Octa Ramis

"I heard about a few hotheaded Jedi who take, shall we say, a very proactive approach to the Peace Brigade.''" "''What if they do? Who cares what happens to those Sith-spawned cowards? Jedi for Jedi&mdash;I've no quarrel with that!"

- Kyp's Dozen member Ian Rim and Octa Ramis on the proactive nature of some Jedi active during the Yuuzhan Vong War

Octa Ramis was a female Human Jedi, originally from the planet Chandrila. Found to be Force-sensitive, Ramis joined the Jedi Order that had been established by Luke Skywalker. Trained to knighthood by Kam and Tionne Solusar, Ramis fought in the Yuuzhan Vong War, a galaxy-spanning conflict between the major galactic powers and the invading extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong. Early in the war, Ramis lost two of her closest companions; her former lover Miko Reglia, and the Twi'lek Jedi Daeshara'cor. Supportive of Jedi Master Kyp Durron's stance that the Jedi should take a proactive role in the conflict, Ramis was on the front lines of the war, serving at several major battles that included the battle of Mon Calamari and both battles of Coruscant.

Following the war, Ramis was elevated to the rank of Jedi Master. She served the Order with diligence throughout the Dark Nest Crisis, which saw the insectoid Killik colonies wage war against the Chiss Ascendancy and, later, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. She participated in the rescue of Master Skywalker and his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, from a Killik nest on the moon Kr in the Gyuel system alongside several other Jedi Masters during the conflict. Master Ramis continued to serve the Order during the Second Galactic Civil War, being a member of the Jedi Coalition that opposed Jacen Solo's usurping of the Galactic Alliance until he was finally deposed by his own sister. At some point, she was appointed to a position on the Jedi Masters' Council. In 43 ABY, Ramis took on Seha Dorvald as an apprentice. During this time, Ramis played a part in the capture of Valin Horn, son of Jedi Master Corran Horn, who was suffering from a mental breakdown. During the following political crisis, which pitted the Jedi against Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala, Ramis continued to serve the Order with quiet determination. She, along with Durron, Dorvald, and a group of Jedi, later participated in the Jedi overthrow of Natasi Daala in 44 ABY, temporarily placing the Jedi in charge of the Alliance government.

Early life
Octa Ramis was a female Human born on the planet Chandrila in the Core Worlds, around 1 BBY, but spent the majority of her life on high-gravity worlds where she built up her physical strength. Identified as a Force-sensitive individual, Ramis attended the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, where she was initially instructed by the Jedi Masters Kam and Tionne Solusar before being apprenticed to Kam Solusar on a one-to-one basis. At the academy, Ramis became romantically involved with another student, Miko Reglia. Sometime prior to 25 ABY, Ramis graduated and attained the rank of Jedi Knight. Although a few within the Order&mdash;including Tionne Solusar&mdash;believed that Ramis and Reglia had ended their relationship after graduating, the pair were able to meet up again several times. Ramis also worked together with the Twi'lek Jedi Daeshara'cor for several missions, and the two became close friends.

The defense of Ithor
"That's pure madness. We're their best hope, and they won't have us working with them?''" "''It makes zero sense for them to do that. Then again, if that's how the government's thinking, being free of them might not be a bad thing."

- Kyp Durron and Octa Ramis on New Republic limitations on the Jedi

In 25 ABY, Ramis attended a memorial service for Reglia, who had been killed on Helska IV by the Yuuzhan Vong&mdash;a species of extra-galactic warriors intent on conquering the galaxy. He was the first Jedi casualty of the conflict that was later known as the Yuuzhan Vong War. As the invasion progressed, Master Luke Skywalker called a meeting of all active Jedi shortly after the Battle of Dantooine. Held in the Jedi Headquarters on Coruscant, Ramis was among the participants. A supporter of Kyp Durron's stance that the Force was a tool that should be used to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong, and that the Order should be taking a more aggressive stance in opposing the invasion, she was shocked at the New Republic's decision to not sanction Jedi missions within the invasion corridor. She was assigned a mission by Master Skywalker to assist in the war effort, but it was not one with an aggressive mandate.

Before leaving on her assignment, Ramis assisted Daeshara'cor in searching through the records archive for information on superweapons, using her skill with computers to erase the search logs. The Twi'lek Jedi had endured slavery in her childhood, and had never let go of her hatred of slavers. With the news that the Yuuzhan Vong were taking slaves and implanting them with surge coral to do their bidding, she transferred her hatred to the invaders, and sought to destroy them by any means necessary. To this end, she hoped to find another forgotten superweapon hidden away somewhere. Ramis, however, was unaware that a computer program designed by Anakin Solo to track search requests was also running on the academy's databases. The goal was to see what information was accessed by Jedi after receiving assignments so that future mission plans would include all relevant data. Unaware of the program's existence, Ramis did not delete her searches from its records. Correlation of the data by Solo and his aunt, Master Mara Jade Skywalker, revealed the search requests and Daeshara'cor was stopped before she could do anything harmful either to herself or others.

Following the successful extraction of a reconnaissance mission to the planet Garqi, Ramis was one of the two dozen Jedi assembled to defend Ithor, homeworld of the Ithorians. During the mission to Garqi, Jedi Knight Corran Horn had discovered that the pollen of the Bafforr tree triggered an allergic reaction in the Vonduun crab armor worn by the Yuuzhan Vong that contracted the living organism and crushed the wearer inside. Despite attempting to disguise the source of the infectious agent, it soon became clear that the Yuuzhan Vong were aware that the plant was native to Ithor and were preparing to assault the world. A joint New Republic and Imperial Remnant force, assisted by the Jedi, prepared to defend the planet.

