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 of Manaan by an Iridonian mercenary. Shasa and her friends joined the Sith, who brainwashed them. The Selkath learned the ways of the dark side under the Embassy's Dark Jedi Master.

Shasa encountered the former Sith Lord Revan, who had been captured and retrained by the Jedi Order, during his raid on the Sith Embassy. Revan, who infiltrated the Embassy on behalf of Shasa's father Shaelas, tried to convince Shasa and the other Selkath to leave the Embassy. However, they refused to believe the amnesiac Jedi without evidence. After Revan proved to Shasa and her friends that the Sith were corrupting them only to gain Manaan's healing agent, 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.

Biography
Shasa, a Force-sensitive Selkath female, was born to Shaelas on the Selkath homeworld Manaan. During her childhood, Shasa befriended a fellow Selkath named Galas, who gave her a token as a gift. In 3,956 BBY, during the Jedi Civil War that was waged against the Galactic Republic by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Malak and his Sith Empire, an Iridonian mercenary was hired by the Sith to lure several of Manaan's youth into the Sith Embassy. Among these were Shasa and Galas.

Shasa, Galas, and several other youths joined the Sith and learned the ways of the dark side of the Force under the Embassy's Dark Jedi Master. The Sith aimed to corrupt and brainwash the Selkath youth so that they could establish a puppet government on the planet to harvest kolto, a valuable healing agent found exclusively on Manaan. The Sith told Shasa and her friends that they could leave the Embassy if they wished. When Galas wanted to leave, however, they tortured him to the point of near-death and deceived Shasa into believing that they had let Galas go free.

Shasa encountered the retrained Jedi Padawan Revan&mdash;the former Dark Lord responsible for starting the Jedi Civil War&mdash;during his raid on the Sith Embassy. Revan infiltrated the Embassy on behalf of both Shasa's father, Shaelas, who was searching for Shasa, and the local Republic ambassador, Roland Wann. Upon learning why Shasa and her friends were inside the facility, Revan attempted to convince the wayward Selkath to abandon the Sith. However, Shasa had been brainwashed by the Sith to the point of unwillingness to believe anything ill of them; even when one of her fellow apprentices mentioned the destruction of Taris, Shasa stated that it was merely a Republic lie. Revan convinced Shasa and her friends to provide him the opportunity to locate actual proof of the Sith's treachery. While searching the Embassy, Revan found Galas, who gave the Jedi the token that he had given to Shasa when they were children. Before Galas died, he begged Revan to tell Shasa that the Sith were evil. Revan presented the token to Shasa, who initially refused to believe that the Sith killed Galas. After Revan convinced her to accept the truth, Shasa and her friends immediately left the Embassy and abandoned their dark side teachings.

Legacy
Shortly after Darth Malak's death at Revan's hands and the Sith Empire's defeat, Shasa and several other Selkath participated in a battle against the Sith forces on Ahto City and successfully defeated the Sith. Shasa realized that if Manaan was to remain completely neutral, the Selkath could not rely on the Jedi Order any more than the Sith. Nevertheless, Shasa felt that Force-sensitive Selkath needed proper training to use their abilities 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 initially as the "Order." The group soon became known as the "Order of Shasa." Shasa's order of Force adepts survived her death, lasting for nearly four thousand years&mdash;until the Galactic Civil War.

Personality and traits
After the Sith brainwashed Shasa and the Selkath youth, the young Selkath believed everything that the Sith told her. She refused to accept anything negative toward the Sith and was convinced that the Sith were victims of Republic lies and half-truths. When she learned that the Sith had tortured and killed her childhood friend Galas, Shasa was initially reluctant to believe this revelation, but she eventually accepted the truth and apologized to Revan for doubting him. After forming her order of Force-sensitives following the end of the Jedi Civil War, Shasa was wary of contacting the Jedi or any other Force-using organization for help. If darksiders started to advance in her order's ranks or influence new members, Shasa sought advice from a Jedi whom she trusted. Alternatively, Shasa would seek advice from a Force-based tradition with what she perceived as a good reputation, such as the Jal Shey.

Shasa was bilingual and was able to speak and comprehend Basic and the Selkath language. When she confronted Revan in the Sith Embassy, 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 was capable of gripping and moving objects with the Force. She also utilized the Force to perform mind tricks and was able to create a whirlwind of Force energy that could 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. She created two other techniques, one involved using the Force to sense the call of a giant Firaxan shark named the Progenitor&mdash;whom the Selkath believed to be their evolutionary ancestor &mdash;and wield it against her enemies. The other was a telepathic power that imitated wave action that was similar to Manaan's oceans. Shasa was capable of fighting unarmed, with a blaster, and with a fira.

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 on August 19, 2008 and was the main subject of the seventh web enhancement for the campaign guide. Abel G. Peña, one of the writers for 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 the player shows Shasa the datapad, she and her friends immediately depart the Embassy in order to alert the local authorities. The second is through a token given to Revan from Shasa's dying friend Galas; however, Shasa will at first become reluctant, going as far to accuse Revan of killing Galas. If the player has enough skill with persuasion or has the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan in their party, Shasa and her fellow Selkath will accept the truth. In the non-canon dark-sided storyline, Revan can either kill Shasa and her friends or congratulate them for learning the Sith ways, allowing them to continue under the Sith's tutelage.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic