The High Republic: Mission to Disaster

Set two centuries prior to the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, during the High Republic era, the Jedi serve as the galaxy's protectors of peace and justice!

The Jedi believe the Nihil marauders are nearly defeated, with their leader in retreat and their numbers significantly reduced. Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh anticipates finally dedicating time to training her Padawan, Imri Cantaros. However, reports of a Nihil assault on Port Haileap quickly shatter this hope. The Nihil have not only attacked this peaceful outpost but have also kidnapped Avon Starros, a friend of Vernestra and Imri. Determined to uncover the Nihil's destination, the two Jedi embark on a journey to Port Haileap. Meanwhile, Avon must rely on her intelligence and skills to survive among the Nihil and uncover a dark scheme. Can Vernestra and Imri rescue their friend before disaster occurs?

The best-selling New York Times series continues.... For light and life!

At her Port Haileap laboratory, Avon Starros, a student, has been working for months to synthesize a crystal, using her mentor Professor Glenna Kip's reluctant assistance, based on Padawan Imri Cantaros's stolen kyber crystal. As she goes to take a lunch break, Nihil pirates launch an attack on Port Haileap. She and Talia, a nine-year-old Togruta student, decide to seek refuge in the supply closets. While Talia remains hidden, Starros goes back to get her Kyber crystal, only to be captured and stunned by a Nihil raider.

On Kirima, Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh is training Cantaros, her Padawan, in Force jumping and leaping through a canyon. Rwoh has a vision of Starros being abducted by the Nihil raiders on Port Haileap while waiting to catch Cantaros during a Force jump. Cantaros then lands on her. After sharing the vision with Cantaros, they resolve to return to their starship, the Wishful Thinking, to alert the Jedi. They then receive a hologram message that has been recorded from Jedi Master Estala Maru, warning them of a potential Nihil attack on Port Haileap and requesting that they investigate.

Starros later awakens in a starship cargo hold, alongside other prisoners from Port Haileap, including Petri, an Umbaran boy; Krylind, a Kage girl; and Liam, a boy from Hetzal. These captives were taken during various Nihil raids. While some captives doubt the Jedi will intervene, Starros is confident her Jedi friends will assist and enlists the younglings' help in gathering tools to hack into the ship's comm system. When a Trandoshan Nihil enters the cargo hold to give rations to the prisoners, Petri and Liam subdue the guard, allowing Starros to escape. Starros traces the wiring of the shipboard comm unit to the cockpit, where she plans to send a distress message. However, Deva Lompop, a green-skinned female Shani Nihil, quickly recaptures her. While being escorted through the corridor, Starros notices the ship's interior walls have been removed, exposing the wiring. Lompop takes Starros to Kara Xoo, a female Quarren Tempest Runner, who informs Starros that she has kidnapped her and the other children to recruit them into her Tempest. After Lompop returns her to her cell, Starros tells Petri and Liam about the Nihil's plans for them.

Cantaros and Rwoh journey to Port Haileap, which the Nihil have recently raided. As they get closer to Port Haileap, they spot a crashed Jedi Vector in the adjacent marblewood tree forest. After landing the Wishful Thinking, they meet Jorinda Boffrey, a Delphidian Jedi Master, who informs them that five or six Nihil ships attacked the port. Kohta Jarik, a Jedi Knight, was the pilot of the downed Vector starfighter. The Jedi, aided by J-6, a droid that serves as both childcare and security, search for missing locals, including Starros and Professor Kip. While searching the destroyed former laboratory, Rwoh and J-6 find Talia, who believes the Nihil abducted Starros.

