A brief history of the last time Star Wars caused a mess with its extragalactic ambitions

Ahsoka he blew Star Wars wide open last year with the discovery that The great return of Grand Admiral Thrawn required travel back and forth a completely new galaxy— for the first time modern Star Wars Canon wondered the universe beyond a distant place that we have already discovered. But at the same time, Thrawn’s knowledge of the outside worlds Star WarsRegular research was shocking information in the context of modern continuity, the Grand Admiral had more than a few brushes with this idea in the old Expanded Universe.

What was the outbound flight project?

Developed by Jedi Master Jorus C’boath, Project Extragalactic Flight was a collaboration between the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order to develop and finance an expeditionary mission beyond the fringes of Republic space, through the “Unknown Regions” – an unexplored, though populated, part of the galaxy that did not consider the Core Galactic beyond the center of interstellar civilization – and beyond the known outskirts of the galaxy. It was first created approximately three years after the events of Ghostly menacethe project included the recruitment of 50,000 civilian colonists and a large number of Jedi, as well as the purchase of six dreadnaught-class cruisers connected around the main hull to form the titular ship of the venture, Outbound flight.

Although ostensibly a joint task force established by the Republic and the Jedi Order, in reality the Extragalactic Flight Project was wrapped in a weave of ulterior motives beyond its research purpose. The Jedi Council hoped that the trip would locate the missing Fosh Jedi Vergere, who had been kidnapped by agents of a then-unknown extragalactic civilization who eventually revealed themselves as the first agents from the Yuuzhan Vong. While serving as Chancellor of the Republic after the overthrow of Finis Valorum, Palpatine allegedly supported the Senate’s hope that an expedition might lead to the establishment of a Republic colony in the Unknown Regions and potentially beyond the known galaxy, expanding its reach.

However, in his true disguise as Darth Sidious, Palpatine also saw this project as a chance to kill a large number of Jedi away from prying eyes, while also preventing the discovery of an extragalactic Vong threat before the galaxy was ready to face them. . Added to this was Master C’boath himself, increasingly obsessed with the Jedi as a ruling class, who had secretly prioritized the selection of Force-sensitive candidates as colonists, secretly trained in these abilities, in an attempt to support new Jedi outposts and colonies under his own influence .

After several years of planning – and the project was almost abandoned if not for the pact between Palpatine and C’Boath – Outbound flight left Yaga Minor, a world on the outskirts of the Outer Rim, in 27 BBY. However, problems arose almost immediately. Two Jedi assigned to the mission, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker (last-minute additions to keep an eye on C’boath), were withdrawn from the expedition before its departure on Palpatine’s orders. Shortly thereafter, C’boath took command Outbound flight from their civilian captain, enforcing strict rules that limit the freedom of Force-immune staff and colonists. This would ultimately prove to be the least of the mission’s problems.

How Thrawn was connected Outbound flight?

Palpatine never planned this Outbound flight get through the Unknown Regions. Acting as Darth Sidious, he commissioned a secret task force of Trade Federation ships to intercept Outbound flight and destroy it by any means necessary. However, while operating in the Unknown Regions, the Task Force was faced with a patrol from Chiss domination Expansive Defense Forces. A patrol led by young Thrawn destroyed all but one of the ships in the ensuing battle – negotiating with the surviving commander to contact Sidious, who explained in detail the threat posed Outbound flight posed if it would reveal the existence of the Vong, who had already become known to the Highness through clashes with scouting parties in Chiss space.

Thrawn agreed to Sidious’s request to use his patrol unit for destruction Outbound flightsetting a trap that ultimately almost sunk it Flight and also killed almost all the Jedi and ultimately most of the colonists on board, except for C’Boath and his apprentice Lorana Jinzler. Pushed to the Dark Side through destruction, Thrawn ultimately killed C’boath, and Jinzler was forced to sacrifice herself (along with Thrawn’s brother, Mitth’ras’safiswho met with Outbound flight while investigating his brother’s battle with Trade Federation agents sent by Sidious) by crash-landing the ship on an asteroid at the edge of Chiss space, saving only the 57 remaining colonists.

What happened Outbound flight in the expanded universe?

With the ship declared lost by the Republic and the Jedi Order, the surviving colonists attempted to survive in the remains of the ship, hidden from both the Chiss and the wider galaxy for almost 50 years. Before Chiss agents discovered the existence of a surviving colony that had risen from the ruins Outbound flightThe Galactic Republic was transformed into an Empire which itself collapsed and was replaced by the New Republic along with the new Jedi Order founded by Luke Skywalker.

The Chiss offered existence Outbound flight“survival” to Skywalker to compensate for their role in his destruction, but the colony rejected contact with the New Republic, frightened by their ties to the Jedi after C’boath’s harsh rule, eventually allying with a faction of Imperial remnants known as the Empire of the Hand – itself founded by none other like the current Grand Admiral Thrawn, who died many years before Outbound flightrediscovery in his attempts to destroy the New Republic. Which in itself had a further connection to Project Outbound Flight: during his campaign against the New Republic, Thrawn recruited insane, dark Jedi Joruus C’boath (note the extra “u”): clone of the Jedi Master who died on board Outbound flight. A small galaxy!

Could the outbound flight project return to Star Wars Canon?

Given that we are creating a new, important storyline in Star Wars between events Return of the Jedi AND The Force Awakens which concerns the revived remnant of the Empire under Thrawn’s leadership, it is clear that many of the events touched upon in Timothy Zahn’s cult film Heir to the Empire the trilogy will at least get a few nods, but this story will continue to unfold across series Ahsoka season two i upcoming movies The Mandalorian and Grogu and Dave Filoni’s untitled collaboration “Mandoverse.” But the version Outbound flight It’s unlikely that what we know about the Expanded Universe will be adapted in any meaningful way – his connections to the original C’boath and his clone, Thrawn’s past before allying with the Empire, or the existence of the Yuuzhan Vong who made it sloppy to the point of complete mining.

This does not mean, however, that no attempts were made. Zahn’s return to Star Wars continuity for two separate Ejected innovative trilogies – one set during the rise of the Empire and concerns his rise in the ranks of the Empire to become Grand Admiral, the other is a series of prequels set during his career in the Chiss Expansion Defense Fleet – canonized elements of the battle against Outbound flight which drew heavily on stories Zahn had previously told in the Expanded Universe. Although the ship is never explicitly named in these canon novels, details such as Thrawn’s encounter with the human ship and using it to set up a trap and contact the Vagaari, a rival civilization in the Unknown Regions, and the death of his brother Mitth’rasa’ safis, all still remain are part of Thrawn’s canon background.

Will this ship ever be revealed as Outbound flight– and whether his legacy can be linked to him Star Wars continuity of current extragalactic storytelling Peridea and the original Nightsisters– this remains to be seen. Stranger things have certainly happened.

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