As the New Republic continues to grow, upstart Imperial warlords crawl out of every nook and cranny of the universe to carve out a name for themselves. But one in particular will challenge the very soul of both the New Republic and Luke Skywalker himself. Join the Legendary Adventures as we read Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor!
“If far from the Force you find yourself, trust you can that it is not the Force which moved.”
At the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance dealt a decisive victory against the Emperor, killing Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, crippling the Imperial infrastructure. In one battle, it seemed as if the entire Empire and Sith Order would fall at once. Unfortunately, neither were the truth, as the New Republic would quickly learn. On the same day that Darth Sidious was killed and the second Death Star destroyed, the Alliance intercepted communications from Imperial forces on Bakura, asking for help. A shaky treaty was formed between Alliance and Imperial forces to face the Ssi-ruuk invasion, but it soon fell apart.
But not all of the Imperial remnant is interested in making peace. On Mindor, rumors of an Imperial Remnant led by a Sith Chieftain emerge, spreading fear into the hearts of the galaxy. It seems as if the fabled Rule of Two was no longer in effect if the death of Sheev and Vader did not bring an end to the Sith Order. The Order was led by Lord Shadowspawn, a Chief Intelligence Officer who made good use of his knowledge of arcane Sith magicks and Imperial tactics in an effort to garner the attention of Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi. This Imperial Remnant launched attacks on pirates and legitimate traders, and eventually leveled attacks against the New Republic itself.
The attacks become so vicious the New Republic leadership is forced to respond: Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian lead Rogue Squadron on a dangerous attack on Mindor. The planet was adversely affected by a horrible scientific accident which destroyed portions of the planet, causing a perilous battle to erupt that would lead to massive casualties on both sides. Thankfully our heroes, the leaders of the New Republic, are able to make landfall on Mindor, leading to a confrontation between New Republic forces and Imperial forces, and between Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and Sith-wannabe Lord Shadowspawn. In the space battle, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are able to gain the aid of the Mandalorian supercommandos led by Fenn Shysha, turning the tide of the battle in favor of the New Republic. This treaty is about as long lasting as the one between the Alliance and Imperials at Bakura, but ended on good terms, making both sides amenable to future exploits together.
Lord Shadowspawn was once a Prophet of the Dark Side, an agent of the Empire that studied the Sith arts so that he could serve Palpatine. Based on Sheev Palpatine’s own interest in alchemy, Shadowspawn’s deft ability to perform divination and alchemy was of interest to the Sith Lord looking to destroy the Rebel Alliance. His own body became weak and frail from overuse of dark magic and Sith tricks, but he had developed one final plan to prolong his life: he would take over the bodies of young people as basically living crop to prolong his life, hopefully ending with him taking over the body of Luke Skywalker himself. This mind control was done through the Force, but augmented by technology called the Shadow Crown, which implanted devices in the heads of those that Shadowspawn would control. Rupturing the connection between the Crown and the subjects would, unfortunately, most likely lead to their deaths.
Unfortunately, one of the men he took over was a bit stronger than his mind control, and was set free when Luke Skywalker went to confront Shadowspawn. This man was Nick Rotsu, a Republic officer who fought with Mace Windu on Haruun Kal. Force-sensitive, Rotsu seemed to be the best body for Shadowspawn to use as a public spokesman and body. When freed from Shadowspawn’s mind control, Nick’s memories of fighting in the Clone War were restored to him, and he and Luke talked about the role of the Jedi in a galactic war. This would spark feelings of regret and doubt within Skywalker, which would inform the way he responded to this event and to future dealings with the Jedi.
Before their climactic confrontation, Luke Skywalker and Shadowspawn are pushed to their extremes. Shadowspawn, losing control of his subjects, senses an intense presence in the Force. It does not take him long to figure out that he isn’t sensing Skywalker nor Rotsu, but Princess Leia Organa. Her strength in the Force makes her a target for his mind-control, pushing Luke to extreme ends. Unfortunately, left with no recourse otherwise, Luke destroys the Shadow Crown, leading to the death of every subject still hooked into the mind control device. This shakes Luke to the core, even though both his battle and the space battle end in Republic victories.
Luke would later contact Lorz Geptun, another veteran from the battle on Haruun Kal during Mace Windu’s mission to rescue Depa Billaba. Luke opened an investigation into his own actions on Mindor, asking if he was in the right in his actions. Geptun was not truly interested in opening this investigation, and instead wrote a holodrama. Though Luke would play along with the drama, his actions on Mindor would haunt him forever.
Unfortunately, open warfare with Imperial forces would soon boil into a full-blown conflict, bringing out the best X-wing pilots in the galaxy to fight the battles that no one else could….or would.
Legendary Travel Tips:
-This book is preceded by The Truce at Bakura and is followed by the amazing young reader’s series, The Glove of Darth Vader.
–This book is framed by a holo-drama and the idea of in-universe Legends, which was Stover’s attempt to call back to the original novels of the EU. It was also a recap on the role of the Jedi in both wars, looking forward to the coming New Jedi Order. The in-universe framing makes this story hard to date, so it is generally dated by the main events in the series.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor!
New Republic Era: Truce at Bakura