Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine is a Legends novel written by Voronica Whitney-Robinson, with W. Haden Blackman. It is based on the video game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, and it was first published by Del Rey on December 30, 2003. A prequel short story titled "Pearls in the Sand" was written by Whitney-Robinson and published in 2004.
Publisher's summary
It is a time of great turmoil. The oppressive Empire is close to seizing complete control of the galaxy. The ragtag guerrilla army of the Rebel Alliance fights on, striking wherever it can, but now something has come to light that could spell certain doom. Hidden in the Jedi ruins of Dantooine is a Holocron containing a list of high-level Rebel sympathizers. If that list were to fall into the hands of Darth Vader, the Rebel Alliance would lose its most valued support—and possibly the war itself.
As an Imperial bioengineer who frequently visits other worlds, Dusque Mistflier is the perfect cover for a Rebel who needs to travel far and wide without arousing suspicion. And so she agrees to help Rebel spy Finn Darktrin in his quest to recover the crucial Holocron. Despite help from Han, Luke, and Leia, the mission is fraught with peril. And as their journey takes them into the fiery belly of the beast that is galactic civil war, Dusque and Finn will learn that the hardest part of all is figuring out whose side you're on—and how far you're willing to go to win....
Plot summary
Though Imperial bioengineer Dusque Mistflier has no love of the Empire, she has not joined the Rebel cause. She and her partner, the Ithorian Tendau Nandon, continue to catalog and study life-forms of diverse shapes and sizes. While on Naboo, Dusque meets a handsome yet overbearing man, Finn Darktrin, who reveals himself to be a Rebel sympathizer who needs her help leaving the planet. Rattled by the encounter, Dusque stews over Finn's request while carrying out a biological mission on Naboo's moon of Rori.
Returning to Naboo, Dusque is shocked to see Tendau coldly executed by stormtroopers who declared him a Rebel agent. Though Dusque didn’t know everything about Tendau, she knows he did not deserve a cruel fate. She chooses to help Finn – and by extension, the Rebel Alliance – to avenge Tendau's death. Finn seeks a missing Rebel Alliance holocron that contains the names of high-level Rebel agents and sympathizers. This record was lost by the Rebels who abandoned the Dantooine outpost. Finn first voyages to the moon of Lok, where he hopes to cash in a favor to him by the pirate Nym. Nym gives Finn and Dusque a freighter, which they pilot to Corellia.
Their ship is shot down by Imperials and crash-lands into the surface on Corellia. Dusque and Finn are retrieved by Rebels, and at the temporary Alliance base on Corellia, they meet Princess Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker. The Rebels explain that the holocron is secreted somewhere among the ruins of Dantooine. Finn and Dusque comb the remains of the ancient Jedi base on Dantooine, locating the holocron. Here, Finn reveals his true allegiance. He is an Imperial agent. Refusing to let the vital Rebel information reach Imperial hands, Dusque destroys the holocron before Finn is able to transmit it to the Empire. Finn and Dusque part ways, with Dusque returning to the Alliance. Finn must report his failure to Darth Vader, but the Dark Lord does not slay him. Vader senses a powerful core of anger in Finn that may prove useful in the future.
Development
The Ruins of Dantooine was the first tie-in novel specifically developed for a Star Wars videogame, complete with the LucasArts name and the Star Wars Galaxies logo on the cover. In 2003, LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment released the first ever Star Wars massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, and this tie-in book spotlighted many of the game's features. The locations visited in the novel – Naboo, Lok, Rori, Corellia, and Dantooine – were all places featured in the game.
Continuity
The book's story included “side quests,” with Dusque undertaking zoological missions or looking for minor artifacts, in order to advance the plot. Much like Star Wars Galaxies itself, the novel focused on new characters but featured guests appearances by such luminaries as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Lando Calrissian.[1]
Media
Editions
- ISBN 9780345470669; December 30, 2003; Del Rey; US paperback[2]
- ISBN 9780307547781; January 21, 2009; Del Rey; US eBook[3]
Cover gallery
Appearances
| Characters | Organisms | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
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Organisms
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Droid models
Events
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Locations
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Organizations and titles
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Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
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Weapons and technology
Miscellanea
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Sources
Homing Beacon #96 - Exploring the Ruins of Dantooine on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)- A Closer Look: The Ruins of Dantooine on StarWars.com (original site is defunct)
- Explore The Ruins of Dantooine on StarWars.com (original site is defunct)
- "Bookshelf" — Star Wars Insider 73
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Essential Reader's Companion
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Ruins of Dantooine: Star Wars Galaxies Legends on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (Paperback)
- ↑ The Ruins of Dantooine: Star Wars Galaxies Legends on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (eBook)
External links
- The Ruins of Dantooine: Star Wars Galaxies Legends on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (eBook)
- The Ruins of Dantooine: Star Wars Galaxies Legends on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (Paperback)
- Galaxies: Ruins of Dantooine SPOILERS (FJA) on the StarWars.com Message Boards (December 31, 2003) (original site is defunct)