Jom Barell was a human male who served in the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and later the New Republic. Bearing the rank of Sergeant major, Barell served in the New Republic Special Forces. He took part in the crisis on Akiva, making a difficult jump from atmosphere onto the planet while being shot at by turbolasers to discover what exactly the Empire was doing on Akiva. He commandeered one of the turbolasers on the planet and used it to shoot at an escaping yacht, which had many important Imperials aboard, as the planet rioted and overthrew the satrapy. After the crisis on Akiva, he joined a crew of Temmin Wexley, his mother Norra Wexley, the Zabrak bounty hunter Jas Emari, and former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus to hunt Imperial fugitives.

During a mission to Vorlag to capture Vice Admiral Perwin Gedde, Jom fell in love with Jas Emari after arguing about her secret plan to "triple-cross" the crew in order to pay her debts. Jom later accompanied Norra's team on their quest to find the rebel smuggler Han Solo and to rescue his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca from Ashmead's Lock prison. Jom, Jas, and Sinjir later joined forces with Han and Chewie to liberate Kashyyyk from Imperial rule. Despite losing his eye, Jom and his companions manage to free the Wookiees. He later stayed behind to help the newly-freed Wookiees to rebuild their world.

For taking part in an unauthorized mission, Jom was discharged from the SpecForces. Jom managed to find work as a security guard at the Galactic Senate but longed to rejoin his comrades. He took part in an undercover mission on Nakadia which exposed an attempt by the Black Sun and Red Key crime syndicates to prolong the Galactic Civil War. Later, Jom rejoined his SpecForces unit. He perished during the Battle of Jakku but managed to save the lives of his comrades.

Biography[]

The Rebellion[]

Before joining the Rebellion, Jom Barell grew up on a farm on the planet Juntar which bred long-legged critters for their meat, milk, and leather hides.^[1] After joining the Rebellion, he fought the Galactic Empire on Onderon. While on Onderon, Jom also fought against his own bloodline brothers.^[3]

In the months following the Battle of Endor, Jom became a commando who held the rank of Sergeant major in the New Republic Special Forces. On one mission, he flew a gunship through an electrical storm on the planet Geonosis during a New Republic operation to stop the Galactic Empire from reactivating the old Geonosian droid factories.^[1]

Mission to Akiva[]

After the New Republic starfighter pilot Wedge Antilles was captured during a reconnaissance mission over the planet Akiva, Jom led a six-member SpecForces suborbital drop team that infiltrated the planet. For that mission, he was accompanied by Corporals Kason, Stromm, Gahee'abee, Polnichk, and Durs; all of whom donned parawings. After jumping out of their transport, the drop team came under fire from Imperial artillery cannons based in Akiva's capital city Myrra. Jom's comrades and the transport were destroyed during the jump, leaving him as the sole survivor.^[1]

Despite sustaining a broken arm, Jom survived his fall and managed to land into the side of a small wagon, that was carrying hay, fruit rinds, and animal droppings. Jom used his blaster rifle as a makeshift cane. The Sergeant major was soon confronted by three stormtroopers, who ordered him to surrender. Jom toppled a wooden overhang over the stormtroopers, trapping them underneath. Jom then grabbed one of the stormtrooper's blasters and shot them dead. Jom's arrival coincided with the outbreak of the Rebellion on Akiva, which had been instigated by a small band of rebels led by the starfighter pilot Norra Wexley, who had returned to Akiva to fetch her son Temmin. Jom witnessed Norra's rogue TIE fighter attacking other TIEs and a mob converging outside the Satrap's Palace, the seat of the Satrapy of Myrra.^[1]

Jom made his way to the Imperial turbolaser ground-to-orbit turret stationed at the Satrap's Palace. After shooting four more stormtrooper sentries, Barell climbed a ladder that led into the turret. Inside the turret, he encountered a young Imperial gunnery officer, a mere boy. The boy ordered Jom to raise his hands but Barell countered that one of them was broken. Unwilling to kill a youth, Jom attempted to convince the boy to desert his post. However, the boy, fearing retribution from his Imperial superiors, attempted to shoot Jom with his blaster. The New Republic soldier charged at the boy and slammed the young officer back onto the console. He then shoved the weeping youth inside a footlocker trunk. Despite the damage to the turret's controls caused by the scuffle, Jom managed to open fire on a Ryuni-Tantine Vita-Liner.^[1]

