Imperial Commando: 501st is a novel penned by Karen Traviss, serving as a continuation within the Republic Commando series. The book also presents a sneak peek of Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil.
Originally, a sequel was planned for this novel, but it faced cancellation due to Traviss' departure from writing for Star Wars.
With the Clone Wars concluded, a new struggle for survival begins for those fleeing the newly established Galactic Empire….
The Jedi Order has been all but wiped out in the Great Purge, and the Republic has crumbled. Now, the former Republic Commandos -- the galaxy's elite special forces, all clones of Jango Fett -- find themselves divided, wearing different armor and fighting for opposing sides. Some have deserted, seeking refuge on Mandalore among mercenaries, rogue clone troopers, and Jedi outcasts forming Kal Skirata's makeshift resistance against the Imperial occupation. Others -- including members of Delta and Omega squads -- are now Imperial Commandos, a clandestine unit within Vader's 501st Legion, tasked with hunting down both fugitive Jedi and clone deserters.
For Darman, wrestling with grief over his Jedi wife's death and separation from his son, loyalty is put to an excruciating test. He is not alone in facing trials of brotherhood. On Mandalore, clone deserters and the planet's native population, who harbor resentment towards the Jedi, will have their most deeply held beliefs challenged. As a savage new galactic order takes hold, old animosities may need to be overcome to unite against a greater threat, and no one can rely on past allegiances.
The narrative commences three weeks following the conclusion of the Clone Wars and the proclamation of the Galactic Empire under the rule of Emperor Palpatine. Darman and his brother Niner, now recovered from a spinal injury sustained on the night of Order 66, find themselves serving under Darth Vader's 501st Legion. Vader's loyal clone force is tasked with locating and eliminating any surviving Jedi, as well as retrieving Padawans to become Emperor's Hand. In addition to the Jedi hunt, Vader is also charged with tracking down Jedi sympathizers and clone deserters, including the clone members of Clan Skirata, who have abandoned Palpatine's rule.
Darman is experiencing internal conflict while trying to cope with the loss of his wife, Etain Tur-Mukan. Initially, the squad Darman and Niner are assigned to includes two other clones, Bry and Ennen. Bry is killed during the first Jedi hunting mission on Celen. He is quickly replaced by a Spaarti-grown clone named Rede. After Ennen kills a suspect believed to be a Jedi, he commits suicide. Opting not to seek a replacement for Ennen, the squad decides to remain a trio, and Rede earns Darman and Niner's respect when he independently eliminates a Jedi named Borik Yelgo on a space station in the Outer Rim. Meanwhile, Darman and Niner encounter Roly Melusar, who gains the respect of the clones in the 501st Legion, including Darman and Niner, because of his direct demeanor, his genuine empathy for the clones as individuals and soldiers, and his intense aversion to Jedi and all Force-users, including members of the Emperor's Hand.
Simultaneously, on Mandalore, Kal Skirata dispatches most of his Null clone sons, Nyreen Vollen, and newly adopted Bardan Jusik to extract Darman and Niner from Imperial Center. However, Darman has second thoughts about the assignment just as he and Niner are about to meet with the Skirata brothers. Darman realizes that his own Force-sensitive son, Kad, could be at risk of being recruited into the Emperor's Hand if discovered by the 501st Legion. Knowing that Clan Skirata is watching over Kad, Darman decides to remain in the 501st Legion to monitor, and potentially sabotage, activities within the Empire that could endanger Kad's safety. As one of Darman's closest brothers, Niner also decides to stay, leading Jusik, Vollen, and the Nulls to return to Mandalore without them. Nevertheless, Ordo promises Niner to have comlinks installed in both his and Darman's helmets, enabling communication with Clan Skirata on Mandalore. Jaing even uncovers compromising information about Melusar, revealing that he originated from a planet erased from Republic star charts due to its rule by a Sith cult that killed his father, fueling Melusar's hatred of all Force-users. This hatred allows Melusar to have Darman and Niner, as well as Rede, to circumvent Imperial Intel to handle out anti-Jedi operations without the Emperor's Hand's knowledge.
Skirata's plan to reverse the aging in his clone sons' DNA by Dr. Ovolot Qail Uthan is jeopardized when Uthan's home planet of Gibad is attacked by the Empire because of their refusal to align with the Imperials. The majority, if not all, of Gibad's citizens are exterminated by a toxin created by Uthan herself - an ironic twist - while the planet's physical structures remain intact. Uthan decides to halt the reverse-aging process to seek revenge on the Empire for the destruction of Gibad by developing another virus intended for the Imperials on Imperial Center. Collaborating with Mij Gilamar, with whom she is developing a romantic connection, Uthan obtains the necessary supplies from the clones to create the virus, but first develops an antiviral that would grant immunity to those who receive it. Skirata, Gilamar, the clones, and Jusik travel to Keldabe to distribute the antiviral to protect the citizens of Mandalore from Uthan's planned virus attack on the Empire. During Clan Skirata's visit to Keldabe, they encounter Dred Priest, a despised Mandalorian and a devoted member of the Death Watch, a Mandalorian faction seeking to restore Mandalore to its former imperial glory. Priest was also a member of the Cuy'val Dar, and on Kamino, he established a fight club involving clones, resulting in severe injuries or death. In retribution for Priest's actions on Kamino, Gilamar and Ordo lead Priest into an underground chasm where Gilamar kills Priest by stabbing him in a vital artery in the leg. Priest dies from severe blood loss, and Gilamar and Ordo toss his corpse into a churning river.
Additionally, as part of Skirata's plan to reverse the clones' accelerated aging, Ny Vollen brings in the ancient Kaminoan Jedi Kina Ha, engineered by the ancient Kaminoans to defy death through old age. Accompanying Kina Ha is Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy, known as Scout. Kina Ha's kind and pleasant demeanor almost alters Skirata's perception of Kaminoans, and Scout demonstrates to Skirata that the late Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik were not the only "sensible" Jedi he enjoyed being around. Unfortunately, Clan Skirata faces internal conflict regarding the consequences of using Kina Ha's genetic material to reverse the clones' accelerated aging. With the Empire hunting Jedi, keeping Kina Ha and Scout any longer than necessary would jeopardize Clan Skirata's safety. One option is to eliminate the two Jedi to prevent them from revealing information about Clan Skirata's location, willingly or otherwise, or to trade them with rogue Jedi Master Djinn Altis. The Jedi problem worsens for Skirata when Jusik and Vollen pick up renegade clone trooper Maze, who is accompanied by Master Arligan Zey, believed by Ordo to have been killed by Maze on the night of Order 66. Zey discerns Kad's nature, his Force abilities, and his parents, and he learns about the Jedi Order's flaws, such as their reputation for "stealing" children. Nevertheless, Skirata, against his better judgment and Vau's advice to simply kill the Jedi, decides to negotiate with Djinn Altis to trade the three Jedi, as well as erasing their memories of Clan Skirata's location to prevent them from revealing it under Imperial interrogation.
Darman learns about the Jedi being under the same roof as Kad through Fi and regrets his decision not to return to Mandalore with the Nulls, Jusik, and Vollen, believing Zey, Kina Ha, and Scout pose a threat to Kad's well-being as a free Mandalorian rather than an orthodox Jedi under Palpatine's rule. He also discovers Skirata's deal with Djinn Altis, considered a threat to the Empire for his efforts to reestablish the Jedi Order, and Darman resolves to hunt down and eliminate as many Jedi as possible, particularly those under Altis's command, for Kad's sake, potentially disrupting Skirata's agreement.
- ISBN 9780345511133 ; October 27 , 2009 ; Del Rey
- ISBN 9780593726105 ; June 4 , 2024 ; Random House Worlds ; Trade Paperback [4]