Huyang

I have a bad feeling about this…

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"From Battles of Rashfond to the Peacekeeping of Parliock to our very own Clone Wars, the lightsaber is a Jedi's only true ally. But how do they work, hmm? Yes, you have brought me crystals, but they're all useless unless you give them life. Do you know how to awaken the Force within the crystal? No? Then I suggest you listen and learn until you think of a question this droid cannot answer."

―Huyang, to a class of Jedi younglings^[3]

Huyang was a Mark IV architect droid professor based aboard the Jedi vessel Crucible, who, for a thousand generations, taught Jedi younglings, including Grand Master Yoda and Jedi Master Mace Windu, how to construct their lightsabers following the Gathering. Huyang also told the younglings stories and would teach "History of the Galaxy, Parts One, Two and Three".

Biography[]

A thousand generations of sabers[]

"Built centuries before me, Professor Huyang was an architect droid that served as a vital part of the Jedi Order. Now, I know what you're thinking, and you're right—droids can't use the Force (though at times, I swear I've come close). Huyang used the vast wealth of knowledge he had gathered over the centuries to become a force of his own. When Jedi younglings were being trained, it was Huyang who helped them construct their lightsabers. And judging by how effective—and painful—those weapons always were, he must have been pretty great at his job. No wonder they gave him a degree."

―R0-GR^[5]

Huyang was built around 25,020 BBY,^[1] allegedly "arriving at the Jedi Temple in a big blue box"^[6] to serve the Jedi Order. For centuries Huyang assisted Jedi younglings as a lightsaber architect in constructing their own weapons. The droid himself claimed to have been doing so for over a thousand generations.^[3] Younglings assisted by Huyang included the future Grand Master Yoda, whose journey to retrieving his kyber crystal resulted in what Huyang considered to be an excellent story.^[7]

During the High Republic Era; Professor Huyang also supervised Bell Zettifar in building his first lightsaber aboard Paladin-class corvette Crucible and battling training remotes.^[8] In 232 BBY,^[9] the Jedi initiate Nubs, along with his friends Nash Durango, RJ-83, and Yoda, handed an old lightsaber belonged to Jedi Master Barabo, which Huyang quickly remembered. The droid then inspected it and repaired the broken saber, before handing it to Nubs for him to ignite.^[10]

HuyangWindu-AoR-Special — Huyang helping Mace Windu construct his lightsaber

As time went on, Huyang instructed Mace Windu on how to build his lightsaber, and that "the pieces never needed to be 'built.'"^[11] Huyang's exact origins became shrouded in mystery, prompting younglings to spread rumors about how he came to serve the Jedi Order.^[6] In 22 BBY,^[12] shortly after the beginning of the Clone Wars, one group of initiates preparing to go on the Gathering believed that he had somehow arrived at the Jedi Temple in a large blue box thousands of years before he had ever taught lightsaber construction.^[6] Regardless of how he came to his postion, Huyang's purpose was crucial: he was to accompany the young trainees to the planet Ilum, where, once they had retrieved a kyber crystal that called to them through the Force, he would aid them in fashioning their own lightsaber.^[7]

Training gone astray[]

Pirate invasion[]

"With this lightsaber, I'm going to challenge Obi-Wan Kenobi to a duel and kill Grievous!"
"The only person you are going to kill with that, my young friend, is yourself. You have inverted the emitter matrix, which will cause the power grid to backfire! Light this, and all that will be left of you and your lightsaber will be your crystal. Start again, and this time, please follow the diagram!"

―Petro and Huyang^[3]

HuyangMultitasking-ATOS — Huyang on the *Crucible*

In 20 BBY,^[13] during the Clone Wars, Huyang accompanied Padawan Ahsoka Tano and a group of younglings to Ilum, where they would begin their journey towards becoming Padawans. After the Gathering, the younglings arrived on the Crucible to be instructed by Huyang in the construction of their lightsabers. Some of the Initiates, including one named Ganodi in particular, were skeptical of the droid due to his extreme age, but were quickly won over by his wisdom and anecdotes from the annals of Jedi history. Patiently, Huyang guided the Initiates in the construction and personalization of their respective blades.^[3]

However, before the younglings could finish constructing their lightsabers, the ship was boarded by a gang of pirates led by the Weequay Hondo Ohnaka, who were intent on stealing any lightsaber crystals aboard due to their high market value. To safeguard the Initiates' unique crystals, Huyang gathered the crystals from them and stored them inside his chest. Unbeknownst to him at the time, however, one of the Initiates, named Petro had surreptitiously kept his crystal and handed Huyang a droid component instead. Huyang, Tano, and the younglings then hid in the ship's ventilation system as the pirates boarded the ship. In executing a plan of Tano's devising, Huyang and the younglings were found and caught by a group of pirates, but Petro put his crystal into his poorly crafted lightsaber and tricked the largest pirate into activating it, causing it to explode, knocking the pirates unconscious and damaging Huyang in the process.^[3]

