Fate of the Jedi

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
"You're wrong! You have made your own Order vulnerable. The fate of the Jedi now rests with leaders who are weaker and less experienced than you. That decline will continue until the Order is locked in a hopeless struggle with its government and all but helpless. Then it will die again."

Fate of the Jedi is a nine-book novel series in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, set about two years after Legacy of the Force. It's an attempt to make up for for Jacen Solo's Character Derailment in that series, which was in turn tried to correct for issues from New Jedi Order. The jury's still out on whether it will require an Author's Saving Throw of its own.

Like Legacy of the Force, it's being written by three rotating authors: Aaron Allston, Christie Golden (who replaced Karen Traviss after she dropped out), and Troy Denning.

To Wookieepedia!

  • Outcast (2009)
  • Omen (2009)
  • Abyss (2009)
  • Backlash (2010)
  • Allies (2010)
  • Vortex (2010)
  • Conviction (2011)
  • Ascension (2011)
  • Apocalypse (2012)

Also contains a tie-in series, Lost Tribe of the Sith:

  • Lost Tribe of the Sith: Precipice (2009)
  • Lost Tribe of the Sith: Skyborn (2009)
  • Lost Tribe of the Sith: Paragon (2010)
  • Lost Tribe of the Sith: Savior (2010)
  • Lost Tribe of the Sith: Purgatory (2010)
  • Lost Tribe of the Sith: Sentinel (2011)
  • Lost Tribe of the Sith: Pantheon (2011)

Tropes used in Fate of the Jedi include:
  • Aborted Arc: The way that Jaina breaks up with Jag, only for the relationship to instantly get repaired the next book, makes it obvious that the authors back-tracked due to fan backlash. Not to mention that Kyp/Jaina was teased just before the break-up, and how in Ascension, Tahiri and Jag spend a lot of time together.
  • Achievements in Ignorance: By Allies Raynar has recovered enough from his joining with the Killiks to the point that he doesn't need to stay in the Jedi Temple's asylum anymore. He just didn't realize it without a little prodding.
  • Action Girl: Jaina, naturally. Also, Tahiri once she becomes an agent for Jag.
  • Acquired Situational Narcissism: Relatively minor example but soon after Kenth Hamner is promoted to acting head of the Jedi order he starts calling himself Grand Master Hamner.
    • That's no more narcissism than a Commander that gets "frocked" (a Navy term, sort of a halfway promotion) calling himself "Captain." Grand Master is the title of the head of the Jedi Order. Kenth Hamner is currently holding that post.
      • Temporarily; the point being that at the beginning, he was called Acting Grand Master and, at some point, he insisted they drop the "Acting," which is at best irritatingly narcissistic and, at worst, founded of the belief that Luke may not return from his journey.
      • But to him, Luke may not return. He's optimistic that he will, but with the conditions of Luke's exile, it could be years before he does. He can't be an effective leader if there is a large subset of Jedi wondering in the back of their Force-powered minds if his decisions are what Luke would have done. It's a symbolic gesture of reinforcing the idea that he's in charge and what he says goes. If there are things about his administration that Luke wouldn't approve of, well then they'll have to be cleared up when he gets back.
      • Kenth Hamner ended up breaking under the pressure of his post. He ended up dueling Saba, which resulted in his death. He did realize that he and Daala made the mistake of thinking too much like soldiers (i.e. expecting everyone to just obey their orders and not even try to earn their respect).
  • A Handful for an Eye: Done twice by non-villains in Backlash, once semi-successfully by a Dathomiri against Luke and once very successfully by Dyon.
  • All Your Jedi Temple Are Belong To Us: Subverted. The Jedi leave Coruscant, and the Sith move into their temple. But Barabels don't abandon their nests
  • Amplifier Artifact: The Codex
  • Anti-Hero: Luke Skywalker. From a… certain point of view.
  • Apocalypse Maiden: Ben, in Jacen's vision.
  • Arc Welding: Apocalypse ties in elements from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, explaining that the Father, the Son, and the Daughter, who may have been Celestials, once lived on Abeloth's planet in the distant past. Abeloth herself started out as a mortal woman, known only as the Servant, who came to ingratiate herself with the family of Force-wielders and eventually joined them as the Mother. However, her mortality prevented her from staying with her beloved family forever, and in a fit of madness, she drank from the Font of Power and bathed in the Pool of Knowledge, forever corrupting herself and transforming into the Dark Side entity known as Abeloth. The Father cursed her for her selfish deed, and departed for Mortis with his family, leaving her alone to wallow in her misery and loneliness for millenia. The Son and Daughter later enlisted the help of the Killiks to create Centerpoint and Sinkhole Stations, as a means of keeping Abeloth sealed.
  • Armor-Piercing Question / Armor-Piercing Slap: How Vestara got Rhea to realize that Abeloth had the Sith search team under her thrall.
  • Ascended to A Higher Plane of Existence: It's believed that the Celestials were once physical beings that managed to find a way to ascend into pure Force entities, or maybe it was the other way around.
  • A Simple Plan: Han and Leia just wanted to take their granddaughter pet shopping. Instead they wind up with a Jedi going insane and alien predators getting released and running amok.
    • Although they do end up with a pet nexu.
  • Author Existence Failure: While not a literal example (he survived), Aaron Allston's heart attack delayed Backlash's release for several months.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: The cover of Ascension.
  • Badass Grandparents: Han and Leia still have galaxy saving adventures whilst raising their granddaughter.
    • Grand Lord Vol is very old, very evil, and the most powerful member of the Lost Tribe of the Sith. He's so badass that he actually manages to Mind Rape Abeloth!!!
  • Badass Normal: Many in the series.
    • Boba Fett, who is not afraid to pick a fight with freaking Abeloth!
    • The Void Jumper space marines, who are capable of taking out Sith Warriors with superior tactics and firepower.
    • Dorvan, who manages to resist repeated torture and Mind Rape by the Sith and Abeloth and stay sane!
  • Battle Discretion Shot: This is how Christie Golden's books treat combat, to the bane of some reviewers.
    • Rather this is better or worse than the Gorn in Apocalypse, which artfully describes what a human looks like when they undergo a rapid stop without dampeners as "goo fountains," along with many other vivid descriptions of battle wounds and mutilations.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Ben warns Vestara that drinking from the Pool of Knowledge is not a good idea, since there are things that better left unknown.
  • The Beautiful Elite: The Lost Tribe Sith tremendously prize physical perfection and therefore break Sith stereotypes by being, on the whole, stunningly attractive (and therefore overlaps with Evil Is Sexy). Even a small scar like Vestara's is seen as disfiguring. This is odd, seeing as one of the Dark Side's more reliable and explicit traits is generally that it sort of rots you from the inside out (Palpatine looked like wet paper bag at the end there), and many Dark Siders are especially prone to horribly disfiguring accidents in a possible form of karmic backlash from the Force itself.
    • This is a case were Author Appeal wins out over the Dark Side.
    • Also noted by a number of non-Sith characters in Ascension whenever they encounter a Sith on Coruscant.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Dear god, Ben and Vestara.
    • In Ascension, this gets taken Up to Eleven when Ben decides to break into her quarters
  • Beware the Superman: Brought up a few times in regards to the Jedi. It'd be more convincing it wasn't, well, Daala bringing it up.
  • Big Bad: Abeloth.
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: In Ascension, the Lost Tribe allies with Abeloth. Despite the costs.

Ben: "They’re planning something. And when Abeloth and the Lost Tribe drop out of sight to plan something--it’s going to be very big, and very bad."

  • Big Damn Heroes: In Vortex, Luke and Ben end up getting surrounded by an army of Sith. Then the Jedi reinforcements arrive to save the day.
    • Subverted in Conviction, Luke manipulates Vestara, so that she'll lead the Sith into a Big Damn Ambush!
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Daala, actually. By Conviction, she has reverted back to her old self from the books Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice, and Champions of the Force (The same books where Kyp Durron appeared and committed mass murder). This qualifies as Fridge Brilliance, because her persona from Legacy of the Force and subsequent books was nothing more than a disguise she projected through conscious effort. Pressure and time simply caused her disguise to completely fall apart.
  • Blatant Lies: Vestara's story about how she got her scar… (She was born with it.)
  • Bloodier and Gorier: Parts of Apocalypse read like something out of the Final Destination series.
    • Special mention goes to the "goo fountains"
  • Blue and Orange Morality: How the Aing-Tii view the Force compared to Jedi and Sith. They don't see a light side and dark side. They see a whole rainbow.
  • Body Surf: Abeloth gains the ability to control multiple bodies at once, but her presence tends to ruin the bodies of non-Force users.
  • Brain Bleach: Invoked in Conviction.

Ben: "Dad, if I never see another underground water pumping station or one more droch, I'll be happy."
Vestara: "We still have plenty of cans of droch spray."
Ben: "Yeah, but do we have any bottles of brain bleach?"

  • Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Besides the fact that the Final Battle left Luke near-death and comatose, it is repeatedly implied that they have only temporarily dealt with Abeloth. Ben receives an updated vision of a galaxy in chaos being attacked by Eldritch Abomination tentacles, and in the three months between the climax and the ending, she has already attacked some people despite being vanquished.
  • Bus Crash: Remember Callista? It seems that Luke discovers her as Abeloth on Abeloth's planet, only to discover that Callista had gone to the planet years ago and wound up being utterly devoured by Abeloth.
  • Butterfly of Doom: On Nam Chorios, the fact that the planet is laced with sentient Force-sensitive crystals means that any active use of Force powers means a powerful and destructive Force storm will form somewhere on the planet.
  • Butt Monkey:
    • Kenth Hamner.
    • Vestara, in Conviction at least. She has to deal with being called a Jedi, jumping full speed into a wall, getting soiled on by an infant she's rescuing, etc.
    • Dab Hantaq, for his short appearance, suffers all kinds of abuse from Tahiri merely due to his resemblance to Anakin Solo.
  • Cardboard Prison: The mercenary (Boba Fett disguised as Boba Fett) who breaks Daala out of prison Lampshades this by pointing out all of the inherent security flaws in most modern prisons and takes advantage of all of them.
  • The Cassandra: Since they were raised in an environment that encourages plotting and backstabbing, the Sith are too ridiculously paranoid to trust anything Luke says.
  • The Chosen One: Allana seems to be headed this way with the frequency of people having visions of her sitting on the Throne of Balance (i.e. having some big part to play in leading the galaxy).
    • Anakin Solo however deconstructs this idea in Abyss. He feels it isn't fair for anybody to place all their hopes on one person.

Anakin: Every Jedi Knight has to be his own light, because the light shouldn't go out when one Jedi dies.

    • In Vortex, Taalon sees the vision of Allana and is scared out of his mind of the idea of the galaxy being ruled by a "Jedi Queen." Even Abeloth seems determined not to let this future come to pass. In Conviction, a Sith strike team attempts to assassinate Tenel Ka because they (correctly) fear that she is or will be the mother of the Jedi Queen.
    • By Ascension, Abeloth has decided to do everything to become this Queen, as a stepping stone to godhood.
      • In Apocalypse the reader is told that The Throne of Balance is actually where the being in charge of the FORCE ITSELF sits. Its not just stepping stone to get to godhood, it IS goodhood.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The Sith constantly suffer from this, since it's actively encouraged within their society. Unfortunately, Vestara is never able to shake this off and eventually ends up backstabbing everybody, destroying her relationship with Ben.
  • Cliff Hanger: End of Omen, Backlash, Allies, and Ascension.
  • Contagious Powers: Each of the insane Jedi has exhibited powers that had been learned by Jacen Solo during his five-year sojourn after the New Jedi Order, however, it appears to have been stated that each Jedi never had the opportunity to learn the power from him or the people who taught him.
    • As of Abyss, this is no longer true. The latest insane Jedi displayed the power to alter the molecular composition of metals in order to penetrate them, something Jacen Solo never did. The link with Jacen seems to have been a Red Herring.
  • Comatose Canary: Played straight as a rail with Daala's conversation with a comatose Admiral Bwua'tu.
  • Contrived Coincidence: In Apocalypse, Vestara's final Moral Event Horizon moment depended on her being too exhausted to survive confronting the Sith, Allana being nearby (when she should have been off-world), and having someone witness her action. And even then, she probably wouldn't have crossed it if she didn't have a live grenade tossed at her.
  • Convenient Coma: Admiral Bwua'tu falls into a coma after being attacked by fake Jedi, just so he can't actually tell anybody said Jedi were fake. Becomes an Exploited Trope after he recovers, providing a good cover for meetings of the counter-conspiracy.
  • Corrupt Church: Many see the Jedi Order as this, though Luke is cool.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: A Kuat businesswoman is trying to manipulate the events of the series to oust Daala and revive the Empire.
  • Dark Action Girl: Vestara. She's an extremely good fighter, considering she hasn't been an apprentice for long, and she's only sixteen.
  • Dark Horse Victory: Who gets elected to lead the galaxy? Some nobody, turned terrorist leader, that's who. The fact that this happened is a Violation of Common Sense, although he doesn't stay Head of State for long…
  • Deadpan Snarker:
    • Ben Skywalker, though Vestara also gives him a run for his money.
    • Jaina also programmed her ship's astromech droid to be this.

