Saya Keem was a Zabrak of Iridonian descent. During the age of the High Republic Era, she was a member of the Dank Graks.
As a member of the Force-sensitive group known as the Dank Graks, Keem made her home on the vessel called the Grim Devourer. Among her various duties, she was in charge of cooking and other household tasks.
Arkik Von, the leader of the Dank Graks, had previously forfeited his claim to the planet Takodana to the pirate queen Maz Kanata, and he was devising a scheme to reclaim it in 382 BBY. Keem participated in a space engagement above Takodana, which took place after Von's clandestine meeting with other criminal organizations was exposed. Kanata's crew made contact with the Grak's ship, the Venomed Scabbard, while the Dank Graks, utilizing smaller fighter vessels, infiltrated their ships. The two factions exchanged fire within each other's vessels until Raf Thatchburn from the Antipiracy Command intervened, bringing the conflict to an abrupt end. Both groups then made their escape into hyperspace. Keem expressed regret over the loss of their ship, emphasizing the abundance of "cool things" it contained.
Following their reemergence from hyperspace, Keem sought a conversation with Von, aiming to address a presence she was sensing on board the ship. Von dismissed her concerns, stating that he was not only unconcerned but was actually anticipating Kanata's crew to locate them.
Keem accompanied Arkik Von and Lavalox Verzen on a journey to Frander's hidden depot, with the intention of acquiring Eviscerator class ships. However, Frander declined to provide them with the ships, citing his knowledge of the Graks' actions on Utapau. Von resorted to violence, employing the Force to choke Frander's Bonbraks. In retaliation, Frander used the Force to lift Keem off the ground, threatening to kill her if Von harmed his Bonbraks. Von displayed a lack of concern for Keem's safety, refusing to release the Bonbraks. At the peak of the confrontation, Sav Malagán, along with the rest of Kanata's crew, arrived, having tracked the Graks based on information provided by Abadoo, a member still aboard their ship. She demanded that everyone cease their actions and identified herself as Bazrip Ratht, an envoy dispatched by the Graf Clan to oversee the transaction. Frander then released Keem from his grasp. At that moment, Drrn contacted Von, informing him that he had located their ship. Consequently, Von informed the disguised Malagán that he needed to verify his (Arkik mistakenly believed Malagán to be male) existence with the Grafs, leading him, Keem, and Verzen to depart.
Keem and the other Graks were aboard their ship, already in space, when Malagán, who had secured an Eviscerator ship, contacted them. She expressed her desire to join the Dank Graks, asserting that her ship could easily overpower theirs, and insisted that they listen to her proposal. Consequently, Malagán was granted permission to board the ship. Von remained suspicious of Malagán and subjected her to the Trials of the Graks, although Keem suggested that he had invented them on the spot. After Malagán successfully explained her previous affiliations, levitated the entire Dank Graks group using the Force, and demonstrated her combat prowess by destroying several droids, which greatly impressed Keem, Von provisionally inducted her into the Graks and assigned Keem the task of showing her around the ship.
Keem guided Malagán through the Grim Devourer, explaining that the entire ship was supposedly fueled by the Dark Side of the Force, although she had not yet discovered how. Malagán inquired about their intended activities on Jedha, as Von had earlier mentioned that her performance on Jedha would be evaluated. Keem responded with a vague statement about initiating a war. Malagán attempted to extract more information from her, but Saya remained tight-lipped. After Malagán excused herself to the restroom to secretly contact Kanata's crew, Keem led her to the mess hall, explaining that this was where she did the cooking. As Keem attempted to sit down, Verzen used the Force to pull the chair out from under her, causing her to fall. After Malagán helped her up, she accused Keem of being overly enthusiastic about her presence because she would no longer have to handle the chores alone. Keem admitted that she could use assistance with certain tasks, and Malagán exited the room. Keem pursued her and clarified that it was not the sole reason for her happiness. Keem confided that, despite the Graks being her only true family, she occasionally felt like an outsider. She asked Malagán if she understood what she meant, to which Malagán affirmed that she did. Keem then revealed that she knew Malagán's secret, that she was not a boy as she had claimed. Malagán attempted to deny the accusation by questioning whether it was truly a lie if one simply allowed others to remain in their ignorance. Keem dismissed the matter, stating that she disliked all boys anyway, with the exception of Drrn. Eager to showcase her Force abilities, Keem used the Force to drop a mattress on Drrn, then fled before he could become angry, taking Malagán with her. She then showed Malagán where she could sleep, and they lay down on pallets in front of a large window overlooking outer space.
The Path of the Open Hand hired the Dank Graks to escalate the riots on the streets and spread as much chaos as possible. Keem and Malagán journeyed together through the holy city until Raf Thatchburn's dog, Tanteek, located them. Malagán reasoned that the dog's owner could not be far away and that she could not be seen with a Dank Grak. Therefore, she decided to send the dog back with one of her lightsabers as a gesture of trust. To accomplish this, she needed to distract Keem. She used the Force to dislodge rocks and let them fall onto Keem, but she pushed her out of the way to prevent any actual harm. As Malagán helped her up, Keem remarked that no one had ever valued her life enough to save it before. Malagán, feeling pressed for time, insisted that they continue. Soon after, she asked Keem to stop and inquired about their true purpose on Jedha. When Keem remained silent, Malagán declared that she would return to the ship. Keem agreed to answer her questions, but when Malagán asked about Kanata's whereabouts, she refused to disclose the information, stating that she should not even be aware of it. Malagán made her way back to the Eviscerator, with Keem following her. As she prepared to take off, Malagán asked her again, and Keem entered the ship, pointing to an Eirami military vessel and revealing that Maz was located there. Malagán brought them aboard the ship, but once inside, Keem simply commented that she had not expected Malagán to go to such lengths to retrieve another pirate, as she would not do it for Von, nor he for her. Malagán angrily demanded to know Maz's location, but Keem interrupted her by taking her hands and declaring that she would do it for her. She implored Malagán to come with her, to abandon everything and start anew, but Malagán refused. Keem conceded, revealing that she had only been stalling to allow Von to reclaim Takodana in the meantime. Malagán departed, leaving Keem behind.
On Takodana, Von informed Drrn that he had no intention of bringing Keem to Takodana. Drrn, who held Keem in high regard, then left to find Keem on Jedha, intending not to return to Von afterward.
More than a century later, she was remembered as a renowned pirate. Her grandchild, Zyle, admired her but also felt overshadowed and envious of her Force abilities.
At the start of LGBTQ+ Pride Month in 2023, author Daniel José Older verified Keem's status as an LGBTQ+ character, describing her as "super gay," and indicating that this aspect had not yet been explicitly established in the story at that point. Older later found humor in his "super gay" wording being included in the behind-the-scenes section of Keem's Wookieepedia article.