Tahl

"I pledge myself to you, Qui-Gon."

- Tahl to Qui-Gon Jinn

Tahl was the first Jedi Master of Bant Eerin and a librarian of the Jedi Archives. Tahl was also a close friend of Qui-Gon Jinn, with whom she fell in love. She was blinded in a prison during a mission on Melida/Daan. However, her improved hearing and Force-sensitivity helped her get back on her feet.

Biography
Tahl was a long time friend of Qui-Gon Jinn, as the two attended the Jedi Temple's teachings at the same time. Their relationship continued even after both were made Jedi Knights.

In 47 BBY Tahl and Qui-Gon were sent together in a mission to the planet Apsolon as supervisors for the upcoming first free election. In the course of that mission she developed a close bond with the twin daughters of the people's hero Ewane, Eritha and Alani. As a symbol of the democratization of Apsolon, the planet became New Apsolon. After the mission was complete Tahl reluctantly left the planet along with Qui-Gon, as she wanted to stay to ensure the planet was stable. She would later return to New Apsolon, which would be her demise.

By 44 BBY, Tahl was sent to act as a peacemaker to the broken world of Melida/Daan, where the Melida and Daan people were murdering each other. She was caught in the battle and sustained injuries that caused her to lose her sight. As she was unable to free herself from Melida captivity, Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi were sent to rescue her. Upon returning to Coruscant, Tahl was given TooJay, a 2JTJ personal navigation droid by Yoda to assist her in her blindness, though the droid annoyed her and turned out to be part of a plan by Xanatos to destroy the Jedi Temple.

The blindness did not affect her that much, as she had an immense knowledge of galactic history, politics, and the back story of practically everything and anything going on in the galaxy. That helped her assist Qui-Gon in various missions that he was sent to by the Jedi Council, as the Council refrained from giving her other missions. Tahl was great at cracking codes and interrogating, which proved to be very helpful to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

In 42 BBY, Tahl and Qui-Gon worked together again in a mission, this time to uncover a saboteur in Clee Rhara's flight system on Centax 2. They eventually found who the saboteur was, Tarrence Chenati, the alias of a man that had died twenty years before.

Tahl took a Padawan sometime after this. She chose Obi-Wan's close friend Bant Eerin, but she regularly left her behind to go on short missions of her own. This upset the members of the Jedi Council as well as Qui-Gon, with whom she had several arguments about the matter.

The Temple Thefts
Tahl worked with Qui-Gon Jinn to try to find out who had stolen various objects from the Temple, which included lightsabers and crystals. After much investigating Tahl and Qui-Gon found the missing objects hidden in the lake, using the help of Mon Calamari Jedi, Bant Eerin. This led them to discovering Bruck Chun, a promising senior Jedi student, was the robber.

Return to New Apsolon and death
In 41 BBY Tahl received a call of help from the twins Eritha and Alani, as their father Ewane was murdered after being re-elected Supreme Governor. She answered the call for help and went alone to New Apsolon, despite the great concern of Qui-Gon.

When she arrived at New Apsolon she accepted the twin's request to go undercover in the former secret police The Absolutes, now outlawed and trying to coup the planet's democratic government. As Tahl didn't report back to the council after several weeks, Qui-Gon grew concerned and decided to go looking for her, despite the disapproval from the council. The Jedi Master and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi managed to find Tahl and helped her in her mission. It was at that time that Qui-Gon told her what he really felt, and pledged his life to her, and she did the same to him. Shortly after that Tahl's undercover status was discovered and she was kidnapped by Balog, the Chief Security Controller who had pretended to be helping the Jedi. Balog kept her in a sensory deprivation containment device, injecting a drug that slowly drained her of her strength.

Qui-Gon begun a full-scale chase of Balog in the process of rescuing Tahl. When he finally found her she was still alive, but the injuries she suffered while in captivity were too severe, and she didn't survive. This loss, magnified by Qui-Gon's close relationship to her, drove him to the edge of the dark side. Qui-Gon was bent on seeking revenge. He hunted down Balog, who had escaped when he rescued Tahl, in order to kill him. But as he was about to deliver the fatal blow to Balog's chest Tahl's voice came to him warning him not to. He regained control of his emotions and didn't kill Balog, delivering him instead to the authorities. It is thought that Tahl's spirit, like Qui-Gon's, may have survived.

After Tahl's death, Kit Fisto became Bant's new Master.

Behind the scenes
The New Essential Chronology misdates her death 39 BBY.

It is possible that Tahl discovered the secret to immortality in the Force along with Qui-Gon from the Whills. Evidence of this comes from when Qui-Gon heard her voice warning him to beware of the dark side following her death.

Tahl is also the name of one of the characters from Flash Gordon comic strip.

Appearances

 * Legacy of the Jedi
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Defenders of the Dead
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Uncertain Path
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Captive Temple
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Day of Reckoning
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Fight for Truth
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Deadly Hunter
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Evil Experiment
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Dangerous Rescue
 * Jedi Apprentice Special Edition: Deceptions
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Ties That Bind
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Death of Hope
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Call to Vengeance
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Only Witness
 * Secrets of the Jedi
 * Jedi Apprentice Special Edition: The Followers
 * Jedi Quest: The Trail of the Jedi
 * Jedi Quest: The Master of Disguise

Notes and references
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