Akanah Norand Goss Pell

"Hope is the beginning of everything worthwhile."

- Akanah Norand Goss Pell

Akanah Norand Goss Pell was a female Fallanassi practitioner of the White Current. She met up with Luke Skywalker and told him that she knew his mother and would lead him to her if she would help her find her people, the Fallanassi. She claimed Luke's mother was a Fallanassi, but was in fact lying to further her own gains. After she made her way back to them with the Jedi Master's help, the deception was revealed, and the two parted.

Early life
Born to Joreb Goss and Isela Talsava Norand on Gavens, Akanah inherited her Fallanassi potential through her mother. While still a young girl, her father, Joreb Goss, left her and her mother in search of wealth to support his small family. He never returned. Years later, when the Galactic Empire arrived at Lucazec, Akanah was only twelve years old. Along with her mother, Akanah fled to Carratos to avoid death at the hands of the Emperor's Inquisitors.

Exile
Hidden away and separated from their people, Akanah's mother used her Fallanassi abilities to hide Akanah and herself from the myriad of thugs that plagued Carratos. While on Carratos, Talsava enlisted the aid of a fellow Fallanassi named Nashira to teach Akanah. With a good start in the practices of the White Current, Akanah was formally inducted into the Fallanassi circle. Nashira left soon after, leaving the completion of Akanah's training to her mother. However, this was not to be. Just three years after arriving on Carratos, Talsava took all the money they had saved up on Carratos and bought passage off world, abandoning Akanah.

All alone, Akanah was forced to fend for herself using her subpar abilities to hide herself with Force illusions. Devastated by being abandoned, Akanah swore to make it off world and discover the reason for her mother's departure. She met and married Andras Pell, a wealthy businessman who was thirty-six years older than her. Pell loved Akanah dearly, but she was more interested in Pell's prized possession, a Verpine star freighter which was christened Mud Sloth by Luke Skywalker. Pell died only a year after their marriage.

Inheriting the Mud Sloth was a huge plus for Akanah. Ships were hard to come by on Carratos and having her own ship meant that she would finally be able to leave Carratos. With her newfound ship Akanah was eager to reunite with her mother and the rest of the Fallanassi. Unfortunately, she was in no way a space jockey, and while her Force skills had improved over the years, she doubted that she could locate her family without aid.

Meeting Luke Skywalker
Some time later, Akanah sensed the strong Force presence of Luke Skywalker through the White Current. Knowing that he would be the perfect pilot and aide to finding the hidden Fallanassi, she began a journey to Coruscant to meet him. Deathly afraid of abandonment due to the fact that both her parents had left when she was a girl, Akanah devised a plan to ensure Skywalker's cooperation and devotion to the quest. Upon meeting Skywalker, Akanah "revealed" that her former teacher, Nashira, was Luke's long lost mother.

Luke was desperate for any information and was fooled hook, line, and sinker. He had been meditating on his role in the Force, hidden in a reconstructed residence of his father on Coruscant. Akanah's arrival and offer to help him find his mother helped shake Skywalker from his existential ponderings.

The quest for the Fallanassi
Traveling in Akanah's ancient Verpine Adventurer, Mud Sloth, the pair left in secret to locate the Fallanassi and, as Akanah claimed, Skywalker's mother. Their journey first led them to Lucazec, the previous home of the Fallanassi before Akanah and her mother had fled to Carratos. Searching through the abandoned city, Akanah was able to find evidence that several of her Fallanassi family had fled to Teyr.

Arriving on Teyr, Akanah and Luke made their way to the small town of Sodonna, where the Fallanassi had once owned a group of communal lowhouses. Searching through the abandoned houses, Akanah found where the Fallanassi had fled to, the small world of J't'p'tan. However, on her way back to the Mud Sloth, Akanah came upon another piece of information, the location of her long lost father. Crafting a lie that the Fallanassi were actually on Atzerri, Luke and Akanah made their way off Teyr.

A mournful reunion
Arriving on Atzerri, Akanah quickly made up a false story and left Luke in search for her father. Through several Force tricks, Akanah made her way to Atrium 41, the decrepit home of her estranged father. Unfortunately, a joyous reunion was not to be. Joreb Goss had become strongly addicted to the drug Rokna Blue, which had severely damaged his brain. He had no recollection of his wife, the Fallanassi, or of even having a daughter.

A tearful Akanah returned to the ship and revealed the true location of the Fallanassi hideout on J't'p'tan. Along the way, Luke comforted the grieving Akanah, and she began to open up. The pair engaged in debates over the Force and the White Current and grew close, even making love one night. Akanah now had a horrible dilemma of revealing her subterfuge to the Jedi Master.

Arrival and confession
Once at J't'p'tan, Akanah led Luke to the hideout of the Fallanassi under a Force illusion on the far side of the planet. Once there, Luke tried to question the Fallanassi leader, Wialu about information on his supposed mother Nashira. Because Luke was not a Fallanassi, Wialu refused to give any information on the sought after woman.

However, Akanah managed to convince Wialu and the rest of the Fallanassi to aid the New Republic in defeating the Yevetha. During the Battle of N'zoth, she used her White Current abilities to help create illusions of a large fleet that made it difficult for the Yevethan warships to target the real New Republic vessels.

After the battle, Akanah questioned Wialu about her mother and was upset to hear the truth of her mother's disappearance. Talsava had been the one that had betrayed the Fallanassi to the Imperials all those years ago. When the Fallanassi learned of the treachery they exiled Talsava but offered to provide training for her young daughter should she develop Force ability. Greed had got the better of Talsava again on Carratos and she had stolen their funds out of selfishness.

Akanah then revealed to Luke that she had misled the Jedi Master and knew nothing of his mother. Luke was shocked by this revelation, and was disappointed in her. However, he managed to forgive her, knowing she was full of guilt, and the two said good-bye after the battle.

Aftermath
Devastated by the revealed betrayal of her mother and by Luke's refusal to forgive her deception, Akanah completely devoted herself into the workings of the Fallanassi. On the star liner, Star Morning, Akanah, along with the rest of the Fallanassi, relocated to Pydyr to renew their immersion in the White Current.

Some time later, Wialu died and Akanah became the leader of the Fallanassi. After the conclusion of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Jacen Solo spent a period studying with Akanah to understand the White Current while he attempted to gain a wider understanding of the Force. After Jacen left Akanah sent a recording to Luke Skywalker about her concerns over the Potentium view of the Force which was now practiced amongst the Jedi.

Personality and traits
"It is not a way of power, but a way of peace&hellip;"

- Akanah speaking of the White Current

Akanah was a kind person. She disliked violence, and frequently asked Luke why he had killed and continued to kill. She was very concerned with finding her family and the Fallanassi. When she discovered the truth about her parents, she was shocked and deeply saddened. While she was not above tricking Luke Skywalker into believing she knew his mother, she disliked having to lie to him. She apologized to him later, begging for his forgiveness. However, while she was fascinated with him, she also feared him, knowing his power rivaled that of the Emperor's.

Behind the scenes
Akanah was created for the The Black Fleet Crisis by author Michael P. Kube-McDowell. Later, she appeared in Troy Denning's The Joiner King as part of Jacen Solo's attempt to better understand the Force and learn about different aspects of it, such as the White Current.

Appearances

 * Before the Storm
 * Shield of Lies
 * Tyrant's Test
 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Dark Nest I: The Joiner King
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War

Notes and references
Akanah Norand Goss Pell