The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Milya Tayrce Kraen

Milya Tayrce Kraen was born in 36 BBY on Leritor into a middle-class family. Her mother and father had both worked in a small starship refitting factory, until Milya was born, at which point her mother stayed at home. However, the company that her father worked for tried to extort money from the Thrysus Sun Guard on a contract, a group of mercenaries who were known for their devotion to the ways of the Echani and for their deadly effectiveness.

Angered by the insolence of the company and taking advantage of the Republic's paralysis in light of the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo, the Sun Guard sent a raiding force to Leritor in 32 BBY to punish those who would try and extort credits from them. The raiders were efficient, destroying the company and even attacking the residential quarters of some of the workers. The Tayrce's apartment was one of those that was attacked, and Milya saw both of her parents struck down and killed by the Sun Guard. With their dying gasps, their parents begged the Sun Guard to take Milya in rather than killing their three-year-old daughter. The raiders acceded to the request, and took the girl back to Thrysus to raise her as one of their own.

The pair of Sun Guard who adopted her, though, treated the girl as one of their own, and Milya grew to love them in time. She was ridiculed and scorned for her lack of true-blooded Echani heritage, and often had to defend herself from attacks by the other girls near her age. Her youth was difficult and solitary, filled with harsh training in the ways of Echani martial arts and other skills that mercenaries would need. Milya's specialty was in disappearing. Even with her distinctive auburn hair-many of the other girls her age had platinum blonde hair passed down through generations of Echani lineage-she could and often did evade people searching for her. It was necessary for her to survive. She soon learned all three levels of Echani martial arts, becoming proficient to the point where she was one of the instructors for younger children&mdash;a job many of the other Sun Guards disdained. For that, she was grateful for the job; it kept her away from her tormentors. Her adopted parents, Darin and Fini Valaskeois, loved her and treated her well, especially her adopted mother. However, when she was 17, her parents were slain in an honor duel over an impending action; Darin and Fini had disagreed over the course of action that another family wished to take. Milya found herself alone and friendless again and, after taking everything that the Valaskeois will had entitled to her, she fled Thyrsus.

Striking out on her own, she made her way from spaceport to spaceport, nursing her dwindling supply of credits. Thievery helped augment her money, but she hoped to find more permanent employ. While on New Holstice, she recognized the Hawk-bat, a light freighter owned by a Bothan shipmaster named R'hask Sei'lar whom in her months of spaceport-hopping she'd learned had a good reputation. Hoping to find work as one of his crew, she boarded the ship, only to find that a gang of ship-thieves was also onboard, intent on stealing the vessel. With a prized vibroblade that Fini had given her, she prepared to attack them, when suddenly she was surprised by a man who grabbed her from behind. They briefly tussled, but the fight ended in a stalemate when he held a vibroblade to her throat while she had a smaller blade pressed against his ribs. Realizing that neither of them were ship thieves, they released each other. The man introduced himself as Micor Kraen, a member of the crew, and Milya agreed to work with him to eliminate the danger of the thieves.

Bursting into a corridor where the thieves were gathered, the two quickly eliminated them. However, Milya was fired upon in the process, forcing Micor to reveal himself as a Jedi Knight in order to save her. In turn, she saw a shadowy Defel preparing to attack him, and shoved him out of the way, taking the poisoned dart that had been aimed for him. Selu quickly dealt with the Defel and drew the poison out of her arm, saving her life once more. In gratitude, she kissed him, much to his surprise. However, he was still unwilling to trust her completely, especially since he'd revealed himself as a Jedi during a time when Jedi were hunted down and killed by the Empire.

However, he agreed to let her stay on the ship, at least until he and his companions got offworld. As it turned out, R'hask Sei'lar had been slain by the Empire, and Micor&mdash;actually an alias for Selusda Kraen&mdash;had been trying to get the Hawk-bat ' s first mate, Jorgesoll Knrr and a Jedi Master named Quinlan Vos off the planet. In order to distract the Empire, Micor and Vos led an assault on a group of parked Imperial ships, seizing a shuttle and two starfighters. Milya took the shuttle into orbit, with Vos and Selu flanking her in their fighters, while Jorge quietly slipped offworld in the Hawk-bat. Entering orbit, they damaged and escaped from an Imperial Carrack-class cruiser and successfully reached the outskirts of the system. Milya proposed taking her shuttle and parting ways with the others, but Selu, having had a change of heart from his original suspicion, offered to let her stay on the Hawk-bat, at least temporarily.

