Even though the Jedi consider themselves “keepers of the peace,” so much of how we think of them involves lightsabers and battles. After all, it’s called Star Wars, so there is always the need for some weaponry and, for Jedi, that is either the Force or a lightsaber. Jedi characters are not afforded the luxury of peace because we, the audience, need exciting and thrilling conflict with combat. 

However, Attack of the Clones gave us a first look at another type of Jedi with Jocasta Nu. Originally dubbed “the Jedi librarian,” her role was later described as Chief Librarian of the Jedi Archives. Nu was only in Episode Two for one scene, but a cut scene revealed shows Nu discussing Count Dooku with Obi-Wan Kenobi and why he left the Jedi Order. 

Although Nu was trained and went through Jedi trials, even serving on the Jedi Council, she was not as skilled in fighting as other Jedi. She did have unique skills (she could use the mind trick to get enemies to ignore her), but her existence opened up possibilities for different types of Jedi. Nu was eventually killed by Darth Vader but let’s take a look at other Consular Jedi who are not confirmed dead.

Rig Nema 

And more did come with The Clone Wars series and the novel Brotherhood. Jocasta Nu has more to do throughout The Clone Wars, but in the sixth season, episode “Voices,” Yoda begins to hear Qui-Gon Jinn, which leads the Jedi Council to believe the dark side is influencing him. In response, Yoda goes to Rig Nema, a medical doctor for the Jedi and a Jedi herself. She suggests a procedure in a deprivation chamber that will limit the body of oxygen, bringing Yoda as close to death as possible and potentially forcing whatever is influencing him to surface. In a way, it does work as Qui-Gon reaches out and tells Yoda to come to Dagobah, thus starting Yoda on the path of learning how to retain his identity after death.

The episode is the only time we see Rig Nema (she is referenced in Brotherhood, but we will get to that later). And even though Qui-Gon tells Yoda Nema’s method is not the way to communicate before sending him to Dagobah, it is a fascinating blend of Star Wars science and likely some Jedi teachings. We never find out more, and perhaps Jedi pursuing science can be a More to Explore segment, but what happened to Rig Nema after The Clone Wars?

Nema, like most Jedi, was based at Jedi Temple on Coruscant but ventured out later to war zones when needed, so we cannot assume that she was at Temple during Order 66. She did have a lightsaber so that she would be regarded as more of a threat than Younglings. And yet there is still the question of whether she escaped for two reasons: she is not confirmed as dead per Lucasfilm in any publishing material, and her Padawan, Mill Alibeth, did survive Order 66. 

Mill Alibeth

Mill Alibeth first appeared in Mike Chen’s Brotherhood. She was a Zabrak Youngling getting ready for the journey to Ilum for The Gathering (the ceremony where Jedi Initiates search for their kyber crystals and construct their lightsabers). However, she had a unique connection to the Force through her empathy, sensing pain and suffering across the galaxy at the beginning of the Clone Wars. The feelings proved overwhelming after a bombing on Cato Neimoidia, a wealthy world and base of operations for the Trade Federation, and Mill collapsed from nausea, missing The Gathering. Feeling helpless to control her abilities, Mill tried to sever her connection to the Force; however, during this time, she formed a bond with Anakin Skywalker, who could sense her despair. 

Anakin left to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi when his master was arrested by Cato Neimoidian forces (influenced by Asajj Ventress), and Mill secretly followed. Her abilities proved helpful during the mission as she could see pain and suffering as colors in the Force and detect several unguarded infirmaries, allowing them to retrieve evidence absolving the Republic of the bombing.

After the mission, Mill and Anakin spent some time meditating as she was still unsure of her future. After the meditation, she decided she no longer wanted to become a Jedi Knight. Instead, she took Yoda’s advice and assisted Rig Nema in providing medical and spiritual assistance to Jedi wounded in the war.

Before the two left for Valo (an important planet introduced in The High Republic), Nema had already trained Mill to hone her abilities, and she sensed the struggle within Anakin. She tells him he doesn’t need to put much pressure on himself.

After that, Mill is referenced in Star Wars Hyperspace Stories #4, which occurs during the Rise of the First Order era. The bounty hunter Mwarr Ja’Randa mentions Mill and Vivert Stag (Mill’s friend during her Initiate days) as a fellow pair of bounty hunters. There is a large gap between Mill’s goodbye to Anakin during the Clone Wars and her mention in Hyperspace Stories. However, to go from an empathetic medical healer of wounded warriors to a bounty hunter is puzzling. A traumatic event like Order 66 has changed other Younglings and Padawans who survived, but Mill and Vivert are now the oldest known survivors, which feels significant.

Mill is also important simply because of her place in Anakin’s story. Anakin’s guidance of Mill impresses Kenobi so much that he casually comments that Anakin might be ready for his own Padawan. She is the precursor to Ahsoka Tano. Mill chose not to take that step toward a Jedi Knight, and, fascinating enough, Ahsoka had reservations for different reasons.

Future Stories About The Jedi Consular

We learn that Mill never constructed a lightsaber, which infers that Nema decided to become a Consular Jedi after she completed her trials. Either way, the heightened ability to see pain and suffering would serve Mill well in surviving Order 66. That skill would be equally helpful as half a pair of Force-sensitive bounty hunters, especially if Vivert does have a lightsaber.

Authors introducing a new character tend to lead future stories revolving around the character (Delilah S. Dawson introduced Cardinal and Vi Moradi in Phasma and continued their story in Black Spire). Since Brotherhood was well received, it would not be surprising to get a second novel from Mike Chen that focuses more on Mill and Vivert and also takes place during the Clone Wars.

Similarly, Mill could also show up in a Dark Horse comic since she was referenced in Hyperspace Stories, although not necessarily in this particular volume. Lucasfilm Publishing and Dark Horse announced new Hyperspace Stories graphic novels in 2024. The stories will focus on Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Qui-Gon Jinn, Rey, General Grievous, Kylo Ren, and Darth Vader. Mill, Nema, or both could appear in any of these stories as secondary characters (though Mill is more likely to show up if it is a story from Reign of the Empire or Rise of the First Order). Additionally, a combination of Hyperspace Stories and The High Republic writers will be crafting these stories, indicating that the current Hyperspace Stories run could have some connecting tissues. 

But the gap opens the door for a ton of possibilities and questions. Were Mills and Vivert together during Order 66? If Mills, Vivert, and Nema were all stationed on a battlefield at the time, they would undoubtedly be targeted by clone troopers. And the “what happened to Nema?” question would be she died during Order 66; however, Lucasfilm could always revisit her journey from Jedi to Jedi Consular. 

The more interesting question is what happened to Mill Alibeth to go from using her gifts to ease suffering to likely inflicting suffering on others. And would that story parallels Anakin’s journey to the dark side?