Jaina: What is it doing?
Rowdy: RUNNING AWAY BECAUSE IT IS SO OBVIOUSLY OUTMATCHED PERHAPS.

  • Death World:
    • The world Abeloth was stranded on was populated with aggressive flora and everything was trying to kill the Sith search team. This happens anywhere Abeloth stays for more than five SECONDS. Her world even reverts back a more normal world once she departs. Animals eat plants instead of the other way around, turns out this is how she feeds and grows stronger.
    • Nam Chorios is another one: on top of the freezing temperatures, winds, and droch bugs/plague, the heroes can't use the force without causing devastating storms.
  • Deus Ex Machina: This being Invoked, in order to stop Abeloth in the ancient past, is Discussed in Apocalypse. In the time of the novels, a Killik hive attempts to exploit this, but turn out to be Wrong Genre Savvy.
  • Deus Exit Machina: Luke and Ben are both unable to deal with Daala consolidating her power because they are elsewhere. Of course, where they are may be more important.
  • Did Not Do the Research: Vestara points out that the biggest weakness the Lost Tribe suffers is their overall ignorance and lack of knowledge about the galaxy as a whole, making them easy to fool.
  • Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Subverted: The Tribe think this mysterious woman is their friend, but she isn't.
    • Played straight in Ascension. The Lost Tribe spend three days, preparing to celebrate Abeloth's visit (including a parade and a Masquerade). Lampshaded by Abeloth:
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
    • In Allies, Luke apparently manages to kill a literal Eldritch Abomination, with some Sith assistance. Unfortunately, it gets better.
    • In Conviction, Luke does more permanent damage to her, by removing Callista, and causing one of the other people she absorbed to kill himself.
    • In Apocalypse, Abeloth is finally defeated, but she's not fully dead, just severely weakened.
  • Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?: Abeloth has a thing for Luke. It is explained in Conviction: Callista was partially intact, influencing Abeloth's actions in different ways… After Luke helps Callista to die, this obsession ends.
  • Distant Prologue: To the Legacy comics. Sets up and hints at everything from the Empire becoming a major player again to the One Sith.
    • Actually it may be averted, as Jacen saw the Bad Future where the One Sith rules, and attempted changed it. This of course released Abeloth causing what may be an even WORSE future, but at least the Sith don't appear to be running the show in that one.
  • The Dog Bites Back: In Vortex, Taalon beats Vestara, and after she sees that he's turning into an Eldritch Abomination, she stabs him In the Back.
  • Driven to Suicide: Cha Niathal
  • Droid Wrongs Group: Made all the more embarrassing by the fact that an eight-year-old discredits them.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: Kenth Hamner
    • Also, in Ascension, Grand High Lord Vol is killed by Abeloth behind the scenes, while Gavar Khai is killed early in the novels in a throwaway battle.
  • Dying as Yourself: Thanks to Luke's use of mnemotherapy, Callista is freed from A Fate Worse Than Death within Abeloth, regains her connection with the Light Side, and passes smiling.
  • Dying Like Animals: All different kinds, in the background of Apocalypse.
  • Dynamic Entry: Boba Fett makes a sudden and awesome appearance in Conviction when he breaks Daala out of prison.
  • Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Sith Lord Darish Vol tried this on Abeloth by telling her she was hideous, despised and would never be loved after seeing her greatest need was to feel loved. In response, Abeloth left him both extremely weak and in great pain, then proceeded to destroy the city of Tarv and kill thousands with powerful waves of Force energy. Justified, however, as Abeloth was trying to Kill and Replace Vol, and after seeing into her mind with the Force (which only happened because Vol was desperate and Abeloth recklessly left her mind unguarded), he learned of her desire and taunting her about was the only thing he could think of to fight her off. He also tried to kill her in retaliation, but failed.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Abeloth
  • Eldritch Location: Abeloth's home planet. Plants eat animals, animals photosynthesize, and it seems to be the location of Force purgatory. And it's in the middle of a black hole cluster. Can't forget that.
  • Emotion Eater:
    • Abeloth gains her power by feeding off peoples' negative emotions.
    • The mutated Dream Singer feeds off of the terror created by the nightmares it causes.
  • Enemy Mine:
    • In Allies, the Jedi and Sith team up to try and take down Abeloth.
    • In Ascension, this is reversed, with the Sith allying with Abeloth. Oh Crap!
    • In Apocalypse, Tahiri and Boba Fett team up to kill one of Abeloth's avatars, while Luke and the Sith Stranger team up to kill Abeloth in the Mindwalker realm.
  • Expy:
    • Freedom Flight is a rather blatant analogue to the real life Underground Railroad.
    • Haydnat Treen is basically an expy of Viqi Shesh from NJO, except instead of collaborating with Vong, she is working for Imperial hardliners. Kuat seems to be the new Bothawui.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Vol, the Grand High Lord of the Lost Tribe of the Sith. In Ascension he comes face to face with Abeloth's true form, recognising her for what she is and the evil that she represents. Far from trying to take control of it or enslave it like the Sith had planned up until that point, he roundly rejects any chance of alliance in horror at how evil she truly is, culminating in a mental duel that results in Abeloth being wounded almost as badly as she was in her encounters with Luke Skywalker.
  • Everything's Deader with Zombies: The so called "Sith Ghouls", empowered by Abeloth in Apocalypse. Their attacks leave patches of dead skin, and are especially deadly to a "Stomper" marine's Power Armor.
  • Evil vs. Evil: The battle between the Sith and Nightsisters at the end of Backlash. The Sith completely curbstomp the Nightsisters without having to kill any of them.
  • Failed a Spot Check:
    • In Ascension, Luke, Ben and Jaina search Korriban for Sith and don't find them. Although, this is something of a Foregone Conclusion.
    • Earlier on, despite them believing in the legend, the Sith just ignored the fact that Abeloth was holed up in Destructor Ruins. They invite her to their planet, thus also making them Too Dumb to Live.
  • Failsafe Failure: Subverted. While planning for a possible coup against Daala, the Jedi learn that they can lock down the entire Senate Hall on command by tricking the security system into thinking the Hall is under attack by the Yuuzhan Vong. Even though the Yuuzhan Vong are no longer a serious threat, nobody bothered to remove the program. Similarly, Daala is broken out of prison thanks to exploiting several failsafes in the prison security system, such as vents not being sealed in the event of a gas attack so that the gas can be vented out.
  • Face Stealer: How was Abeloth able to take Callista's form and mess with Luke? Because she ate her several years ago! She also eats several other characters in the course of the story.
  • Fan Nickname: Ever since a certain excerpt from Ascension was released, Gavar Khai has been called "Space Fabio."
  • Fetch Quest: The Aing-Ti send Luke and Ben out to recover some of their holy relics that their religion prevents them from touching. Luke and Ben ponder the Fridge Logic as to how they collected the relics in the first place.
  • First Kiss: For Ben and Vestara, in Ascension.
  • Foe Yay:
  • Foregone Conclusion: A minor example. The end of this particular story arc, as well as the fate of most characters by the end of it, is all up for grabs. However, this happens to mark the first appearance of The One Sith in the novels, and they are going to triumph at some point in the future.
    • Since Luke has several direct descendants living by the time of Star Wars Legacy, it's pretty much a given that Ben will live long enough to have at least one kid.
    • Also, Abeloth obviously won't succeed since the galaxy still exists… or maybe not, since the Star Wars Legacy future seems to be the one Jacen tried to prevent. His actions in turn released Abeloth, and everyone's force visions currently agree that the Sith won't be sitting on the Throne of Balance anytime soon. But, always in motion the future is…
  • Four Is Death: Not Backlash itself, no. Nor do any villains come in fours. But chapter 4 of Ascension definitely qualifies. Abeloth destroys the City of Glass.
  • From a Single Cell: Despite her two remaining manifestations being destroyed, and being beaten up in the Spirit World, Abeloth is described as shrinking into a miniscule force presence. In the epilogue, she has already attacked people, and a group has been sent on The Quest to retrieve a Sword of Plot Advancement to finish the job.
  • Gambit Pileup: This series may be the definitive example from the Star Wars canon. We've got Daala, the Sith, the other Sith, Abeloth, Moffs, Freedom Flight, and gods know how many others working each other behind the scenes at the same time.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Lots. For instance, there's this one time in Allies when Ben says that he could go for the Star Wars equivalent of a shower, and Vestara says, "I was thinking the same thing." And don't get me started on Daala and her Bwua'tu's bits of interaction.
  • Glasgow Grin: Vestara has a small scar at the edge of her mouth that serves as a compact one of these.
  • Gallows Humor: This conversation:

Han: "Nobody move! This is a holdup!"
 Leia: "Han!"
 Han: "Oh, right. My mistake. Nobody move, this is a coup."

  • General Ripper: The series points out why it's an extremely bad idea to put one (like Daala) into a position of power. It becomes extremely apparent when losing her position makes her revert to her previous Complete Monster personality.
  • "Get Out of Jail Free" Card: Tahiri avoided punishment for murdering Pellaeon in Legacy of the Force. The GA is now attempting to put her on trial for this, but the series has gone out of its way to make their (pretty legitimate) accusations be linked with a general anti-Jedi witch-hunt, thereby turning Tahiri into a victim to be rescued. A lot of Pellaeon fans were not happy. She was later arrested and put on trial. After said trial seems to go well from her, perjury from a key witness lands her a death sentence… which she escapes when Daala herself escapes. After hiding on Coruscant for a while, Tahiri contacts her friends, and Jag Fel takes her under his wing..
  • Glamour Failure:
    • Some people can see through Abeloth's illusions, for as of yet unknown reasons.
    • In Vortex, the local populace is tricked into thinking they're infected with a virulent plague through a Force illusion, but Luke is knowledgeable enough to see right through it.
    • In Conviction, some Genre Savvy smugglers Abeloth runs into don't take any of her crap, including turning on and locking up the people that she influences.
  • A God Am I: Abeloth's long term goal. But, what's the step in-between?
  • God Save Us From the Queen: Daala, taken Up to Eleven.
  • Goodbye, Cruel World

This has been done with honor, without error, and by my own choosing. Niathal out.

Where fields once grew, a road runs through, and buildings hide the sun,
Where grass of green could once be seen, are only gray and brown.
My childhood home, while I did roam, became a place of sadness.
Now I return, my heart does yearn for times of light and gladness.

Luke: You want me to take a Sith who's trustworthiness seems to depend on the time of day, the season, and the phases of whatever moons happen to be nearby, on a potentially dangerous mission to the Sith homeworld?

  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Played with when Han attempts to act menacing but his reputation gets in the way. Han would like people to think he is dead serious when he threatens them with a blaster. But as the person he is threatening reminds him, Han Solo has been a galactic hero and household name for several decades now nobody believes he will shoot unarmed bystanders. Naturally he is right, much to Han's annoyance.
  • Hidden Depths:
    • Wynn Dorvan is shown to be an extremely skilled sabacc player after he wins a sabacc tournament against hundreds of the best players in the galaxy.
    • In Conviction, Han proves that he actually knows how to manipulate people into doing what he wants without having to actually shoot them. Leia is extremely impressed:

"Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as husband and wife!"

      • Even before that, in Vortex, he played Daala like a fiddle, and even had to hide his confidence so that he wouldn't give his plan away.
  • Hidden Elf Village: Quite a few actually. The Sanctuary of the Baran Do Sages, the Aing-Ti world, Sinkhole Station for the Mind Walkers, the island community for the Fallanassi, and Kesh for the Lost Tribe of the Sith.
  • Homage: Luke and Ben's visit to the Hidden Ones' sanctuary is an intentional reference to the underworld of Greek myth.
"We're not just recycling Odysseus' adventures. Though we did make some jokes about it at our story conference. 'So we have this cave, see, and there's a blinded rancor in it, and he has a herd of banthas, and Luke and Ben have to escape strapped to the banthas' undersides…' Nothing like that."
—Aaron Allston, Star Wars Insider 109
    • Ironically, Allston wrote a scene exactly like that between Allana and the mechanic Monarg for Backlash.
  • Hope Spot: The middle of Ascension: Luke is back on Coruscant and is leading the Jedi Order once again; Moff/Senatorial conspiracy is falling apart; all three villains (Abeloth, Daala and Lost Tribe) are on the run with few resources left; Vestara chooses to become a Jedi and Wynn Dorvan is about to be elected Chief of State. And then it all goes to Hell.
  • Humans Are Ugly

Luke: "Tell you what, if you think it's wrong for you to think of them as ugly, just think of how you look to them. Short, squat, unlined skin, a nose that puffs up like a rodent, tiny little mouth with jagged white things in it, a horrible shrub-like growth on your head."
Ben: "This, from the man who's worn a bowl-cut hairstyle almost all his adult life."

  • Hurricane of Puns: In Conviction, Threepio has a bomb implanted into him by Sith assassins. After it's discovered and removed, R2 can't stop making puns at Threepio's expense.
  • Hypocrite:
    • Saba Sebatyne in Vortex. She (along with the other Masters) use Hamner's secret dealings with Nek Bwua'tu to remove him as Grand Master, while her son Tesar Sebatyne hides a Barabel nest within the Temple Catacombs and is willing to potentially kill those who come across it.
    • The entire Jedi Order itself has shades of this after enacting their coup on Daala when political pressure and negative public opinion had already started to force her to remove various sanctions she'd leveled against them. Considering their outrage at Jacen's coup of the Galactic Alliance in Legacy of the Force, this becomes particularly noteworthy.
    • Daala is just as much a hypocrite as the others listed, if not more so. She thinks that it's not okay for Kyp Durron to commit mass murder, but she treats her mass murder as no big deal. Really, she should turn herself in and let herself be put on trial for what she had done. Also, she believes that Jedi are bad for peace in the galaxy, when she sends Mandalorians to violently suppress riots and slave protests. Oh, yeah, that ought to be good for peace!
    • Not to mention Daala attempts to have Jag assassinated so she can take control of the Imperial Remnant believing doing so is what's best for the galaxy. Awfully similar to what someone she had put on trial did isn't it?
  • Inferred Holocaust: In the aftermath of Apocalyse, it's mentioned that due to the thousands of Sith rampaging all over the planet, combined with volcanic activity Abeloth triggered, the total bodycount on Coruscant is likely numbering in the BILLIONS.
  • In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You: On Abeloth's planet, plant eats you!
  • Interspecies Romance: Daala (human) and Nek Bwu'atu (bothan) don't quite hide their relationship.
  • Irony: Yes, the crazy Jedi think everyone's an impostor. Yes, Boba Fett did just disguise himself as… Boba Fett.
  • It Got Worse: All of Ascension just seems to pile things getting worse on top of each other. First, the Lost Tribe's capital city is wiped out by a vengeful Abeloth, then Abeloth and her Lost Tribe cronies vanish into the galaxy, leaving Luke and co. out of luck. Then the Jedi leave Coruscant, only for it to be revealed that the Lost Tribe's already there, and starting to take over, but fortunately the Jedi know about it. What they don't know is that Abeloth is also there, using taking over the Galactic Alliance as a stepping stone to her ascension to godhood.
  • It's All My Fault: Saba blames herself for Kenth Hamner's death.
  • Jerkass: Jacen's ghost acts like this Abyss.
  • Jumped At the Call:
  • Karma Houdini: Averted hard. Remember that Sith girl that assassinated Pellaeon and tortured and molested Ben? She's on the cover of a book titled Conviction. I wonder what will happen… The trope gets Played With later: the trial looks like it's going well for her… but then she his convicted and sentence to death. Then she escapes.
  • Karmic Death: Not exactly a death, but Javis Tyrr gets his comeuppance in Allies when Dorvan finds and publically reveals evidence of him illegally spying. In the same book, Captain Faala is killed in the Mind Walker realm when the angry spirits of her old enemies drag her to her death.
  • Kill It with Fire:
    • Han uses a flamethrower and really enjoys doing so.
    • Allana has troubling visions of her mother getting killed by a "Burning Man".
  • Kick the Dog: In Ascension, for no reason other than to clear his thoughts, Gavar beheads Vestara's pet/mount, Tikk.
  • Klingon Promotion: Saba to the title of Grand Master.
  • Lampshade Hanging: So Dorvan is pro-Jedi and pro-Daala? This inherent contradiction is remarked upon by all his supporters.
  • Les Collaborateurs: Most of the Lost Tribe of Sith, for Abeloth.
  • Like an Old Married Couple: Ben and Vestara, Discussed in Conviction, between Mayor Snaplaunce and Luke.

Snaplaunce: "He and the girl, are they a couple?"
Luke: "No."
Snaplaunce: "They argue like one."
Luke: "So you are a couple with every one of your political opponents?"
Snaplaunce: "Oh, well struck, Master Skywalker."

  • Lost Tribe: The Lost Tribe of the Sith.
  • Ludicrous Gibs: Apocalypse revels in describing the results of being squashed by a piece of building, split in two lengthwise by a lightsaber, splattered on the floor due to a malfunctioning transport tube, caught in the fiery disintegration of a flying vehicle, …
  • Made of Explodium: This is actually explained (in Conviction): Apparently, everything in Star Wars has circuitry inside it, including guard rails. Whenever a 'force storm' happens on Nam Chorios, all that circuitry…
  • Mama Bear:
    • Mirax Horn gets her moment when she slaps Colonel Wruq Retk so hard, it knocks him unconscious. This is because he's got her carbonite-imprisoned children hanging on the wall like trophies. And, to add to this, Retk is a Yaka.
    • Leia, of course. Jag even Lampshades it when he comments how he feels sorry for the poor bastard who attempted to assassinate them and put Allana in danger. She even beheads a Sith who was threatening Allana without a second thought.
  • Me's a Crowd: Abeloth
  • Mind Rape: In fact, Abeloth's mental probing is treated like rape.
  • More Teeth Than the Osmond Family: Abeloth's true form.
  • Naughty Tentacles: While on Abeloth's planet, Vestara is attacked by carnivorous vines that wrap around her body to immobilize her. Also, while fighting Abeloth, Luke is strangled into submission by her tentacles when she grapples him. Cue the Fetish Fuel.
  • Negative Space Wedgie: The Kathol Rift and the Maw Cluster.
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands: Part of Force Psychosis involves the crazy Jedi knowing Force skills they never used before. Luke also seems to pick up a new Force technique at least once per book during the first half of the series.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
    • It's implied that Centerpoint Station, which our heroes destroyed in Legacy of the Force, was the thing keeping the can Abeloth was trapped in sealed. The Kessel situation may have also been caused by Centerpoint's destruction.
    • Apocalypse reveals that Jacen's previous actions in Legacy of the Force by trying to change the future were what freed Abeloth from her prison. Also, it's revealed that Anakin Skywalker's mission to Mortis, which resulted in the deaths of the three living embodiments of the Force, eliminated the only entities capable of fighting Abeloth.
      • Not that the latter case was even remotely Anakin's fault. In this case the Hero Who Broke It is the Father for bringing Anakin to the planet in the first place, and only if you believe that Anakin's presence there is what killed the three of them given that the Father brought him there because he saw that his kids were already fighting each other. It was The Son who is actually responsible for the deaths of the other two, and as he was The Dark Side incarnate he wouldn't really be any better than Abeloth if it came down to the two of them.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When Daala escapes prison, so does Tahiri.
  • No Ending: either that or Sequel Hook Up to Eleven. There's a "Stranger" representing the Sith, there's at least one other Sith tribe out there, Vestara abandons Ben so that Ship can take her to it, and the reason Jacen became Darth Caedus is because said Stranger is The Chosen One, not Allana the way Luke thought. Just about the only plot thread that resolves is that Jag and Jaina get married… After he flunks election and is no longer Imperial Head of State. And was Abeloth really defeated?
    • Actually the Sith Stranger was not the chosen one. Allana is, the stranger just uses her to take the throne for himself. Until Jacen changed the future that is.
      • Then again, the Sith Stranger implies that Jacen's actions only delayed the inevitable future of the Sith gaining the Throne of Balance.
    • Regarding the "Sith Stranger" and the other Sith Tribe alluded to, it is strongly implied that the stranger was actually Darth Krayt from the Star Wars Legacy series, and that the other Sith Tribe was in fact the One Sith, the Sith faction that Krayt founded.
  • Oedipus Complex: Several fans see shades of this in Ben, in his relationship with Vestara.
  • Oh Crap: When the Jedi Council starts tracking down Sith pirate attacks and realize they're building an entire fleet.
  • One-Winged Angel: Abeloth has three or four forms.
  • Once Per Book: Up until Vortex, each book has one or several Jedi develop Force Psychosis.
  • Only One Name: Backlash seems to make a point of noting this in the case of Zekk.
  • Only Sane Man:
    • Inverted in the case of Jedi suffering from Force Psychosis. It causes them to believe that their friends and family have been replaced by duplicates, and that they're the only ones who noticed.
    • Dorvan plays this straighter. He realizes what's at stake and tries to rein in Daala's excesses. When he realizes Daala has gone beyond the breaking point, he decides to resign rather than work for her.
  • Open Secret: All of the Jedi Masters and quite a few Jedi Knights already know about the "secret" Barabel nest under the Temple.
  • Out of Character Moment: See Domestic Abuse above. One major complaint about Christie Golden's books is that they're filled with them.
  • Papa Wolf: Corran's children (Valin and Jysella) are imprisoned in carbonite thanks to their going completely batshit, and he's… not happy. At all. And that's putting it lightly.
  • Paparazzi: Javis Tyrr; all right, so he's only one guy, but he more than fits. Also plenty of unnamed ones in Outcast, especially after Valin's rampage.
  • People's Republic of Tyranny: Despite Leia arguing in Legacy of the Force that attaining the post of Chief of State of the GFFA through any means other than election (which is what her son Jacen did) is unconstitutional, Daala is basically installed in the position by military leaders. This is only emphasized by an aversion of the Good Republic, Evil Empire trope. The previous and current leaders of the Empire, Gilad Pellaeon and Jagged Fel, are often shown as being far more benevolent and trustworthy leaders of their authoritarian state than Daala is of the nominally democratic GFFA.
  • Philosophical Parable: For a while, each book had Luke and Ben visiting a different locale to learn about Jacen's fall, and the episodes tended to resemble this. Backlash slightly averted this: while Jacen did train with the Witches of Dathomir, that plot point was not present in the novel. Allies averted this trope entirely, while Vortex and Conviction don't even mention Jacen's motivations.
  • Plot Armor: An egregious instance of this shows up in Apocalypse: Who will survive the first wave of a Jedi-only assault force? The ones who had been named in earlier books, of course! Compounded when one character has thoughts about how they were friends with some of the (never named) deceased, highlighting this effect.
  • Pointless Doomsday Device: It turns out Centerpoint Station wasn't so pointless.
  • Powered Armor: Some of the Void Jumper Space Marines, called "Stompers", wear suits of these. Having them back-fires when the Sith ghouls get to them.
  • The Power of Love / Love Redeems: Jaina invokes this, while vouching for Vestara:

"I don't want to get too sentimental here, uncle Luke, but don't underestimate The Power of Love. It's pulled two family members back from the Dark Side already. Ben's sixteen, but he's not a fool."

  • Precursors: A lot of hints as to the Celestials…
  • Praetorian Guard:
  • President Evil:
    • While not exactly evil (at first), Chief of State Daala certainly has her qualms about the Jedi and won't hesitate to use government resources to put them in line. There is, however, quite a bit of irony to her running the galaxy from a planet (Coruscant) that she once hatched a plot to destroy. Fortunately, she is not as brilliant of a strategist as her reputation makes her out to be.
    • Head of State Abeloth plays this straighter than Daala, at one point threatening to decimate Coruscant's population because they didn't help keep the Jedi away from her. And she partly succeeds too.
  • Properly Paranoid: After the assassination attempt on Admiral Bwua'tu, Daala is (correctly) convinced that somebody is trying to frame the Jedi for it, because in her mind, if the Jedi really wanted to kill him, they would not have failed. Plus they wouldn't be crazy enough to try and fake a failed assassination attempt.
  • Psychic-Assisted Suicide: In Vortex, Abeloth and the Fallanassi (who are under her control) drive dozens of Sith mad with Illusions. This causes some of them kill themselves by falling off cliffs and drowning. It also causes some of them to dismember each other with their lightsabers.
  • We Can Rule Together: The role Abeloth tries to recruit Ben and Vestara for, would involve them fighting each-other for eternity, so they wouldn't be able to use their new powers for much. Between that, and how With Great Power Comes Great Insanity, Ben becoming "The Prince of Light", wouldn't have helped anyone.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Mayor Snaplaunce isn't your average fictional politician.
  • Reassigned to Antarctica: Borleias, once one of the most strategically valuable planets in the galaxy due to its proximity to Coruscant, is now home to a small outpost where military careers are sent to die.
  • Recycled in Space: In Conviction, the conspirators' plot to remove Daala is suspiciously parallel to that of the conspirators in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
  • Refuge in Audacity:
    • Doctor Thalleus Tharn, to prove that Jedi Knights Sotharis Saar and Turi Altamik are no longer insane, knees Saar in the crotch. The fact that he's still alive 30 seconds later convinces the majority of the crowd.
    • Booster Terrik invites over a hundred of Coruscant's most powerful people to a sabacc tournament on the Errant Venture. Then he goes and blows up several satellites to provide a distraction for the Jedi while the defense fleet can't retaliate due to the "hostages", all while the sabacc tournment is running since the participants are unaware of what is happening.
  • The Reveal:
    • The Lost Tribe of the Sith had assumed that the Sith had long ago conquered the galaxy while they were stuck on Kesh. Ship sets em straight. Their reaction? Let's go out and set things right by conquering everything!
    • Some part of Abeloth is no one else but Callista.
    • We get one of these in Ascension. The slave revolts are being caused by Imperial conspirators? Well, there go the last bits of Black and White Morality from this story!
  • Rule of Three: In Conviction, Lieutenant Jevon Thewles' apartment is being raided:

Jevon: "Can I get up?"…
Jevon: "Can I get up?"…
Jevon: "Can I get up?"…
Guard: "Yes, sit up."
Jevon: "Can I get dressed?"…

  • Sacrificial Lamb: Kani, alias KP (Kenth's Pet). She volunteers to go speak with the Mandalorians outside the Temple, reasoning that they won't feel threatened by an unarmed teenager. Unfortunately for her, this means that the Mando leader has no qualms about unceremoniously shooting her dead in public.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers: Discussed between Luke and Daala. Of course, the Force can't really be a witness later, and the Force does have a dark side.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: The feminine creature called Abeloth, hidden in the Maw.
  • Secret Police: In Allies, it's implied that Daala is seriously considering using the Mandalorians as a covert "peacekeeping" force by sending them to conflict zones on the payroll of GA front companies to put them under the guise of protecting corporate interests. Then in Conviction, she starts doing it openly, which means that eventually no one of importance really protests when the Jedi remove her from power.
  • Self-Made Orphan:
    • When one of the Baran Do Sages hears Luke's request to learn techniques picked up by Jacen Solo, she asks if it's safe - there is the possibility that these techniques, designed for and by Kel Dor, who are distinctly nonhuman, might have adverse effects on a human mind. If they do have such effects, and they turned someone like Jacen into what he became, how much worse off would the galaxy be if it happened to Luke Skywalker? Luke wants to learn anyway, believing that they now know how to pick up on any of the signs. When his son asks what if the effect is sudden and total, Luke gets Ben to agree to kill him. And he does, with difficulty.

Ben: "I think I'd rather be tortured again than go through another conversation like that. You seemed to take it well enough. Making me promise to kill you."
Luke: "Only under certain circumstances. Not just because I insist you eat your vegetables."

    • In Ascension, Vestara kills her father. Her mother was already killed earlier when Abeloth destroyed the Sith capital.
  • Sequel Hook: The final novel reveals that there is a second major Sith faction separate from the Lost Tribe! Also, Abeloth isn't truly dead, and the only way to truly kill her is to find a fabled Force-infused dagger capable of killing Force entities like her.
  • Shaped Like Itself: Boba Fett's disguise. he even changes his body language so people will think someone's impersonating him.
  • Shout-Out:
    • In Allies, Ackmena is an abolitionist, in honor of the late Bea Arthur. In the same book, Dyon knocks someone out by grabbing the neck and pinching (the author of Allies, Christie Golden, has contributed some books to the Star Trek Novel Verse).
    • In Conviction, when at a bar, Moff Lecersen orders a drink called the "Sonic Screwdriver".
    • Ben's line: "What if you're Luke Skywalker today and Darth Starkiller tomorrow?" 'Starkiller' was the original last name assigned to Luke in early drafts of Star Wars. It's been referenced in various ways in much of the EU.
  • Ship Sinking:
    • While Zekk's bus came back, we learn that he is working with a Hapan agent last seen in Legacy of the Force, and that he is involved with her.
    • Appeared to happen to the Jaina\Jag ship. However, they made up pretty much one book later.
  • Ship Tease: This banter between Jaina and Kyp in Allies:

Jaina: "We have to stop seeing each other like this."
Kyp: "I know. It's just so wrong, but I can't help it."

  • Sidetracked by the Analogy: In Abyss Saba compares Daala and the Jedi to animals on her homeworld. Kyp gets confused as to what each animal is and they spend about a page clarifying.
  • Space Marine: The GFFA's troops are this trope incarnate. One of them even falls asleep during a combat drop.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": In Allies, Dyon Stadd, Kyp Durron, and Gilad Pellaeon's surnames are consistently misspelled Stad, Durran, and Pallaeon. Also, the plurals "Jedis" and "Siths" are used.
  • Spirit World: Wherever it is the Mind Walkers go when they use their eponymous power (which seems to be some sort of astral projection), which may or may not be the netherworld of the Force. Evidence towards the former is the fact that Mara appears to be in some sort of purgatory after the events of Sacrifice.
    • Interesting to note that Mara seems to be stuck along with Anakin and Jacen in the netherworld "lake", yet her Force Ghost, along with Vader's and others, appears to Cade Skywalker 100 years later in the Legacy comic (Ossus arc).
      • If it is, as has been noted, a purgatory-like location, then of course she gets out, as do her nephews.
      • Cade Skywalker was having a deathstick-induced hallucination, so Mara's appearance may not really count.
    • Jacen Solo dwells there as well, and when questioned as to what his fate is, he unequivocally responds, "Damnation."
    • It turns out they are visiting Abeloth's planet.
  • Stab the Scorpion: Variation: At one point in the duel, Darth Krayt force drains Luke Skywalker and Abeloth, indicating that he turned against Luke. It is later revealed that the force drain was in fact simply his attempt at holding down Abeloth alone, Luke was only caught in it because he was in close proximity to Abeloth when it hit.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: At the end of Ascension, Vestara considers her relationship with Ben to be this.
  • The Starscream:
    • Yuvar Xal in true Sith fashion.
    • The Moffs… again. Even lampshaded by Jag in Apocalypse when he opens a public speech by mentioning that, when he accepted the job of Imperial Head of State, he didn't expect to survive as long as he did.
  • Start of Darkness: Luke and Ben's quest is to figure out just when Jacen had his.
  • Stating the Simple Solution: Surprisingly enough, Taalon advocates just executing Luke when Abeloth manages to capture him, but is quicky overruled.
  • Stealth in Space: Conversed for Stealth-X fighters, in Backlash.

Jaina: "They're the stealthiest vehicles in the galaxy."
Kyp: "In Space."

(Han tries to get the secretary to help by threatening him.)
Secretary: "Forgive me, General. But I won't help you, and you won't sell me. You're a hero of the Alliance."
Han Solo: "Leia, I swear, I hate having a good reputation. I HATE it!"

Han Solo: "Take me to your leader. We come in peace."
Leia: "Han."
Han Solo: "Sorry, Leia. Sometimes I can't help myself."

  • Take That:
    • There's specifically a Kyp Durron reality show. Kyp says, "There goes my social life."
    • The series' portrayal of Mandalorians may be a huge Take That against Karen Traviss' Mary Sue (and Creator's Pet) portrayal of them in Legacy of the Force and the Republic Commando Series. See the Moral Event Horizon entry above.
      • In Apocalypse, Admiral Bwua'tu mentions that the reason why they didn't hire Mandalorians to help them fight the Sith was due to their previous failures in fighting the Jedi.
      • Another one I liked was the Take That to Kyp. (Daala threatens to send him to the Empire. Granted, Luke installed the Emperor, so Kyp might get life imprisonment if that happens.) And to the Ewoks cartoon. (Ben's Helium Speech.)
      • Callista. And Akanah.
    • Ship delivers a huge Take That to the One Sith.
    • Also, the series seems to be one huge plot thread pointing that in retrospect, making Daala the Galactic Alliance Head of State was pretty much a very bad idea.

Moff Getelles: "Natasi Daala has been an erratic officer, a laser cannon with a malfunctioning actuator if you will, since she was an ensign in the Imperial Navy, and her recent actions bear out this diagnosis…"

"The Sith were coming now, and Luke had only a single Jedi Knight--Ben--to stand at his side. With the fate of the Jedi and their own lives hanging by a thread, the Skywalkers had run out of time…"

  • Too Dumb to Live: During the Jedi coup, a cameraman breaches the security line around the Senate Hall and starts moving forward to get a better shot as the security officers, busy trying to hold off an angry mob, yell at him to stop since he's about to walk into range of the giant automated laser cannons designed to shoot intruders. A security officer is forced to shoot the cameraman with a stun bolt to keep him from getting vaporized.
    • The Lost Tribe of the Sith find a very powerful entity living in the ruins of a force that is prophesied to destroy their civilization, a prophecy that they have found evidence supporting. Then, they invite this entity to their planet.
  • Tragic Villain: Vestara sees herself as this, after she commits murder to save Ben from toxic fumes.
  • Trash of the Titans: The Mind Walkers in Sinkhole station are so busy meditating that they don't clean up anything ever.
  • Two Lines, No Waiting. Luke and Ben try to find the truth about Jacen. Daala's not cut out for administration, to put it mildly. Then there's the Lost Tribe of the Sith. And Abeloth. And Force psychosis. And Jaina and Jag's engagement. And minor plots along the way, like Allana going to a petting zoo or the current slavery storyline. Lot of stuff going on.
  • Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: An in-universe example occurs towards the end of Backlash--Sith vs. Nightsisters!
    • Also in Backlash, a card game is featured that is based around this concept.
  • Undying Loyalty: Nek Bwu'atu uses this to whip up The Cavalry, who Jumped At the Call and fell asleep during the drop.
  • The Uriah Gambit: Tahiri's prison warden was a close friend of Pellaeon, so in order to get revenge on her, he deliberately places her within the general prison population, which mostly consists of criminals that the Jedi have put away, some of them having been personally arrested by Tahiri herself. She's also warned by her attorney to watch out for security droids that might suddenly "malfunction" around her.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: Saba as Chief of State?
  • Villain with Good Publicity: While not necessarily villainous, Chief of State Daala certainly fits.
    • Hero with Bad Publicity: She's the one that pins the blame for Jacen's fall on Luke Skywalker and forcing him into a self-imposed exile from the Jedi Order. Subverted in that the Jedi Council wishes him luck with his quest to investigate Jacen's Face Heel Turn, and his son Ben joins his father on the quest.
    • By Allies, Daala is pretty clearly a main villain of the storyline. With her approval rating plummeting due to her gross mishandling of the Jedi situation, she decides to force the Jedi to bend to her will, by ordering a massive Mandalorian fleet to blockade the Temple. When she learns that the Mandalorian commander has amplified her orders to "massacre without warning anyone who exits the Temple who is not the specific individual we're trying to kidnap, and we'll burn the whole place to the ground tomorrow if our demands aren't met." she reacts with a "meh".
    • In Ascension, the Sith try their hand at this, getting a hold of the media. Apparently, the tough news service from earlier books just grabbed onto the Idiot Ball.
  • Violation of Common Sense: See Dark Horse Victory above.
  • The Virus: Abeloth.
  • Walking The Galaxy: Luke and Ben.
  • Weak but Skilled: Dyon, who lacks the Force powers necessary to become a Jedi but makes up for it Blasters Akimbo
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Ben and Vestara, both. It doesn't keep Ben from mocking her about it, though.

Ben: "Yes, dear Papa.' 'No, dear Papa.' 'You are amazing, dear Papa."

    • Of course, "Papa" isn't the same as "Father". To understand, "Papa" is the fictional Jedi father who is more like Luke than Gavar, and "Father" is someone who starts out loving her, though he only doesn't beat her because she never needed to be beaten, and ultimately adopts a You Have Failed Me... attitude.
    • Funnily enough, Gavar is impressed by Ben's fighting skills, and Luke is impressed by Vestara's cunning. If only they could trade fathers…
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Daala. Admiral Bwua'tu in Allies thinks that she is doing wrong things for the right reasons. Five minutes later he is attacked by false Jedi.
    • This is also the reason, alongside the Papa Wolf trope, why Jacen Solo became Darth Caedus.
  • Wham Novel: In Ascension, the Senate votes a disguised Abeloth as the new GA Chief of State.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Abeloth-possessed Akanah just loves to point out how much the Jedi have screwed things up and made the galaxy a worse place.
  • Why Am I Ticking?: Threepio in Conviction. R2-D2 responds to this with a Hurricane of Puns.
  • The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask: While not an actual queen, Daala shows shades of this as she begins chafing under the pressure of being the Galactic Alliance Chief of State.
  • Woman Scorned: What Ship says will make Vestara into a Sith Lord.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Abeloth's primary motivation for her atrocities was desiring to be loved, as she feared losing her family (which was largely her own fault in the first place that she did lose The Ones as her family). However, by the time of the current time in the novels, she's long abandoned the Woobie aspect of her.
  • Working Title: Fate of the Jedi's working title was Star Wars Odyssey.
  • You Cannot Grasp the True Form: Abeloth, though it's speculated that she might be a Celestial. The Aing-Tii Prophet's predictions corroborate this.
    • Both Luke and Vestara can see her true form (as described in the novels and on Wookieepedia): "… that of a woman with a large full lipped mouth so broad that it reached from ear to ear and contained needle-like teeth, deeply sunken black eye sockets and tiny silver eyes, honey-blonde hair that reached the ground, stubby arms that protruded no more than ten centimeters from her shoulders, and hands that had long, writhing tentacles for fingers with suction cup tips."
    • According to Lost Tribe mythology, Abeloth might be a Destructor, a race of powerful beings that regularly exterminate all life in the galaxy. Sounds familiar, and for bonus points Abeloth is also ancient and has tentacles...
    • The Killiks try to describe what Abeloth and the Celestials are, but aren't very good at it, citing that it's something mortals simply can't comprehend.
      • Abeloth started out as a mortal though.
  • You Keep Using That Word: Vestara is worried about Jedi genocide on the Sith because of a desire for revenge. Ben starts to think about how the Jedi's goal isn't genocide, just… to destroy the Sith. He wisely shuts up upon realizing how stupid that sounds.
  • You No Take Candle: C-3PO's translation of Keshri. Justified, as the language had never been heard before by the galaxy.

Vestara: "How goes maternal parent?… I reach to make you pride."