Tholme

Tholme
Biographical information
Born	c. 28 BBY
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	5'10" (1.78 m)
Hair Color	Gray (originally black)
Eye Color	Brown
Skin Color	Tan
Cybernetics	Prosthetic right leg Artificial left eye
Family information
Family	Quinlan Vos (foster son)
Political information
Known Apprentices	Quinlan Vos Aylema Rar
Affiliation	New Jedi Order New Republic

[Source]

"Your own death you do not fear, but the death of others is hard for you. It has never been easy for you to let others close; feelings can mean pain. Instead, you take refuge in your intellect. That has always gotten you in trouble."

―Zao

Tholme was a Human male Jedi Master during the early years of the New Republic who served in both the Bacta War and the Yuuzhan Vong War.

After completing his Jedi training, Tholme served as Jedi Watchman of the Kiffu sector, where he came across the young Jedi hopeful Quinlan Vos. Bringing him to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, Tholme relinquished his Jedi Watchman status in favor of training Vos. Several years later, shortly after Vos's training had been completed, a mishap occurred in which Vos lost his memory. When he had partially regained it, Tholme took it upon himself to help the wayward Jedi.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Tholme set up a spy network with Vos, hoping to glean information from the upper echelons of the invaders as well as their collaborators the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After sustaining grievous injuries from Count Alucard Dooku himself on Bakura, Tholme masterminded the plan to have Vos infiltrate Dooku's inner circle of Dark Acolytes. However, Vos turned to the dark side in earnest, and began participating in highly damaging Confederate activities against the New Republic. In the meantime, Tholme participated in several New Republic engagements, on worlds such as Devaron, where he was injured by the bounty hunter Aurra Sing, and Saleucami where he would turn Vos back to the light and the New Republic. He was able to survive the war, and took refuge on Kashyyyk, along with his lover, the Neti Jedi T'ra Saa.

Biography

Jedi Watchman of Kiffu

Tholme, a Human male, was a Force-sensitive and a member of the New Jedi Order, where he found recognition as a healer. He was able to complete his Jedi training, but instead of immediately pursuing standard Jedi activities, Tholme decided to initially follow an alternate path. On Anzat, he sought out the highly acclaimed Anzati master Akku Seii, who proceeded to teach him the art of the Anzati assassins. Tholme excelled in his training, picking up the skill to mask his presence entirely in the Force, which allowed him to feign death. In addition to those talents, he became proficient at espionage and stealth, traits that would be put to use many a time during his Jedi career. At some point after his Anzati training was complete, Tholme enlisted Seii again, this time in his hunt for the Anzati assassin Katichak. He was eventually able to hunt down Katichak and successfully complete his mission.

Tholme was appointed by Luke Skywalker to serve as Jedi Watchman of the Kiffu sector, where he would oversee the goings on of the populace, and be on the lookout for potential Jedi. During his time there, he became good friends with the Kiffar Sheyf Kurlin Vos, and maintained a cordial relationship with the Guardians of the sector. Kurlin's distant cousins, Pethros and Quian Vos, had a son, Quinlan. Knowledge of Vos's high Force-connection had evaded Tholme, and by the time he had deemed Vos suitable for Jedi training, Tinté, Kurlin's sister, demanded Vos to stay on Kiffu and be trained as a Guardian. As a compromise, Kurlin requested that Quinlan stay on Kiffu, but be trained by Tholme. Tholme allowed this, and began training the boy in the basic Jedi arts, stepping down from his role as Jedi Watchman.

For several years, Tholme persisted with his instruction of Vos. Tinté, however, was displeased with the compromise, and sought to claim Quinlan for her own purposes. She made a deal with a group of Anzati who had come to Kiffex in search of the legendary Dark Jedi Volfe Karkko. She encouraged their destructive ways, and allowed their murder of the prisoners held in colonies on the planet. Eventually, they demanded more of Tinté, namely in the form of a blood relative. While Tholme was absent from Kiffu on a mission, she had them murder Pethros and Quian, in the hopes that their deaths would force Tholme and the Jedi to hand over custody of Quinlan to her.

Quinlan's psychometric abilities allowed him to glean memories and visions from objects just by touching them. When Tinté presented Quinlan with the Clan Vos emblem that Quian had worn during the Anzati attack, the young Jedi experienced his mother's death, which sent him into a state of shock. He screamed for three days, until Tholme arrived to comfort him and bring him back out of his state. Kurlin was disgusted with Tinté's actions, and Tholme took the boy to Yavin 4 for proper training at the Jedi Praxeum after convincing the Sheyf that it was in the boy's best interest. Tholme's Watchman duties were filled by T'ra Saa, a Neti Jedi whom Tholme was romantically involved with. His initial reports on the matter of Quinlan's traumatic experience excluded select details for the boy's own safety.

The training of Quinlan Vos

"Things escalated."

―Tholme, explaining what had happened on Thyferra during the Bacta War

Tholme and the other Jedi were able to cure Vos of his ailment, though the memory of his ordeal would remain with him forever. The Jedi at the Jedi Praxeum often commented on the darkness they sensed in Vos, and believed that it might trouble him in the future. The Council eventually dispatched Tholme on a mission involving tracking a dealer of interdicted beasts, such as wampas. He deduced that Clan Secura was involved in the illegal activities, and so journeyed to their homeworld of Ryloth with Vos and the Twi'lek Jedi Knight Daeshara'cor to investigate. While discussing the matter with brothers Pol and Lon Secura, Vos wandered off to follow a disturbance he had felt from Aaylema, Pol's and Lon's niece. He discovered the illegally held creatures during his wanderings, and saved Aayla as well as her sister Numa, from whom he sensed a degree of Force-sensitivity. Tholme's mission was inadvertently complete, and the two sisters were taken back to Yavin 4.

When the smuggler Iaco Stark's actions against the Trade Federation on the Outer Rim attracted the attention of the Republic, the Jedi were appointed to intervene. On Thyferra, an alazhi processing plant exploded, causing a galaxy-wide bacta shortage. The Trade Federation was one of the few conglomerates that dealt in the substance, and so when Stark's ships began raiding them, they were able to sell it off at greatly inflated prices. Jedi Master Tyvokka, who was in charge of the Jedi team, suspected that the explosion was part of a ruse to deliberately lower bacta supplies, and turn profits for the Federation. He, along with the Council, decided to send Jedi to investigate. Tyvokka settled upon Tholme, due to his highly regarded espionage and subterfuge skills. Vos accompanied Tholme to Thyferra, where they began exploring the ruins of the Xucphra Corporation bacta refinery. Judging by the age of the wreckage, Tholme deduced that the explosion was, as Tyvokka had suspected, a Federation/Xucphra ruse. The investigation almost ran to its conclusion without incident, but the two Jedi were forced to do battle with HKB-3 hunter-killer droids on their way out.

Journeying to a Thyferran city in 24 ABY, Tholme eavesdropped on a meeting between Federation head Hask and Xucphra director Adol Bel. It confirmed his and Tyvokka's suspicions about the ruse, but he was attacked by a security droid before he could progress further. With Vos's help, he tried to escape the city, but was pursued by more of Xucphra's droids. The pair eventually found refuge in a sewer, but with their presence known, they found further movements on Thyferra difficult.

Tholme and Vos were able to gain passage off the planet on a bacta freighter, but the ship was seized by Stark's forces, and redirected to Troiken. Tholme decided to deny Stark the use of the bacta, and destroyed the craft with explosives. Coincidentally, Jedi Master Kyp Durron and his apprentice, Owan Kenobi, were present at the same time, escorting Imperial Ambassador Valorum and Adi Gallia off-planet and away from the combat zones. Durron took Tholme and Vos back to Mount Avos, where some members of the New Republic Army had taken refuge. Tholme was saddened by the news of Tyvokka's death during the war's opening confrontation, but Vos took the news even harder. He went off, seeking solitude, but stirred the mountain's challat eaters in his explorations. He and Kenobi, who had followed Quinlan at Durron's request, were only saved thanks to the intervention of Tholme and Durron, who, once the younger Jedi were safely behind them, called upon the Force to seal off the challat eater cave from the rest of the encampment. Having taken that safety precaution, they then prepared for the Fourth Battle of Qotile.

Tholme and Vos infiltrated the Raptor, the flagship of the Stark Commercial Combine, in order to broadcast the patch to the navcomputer virus that had stopped hyperspace travel and had allowed Stark to cripple the fleet at the opening of the conflict. Durron and Kenobi were able to secure the patch from the Combine Headquarters, which allowed Tholme and Vos to execute their part of the mission. In addition, Vos decided to disable the shields of the Raptor, making the space battle easier for the New Republic relief force. The conflict was won, and Stark's organization destroyed.

The Anzati of Kiffex

"I'm surprised you do not know me, Quinlan Vos. After all, for a long time, you were my apprentice."

―Tholme

Vos eventually became a Jedi Knight, and Tholme sent him off with his blessing. Later, the Kiffar took Aylema Rar with him, and the two roamed the galaxy on missions for the New Jedi Order. A few months after the invasion of extra-galactic beings, both Vos and Alema were captured and drugged by criminals. The incident resulted in complete amnesia for both. Due to her Twi'lek physiology, Aylema was eventually able to reclaim her memory, but Vos was not as successful. The ordeal had left him changed, and despite re-training by both Jedi Master's Mace Windu and Sora Bulq, the Jedi were troubled by the increased level of darkness in him. Vos was subsequently dispatched to Kiffex at his aunt Tinté's behest, where he was to investigate the massacre of a security compound. Members of the New Jedi Order also warned him of a disturbance in the Force in the system, as reported by Master Saa. Despite sending Vos alone, the Jedi had little faith in his abilities to properly execute the mission, and so dispatched Tholme to watch over him. Tholme also followed Vos to Kiffex because of his own suspicions about Tinté's request for Jedi assistance.

As Tholme had suspected, Vos was driven to near-madness by the memories of the Anzati that he gleaned from objects in the abandoned compound. He had no direct memory of Tholme, but recognized him from the files he had studied. Also at the compound was the Devaronian bounty hunter Vilmarh Grahrk, who had aided Vos immediately after the memory loss incident. The trio set out from the compound to the town of Deadend, where they were attacked by a group of thugs. Despite Vos's memory loss, the two Jedi fought in perfect unison, disarming the guards before making a smooth and relatively unnoticed entry into the locale. In Grahrk's secret lair, Tholme taught Vos more about his past, specifically, Tinté's manipulation of him as a child. Vos, who experienced his mother's death for a second time in his visions, began to hallucinate, seeing Tholme as one of the Anzati killers. Enraged, he attacked his former Master, who in turn quickly subdued Vos by pushing him into a pile of junk. Vos was sobered, but the visions served to heighten his suspicions of Tinté's actions.

The Force drew Tholme and Vos to the Black Hole cantina, where they met the blind wandering Jedi Master Zao. Zao was subsequently set upon by thugs, which prompted Tholme and his former apprentice to intervene. Eventually, the bar fight turned into an all-out battle, when a pack of feral Anzati arrived unexpectedly. Even more shocking to Vos than the surprise attack was the identity of the Anzati's leader—lost Jedi Aylema Rar. Rar and her Anzati were beaten back and able to escape, but Vos was enraged at the fact that he had been played for a fool by Tholme and the other Jedi. Tholme, attempting to defuse the situation, assured Vos that it was pure coincidence.

Meanwhile, Grahrk had located a stash of vacated speeder bikes, with which the Jedi and the Devaronian pursued Secura. During the chase through the Kiffex swamps, Vos's speeder was destroyed, and he was captured by the Anzati. T'ra Saa, Tholme's replacement as Jedi Watchman, arrived and saved him, reuniting him with Tholme, Zao, and Grahrk. Tholme was pleased to see Saa, a Jedi he had admired, respected, and been good friends with even before her appointment to the role of Watchman of the Kiffu sector. Saa had been dispatched from Coruscant, where a holocron had revealed information about Volfe Karkko, the fallen Jedi who had drawn the Anzati to Kiffex. Karkko, an Anzati himself, had been imprisoned on Kiffex by a team of Jedi Masters, and Tholme correctly deduced that Rar must have reawakened and freed him. Though Saa's mission was to bring Vos back to Coruscant, she understood his need to save Alema, despite Tholme's concerns that Vos's previous "experience" with Anzati would cloud his judgment. Nevertheless, he continued to follow Vos, and the four Jedi set off for Karkko's temple. Grahrk, however, decided to leave the Jedi, and make his own way offworld.

All the way to the temple, the group was harried by the Anzati on their bathwa mounts. As they got closer, the resistance to their efforts multiplied, until, at the doorway of the ancient structure, the Jedi were surrounded by Anzati. Vos was able to escape, however, and entered the temple alone. He swayed Alema back to the light, and rekindled her Jedi memories, but Karkko, displeased, intervened and attacked Vos. Tholme sensed that Vos was losing the battle, both with Karkko and the dark side, so he, Saa, and Zao, joined together to strengthen him through the Force. Vos dispatched Karkko with one strike, and rescued the injured Rar. At that moment, the Guardians of Kiffex began their orbital bombardment of the Anzati temple, but the Jedi were saved due to the timely return of Grahrk in his ship, the Inferno. Tholme's mission was complete, but Vos, having been influenced by Zao, decided to roam the galaxy, and let the Force guide him. As Alema's training had not been completed at the time of Daeshara'cor's death, Tholme took up the task of training her instead.

Yuuzhan Vong War

Trouble on Ryloth

"I swear to you—I will find a way to get you home safely. No matter what it takes, you have my word. The word—of a Jedi!"

―Tholme, to Nat Secura

Most of Rar's training had been completed by Daeshara'cor, and it was only Tholme's responsibility to "fill the gaps." The two were dispatched to Ryloth, to mediate the fallout following the death of Pol Secura. Tholme had Alema disguise herself as a slave girl and infiltrate Twi'lek Clan Council member Ro Fenn's headquarters. Fenn was facing the penalty of exile, due to the fact that he had been part of the Ruling Clan during Pol Secura's death, as per the Ryloth tradition of cleansing an entire Ruling Clan when one member died. Rar picked up on the fact that Fenn, in a bid for clemency, was planning to have Lon's child, Nat Secura, kidnapped and used for leverage. As Fenn's agent, none other than Vilmarh Grahrk, left the building, Aylema realized that Nat's kidnapping was imminent and informed Tholme, who was at the Secura estate.

As time was of the essence, Tholme rushed into Nat's bedroom, only to find two Morgukai warriors, Tsyr and Bok, dragging the boy away. Tholme engaged Tsyr in combat, but was distracted by Bok's interfering blaster fire. Taking advantage, Bok incapacitated Tholme, and continued his escape. Despite the best efforts of Nat Secura's guards, the two Nikto stole away into the night. Tholme, though injured, gave chase, and tracked the kidnappers to the Inferno. He stowed away on the craft, and ordered his apprentice to track him. This proved to be a mistake, when the Inferno's hardwired droid pilot, NT 600, detected Tholme's transmission, and alerted the Morgukai to his presence. Not willing to enter into a fight for fear of injuring the nearby Nat, Tholme surrendered.

Aylema's senses, however, did not guide her to the Inferno's destination, Kintan. Instead, the Force led her to Ord Mantell, where she chanced upon her friend, Quinlan Vos. Understanding that this was not a coincidence, she enlisted Vos's help, and used other methods to discover Tholme's location. Meanwhile, Tholme was being tortured by Kh'aris Fenn, the mastermind of the plan, and his droid, AX/RX. Unable to escape, Tholme endured grievous injury and pain, until he used the Force and his Anzati skills to slip into a near-death coma. To the droid, Tholme was, for all intents and purposes, dead, and his "corpse" was thrown in a cell with young Nat. The Twi'lek was not only afraid of his fate, but of the fact that he did not have his father's blessing and love. Tholme talked with the boy, and imbued a sense of hope in him, resolving to get him out of his predicament by any means necessary.

After several days, AX/RX received his orders to terminate both Tholme and Nat, as Lon Secura had not given in to the demands of the Fenn Clan. Tholme was, again, severely electrocuted, but was saved by Rar, who, along with Vos, had infiltrated Fenn's compound. Tsyr was killed by Vos, and Bok was supposedly dispatched by Rar, allowing Tholme and the boy to safely escape to a nearby ship. Vos and Aylema joined them, and the group departed Kintan. Although Kh'aris Fenn escaped retribution on Ryloth, Ro Fenn was sentenced to roam the Bright Lands forever.

Confronting Dooku

"I am not afraid of death. I will not join you."

―Tholme, to Dooku

After Count Alucard Dooku openly declared that the Confederacy of Independent Systems had aligned themselves with the Yuuzhan Vong in 26 ABY, Tholme and his agents began tracking and were able to predict Dooku's movements. Along with Sora Bulq, Tholme waited on Bakura for the arrival of the Count, and the opportunity to launch his ambush. However, Dooku, along with Maul, were able to defeat both Jedi Masters with ease. Blasting Bulq with Force lightning, Dooku turned on Tholme, stabbing him in the right shoulder and gouging out his left eye. Even when gravely injured, Tholme did not give in to temptation, and would not ally with Dooku. In response, Dooku brought the ceiling down on Tholme, crushing his leg and leaving him for dead. In reality, Tholme had slipped into his Anzati "death-trance," to avoid Dooku's further attention.

It took days for Tholme to free himself, and he wandered the halls of Bakura for much longer. He was close to death when Bulq, who had survived, discovered him, and helped him to safety. In spite of his actions, Bulq had actually secretly defected to the Confederacy, and turned to the dark side. His aid of Tholme served only to make him appear innocent in the eyes of the New Republic. Tholme received a cybernetic eye to compensate for his loss, but refused to have an artificial leg installed, citing that he would rather not be made into something that he was not. Instead, he procured a cane for himself, preventing him from engaging in more active duty.

Subterfuge

"Well, I must say, you played that part appallingly well, Aylema."

―Tholme

Realizing that the war would be won not on the battlefields, but behind the scenes, Tholme began concocting an elaborate scheme with which to infiltrate Count Dooku's cabal of Dark Acolytes. The tool with which to execute this scheme was Tholme's former apprentice, Quinlan Vos. This choice caused concern amongst members of the New Jedi Order, as they believed Vos's darkness that they had always felt could compromise his activities. Nevertheless, Tholme stuck with his choice of Vos, and using his spy network, prepared to insert his former apprentice into an opportune position for infiltration.

Intelligence gained during Vos's initial penetration into the criminal underworld allowed the New Republic to prepare for an impending battle. Tholme later attended the funeral of Jedi Cei Vookto on the ravaged plains of Lianna following the battle that had raged there, along with Vos and several other Jedi. He provided Mace Windu with intelligence about a group of Jedi on Ruul who were conscientious objectors to the war, and who refused to return to Coruscant to take up arms. Acting on this, Windu decided that he would journey to Ruul to settle the matter, and bade that Vos inform the objectors. Tholme then instructed Vos to journey to Brentaal IV. On Ruul, Windu discovered that Master Sora Bulq had turned to the dark side and aligned himself with the Confederacy.

On Brentaal IV, an engagement eventually broke out, resulting in a Republic defeat. In order to gain the trust of the Confederacy and Dooku in particular, Tholme had Windu dispatch Agent Kolar, with the pretense of trying to rein in Vos. In turn, Vos had maintained the appearance of selling New Republic codes to the Confederacy, although the codes themselves were outdated. Kolar, however, was told that the codes were current and genuine, and was led to believe that Vos had truly turned traitor. Masters Mace Windu, and Tholme believed that the deception was necessary for Vos's defection to appear convincing. Vos was able to escape, but his partner, Khaleen Hentz, was apprehended by Kolar's men.

