Porter Engle

Porter Engle, known as the Blade of Bardotta, was a male Ikkrukkian Jedi Master and cook who lived during the High Republic Era. Sporting an enormous beard, Engle was a legend in the Jedi Order and formed a bond of siblinghood with fellow Jedi Barash Silvain, whose memories of infancy drove her desire for family. The two resolved disputes in the Galactic Frontier, with Engle specializing in combat and Silvain in sensing the Force and perceiving others' intentions. In 382 BBY, they arrived on the isolated world of Gansevor, confident that they could quickly answer a plea regarding the besiegement of the city Firevale.

Engle and Silvain negotiated with the Bethune army to allow the passage of some humanitarian supplies into Firevale in return for the Jedi to investigate Bethune's claim that their heir, Princess Sicatra, had been kidnapped by Firevale. The Bethunians then also requested the assistance of mercenaries led by General Viess, and they began bombarding the city to expedite the siege's end. Engle successfully negotiated a ceasefire with the Bethunians, and at Silvain's request tried to convince the Bethunians to depart, only to be forced into battle with Viess's forces when they refused. Engle fought alone all night in one of the most legendary instances of lightsaber combat ever recorded to defeat the mercenaries, but upon his victory, Engle learned that the entire siege was a plot by Princess Sicatra and her husband Prince Colden of Firevale to usurp the Firevale throne. As a result, Silvain became uncertain of herself due to her misplaced trust in Sicatra, vowing to venture as a lone Jedi and leaving Engle. Not long after the mission to Gansevor, Engle fought for five days to break the siege of Bardotta, for which he was renowned as the great "Blade of Bardotta," and eventually stepped down from combat duty to serve as a cook at the Jedi Outpost on the planet Elphrona, becoming known for his Nine-Egg Stew.

Master Engle was embroiled in combat again during the Nihil maurauders' attacks on the Republic in 232 BBY, repelling their raid on Elphrona alongside fellow outpost Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm, Jedi Knight Indeera Stokes, and Padawan Bell Zettifar. Engle was later reassigned to the Jedi outpost on the world Derra before leading a drift of Jedi Vector starfighters against the Nihil raid on the Cyclor Shipyards, rescuing Zettifar. Together with Stokes and other pilots, Engle defended the planet Valo during the devestating Nihil assault on its Republic Fair in 231 BBY, and later single-handedly foiled a raid on the world Quilken.

When the Nihil claimed ten Outer Rim sectors as part of their Occlusion Zone in 230 BBY, Engle was among the Jedi trapped behind its Stormwall boundaries. He spent a year attempting to send a message out of Nihil space by collecting parts to build an EX droid that could bypass the Stormwall, but his efforts were foiled by General Viess, who led the Nihil's Ministry of Protection. Engle subsequently heeded the reporter Rhil Dairo's secret rendezvous for any Jedi to flee Nihil space with her, finding Master Avar Kriss alongside Dairo on Hetzal Prime, but they were pursued by Viess, who was obsessed with defeating Engle. The Ikkrukkian Jedi was lost alongside Viess when they confronted each other in the Seswenna sector, allowing Kriss to escape with Engle's EX unit, which provided the necessary technology to breach the Stormwall and reach the Jedi Council on Coruscant.

Engle nevertheless survived and recovered under the care of Cair San Tekka, the heir to the San Tekka clan's estate on the Mid Rim planet Naboo who was smuggling people out of Nihil Space. However, as most other Jedi were trying to breach into the occupied space, Engle focused on searching for the general herself, who had likewise survived and was in charge of the Nihil occupation of Naboo. The nemeses crossed paths again during the battle for Naboo at the San Tekka compound, which the Republic and Jedi freed, and Engle continued to track the general following her escape, eventually finding her at the Nihil base on Isolt. The Jedi Master defeated Viess in their duel, but his shock at his counterpart's claim that she knew the location of his sister, Barash Silvain, gave Viess her getaway. Engle later resolved to focus simply on killing Viess. They clashed once more at the Battle of Eriadu, where the Nihil and the Republic both committed the bulk of their forces—Porter Engle singled out the mercenary general at her command ship and killed her after a short duel. The Jedi Master subsequently traveled to Gansevor.

Text and facts from the “Porter Engle” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.