“Yes, peace and light and justice, sure. But sometimes, you have to hoist a Blazing Claw and tell the Imperials ‘Good day! We’re pirating this vessel!’ and cause some chaos.”
–Stede Dalton, Jedi Master and Pirate
Abregadan Jedi, sometimes called Pirate Jedi, were a sect of the Jedi Order based in the Abregado-Rae system. Famous for their chaotic approaches to decisions, as well as the acts of piracy that earned them their nickname, the Abregadan Jedi were so fiercely independent that the Jedi Order of the Old Republic, as well as the New Jedi Order, rarely acknowledged the sect and often cracked down on their piratical behavior like any other law-breaker.
| Abregadan Jedi | |
| Governing Body | Freeholder’s Council |
| Headquarters | Rae Temple, Abregado-Rae Dalton’s Complex |
| Other Information | |
| Affiliations | Old Republic -Jedi Order New Republic -New Jedi Order Abregado Holders -Dalton’s Crew |
| Canonicity | Sidewinder Stories |
History
“Where the Council and the Lords have demanded a long and arduous life dedicated to shield, saber, and service, while promising only a hope towards the betterment of the people, I offer an alternative: a most-likely short and bombastic life, a cannon underfoot, and killing any Sithspawn you find for the betterment of the people.”
-Thomasin Lira, Jedi Pirate
While Abregado-Rae was not known for producing many Jedi, several families of Gados and Human colonizers were known to have had members who later went on to serve the Old Republic as members of the Jedi Order. When the New Sith Wars had brought about the Republic Dark Age and the Jedi Lords began taking leadership roles, the Abregadan Jedi looked to their own for the same. They found it in Jedi Master and Baron Thomasin Lira.
Abregado-Rae, due to its position at the end of the Bacta Run and thus being a critical supply point for the Old Republic, was the scene of numerous battles during the New Sith Wars. Several Sith had even captured the system, at least temporarily, before being driven out by Republic forces and the Jedi. Most notable of these Lords was a Near-Human named Tarall, under the title of Darth Mertis. In 1050 BBY, Jedi Master Thomasin Lira left Coruscant and returned to his homeworld of Abregado-Rae and challenged Mertis to a vibroblade duel.
Lira defeated Mertis in one-on-one combat and claimed the entire system as his ‘barony’ shortly after, promising his fellow Abregadans that he would secure it from future aggression and punish those who had used their home to their own advantage during the conflict. Following that promise, Mertis called out to other Abregadan Jedi and bid them return home.
When the other Jedi arrived, Mertis had converted his consular ship into a pirate vessel, and he offered those Jedi a choice: either to join Lord Hoth’s Army of Light and struggle to defeat the Sith and their Brotherhood of Darkness, or join him in acts of piracy against the Brotherhood and weaken them further.
Twenty Jedi Knight joined Baron Mertis, and there followed nearly ten years of attacks on shipping lanes used by the Sith and any other Dark Side devotee. When Baron Mertis left Abregado-Rae to join Lord Hoth at the Battle of Ruusan and was subsequently killed, those twenty Jedi decided to remain on the home planet and honor their former Master and Baron by ‘continuing the tradition he had forged for them’.
For centuries, the Abregadan Jedi Sect continued with their acts of piracy, but given the era of peacetime that followed the Battle of Ruusan, this became an infrequent action and focused mostly on smugglers or slavers, up until the Clone Wars. During that war, the Abregadan Jedi became fiercely active once more.
When the Empire came to power, the Abregadan Jedi went into hiding, either taking on the roles of farmer or merchant, but occasionally still going on a pirate raid. When Stede Dalton became a Jedi Knight in the days of the New Republic, he returned to his home world of Abregado-Rae and declared that he would follow in Mertis’ footsteps.
Swift's Corner 