Thread by @JoinTheSchwarz

Welcome to another deep-drive thread boosted by quarantine boredom. This time we are going to look into my favorite not-IU Star Wars reference book from the Disney era: @pablohidalgo and Kemp Remillard's "Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide"

The usual rules apply:
-A page-by-page analysis
-Everything contained to one single easily-muted (cough) thread
-One picture per thread but never scans or pictures from the book (buy it, it's been a while and it's cheap now)

What's this guide? It's a combination visual dictionary/cross-section book about Rogue one, the first and best Star Wars spinoff movie

Why now? Why this late? Well, I had to get it out of storage. What? I live in a little house.

Also my copy is signed by both author and artist. I bet you feel jealous now!

...

No?

...

Cough. Okay, let's get it started.

FOREWORD

Who else but John Knoll could write the foreword? He started the ball rolling on "The Planet Killer", remember. He talks about nostalgia for nostalgia's sake not being worth anyone's time, and I couldn't agree more. This movie straddled that line very well.

OVERVIEW

We start with my catnip: a galactic map. We hear how the defeat of the Separatists gave the Empire a territory far larger than the Republic's ever was, and how this caused a massive military buildup to happen. And this war machine is usually housed in the Outer Rim.

The map includes most significative planets to that date, most significantly perhaps Lothal from Star Wars Rebels.

We get small sidebars about Lah'Mu, Jedha, Eadu and Scarif. No Kafrene (perhaps due to it being a late addition) although it appears in the map

Pic source: EW

There's also a small timeline called "Countdown to War" using a BR1 (Before Rogue One) format.

I can't want to see the headlines reading "Lucasfilm Just Changed The Star Wars Timeline - Again!" If you see any in the near future, please leave them here.

The timeline covers the space between The Phantom Menace and Rogue One, showing most expected events. I *think* this was the first place to show Mon Mothma's defection happening 2 years before Yavin, as Rebels would eventually show us.

CHAPTER 1: A FRAGILE PEACE

We move now to the time period shown in the Rogue One prologue.

The text tells us that it's been six years since the Clone Wars and that the Empire is strong. Many wary about the new government have tried to escape it.

LAH'MU: PEACEFUL SANCTUARY

Lah'mu (Neimodian word meaning "prosperity") is a small unremarkable planet in the Outer Rim. Its silica rings are formed from the remains of a natural satellite long gone.

Curiosity: the local biosphere transforms iron into chlorophyll. Science!

LIFE ON LAH'MU

The next page tells us four facts about the Ersos life on Lah'mu: it's sparsely populated (500 settlers on its western hemisphere!), they grew crops to subsist, own a homestead and 65 hectares, and had to carefully purify all their crops from volcanic residue.

They acquired the land through several fronts thanks to Saw Gerrera. We saw their arrival here in the closing chapters of Catalyst, one of the best movie direct-tie-ins... maybe ever. We'll be seeing many more connections between that book and this one.

PURIFICATION VAPORATORS

The vaporators seen in Lah'mu are Pretormin GX-8, the same seen on Tatooine. Here they distill and purify water from air, as the underground water in the volcanic world is not potable.

CORUSCANT TIES

We briefly move even further back in time now, to the time shown in Jyn's dream. We read a very short summary of the events in Catalyst: the Ersos' captivity in Vallt, Krennic's rescue of them, Lyra's mistrust of their apparent savior.

Really good novel!

Taking a short break, but we return with an in-depth look at Lyra Erso.

And yeeeeees, we'll start seeing all the deep references you crave.

LYRA ERSO: COMPASSIONATE CONSCIENCE

Section opens with a sidebar again referencing events from Catalyst: her meeting Galen in Espinar, her moving to Coruscant with Galen as he worked on the energy field, and her being the first to recognize the truth behind their benefactors.

We read that Lyra studied the Jedi philosophy. It's left as a possibility that she ever contacted the Church of the Force.

The Church of the Force is a concept from the Underworld TV series. Lor San Tekka from TFA was a member of said movement.

This spirituality is seen not only in the kyber pendant she passed on to Jyn, but in the Jedha scarlet vestments she now dons.

Yup. she wears the Red Sash of the Enlightened, like Chirrut. I wonder if this is a nod to her early conception as a fugitive Jedi.

Lyra's data file tells us more about her. She was born in Aria Prime, as mentioned in Catalyst. She studied in the University of Rudrig, like Viurre and Kiili from Han Solo and the Lost Legacy (first Daley nod!)

Curiosity: she wears a sativa plant-fiber robe. You know: hemp. Fold up the 420 flags, kids.

She owns a comlink with a coded channel to Galen and Jyn. I know we see it on-screen, but it made me think of the very traumatizing opening scene of Ewoks: The Battle of Endor. Not okay.

That's it for Lyra. We'll return next with a look at the Erso homestead, including mmmmmmaybe my favorite two-page spread in the whole book!

ERSO HOMESTEAD: SERENE SANCTUM

Yay alliteration!

Some more Lah'mu backstory: the Republic's Ministry of Economic Development incentivized settlers to move to the Outer Rim.

This office was mentioned in KOTOR supplemental materials, and was mentioned in Propaganda.

This campaign was an absolute failure, but it left the Ersos with a few sparsely populated but surveyed worlds to hide in.

Yay to silver linings

Most of the homestead is underground, heated by geothermal convertors built by Galen Erso.

We get a few nice shots of the interiors, making you love even more all the production designers. These movies are made with care, people.

Several props adorn the page, including Galen's "Blissex-head" screwdriver (well, "bit turner") I've told this before, but I will again.

WEG introduced us to two spaceship engineers: Walek Blissex (made ships for the Republic, defected to the Alliance) and his daughter Lira Wessex (designed the Imperial Star Destroyer, staunch Imperial.) Their feud and lives were featured in a couple of fondly-remembered modules.

So Blissex-head and Wessex-head turners were introduced in some TFA materials as the spacey equivalent to Phillips-head and flat-head screwdrivers. Some good fun.

We take a brief look at Essie (SE-2), the Ersos' labor droid, and we are reminded that he's very loyal. He warned them of Krennic's approach.

Finally, we see the family's battered speeder, kept for scrap bits. It's labeled as a Gian V-44, and you might remember the Gian V-19 from The Phantom Menace. There's another Gian in TFA, so the line appears to be pretty successful!

JYN'S TOYS: A SIMPLER TIME

Do you remember Jyn gathering her toys in Rogue One? Well... they get a full two-page spread, and it's delightful. Most of them, if not all, appear to be homemade.

Are we going to look at them one by one? Oh hell yeah we are.

First we have "Abommy the Gig." People always say that it looks like a Wampa, but I suspect it's supposed to be a Gigoran (WEG species, also in this movie.)

And "Abommy"... well, it does look like a certain abominable snowman.

Next, "Stormie", a stormtrooper doll that was prominently featured in the EW photoshoot.

She also has homemade toys representing an astromech, a TIE Fighter, an Eta-2 starfighter, an ARC-170, a Corellian corvette, a Venator, and a Separatist Dreadnaught. Jyn the fleet junkie!

More dolls: "Opee Opee", probably a toy Opee sea killer of TPM fame. "Sniksnak" a pet shaak, from AOTC. "Longee", a giraffe-like creature that I'm not sure what it could be... but probably prequel-related, if I had to bet on it.

Or not, because "Tinta the Snow Lizard" is clearly a Tauntaun (and sounds like a mispronounced one, as well.)

She has two tooka dolls: one, a pretty realistic one, is called "Koodie"; the other one is called "Starrie" and yes, it's pretty much like Numa's doll from The Clone Wars. Attention to detail!

"Mr. Iggy" is, amusingly, an IG-series droid.

"Bad Mister Goob" is a pretty scary villain: I don't know if it references anything, so let me know if you do! It reminds me of Apocalypse!

And I left my favorite one for the end: "Lucky Hazz Obloobit." It would appear that Jyn named a doll after Catalyst hero Has Obitt, who she probably remembered as one of the people who helped her family when she was very little. An adorable touch.

And that's all for tonight. Not even half-done with the first chapter!

Join me next with a look at Krennic's shuttle and the very, very, very scary death troopers. See ya!

KRENNIC'S SHUTTLE: DELTA-CLASS T-3C

Look at this thing! Can technology look malignant? Yes it can. "But technology is neutral!" Of course it is, kid! That's why we use atomic warheads as paperweights!

We read that it was never a popular model, but Krennic liked its looks.

The shuttle is, like all other shuttles named after Greek letters, a product of Sienar Fleet Systems and Cygnus Spaceworks.

Did you know that Cygnus originated as fanon? They were first named in some old very-well-made blueprints for the Lambda shuttle.

Unlike the Lambda, the Delta offers little in the way of comfort. It's a brutalist nightmare often used by Krennic and his six death troopers. They don't even hail landing ports: they expect them to check their transponders. Krennic is such a damn brat.

Captain Pterro, Krennic's aide, commands this shuttle. He privately calls it Pteradon (nerd) because Krennic refuses to do something as sentimental as naming his shuttle. It's Imperial shuttle ST-149, and that's enough.

The cross-sectional view is, of course, a work of art. Did you expect any less from Remillard? We get to see the manufacturers of some of their components, including usual suspects like SFS or Taim & Bak. I appreciate that the WEG nomenclature is followed, but that's probably me.

Oh, and in case you didn't love-to-hate Krennic already, we are told that despite his being afforded personal docking bays in the Death Star, Eadu and Scarif, he's incensed that they are secondary to the ones allocated to Tarkin.

This guy.

Oh, nearly forgot: we find out that the SFS/Cygnus shuttle line is called Abecedarian. The Sienar marketing department probably thought that Alphabetical was too simple and harder to trademark.

DEATH TROOPERS: ELITE SOLDIERS OF THE EMPIRE

My favorite of the new stormtroopers, for sure. An elite unit created to protect key personnel and facilities, recruited by Imperial Intelligence and subjected to classified medical procedures to enhance their abilities. Creepy.

Another window into Palpatine's craftiness: we read about his ability to recast old symbols into New Order icons. Think of Hitler and the Roman Empire. WEG mentioned this often, with his using Mandalorian lines for the Red Guard or his use of Atrisian rhetorics.

The Death Troopers were another example: they got their name from a legend, a rumored ultrasecret Imperial project designed to animate dead people. The use of that name and their striking black armor helped their scary reputation grow.

This is, of course, a reference to Legends-era zombie novel Deathtroopers, by Joe Schreiber. An oddity at the time, but one I've come to appreciate with time.

These zombie deathtroopers joined modern lore thanks to Star Wars: Commander, as a special Halloween campaign.

Anyway, the real non-zombie death troopers protected officers within the Tarkin Initiative, a secret think tank within the Advanced Weapons Research division.

The Tarkin Initiative was first mentioned in the Darth Vader comic. A hint of things to come? Retroactive continuity? 🤷‍♂️

We'll be seeing more about the Initiative later on. What matters is, Krennic appears to love his death trooper guard and goes with them everywhere.

Did you know that death troopers were intended to look good next to Krennic, like a reverse of Vader and his stormies in ANH?

We learn that death trooper armor is coated in a new polymer known as reflec.

Reflec was first seen in The Kathol Outback, part of the DarkStryder Campaign. It was also said to be what covered Blackhole's stormtrooper's armors, from the Manning comic strip.

The nameless death trooper featured in the data file has most of his information classified, but he belong to Unit TI-23 "The Undying." He's an expert in demolitions, improvised weaponry, and guerrilla warfare. It feels like Larry Hama wrote his filecard, so thumbs up.

PEACE DISRUPTED

A gorgeous two-page spread tells us the sad story of Krennic finding the Ersos. Jyn hiding in the hatch, a drill she has practiced countless times. And the cost that Krennic made Galen pay for his initial refusal to go back.

Heartbreaking.

Join me next when we start with chapter 2, looking into the Alliance: goals, organization, equipment, and personalities. "It's going to be a long one", he threatened.

CHAPTER 2: REBEL ALLIANCE

"A tempestuous union of star systems" is a pretty good description. The introduction page tells us that they are outnumbered and divided, and that they need to come together if they are to carry the torch of hope.

JYN ERSO: ROGUE TURNED REBEL

There she is. A grown-up Jyn. A survivor who hasn't heard her own real name in years, escaping her past grief with recklessness and defiance, but fighting just to live another day.

The text gives us three of her aliases. "Liana Hallik" we already know from the movie. "Tanith Ponta" appears in the other great tie-in novel, Beth Revis' Rebel Rising; the Pontas briefly become Jyn's adoptive family.

Seriously, how good were this movie's books?

The last one, "Kestrel Dawn", is likely a reference to Raleigh "Kestrel" Dawn, from Pablo's old Rookies comic strip, that adapted a couple of WEG adventures. She's based on the character once played by a friend of his, I believe! Very cool nod!

Alliance Intelligence knows of Jyn's connection to Galen and decide to spring her out of prison. She's unimpressed with the Rebel brass and doesn't appreciate being briefed while still in binders. I hadn't thought of that, lol.

Her remarkable martial skills come, of course, from her time with Saw Gerrera, who rescued her from Lah'mu. Saw abandoned her five years before, not doing anything good for her already existing feelings of abandonment.

The data file gives us her planet of birth as Vallt, as seen in Catalyst. And yes, she's supposed to be 21. Ah well, Star Wars and ages.

Her comlink, a 2-MAL, is probably a previous version of the 3-MAL used by Rebels in Hoth. What? Too nerdy?

Her crimes against the Empire are listed again, this time classified as Class One and Class Two infractions.

This references the Imperial Reference Code (ImPeRe) from WEG, that I've lauded before. Crimes can go from Class Five (minor fine) to Class One (death penalty.)

JYN'S MISSION

The next spread shows as Jyn and Cassian getting ready to leave Yavin 4.

The Wobani prison vehicle is explicitly identified as a HCVw A9. The one in ROTS was a HCWv A6, and the earlier WEG iteration was an A5. A proud line of big tanks!

We see a brief appearance by General Draven, but we'll see him again later. We are told their mission is dubbed Operation Fracture, the same name used in the novelization and in Jason Fry's excellent Rebel Dossier.

Another short break, but we'll return later with a look at Yavin 4 and to Ms. Mon Mothma herself.

YAVIN 4: BASE ONE

We open with a planetary profile of Yavin and its system. Information like the Yavin gas giant having 26 moons is straight from Legends; several sources like one of WEG's Galaxy Guides or Wizards' Geonosis and TORW looked at it in-depth, so why not use them?

The planet picture has two of its continents labeled as Wetyin and Starloft, info straight out of Galaxy Guide 2.

he Massassi temples are simply said to belong to an extinct civilization, so sorry if you really wanted the EU's Sith connection back (you monster)

Also, although often forgotten, the Base One monicker is straight from ANH.

That's it for Yavin 4, other than some really pretty pictures, so let's move on to the entry I feared the most...

MON MOTHMA: LEADER OF THE REBELLION

Mon's entry begins by mentioning that her father was an arbiter-general for the Republic and her mom was Chandrila's governor. Check your privilege, girl. Anyway, this is all EU info; mom was called Tanis Mothma according to the HNN website.

We get a brief mention of her cut ROTS scenes, as well as a couple of pictures. Her reunions with Bail and Padmé in said scenes are said to happen at Cantham House, neatly recovering some old WEG lore from the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook.

We learn that Mon Mothma spoke publicly against the Emperor after "escalating outrages", calling him a lying executioner. Star Wars Rebels depicted this, clarifying that the Ghorman Massacre (another WEG event) was the final straw. She fled Coruscant and resigned her seat.

This public declaration of rebellion eventually gave rise ton the formal Declaration of Rebellion, in case you wondered if Mon Mothma read this whole thing to the Senate: no, she probably didn't.

As the Rebellion is both paramilitary force and political movement, Mon Mothma fills two roles: Chief of State of the civil government, and Commander-in-Chief of the Alliance Forces.

Again: lore from WEG's Rebel Alliance Sourcebook. Get used to it, because you'll see more.

(As some additional trivia, the EU had the head of the New Republic also adopt this title, Chief of State, presumable as a continuation of the Alliance's office. So yeah, blame WEG for the pages and pages of aliens blaring "Chief of State Organa-Solo!")

We get two final nods in her portrait's labels. First, her pendant is called a "Medal of Freedom", recovering the original Visual Dictionary term over the more recent "Hanna pendant" from the Character Encyclopedia.

Don't go! Space jewelry is important!

And second, her haircut is described as "Naylian-style."

Nayli was the city in Chandrila seen in the Nintendo 64 classic Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.

And that's it for Mon. Next, we'll continue with the main Alliance military leaders seen in the movie: Raddus, Draven and Merrick.

ADMIRAL RADDUS: FLEET COMMANDER

Time for a look into our favorite Mon Calamari based on Winston Churchill. Physically, I mean, because as far as I know Raddus is not necessarily pro-genocide.

At the time of Rogue One, he's in command of the Rebel Fleet.

Mon Mothma considers this fleet the most important component of the Alliance Forces. The Council is of the opinion that, if there's ever a victory against the Empire, it will be won in a naval battle.

At this time, the fleet is a hodgepodge of donated and stolen ships, of course. The text mentions Hammerhead corvettes, Dornean gunships, Alderaanian cruiser and Gallofree transports.

The last two are known properties from the OT, but the first two merit a separate mention.

The Hammerhead first appeared in Rebels and then was added to Rogue One, making it an animation-to-live-action transplant. It was based on the Hammerhead from the KOTOR videogames.

The Dornean ship was rescued from obscurity, originally a background model briefly seen in ROTJ. It was named by a fan named Ello137 in the old What's The Story? contest, making it a product of an allied species seen in the very underrated Black Fleet Crisis trilogy of EU novels.

But the fleet is in the process of acquiring "a new and mighty spine." I would say "a mighty fishbone" but that's probably the reason I don't write these books.

Yeah, we are talking about the Mon Calamari fleet!

After the Empire occupied Mon Cala, many Mon Calamari vessels escaped into hyperspace.

And we are talking, as the text calls them, "city-ships." You saw them in The Clone Wars. WEG always called them converted civilian ships, so it's not much of a deviation.

We saw this exodus in the second volume of the Darth Vader comic, published months after this guide. Who knows who had the idea first, but that's the beauty (and frustration) of shared storytelling!

That comic showed Raddus leading this exodus, so of course, he leads the fleet.

The city-ships are being rebuilt into warships in deep-space facilities in the remote Telaris system.

Telaris is briefly mentioned in WEG's Rebel Alliance Sourcebook as the place where Ackbar assumed control of the fleet. So, again, fitting.

Raddus is always with this Fleet, rarely setting foot on Yavin 4. His aides, Caitken and Shollan, are always by his side.

I don't know if it's been established that their race comes from abyssal Mon Cala depth, but it should. Or maybe not: too obvious.

The plan is that, as soon as the Rebel Fleet is ready, it will carry the Alliance's starfighters, reducing the risk of a ground base being discovered.

I've talked about the "large Alliance/small Alliance" tension in Star Wars storytelling before. Here we have it again!

Let's look at Raddus' data file now.

He's 65 standard years. His skin is "chromatosphoric" and aids camouflage, presumably in his native environment. In the real world, chromophoric chemical groups absorb light at a specific frequency and so impart color.

Raddus comes from the polar regions of Mon Cala, and his people's blood is said to be thicker than that of their salmon-colored neighbors. A reputation that Raddus loves to live to: he's not into social pleasantries or waxing poetically about hope and whatnot.

A pause and then we'll return with General Draven, our favorite spook.

GENERAL DRAVEN: ALLIANCE INTELLIGENCE

Let's open this section by talking about someone else than General Draven!

Because as we find out here Draven is "merely" the Intelligence liaison to Yavin 4: the Intelligence director is General Airen Cracken.

Alliance Intelligence was first described in WEG's Rebel Alliance Sourcebook (1990), although its boss wouldn't get a name until the following year's Cracken's Field Guide.

Yeah, he's one of those guys who gets books named after them. Important people!

Cracken appeared all through the EU. In the RPG he "authored" more books and even had his section in the Adventure Journal magazine, "Wanted By Cracken."

He and his son Pash showed their faces from time to time in EU novels, particularly of the Zahnstackpole inclination.

Funnily enough, one of the Falcon's gunners during the Battle of Endor was retconned into being Airen. Why? Who knows.

He's appeared in more recent materials, like Moving Target, Alphabet Squadron, or the Doctor Aphra comic.

But enough about Cracken! Who is Draven?

Draven is a Clone Wars veteran personally trained by Cracken. He served in the Republic's military intelligence, so he personally knows many of the current Imperial military leaders... and what they are capable of.

He worked side by side with the strategists and commander who would form the core of the Imperial war machine, so he knows they go to great extents to ensure Imperial dominance. It's an interesting portrayal: Draven is driven to stop the Empire at any cost.

We see a screenshot of a cut scene where General Merrick confronts Draven after the Eadu fiasco: Merrick considers Draven too coldly pragmatic, too removed from the comradeship that fighter pilots encourage and enjoy.

I think they don't like each other.

Draven doesn't appear to care about Merrick's point of view. Alliance and Empire still haven't started open hostilities, so he knows that victories are not going to be glamorous: his tools are sabotage and assassination, and he doesn't care about recognition or praise.

Now we take a look at his data file. His full name is Davits Draven, he's 45 years old, and he comes from Pendarr III.

Pendar III was first seen in... you guessed it, Wanted By Cracken! It was the homeworld of the Pendarran Warriors.

The Pendarrian Warriors were a military group that fought alongside the Jedi during the Clone Wars. The EU had a few of these, perhaps too many: Freedom's Sons or the Antarian Rangers are other examples.

Can we infer that Draven was part of the Warriors? No, not really.

He was part of Republic Intelligence, not any paramilitary. But the EU was the Warriors be exterminated to almost the last man and woman during the Purge, so I bet this would tint his perception of the extremes the Empire was willing to go. Just my personal take on it.

Since this guide came out, good old Draven finally met his end in the pages of the Star Wars comic. He sacrificed himself, feeling the weight of the guilt over nearly having ruined Operation Fracture. He was personally Vadered, so not a bad end. [In The Arms Of The Angel plays]

Next, the best mustache in the Rebel Alliance, with all my respects to Biggs Darklighter: General Merrick!

GENERAL MERRICK: BLUE LEADER

General Anton Merrick leads the X-Wing, Y-Wing and U-Wing squadrons assembled at Base One but he's also Blue-1, leader of Blue Squadron. He's a veteran at the controls of U-Wings, but he prefers a good ol' X-Wing.

We love his smile.

Like Draven, Merrick is a Clone Wars veteran. He led the Rarified Air Cavalry a Virujansi, his homeworld's defense force.

Virujansi is a world with a long story in Star Wars, and it's cool to see Draven hail from it.

I first knew of Virujansi through an adventure included in the Star Wars Rules Companion, one of the last 1st ed books I ever bought (sadly, the publishers in Spain released a mishmash of 1E and 2E.) The player characters pretend to be the Rajahs of Virujansi, shenanigans ensue!

I always double-check this kind of info with Wookieepedia, and the wiki insists it was actually first mentioned in the ANH novelization. Huh. So I got it off storage (hush) and... so far I haven't been able to find said reference.

Take it as you will.

I wonder if whoever edited that entry was being a bit... overzealous, as Virujansi was indeed given as Gaven Dreis' homeworld. You know, Red Leader from ANH.

Oh yeah, I should add: Blue and Red Leaders come from the same world!

Virujansi and its Rarified Air Cavalry were later featured in Insider #72, in a Holonet News feature that had Anakin leading them against the Separatists and earning his "Hero With No Fear" monicker from the local resistance movement.

I miss Holonet News a lot.

Anyway, after the rise of the Empire, the Virujansi Council was replaced by an Imperial governor and the Rarified Air Cavalry was forces to disband.

Merrick and Dreis politely refused an offer to join the Imperial Navy, retired with honors, and jumped into Alliance's arms ASAP.

More than following any political ideals, apparently our buddies just thought the Alliance's pilots were better and more coordinated than "the unimaginative TIE Fighter forces of the Empire."

Pilots!

A small sidebar tells us that Merrick is particularly protective of U-Wing pilots, who despite being more modest than X-Wing hotshots carry the extra responsibility of ferrying infantry to and from battlefields. They are all work and no glory.

We'll talk about them soon!

Some chain of command info: Merrick leads the Base One starfighter wing, having both Dreis (Red Leader) and Vander (Gold Leader) under his command. In his absence, Jan Dodonna himself is in charge of the fighters (as seen in that little "Star Wars" film.)

Merrick knows that the Alliance will never have a fleet to rival the Imperial Fleet, and he's aware that his starfighters will make the difference.

Rebel fighters are hyperspace-capable: they can strike fast and retreat. The Rebel doctrine since WEG days!

We jump to Merrick's datafile. He's 46 years old and (as seen) hails from Virujansi.

You know, I'm wondering now if his homeworld is a nod towards the fact that the character in the ANH novel that tells Luke that he knew his father is called "Blue Leader"!

His helmet is a Koensayr K-22995. I believe it's the first time we get a manufacturer and model for Rebel flight helmets? Is that possible?!

His flight suit's Diagnostech and Guidenhauser gizmos are all taken from existing lore.

It's the small details you remember as a GM!

And that's it for tonight! Next, we'll be taking a look at Alliance High Command, ie the Rebel Council. Some old faces, some new faces, all Rebel to heart!

REBEL COUNCIL: ALLIANCE HIGH COMMAND

The different cells in Yavin 4 have combined to form High Command and, despite what Imperial propaganda says, the Alliance is quite structured, formed by both a civilian government and a military hierarchy.

Of course, not all cells are that organized (insert here your Star Wars RPG adventuring group that keeps hollowing out R2 units to sneak into Imperial facilities) but Base One is a model of order and efficiency.

Art by @hishgraphics

The upper command is commonly known as the Rebel Council and even though it is a military entity they include several senators in it.

We hear that their meeting can get heated. Yeah, you could say that.

The Alliance feels emboldened by recent successful strikes in Lothal, Garel, and Ord Biniir.

Lothal and Garel are from Rebels, of course. And I guess that getting rid of a Grand Admiral and sectorial Governor and freeing a world counts as a successful strike. Yeah, I'd say so.

Ord Biniir is a world from the old Rogue Squadron comic. In Legends, a battle took place there: a minor victory that was nonetheless very popular because it happened at the same time as the Battle of Yavin. We can assume this time it happened somewhat differently.

Still, all these victories haven't proved the power of the Alliance.

What about the liberation of Lothal? That was major! Well, first, it was not an official Alliance operation. Second, it happened long after this guide came out, dummy. Shit happens.

So the Alliance is kind of split: some believe their future is in negotiating a peace with the Empire, others believe they are past that point, and I guess a few *know* that it's never been an option.

Next, we see a list of Rebel ranks. You know, the small domino pieces thingies.

We read that the Alliance adapted them from the Alderaanian standard. That explains why the guards in the oh-so-diplomatic Tantive IV wore them openly.

So that was the introductory section. In a bit, we'll take a look at the assembled military leaders of the Alliance.

GENERAL PITT ONORAL

This jolly-looking fellow is nothing less than the leader of the Yavin 4 Special Forces division.

Rebel SpecForces was a WEG creation, and we'll be seeing them a lot in future sections!

He was a logistics officer during the Clone Wars, so he has military experience.

Oh, and he actually appeared in the Star Wars comic! Before... well, let's say I'm not 100% sure he's still alive. We'll see why (and lol @ Larroca's "photo-referencing" in this panel)

COLONEL HAXEN DELTO

He's the overseer of a team that basically scour over Imperial and civilian communications looking for usable intelligence. You know, like in Three Days of the Condor.

The Rebels Files called this team Communications, part of Alliance Intelligence.

WEG (of course) had a similar team, the Intentions branch, but never expanded much into communications analysis. Imperial Intelligence did, though. It still makes sense that the Alliance would operate the same (plus, you know, we see them in Rogue One...)

COLONEL BANDWIN COR

This stern man in an Alderaanian jacket is pretty much General Merrick's aide, and he's in charge of day-to-day Starfighter Command decisions. He's the necessary rational counterpart to Merrick, treating fighter resources as that: resources.

Cor works side to side with General Dodonna deciding how to use their fighters in the Gordian Reach.

The Gordian Reach is the area of space where Yavin is, first mentioned in Marvel's Star Wars #25 in 1979.

Bandwin Cor would meet his end met his end in Star Wars #51 a couple of years ago.

Him too? Yup. Author Kieron Gillen got rid of most of High Command there to explain how the heroes rose through the ranks so quickly in ESB.

COLONEL ANJ ZAVOR

Did you know that Dodonna was not the only ANH character recast for Rogue One? Yeah, Anj Zavor was too. You know, Anj. Everyone's favorite character, right?

Anyway, it's believable. Dunno if this was the intent from the start or just a happy retcon.

He's the Base One liaison to the Fleet, to Admiral Raddus himself, and he's part of Fleet Command, keeping communications between Yavin 4 and the always-mobile fleet.

Fleet Command? More WEG? More WEG.

GENERAL BACCAM GRAFIS

No, it's not Rex, stop it.

Baccam Grafis is the Rebellion's procurement specialist, leading the Ordnance and Supply division, looking for fuel and weaponry whenever it's available.

GENERAL DUSTIL FORELL

Forell was in charge of Support Services, taking care of the Alliance's transportation network. At the time of Rogue One, that transport fleet only encompassed a few medium transports and "one military-converted light freighter."

Yeah, probably the Ghost.

MAJOR CAPIN HARINAR

One of Draven's men, he's a materials analyst, carefully examining Imperial technology to assess the Empire's capabilities and plan countermeasures. I bet he resigned once the Death Star was confirmed!

GENERAL JAN DODONNA

You know him, of course, as he had a speaking role in ANH. He's the Sector Command officer for Base One. The base commander, basically. His opinion carries a lot of weight in the Council, obviously.

We read that he was a bridge officer aboard a Jedi cruiser during the Clone Wars and that he served the early Imperial Starfleet until he defected.

The EU had a very thorough backstory for Dodonna, mostly through comics. I thought it was very good.

So that's Alliance High Command.

And guess what?

Yup, it's pretty much the same structure seen in the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook. Boom!

Not the first time this book pulls this trick, as you'll see next.

Break time. Join me next for a look at the Alliance's civil government!

REBEL COUNCIL: REBEL SENATORS

(The term "rebel senator" gives me shivers)

Let's take a look at the Cabinet, the six ministers beneath Mon Mothma (who, as mentioned, is the Chief of State of the Alliance Civil Government.)

Let's post this WEG bit in advance, okay?

Remember that WEG bit about Mon Mothma being an "elected dictator"? Well, that's no longer true: she's wary about wielding too much power.

Why the change? Well, we see her her outvoted in Rogue One, don't we?

The text tells us that Mon Mothma, despite no longer being a member of the Senate, is in contact with her allies there and that support for the Rebellion there is growing.

It's a very delicate time that the appearance of the Death Star could easily ruin.

SENATOR JEBEL

Meet Senator Nower Jebel of Uyter, Minister of Finance. You know him from the movie: he's the necessary coward that wants to sue for peace. Okay, he's not that bad, but I bet that's the perception most people had of him after the movie.

He's the third senator from Uyter we've met, believe it or not!

Lexi Dio was a Loyalist senator seen in AOTC. The EU had her be assassinated during the war.

She was succeeded by Male-Dee, seen in the Delegation of 2000 scenes in ROTS.

So we could easily say that Uyter was one of the founding worlds of the Rebel Alliance.

Their prominence would continue after the Galactic Civil War. We briefly see Nahani Gillen, the New Republic senator from Uyter in TFA, before she goes boom with Hosnian Prime.

Back to Jebel, the text tells us that he's a believer in democracy and still believes that a negotiated peace is possible. He's seen Space Hamilton more than 20 times [citation needed]

He vividly remembers Saw Gerrera's crimes and doesn't want the Alliance to spill more blood.

Of course, as the text tells us, he has no proof that the Empire would accept a peace offering and he's becoming dangerously close-minded.

The Aftermath trilogy would show us that his career survived until the New Republic. A true political creature!

(As extra trivia, WEG told us that the Minister of Finance was responsible from raising money, including raising taxes from Allied worlds (yes, guerrillas and terrorist groups do this IRL) and releasing Alliance War Bonds redeemable 5 to 25 years after the war.)

SENATOR VASPAR

Meet now Vasp Vaspar, Minister of Industry and Senator of the Taldot Sector. He's wearing a cloak with marks that point at him as a veteran of the Battle of Balamak.

This Clone Wars battle was first mentioned in Tatooine Manhunt (see my thread on it!)

His role is to oversee the Rebellion's meager resources. This makes him risk-averse, although he's not opposed to conflict: he just thinks it's unsustainable for the Alliance in their current state. When the Death Star is revealed, he recommends scattering the fleet and hiding.

SENATOR PAMLO

Next is Senator Tynnra Pamlo of Taris, Minister of Education.

Taris, the "Coruscant of the Outer Rim", was the focus of the first act of Knights of the Old Republic, one of the best Star Wars videogames ever made, and has made multiple appearances since.

Just like with Jebel, she's not the first Tarisian senator we meet. We met her Clone Wars era senator in TCW, Kin Robb, and the representative in the New Republic, Andrithal Robb-Voti, in TFA.

Pamlo's amulet is labeled as a "Tarisian amulet of the Robb", perhaps related to the two senators mentioned before.

Are they part of an influential family? Was the Taris level designer someone called Robert? Who knows, but the connection in there.

What does the Minister of Education of a revolutionary group do? According to WEG, both intelligence and propaganda.

Pamlo works closely with Alliance Intelligence and she's seen what the Empire is capable of doing, so she doesn't doubt the Death Star is real.

The next mentions three Imperial atrocities as an example of the truths Pamlo is privy to: Ghorman, Geonosis, and Lasan.

All three have been seen or mentioned in Rebels, where we hear stories of how the Empire "sterilized" Geonosis and massacred Lasan.

As I mentioned before, Rebels mentions that "the events at Ghorman" were the final straw that made Mon Mothma defect.

The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook gives us a description of the Ghorman Massacre, and I wouldn't be surprised it the lore was unchanged.

Pamlo wishes to go back to Taris to consult with her people, as she has no doubt that the Death Star is indeed a planet killer and that her homeworld would become a target: it's not a call she can make by herself.

Not the best timing but hey: understandable.

BAIL ORGANA

And finally meet Bail Organa, former Senator of Alderaan. He's, of course, Leia's adoptive father, first alluded to in the original trilogy and finally seen in AOTC and ROTS. He's one of the founders of the Alliance and will be a martyr of Alderaan.

The text gives us a summary of his actions during the prequels, from his always having been wary of Palpatine to his hosting the meetings that would evolve in the Delegation of 2000.

Replaced in the Imperial Senate by Leia, he's led Alderaan in funding and arming the Rebellion.

And that's it for the Council.

But wait! We were promised six ministers! Who are the Ministers of State and War? Is Bail one of them?

I don't know, but I do know that it's good to leave loose ends in books like these!

Tomorrow, we'll be back to profile two radical Rebel rascals that are soon (hopefully) going to be leading their own series: Cassian and K-2SO.

See ya!1

CASSIAN ANDOR: ALLIANCE INTELLIGENCE

Cassian is a spy, a veteran, respectful of the chain of command and respected for his ability to follow orders and complete operations with minimal resources and support.

He's a badass.

Cassian is in mid-twenties (Star Wars and age!) but he's fought all his life. During the Clone Wars, his father was killed at Carida Academy during a protest against militarism.

Carida and its very important academy have been with us since Jedi Search.

Although never a Separatist, Cassian became a child soldier in a Sep-backed insurrectionist cell, throwing bottles and rocks at clones and walkers.

Hence his "I've been fighting this war since I was six" making sense.

(And yes, before anyone asks: I know there's a Cassian series coming and I know it may or may not respect this backstory. I expect at the very least some alterations. But it's always been part of the game! Just enjoy this for what it is!)

What was this Space Palestine where Cassian grew up?

A world called Fest.

Aw yeah.

Fest is a world from the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, part of the example cell given in it: the Atrivis Resistance Group.

Here's a snippet that I've shared before about Fest's insurrection as described in the RASB.

The text continues telling us that he's learned the hard way that all machinery has a weak spot.

He threw his lot in with "anarchist movements" before being recruited by Draven.

My punk boi Cassian.

(By the way, the ARG was drafted back into canon by Dan Wallace in The Rebel Files, and we learn there that pre-Alliance they were part of Mon Mothma's group. That paints a cool picture of Cassian allegiances that works perfectly with Rogue One.)

A small vignette tells is Cassian has been breaking the law (breaking the law) for two decades, so of course escaping Saw's dungeons was no big trouble for him.

Another small vignette tells us of his meeting with Tivik in the Ring of Kafrene. Yeah, that's it. Latecomer!

Another vignette tells us that this early Alliance relies heavily on operatives like Cassian. He's been pulling acts of sabotage and assassination for a long time, with little rest. He avoids having any downtime, mostly to avoid having time to think about what he does.

Grim.

We get to his data file. His full name is Cassian Jeron Andor, and he's 26 years old. He's spent most of his Alliance career working for Operations, the "direct action" branch of Intelligence.

As we saw the other day, this is another bit from the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook.

The text continues saying that statistics place the odds of an agent surviving 20 field missions around 23%, so Cassian has been moved to Retrieval, hence his helping with the rescue of Jyn.

23ers are another cheerfully grim detail from the RASB. That book is a gold mine.

Next we see a list of his operational aliases. He's a spy, remember.

This is a very fun section, so let's look at all these aliases one by one.

Willix, government agent on Ord Mantell

Willix was Cassian's name in one of the early drafts. This movie went through a lot of changes, and this appears to be a nod to its history. Dunno about Ord Mantell: random or another draft reference, who knows!

Aach, senatorial contact on Darknell

This Aach was Garm Bel Iblis' Rebel contact in Zahn's short story Interlude at Darknell. Continuity bending, baby! Yeah!

Joreth Sward, assistant to Admiral Grendreef

Admiral Grendreef was the villain from classic WEG adventure The Isis Coordinates (that title has aged well). The adventure did show a spy, but it was someone called Ulthar Blaze.

Fulcrum, recruitment agent in Albarrio sector

We know from Rebels that there was more than one Fulcrum! The VR experience Shadows of the Empire has Diego Luna voicing the holographic Fulcrum symbol when talking to the heroes, so here's your reference.

Albarrio is the sector where classic adventure Riders of the Maelstrom happens. This adventure did show us a Rebel spy codenamed "Dagger", but he turned out to be a droid, so probably not a reference to that.

One final nod appears in his transponder's label, that tells us that it hides a "lullaby" suicide pill (again, he's a spy).

This piece of slang is from Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, another gift that keeps on giving.

And that's it for now. Next, Kaytoo!

K-2SO: SECURITY DROID

Guess who's here? It's time to take a good look at the movie's main droid character: Kaytoo!

We find out that even though he's reprogrammed Alliance personnel get startled by his presence in Yavin. The galaxy hasn't forgotten their fear of combat droids, stoked by memories of the recent Clone Wars.

Kaytoo is an Arakyd product, like the Viper probe droids. After the Clone Wars, Arakyd dodged the new restrictions on battle droids by classifying the KX series as "security droids."

As we found out in Scum & Villainy, Holowan pulled the same trick with their IG series.

Kaytoo's original programming included an exception to the usual hardcoded prohibition against harming organics (as Threepio told us years ago) and defaults to immediately obey Imperial officers.

Cassian's reprogramming took all those presets out.

The elimination of said factory settings has a notable side effect: Kaytoo is now brutally honest.

He doesn't appear to care about following orders that much, either. He's a droid with an attitude.

The next section tells us about the KX's anatomy, something Arakyd is very proud of. Their exaggerated proportions help them have a similar mobility to a human athlete: they might look spindly and ungainly, but they are perfectly designed.

Kaytoo's built-in communicator helps him scan Imperial communications with ease, but Cassian often tells him to avoid interacting with these to avoid leaving traces of their presence.

Cassian trusts Kaytoo with his life... but not enough to let him carry a gun.

Kaytoo's obsession with having a blaster? Look, he wants to test his targeting system. That's all.

No, the "blasting meatbag" guy is that other sarcastic droid.

We look at his data file now. Kaytoo was built in Vulpter.

This world was first mentioned as the homeworld of podracer Dud Bolt (called a "Vulptereen" in TPM.) Holonet News later hilariously depicted the local company Arakyd taking over the world.

We also find out that Kaytoo represents a disappearing droid design philosophy: he's versatile and multifunctional, but the industry is moving towards increasingly specialized models.

He can use all kinds of tools and even fly more than 40 different Imperial vessels!

Next, we'll be looking at a variety of Rebel support staff we can see around Yavin!

REBEL SUPPORT: TECHNICAL STAFF

Did you know that running an armed insurgency requires a lot of technicians and mechanics? They get no glory, but they keep the ships and weapons that make victories possible up and running.

(Pic from ANH because it's funny)

Of course, even Rebel technicians are combat-trained. In case of an Imperial attack they are unlikely to end up in the line of fire, but that's because they are too valuable and their safety takes priority.

Without them, the Rebellion would just crumble.

PRIVATE TENZIGO WEEMS

Hey, look! A fan favorite!

Working under Draven, Tenny is part of the signal analysis group we mentioned earlier.

His job is not easy: he needs to make sense of a multitude of reports from automated listening posts from all over the galaxy.

To make things even easier, said reports bounce back and forth through a network of repeaters to make sure the Empire can not locate Base One.

Tenzigo tracks the progress of Operation Fracture from Jedha to Eadu.

Of course, his claim to fame is finding out that Rogue One was blowing stuff up in Scarif and getting the ball rolling.

Without Tenzigo, the Death Star wouldn't have been destroyed.

Be like Tenzigo.

D4-R4B (ARFORB)

This adorable astromech is part of the labor pool in Base One. A programming glitch makes him afraid of heights, so he only works at ground maintenance.

And he works even harder to make up for his glitch! It's not your fault, Arforb! Self-care!

R3-S1 (THREECE)

R3 is a clear-domer astromech, showing off her overclocked Intellex V processor.

Intellex IV processors were mentioned in the original WEG rulebook: it's what R2 units have inside their heads.

Threece has her own personality glitches: she's vain and competitive, having trouble working with others, but she's a great organizer.

So of course she's the chief of the astromech pool. She takes care of technology upkeep all throughout Base One.

Threece was built by Brad Oakley of the R2 Builders Club. Out of universe, I mean!

Probably my favorite part of every Celebration.

We'll return in a bit with the other half of the tech staff!

SERGEANT GALE TORG

Gale is assigned to escort VIPs when they get to Base One. He's wearing an Alderaanian consular security uniform, similar to the one seen in the Throne Room in ANH.

He appears to be inspired by Galen Torg, one of the honor guards from that scene: he was named by WEG's Galaxy Guide 1.

Why wasn't he just kept the same character? His name was *Galen*, you know. So he might be the same guy or not. Your call, honestly.

CHIEF GARN STEWER

Garn is the chief technician at Base One. He's a good-humored man, constantly joking about pilots ruining "his" ships. His tech team has a great rapport with the pilot roster.

He appears to be the kind of guy you want to work with!

His son, Garn Stewer Jr., would go on to become one of the A-Wing pilots seen in TROS, as revealed in the Visual Dictionary.

I'm not a fan of family sagas, but I love these little connections.

R2-BHD (TOOBY)

Tooby is Gold Leader's astromech. He might look unfinished, but he's not!

He's a good-natured and loyal little droid who's been in rebel service for years. He doesn't get why other droids, like Arforb, can be that grumpy: it's illogical.

And that's it for Rebel support personnel.

Next, we are going to take an in-depth look at two Rebel starfighters: the U-Wing and the X-Wing!

U-WING GUNSHIP: UT-60D SUPPORT CRAFT

Here's the U-Wing, perhaps Rogue One's most absolute triumph when it came to expanding the universe. Look at this beauty!

The U-Wing is a well-armed gunship whose purpose is flying into conflict zones and delivering soldiers to the middle of battlefields.

Even though it is classified as a "starfighter" it is more of a support craft.

The U-Wing is powered by four (or two in Rebels!) Incom 4J.7 fusial thrust engines.

X-Wings have been described as being powered by 4J.4 fusial thrust engines since at least the early LucasArts flight simulators.

Its thrusters are described as being "variable geometry thruster ports."

This term, variable geometry, first appeared in the Dark Empire sourcebook, but it was probably made popular by the Vulture droids or "Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Droids."

We learn that U-Wings are the preferred vehicle for extraction vessels as, you know, they actually have passenger seats.

Despite their ground-related role, they are still part of the Starfighter Corps. Thankfully, Starfighter Command and SpecForces cooperate with ease.

The U-Wing has, of course, two flight configurations. When it extends its wings to the back like Naruto it's in the combat-ready flight configuration.

Wingspan is greatly extended. Wings help radiate engine heat and extend the shield's bubble as well.

The power core is labeled as "principle reactor core." Edition mistake or does the U-Wing run on ethics? Your call, reade-- no, it's an edition goof.

Its front laser cannons are Taim & Bak KX7.

The KX-series has been around since the EU. X-Wings are armed with KX9's and Lambda shuttles carry KX5's, for example.

Am I extrapolating RPG stats from this? Oh boy, you know it.

(By the way, Windham's Haynes guide on Rebel starfighters would eventually talk about two- and four- engine variations.)

UT-60D: CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEW

As you were probably expecting, the cross-sectional cut is gorgeous. Let's peek into the sidebars and labels, and see what interesting info we find.

The text tells us that the U-Wing might well be the ideal Rebel vehicle, as it can fulfill so many roles. Medevac? Troop transport? Gunship? Shuttle? This baby can do it all.

Sadly the number of U-Wings in the Alliance's hands is small, so they are very valuable vessels.

The U-Wing was one of the last new designs Incom released before being nationalized by the Empire.

The nationalization of Incom is pretty old lore, at least from the Star Wars Sourcebook. Recent Solo lore supports the Empire nationalizing shipbuilders.

So the U-Wing never saw a full production run. Bail Organa managed to get a shipment of U-Wings to "disappear" and "accidentally" fall into the Alliance's hands.

Oh, there's also a civilian version of the U-Wing: the BT-45D, sometimes found around the Mid Rim.

(This BT-45D is a great starting ship for RPG groups. I know, I'm obsessed. Hush.)

Even though it's equipped with a hyperdrive, U-Wings rarely perform long-range operations: they tend to drop off, extract or drop soldiers, and leave to preserve fuel.

That's it for the U-Wing. We'll be closing this chapter with a look at our old friend the X-Wing!

X-WING FIGHTER: INCOM T-65 STARFIGHTER

The King is back👑

The T-65 has quickly become the ultimate space superiority fighter: there might be ships that excel in particular aspects, but no starfighter is as balanced as the X-Wing.

Incom engineers looked at two of their past products when building the X-Wing: the ARC-170 and the Z-95 Headhunter.

The ARC-170 is from ROTS and was kind of named by Lucas himself (the approved Ryan Church concept art was labeled "ART-170")

The story of the Z-95 is looong... a ship appearing briefly in the first Daley novel, its name later used for some X-Wing concept art by WEG, and finally turned into an on-screen starfighter by Clone Wars.

The X-Wing was intended to become the main starfighter in the Imperial Starfleet, but politics sidelined Incom in favor of Sienar.

This is all pretty old lore. Sienar have always been douches.

Thankfully, the Alliance wouldn't let such great design sit on a shelf gathering dust. They "acquired" them, modified them, and presto: your premier Rebel starfighter.

This idea comes, again, from the Star Wars Sourcebook. The EU portrayed it a couple of times.

Its S-foils (you know, the wings) can split into attack mode, giving the ship better shielding, better weapons coverage, and a reason to be called "X-Wing."

Let's go into the datafile. The ship's model is T-65C-A2.

Fun fact: the Star Wars Sourcebook alternatively labeled the X-Wing as T-65C-A2 and T-65B. Literally two pages apart.

So yeah, officially they are different models, both in use by the Rebellion.

Most of the X-Wing's systems named in here come from a great two-page spread from the Star Wars Sourcebook.

Here's a crappy scan:

And what didn't hail from there, most likely came from the X-Wing videogame. The Krupx MG7 torpedo launcher, for example.

It's very hard to track the OOU origin of components and bits. I only keep track of the Falcon's and that's because of (again) my RPG background.

And with this, we finally close chapter 2.

Next: a very in-depth look at my favorite world from Rogue One, maybe from all Disney-era films.

Jedha!

CHAPTER 3: OCCUPIED TERRITORY

Welcome to Jedha, where Saw Gerrera and his people fight against the Imperial occupation of the Holy City.

I rarely post pictures of the books I go through but... come on, I just had to post this.

JEDHA: ANCIENT SPIRITUALITY

First, let's look at Jedha's planetary profile. It's located in the Mid Rim, very close to the Unknown Regions, and it's a moon of NaJedha.

We wouldn't see NaJedha itself until the Star Wars comic, and... it's kind of weird but pretty.

Jedha used to be very popular until the hyperroute taking to it decayed and fell into disuse. Nowadays only people who don't want to be found or pilgrims looking for answers visit the moon.

And even though some think the moon gave its name to the Jedi, most scholars think it was the other way around. No matter what, their history is intertwined.

Next page we get a few shots of Jedha locations.

The first one tells us that several ancient faiths consider Jedha a holy city, among them the Ninn Orthodoxy, the Zealots of Psusan, and the Phirmists.

The Zealots are an older creation, kind of. This lady seen in the Outlander Club in AOTC is said to have a belly tattoo parking her as a Zealot of Psusan.

And no, I don't know who this "Susan" is. I feel like I knew at some point, but I'm old and forgetful.

The Phirmists come from everyone's favorite series, Join the Resistance, published a few months earlier.

Their name is a tuckerization of Mike Phirman, a comedian friend of Acker and Blacker.

The next picture shows several imperial officers, and tells us that the presence of large kyber deposits has led the Empire to occupy the Holy City and start mining the planet.

By now, we all know what kybers are, right? From TCW to... to everywhere.

The idea that the kyber crystals that empower the lightsabers were used in Sith superweapons and that Palpatine was interested in it was first seen in Crystal Crisis, an unfinished TCW arc. The fully-voiced animatics were released years ago. Pretty recommendable.

The third picture shows a crashed X-Wing in Jedha and tells us of the local rebellion. You can briefly see this X-Wing in the film itself.

And finally, we see the Catacombs of Cadera, where Saw Guerrera has his base of operations. We'll see them in more detail later on.

The last section in the data file is a nice shot of the Holy City, also known as Jedha City as NiJedha (I hate this kind of confusing name, so I'm glad it's barely used.)

Despite the daily violence, Jedha still sees many visitors.

Sure, Jedha is dangerous, but it's a more reliable port than any of the surrounding uncharted systems. Plus some people just want some excitement in their lives.

We get a few labeled locations.

First, of course, the Temple of the Kyber.

Similar to Fortress Vader, don't you think? The similarity in their designs is not accidental, of course.

This temple was inspired by the Temple of Pomojema from Splinter of the Mind's Eye, the very first EU novel. In this novel, based on a discarded draft for an ANH sequel, it houses the Kaiburr crystal.

Nothing ever goes to waste, my friends.

The Temple houses many statues made out of kyber crystal according to the comics.

Well, "housed": in the Catalyst novel, Galen Erso receives some kyber samples that he suspects were stolen from a temple. Ah, those Imperial rascals!

The Temple has its defenders but don't worry: we will give them a really good look pretty soon!

Other labeled locations include the ancient city walls, the Dome of Deliverance and the Path of Judgments.

If you didn't get it by now, Jedha is Jerusalem, Mecca and Tibet all rolled into one. I love it so much.

Next, the fun begins! We'll be talking about some of the Jedha pilgrims! Background characters woohoo!

JEDHA PILGRIMS: SEEKERS OF SALVATION

Some of Jedha's buildings are among the earliest known in the galaxy. The moon is "soaked in history." Dozens of faiths can trace their ancient connections to the Holy City.

Pic: Masada

This makes Jedha a favorite destination for pilgrims looking for some kind of answer to their spiritual questions.

The text reminds us that there are records talking of the Force that are more than 25,000 years old.

The Jedi were their most widespread practitioners, of course, but many other faiths evolved parallel throughout the galaxy. Not all of them *use* the Force, but they all *know* the Force.

The Empire is not fond of such displays of spirituality. After their extermination of the Jedi, they have started eyeing other faiths with suspicion.

Draw your own real-life parallels: you have so many to choose from.

Jedha natives like the Disciples of the Whills are tolerant of outlanders as long as they show the proper respect and peace. They are, of course, pretty spiritual themselves.

The EU has several examples of persecuted faiths, like the Cosmic Balance or the Sacred Way. Universal!

So let's take a look at some of these pilgrims and some members of the native faiths.

Art: @astarwarscomic

TOSHDOR NI

Ni is a member of the Brotherhood of the Beatific Countenance from Lorrd.

Lorrd and Lorrdians were introduced in Han Solo's Revenge, the second Daley novel. They are a human culture, all about body language.

The text alludes to this background, calling their concealing robes a "physical vow of silence." Because you can't see their body language, you know. I thought it was witty.

Other than Fiolla from HSR, Nee Alvar from ROTS was also a Lorrdian.

Toshdor is carrying a censer of Qatameric incense.

Qatamer is a city in Lorrd, mentioned in the excellent Hyperspace feature Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd, authored by the JC's own TalonCard86. Weird flex, I know.

ANGBER TREL

Angber here is representing your average Disciple of the Whills wearing the simple scarlet robes of the order.

They are not as active as their cousins the Guardians of the Whills, but they still congregate around the Temple of the Kyber.

SILVANIE PHEST

Here's another Disciple, this time a recent convert. She's an Anomid wearing a vocoder mask.

Anomids are a WEG species, first appearing in classic adventure Riders of the Maelstrom. They indeed needed respirator masks... and were also all about body language.

Silvanie collects money for the poor, but she like her fellow Anomids are subjected to frequent Imperial searches out of worry they are wanted fugitives in disguise.

(Don't talk about politics in this thread, don't talk about politics in this thread, don't...)

KILLI GIMM

Killi is another Disciple. She hides her human face behind a mask and runs an orphanage adjacent to the Temple.

We see Killi and her sister Kaya as well as the orphanage in the excellent Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka.

THE HIGH PRIEST

Here's the leader of a particular congregation of the Brotherhood of the Beatific Countenance, sporting a blue Lorrdian Cowl of Quiescence.

He's taken his faith precepts to the extreme of stripping himself of a name.

This is something we've seen before in the EU, with a Jedi called only "the Dark Woman" doing this same thing. I don't know how much humility replacing your name by a badass superhero name shows, but okay, you do you.

Probably not a reference, but I thought I'd mention it.

"His followers refer to him only by a keening wail of specific pitch."

This made me giggle so much. Also reminded me of Splash.

Although these are all bros, it's not the first time we meet believers in this Beatific Countenance. Seib Nod from AOTC was a member of the *Sisterhood* of the Beatific Countenance.

It's funny how many religious faiths we just met in the Outlander Club, out of all places.

OMISHA JOYO

Our last pilgrim is a member of the Clan of the Toribota, a nomadic tribe from Isde Naha.

Isde Naha is the capital of Yarith Sector, first seen in a certain Greater Javin gazetteer written by certain galactic cartographers. And I love it so much.

The Toribota believe that Jedha is the first celestial object glimpsed by their ancestors, and that's a cool backstory.

Omisha's hat is intended to resonate "the call of the First Light." Oh, and he carries a water distillery hanging from his neck. Useful for a desert, I guess.

Some fans like to think this Clan of the Toribota is the nameless clan seen killed by Kylo and the Knights of Ren in the TFA "forceback." I don't think it was ever confirmed, but it would be a nice and harmless connection, I guess.

And that's it for now. We'll return with the next two pages of Jedha civilians!

JEDHA CIVILIANS: LIFE DURING OCCUPATION (I)

Despite having been turned into an urban battlefield, life in the Holy City goes on. It's not like inhabitants and visitors have any other choice.

Jedha is in a way a microcosm of the Galactic Civil War: a hard-to-contain struggle between Empire and insurgents with civilians caught in the middle.

And in a place like Jedha, any alley and any square can suddenly transform into a warzone.

The Holy City's population has adapted to the situation. Life goes on.

Despite Imperial restrictions, a black market has flourished. Other businesses make a living tending to the needs of the Imperial troops--and trying to get them to turn a blind eye to their infractions.

Transportation to and from the City is a lucrative business, as landings are only permitted in particular plateaus away from the city.

And of course, there are always ruthless people willing to make money off the situation in any possible way.

A small vignette introduces us to the cultists of the Central Isopter, death-worshipping zealots who visit areas of violence to meditate on mortality.

Introduced in R1, these creepy guys would later resurface in the Star Wars comic fulfilling a similar role.

Isoptera are termites, by the way. At least one of the cultists has a name referencing these insects, as we'll soon see. Is it because of their helmets' colors? Who knows! Might have been a production nickname or something!

THE DECRANIATED

If you've been following my threads, you know them. They've been around, but here is where we first met them.

The Decraniated are victims of a vile medical procedure performed by a certain fugitive surgeon, becoming as subservient as droids.

Wounded victims of the ongoing insurgency are prime candidates to suffer this process. Rumor says they are sold into servitude, stripped of their individuality.

They ones we see (?) in Jedha work at Gesh's Tapcafe. We'd get a better look in Solo.

Tapcafe is an old EU term, hailing from WEG and Zahn's original trilogy.

This particular Decraniated is holding a tray with chav tea. Chav is a drink first seen in classic Star Wars #66.

And this entry starts a "hidden" subplot tieing together several of the Jedha entries, that of the mysterious surgeon and his accomplice. Because, of course, this guide wasn't going to ruin a particular cameo, right?

DOBIAS COLE-TRUTEN

Lovely name.

This gentleman makes a living selling "burrowing silichordates" that he captures. They appear to be these lovely worms.

He works near the kyber mines, giving him some miner's lung equivalent, hence the respirator.

GAVRA UBRENTO

Gavra is a local mechanic. She's great at keeping starships going with little more than spit and a paper clip.

We first met her in Guardians of the Whills, where she had a small role.

WOAN BARSO

Woan smuggles refugees out of Jedha City. His ship is a container tug that could stop working anytime, hence his vac-suit.

We also heard of him in Guardians of the Whills, mentioned as an option neither Baze nor Chirrut liked.

VALWID INED

Ined is a Vobati forger who works with the Partisans supplying them with counterfeit visas to elude Imperial checkpoints.

TAM POSLA

I left the best for last.

Here's the first look we had at Posla, who would become a main character in the Doctor Aphra comic: the best Lawful Stupid gay cyborg ever. Maybe the only one.

He's the best. Seriously. I mean, not *best*, but...

This book introduces Posla as an interstellar lawman from the Milvayne Authority.

Milvayne was a world first seen in WEG's Last Command Sourcebook. Decades later, the Aphra comic really developed it a lot (turns out it's an awful pro-Imperial place)

Tam is well out of his jurisdiction and working as a bounty hunter. He's investigating the creation and sale of Decraniated in Jedha, a case similar to what two visitors called "Roofoo" and "Sawkee" did in Milvayne.

He's been taken off the case by his superior officer, but Tam will see the perpetrators brought to justice one way or another.

Tam Posla in... GALACTIC JUSTICE (I can dream)

Our friend is carrying an IPKC license in his pocket.

That's an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate. A bounty hunter license, basically. Another WEG creation hailing from Galaxy Guide 9 and 10.

If you are intrigued by this plot... it's actually in the Doctor Aphra comic for a good chunk of its original run!

The perfect time to catch up!

That's it for tonight. We'll return with another set of Jedha civilians, and then it's Partisan time!