We are in Coruscant,in the midst of a war with the Vuuzhan Vong,and alien race bent on destroying everything we hold dear.On Coruscant,me and the Jedi are trying to find a solution.It is not working well."Master Skywalker,we have to take the offense.We have lost so many planets,so many Jedi,and know Tsavong Lah places a bounty on all are heads!The highest being in Jacen Solo,your nephew,and Strill,your guardian!"Luke took a calming breath,"Kyp,I understand your concern,but you have to calm down.Offense action leads to the dark side."Kyp slammed his fist in the table,"Yes,look where that has got us.I heard on Duro in of you even stopped using the Force."He looked to Jacen,and Jaina snapped,"Bantha poodoo!Kyp,while you may have been blowing stuff up,we have been working hard and diligently to save lives."Jaina stormed out,and Anakin followed her.I got up and followed them as well.I didn't get all of the conversation,but when I got there,Jacen was there as well.Anakin greeted me with a warm smile,"Hello Strill."I nodded in greeting,and Jaina looked at me,"Seeing as you are the most tactical minded here,where do you think the Vong will strike next?"I snorted,"You guys haven't figured it out?"Jacen sighed,"Anakin has,but he insists on keeping us in suspense.Anakin looked at me and we spoke as one,"Yavin IV."
A little bit later,we tried to tell Luke and Mara,but they already knew.Luke reassured us that he sent Talon Karrde to help the Jedi students,but he we would be there in a few days.Anakin seemed pretty mad about that,and I could tell that there were more personal reasons involved.So,I decided to confront him on the hanger.I saw Anakin and his droid,Fixer,getting a X-wing ready.He froze when he saw me,"Hello Strill.You know what I am going to do.Our you going to give the standard 'Don't be Reckless' speech?" I gave a bark of laughter and I took off my helmet,"Kid,I thought you knew me better than that.What other's call recklessness,I call courage.Recklessness is what makes you courages,you don't think about the enemy or ponder your action.Those thoughts get you killed.You be reckless,that is what makes you strong,Anakin."Anakin seemed a little surprised,"Uhh...Thanks?"I snorted,"Kid,let me go with you.You will need a little help,I think."Anakin's face immediately brightened,"Thanks Strill!I knew I could count on you!"I smiled at his excitement,"One thing first.Tell me the true reason why you want to rescue the kids so quick.There is a deeper,more personal reason."Anakin's face became red and he liked sheepishly at the ground,"My best friend is at the Praxeum.It has been a while since I have see her,and the Force is telling me she is in danger."I grunted as I got in the second seat behind Anakin,"Does she have a name?"There was a moment of silence as Anakin went to the pilot seat and went into hyperspace,"Tahiri Veila."I blinked in surprise.Veila.Why am I not shocked?If her name is Tahiri,then she was,she was...I bursted out laughing,I couldn't help it.Fate is sowing all this together.I have helped Cassa Veila once,under her guise of Tahiri,a name I have adopted multiple times when I have helped the Veila family.Anakin finally grew tired of my laughing,"What is so funny?"I took a deep breath,"Buckle in kid.This is a long story."
When I finished my tale,Anakin was silent for a little while.He then finally spoke,"That is...interesting."A smiled,"The will of the Force?"Anakin glanced at me,"You are in a weird mood today.First you laugh and now ow you make bad jokes."I coughed,"Out of hyperspace...now."The X-wing popped into Yavin IV's space,and I saw a freight ship nearby.I glanced at Anakin and he nodded.He flicked in the comms and I automatically started arming weapons."Freighter,you are in restricted airspace.Identity yourself."There was a pause on the comm,"We mine gems."
"Yavin IV has no gems."
There was another pause,"Your Jedi mind tricks have failed you.We are Peace Brigade,and..."Anakin turned it off and flew right at the ship.I started targeting the weapons,and Fixer beeped at Anakin.I readied my weapons and fired at the ship,while Anakin maneuvered around the freighter.After a while,the freighter commed us,and Anakin answered."Give up Jedi.We have you out numbered."Anakin snorted,"I think you need to learn how to count."I cursed at the screen,"A whole fleet is coming this way.We should land at the academy."Anakin nodded,turned off the comms,and flew to the base.
When we arrived at the base,Anakin motion me to stay in the shadows until the right moment,and he walked out.There was a lightsaber lit and Kam Solusar walked out.They had a little bit of a conversation, it then Anakin said,"I brought one more person.."I walked out from the shadows and Lam was visibly surprised.I smiled and shook Kam's hand,"My name is Strill.I already know who you are,Kam."Kam quickly recovered and smiled at me,"Of course.Please follow me."We were at the elevator when I saw a blur of blond hair and orange jumpsuit come out of it.It rushed froward and tackled Anakin in a hug,and I knew who it was.Tahiri.Seeing Anakin's look in his face,and Tahiri's,I couldn't help, it quickly shove in my helmet and laugh hysterically.No body heard me due to my helmet,and I am grateful for that.When I stopped laughing,I saw Tahiri detach from Anakin and stare at me strangely.Anakin,who looked pretty flustered,said,"This is Strill.He is your..."I interrupted him,"Later."He nodded in understanding,and Tahiri kept giving me a strange look.When we arrived at the planning room,I saw I tiny thing that I recognized as Ikrit.Anakin had a conversation with Tahiri,and she stomped away,obviously mad at being told to go.He looked at me,and I spoke?"Ikrit?Yoda spoke very fondly about you.The most emotion I have ever seen him show."He stared at me curiously,"Our you a clone trooper?"I nodded,and me,Kam,Ikrit,and Anakin discussed a plan.
A few hours later,I decided to talk to Tahiri before she leaves.After a little bit of tracking,I found her room,and I opened the door with out knocking.Tahiri was sitting in a chair,writing something,and immediately threw it under her pillow."Hello," she said like I didn't see the whole thing.I pointed behind the pillow,"What did you hide?"She tried to look innocent,and failed,"What thing?"I walked over to the pillow and threw across the room,and grabbed the book.Tahiri's face grew red and she looked at the floor.There were two items there.One was a book that said,"The Life of Anakin Solo."The other one looked like a book she was writing,and it looked strangely like a biography about Anakin.I read the first page,then dropped it.I turned to her,"I see."Her face was as red as a sun,"If you tell him,I swear.."I clipped my helmet to my belt and put my hands up,"Don't worry.I try to avoid teenage love scandals."She reddened,"It is not..." she sighed in frustration,"Our you here for a reason or just it torture me?"I took a deep breath,"Your parents must have told you the story of a legendary man named Strill,who saved your great-grandparents from imprisonment.They also most have told you of the man helping you mother,Cassa,topple a crime syndicate and helping her meet you father."Tahiri rose an eyebrow,"Yes they did.They said that the person's name was Tahiri,and was my namesake."O pulled out a ration bar and started eating,"Well I was Tahiri.I helped your family as that name."Tahiri's eyes widened,"No way!You're lying."I rose an eyebrow,"Am I?Your parents were both Force sensitive.The crime lord ringleader name was Bossk,and he had the help of Cad Bane and Dengar.Also..."Whatever else I was about to say was ended by Tahiri breaking down sobbing and flinging her arms over me.I grunted in surprise,but wrapped my arms around her.Tahiri was mumbling,"Thought all family was dead.Know have somebody beside of Anakin."I patted her back awkwardly."We can figure this out when we get out of here,okay?"She nodded,and I walked out the door.And almost stepped on Ikrit.I opened my mouth for an apology,but Ikrit spoke,"You know Tahiri affection for Anakin.You can also tell that Anakin has feelings for her,deep down."I nodded,"I say I don't want to get involved with teenage romance,but this is more than that.I may be force to intervene."Ikrit smiled,"You know their destiny.And you know yours.Keep them safe."I nodded,"When you are with Anakin,tell him that 'the sun of your parts are greater than you whole.'Don't quote me on it,just get the message across,and don't tell them I said that."He gave a little nod"Of course.Also m,can you tell me about the Jedi Order?You don't seem to like the old Jedi."I gave a pained smile,"Sit down Ikrit.This is a long story."
