Lasken
- There's incompetent, and then there's you people.
- —Jedi Consular, Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011)
Lasken had an interesting character arc. My intention for him was to be almost a mirror to Astirth: a Jedi turning Dark Side. It was a nice intention, but I kept waiting for a moment in the character's arc where it felt right to turn to the Dark Side and...well, it never seemed to happen. What I ended up with was a Jedi who wasn't all pure, did the right thing but did so with a fair heaping of arrogance and attitude. It has not escaped my attention that he's got a bit in common with my representative from his mirror class.
| |
| Lasken | |
|---|---|
| Profession |
Jedi Sage Level 70 |
| Physical description | |
| Species |
Miraluka |
| Gender |
Male |
| Height |
5'10" |
| Mass |
78 kg |
| Hair color |
Brown |
| Eye color |
N/A |
| Chronological and political information | |
| Era(s) |
Old Republic Era |
| Affiliation |
Galactic Republic |
Personality
Lasken began his time as a Padawan as a respectful, compassionate Jedi, seeking knowledge for its own sake. And then he left Tython.
That's an important note, because his time at Tython had been in the company of many Jedi, and not so much the dirty underside of the galaxy. As he traveled from Coruscant to Nar Shadda and worse, he became disillusioned with most of the people in authority. From there, it became open disdain. Worse still was that he could see that the choices made by the leaders to save the few while risking the many was all too often losing all. Lasken hardened and began to do what few Jedi would: sacrifice the few for the many. And on a galactic scale, "few" could involve entire planetary populations.
The result of all of this has been a Jedi who hovers on the brink of the Fall, filled with an arrogance that his decisions are always the right ones, and he is rarely wrong. He hasn't gone over yet-he will still help the helpless, and aid the Republic. It's just that now, it'll be on his terms, like it or not. After an extended experience in carbonite, Lasken began to slide hard to the dark side, consorting with a Lord of the Sith and caring far less about collateral damage. The slide may have begun slowly, but the fall is accelerating. Lasken seems to recognize this unconsciously; he has taken to wearing a mask so he no longer has to look at the face in the mirror.
Abilities
As a Jedi Consular, Lasken is highly skilled with the Force. It operates as his shield and as his weapons-allowing him to drain life out of his enemies, deflect blaster fire directed at allies, and rock the very ground upon which his opponents stand. His skills with a lightsaber are not quite as well developed, as he feels the Force is all the weapon he truly needs.
Despite his descent to the Dark Side of the Force, his skill in using it has not decreased in any way. Of course, it hasn't gotten any stronger; the difference is in how he chooses to use it.
Equipment
Lasken wields a single lightsaber as a backup weapon, but his true primary weapon remains the Force.
He has taken to wearing a helmet, not for any advantage it can give but to hide his face. There is no special gear associated with it, save that it distorts his voice-further allowing him to separate who he was with who he is becoming.
Despite his descent into what some may call madness, he still utilizes a Jedi Defender-class corvette as a personal transport vessel.
Trivia
Lasken's backstory is the story of the Jedi Consular in the Star Wars: The Old Republic game. As noted above, while he ultimately made more Light Side choices than Dark, he wasn't necessarily humble about it. Or even nice at times.
Since Knights of the Fallen Empire, however, his choices have all been Dark Side ones-at least the ones made after he was defrosted from his carbonite prison.