The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Sheeka Tull Kraen

"She’s more than some men will ever have."

- Spectre Kraen on Sheeka Tull

Sheeka Tull's life seemed to be ill-fated from an early age. Her parents were killed in a range war when she was young. At age eighteen, her first love, the bounty hunter Jango Fett, left her. Following that, she moved to the desert world of Ord Cestus, where she fell in love with a miner named Yander. She had three children with him, but he died shortly thereafter. Furthermore, Sheeka picked up a smuggling charge acquired after she brought medicines to a colony under a Republic cargo, saving the religious pilgrims there, one of whom was her sister. She would have been subjected to ten years of hard labor if the Republic hadn't needed her services.

During the Clone Wars, she helped covert Jedi mission to Ord Cestus thwart plans to supply the Confederacy with dangerous battle droids. In the process, she fell in love with a clone trooper, A-98 "Jangotat," who reminded her so much of the Jango Fett she had once loved. She had another child with him, whom she named Nate after Jangotat's original nickname, but Jangotat perished in the war, leaving her alone on Ord Cestus.

Years of this heartbreaking cycle had left her worn down with four children to raise, at least until 14 BBY when she ran into three strangers in the spaceport of ChikatLik. Curiously enough, one of them looked familiar to her and she followed him. Her attention had been noticed and she was quickly cornered by the man and his two companions and questioned. As she had suspected, the man she had been watching had been a clone trooper also. Realizing that she had meant them no harm, the three strangers released her and, to apologize for scaring her, took her to a local tapcafe. It was there that she noted that all three strangers were carrying concealed lightsabers. Her observation was welcomed by suspicion, but she assured them that she could explain at her ship, Spindragon.

There, Sheeka revealed her past connection with two Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kit Fisto, on that mission to Ord Cestus years earlier. The three strangers, Selu Kraen, Milya Tayrce, and the ex-Republic ARC Spectre refused to inform her of their business on Ord Cestus and left, though. Sheeka was curious about Spectre's background, as he reminded her of Jangotat, but she didn't know that he was similarly curious about her.

Not long thereafter, a group of Imperial soldiers landed, searching for a Jedi hideout that the three strangers were also looking for. She managed to get in an argument with a group of stormtroopers about her clearance to take off. One of the soldiers tried to take her for questioning, but at that point, Specter leaped down from a rooftop where he'd sneaking along. He quickly slew all four troopers, saving her. He hurriedly offered her refuge with him and his friends on another world and she agreed. She asked him if he was making the offer because of what he'd done, or because he was interested in her. He replied that it was both, and she took him up on his offer. She also helped transport a number of Jedi younglings off the planet. After escaping the planet, Spectre flew her ship back to Yanibar, where she settled in with her family at a new refuge for Force exiles.

Despite their age difference, she and Spectre began a relationship, but they were both content to progress slowly through it. It took three years for Spectre to ask her to marry him, as they were both wary of being hurt by a rushed relationship. When he did, she gladly accepted, and they were married a few months later. Not long thereafter, Spectre and Sheeka had a daughter, Jasika, who was born in 9 BBY. Spectre proved to be a good stepfather for Nate, as well, and Nate decided to follow in his footsteps, joining the Yanibar Guard. Sheeka was finally happy, having found a sense of stability and surrounded by people who cared about her. Living on the same street with the other Kraens, she had plenty of opportunities to socialize. Her three oldest children had grown up, married, and moved to other parts of the refuge, but she, Spectre, Nate, and Jasika lived well together. Nate did eventually leave home as well once he joined the Yanibar Guard, though.