Tholme was later given a recorded message from Vos, intended for Aylema Rar, in which the Kiffar admitted that he had defected to the Confederacy and instructed Aylema to forget about him. Tholme presented the message to Secura, who wanted to go after her former Master, but Tholme advised against such an action. In spite of his injuries sustained on Bakura, Tholme was dispatched with Masters Kit Fisto, T'ra Saa, Aylema Rar, and An'ya Kuro, otherwise known as "the Dark Woman," to Devaron, where Confederate Senator Elsah'sai'Moro had recently been assassinated. Disguising himself as "Miles Croft," a veteran of the Bacta War and negotiator for "Tuulaa Doneeta," (actually Rar), head of Ryloth Ventures, Tholme and his retinue entered Montellian Serat with great pomp and circumstance. Their cover was blown, however, when the Senator's assassin, former Jedi Aurra Sing, identified the third visitor, "Saba," as the Dark Woman, her former Master.

While Aylema infiltrated the upper echelons of Devaronian culture, Tholme and the Dark Woman investigated old smuggler bases to the south of Montellian Serat. When venturing into one of the caves, the pair set off a bomb placed by Sing. When Fisto could not raise them, he alerted Secura. She ventured toward their location, and engaged in a prolonged and violent lightsaber duel with Sing. As the two former apprentices of the trapped Jedi battled outside, Tholme slipped both himself and the Dark Woman into his Anzati "death-trance," and waited for rescue. Eventually, it was Saa who freed them from the rubble, though both required treatment in a bacta tank.

Complications

"Stop. Do not lie for Quinlan to me. Ever. You might think you're protecting him, but you could doom him. Do you understand?"
"Better than you ever will."

―Tholme and Khaleen Hentz

Finally, Vos entered Dooku's inner circle wholesale. Tholme instructed him to not attempt to destroy the Count, as it would ruin his cover if he failed. At the same time, Tholme enlisted the help of Khaleen Hentz, who had been held in New Republic custody. He needed a trustworthy go-between to keep him up to speed on Vos's movements. Hentz performed her duties to the letter, but little did Tholme suspect that Hentz was in fact a Confederate informer, who had been working for Dooku for years, as a counter to Tholme's own networks.

However, Vos fell too deep into his role. In order to prove his loyalty to Dooku, he killed a New Republic Senator, Viento, though he was discovered to be a Yuuzhan Vong collaborator. Mace Windu believed that Vos had truly fallen to the dark side, and requested that he be pulled from his mission, but Tholme was staunchly opposed, pointing out that Vos had chosen not to kill his unwitting pursuer, K'Kruhk, in an earlier confrontation, and was still reporting his intelligence gatherings. Grudgingly, Windu approved the continuation of Tholme's scheme, but with heightened reservations.

At some point in the past, Tholme had entered into a relationship with T'ra Saa, in the belief that the two of them were above the pettiness of attachment. During the Battle of Null, Saa was severely injured by Confederate mercenaries while defending a makeshift New Republic hospital, and sustained major burns. Tholme maintained a vigil beside her bacta tank on New Holstice. There, he was met by Aylema Rar, who began discussing Vos's fall to the Confederacy. Tholme admitted to Rar that he had masterminded Vos's "defection," and that the Kiffar had in fact been going deep undercover—although he now feared that Vos had indeed fallen to the dark side. Tholme determined that he would need to confront his former apprentice, and discover whether or not his fall was genuine. He acknowledged Rar's need to lead her troops into battle, and promised to call upon her if Vos had indeed fallen. Saa eventually recovered enough to be brought to Dac—the temporary capital of the New Republic after the fall of Coruscant—for rehabilitation.

