Carmen Conrose

Carmen Conrose was a Twi'lek Jedi Knight who was the master of Tom Norton before and during the Clone Wars before her death at the hands of Sora Bulq. She was also the lover of Cham Syndulla.

Early life
Carmen Conrose was born on Ryloth and at the age of two she was discovered by Jedi Master Coleman Trebor. Trebor sensed the Twi'lek girls strong connection to the Force and once his mission on Ryloth was complete, he took her with him to the Jedi Temple.

Carmen was raised in the Jedi Temple and was a quiet and solitary girl preferring to spend a lot of her time reading about history. She learned about the Valley of the Dark Lords and about the title of Jedi Sentinel; a title she would later take for herself. Carmen was also a talented student and was trained by Yoda and Cin Drallig as a youngling. When she was sixteen Carmen became the Padawan of Jedi Master Saesee Tiin being the only Padawan Tiin ever trained.

Becoming a Jedi Knight
When Carmen was eighteen, she and her Master visited Ryloth to stop a slave trading operation. While they were there, Carmen grew close to Cham Syndulla who was also trying to find a way to free the slaves. Eventually they discovered that Jabba the Hutt was organising the slave trading and that it was being overseen by Cad Bane. Carmen, Saesee and Cham sneaked aboard a stolen Republic cruiser which was being used to transport the slaves. However they were discovered and captured after Bane held a vibroblade to Carmen’s throat.

Carmen was put in a cell with other slaves but Saesee managed to free her after using his horns to stab his captors and retrieving his lightsaber. Carmen saved Cham’s life during the ensuing skirmish managing to prevent him from being sucked into the vacuum of space when a viewport was smashed. During the battle, the slaves, despite lack of combat training, fought against the bounty hunters along with the Jedi and Cham. Cham then saved Carmen from being cut to pieces by a bounty hunter wielding a cortosis blade which caused her lightsaber to stop working.

After the battle, Cham and Carmen entered a romantic relationship though Saesee didn’t find out. Carmen visited Cham a few times when she had time and they fell in love. Carmen also said she and Saesee discovered a Force sensitive girl while they were on Ryloth and took her to the Jedi Temple but the identity of this girl is unknown.

Carmen was trained by Tinn for seven years and became a skilful swordswoman under Tinn's tutelage though she preferred not to fight. The Iktotchi Jedi Master became quite fond of his student though he maintained a formal relationship with her.

After being promoted to Jedi Knight Carmen studied Force healing which was a power Saesee had little knowledge of and on numerous occasions the Twi'lek proved herself to be a proficient healer. Carmen felt respect for her former Master despite his serious personality though she thought that Saesee liked flying a bit too much.

Training a Padawan
Two years after her promotion Carmen took her first and only Padawan Tom Norton. Their first mission together was to rescue Senator Orn Free Taa from a group of criminals. They were accompanied by Sora Bulq who ironically was the very same person who was responsible for Carmen's death. They met Cham Syndulla on Taa's home planet Ryloth and successfully rescued Taa and handed the criminals over to the Ryloth authorities. Carmen even tried to heal the criminals after a fight between them and the Jedi when a large number of them were either killed of injured by Sora's use of Vaapad.

At some point during Tom's training he and Carmen were forced to land on Korriban on their way back from a mission because of a malfunction in the hyperdrive. It was there that Carmen displayed her skills at fixing mechanics, and she managed to get their hyperdrive working again. Tom meanwhile accidentally stumbled upon the Valley of the Dark Lords but sensed a dark presence there. Because he wasn't sure what he was up against he returned to his Master. Tom had a talk with Carmen who told him that she'd read about the Valley of the Dark Lords before becoming Saesee's Padawan.

Battle of Geonosis
Carmen and Tom were later sent on a negotiation mission to Demos IV which was successful thanks to Carmen's skill in Mind Tricks. Almost immediately after that they accompanied Mace Windu and over two hundred other Jedi to Geonosis to rescue Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme Amidala from Count Dooku. Carmen's proficiency at Soresu allowed her to survive the battle and her Padawan also made it through alive.

After the battle, Carmen, along with Barriss Offee, T'ra Saa and Nahdar Vebb, set about healing the wounded.

Battle of Falleen and death
About nine months after the start of the clone wars Carmen and her Padawan fought together on Falleen and the battle lasted a month. Luminara Unduli and her Padawan Barriss Offee were fighting on a different part of the planet and had promised to come and help Carmen and Tom once they were finished with their area. During the battle Tom noticed a cloaked figure wielding a red lightsaber and cutting down clone troopers. He and his master chased after the figure who led them into the forest away from the main battle so that they could duel without blaster bolts and explosions all around them.

