EU Discussion Book

Intro to the EU

  To our relief, after posting the intro to the EUStrikeTeam, we realized there are actually some more EU fans here. That's great! But we're hoping to meet some newcomers as well, so just in case you are new to Legends, here's a rough crash course of the EU, some major characters, wars, events. This is basically just a vocabulary breakdown of a lot of things we'll be talking about frequently. So, let's start out with characters.

WARNING: some spoiling, but will eventually be explained in book reviews.

MAJOR EU characters:

Mara Jade Skywalker- a.k.a. Emperor's Hand

Mara is awesome. There's no better way to put it. She's witty, sharp-tongued and supreme mother bear. First featured in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, Mara Jade's history consists of being like a personal aide to the Emperor due to her Force capabilities. Whenever Palpatine needed something done(or someone dead), he'd most likely send Mara out to do the job. After rumors started spreading that Luke Skywalker had been the one to kill her master, Mara set out to destroy the Jedi. However, after some time of the two chasing each other and many abandoned attempts on Skywalker's life, the two enemies fell in love and Mara became Luke Skywalker's wife as well as a Master of his Jedi Order and a member of the Jedi Council. Later int the Yuuzhan Vong War, Mara also became a mother when she gave birth to Luke's son Ben. Mara is known for her bright red hair and jade green eyes.

Jaina Solo- a.k.a. Sword of the Jedi, Trickster Goddess

Daughter to Leia Organa and Han Solo as well as older twin sister to Jacen Solo, Jaina was born into a very strong family, Force-wise and social power-wise. Having grown up used to fighting the galaxy's wars, Jaina's behavior towards life constantly changes with every struggle. Pragmatic, witty, and stubborn, Jaina is a pretty good mix of both her parents, but most certainly takes after her mother in looks as well as her work habits, constantly finding something to do to help the cause. She is also well known for being an ace pilot, having been Rogue Eleven for Rogue Squadron and started Twin Suns Squadron which quickly was a bust with too many newbie pilots.

Jacen Solo-

Younger one of the Solo twins, Jacen is very thoughtful and mindful of the Dark Side. Loving and caring, Jacen has a deep love for creatures of all kinds. Bearing a very curious personality and a respect for the Force, Jacen spends a lot of time trying to find the line between the Dark and the Light, always wondering where the boundary between the two is drawn. In his thoughtful ways, Jacen is more like his mother. Like his sister, he has dark hair and eyes.

Anakin Solo-

Anakin was also born to Leia and Han, being the youngest of the parents. Named after his biological grandfather, Anakin was wary of the Dark Side and, all his life, feared becoming the same monster his grandfather became. Anakin was rather impatient, pragmatic, and possessed a reckless kind of confidence much like his father. Anakin's talents lied more with mechanical work and intellectual activities. He was noted to be more powerful in the Force than even his two older siblings and displayed some proof when he defeated many Yuuzhan Vong warriors on a mission to Myrkr. He was very close friends to Jedi Knight Tahiri Veila. Many who knew them both were sure they would have developed a strong relationship. Unfortunately, such chances were ended when Anakin died at the age of fifteen on a strike team mission to Myrkr where his siblings, Tahiri and others witnessed his death.(This is why we call ourselves the Strike Team!) Ironically, the Solo child bore a resemblance more to his uncle and grandfather with icy blue eyes and sandy hair.

Tahiri Veila-

Okay, this is a really complex character. Prepare for the ultimate rant! Tahiri is pretty stinking awesome, too! She was born on Tatooine, but her parents were killed when she was very young. Then, she was raised by Sand People until she was discovered by Jedi Master Tionne Solusar for her Force-sensitivity and was brought to the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. It was there that she met Anakin Solo and the two became fast friends.
During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Anakin realized the enemy was planning to invade Yavin and hurried there to warn all the Jedi stationed at the Academy. During the mess which ensued when the Vong arrived, Tahiri was kidnapped and "Shaped" by the aliens to make her think she was a Vong and give her memories of growing up as one of them. The process was nearly complete when Anakin rescued her. However, Tahiri still had memories of the Vong and now knew their language, many traditions and other practices of the Vong. This made her a great asset to the Jedi during the war.