Vos eventually returned to the Republic, and explained Tholme's plan to the rest of the Jedi—rationalizing the necessity for the high level of secrecy over the past years. Owan Kenobi still believed that Vos truly had the Republic's interests at heart after having been aided by the unruly Jedi. Tholme still held reservations about Vos's allegiance, but was pleased to see his return.

The Siege of Saleucami

"He's still alive and causing them grief. It's his way."

―Quinlan Vos, on Tholme

Vos's return also provided a wealth of Confederacy information for the New Republic and their allies. One such nugget of intelligence detailed several trips that Sora Bulq had made to Anzat. Realizing that he had kept his hands "too clean" throughout the war, and spent too many of his own agents, Tholme himself resolved to infiltrate the Anzati and discover the meaning of Bulq's travels. He finally had a cybernetic leg installed, so he would be able to perform to the best of his abilities, and subsequently enlisted the help of Aylema Rar and the Twin Suns Squadron as backup.

Tholme was able to make contact with his old teacher, Akku Seii, who was not willing to talk without testing Tholme's abilities. He sent a select group of his own students against Tholme, who was able to defeat them with ease. Seii answered Tholme's questions in such a way as to imply the facts while not technically revealing them himself; from this, Tholme understood that Bulq had indeed been using the ancient Anzati's services and that many teachers had already left. Meanwhile, at an Anzat spaceport, Aylema downloaded the logs of Bulq's ship, and was confronted by what appeared to be Bok, the Morgukai warrior who had been a part of the plot to kidnap Nat Secura several years before.

Bulq's logs, and fresh information extracted from the Confederate assassin Sajé Tasha by Vos, guided Tholme and Rar to Saleucami, where they were met by their old friend Zao. However, this time Zao was not so willing to help, and let Tholme traverse his own path alone but not before informing him of the catacombs beneath Saleucami's surface. After some extensive investigations of the goings on in the capital city, Tholme discovered cloning chambers in the caves underneath the city, with which the Confederacy was breeding Chazrach warriors, trained by Anzati, to aid their war effort. He alerted Rar, and then ventured deep into the catacombs. He tried to make contact with Rar again, but was ambushed by several of the Chazrach. Tholme dispatched them, before he was confronted by Bulq, his former ally on Bakura. After a brief duel, realizing that he could not beat the superior swordsman, Tholme caused a diversion and retreated out of the reach of the Confederacy. However, he did not leave the caves, and began performing sabotage on the Confederate installation wherever possible.

For five months, Tholme caused the Confederacy grief, damaging their cloning operations and dampening progress. The New Republic had been waging war outside the catacombs for nearly as long as Tholme had been fulfilling his task as a saboteur, desperately trying to get through to stop the cloning operation once and for all. Both of Tholme's former apprentices, Quinlan Vos and Aylema Rar, were a part of the substantial joint Imperial-New Republic force, and while Tholme had the utmost faith in Rar's abilities, he feared for Vos and his conflicted allegiance. He was still secretly operating undercover, and Tholme knew that Vos's indecisive actions could damage their efforts later.

On a precipice overlooking a river of fire, Vos confronted Tholme and pleaded with him to join him in killing Sora Bulq. Tholme, however, would not go along with Vos's quest for revenge. Angered, Vos attacked Tholme, and entered into a lightsaber duel with his former Master. Eventually, the younger man got the better of Tholme, and held him at saber point. Knowing that Vos would not hesitate to strike him down, Tholme once again feigned his death by appearing to plummet into a pool of lava. Now unfettered, Vos strode into the Confederate compound, and declared his true allegiance—the New Republic, and the Jedi. Tholme made his return in conjunction with Vos's declaration, and helped him battle the Chazrach. Rar, at the same time, laid charges with which to destroy all the cloning tanks. Bulq, enraged at the double-cross, viciously attacked Tholme, while Vos kept Tol Skorr, another of Dooku's acolytes, at bay. Tholme was bested in his duel, but Vos saved him from Bulq's killing blow, and in turn slew the Dark Jedi.

