Star Wars Fanon:Featured articles/Upcoming

This is the queue for featured articles scheduled to appear on the Main Page. The dates listed indicate when they will be showcased. For a list of articles already featured on the main page, see History.

September 14, 2008 – Cilwelli (species)
The Cilwelli, also called Cilwellians, were a primitive Near-Human species native to Cilwelli. They were characterized by their distinct third eye, known as a tyreal. In some members of the species this eye had hypnotic effects on weak-minded beings. Because of the harsh conditions of their homeworld, violence was an accepted part of life for the Cilwellians. To keep the war-like people from destroying each other, an Aulsur in the Pre-Republic era brought the various tribes under a single banner and established a strict code of conduct. This code was followed well into into the days of the New Republic.

Even after the Cilwelli came under Hutt rule they remained highly traditional. Because their laws deemed submission to higher beings a great honor, they were often taken advantage of by the Hutts, and later the Galactic Empire. However, it was the same strict honor-code that would ultimately save them from their abusive masters. Under the command of the priest, Sincol, the Cilwelli fought back by joining the Rebel Alliance and freeing their homeworld.

From that point onward, the Cilwelli would remain an active part of galactic politics. Thanks to a treaty signed by the New Republic, the Cilwelli were finally given their freedom after nearly 30,000 years of Hutt domination. However, their liberation would be short lived. The Yuuzhan Vong War saw the destruction of their homeworld and the near extinction of the Cilwelli race.

September 21, 2008 – Battle of Cul-Huq (Cruentusian War)
The Battle of Cul-Huq was a major battle of the Cruentusian War, and was considered a major turning point. Its roots lay at the time when Carsal Redharn noticed that the Srav Federation was setting up a major base on the idyllic world of Cul-Huq, which was rich in natural resources, providing a base of great wealth to the Srav Federation. He planned a major assault on the world, deciding that it would better serve Necasian assets and would help forward their war efforts. However, his treacherous commander Askar Invado sold valuable information to the Srav Intelligence units about the planned assault, and made sure that pre-battle Necasian sabotage failed dismally. When the Necasians arrived at the planet, they met with a large Srav force, ready and armed and completely unharmed by their planned sabotage.

As a battle raged in space, a Necasian fleet managed to land on the world, where they engaged Srav forces, offloading their heavy weapons in an attempt to storm them. A group of Savi Alliance mercenaries were also present, however, and got caught in the crossfire, and began fighting both sides, pushing the Necasian storming attempt back. Eventually, however, with the loss of several Necasian ships and therefore a large part of their anti-missile laser countermeasures, Ivran Gresev, the Srav commander, lost patience and ordered a full nuclear bombardment of half the planet. Nearly all of the Necasian and Savi forces, as well as some Srav troops, were annihilated, causing severe damage to the Necasian war machine in that system, and offering all Redharn critics ammunition for their arguments. After the battle, Redharn received most of the blame for the defeat, with Askar Invado using it to call for a new leader, starting great political turmoil amongst the Necasians that would, eventually, lead to civil war.

September 28, 2008 – Force Exile Series
The Force Exile series is an ongoing fan book series written and produced by Atarumaster88, currently distributed via request with the author and on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. The first novel, Force Exile I: Fugitive, was released in June 2007 and set in the final stages of -spanning. Fugitive introduced several original characters to the  universe, including the Selusda Kraen and  Alpha-28, also known as Spectre. In Fugitive, the characters of the story must each confront the grim reality of and the rise of the, finding their way in a galaxy changed forever by the revenge of the. For the cover, Atarumaster88 was able to procure art from a user on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki named Solus, and the detailed covers have been a mainstay of the series ever since. Fugitive garnered critical acclaim from several reviewers, including the Star Wars Fanon Newsletter's staff, as well as winning the Best Novel Award in the Third Wiki Awards.

With the completion of Fugitive, Atarumaster88 began working on its sequel, Force Exile II: Smuggler, which continues the story of Selu and Spectre a few months after Fugitive, while bringing previously minor characters introduced in Fugitive to greater prominence. These include Sarth Kraen, Selu's brother, and R'hask Sei'lar, the captain of the Hawk-bat. Smuggler also introduced Milya Tayrce, a runaway who went on to play a large role in the novel. Smuggler finished with an explosive ending, with the final novel compiled in November 2007&mdash;a total writing time of less than six months for a 193 page book. Although the sequel received less critical notice, Atarumaster88 continued to write the final book of the trilogy, Force Exile III: Liberator, an even longer work that ended up spanning 295 pages. Set in, Liberator brought resolution to characters and events introduced throughout the Force Exile books, setting them off in new directions at the end of the novel. It was finished in May 2008, with a total writing period of five months. Atarumaster88 attributed this pace to his extensive pre-planned outlining and layout work, as well as the multiple revisions the story's outline underwent as it evolved and grew. However, Solus left the project after Smuggler, leaving Atarumaster88 to contact Darth Nyne to continue the production of covers for the series.

The latest additions to the Force Exile saga have not been novels. Starting in the summer of 2008, Atarumaster88 began work on a follow-on work to Liberator, an anthology of short stories known as the Yanibar Tales, stating that the stories within in it followed looser guidelines and could be written in a couple of weeks. Another follow-on work, The Essential Guide to Force Exile, is currently being released part by part, being partially complete as of this writing. Atarumaster88 has also announced that a second trilogy of Force Exile novels exists as well, starting with Force Exile IV: Guardian, set to be released in 2009, followed by a fifth work known as Force Exile V: Warrior.

