For the next in our continuing series of featuring various regular forum users’ posts as editorials, we’re featuring a fantastic post made by MrNomAnor in the Legacy Era Books forum, called ‘Charting the remainder of Luke and Ben’s journey’. In this editorial, he suggests what Force groups we may still get the chance to visit over the course of the Fate of the Jedi books. Click past the break for the full editorial, and click on the link to discuss on our message boards.

Charting the remainder of Luke and Ben’s journey by MrNomAnor

I thought it would be very interesting to take the opportuity to chart the rest of Luke and Ben’s “Let’s follow Jacen” journey. I know this is one of the parts of Fate of the Jedi that has grabbed my interest the most, and I see it continuing to do so for the remainder of the series. I think it is a prime chance to explore some of the non-Jedi/Sith Force using species, cultures and groups across the galaxy and apart from my mantra, THINK OF THE FORCE LORE, I thought it would be a welcome idea to explore where we as readers would like to see this journey take Luke and Ben, and what it can do for their characters and what exploration can be achieved in terms of philosophy, the Force, Force techniques and places.

Things that you may or may not want to consider in your musings.
*Assume that Luke and Ben will not go back to any culture they have visited previously. This means you cannot list the Baran Do Sages, Aing-Tii monks or Mind Walkers.
*Assume Luke and Ben will visit only one group per novel (though you could do more if you wish and we can assume some of the novels will be longer than they are now).
*Assume that Luke and Ben will not visit every single group Jacen did. After all he had five years. They only get a year and a half, or whatever shorter timespan FOTJ covers.

As I said, you can take these assumptions or leave them.

I’m going to list mine now, and depending on whether or not this threads kicks off, I will explain my reasoning more after some others have come in and added their thoughts.

Backlash - Jensaarai

I think there is something intrinsically deep in the Jensaarai and I love the idea that they have managed to somehow balance the dichotomies of Jedi and Sith teachings and practices without going evil, Dark Side, insane or completely up themselves in arrogance. I think one of the main reasons I want Allston to tackle these is that he is more or less Stackpole’s… I want to say protege because I can’t think of a more appropriate word and protege is very wrong anyway…. I guess because they are similar in terms of what they like to write about in the EU (think Wedge, military, Rogue Squadron, Tycho, etc). They have similar interests, I guess is the best way I can think of to put it.

I feel that Allston would be able to capture the mindset of the Jensaarai perhaps better than his fellows, and he’d definitely be able to get into conveying their fighting/physical practices and teachings. I think that Ben would have a lot to learn from the adepts about balance and finding balance in oneself in terms of Jedi and Sith. And I think that through the Jensaarai, Ben may learn - or recognise - that Jacen may have been striving for some sort of balance as well.

I also think it is high time the novels dealt with this “exchange program” the Jedi and Jensaarai have. All these guides and RPG tomes mention it, but its gotten no love in the novels thus far and I think that is… odd.

Plus, I really really want Luke and Ben to be able to snag themselves their own sets of lightsaber-resistant cortosis ore armour. Try and cut through THAT, Lost Sith lackeys! Following Jensaarai tradition, I also wonder what kind of animal Luke and Ben’s Jensaarai armour would represent… (Would Luke fashion his after a krayt dragon, perhaps?)

Another aspect of the Jensaarai that appeals to me is how they were at one point unaware of their own dubious origins and how they were effectively blind to where they came from. I love how they’ve found this synthesis of Jedi and Sith teachings, and I do think they have a lot to teach everyone else, but they’re kind of isolationist. The word “Jensaarai” itself is Sith for “hidden follower of the truth.” I can see how this sort of thing would appeal to Jacen, and I think that Luke and Ben could also have much to gain from this group.

Allies - Sunesi

I’m not sure how many of my fellow readers’ lists this group will feature on, but I am personally really crossing my fingers to get them into this series. When I first learned that this series would see Luke and Ben following some parts of Jacen’s journey, I hoped that these guys would somehow feature. Now, when I thought of how this would mean AING-TII, I really hoped Denning would be the one to cover them. However, I think it is interesting that Golden is the one covering them. Arriving on the scene from Trek Lit, and being a decent Trek author worth her salt, that should theoretically mean that Golden is a master hand at WORLD-BUILDING (which I think she is, BTW). So, how that ties in to the Aing-Tii is that a species such as them would only thrive on a pint of world-building.

And that in itself ties in to the Sunesi because, although they are a group that is more or less known to the wider galaxy (unlike, say, the Aing-Tii or Theran Listeners) - after all they are a member species of the New Republic and now GA - we haven’t really heard or seen that much about them. Hailing from Monor 2 (yes, that’s the world where Nom Anor infected Mara with some home-made cooties), theirs is a deeply religious species who believes that their Force-sensitive preachers can perform miracles because they have been blessed by their deity, whom they refer to as The Maker. Apart from the fact that I adore this because they seem to believe in the same deity as certain droids do (), I think that Kathy Tyers - who more or less created them - has imbued them with much pathos and a deeply seated sense of serenity, religion and mystery that I appreciate and would love to see expanded upon.

I also think that the life cycle of the Sunesi, which undergoes a very dangerous form of metamorphosis, can tie in to Jacen’s own metamorphosis from Jedi to Sith and hero to villain. In this part of the life cycle, all Sunesi undergo a change in their teenage years from a furry, senseless entity emerging from a cocoon to be the hairless, large-craniumed (Heh, is that even a word, if not I just invented it) beings that I suspect more people here would be familiar with.

I think that this is crucial to the Sunesi, because a lot of them do not survive the cocooning process, and because of that, it has led to a species-wide belief in reincarnation. This not only ties in to Jacen, but I think it also echoes the themes presented about Luke and Ben’s journey in Outcast, in which they were in a form “reincarnated” after choosing to die amongst the Baran Do.

The Sunesi could be said to be not as “flashy” or “edgy” as some other Force groups out there, and I suppose in a way that is true. But I do feel that they ould be a very interesting group to visit, and I for one would like to see Golden tackle them to continue on with the world-building Tyers did a fabulous job of setting up.

Book 6 - Dathomir witches

I think that next to the Aing-Tii, this group is the one I have wanted to see featured the most in Fate of the Jedi. And I believe that Denning is the author most equipped to handle Luke and Ben’s visit.

There are so many questions and issues that I’d like answered regarding the witches. Is Augwynne Djo - last seen all the way back in the YJK - still alive? Has she died of old age? Or has she become the next Mother Rell? How is Streen and Kirana Ti’s offshoot academy going? Hell, can we even get to MEET Kirana Ti’s daughter who is the same age as Jacen and Jaina but who we’ve never met. Hell, we don’t even KNOW HER NAME. Are the witches aware of how Lomi Plo and Welk become One Sith? What do the Dathomiri think of the Hapans (well, apart from the obvious)? What do they think of Tenel Ka’s choice to become Queen Mother? Do they appreciate being a Hapan protectorate or does it piss them off? Did Tenel Ka ever tell her Singing Mountain Clan family about Allana’s survival? Have they ever met Allana? Do they know Jacen is the father? I think that after LOTF it is feasible that Tenel Ka came to tell them all.

I think that Luke in particular has a lot of ties to the Dathomiri and for such an important Force group we actually haven’t seen them since all the way back in YJK (not counting Tenel Ka or any of the Ti family). That is criminal.

Assuming Luke and Ben do visit the Dathomiri, I’m intrigued as to how Luke is going to get around the part of his court conditions which stipulate he cannot go within ten light years of any Jedi Order facility. Given that two of his Masters have set up a training facility on Dathomir and that I assume the GA government has some sort of listing of such facilities, I actually want to see how Luke trying to go near a Jedi facility is handled. What will the GA do? What can they do? I think that, barring Luke trying to sneak back to Coruscant or Ossus (to approach the Ossan tribes), this is reall the only way we will get to see such a thing attempted.

I think that this is also a good opportunity to feasily get the rest of the cast (the Solos, Threepio, Artoo, etc) to have some “screen time” with Luke. I can see Luke and Ben going to Dathomir and informing Cilghal (or, alternatively, she directs them there), and Cilghal in turn telling Han and Leia, who can decide to go there to allow Allana to visit her Dathomiri family, or alternatively, to allow Tenel Ka to have a clandestine reunion with her daughter away from the prying eyes of the Consortium.

The whole idea of how the witches access the Force also intrigues me. All these arcane rituals and spells to “harness” the Force…. its so… primal and ancint and earthy in a way we rarely see in Star Wars, with the only other example I can think of being the old school Sith.

And I still remember with fondness the first time Luke was there and how Gethzerion punked him and almost had killed him and Luke totally pwzzzned in old school Bantam way by drawing on the sheer life essence of Dathomir itself. I guess part of it is that TCOPL is so old school by the standards of some of the younger fandom who are now as old as I was way back when I first read TCOPL only a couple of years after its original publication. I guess part of it is me wanting Del Rey to show these younger readers how badass the Dathomir witches can be, because the last few contract runs haven’t shown us that.

“Never concede to evil.” Its pretty black and white. Its also the tenet of the Dathomir witches. Yet so many of them get corrupted and go all mottled skin and pure unsugared EVIL and become Nightsisters. And some of the stuff they did back in TCOPL gave me genuine chills. I still remember how Gethzerion used the Force to explode a couple of Han’s teeth. Think about it. These Nightsisters were so evil that Palpatine had a friggen garrison to keep them on the planet. They’ve gotta be pretty potent.

I think it is high time Del Rey gave us a visit to the ladies of Dathomir and all their man-flesh slaves.

Book 7 - Tribes of Ossus/Ysanna

Here is where I start to panic, because I only have three books left and I know that in book 8 I want… NEED the Fallanassi and I want a particular group for the grand finale (and they will only work FOR the grand finale) so I had to make a tough choice here. Originally, I was going to go with the Theran Listeners, but instead after some soul-searching I decided I wanted the tribes of Ossus just a little more. Sorry Therans. I do think the Therans have a more realistic chance of appearing in FOTJ and I do not have a problem with that at all, but I just would’ve liked to see the Ysanna.

Probably the only problem I had with the Dark Nest trilogy (and I suppose, one of the smaller problems I had with LOTF) at all was that okay, so the Jedi have set up shop on Ossus. They’ve built an entire academy and all these awesome stuff. They more or less are headquartered on Ossus. It’s all “full circle” for the Jedi and its quite awesome. Yet no one ever mentions the Ysanna in that trilogy. Ever. Which is odd, given that they too live on Ossus and two of Luke’s first Jedi in Dark Empire were Ysanna. One of them was even his hot lovah. Well, his lovah anyway.

I think one of the reasons I want to see the Ysanna is because I think their simplicity and sense of tribe is somewhat refreshing from all the other Force groups which are more or less advanced, or at least have approached mainstream galactic society in terms of intelligence and technology, but he Ysanna are this throwback to a bygone era. And I think that this too would have appealed to Jacen and his sense of lifestyle too. It also makes sense that this group would have been one of the first he would have visited, and I do really think it should twig to Luke to think of them as well. Why go traipsing all across the galaxy when there was a Force group in your backyard all along?

I think that is also worth noting that despite the simplicity of the Ysanna - some may some they’re a pretty backwards culture - they have the ability to Force ghost en masse (and by that, I don’t mean they Force ghost in massive packs of people, but that they all seem to have this ability). One thinks Luke should maybe check that out. I’m sure Jacen did.

Book 8 - Fallanassi

I think that third on my list of Force using groups I’d salivate at the chance to visit again are the Fallanassi (behind Aing-Tii and Dathomiri, if you haven’t been keeping track). At first, I thought it would be “better” if either Denning or Allston were to tackle this group, given that they are EU veterens and Denning has handled them once before (albeit not for very long). However, I think Golden could conceivably knock them right out of the park. I know she has a strong voice for female characters and I salivate at what she could do with Akanah.

Obviously, the Fallanassi are intriguing for a number of reasons: their skillz at illusion at what can be a frighteningly complex and believable level; Akanah and her anti-aging creepiness; violence being anathema to them….

They do share some similarities with other groups (such as being exclusively all women like the Dathomiri witches - though they are not averse to having male members or teaching males), but I think another thing that appeals to me about them is that they are not human only. Like the Jedi Order they encompass all species. While certain other groups are all one species - Aing-Tii monks all being Aing-Tii , Dathomiri being all human, Sunesi preachers being all Sunesi, etc) I find the Fallanassi appealing (amongst other reasons) because there’s no reason you couldn’t have a Bothan Fallanassi or a Ho’Din Fallanassi. There’s variety, I suppose I’m getting at and just like a Barabel or Wookiee Jedi shows/does things a Human Jedi might not necessarily be able to convey, so too could a non-Human Fallanassi. I guess its that diversity factor.

And obviously like the Dathomiri, Luke has… ahem… personal history with the Fallanassi, in particular, the older-than-Han, but-looks-Jaina’s-age Akanah. I can see how this can lead to all manner of uncomfortable awkwardness and hilarity with Ben in particular. I would say Luke too, but I actually think it would be more crafty and indeed in character of Luke to show up and be all onto Akanah’s flirty flirtiness and not be swayed at all. He’s not that innocent farmboy anymore, and I would appreciate Luke being able to pull one or two over on Akanah this time ’round. Given the mind games he’s been playing with some people over the last few years, I think Luke can now give as good as he gets.

Another facet of the Fallanassi I’d like to see explored here is how they are totally into serving one’s own pleasures and vices. They aren’t altruistic like, say, the Jedi or the Sunesi. They aren’t really noble like the Jensaarai. They’re just all into themselves and stuff. That’s refreshing.

I’d also like to see reference to how Akanah saw Jacen was going sour and they totally need to reference the Essential Force Guide tidbit of how Akanah actually sent Luke a letter on the subject. They can’t just let that lie there.

And as I touched upon above, Akanah needs to totally put Ben off guard no matter how much he steels himself before hand and now matter how much Luke warns him. She totally needs to unsettle him, and although I know it will gross him and the readers out, she needs to totally flirt up Skycrawler. Do it. Do it, authors.

Now before I get to TEH grand finale and who (and what ) I want to see represented in that tome, I think I’ll mention some of the other groups I would’ve liked to see, but sadly won’t, because I do think it makes sense that each FOTJ will only have one Force group. Though I may be surprised and may get two in some books, though they need to make them longer to do each group justice, and not only that, but Luke and Ben’s journey isn’t the only thing going on.

Theran Listeners: Would really like to see them, but feel we may not. Golden could easily bring some of her Trek Lit skillz to bear, given the whole “Therans talk to the Spook crystals” deal and that’s kinda Trek-ish, but again, I think they may skip this group.

Extrictarium Nebula: Not a Force group, but like the Maw its a place where wacky Force stuff happens. Time moves differently there, so much so in fact that people can be stranded there for millennia and not age. You’ll find the planet Iego there, which doesn’t orbit a sun, but instead moves around the nebula of its own accord. That is cool with a capital K! Also is home to angels and demons, but not the Dan Brown variety. Powerful telepathic aliens there’s all kinds of hijinks and wierdness in this nebula. Think of it as the GFFA’s answer to the Bermuda Triangle and Lost island combined. Its totally fricken awesome and I fear we won’t see it because it in the novels beause it IS too awesome to put into words.

Zeison Sha - You know you want to see action with their discblades.

Followers of Palawa - Because you totally know that Jacen went there and you totally know he deployed teras kasi on Jaina in their final duel and you totally know Luke can only ever get more badass if he learns teras kasi.

Oswaft - I know, I know, technically they aren’t Force sensitives, but they’re above the average everyday lesser species, that’s for sure. I mean seriously:

And now without further ado, this is where I would like the final novel of the series to take Luke and Ben: the place where they (should) will find all of the answers they seek and tie this whole series together and provide the fans with fangasm and some closure to Jacen and also give the series a sense of closure and ending and resolution. Something they can take back home and something the readership can get into full-on discussion mode until they announce the next Legacy Era novels:

Book 9 - Teh Grand Finale - Zonama Sekot/Yuuzhan Vong

Come on, this has to be somewhere on everyone’s listing. If not, then there is something very wrong with you.

I do think the entire concept of Zonama Sekot and the Yuuzhan Vong being at the end of the journey can only be summed up by saying, “Full circle.” Suitably epic and full of gravitas and poignancy, this can also (inadvertantly) bring the Yuuzhan Vong and ZS back into the public consciousness, show us that the VIP team have not indeed forgotten them (as we could be forgiven for thinking) and at the same time trigger all our dormant memories of the epicness of the NJO.

I honestly don’t think I can convey how much this would mean to me if this is the endgame of Luke and Ben’s damned fool quest. So many things would fit into place if this is where they end up. The reasoning for why Ben “belongs there.” The place where Luke discovered (In TUF) that he could never fully be healed of the scars life has wrought on him. The place where Jacen found peace and closure, and also made a choice with what to do with the rest of his life.

There is literally an endless supply of pathos and symbolism and utter fanboyish fangasm coolness that could come from a return to the Yuuzhan Vong and Zonama Sekot. I’m reminded at this point of how when Legacy of the Force began and the VIP team told us they were toying with the idea of having a recurring character be a Yuuzhan Vong. Sure, that never eventuated but I recall (though I could be remembering wrong) ow literally NO ONE said anything bad about that idea.

I do think that if ZS and the YV are to be brought back into the novel world, it HAS to be saved as the grand finale end game. Otherwise it’ll just make everything else anti-climactic. Begin to make connections to Legacy in ways that actually make sense and have valid story use. One imagines that the Jedi reconnecting with the Yuuzhan Vong tentatively has to happen a significant amount of time before Legacy. Make THIS a legacy we can all be proud of, whose seeds are planted here.

Think of it, we could catch up with friggen Danni Quee (wonder if she is Magister yet), Harrar )My GOD think of the fangasms we’d all share in unison) Nas Choka (OMG <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3) and this is where I start to lose my mind and ramble incoherently because if this turns out anything at all half as grandiose as I imagine it in my mind, nobody will have any right to complain about it. Sekot itself was a character/entity that was/is literally larger than life and full of a high purpose and stuff… I just think it would be something grand if this is how the series ends (at least for this portion of the storyline) and this is where the answers come in relation to Jacen, his fall, the how and why it happened, and how Jacen is tied to the Force madness. And although Dark Nest gave us hints in relation to how the Yuuzhan Vong are only starting to rediscover themselves after they were forced to restart their ENTIRE BELIEF STRUCTURE, it was maddening in the sense that it was only a glimpse. Shamed Ones becoming Extolled. That village Tahiri was living in where all the castes were coming together to live and rebuild their society.

Yep. This is where the damned fool quest must end.