STAR WARS: LIGHT OF THE JEDI Excerpt Teases a Devastating Incident That Causes The Jedi Order To Jump Into Action
As you know, we’ve got a wave of new stories coming for Star Wars: The High Republic. These stories are set about 200 years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and they will be told through adult and young adult novels, children’s books, and comics from a variety of publishers.
It’s been explained that the High Republic was "a golden time. A time of peace and prosperity. A time when the Jedi really are galactic guardians, stewards of peace and justice." The initiative was also described as the "Jedi Knights of the Round Table" at a time featuring "space Vikings.”
This new series will kick off the novel Star Wars: The High Republic - Light of the Jedi written by Charles Soule. Thanks to IGN, we now have our first look at the story that this book will tell with the entire first chapter of the book. The author also teases a little more about what we can expect.
One of the major things that we learn from this is that there’s a devastating galaxy-wide disaster at the center of the story that causes the Jedi to jump into action. Before we get into the details, the chapter starts out with the following preface:
The Force is with the galaxy.
It is the time of The High Republic: a peaceful union of like-minded worlds where all voices are heard, and governance is achieved through consensus, not coercion or fear. It is a time of ambition, of culture, of inclusion, of Great Works. Visionary Chancellor Lina Soh leads the Republic from the elegant cityworld of Coruscant, located near the bright center of the Galactic Core.
But beyond the Core and its many peaceful Colonies, there is the Rim—Inner, Mid, and finally, at the border of what is known: The Outer Rim. These worlds are filled with opportunity for those brave enough to travel the few well-mapped hyperspace lanes leading to them, though there is danger as well. The Outer Rim is a haven for anyone seeking to escape the laws of the Republic, and is filled with predators of every type.
Chancellor Soh has pledged to bring the Outer Rim worlds into the embrace of the Republic through ambitious outreach programs such as the Starlight Beacon. Order and justice are maintained on the galactic frontier by Jedi Knights, guardians of peace who have mastered incredible abilities stemming from a mysterious energy field known as the Force. The Jedi work closely with the Republic, and have agreed to establish outposts in the Outer Rim to help any who might require aid.
The Jedi of the frontier can be the only resource for people with nowhere else to turn. Though the outposts operate independently and without direct assistance from the great Jedi temple on Coruscant, they act as an effective deterrent to those who would do evil in the dark.
Few can stand against the Knights of the Jedi Order.
But there are always those who will try…
You can read the full first chapter of the book over on IGN if you want. Or you can just read the details that it offers below.
Star Wars: Light of the Jedi starts out with following a character named Captain Hedda Casset as she commands a ship named The Legacy Run. There are over nine thousand lives on board this ship and it’s headed to the Outer Rim in an attempt to start a new life.
While the ship is traveling through hyperspace, an obstacle appears in the hyperlane that the ship is traveling on. Captain Casset attempts to maneuver the ship out of the obstacles way, but it’s too late and the ship ends up being torn to shreds when it hits it. This event ends up changing The High Republic forever. Soule explains:
“This excerpt is our first look at the moment that changes The High Republic forever. The destruction of the Legacy Run is the catalyst for a galaxy-wide disaster. Fragments of the destroyed cargo vessel begin flying out of hyperspace at super-accelerated speeds, meaning that deadly missiles of debris can appear anywhere at any time, from the Outer Rim to the Core. In this moment of crisis, the Republic turns to the guardians of peace and justice—the Jedi.
“The opening beats of Light of the Jedi depict an epic disaster, and a heroic, thrilling response by both the Republic and the Jedi to save lives and end the crisis. It's just the beginning, though. The Legacy Run disaster kicks off a much larger story; it really is just one piece of a much bigger saga.”
The first chapter is an intriguing start and definitely grabbed my interest. It’ll be interesting to see how this story ends up playing out.
This is going to be an interesting era to explore and I’m actually looking forward to diving in. Star Wars: The High Republic - Light of the Jedi which will be released on January 5, 2021 from publisher Del Rey.
Below you’ll find some art that was released showing us what The Legacy Run ship looks like.