Vess Tayvers

"Faith, Zayri, faith. Faith in yourself and in the force."

- Vess Tayvers

Vess Tayvers is a Jedi Knight and the Jedi Watchman of the Valleran system hailing from Corellia. Once padawan and mentored by Lianara Skai, he has since grown into a historian and scholar.

Early life
Vess Tayvers was born in "The Jewel of Corellia" also known as Coronet, the capital of Corellia, close to the end of the Galactic Civil War. He was the son of a force-sensitive Docks worker at the Corellian Shipyards. Growing up around a shipyard, Vess grew an affinity and appreciation for many vessels and obtained knowledge about the operation and repair of Corellian Engineered spacecraft. Not long after the fall of the the Galactic Empire and the formation of the Jedi Praxuem on Yavin IV, Vess was sent to the Jungle moon with the ambition of becoming a Jedi. Under the tutelage of several teachers, Vess made remarkable progress with his training. He meditated frequently, a habit he still holds, concentrating on the teachings of the Jedi instead of pure focus upon the symbolic lightsaber. But when it came to lightsaber technique and combat, Vess spent time perfecting Makashi and then Soresu to benefit his skill.

After briefly acting as the Librarian of the Archives at the Temple, he was assigned to the outer rim planet of Vallera to act as a Watchman over the system but in addition over a single Jedi that operated there known as Zayri Cresh after reportedly succumbing to difficulties on the planet. Growing closer to the other Jedi Knight, both became rather close friends and complimented each other rather well for both were full of wisdom, knowledge and strength that inevitably a force bond was forged between them, unbeknownst to either of them, that commonly exists between that of a Master and a Padawan learner. However, after failure to prevent Zayri from continual assault from the worst Vallera had to offer, she eventually departed in order to center herself and prevent drifting towards the dark side of the force. The seperation fundamentally caused Vess to delve into studies to preoccupy him and the absence of part of himself.

This led to frequent meditation, whether it be within his home or onboard the Illustrious, to again maintain emotional balance and with the force by opening himself up to it. It was this that initiated a series of visions featuring glimpses of images of an ancient temple and Vallera itself. His curiousity perked, Vess begun an investigation into the history of Vallera to uncover any evidence of the existance of any temple upon the surface of Vallera, though his hard research would end in vain.

Return of Zayri
This research would slow down further upon the return of Zayri to Vallera, bringing with her, her own investigation regarding the disappearance of a ship, he would team up with once again with his former companion and uneasily with another she recruited, one Thulek Var. The capture of another starship - containing New Republic ambassadors and two Jedi Knights; Gavin Lurid and V'al Torlin - along with an attack of NR Towers in Neo Vallera by a terrorist group called the V-Initiative prompted the three to eventually embark on a mission to stop the terrorist organization and rescue Gavin and V'al.

Inklings of Deceit
During the flight there, it turned out that Thulek planned to deceive the two Jedi but both were fortunate that the mercenary he had hired double-crossed him and instead planned to turn him over to a New Republic Agent, Durath val'Khan.

Ultimately Thulek managed to regain control of his vessel and forced both Zayri and Vess from the ship via escape pod. As Vess rested and recovered back on Vallera, Zayri managed to gain possession of a spaceship and travelled back to the location their escape pod was jettisoned in order to check that no other crewmembers aboard the ship were left in escape pods but her mission was cut short when an Imperial Interdictor Cruiser forced her from hyperspace. She was promptly arrested as she was caught within restricted Imperial space with multiple charges including that of espionage and conspiracy to murder.

Her disappearance deeply troubling him, more so when she previously left Vallera, he strangely began experiencing sharp pains and nightmares. Lost and worried, Vess went to the New Republic for help and where he managed to encourage a taskforce under Admiral Hehl'new to the Imperial border to negotiate Zayri's release. When the talks were concluded, both Vess and Zayri were transported to Coruscant where both faced trial of the breach of the Chimera Accords. The trial was interrupted when an attack upon the courthouse occurred, prompting both Zayri, Vess and Eol to flee to Nar Shaddaa to avoid prosecution enchanced by the newly formed Force Registration Act.

Purpose Forged
The three eventually returned to Neo Vallera where Vess again began feeling pain, dispair and nightmares, but he would soon learn that Zayri was dealing with the same thing leading him to make the speculation that both of them had established a Force bond, but he remained uncertain. The topic of the Registration Act sent rumblings among the Jedi, stirring debate and seperation between those for and against the act. Initially Vess was for the act, feeling it would keep the Jedi aligned with the Republic who the Order had been sworn protectors of for thousands of years but Zayri would soon change his perspective on the situation.

Ensnared by Pirates
Stefan would venture to Yavin IV to present a proposal to move the Jedi to the Exnaar System, away from the politics enveloping the galaxy in the name of better security. Once the decision favored the proposal, Vess took it upon himself to acquire another ship, a GAT-12 Skipray Blastboat which he affectionately crowned Zayri's Comet - in disregard to Zayri's protest - but he would soon come to realize the vessel was in poor condition and required quite a bit of maintainance.

When he completed repairs on the Blastboat and having Zayri operate the control tower to monitor the ship's readouts as he took Zayri's Comet into orbit of Vallera to ensure the vessel was spaceworthy or not, but the trial-run was cut short abruptly cut short once the starship entered space where the Red Star Raiders - a pirate group that plague Hutt space - found the ship transmitted a Hutt ID signature and moved in to disable it, capturing Vess. The leader, Jorniel Casl, saw an opportunity to gain a new pawn and had Vess placed in a force cage where he was continually tortured, but he also was submitted to additional pain through Zayri who had been attacked by Thulek Var, 8v88 and a group of pirates which she was injected with an unusual drug. His imprisonment would soon be ended when Zayri in the company of Vincent Cantrell boarded the pirate capital ship, the Drofred, with the Illustrious to rescue Vess. During the battle to reach the interrogation, Jorniel released a very weak Vess from his cage and returned his lightsaber to him which he would engage him in combat as Zayri helplessly watched on from behind a shield at the blast door to the point where Vess was trip by the pirate's electrostaff and stabbed in the chest. Laying on the ground bleeding, Zayri too would be defeated in combat in an attempt to save Vess, her ability likely decreased after suffering through the stab wound through the force bond. As Jorniel departed to fetch aid in transporting the two fallen Jedi to the brig and imprisoning them, Vincent would emerge from the Illustrious and recover them both, managing to escape the ship with both of them leaving the Skipray Blastboat behind.

When he came to, he would voice his concern to Vincent about Zayri, relaying the dark images he witnessed from Zayri. Once healed, he would again dedicate himself to the protection of Zayri, a deep sense of guilt overcoming him as he felt he had failed his companion on too many occasions. Though he would again find himself lost in what action to take concerning the continous pain she suffered, Vess tried his best to comfort her though he was unable to find the source to her great amount of suffering.

Refuge in the Enclave
The last straw was pulled when Thulek intruded into his home to confront Zayri that Vess called upon a brief moment of anger to kill two V-Initiative operatives and cause Thulek to flee from his home, a touch disturbed by both their enemies intruding into his home and threatening his greatest treasure, he took a drugged Zayri away from Vallera, to the temple he had visions about; the Tayvers Enclave. There he took care of Zayri within the main chamber of the enclave, the only chamber available at that time, there he remained with her at all times as she overcame the withdrawal brought on by the drugs Thulek and 8v88 had been insuring she became addicted to, though much to his dismay Zayri protested her forced imprisonment in the temple and Vess begrudgingly agreed to have them reside in the Illustrious.

Even there Vess was unable to bring a halt to the instability echoing through his friend, he repeated pondered - sometimes openly - whether to go to the New Republic or even more extremely, the Imperial Remnant to at least bargain for the recovery and the promise of safety for Zayri, but she pleaded with Vess not to go running to, in her mind, 8v88 for help. Vess again, under some strain, agreed to her request.

