Jedi Master Depa Billaba doesn’t get much screen time, but she was a Clone Wars hero in the Star Wars: Kanan comic series.
Master Mace Windu was one of the most powerful Jedi in the Star Wars galaxy. As a senior member of the Jedi High Council, he was also one of the most influential members in the Jedi Order. Even with all of the attention as Master Windu got in Star Wars’ prequel movies, his apprentice, Depa Billaba, received almost none. Her story is only told in supplemental material. Nevertheless, Master Billaba was extremely important in galactic history.
As a child, Depa was rescued by Master Windu after her parents were killed by pirates. Windu recognized her potential in the Force and brought her back to the Jedi Temple where he trained her in the ways of the Force. Under his tutelage, she became an exceptional Jedi and was offered a seat on the Jedi High Council at a young age.
Depa Billaba is easily recognized by the Marks of Illumination on her forehead that are traditional for her Chalctan culture. During The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, Depa was seen on the High Council, but to know her story after that, one must look at the Star Wars: Kanan comic series. When the Clone Wars broke out across the galaxy, Billaba was quicky given the status of Jedi General. She was renowned for her combat ability and was more than proficient in both form III and for VII lightsaber combat.
Early in the war, Master Billaba was successful in her military campaigns. However, the Battle of Haruun Kal brought a turn for the worse. The battle was a disaster with her battalion suffering ninety percent casualties. Additionally, Master Billaba was forced to duel the monstrous General Grievous, and although she fought admirably, Grievous dealt her critical wounds that would have killed her had her clones not come to her rescue. Master Billaba spent six months in a coma healing in a bacta tank. When she finally recovered, she was reinstated at her position as a council member and as a general. Although some clones considered her a curse or “damaged goods,” she went on to win a number of more battles before the end of the war.
Something significant happed during the interim, though. While she was at the Jedi Temple, she took a liking to the young Jedi Caleb Dume. His inquisitive attitude intrigued her, and the two of them seemed to keep meeting. There was even an instance when the two of them worked together to foil CIS Captain Rackham Sear’s plan to bomb the Jedi Temple. After that, Master Billaba decided to take Caleb as her padawan.
Master Billaba took him out into the field, and they fought well together. Caleb was really getting the hang of things and learning what it meant to protect the galaxy when crisis struck during the Conquest of Kaller. During a lull in the fighting, Palpatine gave the infamous Order 66, and Caleb’s world turned upside down. Hearing his Master Billaba tell him to run, Caleb saw his master fight off Clone Commander Grey’s troops for as long as possible before succumbing to their blaster fire.
Almost all of the Jedi were wiped out, but Caleb was resourceful and ended up surviving. Taking the name of Kanan Jarrus, he bounced around and took odd jobs until he eventually met up with a Hera Syndulla. Together, they ran the ghost crew for many years and played a crucial role in the early stages of the Rebel Alliance. Without Master Billaba’s sacrifice, though, Kanan would not have survived and would not have been able to make a difference in the fight against the Empire. It’s also clear that she made an impression on him because Kanan sacrificed himself to save Hera, who he married, and his apprentice Ezra Bridger.
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