A new menace, in a larval stage for millennia, has been revealed that will bug the galaxy – can the newly reformed Jedi Order stand against it? Or is the buzz about them false? Join the first Legendary Adventure of 2023 as we start the Dark Nest trilogy with The Joiner King!
A long time ago, an insectoid race called the Killik lived on the edge of Chiss space. The Chiss did not necessarily live in peace with the Killik, but the Killik were a bit of a growing power in the galaxy. Specifically, they had a telepathic connection to one another, creating a sort of hive-mind community. Unlike a few of other hive-minds, the Killik did not move with one mind, but were linked and could always sense one another. The bigger problem for the galaxy was this telepathy was not limited to only intra-Killik communication; instead, the Killik were able to bring other beings into their hive-community. These beings would be called Joiners, and there would be a chance that these Joiners could even rule over the Killik. At some point, the Killik were thought to go extinct.
On Coruscant, the Jedi Order has brought their newly reformed Jedi Council together again. It has been six years since the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong, and the galaxy has known relative peace. Currently, their main focus is finding the survivors from the mission to Myrkr, the very same one in which hero Anakin Solo was killed, but the other Jedi were able to defeat the voxyn, a terrifying weapon created by the Vong to combat Jedi. While the entire team did not perish, a lot went missing. The Jedi send a few representatives out to find them in the Unknown Regions, where the Chiss come to them for help solving a border dispute, but the Jedi are essentially content to ignore the request. Cal Omas, the head of the New Republic, convinces Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, along with Ben Skywalker and Saba Sabatyne to aid in the search for survivors from Myrkr.
In the Unknown Regions, the Jedi encounter the thought-to-be-extinct-but-still-very-alive Killiks. These Killiks are led by a Joiner: Raynar Thul, who was one of the survivors of the Myrkr mission. Raynar was saved from a starship crash by the Killik and his Force sensitivity brought him to be molded to the leader of the Killiks, Unu. The Killiks were reformed and cultivated under the leadership of Raynar, who organized all of the Killiks into a single body. Maybe more significantly, Raynar tries to solve the Chiss border crisis by enlisting the help of other Jedi and moving the newly formed colony lightyears away from the Chiss border. Raynar, while leading the Killiks, doesn’t seem to know everything about them and the gaps in his memory pose dangerous to the Jedi when they are attacked by Killiks outside of his control.
While this is all going on, the Jedi are learning of huge new abilities they have in the Force. Specifically, Jacen Solo, after his time with the Yuuzhan Vong, and the ideological changes that he underwent under the tutelage of Vergere, has learned a technique called Flow Walking. When Flow Walking, a Force sensitive being is able to essentially step into the past and interact with past events via the Force. It is through this ability Jacen sees the crash that injured Raynar Thul and learn of the location of a nest that is troubling the Jedi specifically.
Now that the Jedi have realized the Chiss are fighting over the border with the Killik, they are put in a bad position. The Killik, on one hand, are a displaced species trying to find their way to their ancestral home. This home is on the border of Chiss space, unfortunately. They are also dangerous in that their telepathy threatens to take over the mind of non-Killik hosts, putting the Chiss in danger. As the battle goes on, the Killik’s telepathy begins to affect other Jedi, like Jacen and Jaina Solo and Jagged Fel. Jagged Fel, former pilot for the Imperial Remnant who was raised by the Chiss, fights against the Killik on a more personal level, and the fact that he falls under their hive control is troubling to him personally. On the other hand, the Jedi are in good relations with the Chiss, who have recently fought alongside the New Republic. The Jedi shouldn’t fight against the Chiss, but the survivors of the Myrkr mission who fought for the Killiks are now fighting the Chiss. The Jedi essentially flee the battle, but not before Jedi Knights Lowbacca and Saba are injured.
This moves Luke into a new position, wherein Jacen is not the only Jedi to see the past. When Luke is fleeing the battle, R2 shows him a hologram of Anakin Skywalker and a woman that Luke presumes to be his mother. R2 is unable to show the holo again, claiming that he shouldn’t have even shown that part. It seems as if, in the middle of this huge galactic crisis, a vision of hope for Luke and his family may be made clearer. A hacker, later, is able to retrieve more footage of Padmé speaking with Obi-Wan, a conversation that occurs hours before her death.
The Jedi investigate whether or not some of their own have been brought under the influence of the Killik. Unfortunately, two of the Jedi that were retrieved during the mission and brought back to the Jedi Temple on Ossus, Alema Rar and Saba, have been mind-touched by the Killik and have been influenced by them. The Jedi begin to fear that others have been taken over by the Killik as well. The investigation uncovers a shocking fact: there are even more Killik, and these do not operate under Raynar’s command. Instead, these may be influencing Raynar in an attempt to cause all-out war between the Killik and the Chiss. The Jedi turn against the Killik here, hoping to prevent the war and stop the galaxy from being thrown into chaos. Unfortunately, while the Jedi join the Chiss, Jacen, under the control of the Killik, gains the help of the Hapan Consortium for the Killik. Jacen begins a relationship with Tenel Ka, who is now a leader amongst the Hapan Consortium thanks to her bravery during the war against the Vong, there as well.
The Jedi begin a major offensive against the Killik directly as the Killik/Hapan forces fight against the Chiss forces. Luke battles a hive-controlled Alema, cutting off her arm instead of killing her. The Jedi convince Raynar there are forces beyond him, even, and those forces are making the conflict worse. Raynar turns to the Jedi and allows them to deal significant damage to the Dark Nest. When the Jedi damage the Dark Nest, Jaina’s connection, formed earlier alongside Jacen and Jagged’s, is somewhat broken from the Killik. Even though her connection with the Killik is severed, her connection with Jagged is stronger than ever – and not just in a telepathic sense, but that is the most pressing change in their relationship. In fact, the two can essentially read each other’s minds. Maybe the biggest change of the status quo in this event is that Leia essentially turns away from the life of a politician, instead planning on becoming a Jedi full-time.
But even the power of Leia may not be enough to combat a new threat…the threat of an Unseen Queen.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor!
Legendary Adventures
The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime | Dark Tide Duology | Agents of Chaos: 1 – Hero’s Trial | 2 – Jedi Eclipse | Balance Point | Edge of Victory: 1 – Conquest | Edge of Victory: 2 – Rebirth | Star by Star | Dark Journey | Traitor | Destiny’s Way | The Force Heretic Trilogy | The Final Prophecy | The Unifying Force
Essential Legends Collection: Revan | Deceived | Darth Bane: Path of Destruction | Darth Bane: Rule of Tw0 | Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil | Darth Plagueis | Shatterpoint | Kenobi | Rogue Squadron | Rogue Squadron: Wedge’s Gamble | Rogue Squadron: The Bacta War | Heir to the Empire | Dark Force Rising | The Last Command |