Tahiri Veila

Tahiri Veila, a Force-sensitive Human female, was a Jedi Knight of the New Jedi Order. The granddaughter of a Jedi of the Old Order, Veila was born on the planet Tatooine to a pair of moisture farmers, Tryst and Cassa Veila. After the deaths of her parents, an orphaned Veila was adopted by the leader of a Tusken Raider tribe who raised her as one of the Sand People. Around 22 ABY, Jedi Master Tionne Solusar discovered Veila's connection to the Force and brought her to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. She then formed a friendship with a fellow Jedi Initiate named Anakin Solo, a grandson of the Jedi Chosen One Anakin Skywalker who was also remembered as the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Biography

Early life (13 ABY–22 ABY)

Tahiri was born on the planet Tatooine. Like many of the planet's other settlers, her parents Cassa and Tryst Veila had a moisture farm where she spent her early years. She was orphaned at the age of three during a Tusken Raider raid though she was adopted by the tribe's leader Sliven in return for the kindness shown to him by her parents. Tahiri was raised as a Tusken Raider and had a pet bantha named Bangor. She was skilled in the Force and was later found by Jedi Master Tionne and brought to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 at about nine standard years old in 22 ABY.

Jedi training (22 ABY–25 ABY)

"You are not going to leave me alone no matter what I say, are you?"

―Anakin Solo, to Tahiri, 22 ABY

There she met the youngest of the Solo children, Anakin, and they quickly became close friends. Around the Academy, Tahiri refused to wear shoes and would go everywhere barefoot because she liked the coolness of the floors, which contrasted pleasantly with Tatooine's hot sands.

Tahiri as a Jedi student

On one adventure with Anakin, they came across the crumbling Palace of the Woolamander and discovered the Golden Globe and the ancient Kushiban Jedi Master Ikrit. Later, Ikrit also informed the pair that the Golden Globe contained countless trapped souls and that he had tried to break it before and failed.

Following that, Tahiri and Anakin accompanied the Melodie Lyric to her homeworld of Yavin 8 where she was to undergo an important form-changing ritual known as the Changing Ceremony. Shortly after the trio's arrival, they fell under attack by several native predators including an avril, a reel, several raiths, and a purella. However, Anakin fought and killed them all. During the journey, the pair also discovered ancient carvings deep within a cave on the moon which matched those found at the Palace of the Woolamander. From these carvings, they learned that Golden Globe contained the souls of the children of the Massassi that had been imprisoned by the Dark Lord Exar Kun in 3997 BBY. They also learned that it was held together by Sith magic that could only be broken by Force-sensitive children.

Tahiri and Anakin Solo escaping a krayt dragon.

However, before Tahiri and Anakin could do so, Sliven demanded that she return to Tatooine. Tahiri was accompanied by Anakin to Tatooine where she rejoined her people and discovered that her real parents were Tryst and Cassa Veila, also Force-sensitives like their daughter, though they had been accidentally killed in a raid by the Sand People. The two young Jedi also had to use their Force abilities as never before including surviving the harshest deserts of the Dune Sea, evading a sarlacc, befriending a Jawa clan and defeating a krayt dragon. Following this ordeal, they returned to Yavin 4 and freed the trapped souls within the Golden Globe.

Despite this, her friend Anakin remained troubled by visions of himself as a Dark Jedi, by his heritage as the grandson of Anakin Skywalker, who had become the infamous Darth Vader. Also, the reborn Emperor Palpatine had once attempted to enter him as an infant. To ensure he had no potential for evil, the young Jedi asked if he could go to the very same cave on Dagobah that Luke Skywalker had gone years earlier, and face himself.

However, before arrangements for the trip could be made, a youth named Uldir Lochett was found stowed away on one of the supply ships to the Praxeum Lightning Rod. In spite of his optimism, he lacked obvious Force sensitivity—in his own later, rueful opinion, all he had were good hunches, a whisper-like ability to sense when the Force was being used, and a habit of causing trouble. Later, Tahiri, Ikrit, and R2-D2 accompanied Anakin to Dagobah. There, they discovered that Uldir had stowed away on their transport and encountered several swamp creatures before finally reaching the cave where Skywalker had faced his own dark side years earlier. There, Anakin faced the manifestations of his own doubts though he emerged victorious in the end.

Later that year, the Jedi historian Tionne discovered that Darth Vader had saved Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber after their duel on the first Death Star in 0 BBY and kept the captured artifact at Bast Castle on Vjun. Since an information broker had sold this information to them, she feared that others may have gotten to it first and quickly informed Master Skywalker at the Jedi Praxeum. Thinking it was just a simple trip and time for training, Tionne allowed Tahiri, Anakin, Uldir, and Ikrit to accompany her to Vjun on her personal transport Lore Seeker.

