Barriss Offee

"I've learned that 'trust' is overrated. The only thing the Jedi Council believes in is violence!"

- Barriss Offee, expressing her views

Barriss Offee was a female Mirialan who trained as a Jedi Padawan during the Clone Wars. She carried a blue lightsaber and trained under Jedi Master Luminara Unduli.

Offee was a survivor of the Battle of Geonosis and was extremely loyal to her Jedi Master. Offee preferred studying ancient Jedi texts to fighting and was a bit older than most Jedi Padawans.

During her time as a Jedi Padawan, Offee struck up a friendship with Ahsoka Tano, the Padawan learner of Anakin Skywalker. Though rather different in personality, the two were bonded through shared experience in combat.

As the Clone Wars continued, Offee grew disillusioned with the Jedi's role in the wars, believing they had lost their way from the ideals that the Jedi Order was supposed to represent and wary of the Jedi Council in particular. Deciding to act on her concerns, she orchestrated the bombing of the Jedi Temple as a means to foment further distrust of the Jedi, as clone troopers were killed during the attack. Despite their previous friendship, she allowed Tano to be framed for orchestrating the bombing, but ultimately confessed after being confronted by Anakin Skywalker, just before Tano was about to be convicted of the crime, and shared her views of the Jedi being corrupted by the dark side before being taken away.

Early life
Some time prior to the border dispute on Ansion, Barriss Offee, a female Mirialan, was inducted into the Jedi Order and became Padawan to Jedi Master Luminara Unduli.

At some point, she studied lightsaber techniques with Tutso Mara, and the two grew to become close.

The Secessionist Movement
Barriss, along with Luminara, sat in on a meeting between the Jedi Council and Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, who discussed the growing influence of the Secessionist Movement, and the threat of an imminent war between them and the Galactic Republic.

Later, Offee, along with her master, were part of the Jedi assault team sent to rescue Senator Padmé Amidala, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker from the execution arena on Geonosis. The Mirialan survived the battle, as did her master, though the Clone Wars had only just begun.

Second Battle of Geonosis
Early on during the Clone Wars, Offee accompanied her master back to Geonosis in order to assist the forces of Anakin Skywalker, along his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano to infiltrate a large Geonosian droid and weapons factory. Barriss and her master found Tano and Skywalker arguing over their tactical strategy upon arrival, and Offee unintentionally annoyed Ahsoka with her authoritative personality. Leaving their masters to launch a frontal attack, both Padawans sneak through the Geonosian catacombs below, in order to plant explosive grenades from within. They were, however, discovered by Poggle the Lesser and his Super tank. After Ahsoka was rendered unconscious, Barriss was left with a choice: the bombs, or Tano's life. Ultimately, Barriss and Ahsoka decided to use the tank to destroy the reactor, knowing the explosion would kill them in the process. However, due to the tough exterior armor of the tank, both Padawans survived much to the relief of their respective masters. Following their ordeal, Barriss and Ahsoka, having strengthened their bond, temporarily retired from the battlefield in order to recuperate.

Skirmish on board the TB-73
"Kill me... please."

- Offee briefly regains control of herself and pleads Tano to kill her

Shortly after Barriss and Ahsoka recovered from their wounds, they were tasked with making a supply run to Mace Windu on Dantooine from a station near Ord Cestus on board the medical frigate TB-73. Unknown to either Padawan, a swarm of Geonosian brain worms had been brought on board by infected clone trooper Scythe. Barriss was infected herself after she and Tano were separated, and proceeded to stalk her friend across the ship, attacking and nearly killing her with her lightsaber. Eventually, Barriss was freed from the parasite's brain control after Ahsoka ruptured the coolant system, though she begged for Ahsoka to kill her instead. Both Tano and Offee were taken to the medical wing of the station by Kit Fisto, once again to recover.

Capture of Eeth Koth
Offee was present in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when General Grievous sent a message to the Order, informing them of the capture of fellow Jedi Eeth Koth. Offee witnessed his brutal torture, and left the room along with the younglings after they were dismissed by Master Yoda.

Battle over Umbara
During the Battle of Umbara, Barriss and Ahsoka led Republic forces against the Separatist blockade over the planet of Umbara, allowing infiltration from both Jedi and clone forces.

Bombing of the Jedi Temple
"I did it. Because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize, that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this War. That we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, that we are the ones that should be put on trial, all of us! And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become: an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the Light that we once held so dear. This Republic is failing! It's only a matter of time."

