The short story "Star Wars: Knight Errant: Influx" was penned by John Jackson Miller. Initially, it saw publication on StarWars.com on October 19, 2010. Later, on October 1, 2012, it was re-released through Del Rey's Suvudu website. The narrative centers on the initial phase of Operation Influx: the seizure of a Daimanate Heavy-Lift Starcrosser in Oranessan by Kerra Holt, Vannar Treece, along with their Jedi companions.
The setting of Influx is the Grumani sector, specifically in 1,032 B.B.Y., occurring right before the events detailed in Star Wars: Knight Errant #1, available through Dark Horse Comics. Its purpose is to familiarize both comic book readers and those anticipating the novel, set to be released in January by Del Rey Books, with key characters and overarching themes.
The backdrop for this short story is Operation Influx, a clandestine Jedi "knight errant" operation spearheaded by Jedi Master Vannar Treece during the Republic Dark Age circa 1032 BBY. During this era, the Galactic Republic had diminished to a mere fragment, primarily encompassing the Core Worlds and the Colonies, which resulted in vast areas of the galaxy falling under the dominion of various Sith warlords. The Grumani sector was a battleground for several feuding warlords, notably the Sith brothers Daiman and Odion, who were fierce adversaries.
In 1032 BBY, the Jedi Order discovered that the Sith Lord Daiman was engaged in mining baradium—an unstable substance crucial for manufacturing munitions, including thermal detonators—on the agricultural planet of Chelloa. The baradium was extracted on Chelloa and then transported off-world for processing in munitions factories near the war zone. Fearing that Daiman's access to baradium would disrupt the existing power structure within the Grumani sector, Treece assembled a team to disrupt the baradium shipment. This undertaking was designated "Operation Influx" and involved a three-part strategy: infiltration, sabotage, and subsequent extraction back to Republic territory.
"Knight Errant: Influx" primarily deals with the Raid on Oranessan, which represents the initial phase of Operation Influx. The narrative unfolds from the perspective of the series' central character, Kerra Holt, a fledgling Jedi Knight who had been rescued from her Sith-controlled home planet of Aquilaris Minor some years prior by Master Vannar, who then became her adoptive father and mentor. In the exposition, the story's two main characters, Vannar Treece and Kerra Holt, accompanied by two other Jedi (including Cerean Jedi Knight Dorvin Eltrom) have just arrived on the heavily polluted, rain-soaked planet Oranessan, strategically located at a major hyperlane within the Daimanate.
Earlier, while en route to Oranessan, the Jedi team intercepted and destroyed a small personnel shuttle. This shuttle was ferrying flight personnel to the planet's spaceport, where numerous Daimanate Heavy-Lift Starcrosser transports were awaiting departure for a supply run to Chelloa. These flight crew members were intended to operate the large transports. The shuttle crashed on a hilltop within the mud flats, and the Jedi strike team recovered the crew's uniforms and identification credentials.
Subsequently, the two Jedi encountered a Daimanate contingent consisting of a female ground crew supervisor and four armed sentries, who attempted to punish them for their tardiness to a flight-preparation briefing that had taken place twenty minutes prior. However, the Jedi swiftly eliminated the Daimanite guards using their lightsabers. After appropriating the deceased Daimanates' gear, the four Jedi seized control of an unoccupied Starcrosser transport. Vannar then communicated with the rest of the team via comlink to relay that the target vessel had been secured, Operation Influx was underway, and they could now rendezvous with the advance team at the transport.
During a brief exchange with her master, Vannar, Kerra contemplated her shift from employing Force Persuasion to engaging in lightsaber combat during her encounter with the ground crew chief. Kerra confessed her discomfort with impersonating a Sith, to which Vannar responded that she could not progress far in enemy territory without resorting to deception. In the initial segment, the reader also gains a glimpse into the protagonist's history, particularly her Jedi training and the political complexities of the Sith-dominated Grumani sector.
The Jedi have seized the Starcrosser transport and are preparing for their departure to Chelloa. The reader is also presented with a concise overview of the events that led to the short story, encompassing the Republic Dark Age and the "knight errant" missions executed by Vannar Treece and his Jedi volunteers. While the majority of the Jedi Order had sought refuge within the Core Worlds to defend against a potential Sith invasion, Vannar orchestrated covert raids with the tacit approval of the Republic's Jedi leadership. By 1032 BBY, Vannar's operations represented the only Jedi presence within the Grumani sector.
For Operation Influx, Vannar meticulously recruited several experienced Jedi with whom he had connections or who had distinguished themselves in combat. These individuals included the Trandoshan Jedi Knight Mrssk, a veteran of previous Treece operations, and the Quarren Jedi Master Berluk. Treece leveraged the threat posed by Daiman's baradium operations as a means of calling in favors from fellow Jedi comrades. This marked Kerra's inaugural mission as a Jedi Knight.
Kerra engages in another brief conversation with the Cerean Dorvin. He inquired whether her choice to wield a green lightsaber reflected her ambition to become a Jedi Consular akin to Supreme Chancellor Genarra. Kerra clarified that she had simply selected a lightsaber crystal from the top of a pile, which happened to be green. Dorvin expressed his disappointment with Kerra's decision not to pursue the path of a Jedi Consular. However, Kerra did not subscribe to adhering to tradition, as she was more focused on acquiring Jedi skills as rapidly as possible to confront the Sith in combat and avenge the subjugation of her homeworld.
Midway through the story, the mission encounters a new challenge: the transport's navicomputer lacks an activation cylinder, an essential component for interstellar travel. While the Starcrosser transport could still take off, it was unable to execute a hyperspace jump, necessitating the cancellation of Operation Influx. Meanwhile, the other transports were already en route to Chelloa. Kerra quickly realized that she had neglected to retrieve a dispatch case from the wreckage of the downed personnel shuttle they had destroyed earlier. The case had been lodged beneath one of the shuttle's consoles, and she had mistaken it for a personal item.
While it was standard practice within the Republic for most flight crews to keep their activation cylinders with their ships, the Trandoshan Jedi Mrssk explained to his companions that the Starcrosser lacked one due to Daiman's policy of requiring his flight crews to keep them on their person to minimize the risk of desertion by his ground troops. While Kerra expressed her frustration at her failure to retrieve the dispatch case, Treece was understanding towards the young Jedi woman, acknowledging the impossibility of her accomplishing everything. The Jedi were unable to travel to Chelloa on their own ship, as the planet was heavily guarded by Daiman's forces. Time was running out, as they had only one hour to infiltrate Chelloa and sabotage the baradium shipment before departing for neutral territory.
Vannar contemplated activating the contingency plan, which involved piloting the transport back to their concealed Jedi vessel and using it to destroy the Daimanite transports before returning to the Republic. However, this plan had a significant drawback: Daiman could retaliate by rerouting other vessels to Chelloa. Kerra opposed this idea and suggested hijacking an ore transport, but Vannar dismissed it, citing the heavy armament of the ore transports. Ultimately, Kerra proposed returning to the wrecked shuttle and retrieving the dispatch case.
However, Vannar was apprehensive about this plan, as he was reluctant to endanger the lives of the Jedi Knights involved. Despite the unfavorable odds, Kerra remained determined to proceed with Operation Influx, given the substantial investment of energy, time, and resources they had already made in the mission. At that moment, they were interrupted by an announcement from the Sith control tower on Oranessan, ordering them to expedite their departure or face punishment.
Vannar then instructed the team to proceed with the contingency plan. He ruled out walking the several kilometers back to their hidden Jedi ship due to the inclement weather conditions. Vannar also directed Dorvin to secure all of the vessel's hatchways. However, Kerra defied her master's orders and used her stolen remote control to open the transport's main cargo hatchway as it was taking off. Donning the fallen ground crew chief's overalls, she then made her way to the spaceport's hangar bay, which housed replacement navicomputers and activation cylinders. Despite flying at a low altitude and the transport's external sensors, Oranessan's severe weather conditions made it impossible for the Jedi crew aboard the transport to detect Kerra. After several minutes, Kerra returned to the departing Starcrosser transport and used her lightsaber as a signal.
A drenched and weary Kerra climbed back onto the transport's cargo deck, where she presented the activation cylinder to her delighted master. In conclusion, Kerra recounted how she had obtained the activation cylinder by infiltrating the hangar while disguised as a worker. Thanks to her stolen attire and the fact that she had entered during a busy period of the day, she was able to avoid detection. When Treece remarked that he thought Kerra disliked impersonating Sith, the Jedi woman responded that she hated allowing them to win even more. Having secured the activation cylinder, the Starcrosser transport was now capable of making a hyperspace jump. With the successful completion of the initial phase of Operation Influx, the relieved Treece and Kerra exchanged jokes before embarking on their journey to Chelloa.