I, Warrior
is a New Jedi Order Fan Fic by Master Ghandalf. It is set in an Alternate Universe which diverges from canon following the events of The Unifying Force and focuses heavily on Tahiri Veila, in an attempt to give a more fitting continuation of her storyline than she got in Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi.
The story picks up about a year after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war. Tahiri, still struggling with her dual human/Yuuzhan Vong nature, is plagued by nightmares of an alliance between the Yuuzhan Vong and the Sith. After seeking the guidance of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, she's thrown into a conflict with a group of Yuuzhan Vong renegades lead by a priestess who can, inexplicably, touch the Force- and her master, a sickly, enigmatic being whose ragged robes hide many secrets.
I, Warrior provides examples of:
- Aborted Arc: The whole fic is largely a response to the canon Aborted Arc of Tahiri's half-Yuuzhan Vong nature and possible destiny.
- Action Girl: Tahiri herself and Jaina, as per canon.
- A Day in the Limelight: In NJO canon, Tahiri sits right on the border between supporting character and main character, depending on the novel. Here, she's the central protagonist.
- Artifact of Doom: Palpatine's Holocron.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Tahiri, Tahiri, Tahiri. Yeah, she's an idealistic, good natured, if rather playfully snarky, girl- but she's also a trained Jedi Knight and has a strong element of Blood Knight in her from her Vong side. Don't tick her off.
- Big Bad: The Master.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Jadek Hunner, so deluded about his own importance...
- Big Good: Luke Skywalker.
- Blood Knight: Tahiri has these tendencies, as a result of her shaping. She's (usually) pretty good about keeping a lid on it. Akhi Lian is a villainous version.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Pretty obvious with most of the Vong, especially Keenah, who's actually a pretty moral person, but has a serious lack of empathy for "infidels" and has no problem with death in even its most horrific forms, because she was raised in a culture where such things just aren't even issues.
- Body Horror: In addition to the usual Body Horror associated with the Yuuzhan Vong, the Master's body is literally rotting away while he's still alive because of Clone Degeneration.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Kizin Qel is... odd, to put it mildly. He's also a brilliant Master Shaper, even if he's not quite as good as he thinks he is.
- Came Back Wrong: The Master is a clone of Anakin Solo- that got accidentally fused with a Sith spirit before fully maturing, resulting in a being that isn't quite either, but is definiitely evil and dangerous. Oops.
- Clone Degeneration: The true nature of the Master's illness.
- Co-Dragons: Keenah and Akhi Lian, to the Master. Keenah eventually establishes herself as dominant.
- Dark Action Girl: Keenah.
- Dark Messiah: What Tahiri fears turning into. What the Master presents himself as though the truth is, he cares nothing for the Yuuzhan Vong cause.
- Deadpan Snarker: It's Star Wars- everyone has their moment to be snarky. Tahiri, by virtue of being the main character, probably gets the chance to be the snarkiest.
- Demonic Possession: Palpatine's spirit demands that the Master procure him a new body in return for his assistance. The Master gives him Tahiri- or at least, he tries too. Tahiri registers her objection rather definitively.
- Deuteragonist: Keenah, of the antagonistic variety.
- Electric Torture: Jaddek Hunner tortures Tahiri with Force lightning- or rather, he tries to. Thanks to being half-Vong, she's Too Kinky to Torture.
- Faux Affably Evil: The Master, after curing his illness and reverting to Anakin's appearance, is outwardly polite but still completely heartless.
- Find the Cure!: The reason that the Master wants Palpatine's Holocron is so he can use its knowledge to cure his Clone Degeneration.
- Fix Fic: The author hates Tahiri's arc in the post-NJO era novels, and wrote this story as a result.
- Full-Name Basis: Most of the Yuuzhan Vong operate on this; it's most obvious with Ziil, because he's around humans the most.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Physically, Tahiri is 100% human. Mentally, she's half-Yuuzhan Vong and considers herself such.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: Hassk's fundamental personality never really changes, but he ends up deciding he has a better chance of coming out alive helping the Jedi rather than the Vong.
- Heel–Face Turn: Keenah, at the end
- Lizard Folk: Hassk is a Trandoshan. Saba Sebatyne, a Barabel, also appears in one chapter.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Keenah's reaction upon meeting Palpatine's spirit and realizing that Sith and Yuuzhan Vong philosophy maybe aren't so comparable after all...
- Noble Demon: Hassk has his moments, as does Keenah.
- "Not So Different" Remark: The Master tries to pull this on Tahiri as well after his real identity is revealed, but she rather definitively shoots the idea down.
- Non-Action Guy: Ziil.
- Off with His Head!: How Jaina kills Akhi Lian.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Palpatine's "ghost" isn't really him, just a far less powerful copy of his personality created by combining the dark side and holocron technology in a way to give it a degree of sentience and independence. In the absence of its creator, it still considers itself to largely be him, however.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Tahiri, Corran, and Jaina are all pretty short. Doesn't stopp all three of them from being powerful Jedi.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: All the Yuuzhan Vong, of course (counting Tahiri). Hassk is a slightly different flavor, more of a Proud Hunter Race Guy.
- Religion of Evil: The Sith and the Yuuzhan Vong's Great Doctrine are probably the two biggest examples from Star Wars canon. Here, they're teamed up. But they're not really all that compatible.
- The Remnant: The Yuuzhan Vong led by Keenah and Akhi Lian have allied with the Master because they refuse to accept the end of the war with the Galactic Alliance.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Delivered simultaneously by Tahiri to Palpatine's "ghost" at the climax.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Jadek Hunner, so much that Tahiri and Jaina hold a snarky running commentary at his expense while he's monologuing at the "captive" Jedi.
- Split-Personality Merge: Tahiri's still dealing with the aftermath of hers.
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Spiritual Successor: Intended as such to the Edge of Victory duology and The Final Prophecy, the NJO novels penned by Greg Keyes which heavily focused on Tahiri. - Start of Darkness: The chapter "Rebirth" is a Whole Episode Flashback revealing Keenah's backstory.
- Stop Worshipping Me: As the Jeedai Who Was Shaped, Tahiri is a figure of great reverence among the Yuuzhan Vong Shamed Ones. She hates it.
- Too Kinky to Torture: "Kinky" may not be the right word exactly, but thanks to being half-Yuuzhan Vong mentally, Tahiri really doesn't have a "normal" human reaction to pain, as Jadek Hunner found out the hard way.
- Villain Team-Up: Faction example, between the Vong and the Sith.
- We Can Rule Together: Done by the Master towards Tahiri.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Jaddek Hunner was just barely Force-sensitive, enough to make him abnormally lucky but not give him any other abilities. When he gets his hands on Palpatine's holocron, it turns him into a much stronger darksider, but also pretty much destroys his sanity.
