The race to Hoth is on – the Rebellion struggles to complete their secret base on Hoth before the Empire can find it. When vital supplies are being withheld from the Rebels, Leia organizes a team to make a deal, finding a group of pirates who’s allegiance cuts her to the bone. Join the Legendary Adventures as we explore Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge!
Leia asked, “Is that why you stick around? The thrill of destroying stuff with me?”
Han’s sideways glance at her was hard to read. “One of the reasons.”
Some stories in the course of the Legendary Adventures will not prove to be massive, historical events. Some may not show more than a single focused mission, as this one will do. Instead, we’ll see novels that focus on single characters and how they’re reacting to galactic events. In this case, Leia Organa is pushed further than she ever has as a leader and as an Alderaanian.
Times have been tough for the Rebel Alliance. Despite having won major victories across the galaxy, such as the Battle of Yavin, and securing new allies from many new systems, the Alliance to Restore the Republic still needs a place to operate from. Thankfully, they have recently discovered the snowy world of Hoth, deep in the Anoat sector. There, despite the freezing cold temperatures, the Rebellion has a chance to regroup their forces and focus on where they can move in the future. Thankfully, with the supplies of a warlord bent on destroying Vice Admiral Thrawn, the Rebellion has plenty of armaments and vehicles to equip their base. Unfortunately, Vice Admiral Thrawn has already tipped off Emperor Palpatine that the Rebellion might be moving to a cold weather system, based on the supplies they had just won and on their trajectory toward the Outer Rim. With this knowledge in mind, the Empire is able to keep supplies from reaching the Rebels.
The Alliance has grown so desperate without these supplies that they are willing to send their best agents to the field in order to gain more food and arms, leading Leia to lead a mission outside of Hoth into unknown territory with a group of traders who seem (mostly) trustworthy. This is obviously not Leia’s first mission for the Rebellion, but it may be the first where she has had to act as more of an escort for supplies rather than trying to gain more allies to the cause. Perhaps Leia feels better about running these dangerous missions having faced Darth Vader directly, knowing that she has now seen the scariest thing that the Empire has to offer.
Along the way to the trading rendezvous, the rebels are attacked, suggesting an Imperial spy lives within the rebel ranks. While under heavy fire, Leia’s ship is boarded and raided by a ship called the Aegis. In an incredible shock to Leia, the Aegis is crewed by Alderaanians, who have left the ways of their peaceful home on Alderaan and have taken up piracy instead. Leia takes it upon herself to find out how to bring them back to their peaceful ideals, but she realizes that they are too deep in debt to a pirate named Viest. Leia meets with the pirate to try and negotiate the release of the Aegis, but the pirate does not play fair (why do our heroes ever expect them to?), and renegotiates the deal with Leia to keep the Aegis under his control. Unfortunately, a fight between the pirates, the rebels, and the Alderaanian crew of the Aegis led to the death of the Alderaanian captain and the pirate, leaving the rebels and Alderaanians open for a surprise.
This surprise was the revelation of an Imperial spy within the rebel ranks, who arranges with the Empire to capture Luke and try to capture Leia. Thankfully, Leia’s negotiating skills were able to bring the pirates and rebels together to rescue Luke, just as other pirates, seeking revenge or profit after the death of Viest, into the system. Rebel forces, pirates, and Imperial pilots collided in a massive battle, letting the Aegis and Rebels escape.
As the Rebels return to Hoth, they take newly won supplies to the ailing Rebel base. Not far behind them are the Alderaanians, who have now given up their life of piracy to instead pursue peace and love, back to their Alderaanian roots. This happens just in time, too, as the Rebellion (and its leaders) are about to face their toughest challenges ever, when the Empire strikes back…
Legendary Travel Tips:
-This novel is preceded by Splinter of the Minds’ Eye and followed by Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
–This novel was intended to be the first book in the Empire and Rebellion trilogy, which features Honor Among Thieves. The third book, Heir to the Jedi, would become a canon novel, one of the first launched in the new publishing initiative for the canon.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor!
Galactic Civil War Era: A New Hope | Scoundrels | Allegiance | Choices of One | Ruins of Dantooine | Honor Among Thieves | Splinter of the Mind’s Eye