Zam Wesell

Zam Wesell was a Clawdite female bounty hunter who lived during the waning years of the Galactic Republic. As a Clawdite, Wesell possessed the ability to physically alter her appearance—a power which she usually utilized to assume the visage of a human female. Prior to the beginning of the Clone Wars, the bounty hunter Jango Fett enlisted Wesell's aid to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo in 22 BBY. Her efforts ultimately failed, however, resulting in Wesell's death at the hands of Fett before she could identify him as the would-be assassin to Amidala's Jedi bodyguards.
==Biography==
===Early life and career===
A Clawdite female, Wesell was born on the planet Zolan. She was trained by the Mabari until she desired wealth and journeyed to Denon to employ her skills and training as an assassin. At some point, Wesell started to work with bounty hunter Jango Fett, becoming his frequent partner.Star Wars: The Secrets of the Bounty Hunters During an incident where she worked with Fett on Snugano, she nearly died.
===Halcyon vacation===
Prior to 22 BBY,Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the events of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones to the year 22 BBY. Because the death of Zam Wesell is depicted in that film, and a living Wesell appears in flashbacks in Halcyon Legacy 2, those flashbacks must have taken place before 22 BBY. Wesell went on a vacation with Aurra Sing aboard the Halcyon disguised as a human female. While on on board, they were hired by Colram Vestig to protect himself, and his son, Wilmar, from the Hutts. When Wilmar was kidnapped by Weequays employed by the Hutts, Sing and Wesell went to Numidian Prime to rescue him. While there, Sing was attacked by a Predavorexx. After defeating the beast, Wesell disguised herself as one of the Hutts' Weequay guards and helped Sing take out the remaining guards to save Wilmar. The duo were then able to return the boy to his father on the Halycon.
===Assassination plot and death===
In 22 BBY, Wesell was hired by Fett to assassinate Naboo Senator Padmé Amidala to prevent her from speaking up against the Military Creation Act. Sometime later, Wesell bombed the Senator's cruiser when it reached Coruscant. However, Amidala herself wasn't on the cruiser. Instead, it was her handmaiden, Cordé. After receiving the news, Wesell told Fett that she had bombed the ship, but she used a decoy. Fett then gave her some kouhuns and told her to be careful while holding them as they were very poisonous. Wesell sent a droid to do it for her, but two Jedi had been assigned to protect the senator: Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker. Skywalker quickly killed the kouhuns and Kenobi grabbed the droid. While the droid was speeding through an express way, Wesell shot it with her KiSteer 1284 projectile rifle which caused Kenobi to start falling through Coruscant's atmosphere.
Wesell quickly fled in her speeder but the Jedi were able to pursue her with a commandeered open-top XJ-6 airspeeder. Wesell took her speeder on a nosedive—plunging 2,670 meters toward the lower levels of Corusca Circus. With the Jedi relentlessly pursuing her, Wesell flew through the exhaust flames of the Kerdos Company recycling plant, hoping that the flames would scorch her adversaries in the open-top speeder. Seeing the pair still chasing her and unharmed by the flames, Wesell fired at the couplings of a nearby electrical plant, causing the Jedi's speeder to be inundated by electrical shock. The bounty hunter then steered her craft into a network of tunnels, aiming once again to lose the pursuing Jedi. Skywalker did not chase directly into tunnel, but opted to travel an alternate route. Wesell wove through tunnels, reaching speeds of 400 kilometers per hour. Upon exiting the network at the Cybot Galactica droid research institute, the bounty hunter was surprised when Skywalker suddenly jumped on top of her airspeeder. During a struggle to get Skywalker off her speeder, Wesell briefly shapeshifted into her Clawdite form which caused Skywalker to realize she was a changeling species. The Jedi ignited his lightsaber and sliced at the windscreen, knocking out the guidance systems. Wesell used her KYD-21 blaster pistol and shot the lightsaber out of Skywalker's hand, but the ensuing struggle caused Wesell to misfire her blaster pistol, damaging the control pipes.
After crashing her speeder into Vos Gesal Street in the Uscru Entertainment District, Wesell was able to flee into the Outlander Club. Skywalker was about to dash in but Kenobi reminded his Padawan that Wesell had gone in to hide, not to run. Once inside the club, Skywalker told Kenobi he knew that Wesell was a changeling and that she was a female. Kenobi said they should be extra careful in searching for her. As the pair went their separate ways with Skywalker looking for Wesell and Kenobi getting a drink, Wesell approached Kenobi from behind and attempted to shoot him, but Kenobi sensed her and chopped her arm off with his lightsaber. Wesell screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Kenobi and Skywalker carried Wesell outside and asked her if she knew who she was trying to kill. Wesell answered that she knew it was a Senator from Naboo. Then she was asked who hired her but, Wesell answered that it was merely a job as she was reluctant to reveal her employer's name. Skywalker then pressured her to tell them and Wesell was about to say who it was when Fett, who had been watching the whole interrogation, shot her in the neck with a Kamino saberdart. Wesell then said her final words, cursing at Fett in Huttese and died shortly after.
==Personality and traits==
Wesell preferred to strike her targets from afar, utilizing long-range sniper rifles or remote probe droids. Wesell used her changeling powers to take on the form of a human female and kept this form while hiding from the Jedi in the Outlander Club. When captured and interrogated by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker, Wesell refused to give the names of her employers, but upon being pressured by Skywalker, Wesell was about to give in to the Jedi's demands, only for her partner Jango Fett to kill her before she could reveal the names of their employers.
==Powers and abilities==
As a changeling, she was able to assume the appearance of anyone she chose, including her targets. She was capable of taking on any humanoid form. As she died, she reverted from speaking Galactic Basic Standard to Clawdite, before cursing Jango Fett in Huttese. She was also a skilled markswomen.
==Equipment==
Wesell made use of a variety of gear in her profession as a bounty hunter and assassin and always tried to have the best arsenal available. Her helmet utilized retractable macrobinoculars to extend her range of vision and had an attached scarf to further hide her appearance. She wore an elastic mesh body suit that adjusted to her changes in shape, over which she wore armored gauntlets, shin guards and boots. The suit incorporated a breathing system that allowed air to be directly pumped into her lungs through tubes affixed to her rib cage. She also wore an impact energy skirt that collected power. The entire outfit, including the pin on her cloak, was inscribed with emblems
and script of the Mabari, an order of warrior-knights who trained her.
For transportation, Wesell often stole vehicles to prevent her being directly tracked. Sometimes she preferred her personal Koro-2 Exodrive airspeeder, a forked, green, extremely fast speeder that was difficult to handle but
designed for any environment, no matter how hostile. Wesell's arsenal consisted of a KiSteer 1284 projectile rifle for long-range attacks and a Hadrian alloy KYD-21 blaster for close quarters combat. She also was known to make use of ASN courier droids.
==Behind the scenes==
Zam Wesell first appeared in Attack of the Clones played by Leeanna Walsman. Star Wars Jedi Master Magazine 2 erroneously states she died in 32 BBY.Star Wars Jedi Master Magazine 2
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: Galactic Defense
*
*Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy – A Graphic Novel
*Star Wars Journeys: Beginnings
*Age of Republic - Jango Fett 1 
* 
*Attack of the Clones Little Golden Book 
*Attack of the Clones Read-Along Storybook and CD
*Brotherhood 
*Doctor Aphra (2020) 27 
*Star Wars: Hunters 
*Halcyon Legacy 2 
*Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
===Non-canon appearances===
*LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Assassins
Category:Bounty hunters
Category:Clawdites
Category:Confederacy of Independent Systems individuals
Category:Denon residents
Category:Females
Category:Individuals with she/her pronouns
Category:Sharpshooters and snipers
Category:Pilots