos was sent to Dathomir to investigate the local Witches, following reports that they had something to do with the planet Ova mysteriously vanishing. With only four days to work, Quinlan flew into the planet's orbit and, activating the ejector seat in his starship once he had entered the atmosphere, crashed down into Dathomir's towering forests. He was soon confronted and taken as a slave by the female-dominated Dathomiri.

While excavating one of the Dathomiri's ancient temples, Vos introduced himself to a Givin named Yag Shushin, before being quickly reprimanded by one of his Dathomiri slavemasters for fraternizing with other slaves. Quinlan, hoping to find out what exactly they were doing with this excavation, told her to "burn in the fire rings of Fornax", causing her to angrily attack him with a Force pike. Before she could accurately hit him, a sudden "rock-quake" sent boulders crashing onto many of the workers, including Yag Shushin, though he survived due to the Givins' tough exoskeleton.

While being kept in his laser prison with the other slaves, Quinlan was offered healing by Ros Lai (known to the workers as "the Rancor"), the hunchbacked daughter of Matriarch Zalem. Though he refused, he sensed something special about her. Suddenly, a group of Dathomiri riding actual rancors, led by Yongti, arrived, shooting and injuring Ros Lai, but not killing her. Yag quickly explained to Quinlan that they were a rival clan of Witches, coming to steal slaves and mates. One of them then fired upon the laser grid security console, allowing them to walk through unscathed and take anyone they liked.

Quinlan was soon lassoed by one of the rancor-mounted Witches, and desperately used the Force to reactivate the laser grid, killing one of the rancors. Suddenly, a large tunneling machine called a subterine piloted by a Dathomiri came flying out of the ground, and fired upon all of the attacking Witches, killing all of them and successfully defending her slaves.

Lizard Keeper
The next day, Quinlan's digging was interrupted by a giant wuffa burrowing out of the ground and attacking the workers. Wary of letting anyone else see his lightsaber, Quinlan dived into the massive worm's mouth, stabbing into its heavily exposed brain with his glowing green blade; the only witness was Yag Shushin, who didn't say anything. Upon hearing of Quinlan's accomplishment, Zalem promoted him and Yag to Lizard Keepers, guardians of the Kwi, a blue saurian species native to Dathomir.

Upon arriving in the Kwi stable, Yag explained to Quinlan that the Dathomiri were cutting off the Kwi's paws, and using them to activate the machines in the temples they were excavating. He also said that he knew where the Witches kept their subterines, and that he could easily pilot them. A fellow worker explained to him how to do it, but just as he was about to eagerly demonstrate on an unfortunate Kwi, Quinlan punched him to the ground, taking out his lightsaber and killing all attacking slaves. Quinlan then sliced through the Kwi cages, setting them free, and told Yag to go get a subterine. He did so, and Quinlan noticed one Kwi standing its ground, seeming to want to converse with Quinlan via psychometry. He agreed, and put his hand up to the creature's paw.

The Kwi told him of his species' ancestors, the Kwa, and how they built interstellar gateways called Infinity Gates, underground, concealing them with large, pyramidal Star Temples. The Temples were laden with lethal traps throughout the interior, and guarded by giant wuffas from without. As a result of both of these detriments, the Dathomiri were attempting to dig under the Star Temples and access the Infinity Gate. The Kwi told Quinlan that, as he has killed one of the Temples' guardians, he must replace it. Quinlan understood, and the Kwi ran off with the rest of the herd.

The deceptive sister
Quinlan suddenly realized that Ros Lai, the hunchbacked daughter of Zalem, was spying on him. He chased after her, only to be lured into a large pit filled with hog-like creatures. Ros Lai walked away, saying she didn't want him "interfering with her plans." Quinlan killed several of the boars and jumped out of the hole, catching up with Ros Lai, who had transformed from her disfigured guise into an upright, red-haired, attractive woman.

Quinlan eavesdropped on Ros speaking to a Force spirit; her father, and thus Zalem's husband. He learned that Zalem killed her husband for being Force-sensitive, fearing any male becoming too powerful. Ros promised to take revenge. Quinlan then revealed himself, offering that the two should work together to stop Zalem's excavating of the Star Temples. Ros disagreed, explaining that she wanted Zalem to gain access to the Temples, then she would kill her and use the Infinity Gate for herself.

With that, Ros used Force choke on Quinlan, planting him against a pillar. Before she could kill him however, three other Witches appeared&mdash;Vonya, Yani, and Leela&mdash;apparently having heard the previous conversation. As Ros released Quinlan from her Force choke, the Witches seemed pleased to learn that Ros had become beautiful, and accepted her into their sisterhood. Ros didn't seem very eager to do so, however, as she once again used Force choke, this time on Leela, killing her. Yani ran away in fear, as Vonya used the Force to throw nearby rocks at Ros Lai.

Realizing that she would be a powerful ally, Quinlan slashed the rocks apart before they could touch Ros, causing Vonya to retreat. Quinlan once again made his offer to Ros, but she wasn't any more willing to help him than before. Quinlan, finally relinquishing, decided to rendezvous with Yag Shushin and use a subterine to dive underground. He was soon attacked however by a group of Dathomiri, taken prisoner, and transported to Zalem's personal tent.

Infinity's end
Shackled to a vertical bed, Quinlan was injected with deadly artery worms. Before they began to take effect, Ros Lai arrived, closely followed by Yag Shushin in a subterine. After dispatching some of Zalem's guards, Quinlan and Ros boarded the subterine and flew off to safety, digging underground once at the location of the Infinity Gate. Ros gave Quinlan a potion containing her blood, which, being a Witch's blood, was immune to artery worms. Suddenly, two Dathomiri ships piloted by Vonya and Zalem arrived, and the three ships flew into the Star Chamber, the massive chamber containing the Infinity Gate.

Firing upon Quinlan's subterine, Vonya knocked Yag back roughly, shattering his exoskeleton and killing him. Quinlan took revenge, blasting relentlessly at Vonya's ship, destroying it in a ball of flame. They were too late to kill Zalem however; she had docked with the control station and, forcefully using a captured Kwi's paw, activated the Infinity Gate's weapons systems, aiming it and firing it at Coruscant. With only one hour to spare until it would make contact with the Republic capital, Ros docked at the station, claiming to be holding Quinlan as a prisoner.

Ros declared herself to be on Zalem's side, but her mother needed convincing. Ros, using an illusion spell, stabbed her Force pike into Quinlan's chest, and demanded justice for her fallen father from Zalem. After being denied, Ros stabbed her mother in the stomach, killing her, then walked off, leaving Quinlan to die against Zalem's guards. Quinlan, backed up against the wall, psychically activated the Star Chamber's death traps, killing all of the guards, though Ros was able to dodge them. Vos activated another trap, this one simply stunning Ros, allowing Quinlan to reverse the energy beam plummeting towards Coruscant, sending it towards his current location. Quinlan gathered Ros, carrying her back to the subterine and making the jump to hyperspace, flying to the now-safe Coruscant with his mission accomplished.

Mission to Kiffex (30 BBY)
"... in becoming a Knight, a Jedi is expected to face his greatest fears and vanquish them."

- Tholme

Approximately one year later, in 30 BBY, the Jedi Council, at the request of Tinté Vos, sent Quinlan to Kiffex to investigate a break-in and slaughter at one of the planet's security compounds, as well as a disturbance in the Force reported by Tr'a Saa, watchman of Kiffex's sector.

Tholme and Villie
Upon arriving at the Kiffex security compound in question, Quinlan was attacked by a group of Anzati. Fending them off narrowly, Quinlan was soon joined by his former Master Tholme, who had been sent by the Council to watch over Quinlan, and together the two were able to send the Anzati running. Though Quinlan did not remember Tholme due to his recent amnesia, he recognized him from the files in the Jedi Archives.

Tholme and Vos both sensed someone hiding in a nearby storage compartment, and upon opening it, discovered Vilmarh Grahrk. Villie seemed glad to see Quinlan, but the feeling was less than mutual, as Quinlan gave Vilmarh two punches and a kick for killing several Jedi a few years ago, something Quinlan had only recently learned. Before Quinlan's actions became too hostile, Tholme warned him that killing Villie would only lead to the dark side. Quinlan reluctantly agreed.

Villie explained that he came to Kiffex smuggling blasters, but was arrested by the local Guardians and imprisoned on Kiffex for his actions. Villie, believing that Quinlan and Tholme would get him off Kiffex, led the Jedi to a nearby settlement, where they were fired upon by order of Gorto Zaga, chief of the settlement; specifically that no one was to be let in after sundown. The Jedi and Villie were able to survive the blasterfire however, and with a cautionary mind trick from Tholme, were soon inside the settlement and Vilmarh Grahrk's hiding place.

The Vos medallion
When Tholme and Quinlan had a moment alone, Tholme showed Quinlan a medallion that once belonged to his mother, Quian Vos. Upon touching the medallion, Quinlan was ravaged by memories of his parents, Quian and Pethros, intercepting an Anzati ship attempting to come to Kiffex, only to get boarded and attacked by the Anzati in doing so. The Anzati sucked the essence from Quian and Pethros, draining them of their lives.

Tholme recounted Quinlan's youth to him, and said that witnessing the death of his parents as a child caused the darkness within him, and that, due to his amnesia, Quinlan had to face his mother's death once again to quell the darkness within him. Inside, Quinlan knew that Tinté had shown his parents' murder to him to turn him to the dark side, thus making him useless as a Jedi, hoping to bring him back to Kiffu as a Guardian.

Showdown at Black Hole
While at the Black Hole cantina in the town of Deadend, Quinlan, Tholme, and Villie watched as a Jedi Master named Zao concealed himself as personal chef of Gorto Zaga, the Aqualish chief of Deadend. Following Zaga disapproving a meal prepared by Zao, Gorto's men opened fire on him, forcing himself, Quinlan and Tholme into battle.

Seemingly from nowhere, an army of Anzati led by Aayla Secura, who had recently been turned to the dark side by Volfe Karkko, attacked Black Hole, forcing the Jedi and Gorto's men into a defensive position. Quinlan, consumed by feelings of fear and rage brought on by his parents' death, was attacked by his former Padawan, as the Anzati began wrapping the Black Hole patrons in green webbing. Aayla fled to the roof of the establishment, and Quinlan, against Tholme's advisement otherwise, gave chase.

When the two met on the roof, Aayla said she would kill Quinlan for killing her uncle Pol Secura, "but not yet," then fled on her bathwa, leading several Anzati on theirs. Tholme soon caught up with Quinlan, who accused Tholme and the Jedi Council of lying about not knowing where Aayla was, and that they sent him to Kiffex to find her. As Tholme defended himself and the Council and denied Quinlan's claims, Villie arrived with three of Gorto Zaga's skycycles. Villie, Quinlan, Zao and Tholme escaped Zaga's forces on them, and began to track down the Anzati on their bathwas.

In a thick outcropping of trees, the three Jedi and Grahrk were attacked by a large group of Anzati, who then captured them and sealed them in green webbing inside of a cave. They were eventually rescued by T'ra Saa, and together, she and Quinlan defeated the Anzati capteurs.

Death of Volfe Karkko


T'ra Saa, after freeing Tholme, Zao and Grahrk, told Quinlan that she was sent to bring him back to Coruscant, and recounted the story of Volfe Karkko, an Anzati Jedi who had turned to the dark side and was eventually put in stasis on Kiffex, only for Aayla Secura to awaken him a thousand years later.

Together, T'ra, Tholme and Zao were able to detect Karkko's whereabouts on Kiffex with the Force, and they and Quinlan set out to find him, with Villie prompting to stay with T'ra's crashed ship. When the four Jedi arrived at Volfe's compound, the Anzat called out to Quinlan through the Force, compelling Quinlan to enter. As the other three Jedi battled Karkko's Anzat defenses outside, Quinlan entered Karkko's fortress, discovering countless conscious bodies wrapped in green webbing. Quinlan neglected to rescue them despite their pleas for assistance, instead going straight for Aayla.

As Quinlan arrived in the inner sanctum of Volfe Karkko, he was attacked by his Padawan, much to the delight of Volfe. Quinlan and Aayla dueled with their lightsabers, Quinlan's calls to Aayla to come back to the light falling on dead ears. Eventually, Quinlan switched off his lightsaber, refusing to battle Aayla further. Just as Aayla seemed to be convinced of Quinlan's sincerity, she was struck by a blast of Force lightning from Volfe Karkko.

Quinlan and Volfe then proceeded to duel each other, and in the end, with mental assistance from Zao, Tholme and T'ra, Quinlan defeated Volfe, slicing through his abdomen and cutting him in two. Quinlan then revived Aayla, whose memories, stored in her lekku for so long, came back to her, turning her back to the light side. Quinlan carried the weakened Aayla out of Volfe's fortress and the five Jedi, after rescuing all of those held captive inside, boarded Villie's ship, the Inferno&mdash;which he had contacted using T'ra Saa's ship&mdash;and escaped Kiffex.

The five Jedi and Villie then landed on Kiffu and were joined by Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, and Plo Koon, who had originally come to the system to rescue Quinlan from Kiffex. Together, they decided that, with Quinlan and Aayla's collective closeness to the dark side of the Force, Tholme shall become Aayla's new Master. Quinlan, meanwhile, decided to follow Zao's lead and become a "leaf blown by the winds of the Force." With that, he and Villie boarded the Inferno and set out to parts unknown.

Wayward Jedi
Quinlan soon found himself in the midst of a dangerous adventure yet again after a number of bounties were posted on his life. A group of bounty hunters tracked Vos to Ord Mantell, though they underestimated the Jedi's skills, to their misfortune. Even so, it took the timely arrival of Aayla Secura to save him, though his former Padawan had come with dire news. Tholme was missing, after pursuing Tsyr and Bok, the father-son pair of Morgukai warriors who had abducted Nat Secura, prime heir to Clan Secura. Vos agreed to help Aayla locate their Master.

They began their search by seeking out Vilmarh Grahrk in Ord Mantell's casino district. Vos asked for Villie's help. Villie informed Quinlan and Aayla that he had been in the employ of the Morgukai, obtaining cortosis and flying transports for them. He went on to say that had been the pilot of a ship carrying Tsyr, Bok, Tholme, and Nat Secura, but had been dropped off at Ord Mantell and paid off. After Quinlan used his Force powers to give the Devaronian a winning edge in the casino, Villie finally admitted that Tholme and Nat had been taken to the Nikto homeworld of Kintan. After asking Villie to send a message to Lon Secura, telling him his son had been located, Quinlan and Aayla departed for Kintan.

En route to the planet, Quinlan sensed uneasiness in Aayla&mdash;uneasiness about him. Aayla responded that he was not acting like the Quinlan in her lekku memories. Quinlan realized this, but for him, his life began in the burning room on Nar Shaddaa; thanks to Pol Secura, he knew little of his life before that, but assured Aayla that he was at peace with his situation.

Mission to Kintan
"Two Morgukai against one wounded Jedi? Seems unfair. Would it help if I closed my eyes?"

- Quinlan Vos to Tsyr and Bok

Upon arrival on Kintan, the Jedi inadvertently set off a sensor, alerting Tsyr and Bok to their presence. The Morgukai tracked the Jedi vessel and blasted it out of the sky, despite Aayla's impressive flying. Realizing their prey were not dead, the Morgukai set out on foot to hunt them down, but were ambushed. The Jedi managed to escape for a time, using the explosion of a thermal detonator as cover, but were again ambushed by the Morgukai as they attempted to cross a lava river. A fierce battle ensued, in which Aayla attempted to fend off the two Morgukai, while Quinlan&mdash;already safely on the opposite side of the river&mdash;used the Force to steady Aayla's footing. Even after being wounded by Tsyr, Vos was still able to aid Aayla in reaching him.

Leaving the Morgukai behind, Vos and Secura made a difficult climb up to the fortress where Nat Secura was being held. A sandstorm impeded their progress, forcing them to seek shelter within a cave. Inside, Quinlan informed Aayla that she had passed all the preliminary trials to become a Jedi Knight, and the coming battle would be her final test. He encouraged her to steady herself, and release her feelings of self-doubt if she wished to succeed. Once within the fortress, the Jedi were again confronted by Tsyr, who set attack droids upon them. Quinlan told Aayla to seek out Nat Secura, while he engaged Tsyr. Aayla feared for Quinlan's life, as he had already been wounded in the previous battle, but Quinlan was resolute. However, his situation became increasingly desperate with the arrival of Bok, thought lost at the lava river. Quinlan was able to hold his own in the battle, recovering Master Tholme's lightsaber and beheading Tsyr. Bok, however, was still alive, and shot Quinlan through the shoulder.

By this time, Aayla had located and rescued both Tholme and Nat, and raced to Quinlan's aid. She sliced off Bok's arm, and watched his apparent demise as he threw himself from a cliff. Quinlan, however, was on the verge of death. Aayla helped heal Quinlan and return him to consciousness, at which point he thanked her, calling Aayla his "former apprentice". She had passed her final trial.

Quinlan, Aayla and Tholme returned Nat to Ryloth, then departed for Coruscant and the Jedi Temple. There, Aayla was formally given the title of Jedi Knight, while Quinlan, for his selfless actions on Kintan, was made a Jedi Master in the presence of the Jedi Council and Tholme. After the ceremony, Quinlan promised Aayla she would never have to walk the path of a Jedi Knight alone, for he would always be at her side.

Double agent
"He will be our agent on their side.''" "''True, all this is. But dangerous this game is that Quinlan Vos plays&mdash;most of all for him. For that which you pretend to be, you may become."

