Outbound Flight Project

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Outbound Flight Project

Outbound Flight Project was a colonizing and expeditionary initiative by theGalactic Republic into theUnknown Regions, led mainly byJedi MasterJorus C'baoth. The project had a further objective to pierce thehyperspace barrier at theedge ofthe galaxy and seek outextragalactic life beyond.

Despite bureaucratic complications during funding and construction from theGalactic Senate, theOutbound Flight was eventually launched in27 BBY with the support ofSupreme ChancellorPalpatine as acentral fuselage surrounded by sixDreadnaught-class heavy cruisers. It set out fromYaga Minor, and after visiting several worlds on theOuter Rim, Outbound Flight headed off into the Unknown Regions. Problems arose when the Jedi leader and project creator Jorus C'baoth took command of the vessel and imposed severe restrictions on its civilian and security population.

Upon reaching the Unknown Regions, theship was almost destroyed by the forces ofForce CommanderMitth'raw'nuruodo, at the request ofDarth Sidious, though it was theSith Lord's minionKinman Doriana who dealt the final blow.

The ship crashed on aplanetoid inThe Redoubt, where it stayed until it was rediscovered by theChiss in22 ABY. Along withLuke andMara Jade Skywalker, they led amission to recover it and encountered thesurvivors of the crash and theirdescendants, who had formed acolony amidst the wreckage.

Birth of the project[]

Outbound Flight was the brainchild of famedJedi MasterJorus C'baoth. Conceived in29 BBY, it was planned as a massive expedition into theUnknown Regions and eventually beyond theGalactic Rim to another galaxy. Families would be brought along in hopes of colonizing worlds in the Unknown Regions, extending theGalactic Republic's reach. Officially, Outbound Flight was a proposal by theJedi Council, but the forceful C'baoth assumed control over the project, becoming its main champion.^[1] It was C'baoth who convinced theSenate to support and fund the mission.^[3]

Recruiting for crew and passengers began in 29 BBY. Colonists were selected by their technical proficiency, though secretly, families withForce-sensitive children were given a higher priority. They were sent to train onYaga Minor, the launching point for the mission. Six newDreadnaught-class heavy cruisers were purchased fromRendili StarDrive to compose the vessel itself, also namedOutbound Flight.^[1]

As time passed and the political situation ofthe galaxy changed, the enthusiasm of the project's participants faded, and the Senate and Jedi began to back away from Outbound Flight.Supreme ChancellorPalpatine, not wanting to devote too much funding to such areas in a time when dissatisfaction with the government and rumors of secession were flourishing, kept the mission low-profile. TheSenate Appropriations Committee made a series of budget cuts and voted to remove the families and colonists from the mission, leaving only the ship's crew. The Jedi Council, too, had second thoughts, and MastersYoda andMace Windu refused to send more than two Jedi on the voyage. As one of the Jedi's chief objectives was to findVergere, many in theOrder believed that only a small expedition was needed, and not the massive undertaking of C'baoth.^[1]

Despite these setbacks, C'baoth was not deterred from realizing his dream. In a meeting with Palpatine in27 BBY, he made a deal with the Chancellor; if he could negotiate a resolution to a conflict between theCorporate Alliance and theBrolfi ofBarlok, Palpatine would pressure the Appropriations Committee to restore all funding and bring the colonists back onboard.^[1]

Thoughhyperspace travel to other galaxies was long thought impossible due to ahyperspace disturbance beyond the edge of the galaxy, C'baoth believed that the Jedi could usethe Force to smooth it and allow the vessel to pass. He demonstrated this technique on thebriarpatch border of the Unknown Regions, and then recommended that eighteen Jedi, including himself, be included in the mission.^[4]

When C'baoth foiled an assassination attempt on the Alliance and Brolfi representatives, engineered by theDark Lord of the SithDarth Sidious through his agentKinman Doriana, he was able to bring the negotiations to a rapid close, and the political clout he gained in the Senate gave him the power to push Outbound Flight through committee with all his original proposals intact. Even the Jedi succumbed to the political pressure, and allowed him to take as many Jedi as he needed.^[1] Final assembly on theOutbound Flight began, and as promised, Palpatine approvedMeasure 4213.0410 on 8:2:11GrS, sponsoring Outbound Flight and allowing it to finally launch.^[5]

The purpose of Outbound Flight[]

With so many participants involved in the project, Outbound Flight had many intended goals, some public, others secret, and many at cross purposes with each other.

