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“ | I know something about pain you don't. Pain drowns other people. I just swim in it. | „ |
~ Tahiri Veila |
Tahiri Veila is a major antagonist in the Legacy of the Force series, serving as the secondary antagonist of the last 2 books. She serves as Darth Caedus's Sith apprentice after his failure to seduce Ben Skywalker.
History[]
A native of Tatooine, Tahiri originally befriended Caedus's brother Anakin when they were both Jedi younglings. After the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the known galaxy, Tahiri was captured by Mezhan Kwaad and Nen Yim, who sought to turn the Jedi Padawan into a Force-sensitive Yuuzhan Vong. Though Tahiri was eventually rescued by Anakin, the experience left her scarred emotionally and physically. She developed a dual personality, one as Tahiri Veila, the other as Riina Kwaad, a fictional Yuuzhan Vong based off the memories of Nen Yim.
Following her rescue and the sacrifice of Vua Rapuung, Tahiri and Anakin began to grow closer. While on a mission with Jedi Knight Corran Horn, the two young Jedi shared a kiss. Before they could figure out their relationship, however, Anakin was killed on a mission to kill the voxyn queen. Tahiri seemed more broken by this than even Anakin's siblings Jacen and Jaina. She would forever regret that she had not at least given Anakin one last kiss before he died.
On the same mission that cost Anakin his life, Jacen was captured by Nom Anor and Vergere, and faced similar treatment under their care that Tahiri. Eventually, with the help of Vergere, Jacen escaped. Once returned to Mon Calamari, Jacen tried to help Tahiri use her experience with the Yuuzhan Vong to her advantage. With Jacen's help, she learned how to feel the Yuuzhan Vong in the Force, a power she and Jacen dubbed "Vong-sense."
After Jacen departed on a mission to rediscover the planet Zonama Sekot, however, Tahiri began to break, as her two identities began to clash. Eventually, with the help of Jaina, Tahiri learned how to merge her two sides: Yuuzhan Vong and Jedi. When she awoke, she was mentally healthy again, albeit with a harsher and more sadistic personality than she had before.
Following this, Tahiri, at the bequest of a Yuuzhan Vong Shamed One, departed on a mission with her old mentor Horn and the Yuuzhan Vong traitors Yu'shaa (an alias of Nom Anor), Harrar, and her old nemesis Nen YIm. Once there, Tahiri and the Yuuzhan Vong began to discover that Zonama Sekot was seed of their lost homeworld Yuuzhan'tar. Given this information, Harrar and Nen Yim began to realize how lost their species was. As they both defected to the Jedi's side, Nom Anor turned on them. He murdered Nen Yim, poisoned Zonama Sekot, and fled the world.
However, Sekot managed to save its planet, and it returned to known space to aid the Galactic Alliance. With Harrar's help, Sekot and the Jedi realized how they could save the Yuuzhan Vong. After Sekot's return, Tahiri took part in a mission to retake Coruscant. While Jacen, Jaina, and Luke Skywalker confronted Shimrra Jamaane and Onimi directly, Tahiri, Mara, and Harrar aided Han and Leia Solo in neutralizing the World Brain. Fortunately, Jacen managed to convince it to turn on its masters.
Following Jamaane's and Onimi's demise, the Galactic Alliance negotiated a peace treaty with the Yuuzhan Vong. The aliens would be allowed to live in willing exile on Zonama Sekot, so long as they called a ceasefire and helped the Alliance save the galaxy. Following this, Tahiri spent the next six years with the Yuuzhan Vong on Zonama Sekot.
The Way of the Sith[]
Six years after the Yuuzhan Vong War, Jacen reappeared from his odyssey, now a much harsher Jedi than he had been before. As war mounted between the Alliance and the Killik Dark Nest, Jacen began to utilize Tahiri as his spy, a tool he would use to fulfill his plans. Eventually the Dark Nest Queen, Lomi Plo, was killed and her pawn former Jedi UnuThul was captured. With this, the galaxy seemed to find peace. This would not last.
Five years after Killik crisis, war began to mount between the Alliance and the Corellian system, led by Thrackan Sal-Solo. At this point, Jacen began to study under the Sith Lady Lumiya, who slowly shaped him into a ruthless tyrant. Once Jacen had ousted Chief of State Cal Omas from power, the Sith apprentice became joint Chief of State with Cha Niathal. Around this time, Jacen shed his old self with the murder of Mara Jade Skywalker, becoming the Sith Lord Darth Caedus.
Using the power of flow-walking, Caedus began to seduce Tahiri with memories of her lost love Anakin. Mistakenly believing she could alter time, Tahiri began to serve as Jacen's agent, even attempting to arrest Han and Leia Solo on Caedus's orders. After Ben Skywalker left Caedus's side, the Sith Lord began to shape Tahiri to be Ben's replacement. She rose to the position of Galactic Alliance Guard lieutenant.
During the Second Battle of Fondor, Tahiri served aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Bloodfin, where she was to keep an eye on Gilad Pellaeon. When Pellaeon chose to honor Fondor's surrender rather than follow Caedus's order to fire on the planet, Tahiri slipped into his quarters and assassinated him. Following heinous crime, Tahiri officially became the Sith apprentice of Darth Caedus. During her time as Caedus's apprentice she was possibly involved in a physical relationship with her master but without romantic feelings towards him.
In the final days of the Second Galactic Civil War, Tahiri led a Galactic Alliance task force against Jedi agents Jaina Solo, Leia Organa Solo, and Ben Skywalker. While Jaina and Leia escaped, Tahiri captured Ben and the Jedi agent within the Galactic Alliance Guard, Lon Shevu. Throughout the next few days, Tahiri made several fruitless attempts to seduce Ben to the dark side. All ended to failure. Finally, she threatened Shevu's life if Ben didn't reveal the secret Jedi base. As she tortured the former cop, Tahiri unintentionally killed him. This action left Tahiri shaken.
During the climatic battle of the Second Galactic Civil War, Ben managed to bring the remorseful Tahiri back to the light side. She was arrested by Galactic Alliance agents. Around this same time, Tahiri's Lord Caedus was killed by his sister Jaina. But though the Sith was dead, his action left lasting repercussions on the rest of the galaxy.
Abeloth[]
In the years that followed Caedus's death, Tahiri never truly recovered from her time as a Sith apprentice. Rather than return to the Jedi Order, Tahiri departed on a self-imposed exile where she became a bounty hunter. This lasted up until Caedus's successor Natasi Daala arrested her for the murder of Gilad Pellaeon. Despite the determination of defense attorney Eramuth Bwua'tu, Tahiri was convicted for Pellaeon's murder and sentenced for execution. However, when Manda'lor Boba Fett arrived to free Daala from the very same prison, Tahiri used that as a distraction and made her own escape, slipping into the Coruscant underworld, where she would remain until she could make contact with the Solos.
Once everything had settled down on Coruscant, Tahiri met up with the Solos and Imperial Head of State Jagged Fel. There, she agreed to turn herself over to Fel and face the consequences in the Imperial Remnant. Until a trial could be held, Tahiri would serve as Fel's Force-sensitive bodyguard, as he fought control of the Empire against a vengeful Daala. Once it had become clear that Abeloth was pushing things toward Daala's favor, Tahiri was named the first Imperial Hand since the death of Emperor Palpatine. Her task was to take out the Abeloth avatar aiding Daala. She discovered Abeloth within the body of Imperial lieutenant Lydea Pagorski, a woman who had perjured herself at Tahiri's trial, in hopes of getting the Former Sith apprentice convicted. With the unexpected help of Fett, Tahiri managed to destroy Abeloth, only to discover later that several avatars of the Force entity had survived, one of which (the Sith Lady Korelei) had kidnapped Ben Skywalker and Vestara Khai.
During the climatic battle on Coruscant against Abeloth and her Sith allies, Tahiri was pardoned by Fel and free to return to the ranks of the New Jedi Order. Once more a Jedi Knight, Tahiri joined Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne and Admiral Nek Bwua'tu's Void Jumpers in the battle within the Jedi Temple, where Sebatyne managed to destroy the avatar of Abeloth causing trouble there. At the same time, the Korelei avatar was destroyed by Ben and Vestara, and the true Abeloth was destroyed by Grand Master Luke Skywalker and Darth Krayt of the One Sith.
Afterward[]
In the aftermath of Abeloth's war on the Jedi, Wynn Dorvan was named interim Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance. As a result of the chaos caused by Abeloth, the Senate voted that the Jedi leave Coruscant, choosing to blame the Order for all the destruction. Grand Master Skywalker agreed with the decision to leave, as Daala's reign had proved how powerless the Jedi had been on Coruscant. Tahiri was among the rest of the Jedi who departed from Coruscant.
Trivia[]
- Tahiri is similar to Regina Mills from Once Upon a Time; despite being initially heroic in nature, their grief over losing a man they loved turned them cold. Later, a Dark Lord (Darth Caedus, Rumplestiltskin) used this to manipulate them and turn them into his apprentice. However, unlike Regina, Tahiri was redeemed by Ben Skywalker before she could become as evil as her Master.
- Caedus gave Tahiri the false hope that she could bring Anakin back and then crushed it, planning to use this to drive her further down her dark path. Though the last part failed, it bears a similarity to Rumplestiltskin's actions in the episode "The Doctor." In the episode, Rumplestiltskin hired Victor Frankenstein to fake an attempt to bring her love Daniel back from the dead; the failure then drove Regina further down her dark path.