The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Tyria Sarkin Tainer

"Had I been paying attention, I would have noticed she was Force-sensitive. She has a powerful gift."

- Sarth Kraen on Tyria Sarkin

Tyria Sarkin Tainer was a Human female born and raised on Toprawa. She was trained as an Antarian Ranger and was aided by her slight Force-sensitivity. When the Galactic Civil War broke out, Tyria joined New Republic Starfighter Command. However, despite her Force potential, she learned that it was weak and barely of use to her. After washing out from a training unit due to the manipulations of a corrupt instructor that Tyria refused to help, she joined the unorthodox pilot-commando unit, Wraith Squadron. From there, her fortunes began to change.

She made friends in her new unit and became successful, helping the Wraiths defeat Imperial Admiral Trigit and then Warlord Zsinj. Furthermore, the Wraiths helped bring down the corrupt instructor who had sullied her record. She also began a relationship with one of her squadmates, Kell Tainer. After Zsinj's fall, the Wraiths were transferred to New Republic Intelligence and Tyria followed them.

In 9 ABY, Tyria and the rest of the Wraiths were sent to Hosk Station to facilitate the defection of an Imperial scientist named Dmelte Volyken. Tyria posed as a waitress while infiltrating the station and ran across Sarth and Cassi Kraen, who were on the station for the technical conference. When the Wraiths developed a plan to neutralize station security, it fell to Tyria to crawl through a ventilation shaft and deliver airborne sedatives to the guards' barracks. In the process, she became separated from the others, who had stumbled into Sarth and Cassi's quarters, not realizing the Force-users were in there. After a tense standoff, both sides realized they were better served by cooperating. Sarth and Cassi helped treat an injured Wraith and Sarth used the Force to help guide Tyria back to their location.

As the Wraiths were preparing to leave, Sarth slipped her a token that would help her find Yanibar, a remote world that housed a refuge of Force exiles, in case she wished to pursue her training further. The Wraiths were able to leave Hosk Station with Volyken and completed their mission.

Eventually, Tyria left the military and married Kell. She journeyed to Yanibar, where she was taught to harness her gift of Force-sensitivity by Cassi and her sister-in-law Milya Kraen, over a period of three years. Having attained a satisfactory mastery of the Force, enough to be considered a Jedi Knight, Tyria returned to her people. Her memory of living on Yanibar was erased due to a strict prohibition Yanibar had to maintain its secrecy.

By the time the Yuuzhan Vong War broke out, Tyria was traveling with her and Kell's son Doran, teaching him the ways of the Jedi while her husband helped fight the alien invaders. After the war, she continued to serve in the Jedi Order while raising Doran and the daughter she and Kell also had, Jesmin, who was also Force-sensitive. In 38 ABY, Tyria was walking outside the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when she saw an old man shot by a Herglic. She intervened, scaring the Herglic off, and rescuing the man, who told her he was a Jedi Knight of the old Republic and was trying to warn her of something. She brought him to the infirmary for treatment.

When the man awoke, he revealed that he was Selu Kraen, Milya's husband and the leader of the Yanibar refuge. He also told them that he had come to warn them of the threat posed by a Dark Jedi, Ariada Cerulaen, who had gone rogue from Yanibar years earlier and was now on a campaign of galactic terrorism. Tyria then assisted him in helping track down his wife, Cassi, and another Yanibar Force-using Elite Guardian named Morgedh, who had been captured by members of the Yanibar military over a disagreement in policy. Tyria participated in a raid on their safehouse, which was ultimately resolved by Selu re-asserting his authority over the Yanibar Guard, recovering Milya, Cassi, and Morgedh. With the Yanibar Guard now under his control, they were free to pursue Ariada.

Ariada had not been idle, shooting down Jaina Solo and Selu's son Ryion over Belsavis. Kyle Katarn and Tyria joined their group while the Skywalkers and Solos followed a trail to the Drexel system, thinking it was where Ariada was holding Jaina Solo, though it turned out to be a trap and Solo was held elsewhere.

Based on information obtained from Cassi Kraen and the Galactic Alliance, they were able to conclude that Ariada had two types of targets: defensive targets that she hit to protect herself from potential threats, and impact targets designed to sow fear and chaos. The Force exiles, along with the Yanibar Guard commandos and Kyle and Tyria, headed to the Yanibar Guard ship in orbit, the cruiser Daara'sherum. Selu wanted to send Cassi and another one of his Force-users back to Yanibar to protect it while he and the others searched for Ariada, but they first went to Belsavis.

Tyria accompanied the shuttle down to the icy surface of Belsavis, where they found Ryion and the Jedi alive, but Solo was badly injured. Fleeing from an attack by Ariada's fighters, they returned to the Daara'sherum, which was then attacked by Ariada's cloaked cruiser, the Knightfall. Only the arrival of a Galactic Alliance task force saved them. They effected repairs while most of the Elite Guardians and Jedi were dispatched to various locations to head off Ariada's attacks. Tyria and Milya were sent to Almania, home of Tendrando Arms, a defense company friendly to the Jedi and run by Lando Calrissian.

En route, Milya helped recover Tyria's memory of her training on Yanibar. When they arrived on Almania, Milya contacted Lando Calrissian, the head of Tendrando Arms, and used him as bait to lure out Ariada's assassin. Milya intercepted the assassin and the two fought a brutal rooftop battle before Milya seized the upper hand, throwing her adversary off. The assassin landed unconscious and badly injured, while Milya had also been wounded. Calrissian's private security entourage took them to a secluded retreat where the assassin was kept confined and Milya's wounds were treated. The hospitality was courtesy of a grateful Calrissian. Eventually, Tyria joined them, irked that she had been left out of the action by Milya. Tyria attempted to interrogate the assassin while Milya recovered, but was unsuccessful.

As the assassin had cut off long-range communications from Almania, it was up to Milya to make something happen. She made little progress until communications were restored and Tyria was able to discover that the assassin, who went by the moniker "Emerald," was actually named Novera and she was from Hapes. Milya revealed to Novera that all of Ariada's training and surgical alterations had been designed to use her, to deceive her. Thanks to her own background, Milya could relate, and eventually the young woman broke down and angrily renounced Ariada, furious at the betrayal.

However, when Milya was able to talk to Selu again, she learned that much had happened in her absence. Ariada had captured Ryion's wife Shara, Jaina, and Ryion, defeating Master Kel'nerh, as well as struck at Yanibar, killing the entire Council and badly injuring Sarth. Moreover, little did Selu, Milya, Jaina or Ryion know that Ariada had captured Jaina and Ryion so she could obtain their DNA for use in creating a child, which she implanted inside Jaina. All Milya knew was that Ariada, the woman she had once trained and considered like another daughter, had to be stopped. Jaina and Ryion gave them the means to do so, for when they were captured, they left tracking particles on Ariada's ship that would allow the Jedi and Yanibar Guard to track her. Tyria returned to the Daara'sherum with Novera and Milya.

Working with Novera and the Jedi, Selu and Milya devised a plan to bring their freighter, the Hawk-bat, up to Ariada's ship, board it, rescue the prisoners, and sabotage both the engines and the weapons of mass destruction that Ariada had planted on both Coruscant and Bespin. The Force exiles followed Ariada to where she was hiding the Knightfall over Mustafar. They boarded her ship using the Hawk-bat and thanks to Selu's Force camouflage, Ariada did not realize the danger until they had disabled her ship and come aboard.

Kyle and Tyria set out for the ship's bridge with a group of four YVH droids borrowed from Tendrando Arms. They fought their way through light security but eventually were opposed by a group of Ariada's own custom-built combat droids. While the two droid forces battled it out, Kyle was about to break out from behind cover when Tyria was shot by one of Ariada's assassins. The Jedi Master turned to fight the assassin as one of the last surviving YVH droids charged into the other droids and activated its self-destruct, taking out the droids as well as most of the bridge. After a short struggle, he slew her, while Tyria saved him from a laser mine. With Tyria badly injured, he was told to break off from attempting to reach Ariada's sanctum to disarm bombs she had placed on Coruscant and Bespin. Instead, he took Tyria back to a triage center for treatment while Selu and Milya went after Ariada.

With the bridge destroyed by collateral damage and engines sabotaged by Yanibar Guard commandos, the ship began plummeting towards Mustafar's fiery surface. Ariada raced back to her private sanctum to trigger the bombs and then escape with her DNA samples, to create another child. Selu and Milya followed her and attempted to talk her into surrendering. Ariada defiantly rejected them and armed the bombs. Selu and Milya were undeterred and defeated Ariada in a brutal duel. They ordered the rest of their party to escape the doomed ship and managed to override Ariada's security systems. Just as they were about to disarm the bombs and possibly escape, Ariada rose one last time, hurling Force lightning at them. However, Selu countered with his own Electric Judgment technique and the resulting shockwave sent Ariada flying out of the sanctum to plummet down a deep shaft, where she died. Her last malicious actions were successful in preventing Selu and Milya from escaping. They perished when they disarmed the bombs and Ariada's dark ship, the Knightfall, plunged down to crash into Mustafar.

They were memorialized at a ceremony on the Yanibar Guard flagship over Yanibar, which was attended not only by the rest of the Kraen family, but also by Kyle, Tyria, other members of the Jedi Order and Galactic Alliance dignitaries with whom Selu had reconciled. Following the ceremony, the Yanibar refuge left Atlaradis while Tyria returned to Coruscant and continued to serve in the New Jedi Order.

Records indicate that Tyria participated in the subsequent Second Galactic Civil War in the Jedi Order, as well as the dangerous rift between the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order in 43 ABY after several Jedi went rogue. In the latter event, Tyria helped defend the Jedi Temple for a siege perpetrated by Mandalorians hired by the Galactic Alliance. By this time, her son was a full-fledged Jedi, while her daughter Jesmin went on to complete her Force training, yet joined Wraith Squadron.

Behind the scenes
Tyria Sarkin was one of several canonical members of Wraith Squadron that author Atarumaster88 opted to include in the short story Cloak and Datapad. Her role was fairly minor and comedic as part of the ensemble group of Wraiths, fitting with the overall light-hearted tone of the story. While canonically the details of Tyria's attaining the status of Jedi Knight were unknown, Atarumaster88 opted to explain that by saying she journeyed to Yanibar after being prompted by Sarth. When Atarumaster88 was drafting out Force Exile VI: Prodigal, he knew he wanted Tyria to appear to tie the events of Force Exile VI: Prodigal back to Cloak and Datapad. He felt it was appropriate to have her save Selu. Atarumaster88 considered including more of her son and apprentice Doran, but largely excluded him for pacing reasons and to not bog the novel down with characters. She was then largely paired with Milya, who could related well to Tyria given their past history and respective backgrounds. It was Tyria who was able to provide the clues that Milya used to break Novera's resistance. Tyria was included in the final battle, though Atarumaster88 gave her a fairly minimal role, wanting to emphasize Kyle Katarn's prowess as a combatant, whereas Tyria was not nearly his equal.

Appearances

 * Cloak and Datapad
 * Force Exile VI: Prodigal