Saba Sebatyne was a Force-sensitive female Barabel Jedi Master of the New Jedi Order. She served as the sole Jedi Knight of the Galactic Alliance High Council, a Jedi Master of the Jedi High Council and later acting Grand Master of the Jedi Order. Sebatyne was originally discovered by Jedi Master Eelysa, who, after recognizing her powerful Force-sensitivity, took the Barabel as her Jedi apprentice. Sebatyne was trained to the level of Jedi Knight by her Master on the Barabel homeworld of Barab I, before training several apprentices herself, including her son Tesar, and forming them into the Wild Knights squadron. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Sebatyne was involved in several important campaigns against the invaders. Indeed, the Barabel Jedi found herself responsible for the accidental death of thousands of her species; however, she managed to overcome her guilt and aid the Skywalker family in their search for the sentient planet Zonama Sekot. It was at the conclusion of the war that Sebatyne was promoted to Jedi Master.
Master Sebatyne played a large role during the Dark Nest Crisis, during which she took Leia Organa Solo as her apprentice. During the crisis, Sebatyne dueled the Night Herald of the Gorog, Welk, who was unbeknownst to her a Sith, and observed Leia's fighting prowess while she battled Dark Jedi Alema Rar, recognizing that she had successfully trained her to the rank of Jedi Knight. Sebatyne continued to sit on the Jedi High Council during the Second Galactic Civil War, taking part in several operations including the Battle of Kuat and the Battle of Kashyyyk, before which she was forced to read the eulogy at the funeral of her dear friend Mara Jade Skywalker. Sebatyne was later involved on an assault on the Anakin Solo, during which she was injured by Darth Caedus. She survived, however, and was involved in several other engagements of the war, which ended following Caedus's death.
With the end of the war, Natasi Daala rose to the position of Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance and fostered a widespread anti-Jedi sentiment, exiling Luke Skywalker from the Jedi Order and naming Kenth Hamner Grand Master in his stead. When Hamner favored a policy of appeasing Daala and her hostile policies, Sebatyne was foremost among the Council members to oppose Hamner, and she led a consensus to relieve him of his position. However, when Hamner saw Sebatyne and the others as treasonous to the Order, Sebatyne dueled Hamner and killed him, an act which caused her to feel significant guilt. With the urging of the other Masters, Sebatyne temporarily assumed the position of Grand Master, planning to remove Daala from power for the good of the Order.
Sebatyne later led a coup against Daala which was launched at the same time as Senator Haydnat Treen and General Merratt Jaxton launched their own coup. Daala was arrested and removed from office. Along with Treen and Jaxton, Sebatyne convinced the Senate that the office of Chief of State had to be replaced and the three formed the first Triumvirate of the Galactic Alliance so as to represent all sides of the Alliance: the Senate, the military and the Jedi, while Skywalker reassumed his position as Grand Master. After the Jedi's withdrawal from the Triumvirate and the Alliance, the Sith infiltrated Coruscant and the galactic government. Sebatyne later helped lead the Jedi in the liberation of the galactic capital and personally defeated one of the final avatars of the dark side entity Abeloth, making it possible for Master Skywalker to ultimately destroy her beyond shadows.
Saba Sebatyne was discovered by the Jedi Master Eelysa on Barab I. Despite Luke Skywalker's resistance to the training of aggressive species such as Barabel, Eelysa took it upon herself to train Sebatyne in the ways of the Force, until she was run off Barab I by the Diversity Alliance.
Between the two Jedi, they also trained a number of other Force-sensitives to Jedi Knights, including Sebatyne's son, Tesar, and his hatchmates Bela and Krasov Hara—who, while one of them shared a father with Tesar, were not Sebatyne's children. Most of her apprentices were Barabels, including Drif Lij, but she also trained a Brubb named Wonetun. Sebatyne formed her apprentices into the Wild Knights squadron, all the while being isolated from the New Jedi Order.
After the onset of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Sebatyne felt the time was right to integrate herself and her apprentices into the Jedi Order proper, so as to help them combat the invaders. That same year, Sebatyne sensed the death of her former Master, Eelysa, through the Force; she having been killed by one of the Yuuzhan Vong's voxyn. The voxyn proved to be a great menace to the Jedi Order, as they were created for the purpose of hunting and killing its members. The Jedi soon learned that the voxyn were clones of a single source, the voxyn queen, and as such Anakin Solo masterminded the daring mission to Myrkr in the hopes of destroying the voxyn queen and hence eliminate the threat of the voxyn; Sebatyne's own son Tesar, and his hatchmates Bela and Krasov Hara accompanied the Myrkr strike team. Sebatyne and the remainder of her Wild Knights joined scientist Danni Quee in defending Arkania against the Yuuzhan Vong, mere days before sensing the deaths of Bela and Krasov through the Force.
After sensing the deaths of her two apprentices, Sebatyne, Quee and the Wild Knights attempted to aid in the defense of Coruscant; there they successfully destroyed the Yuuzhan Vong yammosk, but ultimately the capital was lost. After the fall of Coruscant, Tesar and a remnant of the Myrkr strike team returned, having successfully destroyed the voxyn queen, though at the price of half of the lives of the Jedi who participated in the mission—including Anakin Solo. The Myrkr mission in particular prompted Sebatyne to suggest that the Jedi begin using Force melds to join their minds together using the Force, so as to combine their might when battling the Yuuzhan Vong.
