The sins of the Empire come to bear on the future of the government, while the New Republic looks forward to new birth. Join the Legendary Adventures as we read about The Last Command.
The shady alliances and broken promises of the Empire come back to bite them in the rear at exactly the wrong time. As Thrawn celebrates the Imperial victory that gained them access to the use of the Katana fleet, he doesn’t know that his grasp on his cohorts is far more tenuous than it seems at first.
First, his handle over the Noghri is falling apart without his knowledge at all. Previously, the Empire ravaged the Honoghr system and blamed the Rebel Alliance for what happened. Thankfully, Princess Leia, while hiding on Kashyyyk for protection for her and her unborn child, came into contact with the Noghri. They recognized her as the official Heiress of Darth Vader’s legacy, pledging service to her based on Vader’s service to them. Or, at least, the Noghri saw the Empire’s involvement as help. This gave Leia the chance to clear the air with the Noghri, allowing her to let them know that it was the Empire that ravaged their system. Word gets back to Noghri agent Rukh, who works closely with Admiral Thrawn.
Second, his handle over the mad clone Joruus C’baoth is slipping, even though Thrawn is fairly aware this one is unraveling quicker than it seems. C’baoth helps locate some New Republic fleets, allowing the Empire a chance to cause significant damage to them, even though they escape. C’baoth grows impatient: Thrawn promised the clone a chance to train Luke, Leia, and Leia’s twins. He is not getting his chance with them quite as quickly as he would like, so he begins to take action on his own.
Third, even connections that Thrawn may be unaware of, or at least not taking advantage of, come unraveled when Mara Jade is accidentally revealed to be a former agent of the Empire. She addresses Winter, Leia’s aide on Coruscant, with a code name she used only briefly. Winter, with a near photographic memory, recognizes what Mara accidentally revealed, and checks Mara’s background out for more information. Maybe this smuggler has more to her than they initially thought.
Fourth, the smugglers Thrawn worked with became hostile toward him after they lost one of their own. The smuggler surprised Thrawn, creating an alliance against him. The alliance removes one of Thrawn’s spies from the ring, leaving him in the dark with regard to their actions.
Finally, the New Republic threatens Thrawn’s plans simply because they work faster than he expects. Luke is on the hunt for the cloning facilities, and he does locate some. He comes in contact with a species called the ysalamari, which block connections to the Force. Using some creative thinking, Luke is able to cripple one cloning facility and escape (narrowly) from Thrawn’s clutches.
On Honoghr, though, as the Empire dies, the New Jedi Order rises. Luke has a vision that Leia is struggling through childbirth, and Leia eventually does go into labor only a few hours later. Leia has twins, a boy and a girl, Jacen and Jaina Solo.
But these are not the only nascent Jedi that come out of this era. Winter’s investigation into Mara Jade reveals her secret as a former Emperor’s Hand. Mara explains to Leia that she is desperate to see the death of Luke Skywalker. In her mind, she can’t help but hear the voice of Palpatine demanding revenge for his death. When Imperials end up targeting Leia’s twins, Mara helps Leia out by saving her and the kids. Leia presses Mara for information that she might have as a former Imperial Agent. Based on this prompting, Mara does reveal that Palpatine had some cloning facilities on Wayland. The heroes decide to act upon this knowledge, going to Wayland to hopefully end Thrawn’s reign of terror.
And, with the help of Mara Jade, they actually do cause Thrawn’s endgame. The New Republic and Empire clash in the Bilbringi system, where the Smugglers’ Alliance is caught as a third party. The fleets battle, but the real action is taking place on Wayland, where Luke and Mara have infiltrated the Imperial Palace, prepared to face Joruus directly.
In the throne room, Joruus seems to overpower the pair. He sends Force lightning to kill Mara, but Luke has since learned to deflect the power, rather than absorb it. Saving Mara awakens something in her – which is well timed, considering C’baoth has also awakened his greatest asset: Luuke Skywalker, clone of Luke, made from the hand the Jedi lost on Bespin, armed with the lightsaber lost in the same battle. Luke and Luuke battle, but Mara ends up destroying the clone. Having destroyed Luke – or, at least, close enough in the death of Luuke, Mara turns her attention to C’baoth, killing him before he kills all of the heroes.
C’baoth’s death is timed well for the New Republic, as the Battle of Bilbringi is also nearing its climax. Rukh, Thrawn’s Noghri attendant, finally takes his chance for revenge against the Empire for destroying Honoghr. He stabs Thrawn in the chest, before he is himself killed, and cripples the Imperial fleet. Admiral Pallaeon, the next highest ranking member of the Empire, orders a retreat and surrenders to the New Republic.
But every ending is only a beginning. With the most significant campaign after the Battle of Endor complete, the New Republic enjoys some peace. With new allies like Mara Jade and the twins, the Jedi Order has even more of a future. But the death of Thrawn isn’t the end of the Empire..someone is soon looking for her own revenge…
Legendary Travel Tips:
-This novel finishes up the Thrawn trilogy, and is followed by the next installment of the X-Wing novels: Isard’s Revenge.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor!
Essential Legends Collection: Revan | The Old Republic: Deceived | The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance | The Old Republic: Annihilation | Darth Bane: Path of Destruction | | Darth Bane: Rule of Two | Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil | Darth Plagueis | Shatterpoint | Kenobi | Rogue Squadron | Rogue Squadron: Wedge’s Gamble | Rogue Squadron: The Bacta War | Rogue Squadron: The Krytos Trap | Heir to the Empire | Dark Force Rising | The Last Command | Yoda: Dark Rendezvous | Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void | Republic Commando: Hard Contact | Republic Commando: Triple Zero | Republic Commando: True Colors | Outbound Flight | | Survivor’s Quest | Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter | The Courtship of Princess Leia | I, Jedi
Click Here For More Legendary Adventures!