Servants of the Empire: Edge of the Galaxy

Zare Leonis appears to be on a path that will lead him to becoming a symbol of Imperial loyalty. His sister, Dhara, has gained admission to Lothal's prestigious Imperial Academy, and Zare is confident that he will join her in one year. However, a single year can bring about many unwelcome changes. He begins to discover the Empire's devastating plans for Lothal and its inhabitants' way of life, and his concerns deepen when Dhara disappears under mysterious circumstances. Zare is compelled to re-evaluate everything he believes and to question the true meaning of being a loyal servant of the Empire.

Zare Leonis, a fourteen-year-old human whose parents are agricultural scientists, aspires to attend the Imperial Academy on Lothal. Before he can submit his application on his fifteenth birthday, he must spend a preparatory year at the nearby Junior Academy of Applied Sciences school. Janus Fhurek, the athletic director, wields considerable influence at the school, and he harbors prejudice against the alien races who are admitted.

At AppSci, Zare develops a friendship with Merei Spanjaf, and they both become members of the school's grav-ball team, known as the SaberCats. Zare is appointed as the captain and assumes leadership of the team. Another member of the team is Beck Ollet, a human whose parents are local jogan fruit farmers. When the Imperials arrived on the planet, they purchased all the farms in the area, stating their intention to manage and improve production. Beck, Zare, and Merei visit the farms one day and discover that the delicate fruits are being harvested by clumsy droids, which are damaging the plants and the harvest. They report the issue to the Imperials, but no action is taken to correct the situation. Zare shares his concerns with his older sister, Dhara, who is already a student at the Academy. They communicate via datapad, and she expresses her sympathy but advises him to keep a low profile during his year at AppSci.

Several months later, Beck and Zare return to the farm, only to find that it has been transformed into strip mines. Adding to the problem, the Imperials are using outdated equipment and neglecting to repair the land, which will result in long-term ecological damage. Displaced farmers are gathered near the mines, waiting to meet with the Imperials to protest their treatment. Beck and Zare observe from a distance as the Imperials arrive. Instead of listening to the refugees' grievances, the Imperials open fire on them. The two boys rush back home, and the following morning, Zare learns from HoloNet reports that the refugees initiated the conflict, forcing the Imperials to defend themselves.

The SaberCats advance to the grand finals of the season. One week before the match, Janus Fhurek arranges for the two alien children on the team to be transferred to another school. Zare protests, but he is forced to use backup players from the practice team in the final match. In retaliation against Fhurek, Merei hacks into the school's network and discovers that Fhurek has placed a bet on the final game, predicting that the SaberCats will win without alien assistance and by a margin of at least 8 points. When the final match takes place, Zare strategically leads the team to a victory with a margin of only 6 points.

Merei receives a message from Beck expressing his gratitude for her friendship. Zare goes to find out what Beck is planning and discovers a bag of detonators near Beck's former orchard. He witnesses Beck being chased by an Imperial transport and uses one of the detonators to knock the transport off course. Beck manages to escape but is spotted by the Imperials and goes into hiding. When Zare attempts to contact his sister, he and his family learn that Dhara has allegedly run away from the Academy and cannot be located.

Zare is disillusioned with the Imperials on the planet but sees no other viable options for himself and applies to the Academy. Months later, while at a market, he is horrified to witness a group of Imperials breaking into a building and taking Beck and two accomplices into custody. Zare resolves to work as a rebel from within the Academy, believing that it will be the best place for him to uncover the truth about what happened to his sister.

Jason Fry is the author of Servants of the Empire: Edge of the Galaxy. The events depicted in the book occur simultaneously with the events of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels but precede Zare Leonis's first appearance in an episode.

Because the book serves as a prequel to Leonis's first episode, Fry was granted the autonomy to develop the character's background and explain how he evolves into the character portrayed on screen. The book also provides insights into Lothal, the primary planet in Star Wars Rebels, and the impact that the Galactic Empire has had on it.

During the writing process, Fry collaborated with the Lucasfilm Story Group and Rebels executive producer Greg Weisman. Fry felt that Weisman's input, in particular, contributed to making Edge of the Galaxy "a stronger story and a better book."

• ISBN 9781484704851 ; October 21 , 2014 ; Disney–Lucasfilm Press ; US paperback [2]