During the Battle of Borleias Sebatyne led the Wild Knights as a vanguard to Wedge Antilles, who hoped to retake the planet. However, despite the efforts of the New Republic forces, including the temporary recapture of Borleias, the offensive was ultimately a failure, with the Vong retaking the planet.
Sebatyne was later granted a seat on the High Council, making her one of the six Jedi and six politicians who collectively directed the war effort on behalf of the newly formed Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.
After the victory at Ebaq 9, Sebatyne traveled to Barab I to visit her hatchmate Reswa. There she discovered her homeworld to have been ravaged by the Yuuzhan Vong. Noticing that a Yuuzhan Vong ship remained in the system, and thinking that the entirety of her people had been murdered, Sebatyne attacked; unbeknownst to her it was a slave ship which held the remnants of the Barabel population. Sebatyne was forced to watch in horror as the breach she inflicted on the Yuuzhan Vong slave ship spewed out Barabel bodies into the cold vacuum of space.
Later, after returning to Master Skywalker, Sebatyne was forced to admit that death was probably better for her people than slavery. Nevertheless, Sebatyne felt responsible for the death of her people, and due to her terrible guilt she fought against the Yuuzhan Vong viciously, in the hopes of avenging them. Sebatyne's ferocity was somewhat quenched when Master Skywalker asked her to accompany him on a mission to locate Zonama Sekot. Sebatyne took the offer as Master Skywalker intended it, as a way to take the hunt back to the enemy, though she originally objected to accompanying him.
An unexpected outcome of Sebatyne's loss at Barab I was a heightened Force sense for life. Sebatyne found that she could sense life around her in greater detail, to such an extent that she could even sense when another being was ill. Sebatyne used this heightened power on many occasions to help her fellow Jedi; being that it was akin to a healer's skill. Indeed, Sebatyne's life-sensitivity was a major factor behind Master Skywalker's decision to invite Sebatyne on the expedition, as he foresaw that her power would be important in detecting Zonama Sekot's Force-signature.
Despite her earlier objections, Sebatyne, along with Luke Skywalker, his wife Mara, their nephew Jacen Solo, Danni Quee, and the Jedi healer Tekli, began to search for the living world of Zonama Sekot. During the search, Sebatyne and her comrades traveled to Bastion, the Imperial capital, to find it under attack by the Yuuzhan Vong.Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon advised the Jedi to flee the battle and convene with the Imperial fleet at Yaga Minor.
At Yaga Minor, the Jedi found an ally in Imperial Captain Arien Yage, a supporter of Admiral Pellaeon's, who had in fact failed to appear at Yaga Minor after he made a last ditch assault against the Yuuzhan Vong at Bastion. Yage soon received word that Pellaeon had survived the battle, though he was grievously wounded. The Jedi persuaded the Admiral to relocate the fleet to Borosk, a heavily fortified Imperial world, with greater defenses than Yaga Minor.
The Jedi helped Pellaeon and the Imperials at the Battle of Borosk, where Sebatyne and Quee infiltrated a Yuuzhan Vong slave ship. The pair successfully destroyed the ship and rescued many Imperials, who had been captured at Bastion, in the process. After the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong at Borosk, Sebatyne and the others proceeded to travel to the Unknown Regions, with Captain Yage joining the mission on Pellaeon's orders, in return for the Jedi's assistance at Borosk, where they met with the Chiss. On Csilla, the Chiss homeworld, the Chiss reluctantly allowed the Jedi to search their library for the location of Zonama Sekot, though they were given a two day deadline.
While searching for possible references to Zonama Sekot, Sebatyne was pleased to make the acquaintance of Syal Antilles Fel and her youngest daughter Wynssa. Syal Fel became hostile as she began to fear that the Galactic Alliance would force her husband Soontir Fel to march to war, though Sebatyne eased her fears. Later, while accompanying Antilles Fel, her husband, Quee and the Masters Skywalker on a trip to move the Jade Shadow to a more convenient position, the group was targeted for assassination by Soontir's political rivals, however, together the Jedi thwarted the attack.
Following the attack, Jacen Solo successfully discovered the whereabouts of Zonama Sekot, and the Jedi quickly left Csilla so as to complete their mission. The group soon encountered a disturbance in the hyperlane used to enter the system where Zonama Sekot had taken up residence, and while the group considered a way around the problem, Sebatyne along with the other Jedi, detected a large disturbance in the Force, coming from the direction they assumed Zonama Sekot to be. Acting on the hunch, the group successfully encountered the planet, only to find it under siege by Yuuzhan Vong. Though the planet successfully repelled the attack, it lashed out with the Force at the presence of the Jedi, knocking them unconscious.
The planet awoke Solo first due to his affinity to the Living Force, followed by Mara Jade Skywalker, as she was the only person capable of successfully landing the ship on its surface. After the landing, Master Skywalker awoke Sebatyne through the Force and she quickly felt herself drawn into the planet's immense life force. Feeling more at home on the sentient planet than on her own homeworld helped Sebatyne to see that in locating the planet and proving that the Jedi were looking for a peaceful resolution to the war, she had acquitted herself of the loss of Barab I.
While on the planet, a dissident group of the native Ferroans attacked the Jedi's camp and successfully captured Danni Quee. Sebatyne aided Solo in tracking down the group and followed his lead as he surrendered to them in the hopes of diffusing the dangerous situation. When Sebatyne and Solo were taken to the dissidents leader Senshi, they were soon met by another group of dissidents who had used the attack on the Jedi as a diversion to capture Zonama's Magister, Jabitha.
Sebatyne proceeded to defend her companions against boras, and later was confronted by the conscious mind of Zonama Sekot, who took the form of Vergere. Sekot, under the advice of Jabitha, had chosen to test the Jedi so as to discern whether they could be trusted, and after witnessing Sebatyne's heroism in defending her companions and the Jedi's refusal to leave Jabitha at Senshi's mercy, soon decided they were worthy of trust.
When the Yuuzhan Vong attacked Zonama Sekot with the life killing disease called Alpha Red, Sebatyne joined her fellow Jedi to defend the planet, while the remaining Galactic Alliance forces attacked Coruscant. Sebatyne and the Jedi succeeded in defending Zonama Sekot, while the Galactic Alliance reclaimed the galactic capital. The Yuuzhan Vong surrendered, effectively ending the Yuuzhan Vong War. After the costly war, in which half the Jedi Order perished, Sebatyne became a Jedi Master and was granted a seat on the Masters' Council that was formed by Luke Skywalker.
In 35 ABY, Sebatyne's son Tesar, as well as the other surviving members of the mission to Myrkr, disappeared into the Unknown Regions. Sebatyne accompanied Masters Luke and Mara Skywalker, along with their son, Ben, who was afraid of the Barabel since he could not read her, to track down and recover the missing Jedi Knights. The Jedi reached the Unknown Regions, where they discovered the insectoid creatures– the Killiks. On the Killik nest Lizil, they encountered Han and Leia Solo, whose children were among the missing Jedi.
On the Killik planet Yoggoy, Sebatyne and the others discovered the Killik Prime Unu, Raynar Thul. Thul had once been a Jedi Knight who had been kidnapped by the Dark Jedi Lomi Plo and Welk during the mission to Myrkr, but upon his and the Dark Jedi crashing their ship Tachyon Flier on Yoggoy, they had been absorbed into the Killik hive mind and became Killik Joiners. Thul believed that the Dark Jedi were killed in the crash, but Sebatyne and the others believed this to be untrue. Sebatyne, the Skywalkers, and the Solos traveled to the crash site, where they were attacked by large Killiks; Thul did not believe them when told about the attack, and Sebatyne and the others left the planet.
The small group soon found Tesar and the other missing Jedi on the planet Qoribu, where they learned that the Jedi had been receiving calls for help from Raynar, and chose not to resist his calls. Thul had called for help because ever since the Killik population had begun to increase, the Chiss had begun attacking their colonies. The Killik expansion had moved ever closer to the Chiss Ascendancy and the Chiss felt threatened by it. The Jedi had traveled to Qoribu, where they aided them in their fight against the Chiss, and while staying with the Killiks, they became Joiners. During one of their dogfights, the Jedi Knight Lowbacca had been captured by the Chiss. While Skywalker and the others brought most of the Jedi back to the Jedi Academy on Ossus, Sebatyne and the Solos stayed behind with Jedi Knights Jaina Solo, Zekk, and Alema Rar to rescue Lowbacca.
After many failed attempts to rescue Lowbacca, Sebatyne came face to face with the Dark Jedi Welk on Jwlio. Unbeknownst to her, Welk—whom Raynar Thul claimed to have died in the shuttle crash—was a Sith. Welk had been sent to breed assassin Killiks in order to remove the threat of the Jedi Masters, including Master Sebatyne, who were now encroaching on Lomi Plo's designs. Welk was tracked to an underground cave by the Barabel Jedi Master, and there the two engaged in a vicious lightsaber duel.
Sebatyne was surprised by Welk's mastery of the dark side of the Force, being unaware that he was a member of the New Sith Order, or indeed that it even existed. The Jedi Master fought valiantly against the Sith, despite him having the advantage of surprise and being hidden from her Force senses. Using her natural Barabel edge, to augment her considerable skills in the Force and with a lightsaber, Sebatyne proved herself more than a worthy opponent, severing Welk's Killik arm and removing one of his eyes, as well as wounding his neck. Welk fled the battle, though Sebatyne herself was gravely injured, hoping that his Killik assassins would remove her as a threat. His Killiks failed, however, and news of Welk's survival, consistently denied by Raynar Thul, was broadcast to the New Jedi Order.
Following Sebatyne's duel with Welk, the Solos decided that she should receive treatment on Ossus for her injuries. Jaina Solo and Zekk refused to return to Ossus without Lowbacca; however, Alema Rar accompanied them. While aboard the Millennium Falcon, Sebatyne slipped into a healing trance, to slow the poisons inflicted by Welk's Killik assassins and heal her head injuries. However, en route, Rar revealed that she had turned to the dark side and engaged Leia Solo in a duel; though the older woman successfully knocked her unconscious, and subsequently confined her.
