Ben Skywalker

[close] Ben Skywalker was a Human male Jedi Knight from Coruscant, active during the Second Galactic Civil War and the period afterward. The son of former Emperor's Hand and Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker and legendary Rebel hero and Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker, Ben was born amidst the turmoil of the devastating Yuuzhan Vong War, where an extra-galactic species known as the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the galaxy, laying waste to dozens of planets. As both of his parents were Jedi, they were unable to spend time with him as they fought in the war, so Skywalker was taken care of by his aunt and uncle, former New Republic Chief of State Leia Organa Solo and ex-smuggler and Rebel General Han Solo. He was subsequently moved to the Shelter in the Maw, where many other young Jedi stayed. The Yuuzhan Vong were eventually repelled and a ceasefire was negotiated, but young Skywalker felt the pain of war through the Force, overwhelming him and causing him to close himself off from the Force for several years.

In 35 ABY, Skywalker, now eight years old, became involved in another galactic crisis. Skywalker became partially joined to the Gorog Killik nest, otherwise known as the Dark Nest. The Killiks had recently been discovered in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, when a group of Jedi Knights heard their telepathic call and followed it to the Unknown Regions. Skywalker had an owner-pet relationship with one of the Gorog Killiks, who was actually trying to turn him against his mother. Eventually his parents discovered the Killik's plan and captured it. During this time, Skywalker was taken under the wing of his cousin Jacen Solo, who became his informal Jedi Master. Solo, who had just returned to the New Jedi Order after a five-year journey to learn more about the Force, was able to help Skywalker open himself up to the Force gradually. Skywalker was still apprehensive about the Force for a while, and it would take him years to become fully adjusted to the Force. With Solo's guidance, Skywalker was able to grow confident in his usage of the Force and become a powerful Jedi.

Five years later, the planet of Corellia and the other planets in the Corellian system seceded from the Galactic Alliance, sparking great civil unrest, terrorist attacks, and eventually, the Second Galactic Civil War. During this time, Skywalker joined the Galactic Alliance Guard, a secret police force designed to combat Corellian terrorism, which was led by Jacen Solo. The GAG controversially began interning Corellians on Coruscant, an action which greatly worried his parents. Skywalker was increasingly used on violent missions, including the assassination of Corellian politician Dur Gejjen. Meanwhile, Jacen Solo had fallen to the dark side of the Force under the tutelage of Sith Lady Lumiya, taking the Sith name Darth Caedus. Caedus eventually took over the Galactic Alliance in a coup with Galactic Alliance Defense Force Admiral Cha Niathal, and he would eventually kill Mara Jade Skywalker in a fight on Kavan. Skywalker correctly believed that Caedus was the killer and attempted to kill Caedus several times. He decided to legitimately investigate and was able to prove that Caedus had murdered his mother. Eventually Caedus himself was eliminated in a lightsaber duel, and the Second Galactic Civil War ended.

In 43 ABY, Luke Skywalker was exiled from Coruscant by new Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala for dereliction of duty and failing to prevent Jacen Solo's fall to the dark side. By that time, anti-Jedi sentiment had risen greatly, exacerbated by violent rampages by several Jedi who had exhibited an unexplained madness. Luke would be banished from Coruscant for ten years or until he could determine what had caused Solo's fall. Skywalker accompanied his father into exile, where the two visited several Force-based organizations with whom Solo had studied during his five-year sojourn—first the Baran Do, where they discovered a secret sect of Baran Do known as the Hidden Ones, and later the Aing-Tii. After these encounters, Skywalker and his father traveled to the Maw, finding a mysterious space station known as Sinkhole Station, and the station's inhabitants, the Mind Walkers. While at the station, the two were attacked by a group of Sith, but were able to escape.