Prior to the battle, the Jedi convened aboard the Tafanda Bay, an Ithorian Herdship in orbit of Ithor. In a ceremony presided over by High Priest Relal Towron, each Jedi was required to renounce a part of themselves&mdash;in effect "pruning" aspects of themselves in order to become closer to the Mother Jungle. Ithorian tradition and customs dictated that this ceremony was required for any individuals wishing to set foot on the surface of Ithor. Ramis declared that mourning for Reglia had blinded her to many things, and that it was time to lay him to rest. She participated in the defense of the planet; during the battle, an accord was reached between Corran Horn and the commander of the Yuuzhan Vong forces, Shedao Shai, where the two engaged in single combat to decide the fate of the world. Although Horn won the duel and slew Shai, the Yuuzhan Vong's second in command, Deign Lian, launched a bacterial weapon at the planet. The bacteria began consuming the planet's animal and plant life, rendering it a lifeless husk. Battle between the defenders and the Yuuzhan Vong fleet was rejoined; during the engagement, the Yuuzhan Vong flagship, Legacy of Torment took crippling hits and plunged toward the surface of Ithor. The descent ignited the atmosphere, which in turn immolated the planet.

Holding back the night
"Jedi for Jedi!"

- Octa Ramis supports Kyp Durron's view that Jedi should be proactive during the Yuuzhan Vong War

As the war progressed, the New Republic and Jedi suffered defeat after defeat. Eventually, the Yuuzhan Vong offered the galaxy at large a deal&mdash;they would cease their invasion, ending their conquest with the capture of Duro, if the Jedi were handed over to them. With anti-Jedi sentiment reaching new heights, several Jedi fell prey to those who wished to appease the Yuuzhan Vong. In the wake of this turn of events, Master Skywalker called another meeting of Jedi. Ramis attended, though the anguish over Reglia she had lain aside had been replaced by grief for the loss of Daeshara'cor during the Battle of Ithor. She vocally supported Master Durron's stance that the Jedi had to look after their own as the galaxy at large turned against them. As the war continued, Master Skywalker established a High Council to better coordinate the Jedi. Despite being denied forming such a body immediately prior to the outbreak of hostilities by the New Republic's Advisory Council, Skywalker now felt it was necessary. Ramis was a member of the Council alongside several other Knights and Masters.

Two years into the war, Ramis joined with Kyp's Dozen, a group of starfighter pilots led by Master Durron. The only other Jedi in the squadron, the Dozen fought at Coruscant when it was conquered by the Yuuzhan Vong. Towards the end of the days-long battle, the Dozen were assigned to protect a ship carrying Jedi scientists, including Danni Quee who had recently developed a method of jamming the Yuuzhan Vong's Yammosk war coordinators, which had the ability to efficiently coordinate their coralskippers. Ramis commanded a flight in the squadron, with three other pilots under her command. Emerging from hyperspace into the battle zone, the Dozen hooked up with the corvette carrying the scientists and their battered escort. Ramis led her pilots into combat with Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers, engaging a larger-than-normal enemy fighter that was intent on striking at the corvette. The coralskipper's dovin basal&mdash;which generated artificial singularities similar to black holes as a form of defense&mdash;resisted the standard tactic of stutter-firing low powered laser shots to overtax them, forcing Master Durron to seek another way of destroying it. Using the Force to take control of the hulk of a freighter destroyed by the Yuuzhan Vong, he sent it hurtling towards the coralskipper while other members of the Dozen made sure it held its course. Ramis, who had been reassigned to defend the corvette, watched as Durron's tactic cost the lives of three pilots under his command. Appalled that his actions had cost the lives of so many pilots, she deserted his command and led the last two remaining members of the Dozen towards the small Jedi fleet. Harried by coralskippers, her wingmen were killed as she secured the area around the corvette. In this she was aided by Quee, who activated a Yammosk-jammer, confusing the enemy fighters. Ramis regrouped with the Jedi fleet, the only other survivor of the Dozen alongside Durron.

Ramis continued to serve on the front lines during the war, and was present on Mon Calamari in 29 ABY for a meeting called by Master Kenth Hamner to discuss the lack of communication with Master Skywalker, who had traveled into the Unknown Regions to search for the fabled living planet of Zonama Sekot. The belief was that Zonama Sekot held the key to defeating the invaders, and Skywalker had assembled a group of Jedi to discover the location of the planet. The mission was aided by the Imperial Remnant, who had provided support ships and personnel. Ramis advised sending a ship to contact Skywalker's group and ascertain their situation. Ramis was still on Mon Calamari when the Yuuzhan Vong moved against the planet. With Master Durron on an assignment to the planet Caluula, Ramis led the reformed Dozen into combat against the Yuuzhan Vong. The battle was a victory for the combined Allied forces defending the world, as the Yuuzhan Vong withdrew from the engagement although their fleet was nearing the planet of Mon Calamari itself. Their sudden reversal surprised the commanders of the defending fleets, who feared that it was a part of a plan to assault fleet elements stationed in other parts of the galaxy.

War's end
"This day has been years in the making. What we do from this moment forward will test our fealty to the Force in a way that the Jedi haven't been tested in more than a generation. Be mindful that we are not the purveyors of conflict and inequity, but the guardians of peace and justice. Above all, we want what the Force wants, no matter where that leads us. If some of us are not seen again today, that does not mean that our actions will have been in vain or will not be remembered."

- Luke Skywalker to the assembled Jedi on Zonama Sekot prior to the Second Battle of Coruscant

The cause of the Yuuzhan Vong's withdrawal from Mon Calamari was soon revealed; Zonama Sekot had traveled to the Coruscant system after being persuaded by Master Skywalker to assist in ending the war. The planet was a seed of the Yuuzhan Vong's original homeworld, Yuuzhan'tar. It was hoped that this revelation would be enough to end the conflict as Sekot, the living intelligence of the world, was willing to allow the Yuuzhan Vong to settle on the surface. Skywalker called all available Jedi to the planet, assuring them that it would be safe to travel to the Coruscant system despite the presence of a large Yuuzhan Vong fleet orbiting Coruscant itself. Ramis joined many of her fellow Jedi on the surface, where Skywalker explained the importance of Zonama Sekot to the Yuuzhan Vong. The world featured strongly in the Yuuzhan Vong religion, and its sudden reappearance was seen as an omen of defeat. Conversely, the Shamed Ones, the lowest caste of Yuuzhan Vong society, saw the planet as a holy, sacred place, that was the key to their redemption. Its arrival triggered a rebellion on Coruscant, which the Yuuzhan Vong now called "Yuuzhan'tar".

Zonama Sekot agreed to fashion living ships for the Jedi, and Ramis, along with several other Jedi such as Kyp Durron, Corran Horn, Kyle Katarn and Saba Sebatyne, underwent a special ceremony. Ramis and the other Jedi were led over a bridge and through a lamina-surfaced tunnel into a series of concealed courtyards. Required to adhere to a special diet, each candidate wore sashed robes and necklaces and listened to a series of litanies chanted by Magister Jabitha Hal, leader of the Ferroan and Langhesi communities that called Zonama Sekot home. Each Jedi then bonded with their seed-partners, living organisms that would grow to become their new vessels. Ramis bonded with two of the seed-partners, which were then removed and taken away to be converted into a living ship by the cybernetic Jentari.

Several days after the bonding ceremony, Ramis' ship was complete and was delivered to a landing platform on a canyon rim for inspection. Ramis circled the craft in awe, noting that the features of the ship included plasma weapons and a gravitic drive system that were patterned after those on a Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper. As the Jedi continued their inspection, Skywalker received word from Booster Terrik&mdash;commander of the Errant Venture and Corran Horn's father-in-law&mdash;that a Yuuzhan Vong battle group was en route to the planet. An Alliance force was already engaged with the Yuuzhan Vong at the outer planet of Muscave, and the ships had been detached from that formation to assault Zonama Sekot. Those like Ramis who had been bonded to living ships were to immediately take to the air and get acquainted with flying them in preparation to defend the planet. Before taking off, an impromptu ceremony was held where each Jedi ignited their lightsabers and held them aloft, gathered around Master Skywalker. As the Jedi angled the blades inward, Skywalker gave a quick speech to unite those gathered for the tasks they were to perform.

The handful of Jedi-piloted vessels engaged Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers in the skies above Zonama Sekot. The presence of living vessels much like their own confused the Yuuzhan Vong a great deal, and the yammosks had difficulty in differentiating friend from foe due to the similar organic nature of the ships. Some of the Jedi had difficultly in controlling their craft; as living organisms, each craft had to get to "know" its pilot, effectively bonding with them. While some Jedi had no difficulty in letting go of their egos, others found it harder and their ships were not as responsive as they should have been, sometimes even refusing to fire on the enemy. In time, however, the bonding process smoothed out and the Jedi pilots defended the world in earnest. As the battle in the Coruscant system intensified, the focus of the engagement shifted toward the orbit of Zonama Sekot itself. Heavy fighting between the Alliance and Yuuzhan Vong threatened the world, and the presence of a ship infected with Alpha Red&mdash;a bio-engineered disease created through a joint effort between the Chiss Ascendancy and the Galactic Alliance's Alpha Red agency that targeted Yuuzhan Vong organisms&mdash;was en route to the planet. Sekot, however, wanted only to welcome the Yuuzhan Vong home. The living intelligence had used the Jedi piloted ships to defend the planet long enough to ready its other line of defense&mdash;specially designed starfighters capable of grappling enemy vessels. Sekot grounded the Jedi fighters, then used the grapplers to bring Alliance and Yuuzhan Vong ships alike down to the surface. Ramis, along with the other Jedi pilots, were witness to the first act of a Yuuzhan Vong surrender on the surface after four coralskipper pilots were forcibly brought down. Sekot also dealt with the Alpha Red-infected ship by using the grapplers to send it out of the planet's atmosphere before it could transmit the agent to the planet's organisms.

With the death of the Yuuzhan Vong's Supreme Overlord, Shimrra Jamaane, at the hands of Master Skywalker during the battle, the Yuuzhan Vong surrendered unconditionally to the allied forces. They accepted disarmament and repatriation to Zonama Sekot where they began to build a new society that was not based on warfare. As Zonama Sekot prepared to welcome its new residents, Master Skywalker called a conclave of all Jedi to lay out his vision for the future of the Jedi Order. Ramis attended the gathering where Skywalker urged each of them to look inside of themselves and see how best each of them could serve the Force, and ultimately themselves. Four days later, many of the Jedi, including Ramis, had left Zonama Sekot to either search for lost friends or return to their homeworlds.

The Dark Nest Crisis
Sometime between the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War and 35 ABY, Ramis was elevated to the rank of Jedi Master. In her new position, she served on the informal Masters' Council, a collection of Jedi Masters who convened at need to oversee the Order and the role it played in galactic affairs. During the Dark Nest Crisis&mdash;a series of conflicts between the insectoid Killik colonies, the Chiss Ascendancy, and the Galactic Alliance&mdash;Ramis was one of several Masters who gathered at the Jedi's new headquarters on Ossus to study the effect that the Colony's conscious Will, which was directed by former Jedi Raynar Thul, was having on several Jedi Knights who had become Joiners. Joiners were individuals who had been "absorbed" into a Killik nest, linking them to the species' hive mind, and allowing the controlling Will to dominate their actions in accordance with the policy and goals of the Colony. It soon became clear that a secret "Dark Nest", known as Gorog, was also directing the Killik colonies much like an unconscious mind. Where Raynar Thul's influence, who styled himself as UnuThul and led the Killiks, made the various nests benevolent and respectful of all life, the Dark Nest was under the influence of the Dark Jedi Lomi Plo. Both Thul and Plo, along with another Dark Jedi named Welk, had crashed onto one of the Colony's worlds during the Yuuzhan Vong War after escaping from the Baanu Rass aboard the Tachyon Flier following a Jedi mission to the worldship during the height of the conflict. They were absorbed into the Colony as Joiners, but their strength in the Force soon allowed them to dominate and influence the insectoid species. The Dark Nest was pushing the Killiks into war with the Chiss, which in turn threatened to pull the Galactic Alliance into the conflict. The Jedi resolved to end the conflict by neutralizing the Dark Nest.

As a protracted conflict in the Gyuel system between the Chiss and Killiks heated up, the Jedi located the Dark Nest on Kr, a moon in the system, by tracking the Jedi Knight Alema Rar to it. Rar, unlike her fellow Knights who had become Joiners with the Taat nest, had joined with the Gorog nest. While the Masters Skywalker infiltrated the nest in their StealthX fighters, Ramis joined Masters Durron, Katarn and Sebatyne aboard the Millennium Falcon, along with Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. When contact was lost with the Skywalkers, the Millennium Falcon delivered the Masters, along with four YVH 5 Bugcruncher war droids, as a rescue team to extract the two Jedi Masters. The Masters and droids fought their way through the Gorog nest, slaying many Killiks intent on killing them. Meanwhile, Skywalker dueled with the Dark Jedi Welk. Skywalker won the duel, just as the rescue team reached his location. The Masters then attended to the Dark Nest's nursery, where Killik larvae were feeding on captured Chiss prisoners, and released several captives who were still alive. Thul, now aware of the existence of the Dark Nest, agreed to withdraw from the Gyuel system and relocate the Killik nests to newly discovered planets in the Utegetu Nebula.

However, the Dark Nest, under Plo's control, reasserted itself and led the Killiks once more into confrontations with the Chiss, and the Galactic Alliance. Eventually, Jedi Grand Master Skywalker tasked the Order with stopping the threat of the Killiks. In an assault conducted with fleet elements of the Galactic Alliance under the command of Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, Skywalker ended the Killik threat by killing Plo in a duel, and removing Thul from the Colony by force. Thul was later incarcerated at the Jedi Academy on Ossus in the hopes that he could be rehabilitated.

Second Galactic Civil War
In 40 ABY, rising tensions between the Galactic Alliance and one of its member states, Corellia, threatened to blossom into armed conflict. The Corellians, unhappy at restrictive Alliance regulations governing the size of their planetary defense fleet, began to hold back their tax and military contributions while continuing to enjoy the benefits of the Alliance's economic infrastructure. An attempt by the Alliance to bring Corellia back into line sparked an all-out war. Corellia soon gained allies and formed a Confederation to stand against the Alliance. Although the Jedi Order had been involved in the war since its beginning, one of their number, the Jedi Knight Jacen Solo took a leading role in the conflict, first by becoming the head of the Galactic Alliance Guard&mdash;a secret police organization formed to combat the rise of Corellian terrorist cells operating on Coruscant&mdash; and then as Co-Chief of State of the Alliance following a military coup.

Unbeknownst to the Jedi Order, Solo had fallen under the influence of Lumiya, a member of the Sith, and was gradually falling to the dark side of the Force. His fall was eventually revealed to Master Jade Skywalker through information from her son, Ben Skywalker, who was Solo's informal apprentice. This revelation led to a duel on the planet Kavan where Solo killed Jade Skywalker. Hiding his involvement in her death, he allowed the Jedi to believe that Lumiya had been responsible for her death. Jade Skywalker's body was returned to Coruscant, where a formal funeral was held. Ramis attended the ceremony, standing with the Order's other masters upon a raised dais, and witnessed Jade Skywalker's body becoming one with the Force.

Shortly after the funeral, Grand Master Skywalker withdrew Jedi support from the Alliance after Solo&mdash;who had taken on the mantle of Darth Caedus&mdash;took the Jedi Academy on Ossus hostage by garrisoning it with Galactic Alliance Guard troops. Although Caedus threatened to have the Jedi on Ossus killed and the Jedi Temple on Coruscant destroyed if Skywalker did not support him, the Grand Master was unwilling to allow the Order to be pushed any further. Forming the Jedi Coalition&mdash;a loose alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to stopping the war&mdash; the Jedi Order regrouped on the forest moon of Endor where they established a secret outpost.

Ramis was one of several Masters&mdash;along with Masters Skywalker, Durron, Katarn, Cilghal, Sebatyne and Horn&mdash;who met on the landing platform at the top of the outpost to discuss how to deal with Caedus. During the discussion, where Durron proposed a neutralize-or-capture mission, the Masters engaged in a free-for-all practice lightsaber duel. Ramis, who was keeping her feelings over the recent near-fatal woundings of the Masters Solusar on Ossus in check through rigid self-control, chose to hand her lightsaber to Master Sebatyne to use while she herself used telekinesis to bring stones and rocks up from the forest floor and send them through the assembled Masters as they fought. As the discussion of the mission progressed, Durron brought up a young Jedi candidate, Seha Dorvald, who he intended to act as a guide through Coruscant's undercity. However, she had been sponsored to the Academy by Caedus, and passed on information to him about the Temple. Following the attack on Ossus, and the evacuation of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Dorvald came forward willingly and confessed to her behavior. After questioning Dorvald, the Masters, while acknowledging that she had done wrong, realized that it was only out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to the man that had brought her to the Jedi. Skywalker sanctioned the mission, with Master Katarn leading it. The mission, while well planned and executed, was a failure, costing the life of a Jedi team member, and resulting in the serious wounding of Master Katarn.

Eventually, the Jedi Coalition, in concert with the Hapes Consortium, faced off against Caedus and a Galactic Alliance fleet in an engagement near Shedu Maad in the Transitory Mists. The Jedi Order stormed the Anakin Solo, capturing the vessel while Caedus dueled his twin sister, Jaina. The outcome was a victory for the Coalition as they captured the Anakin Solo, and Caedus was slain. In the aftermath, former Imperial admiral and warlord, Natasi Daala, was installed as Chief-of-State of the Galactic Alliance.

A fresh crisis
"Why, again, did I let you choose where we would have our stakeout?''" "Because I've been on a mission with Valin. I mean, Jedi Horn." "And you brought us here because?" "Because if he's thinking strangely, maybe he's thinking like an animal. Find a nest, lick his wounds, recover. I led him to the undercity here a couple of years ago. There's more security now, but he can find plenty of places to hide. And if he pops up here, he can use his Jedi powers to steal very good vehicles or maybe kidnap prominent politicians." "''Very good. It's as good a reason for chossing a stakeout as any. You used your mind and your logic to lead us here."

- Octa Ramis and Seha Dorvald

Following the resolution of the war, Ramis took on Seha Dorvald as her apprentice. In 43 ABY, Jedi Knight Valin Horn, son of Master Corran Horn, underwent a mental breakdown, believing that his parents and fellow Jedi had been replaced with identical-looking impostors. Despite being held in the Temple's infirmary on Coruscant, he subsequently escaped and went on the run. However, Master Cilghal had implanted a tracking device under Horn's skin, allowing him to be tracked. Ramis and Dorvald were part of the Jedi force assigned to locate him and bring him back to the Temple. On Dorvald's advice, they staked out the Senate Building as the apprentice felt that Horn might be thinking like an animal due to his mental state. Three years previously, Dorvald and Horn had been on the mission to assassinate Jacen Solo when it was clear that he had taken up the Sith mantle of Darth Caedus. During the mission, they had used Coruscant's undercity to move around and execute their plan, and Dorvald reasoned that Horn might use the knowledge he gained to his advantage, either to steal a vehicle to escape the planet, or to take a politician hostage. Ramis approved of Dorvald's logic, and the pair took up position within the plaza in front of the Senate Building, watching a tracker attuned to the device located under Horn's skin. As they waited, Horn approached the plaza, proving Dorvald's theory correct. Ramis congratulated her apprentice for her insight, and ordered her to inform the other Jedi searching for Horn that they had located him.

Horn had incapacitated Enneth Holkin, the protocol aide to Corellian co-Chief of State Denjax Teppler, stealing his clothes and identity cards to gain access to the Senate Building. However, Holkin had triggered his panic ring during the assault, alerting security in the Senate Building to the fact that he was in distress. Security personnel immediately identified Horn's presence in a secured corridor where he had no business being, and initiated a security lockdown of the Senate Building as per Chief of State Daala's standing orders. Daala, as part of a campaign to crack down on the perceived arrogance and high-mindedness of the Jedi Order&mdash;specifically the fact that they seemed accountable to no one and considered themselves above the law that they claimed to serve&mdash;had issued specific orders to deal with renegade Jedi in the wake of Darth Caedus' reign as ruler of the Galactic Alliance. Ramis and Dorvald approached the Senate Building, where the Master attempted to gain access to the building by using a mind trick on the female security guard. Unfortunately for Ramis, the security guard was not weak minded, and resisted all attempts at persuasion. Frustrated, Ramis turned to Dorvald, who was using the Force to sense Horn's feelings. Despite getting a sense of his intentions, she could not accurately track him. Ramis melded with her apprentice, getting a sense of Horn's Force presence. She felt him make a decision about taking two vehicles; while wondering how he would accomplish that, a shuttle with Kuati markings smashed through a closed portal one hundred meters above them. As the shuttle crashed to the permacrete plaza, Ramis heard the distinctive whine of an X-wing's repulsors. Sensing that Horn was making his escape in a starfighter, she used a combination of Force speed and a telekinetic push from Dorvald to launch herself into the air.

Ramis intercepted Horn's fighter as it slowly emerged from the makeshift opening, slamming into the fuselage on the starboard side and clinging to the nose. She attempted to destroy the cockpit canopy's latch with her lightsaber, but&mdash;forced to use her off hand&mdash;Ramis only left a scar on the transparisteel. As she tried again, Horn anticipated her move, goosing the thrusters of the fighter to throw her strike off. Although Ramis managed to penetrate the canopy, punching holes in both sides of the cover, it failed to strike the latch. As Horn cleared the perimeter of the hole, he engaged the fighter's engines and started to rise into Coruscant's sky. Ramis realized that Horn intended to take the fighter up high then shake her off, resulting in a plummet to the ground that would kill her. She tried to strike the canopy once more with her lightsaber, but it bounced off as she could get no leverage or strength behind the blow. As Horn shook her off, Ramis fell towards the ground. Deactivating her lightsaber and clipping it to her belt to ensure that no innocent passerby was caught by the weapon's fall, she prepared herself for the impact. As Ramis neared the ground, Dorvald caught her with the Force; although Ramis hit the ground hard and lost consciousness, it was not a fatal impact. Although she was very sore and suspected that she had a concussion, Ramis complimented her apprentice on the catch. Dorvald was worried that they had failed to catch Horn, but Ramis pointed out that they had flushed him from hiding. Since he was airborne, the tracker implanted in him could work better, and the fact that Ramis had broken the cockpit seal on his fighter meant that he could not escape into space. Eventually, Horn was recaptured by the other Jedi teams that Ramis had alerted earlier.

Rising tensions
With the galaxy recovering from the war that Darth Caedus had perpetrated, Chief of State Daala sought to bring someone to justice to answer for his crimes. In the end, she ordered the Galactic Alliance justice system to prosecute Grand Master Skywalker for failing in his duty as head of the Jedi Order to prevent Jacen Solo's moral degradation. Rather than have the Jedi Order exposed to scrutiny for their actions during the war, Skywalker agreed terms with Daala to be exiled from Coruscant, and to relinquish control of the Order to Master Kenth Hamner. Skywalker was to have no formal contact with the Order for a period of ten years, unless he could provide undeniable proof and solid reasoning as to why Solo's transformation into Caedus had not been his fault, and to enact safeguards within the Order to stop other Jedi falling to the same fate. Ramis attended a meeting of the Jedi Masters' Council, where Skywalker officially stepped down as Grand Master and appointed Hamner in his place. She later attended the farewell ceremony for Skywalker as he prepared to leave Coruscant, alongside many other Jedi, as well as the companions and comrades that Skywalker had amassed over the years. The day after Skywalker's departure, Ramis attended another meeting of the Council, held in the Masters' Chamber. Hamner, in an attempt to demystify the Order and increase sympathy and support for the Jedi, had agreed to allow a documentary crew to follow a Master on assignments. When he called for volunteers, Master Ramis offered herself as the subject after Master Sebatyne commented that any film crew following her would probably make a documentary that was too violent for children to watch.

Ramis remained on Coruscant, and was present at a meeting of the Jedi Masters that was called by Master Hamner after Jysella Horn, sister of Valin Horn, experienced a similar mental breakdown. Jysella Horn had escaped the Jedi Temple, fleeing into the precinct surrounding the building where she had injured several civilians and the Ramoan Jedi Knight Bazel Warv. Her antics were caught on holocam by the journalist, Javis Tyrr, and she was subsequently stunned and arrested by Galactic Alliance security before the Jedi could detain her. Ramis, along with the other Masters present, expressed her surprise that Chief of State Daala had refused Hamner's request for an immediate meeting with her, instead agreeing to one in three days time.

Shortly after Jysella Horn's incarceration, Jedi Knight Natua Wan developed the same mental breakdown as the Horn siblings while escorting the Solo family at the Coruscant Livestock Exchange and Exhibition. After a brief struggle, she was captured, but the entire incident was recorded by Javis Tyrr. Daala&mdash;who had also became aware that the Jedi were holding Knight Seff Hellin, who was also suffering from the same malady&mdash;went to the Jedi Temple to demand that the two Knights be handed over to Galactic Alliance security so that they could be frozen in carbonite. This method of imprisonment had been used on Valin Horn, and Jysella Horn was due to undergo the same treatment. Master Ramis joined several other Masters in confronting the Chief of State at the entrance to the temple.

Jedi under siege
Several months after Master Skywalker departed Coruscant, the Order received a message from his son, Ben, informing the Jedi that they had encountered a new Sith organization. Despite not being able to render official aid to Skywalker due to the terms of the agreement under which he left the galactic capital, Master Hamner nevertheless ordered squadrons of StealthX fighters to be readied and prepped for launch so that they could assist in dealing with the resurgent Sith. Ramis was placed in charge of ensuring that the Order's most experienced fighter pilots were rotated back to Coruscant for the mission. However, a raid on the Temple by Mandalorian forces&mdash;authorized by Chief of State Daala in an effort to retrieve Chev Jedi Sothais Saar who had succumbed to the same psychosis affecting other young Jedi&mdash;dealt heavy damage to the Jedi headquarters. A blockade around the Temple by Galactic Alliance forces also prevented the Order from launching its StealthX squadrons as they would have been easily shot down upon exiting the Temple hangars.

As more Jedi succumbed to the Force psychosis, the Order attempted to keep them confined to the Jedi Temple and out of Daala's reach. At an emergency meeting, Hamner revealed to Ramis and her assembled Masters that the Chief of State demanded that Saar, along with the latest known victim, Turi Altamik, were to be turned over to Galactic Alliance authorities immediately. When Hamner refused, Daala made a veiled threat against the lives of the families of the Jedi. The Masters were united in their outrage at the threat, and Hamner warned them to prepare for a possible second attack on the Temple by Mandalorian forces. Shortly after, Mandalorian forces, led by Belok Rhal, laid siege to the Temple, demanding the immediate release of Saar and Altamik into their custody within the next thirty-six hours.

At a meeting of the Masters, plans of action were formed. When it was discovered that all exits from the Temple&mdash;even ones thought secret&mdash;were guarded by Mandalorians, Ramis suggested that all of the apprentices should look for other ways out of the Temple. Since it had been destroyed and rebuilt on several occasions, it stood to reason that there may have been an exit that had been overlooked. Hamner agreed, and Ramis, along with her apprentice, Seha Dorvald, took on the assignment. When the notion of negotiating with Rhal came up&mdash;since they had no way of contacting anyone outside the Temple due to communications jamming&mdash;Ramis suggested that someone should so out to meet with the Mandalorian commander. Eventually, apprentice Kani Asari volunteered. The Masters agreed to her decision; she was Master Hamner's personal assistant, and could therefore speak for him. Also, she had no real intelligence that she could be forced to surrender if arrested. As the assembled Masters watched her approach the Mandalorian commander, they were shocked and outraged as Rhal shot her at point-blank range, killing her instantly. The Mandalorian stated that there was to be no negotiations, and the Jedi were to surrender Saar and Altamik within twenty-four hours.

Despite Asari's murder, Ramis and Dorvald led teams of apprentices to scour the lower levels of the Temple for possible exits. After seven hours of searching, Ramis began to notice a large amount of rodents entering the Temple. Initially, some had been frightened off or killed, until Master Horn noticed that the rodents were carrying things attached to them, including messages from the outside and medication to ensure that the mentally-ill Jedi could be kept sedated. The rodents had been coerced into helping through use of the Force by Leia Organa Solo. Realizing they now had a link to the outside, the Jedi began to send messages back with the rodents. Unexpectedly, the Jedi in the Temple's Detention Center affected by the psychosis began to revert to their normal selves. Master Cilghal, with no other explaintion, presumed that Master Skywalker had managed to find the source of the condition affecting the Jedi and had eliminated it. On this matter she was correct, as Skywalker had fought and defeated Abeloth, a powerful and ancient being that had been affecting the Jedi. In an effort to lift the Mandalorian siege on the Temple, the Jedi allowed the now-cured Sothias Saar and Turi Altamik to exit the Temple to face both Chief-of-State Daala and the gathered media. Although Daala admitted that the Jedi did not seem dangerous any longer, she refused to release the Horn children from Galactic Alliance custody, but did lift the Mandalorian siege on the Temple.

Internal disagreements
"&hellip;holding them hostage! This, we can no longer permit. We have shown the entire galaxy that Valin and Jysella no longer pose a danger to anyone, and the time has come to demand their return&mdash;or to recover them ourselves."

