A Brief History of the Last Time Star Wars Had Thrawn Mess With Extragalactic Ambition

Ahsoka blew Star Wars wide unfastened past twelvemonth with the revelation that Grand Admiral Thrawn’s expansive return required a travel determination and backmost to a wholly caller galaxy—the archetypal clip contemporary Star Wars canon had considered the beingness beyond the far, acold distant spot we’d already explored. But portion Thrawn’s cognition of worlds outside Star Wars‘ regular purview was a shocking portion of caller accusation successful modern continuity, the Grand Admiral had much than a fewer brushes with the thought successful the aged Expanded Universe.

What Was the Outbound Flight Project?

© Penguin Random House/Dave Seeley

Conceived by Jedi Master Jorus C’boath, the Outbound Flight Project was a collaboration betwixt the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order to make and money an expeditionary ngo beyond the fringes of Republic space, done the “Unknown Regions”—an uncharted, albeit populated conception of the postulation that did not look to Galactic Core arsenic the halfway of interstellar civilization—and beyond the galaxy’s known fringe. First conceived astir 3 years aft the events of The Phantom Menace, the task progressive the recruitment of 50,000 civilian colonists and a ample fig of Jedi, arsenic good arsenic the acquisition of six dreadnaught-class cruisers linked astir a superior fuselage, creating the titular vas of the endeavor, Outbound Flight.

Although ostensibly a associated taskforce commissioned by the Republic and the Jedi Order, successful actuality the Outbound Flight Project was wrapped successful a weave of ulterior motives beyond its exploratory intent. The Jedi Council hoped that excursion could find the missing Fosh Jedi Vergere, who had been kidnapped by agents from a then-unknown extragalactic civilization who were yet revealed arsenic aboriginal agents from the Yuuzhan Vong. Now Chancellor of the Republic aft the ousting of Finis Valorum, Palpatine ostensibly backed the Senate’s anticipation that the excursion could pb to the founding of Republic colonies passim the Unknown Regions and perchance beyond the known galaxy, expanding its reach.

However, successful his existent guise arsenic Darth Sidious, Palpatine besides saw the task arsenic a accidental to termination a ample fig of Jedi distant from prying eyes, portion besides preventing the find of the extragalactic menace of the Vong earlier the postulation was prepared to look them. On apical of that, determination was besides Master C’boath himself, progressively obsessed with the Jedi arsenic a ruling class, who secretly prioritized the enactment of Force-sensitive candidates for colonists, trained successful those abilities successful secret, successful an effort to foster caller outposts and colonies of Jedi nether his ain influence.

After respective years of planning—and the task itself astir being scuppered if not for a pact betwixt Palpatine and C’Boath—the Outbound Flight departed from Yaga Minor, a satellite connected the fringes of the Outer Rim successful 27BBY. Almost instantly however, it faced issues. Two of the Jedi assigned to the mission, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (last infinitesimal additions intended to support an oculus connected C’boath), were pulled from expedition earlier it near astatine the behest of Palpatine. Shortly thereafter, C’boath usurped bid of Outbound Flight from its civilian captain, enacting harsh rules that cracked down connected the state of non-Force delicate unit and colonists. That, ultimately, would beryllium the slightest of the mission’s problems.

How Was Thrawn Connected to Outbound Flight?

© Penguin Random House/Dave Seeley

Palpatine had ne'er intended for Outbound Flight to marque it done the Unknown Regions. Acting arsenic Darth Sidious, helium commissioned a concealed task unit of Trade Federation vessels to intercept Outbound Flight and destruct it by immoderate means necessary. However, successful operating successful the Unknown Regions, the Task Force was confronted by a patrol from the Chiss Ascendancy’s Expansionary Defense Force. Commanded by a young Thrawn, the patrol destroyed each but a azygous vessel successful the ensuing battle—negotiating with the surviving commandant to beryllium enactment into interaction with Sidious, who further explained the menace the Outbound Flight posed if it exposed the beingness of the Vong, who had already go known to the Ascendancy done engagements with scouting parties into Chiss space.

Thrawn agreed to Sidious’ petition to usage his patrol portion to destruct the Outbound Flight, mounting up a trap that yet astir scuttled the Flight arsenic good arsenic killed astir each Jedi and yet astir of the colonists connected board, prevention for C’Boath and his apprentice Lorana Jinzler. Driven to the acheronian broadside by the destruction, Thrawn yet killed C’boath, and Jinzler was forced to sacrifice herself (alongside Thrawn’s brother, Mitth’ras’safis, who had encountered the Outbound Flight portion investigating his brother’s conflict against the Trade Federation operatives dispatched by Sidious) by crash-landing the vas connected a planetoid astatine the borderline of Chiss space, redeeming conscionable 57 remaining colonists.

What Happened to Outbound Flight successful the Expanded Universe?

© Penguin Random House

With the vessel presumed mislaid by the Republic and the Jedi Order, the surviving colonists eked retired endurance successful the remnants of the vessel, hidden distant from the Chiss and the wider postulation alike for astir 50 years. By the clip Chiss agents discovered the beingness of the surviving colony that had grown retired of the ruins of Outbound Flight, the Galactic Republic had been transformed into the Empire, which itself had fallen and been replaced by the New Republic, alongside a caller Jedi Order established by Luke Skywalker.

The Chiss offered the beingness of Outbound Flight‘s “survival” to Skywalker to marque up for their relation successful its destruction, but the colony rejected interaction with the New Republic, scarred by their relation with the Jedi aft C’boath’s harsh rule, yet aligning with a faction of Imperial remnants known arsenic the Empire of the Hand—itself established by nary different than present Grand Admiral Thrawn, who had perished years anterior to Outbound Flight‘s rediscovery successful his attempts to destruct the New Republic. Which, successful and of itself, had a further transportation to the Outbound Flight Project: during his run against the New Republic, Thrawn had recruited the crazed acheronian Jedi Joruus C’boath (note the other ‘u’): a clone of the Jedi Master who had died aboard Outbound Flight. Small galaxy!

Could the Outbound Flight Project Return to Star Wars Canon?

© Lucasfilm

Given that we’re mounting up a large caller storyline in Star Wars betwixt the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens that deals with a resurgent Imperial remnant pb by Thrawn, it’s wide galore of the events touched upon successful Timothy Zahn’s iconic Heir to the Empire trilogy volition astatine slightest get immoderate nods successful nevertheless this communicative comes to unfold crossed bid like Ahsoka play two, and the upcoming films The Mandalorian & Grogu and Dave Filoni’s untitled “Mandoverse” team-up film. But the mentation of Outbound Flight that we cognize of successful the Expanded Universe is improbable to beryllium adapted successful immoderate important means—its connections to either the archetypal C’boath and his clone, Thrawn’s past anterior to aligning with the Empire, oregon the beingness of the Yuuzhan Vong making it excessively messy to wholly extricate.

But that doesn’t mean an effort hasn’t been gestured at. Zahn’s instrumentality to Star Wars continuity for 2 separate Thrawn caller trilogies—one acceptable during the emergence of the Empire touching connected his ascendance done Imperial ranks to go a Grand Admiral, the different a prequel bid acceptable during his vocation with the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet—canonized elements of the conflict against the Outbound Flight that heavy referenced the stories Zahn had antecedently told successful the Expanded Universe. While the vessel is ne'er explicitly named successful those canon novels, details similar Thrawn encountering a quality vessel, and utilizing them to acceptable a trap and prosecute with the Vagaari, a rival civilization successful the Unknown Regions, and the decease of his member Mitth’ras’safis, are each inactive parts of Thrawn’s canonical background.

Whether that vessel volition ever beryllium revealed arsenic the Outbound Flight—and whether oregon not its bequest could beryllium tied to Star Wars continuity’s existent extragalactic storytelling with Peridea and the archetypal Nightsisters—remains to beryllium seen. Stranger things person surely happened.

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.