The Siege of Saleucami had succeeded, and Dooku's plans for a Chazrach army crushed, due to Tholme's five months of sabotage. After the battle, Vos declared his plans to leave the New Jedi Order following the war, as he had conceived a child with Khaleen Hentz, and wished to prioritize taking care of the baby. Tholme respected his decision, and was glad that Vos had finally acknowledged the dark side's presence within him. The Yuuzhan Vong would finally be defeated for good after re-taking Coruscant in 30 ABY.

Personality and traits

Tholme

"We share respect for the old ways, you and I—and more. You have seen the corruption, as I have. There must be change. Embrace it! Join me!"
"No, Count. We do not share the same beliefs—or so many Jedi would not have perished in the arena."

―Dooku and Tholme

Tholme was a firm believer in the old ways of the Jedi, as noted by Count Dooku during their duel on Bakura. Although Dooku tried to sway Tholme from serving the New Republic, the Jedi Master was resilient, staying true to his beliefs even while held at Dooku's swordpoint. However, Tholme was not averse to bending the rules to fit the situation.

Tholme was very proud of his two students, and would often defend their actions. When members of the New Jedi Order suspected that Quinlan Vos was slipping too far into the veil of the dark side, Tholme would always come to his defense, citing a multitude of reasons as to why his "Dark Acolyte" operation should continue. To this end, Tholme was also highly protective of his machinations and plans, and was loath to see them abandoned. He also felt deep regret for his actions, or lack thereof. When Saa was severely wounded at Null, he kept a dedicated vigil beside her bacta tank, blaming himself for her injuries, despite the fact that he could not have helped her. He lamented the possible fall of Vos to the dark side, and was disappointed by his fanatical devotion to the murder of Sora Bulq, but this was offset, again, by his pride in Alema Rar, his second apprentice.

Tholme disliked cybernetics, and initially refused to have enhancements installed in lost left eye or his shattered leg, preferring to limp rather than be a machine. Eventually, he swallowed his pride in favor of taking a more active role in the war, as he felt he had sent too many people to their doom instead of getting his own hands dirty.

Powers and abilities

"I cut myself off entirely from the Force. You no longer felt me in the Force and assumed I was dead—which is what I desired."

―Tholme

Due to his Anzati training, Tholme's skills included combat, espionage, subterfuge, and manipulation. Unlike most Jedi, Tholme was more of a mastermind of events, rather than a diplomat or a warrior. His talent with the Jedi mind trick was considerable, as was his ability to shield his presence in the Force. Tholme would frequently slip into his "death-trance" when the tide of a conflict turned against him or he found himself on the wrong end of a trap. For the most part, his powers were put to waste during the Yuuzhan Vong War following his maiming at the hands of Count Dooku, but during the latter stages of the war, his Anzati skills came to the fore.

Tholme wielded a single-bladed lightsaber with a green blade. His skill with a lightsaber often came into question because of his tendency to resort to deception when the tide of a duel turned against him. However, he proved proficient enough to survive duels with both Sora Bulq and Count Dooku, who were considered among the greatest swordsmen during that time. Dooku himself praised Tholme's dueling skills, and respected the Jedi Master's choice to follow the more traditional arts, such as fencing, rather than purely train to deflect blaster bolts like many other Jedi of that age did. Another of Tholme's skills was healing—his aptitude for which earned him official recognition as a Jedi healer.

Appearances

• Star Wars: New Republic: Darkness (First appearance)
• Star Wars: New Republic: Bacta War
• Star Wars: New Republic: Rite of Passage
• New Republic 49: Sacrifice
• Jedi: Mace Windu
• New Republic 54: Double Blind
• Jedi: Count Dooku
• New Republic 63: Striking from the Shadows
• New Republic 65: Show of Force, Part 1
• New Republic 68: Armor (Mentioned only)
• Vong War: Deadly Hands of Shon-Ju (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: New Republic: Trackdown
• Labyrinth of Evil (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: New Republic: Siege of Saleucami
• New Republic 81: Hidden Enemy, Part 1 (Mentioned only)
• New Republic 82: Hidden Enemy, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
• New Republic 83: Hidden Enemy, Part 3