October 5, 2008 – Battle of Gand
The Battle of Gand was the preliminary battle in the Galactic Civil War, and believed to be one of the first of many armed conflicts between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The battle began with the capture of Gand by several Rebel assault groups who took the Imperial forces by surprise and captured the lightly garrisoned planet and its cities within twenty-four hours. The Empire responded by sending in a small scout fleet to discover their opponent's strengths and troop count, but the scout fleet was destroyed before it returned to the Imperial Capital.

Following the destruction of their fleet and their loss of Gand, the Emperor demanded that Darth Vader go to Gand personally with a large assault force and destroy any resistance on the planet. Vader complied with orders, and called upon Jerec, one of the Emperor's Emperor's Hand's and a loyal Dark Jedi, to assist him in leading the troops. His leading infantry battalion was Vader's Fist, who had once been the 501st Legion, powerful clones loyal to Vader and the Emperor. Jerec and Vader's Fist would assist Vader in leading the attack. They assembled a large strike force, comprised of the largest fleet the Empire had constructed in years, along with a sizable land-based attack force, consisting of the famed 501st Legion and the 671st Stormtrooper Platoon, both filled with veteran and fervently loyal stormtroopers.

The attack began in orbit kilometers above the planet. When the Imperials arrived over Gand, the Rebels engaged them immediately and were defeated several times by the better-equipped and larger Imperial fleet. Realizing they could no longer keep up with the Imperial Navy, the Rebel forces abandoned their position and retreated into more secure positions in Gand's sky. With the Rebellion force in a rout, Vader and his armada descended towards Gand's surface, and began to defeat enemy ships in the skies as they approached the largest floating city. Defeating several enemy bases and small skyhooks set up around the planet's gaseous skies, the bulk of the Imperial ground forces eventually made it to the main Rebel base on Gand Erx.

Once the Imperial infantry forces landed on Gand Erx, they were pinned down by Rebel sniper fire at their landing zones and unable to continue into the city. With the eventual arrival of air and mechanized support; however, they managed to remove the Rebel forces from their lofty locations and into their bunkers and outposts, which were subsequently destroyed by heavy Imperial walkers. As the Rebels abandoned their bases and fled, Vader himself landed on the surface to assist his men in rounding up the last few resistance fighters. However, a tremor in the Force caused him to travel to the depths of the Gand Megaplex; where he met the ringleader of the entire attack; an Order 66 survivor named Ra Blin.

In an intense duel between the two, Vader had the upper hand for most of the battle. However, with the arrival of Blin's apprentice, Cori Benn, the tide turned slightly in favor of the two Jedi. Managing to get a lucky shot, Blin temporarily incapacitated the Dark Lord, and was about to strike him down, if not for the timely arrival of Jerec, who had followed Vader into the Megaplex once he had wiped out a couple Rebel troops still lingering in the city's center. He struck Blin with dark side energy, killing him. After Jerec assisted Vader and they left the Gand Megaplex, Commander Jir informed them that the last of the Rebels had been driven from the planet.

Though the battle had been won for the Empire, it had been a costly victory. Nearly the entire Alliance force that attacked the planet had been killed, and the remainder of the forces that survived were either captured, or were hunted down by Bounty hunters hired after the battle. The Empire lost most of its infantry forces and that, coupled with other casualties, set back the Empire a few months in an attempt to regain their military prowess.

October 12, 2008 – Sarus
Sarus was the leader of the Ophuchi Clan during the time of the Invasion of Utapau. When he was young, he found out that he was carrying a spirit inside of him that had lasted for over one hundred thousand years, a destiny that he did not originally accept until he came to realize that if he believed in the possibility then he would do the right thing when the time came. In the years that followed, Sarus met Shmi Skywalker who was pregnant with a son, despite the fact that she was a virgin. After he fought off a supposed Sith assailant, Sarus helped deliver the child whom Shmi named Annikin Skywalker. Sarus believed that Annikin would go on to be the Chosen One based on what was said in the Prophecy of the Chosen One and the circumstances surrounding his birth. Shortly thereafter, Sarus was contacted by the Shaman of the Whills who told him of the destiny he would play in Annikin's life. In the years that followed, Sarus kept a close eye on Annikin, and he also had dealings with the Trade Federation.

Years later, Sarus came into contact with Annikin once again, as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jard Dooku, Jar Binks and Sabé Arcadia, the outsiders that Annikin was allowing to stay at his home. Sarus led them into the Ophuchi Sanctuary in the Dune Sea where he told them about the Ophuchi people, and later the prophecy of the Chosen One. Annikin had a difficult time accepting his possible destiny, but Sarus was able to convince him to believe that it could be true. Later, they traveled to Anchorhead where they were able to negotiate with Bib Fortuna at Jabba the Hutt’s regional office to release Annikin from the Lars family’s sharecropping contract, though Annikin would first have to win a swoop race against his rival Sebulba.

Annikin won the race, partially because of the fact that Sarus damaged the stabilizer on Sebulba's racer. After securing Annikin's release from the contract, Sarus confessed this to Annikin, who did not take it well. Shortly before saying goodbye to Annikin, Sarus transferred something from inside of himself into Annikin, though he did not tell Annikin what it was. Sarus left and spoke with the Shaman of the Whills once again who told him that his role in Annikin's destiny was over, though he would still have preordained roles to play in the future.

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