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| - Born to Nate and Ana Vondar Kraen in 4 ABY, Zeyn never knew his father, who perished in the Battle of Yanibar while Zeyn was still an infant. He was raised by his mother and his uncles and aunts, who also trained him in the ways of the Force. In particular, his Uncle Sarth and Aunt Cassi, who Nate had died saving, felt particularly responsible for Zeyn. However, Zeyn wanted nothing else but to live his own life and not dwell in the past. Zeyn preferred to live in the moment and seek good times. His half-Lorrdian heritage helped him to read and utilize nonverbal communication, and he was always good at masking his own feelings. While his mother was uncertain of how to teach him to use his Force talents, his Uncle Selu and Aunt Milya trained him alongside their own son Ryion and an orphaned Wroonian girl named Ariada. However, though Zeyn was an attentive student, he was always somewhat aloof from his instructors. When the time came, Zeyn elected to follow in the footsteps of his father and join the Yanibar Guard, serving in the Elite Guardians. In 16 ABY he joined a team of three other potential Elite Guardians including Ryion, Ariada, and their leader, a Twi'lek named Qedai. Their trainers worked them hard, teaching them in the ways of the Force as well as providing military and intelligence skills that they would need. Zeyn's specialty was infiltration and intelligence-gathering. One of the hardest challenges for the trainees was being captured by Jalsinnare Mercenaries in 19 ABY while on a training exercise out in Yanibar's desert. After detecting their presence, Qedai led the others in an evasive journey, but their efforts were ultimately fruitless. They were captured after Qedai refused to abandon an injured Ariada. Brought to a Jalsinnare ship, they were shown holos of the capture of the Yanibar Guard's orbital facilities, as well as the death of prominent Force exile leaders, including Master Selu Kraen. The Jalsinnare ship was equipped with Force-dampening ysalamiri, so Zeyn was unable to warn his friends. They were then interrogated harshly for several weeks on end in order to determine the location of the Yanibar colony. The Jalsinnare made use of a device which would prompt users to think they were experiencing their worst fears. The rough treatment seemed to have no effect on Zeyn, who bore everything with the same unflappable demeanor, even though he was full of turmoil underneath his placid exterior. Afterward, it was revealed that the entire capture-and-imprisonment experience was an elaborate test devised by the Yanibar Guard—the Jalsinnare Mercenaries had been recruited into the Yanibar Guard prior to this test, but that had been a highly-classified secret. The attack on Yanibar was a deception designed to help break trainees or push them toward the dark side. Zeyn, like the rest of the team, was unhappy with the Elite Guardian leadership for subjecting them to the ordeal, though he accepted that it was effective. Like the other trainees, she never spoke of what the interrogation device made her experience. It was later revealed that their escape, evasion, and interrogation training had been moved up because they had been selected for a top-secret mission pending successful passing of the test. They were assigned to train as competitors for the reinstated Pan-Galactic Games, held on Coruscant. Each member of the team was assigned to compete in two different events and had to train for both alongside their other studies. Zeyn's events were doubles wave-dancing alongside Qedai and turbo-skiing. He much preferred turbo-skiing, but was kept hard at work training for both events. The preparation was grueling, but Zeyn and the rest of the team persevered. They won their events handily at a local sector competition and received the right to represent Yanibar on Coruscant in 22 ABY at the Galactic Games. However, after arriving on Coruscant, tension arose between Qedai and Zeyn. His stubbornness clashed with her hot temper during a wave-dancing practice session. Assigned some time away from practice to calm herself down, Zeyn approached her after being urged to by Ryion and apologized for his part in their argument. He did enjoy himself on the turbo-skis, posting a good opening run in the first round. He became overconfident in his second run, though, and was eliminated after mistakes cost him large amounts of points. That evening, he was summoned to a team meeting organized by their chief trainer, Morgedh clan Kel'nerh and Ryion. Morgedh chastised them for their lack of unity and told them to settle their differences. Zeyn apologized for his arrogance and stubbornness and the team was able to move forward. The next day, Qedai and Zeyn went out and performed their wave-dancing routine, earning a third-place medal. It was the only medal won by the Yanibar team and Zeyn was proud of what they had accomplished. He was also in favor of changing the leader of the team to Ryion based on Qedai's recommendations. They returned to Yanibar and completed their training. For their two years of required military training, Zeyn did not go with the natural choice of serving with YGI. He had a desire to balance out his skills, so for his mandatory military training he served with the Yanibar Guard Marines. He was put through basic training while under strict orders not to reveal his identity or Force powers. It was a humbling experience, being treated like just another potential soldier, but Zeyn maintained his good cheer and carefree nature throughout the training, graduating at the top of his class. Most of his disciplinary infractions were for laying pranks or telling inappropriate stories about the instructors and being caught. While he was certainly capable of being disciplined and ordered, Zeyn preferred to live on the edge, enjoying life and simply not letting negative circumstances affect him. By 26 ABY, Zeyn and the rest of team were fully-qualified and cleared to handle missions offworld, which was just as well, as the Yuuzhan Vong invasion had begun to threaten the entire galaxy by that point. In 28 ABY, Ryion and his team were sent to Socorro to stop a group of agitators belonging to the pro-Yuuzhan Vong Peace Brigade organization. They staked out the dwelling where the collaborationists were plotting and gathered enough evidence that they were permitted to take action. Upon seeing two disguised Yuuzhan Vong approach, the team sprang into action, killing the aliens and subduing the Peace Brigaders. Having thwarted the Peace Brigade's plans to subvert or weaken the Socorran government in preparation for a Yuuzhan Vong takeover, the team returned to Yanibar. There, they were congratulated for accomplishing their mission, but were also told that even covert action against the Yuuzhan Vong was being curtailed due to a recent edict from the Governing Council. Ariada was incensed at this inaction, pointing out the many war crimes of the Yuuzhan Vong, but Selu and Milya Kraen were unphased by her protestations. Instead, sensing that the stresses of war were beginning to affect the team, they put Ariada, Ryion, Zeyn, and Qedai on mandated leave, which did not please Ariada, who was ill-content to sit idly by while war raged in the galaxy. Their next mission was to investigate an aristocratic Gotal named Psykith who had shown an unusual affinity for Sith artifacts. The team traveled to Naboo, where Psykith lived, and Zeyn met up with their suspect at a high-class casino with Ariada on his arm. He was invited to join a private sabacc game after cleaning out most of the local gamblers using his Force skills while Ryion and Qedai kept watch. Zeyn's display was enough to attract an invitation to Psykith's estate for another evening of gambling. Upon arrival, they learned that Psykith was not only Force-sensitive, but dabbling heavily in the dark side with Sith artifacts. He attacked and poisoned Zeyn, but Ariada, Qedai, and Ryion rushed to his rescue and fought the Gotal. At one point, Ariada and a wounded Zeyn were separated from the other two. With Zeyn temporarily incapacitated, it fell to Ariada to fend off Psykith. He tried to lure her to the dark side, but she resisted his efforts and slew him. The four then destroyed his estate, Ariada retrieved and sealed his data records, and then returned to Yanibar. Shortly thereafter, Ariada went rogue and fell to the dark side over the Yanibar refuge's unwillingness to use Sith poisons or fully prosecute war against the Yuuzhan Vong. She was captured and convicted, sentenced to years in confinement in an isolated prison. Simultaneously, Ryion began experiencing visions of a long-dead Jedi Master, who told him that her people, a group of Chalactan refugees, were in danger on the distant world of Rishi. Eventually, Ryion was able to earn approval to take his team to Rishi to investigate and Zeyn went on the mission. Taking Ariada's place was their trainer, Morgedh clan Kel'nerh. The Yuuzhan Vong soon discovered that the Chalactans were on Rishi and, knowing that the refugees were otherwise defenseless, Ryion was able to persuade the Yanibar Guard to intervene to defend them. The reinforcements arrived shortly after a Yuuzhan Vong fleet smashed the first Yanibar Guard task force that had come to extract Zeyn and the rest of the team and began landing ground troops. Zeyn fought alongside Jedi Master Kyle Katarn and the rest of his team in a desperate defense of the governor's mansion that allowed for most of the dignitaries to be evacuated. They were surrounded and cut off, but the arrival of Yanibar Guard reinforcements turned the tide. They were taken to a newly-established field base, where Zeyn and the others had their wounds treated while the Yanibar Guard prepared to defend the nearby refugee camps from a massive Yuuzhan Vong invasion. In orbit, the fleets had damaged each other severely, but near-parity was achieved, leading to a stalemate in space. On the ground, Zeyn aided in the evacuation of a nearby city, Junro, which was safeguarded by the Yanibar Guard. However, the Rishi countryside was devastated in the fighting and casualties were high. In response, Ryion decided to infiltrate the Yuuzhan Vong flagship and rescue the Yanibar Guard prisoners that were being held there, as well as destroy their fleet from within. Zeyn caught