The search for Han Solo is on! Bounty hunters, Imperials, and rebels alike all search for the frozen smuggler and Alliance leader. Darth Vader is forced to work with a dangerous crime lord, one who wants nothing more to see him discredited. And in the middle of all of this? Poor Luke Skywalker! Join the Legendary Adventures as we find ourselves under the Shadows of the Empire.
The Rebel Alliance has suffered some of its most grievous defeats in the recent past, on both a corporate and personal level. Their previous hideout, Echo Base on Hoth, was destroyed by an Imperial invasion. This led to a massive loss of life and materials. Just a few weeks later, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker dueled on Cloud City, and Luke’s soul was shattered by the revelation that Darth Vader was his father. The Imperial forces that controlled Cloud City also captured Han Solo, who was frozen in carbonite and handed to his rival, Boba Fett, to be delivered to Jabba the Hutt.
This tumultuous time calls for reflection on the part of our favorite Rebel heroes. Leia and Luke, after their fleet is discovered by an Imperial strike ship, are forced to flee to Tatooine. On Tatooine, Leia wonders what happened between her and Luke. While she can’t quite put a finger on it, she knows that *something* has changed since Luke faced off against Darth Vader on Cloud City. After both she and Luke have battled the Dark Lord before, on Mimbam, they were more or less emotionally okay; this confuses her even more about his new state. Unfortunately, Luke has become even more closed off after his battle, as his mind reels from the information about his lineage. On Tatooine, Luke reflects about the little Jedi training he has received, while also spending time in Ben Kenobi’s hut, building a new lightsaber based on his notes left behind.
With Luke distracted and Leia left unable to help him, the Rebels are going to need all of the help they can get to find Han and regain some of their lost momentum in the fight against the Emperor. Thankfully, they have gained two new allies in the battle: Lando Calrissian and Dash Rendar. Lando, hoping to rehabilitate himself a bit after the disaster on Cloud City, is eager to help the Rebels locate Han Solo, showing that the trouble that had brewed between them had mostly washed away. Lando finds information about the bounty hunters who hold Han captive, sending that information to the Rebels. Dash Rendar, a smuggler who also has had trouble with Han Solo in the past, is also eager to help the Rebellion, himself having fought in the Battle of Hoth alongside Rogue Squadron. Dash aids Luke on Tatooine, and the two hear communications about plans for a new Imperial superweapon. We’ll return to this.
As forthcoming as allies have been for the Alliance, allegiances are not so easily given among the ranks of both Imperials and bounty hunters. Though Boba Fett has Solo captive, other bounty hunters, such as IG-88D, are looking for Jabba’s bounty as well, trying to cash in on the amazing reward. The bounty hunters meet on Gall, but the meeting is not secret, and their activity brings attention to them, and the Rebel forces arrive on Gall to rescue Han. Their rescue is cut short by Imperial fighters, and an all-out fire fight breaks out between Rebel, bounty hunter, and Imperial forces. During the battle, Luke is almost killed by friendly fire. A Rogue Squadron ship, seemingly bent on destroying Luke, chases him down as the droid targets his X-wing, firing with the intent to destroy him!
But what programmed the droid to do that? A Black Sun operative, commissioned by Prince Xizor to bring about the end of Luke Skywalker. Of course, as I mentioned, even the Empire can make bad deals with allies who are less than altruistic in their motives. Before the Battle of Gall, Emperor Sheev Palpatine brought Prince Xizor and Darth Vader together to negotiate a deal that would allow Black Sun to transport materials for the second Death Star to a location chosen by Vice Admiral Thrawn. The Empire and Black Sun have been enjoying a good relationship since the formation of the Empire, working together two decades ago to destroy the Whiplash movement that threatened the peace of the Empire. Palpatine wanted to use this deal to manipulate both Vader and Xizor, not knowing that both would have their own plans. See, Xizor hoped to dethrone Darth Vader by killing Luke, the Emperor’s most desired person, and blaming it on Darth Vader. This is why he had the Rogue Squadron droid programmed to destroy Luke – to get revenge on Vader.
Unfortunately for Xizor, these plans always unfold, and Xizor’s plan is undone by three major components. First, the security on his transportation of the material is compromised, allowing Luke Skywalker, Dash Rendar, and a squad of Bothan spies to get their hands on the information, at the great cost of Bothan life. Second, Leia and Chewbacca, who are flown to Imperial Central by Xizor under the names Boushh and Snoova, take advantage of Xizor’s intense and uncomfortable remarks and feelings toward Leia, learning the location of Solo and the Black Sun’s plans. Finally, Xizor, in a moment of arrogance, announces his plans to kill Luke in a communication intercepted by Darth Vader’s flagship, which Vader responds to by destroying major Black Sun assets.
This leaves our villains in a rough state, but our heroes in a much better position to operate under. Black Sun has been crippled by Darth Vader’s attack, removing a lot of their influence on the galaxy that they had gained. The Imperial secret battle plans have been leaked to the Alliance, allowing the Rebels to secretly move their fleet to stage a massive attack on the Empire. But all is not as it seems with the Imperial plans…and Thrawn and Palpatine might have something bigger in store, leading to the biggest confrontation the Alliance, and Luke, Leia, and Han, have ever seen…
Legendary Travel Tips:
-The Shadows of the Empire novel was only one part of a major multi-licensing deal, featuring a video game, comic book, novel, soundtrack, toys, and so much more. The story of this novel is fleshed out in these other mediums, like Rendar’s role in the Battle of Hoth.
-This book might be the only one in Legends so far that has skeeved me out enough to almost not finish it. While I wrote about this book, there’s a lot in it that was pretty nasty for even the 90’s. This is, so far, the only one I recommend not reading.
-This book is followed by the events of Return of the Jedi.
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 | The Empire Strikes Back