An'ya "The Dark Woman" Kuro

Homeworld: Unknown
Species: Human
Gender: Female
Height: Unknown
Weapon: Lightsaber
Vehicle: Jedi Starfighter
Affiliation/Rank: Jedi Master
Master: Unknown
Apprentice: Jon Antillies, Aurra Sing, A'Sharad Hett, and probably more...

Before the Clone Wars…

Many years before the Clone Wars, An'ya Kuro "discovered" Ki-Adi-Mundi on his homeworld of Cerea when he was 4 years old. She took him to Coruscant for teaching, and he was trained to Knighthood by Yoda.

Her devotion to the Force and the Jedi Order was such that at some point she renounced her own name as a sign of her selfless fealty. Her teaching practices and philosophies were notoriously extreme, almost heretical-called "unorthodox" by some, "disturbing" by others. In time, she became known as "The Dark Woman". She trained many Padawans, including "Jon Antilles" and Aurra Sing, who became a bounty hunter and infamous killer of Jedi.

Some Jedi questioned her notoriously unconventional training methods-so much that she began to question them herself. To confront these doubts, and also haunted by her failure with Aurra Sing, she sought solitude in the depths of space and the Living Force. For years, the rest of the Order had no word from her. Then, shortly after the Battle of Naboo, she reappeared on Coruscant to see Ki off before he left on his mission to Tatooine (to confront the wayward Jedi Sharad Hett), and to give him this mysterious warning: "I've had dreams! Great dangers await you-dangers that whisper of the dark side! Within the deserts of another's heart, your life will be changed forever! Listen to the Force! Let it guide your every step and thought! Beware, on this world to which you go, Ki-Adi-Mundi! Beware!"

During the mission, Aurra Sing killed Sharad Hett, and Ki took Sharad's son A'Sharad Hett as his apprentice. Later on, The Dark Woman dueled with A'Sharad in a characteristically intense lightsaber match that Jedi Master Even Piell described as "brutal and disturbing."

Two years after Naboo, right after Aurra Sing killed two Jedi on Coruscant (click for details), The Dark Woman invited herself to the Jedi Council meeting in which the Councilors were going to decide what to do about the killings. She wanted to personally track Aurra down and bring her to justice once and for all. The Council decided that she was too close to the matter to be able to confront Aurra with the proper objectivity and detachment. Instead, they sent Adi Gallia, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and A'Sharad Hett.

They followed Aurra to an unclaimed planet at the edge of the Kamdon system; Aurra was going there to kill both The Dark Woman and Senator Tikkes. She was getting paid to kill them by 2 expatriate Quarren who wanted revenge on both. The Dark Woman had gone to this planet, as she had before, to seek refuge from life, but couldn't escape the memory of her failure with Aurra. Apparently beknownst to her, Tikkes had recently bought the planet, and was going there to inspect his new property.

In an altercation in the cockpit of Senator Tikkes' starship (which was parked on the surface at the time), Aurra and A'Sharad went at each other with two lightsabers each. A'Sharad knocked Aurra senseless with a big piece of metal debris, and rolled her down the ship's ramp to the ground just as the other three Jedi arrived at the ship. Ki was impressed that A'Sharad had defeated Aurra, and told him "Well done!" But A'Sharad confided that despite all his Jedi training, he had simply wanted to kill Aurra, to get revenge for his father's death. He felt he could no longer be trusted to pursue the ways of the Force, and asked Ki's permission to return to Tatooine. The Dark Woman offered to take him on as her own Padawan, and complete his training. Ki left the decision up to A'Sharad. But before he could announce his decision, one of the planet's frequent meteor storms began to bombard the area. The other Jedi went up the ramp and The Dark Woman was going to bring Aurra aboard. However, Aurra had regained consciousness while the Jedi stood around talking, instead of restraining her and bringing her aboard the ship (which they should've done first). A meteorite hit near the ship, throwing The Dark Woman off her feet, and when the dust cleared, Aurra was gone. They had no choice but to lift off before the ship was pounded to bits. "It's over for now," said Ki, but The Dark Woman responded, "No, Ki-Adi-Mundi. As long as that woman is alive, it can never be over."

During the Clone Wars…

Month of the Battle of Geonosis: Fought in the space battle at Geonosis.

Month 7 ABG: Traveled to Devaron with Aayla Secura, Tholme, Kit Fisto, and T'ra Saa to stop a group of raiders that were attacking Republic supply ships on the Corellian Hyperspace Trade Spine. Was successful in the mission, but had to be healed in a bacta tank afterwards.

After the Clone Wars…

She went into hiding on the fifth planet of the Cophrigin system. Much later, during the height of the Empire, Mara Jade learned of The Dark Woman's whereabouts from a fugitive on Kuat, who'd heard it from a Sacorrian smuggler. Palpatine dispatched Darth Vader to the planet to eliminate her. Leaving his stormtrooper escort with the shuttle, Vader set out into the wilderness alone. He engaged The Dark Woman in a spectacular lightsaber duel, and eventually defeated her. At the moment of her death, she disappeared into the Force, leaving only empty clothes. Seconds later, she reappeared as a blue ghost and said to Vader, "Darth Vader ... Anakin ... I see within you the power to release yourself from the dark side." Vader replied, "No! I seek no release! Anakin no longer exists!" He swung his lightsaber blade through the ghost, and she vanished.