Barriss Offee, also known under the titles of "the healer" and "wise mother" later in her life, was a Force-sensitive Mirialan female and a Jedi Knight that fell to the dark side of the Force during the period of the Clone Wars. Trained as a Padawan under Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, Offee wielded a blue lightsaber that she used when participating in the First Battle of Geonosis. She preferred studying ancient Jedi texts to fighting. During her time as a Jedi Padawan, Offee forged a friendship with Ahsoka Tano, the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker. Though rather different in personality, the two bonded through their shared experience in combat, including at the Second Battle of Geonosis.

As the Clone Wars continued, Offee grew disillusioned with the Jedi's role in the conflict, believing they had strayed from the ideals that the Jedi Order was supposed to represent, becoming particularly wary of the Jedi Council. Deciding to act on her concerns, she orchestrated the bombing of the Jedi Temple as a means to foment further distrust of the Jedi. Despite their previous friendship, she allowed Tano to be framed for orchestrating the bombing, even going as far as impersonating former Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress to frame her former friend. Skywalker ultimately ended up catching Offee and bringing her to justice. Offee finally confessed just moments before Tano was convicted of the crime, clearing the Togruta's name. Offee expressed her views of the Jedi Order in front of the tribunal, showing that she had been corrupted by the dark side before being taken away.

During the Imperial Era, Offee was recruited into the ranks of the Inquisitorius. Upon denouncing the Inquisitorius after witnessing their needless cruelty, Barriss reclaimed her identity as a Jedi and became a wandering healer, helping those in need. She was eventually hunted down and gravely injured by the Fourth Sister, formerly her friend within the Jedi Order known as Lyn Rakish, though the Inquisitor became empathetic for Offee and sought to aid her thereafter.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Some time prior to the border dispute on Ansion,^[6] Barriss Offee, a female Mirialan, was born on the planet Mirial. She was found to be Force-sensitive and was brought into the Jedi Temple to train as a Jedi.^[2] During her time as part of an Initiate clan, Offee and her clan wandered through the high archways and manicured courtyards of the Great Hall, which Offee marveled at.^[8] She became Padawan to Jedi Master Luminara Unduli.^[2]

At some point, she studied lightsaber techniques with Tutso Mara, and the two grew to become close.^[11] At one point she was sent by Unduli to retrieve an old book. During the mission, she encountered a creature and many traps. When she finally reached the location of the book, she picked up the book and it turned to sand. Later, she returned and told her master that she had failed. Unduli told Offee that she did not fail because she never expected Offee to actually bring it back, that it was about the journey and everything she did to find the book.^[12]

The Secessionist Movement[]

Offee, along with Unduli, 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. After, Offee was present in Chancellor Palpatine's office with other senators and Jedi as the issue of whether Palpatine should take emergency powers was debated.^[6]

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.^[6] After the battle, Offee had trouble sleeping and volunteered to watch over several injured Jedi in the Temple clinic, and due to what Jedi Master Depa Billaba later described as Offee's special attention, the injured were able to recover.^[13]

The Clone Wars[]

Avoiding the fighting[]

Four months into the war, Offee and her master traveled to the planet Ilum, where Offee was to complete her final lightsaber. However, they became embroiled in a Separatist ambush. The Jedi Temple on Ilum was nearly destroyed during the engagement, but Offee and Unduli were saved by Grand Master Yoda.^[14] As her Master became a Jedi General, Offee did not go out to war with her and instead remained at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and continued to volunteer in the medical clinic where she found solace in helping the injured Jedi. Although, Offee found it difficult to deal with so many Jedi harmed by the war, their pain reflecting her own. Distressed by this, Offee knew she could not heal their mental wounds.^[8]

Second Battle of Geonosis[]

Around 21 BBY,^[15] Offee's internal turmoil prevented her ability to heal others, with the Temple clinic becoming a place that caused her feeling of pain. Despite this, she returned to her Master's side^[8] and accompanied her back to Geonosis in order to assist the forces of Anakin Skywalker, alongside his Padawan learner of almost the same age as Offee, Ahsoka Tano. After Offee memorized the trails, herself and Tano attempted to infiltrate a large Geonosian droid and weapons factory. Offee and her master found Tano and Skywalker arguing over their tactical strategy upon arrival, and Offee unintentionally annoyed Tano with her authoritative personality. Leaving their masters to launch a frontal attack, both Padawans sneaked through the Geonosian catacombs below in order to plant explosive grenades from within. They were, however, discovered by Poggle the Lesser and his Geonosian super-tank. After Tano was rendered unconscious, Barriss was left with a choice: the bombs, or Tano's life. Ultimately, Offee and Tano 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, Offee and Tano, having strengthened their bond, temporarily retired from the battlefield in order to recuperate.^[9]

Skirmish aboard TB-73[]

Shortly after Offee and Tano recovered from their wounds, they were tasked with making a supply run to Mace Windu on Dantooine from a station near Ord Cestus aboard 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. Soon, the rest of the clones of Tango Company were infected. Offee was infected herself after she and Tano were separated. She proceeded to stalk her friend across the ship, attacking and nearly killing her with her lightsaber. Offee again chased Tano around the ship, but Tano escaped. Eventually, as the ship neared a medical station, Offee was freed from the parasite's brain control after Tano ruptured the coolant system, causing low temperatures that would kill the worms. Offee begged for Tano to kill her instead of letting her stay infected, but Tano sliced the parasite in half instead, freeing her friend. When the ship docked at the medical station, Both Tano and Offee were taken to the medical wing of the station by Jedi Master Kit Fisto to recover.^[16]

Further missions[]

At some point, Offee was captured on the planet Felucia, but she was rescued by Jedi General Aayla Secura and Clone Commander Bly.^[17] 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.^[18]

At some point in 21 BBY, shortly before Cato Parasitti's assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala, Offee trained with Tano in the Jedi Temple. Offee was critical of her friend's unorthodox fighting methods, stating that duels were meant to prepare Jedi for real encounters on the battlefield, and using non-traditional tactics served no purpose. Although Tano disagreed, the two acknowledged this difference in opinion as a result of their master's vastly different teaching style.^[19]

During the Battle of Umbara, Offee flew her starfighter alongside her friend Tano and Republic forces attacking the Separatist blockade over the planet of Umbara. After the blockade was broken through, ground forces, including Anakin Skywalker and his 501st Legion as well as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his 212th Attack Battalion, were able to land onto the planet to combat the local resistance.^[20] Offee later attended the faux funeral of Master Kenobi after he was seemingly assassinated by bounty hunter Rako Hardeen.^[21]

During a single mission on Drongar^[22] in the Outer Rim,^[23] Offee encountered the dark side of the Force when a natural plant extract increased her Force sensitivity to dangerously high levels.^[22]

Bombing of the Jedi Temple[]

Sometime later, Offee was promoted to Jedi Knight and the military rank of Jedi General. In these new positions, Offee spent most of her time in contemplation at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. However, by the last year of the war,^[25] Offee's views on the Jedi and their role in the galaxy had become distorted; she came to believe that both the Jedi and the Republic had lost their way. 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 that it was time to make a statement against the Order. Showing Turmond how to use nano-droids as a bomb, Offee had Turmond feed the droids to her husband, Jackar Bowmani, a munitions expert at the Jedi Temple. The nano-droids exploded when Bowmani went into the Temple hangar, killing several Jedi, clones, civilians, and Republic military personnel.^[11]

Offee attended the funeral for the fallen Jedi, which included her old friend Mara. Later, she conversed with Ahsoka Tano about moving past negative feelings towards the bombing. Afterward, she Force choked Turmond in her prison cell before she could reveal Offee's involvement, allowing Tano to be accused of killing Turmond.^[11] Then, she freed Tano from the prison and attacked and killed several clone troopers, further incriminating Tano. She then pretended to help Tano investigate Turmond’s murder via comlink, providing her false intel and leading her to an abandoned explosive warehouse containing crates of nano-droids, the same droids found at the scene of the crime. Offee ambushed Ventress, stealing her mask and lightsabers. Offee then attacked Tano herself, disguised as former assassin Asajj Ventress.^[5]

After Tano 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, interrogated Ventress, who revealed that someone had stolen her lightsabers. Visiting Offee in her Temple chambers, Skywalker spoke to her, and then attacked her with her own lightsaber. Offee, in self-defense, used the Force to grab Ventress' lightsabers, which she had hidden in a nearby vase, thereby revealing herself. Though Offee was able to defend herself and stand her ground for a prolonged period of time, Skywalker captured her by using the Force. Skywalker burst in during Tano's trial with Offee, who was handcuffed and being led by several Jedi Temple Guards,^[24] one of whom would eventually become the future Grand Inquisitor.^[26] Skywalker demanded that she tell the full truth; Offee admitted she did it because she had come to believe the Jedi were the ones responsible for the war, and that they were the real villains of the conflict. Offee claimed that the Jedi have become Sith-like, as if they were not like they used to be. Offee was then taken away while Tano was cleared of all charges. Tano was offered to return to the Order, but she refused and left, feeling betrayed by both the Order and her former friend.^[24] As a result of Offee's admission, she was imprisoned.^[27]

