The Handmaiden Sisters were the six daughters of the Echani General Yusanis. After the Jedi Civil War, they served as handmaidens to Jedi Master Atris in a secret Jedi Academy on Telos IV. They trained extensively in a variety of combat styles employing close-quarter weaponry and unarmed combat, and they were all highly skilled in the renowned martial art of the Echani and its advanced forms. Their weapon of choice was a quarterstaff which could collapse into its handgrip; Brianna, the youngest sister, kept one such weapon which once belonged to her father.
The eldest five were seemingly identical, as Echani children born of the same parents were usually indistinguishable to non-Echani; the sixth and youngest of them, however, bore the face of her mother, Jedi Master Arren Kae. When Kae was exiled from the Jedi Order and joined Revan in the Mandalorian Wars, their father followed, betraying a person to whom he owed his allegiance. The shame he brought upon his daughters for the sake of his feelings for Kae, who also betrayed her oaths, was cause for them to run down their little sister, often commenting that things such as betrayal run in the blood, and that she took after her mother. Although Brianna swore not to follow their path, she still honored her parents, and would carry their legacy, donning Kae's Jedi apparel for training and wielding her father's weapon.
Though their intended purpose was to serve the Jedi, the sisters had all sworn an oath to Atris to never learn their ways. They were to be the foundation of a strength which Atris felt the Order had long since lacked, one who would watch and judge Jedi and provide support should their power corrupt them, and ultimately end those who were thought lost to the dark side. Their discipline blinded them to the Force even if they were Force sensitive, and made their minds impregnable to mind tricks. The true reason why Atris chose them though, was because they could not feel the malevolence around the Sith artifacts she collected, or the taint of the dark side spreading within herself.
Brianna, however, was always curious about the relics Atris kept within her chamber, and longed to know what it felt like to use the Force. In 3951 BBY Meetra Surik came to the academy in search of the Ebon Hawk, which Atris requisitioned to determine her involvement in the destruction of the Peragus Mining Facility. Surik, Kreia and Atton Rand were begrudgingly greeted by the Handmaidens, who relieved them of their arms and put them in Force cages until Atris had spoken to Surik and determined their intent. They also recovered another of Surik's companions who was lying unconscious in the snow upon the plateau, a Zabrak military engineer by the name of Bao-Dur. Atris knew of Surik's influence over her followers, and cautioned her servants against any possible nuisance they could provide. Though Atton and Kreia gave them little trouble, the Handmaidens deemed Rand dangerous because of his Echani training, which he failed to mask when Surik was threatened and he assumed a defensive stance.
When Surik explained the circumstances of the Peragus disaster, Atris agreed to let her gather the Lost Jedi survivors of the war, so they could call a council and take action against the Sith. Before departing the academy, Surik asked a few questions to the Handmaidens in regards to their mission, their mistress, and the place itself. While the resemblance between the women was all that Atton could find interesting, Kreia would often join the conversation both acknowledging the worth of the Jedi lore that Atris had saved and scoffing at her plans of teaching Force-sensitives that had yet to come by, as far as she could tell. Barely tolerating their presence, the Handmaidens were easily annoyed, and welcomed Surik on the mat of their dojo when she expressed interest in a sparring match. In their conversation with the Exile though, they also felt compelled to admit that her choice of going to war against the wishes of the Jedi Council was not an easy one, in that the Exile noted that had they served Atris during the Mandalorian Wars, when the Echani worlds were attacked, they would have had to refrain from protecting their own people.
Because her mother was a Jedi, Brianna was Force-sensitive even though her half-sisters were not. She was ranked last among them because she did not focus entirely on her training, and was easily distracted by matters that did not concern her duty. The Handmaidens told Surik to address her to learn more about the artifacts kept by their mistress, as she had seen them and had an interest in such things. Atris had her travel with Surik so she could watch her, but eventually she was used by Kreia to gain entrance to the academy after she revealed herself as one of the Sith.
When Brianna was confronted by her sisters and they accused her of being a traitor they attacked her with intentions to kill. Brianna called upon her Jedi training to quickly disarm and paralyze her sisters with precision strikes as she did not want to kill her misguided sisters.
It is yet unknown what happened to the Sisters of the Echani after Atris' exile at the hands of the Jedi Council.
Although dialogue in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords indicates that Brianna looks different than her sisters, they all use the same model and textures in the game when Meetra Surik is in Atris' academy. Brianna's model is different in that she has braids on the sides of her head, but the braids are not visible when she is wearing her Handmaiden garments.
In the game, Brianna will only join male playing characters, but later sources established as canon her following the Exile no matter what the gender. Her Jedi heritage allows her to be trained in the ways of the Force; this makes her a traitor in the eyes of her sisters, who will resolve to execute her near the end of the game, and get slain in the attempt.
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords: Prima Official Game Guide
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia