The New Jedi Order: The Last Admiral
The New Jedi Order: The Last Admiral is a novella by HandofThrawn45 (also known as Gregory O. Scott). It is inspired by an unpublished short story by Dan Wallace.
| Author: | HandofThrawn45 |
|---|---|
| Series: | The New Jedi Order |
| Length: | 21,720 words |
| Source: | AO3 |
| Publication Date: | August 17, 2021 |
| Timeline Placement: | 27 ABY |
| Preceding: | Following: |
|---|---|
| The New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory II: Rebirth by Greg Keyes | The New Jedi Order: Star by Star by Troy Danning |
Synopsis
| The New Jedi Order: The Last Admiral |
|---|
Plot summary
On Rathalay, the former Grand Admiral Grant dreams about the death of Moff Ardus Kaine, whom Grant betrayed to the New Republic as part of his defection twenty years earlier. Waking, he finds himself a guest in the villa of the former smuggler Kaerobani. They talk about the ongoing Yuuzhan Vong War and learn of a battle at nearby Charros. In order to find out more, Kaerobani activates the head of the droid 8t88 to slice into New Republic battle frequencies.
Tahiri Veila and Anakin Solo are en route to Rathalay in a B-wing to assist Jedi Master Yuhlan Sarn and her apprentice Eryl Besa in identifying Yuuzhan Vong spies hiding among the refugees there.
In the Charros system, Captain Pollum Morano commands the fleet carrier Intrepid as part of the Fifth Fleet's Task Force Cloverleaf, which takes on refugees from Charros IV and defeats a Yuuzhan Vong attack force, sustaining significant losses. Immediately after the battle, a call for help from nearby Rathalay arrives: the attack on Charros was a diversion for the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of Rathalay. Commodore Snunb, the commander of Task Force Cloverleaf, takes the remains of the task force to Rathalay to help evacuate the planet.
On Rathalay, Grant and Kaerobani are shocked at the speed and success of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. 8t88 challenges Grant for not even trying to fight back. A speeder carrying Yuhlan Sarn and Eryl Besa approaches Kaerobani's compound and lands, chased by a coralskipper which takes out the compound's shields. Tahiri Veila and Anakin Solo track the two Jedi to the compound in their B-wing and join them as well as Kaerobani, Grant, and 8t88 in planning a desperate escape.
Above Rathalay, Task Force Cloverleaf is caught in a Yuuzhan Vong interdiction field spanning much of the system. Commodore Snunb's Star Destroyer Resolve and the Majestic-class cruiser Sunbeam hold off the Yuuzhan Vong fleet while Intrepid and her fellow carrier Ballarat take on refugees from Rathalay's most populous continent. Morano receives a report that Task Force Apex, which Snunb had called for help, has been trapped by a Yuuzhan Vong interdictor elsewhere. Desperate, Morano calls his old commander Etahn A'baht for help.
At Kaerobani's villa, the Jedi fight off Yuuzhan Vong warriors, who destroy the B-wing and kill Kaerobani as he tries to reach his shuttle. Tahiri retrieves 8t88's head before getting on the shuttle, and Yuhlan Sarn sacrifices herself to cover their escape. Grant reaches the shuttle at the last moment. As they take off, a Yuuzhan Vong warrior clings to the shuttle; Grant launches 8t88's head at him, pushing him off the shuttle.
In orbit, Task Force Copperleaf is retreating. A Yuuzhan Vong cruiser analog dispatches grutchins, which destroy Ballarat and parts of Nexu Squad. When Intrepid is breached by grutchins, Captain Morano orders the affected sections of the ship opened to vacuum. Yuuzhan Vong frigates destroy Resolve's bridge, likely killing Commodore Snunb, and command of the task force falls to Captain Morano. Morano cedes command to Captain Vatrim on Sunbeam, and leaves the bridge to Lieutenant Floran Welby while he goes to help repair Intrepid's remaining engine.
