Juhani

"I feel I could count on any one of you, but it is you who saved me from the dark side. It is you who I feel a debt to. And I shall make it up to you."

- Juhani, to Revan

Juhani was a Cathar female and a Knight in the Jedi Order during the Jedi Civil War. Juhani grew up on the planet Taris after her family escaped the assault on their homeworld during the Mandalorian Wars. In addition experiencing great hardship and xenophobic discrimination, Juhani was sold into slavery after the death of her parents in order to pay off their debts. Juhani was eventually discovered to be Force-sensitive by the Jedi Knight Revan, and freed from her servitude. She then made her way to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine and was accepted for Jedi training by Jedi Master Quatra.

Near the close of the Jedi Civil War, Juhani briefly fell to the dark side after she mistakenly believed she had struck down her master in a heated moment. While hiding from the Jedi Council, Juhani again encountered Revan who had lost his memories after he was betrayed by Darth Malak. Revan defeated Juhani in a duel and convinced her to repent and seek forgiveness for her actions. She returned to the Order and was accepted by them. She later requested to accompany Revan, and joined him and fellow Jedi Bastila Shan in their quest to locate and destroy the Star Forge superweapon. In aiding Revan, she played a role in the defeat of Darth Malak and the Sith, and she was awarded the Cross of Glory.

Early life
"Taris was my home for many years. As much as I hated it, it was still home. A rat-hole; a warren; a paradise. I suppose you could call it all these things. For me it was hell&hellip;"

- Juhani

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 3963 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
"From that moment on I knew that I would have to try to become a Jedi. To lift myself out of the rut I had been living in for years and to make a real difference, as the Jedi were. The foolish delusions of a child. But THIS child made it happen!"

- Juhani

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 did not return his feelings and Dak grew angry and left the Jedi Enclave, eventually joining the Sith on Korriban.

Fall and redemption
"You are beneath my contempt, Juhani. When you felt the power of the dark side you fled to a cave like some cowering animal! You know nothing of the Force or its full potential!"

- A fallen Bastila criticizes Juhani's experience with the dark side

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 as 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 Jedi 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 believe 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 was 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 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. With this final trial passed, Juhani was promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight.

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
"We WILL defeat Malak and save the Republic from the Sith threat once and for all!"

- Juhani, on the Temple of the Ancients

During their travels, Juhani opened up to Revan about her past. When she revealed her homeworld had been Taris, she lashed out at him in anger, but then calmed herself with the Jedi Code, and realized that nothing could have been done to prevent Taris' destruction. After being captured by Saul Karath and running into Malak (and the subsequent capture of Bastila), Revan revealed the shocking truth of his true identity to Juhani and the crew. Juhani expressed her strong opinion that Revan, the man who had rescued her from slavery, could never have fully turned to the dark side, and vowed that now - from his example of redemption - that she would never fall again. Little did she know that her vow would be put to the test.

During her time with Revan, Juhani was lured by the dark side again. While travelling in search of the Star Maps, she encountered Xor, the Twi'lek slaver who had tried to purchase Juhani on Taris during the Mandalorian Wars. The slaver tried once again to purchase her, making his offer to Revan. Revan stood by her, saying she was her own person; Juhani lashed out at Xor 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.

The second time they encountered Xor, he and two of his thugs were beaten; Xor 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 by killing a defenseless opponent. Juhani regretted that 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 out 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; Bastila mocked Juhani for running like a "cowering animal" when she first touched the dark side. After the death of Malak, the redemption of Bastila, 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.

A holostatue of Juhani was erected in the Leisure Garden section of the Axial Park in the Coronet City on Corellia, along with the statues of Revan and his other companions in memory of their deeds.

Personality and traits
"Just let me vent my anger! I need someone to blame&hellip; something, anything!"

- Juhani, losing her temper with Revan

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
"I will be your doom!"

- Juhani's signature battle cry

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, although she would also use several Force powers while in battle. 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. At an unspecified point, Juhani engaged Darth Malak's first apprentice and Shadow Hand, Darth Bandon in a duel.

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.

Behind the scenes
Juhani appears as a playable character in the computer and video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, she was voiced by Courtenay Taylor. Her name was originally going to be Bastila Shan, before the introduction of that character; early sketches of Juhani with that name are still available on some Knights of the Old Republic-related websites. On that concept art, her outfit is something of a middle ground between what we see Bastila and Juhani wearing in the final game. After the name of Bastila was reassigned, fans speculated that the character may have been removed from the game, possibly due to the lack of dialogue and many programming glitches, before being reintroduced near the end of production. The name Juhani is a common Finnish male first name; the Finnish form of John. 

Gameplay
Dark side players have the opportunity to kill Juhani twice. First, after encountering her in the grove, they can choose to end her life instead of redeeming her, thus losing a potential party member. Second, if the player chooses to follow Bastila to the dark side in the Rakatan temple, Juhani and Jolee Bindo leave the party and become hostile. After defeating Xor, the player can encourage Juhani to take revenge on him, rather than to suppress her anger. If the player does so, Juhani loses control again and gives into her anger, striking him down with her hatred. Afterwards Juhani regrets that she gave in to the dark side again, even though she felt he deserved his fate.

Cut content
"I only wish that we had had more time&hellip; together&hellip;"

- Juhani

Juhani was going to have some lines on the Leviathan in which she voiced her apprehension and the player could reassure her. Some of them, however, would have been limited to their romance plot, with Juhani speaking her wish to have more time to see what the future held for the two of them. There was also a conversation option that allowed her to voice suspicion and dislike for Canderous Ordo. Another cut dialogue tree allowed her to voice her knowledge on the various planets the party visited. Overall, only about half of the dialogue voiced and written for the character made it into the game.

Romance
Juhani is the first female character written for the Star Wars universe that is a lesbian. An error in the first release of the video game allowed player-characters of both male and female genders to access the Juhani romance sub-plot, leading some people to believe that Juhani was bisexual, but the error has since been corrected and the romance sub-plot restricted to female player-characters. Juhani's romance sub-plot is still available to male player-characters via fan-made mods and is still noted as accessible to all player-characters on her Databank entry.

Despite Juhani being a romantic option to the female Revan in the first game, if Revan is set to light-side female in the sequel, it is assumed that Revan had a relationship with Carth Onasi instead, and no mention of Juhani is made. However, both the Juhani and Carth Onasi romance sub-plots are non-canon, as Revan is canonically male and had a relationship with Bastila Shan.

Belaya
"Juhani was a&hellip; a dear companion to me for many years. We spent many nights together alone under the stars."

- Belaya, to Revan

Though the nature and extent of their companionship was never fully explored, some believe that Juhani and her childhood friend Belaya had a more intimate relationship while they both trained at the Dantooine enclave, despite the Jedi code discouraging Jedi from the dangers of personal attachments. It was because of their strong feelings that when Juhani fell to the dark side that the Council decided that Belaya was too close to Juhani to return her, that their strong passions would work against them if she were to try. (Indeed, if the player chose the dark path and killed Juhani, those strong emotions turned to vengeance against Revan and she fell to the dark side as well.) Though Juhani would eventually renounce the dark side and return to the Order, if they were in fact in a relationship, it was not to last long. Shortly after Juhani was to accompany Revan on his mission to stop the Sith, Belaya was presumed killed when the Sith fleet destroyed the enclave with orbital bombardment.

Revan
"I&hellip; I&hellip; I care for you. I do not know why. I do not know if anything will be possible or if you even return what I feel, but I do know it is there."

- Juhani, to Revan

On their journey together to stop the Sith, Revan earned Juhani's trust and respect, becoming close friends with the normally solitary and reserved Cathar. Starting at the meditation grove when first encountering Juhani, she can be swayed by persuasive choices during dialogue, and is grateful if complimented for being a "beautiful and talented young woman". However, their story can take a more intimate turn if Revan is played as a woman. Though it is unclear what might have happened between them after the final battle, if Revan continued to ask her about her past and show support for her, Juhani would eventually tell Revan that she loved her and wished for more time to explore her feelings. As a man, Revan and Juhani's dialogue exchanges proceeded largely the same way, but often ended in her simply expressing her appreciation for his concern and support, and for their close friendship. Upon learning of his true identity, she came to view him as a figure of inspiration and felt all she needed to do was look at Revan in order not to fall to the dark side again.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * The Old Republic: Revan
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic