Luminara Unduli (Powerstaark)

Luminara Unduli was a Mirialan Jedi Master before and during the Clone Wars. Though she was not a member of the Jedi Council, she was more powerful than most of the Council Members and was a trusted advisor to the Council, the Senate and the Supreme Chancellor.

Life before the Clone Wars
Luminara Unduli was born on the planet Mirial, a cold, dry, and despondent world oppressed by the Trade Federation. She was taken into the Jedi Order at a young age, and so lived through little of the misery known to most Mirialans.

As a Jedi, she dedicated herself to physical disciplines; her patterned tattoos were a traditional Mirialan reflection of this somatic commitment. She trained heavily to improve her corporal prowess, working over the course of years to enhance her flexibility and agility in combat.

She became a Master in the years prior to the Invasion of Naboo. Honoring the cultural traditions of her native people, which required that any Mirialan child given to the Jedi Order be trained by Mirialan masters, she took only Mirialans as apprentices.

She was a close friend to fellow Masters Shaak Ti and Quinlan Vos. At some point before the Clone Wars she took Barriss Offee as her Padawan.

Mission to Ansion
Shortly before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the Jedi Council dispatched Luminara and her Padawan, Barriss Offee, to the previously galactically insignificant world, where they were met by Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. The four Jedi were charged with forestalling any incipient local separatist movement.

Their mission was made difficult by the cultural division which gripped Ansion: one part of the planet's population dwelt in cities and towns and engaged in trade with other worlds in the Republic; the other part lived in a loose confederation of nomadic clans on Ansion's vast, windy plains. The two factions were bitterly mistrustful of one another, and had been in conflict for more than a thousand years.

Luminara and her Padawan were ambushed not long after they arrived in the modest Ansionian capital, Cuipernam, by employees of Soergg the Hutt, a local crime lord whose services had been retained by the separatists. Luminara was cornered against a wall but then Obi-Wan and Anakin arrived and helped her defeat her attackers, who had expected only two Jedi.

Secure in their persons for the time being, Luminara and the other Jedi proceeded to the Ansionian council building, where they conducted initial negotiations with the Unity of Community Council, which represented the city-dwelling Ansionians. Like Ansion, the council was deeply divided. Roughly half its membership favored the Separatists, having been promised a quick and forceful end to the conflict with the prairie-dwelling Alwari nomads by the Separatist leadership and an escape from Republic taxes and regulations.

After a particularly unorthodox demonstration of the Force on the Armalat delegate Tolut, and a promise of a very favorable settlement with the Alwari, Luminara was able to persuade the Council to provisionally agree to remain in the Republic—so long as the Jedi delivered on her promise.

The quartet's new focus was interrupted when Barriss was captured by two mentally disabled Ansionian gangsters in the employ of Soergg, Bulgan and Kyakhta. The young Padawan was able to convince her captors to help her escape Soergg's men by offering to heal them of their injuries. Restored to their former selves, the pair quickly aided Barriss in eluding the Hutt's clutches. Unsurprisingly, Luminara located her escaped Padawan before Obi-Wan or Anakin sensed her presence.

Bulgan and Kyakhta, grateful to and in awe of Barriss—and sensing an opportunity—appointed themselves guides to the four Jedi. Luminara and her colleagues accepted the aid of the Ansonian pair, not least because the two were both outcast members of Alwari clans.

In short order, the Jedi set out on an expedition to locate the scattered Alwari clans, particularly the Borokii overclan. Luminara, Barriss, their two colleagues and their guides, crossed out of Cuipernam into Ansion's vast prairie, riding on magnificent suubatar animals recommended by Bulgan and Kyakhta as much for their prestige among the Alwari as for the very practical advantages of the beasts.

As the expedition progressed, Luminara noticed a clear tension between Barriss and the confident Anakin, and discussed the brash Padawan's unusual case with Obi-Wan. On the way, they had to fend off attacks by gairk at a river crossing, and seek shelter from a large flock of suicidal kyren. At the camp of the first Alwari clan they encountered, the Yiwa, Luminara and the others were welcomed, but were required to provide entertainment that evening. After gaining a deeper understanding of the Alwari sense of tradition, Luminara contrived an entertainment that would satisfy the Yiwa. Taking a handful of sand from the ground, she let it fall through her fingers, but against the wind. Turning the stream of sand into a coil with expert manipulation of the Force, Luminara lifted twirling columns of sand around her in glittering spirals. Then she also began to twirl herself, until she was rapidly whirling around with spirals of sand forming a vortex around her as she rose off of her feet into the air. Climatically, the sand was formed into a globe around her as she spun in mid-air. Her dizzying performance completed, she returned to her place among the other Jedi amid the Alwari equivalent of applause. Even her companions were impressed by this feat.

