 | |
|---|---|
| Depa Billaba | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Died | 19 BBY, Kaller |
| Physical Description | |
| Species | Chalactan |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 1.68 meters |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Skin color | Brown |
| Chronological and Political Information | |
| Era | Rise of the Empire Era |
| Affiliation | Old Jedi Order Old Galactic Republic Chalactan Adepts Upland Liberation Front |
| Known Masters | Mace Windu |
| Known Apprentices | Caleb Dume |
Depa Billaba was a female Chalactan who hailed from the planet Chalacta during the final years of the Old Republic. She was trained by Mace Windu and would be appointed to the High Council of the Jedi Order. Having mastered the difficult Vaapad lightsaber form created by her master, she became one of its few force practitioners and one of only three masters of the form. Billaba was later appointed to the Council alongside her former teacher and was present when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn presented Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One to the governing body.
During the time of the Clone Wars, Billaba served in the front and trained a young padawan named Caleb Dume. She later traveled to the war-ravaged world of Haruun Kal. Her mission was to support in the uprising against the Separatist Alliance that have taken over the planet. While conducting the mission, Billaba fell to the dark side, going mad in the process. When her former master sought her out, she dueled him after a prolonged hunt, but lost and fell into a comatose state which led to her redemption.
After the war was over, Depa and her padawan were attacked by their own clone troopers just when the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious ordered the execution of Order 66, which branded all Jedi as traitors against the Republic. Not willing to lose her padawan, she sacrificed herself to allow Dume to escape, and he survived and took on a new name—Kanan Jarrus. Initially traveling low and taking odd jobs, he eventually became a rebel fighting against the First Galactic Empire, and he remembered his master fondly. He would use some of her teachings while instructing his own Padawan, Ezra Bridger.
Biography[]
Early years[]
Depa and her master.
Depa Billaba was born on the planet Chalacta. Six months after her birth, she and her family left their homeworld and planned to search for a new home. During their voyage onboard their own transport, they were suddenly ambushed by a band of pirates. After she and her sister watched their parents die, they were at the mercy of the killers until they were both saved by Jedi Master Mace Windu, who slew the attackers before they could do any harm to the two innocent Chalactans. Discovering the two sisters that were connected to the Force, Windu took them to the Coruscant Jedi Temple where they were given new names and placed into a clan with other Jedi Initiates. Growing up separately from each other, both girls passed through the Temple academy after completing their Trials. Depa was selected by her savior Master Windu, who selected her to become his Padawan.
During her training as a Padawan, Depa learned the forbidden Form VII of lightsaber combat from her master which was called Vaapad. Later on over the years, Depa successfully passed her Trials of Knighthood and was made a Jedi Knight by her master and the High Council. As a Knight, Depa began to study on how to become a Consular since she preferred to solve problems with words rather than her lightsaber. Interested in the teachings of the Chalactan Adepts of her heritage, she studied with them and learned techniques that allowed her to attune her mind to the minds and personalities of her peers. Decorating the bridge of her nose with the traditional Chalactan Greater and Lesser Marks of Illumination, these jewels stood as a testament to her spirituality and a sign of respect for her roots.
Member of the Jedi High Council[]
Known for her wisdom, bravery, and loyalty, Billaba was widely considered to be one of the most enlightened Jedi of her time. After serving as a Knight for a few years, Billaba was given a seat on the Jedi Council, serving alongside Master Windu. She was considered youngest Master to ever sit upon the august body. In the year 33 BBY, Billaba continued to accept missions on behalf of the Council, being dispatched to Asmeru not long after. On the planet, the Chalactan investigated the assassination attempt that was made on Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. Accompanied by Yaddle, Qui-Gon Jinn, Vergere, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Billaba and her comrades were attacked by the Nebula Front, a pirate organization bent on stopping the Jedi's pursuit of Arwen Cohl. The Jedi were able to fend off their attackers and eventually track Cohl down which ended the threat.
Invasion of Naboo[]
Billaba and the Jedi Council test Skywalker during the subjugation of Naboo.
During the Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY, Depa was present in the Council chambers of the Jedi Temple when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who had escaped the blockade with Queen Amidala and his apprentice from the planet Naboo, explained his story of how he was attacked on the desert world of Tatooine by a Zabrak warrior who was well trained in the ways of the Force and with a lightsaber. Jinn also claimed that the Dark Zabrak Warrior was believed to be a Sith Lord, a user who embraces the dark side. Since the Sith were thought to have been extinct, Depa and the Council members agreed to investigate and dismissed Jinn.
Before leaving the Chambers, Qui-Gon Jinn also revealed to the Council that he had found a a young boy named Anakin Skywalker. He believed that the boy was the Chosen One, a powerful being destined to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force. Depa and the Council members were of both claims, but they agreed to test the boy. After the High Council tested Anakin, they were impressed with Skywalker's abilities, but they all rejected Jinn's request since Skywalker was too old to begin training. Deciding to wait and reconsider, the Council requested that Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi should travel back to Naboo and continue to protect Queen Amidala, who was returning to her planet to fight back against the Trade Federation.
Depa attending the celebration in Theed.
During the battle to reclaim the planet from the Trade Federation, Jinn was slain by the Zabrak Sith, who was known to be Darth Maul, in lightsaber combat before Kenobi gravely wounded the Sith Lord. Claiming to be dead, Maul survived and left Naboo where he went into exile. Before passing, Jinn's dying wish was that Kenobi would train Skywalker to become a Jedi, a wish that the Council agreed to. Billaba attended and other members of the Jedi Council traveled to Naboo and attended Jinn's funeral. After the funeral, Depa was present in the celebration in Theed, marking a newfound peace between the Humans and Gungans of Naboo.
Mission to Nar Shaddaa[]
After the war on Naboo was over, Billaba embarked on a mission to rescue her former Master, Mace Windu, who had gone alone to Nar Shaddaa to investigate an animal smuggling ring that he discovered during a mission to Malastare. Journeying to the Smuggler's Moon, Billaba tracked Windu and watched him closely from a distance. Just as he was being surrounded by a large number of underworld thugs, she revealed herself and helped to defeat them. During the fight Billaba told Windu that she owed him her life and that she would always protect him. After saving Aunuanna, an alewoman who claimed to have seen another Jedi that day, Quinlan Vos appeared and told them to complete their mission they would have to go to the bottommost regions of Nar Shaddaa. Aunuanna helped the Jedi by giving them her daughter's father's speeder saying it was the only way to reach the depths safely.
Depa fighting akk dogs during a mission on Nar Shaddaa.
During their descent through the undercity, the pair were attacked by Vrblther's; Billaba lost control of the speeder and they crashed into the Circus Horrificus. There they confronted Gargonn the Hutt, who unleashed deranged Akk dogs into the arena while pretending to negotiate with the Jedi. When her former master failed in his attempt to calm the creatures through the Force and was nearly killed, Billaba reacted quickly and temporarily wounded one of the Akks with her lightsaber. Meanwhile a fight broke out in the audience between a Dug called Sebulba and a Devaronian called Vilmarh Grahrk, over a bet they had on the lives of the Jedi versus the Akk dogs. Taking advantage of this distraction, the two Jedi Masters then jumped up to Gargonn's balcony and forced him to show them the manifestos of the Circus Horificus. Billaba believed they could force enough influence on Nar Shaddaa to stop any further violation of the Non-Sentient Creatures Transportation Act.
Clone Wars[]
Ten years later, the Separatist Crisis (24 BBY - 22 BBY) plunged the Galactic Republic into a political crisis, with thousands of star systems seceding from the corrupt Republic and joining the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Unknown to the Jedi, the crisis was designed by Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith publicly known as Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, as part of a plot to destroy the Jedi Order and take over the galaxy. Billaba was present as a member of the Jedi Council when the body ordered Kenobi to investigate the plot to assassinate now-Senator Amidala, an outspoken opponent of the Military Creation Act that would have allowed the Republic to raise an army to combat the Separatists while Anakin Skywalker was further ordered to travel with Amidala to Naboo so she could be protected from harm.
However, when Master Kenobi, Jedi Skywalker, and Senator Padmé Amidala were set to be executed on Geonosis, Billaba's former mentor and the rest of the Jedi Council departed Coruscant with a massive strike team with the goal of rescuing Kenobi, Skywalker, and Amidala from captivity. Depa was chosen to stay behind and safeguard the Temple academy and its students. During the First Battle of Geonosis, which marked the beginning of the Clone Wars, Depa's sister was killed when she fought in the arena and shot down by battle droids. The battle ended in favor of the Republic when the Kaminoans from Kamino sent a secret army of clone troopers to aid the Jedi and fight for the Republic. The discovery of the Grand Army of the Republic was disquieting for the High Council, especially Billaba, a staunch opponent to the Military Creation Act.
