The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Akleyn Kraen

Akleyn Kraen was the son and only child of Sarth and Cassi Kraen. Born on Yanibar in 14 BBY, he grew up in the formative years of the Yanibar colony. Akleyn inherited a near-perfect memory and scientific acumen from his father, while he gained a natural talent in Force healing from his mother. It was fitting therefore, that Akleyn grew up to become a doctor. After being educated offworld, he returned to Yanibar to practice as a surgeon and was widely acclaimed for his skill. However, his professional success sadly did not translate to his personal life.

As a child, Akleyn experienced the hardship of the first few years of the colony. As one of the first children born after its inception, he grew up knowing the trials of severe weather and food shortages that plagued the colony. He remembered living in a small one-room house, of his family working day and night to help construct buildings and sow crops. However, he also was raised by two loving parents who did everything they could to support their son, and he was largely obedient and respectful in return. Shortly after his birth, his father Sarth gave up almost all of his direct involvement in the defense of the colony and abandoned most of his own Force studies, knowing that his family needed him too much. However, his parents also concealed their own Force-sensitivity from him, hoping he could choose his own path.

With his Force-sensitivity and natural memory, he excelled academically, but was shy and reserved. His parents' elevated status and gifts made other children leery of him and he was likewise uncertain around them. Another factor setting him apart was his aversion to violence; unlike many of the other children on Yanibar, Akleyn had no interest in rough-and-tumble games or in preparation for combat. He was more interested in his studies and learning about living things. He spent much time visiting ranchers and herders, helping care for sick animals, rather than fraternizing with his peers. His best friend was Bryndar Knrr, who though keenly interested in adventure, made sure to include the insular, bookish Akleyn as much as possible, even teaching him how to waveboard.

After finishing what education was available on Yanibar, Akleyn expressed his interest in studying medicine to his parents. Since no higher education existed onworld at the time, they sent him to the Carosi XII Academy of Medicine, where he spent several years training to be a surgeon. He was offworld during the invasion of Yanibar in 4 ABY, and was unaware of his parents' capture and near-death experience leading up to the battle. While on vacation from school in 5 ABY, he met up with the rest of his family on the tranquil world of R'alla.

While Akleyn had intended to spend as much of the vacation as possible cruising the waves alongside Bryndar, the vacationers stumbled across a mystery on their fourth day there. An evening sabacc game was interrupted by a sighting of someone floating out on the ocean. Akleyn's uncle Selu and aunt Milya Kraen retrieved a badly-injured Wroonian male who perished shortly after being pulled to shore. Akleyn and Bryndar were sent upstairs along with the other children present while the adults investigated. He and Bryndar, at the cusp of adulthood, chafed, but knew better than to protest when his aunt Sheeka sent him upstairs hurriedly.

They were sitting in the room when his cousin Jasika summoned him and Bryndar; Akleyn's other cousin Rhiannon had injured her head. Akleyn reluctantly made his way to the girls' room and found it was a minor cut. He went to retrieve a medkit from downstairs, but the tone of the voices from the other adults warned him off. Instead, he used a Force healing technique to treat the wound. He then reported seeing a body in the room downstairs to the other young people. Surmising that most of the other adults had gone to investigate, Akleyn and Bryndar decided to sneak out as well. They were coerced into bringing the much younger Jasika along with them in return for Rhiannon creating a diversion to facilitate their escape.

The three teenagers ventured out into the night, exploring the shoreline. They soon found a hidden entrance to an underground facility and crept inside. Akleyn's mediocre talents with computers were enough to grant them access to a clandestine Imperial genetics laboratory. Akleyn sliced into the computer system and found that the Empire had been experimenting on Wroonians, attempting to alter their DNA. He also found holocam footage of Selu, Milya, and Bryndar's parents fighting their way into the laboratory. Using the terminal, Akleyn was able to overload a defensive turret and send them information on the facility.

However, he, Bryndar, and Jasika were captured by stormtroopers. Akleyn was interrogated, but refused to divulge information. He was being beaten when his parents arrived with lightsabers ready. With the help of his uncle Selu, the three teenagers were freed. The adults were understandably angry at them for sneaking out of the house, but their relief at their safety meant that the remonstrations were not too severe.

As it turned out, their efforts helped shut down an Imperial genetics lab experimenting on Wroonians. While their vacation was cut short, the Wroonians were rescued, with many of them accepting asylum on Yanibar. On the way back, Akleyn and the others learned the true story of their parents' history and heritage.

Akleyn successfully completed his education and returned to his homeworld, putting his talents and skills to good use. He quickly became recognized as one of the most talented interns at Yanibar General and was highly lauded, intent on a career as a surgeon. However, he still remained reclusive and aloof&mdash;at social events, he was cordial and friendly, but formed no attachments.

That changed on a trip to visit his maternal grandparents on Bakura. While attending a social function in the capital of Salis D'aar, Akleyn ran into a woman named Callie. She caught his eye but he didn't think anything of it. When blasters were fired, he ended up ducking behind the same pot as she did. The security guards quickly caught and stunned the assailants, but one of the intruders broke his leg in the process in a way that threatened to cause lethal blood loss. Akleyn intervened, with Callie's help, and performed an emergency procedure to stem the blood loss, saving the man.

Touched by his compassion and skill, Callie then asked him to help some acquaintances of hers who needed medical care. Intrigued by her and her offer, he agreed. Callie took him on a boat to reach her friends. En route, she revealed that she was Callista Ming, formerly a Jedi working with Luke Skywalker before she had tragically lost her powers. Akleyn took pity on her and assured her that she could still contribute good even without her Force powers. He also found himself increasingly drawn to her.

Upon reaching the ill Sephi child Callie had been leading him to, he found that she needed an operation he was loathe to perform in the primitive conditions of the Sephi village. Instead, he called in his parents and arranged both to treat the ill child and offer a new place to live to the Force-sensitive Sephi. They accepted, but initially Callie decided to leave and go her own way. Akleyn talked her into coming with them, professing his attraction to her and offering to help cure her inability to touch the Force. Using his own skills as a healer, he was able to make minute progress in one quick attempt on Bakura, which was enough to convince her.

Akleyn devoted as much of his time as possible to helping her after they returned to Yanibar. He researched arcane Force techniques and talked to many learned scholars of the Force in an attempt to find a way to restore her Force-sensitivity. Ultimately, he was successful, and Callista was able to regain her use of the Force. After that, he felt a blossoming of their relationship and was preparing to ask her to marry him when she abruptly left Yanibar, leaving only a note that said "I'm sorry."

Akleyn was devastated and sank into alcoholic depression, alternately drinking himself into a stupor and heading out into the desert to let his grief echo through the Force. He sank himself into his career, earning the position of surgeon, and was very good at it, but his ability to relate with people was buried under a layer of caustic bitterness. His moods alternated between surly arrogance and clinical detachment, neither of which won him the admiration of his peers. They respected his ability and trusted him in all things medical, but otherwise gave him a wide berth, which was just as he preferred it. His family made numerous attempts to coax him out of the self-destructing mental state he had sunk into, but he spurned all their advances for years on end. They refused to give up on him, but he refused to abandon his embittered state.

Behind the scenes
Akleyn Kraen was first referenced in Force Exile III as a vision to Cassi Trealus. He was later referenced in the short story Hand in Hand and Force Exile IV: Guardian, but did not make an appearance until Deception on R'alla. He later appeared in Paradigm Shift as an infant. The short story Redemption's Call was later written to pair him with Callista Ming, a pairing that Force Exile author Atarumaster88 had long wanted to introduce. The date on the story was originally 17 ABY, but it was later changed to 14 ABY to reflect the fact that Akleyn was already pushing into his thirties by that point.

At one point, Atarumaster88 considered writing a story featuring teenage Akleyn and Bryndar which would have centered around issues of prejudice and school violence while they were offworld being educated. This story, along with another horror-type story featuring Selu Kraen, was later discarded and elements of the plot were merged into Deception on R'alla. Redemption's Call was also considerably different from its original story concept&mdash;Atarumaster88 sought to create a story with minimal fighting, as befitting someone who had long since shunned the path of warfare.

Akleyn's romance with Callista was ultimately ruined by Callista's re-appearance in canon as absorbed into the malevolent entity Abeloth in the Fate of the Jedi series. As such, Atarumaster88 was forced to find a way to break the relationship with Callista. He had her leave suddenly, just as she had done to Luke Skywalker in canon. While Akleyn was originally supposed to only cameo in Force Exile V, the removal of Callista incited Atarumaster88 to write a new story arc to give Akleyn some form of resolution.

Akleyn's personality, skills, and appearance concept were modeled off of Mical from Knights of the Old Republic II. His defining character traits were empathetic, skilled, insular, and shy. He was also a devoted friend and dutiful son, as well as a talented Force healer and academically gifted. Another visual reference that Atarumaster88 used for Akleyn when writing Deception on R'alla was to conceptualize Akleyn as William Mosely from the Chronicles of Narnia. After his falling-out from Callista, his personality was transformed into an alternately surly and clinically detached cynic who spent his days as a workaholic and nights as a despondent, grouchy alcoholic. This personality was influenced and inspired by the character of Dr. House in the television series House.

Appearances

 * Paradigm Shift
 * Force Exile IV: Guardian
 * Deception on R'alla
 * Redemption's Call
 * Force Exile V: Warrior