C'baoth's original proposal, as submitted to the Senate, was to discover new life forms and new Force-sensitives in the areas outside the Republic. One of his private reasons, and one of the main reasons behind the Jedi Order's support, was to search for Vergere, who had been captured by theFar Outsiders—also known as the Yuuzhan Vong—fromZonama Sekot in the Unknown Regions two years prior. As the turmoil in the Republic worsened, C'baoth also began to speak of establishing colonies of Jedi in the Unknown Regions beyond the reach of the Republic, an idea that worried some Jedi, including Mace Windu and Yoda.^[1]

The Senate had its own reasons for supporting the project. In the original plan, colonies were to be established in the new territories that Outbound Flight scouted, and in this way the Republic would gain a foothold in the Unknown Regions and grow further. The prospect of identifying possible threats from outside the galaxy before they reached it and became a danger also appealed to the security-conscious Senators.^[1]

Palpatine had a personal agenda as well. In his alter-ego as Darth Sidious, he was working to destroy the Jedi Order and saw the advantage of being able to eliminate a large number of Jedi in a single attack far away from the public eye. He was also aware of the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong and did not wish for them to be discovered before the galaxy was strong enough to fight them; for Palpatine, Outbound Flight was always intended to fail, and become a deathtrap for the Jedi onboard.^[7]

Vessel details[]

Main article:Outbound Flight

Outbound Flight was composed of a central storage core surrounded by sixDreadnaught-class heavy cruisers designatedD-One throughD-Six. The main control area forOutbound Flight was located in D-One.^[1]

Each dreadnaught was linked to its neighbors and the core by pylonturbolifts, allowing passengers to move from dreadnaught to dreadnaught or dreadnaught to core. ToObi-Wan Kenobi's surprise,Outbound Flight also usedswoops andspeederbikes to travel throughout a single dreadnaught. The speederbikes and swoops were monitored by a control system on the command bridge ofDreadnaught-One, similar to apodracer control and monitoring system thatAnakin Skywalker had used during his years onTatooine.^[1]

For the most part, droids handled the repair and maintenance onOutbound Flight. For example, there were droids for making large repairs such as welding large plates to patch up walls,^[1] and there were droids for doing simple tasks like cleaning up debris.^[8]

Launch[]

Outbound Flight set out from Yaga Minor in the Outer Rim, under the command ofCaptainPakmillu. For three weeks, it stayed in Republic space, traveling in turn toLonnaw,Argai via theGlythe sector, theKokash andMondress sectors, and making a final stop atRoxuli. 230light-years from the edge ofWild Space, the Outbound Flight intended to stop to calibrate its navigational instruments, and then journey into the Unknown Regions for colonization.^[1] After traveling in a large circle through them, it would eventually depart to theedge of the galaxy.^[9]

Aboard were 45,000 colonists,^[4] 5,000 crew, six Jedi Masters, twelve Knights, and onePadawan. Amongst them wereObi-Wan Kenobi andAnakin Skywalker, two last-minute additions to the roster put on by Mace Windu to keep an eye on C'baoth. At the edge of the galaxy, they would depart in a two-personDelta-12Skysprite and return to known space. As the voyage went underway, Obi-Wan began to consider staying aboard for the entire length of the mission; however, he left sooner than expected. Palpatine learned of their participation in the project, and, wanting Anakin Skywalker alive, he arranged to meet Outbound Flight at Roxuli. There, he pulled Kenobi and his Padawan from the flight, officially to mediate a mining conflict. Because C'baoth would not alter his schedule, theOutbound Flight departed without the two Jedi.^[1]

It was planned forOutbound Flight to return at the end of its mission. Though the timeframe for this was unknown, it was provisioned with supplies for ten years of travel, though it could restock on any nearby habitable planets. Some colonists would be left in settlements as well, with one of the Dreadnaughts detaching from the rest of the vessel to give them protection and, if necessary, transport.^[1]

C'baoth takes command[]

During the expedition, Jorus C'baoth took over the ship fromCaptainPakmillu and was extremely strict and unfair to the non-Force-sensitive people. He stole children in the night to train, would not permit decoration, and punished people severely for accidents. The crew began to despise him and contemplate rebellion and escape. C'baoth's former PadawanLorana Jinzler, who disagreed with her master's efforts, tried to appease the disgruntled passengers. Obi-Wan Kenobi advocated leniency and the ability for parents to choose whether or not to join the aboard training facility, but C'baoth would not listen and was much pleased when Kenobi departed atRoxuli.