Inquisitor of the Galactic Empire[]

Inquisitorial inquiry[]

For the remainder of the war, Offee was incarcerated at the Republic Center for Military Operations. In the final days of the war, Offee suddenly awoke from a nightmare of death and destruction. She peered outside her cell window to see that it was true: a massive attack on the Jedi Temple was underway. She rushed to her door to ask the shock trooper guards what was happening, but they did not reveal much other than one of them telling her to be grateful that she was no longer a Jedi.^[10]

Later, Offee received a visit from fellow Jedi Lyn Rakish, only Rakish no longer appeared to be a Jedi and had joined the Galactic Empire's Inquisitorious programme, taking on the identity of the "Fourth Sister". In that moment, the former Jedi stated that Offee was correct in her accusations against the Jedi, claiming that the Jedi Council had attempted to seize control of the Republic and assassinate Chancellor Palpatine.^[10] In response, the Republic branded all Jedi as traitors, and Palpatine issued Order 66, commanding clone troopers to kill all Jedi.^[1] The Fourth Sister offered Offee an opportunity, and with limited options and the pressure of clones' blasters, she accepted the offer, resulting in the Fourth Sister freeing her.^[10]

Offee was taken to Fortress Inquisitorius,^[10] a facility on the ocean moon Nur in the Mustafar system.^[28] She arrived with two other Jedi she recognized: Dante and Ahmar. The Grand Inquisitor then entered, explaining that the Jedi had fallen and that the Republic had been reorganized into the First Galactic Empire. The Grand Inquisitor offered the former Jedi the opportunity to prove themselves worthy in joining him in executing now-Emperor Palpatine's vision. The trio retired to their quarters but not before the Grand Inquisitor warned them to stay put.^[10]

A new future[]

Ahmar was desperate to leave, unconvinced that the Empire would be an improvement over the Jedi. Offee cautioned him to stay, but he did not care, nor was he concerned about Offee and Dante's fate once he left, exiting. He did not return, and Fourth Sister later arrived to take the remaining Jedi. They once again spoke with the Grand Inquisitor, who claimed Ahmar had met with a terrible accident. Dante then went with Fourth Sister for training, while Offee was left with the Grand Inquisitor.^[10]

He instructed her to attack him with a lightsaber, easily dodging all of her advances. He taunted her for fighting like a Jedi and hit her in the face, angering her. Offee was able to tap into her anger and graze the Grand Inquisitor's shoulder, of which he approved, though he knocked her down to the ground on her next advance. As he commented on her apparent lack of power, Offee launched the Inquisitor back with the Force, crumpling him against the wall. He smiled at Offee's anger.^[10]

Soon after, several clone troopers led Offee into an arena with a pit in the middle, with the Grand Inquisitor and Fourth Sister overlooking as Dante entered as well. The Grand Inquisitor threw a single lightsaber down and explained that whoever survived would join their ranks and that if they chose not to fight, both would die, as a force field slowly forced them both closer to the pit. Offee was initally skeptical that they would kill both of them, but Dante, remembering Ahmar, grabbed the lightsaber and leapt toward his former ally.^[10]

Offee was ultimately victorious, Force choking Dante and pushing him down the pit to his death. She appeared surprised by her actions as the other Inquisitors descended, with Fourth Sister presenting her with a helmet to indicate her new role. Shortly after, now donning full Inquisitorial garb, Offee was joined by Fourth Sister, Marrok, and a fourth Inquisitor. They all knelt to the Grand Inquisitor, who introduced them to their new master, to whom he also knelt: the Sith Lord Darth Vader.^[10]

Inquisitor agent[]

Sometime later, Offee and Rakish were sent to track down a fledgeling Jedi. Landing on the planet where, according to their intel, the Jedi was hiding, they began questioning locals living in a small settlement on the Jedi's whereabouts. While Rakish questioned the townspeople with aggression, Offee took a softer approach and was able to learn of the Jedi's location from a small child, assuaging his fears with her more gentle temperament. Frustrated by their deception, Rakish slaughtered the townspeople while Offee watched, the child clinging to her in terror. The two eventually found the Jedi's hideout in the mountains, and Rakish immediately engaged them in battle. However, she was overpowered by them, forcing Offee to intervene. The two force users clashed, with Offee desperately trying to convince the Jedi to give up the fight and submit to the Empire. The Jedi, for a brief moment, considered Offee's propositions before being slashed in the back by Rakish's saber. In retaliation, Offee Force pushed her fellow Inquisitor off the mountainside, defying the Empire. Offee then held the Jedi as they lay dying, promising that she would not let them die nor leave them alone.^[29]

Life as a healer[]

Years later, having left the Empire behind, Offee became known as "the healer," and was known to assist travelers in need of help with her inherent abilities from a small encampment on a snowy world. She became close friends with a small, ragtag group who followed her with great respect and admiration. After she was visited by a mother and father with a small child with Force abilities, which the Empire sought, Offee told them about her own experiences as a Jedi and how the order would take in young children to train them in the ways of the old.^[7]

Offee sent them in her starship to an old friend following the sudden arrival of Rakish, who had been tracking the child. Offee allowed her old colleague to pursue her target into a nearby cave, where she kept the Inquisitor at bay by probing her with doubts about her loyalty to the Empire. Lyn swung wildly at the walls of the cave with her lightsaber in frustration but was unable to find the path out. In her anger, she impaled Offee through the stomach. The Mirialan fell to the ground, wounded. Promising to save her, Rakish held her injured friend, and only then was she able to exit, carrying her body outside.^[7]

Legacy[]

Offee's betrayal had a deep impact on Ahsoka Tano and the Jedi Order itself. Months after Offee's arrest, 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.^[31] Unduli was shaken by the betrayal of her Padawan, eventually seeking solace by turning her attention to repairing the damage Separatist attacks had brought to Kachirho on the planet Kashyyyk. Ultimately, she spent months preparing for the eventual Battle of Kashyyyk.^[32]

Eventually, just as Barriss predicted, 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. One year into the reign of the Empire, Tano was still haunted by Offee's betrayal and later expressed her belief that while Offee's actions were wrong, 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. Listening to what Tano had to say about her former friend, Senator Bail Organa took it to mean that, unlike people like Offee who focused on the past or those who would focus on the future, they needed to focus on the present.^[30]

Personality and traits[]

Barriss Offee was a Mirialan female who had brown hair, blue eyes, yellow skin with black diamond shaped tattoos, and a height of 1.66 meters.^[2] Offee was considered a seemingly ideal example of a Jedi Padawan by some members of the Order.^[31] She was an intelligent,^[33] daring and studious individual, able to memorize the entire layout of the system of Geonosian catacombs when her master asked her to.^[9] She was also quite selfless as she pleaded with her friend Ahsoka Tano to kill her when she was being mind-controlled by a brain worm, though Tano refused.^[16]

After her experiences in the Battle of Geonosis and not wanting to become a warrior, she did not wish to take part in the Clone Wars, yet she would find herself heading back to Geonosis, and with it the war itself, for its second battle.^[8] Afterward, she would continue to fight in the conflict.^[20] As the Clone Wars dragged on, Offee grew to believe that the Republic and Jedi Order were the ones responsible, viewing the latter's role in the war as a betrayal of the Order's ideals.^[27] Her corruption was due in part to when she touched the dark side on Drongar after intaking a substance that made her more powerful, but in a dangerous manner.^[22] Her growing disillusionment eventually led her to bomb the Jedi Temple, killing several civilians, clones and fellow Jedi, including her friend Tutso Mara. She even murdered her co-conspirator Letta Turmond to keep her betrayal a secret and framed her friend Tano for the deed.^[24] Reflecting on her former friend's actions, Tano believed Offee had been trying to convince her to have sympathy for her or outright convince her join together against the Jedi. However, she deemed the way Offee worked her into the plot, by framing her to take away her choices, to be the worst thing she could have done.^[30]

In doing all of this, however, she fell to the influence of the dark side; during her duel with Anakin Skywalker, he chastised her for not getting rid of Ventress' red lightsabers, to which she snidely responded, "I think they suit me." When taken before the court, Offee finally confessed her crimes, thereby acquitting Tano, but nevertheless maintained her belief that the Jedi and the Republic had lost their way, expressing no remorse for bombing the Jedi Temple or framing Ahsoka, although a sad look given toward her friend indicated she at least regretted the rift these actions had now created between them.^[24]

Powers and abilities[]

As with any other Jedi, Barriss Offee was Force-sensitive. She was skilled in the use of telekinesis,^[24] enabling her to utilize Force push during battle.^[29] She also could use the Force to strangle people, without needing to see her victim, such as she did to frame Ahsoka Tano and hide her own fall to the dark side.^[11] She was trained in Form III.^[27] She was also skilled in Jar'Kai; with Ventress' lightsabers, she was able to overwhelm Tano—who, at the time, had use of only one lightsaber. When she was against Skywalker and tapped into the dark side, Offee used her two stolen blades to duel Anakin on even footing for a time, but lost when Skywalker exploited Offee's distraction by the presence of other Jedi and put her in a Force hold, thus subduing her.^[5][24]

During her second match with the Fourth Sister, Offee held the Inquisitor off with unarmed combat alone.^[7] Stass Allie passed on Force healing expertise to Offee.^[27] She also had some piloting skills, which she demonstrated during the Battle of Umbara.^[20]

Equipment[]

As a Padawan, Offee wore a hybrid Mirialan-Jedi Padawan outfit including a black robe and a dark blue cape.^[34] At one point, she wore Asajj Ventress's helmet in order to impersonate her and conceal her own identity alongside a black skin-tight outfit and a black cloak.^[5] During her time in the Inquisitorius, Barriss wore a standard black Inquisitor uniform alongside a helmet which she abandoned upon denouncing the Empire.^[29] She later went on to wear a brown fur coat while living as a healer on a snowy world.^[7]

Offee carried her own blue-bladed lightsaber during her time as a Jedi.^[9] She eventually went on to steal Ventress's twin red lightsabers in order to pose as the former Sith assassin.^[24] As an Inquisitor, Barriss wielded her own red double-bladed spinning lightsaber, a design that was standard amongst their ranks.^[29]

Behind the scenes[]

Development[]

Offee was originally introduced in the Legends novel The Approaching Storm, which was written by Alan Dean Foster.^[35] Offee was portrayed in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones by Nalini Krishan, which was also her first introduction from a Canon perspective. She was voiced by Meredith Salenger in the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series.^[36] In his own words, Giancarlo Volpe, director of The Clone Wars episode "Weapons Factory," "secretly" pushed for Ahsoka Tano and Offee to enter a romantic relationship.^[37] Offee was originally written to die in "The Wrong Jedi," but Dave Filoni "had plans" for the character and cut the scene.^[38]

Offee was originally meant 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. A non-canon animatic was made of Offee's death showing her on Felucia fighting battle droids at the time of Order 66 when an AT-TE walks up behind her and shoots her. Interestingly, toward the end of this animatic her lightsaber was depicted as being green.^[39] Unused footage from Attack of the Clones was going to be used for this appearance.^[40] Her scrapped death in Episode III would later be incorporated into the third issue of the Legends Revenge of the Sith comic adaptation.^[41]

Contradictions[]

In 2015, The Topps Company, Inc. released two cards that claimed Offee built her first lightsaber at the age of seventeen,^[4] framing it as evidence of her scientific skill.^[42] However, most sources say Jedi younglings make their first lightsabers at a far younger age after the Gathering event.^[43] Indeed, in the short story "A Jedi's Duty," Offee reflects that younglings take on the Gathering to build their first blades, with no sign she did not take on the endeavor.^[8] Additionally, Offee being seventeen when she made her first lightsaber^[4][42] would make her much older than Ahsoka Tano. According to Dave Filoni, Offee is only "a little bit older than" Tano.^[44] As such, this article assumes the Topps information about Offee's age and lightsaber are incorrect.

The 2018 reference book Star Wars: The Dark Side later stated that Offee had been acting as a double agent for the Sith,^[45] but the episode itself established that she was acting out of a hate for the dark side, despite tapping into it herself.^[24] This article assumes "The Wrong Jedi" is correct. Additionally, a Star Wars: Card Trader Iconic Moments card about Offee's fall claimed it was a result of a serum that changed the Force inside of her. However, Leland Chee stated the card was never approved by his team.^[46] However, this idea was once more explained in Ahsoka Tano and Other Users of the Force, which notes that she was tainted by such an experience.^[22]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DLC)
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Sources[]

Notes and references[]