Outbound from Rathalay in Kaerobani's shuttle, the Jedi and Grant approach Intrepid and land in its hangar after being attacked by a grutchin. Having repaired the engine, Captain Morano heads back to the bridge but is intercepted by another grutchin, which he kills using a grenade at the cost of his own life. Grant and the Jedi reach Intrepid's bridge, where Lieutenant Welby informs them of Morano's death. Grant attempts to take command, telling Welby to order a command on the Yuuzhan Vong's yammosk ship. Anakin Solo speaks out against letting Grant dictate their actions, while Tahiri Veila is in favor. Lieutenant Welby relays Grant's suggestion to Captain Vatrim, and three K-wings from Nexu Squad as well as some T-wings from the local defense force head for the yammosk ship. To distract the Yuuzhan Vong fleet, Grant sends an open transmission challenging the enemy to come and get him. The distraction works and the yammosk ship is destroyed, allowing the New Republic ships to stop the Yuuzhan Vong advance, though the interdictor still remains well defended.
While the Intrepid's bridge crew deal with their grief, Grant asks Anakin Solo for advice on a strategy against the Yuuzhan Vong. He reveals he is not afraid to die and wants to challenge the Yuuzhan Vong commander to a starship duel so that the rest of the fleet can get close to the Yuuzhan Vong interdictor.
Etahn A'baht arrives in the Rathalay system with six ships of the Dornean Navy. While A'baht and his first officer Kiles L'toth are trying to figure out the current chain of command in the system, they receive Grant's open transmission challenging the Yuuzhan Vong commander to a duel. Grant has transferred to the gunship Farlight, which he takes into the space between the battle lines. The Yuuzhan Vong commander Warral Chark meets him in a gunship analog, but after the first exchange of fire, Grant charges the Yuuzhan Vong line. Some of the picket ships guarding the Yuuzhan Vong interdictor move to intercept him, which gives the Jedi apprentices Besa, Solo and Veila enough space to reach the interdictor in their starfighters and destroy it. The Farlight is rammed by Chark's gunship analog and both ships are destroyed; in his final moments, Grant tells himself he has achieved a finer death than many of his fellow grand admirals.
With the help of the Dorneans, who lose a gunship in the process, the remains of Task Force Cloverleaf manage to flee the system. A'baht and Welby reflect on their losses, and A'baht announces that he will take his complement back to defend Dornea against the Yuuzhan Vong.
In the Jedi refuge on Eclipse, Anakin tells his siblings Jacen and Jaina about his experiences. Jacen helps Anakin resolve his conflict over whether he should feel grateful to Grant, who only helped them for one last moment of personal glory but still saved many lives. Jacen and Jaina announce their plan to form a Jedi starfighter squadron similar to the Wild Knights, and Anakin say he will bring Eryl Besa into it. The three siblings reassure each other that they will stay together until the end.
Appearances
Characters
Dramatis personae
- 8t88, defective administrative droid
- Etahn A'baht, a Dornean general
- Eryl Besa, Jedi apprentice
- Octavian Grant, former Grand Admiral
- Kaerobani, retired smuggler
- Pollum Morano, captain, Intrepid
- Yuhlan Sarn, Jedi Master
- Anakin Solo, Jedi apprentice
- Tahiri Veila, Jedi apprentice
- Floran Welby, first officer, Intrepid
Other characters
- Alax
- Warral Chark
- Ardus Kaine (Mentioned only)
- Kilama
- Kiles L'toth
- Syub Snunb
- Vatrim
Events
Vehicles and vessels
Continuity
Tahiri Veila refers to the Yuuzhan Vong as "Vong" multiple times in this story. This seems to conflict with Edge of Victory II: Rebirth, the book preceding this short story in the timeline order, in which Tahiri admonishes Anakin Solo for saying "Vong" instead of "Yuuzhan Vong," as it is considered an insult among the Yuuzhan Vong.
The Thunderhead and the Garland, both of which are destroyed during the battle of Charros in this story, share their names with two Fifth Fleet warships that were destroyed at the battle of N'zoth in 17 ABY.[1][2] It is unclear whether the Thunderhead and Garland in this story are supposed to be the same ships, either included as an oversight or assumed to have been restored, or new ships given the same name.
Task Force Cloverleaf is referred to as "Task Force Copperleaf" five times in the story. As "Cloverleaf" appears more often (11 times) throughout the story and the "Copperleaf" references are clustered in two sections in the middle, this article assumes that "Cloverleaf" is the correct designation.
Sources
- The New Jedi Order: The Last Admiral on FanFiction.net
- The New Jedi Order: The Last Admiral on ArchiveOfOurOwn.org
Notes