Star Wars Imperial Commando: 501st
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| Author | Karen Traviss |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Star Wars Republic Commando |
| Subject | Star Wars |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey |
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Publication date
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October 27, 2009 |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 464 |
| Preceded by | Republic Commando: Order 66 |
Imperial Commando: 501st is a novel by Karen Traviss. It is a continuation of the Republic Commando Series. The book also contains a preview of Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil.
Due to canon issues with the Clone Wars television series, Traviss did not write a sequel to Imperial Commando.
The Clone Wars are over, but for those with reason to run from the new galactic Empire, the battle to survive has only just begun....
The Jedi have been decimated in the Great Purge, and the Republic has fallen. Now the former Republic Commandos—the galaxy's finest special forces troops, cloned from Jango Fett—find themselves on opposing sides and in very different armor. Some have deserted and fled to Mandalore with the mercenaries, renegade clone troopers, and rogue Jedi who make up Kal Skirata's ragtag resistance to Imperial occupation. Others—including men from Delta and Omega squads—now serve as Imperial Commandos, a black ops unit within Vader's own 501st Legion, tasked to hunt down fugitive Jedi and clone deserters.
For Darman, grieving for his Jedi wife and separated from his son, it's an agonizing test of loyalty. But he is not the only one who will be forced to test the ties of brotherhood. On Mandalore, clone deserters and the planet's own natives, who have no love for the Jedi, will have their most cherished beliefs challenged. In the savage new galactic order, old feuds may have to be set aside to unite against a far bigger threat, and nobody can take old loyalties for granted.
The book starts off three weeks after the end of the Clone Wars and the declaration of the new Galactic Empire under the new Emperor Palpatine's rule. Darman and his brother Niner, who has healed from his spinal injury on the night of Order 66, are now under rule of Darth Vader's 501st Legion. The purpose of Vader's organization of clones remaining loyal to the Empire after the Clone Wars is to hunt down and kill any remaining Jedi, especially Masters and maybe Knights, but bring back Padawans for the Emperor's Hand to train as dark side users. Along with this Jedi hunting objective is to hunt down for any Jedi sympathizers and clone stragglers who have left Palpatine's rule, such as the clone members of Clan Skirata. Darman is having an inner struggle with himself as he tries to pull himself together from his wife Etain Tur-Mukan's death. Initially, the squad that Darman and Niner are recruited in incorporate two clones trained by Corellian sargeants, Bry and Ennen, and Bry is killed in the first mission in hunting Jedi. Bry is soon replaced by a Spaati-grown clone, Rede, and after Ennen terminates a thug suspected to be a Jedi, he commits suicide by pointing a blaster in his mouth. Not looking for any replacements on Ennen, the squad decides to be a three-man deal, and Rede is granted respect by Darman and Niner when he single-handedly kills a Jedi named Borik Yelgo aboard a space station somewhere in the Outer Rim. Meanwhile, Darman and Niner are introduced to Roly Melusar, who gains great respect by the clones in the 501st Legion, including Darman and Niner, for his no-nonsense attitude, his deep sympathy for the clones as people and soldiers and his deep hatred of not only Jedi, but all Force-users in general, including members of the Emperor's Hand (it is unknown if he knows if Palpatine is a Sith Lord, but it is most likely that he is aware of Darth Vader's power).
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