Know your lore: Juhani

Know your lore: JuhaniJuhani was a Cathar female who was a Jedi. She was a survivor of the Genocide of Cathar, spending her childhood on Taris during the Mandalorian Wars as a refugee. Sold into slavery after the death of her parents, Juhani was freed by Revan, who inspired her to join the Jedi Order. She was accepted for Jedi training at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine and apprenticed to Jedi Master Quatra.

Near the close of the Jedi Civil War, Juhani briefly fell to the dark side of the Force, but was redeemed by Revan, whom she then sought to aid in turn by offering support in his quest to find the Star Forge. In aiding Revan, she played a role in the defeat of Darth Malak and the Sith, and was awarded the Cross of Glory.

Early life
In the early days of the Mandalorian aggression that would culminate in the Mandalorian Wars, Juhani narrowly escaped the genocide of her people by the forces of Mandalore the Ultimate’s lead strategist, Cassus Fett, in the Battle of Cathar. When Cathar capitulated, her parents fled the planet among the very last remnants of their race, taking their child with them; they fled as far as they were able, and eventually settled on Taris. It was there that Juhani, only a few months old, was raised; throughout her life, she called Taris her homeworld.

Like many non-Humans on Taris, at that point in its history, Juhani’s family had a rough life. The native Humans disliked them merely for being “aliens,” looked at them in disgust, persecuted them, and charged them more for food than their own species. Juhani had mixed feelings for the planet she had to live on; she hated it, called it a “rat-hole” and a “warren,” but still felt that it was her home and that her life could have been far, far worse.

In 3,963 BBY the Mandalorians finally entered Republic space, and Taris fell under siege. Xor, a Twi’lek who had fought with the Mandalorians on Cathar, provoked Juhani’s father into a fight and killed him. Her mother escaped with Juhani, but with the death of her mate something began to slowly die within her as well. She worked as hard as she could, but still didn’t earn enough money to support both herself and her daughter. So she started borrowing money from the Exchange, doing everything possible to save funds, and giving Juhani most of their food. She began to waste away, until one day she collapsed in the cantina she worked in and never recovered, as they simply did not have enough money to pay a doctor.

The Exchange was the major supplier of slaves on Taris, and when her mother died they charged Juhani with her mother’s debts and enslaved her, as she had no way to repay them. This was the worst period in her life. She was bound like a beast and treated like livestock, until she was released by a Jedi before she could be sold to her father’s murderer, who was going to purchase her at auction.

Juhani never gave up hope for a better life, however. She had heard tales about the Jedi, and had somewhat idealized their image as “champions of truth, defenders of justice, heroes of the Republic.” When she was freed from the slavers by Revan, who came to fight the Mandalorians with his group of Jedi, he and those Jedi lived up to everything her imagination had created them to be. Encouraged by one of Revan’s followers to join the Order, Juhani vowed to become a Jedi, and because she was Force-sensitive she had the potential.

Jedi training
As soon as she collected enough money, she boarded the first freighter to Dantooine, where she was taken for training by Jedi Master Quatra. Juhani progressed, but she was ever struggling with her Cathar blood, which gave her a difficult time mastering her emotions, so sometimes she doubted her place among the Jedi.

She confided her doubts to Dak Vesser, a Padawan who joined the Order at the same time as she did, and who had doubts of his own. When Dak decided to leave the Order, he surprised Juhani by confessing romantic feelings for her, and he asked her to come with him. Juhani could not return his feelings and Dak grew angry and left the Jedi Enclave, eventually joining the Sith on Korriban.

Juhani remained with the Jedi and came through with her training,Fall to the dark side and redemption
Juhani remained with the Jedi and came through with her training, until Quatra decided it was time for her to face the Jedi Trials. Quatra had nothing left to teach her but Juhani had yet to learn to accept her own limits, so it was her choice to test Juhani in an unusual way, by allowing her to give in to her rage and strike her down in the middle of a fierce confrontation. Quatra was greatly injured and feigned death.

Believing that she had harnessed the power of the dark side, Juhani left the Enclave and hid in an ancient grove where Jedi used to meditate. The grove soon became tainted, and the local kath hounds became more aggressive, resulting in attacks upon the settlers.

Three years earlier, much to her incredulity, her hero Revan had come back a Dark Lord of the Sith. Later on, Bastila Shan was key figure in the capture of Darth Revan, and Revan was said to have died. Over Taris, the Sith set an ambush for Bastila and eventually destroyed the planet as a means to ensure she wouldn’t escape. With the help of a Republic soldier, Bastila was able to return to Dantooine and report to the Dantooine Enclave Council, who then accepted to train her companion in the ways of the Jedi. When Juhani was ready for her own Jedi trials, the new apprentice had almost made his way to the title of Padawan, the last test being the cleansing of the grove that Juhani had tainted. The Force-sensitive soldier was really Revan, learning once again the ways of the Force after his mind was destroyed. A new identity had been created for him through the Force by the Jedi, so that Bastila could draw on his subconscious memories to lead them to the Star Forge, the seat of power of the former Dark Lord.

As Revan approached the grove, Juhani engaged him in battle and was defeated. Having bested her Master, she did not expect he could match her power, but then she realized what Quatra had tried to teach her: Humility. She tried to teach her that even one who is true to the teachings of the Jedi may just as easily fall to the dark side by their inability to understand or accept their own limitations.

Revan spared her life and persuaded her to ask the Jedi Council for mercy. Juhani returned to the Enclave and learned the truth about Quatra, who had already left to train other students, confident that Juhani would pass the trial. She felt foolish then to have thought she could harm a Master such as Quatra, and though she still bore the scars of her slip to the dark side, she trusted her Master’s wisdom and now truly understood what she was meant to learn.

When Revan and Bastila uncovered the Star Map in the Rakatan Ruins of Dantooine and were appointed the quest to find the Star Forge, Juhani asked the Council to accompany the Padawan, of whom she could not know the true identity, as she had never seen his face. Feeling she would perhaps serve as a reminder to Revan of the dangers of an all too familiar path, the Council granted Juhani’s request and she joined the crew of the Ebon Hawk.

The Jedi Civil War
At some point during her time with Revan, Juhani engaged in a duel with Darth Malak’s first apprentice and Shadow Hand, Darth Bandon.

During her time with Revan, Juhani was lured by the dark side again. On one of the planets where they traveled in search of the Star Maps, she encountered Xor, a Twi’lek slaver who had tried to purchase Juhani on Taris during the Mandalorian Wars. The old slaver tried once again to purchase her, making his offer to Revan. Juhani lashed out at him as he spoke of how he wiped out her people on Cathar and killed her father on Taris, but she did not give in to her anger and let him go, though the thought of him still running free made her Cathar blood seethe. Xor promised he would be back and he did, with two enforcers, intent on taking Juhani by force.

Xor was beaten and chose to use his last moments to feed her hatred, so as to have the satisfaction to show Juhani she was no better than him killing a defenseless opponent. Juhani regretted he did not die by her hand, but with Revan’s support she was able to leave Xor to his inevitable fate, even as he related the burning of the people of Cathar in their homes by his hand and the pleasure he took from it. Generally, Juhani showed the most zeal as an advocate of the light side and the ways of the Jedi; perhaps to show her repentance and restrain herself from falling anew.

Juhani repaid Revan in turn when they were stranded on Lehon. Revan had collected the five Star Maps he needed to locate the Star Forge, but as the Ebon Hawk approached the space station, a disruptor field damaged its hyperdrive and the ship barely made it to the nearby planet without joining the wreckage that covered the surface. Juhani suggested to search the other downed ships for the parts the Ebon Hawk needed to take off, but the disruptor field still needed to be deactivated. The possible whereabouts of its generator was found by the droid T3-M4, which detected energy readings on the ship’s sensors that seemed to be coming from the Temple of the Ancients. The Elders granted Revan access to the temple, but tradition had it he should go alone; however, when both Juhani and Jolee Bindo received a premonition warning them of great danger laying inside, they insisted on accompanying Revan and struggled to persuade the Rakata to allow them to. It turned to be the right decision, as the temple was infested with numerous Dark Jedi, Sith Masters and acolytes.

Atop the temple, they were confronted by Bastila, who had been tortured and turned to the dark side by Darth Malak. When she found herself at a disadvantage, the fallen Jedi made a good case luring Revan to reclaim his usurped title of Dark Lord of the Sith, but Juhani and Jolee helped him resist and were possibly critical in Revan’s choice to turn his former self aside for good. Juhani had saved the man that had saved her. After the death of Malak and the destruction of the Star Forge, Juhani was honored at the celebration of the Republic’s victory on Lehon along with Revan and his other comrades.

Juhani was determined to become the ideal Jedi,Personality and traits
Juhani was determined to become the ideal Jedi, and her fierce devotion to her goal didn’t allow her to accept failure in herself or her peers, yet she always found herself struggling against her Cathar instincts and fierce temper. Juhani’s Master, Quatra, feared that her unchecked perfectionist views would eventually end in frustration and lead Juhani to the dark side. Quatra’s final test forced Juhani to re-examine herself and how her pride had nearly made her fall to the dark side, the act would leave a positive impression that served as an example when she needed to reflect on her choices.

Juhani claimed that Cathar were solitary and slow to trust by nature, so even when she eventually joined the Jedi she mostly kept to herself, keeping only a small circle of friends, including fellow Padawans Belaya and Dak Vesser. Even with Revan and the crew of the Ebon Hawk she kept herself at a distance, though she valued their companionship.

Juhani understandably held a grudge against the Mandalorians for Cassus Fett’s unprovoked genocide on her birth planet of Cathar, and even though she recognized her Mandalorian ally Canderous Ordo as a person of merit, she could never fully trust him.

In addition, she still harbored some animosity towards humans for the prejudice and persecution she and her parents suffered while living on Taris. While she admitted that some of the best people she had ever known were Human, she found it difficult to let go of her bitterness, and at times would even lash out emotionally at Revan for it. She also, at one point, blamed Revan and Bastila for the destruction of Taris, though she did apologize later.

Powers and abilities
Juhani’s heritage and segregated upbringing had a unique effect on the way her Force powers developed; she instinctively learned how to conceal herself with the power of Force camouflage. As a Jedi Guardian, she preferred lightsaber combat, but her Force camouflage might have come in handy if Revan chose her to be their Leviathan prison break agent. She would have used it to avoid capture when Admiral Saul Karath ambushed them and tractor beamed the Ebon Hawk.

She supplemented her lightsaber dueling skills with a wide array of battle oriented Force powers, including Force speed, Force Stun, Force push, and Saber Throw. During her brief stint as a Dark Jedi, she also began to learn dark side powers such as Force Slow, Force Shock and Force Choke, though she would later abandon the use of the latter. She could also employ the Jedi Mind Trick, though she often saw it as a misuse of the Force.