#Assault at Selonia

[from-a-legends-pov]

Star Wars Legends: Poll of the Week - Out-Of-Context Pictures

Which of these out-of-context pictures from a Star Wars Legends property is your favorite? (Context provided below)

1: “Heat stick”: Oh, no, that certainly doesn’t look like anything else, no….

2. Laser-eyes Leia: Is it possible to learn this power?

3. Hit where it hurts: He had it coming.

4. “Turn off the foam, Threepio!” I don’t know, that looks kind of fun, Luke.

5. Han punches an otter? An otter wearing fancy jewelry, no less.

6. Playing ships with a Sith: Vader plus younglings doesn’t usually go well….

And now, for some context:

1: “Heat stick” - Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson spend a cold night together on a mission, and yes, that is supposed to be a heat stick used to warm them and not a glowing something else (Star Wars - original Marvel Comics)

2: Laser-eyes Leia: Meet Leia Organa II, a replica droid of the Princess, designed to speak, move, and act like the real Leia, and equipped with blasters in her eyes. The real Leia Organa is captured and nearly forced to marry Trioculus, a three-eyed warlord claiming to be Palpatine’s son (he wasn’t – that was a different three-eyed guy), but right before the wedding Leia’s friends switch her with Leia Organa II. At the altar, the replica droid blasts Trioculus with a little pew pew straight from her eyes, killing him, and the real Leia is able to escape (Queen of the Empire)

3: Hit where it hurts: When Black Sun boss Prince Xizor’s attempted assault of Leia Organa (by drugging her with his powerful Falleen pheromones) is interrupted by Chewbacca coming to the rescue, Leia gives Xizor a well-deserved knee to the groin before escaping (Shadows of the Empire)

4: “Turn off the foam, Threepio!” On a mission with Leia and the droids, Luke Skywalker uses extinguisher foam to subdue some Blackhole troopers aboard a Hrakian ship (“Gambler’s World,” Early Star Wars Adventures)

5: Han punches an otter? Han Solo’s evil cousin Thrackan Sal-Solo has imprisoned Dracmus, a female Selonian who has been trained as a diplomatic envoy to humans. He forces Dracmus to fight Han, whom he has also imprisoned, but Han is familiar enough with Mandaba, the Selonian language, to convince Dracmus to go easy on him during the fight without Thrackan catching on. Han still loses the fight, but gains Dracmus’s trust, and when Dracmus is later rescued, Han is allowed to come along (Assault at Selonia)

6: Playing ships with a Sith: Plourr Ilo recalls her brother Harran (Harrandatha Estillo), who from childhood was an evil, vicious person who wanted her dead so that he could become ruler. Harran idolized Darth Vader, and when Harran met the Sith as a child, Vader made Harran his protégé, taking advantage of his sadistic personality and apparently also playing ships with him for hours (Star Wars comics, X-Wing: Rogue Squadron - The Warrior Princess)

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[jedidryad]

WIP Wednesday: Did she think I was going to shoot her in the back now?

Mara's relationship with Luke isn't the only one to go through changes over the decade long setting for My Decisions, My Reasons. Mara also has a connection with his sister that is, at points, friendly, strained, and fractured before recovering during the Corellian Trilogy.

Here is a snippet from their escape from a Human League prison during Assault at Selonia that shows them at their most distrusting.

I sensed a hesitation in her before she handed me the blaster. Really? Did she think I was going to shoot her in the back now? Then I watched as she tightened her fist around the fabric the blaster had been wrapped in. She sucked in a breath and pushed it into one of her pockets.

I took a closer look at the weapon I’d been handed. Definitely Solo’s. 

It was as I watched Leia slide the toy into her pocket, that I had a moment of clarity. All the distrust and bald hostility she was throwing my way, had nothing much to do with me. It didn’t much matter who I was, I wasn’t Solo. I wasn’t her children. She would have been the same with anyone who wasn’t the family she feared for and desperately wanted to hold at that moment.

Except, no, that wasn’t exactly true. Leia Organa Solo was a consummate diplomat. Had I been a functionary or a Coronet citizen, she would have maintained her professional persona. But, for some reason, I got to see that she was falling apart.

Was it a calculated attempt to incite me to feel guilty for the destruction she believed I caused?  What would that accomplish?

I chastised myself quietly for letting the paranoia get to me. For whatever reason, this was the Leia I was dealing with - and she likely wasn’t any more pleased with that than I was. I just had to figure out a way to get through it.

[starwarstoxicfemslash]

infidelity did someone say infidelity? okokok so in the eu novel assault at selonia well FIRST mara and leia tie complicated knots in bedsheets so they can RAPPEL down the side of a BUILDING in the cold RAIN sloppy wet!!

but then! ok at this point leia thinks han is dead. so she takes out HIS blaster wrapped in HIS shirt and GIVES IT TO MARA!!! THE RITUALS!!!!!

the rituals...

i'm assuming han turns out okay? because mara has for sure taken his place while he was gone

[bornitereads]

Assault at Selonia by Roger MacBride Allen

Corellian Trilogy Book 2

Read: Feb 2023

The heat is building in the second book. There's a lot of fun world building in this book about the Corellian system and it's resident species. Especially the non-human ones, although there is some building of Corellian human culture. But humans are old hat haha. The Selonians and the Drall are more interesting.

There are a couple of daring escapes in this one that are fun to read. Especially the Leia and Mara one. Also some call backs to older Star Wars books that I was not expecting at all. Luke returns to Bakura, something I was absolutely not expecting. The Truce at Bakura is one of the first EU books I ever read so to get a call back to it was so fun. And then it ends in some big explosions! Because it's Star Wars haha.

Info: Bantam Books; 1995

[jaded-of-mara]

so i thought star wars wlw week would have a free day but i guess not 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️ anyway this scene has lived in my head rentfree ever since i read it as like a kid or something. mara and leia rappelling down the side of a building in the pouring rain. this is canon.

[togoodfriends]

Luke knew perfectly well that he treasured Leia's children in large part because they represented as much family as he was ever likely to have. He thought he had come to be at peace with that fact. Now he knew he was wrong.

Assault at Selonia (1995), by Roger MacBride Allen

[atamascolily]

more fun stuff from Assault at Selonia by Roger MacBride Allen featuring Mara Jade

“Mara Jade? The trader? She has had many dealing with the Selonians. We know her well, and trust her.”

“Yeah, well, Mara Jade is a lot more than just a trader. Did you know that she used to be the Emperor’s Hand? The Emperor’s personal, private, secret agent and assassin?”

“No,” Dracmus said, clearly startled. “Do you speak truly?”

“Very much so,” Han replied, a trifle excitedly. “It also would explain how the bad guys managed to get hold of the Chief of State’s private diplomatic cipher. She used to be a spy. She knows how to get that kind of stuff.” He thought for a moment and then spoke again. “It all fits. Mara Jade brought us the message, and she gave us some long complicated story about how it got to her. From what was on the message container, it looked as if it had been meant for Luke Skywalker, but that they had used Mara as a backup when that failed. But what if that was all an elaborate charade—one that we bought into all the way?”

“You are suggesting Mara Jade brought a message she had written herself? That she is part of the starbuster plot?”

“Yes!” Han said. “And she was nowhere to be found the day Corona House was attacked.”

“Ah! Of this I can speak, and glad to do so, to defend the honor of Mara Jade, which I wish to do. She has been sighted in Corona House since day after rocket attack.”

YEAH DRACMUS SPEAKING UP FOR MY GIRL MARA JADE!

“But why would she do it? What would be motive?”

Han hooked a thumb at the cell door. “Our kindly hosts are very obviously all either ex-Imperial or people who just want the good old Imperial days back. Thrackan said as much to me. Now, I grant, she has done a lot of good for the Republic over the years, and she hasn’t gone around chanting the Emperor’s name out loud or anything, but Mara has never been one to show her hand. She always was good at keeping secrets. I doubt anyone is ever quite sure of what she intends. Suppose, just suppose, that Mara has changed her mind again. What if she’s decided she wants the Empire back after all? Maybe she looks at Corellian and figures you have to start somewhere. I grant it’s a little hard to believe, but it seems to me we’re in the position of having to choose between improbable explanations.”

“The idea has logic, but does not convince,” said Dracmus. “I do agree Jade is hard-edged, ruthless. But she has honor, and we speak of wiping out whole planets. Could she truly be capable of such brutal savagery?”

Han nodded. “I grant you have a point. She’s always been tough, and hard, but never barbaric. I can’t see her as the sort to murder millions. But maybe we don’t have the whole story. We might be missing something. Remember the first nova didn’t hurt anyone. Maybe the threat to inhabited systems is a bluff.”

Okay, so admittedly Han has been having a rather bad time of things in this particular series, but still... even he has to admit it’s kinda improbable for Mara to be the Big Bad, LOL. 

Then Dracmus drops the bomb:

But I hope you are all wrong, honored Solo. I truly do.”

“Why, Dracmus?”

“It is not obvious? If she is behind this plot, she has quite deliberately arranged things so she is where she is right now, to be where she can do the plot the most good.”

“What’s your point?” Han asked.

“Right now,” she said, “Mara Jade is in same place with your wife.”

The look on Han’s face at that moment has got to be priceless.

CUT TO: Leia Organa Solo under house arrest, yelling at her guard:

Just before he reached the door, he turned back and spoke again. “Oh,” he said, “I almost forgot. We’re rearranging the cells. Seems one female prisoner had a fight with another. Gotta divide ’em up. Right after lunch, you get a new cell mate.” The guard laughed one more time as he stepped out into the hallway.

Leia heard the lock snick shut behind him. She always heard the lock. Why was it the one thing this bunch of incompetents always remembered to do was lock the door?

LOLOLOL. This is even funnier in context, because Han and Dracmus are also in prison and were paired together as cellmates because their captors were expressly hoping they’d fight with each other.

The tableau held for a moment longer, but then Mara made the first move. “Hello, Leia,” she said, stepping forward and nodding her head very slightly, her tone and behavior formal, even if she called Leia by her first name. “It is good to see you.” She made no effort to offer her hand, or come closer. She looked cool, calm, well-fed, well rested. The troubles of the last few days—if they had indeed been troublesome days for her—had left no mark on her. Mara was tall and slender, with a dancer’s body and grace. Her red-gold hair flowed over her shoulders, set off by the plain black tailored jumpsuit she wore.

“And it’s good to see you,” Leia said, not quite sure if she was lying or not. She turned and went back around the table, and retook her seat there, if for no other reason than to break up the awkward scene. “However I must admit I am surprised.”

“I think it would be a bit more accurate to say you’re not quite sure what to think,” Mara said evenly, taking a seat opposite Leia at the table. “If I were in your shoes, I’d be wondering about me. You’re no fool, and neither am I. I can see all the reasons you might suspect me. Nothing I can say will convince you that I had no role in all this. I don’t know how strong your Jedi powers are, but I doubt they are strong enough for a complete probe of my mind.”

“Not one that I’d have any faith in,” Leia admitted.

“So there we are,” Mara concluded.

“Are you saying I’ll just have to trust you?”

Mara shrugged. “Trust me to do what? We’re not allies in this, so far as I know. The one thing we can both be sure we have in common is that we’d both like to escape.”

“Can I even be sure of that?” Leia asked.

Mara smiled. “Yes,” she said. “You can. I want out of here. The longer I am cooped up here, the worse it will be for my trading business. You’ve never known me to be shy about admitting my personal interests. I’m losing time and money sitting here.”

“And that’s supposed to satisfy me.”

“No,” said Mara, “but it’s all I’ve got. I’m not involved in this madness, but how can I prove a negative?”

Leia looked long and hard at Mara. She had the very strong impression that Mara could say more if she wished, but it was clear she was not going to say another word on the subject. “What can you tell me about what’s going on out there?”

“Not much,” Mara said. “I’ve been locked up three doors down. My ex-roommate accused me of being a League sympathizer, it got a little sticky, and so here I am. I haven’t heard anything more than you.”

Rule #1: do not fuck with Mara Jade, she will hurt you.

What follows is some pretty epic Leia and Mara team-up as they escape from their prison cell by means of a bedsheet rope and clamber through a ruined building to fetch the slave circuit remote for the Jade’s Fire and ride their way to freedom.

They tied one end of the improvised rope around the bed frame. Leia tied an improvised climbing harness onto herself, snaked the bedsheet rope through it, then climbed up onto the windowsill and threw the end of the rope out the window.

“Wish me luck,” she said to Mara.

“Oh, I do,” Mara said. “After all, I get to go next.”

They make it to Leia’s old apartment and she’s able to retrieve a lightsaber that Luke made for her - please note it’s red! - and a blaster for Mara. Mara shoots a guard wandering through, and they keep going.

Leia shut her own eyes as she unclipped the lightsaber from her belt and activated it. The weapon came alive with the familiar low thrum of power. Even through her closed eyelids, the light from the blade seemed remarkably bright after the gloom and darkness. She gave her eyes a moment to adjust, and then opened them cautiously, being careful not to look at the lightblade itself. She held the blade vertically and looked around the foyer, now lit by the ruby-red glow of the lightsaber.

“First time I’ve ever seen one of those used for a handlamp,” Mara said.

“You work with what you’ve got,” Leia said. “There’s the door to the stairs. Let’s go.”

THAT’S A LIE, MARA,  everyone uses their lightsaber as a glowrod (just like everybody uses their phone as a flashlight IRL) but whatever, LOL.

“Leia!” Mara shouted over the roar of the flames. “Get ready. I’m not sure how close I’ll be able to fly her in, but the second she’s close enough, jump! You might not get a second chance. If you get aboard, go to the pilot’s station and be ready to take control once I’m aboard!”

“Will do!” Leia shouted, and watched as the Jade’s Fire rushed closer. She was a bigger ship than Leia had expected, significantly larger than the Millennium Falcon. She was a craft of graceful lines. She had a snubbed-off nose and a wide fuselage that blended into the two thick elliptical wings. She was painted in a flame-pattern of oranges and red. Leia certainly wouldn’t want to try flying anything that size up to the side of a building by remote. And it looked like the job was giving Mara just a bit of trouble at that. The Fire slowed as it came nearer, and wobbled a bit in flight. Turbulence.

Mara swore under her breath and made the slightest of adjustments to the controls. The Fire slowed down even more, and eased down just a trifle, bringing the top of the craft more or less even with the window ledge. Mara brought her in to a complete halt in midair, about fifty meters from the ledge. At that moment a blaster fired from one of the upper windows of Corona House. The shot pinged off the Fire’s hull. A door opened in the top of the fuselage and a gun turret popped out. It immediately swiveled about and returned fire. “Shoot-back system,” Mara shouted before Leia could ask. “Automatically returns fire at anything that shoots at it. Which reminds me. Don’t do any more shooting yourself, or that thing will paste you for sure.”

Remember rule #1, y’all? She will hurt you.

Oh, man it’s been ages since I’ve read this book and there’s a lot to mine from a fic perspective here.

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Star Wars: Assault on Selonia - Han Solo fights Dracmus by Joe Jusko

[christopher-bryant]

she is quite possibly my favorite star wars account atm because shes doing this series. just day after day reading a sad quote from legends and canon novels about obiwan and nothing fucks me up in the feels more :,)

[corelliaxdreaming]

“There’s no way a secret fleet of ships could just show up” Han says like that hasn’t literally already happened. Twice.

[oh-no-eu-didnt]

Bakura-class destroyers were a type of capital ship designed and used by the Bakuran Defense Fleet. Comparable to Star Destroyers, three models were completed. Built from the core of Imperial II Star Destroyers, they were well-armed and armored, possessing interdicting technology in addition to their normal complement.

Source: Cracken’s Threat Dossier (1997)

First Appearance: Assault at Selonia (1995)

Read more on Wookieepedia.

[rggzy-reads]

Alrighty, so I want to outline a project I’ll document on this blog! Ever since I picked up a copy of Vector Prime by RA Salvator at a thrift store, I’ve been very intrigued by the Star Wars Legends timeline as it pertains to the New Jedi Order- I enjoyed my time with it but there were so many questions I had! So many characters, and new villains, and background politics with the New Republic. So I set out to try and find a way to understand what the hell was going on- by reading, in chronological within the universe order, every main book post Return of the Jedi. (Thank you Wookiepedia and your Legends Timeline, the ability to filter out pretty much every category other than the adult novels and young adult was life saving https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline_of_Legends_books )

This journey has been going on since March of 2022, and will probably be going on for a while, as I’ve finished about 8 out of 97ish books. But what am I interested in when it comes to reading all of these? I think the most important thing is the lore, I’m interested in how cohesive of a universe and story this series of books presents. Surely it’s different from Canon, and so far the lore even paints a much different picture than the prequel movies. I love trying to find all the little details, and then see if any of those details are expanded upon in further books. I’ll certainly comment on the quality of the books too, as even at this point I’ve read some straight up bad books imo. My prediction for how I’ll feel at the end of this? Probably satisfied in a job well done, but I have a feeling I’ll find the whole timeline to be pretty inconsistent and messy, but fun!

