Jem Ysanna

History

Ysanna tribe member

A member of the Ysanna tribe from the planet Ossus, Jem was the descendant of Jedi who had survived the destruction of Ossus by the Cron Supernova. As such, Jem was Force-sensitive and used her powers as a shamaness of her tribe, led by her father, Chief Okko.

Dark Empire II

Imperial attack

"Tao di Jedi…I am a Jedi…you are my teacher."

In 10 ABY, Jem was encountered by the Jedi, Luke Skywalker and Kam Solusar, who had come to Ossus to search for Jedi artifacts to help in their fight against the Galactic Empire. Upon sensing Skywalker's power in the Force, Jem and her brother Rayf Ysanna asked to train with Skywalker to become Jedi Knights. After agreeing to train the siblings, Skywalker took Jem and Rayf for training and departed Ossus in his ship, Jedi Explorer.

Leaving Ossus

Alongside her brother, Jem received instruction in lightsaber combat and telekinesis on her path to becoming a Jedi. During her training, Jem fell in love with Skywalker and the two began a relationship. As Jem and Skywalker began to entertain the idea of a future together, their thoughts were interrupted by an attack by the Galactic Empire.

Death

During the fighting, Jem was wounded by a blaster bolt from Tedryn-Sha, a member of Emperor Palpatine's Dark Side Elite. Although she was immediately avenged by Leia Organa, Jem had sustained fatal injuries. The Jedi healer, Vima-Da-Boda, attempted to save her, but Jem succumbed to her injuries after bidding her final farewell to her brother. Upon her death, Jem became one with the Force, her body dissipating into nothingness.

Personality

During the time of the Galactic Civil War, Jem was an athletic woman and respected warrior within the Ysanna tribe. She had long dark hair and striking, exotic features. During her travels with Luke Skywalker, she learned how to speak Basic, but her speech often lapsed into her native language during times of stress. After meeting Skywalker, Jem aided him in his search for lost Jedi knowledge and began to feel a strong connection to him.

She had a short temper, not unlike her mentor, which was acknowledged during her failure in lightsaber training. Her anger caused her to lash out and destroy Skywalker's remote, concerning her master over how quickly she had turned to anger when getting frustrated.

During their travels, Jem fell in love with Skywalker, kissing him aboard the Jedi Explorer on their departure from Ossus. Skywalker returned her affection and even entertained thoughts of a future with her before her death. Skywalker was devastated upon Jem's passing, and he would not find love again until almost two years later.

Powers and Abilities

"How do you know that? I never told you about my past…did Solusar say anything?"
"It is the Force. It reaches out and shows me things about people."
―Luke Skywalker and Jem Ysanna

As a member of the Ysanna tribe, Jem was a descendant of Jedi individuals, and she inherited Force-sensitivity from their bloodline. As noted by Luke Skywalker, Jem was strong in the Force and after minimal training, she was able to levitate large boulders alongside her brother and sense the emotions of those around her. Despite her teacher never telling her his background, Jem was able to determine things about him through the Force. Unlike her brother, Jem was not a naturally skilled with a lightsaber, and in her first training session, she was stung several times by the training remote. This lack of skill would result in her death at the hands of Tedryn-Sha, as she was unable to dodge or block a shot from his blaster.

Before her death, Jem was proficient in the use of a concussion bow and able to guide her shots through the Force. Although Jem could not initially understand Galactic Basic Standard, only fluent in the Ysanna language, she was able to pick up understanding of the foreign tongue through the Force, and was eventually able to speak it herself.