Saesee Tiin, a Force-sensitive Iktotchi male from the moon Iktotch, was a Jedi Master who served on the Jedi High Council during the last years of the Galactic Republic. A skilled lightsaber combatant and starfighter pilot, Tiin fought in the Clone Wars as a Jedi General of the Grand Army of the Republic. He and Agen Kolar were slain by Darth Sidious and became the first victims of the Great Jedi Purge shortly before fellow Jedi Master Kit Fisto when a team of High Council members, organized by Mace Windu who was betrayed by Anakin Skywalker shortly before Darth Sidious killed Windu as well, confronted the Sith Lord, who was revealed to be the true identity of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who would proceed to destroy the Jedi Order.

Biography[]

Early life[]

A male Iktotchi hailing from moon Iktotch,^[1] Saesee Tiin served the Jedi Order.^[11] Tiin was the Padawan to Omo Bouri, an esteemed Jedi Master.^[8] Between 50 BBY and 42 BBY,^[12] Tiin attended the funeral of Jedi Master Katri, who was killed by a group of security guards on Raxus Secundus.^[13] He took part in the Stark Hyperspace War.^[11] He was eventually promoted to the rank of Jedi Master^[8] and gained a seat on the Jedi High Council^[14] by 40 BBY. In that year,^[15] Tiin was present at a Council debate over the dispute between the Czerka Arms and the Pijali monarchy.^[14]

Mission to Kwenn[]

In 33 BBY,^[16] Saesee Tiin was spending much of his time working on the Jedi Order's various starships and surface vehicles, including interacting with contractors and droids, and leading work crews of Jedi students.^[10] Tiin was present at a council meeting in which Qui-Gon Jinn challenged the council to pay more attention to individuals in the galaxy and the living Force, stating that the Jedi Order was so focused on large-scale issues that they had lost sight of the smaller things in front of them. When it was suggested that the next closure would be the outpost on the planet Kwenn, which had been open for 200 years and was the result of significant Jedi effort, the council determined to meet in person on Kwenn before making the decision. They would plan an anniversary celebration for the people of Kwenn, in an effort to meet Jinn's challenge.^[10]

Labor dispute[]

Tiin and Master Plo Koon traveled to Kwenn together on a Jedi shuttle, landing at the spaceport on Capital Key. With no mission other than a vague aim to render aid, the two hailed a Kwikhaul landspeeder taxi driven by the droid SK-89. Koon directed the droid to take them to the Bivall Colony on Parva Key, which he had visited long before, as it was likely that the Bivall refugees there could use some sort of aid. When SK-89 sped through an intersection and nearly hit another vehicle, Tiin and Koon discovered that this was her first time ever driving. Halfway through their trip, while they were on Zyboh Key, four other speeders boxed them in and began bumping them. At this point, Tiin took over driving and attempted to escape their attackers, but more speeders joined the chase. Then, Tiin found his controls unresponsive because The speeder was being autopiloted back to the Kwikhaul depot. At the depot, the drivers and passengers of the other speeders formed a mob around them, and SK-89 informed them that it was she, not the Jedi, who were the target of their anger.^[10]

Tiin and Koon discovered that they had stumbled into the middle of a labor dispute at Kwikhaul. The owner, Fraxa, had replaced all the drivers with droids that morning, and the former employees had stormed the compound and destroyed the droids inside. Fraxa demanded that the Jedi arrest the workers for destroying private property. Instead, they listened to both points of view. Fraxa argued that she could no longer afford to employ organic drivers. The workers argued that the droids she was using were unsafe, and that Fraxa had plenty of money for herself. She replied that tourism and industry were waning on Kwenn, leaving less business for Kwikhaul. Tiin halted the argument by pointing out that Kwikhaul's landspeeders could easily be repurposed to run on the water, allowing them to be used as water taxis and oceanic tourism craft. He offered to help with the retrofit. Then, he noticed the fleet of unused touring buses, and suggested they be modified and used by the droids to collect garbage off the streets. He offered to contact the droid mechanic Heezo at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to assist with repairing the droids which the workers had destroyed. These new initiatives satisfied both Fraxa and the Kwikhaul workers, and the two Jedi helped get the work started.^[10]

Rendering aid[]

During the Jedi Council's time on Kwenn, Tiin and Koon continued working with Kwikhaul. Tiin delivered a speederbus to transport the group of teens which Master Even Piell had taken charge of, and gave the teens a lesson in mechanics while he was there. Koon and Tiin helped with Master Oppo Rancisis' rescue of a beached oroko; Tiin used girders to connect several repulsorcraft engines together into an open-framed flying platform and attempted to lift the oroko with cables. This idea failed because the terrified creature's grip on the ground increased as the cables were pulled. Instead, Koon and Tiin devised a plan to bring the ocean to the oroko. They set the hovering platform to spin and sabotaged the engines before swimming away. The platform crashed into the ocean, sending up a plume of water which the Jedi directed toward the beach with the Force, allowing the oroko to follow the wave back into the water. Afterward, Tiin and Koon discussed the effectiveness of the Council's visit to Kwenn, with the former considering the endeavor fruitless and the latter disagreeing.^[10]

The Bicentennial Celebration[]

Thanks to various sources of intelligence, the Jedi were aware ahead of time that the allied pirate gangs led by Zilastra planned to attack Kwenn on Celebration Day. Tiin contributed his flying skills to the defense efforts, borrowing Fraxa's ARC-8 starfighter after finishing up the restoration she'd been working on. He engaged with pirates in airspeeders over the water, alerting the Coastal Watch to downed craft before he had even started fighting. The fighter's 8 wings made it harder to steer in the wind, so even though Tiin intended to only hit glancing blows, he destroyed several of the pirate airspeeders. The pirates were later rescued from the ocean by the Coastal Watch. When some of the pirates made for land on Capital Key, Tiin followed and left the ARC-8 to fight on land. He declined assistance when contacted by Koon.^[10]

Before returning to Coruscant, Tiin and Koon made repairs on Fraxa's ARC-8. Koon felt very satisfied with all the work the Jedi had done on Kwenn, but Tiin only looked ahead to all his unfinished work back on Coruscant. The upgrade of the Jedi fleet was still in progress, and he wanted to solve a software error on Jinn's shuttle. Koon expressed to Tiin that despite Tiin's gruff and sometimes antisocial nature, he was good at telling people the unadorned truth when they needed to hear it, and should make sure he wasn't always holed up in a hangar or meeting.^[10]

A new threat[]

In 32 BBY,^[2] the planet Naboo was blockaded. Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who had been sent by Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum to end the blockade alongside his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, came before the Council after rescuing Queen Padmé Amidala and bringing her to Coruscant. He told the Council that he believed he had encountered a Sith Lord on Tatooine and that a slave he freed, Anakin Skywalker, was the Chosen One. While many on the Council were skeptical of Jinn's claims,^[6] Tiin considered it possible.^[8] Nevertheless, the Council ultimately denied him permission to train Anakin due to him being too old. After Jinn's death during the Battle of Naboo at the hands of Darth Maul, Tiin and the rest of the Council attended his funeral and decided to let Kenobi train Skywalker, fulfilling Jinn's dying wish.^[6]

Darth Maul's personal craft, the Sith Infiltrator Scimitar was recovered by the Galactic Republic. After self-defense mechanisms killed the first technicians to inspect it, Master Tiin was called in to help secure the vessel. Large amounts of spying equipment was found, but the computer systems were erased. The Scimitar was then recovered by Darth Sidious,^[17] Maul's Sith Master and publicly known as the recently elected Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine,^[18] while on its way to Kuat Drive Yards for further inspection.^[17]

The Clone Wars[]

Outbreak of war[]

Tiin was a participant in the First Battle of Geonosis, the first battle of the Clone Wars against fallen Jedi and now Sith Lord Count Dooku and the newly-formed Confederacy of Independent Systems with their armies of battle droids. Tiin, unlike many others in the battle, survived, having escaped the Petranaki Arena alongside Mace Windu and Ki-Adi-Mundi,^[7] and went on to become a Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic.^[3]

Sometime after the war's outbreak, Tiin was present alongside the rest of the Jedi Council at a meeting in which they gave Windu a task. Republic scouts had discovered that the Confederacy had occupied the planet Hissrich in the Outer Rim Territories, which the council began to fear that the Confederacy was to utilize the planet as a staging area for assaults on neighboring star systems.^[19] In hopes of determining the threat level, Windu, alongside fellow Jedi Masters Kit Fisto, Prosset Dibs, and Jedi Knight Rissa Mano were tasked with running a covert mission to acquire the information.^[19] Later, Tiin was once again present at another meeting, where Windu reported that he was successful in his mission.^[20]

At one point, Tiin was talking to his Jedi friend in the Jedi Temple. It was then that Ahsoka Tano and Skywalker's conversation caught their attention.^[21]

During the Clone Wars, Tiin was present at the Jedi Temple when Delta Squad brought back the bodies of Jedi Master Halsey and his apprentice Knox who were killed in the massacre on Devaron. Adi Gallia suspected it was the work of the presumed dead Asajj Ventress, however Jedi Master Plo Koon suspected it was a newly appointed Sith Lord. Obi-Wan Kenobi, on the other hand, suspected it was the work of a monstrous animal. The mysterious killer was revealed to be the former Nightbrother Savage Opress, which surprised Kenobi as Opress appeared similar to Darth Maul who he had supposedly beaten on Naboo years before.^[22]

Clone Wars continues[]

Battles of Lola Sayu and Mon Cala[]

Tiin took part in the rescue of Even Piell, Wilhuff Tarkin and his men from the Citadel prison on Lola Sayu in which they were imprisoned, due to the fact that they were carrying vital information of hyperspace coordinates that could change the scale of the war to the faction in possession of the said secret information. Piell was killed by an Anooba that pounced on him. Tiin alongside Adi Gallia, Plo Koon, and Kit Fisto, rescued what remained of the team and returned with them to Coruscant.^[9] Jedi aces including Skywalker, Plo Koon, and Tiin modified their Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptors as the war waged on, with updates passing to other Jedi pilots.^[23]

Later, Fisto, Skywalker, and their clone troopers were trapped on Mon Cala in a losing battle against their opposition's superior strength provided by Separatist commander Riff Tamson. Fisto and the others managed to contact the Jedi Temple with a faint signal, yet it was too weak and within moments collapsed. Windu understood the broken communication as sign of the Republic's impending defeat, however, noting that it would take a considerable amount of time to train any new SCUBA troopers to send and reinforce them, the situation was dire. On this topic, Yoda recommended that they should ask help from a suitable ally of the Republic. Master Tiin suggested they contact the Gungans, an amphibious species who had a standing army, were friendly with the Republic, and also were located near Mon Cala. The Gungan Grand Army agreed to help and provided Republic reinforcements^[24] that later helped them win the battle.^[25]

Umbara and the Order in disarray[]

After taking part in the Battle of Mon Calamari,^[27] Tiin joined Anakin Skywalker, Pong Krell, and Obi-Wan Kenobi for the Battle of Umbara with Pong Krell and Master Tiin's troops supporting Kenobi's troops in the south of the planet.^[28] Tiin was present during the funeral of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was in fact a plot created by the Council to infiltrate the ranks of bounty hunters and discover a plan created by Count Dooku to capture Chancellor Palpatine, which succeeded as Skywalker and Windu were able to prevent the Chancellor's assassination on Naboo.^[29] Tiin was present at the funeral for the victims of the bombing of the Jedi Temple, where in fact the culprit of the bombing was hiding among the present Jedi, Admirals and political figures.^[30]

Tiin also partook in deciding the expulsion of Jedi fugitive Ahsoka Tano after the bombing where he, along with Masters Windu and Ki-Adi-Mundi, did not believe Tano was innocent of the crime. Tiin noted that Tano had been found with nano-droid explosives, the same devices used in the bombing, which he felt alone was enough for her to be convicted. In the end, however, Tano's name was cleared after Barriss Offee, the actual bomber was uncovered by Anakin Skywalker. Tano was offered a place back in the Order, but refused.^[26]

Yoda's visions and Vos[]

Later in the war, Tiin was present when Master Yoda felt he was hearing a voice from beyond the grave, but the combined power of all of the Council members could not find anything. Yoda left Coruscant after this without the Council's express permission. On the planet Dagobah, Yoda had a vision that Tiin engaged in a lightsaber duel with Darth Sidious and was killed when Sidious stabbed him.^[31] Tiin was present with Akar-Deshu and some of his council counterparts discussing Quinlan Vos's fall to the dark side.^[32]

End of the war and death[]

Tiin continued to participate in the Clone Wars, including the pivotal Battle of Coruscant^[33] where thousands of Republic and Separatist ships fought above the Republic capital world.^[34] During the battle, clone troopers from the Star Destroyer Impavid under the command of General Tiin launched an assault on the Separatist Providence-class Dreadnought Prosperous and captured it.^[33]

Separatist Head of State Count Dooku was killed during the battle, and Supreme Commander General Grievous escaped to Utapau, where General Kenobi ultimately killed the cyborg Separatist leader. As the Battle of Utapau commenced, Tiin was one of four Council members sent to arrest Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, now revealed by Anakin Skywalker to be the powerful Sith Lord Darth Sidious, alongside Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Windu. Sidious, however, resisted his arrest, instead pulling out his red lightsaber and engaging the group of Jedi in combat. Despite the skills of the Jedi Masters, the Sith Lord quickly cut down Kolar and Tiin, who became the first victims of the Great Jedi Purge before engaging Windu and Fisto in a brief duel, only Windu living to continue the fight. Skywalker's betrayal led to Windu being thrown out the window at the hands of Sidious' Force lightning and Skywalker succumbed to the Dark side of the Force and was christened as Darth Vader. This failed attempt to arrest the Chancellor led to the destruction of the Jedi Order and the rise of the Galactic Empire.^[35]

Legacy[]

Shortly after the Battle of Fortress Vader, Vader entered a portal constructed by Darth Momin to resurrect his wife Padmé Amidala. While walking through visions, he encountered Tiin along with many Jedi he had known in his life as Anakin, with their lightsabers ignited ready to battle him. However, Vader killed all the illusions, first impaling Tiin through the chest as the words "let the past die" resounded in his mind.^[36]

Personality and traits[]

Saesee Tiin was an Iktotchi male who stood 1.93 meters—or six feet and four inches—tall.^[4] Tiin was regarded as a legendary warrior among the Jedi High Council.^[37] He was steadfast and courageous, though he rarely spoke and generally kept to himself,^[38] as he chose his words carefully as he quietly listened to debates and reflected on the Force's will. Athough Tiin could be gruff and was not known for being particularly personable, he also had a sense of humor in some situations. His sense of justice was strong, and he was quick to lend his mechanical skills when they could solve a problem. He was very confident in his abilities, but his dedication to his work could sometimes isolate him. Despite his taciturn, blunt personality, others respected his hands-on approach and tendency to speak the truth directly.^[10]

Powers and abilities[]

Tiin had natural telepathic powers that were superior to most other Jedi,^[39] and he was regarded as one of the Order's best starfighter pilots.^[40] He was very skilled mechanically, and Master Plo Koon believed that Tiin could fly or repair any vessel ever made.^[10] He was also a renowned lightsaber duelist.^[38] He was present at the opening foray on Geonosis and was among the small circle of survivors that escaped from the Petranaki arena.^[7]

As was customary with the Iktotchi species, Tiin's horns would grow back if they were damaged.^[41]

Behind the scenes[]

Saesee Tiin was portrayed and voiced by several actors during the Star Wars prequel trilogy: Khan Bonfils in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, Jesse Jensen (brother of Kit Fisto's actor Zachariah Jensen) in 2002's Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Kenji Oates in 2005's Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show.

On playing Tiin in Attack of the Clones, Jesse Jensen's brother Zachariah, who was working as set carpenter, was originally suggested by Matt Sloan to play Tiin, but after director George Lucas and producer Rick McCallum met Zachariah, they gave him the role of Kit Fisto and Jesse was given the part of Tiin.^[42]

In the Clone Wars episode "Citadel Rescue," Tiin's starfighter was modeled with the same pattern as Ahsoka's starfighter.^[43]

In the first draft of Revenge of the Sith, Tiin would have been killed alongside Ki-Adi-Mundi on Mygeeto during Order 66.^[44]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• Disney Infinity 3.0
• LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DLC)
• Minecraft Star Wars: Path of the Jedi

Sources[]

Non-canon sources[]

• LEGO Star Wars: Choose Your Side: Doodle Activity Book

Notes and references[]

The Jedi High Council (32 BBY)
Yoda Mace Windu Ki-Adi-Mundi Plo Koon Saesee Tiin Even Piell Yarael Poof Oppo Rancisis Yaddle Eeth Koth Adi Gallia Depa Billaba
[edit]

The Jedi High Council (22 BBY)
Yoda Mace Windu Ki-Adi-Mundi Plo Koon Saesee Tiin Even Piell Coleman Trebor → Obi-Wan Kenobi Oppo Rancisis Shaak Ti Eeth Koth Adi Gallia Depa Billaba and Kit Fisto
[edit]

The Jedi High Council (20 BBY)
Yoda Mace Windu Ki-Adi-Mundi Plo Koon Saesee Tiin Even Piell† Kit Fisto Oppo Rancisis Shaak Ti Eeth Koth Adi Gallia Obi-Wan Kenobi
[edit]

The Jedi High Council (19 BBY)
Yoda Mace Windu Ki-Adi-Mundi Plo Koon Saesee Tiin Obi-Wan Kenobi Kit Fisto Shaak Ti Depa Billaba/ Oppo Rancisis (left) Eeth Koth → Agen Kolar Adi Gallia → Coleman Kcaj Stass Allie/ Anakin Skywalker (joined)
[edit]