What If... Exar Kun had surrendered at the End of the Sith War?
This is a question I have often asked myself. The reason he didn't is painfully obvious; he had no hope of living, and didn't want to die. Or surrender. But what if he had? Would he really have been executed? Or would the Jedi try to turn him back to the Light?
Myself, I don't think he would have been killed by the Jedi or the Republic. While the high-ups of the Old Republic might want to have him eliminated, so as to eliminate the threat he presented, I think that the Jedi would realize that his death would solve nothing. It seems that the Sith have a nice little trick of sticking around after their bodies have surrendered to time. Why would Kun be any different? As we've seen, he did stick around long after his remains would have crumbled into dust. So if he were captured, what would have happened?
First of all, I think he would fall into that "high-risk" category, and as such, would not have been left in the jurisdiction of the regular authorities. Rather like with Kyp in Champions of the Force, he might have been "given over" to the Jedi, since it’s a little more in their realm of experience.
From that point on, several things could occur. Kun could be "blinded" to the Force, as Ulic was, or he could be somehow surrounded by a wall of Light that would keep him from harming anyone by the use of Force-powers. It's logical to assume that they might try to blind him to the Force first, as that way they only have to worry about his physical incarceration. However, that brings up the question of whether it would work. It worked on Ulic, yes, but Kun was the stronger in the Force by far. In fact, he was one of the most powerful Force-users of the time (note: I'm not just saying that; The Jedi Academy Trilogy Sourcebook gives that little tidbit). Would the Jedi be able to blind him? As far as we know, only a few Jedi know the blinding technique, Nomi among them. But does it work if more than one attempts it? It might also cause some questions of conscience. Odan-Urr said that "Blinding a Jedi to the Force, even a Dark Jedi, is a terrible thing." Would they do it when they already had control of the situation? Kun would have nowhere to go, no one to trust. He would be effectively controlled anyway. And if there were some way of just preventing him from doing evil with the Dark Side, without blinding him, I think that would be done. Of course, his movements would be restricted, but that's a part of the package.
I think that if any of the above had happened, young Exar would wind up extremely bitter, and unlike Ulic in that there would be no one "there" for him.
That's actually part of the problem I've got with the differences between Ulic and Kun. Ulic has done just as much, if not more, than Kun during the Sith War, but it is Kun that bears the brunt of the attack. Is that just because of his title, Dark Lord of the Sith If he had turned back, would the Jedi have been as willing to accept him as they did Ulic? I don't know. But these are questions for another day.