The end of Outbound Flight[]

Thrawn's gambit[]

Palpatine, in his alter-ego as Darth Sidious, had sent Kinman Doriana to lead aTrade Federationtask force of fifteen ships under the command ofVicelordSiv Kav into the Unknown Regions to wait in ambush forOutbound Flight. However, Doriana's fleet first metChiss Expansionary Defense Forces under the command ofMitth'raw'nuruodo (known better as Thrawn). Using superior tactics, theChiss quickly subdued the task force in thebattle, destroying all ships but the flagshipDarkvenge.

Thrawn contacted theDarkvenge, and Doriana explained the purpose of their mission, stating that the Jedi were a threat toChiss space. Thrawn did not believe him, and Doriana was brought on board Thrawn's ship. There, he told Thrawn of the real threat, an extragalactic species he called the Far Outsiders; their true name, theYuuzhan Vong. According to Doriana, if Outbound Flight were to succeed in its mission, the Far Outsiders would be alerted to the Republic before adequate defensive preparations could be made. The Jedi, he said, were too arrogant to recognize or respond to the threat, so they therefore had to be eliminated.^[1]

Thrawn knew of the Far Outsiders, as the Chiss had fought one of their reconnaissance parties before. Doriana made Thrawn contact his master, Darth Sidious, who reiterated the threat the Far Outsiders andOutbound Flight posed. Thrawn decided to disable the vessel and force it to return to the Republic, or leave the galaxy via another route; he would destroy it if necessary.^[1]

Destruction[]

Main article:Battle for Outbound Flight

Thrawn began placing Doriana'sdroid starfighters on an asteroid in preparation to stop theOutbound Flight. Meanwhile, Thrawn's "prisoner"Jorj Car'das left the Chiss fleet and contacted theVagaari, a nomadic and deadly enemy of theChiss, in an attempt to get them to attack the Chiss forces, so as to free his friends. This was actually a ploy by the mastermind Thrawn, who saw this event as an opportunity to destroy the Vagaari as well as Outbound Flight. Using aVagaari ship net stolen from an earlier engagement, he had it setup at a position that would be both along the path ofOutbound Flight, and in between the Vagaari's last known position and the ChissCrustai base.^[1]

Outbound Flight was forced to exit hyperspace first by the Vagaari ship net'sinterdiction field. Thrawn contacted C'baoth and boarded theOutbound Flight to meet. Negotiations failed, as the Jedi Master refused to return home or take another route out of the galaxy, while the Chiss Commander maintained that he could not risk letting the Jedi come into contact with the Far Outsiders.^[1]

Shortly afterwards, the Vagaari were ripped out of hyperspace on their way to attack the Chiss base. When the Vagaari threatened to attackOutbound Flight, C'baoth and the rest of the Jedi used theirbattle meld to confuse the Vagaari warriors. Thrawn took this moment to activate theVulture droids to engage the confused Vagaari, as well as activate battle droids and droidekas that he had positioned on the Vagaari ship prior to the attack (with Car'Das delivering them, pretending to betray the Chiss). With the Vagaari gunners dazed by the Jedi, the droid fighters were able to get close enough to disable most of the Vagaari ships without killing the prisoners they were using as living shields, and the Vagaari themselves were slain by the battle droids and the droidekas.^[1]

Thrawn counted on the fact that while invading the Vagaari's minds, the Jedi would feel their pain. The Jedi were distracted and overwhelmed by thedisturbance in the Force caused by the death of the Vagaari whose minds they were confusing. During the disturbance, C'baoth and his fellow Jedi failed to detect the Chiss forces that were sneaking in, and Thrawn managed to systematically destroy the weapon clusters of theOutbound Flight, killing almost every Jedi aboard, save for Jorus C'baoth and Lorana Jinzler.^[1]

In a fit of rage, C'baoth fell to the dark side andForce-choked Thrawn, nearly killing him. A panicking Kinman Doriana diverted the Vulture droids from the Vagaari and sent them smashing into the ship, opening it to space. The special radiation bombs on some of the droid ships (which Thrawn had intended for use against the Vagaari), then detonated themselves inside each Dreadnaught ofOutbound Flight; as a result, some of the Vagaari were able to escape.^[1]

Survivors[]

Only Lorana and fifty-seven colonists, whom Jorus C'baoth imprisoned in the core, managed to escape.

Lorana, along with Thrawn's brother,Thrass, sent the ship into lightspeed and crashed it into aplanetoid later known as part of the star clusterThe Redoubt. Outbound Flight entered the gravitational field of the nearby planet, and with the craft's thrusters burnt out, Thrass and Lorana had to crash-land the craft. Astone-filled trench was chosen to absorb the impact of landing. A few moments before impact, Lorana and Thrass realized the fifty-seven survivors had moved from the central storage core to D-4, the Dreadnaught on the opposite side of D-1, their location. Lorana and Thrass knew they would have to land on D-1 to save D-4, and gave their lives so that the remaining colonists would have a chance for survival.