Conference on Obroa-Skai
Her condition worsened as she frequently relived and was haunted by nightmares concerning an illusion of Vess' death in which he repeatedly comforted her and attempted everything to assure her he was quite well and that he was indeed alive, though it took considerable convincing. But her anger and hatred towards the Adminstrative droid grew and those cruel images that she kept falling victim to resulted in a dire need to destroy the droid.

The pair agreed to follow the information Thulek had spared him, travelling to Obroa-skai with a mission to destroy 8v88, the planet brimming with Remnant and New Republic security but both Jedi managed to get amongst the those the conference and split up to increase their chances of locating the droid. It was not until after following the tour, having had no avail with discovering the location of the droid, that he sensed a disturbance in the force that Vess sprinted to Zayri's location only to find Moff Renai and Chad Toreis dead. Carrying the devasted Zayri away from the scene as quickly as possible, both of them managed to elude security and the chaos issued after the alarm was raised and commandeer a New Republic Lambda-class shuttle and quickly flee before a planet-wide lockdown could fully be employed. Embarking into Wild Space, meeting Zayri's request in getting as far away from the planet as possible. The long journey prompted Vess to once again tend to Zayri, treating her wounds even though he was not a healer or a skilled medic, but also providing emotional treatment.

Vess and Zayri eventually arrived at Tipoca City, capital city of Kamino where they were greeted by a Representative who permitted them refugue and medical treatment for Zayri's blaster wounds.

Force Bond
"Vess brings you strength, you bring him strength. If one falls the other picks the fallen one up. When you are wounded he tends to you, when he is in battle you fight with him. You are kindred spirits."

- Vincent Cantrell

Through a continous presence amongst his fellow Jedi Knight on Neo Vallera, Vess shares a strong connection through the Force with Zayri Cresh. It enables them to feel what the other is feeling, reflecting both pain and strength but also allows the Force flows easier between them. The bond also permits channeling not only emotions and ones state of mind but also dreams, which leant to the discovery of the bond between the two when - in unison - both experienced the brutual interrogation Zayri was submitted to by the droid 8v88. Their understanding of the force bond has grown, the concept of linked destinies made perceivable by the force ghost of Vincent Cantrell. Embracing the bond, growing with and understanding the other subject, he has enchanced it. Using it to guide Zayri and act as a pillar to support her as she unwillingly operated for the Imperial Remnant, discrediting the Jedi Praxeum, especially when she murdered Moff Renai and the NRI Director, Chad Toreis.

Lightsaber
As an apprentice, Vess received a common training lightsaber but as his education progressed, he soon strived to satisfy his wish to master the more classical lightsaber form; Makashi. Though it took more skill to align the crystals in such a hilt, his obsessive and frequent study of the design and properties necessary from the library in the Massassi temple served him well and he soon achieved his goal and wielded a green-bladed lightsaber with a curved hilt.

Vess is a practitioner of Form II: Makashi. Inticed with it early in his training, partly because his mentor, Lianara Skai, utilizes the form and along with his great interest in the traditions of the old Jedi Order. He was fond notably fond of the elegance, powerful grace offered by it but also the requirement of extreme precision, allowing Vess to attack and defend with minimal effort, often wielding the blade one-handed for greater range of movement and fluidity. Ulimately causing him to focus on parries, thrusts, and small, precise cuts as opposed to the blocking and slashing of the other forms he uses. But overall, Vess values Makashi for its requirement of very fluid movements of both the blade and the body; it's dance like quality. This preference has caused Vess to typically wield a lightsaber with a slightly curved hilt to permit the precise and flexibility to perform Makashi.

However, much to his chagrin, Vess covers Makashi's weakness against blaster-wielding enemies with moderate understanding and practice of Form III: Soresu, enabling him to defend and repel blaster fire with relative ease. But his unfamiliarity with it was shown when he employed it against Mandalorian bounty hunter, Chisis Thaman, and was defeated.