A Jedi Master and amongst the oldest Elders, Mike Halcyon had freed himself from the clutches of the Dark Side and faced the monumental task to rebuild the Jedi Order far beyond the reaches of civilized space to battle the DJB's agents of destruction. He was killed by his brother, Halcyon Taldrya, on New Tython during the Tenth Great Jedi War.
Character History
Early Years
21 BBY
Born in Bela Vistal, Corellia, Halcyon grew up the son of Jedi-in-hiding Aerick and his native Corellian wife and CorSec officer, Loira. His younger brother, Corran, had been given into custody into a monastery on Drall four years later, their parents fearing they wouldn’t be strong enough to protect both of their children powerful in the Force from the hands of the newly risen Darth Vader.
Even though Aerick would try to teach his remaining son the ways of the light, he never revealed himself to be the Jedi Master he was. This secret resulted in a rift between father and son, allowing Imperial propaganda to sway young Halcyon to the Empire’s cause.
Joining the Imperial Navy, Halcyon soon turned out to be a crack pilot – no doubt owning his success to his skills in the Force that still lay dormant. Rising through the ranks swiftly and eventually even serving under Captain Piett onboard the ISD Accuser, Halcyon declined the offer for a tour of duty in Death Squadron, Darth Vader’s personal fighter wing, in favor of a continued service with Piett with which he had become close friends. Halcyon and Vader never met in person, and as such, the Dark Lord of the Sith was unaware of his Force-sensitivity.
Mike Halcyon witnessed the Battle of Endor first hand from the cockpit of his TIE Interceptor. Taking out several Rebel craft, he was eventually hit by a rogue X-Wing after the destruction of Death Star II and the ensuing chaos. The laser blast hit the port wing stabilizers, forcing Halcyon to retreat to the nearest Imperial vessel. The scattered fleet made the jump to hyperspace, and the Empire was defeated forever.
Dark Jedi Brotherhood I
13 ABY
Serving as CAG under Admiral Pellaeon in the Imperial Remnant, the years went on. As fate would have it, however, Halcyon’s fighter – now a TIE Advanced – was crippled during a hit-and-run attack on a New Republic supply cache. Though the Remnant fleet had to retreat, it was a Brotherhood task force that hit the same cache just minutes after, finding no supplies but an untrained Force sensitive instead.
Halcyon was brought to Eos and inducted into the ways of the Dark Side. Joining the ranks of House Acclivis Draco of Clan Scholae Palatinae as a Sith, he quickly showed great skills in wielding the powers of the Force. It was then that the young Dark Jedi discovered his heritage as a Halcyon.
TIE Corps
14 ABY
The calling of the vastness of space was stronger than the prospect of years of studying dusty books, and so Halcyon joined the Emperor’s Hammer’s TIE Corps onboard SSD Avenger as a member of Stalker Squadron.
Again, Halcyon displayed excellent performance, rising through the ranks as Squadron Commander of Shield Squadron onboard ISD Relentless and eventually receiving an admiral’s commission as Fleet Medical Officer, albeit under a different name: Mike Tolwyn.
Over the years, Tolwyn established the Fleet Medical Corps, rebuilding it to serve the pilots in a better way. He eventually was promoted to the rank of Fleet Admiral, earning a Grand Order of the Emperor and an Imperial Cross on the way.
Frictions between the Emperor’s Hammer’s commanding officers and the demise and eventual failure of the Medical Corps lead to Halcyon taking his hat and retiring from active duty, forever severing his ties with the Emperor’s Hammer.
Dark Jedi Brotherhood II
A younger Halcyon sporting an ancient battle armor
16 ABY
Returning to Clan Scholae Palatinae – this time as a Krath – Halcyon devoted his energy into mastering the dark arts. During his tenure in Acclivis Draco, he devised the Master-Student Program which is now widely used in the DB as well as leading the house to become the very first First Krath House of the Brotherhood ever, influencing not only HAD but the entire Clan as well to quite a degree. Those times are commonly referred to as the Golden Years of Scholae Palatinae.
18 ABY
Halcyon switched orders from Krath to Obelisk, assuming command of CSP’s then Obelisk House, Dorimad Sol. Leading it to victory in the following Clan feud, personal issues forced Halcyon to transfer to House Cestus of Clan Tarentum afterwards. There he remained for a short time until he finally left again to head for the Outer Rim to meditate and get some rest.
Exodus
19 ABY
Watching the brutal civil war from the sidelines, Halcyon initially refused to side with either party. But after the Dark Jedi Brotherhood had seceded from the Emperor’s Hammer, he kept close ties with Antei.
With the loss of a large number of Elders, numerous positions went vacant in the EHDB, and then Grand Master Khaen appointed Halcyon to Obelisk High Commander. In his tenure as OHC, Halcyon devised an original simple but elegant rule- and dice-based system to be used in fictional fights, bearing similarities to the ACC but relying on objective random numbers instead of subjective battle judgements. Unfortunatley, the system (“Blasters, Blades and Bullets”) never took off as Sector Admiral Astatine disposed of Khaen and effectively ground all innovations to a halt through lack of support.
As Astatine was his main reason to leave the Emperor’s Hammer, it soon became clear for Halcyon that the EHDB wasn’t a suitable place for him any longer. Leaving Eos in the dark of the night, he took off with a destination unknown.
Dark Jedi Brotherhood III
21 ABY
After almost three long years of absence, Halcyon returned to the DJB again. Knowing that the Emperor’s Hammer still had their spies within the group and not wanting to place old friends still on Eos in jeopardy, he disguised himself as James McKenna, a veteran Admiral of the Clone Wars.
James McKenna found a new home in Clan Exar Kun with only a handful of people knowing his true identity. The still young Clan was in desperate need of experienced members, and so McKenna quickly took over as one of the senior prominent figures.
The Dark Jedi’s time in Exar Kun was short lived, however, when Jac Cotelin – one of the few who knew his true identify – appointed him the first (and only) Lord Marshal, a newly created Dark Council Position in charge of multiplayer events, the DJB’s guilds and societies.
As Lord Marshal, Halcyon dropped his disguise. Always on the forefront of battle, he honed his and the membership’s fighting skills by squaring off against numerous opponents. Aside of that, Halcyon devised the rules of engagement for online multiplayer events, cleaning up slow-working societies and guilds, and organized various battle events.
Return of the Jedi
Forever it will control your destiny
The Dark Side holds a firm grip over its conquered souls – and it doesn’t give them away easily. Freeing oneself from its influence is downright impossible. So how could a seasoned Dark Jedi return this way?
The Force is more than just a tool – it is the ultimate power that binds the galaxy. In its natural state, light and dark are in balance. If that state is disrupted, the Force will eventually find a way to bring itself back into equilibrium. During the height of the Old Republic, the balance was thrown off due to the high number of Jedi roaming the galaxy. The Force found a way in young and powerful Anakin Skywalker exterminating all but a handful.
When the Dark Jedi Brotherhood seceded from the Emperor’s Hammer, venturing away into the unknown regions, equilibrium was destroyed yet again. In a place where before neither Jedi nor Dark Jedi roamed, a whole group of Dark Side users began to take over.
Eventually, however, the Force managed to tip the scales into the other direction again. An old Corellian with a little good left in him proved to be just the right weight.
A spark
There had always been good remaining deep down inside of Halcyon who had by now tapped so far into the Dark Side that he was counted amongst the Brotherhood Elder’s.
From the beginning during the time in the Imperial Navy where he would sometimes allow fugitive families to escape contrary to all-out-destruction orders to his days in the Brotherhood where he would occasionally try to prevent excessive collateral damage, there was always a little spark. Only when he found out about his heritage did Halcyon start to have his first doubts.
There is no specific date known when exactly Halcyon renounced the darkness and embraced the light again, although it is highly likely that it happened somewhen during the Golden Years of Scholae Palatinae. The first (and last student) Halcyon trained in the ways of the Jedi thereafter already. Reb Qel-Droma became the first Jedi Knight of an eradicated Jedi Order.
