Batuu Jedi temple

For other uses, see Jedi Temple.

The Batuu Jedi temple on the planet Batuu was a Jedi research temple and outpost operated by the Jedi Order during the High Republic Era.

Layout

"The improvements to the containment room are complete. The size of the control floor is now scalable as you requested."
"Thank you for indulging me, Master Cohmac."
"Oh it's very smart. I think these modifications should be made at all the research temples."

―Cohmac Vitus and Sylwin discuss upgrades to the containment rooms^[3]

Established along the Galactic Frontier in the Trilon sector,^[2] the Batuu Jedi temple^[5] was set up as a research facility for the Jedi Order, not far from Black Spire Outpost. Located within a forest punctuated by the petrified trunks of enormous trees, the Temple itself was a large facility with several large towers of white stone. The main body of the Temple was a large, blocky building with two short wings protruding on either side of the building. One end of the main structure was surrounded by several small towers buttressing its walls. On either side of the Temple were two tall towers that were capped by a domed roof that bulged out just below the peak. A larger central spire erupted from the center of the Temple, the pinnacle of which resembled the three-finned crown of the Grand Jedi Temple on Coruscant.^[2]

The interior of the Temple was austere and sparse, with large open rooms connected by pillared halls. The Temple's main hall, constructed of white stone, contained a large statue of a Jedi surrounded by doors that opened onto exterior balconies. Just off the hall was a chamber which housed several artifacts, including an ancient Sith Runestone which was permeated by the dark side of the Force.^[2] An Archives, located in a small rotunda, contained a wealth of journals and holobooks just off of a large main hall. Down a winding set of stairs was a specialized containment room equipped with electrical nodes and a scaleable control floor and observation portal. A large, circular lecture hall with a circular speaker's pit ringed by benches was the crosspoint of a number of corridors near the artifact containment rooms. A metal dome over the speaker's pit denoted astronomical bodies, with a replica of the planet Batuu sitting at the center of the hall.^[3]

History

Life on the frontier

In 382 BBY^[6], after a mission to the planet Gloam, Rooper Nitani travelled to Batuu and spent time in the archives reading journals and holobooks to better prepare for her future missions on the Galactic Frontier. Merak was a Gran Jedi Master who served as the archivist of the Batuu Jedi temple archive.^[7]

Temple of Darkness

Between 233 BBY and 232 BBY^[8], Jedi Master Carver Drow and his Padawan Celesta Kami resided at the Temple and hosted Jedi Initiates Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay and Nubs. Solay noted that the stately, stony complex of white towers was different from the Tenoo Jedi Temple, which had a giant Tenoo tree.^[5] To foster friendly relations with the local residents of Black Spire Outpost, the Jedi hosted several public training days outside the Temple.^[9]^[10]

During the High Republic Era, Jedi Master Sylwin worked within the Temple with several other Jedi, including her Padawan Ady Sun'Zee.^[2] During the Jedi's study of an ancient Sith Runestone delivered to the Temple by Jedi Master Cohmac Vitus,^[3] the dark side energies that inhabited the crystal were unleashed and corrupted the Temple and Sylwin and the other Jedi succumbed to the whispers in their minds. Before succumbing to unconsciousness, Sun'Zee was able to activate the Temple's distress beacon and signal the Jedi High Council that the Temple was in trouble. When Sun'Zee awoke three days later, she was attacked by demlins, native creatures that had been corrupted and made feral by the runestone's influence from deep in the Temple. Unable to remember what happened, Sun'Zee was relieved when Grand Master Yoda arrived in response to the signal. Entering the Temple, the Jedi found it filled with ominous dark vines emanating from the runestone. Fighting through the corruption and the Temple's security systems, together Sun'Zee and Master Yoda were able to contain the darkness back inside the rhinestone's casing. While Sun'Zee had been convinced that she had killed the other Jedi at the Temple, Master Yoda assured her that it was an illusion created by the artifact, and that Sun'Zee's ability to resist it made her worthy of knighthood. Sealing the Temple with the Force, Yoda declared the Temple lost, and he and Sun'Zee returned to Coruscant.^[2]

A Relic in the Ruins

In 34 ABY,^[11] a Jedi artifact, known as the Mural of the Light was located by Deek in an archaeological site in the ruins of Sardeevem Chasm. While Deek believed it to hold historic value, antique dealer Dok-Ondar knew that the mural actually was a key to locating the treasure vaults in the lost Jedi Temple and hired a treasure hunter to retrieve the key for him. While Deek believed they were in danger, the Listehol Baron Yasto Attsmun, a band of pirates trailing behind him, and an independent hunter Lens Kamo all competed to find the cipher and the vault. Searching the Chasm for Deek and the cipher, it was soon revealed that Deek had indeed been killed after hiding the relic to prevent it from being sold on the black market. Searching further through the Chasm's excavation site, Dok-Ondar's hunter found where the Mural of the Light had been located before Deek had carved it from the wall. Continuing on, the hunter located a band of pirates trying to load the relic for transport and sale. Defeating the pirates and scanning the cipher, the hunter returned to Dok-Ondar's only to discover that the mural was only part of the cipher. Setting out to search the Cavern of the Moons for the rest of the cipher, the hunter located a stone altar dedicated to the Convergence of the Moons, which hid an ancient and secret vault more recently used by Deek to hide his treasures. Deep within the cavern's subterranean chambers, the hunter located a site that was adorned with Jedi murals depicting a mysterious ritual. Scanning the cipher embedded int he mural, the hunter was able to transmit their findings to Dok-Ondar for analysis.^[3]

Once deciphered, the key revealed the locations of the Temple ruins, and Dok-Ondar was able to surmise the existence of the ancient Sith Runestone left there by Master Yoda and Padawan Sun'Zee. Entering the Temple's lower levels, the hunter found it set with booby-traps laid by Lens Kamo. Evading the traps, the hunter eventually joined Kamo in infiltrating the vault, taking the runestone, and evading the defense droids sent out by Baron Attsmun. Eventually the pair were detained by the Baron's droids in one of the Temple's halls and Attsmun unleashed Kamo's former partner Ayuu, who had been cybernetically altered into a raging brute, against them. Ayuu smashed through the Temple's ancient foundations, sending the group tumbling into the caverns below. After Ayuu turned on the Baron and smashed his head in, the three treasure hunters escaped the ruins of the ancient Jedi Temple alive.^[3]