- Tholme and Yoda

During the time of the Separatist uprising, Vos had been working undercover setting up an elaborate network for spying on the CIS. Immediately after participating in the Battle of Geonosis, however, his flow of information to Coruscant stopped. Aayla Secura was sent to investigate, since she would know him the best, as his former padawan. She found that Vos was very upset since he had known nothing of the development on Geonosis. They managed to steal information together on the future Separatist attack on Kamino. She also learned then that Quinlan was beginning to get emotionally involved with one of his agents, Khaleen Hentz. Vos played a major part in the Clone Wars when he infiltrated Count Dooku's inner circle under strict orders from Tholme and part of the Jedi Council. He provided valuable information to the Jedi and the Republic. While undercover, he was forced to do things that would convince most of the Jedi he had joined the CIS, such as betraying Republic information at the Battle of Brentaal IV. Agen Kolar was sent to Nar Shaddaa to bring Vos in once he learned of Vos's actions at Brentaal IV. Vos escaped Kolar, but Khaleen was captured. Deep in a Coruscant prison, Tholme offered Khaleen her freedom in exchange for her cooperation in contacting Quinlan.

Meanwhile, Count Dooku played into Vos's dark side weakness and drew him "closer to the shadows", as Vos himself described it, than he had ever been before. When Dooku took his acolytes to Kiffu to negotiate establishing a Separatist base on Kiffex, the Guardians refused. When the two sides attacked, Vos tried to rescue his great-aunt, the Sheyf Tinté, and killed acolyte Kadrian Sey in the process. Seeing Vos's true intentions, Dooku went after and caught Quinlan. Dooku hinted to Vos that the Sheyf held a dark secret. He tempted Vos to use the dark side to strengthen his psychometric powers so he could read the Sheyf's past. When Vos did this, he discovered that Sheyf Tinté had sacrificed his parents to Anzati vampires as part of an unholy business deal. Vos went into a blood rage and with a surge of dark side power, Vos butchered his terrified aunt. Dooku now knew Vos's conversion was no act.

Dooku's servant
By 21 BBY, Vos was, along with Asajj Ventress, one of Dooku's top assassins. He was, on one important occasion, given a mark by Dooku and told that this person would be at a high-class banquet on Coruscant. Dooku implied that the mark was in fact the second Sith, whom, unbeknownst to Vos, the Count knew Quinlan was obsessed with discovering and, possibly, eliminating. Quinlan jumped at the chance, as Dooku knew he would, and along with Khaleen, infiltrated the banquet disguised as a recently killed Kiffari general. Quinlan was told via holocomm when the mark was in front of him, but Quinlan saw both Supreme Chancellor Palpatine as well as Senator Viento. Quinlan decided that Viento was the most likely to be the target, as it was unthinkable that Palpatine could be the second Sith, so he waited until later that night and broke into Viento's quarters to attempt the assassination, using his powers of self-concealment to hide his presence from the Jedi assigned to guard Viento, K'Kruhk. However, K'Kruhk had been keeping a watchful eye on Quinlan at the party and, even though he couldn't sense Vos at first, was aware of the fact that Viento may be in danger. Just as Quinlan ignited his lightsaber to kill Viento, K'Kruhk burst through the window and lunged for Vos. He was too late, however; Vos had already slashed Viento across the chest. After a brawl with the Whiphid Jedi, in which both combatants were wounded, K'Kruhk more so than Vos, Quinlan escaped with Khaleen's help. Angered and confused, he decided to return to Dooku to find some answers.

Vos realized that Viento could not have been the second Sith, as Quinlan would not have so easily been able to eliminate a Sith Lord and when he confronted Dooku about the Count's misleading him, Dooku seemed amused and stated that he never said that the mark was the second Sith, seemingly taking pleasure in his own hidden awareness of Vos' obsession with rooting out the second Sith.

Next on the Count's hit-list was the Twilek Kh'aris Fenn, a traitor to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, condemned for using the funds Dooku had supplied as a means to aid the Confederacy of Independent Systems for the Twilek's own needs. Kh'aris was executed by Vos for his treachery, with each murder further immersing himself in the Dark Side. As a reward for his homicidal service to the Count and to signify Vos' now cemented position as one of Dooku's Dark Side Adepts, Tyranus gave Vos the ancient crystal that once powered Darth Andeddu's blade to power his own. By this time, most Jedi, with the exception of Tholme and perhaps Ayla Secura to some extent, were convinced that the Kiffar had surrendered to the dark side. But Vos escaped Dooku's grasp; on the planet Honoghr, Aayla Secura and clone trooper commander Bly were trying to find an SIP (Scientific Information Packet) disk containing evidence of the Separatists contaminating the planet. Vos met them, and told Aayla he had not really turned to the dark side. He helped them recover the disk, but then threatened to kill Aayla if she did not give it up. He revealed his true intentions in joining the Separatists: to find out the identity of the Second Sith and kill him to end the war. Aayla forced Vos to see the light by saying he could kill her or return to Coruscant with her, if there was any good left in him. Vos almost agreed, but fled after Bly shot him. This convinced Aayla that Quinlan Vos was not totally lost.

