As The Critical Moment Approaches

Weekly Journal

August 31, 2009

2 years BBY

Zero Year comes ever so closer, and appears ever so ominously in almost every tale I've read in the past two weeks. It's as if I can see the Force hear faintly in the background, like a breath in the wind. All the strings are coming together and soon the instruments of rebellion will be strung. There is no stopping it, just as one cannot stop the suns from setting. It is the will of the Force.

I began last week with Han Solo's Revenge, which I found to be more or less mediocre. I then moved into a chapter of Rebel Dawn, which primarily featured Boba Fett and a cameo from Lando Calrissian. Though it goes without saying that Lando escapes Fett's clutches, it's by the skin of his neck. I then moved into Han Solo and the Lost Legacy. That's where all the pieces began to come into place.

At the end of Lost Legacy, Han Solo mentions his intention to head back to Hutt Space in order to secure some work with Jabba, daring the infamous Kessel Run. Next, an old 1979 UK Marvel Illustrated Adventure, "The Way of the Wookiee", chronicles this particular run, during which Han and Chewie "get boarded" by Imperials and have to jettison their cargo. Catch my drift? Well, don't get your Wookiee hair in a knot. This isn't that fateful mishap, landing Han in debt to Jabba, but an eerie prelude to it. Nonetheless, Jabba is not pleased, as is alluded to by his attempt to kill Solo in the Dark Horse short, "This Crumb For Hire".

Moving on to an out of the way desert planet, far away from any bright center of the galaxy, the prelude of Empire: Darklighter features the final days of Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine, before joining the Imperial Naval Academy. But Biggs' interest in the Alliance is no secret, nor is Luke's.

Skipping over to yet another soon-to-be-member of Red Squadron, "Lucky" (Star Wars Tales Volume 6) relays the series of tragic events that lead to a young pilot by the name of Wedge Antilles to join the Rebellion. I must say, this story adds a very morbid tone to the character of Wedge.

But disgruntled Rebels aren't the only one's fighting the Imperial iron fist at this time. Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire pits the galaxies most notorious bounty hunter against the Dark Lord himself. But none of these attempts at insurrection have swayed the Empire's mighty reign. An excerpt from The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader underscores this unfortunate reality, describing the slaughter of over 250,000 sentients on Faleen.

But it won't be long. Not long at all.