Luminara again had cause to worry about Barriss when the Padawan disappeared chasing a Gwurran thief Tooqui. However, the Padawan was found, this time surrounded by rambunctious, inquisitive Gwurrans. Tooqui insisted on coming along with them, and Luminara reluctantly agreed, passing off responsibility for him to Barriss. The Gwurran would prove his worth when he rescued all four Jedi and the two Alwari after the Qulun clan used a scented perfume to send the Jedi to sleep and capture them in order to receive a payment from Soergg. After they escaped with their mounts, Luminara would later save Anakin's life when he was attacked by two predatory shanhs.

After being led to the Borokii clan, the Jedi were required to retrieve a tuft of wool from the exceedingly rare albino surepp herd animals without modern technology. Luminara went into the herd at night, bouncing off the top of each animal and retrieved the wool before returning to the other Jedi and proceeding with the negotiations. The Borokii agreed to the settlement, but the Jedi were required to deal with their traditional enemies, the Januul clan. Under the leadership of Obi-Wan, the Jedi agreed, although Luminara was flabbergasted. When the two clans drew up to engage each other, the Jedi went in between of them and declared their intention to not fight either side. Luminara and the other Jedi then fended off attacks launched against them by both sides, but they parried only weapons, killing none of the combatants. Stunned, both clans agreed to the Jedi's proposition.

Returning to Cuipernam to inform the Unity Council, Soergg again tried to ambush the Jedi, who were then aided by an honor guard of both Januul and Borokii clans. Luminara then proceeded to the negotiations, where Ansion—a vital hub of alliances—agreed to stay in the Republic. Her hard work, research, ingenuity and skill had helped keep the world in the Republic.

Battle of Geonosis
Shortly after Luminara and Barriss returned from the mission to Ansion, it became apparent that a full-fledged military conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems would occur. Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured by the Confederacy on Geonosis, and Luminara and her Padawan joined Master Mace Windu's quickly launched rescue mission.

Luminara and Mace were the vanguard for the approaching Jedi. The pair slipped past the planet's significant anti-orbital defenses and commandeered newly landed TX-130S fighter tanks which they used to destroy Geonosian gun emplacements blocking the way to the arena. When Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Senator Padmé Amidala were brought to the Geonosis arena, Luminara, Barriss, and 214 other Jedi revealed themselves to Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy, who was personally overseeing the planned execution. A heated but short battle followed; 179 Jedi Knights fell in battle before Master Yoda arrived with the newly-created clone army in several LAAT gunships to rescue the thirty-fiveJedi who remained. Luminara and her Padawan survived and they and the other surviving Jedi joined the battle as military commanders

Battle of Falleen
Five months into the Clone Wars, Luminara, Barriss, Tom Norton and Carmen Conrose fought in the month long battle of Falleen. Near the end of the seige Tom and Carmen fought on the outskirts of a forest when they were led away from the main battle by Sora Bulq. Luminara and Barriss were finishing a battle in a different area and were on their way to help their Jedi companions. They arrived just after Carmen was stabbed in the chest by Bulq and the Dark Acolyte had overpowered her Padawan. Fortunately the arrival of the two Mirialans caused Bulq to forget about Tom and engage them instead. Luminara and Barriss' combined efforts forced Bulq to retreat and the Dark Acolyte tried to crush Tom and Carmen by telekinetically bringing a tree down on top of them. Luminara saved Tom by telekinetically lifting the tree away but Carmen had died as the tree was falling.

Personality and traits
Luminara Unduli was calm and patient and her Padawan, Barriss Offee noted she was a good teacher. Luminara sometimes scolded people but rarely actually lost her temper with them. She cared for Barriss but generally kept their relationship formal and, keeping in mind the Jedi sense of detachment, was prepared to let Barriss go if she died. Quinlan Vos thought that she was one of few Jedi to easily connect with and she complemented her companions during battle.

Powers and abilities
Luminara Unduli was trained as a Jedi Guardian and was the greatest swordswoman in the Jedi Order, apart from Depa Billaba and possibly Shaak Ti. Luminara was a skilled practitioner of Djem So as well as being a master of Soresu and Ataru. Luminara had also trained herself to be very flexible allowing her to twist and bend her body away from any attack she didn't block. This, combined with her mastery of Soresu, made her an almost undefeatable opponent as even if an attack did get past her lightsaber she could simply twist or bend to avoid it. Luminara's lightsaber skills allowed her to overpower the powerful Sora Bulq in a lightsaber duel alongside Barriss. Her flexibility also came in handy in the duel as she bent away from what would have otherwise been a fatal blow.

Though Unduli focused mainly on lightsaber combat she was also a powerful user of the Force able to use it to leap huge heights and distances and move very fast. She was skilled with Telekinesis, able to lift a pretty sizeable tree away from Tom Norton and Carmen Conrose as well as hurl debris at her opponents. Though she wasn't a member of the Jedi Council, Luminara was the equal or superiour of any Council Member besides Yoda, Mace Windu and Depa Billaba.