Saba Sebatyne

"The Jedi are few and the Yuuzhan Vong many, yet look at the forcez they direct against us: voxyn, blockades, whole hunting fleetz. We are doing something they fear, and the Force tellz this one she must continue."

- Saba Sebatyne to Luke Skywalker

Saba Sebatyne was a Barabel Jedi Master of the New Jedi Order, who served as the sole Jedi Knight of the Galactic Alliance High Council. Later she served on the Jedi High Council as a Jedi Master. Saba was originally discovered by Jedi Master Eelysa, who after recognizing her powerful Force-sensitivity took the Barabel as her Jedi apprentice. Saba was trained to the level of Jedi Knight by her Master on the Barabel home planet of Barab I, before training several apprentices herself, including her son, and forming them into the Wild Knights squadron.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Saba was involved in several important campaigns against the invaders. Indeed, the Barabel Jedi found herself responsible for the accidental death of thousands of her species, however, she managed to overcome her guilt and aid the Skywalker family in their search for the sentient planet Zonama Sekot. It was at the conclusion of the war that Saba was promoted to Jedi Master.

Master Sebatyne played a large role during the Dark Nest Crisis, during which she took Leia Organa Solo as her apprentice. During the crisis, Saba dueled the Night Herald of the Gorog, Welk, who was unbeknownst to her a Sith, and observed Leia's fighting prowess while she battled Dark Jedi Alema Rar, recognizing that she had successfully trained her to the rank of Jedi Knight.

Saba continued to sit on the Jedi Council during the Second Galactic Civil War, taking part in several operations including the Battle of Kuat and the Battle of Kashyyyk, before which she was forced to read the eulogy at the funeral of her dear friend Mara Jade Skywalker. Saba was later involved on an assault on the Anakin Solo, during which she was injured by Darth Caedus, but subsequently survived, to be involved in several other engagements of the war, which ended following Caedus's death.

The Yuuzhan Vong War
"I should have known that any Jedi of hers would be full of surprises."

- Luke Skywalker

Saba Sebatyne was discovered by the Jedi Master Eelysa on Barab I. Despite Luke Skywalker's resistance to the training of aggressive species such as Barabel, Eelysa took it upon herself to train Saba in the ways of the Force, until she was run off Barab I by the Diversity Alliance. Between the two Jedi, they also trained a number of other Force-sensitives to become Jedi Knights, including Saba's son, Tesar Sebatyne, and his hatchmates Bela and Krasov Hara; who, while one of them shared a father with Tesar, were not her children. Most of her apprentices were Barabel Jedi Knights, including Drif Lij; but she also trained the Brubb Jedi, Wonetun. Saba formed her apprentices into the Wild Knights squadron, all the while being isolated from the New Jedi Order.

After the onset of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Saba felt the time was right to integrate herself and her apprentices into the Jedi Order proper, so as to help them combat the invaders. That same year, Saba sensed the death of her former Master, Eelysa, through the Force; she having been killed by one of the Yuuzhan Vong's voxyn. The voxyn proved to be a great menace to the Jedi Order, as they were created for the purpose of hunting and killing its members. The Jedi soon learned that the voxyn were clones of a single source, the voxyn queen, and as such Anakin Solo masterminded the daring mission to Myrkr in the hopes of destroying the voxyn queen and hence eliminate the threat of the voxyn; Saba's own son Tesar, and his hatchmates Bela and Krasov Hara accompanied the Myrkr strike team. Saba and the remainder of her Wild Knights joined scientist Danni Quee in defending Arkania against the Yuuzhan Vong, mere days before sensing the deaths of Bela and Krasov through the Force.

After sensing the deaths of her two apprentices, Saba, Danni and the Wild Knights attempted to aid in the defense of Coruscant; there they successfully destroyed the Yuuzhan Vong yammosk, but ultimately the capital was lost. After the fall of Coruscant, Tesar and a remnant of the Myrkr strike team returned, having successfully destroyed the voxyn queen, though at the price of half of the lives of the Jedi who participated in the mission; including Anakin Solo. The Myrkr mission in particular prompted Saba to suggest that the Jedi begin using Force melds, so as to join their minds together using the Force, so as to combine their might when battling the Yuuzhan Vong.

Saba was later granted a seat on the Galactic Alliance High Council; making her one of six Jedi, and six politicians who collectively directed the war effort, on behalf of the newly formed Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. After the victory at Ebaq Nine, Saba traveled to Barab 1, to visit her hatchmate Reswa, where she discovered her homeworld to have been ravaged by the Yuuzhan Vong. Noticing that a Yuuzhan Vong ship remained in the system, and thinking that the entirety of her people had been murdered, Saba attacked; unbeknownst to her, it was a slave ship, that held the remnants of the Barabel population. Saba was forced to watch in horror as the breach she inflicted on the Yuuzhan Vong slave ship spewed out Barabel bodies into the cold vacuum of space.

Later, after returning to Master Skywalker, Saba was forced to admit that death was probably better for her people than slavery. Nevertheless, Saba felt responsible for the death of her people, and due to her terrible guilt fought against the Yuuzhan Vong viciously, in the hopes of avenging them. Saba's ferocity was somewhat quenched when Master Skywalker asked her to accompany him on a mission to locate Zonama Sekot. Saba took the offer as Master Skywalker intended it, as a way to take the hunt back to the enemy, though she originally objected to accompanying him.

An unexpected outcome of Saba's loss at Barab I was a heightened Force sense for life. Saba found that she could sense life around her in greater detail, to such an extent that she could even sense when another being was ill. Saba used this heightened power on many occasions to help her fellow Jedi; being that it was akin to a healer's skill.

Despite her earlier objections, Saba, along with Luke, his wife Mara Jade Skywalker, their nephew Jacen Solo, Danni Quee, and the Jedi healer, Tekli, began to search for the living world of Zonama Sekot. During the search, Saba and her comrades traveled to Bastion, the Imperial capital, to find it under attack by the Yuuzhan Vong. The Jedi helped Gilad Pellaeon and the Imperials at the battle of Borosk, where Saba and Danni infiltrated a Yuuzhan Vong slave ship, destroying it and rescuing many Imperials in the process. After the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong on Borosk, Saba and the others traveled to the Unknown Regions, where they met with the Chiss. On Csilla, the Chiss homeworld, they found the location of Zonama Sekot in the Chiss' extensive libraries. Some days later, Saba and the others discovered Zonama Sekot and arrived on the planet.

Saba felt herself drawn into the planet's immense life force; feeling more at home on the sentient planet than on her own homeworld, helped her to see that in locating the planet and proving that the Jedi were looking for a peaceful resolution to the war, she had acquitted herself of the loss of Barab I When the Yuuzhan Vong attacked Zonama Sekot with the life killing disease called Alpha Red, Saba joined her fellow Jedi to defend the planet, while the remaining Galactic Alliance forces attacked Coruscant. Saba and the Jedi succeeded in defending Zonama Sekot, while the Galactic Alliance reclaimed the galactic capital; the Yuuzhan Vong surrendered, effectively ending the Yuuzhan Vong War.

After the costly war, in which half the Jedi Order perished, Saba became a Jedi Master and was granted a seat on the Masters' Council that was formed by Luke Skywalker.



Search for the missing Jedi
In 35 ABY, Saba's son Tesar, as well as the other surviving members of the mission to Myrkr, disappeared into the Unknown Regions. Saba accompanied Masters Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, along with their son, Ben, who was afraid of the Barabel since he could not read her, to track down and recover the missing Jedi Knights. The Jedi reached the Unknown Regions, where they discovered the insectoid creatures, the Killiks. On the Killik world Lizil, they encountered Han and Leia Organa Solo, whose children were among the missing Jedi.

On the Killik planet Yoggoy, Saba and the others discovered the Killik Prime Unu, Raynar Thul. Raynar had once been a Jedi Knight who had been kidnapped by the Dark Jedi Lomi Plo and Welk during the mission to Myrkr, but upon he and the Dark Jedi crashing their ship on Yoggoy, they had been absorbed into the Killik hive mind and became Killik Joiners. Raynar believed that the Dark Jedi were killed in the crash, but Saba and the others believed this to be untrue. Saba, the Skywalkers, and the Solos traveled to the crash site, where they were attacked by large Killiks; Raynar did not believe them when told about the attack, and Saba and the others left the planet.

The small group soon found Tesar and the other missing Jedi on the planet Qoribu, where they learnt that the Jedi had been receiving calls for help from Raynar, and chose not to resist his calls. Raynar had called for help because ever since the Killik population had begun to increase, the Chiss had begun attacking their colonies. The Killik expansion had moved ever closer to the Chiss Ascendancy and the Chiss felt threatened by it. The Jedi had traveled to Qoribu, where they aided them in their fight against the Chiss; and while staying with the Killiks, they became Joiners. During one of their dogfights, the Jedi Knight Lowbacca had been captured by the Chiss. While Luke and the others brought most of the Jedi back to the Jedi academy on Ossus, Saba and the Solos stayed behind with Jedi Knights Jaina Solo, Zekk, and Alema Rar to rescue Lowbacca.

Duel with Welk
After many failed attempts to rescue Lowbacca, Saba came face to face with the Dark Jedi, Welk on Jwlio, who unbeknownst to her was a Sith, and who Raynar Thual had claimed had died in the shuttle crash. Welk had been sent to breed assassin bugs in order to remove the threat of the Jedi Masters, including Master Sebatyne, who were now encroaching on Lomi Plo's designs. Welk was tracked to an underground cave by the Barabel Jedi Master, and there the two engaged in a vicious lightsaber duel.

Saba was surprised by Welk's mastery of the Dark side of the Force, being unaware that he was a member of the New Sith Order, or indeed that it even existed. However, Master Sebatyne proved herself an extremely skilled opponent; severing Welk's Killik arm and removing one of his eyes. Severely wounded, Welk fled the battle, though Saba herself was gravely injured, hoping that his Killik assassins would remove her as a threat. His Killiks failed, however, and news of Welk's survival, consistently denied by Raynar, was broadcast to the New Jedi Order.

Hunting Alema and revealing the Gorog
Following Saba's duel with Welk, Leia and Han decided that she should receive treatment on Ossus for her injuries. Jaina and Zekk refused to return to Ossus without Lowbacca, however, Alema Rar accompanied them. However, en route, Alema revealed that she had turned to the dark side and engaged Leia in a duel; though the older woman successfully knocked her unconscious, and subsequently confined her.

On Ossus, they discovered that Alema Rar had been absorbed into the Gorog nest. They assumed that the Gorog had hidden itself from Raynar's Colony, by unknown means. The Jedi learned that the Gorog had been trying to start a war with the Chiss and later, after Alema Rar escaped, Saba went after her with Luke, Mara, Han, and Leia. They tracked the rogue Dark Jedi to Qoribu's moon, Kr. There, they discovered the Gorog nest, with Saba and the others managing to kill many of its corrupted Killiks, along with its Night Herald, Welk, but they failed to wipe out the nest. Raynar Thul, who they believed to be manipulated by Lomi Plo, still did not believe that the Gorog existed.

After the attack on Kr, Leia asked Saba to train her to be a Jedi and Saba accepted her as her apprentice.

Training Organa Solo
One year after the border dispute, Saba traveled to the Killik world of Woteba, along with her apprentice, Han Solo, and Masters Luke and Mara Skywalker. The planet was part of the Utegetu Nebula, which was given to the Killiks so that their expansion would not reach Chiss space. On Woteba, Raynar told the Jedi and Han that a disease known as "the Fizz" had been killing many Killiks; he blamed them for the disease. Saba, Leia, and Mara left the planet while Han and Luke stayed to discover the origin of the disease.

