Horatio Hej
Overview
Much of Horatio's early life is a mystery, with only a few painful memories remaining. He believes that he must have been born in Coruscant's underworld and knows that at some point, he got into a fight in which he lost his left eye. His first real memories are with the Jedi Order, where he was raised at the temple on Dantooine, the planet he considers his real home. His childhood was a time of strife for the Order due to the revived threat of Darth Vynn, and he was at the temple on the day it was attacked, but was powerless to defend it as a mere Youngling.
Military Career
The Christophsis Campaign
Horatio was present for the first space battle above Christophsis, which resulted in a swift victory for the Republic. He joined Nexu Company for the landing operations, but due to a miscommunication they were deployed in the middle of a road outside the CIS headquarters. Fighting for their lives, Horatio eventually left the battlefield carrying the clone trooper Diren on his back in critical condition. While treating Diren and meeting the captured Gunray and Tambor, his company was slaughtered by Dooku. Diren would later serve as his Senior Warrant Officer in the 442nd. After learning of the capture of his friend Sylen and other JAT members, Horatio resolved to help recover them. Unfortunately, he was badly injured and knocked unconscious for the duration of the battle. Devastated by the conflict, the 91st was withdrawn from Christophsis shortly afterwards.
Jedi Peacekeeper and Rest Crest
Hoping to rebuild trust between the Jedi and the locals of his adopted homeworld, Horatio led a peacekeeping mission to nearby villages, though it ended in failure. He later led the Peacekeepers to war-ravaged Carida, where he witnessed the scars left by the war. A subsequent peacekeeping mission to Alderaan proved far more successful, with the locals agreeing to work with the Order in the future. Horatio later returned to Carida with the Red Crest and the Peacekeepers, but darkness prevented them from achieving much. Following this, he departed from the Peacekeepers to focus on his GAR duties.
The Ryloth Campaign
Horatio rejoined the 91st as they began their campaign on Ryloth. During this campaign he fought far more aggressively than he had on Christophsis, leading the left flank through the canyon. He later mourned the losses incurred at a funeral held shortly afterwards, and for his efforts he was awarded a medal by Colonel Serce. Horatio also took part in two defences of the barricades and provided overwatch during the CIS–Republic prisoner exchange with his company, Convor.
Jedi Adventures
Wishing to walk the path of a crusader, Horatio returned to Ilum to undertake another crystal gathering. He later travelled with other trial crusaders to Dantooine to hear Jedi Master Lyria speak about what it meant to be a crusader and what would be required of them. As part of the trial, he handed his lightsaber to Lyria and, alongside Master Paul Lunedancer, set out on his journey. The two travelled to the old Dantooine temple, only to discover it had been taken over by an unknown group. They were escorted to meet the group’s leader, Mrs Risi, who was hostile towards both the Jedi and the Order in general, describing them as little better than the Sith. She demanded that the Jedi leave Dantooine for good and end the oppression of her people. Despite Horatio and Paul attempting to negotiate with her, all efforts failed. They discovered that Risi possessed a white lightsaber and was Force-sensitive before being thrown out of her chambers. Even so, they continued to help her people wherever possible.
After passing the trial, Horatio and Paul parted ways. Horatio’s final trial required him to act as a shield and save those in danger, which he completed while serving with the 91st on Ryloth. Later, Horatio, Zon Ruun, and Lucard Echo returned to Tython in hopes of attuning their kyber crystals to their shields. Together they shared a vision of the Force in which they were asked to explain themselves. Zon and Lucard were allowed to pass freely, but Horatio was stopped by two guardians who sensed conflict within him and feared he would betray the Jedi and his oath. With a lightsaber held to his neck, Horatio calmly responded and was ultimately declared a true guardian, allowing him to leave with his newly attuned crystal. With this final trial complete, Horatio finally became a true crusader.
Meanwhile, events on Dantooine had escalated, leading to a mass deployment of Jedi guardians. Despite the goodwill built by Horatio and Paul, and the early success achieved by Master Jorus, the two sides quickly found themselves at odds and fighting broke out. After the conflict ended and most of the Jedi had departed, Horatio accompanied Master Jorus and the Consulars to observe how they managed to calm the planet. However, needing to return to his duties elsewhere, Horatio departed before witnessing the conclusion of these most interesting chain of events.
Liberation of Corellia
Horatio was later deployed to the Vreni Islands as the newly assigned Jedi Captain of Horn Company. He attempted to convince the locals of the Republic’s good intentions and organise supplies, but the locals remained wary. A gunfight broke out despite Horatio’s efforts to defuse the situation, and afterwards he was confronted by a Trandoshan who declared that he would either hunt Horatio or harm the locals. Wanting to protect them, Horatio agreed to the terms and the hunt began, only for the Trandoshan to fall into a sinkhole. Horatio later deployed to Golden Beaches, where the Trandoshan reappeared during the second battle but quickly fell into quicksand. While extracting the anti-air device from Golden Beaches, the Trandoshan appeared yet again, though Horatio had already boarded the Venator before he could strike. At a funeral for those killed on Golden Beaches, the Trandoshan returned once more, having latched onto an ARC-170, but Taris Kenetos used the Force to push him into the void.
During a short skirmish in space, the Trandoshan was spotted again after sneaking aboard the wrong Venator and attempting to take a hostage. Forced to flee using an escape pod, he survived even after SFC destroyed the pod, floating instead toward Horatio’s ship until Seban Kenetos used the Force to push him back into the void. Around this time, Horatio witnessed clone trooper Goliath II’s attempts to court a Corellian local, though he sensed something familiar as a shooting star passed overhead. During the major space battle above Corellia, the Trandoshan appeared again and was referred to by the CIS as “the hunter.” He floated towards Horatio’s ship, the VSD Prophet, but Horatio once again cast him back into the void. Although the Prophet was destroyed during the battle, Horatio escaped alongside his squad and reached the flagship safely.
Horatio later took part in the raid on the Vreni Islands, demonstrating his prowess with the Force by holding down a shuttle full of criminals. Following the death of General Seban Kenetos in an off-duty incident related to his drinking problem, Horatio assumed the role of Jedi General. He then led the 442nd’s invasion of the Eastern Crashsite, surviving a fall into the main hangar of the downed Venator despite the huge number of droids inside. He later led a separate assault on nearby emplacements and accompanied SOB on a secret raid on the CIS headquarters for the Eastern Crashsite, where he learned of Director Veyss’ midi-chlorian extraction experiments. Horatio eventually led the 442nd in the defence of the downed Venator, nicknamed “Sina”, before commanding the counterattack against the CIS and discovering a secret base, now known as “Rose”, which they occupied. After the battle, he discovered that his Senior Warrant Officer, Diren, had been killed defending the base, bringing an end to the friendship that had begun on Christophsis.