The Hawk-bat then journeyed to Nar Shaddaa, where Vos left the ship with an acquaintance of his named Vilmarh Grahrk in order to pursue news of his wife and child. From there, Selu took the ship back to his homeworld of Commenor, where Milya learned of the danger his entire family was facing. The Mistryl Shadow Guard, a group of female mercenaries, had been after Sarth Kraen, Selu's brother, for some time, intent on kidnapping in order to use his scientific knowledge for their war effort. By the time the Hawk-bat returned to Commenor, the Mistryl were threatening to execute a friend of Sarth's who had been taken hostage, Annita Daowot. To save her, Selu disguised himself as Sarth and went in his brother's place.

By this time, Milya had figured out Selu's true identity and she persuaded Jorge, Sarth, and Cassi-the cargomaster for the Hawk-bat, along with Spectre, a former ARC trooper who'd been working as a bodyguard for the Kraens, to take the Hawk-bat and try to rescue Selu. Their quest took them to Emberlene, the homeworld of the Mistryl, where Milya unsuccessfully attempted to bluff the Mistryl into letting them land. Several Mistryl ships pursued the Hawk-bat, but were drawn off by the arrival of a large group of unknown ships arriving in orbit. In the ensuing chaos, the Hawk-bat was able to land at the facility where Selu was. Bursting in to where he was, Milya, Spectre, and Sarth found Selu at the losing end of a duel with the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress. However, several destroyer droids under Sarth's command evened the odds, and the three were able to rescue Selu and escape the planet shortly before a fission bomb which Selu had inadvertently brought to Emberlene, exploded, causing devastation to the planet that was only exacerbated by the attacking fleet.

Once they were safely away, Milya and the others helped persuade a wounded Selu to not bow to despair, to keep living in spite of the guilt he felt for having slain so many. He listened to them and recovered. After they returned to Commenor, the rest of the crew, including Milya, voted him as the new captain, since Jorge did not want the position. Selu agreed to the job and they set off, bound for the Outer Rim, where the Hawk-bat acquired a pair of starfighters to use in the event they needed to defend themselves or planned on a little piracy or extortion. Milya had finally found a place where she was accepted by those around her.

Over the next two years, Milya continued to serve on the Hawk-bat as it conducted various cargo runs, both legitimate and illegal. During her time onboard the ship, she had a running competition with Spectre, another member of the crew and a former ARC trooper who'd been trained by Mandalorian training sergeants, over who could win the most sparring matches. Despite her disadvantages in reach, size, and height, Milya had a six-to-one winning ratio over Spectre, going 42-7 against him. She did far better in matches where he lacked weapons or armor, which was the majority of their fights, and was by far the best combatant on the ship with a vibroblade, save for Selu Kraen. The Jedi on several occasions was able to defeat both her and Spectre at the same time with the aid of the Force. Selu Kraen chided Spectre and Milya for letting their fights get personal though, cautioning them against letting rivalry build between them.

During a smuggling run to ferry explosives to guerrillas on Zhar, the Hawk-bat was attacked by a Victory-class Star Destroyer, the Corrupter, after refusing to heave to for boarding. Selu outflew the Star Destroyer long enough to make a blind jump into hyperspace, and several hours later, the Hawk-bat emerged deep in Wild Space near a remote inhospitable planetesimal. Selu set the ship down there to effect repairs, but sensed a major disturbance in the Force while on the planet. He was originally going to investigate it himself, but Milya and the others insisted on accompanying him.

Traveling through a chasm in the planet's surface, Selu was able to lead them through a series of tunnels to a hidden tower that was concealed from view by Force illusions, which also provided them with breathable air. Arriving at the tower, the crew of the Hawk-bat was met by eleven spirits of ancient Jedi from millennia earlier. They were invited into the tower by the spirits, chief of whom were Revan and Srynassa Valaris, the exiled Jedi. Inside, they found the tower was fully furnished and prepared for them, to the point where it seemed they were expected. The spirits later met them and verified their credentials; in particular, Milya was spoken to by Brianna, an Echani Jedi from years earlier. They were also told that their arrival had been prophesied thousands of years prior, and that a special destiny awaited them. Escorting their guests to a sizable chamber dubbed the Room of the Crystal Heart, the spirits showed them a vision of past events and gave each member of the crew a vision that let them know that this was where they belonged. Milya saw her adopted parents as well, and Brianna spoke words to her in Echani that had been the last phrase her adopted mother left her in her will. With that, she was convinced that she was take up one of the roles the spirits had said they were destined for, that of seer.

However, Selu was unconvinced that he was supposed to take up the role of leader; in fact, he was adamantly opposed to the idea and stormed out of the room. In response, Milya went after him in order to convince him, as she felt that there was some sort of connection between them. She kissed him again, telling him that despite his protests, he was hoping she would do that, and he admitted that she was right. She then had him Force-meld with her, to show her what was keeping him from accepting what the spirits said. He reluctantly did so, knowing that the experience would be traumatic for her. She saw his griefs and some of his most tragic memories, but despite what she'd seen, she encouraged him to move on, learn from his mistakes, and take up the mantle of leader. Joining together with the others, Milya placed her hands on a Force-empowered crystal in the room, and it unleashed its power when all five of them touched it, imbuing them with the Force.

The next several months were spent on that remote planetesimal, training in the ways of the Force, learning from both the other spirits and Selu. Their training helped set her at ease with Spectre, and the two came to work together well. Little did she know she was feeding a nascent attraction from Spectre towards her, one which was observed unhappily by Selu, who had started to fall for her as well, despite his Jedi vows. On her twentieth birthday, an occasion of particular import to the Echani and known as Dsalka Fenni Echanos, Milya and Spectre went hiking around the rim of the crater that housed Revan's tower and he gave her a diamond to power the lightsabers they would soon be making. Selu had also left her a gift, having deposited a durindfire gem and a note on her pillow earlier.

Eventually, the five were called to construct lightsabers of their own and depart their Force-empowered refuge. For her part, Milya constructed a double-bladed weapon with a silvery-white blade, which suited her study of the third lightsaber form, the defensive style of Soresu. Not long after the five created their Jedi weapons, Milya's senses warned her of an approaching Imperial scout ship. The Jedi spirits told them that their time to depart had come, and that they were to journey to other places in the galaxy to unite other groups of Force exiles: the Matukai, the Zeison Sha, and the Jal Shey. Boarding the Hawk-bat, they quickly seized the Imperial ship, the Observant, and pinioned its crew. Selu interrogated its captain and learned that they were on a mission to find and report locations that contained Force-sensitives. Realizing that time was short, and the Empire was onto them, they split up. Milya journeyed to seek out the Matukai in an old Delta-7 starfighter that was onboard the Observant. Her visions had given her their location-the swampy, lawless world of Darlyn Boda.

Landing there, she tried to search for hints of the Matukai presence. While wandering through the back alleyways, she was accosted by a group of thugs. However, a Matukai Adept named Jahlel Almani came to her aid, and Milya and Jahlel swiftly defeated the thugs. Jahlel took her back to the Matukai enclave, where she was granted an audience with the Matukai leader, a sizable Talortai named Bolfwé Grysloth. When she spoke to him, Milya gave him the warning about Imperial pursuit and suggested that the Matukai join with the other Force exiles to seek out a common refuge. Grysloth was interested in her offer, but insisted that she stay and learn the ways of the Matukai for some time while he contemplated what she had to say. Milya agreed and was paired with Jahlel's training group, which included his younger sister Hasla, a Falleen named Xlora, and the H'nemthe female Yasi’kroc Sbicca. However, after she'd been there a couple weeks, she had a premonition of impending doom. She confronted Grysloth over the matter, but he refused to listen, so she challenged him to a duel. Facing off against him with the traditional Matukai weapon, the wan-shen, Milya fought hard but was no match for him. As she lay defeated on the floor, Jahlel and then Hasla intervened, but were also defeated. From her prone position, Milya explained that, just as the duelists stood no chance against Grysloth individually, the separate groups of Force exiles would have no chance against the Empire. Upon hearing that, Grysloth relented, allowing her to gain medical treatment and agreeing to evacuate the Matukai.

It was not a moment too soon. Imperial troops from the Corrupter had already arrived under the command of Inquisitor Ajaur. The warship disgorged troops, which advanced on the Matukai enclave. The outnumbered and outgunned Matukai tried to fend them off, but to no avail. The arrival of Ajaur only hastened their defeat, as the Inquisitor personally slew Grysloth with a single slash. Horrified by the Talortai's killing, Milya briefly locked blades with Ajaur, but was no match for him. Instead, she retreated just the Observant, piloted by Selu Kraen and Spectre, arrived to assist her and evacuate the remaining Matukai. She, Jahlel, and Hasla made a run for the ship, when an explosion knocked her over. She tried to get up, but several Imperial stormtroopers were firing at her. Seeing a blaster bolt headed straight for her, Jahlel jumped in the way and was killed. Selu pulled her and the others out of there, and they left the planet, with Milya horrified by the death of Jahlel. He later comforted her aboard the Observant. In a moment of emotional turmoil, she suggested that he spend the night in her quarters, which he hastily and awkwardly rejected, heightening tensions between them.

