Emperor Palpatine’s secret right hand Chiss comes back from the farthest reaches of the galaxy to exact his revenge against the New Republic…can our heroes outsmart the galaxy’s smartest strategist? Join the Legendary Adventures as we get into the Thrawn trilogy, starting with Heir to the Empire!
Chiss Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo, or Commander Thrawn, has had a long history with the Empire, dating back all the way to the days of the waning Republic. Thrawn first encountered Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who at the time was still operating under the cover of Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, right after the Invasion of Naboo. Thrawn fought off a squad of Trade Federation droid ships, led by a secret attache to Palpatine, who put Thrawn in contact with Sidious. Sidious revealed that a Republic ship called the Outbound Flight was on its way to the farthest reaches of space, possibly disturbing a group Palpatine calls the Far Outsiders. He worries that if the Far Outsiders get their hands on the Outbound Flight, they might find their way back to the galaxy and wreak havoc. Thrawn intends to disrupt the flight, and crosses path with abrupt and rude Jedi Jorus C’baoth.
Thrawn, and his shipmate, Jorj Car’das, gain the admiration of Palpatine, but not the admiration of the Chiss. Thrawn was exiled from his people, forcing him to find a new way to survive. After the birth of the Empire, he was found by a Star Destroyer, and Palpatine secretly takes Thrawn on as an advisor. Thrawn would later come into contact with warlod Nuso Esva, who would try and coax the Chiss into open warfare. Darth Vader helped Thrawn rout the warlord’s forces, but at the cost of letting the Rebel Alliance gain a new ally. Around the same time, Palpatine took Thrawn into his confidence, asking for his help in creating the perfect Rebel trap. Thrawn was able to both suss out the location of the secret Rebel base and suggested a shield generator around a second Death Star in the Endor system. This led to, inevitably, Thrawn learning some of Palpatine’s deepest secrets, like the location of a secret base on Wayland. This secret base gave Thrawn lots of new technology, including cloning, which was used to create a clone of the Jedi Thrawn encountered before, Jorus C’baoth.
This makes Thrawn the perfect heir to the Empire, the one who can finally reunite the fallen government. Many have tried before: after the Battle of Endor, some sectors of Imperial power were forced to work with the Rebels. Some Moffs and former Admirals struck off their own, trying to become independently powerful or trying to reunite their forces with the larger Empire. Some former acolytes of Palpatine, working the more Sith-y angle, tried to succeed where he failed by bringing Luke Skywalker over the Dark Side. None of their plans worked because they didn’t have the size, power, or cunning to lead the entire Imperial force. But Thrawn has proven time and time again that he does…and he will use it all to restore the fallen Empire.
Thrawn actually began some of his movement back into the galaxy earlier, trying to collect a piece of art called the Kilik Twilight. Despite his failure to capture the artwork, and the secret communicator hidden inside, Thrawn was emboldened to attack the galaxy again. Despite the fact that the Empire fell five years prior, and many Imperial warlords were being killed across the galaxy, Thrawn was able to gather allies, like Admiral Pallaeon and Rukh, a Noghri, along with an entire fleet, to attack the New Republic.
At the same time that Thrawn plans his grand return to the galaxy, Rebel Alliance leaders face off against smuggler Talon Karrde. Talon threatens to turn Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight, over to the Imperials, but is almost dissuaded by Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. Unfortunately, two problems persisted, forcing Luke on the run. First, Admiral Thrawn came to meet with Karrde directly, which caused Luke to go into hiding. Unfortunately, one of Karrde’s compatriots, Mara Jade, was out for revenge.
Mara Jade was a former assassin and held the title of Emperor’s Hand. Toward the end of the Galactic Civil War, she was a part of at least two failed missions to retain Imperial systems within the Empire, and was caught up in the plans of a band of stormtroopers who went rogue on the Empire. She was trained in the Force by Palpatine directly, and she had a link to his mind, where he could hear his voice. When Palpatine was destroyed by Vader, it seemed like her world fell apart. Not knowing that Vader turned on Palpatine, Mara Jade blamed Luke for his death and wanted to exact revenge on him.
But Mara Jade and Luke aren’t the only Force users involved. Thrawn’s plan involves the cloned Jedi Joorus C’baoth, who has gone slightly mad, his cloned mind touched by the dark side of the Force. He senses that Princess Leia is the mother of two unborn twins, and plans to take them under his tutelage. He does not believe that Leia will be a good teacher, and he plans to seduce the twins to his rule, possibly to undermine Thrawn and the Empire. Leia flees from Imperial and Noghri pursuers, trying to find solace on Kashyyyk. Instead, the Noghri find her there, but surprise her. They recognize her scent as the daughter of Darth Vader. They were once loyal to Vader, so now, they are loyal to her.
Han, Luke, and Lando, as Leia is with the Wookiees, learn from Karrde and Mara that Thrawn plans on attacking a shipyard in Sluis Van. They head to fight him off, but Thrawn’s stolen mining technology and cloaking devices give them an early advantage. Thankfully, Rogue Squadron is nearby, and the pilots are able to stop Thrawn’s first major offensive into the galaxy. But the New Republic has no idea of what Thrawn holds behind the curtains, where a dark force rises….
Legendary Travel Tips:
-This story is preceded by a smattering of short stories, all setting up the novel, and followed by part two of the series: Dark Force Rising.
-This makes the first appearance, in real world chronology, of Thrawn and Mara Jade. Many authors, but primarily Timothy Zahn, would backload these characters all the way back into the Legends timeline considering the characters’ fates here.
-Not many novels got new covers as time went on. Legend has it that The Courtship of Princess Leia got a new cover to shift from a “feminine” cover for the original release (with Leia in a wedding gown) to a more “masculine” cover (featuring the trio in their Endor gear and a Rancor). The Thrawn Trilogy got updated covers, with a triptych design, to celebrate the anniversary of the books.
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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