- Barriss Offee admitting to, and explaining, her actions to the court

During the later years of the Clone Wars, Offee's views on the Jedi and their role in the galaxy began to become distorted, and she eventually came to the belief that the Council only believed in violence. Offee came into contact with Letta Turmond, a Coruscanti who opposed the Jedi's involvement in the Clone Wars. Offee shared Turmond's beliefs, and decided it was time to make a statement against the Order. Showing Turmond how to use nano-droids as a bomb, Offee had Turmond feed her husband Jackar Bowmani, a munitions expert at the Jedi Temple, the droids. The nano-droids exploded when Bowmani went into the Temple hangar, killing several Jedi, clones, civilians, and Republic military personnel.

Offee attended the funeral for the fallen Jedi, which included her old friend Tutso Mara. Unknown to the Order, it was Barriss who was behind the bombing, and in order keep her involvement silent, she Force choked Turmond in her prison cell before she could reveal the bomber's identity. She then helped Ahsoka investigate the murder via comlink, providing her false intel and leading her to an abandoned explosive warehouse containing crates of Nano-droids – the very droids found at the scene of crime. Barriss then attacked Ahsoka herself, under the disguise of Asajj Ventress.

After Ahsoka was discovered by Republic clones, she was blamed for the bombing and put back under containment. After a short Council meeting, Offee's former friend was expelled from the Jedi Order. Anakin Skywalker, angry and suspicious of his Padawan's expulsion, was able to reveal Barriss as the true killer through his interrogation of Ventress. Visiting Barriss in her Temple chambers, Anakin questioned Barriss, which led to the two fighting after Anakin attacked her in an attempt to find out if she indeed had Ventress' lightsabers. Barriss didn't disappoint and used the Force to grab the sabers that were hidden in a nearby vase. Though Barriss was able to defend herself for a prolonged period of time, she was eventually overpowered and captured. Skywalker burst in during Ahsoka's trial with Barriss who was being led by several temple guards, one of whom would eventually become the future Grand Inquisitor. Anakin ordered her to tell the full truth; Barriss admitted she did it because she thought the Jedi were the ones responsible for the war, and that they were the villains of the conflict. As a result, Barriss was imprisoned while Ahsoka was cleared of all charges. Ahsoka was offered to return to the Order, but she refused and left, feeling betrayed by both the Order and her former friend.

Legacy
"Barriss Offee was wrong about a lot of things. She let her anger cloud her judgement and she tried to justify her actions without considering their wider effects. She was afraid of the war and she didn't trust people she should've listened to. But she had a point about the Republic and the Jedi. There was something wrong with them, and we were too locked into our traditions to see what it was. Barriss should've done something else. She shouldn't have killed anyone, and she definitely shouldn't have framed me for it, but if we'd listened to her-really listened-we might have been able to stop Palpatine before he took power."

- Ahsoka Tano expressing her feelings over Barriss Offee's actions

Offee's betrayal had a deep impact on Tano and the Jedi Order itself. Months after Offee's imprisonment, Ki-Adi-Mundi supported the idea of executing the fallen Jedi Quinlan Vos, citing Offee's treachery as a sign that the Jedi had a problem with traitors within their own ranks.

Eventually, the Jedi Order fell with the final stage of Darth Sidious' plans for the galaxy, and the Republic was transformed into the tyrannical Galactic Empire. Two years after Offee's betrayal, Tano was still haunted by her former friend's actions and later expressed her belief that while she was wrong about most things, she did have a point about the Jedi and the Republic, and that if they had truly listened to her, they might have been able to stop Darth Sidious before it was too late.

Lightsaber training
Barriss Offee was very skilled in lightsaber combat, being trained by the skilled Luminara Unduli. She was a skilled dualist besting skilled padawan Ahsoka Tano, and holding her own against the powerful Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker. In combat she usually used Form III, the defensive form.

Behind the scenes
Offee was portrayed in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones by Nalini Krishan. She was voiced by Meredith Salenger in the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series. Offee was introduced in the novel The Approaching Storm, which was written by Alan Dean Foster, making Offee an example of a character that was introduced within an Expanded Universe source who later became a part of the Star Wars canon. Offee was also featured widely in a number of other Expanded Universe products, in which she eventually advanced to the rank of Jedi Knight and was also a noted healer, but these have been re-branded as Star Wars Legends and details found within them cannot be considered canon. Offee was originally to have been depicted in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith being killed as part of Order 66, but this scene was cut along with the deaths of Luminara Unduli and Shaak Ti. Unused footage from Attack of the Clones was going to be used for this appearance. Offee was originally written to die in "The Wrong Jedi," but Dave Filoni "had plans" for the character and cut this scene.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
 * Dark Disciple
 * Ahsoka
 * Dark Disciple
 * Ahsoka
 * Dark Disciple
 * Ahsoka
 * Dark Disciple
 * Ahsoka
 * Dark Disciple
 * Ahsoka
 * Dark Disciple
 * Ahsoka
 * Ahsoka

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens