Battlefront: Twilight Company

The most courageous fighters. The most resilient soldiers. The ultimate survivors.

The Galactic Civil War is a widespread conflict happening among the stars and throughout the vastness of space. The Empire's stormtrooper legions, driven to suppress any defiance, engage in fierce combat on multiple Mid Rim planet battlegrounds against a fleet of freedom fighters. The Rebel Alliance's front-line forces are fighting the enemy in the streets and alleys of devastated cities, advancing into Imperial territory and confronting the brutal realities of war on the ground.

The Sixty-First Mobile Infantry, also known as Twilight Company, is at the forefront of the battle. The members of this group, who are battle-hardened, worn out by war, and fiercely devoted to one another, tenaciously endure when others fail, and their most potent weapon against the most difficult odds is defiance. Twilight reluctantly complies when the Rebels receive orders to retreat in the face of overwhelming enemy numbers and firepower. Then, an unexpected ally dramatically alters the strategic landscape, giving the Alliance's most tenacious warriors a crucial chance to turn retreat into resurgence.

Twilight Company, alone, outgunned, and unbowed, prepares to execute its most daring maneuver—trading trench warfare for a game-changing strike against the core of the Empire's military machine—orders or not.

We are introduced to a young man named Donin on the planet Crucival, 13 years after the Clone Wars concluded, as he participates in his inaugural battle as a member of one of the planet's warring clans.

We are transported to the planet Haidoral Prime nine years later. We are introduced to Twilight Company here, also referred to as the Alliance 61st Mobile Infantry. Twilight serves as the Alliance military's vanguard, being the first unit deployed to clear a route and establish a beachhead for the main alliance military. They have been stationed on Haidoral Prime for 18 months, and the planet's conflict is coming to an end.

The unit has a custom of arranging recruitment events where locals can join the company to make up for their losses. Additionally, we meet Namir, a sergeant in the business. He is assessing potential candidates at the open recruit. They accept almost anyone who is willing to help unless they can prove that they are an Imperial spy.

Namir and his team are called away from the event and sent to infiltrate the governor's mansion, one of the last Imperial strongholds on the planet. Captain [Micha Evon](/article/micha_evon], the company's commander, is worried about allegations that the governor and her staff have taken civilian hostages.

Namir and his team enter the mansion and proceed to the governor's office. They discover a group of Imperial officers and a disheveled woman who claims to be a prisoner here. A firefight erupts, killing all of the Imperials. Furthermore, the woman claiming to be a captive turns out to be the governor herself. She unexpectedly requests asylum with Twilight Company. Namir stuns her and takes her with them, unsure of what to do.

We take a detour to Sullust to meet Thara Nyende. She is sneaking supplies into her uncle's cantina to help the local miners stay afloat. We learn that she is a Stormtrooper as she leaves for work.

We discover that the Rebels have left Haidoral Prime and returned to their corvette, the Thunderstrike, after returning to them. They interview the governor, whose name we discover is [Everi Chalis], and in exchange for Twilight Company's protection, she offers her extensive knowledge of Imperial logistics. She asserts that she has extensive knowledge of the Empire's supply system because Count Denetrius Vidian personally trained her.

Meanwhile, Namir makes his rounds of the new recruits, or "fresh meat," who decided to join the company. He pays close attention to a young woman known as Roach.

The Thunderstrike is attacked three days later. Namir understands that the governor is imprisoned in an airlock that is being used as a makeshift brig as the ship is being bombarded by Imperials. The ship is badly hit as he makes his way there. He battles through the resulting fires and eventually arrives at the brig/airlock, somewhat worse for wear, saving the unconscious guard from the fire.

The governor is still inside, unharmed. They barricade themselves in the brig/airlock, which can only be opened from the outside, and begin to talk as fires rage outside. Chalis shares her thoughts on the Empire and Darth Vader.

They escape the attack, and Namir recovers from his injuries. He also learns that Captain "Howl" has decided to accept Chalis' offer and grant her asylum. Because the war is not going well for the Rebellion, they need the information she has to strike a blow against the Empire.

We go to the Imperial planet of Carida after leaving the Rebels, where semi-retired Captain Tabor Seitaron is taken from his comfortable teaching life and put on the governor's trail.

Twilight soon receives new orders. They are to land on the planet Coyerti, a polluted world known for the Imperial's manufacturing of chemical weapons and other poisons. Once here, they are to defend the local indigenous population from the Empire, as they are supporters of the Rebellion and unable to protect themselves during their short mating season. Despite the fact that the majority of the company was partially poisoned and engaged in combat with an AT-ST, they are successful and return to the Thunderstrike. Namir discovers Roach hiding in a cargo bay. He believes she is suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress, given that this was her first real combat mission. It turns out she is a recovering spice addict who is going through withdrawal. He spends the night with her.

The Thunderstrike continues to be harassed by the Imperials. It is assumed that this is due to the governor's presence. Despite this, her debriefing continues. She promises to deliver a detailed map of the Imperial supply network. Twilight attacks a convoy of Imperial transports. Some aspects of her map are verified, and she is considered trustworthy, at least in terms of the information she is providing. It is determined that she should meet with Alliance High Command.

A funeral is held in the aftermath of the transport assault to mourn the loss of Twilight soldiers in that operation. Governor Chalis and Namir have another conversation after this funeral about his position in the galaxy and the planet he came from. It turns out that Namir is the child we've been following back on Crucival in our flashbacks to the past. The governor sympathizes with Namir because she, too, came from a backwater world. She also begins to discuss her future plans with the Rebellion. Namir is taken aback by her candor and believes this is the first honest conversation they've had.

Captain Tabor prepares his Star Destroyer for the hunt back with the Imperials. He also meets Prelate Verge, a young man in the Emperor's court who is his Imperial overseer for this operation. Verge is nominally in charge of the entire mission, while Tabor commands the ship.

The governor, the Captain, and Namir travel to Hoth to meet with high command. While they are there, the Empire launches its attack on Echo Base and begins the battle of Hoth. Namir joins the ground battle. He declines the opportunity to flee and instead heads to the command center to find Captain Evon. Namir discovers Chalis dragging the Captain, who is unconscious and has a severe head injury. Chalis remained to ensure Captain Evon could escape the base, rather than taking her seat on the first transport scheduled to leave the base in the event of an attack. They learn that Vader's shuttle has landed. The governor becomes fearful, believing that the entire Imperial raid was carried out to apprehend her. It turns out she is mistaken. Namir's group encounters Vader, who easily defeats them. He is about to kill the governor, asking her where Skywalker is, but before he can finish, he hears that his troops have located the Millennium Falcon. He hurls the governor against the wall with force and departs. This is the last thing Namir sees before passing out due to injury.

Namir awakens to find the governor, both of whom are injured but alive. The Captain and the rest of the other two group members have been killed. They find a ship and launch from Hoth, using the governor's imperial codes to narrowly escape the blockade of Star Destroyers.

Meanwhile, a battle rages on the Thunderstrike, which has been infiltrated by Imperials. Brand, a former bounty hunter and long-time company member, leads the charge to retake the ship. Tabor's Star Destroyer jumps in from hyperspace as the battle rages, and begins broadcasting messages stating that all they want is the governor.

The ship escapes the Imperials but is damaged. They land on a planet to make repairs. Namir and the governor return, and the company begins to deal with the Captain's death. The governor is devastated that Vader was not on Hoth to find her. She begins to regain her senses after speaking with Namir. Chalis takes command a few days later, devising a strategy.

The manhunt for the Rebel leadership has stretched the Empire's resources thin. This has created an opportunity to strike at the Core Worlds, specifically the shipyards at Kuat. She also suggests a series of preparatory raids to draw more ships and troops away from the shipyards.

They begin to put the plan into action, with Namir begrudgingly taking temporary command. Over the next few missions, he realizes the best way for him to honor the Captain is to command the company. He remains unsure, but Chalis continues to reassure him and act as his closest advisor. This relationship also places her in a position of authority within the company.

Meanwhile, Captain Tabor Seitaron deciphers the pattern of attacks devised by Chalis. The Imperials prepare quick assault groups for attacks on three worlds, including Sullust, that are most likely to be next in an attempt to catch the company.

The company lands on Sullust and quickly takes the Inyusu Tor mineral processing facility, which is located on a volcano. Because the facility provides 10% of the planet's raw manufacturing materials, it is a significant victory. They intend to proceed to their next destination, Malastare. This will be the final stop before the final assault on Kuat.

The Thunderstrike is ambushed by the Imperials as it attempts to land on the planet, who have caught up with them once more. The corvette is shot down, and the survivors are now stranded on Sullust. They immediately begin to strengthen the ore processing facility they just seized. Namir leads a team to the wreck of the Thunderstrike in search of survivors.

He returns with a group of survivors and realizes that the company is looking to him for leadership. He argues with Chalis. He believes that the Empire has now figured out their pattern and can predict that they will strike at Kuat. She is unconvinced. She offers to take responsibility for long-range planning if he focuses on getting the company off of Sullust. She decides that the best course of action is to contact the Sullustan resistance; She, Namir, Roach, and three others make their way into the city of Pinyumb to do so. They met at a safe house which soon falls under attack. Namir is caught in a blast and is knocked out.

He awakens to find himself captured by two stormtroopers, one of whom is Thara Nyende. They are ambushed by the resistance in turn. Namir escapes and finds himself holed up with the resistance and a group of civilian refugees. He treats their wounds with his meager medical supplies.

He realizes they are unable to assist Twilight after speaking with the Rebel cell members and its leader, Nien Nunb. He talks with them through the night and returns to Twilight with a bold plan.

He realizes he has been leaning on the governor too much. In an impassioned speech to his former squad, he decides that they should abandon the goal of Kuat and focus instead on helping the resistance on Sullust, a much more noble goal which keeps with the spirit of the Rebellion. They agree in principle, but Gadren, a huge, wise and multi-armed squad member says he would like to get the governor's opinion on this, as they have come to respect her.

He goes to tell the governor of his decision and finds her ordering soldiers around directly, taking command of the company. Before he can speak, she pulls a blaster on him and directs him out of the room. He has no choice but to obey. That is, until Gadren sees the situation and grabs her. Her time in command is over.

The company digs in and prepares for the assault. Despite taking losses, they repel the Imperials fairly easily. The governor escapes on a speeder bike after a near miss from Brand's sniper rifle.

Verge and Tabor move their Star Destroyer, the Herald, into position in the atmosphere for orbital bombardment. They do not want to destroy the facility as it is valuable. They notice a shuttle leaving the planet, it turns out it is the governor. They capture it and bring it aboard. As usual, she tries to weasel herself out of her bad situation.

It is actually a trap for the imperials. The governor detonates ion-mines on the shuttle, causing a power blip in the ship's propulsion system. Since they are in the atmosphere, the destroyer starts going down.

Verge orders the ship to ram the facility. Tabor disagrees and begins arguing with him. The governor tackles the Prelate and begins fighting him ferociously. Eventually, Captain Tabor pulls his blaster, shoots Verge and orders all power to engines to save his ship and crew. Since there are no witnesses, Chalis convinces Tabor to blame the shooting of the Prelate on her.

With the departure of the Star Destroyer, the battle rages on the surface but eventually dies down. Despite the odds, Twilight has won the day. Among others, Roach dies in the battle. They salvage what they can from the Thunderstrike but are left depleted, at about 1 / 3 strength.

Pinyumb reverts to civilian control with Twilight providing temporary security. With so many imperial prisoners, many of them are released under supervised work programs. Thara works at her uncle's cantina. She is not motivated to rejoin the stormtrooper legion despite her continuing loyalty to the Empire.

Contemplating what to do next, Namir, now officially Captain of the company, comes across a message left by the governor. In it, she says goodbye and that she could have won the day if he had trusted her.

On the governor's part, survivor that she is, she finds herself safe and taking steps to create a new life for herself. She wants to live on a backwater world where she can't be found and can be an artist again. She remembers what Namir had said about Crucival and sets coordinates for the system.

Namir keeps the message to himself as he is embarrassed that he misses Chalis. A funeral is arranged for the fallen, a eulogy is said for each member of the company, including droids, and one for the Thunderstrike. Despite his misgivings about the tradition, he decides to hold an open recruit on Sullust. After a slow start, many people arrive to donate their services to the company that saved them. Twilight Company lives on.

Del Rey initially hinted at a Battlefront tie-in novel at their booth during Celebration Anaheim in April 2015, suggesting a Fall 2015 release. Shortly after, Alexander Freed, the book's author, confirmed the title Battlefront: Twilight Company via his Twitter account. The novel was one of several included in a sampler that Del Rey released at Celebration. Freed later revealed that he was asked to write the book based off his previous short stories with Del Rey. The short story "Inbrief", penned by Janine K. Spendlove, serves as a tie-in to Twilight Company.

• ISBN 9780345511218 ; November 3 , 2015 ; Del Rey ; US hardcover [2]
• ISBN 9781101885505 ; November 3, 2015; Del Rey; Signed edition [15]
• ISBN 9781101884775 ; November 3, 2015; Del Rey; US eBook [3]
• ISBN 9781101884768 ; June 28 , 2016 ; Del Rey; US paperback [4]