The Truce at Bakura is the literal aftermath of the Battle of Endor and deals with the emotional and very real strategic fall outs of it. As such, its a great place to dive into the Expanded Universe.
The Truce at Bakura starts immediately after Return of the Jedi. It is literally the day after the Death Star’s destruction and our heroes are still nursing wounds. Luke is feeling the effects of the Emperor’s Force Lightning and the pain at losing his Father. Leia still has an arm injury as well as the new realization that Darth Vader was her biological father.
The Imperial’s Primary Fleet is shattered, with the best of the ships and crews (since Vader only took the best.) The Emperor and Darth Vader being dead, leaves the Empire leaderless, but not yet surrendered. In the aftermath of a hard won victory, even though word is getting out about the battle, many worlds are still under Imperial control.
When the world of Bakura sends a message for help to the now scattered Imperial fleet, the message is intercepted and self destruct averted by Wedge Antillies. Aliens are invading and the Imperial held world is desperate. So desperate that offering them aid might just win them over to the Alliance..
The Truce at Bakura is the Aftermath of Endor for the Heroes
Luke Skywalker
In the aftermath of Emperor’s Force lightning, Luke is still in the medical ward for treatement. Then Obi-Wan’s spirit appears, warning him of terrible danger if he does not go to Bakura and deal with matters there personally. This is one of very few appearances of the Force Spirit’s in the books.
Luke is given command of a battlegroup and once more is left unable to fly with Rogue Squadron. This is a step toward passing command to Wedge in the comic immediately following: Rogue Leader. His next step up will be to General in Shadows of Mindor.
His first after the movie era female attraction is here, Gaeriel Captison. She will not be the last, but their friendship will eventually come into play in the Corellian trilogy. His questions about his family are still troubling him here.
He meets his first potential apprentice: a boy enslaved by the alien Ssi’ruuk.
Leia Organa
Leia is still nursing a blaster wound to the arm, much more, she is nursing the shock of finding out Darth Vader is her biological father. He visits her as a Force spirit to apologize. Her confusion and deep seated anger at him is an issue she will have to confront many times in various other books. It will also make her hesitant to have a child.
Leia has reason to distrust Imperial governor’s but she finds herself making the first ever official truce between the Empire and Alliance.
Han Solo
Han has only just gotten to enjoy the fact that he is in love with Leia in she in love with him. Luke is no longer a threatening suitor, but he still finds himself jealous and out of step. When Luke is out of touch, Han will once again end up as leader.
R2 D2 and C3PO
Find themselves called upon to translate the Ssi Ruuk speech. While they don’t know the language, Artoo can emulate do to the whistling, tweeting sound it mimics. They also do their best to cure the Bakuran anti droid sentiment, left over from a Droid Rebellion and the Clone Wars conflict.
Chewbacca
Faces a world largely unaccustomed to non humans. But he doesn’t let it bother him in the slightest, even when it means dealing with Imperials (without bashing heads.)
Gaeriel Captison (Imperial Bakuran Politician)
Governor Nereus (Imperial Govenor)
Pter Thanas (Imperial Officer)
Senator Orn Beldan (Rebel sympathizer Bakuran)
Ssi Ruuk (invading alien lizards)
Xwee (invading alien lizards, slave race)
Dev Sibwarra – (Force sensitive, human slave to Ssi Ruuk)
Entechment – Devices that steal a person’s Force life energy to power war machines. This is the first mention in novels of a device combining the Force with Technology.
Connections in the Books to the Truce at Bakura
The Clone Wars: Wild Space: mentions Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker battling Grievous here.
The Tie Fighter captured at Bakura will be used by Tycho Celchu on a recon mission to Coruscant. (X-Wing, Wedge’s Gamble)
Bakura is mentioned in Shadows of Mindor as well as several of the X-Wing series novels, and Jedi Academy trilogy.
The Corellian Trilogy sees the World of Bakura and Gaerial Captison return to the stories, an important player with their special ships that can break through gravity wells that otherwise prevent hyperspace travel.
Bakura is mentioned as temporarily being a member of the New Republic in Black Fleet Crisis.
The New Jedi Order sees Bakura come under the influence of the Peace Brigade, collaborators with the Yuuzhan Vong.
Luke Skywalker’s white shipboard outfit matches that shown in the Classic Marvel Comic book series.
Han’s black uniform with silver trim matches the one he used to infiltrate Star’s End, in Han Solo at Star’s End by Brian Daley.
specifically calls the Alliance at this stage, before an official New Republic is formed, the Alliance of Free Planets, just as the Classic Marvel Comic Books and Dark Force Comics Vandelhelm Mission.
It also lists the Doctor serving under Govenor Nereus as being the same woman who served under Captain-Supervisor Grammel during Luke and Leia’s escape from him on Mimban. (Splinter of the Mind’s Eye)
It also reveals discussions that the Alliance should classify the Bakuran incident, for fear Imperials who discovered more about it would try and attack the ssiruuk and steal the entechment weapons technology. This gives an early explanation why the incident itself is rarely mentioned in other stories.
Luke’s feeling of Pter Thanas future is revealed to be from a vision in the sourcebook. This vision (and the future) is confirmed in the Corellian Trilogy.
Truce at Bakura Effects on other Media
Dark Horse’s Clone Wars era comics reveal that Dooku had a base on Bakura, where he was encountered by Jedi Sora Bulq and Tholme.
The Clone Wars video game has the Force Harvester used here.
Bakura is used in the Empire at War , Rogue Squadron III and Rebellion video games.
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy video game, the player as Jaden Korr has to prevent the Imperials from blowing up a power station on Bakura.