Eighteen years of comfortable living came to an end in 4 ABY, however. A series of events led numerous high-profile members of the Yanibar refuge, including Jedi Master Selu Kraen and Spectre, to undertake risky missions offworld. For her part, Sheeka Tull was left behind to worry and wait. She watched over Jasika, as well as Selu and Milya's daughter Rhiannon, but hoped her husband and his friends would return safely. News that Spectre was going to meet underworld contacts on Nar Shaddaa did little to encourage her, but Spectre did return safely from that mission. While he was away, Sheeka helped her daughter-in-law, Ana Vondar Kraen, Nate's wife, prepare for the arrival of their son, Zeyn. Zeyn was born late in 4 ABY to a pair of happy parents&mdash;and a happy grandmother.

However, unsurprisingly, the underworld contacts in the Zann Consortium later turned hostile towards Yanibar, attacking it with a powerful fleet. Sheeka and Jasika, along with Ana and Zeyn, huddled in their cellar and thankfully their residences were spared the worst of the invasion. However, in a desperate mission to destroy the Zannist flagship and rescue Selu's brother Sarth and his wife Cassi, both Spectre and Nate were killed in the line of duty. It was Selu's sorrowful duty to inform Sheeka of their deaths. Grief-stricken, it took her nearly a year to emerge from her house.

Encouraged and supported by her family and friends, she did agree to accompany the rest of the Kraens on a vacation to R'alla. While there, they discovered a mysterious alien body that looked to be tortured. While Selu and most of the other Kraens, along with their friends Jorge and Annita Knrr, went to investigate, Sheeka remained behind to mind the children. However, with some help from Rhiannon, Jasika and the other children managed to escape. Both the other children and the Kraens ended up discovering a secret Imperial laboratory. With the help of a local Auditor-General, Fiolla, they put an end to it, thankfully without casualties. This cut their vacation short, and it also meant that Jasika, Rhiannon, and the other children learned the truth of who their parents were.

Over the next few years, Sheeka focused on raising Jasika. She forbade her daughter from joining the Yanibar Guard, as she was tired of watching her loved ones march off to war and die. When Jasika fell in love with a young Yanibar Guardsmen named Bryndar Knrr, Sheeka warned her that the match would lead to no good. Nevertheless, she agreed to let Jasika marry Bryndar after seeing how happy it made her daughter. Following Jasika's marriage, Sheeka's health deteriorated rapidly. The numerous heartbreaks and hard living for decades, as well as simply the cares of age, had worn on he. In 21 ABY, an aneurysm induced by years of stress burst inside her brain&mdash;Sheeka never even knew what had happened. She survived for another ten hours after being found by her daughter collapsed on the ground and regained consciousness long enough to bid her children and family goodbye. Sheeka Tull died at the age of 80 and was widely mourned as a faithful wife, hard-working mother, and independent spirit. She was eulogized by her friends and family and her grave was placed next to that of her husband's.

Behind the scenes
The canonical character Sheeka Tull was first introduced in the Clone Wars novel The Cestus Deception. Thus far, Tull has had no other canonical roles, but she intrigued Force Exile author Atarumaster88, who decided to include her in one of his works. In particular, Atarumaster88 was searching for a love interest for Spectre following the events of Force Exile III: Liberator. Given her past relationships with Jango Fett and ARC trooper Jangotat, it seemed natural for her to become attracted to Spectre also. However, Atarumaster88 was not originally aware of Tull's age, as she had twenty-seven biological years on Spectre. Given that his growth was accelerated, though, this was not seen as a major problem.

Her character was developed little throughout the Force Exile storyline, though it was established that she married Spectre in Force Exile IV: Guardian after they had been described as in a serious relationship in an earlier short story, Hand in Hand. Sheeka served as a faithful yet longsuffering wife and mother, though she was again heartbroken upon Spectre's death in Force Exile IV: Guardian. She had a brief role in a subsequent short story Deception on R'alla, which proved to be her last appearance, as Atarumaster88 decided that a combination of heartbreak and her fairly advanced age would lead to her premature death, albeit in a fairly peaceful manner. Unlike most other supporting character deaths, her passing was written outside of a short story or novel.

Appearances

 * Crossroads
 * Hand in Hand
 * Force Exile IV: Guardian
 * Deception on R'alla