Later Saba, Leia, Mara, and several other Jedi tried to return to Woteba in order to recover Luke and Han from the planet, but were cut off by the Galactic Alliance Fifth Fleet. The Fifth Fleet had blockaded the nebula in the hopes of keeping the Killiks contained. Influenced by the Gorog Nest, under its Unseen Queen Lomi Plo, the Killiks and their Joiners had recently been pirating membrosia, an addictive drug, and were attempting to start another war. The Galactic Alliance set out to put a stop to the war before it could start. Saba and Leia, who were in the Falcon, attempted to run the blockade, but were eventually captured. Saba and Leia met with Bothan Admiral Nek Bwua'tu, who ordered them detained in detention cells. Through the Force, Leia made contact with Luke, who told her that fifteen Killik nest ships were aiming themselves in the blockade's direction. The Killiks, under Gorog's influence, where attempting to escape from the nebula and travel to the Unknown Regions; however, Leia and Saba managed to break out of their detention cells and warn the admiral of the Killiks' attack.

Nek Bwua'tu believed the Jedi and prepared for the impending attack. When the Killik nest ships arrived, Bwua'tu's forces opened fire. The busts on Bwua'tu's Star Destroyer, the Admiral Ackbar, revealed their true purpose when hundreds of small Killiks burst out of them and attacked the Galactic Alliance forces on board. While the Killik Nest ships attacked the Fifth Fleet, Raynar Thul and the Dark Nest boarded the Admiral Ackbar. Saba and Leia aided the evacuation process as hundreds of Killiks boarded the ship; though Raynar and the Killiks commandeered the ship shortly after Saba and Leia escaped aboard the Falcon. The Admiral Ackbar, along with four other nest ships, escaped the blockade. Once on the Star Destroyer Mon Mothma, Saba witnessed Bwua'tu order the remaining nest ships to be fired upon; the Swarm War had begun.

Some weeks later, Saba accompanied Leia and Han to the Killik world of Tenupe. The Solos were hoping to reclaim their daughter Jaina, who was aiding the Killiks in their fight against the Chiss, however, Saba, Han, and Leia were captured by the Chiss and taken captive. The three soon escaped captivity and Leia, during her interrogation, learned that the Chiss were planning to destroy the Killiks by infesting them with parasites. Saba and the others located the two Chiss bombers that were going to unleash the parasites on the planet and, along with Jaina, Zekk and the traitorous Alema Rar, destroyed the bombers. One of the wings containing the parasites broke off of the bomber and plummeted into the forest. Saba and Leia chased after it on foot, but were separated. While searching for the wing, Leia encountered Alema Rar, and the two engaged in a fierce lightsaber duel. Saba looked on, confident of her apprentice's skills; Leia managed to knock Alema into the waiting jaws of a Tenupian spider sloth, supposedly ending the Twi'lek's life, though this would prove not to be the case.

Some hours later, Luke Skywalker killed Lomi Plo and brought Raynar back to the light, ending the Killik conflict. After Raynar was returned to the Jedi Temple, he was placed in a rehabilitation room, where he underwent harsh treatments to overcome the Killiks' influence. When the Swarm War ended, Saba granted Leia the rank of Jedi Knight and suggested that she would benefit from constructing her own lightsaber.

Second Galactic Civil War
In 40 ABY, Saba aided in Luke's search for Lumiya following the death of Master Tresina Lobi on Coruscant and later, as the Second Galactic Civil War progressed, Saba expressed worry to her fellow Council members that the Galactic Alliance had been involved in the assassination of Corellian Five Worlds Prime Minister and Confederation leader Dur Gejjen.

Following the death of Mara Jade Skywalker, Saba read the eulogy at her funeral, as her former apprentice Leia, was forced to flee the New Jedi Temple, due to the arrival of Galactic Alliance Guard operatives who attempted to arrest her and her husband. When Jacen Solo arrived late to his aunt's funeral, Saba used her eulogy as a message to Jacen; to renounce his newfound dark ways and return to the light as Mara had some years before. However, unbeknown to Master Sebatyne, Jacen was responsible for Mara's death, and had become the Sith Lord, Darth Caedus. At the conclusion of the memorial service, Saba and Solo exchanged barely civil remarks, before the Jedi Master turned her attention to Master Skywalker.

Saba and her fellow Council members had worried about the Jedi Grand Master's state of mind, following the death of his wife and had taken measures to spare him distress, by avoiding involving him in the business of the Jedi Order and hence allow him time to grieve. However, immediately after Mara's funeral the Council discussed Jacen Solo's recent actions; including an illegal coup against Chief of State Cal Omas. Saba expressed her distrust of Solo, as did the other Masters, while Master Skywalker hoped to return him to the fold.

To accomplish this, Master Skywalker convinced Saba and the other Council Masters to agree to support Jacen and the Alliance in the upcoming Battle of Kuat. A large number of the Jedi, including Saba, then joined together in a mass battle meld that allowed greater co-ordination between them as they entered the Battle of Balmorra on the side of Jacen and the Alliance, helping to deplete the victorious Confederation's fleet.

"You are the longfang, Master Skywalker. We draw the line where you say to draw it."

- Master Sebatyne supports the Grand Master

While the Jedi waited aboard the Anakin Solo at the battle of Kuat, for the call to their StealthXs, Saba sat at the head of the Night Blades table and discussed the battle plan with the other Council members. Master Sebatyne expressed her disapproval of Jacen, and of Kyp Durron's boldness in questioning Luke Skywalker; planting her support firmly behind the Grand Master. However, the Council soon learnt of Cal Omas's death, and Ben Skywalker's involvement in it; the Council immediately suspected Jacen of provoking Ben to assassinate Omas, and after a confrontation with Solo, Luke withdrew Jedi support from the Alliance, a move Saba supported.

The Jedi journeyed to Kashyyyk, where Master Sebatyne would be briefly reunited with her former apprentice Leia Organa Solo, before leading the Night Blades squadron against Jacen's fleet, in the Battle of Kashyyyk. Following the battle, Saba and the rest of the Jedi Order relocated to a long abandoned Imperial base on Endor; the academy on Ossus and the New Jedi Temple having been captured by the GA. The Barabel would be involved in a training session between the Council Masters, dueling Master Corran Horn, while utilizing Master Octa Ramis's lightsaber in addition to her own. Saba was also present during Tenel Ka's visit to the makeshift Jedi headquarters; agreeing to be involved in a mission to rescue the Hapan Princess Allana.

Rescue mission on Anakin Solo
During the Galactic Alliance attack to capture Centerpoint Station, the Jedi staged a diversionary attack on the Anakin Solo to rescue Allana from the hands of Darth Caedus. Master Sebatyne accompanied Luke and Ben Skywalker to the bridge where they confronted the Sith Lord, so as to distract him while Leia, Han and Iella Antilles rescued Allana. The Barabel Master was severely injured in the attack after Darth Caedus used a Force push to trap her in an officer command pit aboard the bridge with an exploding YVH droid. Though she attempted to leap to safety, the blast still managed to injure her. Insisting that she stay and help Luke and Ben Skywalker she got back up to fight, but Luke quickly sent her back to the ship so she would not succumb to her wounds. Despite her injuries, Saba, along with Luke and Ben Skywalker, was still able to escape the ship with Allana.

War's End
Following the Second Battle of Fondor, Saba was one of the first Jedi Masters to agree with Jaina Solo's idea of eliminating Darth Caedus. Master Sebatyne, like the other members of the Jedi Council had taken to calling Jacen Solo by his adopted title, as she believed that the being who was Jacen Solo had died sometime during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Master Sebatyne argued in favor of Jaina's plan, stating all diplomatic attempts to control Caedus had failed because he had no qualms about killing his rivals, as evidenced by his murder of Mara Jade Skywalker. During the Jedi Order's defense of their base on Shedu Maad, Saba acted as a commando, and boarded the Millennium Falcon during the later stages of the fighting. Han and Leia Solo piloted the ship past the defenses of the Anakin Solo, allowing Saba and the other Jedi Masters to board the Star Destroyer and eliminate any resistance. During this conflict Caedus was killed in a duel with Jaina; ending the Second Galactic Civil War.

Personality and traits
Similar to the Jedi of the old Jedi Order, Saba found it difficult to understand the concept of grieving ones loss. However, rather than this being in regard to a belief that Jedi should not have attachments, this can be attributed to an idiosyncrasy of the Barabel species, as Saba seemed to consider grief a purely human emotion. At the same time, Saba suffered noticeable pain at the destruction of her homeworld and her accidental killing of thousands of Barabel, perhaps proving that the Jedi Master was not beyond feeling grief after all.

Saba was notable for believing that Jedi should live in the moment, and heed the will of the Force, and found it taxing to deal with her apprentice Leia Organa Solo's need to plan matters to the smallest detail. Master Sebatyne's Barabel instincts gave her a natural edge in combat and tracking; the Barabel being notorious for their love of the "hunt".

Powers and Abilities
"Saba, her sword work brilliant..."

- Ben Skywalker admires Saba's skill with a lightsaber

As a member of the Jedi Council, Saba was naturally a Jedi Master with an extremely strong attunement to the Force. Saba was skilled in the use of Force Sense, a power which heightened after the Yuuzhan Vong devastation of Barab I; she was able to detect a disturbance at the funeral of Mara Jade Skywalker, and sense the apparent death of Luke Skywalker during the battle of Kashyyyk. Master Sebatyne also detected Ben Skywalker's periodical disappearance and subsequent reappearance in the Force, during his torture at the hands of Jacen Solo. Indeed, Jacen regarded Saba's Force sense so highly that he feared she had penetrated his "public face" at his aunt's funeral; recognizing that he had become a Sith Lord. Jacen also regarded Master Sebatyne as a threat to him, feeling that her power in the Force and skill with a lightsaber would be difficult for him to overcome.

Master Sebatyne was a master of telekinesis, being capable of directing objects with her mind as demonstrated aboard the Anakin Solo. It is possible that Master Sebatyne was capable of utilizing the power of Force Valor, to overcome the pain of her injuries, as evidenced by her seemingly impossible ability to remain upright after being wounded by an exploding YVH droid.

Despite her large size, Saba was capable of using the Force to enhance her mobility, harnessing powers such as Force Jump with surprising grace. Saba's natural Barabel physical strength lent her an advantage in combat, allowing her to place extreme power behind her lightsaber blows. Master Sebatyne was an accomplished duelist, who fought the Sith, Welk, to a stalemate, before being interrupted by Killiks, and was capable of sparring Jedi Master Corran Horn , who utilized a three-meter-long lightsaber blade, to a stand still, with the use of dual lightsabers.

Behind the scenes
Saba Sebatyne first appeared in the eleventh installment of The New Jedi Order series, Star by Star, though chronologically she was first mentioned in the e-book novella Recovery. Both novels were written by author Troy Denning, with Recovery acting as a prelude to Star by Star and hence informing the author of Saba's background as the first apprentice of Jedi Master Eelysa and the Master of the Force-sensitive squadron known as the Wild Knights.

Appearances

 * Recovery
 * Star by Star
 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * Destiny's Way
 * Ylesia
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Force Heretic II: Refugee
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * The Final Prophecy
 * The Unifying Force
 * Dark Nest I: The Joiner King
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * Tempest
 * Sacrifice
 * Inferno
 * Fury
 * Invincible