Tao (Sith Apprentice)

Tao was a Human male from the world of Shumari who trained as a Jedi Knight. He was part of a small group of Jedi that avoided Order 66 and the immediate decimation of the Jedi Order. Tao and his companions were eventually discovered by the Galactic Empire, however, and they were attacked by a taskforce led by Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith. Tao was the only Jedi to survive the assault, personally spared by Vader who took him on as an apprentice.

Vader trained Tao without the knowledge of his Master, Emperor Palpatine, using various methods to goad Tao into fully embracing the dark side of the Force. The apprentice was never fully subsumed in the dark side, and when Vader learned that his own son, Luke Skywalker, was alive, he abandoned Tao. Nevertheless, the Emperor discovered Tao's existence and forced Vader to mortally wound the young boy. Feeling some remorse for this action, Vader returned Tao to Shumari to die on his homeworld. There, Vader was attacked by a crazed Tusken Raider who almost overpowered the Dark Lord before Tao intervened with his final strength, saving his Master's life. Letting go of the anger that had been rooted in his heart, Tao died in the wastelands of his homeworld.

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