Aftermath: Empire's End

Chuck Wendig delivers a thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy, which is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, following Star Wars: Aftermath and Star Wars: Life Debt.

The eyes of everyone are on Jakku, a planet that was once cut off, as the New Republic and the Empire get ready for their last fight.

The Empire was destroyed at the Battle of Endor, and its armies were spread out all over the galaxy. But the months after the Rebellion won have been hard. The New Republic, which is just starting out, has been hit hard by the Imperial remnant, which has made the new democracy speed up its search for the hidden enemy.

Grand Admiral Rae Sloane is the most sought-after Imperial war criminal because of her part in the deadly ambush. Norra Wexley, a former rebel pilot who is back in service at Leia's request, is in charge of the hunt. But Norra is driven by more than just loyalty to the New Republic: her husband was turned into a killer pawn in Sloane's plot to kill someone, and now she wants revenge as much as she wants justice.

Sloane is also on a desperate search for the treacherous Gallius Rax on the desolate planet Jakku. Rax, who is the real mastermind behind the Empire's devastating attack, has brought the Empire to its most important point. The smart strategist has gathered the most powerful parts of the Empire's war machine and is getting ready to carry out Emperor Palpatine's last plan. As the Imperial fleet circles Jakku, a fleet of Republic fighters moves in to finish what started at Endor. Norra and her crew fly into the middle of a terrible battle that will leave the land and sky burned. And the fate of the galaxy will finally be decided.

Before the [Battle of Endor](link url), [Admiral](link url) [Gallius Rax](link url) visits [Emperor](link url) [Palpatine](link url) aboard the [second Death Star](link url). The Emperor instructs Rax to prepare for the [Contingency](link url) in case of any eventuality. Rax is ordered to conceal the Ravager in the [Vulpinus Nebula](link url) until the "shatterpoint" events are resolved. Rax is also told to be ready to go back to the [Observatory](link url) on [Jakku](link url) to fulfill his destiny.

[Mercurial Swift](link url), a [bounty hunter](link url), is on the planet [Taris](link url) looking for a wild girl named [Vazeen Mordraw](link url). She stole a case of ID cards from the [Gindar Gang](link url), who had stolen them from [New Republic](link url) officials. However, this job turns out to be a trap set by the [Imperial hunters](link url) [Norra Wexley](link url), [Jas Emari](link url), and [Sinjir Rath Velus](link url) to catch Swift. Wexley and her team ask Swift about [Grand Admiral](link url) [Rae Sloane](link url), who is said to be the mastermind behind the [attack](link url) on [Chandrila](link url) months before. Swift is defiant until Sinjir threatens to send [Mister Bones](link url), a modified [B1-series battle droid](link url), to hurt his mother, [Tabba Teldar](link url). Swift says that Sloane and [a man](link url) were last seen on Jakku and mentions Gallius Rax. The rebels then knock him out and leave. When Swift wakes up, he wants to get back at Jas, so he puts a big bounty on her head in the underworld. [Princess](link url) [Leia Organa](link url), who is pregnant, and her husband [Han Solo](link url) talk about raising their [unborn child](link url) and the [Galactic Civil War](link url) on Chandrila. Leia wants the New Republic to focus on places like [Tatooine](link url), [Kerev Doi](link url), [Demesel](link url), and [Horuz](link url), which are controlled by Imperial remnants or criminal groups. Despite the attack on Chandrila, the New Republic is happy about the [liberation of Kashyyyk](link url). Then, Norra Wexley calls Leia and tells her that Sloane was last seen on Jakku and that Rax was there as well. Sinjir and Jas talk about what it means to be good on Norra's freighter, the [Moth](link url), while [Temmin Wexley](link url) confronts his mother for leaving him and Mister Bones on the ship. Norra tells her son that they are going to Jakku to find Sloane and [Brentin Lore Wexley](link url). When the Moth comes out of hyperspace above [Jakku](link url), it finds a large [Imperial fleet](link url) circling the planet. Norra sets the Moth's hyperdrive to go back to Chandrila while she and Jas Emari take an [escape pod](link url) to Jakku. Temmin sends Mister Bones in a second escape pod to follow Norra and Jas. While Sinjir is using the freighter's guns, Temmin dodges the Imperial fights, turns on the hyperdrive, and gets away to Chandrila. Norra and Jas have a rough landing in the Jakku desert. Jas is mad at Norra for landing so quickly because she didn't have time to get her weapons. Norra and Jas decide to get their gear and keep looking for Sloane because they don't have a plan. Meanwhile, on [Kashyyyk](link url), [Chewbacca](link url)'s son [Lumpawaroo](link url) runs away from an Imperial child slave labor camp on the slopes of [Mount Arayakyak](link url). [Commandant](link url) [Dessard](link url) and other Imperial "milk-skins" are chasing him. But a group of armed Wookiees and [New Republic soldiers](link url), including his father [Chewbacca](link url) and the one-armed [Greybok](link url), ambush the Imperials. While Dessard is being held, Lumpawaroo and his father have an emotional reunion. Back on Chandrila, [Chancellor](link url) [Mon Mothma](link url) is at a meeting of the [Committee for Imperial Reallocation](link url), which is in charge of giving out the [Galactic Empire](link url)'s resources. [Sondiv Sella](link url), the chair of the Committee, warns that the Empire hasn't been beaten yet, which starts an argument with the other senators, including her political rival [Tolwar Wartol](link url), who is a member of the almost extinct [Orishen](link url) species. Mothma's [Togruta](link url) adviser, [Auxi Kray Korbin](link url), ends the meeting and tells the Senators to meet again on [Nakadia](link url), the New Republic's new capital. In private, Auxi tells Mon Mothma to hire a new adviser to take the place of [Hostis Ij](link url), who was killed earlier during the [Liberation Day](link url) attacks. Mothma gets a coded message from Senator Leia Organa, who speaks for the [Alderaan sector](link url). Temmin and Sinjir are waiting in a waiting room outside Leia and Han Solo's apartment eight hours after the events on Jakku. Temmin wants Han Solo to let them use his freighter, the Millennium Falcon, so he can go to Jakku and get his mother and Mister Bones back. Temmin asks Solo to pay back the life-debt he owes him and Norra for finding him. Solo doesn't want to let them use the Falcon because he cares about his ship and is busy being a father. Before the argument gets worse, Princess Leia and Chancellor Mothma join the conversation. Mothma asks Temmin to tell her about the Imperial fleet he saw above Jakku. Mothma scolds Leia for sending Norra and her team on a mission without permission to find Grand Admiral Sloane. Mothma wants to send the [New Republic Defense Fleet](link url) to fight the Imperial remnant fleets that have gathered above Jakku, but she can't approve any military action without the [Galactic Senate](link url)'s approval. Outside, Sinjir and Temmin agree that they can't count on the New Republic to save Norra and the others. Back on Jakku, Norra and Jas Emari are attacked by two unknown alien attackers. After a fight, a [stormtrooper](link url) patrol kills the two aliens and takes Norra and Jas prisoner. Meanwhile, Sloane and Brentin are being held by [Niima](link url), a [Hutt](link url) lady who leads a cult. While they are being held, Sloane thinks about how they hunted for Gallius Rax. Sloane and Brentin had found out in the months before that Niima's thugs had been kidnapping children from small villages and [Anchorite](link url)-run orphanages for Rax for reasons they didn't know. Sloane and Brentin also find out in their investigation that Rax has a large Imperial garrison at a [makeshift base](link url) on Jakku. After some heated talks and a short fight, Sloane gets Niima to take them to Rax's weapons facility. [Mapo](link url), a badly burned child refugee and orphan, is befriended by [Jar Jar Binks](link url), a [Gungan](link url) street performer who has been shunned by his people and the [Naboo](link url) people for helping the Empire rise to power, in the [Naboo](link url) city of [Theed](link url). Binks wants to make up for what he did and bring joy back to the galaxy, so he agrees to teach Mapo how to be a clown. Back on Chandrila, Han Solo and Princess Leia reluctantly let Temmin and Sinjir, who are stubborn, borrow the Millennium Falcon. But [Senate Guards](link url) stop them from going to Jakku and tell them to go back to their rooms. Meanwhile, Leia Organa has a dream about [dark side](link url) forces trying to take her unborn child. She wakes up next to her husband Han, who shows her a [HoloNet News](link url) report. Senator Wartol, Chancellor Mothma's political rival, has gone on the HoloNet to say that she is hiding reports of Imperial forces gathering at Jakku. He says that Mothma is too soft and that he stands for a government that belongs to all galactic citizens. Meanwhile, Mothma's advisers, Admiral [Ackbar](link url) and Auxi, encourage the Chancellor by telling her that she only got this information less than a [standard day](link url) ago and that it would have been wrong to scare the galaxy by telling them right away. Mothma sends Auxi to contact a HoloNet News to give her press statement, and Ackbar agrees to send a scouting party to Jakku. Later, Sinjir confronts Leia and Han for breaking their promise to let them borrow the Falcon. Leia and Han say that neither they nor Mothma sent those guards. They think that Senator Wartol sent those guards because he already knew about the Imperial presence there. Sinjir thinks they've stumbled into a political plot, so he decides to visit his [slicer](link url) boyfriend, [Conder Kyl](link url). Meanwhile, Temmin is desperate and asks [Captain](link url) [Wedge Antilles](link url) for help in finding a ship to go to Jakku. Wedge can't help because [Phantom Squadron](link url) has been shut down for getting involved in Kashyyyk without the New Republic's permission. Instead, Wedge tells Temmin to wait for the whole New Republic fleet to attack Jakku. Back at Leia and Han's apartment, Conder uses a small hand-held probe droid to look for spy bugs in the living quarters. Conder finds a listening device inside the couple's nanny [protocol droid](link url), [T-2LC](link url) ("Elsie"), even though the building is clean. After giving a speech to the Senate urging them to vote to send military forces to Jakku, Mon Mothma is tired and rests in her office while waiting for the outcome of the vote. Admiral Ackbar comes into the Chancellor's office to tell her that the vote didn't pass, which means that the New Republic fleet is stuck on the ground.

Norra finds herself as a prisoner of the Empire on Jakku. After being woken up by a bucket of dirty water, she and other prisoners, like a skull-eyed alien and a man named [Gomm](link url), are forced to work at a [kesium gas](link url) rig. Norra has mirages of Sinjir and Temmin at the end of a long day of work because of the heat. Norra also sees Mister Bones, who she thinks is a mirage at first. When Norra tries to say that Bones is hers, the Imperial guards blow him to pieces. Meanwhile, Mercurial Swift is happy to see Jas Emari, who is battered and captive, as a prisoner of Niima the Hutt. Swift has been Niima's guest since he left Taris. But Emari breaks free from her restraints by breaking off her three cranial horns and using them as weapons against Niima's slaves. Jas then uses her horns as makeshift keys to open the doors in Niima's temple. After fighting through ore slaves and guards, Emari finds her way to a hangar bay, where she meets two old bounty hunting friends, [Embo](link url) and [Dengar](link url), who have come to collect the bounty on her head. Jas gets Embo to stay loyal to her late aunt [Sugi](link url) and not turn her in. Before Dengar can stop her, Jas gets away with the freighter and goes to find Norra. Elsewhere on [Tatooine](link url), [Cobb Vanth](link url), the lawman and mayor of [Freetown](link url), has been taken by the [Red Key Raiders](link url). [Lorgan Movellan](link url), the leader of the Red Key raiders, wants to use Tatooine as a source of [dilarium oil](link url), [silicax oxalate](link url), and [slaves](link url). Movellan tells Cobb that he plans to sell the baby [Hutt](link url) [Borgo](link url) to buy Tatooine from the Hutts. When [Trayness](link url), Lorgan's henchwoman, starts beating [Malakili](link url), the Beastmaster, Borgo starts howling. Before Movellan can deal with Cobb, several [Tusken Raiders](link url) riding [banthas](link url) attack the Red Key forces in Freetown. Cobb turns the tables, confronts Lorgan, and tells him that he and Malakili have made a deal with the Tuskens to keep slavers out. As a last "gift," Cobb uses his blade to carve a message into Lorgan's face. After dreaming of a [skittermouse](link url), Mister Bones, who is broken, starts to reboot, and his body parts automatically fix and put themselves back together. After putting himself back together, Mister Bones attacks and kills Norra's Imperial captors. Bones tears the [Imperial officer](link url) [Effney](link url) apart from limb to limb to get back at him for breaking him. Bones then frees Norra from her cage. The next morning, [Counselor to the Empire](link url) Gallius Rax meets with [Kolob](link url), his former [Anchorite](link url) master, at the planet's main Imperial base. Kolob tells him that he has been stealing children on Jakku. Kolob believes in the [light side of the Force](link url) and goes against Rax. Rax kills Kolob by stabbing him to death in front of [Yupe Tashu](link url), who follows the dark side. Rax then talks to one of the late Emperor's [Sentinel](link url) [droids](link url), which are programmed to show the Emperor's face. The Sentinel droid tells him that the perimeter has been broken. Rax sees Rae Sloane in disguise among Niima the Hutt's caravan when he looks at the security images. Meanwhile, Sloane and Brentin are traveling with Niima's procession to the Observatory. When Sloane complains about how slow their journey is and thinks about killing Niima, Brentin says they don't have any weapons. Sloane suggests stealing two wheel-bikes, but Brentin wants to stick with their plan to go with Niima's procession. The Imperial and rebel also talk about why they want to get rid of Rax. Sloane hijacks a wheel-bike to try to take back control of the situation, and Niima's slaves attack her. Brentin helps her, and the two fight Niima, who is surprisingly strong. Rax's Imperial forces start bombing Niima's convoy with [turbolasers](link url), which stops the fighting. Far away on [Christophsis](link url), five pilgrims, including [Mabo](link url), an [MA-B0 cargo lifter droid](link url), [Addar](link url) the [human](link url), [Jumon](link url) the [Iakaru](link url), [Madrammagath](link url) the [Elomin](link url), and [Uggorda](link url) the [Duros](link url), return [kyber crystals](link url) that the Empire had stolen from the planet. The pilgrims are members of the [Church of the Force](link url) and have been sent on this mission by [Brin Izisca](link url), a pastor and philanthropist. During their pilgrimage, they are hunted by a [Force-sensitive](link url) creature called the [Kyaddak](link url), which kills Madrammagath, Uggorda, and Jumon. After thirteen hard days, the pilgrims who are still alive finally reach a broken crystal wall where they put the crystals they dug up back where they belong. Back at the Jakku kesium gas ring, Norra and Mister Bones free the prisoners, including Gomm and the skull-eyed alien. She and Bones find a [speeder bike](link url) and ride through the Jakku deserts for several hours. Norra sees a shuttle in the distance and meets up with her friend Jas Emari. After they meet again, Jas tells Norra that she saw Sloane in disguise with Niima's followers. Then they talk about what they're going to do next. The two women decide to keep looking for Sloane, even though it would be easier to go home. Bones agrees to join them and gives Jas and Norra a hug.

Sinjir meets with [Jom Barell](link url), a former [New Republic Special Forces](link url) soldier who is sad, on Chandrila. Barell was kicked out of the Special Forces for going on an unsanctioned mission to Kashyyyk, and he has lost his sense of purpose. Sinjir has found a job with the Galactic Senate's security pool and needs Jom's help with a sensitive mission on Nakadia. Meanwhile, Chancellor Mothma and her political rival, Senator Tolwar Wartol, are traveling to the Republic's new capital on Nakadia on his [Ganoidian tri-deck cruiser](link url). During the trip through hyperspace, Mothma asks Wartol about the five senators who voted against the planned military action on Jakku: [Ashmin Ek](link url) of [Anthan Prime](link url), [Rethalow](link url) of [Frong](link url), [Dor Wieedo](link url) of [Rodia](link url), [Grelka Sorka](link url), and [Nim Tar](link url). After some resistance, Wartol says that he manipulated these five senators and put a listening device on Organa and Solo's protocol droid. Wartol knows that a re-vote is scheduled to take place on Nakadia and is sure that Mothma's vote to get military intervention on Jakku will fail again. But Mothma has a trick up her sleeve: she smuggled some [pta fruit](link url) onto Wartol's yacht. Because of Nakadia's strict biosecurity laws, their ship can't land, which delays the vote. Sinjir, Han Solo, Conder Kyl, Jom, and Temmin spy on the five senators who voted against stopping the Empire on behalf of Princess Leia. Conder hacked into the electronic ledgers of these senators and found strange credit deposits in the accounts of Ashmin Ek and Dor Wieedo. These senators seem to be making money even though the economy is bad. The five spies agree to spread out across [Quarrow](link url), the capital of Nakadia, and spy on these senators to find out about illegal activities and connections. Sinjir, Conder, Temmin, and Jom follow four of the Senators into [Izzik's](link url), a popular restaurant, and watch what they do. After watching their quarries for hours, they hear from Han Solo that two [Nikto](link url) and a [Klatooinian](link url) were seen going toward Wieedo's ship. Sinjir loses sight of his friend Conder and Senators Ek and Nim Tar because he is distracted by [Dann](link url) and [Merra](link url), the children of [Pima Drolley](link url), the newly appointed [Akivan](link url) senator. Outside, Sinjir sees Ek and Nim Tar talking down a backstreet alley. He walks over to confront them, but someone knocks him out. [Mas Amedda](link url), the [Grand Vizier](link url), is being held as a virtual prisoner at the [Imperial Palace](link url) on [Coruscant](link url) under orders from Counselor Gallius Rax. Amedda is sad after a failed escape attempt and waits in his chambers. The [Anklebiter Brigade](link url), a group of street children who are part of the resistance movement against the Empire, soon accosts him. The Anklebiters have come to kill the Grand Vizier. But Amedda gets the children to help him escape to the New Republic so he can end the [Galactic Civil War](link url). Counselor Rax watches Niima and Sloane's movements on his security screens at the Observatory. Niima and her slaves who are still alive are hiding in the shadow of the western plateau, while Sloane and Brentin are hiding behind the eastern pillar. Turbolasers have trapped and pinned down all of his opponents. Rax then calls for [Brendol Hux](link url), the former [Commandant](link url), and asks how the children he kidnapped on Jakku are doing in training. When Hux tells Rax that they need more time, Rax tells him that if he fails, he will spend the rest of his life wandering the barren desert world. Meanwhile, Norra and Jas fly their shuttle over the burned remains of Niima's caravan. The two women decide to kidnap Grand Admiral Sloane, who is a fugitive, and look into the Imperial presence on Jakku. Sloane and Brentin decide to go to the Observatory and find out what Rax is up to at the eastern pillar. While Jas is flying the shuttle over the eastern pillar, Norra sees her husband and Sloane together. Before they can do anything, Imperial forces led by Rax arrive in shuttles and take Sloane and Brentin prisoner. Rax also tells his stormtroopers to kill Niima and her group. Niima manages to knock over one of Rax's shuttles with her bare hands before Imperial blaster bolts shoot her. After the massacre, Norra and Jas think about how Rax and Sloane fell out and how Brentin got involved in the conflict. The two women also meet Niima, who is hurt and gets them to take her back to her temple in exchange for the clearance codes to the Imperial Observatory. Back on Nakadia, Temmin finds Sinjir, who is hurt, in the alleyway, and the two find out that they have lost contact with their comrades after losing sight of Ashmin Ek and Nim Tar. Shortly after, the group finds Han Solo unconscious in a trash can outside a landing bay. Then, the group meets up with Jom and Senator Rethalow of [Frong](link url), who was kidnapped, aboard the Millennium Falcon. Rethalow says that he, Ek, and Wieedo were bribed to vote against the New Republic's intervention on Jakku.

Here is the reworded MDX content, maintaining all original meaning and formatting:

in exchange for a beneficial commercial agreement. Additionally, Rethalow discloses the abductions of both [Nim Tar's offspring](/article/nim_tar%27s_child) and Senator Sorka's [jerba](/article/jerba), actions taken to coerce their compliance. Sinjir skillfully persuades Rethalow to aid in locating his comrade Conder by posing as an advisor to the Chancellor and threatening to remove Frong from the New Republic. Consequently, Rethalow informs him that [Black Sun](/article/black_sun) and Red Key masterminded the unfavorable votes to capitalize on a drawn-out struggle. The New Republic agents commit to rescuing Nim Tar's child and Sorka's jerba. Concurrently, Nakadian inspectors finalize their biosecurity inspection of Senator Wartol's vessel. Despite this obstacle, Wartol assures Chancellor Mothma that her endeavors are in vain. Sinjir, Solo, and their companions pilot the _Millennium Falcon_, tracing Conder's signal to a farming storage building situated two blocks from the [Quarrow Senate house](/article/quarrow_senate_house). En route, they soar above Chancellor Mothma and Senator Wartol, who are addressing media personnel, including Tracene Kane. The _Millennium Falcon_ penetrates the warehouse, uncovering a captive Conder and Nim Tar's child. Following a skirmish with a [Herglic](/article/herglic) guard, Sinjir and his team liberate the prisoners. The injured Conder consents to assist Sinjir in accessing the senators' records. Later, Mon Mothma addresses the Galactic Senate on Nakadia, reiterating her plea for them to authorize the deployment of New Republic military forces to Jakku. After a wait, Auxi informs her that the vote has now passed, setting the stage for the [Battle of Jakku](/article/battle_of_jakku). ### Part Four On [Devaron](/article/devaron), the [Acolytes of the Beyond](/article/acolytes_of_the_beyond), under the leadership of Palpatine's former counselor Yupe Tashu, gather to launch an assault on a New Republic outpost located in a valley adjacent to the [Karatokai Mountains](/article/karatokai_mountains). Among the Acolytes is the young [Pantoran](/article/pantoran) recruit [Kiza](/article/kiza), a participant in the [Coronet City revolution](/article/coronet_city_revolution). The Acolytes are equipped with artifacts and relics from long-gone [Sith](/article/sith) lords. Kiza is given the [mask](/article/mask_of_viceroy_exim_panshard) of [Viceroy](/article/viceroy) [Exim Panshard](/article/exim_panshard), an item saturated with the dark side of the Force. Remi expresses envy and demands the mask. Tashu rebukes the younger man for provoking the "revered spirits" and compels him to relinquish the lightsaber. Armed with clubs, machine shop blades, and axes, the Acolytes storm the New Republic outpost. Kiza personally fells opponents with her lightsaber and also murders her former lover, Remi. Returning to Chandrila, Leia detects the presence of the Force within her unborn child. Shortly thereafter, Solo arrives to announce that the New Republic is intervening on Jakku. Meanwhile, Sinjir tends to Conder's injuries, and the two contemplate their contribution to securing the passage of Mothma's bill authorizing the deployment of forces to Jakku. By impersonating the Chancellor's advisor, Sinjir induced Conder to dispatch a message to the five senators, offering them pardons if they sided with the Chancellor. Sinjir assured Nim Tar that his child was safe and asserted that Sorka's cherished jerba had been rescued. In reality, the jerba ended up in the black market of butchers. Sinjir desires to accompany Temmin and Jom to Jakku, but Conder assures him that he is not a combatant. In the meantime, Jom Barell joins [Sergeant](/article/sergeant) [Dellalo Dayson](/article/dellalo_dayson)'s SpecForce team, which is departing aboard a [U-wing fighter](/article/ut-60d_u-wing_starfighter/support_craft). Elsewhere, Temmin persuades Captain Antilles to transport him to Jakku. Antilles instructs Temmin to rendezvous with the resurrected Phantom Squadron at [Hangar Forty-Seven](/article/hangar_forty-seven). The disfigured [Commodore](/article/commodore) [Kyrsta Agate](/article/kyrsta_agate) reassumes command of the [Nadiri](/article/nadiri_dockyards) [Starhawk-class battleship](/article/starhawk-class_battleship) _Concord_ at Admiral Ackbar's urging. On Jakku, Counselor Rax escorts the captured Sloane and Brentin to his Imperial headquarters. Rax compels his two captives to witness his brainwashed [Jakku child soldiers](/article/gallius_rax%27s_child_soldiers) execute a group of stormtroopers in cold blood. Rax then informs his captive audience that they will observe the impending confrontation with the New Republic. With his [Shadow Council](/article/shadow_council) present, Rax delivers a [scathing address](/article/gallius_rax%27s_speech), imploring the remnants of the Empire to annihilate the New Republic. Above Jakku, the Imperial remnant forces engage the New Republic fleet. At Niima's palace, Norra and Mister Bones board a shuttle to the main Imperial base, while Jas remains behind to confront [Mercurial Swift](/article/mercurial_swift), [Embo](/article/embo), [Dengar](/article/dengar), and the [Rodian](/article/rodian) bounty hunter [Jeeta](/article/jeeta), who have arrived to claim the bounty on her head. While Jas detains the bounty hunters, Norra and Bones take the shuttle into the heart of the battle. Above Jakku, the Imperial fleet establishes a defensive perimeter consisting of several [Imperial Star Destroyers](/article/imperial-class_star_destroyer) encircling the [Super Star Destroyer](/article/super_star_destroyer) _Ravager_. The New Republic forces are unable to penetrate the Imperial perimeter and suffer significant losses. Temmin and his fellow Phantom Squadron pilots engage the Imperial [TIE fighters](/article/tie/ln_space_superiority_starfighter) with their [X-wing starfighters](/article/x-wing_starfighter). While piloting her shuttle, Norra observes New Republic soldiers landing on Jakku for a ground assault. The New Republic ground forces clash with the Imperial Army. Temmin and his fellow Phantom pilots join the ground assault and begin strafing Imperial walkers. Captain Wedge then assigns Temmin the task of pursuing an Imperial shuttle. Before Temmin can destroy the shuttle, Mister Bones lowers the ramp and waves to his master. Temmin and Norra converse, and Norra informs her son of her plan to infiltrate the Imperial base in the Sinking Fields. She also cautions Temmin to avoid the base. Temmin entrusts Mister Bones with safeguarding his mother. On Chandrila, Chancellor Mothma recruits Sinjir as her advisor, citing his persuasive abilities and cynical perspective. Returning to Jakku, Jas manages to convince Embo, Dengar, and Jeeta to forgo the bounty on her head in exchange for securing a pardon from the New Republic by tracking down Imperial war criminals like Grand Admiral Sloane. When Mercurial Swift objects, the other bounty hunters turn against him. Following a scuffle, Jas throws him off the ramp of their [Corellian](/article/corellian) [shuttle](/article/shuttle). Jas then hires Embo, Dengar, and the Rodian as [her new crew](/article/jas_emari%27s_crew). On [Bespin](/article/bespin), [Lando Calrissian](/article/landonis_balthazar_calrissian) and [Lobot](/article/lobot) spearhead a force comprised of [Bespin Wing Guards](/article/bespin_wing_guard) and New Republic soldiers in reclaiming the war-ravaged [Cloud City](/article/cloud_city) from [Governor](/article/governor) [Ubrik Adelhard](/article/ubrik_adelhard%27s_imperial_remnant). Within a casino, Calrissian convinces several trapped Imperial soldiers to surrender. However, the sergeant refuses to yield, and Lando fatally shoots him in the heart with his [Vitiator](/article/rossmoyne_vitiator_pistol). Back at the main Imperial base, Brentin escapes his restraints and liberates Sloane. While descending in a [turbolift](/article/turbolift) into the depths of the base, the two encounter an armed Norra and Mister Bones. Following a brief confrontation, Sloane convinces Norra to assist her and Brentin in taking down Gallius Rax and exposing his hidden agenda. ### Part Five Twenty-five years prior to the Battle of Jakku, the young Gallius Rax meets with Palpatine, who employs a game of [Shah-tezh](/article/shah-tezh) to illustrate why the Empire must not outlive its Emperor. He informs Rax that the [demesne](/article/demesne) board cannot be permitted to endure without the [Imperator](/article/imperator) and tasks Rax with enacting the Contingency in the event of his demise. Subsequently, Rax encounters Brendol's young son [Armitage Hux](/article/armitage_hux). Aware that Brendol has mistreated his illegitimate son, Rax instructs the young Hux to assert his dominance over the child-soldiers through acts of violence. Above Jakku, Admiral Ackbar surveys the battle in both space and on the ground. After the Imperial Star Destroyer _Punishment_ breaks formation from the Imperial fleet and collides with the Starhawk _Amity_, he discerns that this action has created a gap, exposing the Super Star Destroyer _Ravager_. Recognizing an opportunity to break the deadlock, Ackbar contacts Commodore Agate. After ordering her crew to abandon ship, Agate positions the _Concord_ within the gap, exchanging fire with the _Ravager_. The _Concord_ sustains extensive damage from the Super Star Destroyer, but Agate employs her ship's powerful [tractor beam](/article/tractor_beam) to pull the _Ravager_ down towards Jakku's surface. Unable to salvage the _Ravager_, [Grand Moff](/article/grand_moff) [Randd](/article/randd) abandons his post and flees in an escape pod. As the _Concord_ drags the _Ravager_ down, New Republic warships and starfighters disable the Super Star Destroyer's engines. Agate's sacrifice shifts the momentum of the battle, and Admiral Ackbar cautions New Republic soldiers and pilots on the ground to be wary of debris. While pursuing TIE fighters, Temmin's X-wing is struck by falling debris from the damaged starships above and crashes onto the desert surface. Temmin witnesses the _Concord_ and _Ravager_ crash on Jakku. Meanwhile, Sloane pilots Norra, Brentin, and Mister Bones through a sandstorm towards the valley where Rax has concealed his secret. Norra allows Bones to exit the shuttle to locate his master, Temmin. Amidst the battlefield's chaos, Temmin is surrounded by three [sandtroopers](/article/desert_stormtrooper) and an [AT-ST walker](/article/all_terrain_scout_transport). Before the Imperials can execute him, Bones leaps down from the AT-ST and attacks the stormtroopers. Following a struggle, the two manage to eliminate the Imperials. Mister Bones then enters the head of the AT-ST walker and kills the [AT-ST driver](/article/at-st_driver). However, two passing [A-wings](/article/rz-1_a-wing_interceptor) bombed the AT-ST walker's head, obliterating both Bones and the cockpit. Temmin mourns the loss of his friend. On Chandrila, Sinjir and Conder collaborate to thwart Senator Tolwar Wartol's attempt to assassinate Chancellor Mothma by planting a bomb in her office. Using a pta fruit, Sinjir lures Wartol into triggering the bomb, while Conder secretly records their confrontation. Consequently, the disgraced Wartol is arrested for his failed assassination attempt. Elsewhere, on the renamed Super Star Destroyer _Liberty's Misrule_, the pirate leader [Eleodie Maracavanya](/article/eleodie_maracavanya) commands her pirate crew to destroy three [Imperial II-class Star Destroyers](/article/imperial_ii-class_star_destroyer) in an effort to gain favor with the New Republic. At the Observatory, Rax presents Brendol Hux with a [replica](/article/imperialis_(jakku)) of the Emperor's pleasure yacht _Imperialis_. He tasks Brendol with taking his son and the child soldiers to establish a new Empire in the [Unknown Regions](/article/unknown_regions). Rax then guides Advisor Tashu into an octagonal chamber filled with ancient computers that project a three-dimensional [star chart](/article/star_map) of the Unknown Regions, based on information from [Admiral](/article/admiral) [Thrawn](/article/mitth%27raw%27nuruodo). Tashu informs Rax that the Emperor has always been captivated by a dark presence emanating from the Unknown Regions. The two then enter a chamber leading to a well that descends into the core of Jakku. After Tashu dons several Sith relics—including a Sith mask, lance, banner, and a [Sith holocron](/article/sith_holocron)—the two initiate a [dark side](/article/dark_side_of_the_force) ritual. Following the ritual, Rax throws an unsuspecting Tashu down the borehole to his death. Tashu's fall triggers the Contingency: the destruction of Jakku, along with the orbiting Imperial and New Republic fleets. Before Rax can return to the _Imperialis_, he is cornered by his former comrade Sloane. By this point, Sloane, along with Norra and Brentin, have deduced that Rax intends to destroy Jakku by causing the planet's core to explode. While Sloane and Rax engage in combat, Norra and Brentin attempt to seal the shaft leading to Jakku's core, debating the merits of assisting Sloane. Rax soon gains the upper hand over Sloane and proceeds to break some of her fingers. Hearing Sloane's distress, Norra and Brentin rush to Sloane's aid and fight Rax as the borehole overflows. Brentin is killed during the struggle, but Norra manages to pass Sloane a [blaster](/article/blaster), enabling her to kill Rax. Back on Chandrila, Sinjir, Leia, and a crowd of onlookers gather outside Mothma's ruined office. Mothma survived the bombing, but her advisor Auxi was killed by the bomb. Mothma then informs Leia that Mas Amedda wishes to sign a ceasefire with the New Republic. She recruits Leia and Sinjir for the surrender negotiations. On Jakku, a dying Rax instructs Sloane to take the _Imperialis_ into the Unknown Regions and rendezvous with the Emperor's last Super Star Destroyer, [Eclipse](/article/eclipse_(executor-class)). Norra and Sloane make peace before parting ways: the former to claim her deceased husband and reunite with her son, and the latter to rebuild the Empire in the Unknown Regions. Norra is picked up by Jas and Embo's shuttle. Following the Battle of Jakku, Mas Amedda and Mon Mothma sign the [Galactic Concordance](/article/galactic_concordance) on Chandrila, formally ending the Galactic Civil War. The Empire is officially dissolved, and Imperial officers are designated as war criminals. Non-combatant functionaries like Amedda are granted conditional pardons. Nevertheless, some isolated Imperial remnants continue to resist the New Republic. On Jakku, Niima oversees a black market centered around junk and debris from the Battle of Jakku. On Akiva, Norra and Temmin bury the fallen Brentin and Mister Bones' arm before returning to Chandrila. Elsewhere, Jas mourns the death of her former boyfriend, Jom Barell, during the fighting on Jakku. She secures full pardons for Dengar, Embo, and Jeeta, along with sufficient funds from the New Republic to form a new crew of bounty hunters. Amidst the celebrations, Leia and Han celebrate the birth of their son, [Ben Solo](/article/ben_solo), on the day the Galactic Concordance is signed. Following a reunion at a bar, Norra and her former crew embark on separate paths. Norra and her son later find employment with Wedge Antilles at the New Republic's new flight academy on [Hosnian Prime](/article/hosnian_prime). Sinjir continues to work alongside [Sondiv Sella](/article/sondiv_sella) as Chancellor Mothma's advisor. ### Epilogue Meanwhile, Grand Admiral Sloane utilizes the data spike provided by the late Gallius Rax to navigate a course through the Unknown Regions. She compels the broken Commandant Hux to train his son, Armitage, as his successor and to instill discipline in Hux's former child soldiers. After months of travel, Sloane and her traveling companions finally reach the _Eclipse_ in deep space. Sloane and Hux pledge to establish the [First Order](/article/first_order) to rebuild the Empire once more. ## Media ### Editions - [ISBN 9781101966969](/article/special:booksources/9781101966969) ; [February 21](/article/february_21) , [2017](/article/2017) ; [Del Rey](/article/del_rey) ; US hardcover [1] - [ISBN 9780425287057](/article/special:booksources/9780425287057) ; February 21, 2017; Del Rey; Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition [6] - [ISBN 9780425287064](/article/special:booksources/9780425287064) ; July 12, 2016; Del Rey; Signed edition [7] - [ISBN 9781101966976](/article/special:booksources/9781101966976) ; February 21, 2017; Del Rey; US eBook [2] - [ISBN 9781101966983](/article/special:booksources/9781101966983) ; [August 29](/article/august_29) , 2017; Del Rey; US mass market paperback [3] - [ISBN 9780593972779](/article/special:booksources/9780593972779) ; [December 3](/article/december_3) , [2024](/article/2024) ; [Random House Worlds](/article/random_house_worlds) ; US paperback [8] ### Cover gallery
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