This liner turned out to be the Imperial financier Arsin Crassus's personal ship the Golden Harp, which was transporting several prominent Imperial officers and prisoners including Norra and her son. Jom's actions blew a hole in the ship's side and allowed Temmin to free the other prisoners. The rebellion on Myrra coincided with the arrival of a New Republic fleet which wiped out most of the Imperial fleet above Akiva. With the defeat of the Imperial forces on Akiva, the planet became the first Outer Rim world to join the New Republic.^[1]

Hunting Imperial fugitives[]

Several days after the liberation of Akiva, Jom joined forces with Norra, Temmin and several other companions including Mister Bones, the bounty hunter Jas Emari, and the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus in hunting down Imperial war criminals.^[1] By 5 ABY, Norra's team had captured six Imperial fugitives including Commandant Stradd, Prefect Kosh, Moffs Keong and Nyall, Vice General Adambo and the former Imperial Security Bureau minister Venn Eowelt. These captures coincided with the New Republic's victories against the scattered Empire.^[4]

Jom later accompanied Norra and her team during a mission on the planet Vorlag to capture the former Vice Admiral Perwin Gedde, who had sought refuge with the Vorlaggn crime lord Slussen Clanker. During the mission, Jom and the rest of Norra's team were betrayed by the bounty hunter Jas Emari, who was heavily in debt. She pretended to sell Jom and the rest of the team to Slussen, who ordered his henchmen to imprison Jom and the others in his dungeon. Jom and his companions were housed in cages above several raging hroth-beasts.^[4]

However, Emari made arrangements for them to escape by attaching a set of keys to the neck of a hroth-beast. After freeing themselves and escaping the beasts and their captors, Jom and his team fled into a lava-tube which led to Gedde's quarters. There, they encountered Jas, who had already bound the drugged Gedde. The rebels then escaped aboard Emari's gunship Halo, which was flown by Norra's son Temmin. After escaping Imperial fighters, Jom and his team fled into space.^[4]

An unlikely love[]

Once in space, Jom and the others confronted Jas over her "triple-crossing." When Jom told her that she could have gotten them killed, Jas responded that was part of the plan all along. Jom was particularly belligerent towards Emari and grabbed her. However, the Zabrak broke his hold and shoved Barell back. As the argument escalated, Temmin confessed that he was privy to Emari's plan. When Jom told Norra to control her son, Norra asserted her leadership of the team. When Barell questioned Norra's leadership, Jas told her to find another ship.^[4]

Eventually, Jas slapped Barell on the face. As the two fought, Norra tried to break up the fight. Jas and Jom soon found themselves in the bunkroom where they put aside their differences and kissed each other. As a result of their quarrel, the two became lovers. After arriving on the New Republic capital of Chandrila, Sinjir confronted Barell in private and told him not to hurt his friend Jas again. The former Imperial loyalty officer warned that he was skilled in combat. When Jom asked why Sinjir was not romantically interested in her, Sinjir asserted that he was nothing more than the bounty hunter's friend.^[4]

Later, Jom was present with Norra and Emari when they examined the body of Perwin Gedde. The former Vice-Admiral had died while in transit and Emari deduced that he had been poisoned with Kytrogorgia. After a period of rest and relaxation, Jom met with Norra and her crew aboard the Halo. When Temmin talked about his X-wing practice, Jom chastised the boy and reminded him that it was called training. When Jas theorized that the bounty hunter Mercurial Swift had poisoned Gedde, Barell asked whether the Empire had killed him. When Temmin suggested the Empire had killed Gedde to prevent him from divulging their secrets, Barell supported the boy's theory.^[4]

When Jas complained that Gedde's death caused them credits, Barell argued with her about ethics and orders until Norra broke up the argument. Norra then informed her team that Princess Leia Organa, a prominent New Republic leader, had solicited her services in rescuing Han Solo, who had disappeared while trying to rescue his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca during an ill-fated mission to liberate the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Jom agreed to take part in the mission.^[4]

Searching for answers[]

Jom Barell and Jas Emari traveled together to Nar Shaddaa, a crime haven moon in the Outer Rim Territories. The two visited a back market owned by Nyarla the Hutt, who told them that she knew nothing about Solo, Chewbacca or any Imperial prisons in Wild Space. As they made their way back to the Halo, Jom was stunned and knocked to the ground. He found himself and Jas surrounded by several Nikto gangsters led by Underboss Rynscar.^[4]

While Rynscar wanted to hand Jas over to the Black Sun crime syndicate, Jas managed to convince him that she would pay back double the debt if he let her go. Jas also managed to convinced Rynscar to tell them about Han Solo. Rynscar told Jas about a planet near Wild Space called Irudiru. Emari then shared this information with Sinjir, who was questioning the former Imperial Adviser Yupe Tashu. Sinjir discovered that Irudiru was home to a Siniteen prison architect named Golas Aram.^[4]

