Gir Kagn (pronounced /ɡɜr kæɡn/) was a human male Jedi Master of Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order.
Biography[]
Early life[]
This place is... well, dull, yes, but... safe. They will not find us here. We can stay and raise our son here.
—Miz Kagn
He was born two years before the Great ReSynchronization on the oddly-named mud world of Antiquity. A few months before Gir's birth, his parents had been on the run because of an inherited debt they could not pay off. A series of malfunctions on their battered transport left them stranded on Antiquity, but even after repairs were complete, they decided to make a home on the planet.
Gir was Force-sensitive, but the Jedi did not find him in his childhood, and he went through his uneventful childhood without knowledge of his gift. This may have been his salvation, for when Gir was a teenager, the Clone Wars erupted and ended with the Great Jedi Purge. Nearly all the Jedi were killed.
Secret training[]
I have seen the return of the Jedi. But you must know this - you will not be able to defeat the Sith. When they are gone, then join the Jedi, but until then, your training must remain secret.
—Shahmzar Aonda-Alci
However, Shahmzar Aonda-Alci, one of the few survivors, ended up on Gir's homeworld. The fugitive Jedi Knight saw Antiquity as a good hiding place just as Gir's parents had over eighteen years ago. Shahmzar had a vision that showed him the need to pass on his training, and he recognized young Gir's Force-sensitivity. Hence, he took Gir as his secret student.
Shahmzar taught Gir the use of Force powers and the acrobatic old style of Ataru. Only the Master, his Apprentice and the astromech droid R3-D10 knew about the training for some time. Two years into the young man's training, his parents discovered it. They were shocked at first, but not only did they feel it was too late to change anything, but they also still considered the Jedi to be good people. Nevertheless, they were worried for their son's safety. Shahmzar assured them that he had already warned Gir to stay away from the Empire and to not publicly become a Jedi until the Order's return.
This Gir did, but one day when he was about to visit his trainer's house for a session, Shahmzar sent him an urgent message. The Jedi in exile was under attack. He told Gir to stay away and hide until the Imperial agents left. Gir wanted to help, but the last thing he heard from Shahmzar was a firm order to take care of himself.
The next day, Gir learned that his tutor had been killed. As they had determined earlier, Gir acquired Shahmzar's possessions: his robes and Jedi equipment, Ac'churo Valnuon's lightsaber, Shahmzar's Y-wing and R3-D10. Gir and his parents made significant modifications to the Y-wing.
New Jedi Order[]
Gir stayed true to his word to Shahmzar, and continued his life in isolation until the return of the Jedi. After waiting for decades, Gir joined the Academy during its early years. As he had been trained by a Jedi and practiced his skills in secret for decades, he quickly rose in the ranks. His first real apprentices were Aiddat and Okl Qe'lad, in the time when the new Jedi had to train multiple apprentices at once.
Gir fought in the Disciples of Ragnos conflict. At the conflict's conclusion on Korriban, he dueled the Dark Jedi cult leader Tavion Axmis alongside his apprentices. He was seriously injured when Tavion caused a pillar to fall on him.
He soon recovered, and led Aiddat and Okl on more missions throughout the galaxy. After nine years of training, his two apprentices were Knighted. He fought in and survived the Yuuzhan Vong War. However, he was one of the few Jedi casualties of the Invasion of the New Jedi Temple.
Powers and abilities[]
Gir Kagn was a capable Jedi of average skill compared to his peers. Shahmzar taught him the form of Ataru, as well as basic elements of Shii-Cho. As such, his fighting style had the strengths and weaknesses characteristic of Ataru. An exception is he became proficient at blocking blaster fire, as that was what most of his foes used. Gir passed on these skills to his two apprentices.
Behind the scenes[]
The character of Gir Kagn was created for Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy and inspired by the Morgan Katarn character model. GIR is the name of an idiotic robot in the cartoon Invader Zim. This is a coincidence, but the names of his parents are inspired by characters from the show. No resemblances besides names are intended.