As the war started, Depa took on a Padawan named Caleb Dume. She trained him in the ways of the Force, as well as in lightsaber combat, where she preferred Form III over other styles. Billaba saw Dume as having a mind for strategy and encouraged him to put his mind to good use. At some point, Billaba brought Dume to one of the thousands of Jedi Temples in the galaxy in order to undergo a rite of passage in which he would need to face and overcome his greatest fears.
Summertime War[]
Depa falls to the dark side during the Summertime War.
During the war between the Republic and the Separatist Alliance, Billaba was promoted to General within the Grand Army of the Republic and led any campaign that might open up throughout the galaxy. Early in the fighting, Depa accepted a mission from her former master which would take her to his homeworld of Haruun Kal. Assigned to halt Separatist activity on the war torn world, Billaba was to recruit the Korunnai militia to aid her cause and topple any Separatist-friendly regimes. Out of contact with the Temple for weeks, Billaba ascended to the top of the military leadership of the Upland Liberation Front, standing besides warlord Kar Vastor.
Together, they aided the Front in fighting the seemingly eternal Summertime War which had plagued the planet's inhabitants for several decades. During her time as leader, Billaba was plagued by nightmares, stemming from the atrocities she had witnessed in the harsh jungle wilds of the world. Under the influence of Vastor's blood lust and the torments of her dreams, Billaba cracked and fell to the dark side of the Force. After some time, Billaba composed a message and transmitted it to the Office of the Supreme Chancellor. When Masters Windu and Yoda viewed the recordings, they grew gravely concerned for her sanity. Discovering her fall, Windu left Coruscant and traveled to his planet to rescue her.
Weakened under Vastor's influence, Billaba remained elusive as Master Windu searched the jungles for her. Having committed many war crimes as leader of the Liberation Front, Billaba cut out her Mark of Greater Illumination, as she had lost her spiritual strength and clarity of mind.
When Windu eventually confronted her, the senior Councilor placed Billaba under arrest for committing crimes against humanity. Preparing to leave the city of Pelek Baw with his prisoner, the compound was attacked by the local militia and the two Jedi were forced to defend themselves. Aided by clones from the Grand Army, Windu and Billaba fought side by side, with the former seeking out the militia leader, Lorz Geptun. When Windu returned with Geptun, the Jedi Master found a seemingly dead Billaba. In fact, she was baiting Windu closer, leaping up to attack him when he was in range. While clone troopers confronted Vastor, Windu duelled fiercely with Billaba, who was feeding off the fear of the city's inhabitants. Windu, close to collapse himself, managed to trick his former Padawan into destroying the vulture droids harassing the city, inadvertently diminishing the terror from which Billaba was drawing her power. Realizing she could not win, Billaba attempted to take her own life, but was stopped by the quick actions of Windu's guide, Nick Rostu. Succumbing to her injures, Billaba fell into a coma, allowing Windu to take her off planet and back to the Jedi Temple for treatment.
Depa Billaba lies in a coma inside the Halls of Healing.
While in the care of the specialists in the Halls of Healing, Billaba's condition did not improve. Master T'ra Saa was known to take the fallen Councilor up to the Temple's rooftop meditation gardens and lay her down in the grass and attempt to reach her mind, to no avail. Master Windu reflected that she was indeed at peace, for if she was to ever awake, she would be tried for crimes against civilization she committed on Haruun Kal. The seat Master Billaba left vacant on the High Council was given to Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, a famed Jedi of the era whom she had worked with briefly in the past.
Battle of Kaller[]
At some point, Master Billaba managed to wake from her coma and found redemption. Near the end of the war, she, along with her apprentice Dume and Captain Grey had been fighting against the Separatist forces on the planet Kaller.
Order 66[]
- "You must run! Run Caleb!"