From Darlyn Boda, the Observant journeyed to the remote Hoth system, where they expected to rendezvous with Sarth and Cassi. Meeting up, they joined forces in an asteroid field there, as Sarth and Cassi had brought the Hawk-bat as well as an old GR-45 transport carrying the Jal Shey. However, their reunion was interrupted by the arrival of the Corrupter, which had come to the system to aid another Imperial ship, the Griffin from being pirate attack. Realizing they had been discovered, albeit inadvertently, Selu sent the Jal Shey to Yanibar, the location for the Force exile refuge, while the Hawk-bat and the Observant flew through the battle to shake off Imperial pursuit. After the Observant was damaged, Selu decided to board the Griffin, as it had already been boarded by the pirates. Milya accompanied the boarding team, which quickly moved through the largely deserted ship, as most of its crew and the pirates had slain each other. The entire ship was quickly taken over and Selu aided the pirates against the Corrupter, but the pirate leader, Sulan'bask, was quickly defeated and gave up the location of several Separatist weapons caches to Selu before detonating his ship. In the ensuing chaos, Selu, Milya, and the others were able to flee in the Griffin, arriving at Yanibar, where Selu quickly used the ship's weapons to destroy an Imperial base. With the base destroyed, the native Zeison Sha welcomed them with open arms, allowing the establishment of a new refuge for the Force exiles. However, the Hawk-bat crew did not stay there long; instead, they returned to Commenor, where they were expected for the wedding of Annita Daowot and Jorgesoll Knrr.

They arrived shortly before the wedding, but soon learned that Annita and Jorge had fallen under Imperial suspicion. On the day of the wedding, Milya was in the chapel as one of the guests, as was most of the rest of the crew, but the Empire crashed the wedding. For her part, Milya fended off blasterfire and cut down stormtroopers while Selu dueled a newly arrived Ajaur and the wedding party fled. However, Imperial reinforcements soon arrived, and while the four Force-users, along with a Zeison Sha warrior named Daara, had slain many, they were outnumbered. At that point, the Hawk-bat, piloted by Spectre, arrived, and set down so the rest of the crew could evacuate. Milya headed for the ship, but before she reached it, she was attacked by Ajaur, whom Selu had defeated earlier. Ajaur stabbed her with a knife, but Selu used the Force to keep her alive, while Spectre gunned down the Inquisitor. Staunching the wound as best as he could, Selu summoned the Force once more, using it to heal her wound. They quickly boarded the Hawk-bat and escaped, and Selu and Milya shared one final kiss as they returned to Yanibar, their new home. One of their first deeds as they settled in was to celebrate the double wedding of Sarth Kraen and Cassi Trealus and that of Annita and Jorge. For their part, Selu and Milya both fully admitted their attraction to one another and began taking their relationship to a deeper level. For their first date, Selu took her to a local dive named Selch's Seafood, which unfortunately did not live up to either of their expectations. After abandoning all attempts to eat their meals, they went elsewhere for Ithorian fruit ice cream and a walk along the beach, followed by an unplanned speeder bike race.

A year and a half after the formation of the Yanibar refuge, Milya accompanied Selu and Spectre to the Outer Rim world of Ord Cestus, where Milya had seen visions of Jedi survivors. Though they arrived on the planet without incident, their mission was complicated when a local woman began following them. They questioned her discreetly, but not before the woman, Sheeka Tull, who had worked with the Jedi during the Clone Wars, identified them as Jedi. They decided to return to their mission, heading for the outskirts of the city of ChikatLik. Exploring a cave strong in the Force, they found nearly twenty Jedi, most of them younglings, led by two Jedi Masters, Djinn Altis and Plett. The Jedi agreed to accompany Selu, Spectre, and Milya to Yanibar, and not a moment too soon, as Imperial troops, led by Darth Vader, arrived on Ord Cestus. As the Empire began locking down the spaceport, Milya was assigned to watch over some of the youngest Jedi trainees while Tull, who had been recruited to their cause by Spectre, picked them up in her ship, the Spindragon. They were retrieved by Tull, who took them into orbit to rendezvous with the Hawk-bat. However, both of the other Jedi Masters perished delaying Imperial forces, which saddened Selu. Still, they were able to escape back to Yanibar having saved eighteen Jedi and trainees.

Over the years, as the Yanibar colony continued to grow and began flourishing, Selu and Milya grew closer and closer, even though they had more than their share of fights and failed dates. On one occasion, Selu had planned to watch a holodrama outside with Milya, only to have it ruined by a freak thunderstorm. She was present when the Yanibar Guard Fleet commissioned its first real warship, the Ataru-class gunship Serra Keto, and having the ship bear that name seemed to indicate some form of release. However, not all of her life was consumed by her relationship with Selu. Milya had been named the director of Yanibar Guard Intelligence and she poured a lot of time and effort into providing accurate intelligence and training agents for the dangerous, undercover work that was sometimes called for. She helped provide intelligence and planning when a group of pirates landed on Yanibar, helping to coordinate the airstrike that destroyed their ships. Milya was present for the funeral of the first combat casualty of the Yanibar Guard, Sergeant Pec Deplisk.

A year later, Milya, Selu, Sarth, and Cassi journeyed to Bakura to visit Cassi's parents. While they were there, Selu took Milya to a Bakuran nature preserve and, once they were alone, proposed to her. She blissfully agreed, and the two were married several months later in a festive ceremony on Yanibar, in 11 BBY. For their honeymoon, Jorge and Annita, who now lived on Bespin, had arranged luxurious accommodations for them in a hotel on Bespin's Cloud City. En route, Milya had planned a romantic "evening" aboard the Hawk-bat for her and Selu, but, tired from all the wedding details, had fallen asleep. Selu let her sleep until they reached Bespin, and the two gladly settled into their hotel, enjoying its restaurant and the splendid view from the balcony. That evening, Milya planned on making up for her falling asleep on the Hawk-bat. As she undressed, she turned in the mirror to find the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress waiting for her. Fortunately, Selu intervened in time to save Ventress from cutting her down. The two quickly geared up for a prolonged fight against the Dark Jedi and were not disappointed. Ventress had been hunting Selu ever since the destruction of Emberlene, and she battled Selu and Milya across Cloud City, from the balcony of their hotel to a Tibanna gas-carrying cargo skimmer, to a Tibanna refinery. In the refinery, Selu and Milya ultimately defeated their adversary once and for all, slaying Ventress. Then, before law enforcement could arrive, they were picked up by Jorge and Annita. After answering a few questions from the law, who believed their cover story, they were given another suite by the hotel and finally had a chance to enjoy their honeymoon.

In 9 BBY, Milya learned that she was pregnant, and she gave birth the next year to a daughter, Rhiannon Kraen. Selu and Milya loved their daughter dearly, even though Rhiannon had no Force-sensitivity. However, when Rhiannon was two, she became ill during an epidemic on Yanibar, and due to the lack of proper medical treatment, lost her eyesight, though she recovered. Selu and Milya resolved that such a thing would never happen again and appealed to the Yanibar Council to allow sales of ylannock, a memory-altering drug found naturally in fungus native to Yanibar. The Council agreed and a new influx of credits began pouring into Yanibar's coffers, allowing Selu and Milya to construct a much nicer home than the small house they'd been living in, circa 5 BBY.

In 0 BBY, Selu, Milya, Spectre, and Sarth accompanied Cresh Squad, an elite group of the Yanibar Guard on a mission to infiltrate a Star Destroyer, the Impenetrable, in an attempt to steal a computer core. They decided to sneak aboard, with Milya posing as a journalist. After luring out an Imperial shuttle and subduing its crew, Selu disguised himself as an Imperial officer while the others used active camouflage systems to conceal themselves. Although they were able to sneak aboard and reach the computer center, they were discovered. While they were fending off the stormtroopers, the Empire destroyed Alderaan, and the ripple in the Force caused by millions of deaths practically knocked Selu, Milya, Spectre, and Sarth out. Fortunately, the squad of elites was able to get them out of there, and they escaped via escape pods after setting off several diversions to distract the Empire. They were picked up by the gunship Serra Keto, which then returned them to Yanibar, having obtained the core.

Appearances

 * Force Exile II: Smuggler
 * Force Exile III: Liberator
 * Crossroads
 * Yanibar Tales/Thunderchief
 * Yanibar Tales/Hand in Hand
 * Yanibar Tales/Hard Code
 * Force Exile IV: Guardian