After returning back to the Halo, Jom tried to clean the mud off his clothes. When Barell accused Jas of selling them out, she responded that she was buying them more time. Before Jom could argue that Rynscar could not be trusted, Jas kissed him. After returning to Chandrila, Jom accompanied Norra and the rest of the team for a meeting with Admiral Ackbar and Princess Leia at the Skygarden above Hanna City. When Norra resigned her commission in the New Republic Starfleet to find Solo, Barell chose to stay behind since he did not want to depart on an unsanctioned mission.^[4]

Joining forces with Han Solo[]

Later, Jom Barell experienced a change of heart and decided to help Norra and her team find Han Solo. He traveled to Irudiru and arrived at Golas Aram's compound just in time to help Sinjir and Jas Emari fight several commando droids. He managed to blast off the head of a commando droid that was struggling with Emari. Jom then helped Sinjir destroy the remaining droids. Aram managed to flee the house but was captured by Norra before he could escape offworld. After Sinjir interrogated him, Jom chatted with Emari while Norra and Han Solo traveled to the town of Kai Pompos to gather supplies for their trip to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Having found Solo, Norra had agreed to help the smuggler rescue his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca from the formidable Ashmead's Lock prison.^[4]

Jom accompanied Norra's team and Han Solo on their journey to Kashyyyk. The rebels managed to slip through the orbiting Imperial blockade by posing as a repair crew being sent to carry out maintenance work at Ashmead's Lock. After landing, Jom and his companions entered the prison ship only to be confronted by the computer system SOL-GDA, which demanded their passcode. When the rebels failed to produce it, SOL-GDA dispatched droids to "incorporate" them into the prison.^[4]

Two of the security droids crawled onto him but he managed to bash one in the skull with his rifle butt and kick the other way. During the fight, Jom sustained a bloodied nose after headbutting a security droid. With Temmin's help, Han and Jas Emari managed to disable SOL-GDA by severing the cable linking the power generator to the stasis pod cells. Jom helped Solo and his rebel companions to free a hundred prisoners which included Chewbacca and Temmin's father Brentin Lore Wexley.^[4]

While Norra, Temmin, Mister Bones decided to return with the liberated prisoners on the Millennium Falcon to Chandrila, Jom decided to stay behind with Emari and Sinjir to help Han and Chewie liberate Kashyyyk from Imperial rule. While Jom was pessimistic that Han and Chewie's plan to liberate Kashyyyk would succeed, Jas managed to convince them by raising their failure to free Slussen Canker's slaves. Jom accepted Jas' arguments and decided to stick around longer to see what kind of damage they could inflict on the Imperial war machine. Jom and companions then left the Black Forest on Emari's gunship Halo and flew to a wroshyr tree. There, Solo briefed his allies about his plan to liberate Kashyyyk by finding Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck and disabling the inhibitor chips that enslaved Kashyyyk's Wookiee population.^[4]

Liberating Kashyyyk[]

A month after the events at Ashmead's Lock, Jom Barell and a team of Wookiee rebels captured an Imperial command station on the far side of Kashyyyk. They then tried to capture an Imperial shuttle platform that would allow them to travel to Grand Moff Tolruck's island fortress. However, they were attacked by Imperial forces. Jom's Wookiee companions managed to flee but he was captured by the Imperials, who brought him to Tolruck. In Imperial captivity, Jom was kept inside an iron kennel on grav-pads. He was interrogated by Tolruck, who ripped out one of his eyes and threw it into a campfire.^[4]

Later, his friend Sinjir went to rescue Jom disguised as an Imperial officer named Lieutenant Jorrin Turnbull. However, Sinjir was quickly discovered by Grand Moff Tolruck, who stabbed him in the calf with a kishakk blade. Later, Jom was kept in a cage while Sinjir was forced to fight Tolruck's attache Odair Bel-Opis for the Moff's amusement. Despite being beaten by Odair, Sinjir managed to disable Tolruck's control module using a hyperwave transceiver spike concealed inside his heel. As a result, the Wookiees revolted enmass and quickly overwhelmed their Imperial masters.^[4]

Sinjir then freed the wounded Jom from his cell. The two men then went to confront Grand Moff Tolruck in his throne room. However, a defiant Tolruck revealed that he had ordered the orbiting Imperial Star Destroyers to bombard Kashyyyk. Sinjir and Jom left Tolruck to his own devices while they rejoined Han and Chewbacca. Later, Jom along with Han, Chewie, and Sinjir infiltrated the Star Destroyer Dominion using a transport loaded with webweaver spiders. The rebels unleashed the webweavers on the Star Destroyer's crew and fought their way to the bridge. However, they were captured by stormtroopers.^[4]

Jom and his companions were brought before the Dominion's commander Vice Admiral Domm Korgale, who believed victory was in sight. However, New Republic reinforcements arrived in the form of Princess Leia aboard the Millennium Falcon, Captain Antilles' Phantom Squadron, and Admiral Ackbar's cruiser Home One. Jom and his companions managed to break free of their Imperial captors and hijack the Dominion. They then used the Star Destroyer's guns to destroy the nearby Star Destroyer Vitiator. As a result, the remaining ship Neutralizer surrendered to the New Republic; ending Imperial rule on Kashyyyk.^[4]

Following the liberation of Kashyyyk, Jom helped pack thermal detonators aboard Emari's ship Halo. In private, Jom told Emari that she was right that he had come to Irudiru to chase her. He also told her that he had stayed with her team and given up his eye because that was the right thing to do. Knowing that Jas was still worried about her debts, he reassured her that she did the right thing by staying on Kashyyyk. Jom then told her that he would stay behind to help the Wookiees and bid the bounty hunter farewell before she returned to Chandrila with Sinjir. While the Wookiees had retaken their homeworld, they needed help to flush out the remaining Imperial holdouts.^[4]

Intrigue on Nakadia[]

After returning to Chandrila, Jom was disciplined by the New Republic military authorities for taking part in an unsanctioned mission on Kashyyyk. As a result, Jom was discharged from the New Republic Special Forces. Despondent, Jom took to drinking. After several months, he managed to find work as a freelance bodyguard at the Galactic Senate. Jom spent the rest of his time drinking alcohol. Shortly before the Battle of Jakku, his friend Sinjir visited him to solicit his help in rescuing Jas Emari and Norra Wexley, who were stranded on Jakku. Sinjir woke Jom up by placing a wet cloth on his face. Believing Sinjir to be an intruder, Jom threw a punch but Sinjir sidestepped it.^[3]

Jom was initially reluctant to get involved until Sinjir pointed out that Jas was trapped on Jakku and needed his help. Jom wanted to go to Jakku immediately but Sinjir explained that they could not travel there directly because the planet was surrounded by the Empire. Sinjir then told him that they needed to help the Senate pass a resolution to send military forces to Jakku. When Jom responded that was above his pay grade, Sinjir replied that he could use his job as a security guard to help them travel to Nakadia, the newly-designated capital of the New Republic.^[3]

Jom along with Sinjir, Han Solo, Temmin, and Conder took part in an undercover mission on Nakadia to spy on five senators who had opposed Mothma's resolution earlier on Chandrila. During the mission, the five undercover agents followed the senators into Izzik's, a restaurant opposite the Quarrow Senate house. Jom was tasked with tailing Rethalow of Frong. While watching the senator frequenting a poma-club dep tank, Jom pondered why they could not coerce the senators into changing their vote. In response, Conder advised patience.^[3]

After hours of spying on Rethalow, Jom broke into the dep chamber and kidnapped Senator Rethalow. Despite damaging his comlink, Jom managed to convince Rethalow to disclose his dealings with Black Sun and the Red Key Raiders. Jom's comrades were not so lucky. Sinjir was knocked unconscious while trying to follow Senator Ashmin Ek. Conder Kyl was kidnapped by the Red Key Raiders whereas Han Solo was thrown into a rubbish bin while spying on Dor Wieedo's ship. Jom returned to Solo's ship the Millennium Falcon with his prisoner and was rejoined by Sinjir, Temmin, and Solo.^[3]

In the presence of the other agents, Jom forced Rethalow to disclose what he had told him. Rethalow confessed that he, Ashmin Ek, and Dor Wieedo had been bribed by Black Sun and the Red Key syndicate into opposing Mothma's resolution in return for a trade deal. He also revealed that Senators Nim Tar and Grelka Sorka had complied because the former's child and the latter's pet jerba had been kidnapped. Jom later accompanied his teammates as they searched for Conder and the other hostages.^[3]

Using a transceiver tooth, Conder managed to relay his coordinates to his team. Solo flew the Millennium Falcon into a nearby warehouse, where Red Key had been holding Conder and Nim Tar's child. Jom along with Sinjir and Solo subdued the criminals during a brief gun battle and managed to free Conder and Nim Tar's child. However, they were unable to save Sorka's jerba who had been sold to a butchery. Posing as an adviser to the Chancellor, Sinjir managed to convince the five senators to change their votes in return for pardons and other assurances for their homeworlds. As a result, the New Republic was able to send military forces to Jakku.^[3]

Death on Jakku[]

Following the Senate's re-vote on Nakadia, Jom cleaned himself up and returned to his SpecForces team to report for duty. He found Sergeant Dellalo Dayson and her team loading munitions into a U-wing troop transport. Sergeant Dellalo was initially reluctant to take him back in the fold and told him to discuss the matter with General Tyben. Jom responded that this fight mattered more than all the others. He vowed to fight for her and every member of his platoon.^[3]

When Dayson joked about killing him, he responded that it was better than having to go through the bureaucracy. When the Grand SpecForce commando Margle indicated he was interested in getting a fight, Dayson told them that no fights would occur under her watch. In order to avoid trouble, Dayson agreed to allow Jom to come aboard. She said she would make up the story that he stowed aboard but warned Jom that he could face a court-martial and dishonorable discharge if he returned to Chandrila. Jom thanked the Sergeant for allowing him to rejoin his unit and boarded the U-wing.^[3]

As Jom's U-wing descended into Jakku's atmosphere, Jom and his comrades prepared to jump out of their craft. An Imperial concussive missile homed in on the U-wing. While none of the other SpecForces commandos saw it, Jom spotted it. Since there was not enough time to mount the beam cannon placement, he flew out of the ship with his jetpack and intercepted the missile. Jom was killed during the explosion but his actions saved the life of the U-wing crew and passengers.^[3]

The Battle of Jakku ultimately ended in the New Republic's favor and marked the end of the Galactic Civil War. The defeated Empire signed the Galactic Concordance with the New Republic, officially ending hostilities. Following the battle, Jom's lover Jas Emari was grief-stricken to learn about his death. However, she comforted herself with the fact that she did not like him as much as he loved her.^[3]

Personality and traits[]

As a New Republic Special Forces soldier, Jom Barell was skilled at hand-to-hand combat and knew how to operate a blaster. While he was a capable killer who could gun down enemy combatants without any hesitation, Jom was reluctant to kill children and youths. On one occasion, Barell attempted to use psychological and emotional manipulation to convince a young Imperial gunnery officer to desert his post. Despite sustaining a wounded arm, Barell was still a deadly fighter. Due to his childhood growing up on a farm, Jom was familiar with four-legged critters.^[1]

As a New Republic soldier, Jom supported the New Republic's vision of bringing justice and freedom to the galaxy. He was infuriated when Jas Emari pretended to betray them in order to pay off some debts. Despite their passionate arguments over money and ethnics, he still fell in love with her. Jom's loyalty to Norra led him to accompany her team on a quest to find Han Solo and later rescue Chewbacca. Jom's willingness to do good and to fight the Imperial war machine led him to take part in the liberation of Kashyyyk. Despite losing an eye, he was proud of the role that he and his companions played in freeing the Wookiees from the Empire.^[4]

After being discharged from the SpecForces for taking part in an unauthorized mission, Jom became despondent and took to drinking alcohol. He managed to regain some purpose after learning that his lover Jas was stranded on Jakku. His love for Jas led him to take part in an undercover mission on Nakadia. Later, he managed to rejoin his SpecForces unit and sacrificed his own life to save their U-wing transport from being destroyed by a concussive missile. Jom regarded himself as a soldier and lived to fight. He regarded working as a security guard as beneath him. Despite his love for Jas, she did not fully reciprocate his feelings for her.^[3]

Prior to the Battle of Jakku, Jom shaved his hair apart from his handlebar mustache and meatchop sideburns in order to look the part of a commando.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Jom Barell first appeared as a tertiary point-of-view character in Chuck Wendig's 2015 novel Aftermath, which was released as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens multimedia series. Barell later appeared in the novel's 2016 and 2017 sequels Aftermath: Life Debt and Aftermath: Empire's End.

Appearances[]

• Aftermath (First appearance, simultaneous with audiobook)
• Aftermath audiobook
• Aftermath: Life Debt
• Aftermath: Life Debt audiobook
• Aftermath: Empire's End
• Aftermath: Empire's End audiobook

Sources[]

• Star Wars Helmet Collection 71 (Databank A-Z: Zam Wesell–Wexley)
• Star Wars: Timelines

Notes and references[]