The cloaked figure ambushed the two Jedi and threw off his cloak revealing the fallen Jedi Sora Bulq. The three of them engaged in a lightsaber duel during which Bulq proved too much for them. The Weequay stabbed Carmen in the chest and turned to deal with her Padawan who attacked him in a fit of rage, using Carmen's lightsaber along with his own. Bulq quickly overpowered the angry young Jedi and would have killed him if not for the timely arrival of Luminara and Barriss.

While Bulq dueled the two Mirialans Tom crawled to his master's side ignoring the duel taking place behind him. After a short talk with his dying master Tom watched Carmen's life ebb away. Tom was devastated by her death and started crying over her body.

Meanwhile Bulq, who had been tired out from battling clones and dueling Carmen and Tom, decided it was better to retreat so he caused a distraction by bringing a tree down towards Tom but Luminara and Barriss telekinetically lifted the tree away while Bulq fled. Tom used his anger and grief at Carmen's death through the remainder of the battle which was a victory for the Republic. Carmen's body was cremated after the battle.

Legacy
Tom Norton, who had loved Carmen deeply, was devastated by her death and losing her opened a more vengeful, ruthless and paranoid side of his personality. He grew obsessed with protecting his loved ones and was also willing to kill his enemies without hesitation, although he felt guilty if he ever killed innocent life forms, such as the Talz on Orto Plutonia. Although losing Carmen had caused him to become a much darker person, he had also developed some of her compassion, being concerned for the life of the Zillo Beast and saving its life, when all other Jedi had resolved to kill it. He also still retained some if his old lust for adventure which was shown when he joined the mission to rescue Padme Amidala from the Malevolence.

Carmen's death also caused Tom to develope a grudge against her murderer, Sora Bulq. According to Ahsoka Tano, Tom had been a forgiving person as a child but Carmen's death virtually destroyed the forgiving side of his nature, causing him to try and get revenge against anyone who had harmed his loved ones.

When Tom returned to Ryloth during the Clone wars, he told Carmen's lover, Cham Syndulla about her death. Naturally Syndulla was devastated but told Tom that at least he wouldn't live in ignorance, thinking that Carmen was still alive. Cham also revealled that he had wanted to marry Carmen when the war ended, but tragically their marriage was never meant to be.

Personality and traits
Carmen Conrose was a kind and gentle woman who preferred to settle conflicts by talking rather than fighting. However she would use her green lightsaber when the situation demanded it and was a skilled warrior. Carmen was very compassionate and was even willing to heal people that tried to kill her when she could as proven on Ryloth.

Although Carmen disliked fighting she fought bravely in the Clone Wars and even duelled with the deadly Dark Acolyte Sora Bulq, despite Bulq's reputation as one of the best lightsaber duellists of the time. She was courageous, selfless and loyal to the Jedi Order and the Republic. However, despite her loyalty, Carmen did not always obey the Jedi Code and displayed a more rebellious side by falling in love with Cham Syndulla. Carmen was also wise beyond her years and believed that love was a double edged sword and that although it could turn a Jedi to the dark side it could also turn them back from the dark side. She used the relationship of and  to demonstrate her point.

Carmen was also a good mentor but at first she was slightly doubtful about her teaching skills but became more confident as time went on. Her teaching style was very different from that of her former Master, Saesee Tinn. While Tinn had been an encouraging but strict and formal teacher, Carmen was more playful and light hearted in her lessons with her Padawan. She and Tom often engaging in playful banter and Carmen even allowed him to levitate her with the Force at one point. Carmen was also very humble and Cham Syndulla once teased her by saying she was humble to the point of irritating. Although she never displayed any vanity, Carmen was aware of her beauty and although she never mentioned it she secretly knew that Tom had a slight crush on her and could always tell when males were admiring her. Like most female Twi'leks she was capable of using her beauty to seduce other people if necessary, although she preferred not to do this since it made her uncomfortable.

Carmen was fascinated by history, and possessed a great deal of knowledge on the subject. Although she was officially trained as a Jedi Guardian she thought she was better suited to the title of Jedi Sentinel, a title that hadn't been used in centuries. Carmen also knew about the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban, as well as the story of Revan and Bastila Shan. Unlike many Jedi, who either focused on the present or the future, Carmen knew that many things could be learned from studying the past, and her massive knowledge of history was the source of her wisdom.

Carmen also hated flying, unless it was a peaceful flight, and tried to avoid spacebattles when she could.

Tom Norton
Carmen was very close to her Padawan, Tom Norton and cared about him a great deal. In return, Tom loved Carmen deeply describing her as being like both a mother and an older sister to him and formed a strong Force Bond with her. Although Carmen didn't know it, Tom also had a slight crush on her and was often uncomfortable if she started seducing people. Tom also felt she was a good teacher despite her lack of experience in training a Padawan. However Carmen would often tell Tom that he enjoyed fighting too much. Tom was sometimes playful around Carmen, even levitating her with the Force at one point. Carmen also believed that Tom would eventually become much more powerful than she was, though whether this belief comes true is currently unknown.

Before Carmen died, Tom was the only Jedi apart from Sora Bulq who knew about Carmen's relationship with Cham Syndulla. Despite the fact that he had a bit of a crush on Carmen, Tom never displayed any jealousy, probably because he realised that a romantic relationship between him and his Master would never work. He sometimes playfully teased Carmen about her relationship with Cham. Despite his teasing, Tom felt happy that Carmen had fallen in love and her relationship with Cham increased his belief that love should not be banned from the Jedi Order.

When Carmen was stabbed by Sora Bulq, Tom was enraged and attacked Bulq using all his hatred. Just before she died, Carmen told Tom that he needed to learn to conrol his temper but also said he was a good Padawan and she was proud to have been his Master. Tom was devastated by her death and continued to miss her long after she died.

Saesee Tiin
Carmen respected her former Master Saesee Tiin and after becoming a Jedi Knight she still saw him occasionally. Her relationship with Tiin was mostly formal but because she was a talented Jedi, Saesee complimented her from time to time. Saesee also offered her a ship as a gift after she became a Jedi Knight. However Carmen felt that Saesee enjoyed flying too much. Though she disliked flying, Carmen did accept Saesee's gift which she used during many of her missions. Saesee was upset about Carmen's death but recovered from it much more quickly than Tom did.

Cham Syndulla
When Carmen was eighteen she and Saesee went on a mission to Ryloth and during that time, Carmen became close to Cham Syndulla. Cham helped the Jedi free the slaves that were being kidnapped by bounty hunters hired by Jabba the Hutt. During a skirmish with the bounty hunters all three of them were captured but managed to escape and subdue the bounty hunters with the help of the slaves, who overwhelmed them by sheer numbers. After returning the Twi'leks to their homes and families, if they had any, Cham secretly stayed in contact with Carmen who visited him whenever she had the chance. As time went on, the two of them started to fall in love. However when around other Jedi, such as Sora Bulq and Tom Norton, they acted as though they were just friends. Tom guessed that Carmen and Cham had fallen in love and Carmen admitted that she had had an affair with him. Cham didn't learn about Carmen's death until nearly two months after it happened but when he did he was heartbroken. Despite falling in love with Carmen, Cham was not so trusting towards most other Jedi, though her Padawan was an exception.

Luminara Unduli
Carmen was friends with Luminara Unduli.

Barriss Offee
Carmen was friendly with Luminara's Padawan, Barriss Offee and gave her training in Force healing, even though Barriss was not her Padawan.

Sora Bulq
During their mission to Ryloth Carmen treated Sora Bulq with respect since he was the higher ranking Jedi. Sora agreed not to tell the Jedi Council about Carmen's relationship with Cham Syndulla, seeming indifferent to the fact that Carmen was breaking the Jedi Code, although this was because Sora himself was breaking the Code by studying the Dark side. Sora was later responsible for Carmen's death and showed no remorse for killing her; in fact he taunted her Padawan about her death when the duelled over Polis Massa later in the war.

Lightsaber training
Although Carmen was peaceful by nature she was a talented swordswoman. Carmen was a master of Soresu and was one of the few Jedi to survive the battle of Geonosis. She helped her Padawan increase his skill in Soresu and if not for her training Tom would have been killed during the battle of Geonosis. Carmen was also able to hold her own against Sora Bulq who was one of the greatest swordsmen of the time. However although she was skilled enough to hold off Bulq for a few minutes the Dark Acolyte eventually overwhelmed her, stabbing her in the chest. From training under Saesee Tiin, Carmen became skilled at Shii-Cho, using it in her duel with Bulq and during several sparring matches with her Padawan.

Carmen also learned the Lus-ma technique from Saesee Tiin which she taught to her own Padawan, Tom Norton.

Force powers
In addition to her considerable lightsaber combat skills, Carmen was a skilled healer having studied healing since her promotion to Jedi Knight. She even used this ability on enemies at times as displayed on Ryloth where she successfully healed the majority of the criminals that hadn't been killed by Sora Bulq. However she was unable to heal herself after being fatally wounded by Bulq, though she did manage to keep herself alive long enough to say goodbye to her Padawan by using the Force to keep her heart pumping, even though it had been burned by Bulq's lightsaber.

Carmen was also a master of Jedi Mind Tricks and used this ability to try and settle things peacefully rather than engaging in combat. She was also able to use Floating Meditation, which she offered to teach to Tom but because Tom disliked meditation he refused.

Other abilities
During her and Tom's brief landing on Korriban, Carmen displayed her skills as a mechanic managing to get their ship working again after the hyperdrive malfunctioned. It has also been confirmed that Saesee Tiin taught her to pilot a spacecraft but the extent of her flying skills are unknown.

Like many female Twi'lek's, Carmen was skilled at using her beauty to get people to cooperate with her. This, combined with her skill in Jedi Mind Tricks, made it difficult for even a strong willed person to resist her.