Having arrived on Vjun, they discovered another vessel and feared another group had reached it first. Having survived Bast Castle's automated defense systems and booby traps, they discovered the lightsaber in display in a protected alcove. Unfortunately, a group of mercenaries and pirates under a cloaked man named Orloc arrived. Orloc claimed to be a mage who possessed great powers and his henchmen also stole Kenobi's lightsaber.

Tahiri during her days at the Jedi Praxeum.

In response, the Jedi pursued Orloc and his henchmen on a chase through Bast Castle. During a confrontation, Orloc easily defeated Ikrit with a lightsaber since the Kushiban was without one. He also deceived Uldir by claiming to train him all the Force skills he desired. However, the other Jedi managed to rescue Uldir and escape Bast Castle, along with Kenobi's lightsaber and the holocron of the ancient Jedi Master Asli Krimsan.

Despite having escaped Orloc, Uldir was now obsessed with what the Mage had told him and still believed that the Mage would be able to awaken the Force powers within him, which nobody at the Jedi Praxeum had been able to do. Uldir then stole Ikrit's ship Sunrider (named after Nomi Sunrider) and the two Jedi artifacts recovered during the previous adventure at Bast Castle.

Uldir eventually found Orloc at an abandoned space station called Exis Station, where Tionne had met Luke years earlier in her search for relics. Having arrived at the derelict space city, Uldir found Orloc whom took the youth as his student. The Mage had already set up his base on the moon and planned to create his own Jedi Order. In reality, Orloc had no Force powers but had actually used high-tech gimmicks to deceive others with demonstrations of so called "Force power." Uldir did not realize it.

Tionne, Ikrit, Anakin, and Tahiri set out to find Uldir on their transport Lore Seeker and eventually found Exis Station. Having arrived, they tried to tell Uldir that Orloc was a fraud and that he had been deceived. The Mage attacked the four Jedi with his high-tech gimmicks, who fought back by using the Force.

During the duel, Tionne was wounded and Ikrit—who had sworn not to wield a lightsaber until he had found worthy students—made his decision and join Anakin and Tahiri in their fight. Uldir then saw that Orloc was little more than a charlatan who used technology to deceive others with demonstrations of power. Together, the Jedi defeated Orloc, thus removing a threat to the growing New Jedi Order. Tahiri and her companions would return to the Jedi Praxeum. Whenever Tionne was not teaching classes, Tahiri had her full attention.

Personality and traits

"Eventually, we all betray something, Tahiri. It's what you stay true to that counts."

―Ben Skywalker, to Tahiri Veila

The Jedi Tahiri Veila (right) and the Myrkr strike team on Yavin IV

As a child, Tahiri Veila was an optimistic and free-spirited youth. Although she was rather fond of the time she spent being raised amongst the Tusken Raiders of Tatooine, Veila was fascinated by the Force, as well as her own connection to it, and was eager to be inducted into the ways of the Jedi Order. Even at a young age, she paid close attention to detail and was able to recall specific features of anything that interested her. Shortly after beginning her life as a Jedi, Veila was able to recall several facts about Banthas, such as their physical aspects and their usefulness in transportation on desert terrain.

Yet despite her fondness for Tatooine and the people who raised her, the harsh and nomadic lifestyle of the Tusken Raiders, combined with the desiccated atmosphere of Tatooine, led Veila to feel a certain degree of animosity towards the cultural aspects of the Tuskens. Not only was she irritated by the requirement of covering her entire body in long robes, she hated the fact that she had to cover her face in accordance with Tusken tradition. The experiences of her childhood on Tatooine ultimately caused Veila to develop a particular trait that she retained well into adulthood: a phobia for footwear. After spending her first years on a surface covered mostly by hot sand, Veila reveled in her new-found freedom as a Jedi to walk barefoot whenever she pleased. She loved the sensation of feeling the cold surface of the Great Temple on Yavin 4 with her feet. With few exceptions, Veila spent most of her young life without shoes.

Upon beginning her initiation into the ranks of the Jedi Order, Tahiri Veila was instantly drawn to another young initiate named Anakin Solo, the grandson and namesake of the fallen Sith Lord Darth Vader. The two eventually developed a friendship that continued into their adolescence. Throughout their journeys together, Veila became Solo's best friend and confidante, whom she sometimes consoled by assuring him that he was not destined to fall to the dark side like his namesake.

Appearances

• Junior Jedi Knights: The Golden Globe (First appearance)
• Junior Jedi Knights: Lyric's World
• Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
• Junior Jedi Knights: Anakin's Quest
• Junior Jedi Knights: Vader's Fortress
• Junior Jedi Knights: Kenobi's Blade
• Young Jedi Knights: Crisis at Crystal Reef

Sources

• "The Women Of Star Wars" – Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 12
• "Use the Force: A Novel Trivia Quiz" – Star Wars Galaxy Collector 5