HeadlessHuyangKickingWeequay-ATOS — Huyang defeating a pirate while lacking his head and primary arms

Eventually, Huyang and the younglings were confronted by Ohnaka and more pirates, but Tano arrived and subdued the pirates with the Force. As Tano held Ohnaka off, Huyang started to lead the Initiates to safety, but ended up having his head shot off by one of the pirates. The droid professor then engaged the pirate in unarmed combat and managed to defeat him, despite having both his arms blasted off as well. The Initiates then collected Huyang's body parts and took shelter in the Crucible's hold. Unfortunately for Tano, the plan to liberate the ship did not go as planned, and she was captured by the pirates even as she drove them from the ship.^[3]

Misadventures on Florrum[]

"If I may, sir, I have instructed younglings for over a thousand generations, and these are among the best I have ever seen."

―Huyang, to Hondo Ohnaka^[7]

The Initiates decided to pursue the pirates back to their base on Florrum in order to rescue Padawan Tano, but Huyang was unable to offer much help in his damaged state. Huyang remained with Initiate Ganodi and fellow droid R2-D2, aboard the Crucible, which they had landed on the planet's surface to make repairs, while the remaining Initiates set out to rescue Tano.^[14] With the others gone, Ganodi began to repair Huyang, beginning with re-attaching his head to his body. They had only just completed this task when the other Initiates—having managed to rescue Tano from the pirates—made contact to ask for help in escaping their pirate pursuers.^[7]

TanoYounglingsCaptured-ANB — Huyang, Tano, and the younglings are captured by the Ohnaka Gang.

Huyang, Ganodi, and R2-D2 immediately launched the Crucible and flew to rescue their companions. The effort was a near-success, almost managing to secure the Jedi, until one of the pirates shot one of the ship's engines, causing the ancient Jedi vessel to crash and the entire group to be recaptured by the pirates.^[7]

As the captors and captives made their way back to the pirate outpost, they discovered that Separatist General Grievous and an army of battle droids had landed and claimed the system for the Confederacy. Faced with no alternative, the pirates chose to release their Jedi captives in order to work together to rescue Ohnaka so that they could all escape the planet. The combined group achieved their goal without taking any casualties, and together escaped back to a Galactic Republic fleet commanded by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Huyang was finally repaired once they were safe.^[7]

In 19 BBY, the Clone Wars were brought to an end, and with it came the destruction of the Jedi Order and the reforming of the Republic into the Galactic Empire by Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, who had been the secret Sith Lord all along.^[1] Huyang managed to survive the Purge and the reign of the Empire. At some point he joined Ahsoka Tano while she was training Mandalorian Sabine Wren, who found him annoying.^[15]

Searching for Thrawn[]

Looking for a map[]

"If you didn't keep at such a safe distance, maybe we wouldn't have lost communication."
"I am just following standard Jedi mission protocol."
"Huyang, the Order doesn't exist anymore."
"Nonetheless, I have my programming."

―Ahsoka Tano and Huyang^[16]

By around 9 ABY,^[17] he had joined Tano in her search for Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn,"^[16] an Imperial tactician who went missing along with the Jedi Ezra Bridger during the Liberation of Lothal.^[18] The search had led them to the planet Arcana, where Tano located a Nightsister stronghold to find an ancient star map while Huyang stayed in her T-6 shuttle. However, Huyang kept the ship far away, making communication between him and Tano difficult. When Tano was ambushed by HK-87 assassin droids, who then rigged themselves to self-destruct. Huyang was then called in for extraction by Tano, bringing the shuttle low enough for her to jump on the ramp and board it to avoid the massive explosion. In the shuttle, Huyang was asked why he keep the shuttle at a far distance. He replied that he was following standard Jedi protocol, Tano added that the Order no longer existed. Tano asked that Huyang watch her back in the future, the role of a Padawan, which the droid protested he was not.^[16]

Investigation[]

"Let's take a look at this map."
"We cannot show you the map. The device is locked, and the key to activating it has eluded me."

―Hera Syndulla and Huyang^[16]

New Republic Fleet Command then told Tano and Huyang about the attack via comms. Tano and Huyang then traveled to the Home One. They landed in one of the Home One's hangars when they arrived. On the ship, General Hera Syndulla greeted them. Syndulla had prepared a briefing for Tano to catch up. In the briefing, Syndulla told Tano and Huyang about the damage the two mercenaries had done. Tano told Huyang to run a scan on the male and female mercenaries' light sabers. Syndulla wanted to look at the map, but the key required to activate the map eluded Huyang. Syndulla told Tano that Sabine Wren could help her.^[16]

Finding Sabine Wren[]

In the capital, Tano parked her T-6 shuttle near a ledge on a high tower. Sabine Wren arrived while Tano was talking to Governor Azadi. Tano then told Wren that she knew a way to find Ezra Bridger. They both went inside Tano's T-6 Jedi shuttle and discussed some things. Just then, Huyang had an update. Huyang had scanned the mercenaries' lightsabers. Huyang said that he recognized one of the two hilts. The one he knew belonged to Baylan Skoll. Huyang told Tano that Baylan Skoll was Jedi trained. When Tano returned to the briefing room, Wren had already left with the map when Tano explicitly told her not to. That night, Tano and Huyang talked to a hologram of General Syndulla about Wren. Wren deciphered the map at the old communications tower, but two HK droids attacked her. Wren told Huyang that she needed help via a comlink. Tano and Huyang then tried to get to Wren as fast as they could. Wren started to duel Shin Hati. When Tano and Huyang arrived, Hati stabbed Wren in the abdomen. Hati then escaped^[16] and Tano helped Wren.^[15]

In a hospital, Wren lay on a bed, recovering. Huyang and a medical droid were beside her. Wren then told Tano what had happened. Tano then left the hospital room and headed for the old communications tower. There a HK droid attacked Tano, but she decapitated it.^[15]

SabinesLightsaber-ToilAndTrouble — Huyang convinced Sabine to take her lightsaber and continue with her Jedi path.

The head of the decapitated HK droid lay on a table beside Wren's bed in the hospital. Wren said HK assassin droids are incredibly resilient, which meant it has several built-in backup systems. As a result, their memory cores stay partially active even after termination. Wren said if the power levels were correct, you could recover the droid's memory and find out where it came from. Syndulla, a hologram, asked what would happen if the power levels were wrong. Wren said the head would explode. Huyang was nervous the head would explode and suggested the operation should happen elsewhere. However, Wren thought they should do it then, and Tano agreed. Wren plugged a device into the droid's head and turned it on. An indicator lit up with one yellow bar on a connector between the head and the machine. More bars quickly lit up until every bar turned red. Huyang said it was overheating and pulled the plug. Wren had deciphered where the droid came from when Huyang disconnected it. Wren said the assassin came from Corellia. Syndulla and Tano discussed the New Republic shipyard on Corellia. Tano said Morgan Elsbeth also had factories on Corellia. Syndulla said she would meet Tano there. Wren wanted to go with Tano, but Tano said Wren needed to recover. After Tano left, Syndulla complimented Wren on a job well done.^[15]

Mission to Seatos[]

"May I make one request of you both? Stay together. You always did better that way, in my opinion."
"We better get moving."
"'Together.'"
"Oh, very good."

―Huyang, Ahsoka Tano, and Sabine Wren^[19]

SabineWrenTraining — Huyang overseeing Ahsoka Tano's training of Sabine Wren

On Wren's T-6 shuttle, Huyang and Wren were training. Tano entered the training room and watched them. After the session, Ahsoka gave Sabine a blast helmet and a wooden bokken saber. Ahsoka told Sabine to wear the helmet and use Ahsoka's voice to find her. Ahsoka would then tap Sabine with her bokken many times, and Sabine would fail to counterstrike. Sabine then fiercely attacked Ahsoka, but she would block easily. Ahsoka then swept a foot out of Sabine. Huyang watched all this.

In a galaxy far, far away[]

EzraAfterBuildingHisLightsaber-Ahsoka — Huyang gifts Ezra Bridger a component to complete his new lightsaber.

In T-6 1974, Ezra Bridger was building a lightsaber. Huyang argued with Bridger. Huyang asked who taught Bridger to build a lightsaber, and Sabine Wren answered that it was Kanan Jarrus. Huyang gave Bridger an emitter similar to the one Jarrus had. Huyang said he had two of those, one of which he gave to Jarrus. After Bridger finished construction, he activated the lightsaber, and a blue blade ignited.^[20]

Personality and traits[]

Huyang was a Mark IV architect droid who was 1.8 meters, or 5 feet, 11 inches tall.^[2] He^[4] had yellow sensors and silver plating. He was a wise^[21] architect, who had supervised lightsaber construction for centuries, teaching many Younglings the art of building their first lightsaber,^[2] but only if they completed the Gathering. Huyang's memory banks contained a record of every lightsaber ever made and the Jedi who created them.^[3] Since the days of the Old Republic,^[21] he was stationed on the Crucible which was rumored to be as old as Huyang.^[2] After Petro rushed through the assembly of his lightsaber, Huyang lectured the Youngling on the importance of following directions during Jedi traditions.^[3]

Skills and abilities[]

Huyang was skilled at teaching Jedi Younglings, and was knowledgeable in Jedi lore and lightsaber construction.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Huyang first appeared in "A Test of Strength," the seventh episode in Season Five of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars,^[3] which aired on November 10, 2012.^[22] He was voiced by actor David Tennant.^[23] Tennant later reprised the role in Ahsoka television series, beginning in the first episode.^[24]

The 2022 novel Brotherhood alluded to Tennant's past role as the Tenth Doctor in the British science fiction series Doctor Who, saying that "Professor Huyang was so old that the ancient droid supposedly arrived at the Jedi Temple in a big blue box thousands of years ago."^[6] In the series, The Doctor is an ancient being^[25] who travels in a special time machine that outwardly looks like a blue police box from the 1960s.^[26]