- ―Depa's last words to her apprentice before being gunned down by her own troopers during Order 66
After Clone Force 99 left, Master Billaba sensed that something was amiss. She turned to witness Captain Grey received a hologram transmission from the Sith Lord Darth Sidious that the Jedi had been hunting for before the war even began. It was there that Sidious executed Order 66, a command to all clone troopers, including Grey, triggering their behavioral modification biochips to kill the Jedi as traitors. As Billaba's men formed up, they began to surround her and fire on her. Billaba became overwhelmed, and as her Padawan realized what was happening and turned back to help her, she instead told Dume to run. Billaba bravely stood her ground as Dume looked on in horror, and as she lost her lightsaber, she was quickly killed. Dume fled into the woods, unaware that most of Clone Force 99 were just as confused as to what was transpiring as he was. Billaba's men then began their pursuit of Dume.
Legacy[]
Personality and traits[]
Drawing upon both her studies with the Chalactan Adepts and the Jedi Order, Master Depa Billaba was considered a wise and spiritual Jedi, and known for being contemplative and an excellent problem solver. Her unique mental conditioning gave her virtual immunity to torture, as well as the heightened ability to sense the thoughts and feelings of others, even her fellow Jedi Masters. Soft-spoken, her presence on the High Council was reflective of her reputation for being one of the most enlightened Jedi of the era.
She imparted what teachings she could onto Caleb Dume before she was killed during the fall of the Jedi Order. Jarrus survived the ensuing Second Jedi Purge and eventually became a rebel leader, using the strategic mind that Billaba helped cultivate in order to fight against the Galactic Empire. Jarrus, who recalled Billaba as being a stricter teacher than he was, remembered many of her teachings and passed them on to Ezra Bridger when he took the boy as his own Padawan. One such lesson was Billaba's belief that Jedi had to be willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others, a lesson Jarrus himself did not fully understand until he allowed himself to be captured by the Empire on Lothal so the other rebels could escape.
Behind the scenes[]
Depa Billaba is portrayed by actress Dipika O'Neill Joti in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. She is voiced by Archie Panjabi.
Appearances[]
- "Yaddle's Tale: The One Below"—Star Wars Tales 5
- "Children of the Force"—Star Wars Tales 13
- Jedi Council: Acts of War 1
- Jedi Council: Acts of War 2
- Jedi Council: Acts of War 4
- Cloak of Deception
- Episode I Adventures 1: Search for the Lost Jedi
- Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Obi-Wan
- Darth Plagueis (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (First appearance)
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
- Star Wars: Republic 13: Emissaries to Malastare, Part 1
- Star Wars: Republic 17: Emissaries to Malastare, Part 5
- Star Wars: Republic 18: Emissaries to Malastare, Part 6
- Star Wars: Republic 20: Twilight, Part 2 (Vision to Quinlan Vos)
- Star Wars: Republic 28: The Hunt for Aurra Sing, Part 1
- Star Wars: Republic 39: The Stark Hyperspace War, Part 4 (In flashback(s))
- Star Wars: Republic 41: The Devaronian Version, Part 2 (In flashback(s))
- Star Wars: Republic 45: Rite of Passage, Part 4
- Jedi Apprentice Special Edition: The Followers
- Star Wars: Zam Wesell
- Campaigning Reports from the Mid Rim (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns
- Shatterpoint
- Equipment (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: Republic 61: Dead Ends
- Star Wars: Republic 63: Striking from the Shadows (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Republic: Show of Force
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Old Friends Not Forgotten" (Appears in hologram) (In flashback(s))- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Novel (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch – "Aftermath"
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch – "Battle Scars" (Indirect mention only)
- The Rebellion Begins (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Rise of the Old Masters" (Mentioned only)
- The Secret Jedi: The Adventures of Kanan Jarrus: Rebel Leader (Mentioned only)
- Ezra's Duel with Danger (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Path of the Jedi" (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Call to Action" (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Fire Across the Galaxy" (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "The Lost Commanders" (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Legacy" (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "The Protector of Concord Dawn" (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Episode I Insider's Guide
- Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary
- Obi-Wan: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- "Star Wars Q&A"—Star Wars Insider 67
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars
- The New Essential Chronology
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars Miniatures: Champions of the Force (Pack: Depa Billaba)
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Special Edition
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
- The Essential Guide to Warfare
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
- The Essential Reader's Companion