Back at Port Haileap, Cantaros uses his Force powers to repair a damaged noodle cart from Koko Noodle. Rwoh returns, anxious, with J-6 and the news that the Nihil have kidnapped their friend Avon Starros. Master Boffrey and Rico, a Gran administrator, soon join the two Jedi, having been counting the casualties and missing. While Cantaros and Rwoh are eager to rescue their kidnapped friend, Boffrey and Rico are more concerned with addressing the aftermath of the Nihil attack. Boffrey promises to inform the Jedi High Council and Starlight Beacon about the Nihil's hostage-taking in the frontier. J-6 also offers to accompany Rwoh and Cantaros, as his charge, Starros, had promised him a galactic map update. After returning to the Wishful Thinking, Rwoh updates Master Maru on the situation at Port Haileap. After learning about kidnappings on the nearby planet Dalna, Rwoh agrees to investigate the situation. Cantaros sets a course for Dalna.

While en route to Dalna, Rwoh meditates in the Force. She has a hyperspace vision where she sees Starros concealing her identity from her Nihil captors by using the name Avon Sunvale. She also hears the name Kara Xoo. After her meditation, Rwoh shares her vision with Cantaros. After landing near the Dalna temple, they meet Nyla Quinn, the local Twi'lek Jedi Master, and Yacek Sparkburn and Lyssa Votz, human Jedi Knights. While Sparkburn provides food and refreshments, Quinn tells Rwoh and Cantaros that she suspects the local Dalnan authorities have been covering up the recent disappearances. While Rwoh wants to rescue her friend Starros, she decides to assist with the Dalnan investigation, as they have few clues about Starros' location. Despite their concerns about Starros, Cantaros and Rwoh decide to stay on Dalna to help Quinn, Sparkburn, and Votz investigate the local disappearances. As part of their investigation, the Jedi agree to meet with Hackrack Bep, the Vice President, and Honesty Weft, an old friend whom Rwoh and Cantaros befriended after the Nihil attack on the Steady Wing. Together with Sparkburn, Rwoh and Cantaros travel to the town of Saludad, where they meet Weft outside the Vice President's office. During their reunion, Weft suggests that the Jedi listen to Sha'nai Plouth's story and warns that someone powerful is interfering with the investigation into the Dalnan disappearances. During the meeting with the Jedi, Vice President Bep denies that there are missing families on Dalna and claims that the Nihil do not have a presence on the planet. Rwoh and Cantaros sense that Bep is being evasive. Sparkburn explains to Rwoh that the Dalnans are wary of the Jedi due to a past incident involving a Jedi who came to build a temple on the planet.

Meanwhile, aboard Xoo's starship Poisoned Barb, Starros and her fellow captives eat the rations provided by their Nihil captors. Starros uses parts from discarded game systems to build a makeshift slicer, which she uses to unlock the door to their cargo unit cell. However, Lompop quickly recaptures her. Recognizing Starros' technical abilities, she assigns "Avon Sunvale" to work with Royce, a Siniteen engineer, who forces her to help maintain the ship's sublight engines and calculate jumps for the Path drives. Starros reluctantly complies with her captors' demands. Using her technical skills, Starros reluctantly assists Royce in operating the Poisoned Barb's engines, learning that it is the only surviving ship from Kara Xoo's Tempest. The Nihil warship travels to a grassy world with twin moons, where it is joined by other Nihil ships. Starros and the other children are herded to a camp, where they join other children kidnapped by the Nihil. Xoo announces that the children have been recruited into the Nihil and warns that those who refuse to submit will remain captives in a block building under the supervision of Yeet and Squib. Due to her knowledge of ambivalent crystal resonations, Starros is recruited as Dr Zadina Mkampa's lab assistant. Dr Mkampa, a cyborg scientist, introduces Starros to her laboratory and her research, which focuses on harnessing the power of crystals. Starros learns that the scientist was a munitions expert who survived a devastating civil war on her homeworld of Soika. After briefing Starros about her work, Mkampa tasks her with assembling Nihil gas bombs. Later, Starros uses her privileged position as Mkampa's assistant to infiltrate the Poisoned Barb and send a distress transmission on multiple frequencies. In the message, she states that the Nihil have kidnapped her and several children, intending to force them to join or enslave them. She mentions that they are located on an unknown planet with two moons. Although she manages to send her message, Lompop recaptures Starros.

Weft later brings his Pantoran friend Sha'nai Plouth, a member of the Dalnan Protection corps, to the Dalnan Jedi Temple to help the Jedi investigation. She tells the Jedi that she saw a Nihil ship while gliding near the volcanic Maawat Mountains. She and Weft say that the adults covered it up by claiming the ship sightings were storm lights or volcanic gases. Master Quinn remains behind while Rwoh, Cantaros, Plouth, Weft, Sparkburn, J-6, and Votz leave on the Wishful Thinking to investigate the Nihil sighting. After consulting his databank, J-6 reveals that a Republic survey team conducted a geological survey in the Maawat Mountains 200 years ago. After landing the Wishful Thinking in the mountain range, the Jedi are caught in a stampede caused by a herd of boolsa beasts fleeing a pair of blue predatory ice gators. The group also finds a ramshackle hut in the area where Plouth had sighted the Nihil. Traveling to the site, the group discover several ice gators attacking the hut. While Cantaros flies the shuttle, Rwoh, Sparkburn, and Votz use their lightsabers to drive away the ice gators. They find Theo, a Theelin boy and the son of Vice-President Hackrack Bep, beneath a trap door. After rescuing Theo, the Jedi, Weft, and Plouth bring the boy to Vice-President Bep's house. There, they are greeted by Bep and his husband Zian, who are relieved that their son has been rescued. Bep apologizes to Rwoh for initially lying about the Nihil presence on Dalna. He explains that the Nihil kidnapped Theo a week ago and threatened to detonate charges on the Bensha Fault if they tried to find the boy. Although the Dalnan Council and the President advised them to wait for the Nihil to issue an ultimatum, the Nihil remained silent. When Cantaros asks about the Bensha Fault, Votz explains that Dalna is a relatively young planet with frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Bensha Fault is a buffer between tectonic plates that shifts regularly and intersects the Maawat Mountains. Bep explains that a series of explosions could trigger several natural disasters, forcing the planet's population of 1 million to evacuate due to the region's geological instability. Bep also informs the Jedi that Dalna's relay satellite was disabled yesterday. Their meeting is interrupted by J-6, who brings news that Starros has sent an emergency announcement stating that she has been kidnapped by the Nihil, who are also holding children captive. Rwoh deduces that Starros has been held captive on Dalna the entire time, since Dalna's relay satellite has been disabled.

As punishment for defying the Nihil a second time, Xoo orders that Starros be sent to the holding pens to be sold to Zygerrian slavers. However, Starros manages to convince Xoo to give her another chance by claiming that she went into the Poisoned Barb to retrieve a file about Murphis Sewellis' theory on the radiant energy of cross crystal focus. Although Dr Mkampa and Xoo are initially hesitant, they change their minds after Starros convinces them that Sewell's theory is compatible with Mian San's research into the equal distribution of energy in a crystalline matrix. Despite her outward appearance of submission, Starros remains determined to resist the Nihil.

After the Jedi question Theo, they learn that the Nihil may be operating from a large farm village in the Maawat Mountains. With the Dalnans and Jedi unable to communicate offworld due to the damaged relay, Rwoh sends Cantaros, Votz, and Vice-President Bep offworld to request Republic aid. Rwoh and Master Quinn meet with Sachary Jeffington, the Dalnan President, her Toydarian aide, and Tracer Lore, the security chief, to take action against the Nihil threat in the Maawat Mountains. However, Jeffington is more concerned that the fighting would harm the gnostra berry plants, Dalna's primary economic resource. Rwoh finds a more sympathetic listener in Lore, who believes that negotiating with the Nihil is pointless. Lore believes that the Nihil have a base in the Maawat Juncture, which intersects with the Maawat Mountains and the Luftall River. Rwoh and Quinn learn from Jeffinton that Maawat Juncture is located on the tip of the Bensha Fault, which is vulnerable to natural disasters. While the Dalnans are reluctant to allow Republic military forces to be deployed in the Maawat Juncture, Lore agrees to provide the Jedi with reptilian trappu steeds to reach the area.

At Starlight Beacon, Cantaros and Vice-President Bep meet with Jedi Masters Avar Kriss, Estala Maru, and Ghirra Starros, Avon Starros' mother and a Senator. Kriss is shocked to learn that the Dalnan communications relay has been disabled and asks about the relay near Haileap. Maru says that he has asked Rodor Keen and his Republic engineers to run a diagnostic and sent another team to check the Dalnan satellite. Concerned about her daughter Avon's safety, Senator Starros says she has asked the Republic to send an envoy to assist with the situation on Dalna. After escorting Vice-President Bep to his suite, Cantaros goes to his own quarters to shower and rest. Through the Force, Cantaros senses that Bep is in distress. He finds the Vice-President lying unconscious in his suite with a bump on the head. Cantaros also smells the scent of perfume in Bep's quarters and recalls that Senator Starros used a similar type of perfume. Following the assassination attempt, Ghal Tarpfen and Velko Jahen, Republic officials, search for the culprit. While Bep is receiving treatment from Dr Gino'le, Cantaros and Votz meet with Jahen, who reveals that someone with a high clearance deliberately turned off the hallway cameras near Bep's room. They inform Master Maru about the news. Maru in turn informs the three that Tarpfen, the security chief, has apparently fled Starlight Beacon under suspicious circumstances. Jahen is surprised at Tarpfen's departure, while Votz asks if Tarpfen is a Nihil infiltrator. Maru is unsure and fears the Nihil still poses a serious threat. When Cantaros asks about the Dalnan relay, Maru says that the repair teams have restored the relay but are unsure whether it was caused by space debris or sabotage. While awaiting messages from Rwoh, Cantaros and Votz decide to meditate to cope with the stressful situation.

The following day, Starros uses the machines in Dr Mkampa's lab to make several copies of Cantaros's kyber crystal, intending to sabotage the scientist's plans. Later, Dr Mkampa shows Starros her new earthquake machine, which is powered by several kyber crystals. Mkampa thanks Starros for suggesting the idea of combining both Sewellis and San's principles. She plans to generate groundquakes in the Bensha Fault, which will unleash destruction on Dalna. Starros pretends to befriend the cyborg scientist and asks if she can speak with the other captive children. While Starros claims she wants to show off her success with the Nihil, she intends to recruit Krylind, Liam, and Petri to help her stop the Nihil's plan.

While traveling on their trappu steeds towards the Maawat Juncture, Rwoh, Lore, Master Quinn, Sparkburn, Weft, and Plouth encounter Liam, one of the kidnapped children who managed to escape the Nihil base. Liam confirms that Avon Starros is also at the base and that the Nihil forces are led by Tempest Runner Kara Xoo and Deva Lompop. The Jedi and their Dalnan friends share food with the hungry and exhausted Liam.

Dr Mkampa allows Starros to visit the Nihil mess hall, where the other kidnapped children are being held in squalid conditions. Among the 50 children, Starros finds Krylind but cannot find Liam or Petri. Krylind tells Starros that Petri decided to become a Nihil fighter and that Yeet, a Meerian pirate, took him on a Strike run. She reveals that Liam escaped after stealing some food. Starros tells Krylind to get herself and the other children aboard the Poisoned Barb when the groundquakes begin. Following the meeting, Mkampa invites Starros to a demonstration of her earthquake machine. After a replenished Liam shares all the information he knows about the Nihil encampment with the Jedi. While Weft and Plouth accompany him back to Saludad, the Jedi and Lore decide to infiltrate the Nihil camp and rescue the kidnapped children. To avoid attracting the attention of the Nihil sentries, they leave their trappu steeds in a nearby clearing and consolidate their packs.

During a Nihil meeting at Dr Mkampa's laboratory, the scientist attempts to persuade Tempest Leader Kara Xoo to deploy the earthquake machine. While Xoo wants to wait, she changes her mind after a Toydarian Nihil informs the group that his cousin and President Jeffington have fled to No-Space after the Jedi repaired the communications relay and have begun investigating the Nihil presence on Dalna. Before their planned evacuation, Xoo authorizes a raid on the Dalnan capital, Saludad. Most of the Nihil depart in their ships, leaving behind the cruiser Poisoned Barb, which Starros intends to use to evacuate the children.

Unbeknownst to Dr Mkampa, Starros has secretly grown a batch of flawed synthetic crystals designed to explode when loaded into the earthquake machine. Putting her plan into action, Starros convinces Mkampa that they should ready the earthquake machine to aid the Nihil raid on Saludad. Under the pretext of synthesizing more Sunvale crystals, Starros goes to the children's holding pen and attempts to convince the guards to evacuate. When they don't believe her, Starros incapacitates them with a gas bomb. At the same time, the flawed crystals cause Mkampa's earthquake machine and lab to explode. A vengeful Mkampa survives the explosion due to her cybernetic implants and attempts to kill Starros. Rwoh arrives and fights the cyborg scientist with her lightsaber and Force powers. Unable to defeat Rwoh, Mkampa flees into the forest. Starros, Rwoh, the other Jedi, and Tracer Lore proceed to mop up the remaining Nihil, free the captive children, and evacuate them aboard the Poisoned Barb. They manage to evacuate the children before an earthquake and lava flows engulf the Nihil encampment and surrounding forest. Starros tells the Jedi that Dr Mkampa's crystalline power matrix triggered the earthquakes and lava flows.

Starros, the Jedi, and Lore evacuate the kidnapped children aboard the Poisoned Barb to the Dalnan Jedi Temple, where Sparkburn and J-6 prepare food and supplies for them. In response to the earthquake and lava flows triggered by Mkampa's machine, the Dalnan Council issues a planetwide evacuation order and calls upon the Republic and Jedi Order for help. While Rwoh departs with Lore on a landspeeder to warn Saludad of the impending Nihil raid, Sparkburn contacts Starlight Beacon for help in evacuating Dalna's population.

At Starlight Beacon, Cantaros and Votz discuss Senator Starros' claim that it will take several days for the Republic to dispatch peacekeepers to Dalna. Cantaros is puzzled, as it only took hours for the Republic to respond to the Great Hyperspace Disaster. After Vice-President Bep awakens from his coma, the two Jedi question him about the assault. Bep recalls entering his room, finding the lights off, and then being knocked unconscious. He could not identify his attacker. Bep is also unaware of Tarpfen, the Mon Calamari security chief, who is believed to have fled following the assault. The two Jedi also brief Bep about the distress call from Dalna, saying that the planet has become unstable. After being briefed on the situation, Bep urges a full-scale evacuation of Dalna. He briefs the Jedi about the unusually thin planetary crust in the Maawat Mountains, saying that explosives placed there could trigger earthquakes that would lead to volcanic eruptions and more earthquakes worldwide. Bep tells the Jedi that Dalna has a population of one million and that it would take a long time to organize ships to evacuate everyone. Votz and Cantaros agree to inform Master Maru.

Lore and Rwoh reach Saludad, which the Nihil have recently raided. They learn that Dalna's president and her aide were secret Nihil who have fled the planet, along with the rest of the Dalnan Council. They are joined by Weft and Plouth, with the former revealing that he had sent a request for emergency aid to the Republic. After Lore briefs Rwoh, Weft, and Plouth about the situation, they decide to evacuate the Dalnan population to the emergency shelter on Hansibel Island, which is surrounded by the Bragh Ocean. The shelter can accommodate a hundred thousand people. Rwoh departs for the Dalnan temple to evacuate the Jedi and the rescued children.

At Kriss' office, Votz and Cantaros brief her and Master Maru about the situation on Dalna. Cantaros advocates using Starlight Beacon to evacuate Dalna's population due to the space station's hyperspace capabilities. When Rodor Keen points out that Starlight's hyperspace engines are not yet operational due to administrative obstacles, Votz suggests a tandem jump, which involves using a fleet of starships to pull Starlight Beacon into hyperspace using their hyperdrives. After some deliberation, the Jedi and Republic leadership agree to Cantaros and Votz's evacuation plan. Kriss assigns Votz and Cantaros with overseeing the attachment of the tow cables. They manage to convince several ship captains, including Captain Gol Ponk of the Halcyon, to assist with the tandem jump operation. Cantaros uses his Force powers to help attach the two cables. The operation is completed by the following morning, with dozens of starships attached to Starlight Beacon. Putting Votz's plan into action, the fleet conducts a tandem jump, which takes them to Dalna.

Over the next several days, the Jedi assist local authorities with evacuating Dalna's population to Hansible Island, where the evacuees await evacuation offworld. The volcanic eruptions in the Maawat Mountains trigger a wave of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that engulf much of the planet's surface. By the third day after the first eruption, Dalna's temperature has become unbearably hot and smoky. Rwoh meets with

Weft informs the Jedi Knight of his and Plouth's intentions to leave Dalna and seek employment with offworld protection agencies, such as the San Tekka clan. Shortly after this conversation, Starros delivers news that Starlight Beacon has arrived, bringing immense happiness and relief to those being evacuated. Over the following two days, Jedi and Republic officials collaborate to move the population to Starlight Beacon. During their departure from Dalna on a shuttle, Starros reveals to Rwoh that she took Cantaros' kyber crystal from Wevo for the sake of her research. She confesses that the crystals used by Dr. Mkampa for her earthquake device were based on the stolen crystal from Cantaros. Rwoh comforts Starros, assuring her that she is not responsible for the Dalnan cataclysm, and encourages her to speak with Cantaros directly. Despite J-6's disapproval of Starros' actions, Cantaros discloses that he was aware of Starros' "borrowing" of his kyber crystal and permitted it because he recognized her desire to assist others. Starros also reunites with her mother, Senator Ghira Starros, who expresses her relief that her daughter was unharmed by Xoo, Lompop, and Dr. Mkampa. Starros indicates that she will catch up with her mother later, as she needs to debrief the Jedi. In a private conversation, Starros and Cantaros discuss how her mother discovered her involvement with the Nihil, as she had only confided in Rwoh. Starros suspects her mother is concealing something. Cantaros offers to assist her in investigating the matter. Rwoh then meets with Master Kriss, who expresses gratitude for her assistance with the Dalnan evacuation. While Master Maru is questioning security chief Tracer Lore about the fugitive Dalnan President, Kriss informs Rwoh that they have received intelligence indicating that the Nihil are congregating at one of their former hideouts. She invites the younger Jedi to participate in the operation. Given the recent events on Dalna, Rwoh volunteers for the mission. ## Continuity Following the attack on Vice President Bep, it is mentioned that both Ghal Tarpfen and Velko Jahen are actively searching for those responsible. The security chief becomes a suspect in the attack after his disappearance the day after the incident. This contrasts with the short story "Starlight: Shadows Remain," which portrays Tarpfen being abducted by Senator Ghirra Starros and her Nihil accomplices after he stumbles upon the injured Bep, prior to Imri Cantaros discovering the scene as depicted in Mission to Disaster. ## Media ### Editions - ISBN 9781368079402 ; January 4 , 2022 ; Disney–Lucasfilm Press ; US eBook [1] - ISBN 9781368068000 ; March 1 , 2022; Disney–Lucasfilm Press ; US hardcover [2] - ISBN 9781761210006 ; February 2 , 2022; Hardie Grant Publishing ; Australian paperback [8] ### Cover gallery