Dark Force Rising

Grand Admiral Thrawn holds a blockade over Myrkr, while General Covell co-ordinates an instructive assault on smuggling Lord Talon Karrde's already-evacuated base. Having seen the kind of art Karrde collects, Thrawn correctly induces that Karrde is surveilling the operation for information.

Aboard the Wild Karrde, Mara Jade senses danger and errantly prepares the ship for departure, vindicated moments later as an Interdictor drops out of hyperspace. They escape before the gravity well generator powers up, but Mara feels uneasy about her premonition, fearing another imminent cycle of self-destructivism. 

Thrawn is intrigued by the implications of the escape, noting it for later. He leaves orders for Covell to commend troopers for reassignment to Mount Tantis on Wayland. Captain Pellaeon reports on Joruus C'Baoth's impetuously frequent contact; he is impatient for the delivery of the promised Skywalkers to Jormark. He smoulders over his unremembered past; all that matters to him is his connection to and dominion over the Force. 

With hours ticking away since Admiral Ackbar’s arrest, Luke’s status as a civilian has him grounded at Sluis Van; his X-Wing has no priority to receive Sluissi repairs, and despite Wedge tacitly offering up his own X-Wing, Wedge would face a court martial to hand over military property to a civilian.

Lando — given his stable condition — is similarly unlikely to see medical care soon. As he talks to Luke, he notices the signature scent of an old associate lingering on Luke’s clothing; professional ship thief Niles Ferrier. Using a Jedi memory-enhancing technique, Luke leads Lando in pursuit of Ferrier. After a brief firefight, they convince Ferrier and his crew to leave Sluis Van for another mark, receiving intel on an Imperial bounty for captured warships as well as slicer codes that might be used to sordidly expedite Luke’s repairs.

Admiral Ackbar is under house arrest on suspicions of treason. On the day of the attack on Sluis Van, money had been transferred into his account on the crossroads planner of Palanhi — known for its fence-sitting during the Galactic Civil War. 

Han arrives back to Coruscant and is quickly shepherded by Leia to a special hearing of the New Republic Council. Mon Mothma presides as Han recounts his experience over Sluis Van. During Fey'lya's allegations against Ackbar, Han blurts out his uncorroborated discovery that the Imperials are being led by a Grand Admiral. The council suspends further inquiry to investigate this new claim and continue with Han's Sluissi testimony.

Han, Leia, and Chewbacca visit Ackbar. Ackbar doubts that the old Imperial files will contain useful information; the position of Grand Admiral was one of Emperor Palpatine's efforts to exercise direct control over both military and political spheres.

Since landing, Han senses unease in Chewbacca, but Leia is not yet ready to speak about their time on Kashyyyk.

Luke is back on Coruscant. While looking through the Palace Archives for information on C'Baoth, Winter interrupts him to deliver Leia’s summons. They discuss the digressive Jedi and his place in both Galactic and Alderaanian history.

Winter leaves Leia, Luke, and Han to discuss the conspiracy surrounding Ackbar, and (if any) throughlines with Fay'lya and the Bothans. With nothing left to contribute on Coruscant, Han and Luke will investigate New Corv, in the Churba Sector where the Bothans were involved in a brief-but-violent skirmish during the Galactic Civil War.

It’s at this point that Chewbacca exposes Leia’s rendezvous with the Noghri. With Han and Leia staring expectantly at each other, Luke excuses himself.

Leia and Han argue in earnest, but ultimately her idealism wins his support for her mission. Han insists that she take the Falcon and Chewie as a pilot.

Karrde has retreated his organisation to Rishi. Mara bickers with him over having chosen such a populus location, and to avoid addressing her past she pushes Karrde to elaborate on a deferred conversation. He shares a memory of stumbling upon what he suspects to be the Katana Fleet, a scandalous fleet of several hundred slave-circuited warships lost sometime before the outbreak of the Clone Wars. With an Imperial bounty on warships, he believes it may be pertinent to delivering them from Imperial ire.

They are interrupted with a request for supplies, which Karrde sends Mara to collect from one of their caches. On her way, Mara tracks, then is ambushed by a bounty hunter. With her reemerging Force-powers, she manages to distract him long enough to turn the tables.

Returning to the store house, Mara tells Karrde of her run-in and they promptly order the retreat.

That night, Mara experiences a relapse of harrowing Force-induced dreams.

Economic and psychological pressure; Thrawn is pleased with the disarray sewn amongst the Republic political structure. He has been receiving intel from inside the Imperial Palace. Even Pellaeon doesn't know details on the informant designated Delta Source.

Thrawn and Pellaeon butt heads as they oversee a raid on New Republic supply lines through Sarka. C'Baoth has disregarded direct orders at Taanab, something that Pellaeon is particularly sensitive to. However, Thrawn dismisses the threat that the clone could face in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, Thrawn plans to deliver a message personally to the Noghri people to impress the importance of success in their mission to abduct Leia Organa Solo.

On Jormark, C’baoth awakens to sense the approach of a messenger from the village. He muses over the dynamics of his relationship with the Empire, reflecting on how he has been regarded by the various peoples he has subjugated. He relishes the challenge of manipulating Skywalker to his surreptitious machinations. 

Leia and Chewbacca arrive in the Endor system a day before their appointed meeting with the Noghri Khabarakh. As the Falcon orbits the Forest Moon, Leia blacks out. After she comes to, it takes little to surmise that Leia had felt an echo in the Force from the moment of the Emperor's death.

On the hostile jungle-world of New Cov, Lando and Han arrive at the armoured city of Ilic. Upon clearing customs, Han spies Bothan Tav Breil’lya, identifying him by his neckpiece as one of Fay’lya’s aides. Han hurriedly sends Lando to meet Luke below while he tails Breil’lya to the warehouse district, only to be ambushed by a short, greying woman — just as sirens start to blare.

At the tap-cafe Mishra, Lando meets Luke as he is called upon to dispense a Jedi’s wisdom on a heated dispute between a Barabel and a Rodian: the Barabel was not told that he would be paid for a job in Imperial Credits. As Luke enhances his senses to read the Rodian for any signs of deception, he catches a whiff of Carababba tabac and Armudu spice: Niles Ferrier is here. While initially obstinate, the crowd’s support for Luke as a Jedi compels Ferrier’s aid to facilitate an unofficial exchange of Imperial and New Republic monies.

With the situation deescalated, Luke’s reflects on this previously-unconsidered responsibility of a Jedi. The crowd seems unperturbed by the blare of sirens, with one of the crowd informing them that it signals an Imperial raid. Lando suggests that such raids are commonplace on borderworlds as a tacit oblation, suspecting that this routine raid will turn unpleasant after the Imperials find their ships on the landing record.

They split up, with Luke off to find Han, while Lando heads to the hangar to meet up with R2 and attempt to erase the landing logs.

Han is disarmed at blasterpoint by the short, greying woman and invited to a holding room for interrogation with another, taller woman; Sena. Breil'lya is invited into the interrogation and accuses Han of being an imposter and Imperial spy. In his zeal, his accusations unravel, much to Sena’s amusement. Sena and Irenez (the shorter woman) belong to another independent group; relayed by messages, their commander instructs them to assist Han’s escape from the Imperial raid on Ilic. 

Luke is intercepted by the group’s picket line and escorted to Han’s location. Together with Irenez, they rendezvous with Lando in the Imperial-occupied hangar. Han orchestrates an escape into New Cov airspace in the confusion caused by the Lady Luck’s beckon call and blaster fire from Luke’s X-Wing. 

A Star Destroyer and its complement of TIE fighters move to intercept their escape. Luke peels off to engage the TIEs, buying time for Han, Lando, and Irenez to make their escape with the rest of Irenez’s group. Three dreadnaughts arrive from hyperspace to escort the escapees, along with a personal invitation from the Commander; an old friend or a ruse to ensnare Han?

Alone in unfriendly skies, Luke and R2 jump to hyperspace, headed to Jormark.

While initially wary, Khabarakh accepts Leia, C-3PO, and Chewbacca board his ship after understanding that Chewbacca has given a life debt to Leia; like Wookiees, Noghri culture holds honour in high regard.

During the four-day flight, Khabarakh mostly isolates himself in the cockpit, giving Leia little to prepare for her embassy and an ambivalent impression that told her their arrival to Honoghr was unannounced.

They arrive over Honoghr; a world covered in greys and browns, a decidedly sickly looking planet — and over it the distinctive arrow-head of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Chewbacca rushes to the cockpit, slamming on the door; Khabarakh opens the door to reassure them of his trust, but Chewbacca can only be stopped by a stun trap. Khabarakh signals the all-clear, citing his delay to equipment malfunction, and decides to take them to his home, away from the visiting Imperials.

At the Capital of Nystao, as the Imperials are being received in a traditional welcoming ceremony by the many Clan Dynasts. Captain Pellaeon is passed a report from lieutenant Tschel about the incoming ship. Thrawn halts the ceremony to travel to Clan Kihm’bar, wanting to receive the returning operative from the failed abduction on Kashyyyk.

Khabarakh's ship lands at the Kihm'bar village. Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO stay on the ship while (in accordance with Noghri law) Khabarakh announces the arrival of the outsiders to the clan maitrakh. Chewbacca disappears into the ship to sabotage the electronics to obfuscate their presence, leaving Leia to anxiously wait until Khabarakh's return.

Without Chewbacca, they hurry through to an inauspicious meeting with the maitrakh. Despite obvious tensions, the Kihm'bar clan will honour Khabarakh's promise of refuge and diplomacy, obscuring their presence deeper in the village.

The Imperials arrive to extract an explanation from Khabarakh for his month-long absence after the failure of Commando Team Twenty-Two on Kashyyyk. The sabotage to Khabarakh's ship is undetected and the ship is taken with the Imperials back to Nystao for repairs. Thrawn suspects there is more to be learned about Khabarakh's reclusion, but that is all secondary to the capture of Organa Solo.

Han and Lando arrive at an encampment on an undisclosed planet that vaguely reminds both of them of the old Rebellion bases during the Galactic Civil War. Sena takes Han through to meet a Corellian political figure from his childhood, Garm Bel Iblis. After becoming acquainted, they move outside to give full introductions and discuss what might happen next.

  Over Honoghr, Thrawn and Pellaeon review the footage where “old acquaintances” clash with Star Destroyer Relentless over New Cov. Thrawn is certain they are Corellian in origin, and makes contact with Captain Dorja of Relentless. Ship thief Niles Ferrier was caught smuggling Cov Biomolecules. Thrawn sentences him to steal the dreadnoughts from the recording within three months, hoping to capture the dreadnoughts rather than risk their destruction by simply routing the Corellian faction.

Pellaeon then presents the analysis from Khabarakh's ship: Wookiee hair, everywhere. They both conclude that Khabarakh's month-long absence must have owed to his capture, and subsequent interrogation and release. Thrawn orders to prepare for a show of force on the surface -- to remind the Noghri of their loyalties lie.

Leia wakes up on Honoghr. Directed to the Dukha by some Noghri children. She learns from clan Kihm’bar’s Maitrakh more of the Noghri, their history, and their indentured servitude with the Empire.

The Maitrakh implores Leia to leave until such time that the Noghri would not be trading one over-clan for another. Leia agrees, but as she does, they are alerted to an approaching Imperial ship. 

TIE Scimitar bombers patrol the skies as an Imperial Shuttle closes in on the Dhuka. Cornered, Leia and Chewbacca cram into the meditation room and Leia uses her Jedi skills to eavesdrop as the Grand Admiral reappears to confront the Maitrak, accusing Khabarakh of perjury. The Grand Admiral claims he is beholden to a law higher than Noghri law — his Imperial law — and will arrest Khabarakh immediately. When the Maitrak objects, the Grand Admiral orders a show-of-force that (with her Jedi-enhanced senses) dazzles Leia.

As Leia regains her senses, the Grand Admiral leaves granting an “allowance” of public humiliation to Khabarakh for three days in the capital of Nystao.

Luke arrives to Jormark, and follows his intuition to C’baoth’s castle. The Jedi Master is  authoritative but not at all what Luke expects. C’baoth wastes no time in beginning his tutorship with Luke. Leaving R2-D2 with the X-Wing, they travel to the village at the foot of the hill.

Within one of the houses, they sense a disturbance and enter to intervene. C’baoth’s decree is swift and decisive. Luke — taken aback by the lack of nuance — leaves open an opportunity for the convicted to dive for a weapon. Before Luke can react, C’baoth unleashes cascades of Force Lightning, subduing the aggressor and — in his own words — leaving a lasting lesson.

At the end of the day, Luke goes outside to confide in R2 that, while he needs instruction, he has doubts about the elderly Jedi Master’s sanity.

Bel Iblis regales Han and Lando with the exploits of his militia, however Lando is in a less than generous mood. When Han notices that Lando is still on his first drink, a tense negotiation surfaces. They learn that Bel Iblis doesn’t trust the development of the New Republic, suspicious that power has been too centralised around Mon Mothma.

As Bel Iblis must attend to other matters, Han and Lando walk to prepared accommodation. Lando points out obvious falsehoods in Bel Iblis’s claims; the base is not nearly as mobile or active as stated. Their bickering continues in their room where Lando makes an alarming discovery: the decore has been taken from what-could-only-be the lost Katana Fleet. They head back to the headquarters lounge to investigate further.