Grand Admiral Thrawn was repelled at Sluis Van, but his grand plans for the Empire aren’t stopped so easily! New alliances and fleets on both sides offer a chance for the New Republic and Empire to shift the course of the Galactic Civil War. Join the Legendary Adventures as we read Dark Force Rising!
When it comes to war, you can’t always trust only in your own resources and your own firepower. You need to be resourceful, something that both Imperial leaders and New Republic leaders have plenty of. But you also need help, and both Thrawn and Leia see that their sides are going to need a little extra firepower to change the course of their battles. Now, after the New Republic victory at Sluis Van, both sides get a little help.
Thrawn has suffered few, if any, defeats in his life as an Admiral. From his vantage point, he is in almost a perfect context to win the Galactic Civil War and wipe out the New Republic forever. From his fight against the Separatists in Wild Space to his fights against warlords, Thrawn usually comes out ahead against anyone who dares oppose him. But in his first real command over an entire fleet, Thrawn loses. The scrappy New Republic, with its trained and creative pilots in Rogue Squadron and the rest of the fleet, Thrawn’s plans to capture the Sluis Van shipyards is thwarted. Turns out, he, too, might need some help and some new plans to achieve his own goals.
These plans involved crazed Jedi Joruus C’Boath, clone of the fallen Jedi Master. Joruus believes that he is the greatest living Force user and has plans to take Han Solo and Leia Organa’s unborn twins under his wing, training them in the dark side under his tutelage. Luke Skywalker, who sees himself at times as the last living Jedi, wants to see the Order revived, and sees a lot of potential under Joruus, so he agrees to be trained by the Jedi. Luke, though naive, has good intentions: he hopes that under Joruus’s tutelage, he can bring back the Jedi Order, stronger than it was when it was destroyed by Sidious.
Unfortunately, Thrawn’s plans are a bit more far reaching and don’t only include Joruus. For one, he has plans to capture smuggler Talon Karrde, who works alongside Mara Jade. Karrde broke an alliance with Thrawn (in one of the many, many short stories that populate this era), so Thrawn sees his removal as key to following his plans through. Mara Jade, the former Emperor’s Hand, has a burning desire for revenge against Luke Skywalker in reprisal for killing her master, Sheev Palpatine. But when Karrde is captured, she is forced to work alongside Luke in both defeating Joruus and saving Karrde. Little do they know, this team-up will forever change both of their destinies, pushing both of them closer to each other than they could have foreseen before…
Thrawn’s other plans include a spy inside the New Republic, which Han and Lando Calrissian call Delta Source. Clues point to the adviser of New Republic Senator Borsk Fey’lya, a Bothan who helped the Alliance when they needed spies to uncover the plans for the second Death Star. As they follow the clues to figure out who the spy is, they are attacked by Thrawn’s space forces, unfortunately putting the investigation to a halt. Pinned, Han and Lando are helpless to defend themselves – until, that is, Senator Garm bel Iblis comes and saves them! Garm, one of the founding members of the Rebel Alliance, has distanced himself from the New Republic, finding Mon’s plans to shape the galaxy distasteful. But, thankfully, cooler heads prevail over political differences when it comes time to save the heroes, so Garm is pulled back into working more closely with the New Republic again to save Lando and Han. But this alliance is temporary – he can’t quite get over his differences with Mon to come fully into the fold again.
Garm’s interference isn’t the only help the New Republic gets here. Despite needing a lot of help to completely beat Thrawn, the New Republic isn’t entirely sure where to turn. Thankfully, along with Garm, they receive help from some unlikely sources. They are also helped by the Noghri, a race that used to serve Darth Vader. After Leia hid on Kashyyyk, to keep the unborn babies healthy, she came across some Noghri assassins. They used to give their alliance to Darth Vader, but that alliance has shifted to Leia, whom they called Lady Vader, as she was the heir to Vader’s legacy. This causes turmoil within the Noghri though: their alliance with Vader was built on the lie that it was the Alliance to Restore the Republic which decimated their home world of Honoghir. Leia, knowing the truth, considering she was a leader with the Alliance, reveals that it was the Empire who destroyed their planet. Based on this information, the Noghri turn themselves to help Leia and her friends.
But Thrawn is about to gain new allies, too. He learns of a fleet of lost Clone Wars era fighters called the Katana fleet, and he and the New Republic rush to collect the fleet, blocking the other side from being able to use it. Despite losing a few ships, Thrawn emerges victorious here, gaining control of the fleet and threatening to turn the tide of the war…
Legendary Travel Tips:
-This book is preceded by the first part of the trilogy, Heir to the Empire, and is followed the conclusion, The Last Command.
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
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