wind of his plan and volunteered to accompany him. Ryion and Zeyn took off in a captured Yuuzhan Vong ship, heading to the outskirts of the system. Selu called them and warned them that their plan was reckless, but they pressed on anyway. Their plan was to board the flagship, free the prisoners, and explode a seismic charge inside the warship, causing an explosion that would cripple the rest of the tightly-packed Yuuzhan Vong fleet. Their initial action was a success, allowing them to move deep into the flagship, but a heavy defense was only broken through with the help of a Force-phantom of Milya Tayrce Kraen serving as a distraction. The two Elite Guardians reached the prisoner holding area only to be caught in a trap by the Yuuzhan Vong commander, Tsaruuk. Furthermore, they were ordered to surrender or else witness the death of the prisoners. Their seismic charge, which they had hoped to use as leverage, had also been disabled with minimal damage to the ship. Ryion and Zeyn relinquished their weapons when suddenly Kyle Katarn, who had been quietly shadowing them thanks to a conspiracy between him and Selu, intervened. Ryion and Zeyn quickly recovered and attacked, rescuing most of the prisoners, while Ryion pursued Tsaruuk. Meanwhile, the Yanibar Guard and the Yuuzhan Vong had clashed both on Rishi and in space. Part of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet had been trapped by DMS mines, a new Yanibar Guard weapon that could pin entire fleets in place, while the rest was crippled by the Yanibar Guard fleet. On the ground, the Yanibar Guard base was besieged and in danger of being overrun. The situation was relayed to both Ryion and Tsaruuk. Realizing that they stood a great chance of mutual annihilation, Ryion proposed a truce. Both forces would withdraw from Rishi and the Yanibar Guard prisoners would be released, returning to the status quo. Tsaruuk agreed. However, Tsaruuk's agents, working with Ariada and a group of Dark Jedi, had also used a dovin basal to alter one of Yanibar's moon's orbit, leading to an impending gradual devastation of the planet due to tidal and tectonic upheaval. Both sides completed their mutual withdrawal, and though the DMS mines did not have the strategic impact that the Yanibar Guard had hoped for, the Battle of Rishi was a costly stalemate for the Yuuzhan Vong. Tsaruuk was killed for failing to take the planet following his return to occupied Coruscant. Zeyn and the rest of the Yanibar Guard returned to Yanibar along with many of the surviving Chalactans, where they learned the shocking situation that awaited them. With Yanibar unfit for habitation within a decade, the Yanibar refuge began plans for evacuation. In 38 ABY, Ariada Cerulaen resurfaced and began a campaign of galactic terror. In response, Selu, Milya, Cassi, Morgedh, Ryion, Zeyn, and Qedai left Yanibar against the wishes of the Council to stop her. The Council wanted all of Yanibar's resources focused on the evacuation effort, which had encountered numerous difficulties. However, Selu, Zeyn, and the others felt that Ariada was their responsibility. In particular, Zeyn blamed himself for not sensing Ariada's fall into darkness. Zeyn, Ryion, Qedai, and the fourth member of their team, a Rodian named Jutka flew a quartet of Maelstrom interceptors to Belsavis, where Milya had sensed that Ariada would attack soon. They arrived to found a pair of Jedi StealthXes under attack by fighters aligned with Ariada. The Yanibar Elite Guardians attempted to intervene, but came under attack. One of the Jedi craft was shot down and Ryion bailed out to recover the pilot, Jedi Knight Jaina Solo, while Zeyn and Qedai escorted the other StealthX away from Belsavis. During their escape, Jutka was slain by hostile fire. They fled to Coruscant, meeting up with Selu at the Jedi Temple, where he had gone to inform the Jedi Order about Ariada. Selu then learned that Milya, Morgedh, and Cassi had been abducted. They tracked their captors to a warehouse and launched a raid on it. However, Zeyn, Qedai, and Selu were incapacitated by the building's occupiers, who revealed to be Yanibar Guard commandos sent by the Council to stop them. Selu was able to re-assert his authority to pursue Ariada after a heated debate with the Council and they were released, with Selu now commanding all the Yanibar Guard assets that had been sent after them. Departing Coruscant on the Yanibar Guard cruiser Daara'sherum, they headed to Belsavis to extract Jaina Solo and Ryion. Zeyn accompanied the shuttle down to the icy surface of Belsavis, where they found Ryion and the Jedi alive, but Solo was badly injured. Fleeing from an attack by Ariada's fighters, they returned to the Daara'sherum, which was then attacked by Ariada's cruiser, the Knightfall. Only the arrival of a Galactic Alliance task force saved them. The Elite Guardians along with a small Jedi contingent then tried to anticipate Ariada's next targets. One possibility that came up was Zonama Sekot, the new home of the Yuuzhan Vong species, whom Ariada loathed, as well as a prominent New Republic scientist named Danni Quee. Danni had been responsible for many breakthroughs in understanding Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology and was Force-sensitive, a potential threat to Ariada's use of bioweapons in the form of the technobeast virus. Their surmise was correct, as Ariada sent one of her assassins to kill Danni and poison Zonama Sekot. Zeyn landed near a Yuuzhan Vong village and was confronted by their leader about his presence. Some of the Yuuzhan Vong were wary and distrustful of him—and the feeling was mutual. However, when word reached them that the assassin had attacked several of the natives, they let him go in pursuit of her, telling him approximately where Danni had gone. Zeyn and the assassin arrived at approximately the same time while Danni and her friend Renshi were in the forests of Zonama Sekot. The assassin struck first, slaying Renshi, but Zeyn drove her off before she could kill Danni. Danni was horrified, as she had hoped to put all such violence behind her at the conclusion of the Yuuzhan Vong War. Instead, Zeyn led her to safety through the forests, hiding her from the assassin with the Force and consoling her over the loss of her friend. She asked him about his home, and he was reticent, although did admit that he and his mother were estranged. Having lost her family in the Yuuzhan Vong War, Danni urged him to reconcile with her, though he was reluctant to do so. Zeyn led her back to the Yuuzhan Vong settlement near where his ship was landed, only to find that it had been ravaged by the technobeast virus. Telling Danni to stay back, he fended off two technobeasts, but was attacked by a fearsome combat droid that the assassin had brought. Zeyn defeated it, but was injured and infected with the virus. Danni reached him and instinctively used the Force to purge the virus from his body. They then fell back to a cave to hide for the rest of the night. However, the assassin followed them and attacked once more. Though Zeyn destroyed the combat droid that was sent in first, the assassin attacked through the ceiling of the cave and crippled him. She was about to finish him when Zeyn slid his lightsaber over to Danni, who impaled the assassin upon the blade. However, the cave entrance had been collapsed and Zeyn was near death. Only the arrival of a group of Yuuzhan Vong saved them. The Yuuzhan Vong treated Zeyn's wounds, and Danni revealed what Zeyn had told her about his homeworld, about how Yanibar had been doomed to a slow death during the Yuuzhan Vong War by the alteration of one of its moon's orbits by the Yuuzhan Vong. Zeyn had also told her that their planned evacuation had been encountering difficulties. Danni mentioned this to the Yuuzhan Vong leader, Niull Shac, who, in a gesture of goodwill and peacemaking between their peoples, offered to help Zeyn's people when Zeyn awoke. Zeyn was highly distrustful of the Yuuzhan Vong, having fought against them in the war, and was furious with Danni for having told the Yuuzhan Vong what he had shared with her. Nevertheless, with the assassin dead, Zeyn figured his mission on Zonama Sekot was over—he just needed to find a way off the planet as his ship was in the quarantine zone. Niull Shac told him that the Yuuzhan Vong had found the assassin's ship, so Zeyn, Niull Shac, and Danni went to investigate it. Zeyn was able to defeat one more combat droid with Niull Shac's help, granting him greater appreciation for the Yuuzhan Vong. The ship was rigged to transmit information about its hyperspace jumps and transmissions to Ariada, so Zeyn realized he would have to trust the Yuuzhan Vong both to leave Sekot as well as to help his people. After considerable deliberation, he accepted Niull Shac's offer of aid. Before leaving, he approached Danni to apologize for his angry reaction and to thank her for her help. Unwilling just to let him go, she asked him if he wanted her with him. After some hesitation, they admitted their mutual attraction and left Zonama Sekot together, as Danni was ready to leave that world behind following the death of Renshi. They left the world, towed in the assassin's ship by a Yuuzhan Vong vessel, until Zeyn was able to trade the ship in for something else to return to Yanibar. They arrived safely and Zeyn and Danni were able to convince the Ruling Council to accept the Yuuzhan Vong's offer. As Danni was the only one trusted enough by both sides and with sufficient expertise, she was asked to verify that their efforts were done in good faith, which she accepted. The Yanibar refuge's evacuation ships were able to lift off thanks to the covert aid of the Yuuzhan Vong. Furthermore, as he had promised her on Zonama Sekot, Zeyn reconciled with his mother, bringing Danni along to meet her. When the evacuation efforts were ready, the Yuuzhan Vong departed in peace. Ariada had also been stopped by the remainder of the party that had been hunting her, but at heavy cost. Selu, Milya, and Morgedh had fallen in battle against Ariada. Zeyn attended a memorial service, which was also attended by many prominent Jedi and other Galactic Alliance figures. After the ceremony, hedeparted with the rest of the Yanibar refuge for Atlaradis to begin a new life there with Danni.
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