Old Friends
Months later, Vos met Obi-Wan, on the derelict spaceship Titavian IV, and they found themselves on opposite sides. But by helping him escape Asajj Ventress and Tol Skorr, Vos managed to convince Kenobi that he still served the Republic. In the ensuring skirmish, Skorr told Vos that Dooku knew of his duplicity from the start, Trying to escape the ship, Kenobi proposed that one of them retrieve the Skorp-Ion with his starfighter so they'd both escape. Vos volunteered to hold off the Dark Jedi but Obi-Wan knew he was injured so Vos took the fighter. He managed to repair the Ion and then destroyed Kenobi's starfighter to prevent Skorr from getting his hands on it. He then disabled Skorr's ship and the two Jedi Masters jumped to the Rendili system. Master Saesee Tiin had him imprisoned to await trial. During the ensuring battle, power to the prison hold was lost, so Vos escaped to take a starfighter to assist the Republic. He helped Obi-Wan board the lead Rendili ship to rescue Plo Koon, Jace Dallin and Jan Dodonna.

When he returned to Coruscant, where he managed to convince the Jedi Council of his intentions. Vos was given time to recuperate and then served as a Senior General. But Vos had not faced his demons yet; he continued working for the Confederacy in a mad race to uncover the second Sith Lord. He read Viento's corpse, determining that an Anzati was responsible for Finis Valorum's death. He went to Dexter Jettster, who put out the word for assassin Saljé Tasha. After relieving her of her cortosis gauntlets, he used his reading, enhanced by his teachings from Dooku to determine her hirer. He saw the face of Separatist Jedi Sora Bulq, which he believed to be the face of the second Sith. Tasha, bound to the Anzati Code of Honor, became determined to make him "one of the Silent Voices, forever." Luckily, Khaleen hit the Anzati with a pole before she could suck out his brain. As Tasha fled Khaleen's blaster shots, Vos blindly believed that he knew the Second Sith's identity and was determined to finish Bulq off himself, rather than tell Master Yoda.

Siege of Saleucami
On Saleucami, Quinlan fought alongside Aayla, as part of the forces led by Oppo Rancisis, sent to prevent the Morgukai clones from leaving the planet. He had Khaleen arrange a meeting with Sora. After a night together, Vos recorded into his holocron that he would kill the second Sith.

Fighting a false battle against Skorr, he was taken to Sora, who was communicating to Dooku. He was ordered to kill Tholme, even if it meant compromising his position. He found his master over a lava ridge. He begged him to join in destroying Sora. Tholme, however, knew that Sora was only a Dark Jedi and knew things wouldn't be right if Vos continued on in what he was doing. With the "whatever it takes" mindset, he battled his former master and sent him down into the lava. He returned to the fortress to find that Rancisis had been killed. Though the other Jedi suspected Bulq, Master Sian Jeisel felt that Vos had done it. Vos, however, proved that he didn't. Because of Rancisis' death, Vos was placed in overall command of the Republic forces on the battle. To ensure that the siege would be a success, Vos "read" Oppo's corpse to determine his plans, as he hadn't shared them.

Dance with the Dark Side
"No more games, Lord Tyranus. No more pretending. I know who I am. I've made my choice. My name is Quinlan Vos and I am a Jedi."

- Quinlan Vos to Dooku on Saleucami

Infiltrating the Separatist base, Vos sent Aayla off to set charges on the thermo generators. He then met with Skorr, Bok, Bulq and Dooku (via hologram). He claimed to have read Rancisis' corpse to learn his plans. He claimed that Aayla was sent to the shield generators and Bok was sent to get his revenge. But Dooku showed him one last thing -- Khaleen. The CIS leader revealed that Khaleen was a double agent sent to infiltrate his spy ring. She was ordered to gain his sympathy, and confidence, including making him think she loved him. Hentz confessed that some of that was true but she soon fell in love with him for real. Vos was faced with the choice of murdering Khaleen or not. She pleaded him to look in her heart and know that truth. He cupped her face in his hands, looked in her eyes and kissed her. He then sliced her chains with his lightsaber, proclaiming he was a Jedi. As he was surrounded by Dark Jedi and Anzati, help came from an unexpected source -- Tholme. He withdrew from the Force and waited to see if he chose the right path. Better than that, Bok didn't find Aayla; Quinlan lied, she was sabotaging the generators. Coming close to the dark side, Aayla communicated with her former Master through the Force to bring him into the light. Quinlan battled against Skorr; Tholme against Bulq; and Khaleen against Anzati. Skorr revealed there is no second Sith, the Count played him for a fool. In anger, Vos Force-pushed Skorr into the fiery lava. He proceeded to save Tholme from Bulq. All the while, Dooku taunted him to giving in to the dark side while Tholme pleaded him not to fight with anger. "This is the core of you. This is the truth of you. You are made of light. We are all made of light. The Light is greater than the anger of the darkness, Quin. I know. Because you told me that long ago...Master."

- Aayla Secura

But deep in Vos' inner spirit, he was facing against his most powerful opponent -- himself, saying he is the Second Sith. Aayla, who had defeated Bok and Tholme joined together to remind him of the light. Awakening as a Jedi once again, Vos struck Bulq down. The four of them then escaped the base just as the Republic fleet bombarded the place. As the Jedi Generals departed to other places, Vos agreed to lead a battalion on Boz Pity, also having earned back Jeisel's respect. But he also learned that Khaleen was pregnant with his child. He intended to leave the Jedi Order at the end of the Clone Wars, whereupon he would find his love.

Shortly before he was rotated out of Saleucami, he had a short discussion with masters Sian Jeisel, K'Kruhk and Aayla. They talked about their next destinations, with Quinlan going to Boz Pity, Aayla to Felucia to help Barriss Offee, and Jeisel and K'Kruhk to Mygeeto, to assist Ki-Adi-Mundi. They parted with camaraderie, with K'Kruhk promising that he would meet Quinlan again when the war was over.

General Vos then took his troops to Boz Pity for the refit, and left for Kashyyyk following the Battle of Coruscant. While there, he, along with Luminara Unduli and Wookiee Elder Gumbaeki, freed a number of Wookiees from Trandoshan enslavement. Near the end of the conflict, Quinlan's group was cornered and considering retreat when the Inferno blasted in and saved them. Quinlan introduced the Wookiees to their savior, Vilmarh Grahrk, along with his new co-pilot, Chak. Because of his previous travels with Villie, Quinlan was given full access to the Inferno, which he used to access Villie's recent navigational charts. He discovered that Villie had been using the Clatuvaac Guild hyperspace routes mentioned by a wounded Trandoshan, leading Vos to believe Villie had stolen the information. However, Quinlan learned that Chak had provided the routes after stowing away on a run Villie was carrying out for the Wookiees.

Order 66
Quinlan went on to play a part in the Battle of Kashyyyk. When Order 66 was transmitted to the clone commanders throughout the galaxy, Quinlan was on the overseer's platform of a Juggernaut, and a neighboring tank fired on him and destroyed the tank he had been standing on. Believed to be dead, Vos emerged from the explosion badly wounded, though very much alive. His right arm was broken and bloody and his lungs burned. Upon learning of the betrayal of his troops, Quinlan realized his priority was to survive in the jungles of Kashyyyk. He knew also that if this betrayal had occurred on Kashyyyk, then it had happened elsewhere. He vowed to escape Kashyyyk and track down the second Sith Lord he had been searching for during the war, and bring an end to the dominion of the dark side. Quinlan Vos escaped into the woods of Kashyyyk, eluding the clone troopers. He clung to his training as a Jedi through his pain, using lessons taught by Yoda, Mace Windu, and Count Dooku to overcome his clone opponents. He was eventually tracked by Clone Commander Faie, who told Quinlan that if he didn't come out of hiding, Faie would call in an air strike and kill himself, Quinlan, and the neighboring Wookiee village. Quinlan made up his mind that he couldn't run and hide, that he would never track down the second Sith Lord, and that his destiny was to stop Faie and protect the innocent Wookiees. Quinlan jumped from his perch, lightsaber in hand, and Faie shot him a moment before Quinlan killed the clone commander. Both men fell to the forest floor.

Villie soon came looking for Quinlan and found him on the ground, the dead Faie a few feet away. Soon after this, a squad of clone troopers burst through the woods, and found Villie standing over a Jedi funeral pyre. The Devaronian claimed to have killed the Jedi himself. As the clone troopers left, Villie said under his breath, "All debts paid, Jedi".