This is my complete list:

- Truce at Bakura

- X-Wing Series

X-Wing: Rogue Squadron

X-Wing: Wedge’s Gamble

X-Wing: The Krytos Trap

X-Wing: The Bacta War

X-Wing: Wraith Squadron

X-Wing: Iron Fist

X-Wing: Solo Command

- The Courtship of Princess Leia

- The Thrawn Trilogy

Heir to the Empire

Dark Force Rising

The Last Command

- X-Wing: Isard’s Revenge

- Jedi Academy Trilogy

Jedi Search

Dark Apprentice

Champions of the Force

- I, Jedi

- Castilla Cycle

Children of the Jedi

Darksaber

- X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar

Planet of Twilight

- The Crystal Star

- Black Fleet Crisis

Before the Storm

Shield of Lies

Tyrant’s Nest

- The New Rebellion

- The Corellian Trilogy

Ambush at Corellia

Assault at Selonia

Showdown at Centerpoint

- Thrawn Duology

Specter of the Past

Vision of the Future

- Junior Jedi Knight Series

The Golden Globe

Lyric’s World

Promises

Anakin’s Quest

Vader’s Fortress

Kenobi’s Blade

- Survivor’s Quest

- Young Jedi Knights Series

Heirs of the Force

Shadow Academy

The Lost Ones

Lightsabers

Darkest Knight

Jedi Under Siege

Shards of Alderaan

Diversity Alliance

Delusions of Grandeur

Jedi Bounty

The Emperor’s Plague

Return to Order Mantell

Trouble on Cloud City

Crisis at Crystal Reef

- New Jedi Order Series

Vector Prime

Dark Tide I: Onslaught

Dark Tide II: Ruin

Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial

Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse

Balance Point

Edge of Victory I: Conquest

Edge of Victory II: Rebirth

Star by Star

Dark Journey

Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream

Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand

Traitor

Destiny’s Way

Force Heretic I: Remnant

Force Heretic II: Refugee

Force Heretic III: Reunion

The Final Prophecy

The Unifying Force

Dark Nest I: The Joiner King

Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen

Dark Nest III: The Swarm War

- Legacy Series

Legacy of the Force: Betrayal

Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines

Legacy of the Force: Tempest

Legacy of the Force: Exile

Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice

Legacy of the Force: Inferno

Legacy of the Force: Fury

Legacy of the Force: Revelation

Legacy of the Force: Invincible

- Crosscurrent

- Riptide

- Millenium Falcon

- Fate Series

Fate of the Jedi: Outcast

Fate of the Jedi: Omen

Fate of the Jedi: Abyss

Fate of the Jedi: Backlash

Fate of the Jedi: Allies

Fate of the Jedi: Vortex

Fate of the Jedi: Conviction

Fate of the Jedi: Ascension

Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse

- X-Wing: Mercy Kill

- Crucible

[girlbossk]

for some reason i thought the leia-and-mara-climb-out-a-window sequence was in this book, but it’s looking like this will end with them trapped in the building and their escape comes in assault at selonia. which does make more sense, i guess, since i’ve owned that book forever and read it a lot more than this one and therefore REMEMBER more things. but im a little sad that it hasn’t happened yet

[revastila]

idk which book to read first so please help/rec yall, ive already ready a few of the cantina tales

(the books are 'assault on selonia', 'tales from mos eisley cantina' and 'the truce at bakura'.)

[blancwene]

in which I succeeded at rereading the 90′s era Star Wars novels in 2020

For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shook out to 38 adult novels, one canceled novel that’s available online, and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.

And since I was already writing reviews for each one, I figured: why not video reviews? (Although in retrospect, that was 44 video reviews...)

Here were some of my favorite moments:

When The Courtship of Princess Leia introduced one of my favorite Force traditions stuck in the midst of a subpar love story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WVGS8otV-Y

I loved Children of the Jedi right up until the unfortunate implications in the ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4ePYLjzsBY

My cat made a cameo appearance during a discussion of Assault at Selonia’s back cover blurb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmGPTow7Qd0

Somehow I ended up *wink wink nudge nudging* during my review of I, Jedi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YINVGHXg10s

[jaded-of-mara]

leia to mara in the last command : here take my newborn for a bit we're besties now

leia to mara in assault at selonia : hm idk if i want you armed near me... idk you idk your motivations youre an enigma to me