I was helping Kam and Tionne load the kids into the ships when I saw three figure leave out the corner of my eye.I went over to see who they are,and I saw Tahiri,Sannah,and Valin.I cleared my throat when I was behind them,"You guys did a pretty good job sneaking around.Gonna help Anakin?"They all nodded,and Tahiri stepped up with her chin up,"Try and stop us."I rolled my eyes,"No need for that.I was about to warn you against it,but since you are insisting,I will come."Tahiri blinked in surprise and Valin stepped forward,"That is great!Follow us."
We were in a room,assaulted by the Peace Brigade,when we say Anakin and Ikrit walk in.Before Anakin could explode,I pointed at Tahiri,"All there idea.I am the babysitter."Anakin whirled at Tahiri,and started to argue with her.I sighed,"If you lovebirds are done,you're going to need somebody to hold off the Peace Brigade soldiers.Don't worry,I will do it."When nobody answered,I sighed and jumped out the window and landed in front of the Peace Brigade soldiers.There was about 100 soldiers,and I started pulling detonators out of my belt.The soldiers in front armed his gun at me,and the rest followed suit,"Drop the grenades!This is your last chance to surrender!"I smiled under my helmet,"Okay.Your call."I then activated the grenades and threw them at the group.They stared scrambling away,but a lot of them were blown up.One solider next to me tried to punch me.I grabbed his arm and flipped him over my shoulder.However,I did it the other way,and his arm snapped at the bone.And I kept pushing.He screamed in pain as his arm came off,and I whacked him in the head with it.I then stabbed another guy with the sharp bone part of the arm.The Peace Brigade soldiers were silent,and I activated my weapons,"Come get me Shabuirs!"Then I charged them.I felt the change again,the shift from human to animal killer.I fought like a madman,not stopping when the lucky shot got me in my elbow,or in the back of the knee.Eventually,I started to lose ground,and I made a quick estimation that Anakin and the others have had enough time.I threw a smoke bomb at the ground,and I ran into the forests.When I got there,I saw a Peace Brigade ship crash about five klicks from here.With a little luck,I could escape this rock and find everybody else.Time to get moving.
About ten minutes later,I arrived at the crash site,and I din't like what I saw.I saw Anakin,looking mad,sitting down next to Valin,Sannah,and some guy.I walked in and the random guy screamed and leaped backward,"Manda-Manda.."I removed my helmet,"Relax.I will not kill you unless you give me an excuse."Anakin shot up and ran to me,"Strill!You good?"I nodded,"Where is Ikrit and Tahiri?"Anakin looked down,tears starting to form,and Sannah answered for him,"Ikrit is dead.We have no clue what happened to Tahiri."Valin sighed,"Anakin thinks she is still alive,and until proven other wise,we will too."The guy snorted and stood up,"My name is Vehn,by the way."Anakin suddenly looked up,"He was a Peace Brigade pilot,so don't trust him."I glanced at Anakin and put a hand on his shoulders,"I know what you want to do,Anakin.Go do it,I can handle it here."Anakin bowed his head,"Thank you Strill."He grabbed what looked like a speeder and took off.I smiled at everybody,"Alright guys,let us rebuild this ship."
It has been a few days since Anakin has left,and things are going good.Anakin's droid,Fixer,has came to help us,and an old man named Qorl,who was an imperial star fighter.About a day before repairs were finished,I was sleeping in my bag when I heard a commotion outside.I got up and put on my armor and weapons,trying not to think about my aching joints.When I was out there,are repair tool and hyperdrive were gone.Vehn noticed me,and waved me over,"What could make a pile of part disappear?"Qorl shrugged,"I guess maybe an animal took it,but they would leave marks.It just vanished."I frowned,"This is bad.Really bad.If we can't find everything,we have to storm a Vuuzhan Vong camp and steal a ship."Just then Valin and Sannah came running out.Valin grabbed my arm and started pulling me to my left,"You have to come over here!"I rolled my eyes under my helmet,but obliged.It was almost directly behind the ship,and there was a Massassi temple where there used to be woods.Qorl and Vehn's mouth was hanging open,and I scratched my head,"What the shab?"Valin shrugged,"There was mass amount of Force energy,and when me and Sannah went out to investigate;we saw the temple."Sannah nodded,"I heard voices in my head to.They said that they wanted the warrior in metal to venture in."I sighed,"Probably me.Qorl,Vehn,watch the kids.If I am not out in three hours,call me dead.Don't look for me."I ran into the temple before they could respond.The temple was dark,so I had to use my lightsaber as light.As I ventured through,I noticed that the walls had markings on them,like arrows.The arrows probably lead to where I am heading,so I opted to follow them.The arrows lead my to a big room,and I say are tools and hyperdrive on the floor.Standing next to them was a Force ghost.I flinched and pulled out my weapon,fearing Exar Kun wants another fight.The ghost turned around,and I got a look at her features.She was petite,with dark hair in a bun on top and a pigtail at the bottom.She smiled at me,"I will not harm you.My name is Bastila Shan."I blink,"Sorry,never heard of you."She shrugged,"Not surprising.All record of me have been burned down."I lowered my weapons but kept them activated,"Why are you here?"
"To give you a warning.And some information."
I deactivated my weapons and started to put the tools and hyperdrive in a bag,"I am listening."Bastila smiled at me,"I was a Jedi knight in the very old Republic,and a friend to Revan.The Jedi council has told me to tell you that your destiny is close at hand.You must remain steadfast,and trust yourself."I nodded and stood up from our packing,"What is this information you promised me?And what do you mean by the Jedi Council?"Bastila smiled and sat down,"There is a Jedi Council in the afterlife,I can't tell you anything else about after death.This information is that the people that will take there death with you is Tahiri Veila and Anakin Solo."I nodded,"I figured that."She put an ethereal hand on my shoulder,and I flinched,"Stay alive,Strill."She dissolved into mist,and I headed back up.
About a day later,we have fully repaired the ship.We al go on the ship,and I became the gunner,while Vehn and Qorl piloted.Sannah was next to me,and she sighed,"How are we going to find Anakin and Tahiri?"I smiled at her,"About ten klicks west from here."Valin leaned forward,"How do you know?"I pulled out some Dust,"I put a tracking device on Anakin I knows where he is."I went over to the front and told Vehn where Anakin is,and we took off.We got there in a nick of time to,because I saw Anakin and Tahiri running away from a bunch of Vong soldiers.I cursed because I got a really stupid idea."Qorl,open the ramp."He gave me a questioning look,but he did what I asked.I ran to the ramp and shouted at them,"Come on guys,jump!"They both did what I asked,and we went up into space.I turned to Anakin and Tahiri,"You kids good?"Anakin glanced at Tahiri,and that was all the confrontation I needed.I ran to the gunner seat and started picking off coralskippers,but it was obvious we were about to be dead meat.Just then,I saw a Star destroyer appear.A red Star Destroyer.This was the nearest I have ever gotten to screaming in delight,"Booster Terrik!Him and Corran must have found us!"Anakin,who materialized next to me,nodded,"Talon Karrde,the Jedi kids,and the Solusars are on a different Star Destroyer.Jaina and Jacen are on fighter pilots,as well as Luke and Mara."I grinned as we started to dock on the Errant Venture,"The calvary has arrived."
A few hours later,I said farewell to Vehn and Qorl,who took the ship we used.Then I have to talk to Tahiri.I know Anakin has been talking to her about her imprisonment by the Vong,but I want to talk about it to her as well.I knocked on her door,and she opened it slowly.She looked at me and gave me and uncertain smile,"At least you knocked."She gestured for me to come in,and I did.I sat down next to her on her bed,"Tahiri,tell me about what the Vong did to you."She gulped,but she told me what she went through.When she was done,I pushed her hair back to see her three scars on her forehead,"So you have the Vong language and culture in you."She grunted,"Vuuzhan Vong,and yes,I do."I took off my helmet and gave her my most reassuring smile,"Tahiri,what they did to you was wrong.However,you are strong enough to beat it,and you will be a major piece of the fighting force with you knowledge."She was silent,then she started sobbing and flung her arms around me.She was weeping hard.And I held her as she wept.
A/N:Finally some Tahiri action!I will add a me,Anakin,and Tahiri adventure before the Myrkr mission.Big thanks to Origami Fish and his story A Destiny Altered for inspiring me in this book!For Strill's rage mode,you will get an explanation on how he does it during my recreation of Dark Journey.