On Ossus, Sebatyne received treatment from Master Cilghal, before they discovered that Alema Rar had been absorbed into the Gorog nest. They assumed that the Gorog had hidden itself from Thul's Colony by unknown means. The Jedi learned that the Gorog had been trying to start a war with the Chiss and later, after Alema Rar escaped, Sebatyne went after her with Masters Skywalker and the Solos. They tracked the rogue Dark Jedi to Qoribu's moon, Kr. There, they discovered the Gorog nest, with Sebatyne and the others managing to kill many of its corrupted Killiks, along with its Night Herald, Welk, but they failed to wipe out the nest. Raynar Thul, whom they believed to be manipulated by Lomi Plo, still did not believe that the Gorog existed.
After the attack on Kr, Leia Organa Solo asked Sebatyne to train her to be a Jedi and Sebatyne accepted her as her apprentice.
One year after the border dispute, Sebatyne traveled to the Killik world of Woteba, along with her apprentice, Leia Organa Solo, Han Solo and Master Skywalker. The planet was part of the Utegetu Nebula, which was given to the Killiks so that their expansion would not reach Chiss space. On Woteba, Raynar Thul told the Jedi and Solo that a disease known as "the Fizz" had been killing many Killiks; he blamed them for the disease. Sebatyne, Jedi Solo, and Mara Skywalker left the planet while Han Solo and Luke Skywalker stayed to discover the origin of the disease.
Later Sebatyne, Leia Solo, Mara Skywalker, and several other Jedi tried to return to Woteba in order to recover Skywalker and Solo from the planet, but were cut off by the Galactic Alliance Fifth Fleet. The Fifth Fleet had blockaded the nebula in the hopes of keeping the Killiks contained. Influenced by the Gorog Nest, under its Unseen Queen Lomi Plo, the Killiks and their Joiners had recently been pirating membrosia, an addictive drug, and were attempting to start another war. The Galactic Alliance set out to put a stop to the war before it could start. Sebatyne and Leia Solo, who were in the Falcon, attempted to run the blockade, but were eventually captured. Sebatyne and Solo met with Bothan Admiral Nek Bwua'tu, who ordered them detained in detention cells. Through the Force, Solo made contact with her brother, who told her that fifteen Killik nest ships were aiming themselves in the blockade's direction. The Killiks, under Gorog's influence, where attempting to escape from the nebula and travel to the Unknown Regions; however, Solo and Sebatyne managed to break out of their detention cells and warn the admiral of the Killiks' attack.
Nek Bwua'tu believed the Jedi and prepared for the impending attack. When the Killik nest ships arrived, Bwua'tu's forces opened fire. The busts on Bwua'tu's Star Destroyer, the Admiral Ackbar, revealed their true purpose when hundreds of small Killiks burst out of them and attacked the Galactic Alliance forces on board. While the Killik Nest ships attacked the Fifth Fleet, Raynar Thul and the Dark Nest boarded the Admiral Ackbar. Sebatyne and Solo aided the evacuation process as hundreds of Killiks boarded the ship; though Thul and the Killiks commandeered the ship shortly after Sebatyne and Solo escaped aboard the Falcon. The Admiral Ackbar, along with four other nest ships, escaped the blockade. Once on the Star Destroyer Mon Mothma, Sebatyne witnessed Bwua'tu order the remaining nest ships to be fired upon; the Swarm War had begun.
Some weeks later, Sebatyne accompanied the Solos to the Killik world of Tenupe. The Solos were hoping to reclaim their daughter Jaina, who was aiding the Killiks in their fight against the Chiss. However, Sebatyne and the Solos were captured by the Chiss and taken captive. The three soon escaped captivity and Leia Solo, during her interrogation, learned that the Chiss were planning to destroy the Killiks by infesting them with parasites. Sebatyne and the others located the two Chiss bombers that were going to unleash the parasites on the planet and, along with Jaina Solo, Zekk and the traitorous Alema Rar, destroyed the bombers. One of the wings containing the parasites broke off the bomber and plummeted into the forest. Sebatyne and her apprentice chased after it on foot, but were separated. While searching for the wing, Solo encountered Alema Rar, and the two engaged in a fierce lightsaber duel. Sebatyne looked on, confident of her apprentice's skills; Solo managed to knock Rar into the waiting jaws of a Tenupian spidersloth, supposedly ending the Twi'lek's life, though this would prove not to be the case.
Some hours later, Luke Skywalker killed Lomi Plo and brought Thul back to the light, ending the Killik conflict. After Thul was returned to the Jedi Temple, he was placed in a rehabilitation room, where he underwent harsh treatments to overcome the Killiks' influence. When the Swarm War ended, Sebatyne granted Solo the rank of Jedi Knight and suggested that she would benefit from constructing her own lightsaber. Sebatyne continued to train Organa Solo for several years, however.
In 40 ABY, Sebatyne aided in Skywalker's search for Lumiya following the death of Master Tresina Lobi on Coruscant and later, as the Second Galactic Civil War progressed, Sebatyne expressed worry to her fellow Council members that the Galactic Alliance had been involved in the assassination of Corellian Five World Prime Minister and Confederation leader Dur Gejjen.
Following the death of Mara Jade Skywalker, Sebatyne read the eulogy at her funeral, as her former apprentice, Leia Solo, was forced to flee the Jedi Temple, due to the arrival of Galactic Alliance Guard operatives who attempted to arrest her and her husband. When Jacen Solo arrived late to his aunt's funeral, Sebatyne used her eulogy as a message to Colonel Solo; to renounce his newfound dark ways and return to the light as Mara Skywalker had some years before. However, unbeknownst to Master Sebatyne, Solo was responsible for Mara Skywalker's death, and had become the Sith Lord Darth Caedus. At the conclusion of the memorial service, Sebatyne and Solo exchanged barely civil remarks, before the Jedi Master turned her attention to Master Skywalker.
