Jambe Lu was a male Human who served the Jedi Order during the last years of the Galactic Republic. Lu did not hold an official rank within the Order, having failed to complete his training at the Jedi Temple's academy. As a result, he was assigned to the Agricultural Corps. After the Galactic Empire rose to power, Lu, along with other Jedi survivors, went into hiding during the Great Jedi Purge.
Because he was discovered to be Force-sensitive at a young age, Lu spent several years studying at the Jedi Temple's academy on Coruscant. However, he was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempt to graduate. Following this failure, the Council of Reassignment reassigned Lu to the Jedi Service Corps, specifically the Agricultural Corps. Lu was stationed on the stripped-mined world of Bonadan, where he worked alongside other AgriCorps members, including the Jedi Nam Poorf, to help restore the planet's devastated environment.
As the Clone Wars raged across the galaxy, Lu remained apart from the Grand Army of the Republic and had minimal contact with the clone troopers fighting for the Republic. Near the end of the war, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine betrayed the Jedi Order by issuing Contingency Order 66, which commanded all clone units to attack their Jedi Generals. At that time, Lu and Poorf were traveling back to Coruscant when they received news of the galaxy-wide catastrophe. They fled and eventually joined eight other survivors who had commandeered a SX troop shuttle on Dellalt. Four of the Jedi were killed as they departed Dellalt when the group was attacked by Galactic Empire ARC-170s and a pursuing light cruiser. The Jedi, struggling to escape, were eventually saved by the Drunk Dancer.
The Jedi were kept safe for a time aboard Jula Shryne's ship, belonging to the smuggler, as they journeyed through space to avoid the Empire. When Captain Shyrne's son, Jedi Master Roan Shryne, was rescued and joined the crew, the Jedi regained their resolve and prepared to confront the Dark Lords of the Sith who were in control of the Empire. They landed on Kashyyyk in search of Grand Master Yoda, but the Empire launched an attack on the world, led by Darth Vader, trapping the Jedi there. When Vader confronted the Jedi, Lu attempted to assassinate the Sith Lord but lost his right arm to Vader's lightsaber. His comrades saved him from death, and the remaining Jedi managed to escape the planet, dedicating themselves to subtly undermining the Empire from within until a stronger force could overthrow the Sith. Lu specifically planned to attend a flight school, where he hoped to eventually lead a group of rebels in an uprising.