Wandering the valley of death
An old Michael Halcyon contemplates about the nature of the Force and the tasks he is facing in the years to come.
Upon his return to the Brotherhood, Halcyon had to be on his guard. With the powers of a Jedi Master and his heritage giving him an aptitude for tricking other people’s minds, it wasn’t difficult to fool the bulk of the Dark Jedi. Hiding from the Elders, however, was not easy at best and outright impossible at the worst.
Salvation and doom came both in the shape of Halcyon’s appointment as Lord Marshal. As a Dark Councilor, the Jedi Master had access to the Brotherhood’s most precious tomes, providing priceless wisdom and insight into the Force. It was one of Darth Sidious’ books where it was explained how the Sith used the Dark Side to shroud their presence from the Jedi. The Jedi Council knew that the Dark Side had become powerful – but they did not know more. Applying the same technique, Halcyon was able to hide his true being by diffusing his presence into a larger aura of the Force.
Discovery and escape
Time and the presence of the Grand Master as well as powerful Dark Jedi, however, would finally take its toll. Jac Cotelin was the one who tried to trap and destroy him, but as fate would have it, the Jedi was able to narrowly escape from Antei. The Brotherhood’s Elders worked together to seal off the entire system in a shroud of the Dark Side, but with outside help from an unlikely source, Halcyon was able to make his way to safety.
Michael Halcyon's last stand.
Death
Even after the Jedi tampered with dark side holocrons that culminated in the events of Disorder, Michael’s whereabouts were unknown until the rise of Odan-Urr, a Jedi house situated on the planet New Tython. Feeling that his obligations to the light side lay with that house, he returned to Brotherhood space to wreak havoc upon the Dark Jedi. The failed attempts on his life would serve as the catalyst for the Invasion of New Tython, where he would encourage Odan-Urr High Councillor Ji to counter the Brotherhood's strikes with Mandalorian armies. Halcyon Rokir Taldrya, Deputy Grand Master of the Brotherhood, would eventually make his way to New Tython, encountering his brother and commencing a duel with him.
The brothers were deadlocked for some time before Michael, using the Force, deactivated his own lightsaber. He believed that this would fool his brother so he could kill him with the Force and consequently end the fight in his favor, but Halcyon's precognitive abilities proved to be far too strong. He drove his weapon upward into Michael's chest, ending the Jedi's life once and for all. Michael's death would be a reminder to the Jedi of how futile their attempts at vanquishing the Brotherhood really were.
DJB Facts
Important Achievements
Michael Halcyon worked on many important aspects of the DJB including:
Positions held
Halcyon held the following positions at one time during his career:
Students
As the creator of the Master-Student-Program, Halcyon has trained quite a few Jedi over the time. Unlike most mentors, however, he employed a quite unique way of selecting and teaching students. While usually the master approaches their student or vice versa, Halcyon would always decline teaching a student. Only if the future apprentice showed enough determination and would persistently ask time and again, Halcyon would accept them.
Dark Jedi trained
- Saitou
- Aeishline Strathaven
- Holu Tatsumi
- Sabé Dracaena
Jedi Knights trained
Trivia
- Served as OHC in the EHDB.
- Sibling of Halcyon Rokir.
- Has a foible for good-looking Twi'lek females.
- The only recognized Jedi Master in the DJB.
- Served on the Dark Council as the only Lord Marshal.
- Has been in all orders once: Sith, Krath, Obelisk.
- Former teacher and close friend to Reb Qel-Droma, now a Jedi Knight.
- Recognized as one of the best saberists in the Brotherhood.
- Halcyon heritage hampers his abilities in Telekinesis and all related Force powers (he is just able to lift his lightsaber if at all) but in turn makes him excel in mind affecting powers as well as absorbing and dissipating energy.
- Fleet Admiral (ret.) of the TIE Corps.
- Former member of the Long family as Jin-Long.
- Coined the nickname "Cooch" for his longest standing friend, Cuchulain Darkblade Palpatine.