In
2009, Karen Traviss was given her final contract with Random House/Del Rey to continue her story forward. Sadly, after this novel,
the fates of the majority of the characters remain unknown. The
exceptions are Bardan and Venku who are alive as of Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice and Legacy of the Force: Revelation both written by
Traviss years before the events of this novel were developed. I
wouldn't recommend reading the Legacy of the Force novels as it's
head writer Troy Denning assassinated every character trait for every
main character in order for them to fit his story line, which, in
itself, was half-assed (forgive my language). Synopsis:
The Clone Wars are over,
but for those with reason to run from the new Galactic Empire, the
battle to survive has only just begun....
The Jedi have been decimated in the Great Purge, and the Republic has
fallen. Now the former Republic Commandos—the galaxy's finest
special forces troops, cloned from Jango Fett—find themselves on
opposing sides and in very different armor. Some have deserted and
fled to Mandalore with the mercenaries, renegade clone troopers, and
rogue Jedi who make up Kal Skirata's ragtag resistance to Imperial
occupation. Others—including men from Delta and Omega squads—now
serve as Imperial Commandos, a black ops unit within Vader's own
501st Legion, tasked to hunt down fugitive Jedi and clone deserters.
For Darman, grieving for his Jedi wife and separated from his son,
it's an agonizing test of loyalty. But he's not the only one who'll
be forced to test the ties of brotherhood. On Mandalore, clone
deserters and the planet's own natives, who have no love for the
Jedi, will have their most cherished beliefs challenged. In the
savage new galactic order, old feuds will have to be set aside to
unite against a far bigger threat, and nobody can take old loyalties
for granted.
A
report from Sector Controller J506, Officer Marigand, H.F., recaps
the events of Order 66: A Republic Commando novel.
It then transitions to Nyreen Vollen as she smuggles Tallisibeth “Scout” Enwandung-Esterhazy and Kina Ha to Mandalore. Meanwhile,
on Imperial Center (Coruscant), Darman and Niner attend a briefing by
Darth Vader, who wants them to hunt down the remaining Jedi and even
the Antarian Rangers, Force-sensitives who couldn't make it as a Jedi
and now act as helpers. Emperor's Hand Sa Cuis assigns
Squad 40—Darman, Niner, Bry and Ennen from Galaar Squad—to hunt
down Antarian Ranger Jilam Kester. On Mandalore, the Skirata clan
tries to move on—Vau's on Kashyyyk searching for Sev—Kal and the
former Nulls plan to insert themselves onto Imperial Center to
retrieve Darman and Niner. Ny arrives and Kal is shocked by how much
Scout looks like Etain. Fenn Shysa appeals to Kal to use Bardan Jusik
to breed an army of Mandalorian Force-sensitives. Kal declines to use
his adopted son like that. Dr. Ovolot Qail Uthan and Mij Gilamar bond
while trying to perfect the cure for the age limit on the clones
using Uthan's research on FG36.
Darman
and Niner, along with Ennen and Bry find Kester fleeing and end up
facing former Jedi General and Master Iri Camas. Bry kills Camas at
the cost of his life and Kester flees. Data left behind mentions
Plett's Well and children of the Jedi being moved there. After Sa
Cuis is killed by Vader (InHis Image
and A Two-Edged Sword),
Roly Mesular takes over Commando Missions. He doesn't just want to
target Jedi, but the Jal Shey and other Force-users. On Mandalore,
the Death Watch is on the rise, helping the Imperials set up store.
It turns out that Arligan Zey and Maze survived Order 66 and arrive
on Coruscant via Ruusaan Skirata and Bardan Jusik. Zey realizes why
Etain had become distant when he sees Venku Skirata. Ordo tries to
retrieve Darman and Niner but they choose to remain behind because
Darman found out about Kal hiding Scout, Kina Ha, and Zey. In
turmoil, Skirata goes to a set of coordinates and meets Jedi Master
Djinn Altis, Callista Masana, former Republic Intelligence agent
Hallena Devis and more of Altis's Jedi sect. They do a deal and Kal
finds out that Etain was offered a place in Altis' group and is
angered that she died for nothing.
During
a mission to kill a second Jedi, Darman, Niner and Ennen are paired
up with a Spaarti-cloned clone trooper named Rede. The second Jedi
turns out to be a kid with a lightsaber and Ennen can't stand losing
Bry and killing a kid and so commits suicide in the barracks. On
Mandalore, Gilamar kills the newest leader of the Death Watch, DredPriest. Uthan proves herself and develops a way to block the FG36
virus in response to Palpatine seeding her homeworld via the same
virus. She lets it loose on Mandalore to prevent the Mandalorians and
everyone on the planet from dying via the same way. Kal meets with
Altis once more to negotiate intelligence and passes the anti-virus
stuff onto Altis and his gang so they'll be safe. After the third
Jedi is dead, Darman asks Mesular if he needs anyone posted on
Mandalore and Mesular grants him, Niner and Rede permission to help
fortify the Mandalorian homeworld. In the end, and a perfect set up
for the ultimate finale that never happened (thanks Del Rey/Random
House), Darman vows to get Venku away from Kal and the Jedi no matter
what it costs.
A
very well done final Star Wars novel from Traviss in the Old Republicera. So many fans were disappointed when Del Rey/Random House
cancelled Imperial Commando 2 and fired Traviss from finishing the
series. I hope, one day, that someone will pick up where Karen left
off and finish the story once and for all. In the mean time,
speculations are your own.
