Scourge

Scourge is a Star Wars Expanded Universe novel written by Jeff Grubb, set 19 years after A New Hope and 15 years after Return of the Jedi.

Jedi apprentice Toro Irana succumbs to an inexplicable rage that sends him falling fourty stories to his death during a mission. Jedi archivist Vander Zuma is sent to investigate the causes of his student’s death, and to continue Toro’s mission. What follows is a murder-mystery novel involving Hutt clans, spies, revenge-hungry Rodians and spice traffic.

"Mander: We had a falling-out."
 * Action Girl: Reen Irana and Angela Krin, most of the time.
 * Awesome By Analysis: Mander.
 * Badass Bookworm: Mander, of course. He’s an archivist after all.
 * Combat Pragmatist: snagged your lightsaber in your clothes? Roll out of the way until you get it out… backwards. Oh well, just use it to punch the bad guy in the gut then.
 * Dead Guy, Junior: Reen and Eddey’s brand-new ship, the New Ambition, named after the recently blasted-to-bits-then-crashed Ambition.
 * Disney Villain Death: how Mander disposes of Parella the Hutt.


 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Popara the Hutt is genuinely concerned by his son’s disappearance. It’s apparently a rare trait among Hutts.
 * Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: can’t understand why the Jedi won’t join him.
 * Expecting Someone Taller: many people mention that Mander looks too normal to be a Jedi.
 * Fantastic Racism: Hutts vs. Bothans is often alluded to, and Humans vs. everyone else shows up on Endregaad.
 * Insistent Terminology: Mander is an archivist, not a librarian.
 * Ludicrous Gibs: ’s death. Huge body goes boom, sending internal organs flying everywhere.
 * Jedi Mind Trick: Mander uses it twice. The first time is to take care of a small-time drug dealer on Endregaad. The second time is to prove to Angela that used one on her.
 * Nice Hat: Eddey steals one after a fight and keeps it for a while.
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat: the Corporate Sector Authority is almost entirely made of these.
 * The Plague: planet Endregaad suffers from one.
 * Revenge Before Reason: the Bomu clan of Rodians. Also, Zonnos.
 * Sibling Rivalry: Zonnos lets Mander know that if he doesn’t find Mika alive… that’s okay, too.
 * Sickly Green Glow: Varl, the Hutt homeworld.
 * Shoot the Hostage: Mander’s solution when Zonnos takes Reen hostage. Needless to say, she wasn’t too happy with the decision.
 * Technical Pacifist: Mander is even more adverse to fighting than most Jedi. He’s still moderately good at it, though.
 * Unstoppable Rage: a drug-induced one starts the story. As it happens, it’s one of the main effects of the drug Tempest.
 * The Voiceless: most of the time, everyone’s first impression of Eddey Be’ray. He’s not mute, he just doesn’t speak much to people he doesn’t know and trust.
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: ’s tactic.