Sebatyne and her fellow Council members had worried about the Jedi Grand Master's state of mind following the death of his wife and had taken measures to spare him distress, by avoiding involving him in the business of the Jedi Order and hence allow him time to grieve. However, immediately after Mara Skywalker's funeral the Council discussed Jacen Solo's recent actions, including an illegal coup against Chief of State Cal Omas. Sebatyne expressed her distrust of Solo, as did the other Masters, while Master Skywalker hoped to return him to the fold. To accomplish this, Master Skywalker convinced Sebatyne and the other Council Masters to agree to support Solo and the Alliance in the upcoming Battle of Kuat. A large number of the Jedi, including Sebatyne, then joined together in a mass battle meld that allowed greater co-ordination between them as they entered the Second Battle of Balmorra on the side of Colonel Solo and the Alliance, helping to deplete the victorious Confederation's fleet.
While the Jedi waited aboard the Anakin Solo at the battle of Kuat, for the call to their StealthXs, Sebatyne sat at the head of the Night Blades squadron table and discussed the battle plan with the other Council members. Master Sebatyne expressed her disapproval of Chief of State Solo, and of Kyp Durron's boldness in questioning Luke Skywalker, planting her support firmly behind the Grand Master. However, the Council soon learnt of Cal Omas's death, and Ben Skywalker's involvement in it. The Council immediately suspected Chief Solo of provoking young Skywalker to assassinate Omas, and after a confrontation with Solo, Grand Master Skywalker withdrew Jedi support from the Alliance, a move Sebatyne supported.
The Jedi journeyed to Kashyyyk, where Master Sebatyne would be briefly reunited with her former apprentice Leia Organa Solo, before leading the Night Blades squadron against Chief Solo's fleet, in the Battle of Kashyyyk. Following the battle, Sebatyne and the rest of the Jedi Order relocated to a long abandoned Imperial base on Endor; the academy on Ossus and the New Jedi Temple having been captured by the Galactic Alliance. The Barabel would be involved in a training session between the Council Masters, dueling Master Corran Horn, while utilizing Master Octa Ramis's lightsaber in addition to her own. Sebatyne was also present during Tenel Ka's visit to the makeshift Jedi headquarters and agreed to be involved in a mission to rescue the Hapan Princess Allana.
During the Galactic Alliance attack to capture Centerpoint Station, the Jedi staged a diversionary attack on the Anakin Solo to rescue Allana from the hands of Darth Caedus. Master Sebatyne accompanied Luke and Ben Skywalker in infiltrating the ship. En route, the Jedi encountered several YVH droids that Caedus had hoped would remove the threat of either Master Sebatyne or Skywalker, as he knew he faced impossible odds were he to be confronted by the pair together. Fortunately for the Jedi, the droids proved no match for them. The Jedi then made their way to the bridge of the Solo so as to confront the Sith Lord.
Unbeknownst to Caedus, the Jedi confronted the Sith Lord, so as to distract him while his parents and Iella Antilles rescued the Chume'da Allana. The Barabel Master was severely injured in the attack after Darth Caedus used a Force push to trap her in an officer command pit aboard the bridge with an exploding YVH droid. Though she attempted to leap to safety, the blast still managed to injure her. Insisting that she stay and help Luke and Ben Skywalker, she got back up to fight, but the Grand Master quickly sent her back to the ship so she would not succumb to her wounds. The pair soon caught up with the injured Master, and together they successfully escaped the Sith Lord's command ship, along with the remainder of their team and the rescued Allana.
Following the Second Battle of Fondor, Sebatyne was one of the first Jedi Masters to agree with Jaina Solo's idea of eliminating Darth Caedus. Master Sebatyne, like the other members of the Jedi Council, had taken to calling Jacen Solo by his adopted title, as she believed that the being who was Jacen Solo had died sometime during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Master Sebatyne argued in favor of Jaina Solo's plan, stating all diplomatic attempts to control Caedus had failed because he had no qualms about killing his rivals, as evidenced by his murder of Mara Jade Skywalker.
Sebatyne accompanied the Grand Master and the Solo family to Nickel One where intelligence provided by Lon Shevu indicated Caedus would be. During the battle Sebatyne manned the laser cannons of the groups blastboat and proved eager at the chance to destroy Imperial Starhunters. Though it appeared to Caedus' forces that the Jedi Coalition had launched an attack on Nickel One, it was merely a diversion so that Jaina Solo could surprise him during the chaos and eliminate him. While the Jedi continued the diversion, Sebatyne became frustrated that the Mandalorians under the leadership of Boba Fett were stealing a large portion of her kills. Ultimately, the Jedi managed to escape the battle with Jaina Solo, though she failed to kill Caedus.
Later, during the Jedi Order's defense of their base on Shedu Maad, Sebatyne appeared to be accepted as first among equals on the Council, while Master Skywalker focused so intently upon the Force that he was unresponsive. Later she acted as a commando, and boarded the Millennium Falcon during the later stages of the fighting. Han and Leia Solo piloted the ship past the defenses of the Anakin Solo, allowing Sebatyne and the other Jedi Masters to board the Star Destroyer and eliminate any resistance; indeed, with a small exertion through the Force, the Jedi Master slammed a squad of sharpshooters to the ground head first.
During this conflict Caedus was killed in a duel with Jaina Solo, which ended the Second Galactic Civil War. However, Sebatyne and the other Masters were still required to remove the resistance created by the Council of Moffs and were instrumental in ensuring Jagged Fel was accepted as the new Remnant's new Head of State.
Following Caedus's death, Natasi Daala ascended to the position of Chief of State. Chief Daala was quick to foster widespread anti-Jedi sentiment as part of a plan to either bring the Jedi under the Alliance's direct control or destroy it completely. This culminated in the arrest of Grand Master Luke Skywalker for 'dereliction of duty' in failing to prevent Jacen Solo's transformation into Darth Caedus. Skywalker was able to negotiate with Daala, and though he gained his freedom, he was forced into exile from Coruscant and the Jedi Order. In addition, Skywalker was forced to appoint Jedi Master Kenth Hamner as the acting Grand Master of the Order and leader of the Jedi High Council.
Sebatyne was among those who sadly bid farewell to Luke and Ben Skywalker from Coruscant the day after the trial that sealed the former Grand Master's fate. She was also among a meeting of Jedi Masters, as well as several influential Jedi Knights, who gathered to discuss the state of the Order with Kenth Hamner. When Hamner, who was attempting to humanize the Order in the eyes of the public, asked for a volunteer Master to star in a documentary about the Order, Sebatyne noted that she would appear far too ferocious to children watching. As a senior Jedi Master, it is likely that Sebatyne was among the first Jedi to have a Galactic Alliance observer assigned to her; Hamner having said that observers would be assigned to Masters first, followed by Knights and apprentices. A short while after observers were assigned to Jedi, Sebatyne was asked to report to Hamner during one of his morning addresses in the Jedi Temple Great Hall to receive a new assignment.
Later, the Jedi won a court case against the government overturning the requirement that all Jedi be shadowed by Galactic Alliance observers. Master Sebatyne later stood with her former apprentice Leia Organa Solo and several others at the steps of the Jedi Temple before negotiations began between Grand Master Hamner, Organa Solo and Chief of State Daala regarding the Order's deception of the government. Ultimately, the Order were allowed to retain custody of the rogue Jedi Seff Hellin and Natua Wan who had succumbed to a strange psychosis, so that Jedi healers could study them. Unfortunately, the similarly afflicted Valin and Jysella Horn remained in the hands of the government.
To make matters worse, the exiled Jedi Luke Skywalker discovered a resurgent Sith threat abroad in the galaxy, which the Jedi Council was powerless to aid him in dealing with due to the threat of Daala shooting down their ships should they launch without her approval. As more Jedi Knights caused public incidents after succumbing to the psychosis—Jedi that the Council refused to hand over to the Alliance government—Chief Daala issued a vague threat to Grand Master Hamner about the safety of the families of the Jedi should they continue to resist her administration. Shortly after issuing her threat, the Chief of State authorized a siege of the Jedi Temple, further entrapping the Council. Faced with no possibility of reinforcements from the Order, Skywalker was forced into a fragile alliance with the Sith in the hopes of defeating the monstrous entity, Abeloth, whom he suspected was behind the sudden outbreak of psychosis in young Jedi Knights.
Shortly after, the siege was ended when it appeared that Skywalker succeeded in destroying Abeloth, thus healing the infected Knights of the psychosis. However, although Daala withdrew her forces surrounding the Temple, she refused to hand over Valin and Jysella Horn to Jedi custody. During a meeting of the Jedi High Council, Hamner insisted that the Order give Daala a little more time to come to her senses and willingly release the Horns, while Sebatyne was one of the Council members that said they do anything and everything to free their fellow Jedi. Although when Hamner insisted that the Jedi should try their best to avoid a conflict that could kill Galactic Alliance personnel, the Council decided to give Hamner's plan a chance. Seconds later, Han and Leia Solo walked into the meeting and informed the Council of the slave uprising on Blaudu Sextus. After discussing the situation, the Council decided to send a pair of Knights to investigate whether Freedom Flight, a secret organization determined to completely eradicate slavery, was behind it. When Tesar and the other Wild Knights were suggested, Saba told the Council that all Barabel Jedi would be unavailable, though she did not give a reason (the reason being that Tesar and the others had built a nest in the Temple's depths and were guarding it until their offspring hatched). But the discussion of who to send to Blaudu Sextus soon changed when Hamner told the Council that he had an arrangement in motion that would allow the Jedi to get the StealthX Wing off Coruscant without fighting. When Hamner said he couldn't comment any further, Saba came close to rejecting his authority and launching the StealthX Wing anyway. The only thing that stopped her was when Hamner made it clear that anyone who wanted to reject his authority was going to have to fight him for control of the Order.
Saba was later present at a meeting where the Council, Leia and Han saw a media announcement about the events on Blaudu Sextus: when Belok Rhal, the Mandalorian who led the siege of the Temple as well as killed the representative that Hamner sent to negotiate with him, attacked and killed Madhi Vaandt during the broadcast, the Jedi sent to Blaudu Sextus stepped in to stop him and his commandos from killing anyone else. The reporter who took over the broadcast mistakenly announced that the Jedi's actions meant the entire Order had decided to support all slaves who rebelled against their oppressors. Saba, along with most of the Council members, interpreted this mistake as the Force's way of saying the Jedi needed to stop shying away from a confrontation with Daala and strike against all their enemies and believed that this turn of events would finally convince Hamner to take action. Hamner, however, declared that the Jedi couldn't afford to take any actions that might bring about a reprisal from Daala. Instead, he planned on going to Daala to try and convince her that the Jedi are not trying to destabilize her government. But this led to Han telling the Council that Hamner had been stalling for time in hoping that Nek Bwua'tu, whom he had made an unsanctioned deal with, would awake from the coma he fell into following an assassination attempt and solve all his problems by convincing Daala to be reasonable to the Jedi. Outraged by his deception and finally fed up with his attempts at appeasement, the Masters relieved Hamner of his position as acting Grand Master and removed him from the Council.
With Hamner's removal, the Council rallied behind Master Sebatyne as their new leader. Under her leadership, the Council decided to openly oppose Chief Daala and lend support to the growing galactic slave uprising. As the de facto leader of the Jedi Council, Sebatyne assigned her former apprentice Leia Organa Solo and a team of other Jedi Knights to break into the Galactic Alliance Security blockhouse holding the Horn siblings in carbonite and retrieve them from Daala's custody.
When Jedi Jaina Solo was able to learn the exact time of Imperial Head of State Jagged Fel's departure from Coruscant, after abruptly withdrawing from the Unification Summit, and with the added distraction of Booster Terrik's Errant Venture opening fire on orbital mirrors while hosting a celebrity sabacc tournament involving many important government figures, Master Sebatyne decided to secretly launch the fleet of StealthX's under Daala's nose, in the hopes of reinforcing Master Skywalker against the Sith, as well as Abeloth, who had been discovered to be alive. When former Grand Master Kenth Hamner discovered the Council's plan, he defied Sebatyne's order to confine himself to his chambers, and fought his way into the hangar bay, knocking two Jedi Knights unconscious. Believing that the Jedi were committing treason against the Galactic Alliance, he attempted to force Sebatyne to stop the launch. Sebatyne refused to stand down as she felt that the Jedi's duty was to the will of the Force, not the Alliance, thus causing Hamner to attack her.
A ferocious duel erupted between the two Masters, with the Barabel ultimately besting her predecessor. At the conclusion of their duel, Sebatyne used the Force to push Hamner backwards, knocking him off of a catwalk. However, she genuinely cared for her fellow Master and wished only to incapacitate him, not kill him, despite his readiness to kill her. The Barabel Jedi telekinetically caught the falling Hamner, who proceeded to use his own powers by throwing his lightsaber at the hangar bay controls in an attempt to stop the launch. Sebatyne strove for telekinetic control of the lightsaber, while simultaneously holding Hamner aloft, and ultimately was forced to allow her predecessor to fall to his death in order to break his control over the Jedi weapon. Although she regretted Hamner's death, Sebatyne stood firm in her allegiance to the will of the Force and felt that ensuring the launch's success was necessary for the greater good. Saba later answered Daala when she contacted the temple and demanded to speak with Hamner about the Jedi's recent actions against her. When Daala declared that she now had no choice but destroy the Jedi, Saba told Daala that the Jedi wouldn't lose. However, Daala couldn't launch an immediate attack against the Jedi because, to ensure the Jedi StealthX Wing could launch safely, the Jedi had taken hostages. Saba later requested that the Masters decide on a new leader, and they declared her to take over as acting Grand Master in Hamner's stead. She was strongly opposed to doing so as she regarded her inability to save Hamner's life as a great failure. The other Masters, however, refused to accept no for an answer and insisted that the Jedi Order needed a strong leader at the head of the Council. Thus, Sebatyne reluctantly agreed to temporarily accept the title of Grand Master, stating her intention to be judged for her actions upon Skywalker's return. She then told the Masters that to protect the Jedi Order and prevent Coruscant from erupting into a battleground, the Council had to remove Daala from office.
The Masters then formulated a plan to take control of the Alliance. When Daala ordered yet another Mandalorian attack on one of the slave revolts occurring across the galaxy, this time the uprising on Klatooine, the Council put their plans into action ahead of schedule to prevent the slaughter. Whilst several senior Jedi stormed the Chief's office and placed her under arrest, Sebatyne interrupted a meeting of the Senate and announced Daala's arrest. At the same time, a conspiracy led by Kuati Senator Haydnat Treen put their own plans to remove Daala into action. The acting Grand Master negotiated with Treen and put into place a ruling Triumvirate, consisting of Senator Treen, General Merratt Jaxton of Starfighter Command and Sebatyne herself, which would act as a constitutional replacement for the office of the Chief of State until new elections could take place. In this way, the Senate, the Defense Force and the Jedi Order all had equal representation in the Triumvirate and a two-thirds majority would be needed between the three Triumvirs to make decisions and effectively run the Alliance's executive branch.
Following this bloodless coup, the Jedi held a funeral for former acting Grand Master Kenth Hamner. Sebatyne also personally charged her former apprentice, Leia Organa Solo, with a mission to Klatooine, to negotiate with the various anti-slavery organizations that were in the process of revolting. As a Triumvir of the Galactic Alliance, Grand Master Sebatyne authorized Organa Solo to offer the organization closest to winning their planets independence full membership into the Alliance and a seat in the Alliance Senate. Klatooine itself quickly proved to be the planet closest to gaining independence, and was ultimately accepted into the Alliance and granted a Senate seat as Sebatyne had promised. Later, the overthrow of Daala allowed Skywalker to resume his position as Grand Master, though he did not return to Coruscant immediately.
Sebatyne found it difficult to understand the concept of grieving one's loss. Like other Barabels, she did not see the end of life as the end of the individual, honoring their memories and keeping them in her hearth instead of "swimming in sorrow" and considered grief as a Human emotion. At the same time, Sebatyne suffered noticeable pain at the destruction of her homeworld and her accidental killing of thousands of Barabel, perhaps proving that the Jedi Master was not beyond feeling grief after all.
Sebatyne was notable for believing that Jedi should live in the moment, and heed the will of the Force, and found it taxing to deal with her apprentice Leia Organa Solo's need to plan matters to the smallest detail. Master Sebatyne's Barabel instincts gave her a natural edge in combat and tracking, the Barabel being notorious for their love of the "hunt." Along with her son Tesar and the Hara sisters, Sebatyne displayed a strange sense of humor that only other Barabel tended to understand. She also differed from other Barabels when it came to her temperament. This was shown by her remarkable self-control, as she refrained from attacking a GA colonel who called her a "short-tail" (an exceptionally insulting term for a Barabel), though it was mentioned that had she not been able to control herself, she would likely have severed the colonel's arm and beaten him around the head with it.
As a member of the Jedi Council, Sebatyne was naturally a Jedi Master with an extremely strong attunement to the Force. Sebatyne was skilled in the use of Force sense, a power which heightened after the Yuuzhan Vong devastation of Barab I; she was able to detect a disturbance at the funeral of Mara Jade Skywalker, and sense the apparent death of Luke Skywalker during the battle of Kashyyyk. Master Sebatyne also detected Ben Skywalker's periodic disappearances and subsequent reappearance in the Force during his torture at the hands of Jacen Solo. Indeed, Jacen Solo regarded Sebatyne's Force sense so highly that he feared she had penetrated his "public face" at his aunt's funeral and recognized that he had become a Sith Lord. Solo also regarded Master Sebatyne as a threat to him, feeling that her power in the Force and skill with a lightsaber would be difficult for him to overcome.
Master Sebatyne was a master of telekinesis, being capable of directing objects with her mind as demonstrated aboard the Anakin Solo at the end of the Second Galactic Civil War. During her duel with former Grand Master Hamner, she proved capable of telekinetically holding her fellow Master dozens of meters above the ground to prevent him falling to his death, despite sporting a serious injury that sapped her strength. It is possible that Master Sebatyne was capable of utilizing the power of Force valor, to overcome the pain of her injuries, as evidenced by her seemingly impossible ability to remain upright after being wounded by an exploding YVH droid. Sebatyne was also particularly skilled in the use of Force meld, being one of the original proponents of the technique, and one of its fore most coordinators, during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Following her duel with Welk and injuries sustained by Killik assassins, Sebatyne demonstrated an affinity for the Jedi healing trance, being able to survive wounds that would have otherwise been fatal.
Despite her large size, Sebatyne was capable of using the Force to enhance her mobility, harnessing powers such as Force Jump with surprising grace. Sebatyne's natural Barabel physical strength lent her an advantage in combat, allowing her to place extreme power behind her lightsaber blows. Master Sebatyne was an accomplished duelist, who fought the Sith Welk to a stalemate, before being interrupted by Killiks, and was capable of sparring Jedi Master Corran Horn, who utilized a three-meter-long lightsaber blade, to a standstill. During this sparring session with Master Horn, Sebatyne made use of dual lightsabers indicating she had considerable skill with the use of Jar'Kai.
Master Sebatyne considered herself a "better fighter" than Grand Master Hamner, whom she herself acknowledged as a "master swordsman." She was capable of disarming the Jedi Master early in their duel, and later used a combination of fast and overpoweringly forceful Barabel power blows to tire him out.
Saba Sebatyne first appeared in the ninth installment of The New Jedi Order series, The New Jedi Order: Star by Star, though chronologically she was first mentioned in the e-book novella The New Jedi Order: Recovery. Both novels were written by author Troy Denning, with Recovery acting as a prelude to Star by Star and hence informing the reader of Sebatyne's background as the first apprentice of Jedi Master Eelysa and the Master of the Force-sensitive squadron known as the Wild Knights.
Sue Rostoni later announced that Sebatyne would appear on the back cover of the sixth book of the Fate of the Jedi series Fate of the Jedi: Vortex. However, she was removed in favor of Kenth Hamner as the design team was unable to create a picture of the Barabel in the particular style of the series' covers.
- "Who's Who in the New Jedi Order" — Star Wars Insider 57
- The New Jedi Order Sourcebook
- The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
- The New Essential Chronology
- The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
- "Jawa's Corner" — Star Wars Insider 95
- Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
- Fate of the Jedi: Dramatis Personae
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Galaxy at War
- The Essential Reader's Companion