- Octa Ramis

In a meeting of the Jedi Council, Ramis called for an immediate strike against the Alliance facility holding the Horns, declaring that the Jedi should no longer permit Daala to keep members of the Order as hostages. Her stance was echoed by the Masters, although Acting Grand Master Hamner refused to authorize an operation that would potentially kill Galactic Alliance security personnel. Towards the end of the meeting, Hamner indicated that he had something planned to deal with Daala &mdash;indeed, he had entered into an agreement with Admiral Nek Bwua'tu that the Bothan would use his influence with Daala to assist the Jedi Order, as long as the StealthX wing remained in the Temple's hangars. When the Masters demanded to know what he had planned, Hamner refused to tell them, as he had agreed to keep the matter private between himself and Bwua'tu. The Masters, tired of Hamner's seemingly ineffective leadership and his willingness to bow to Daala's wishes, were on the verge of disobeying him and launching both a rescue mission for the Horns and the StealthX wing until the Acting Grand Master challenged them to remove him from office through a lightsaber duel. As one, the Council turned to Master Horn for his decision on the matter. Despite his personal feelings on the matter, Horn indicated that the disagreement between Hamner and the Council had not reached that stage&mdash;yet.

Alongside the other Masters present on Coruscant, Ramis attended another meeting of the Council where Knight Jaina Solo and businessman Lando Calrissian relayed information to the Council regarding Master Skywalker's mission to the planet in the center of the Maw to face Abeloth. As part of their report, they revealed that the Sith organization that Skywalker was temporarily allied with were allied with pirate organizations and were seemingly building a war fleet of their own. Shortly after, Ramis and the other Masters prepared to welcome a shuttle carrying Jedi Knights from Shedu Maad who had been unable to return to the Temple while it had been under siege. While waiting for the shuttle, the Masters viewed a news report from the planet Blaudu Sextus where a slave uprising had occurred. The Council, fearing that the revolt had been engineered by Freedom Flight, an anti-slavery activist organization, had dispatched Jedi Knights Sothias Saar and Avinoam Arelis to investigate. During the news report&mdash;which showed Mandalorians hired by the government slaughtering the Octusi who were peacefully protesting for their freedom&mdash;the two Jedi Knights intervened and captured the Mandalorian commander, Belok Rhal. Master Sebatyne felt that their actions were the will of the Force, while Acting Grand Master Hamner worried that Daala would see their actions as a sign that the Jedi were taking against slavery in the galaxy, wished to assure her that it was not the case. During a heated debate between Hamner and Sebatyne, the Acting Grand Master was forced to reveal his deal with Admiral Bwua'tu when Han Solo revealed he knew of the deal, having learned of it from a Sullustan senator, Luewet Wuul. The Masters came to the decision that Hamner had betrayed the trust of the Council by not telling them. Ramis, along with the other Masters, agreed with Sebatyne's statement that she had no confidence in Hamner, and effectively ousted him from office.

With Hamner sidelined, the Council&mdash;under Master Sebatyne's leadership&mdash;moved into action, authorizing a raid on Galactic Alliance Security Detention Center 81 to retrieve the Horn siblings, and launching the StealthX wing to assist Master Skywalker combat the Sith. Ramis was one of a handful of Council Masters&mdash;including Kyp Durron and Kyle Katarn&mdash;to be assigned to lead the StealthX wing. They planned to launch the wing while the Galactic Alliance Sixth Fleet was preoccupied; Booster Terrik, grandfather of the imprisoned Horn siblings, was using his ship, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Errant Venture to host a sabacc tournament whose players represented one hundred of the wealthiest and most prominent citizens within the Galactic Alliance, including senators and military officials. With the players aboard, he intended to destroy several Alliance orbital structures, then abscond with the players as hostages. While the Sixth Fleet was busy responding to the Venture actions, the Council intended to launch the starfighter wing without engaging the Alliance forces. Hamner, however, broke out of his quarters and attempted to stop the launch. He dueled Master Sebatyne in the hangar; although both were fighting without the intention of killing the other, Sebatyne was wounded, and Hamner thrown from a balcony. Although Sebatyne used the Force to stop Hamner's fall, the former Acting Grand Master threw his lightsaber at the relay box controlling the hangar doors. In order for the launch to continue as scheduled, Sebatyne was forced to let Hamner fall to take control of his lightsaber. The launch was successful, but Hamner was killed by the fall. Ramis and the StealthX wing subsequently rendezvoused with the Errant Venture, traveling to Almania's moon of Pydyr. There, they rescued Master Skywalker and his son, Ben, from the Sith.

Deceptions and uprisings
Following the battle at Almania, Ramis and Master Durron held a conference with the rest of the Jedi Council on Coruscant, where the decision was made to forcibly remove Chief of State Daala from power. As part of the plan, the Jedi needed to insert operatives into the Senate Building. To this end, Booster Terrik arranged to loan the Jedi the Dust Dancer, a legitimate transport with a clean record. Ramis&mdash;suitably disguised with dark skin and white bleached hair&mdash;and Seha Dorvald piloted the Dust Dancer to the Galactic Alliance military base on Borleias, where they posed as a transport carrying a high volume of luxury goods bound for the planet. The night-shift quartermaster, Dolo Karenzi, assumed that there had been a mistake since the goods had not been ordered for the base, but allowed the transport to land and off-load the cargo as he intended to take advantage of an apparent shipping error by stashing the goods and profiting from their sale at a later date. As the Dust Dancer was offloading, Terrik's Errant Venture arrived in-system and began shuttling down the participants of the sabaac tournament to the base, releasing them from their limited captivity. As the Jedi had planned, the Dust Dancer was commandeered to transport the players back to the capital.

