Shasa

Shasa was a Force-sensitive Selkath female who lived during the Jedi Civil War, a conflict initiated by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Revan and his Sith apprentice Darth Malak. In the war's final year, Shasa and other Selkath youth were lured into the Sith Empire's embassy on the Selkath homeworld Manaan by a Iridonian mercenary. The Sith brainwashed Shasa and her friends into joining them, and Shasa learned the ways of the dark side under the Embassy's Dark Jedi Master.

Shasa encountered the amnesiac Jedi Padawan Revan&mdash;the former Sith Lord was betrayed by Malak and captured and re-programmed by the Jedi Order to be loyal to the Republic&mdash;during his raid of the Sith Embassy on behalf of both Shasa's father, Shaelas, and the Republic ambassador Roland Wann. After Revan proved that the Sith were corrupting Shasa and her friends only to gain Manaan's healing agent known as kolto, Shasa and the Selkath forsook the dark side and left the embassy. Following Malak's death at a redeemed Revan's hands in the Jedi Civil War's final battle, Shasa founded an Order of Force adepts that survived for close to four thousand years, through the events of the Galactic Civil War.

Biography
The Selkath female known as Shasa was born to Shaelas on the Selkath homeworld Manaan. In 3,956 BBY, during the Jedi Civil War waged against the Galactic Republic by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Malak's Sith Empire, Shasa and several other youths were tricked into joining Manaan's Sith Embassy after an Iridonian mercenary, who was hired by the Sith, lured the youth in the Sith's Embassy. Shasa joined the Sith, learning the ways of the dark side of the Force under the Embassy's Dark Jedi Master. The Sith, who were subject to Manaan's neutrality laws, aimed to corrupt the Selkath's youth so they could establish a puppet government to dominate and harvest kolto, a healing agent found exclusively on Manaan, for the Sith. When Shasa's childhood friend, Galas, wanted to leave, they tortured him to the point where he was nearly dead and deceived Shasa into believing that they let Galas go free.

Shasa encountered the amnesiac Jedi Padawan Revan&mdash;who was the former Dark Lord that started the Jedi Civil War&mdash;during his raid of the Sith Embassy on behalf of both Shasa's father Shaelas and the local Republic ambassador Roland Wann. Revan, upon learning why Shasa and her friends were in the Embassy, attempted to convince Shasa to abandon the Sith. However, Shasa was brainwashed by the Sith to the point where she was unwilling to believe anything ill of the Sith; even when one of her fellow apprentices mentioned the destruction of the planet Taris, Shasa stated that it was a Republic lie. Revan convinced Shasa and her friends to allow him to locate actual proof of the Sith's treachery. While searching the Embassy, Revan found Galas, who gave Revan a token that Galas had given to Shasa as a child. Before he died, Galas begged Revan to tell Shasa the Sith were evil. Revan presented the token to Shasa; at first she refused to believe that the Sith killed Galas, but after Revan convinced her to accept the truth, Shasa and her friends immediately left the Embassy and abandoned the dark side.

Legacy
Shortly after Darth Malak's death and the Sith Empire's defeat, Shasa realized that if Manaan was to remain completely neutral, the Selkath could not rely on the Jedi Order anymore than they could the Sith. However, Shasa felt that Force-sensitive Selkath needed proper training to use their Force powers and avoid the dark side. Shasa and the other Selkath who received training from the Sith formed a doctrine of peace and defense, creating an organization known as the "Order". The Order survived her death, lasting for nearly four thousand years up until the Galactic Civil War.

Personality and traits
After the Sith brainwashed Shasa and the Selkath youth, Shasa believed everything the Sith told her. She refused to believe anything of ill will towards the Sith, convinced that the Sith were victims of Republic lies and half-truths. After learning that the Sith tortured and killed her childhood friend Galas, she did not believe it, but she eventually accepted the truth and apologized to Revan for doubting him. After forming her Order of Force-sensitives after the Jedi Civil War's end, Shasa was wary of contacting the Jedi or any other Force-using organization for help. However, she sought advice from a Jedi she trusted or from a Force-based tradition with a good reputation, such as the Jal Shey, if darksiders started to advance through her Order's ranks or influenced new members of the Order.

Shasa was bilingual, being able to speak and comprehend Basic and the Selkath language. During her time as a Sith adept, Shasa employed a Mandalorian heavy blaster and a Sith energy shield during combat. She also owned a cybernetic implant called the Bavakar cardio package. After the Jedi Civil War, Shasa possessed a Fira sword, a datapad, and a comlink. Because she was a Selkath, she was able to breathe both underwater and on land.

Powers and abilities
Because Shasa had a natural ability with the Force, she displayed numerous Force powers. Shasa was capable of gripping and moving objects with the Force. Shasa also utilized the Force to perform mind tricks. Shasa's strength with the Force enabled her to create a whirlwind of Force energy that would encircle her opponent. After she formed her Order of Force adepts, Shasa developed other Force powers, including a technique that allowed her to sense deception with the Force. Shasa created two other techniques, one involved using the Force to sense the call of her ancestors and wield it against her enemies. The other was a telepathic power that imitated wave action, which was similar to Manaan's oceans. Shasa was capable of fighting unarmed, with a blaster, and with a fira sword.

Behind the scenes
Shasa was first featured in the 2003 Xbox and PC video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, created by BioWare. Her story was indirectly expanded by Cory J. Herndon in the third part of the Planet Hoppers article Manaan: Depths of History, published by Wizards of the Coast in February 2004. Shasa was also mentioned in the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide released in August 19, 2008, and was the main subject of the seventh web enhancement for the campaign guide. Abel G. Peña, one of the writer's of the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide, was asked on his official thread on Starwars.com about an image from the campaign guide depicting a Selkath fighting a Sith trooper. Peña confirmed that the Selkath in the image was Shasa.

In-game, there are two ways to convince Shasa and her fellow Selkath to abandon the Sith. The first is a datapad from the Dark Jedi Master's chambers; after Revan showed Shasa the datapad, she and her friends immediately depart the Embassy in order to alert the local authorities. The second is through a token from Shasa's friend Galas' corpse; however, Shasa will at first become reluctant, going as far to accuse Revan of killing Galas. If Revan has enough skill with persuasion, or has the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan in his party, Shasa and her fellow Selkath will accept the truth. In the non-canon dark-sided storyline, Revan can kill Shasa and her friends. Alternatively, Revan can congratulate Shasa and her fellow students for learning the Sith ways, allowing them to continue under the tutelage of the Sith.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic