Mace Windy

Mace Windy
Biographical information
Homeworld	Haruun Kal
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color	Bald
Chronological and political information
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era
Affiliation(s)	Jedi Order
Masters	Yoda T'ra Saa
Apprentices	Padmé Naberrie

You can't always take shortcuts.
—Mace Windy

Mace Windy was a male Human Jedi Master on the Jedi High Council during the Invasion of Utapau. Born on Haruun Kal, Windy was taken into the Jedi Order when he was six months old. He was trained by Jedi Master T'ra Saa and rose through the ranks to become a respected member of the Jedi High Council, the youngest in history at the time of his appointment to the council. During the Invasion of Utapau, Windy was the Jedi Master of Jedi Padawan Padmé Naberrie, whom he described as the best apprentice he had ever trained.

In 22 BBY, shortly after the beginning of the armed conflict on Utapau, Windy, at the behest of Jedi Grandmaster Yoda, traveled to Kamino to investigate a Republic Senate report that the Kaminoans were creating a clone army to be used against the Republic. After arriving on Kamino and speaking with the planet’s Supreme Leader, Windy discovered that the army was being created to be used by the Republic, not against it. He did, however, feel that the Kaminoans were deceiving him, so after leaving Kamino he set out to find Jango Fett, the genetic host of the clones, to gather more information on the situation.

After his investigations, Windy participated in the Clone Wars. The Journal of the Whills later referred to him as a warrior who received mainstream galactic recognition.

Biography

Early life

Padmé's learning quicker than I'd imagined. She's the best apprentice I've ever had by a long shot.
—Mace Windy on his apprentice, Padmé Naberrie

Mace Windy was a Human male born on the planet Haruun Kal. When he was six months old, his parents died and he was taken into the custody of the monastic Jedi Order. Like a number of other young Jedi, Windy was trained on Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic, by Jedi Grandmaster Yoda.

Around the time of his thirteenth birthday, Windy became the Padawan learner of Jedi Master T'ra Saa. During his training, he became aware of his rare ability to detect shatterpoints within the Force. These shatterpoints would tell him how brief moments and individuals would affect all of his future actions. The ability also allowed him to view the future, such as when he witnessed himself constructing his signature violet lightsaber. A few years after his training was complete, the Jedi High Council acknowledged his power and appointed him as a member of the Jedi Order’s governing body, making him the youngest member of the Jedi High Council in history.

Sometime prior to the Invasion of Utapau, Windy took on an apprentice, Jedi Padawan Padmé Naberrie, whom he felt was the best of all the apprentices he had trained. Beginning in 27 BBY, Windy would spar in lightsaber combat with Jedi Knight Ki-Adi Mundi, a fellow Jedi Councilor. Windy would always beat Mundi, but they used it as a training exercise so Mundi could improve. One such sparring match was in 22 BBY when Windy, Mundi, and Yoda were returning aboard Chu'unthor, the Jedi Order’s flagship, from a mission to Anison.

Clone investigations

Not authorized is this mission. In our best interests it will be for you to quickly discover the truth about this plot.
—Yoda

In 22 BBY, the Galactic Senate Armed Services Committee issued a report saying that a clone army was being built on Kamino, a planet of cloners in Wild Space, to be used against the Republic. After discussing the issue with Yoda as they were returning to Coruscant from their mission to Ansion, Windy agreed to travel to Kamino and discover more about the supposed plot against the Republic, despite the mission not being authorized by the Jedi High Council.

After Windy landed in Tipoca City, the capital of Kamino, he was confronted by three identical guards. This became his first encounter with the clone army he was sent to investigate. The guards escorted the Jedi Master to Kaminoan Supreme Leader Lama Su, who explained that the army had been ordered by Jedi Master Sido-Dyas for use by the Republic, not against it as the Senate report had suggested. Windy, however, had never heard of such a Jedi, deepening the mystery he was investigating. The two spoke further before the Supreme Leader gave Windy a tour of the entire cloning facility, where he was able to learn more about the clone army, which had nearly three million combat units, and see it during its combat training. Su also told him that the host of the clones was a businessman named Jango Fett, whose clan surname led Windy to suspect that Fett was a Mandalorian.

When the tour was finished, the Supreme Leader escorted Windy back to his starfighter and told the Jedi Master that the clones had been issued deployment orders, though Windy later overheard the two clone guards at his starfighter say that they had not been given any such orders. Unsure of the Kaminoan's motives and intentions, and suspecting that the Supreme Leader was deceiving, the Jedi Master contacted Yoda who, along with Ki-Adi Mundi, shared his concerns and suspicions. Because of the possible Mandalorian involvement in the situation, Yoda ordered Windy to locate and apprehend Fett for questioning, which the Jedi Master agreed to do.

Clone Wars

...most galactic citizens have heard of warriors such as Annikin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Mace Windy...
—The writings of Duseuso in the Journal of the Whills

Following his investigations into the clone army, Windy participated in the Clone Wars, a galaxy-spanning conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Mandalorian Clans. The Journal of the Whills, an archive of galactic history maintained by the Order of the Whills on Ashlan Four, referred to Windy as a warrior of the Clone Wars who garnered mainstream recognition throughout the galaxy.

Personality and traits

No disrespect, but why do you clone? Most societies consider it unethical.
—Windy speaks to Lama Su about the ethics of cloning

As a Jedi Master, Windy tried to be nonjudgmental when dealing with other cultures, as he believed it was important to rise above judging people based on one’s own customs and traditions. The Jedi Master’s philosophy was that only those individuals who could give up doctrine and dogma, even those that applied to the Jedi, could be considered a wise person. Anyone else, in his view, could not be a true student of the Force.

He did, however, have a difficult time putting aside his own beliefs while on Kamino. He was not a supporter of cloning sentient beings, and he was unsure if the army of Human clones that the Kaminoans created were truly Human. Windy believed that creating life in laboratories was abominable and that those who agreed to be clone hosts had sold their individuality to science.

Windy used the five aggregates of a Human being while observing the clones; form, perception, mental formations, consciousness, and a fifth aggregate supposedly more important than the first four were all aggregates of Human beings taught to him by his master, T’ra Saa, during his training. By the time he left Kamino, Windy had yet to decide whether or not the clones were truly Human beings or just simply genetic copies.

Both Windy and Yoda were keepers of a secret Yoda referred to as "the truth." Nevertheless, they rarely spoke about this supposed truth. Yoda's personal experiences with this information taught him that it was best not to become involved with it or speak about it, as he believed it would only lead to dangerous situations for the Jedi Order. Windy attempted to bring it up in 22 BBY, wondering if it had anything to do with the mystery surrounding the clone army on Kamino, but Yoda dismissed the suggestion and forbid them from speaking about it any further.

Powers and abilities

Yoda: “Still compete, do you?”
Windy: “Every two weeks. He's determined to beat me.”
―Yoda and Windy on the latter's frequent sparring matches with Ki-Adi Mundi

Windy was a Jedi Guardian, part of a specialized class of Jedi. Throughout the Jedi Order, he was regarded as one of the best swordsman that the Order had. Ki-Adi Mundi was also viewed in much the same light, so the two Jedi often sparred against one another. Neither of them felt that practice was above Jedi Masters such as themselves, so they fought in practice duels against one another every two weeks beginning in 27 BBY.

During his training, Windy became aware of the fact that he had the rare ability to detect shatterpoints. This unique ability allowed him to perceive how brief moments and individuals would affect his future actions, and he was able to see the future through the Force because of it. This ability was one of the reasons he was appointed to the Jedi High Council.

Behind the scenes

Development

“This is the story of Mace Windy, a revered Jedi-Bendu of Opuchi, as related to us by C.J Thape, padawaan learner to the famed Jedi.”―From the Journal of the Whills, Part I

Mace Windy is a fan-created version of Mace Windu, a canon character portrayed by actor Samuel L. Jackson in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Windy was created by author Brandon Rhea, one of the co-founders and authors of the Alternative Star Wars Saga fan fiction series, for his novel Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One, the beginning of a re-imagining of the Star Wars Saga. Rather than keeping the character’s canon surname, Rhea chose “Windy” not only because he liked the name better, but also because it was the original name found in the initial drafts of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. One of the first lines written for the Star Wars Saga was about how it was the story of Mace Windy, a revered Jedi-Bendu of Ophuchi. The story was to be told by C.J. Thape, “padawaan learner to the famed Jedi.”

When creating the character, Rhea made the decision to add what he felt was more depth to Windy’s character, particularly in regards to the lightsaber form of Vaapad. One criticism Rhea had of the canon Mace Windu was that there was not enough depth in terms of how Vaapad forced a user to border on the light side and dark side of the Force, along with the fact that it caused a user to enjoy battle. Rhea felt that this should have caused a more realistic and evident struggle between the two sides of the Force, and therefore decided to add it to the character. Rhea also felt that this would help avoid the “cookie cutter” and forced-“badass” type of character he believed the canon Mace Windu was, which Rhea said “failed miserably” in the films.

Rhea’s decision in developing the character was received poorly by some readers during the release of the first draft of The Chosen One. Atarumaster88, a fan fiction writer on Star Wars Fanon, the Star Wars wiki of fan invention, stated that the character “lost his coolness” in the novel, citing the differences between Windy and the portrayal of Windu in canon works such as Shatterpoint or Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Andrew Barton, a Star Wars photonovelist, also stated that he did not like the conflict added to the character. Others, however, did view it more favorably. Matthew Tarrant, and administrator on TheStarWarsRP.Com role-playing website, said that the developments were a “very Jedi problem done in a great way,” as it focused “more on his emotional turmoil” than Tarrant believed canon did.

Cut content

Along with all other characters in Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One, Mace Windy was set to appear in the now-canceled film called The Chosen One: The Animated Movie. The film was slated to be based on the novel and would have been directed and animated by Michael Jones, whom Rhea collaborated with on Sequel-Trilogy.Net and the Alternate Trilogy. Four test images of the character were created for the pre-production of the process for the film.

The first test image of Windy was a sketch of the character sitting in a Jedi High Council chair. A second image was created similar to this in still animation form, showing the character sitting in a High Council chair as a hologram. A third image was a full shot of the character, which was added into the fourth image alongside an animated version of Annikin Skywalker.

Appearances

• Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Trials of War - Shadows of Utapau

Sources

• The Alternative Essential Guide to Characters

See also

• Mace Windu on Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki