181st Imperial Discussion Group: The Truce at Bakura

Welcome all!

This month we are discussing The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers.

Here's a link to the TF.N Staff Reviews.

I'll kick us off with some discussion points, but as always, please feel free to discuss any and everything about the book.

- The OT characters. Luke, Leia and Han, fresh from ROTJ are thrown into another crisis. Luke and Leia especially have to deal with their new status and the new status of the Alliance. Luke is thrown out into his first "solo mission" after completing his training (unorthodox though it may have been), and Leia is struggling with the new knowledge of her father's identity. What did you think of their characterisation and their storylines in the book?

- The Ssi-ruuk! Dev Sibwarra! Did you find them effective as villains? What about their entechment technology - somewhat unique in the SW galaxy. Did you like it? Did it jar with the space opera feel? And what about Dev, and the slow reveal that he's being continually hypnotised and brainwashed, not simply indoctrinated from a young age. What are your thoughts on his storyline?

- How do you feel this integrates into wider canon in light of recent changes? Could Dev's mother - the Jedi apprentice who never completed her training - be evidence not all padawans who don't find a master end up in the Corps for life? The note about how Bakura only recently integrated into the Empire and therefore is still resistant to its rule is also intriguing.

- Any thoughts on the way the book was written and structured, or the themes the author chose to use?

- EPPIE BELDEN. That is all.

Take it away!

In February we will be discussing Han Solo at Star's End by Brian Daley.

 

* Ok, let's go - though I have yet to regain access to this book - a long-delayed project that may see completion this year - so recollections it'll have to be...

- The OT characters. Luke, Leia and Han, fresh from ROTJ are thrown into another crisis.

* I love the setting of this - 1 day, no - the day- after ROTJ! You couldn't get a more immediate posst-movie start. (Save for Luke Skywalker & The Hangover From Hell perhaps?)

Luke and Leia especially have to deal with their new status and the new status of the Alliance.

* TAB made one of the best justifications for the continuing war with the Empire - that the forces arrayed at Endor were a fraction of its full resources!

Luke is thrown out into his first "solo mission" after completing his training (unorthodox though it may have been), and Leia is struggling with the new knowledge of her father's identity. What did you think of their characterisation and their storylines in the book?

* I liked the Leia arc a great deal, Tyers is one of a very few authors who can write a flawed yet likeable Leia, that the resolution to her problem comes from her husband was another neat touch.

* I loved that Anakin Skywalker is attempting a sort of atonement, it adds to the sense of a mystically gifted redemption from the Force that being what he received in ROTJ - yet never expected nor feels worthy of such.

* I like that Luke both struggles with but also succeeds at bearing the burden of command. That he fights his foes, from Nereus' contempt to Gaerial's scepticism with compassion, it is fitting that Nereus is undone by his own acts rather than being cut down by Luke.

- The Ssi-ruuk! Dev Sibwarra! Did you find them effective as villains?

* I found them to be truly creepy. Dev's devotion to them made sense and his slow conversion to another way, shown to him by Luke, was far more convncing than a sudden 180-degree turn.

What about their entechment technology - somewhat unique in the SW galaxy. Did you like it? Did it jar with the space opera feel?

* I'd say the sheer satanic nature of it meshed well with SW - plus the fact the Emperor desired it! Why wouldn't he? Soul-slaved fighters, great concept!

And what about Dev, and the slow reveal that he's being continually hypnotised and brainwashed, not simply indoctrinated from a young age. What are your thoughts on his storyline?

* See above. I need to re-read TAB given the Q as I've forgotten this bit!

- How do you feel this integrates into wider canon in light of recent changes? Could Dev's mother - the Jedi apprentice who never completed her training - be evidence not all padawans who don't find a master end up in the Corps for life? The note about how Bakura only recently integrated into the Empire and therefore is still resistant to its rule is also intriguing.

* We do have a mention of Bakura in a Clone Wars comic too. I'd suspect it's a case of it being on the edge of known space so a low-priority target for the Empire.

- Any thoughts on the way the book was written and structured, or the themes the author chose to use?

* One of the main themes in TAB is redemption, of how it can be gained in a number of ways if a person is but open enough to it, from Dev to Gaerial to Anakin to Eppie - there's a theme of people wishing to make up for past mistakes. Another is that there is always an alternative, that people can be won over with words, reason and compassion, that those who opt for violent brutality defeat their selves as we see Nerus destroy his support base, he turns Thanas away from him - by the time he tries to shoot Luke he truly is the architect of his own downfall.

- EPPIE BELDEN. That is all.

* Agreed, but I have a liking for Thanas, I was quie pleased to find Gaerial later married him.

JB

 

I have rather mixed views on this, it's classic Bantam in the way mutliple things are thrown into the story for our heroes to deal with.

I like how Tyer's looked at the effects of the lightning, something I've always wondered about in ROTJ.

Didn't really like Gaeriel for some reason, and all that orange stuff was rather annoying.

One of the interesting things is Mon Mothma's view of Obi-Wan's ghost. It's surprising how seriously she takes it, as well as other rebels. And what precisely is the Kenobi Offensive? That's what it's called, isn't it?

Eppie was the highlight for me, and it was sad when she died.


And is it just me, or does Luke look rather girly on the cover?

[image=http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/1/1d/Truce_at_Bakura_Cover.gif]

 

I'm gonna have to grab this from the library, most my memories of it are kinda not enjoyable.

I primarily didn't like the Ssi-ruuk and never really thought they worked well as a Star Wars villian.

Also the idea that Bakura couldn't contact the Empire in any way, shape or form just seemed a bit unbelieveable to me. I admit I can't remember clearly how it was presented now but the idea that they couldn't contact Coruscant because of the Battle of Endor didn't sit well with me at the time. With the WEG already having layed out so much of the structure of the Empire in detail I always felt like someone Imperial would have been available to contact. Be it a Moff, or Grand Moff or whoever.

Add to that the relative scale of the fleets in Truce at Bakura. I found it difficult to accept Thanas's flag ship was a Carrack-Class vessel and its complement of four Tie Fighters. In a galaxy filled with huge cruisers, even older ones like Dreadnaughts I simply think Bakura would have had a bigger vessel at its disposal. Again this was likely the WEG messing with my enjoyment of the book, but having read so much of the WEG stuff about the Empire before Truce at Bakura came out I was left thinking the scale of the Bakuran Fleet was a little small.

Funny, I don't recall a lot of the Luke and Leia stuff in the book. Anyway, I'll grab it from the library soon and see if my memories match up with how I feel about it today.

 

The Kenobi Offensive:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kenobi_Offensive

My opinion as to what it actually is: An alternate name for the Outer Rim Sieges, which Kenobi personally planned as a deep attack on the CIS' most valuable assets to draw them away from the core and negate their numerical advantage.

Yes, that's all pure fanon.

 

Agreed on both, forgot to mention 'em above.

 

Ahhh I love this book. I reread this about 5 years ago. This was the first Star Wars book I read I believe. I was very young and could barely keep up ha ha. Anyway I love this book because of how isolated the incident was. You had a rag tag remnant rebel fleet (there's an exact list in the novel) making an uneasy truce with an imperial garrison led by an honest imperial officer against a very scary alien species.

I do like all the Bakurans and I have enjoyed reading about them again in the Corellian Trilogy and in the NJO. I do with Dev didn't die in the end but for the purpose of the story I can see why he did.

Great book!

 

I really liked Truce at Bakura. I thought it was a creative story with chilling, creepy villains, and I think Kathy Tyers wrote the OT characters very well. There are very few authors who get Luke right, but I think that Tyers handled him well, as the new, still-learning Jedi and first time leader of a battle group.

Leia was written well too, as a diplomat trying to secure first a truce with the Imperial commander, and then trying to convince Bakura to join the Alliance, while trying to come to terms with the fact that Darth Vader was her father. I remember being very surprised the first time I read the TaB when Anakin Skywalker appeared to Leia to seek her forgiveness. But it was good to know that this was important to him, and that he was trying to make amends.

The Ssii-ruuk were scary, disgusting villains, whose goal was to enslave the galaxy by enteching everyone to their ships and machines. The very thought is chilling and disturbing. I thought they were effective villains for the Imperials and the Alliance to face together as they presented a real challenge and terrible danger, and for Luke to have to deal with on his own. And the revelation that the Emperor wanted to obtain some of those enteched ships himself showed again how truly evil Palpatine was.

I didn't care much for Gaeriel early in the story, but she grew on me a bit as she became more active and involved in working for Bakura's freedom. I found her religion rather odd as it seems to almost give people an excuse not to try to improve themselves or do their best because they could say that by raising themselves someone else might have to be lowered or weakened. Balance is sought, but in a way it almost seems like status quo or mediocrity is what the religion preaches. No need to try to excel at anything as you will only be diminishing someone else. I can't say I like that kind of belief much.

I thought Luke "fell" for Gaeriel too quickly and without even knowing her at all. I didn't care for that.

I felt really sorry for Dev Sibwarra. Talk about a tough life! He was basically a slave of the Ssi-Ruuk for most of his life; indoctrinated, hypnotised, and brainwashed into serving them and betraying his own kind. When he finally realized what had been done to him, he ended up being heroic, trying to keep the Ssi-Ruuk from successfully enteching the entire galaxy, first by trying to kill Luke when it seemed Luke was incapacitated so Luke couldn't be used to enslave everyone in the galaxy; and then by helping Luke defeat the Ssi-ruuk. I was very sorry that Dev couldn't be healed from his terrible injuries at the end.

Speaking of injuries, I'm glad Luke was able to realize that Eppie Belden's injuries were able to be healed. Eppie was quite an amazing old woman wasn't she? Despite the loss of her son and husband she gallantly pressed forward and basically almost single-handedly got Bakura to rise against the Empire with a little help from her friends, relatives, and Artoo. Plus some distractions by the Ssi-Ruuk.

It was good to see Artoo and Threepio given useful roles in this story. I've missed them in the recent EU! They were able to decipher the Ssi-Ruuk language so the good guys were able to understand the Ssi-Ruuvi communications. That's how they knew that the Ssi-Ruk were going to attack sooner than they were expected to. And Artoo was able to help Eppie Belden.

It was an interesting idea to have the Empire and the Alliance call a truce in order to work together to deal with a common enemy. But it was terrible when the Ssi-Ruuvi left and the Imperial forces attacked the Rebels who had saved them. It really bothered me when Thanas shot down the Flurry and other Alliance ships He had seemed like a decent person, and that seemed like a terrible betrayal. But he redeemed himself. It was a nice surprise at the end to find that despite what Thanas had done in the space battle above Bakura, that he had decided he was on the wrong side, and he joined the Alliance.

Random comments : I thought it was funny wh

 

Having finished the book for the first time since my first read through when I was, I think, fourteen (so, wow, over ten years ago), I found I didn't enjoy it as much as the first time. I can't really put my finger on why.

It had all the individual elements of a great little adventure story. So, let me list the stuff I liked and thought worked well:

- Luke's characterisation as eager and nervous. Perhaps a little more ANH farmboy than serious ROTJ Jedi Knight but I also thought that worked well as the novels I like Luke in best draw out this aspect of his character, and I can see him instinctively reverting to a more happy, optimistic attitude in light of the fact that his biggest battle has just been won; victory and peace have been achieved. (For a time)

- Leia's interactions with her father and the subsequent starts of her acceptance of his identity. It was nice to see the difference between the twins shown and I think it fits with Leia's personality not to so easily forgive, or know how to deal with the information. I also liked that Anakin Skywalker wanted to make time to ask for his daughter's forgiveness as well as his son's. It was a nice way to make an otherwise very standalone novel significant in the wider scheme of things.

- Dev Sibwarra. I thought the parts of the book that were most successful were those written from Dev's perspective. Tyers managed to write from the perspective of an indoctrinated and brainwashed young man and it succeeded well and very creepily. I thought the slow reveal that he wasn't simply indoctrinated from a lifetime of lies and socialisation (which I would have believed and might have made an alternate interesting take), but actual hypnosis that Dev then didn't really recall worked really well. I thought there was a great parallel there between Dev's constant belief that he was realising for the first time that the Ssi-ruuk were evil and that he must oppose them, and Eppie Belden's inability to remember that her son was dead. It's a shame he died, though I understand it from a story perspective. He's one of the few characters I've seen in the EU who I find sympathetic, compelling, with a Zayne-like naivety who is also riddled with anger. I find myself imagining JAT with Dev Sibwarra in Kyp Durron's place, using the suncrusher to destroy the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium. I think I would have found it more sympathetic.

- EPPIE BELDEN. Awesome. 'Nough said. No, no wait: she wasn't a slicer, she was a "circuitry guerilla". I love that. I may have to go around claiming that I'm a circuitry guerilla.

- The general size of the adventure, the timeframe, the political set-up were all also interesting to me. An immmediate follow-up to ROTJ, an insignificant world that nonetheless means much to the Alliance (and for me, reinforced just how small the Alliance actually was, galactically speaking), the political factions on Bakura and how they interacted with the incoming invasion. Evil and honourable Imperials.

And yet, it didn't quite gel for me.

Perhaps the writing style just didn't work for me, though aside from Luke reflecting in early pages, that Leia was helping the "furry little ewoks bury their dead," (which I found to be such a ludicrous sentence I burst out laughing!) I have no specific criticisms of Tyers writing, and as I said, found Dev's sections to be pretty good.

Perhaps it was Gaeriel. Again, I understand why the author would feel the need to introduce a love interest for Luke since metatextually it almost feels like Luke was allowed to have Leia be his sister so that the audience wouldn't feel so bad for him losing out to Han. But perhaps it was the timing or the fact that his sudden infatuation with her almost felt like a post Battle of Endor adrenaline rush, it didn't really work for me. I liked her as a character okay, but the romance angle seemed forced.

Also like Windy I was not a fan of her religion. It's always nice to see new religions and cultural differences in the EU, but th

 

Beccatoria: Thanks. I've thought it a little iffy that somebody like Ackbar-even with his penchant for declaring traps -probably wouldn't be too "wow cool!" at some random tactical manuever. A grand campaign that reverses the tables on the Seps despite their numerical superiority, though...

 

Okay, I personally thought the book was good.

It started just after the Battle of Endor, and showed the aftermath.I t also showed Leia's reaction to Darth Vader being her father, which was good because this really wasn't focused on in the films - I agree with how Anakin appearing to Leia to ask for forgiveness does show Anakin wanting to redeem himself.

The Ssi-ruuk where an interesting villain, different from the normal ex_Empire Employee/Dark Side user.


- How do you feel this integrates into wider canon in light of recent changes? Could Dev's mother - the Jedi apprentice who never completed her training - be evidence not all padawans who don't find a master end up in the Corps for life? The note about how Bakura only recently integrated into the Empire and therefore is still resistant to its rule is also intriguing.

^ Is there anywhere that says that a member of the Agricultural Corps can't have children, since they aren't actual Jedi? This would go well, a member of the Corps, sent to some planet to help the natives, has kid, Ssi-ruuk invade, kill mother, take children. Also brings up the idea, was the Agricultural Corp still going? Would Palpatine let it continue?

Eppie Belden was an good character, and it showed how evil the Empire is, by 'killing' someone', but letting them live. One of the final scenes, where Eppie Beldon walks into Governer Nereus Office, and the shear shock of seeing her makes him lose it, is a good scene, personally.

As for the romance between Luke and Gaerial, this comes from the Galaxy where Luke sees a holo of Princess Leia, and instanlty falls in love, and also, although this was after TaB, the Anakin Skywalker - Padme relation sees girl when he os ten yrs, ten years later, still 'in love' and dreaming of her.

In Conclusion, a good book, and an intersteing story.

Daft-Vader

DarthBoba:Is your sig (Bantam-Spectra issues world-wide recall for Young Jedi Knights, Jedi Academy, and Callista series books, citing toxic glue in binding.) True?

 

Daft:

No, no it's not.

 

*relieved exhale* So I can keep licking Darksaber's binding at random intervals?

 

lol. Sure, go ahead.

 

I admittedly haven't fully read the book, so while I don't have much I can say as to it as a whole, I've never been happy with the premise (which is actually what caused me to stop reading it before; I was enjoying the Endor parts that actually covered the aftermath of the battle). Here you have a story starting literally the day after Endor, with an unparalleled opportunity to tell the immediate aftermath of the death of the Emperor and his right-hand man and all the chaos sown into the Empire accompanying it...and it's about some race of aliens we've never heard of. Of all the times to use the Empire as a villain, this isn't just the one where it would be the most justifiable, but one where it's positively expected. It just seems like a huge missed opportunity to suddenly bring in this whole new group.

 

Bec, Christianity and Hinduism did that, keeping people in their place.

 

I truly loved Truce at Bakura. It stands out, more than most, as one of the best stories from the Bantam-Era.

The opening paragraphs are truly awesome. Tyers picks up right were we should- the immediate aftermath of Endor. I love Luke's perspective of the battle's aftermath. He notes all of the damaged ships, comments on remembering "a few more of the lumpy craft" in reference to the Mon Cal cruisers lost at Endor, and displays touching concern for Wedge's life. That scence really is a great example of Luke's devotion to Wedge.

I loved that little task force the Rebellion put together. The ships were cool, but seeing Luke's first command was the best of all. The battle analysis computer, or BAC, was a fun touch that I wish was used more in the EU.

Oh, the Han and Leia scence in the Millenium Falcon's cargo hold still makes me laugh. The pillows and Ewok berry wine that Chewie laid out were awesome!

--Adm. Nick

 

Beccatoria:: Perhaps it was Gaeriel.

I do think she was the weakest thing about the novel. I too thought the romance was forced. Luke has just recently experienced that life-changing battle on the Death Star with his father and the Emperor. He has just seen his father redeemed and die. He has just been seriously injured himself. He has just learned that a girl he once (and possibly still) loved, was his sister. He can't have gotten over all of that in just a couple of days. This was far too soon, in my opinion, for Luke to be given a love-interest. And as I said in my previous post, I thought he fell for Gaeriel far too quickly without knowing much about her at all. It was basically just a physical attraction and a Force connection, but there was no "meeting of the minds", no understanding of one another or their interests, likes, dislikes, goals, dreams, etc.

I think it would have worked better for this story at this point in time for Gaeriel to not have been shoe-horned in as a love-interest, but just as a budding freedom fighter and patriot for Bakura. The "romance" wasn't essential to the story, and the story still would have worked without it. In fact, I think that eliminating it would have improved it.

Either way, it seemed odd that a person of political power from a family of politicians, including the Prime Minister would adhere to this religion since surely her own job is keeping someone else down?

That's a great point. Gaeriel had this negative reaction to Luke because she thought of the Jedi as being a huge problem as with every power and skill a Jedi had, her religion claimed that someone else would have to be brought down. But she herself came from a family of privilege; from a powerful political family, yet this didn't seem to bother her, and she didn't seem to notice this hypocrisy.

I was also not a huge fan of the Ssi-ruuk's technology. It seemed to hard-techy for me. Matters of consciousness and the soul are usually the province of the Force, yet this technology is void of it. It seemed an uncomfortable meshing of Sith alchemy and hard tech.

While I found the whole entechment thing chilling and extremely disturbing, and thought this made the Ssi-ruuk extremely evil much like the Yevetha, I thought the Ssi-ruuk's technology fit into the Star Wars universe. In a universe where the inhabitants are so diverse, I rather like it when another kind of technology is created by an author. It makes that universe seem even more varied. If the Yuuzhan Vong's biotechnology can exist, I feel meshing consciousness with technology is not unbelievable for this galaxy either. And certainly something like those little droids would be right up the Emperor's alley.
::: Shudder::::

 

Becc (and whoever else is interested in these ramblings...),

Also like Windy I was not a fan of her religion. It's always nice to see new religions and cultural differences in the EU, but this one seems so...simplistic I couldn't quite buy into it (though I'm sure weirder actual religions exist on Earth). Either way, it seemed odd that a person of political power from a family of politicians, including the Prime Minister would adhere to this religion since surely her own job is keeping someone else down? With a little more fleshing out it could have been interesting, but as it is it just seemed oddly blind to its own hypocrisy.

* Well-spotted. That went by me when I read it, what I noticed was that the view was constructed on hearsay and false details about the Jedi, but given that the Empire had destroyed the Jedi, it could be said that like nature information abhors a vacuum. As for Gareiel herself, on the first read she does irritate, but on a second read, when you know her arc, that mitigates it quite a bit. But I'd also say Gareiel was meant to be irritating at the start because as readers our loyalties will be with Luke.

That said, I want to thank Ben for his astute comparison with the Sith stuff, because he is right - there's definitely a thematic parallel there and one that makes me more comfortable with its existence in the EU.

* Glad you liked it.

 

I don't think we actually know that much about the Agricultural Corps (or any of the Corps) in terms of whether their membership is mandatory, when/if former padawans can leave if they reach an age of majority and if marriage and family is permitted while a member of these institutions.

You raise an excellent point that she may well have been assigned to the AgriCorps (or one of the other Corps) on Bakura when the Empire was formed and then stayed there because it was small enough to be overlooked by the Empire for a time?

I don't think that the AgriCorps was still going when Palpatine took over - I'm pretty sure we have a source indicating that Palpatine did a lot of "join me or die," recruiting from the AgriCorps because more than the other corps that was where a lot of angry, disaffected and weak former padawans were, in order to build up his catalogue of easily manipulated, somewhat Force-trained servants.

Anyway - interesting!

I kind of agree and disagree here. On the one hand, as I already said, I found the Ssi-ruuk somewhat lacking as villains and didn't feel the integrated that well into the story. The parts I found most interesting and fascinating were the political situation of such a small world, and the way the Imperial government interacted with the former local government. So in many ways for me, I did find the Empire the best antagonists in this piece.

I think the strength of the choice is that the Alliance are beaten up and the Empire is still enormous. In some ways, it's not going to be possible to top the ROTJ battles, and repeating them in a weak echo might doom us to a disappointing read. So since I genuinely found the political set up and the way the Alliance and stranded Imperials had to work together interesting, I don't disagree with the decision on principle.

But there again, the way the Ssi-ruuk were so different to the feel I was expecting I do admit it felt a little...off? And maybe that's because my brain wanted more classic Rebels vs Imperial action? Bah, I'm not sure. :/

I thought (and I may be wrong) that was more of a cast system suggesting you had to stay within the boundaries of your social role (somewhat more implied than codified in Christianity and very codified in Hinduism) because that was the natural order and therefore justifying higher and lower status for different people, rather than Gaeriel's religion which seemed to hold a state where everyone is equal as the ideal, kind of like religious communism?

I mean, both attitudes could find Luke's ascension to a high status Jedi offensive, and both attitudes could be used to stop people aspiring to be more than they are, but they do seem different to me.

See this is why I love your posts. I never even notice the ships. The Fleet Junkie perspective is so alien to me; it's nice to be remided of it and see a new perspective.

 

beccatoria : In some ways, it's not going to be possible to top the ROTJ battles, and repeating them in a weak echo might doom us to a disappointing read.

I agree. And did we really want to compete with the huge ROTJ battles anyway? I don't believe that every book has to one-up the last book or the films in size and scope of battles. TaB was meant to be a smaller battle, but one, none-the-less that was extremely important. If the Ssi-ruuk would have been successful in the Bakura system (and especially if they would have been able to entech Luke) there might have been no stopping them.

I liked that the Alliance was willing to offer their services to their enemy, showing their compassion. Plus, it provided them an opportunity to show that they were different from the Imperials, and to gain Bakura as an ally. When they encountered the Ssi-ruuk though, they also came to realize that the Ssi-ruuvi were more of a threat than the Empire and genuinely needed to be stopped. At the time the book was written, the Empire was the BIG BAD enemy, so it was even more amazing to see our heroes and the Alliance working with the Imperials, especially in working as allies in the battle against the Ssi-Ruuk.

It was quite chilling though, when the Ssi-Ruuvi left the battle and the Empire turned on the Alliance without warning. What a way to repay the Alliance for saving their sorry hides! It again reminded the reader (at least at that period of time) that you can't trust the Empire.

But there again, the way the Ssi-ruuk were so different to the feel I was expecting I do admit it felt a little...off? And maybe that's because my brain wanted more classic Rebels vs Imperial action?

I liked the fact that the author "thought outside the box" and came up with a new and creative set of villains. We got a lot of Rebel vs Imperial action in the Bantam books. In fact, it wouldn't be all that many books later that fans would say that they were tired of the same old enemy all the time.


I want to encourage more religions and cultural differences in the EU, but I think it needed to be better developed in order to work. Even something about how the "elevating yourself by bringing others down" was just relative to the Force

I agree. That might have worked.

 

I was surprised how much I ended up enjoying this book. It's not a spectacular story, and it does feel a bit odd to have what is essentially a stand-alone story a day after one of the biggest events the Star Wars galaxy has ever seen, but it still works in many ways. Most of the main characters are written well, though Leia seems a bit off to me a time or two. Chewie gets a POV, which really didn't happen enough of the time, IMO. The guest characters are mostly interesting and well written, too, and I found myself enjoying our looks at the Captisons, selfish, manipulating Nereus, the independent Beldens, and very military and ultimately honorable Thanas. And I actually did enjoy the Luke/Gaeriel romance, brief as it was.

The Ssi-Ruuk worked to an extent. They're truly despicable to read about, given their attitudes for pretty much all species not them. There still seems to be something lacking with them, though, and in spite of all of the time we get with them and Dev, I felt they could have used more development.

Speaking of Dev, I did like his story and was sad to once again see his journey cut short. It's interesting getting his perspective as we see him come to his horrified realizations only for the drugs to kick in and the bliss to return. Becca's idea of him actually being in Kyp's place later on is an interesting one.

One thing Han said to Leia while trying to convince her of their relationship that really struck a chord with me: "We'll always be at war." He says it with some flirtation and I'm sure not completely seriously, so it's sad to think just how true those words turn out to be.

Classic moment: Han thinking Chewie's aesthetic sense wasn't "human" while Chewie thinks Han's isn't "civilized".

Another thing that surprised me: in the first engagement involving the Falcon Han and Chewie man the turrets while letting Leia pilot. That's just something I would never see them doing, since I would think one of them would want to be piloting the ship.

Interesting that Luke is already thinking of resigning his commission in this book, which could be related to his attitude later in Mindor. I guess I'll find out when I read it. His frustration with command of the ship also reminded me of Wedge's similar feelings when he directed from the bridge during (I think) The New Rebellion.

Sh'tk'ith has an unfortunate name. Good thing they call him "Bluescale".

Another good moment: Thanas' surrender, when he's talking to Skywalker over the comm, pauses to quickly stun the Imperial Security officer, and explains to Skywalker that he had a "slight distraction".

Great choice for next month, BTW!

 

Sorry for being so late. Had my computer in the shop and also dealing with real-life. Anyway, here's my contribution, and it includes info that's found in West End Game's Truce at Bakura Sourcebook. Considering the size, I'm splitting it up into two parts, with info that comes only from the sourcebook in the second part.


The story opened up with a grand panorama of the space, and made very clear that in the grand scheme of the universe, what happened at Endor was insignificant. We also got a good idea of the loss the Rebel Fleet suffered. Yes, we saw two Mon Cal cruisers destroyed, and some A-wings, X-wings, and Y-wings destroyed, but no definite statistics.
From Truce of Bakura Sourcebook - We got some hard statistics: starfighter pilot casualties 20%; shipboard casualties 20%, nearly 75% of surviving Alliance vessels need extensive repairs before returning to duty.

Luke - We start off with him still being on an adrenaline high after a day of harrowing struggle and a night of celebration. And now he's trying to deal with a newfound reputation and trying to set the records straight while maintaining the secret truth about Vader. He's still in transition from an eager young man who joined the Rebellion four years earlier to a Jedi Knight. We also see that Palpatine's attack on Luke with Force lightning had potentially long-term consequences for Luke than we had not considered before. He realizes it's time for him to focus on himself and on his recovery, since he's no good to anyone if he were to drop dead, so as to speak. He still feels Yoda's admonitions coming back to haunt him, so as to speak. We can see he's still trying to reconcile his feelings towards Leia and shift them towards fraternal love rather than the love Han has for her. He was a squadron commander. Now he's a task force commander. Yet we clearly see he's unhappy with task force/fleet command, as he preferred to be in the starfighter than the command seat of a capital ship. It hints at what Corran told Luke in I, Jedi - it's a matter of knowing where you can do the most good. During the battle, he reached out to the Force to get a sense of the invaders, only to get a very nasty surprise by sensing human minds in the droids - a first glimpse of the threat the Ssi-ruuk presented. But he was able to come up with another means of fighting the droids - using the Force to appeal to the minds trapped within. He used the Force quite well to gauge the senators and see if there were any potential troublemakers, yet he still somewhat haunted, if you will, by recent events - picturing a Rancor under the floor. Was his initial interest in Gaeriel sincere attraction, or was he rebounding from learning that Leia was his sister. When he saw Dev's presentation, he grasped the full horror of the Ssi-ruuvi fleet. As the novel continued, the full truth of the Ssi-ruuvi fleet was revealed to him. There was definitely miscommunication between Luke and Leia about the status of the Rebel fleet. He and Han were about the only ones who had a realistic view of the Bakuran populace - survival over politics. He's also on edge over working with the Imperials after many years of war. As for the formal dinner, he felt as out of place as Han probably did. He managed to get a gist of Palpatine's intentions towards the Ssi-ruuk thanks to his growing up as a farmboy. He did a good job in dispersing the troublemakers at the landing pad. As for his first duel against the Ssi-ruuk, the Ssi-ruuk got a glimpse of what a fully-trained Jedi could do, but it was also interesting that his lightsaber only bent the paddle beams rather than deflecting them. Unfortunately, his concern for Gaeriel distracted him from properly defending himself against the Ssi-ruuk. But he made up for it on the Shriwirr. He also did what he could to begin Dev's apprenticeship. Teaching under fire might not have been a preferable means of training, but it may perhaps be the most effective - learning by gaining experience in the field. His internal struggle aboard the

 

Now for background info and other tidbits that can be found in the sourcebook.

Virgillian Civil War - Two factions had vied for control of the Virgillia system for decades. The Aristocracy were allied with the Empire and had control of all the blaster technology in the system. The Rebels managed to deliver supplies and weapons to the Free Alignment for the past seven years. Using whatever captured equipment they could, the Alignment fought back and won many of the battles. As things heated up between the Empire and the Rebels, the Imperial forces withdrew. Without Imperial backup, the Aristocracy quickly fell to Alignment forces. An uneasy truce exists, though hostilities could resume at any moment. In gratitude, the Alignment volunteered a small fleet of 22 ships to the Rebel Alliance. They arrived at Sullust shortly before they made the jump to Endor.


Ty Matthews - He was the son of Colonel Tev Matthews, a distinguished infantry leader who helped establish secret supply routes through the Corporate Sector. When he was in danger of being caught, Colonel Matthews got his son out on one of the smuggling vessels used to transport arms and medicine. His father's unit adopted him when they learned of his father's death during interrogation. Ty Matthews had a talent for technology and circuitry repair and learned under several Rebel engineers and computer techs.


Captain Tessa Manchisco - She and her family lived on colony world of Virgillia 7, a hotbed of resistance since the civil war began. Parents were leaders of resistance movement in the colony. Imps raided homes and killed parents, but she escaped. Displayed talent for piloting, navigation, and inborn insight into large-scale fighter and capital ship engagements. One of the first starfighter pilots. Quickly rose to command post. She participated in many of the battles. Helped organize the guerilla band into a serious military unit with a tiny, yet ferocious, star fleet. Her tactics were extremely unorthodox, making it difficult for Imperial system patrols to respond to Alignment activities. Had a promising career that was cut short at Bakura.


Monnda Tebbo - Duro Chief Navigator of the Flurry, he was one of the few non-humans to participate in the Virgillian Civil War. Because of his involvement, considered honorary Virgillian citizen and officer in both Alliance and Alignment military. Logged hundreds of hours in countless different types of craft, Imperial and Alliance. As such, his navigation abilities were much higher than normal for his species. Spent five years aboard spice-smuggling vessel Ill Wind, whose captain - Corellian named Sumok - had Rebel ties. Sumok killed and ship severely damaged by Imperial Customs ship at pirate haven planet Uogo'Cor. Brought ship in on a crash landing. He and four survivors ambushed stormtroopers, took weapons and landing craft, and tried to elude Customs ship. X-Wing squadron arrived and attacked Customs ship. Tebbo used action to board Customs ship, get to engine room, and deactivate weapons. Became one of the first Alliance navigators assigned to SoroSuub Quasar Fire-class bulk cruiser that had been modified into a carrier. Served as an advisor, teaching the crew navigation and space combat. His lessons allowed Virgillians to destroy or capture outmoded Imperial vessels. Commissioned rank of Captain, but preferred title Chief Navigator.


Rannd Delckis - Parents were part of the Aristocracy, but he was the only high-ranking noble to defect. His status allowed him to attend the Imperial Academy and serve as an ensign on the VSD Stormwind, which was part of the Imperial armada at Virgillia. After witnessing the cruelty firsthand when the Imperials attacked a suspected hideout for Alignment forces. The encampment was set up by refugees. The Imperials interrogated several refugees and then destroyed the rest of the group when they retaliated after several refugees died during interrogation. Many were skeptical and some were outright hostile when he defected, b

 

Awesome! Ally, thank you so much for taking the time to write this up. I don't have the TAB sourcebook and really, really enjoyed reading all the extra sections.

Of particular interest to me was the extra information about Dev's family - I thought when reading the novel for the first time that here was an example (and arguably a rare one) of pre-prequel material fitting in excellently with the OJO Jedi Order that the prequel movies established and it's nice to see someone making use of that even if it's fan-made material.

I was also extremely interested in the extra material about the Balance and Gaeriel's relationship to that religion. As we were discussing earlier in the thread, I found it to be a really, well, stupid philosophy and one I wasn't sure the novel intended me to find so ludicrous.

The information in the sourcebook leads me to believe that the authors of the sourcebook, at least, had the same issues with it as I did. It describes it in a more dangerous light. I actually find the idea of the aescetics who deny themselves to make up for others' indulgences rather creepy. Interesting, but creepy. And I like the implication that this strange worldview might even have been responsible for a lot of the disarray that made it so easy for the Empire to take over Bakura.

Knowing more about Gaeriel's family and Bakura's culture was also interesting. I feel very bad for her sister doomed to the life of an aescetic because at 16 she didn't score as well as her sister on a test. I know that many cultures have traditions that seem odd, but being prevented from following your own desires because your culture dictates that others choose your path has always been something I find both tragic and poignant. It's a shame we'll probably never find out how that story ends.

It sounds like these sourcebooks are fantastic places to find plothooks but frustrating because the wider EU often doesn't follow up on them.

I agree that it sounds like the side-story where Luke and Leia reveal their parentage to Mon Mothma at least deserves to be republished in the back of a paperback or as a hyperspace story if nothing else. It's a big moment.

Finally - regarding Mon Mothma and Crix Madine sitting on the statsis box with a critically injured Ewok inside: I guess I can see how that would be disrespectful, but I'm also a pragmatist and if it wasn't adversely affecting the Ewok I guess I don't have a problem with it. Although I did find it hilariously inappropriate that at the very start of the novel we get told that Princess Leia is down on Endor helping the "furry little Ewoks bury their dead." Something about the juxtaposition of the cutsy phrase "furry little Ewoks," and "burying their dead," just...seemed horribly off-kilter and actually made me laugh out loud.