The Outbound Flight Colony[]

Fifty-seven of the forty-five thousand colonists survived the destruction ofOutbound Flight. The injuries they had sustained in the attack and the poor living conditions in the wreck took their toll on the survivors. By the time the crash site was rediscovered in22 ABY, only ten members of the original survivors remained. It was due to C'baoth's arrogance and draconian behavior that the survivors ofOutbound Flight had such a resentment and hatred for the Jedi.^[8] In an attempt to organize themselves, aManaging Council was formed to make policy decisions for the survivors.^[10] The people who were thought to be Force-sensitive were moved and quarantined to a separate dreadnought. Traps were also made to foil any attempts of entering the colony, such as hidden turbolifts.

Rediscovery[]

For forty-nine years, nothing was known of the fate ofOutbound Flight. Obi-Wan Kenobi is known to have researchedhyperlanes into the Unknown Regions in preparation for leading a search for the lost ship, though this attempt was obviously unsuccessful.^[11]

Following Grand Admiral Thrawn's assassination during theBattle of Bilbringi, his private notes were retrieved by theNew Republic, revealing Thrawn's role inOutbound Flight's destruction. In10 ABY, New Republic historianArhul Hextrophon mentioned the Galactic Republic's extragalactic exploration during a guest lecture at theBrionelle Memorial Military Academy onChandrila. He told that the Old Republic had several times tried to contact other galaxies, but all the previous attempts were deemed failures, and Outbound Flight Project was the most recent extragalactic expedition. According to Hextrophon, Thrawn's notes proved that his goal was to eliminate the six Jedi Masters. He also explained thatOutbound Flight was ordered to be destroyed by Palpatine.^[12]

In 22 ABY, aCEDF patrol discovered the remains of the vessel. After doing a fly-by at long range to verify what they had found, they reported back to the NineRuling Families, who decided to declare that region off-limits.AristocraChaf'orm'bintrano, also known as Formbi, contacted theHand of Thrawn base onNirauan with instructions. They forwarded a message to Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker stating that the Chiss wished to make amends forOutbound Flight's destruction, and as it had been a Jedi project, wanted to invite the head of theNew Jedi Order.^[1]

Formbi had another, secret goal in mind. Wanting to push the Chiss into a confrontation with the Vagaari, but knowing that they would not attack first, he usedOutbound Flight as a lure to draw them into taking aggressive action against the Chiss.

The colonists, not wanting anything to do with theNew Republic due to its association with the Jedi, chose to join theEmpire of the Hand, though many were reluctant to leave the wreck ofOutbound Flight. Though it would take a long time to excavate and extract any information on the ship's computers, Luke hoped to eventually find records of the old Jedi Order that he could use to build his new one.^[1]

Passengers and crew[]

Jedi[]

There were six Jedi Masters, twelve Jedi Knights (including newly knighted Lorana Jinzler), and one Padawan aboardOutbound Flight. Amongst them were:

• MasterJorus C'baoth
• MasterEvrios
• Lorana Jinzler
• Obi-Wan Kenobi (disembarked at Roxuli)
• MasterJustyn Ma'Ning
• Anakin Skywalker (disembarked at Roxuli)
• TwoDuros

Non-Jedi[]

• Algrann
• Jobe Keely
• CaptainPakmillu
• Dillian Pressor
• Jorad Pressor
• Katarin Pressor
• Sivv
• Brace Tarkosa
• Chas Uliar

Behind the scenes[]

The Essential Chronology andThe New Essential Guide to Characters indicate the project departed before29 BBY, but this is superseded by the date given in the subsequent novels.

Appearances[]

• Outbound Flight(andunabridged audiobook)
• SkyeWalkers: A Clone Wars Story(Mentioned only)
• "Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241" —Star Wars Insider 84(Mentioned only)
• X-Wing: The Bacta War(andunabridged audiobook)(Mentioned only)
• Tatooine Ghost(Mentioned only)
• Heir to the Empire(andunabridged audiobook)(First mentioned, in book)
• Dark Force Rising(andunabridged audiobook)(Mentioned only)
• The Last Command(andunabridged audiobook)(Mentioned only)
• Vision of the Future(andunabridged audiobook)(Mentioned only)
• Survivor's Quest(andunabridged audiobook)(First appearance, in book)
• The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial(Mentioned only)
• Dark Nest I: The Joiner King(Mentioned only)
• Crosscurrent(Mentioned only)
• Riptide(Mentioned only)

Sources[]

Notes and references[]