Eight months later, in a cave on Kashyyyk, Khaleen Hentz and her baby had met up with Master Tholme and Master T'ra Saa, along with some Wookiees. Khaleen was watching a holocube from Vos, explaining his feelings for her, when suddenly Quinlan himself walked in, and repeated the words to her face.

Khaleen had feared that Vos was dead, as had they all, but due to Villie's trickery (he had burned Faie's body instead), Quinlan had escaped off-planet and been healed. Khaleen fell into Vos arms, and then, presented him with their child, Korto Vos.

Painting the traditional Kiffar markings on his newborn son, Vos declared that the darkness would never touch the boy, for he would be raised in the light.

Powers and abilities
Quinlan Vos had the power of psychometry, the ability to read images from objects. In addition to Jedi powers, he was able to call forth Sith lightning and invisibility, which he learned from Tholme and taught Aayla. In addition, he was able to tame animals and bend them to his will, most notably a krayt dragon, which he learned from Dooku. He could locate his enemies based on their effects on the environment. He also had considerable working knowledge of espionage and counter-intelligence, and worked as a double agent.

Lightsaber combat
Vos wielded a single green-bladed lightsaber, though his chosen blade color changed throughout his lifetime. The hilt design was similar to that of Dooku's standard, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsabers. He was a master of Ataru and taught his apprentice Aayla Secura everything he knew. He was also trained in Vaapad by Sora Bulq, though he was not a master of it.

Behind the scenes


Quinlan Vos was based on a background character portrayed by an unknown actor in The Phantom Menace. His character was created by author John Ostrander and artist Jan Duursema, though Vos's first non-film appearance was actually a cameo in the Timothy Truman-penned Emissaries to Malastare. After this, he would take center-stage in the Ostrander/Duursema work Twilight. Vos appeared primarily in the Star Wars: Republic and Star Wars: Jedi comic book series from Dark Horse Comics. In an interview, Ostrander elaborated on the origins of Quinlan Vos's name, explaining that he patterned after Qui-Gon Jinn; he had wanted a name with the same number of syllables. He was later portrayed by Doug Wangler, a model for Duursema, at Celebration III.

Quinlan Vos showed up again in the Star Wars Tales comic, Ghost. In the story, Vos rescued a young Han Solo, who was trying to find a treasure with a map he won in sabacc, from a swoop gang on Socorro. The swoop gang hunted Quinlan because they believed him to be a Jedi. After Vos confronted young Solo, he disappeared into the shadows, never to be seen again. However, that Star Wars Tales issue came out when most of Tales was considered to be Infinities. The story is considered, at this point in time, non-canonical in the letters section of Star Wars Insider 99.

Intrigued by the character of Vos, George Lucas included him in the script of Revenge of the Sith. But since his scene never made it past the animatics stage, an actor was never cast. However, the character is still mentioned in the final film—Obi-Wan Kenobi notifies Anakin Skywalker that "Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity."

Quinlan Vos and Vilmarh Grahrk action figures were released by Hasbro in late April 2007 as part of their Comic Packs line with Republic #19. Quinlan was based loosely off of the Siege of Saleucami designs, while Villie's design was straight out of Star Wars: Republic #19. Interestingly enough, the Quinlan action figure has more than a passing resemblance to actor Guy Pierce, whose character in the film Memento has problems with memory loss, similar to Quinlan Vos.

Quinlan Vos was originally slated to appear in Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode Bombad Jedi. He was to be working undercover and actually using his force abilities to make it look like Jar Jar Binks was a Jedi. He was eventually cut, because at the early stages of production the studio didn't have the ability to include many new characters because of the time it took to create a digital model.

"Vos" means "fox" in Dutch.

Name
Quinlan is a Gaelic name meaning 'very strong'. This could be in reference to either his physical strength or his victory in his personal struggle with the dark side.

The Dark Times
Vos survived the Clone Wars, but details of his life after that point are sketchy. Rumors persist that around a decade before the Battle of Yavin, a young Han Solo encountered an old man matching Quinlan Vos's description on Socorro. The truth of this matter is still to be verified.

Marriage
Jan Duursema stated the following about Quinlan and Khaleen's marriage:
 * The Kiffar version of marriage is not a ceremony or a legal document. Kiffar 'marriage' is more of a state of mind or a state of being. Through Korto, Khaleen and Quin have an unbreakable connection--and a responsibility that transcends their own separate lives. If you create life, you nurture that life, whatever hardships lie ahead.