When the Dust Dancer arrived at Coruscant, Dorvald piloted the Lambda-class shuttle DeepRay to the Senate Building, transporting Wynn Dorvan, Senator Fost Bramsin and General Merratt Jaxton. Ramis, along with Master Durron, were hidden in shielded smuggling compartments aboard the vessel. Despite having the opportunity to infiltrate the Senate Building from the shuttle, the pair of Jedi did not have the appropriate disguises and false identifications needed to move around undetected. Until this could be provided, the shuttle had to remain in the Senate Building. Dorvald triggered an explosive rigged to the right stern thruster that simulated an engine blowout, necessitating that the shuttle remained grounded in the hangar until "repairs" could be made. A day later, the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, disguised and infiltrated into the Senate Building aboard the Millennium Falcon, delivered false identifications, credcards and disguises to the two Jedi. Ramis was to pose as "Olya Merker", a comfort specialist assigned to the tertiary support detail of Senator Haydnat Treen of Kuat, while Durron was "Izzen Fray", a financial analyst from the same delegation. With "repairs" complete, Dorvald launched the DeepRay. Due to the nature of the repairs to the shuttle, she informed the personnel stationed in the hangar that there would be a large amount of smoke from the repaired engine during launch. As the shuttle lifted, the two Jedi Masters used the smoke cover to exit the shuttle, then used the Force to enhance their speed, clearing the cloud and infiltrating the Senate Building proper.

Using the equipment supplied to them, Ramis and Durron managed to forge a requisition order granting them use of an unoccupied office in the building, then proceeded to gather intelligence on the inner workings of the senate, both in the movement of its senators and political personnel, as well as its security arrangements. They discovered that Fleet Intelligence had taken over the Chief of State's personal security and had installed their own monitoring hardware into the Senate Building's security systems. In several cases, they had been able to install their own hardware onto the modifications before activation, giving them access to holocams throughout the building. The Masters also gained access to a way to create self-erasing orders for personnel rotation, allowing Jedi to enter the Senate Building disguised as Fleet personnel to further augment their presence. In a briefing to the rest of the Masters in the Temple, Ramis and Durron recommended that Plan Delta, devised by Master Horn, was the most viable option. The Council agreed, and more Jedi were infiltrated into the Senate Building. Shortly after, the Alliance CC-7700 frigate Fireborn was destroyed over Coruscant in a terrorist attack by the Klatooinian Grunel Ovin, leader of the Sapience Defense Front. In response, Daala ordered an attack on a series of Klatooinian settlements by Mandalorians. Ramis and Durron intercepted the communiques, and realized that they had to act immediately to avert a massacre. With the agreement of the other Masters, the Jedi organized themselves into action. In accordance with their plan, the Jedi and their allies locked down the Senate Building by fooling its security systems into believing that an external attack was taking place, and secured key sections of the building. Chief of State Daala was arrested, and a Triumvirate was formed to take over control of the government, consisting of Master Sebatyne, Senator Treen and General Jaxton. With Daala removed from power, the Jedi finally held a funeral for Kenth Hamner, which Ramis attended.

Personality and traits
"Once upon a time, I had more than a crush on a Jedi. He was tortured by the Yuuzhan Vong, then drowned in freezing water fighting them. Should I have stopped loving? Caring? Being attracted?"

- Octa Ramis, referring to Miko Reglia

Octa Ramis was a passionate Jedi who often displayed her emotional state openly, and was known to have a volatile temper. In love with fellow Jedi Miko Reglia, Ramis was grief stricken by his death at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong. Although she did not show it at Reglia's memorial service, she was angry at the Yuuzhan Vong for taking him from her, and sought to make them pay for what they had done. However, she came to realize that the pain blinded her from her responsibilities as a Jedi, and let go of her grief shortly before the Battle of Ithor. She still loved him, and would remember him fondly sixteen years later in a conversation with her apprentice, Seha Dorvald. Ramis was deeply affected by the injuries that her former instructors, Kam and Tionne Solusar had suffered at the hands of Galactic Alliance personnel on Ossus during the Second Galactic Civil War. She kept her emotions on the matter in check with rigid self-control, and was known as one of the quieter Masters serving on the Council.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Ramis was supportive of Jedi taking a proactive stance against the invaders, and believed that the Jedi Order should look after its own interests as the galaxy at large turned against them. While she often supported Kyp Durron's philosophy, her experiences with him during the Fall of Coruscant soured her view of both him and his beliefs.

Ramis was a competent Jedi instructor, willing to take on Seha Dorvald despite the latter being older than most apprentices at her skill level. She knew when to reprimand her apprentice and when to offer congratulations, and allowed Dorvald to take the lead when staking out possible locations that Valin Horn might go to after his escape from the Jedi Temple. She trusted Dorvald, and shared several personal secrets with her, including a former crush she had held on Han Solo in her youth.

Powers and abilities
"I hate good guards. They're the most inconvenient thing in the universe."

- Octa Ramis, following an unsuccessful attempt to influence a security guard

Octa Ramis was a fully trained Jedi in service to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order. She was skilled with the use of lightsaber, although she could not use it as effectively in her off hand. Ramis was able to use the Force to enhance her speed, and she was capable of using telekinesis to good effect, demonstrating the ability to lift multiple objects at a time and direct them on ballistic courses. Ramis could also use the Force to influence weak-minded individuals, although ones with strong wills were able to resist her suggestions.

In addition to her Jedi abilities, Ramis was also skilled in using computer systems, and could erase evidence of file searches without leaving a trace. She was also a competent pilot, flying with Kyp's Dozen during the Yuuzhan Vong War, and even leading them during the Battle of Mon Calamari. Her skill as a pilot was also evident when she was chosen by seed-partners on Zonama Sekot, and had a living ship crafted specially for her to use in defense of the planet.

Behind the scenes
Octa Ramis was introduced in 2000's Dark Tide II: Ruin, a novel in The New Jedi Order series by Michael A. Stackpole. Ramis was featured sporadically throughout the rest of the series, and gained appearances in one installment of the Dark Nest Trilogy, and one in the Legacy of the Force series. She has since featured in several novels of the Fate of the Jedi series; Outcast, Omen, Backlash, Allies and Vortex.

Appearances

 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest
 * Dark Journey
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * The Unifying Force
 * Dark Nest I: The Joiner King
 * Fury
 * Outcast
 * Omen
 * ''Backlash
 * Allies
 * Vortex
 * Conviction
 * Ascension