Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure

Moving Target:
A Princess Leia Adventure

Publisher's summary[]

Princess Leia returns in an all-new adventure!

In this story, set betweenStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back andStar Wars: Return of the Jedi, Princess Leia must lead a ragtag group of rebels on a treacherous decoy mission against the evil Galactic Empire.^[1]

Opening crawl[]

Reeling from their disastrous defeat on Hoth, theheroic freedom fighters of the REBEL ALLIANCEhave scattered throughout space, pursued by theagents of the sinister GALACTIC EMPIRE.One rebel task force protects PRINCESS LEIA,bearing her in secrecy from star to star. As the lastsurvivor of Alderaan's House of Organa, Leia is asymbol of freedom, hunted by the Empire she hasopposed for so long.The struggle against Imperial tyranny has claimedmany rebel lives. As the Empire closes in, Leiaresolves to make a sacrifice of her own, lest the causeof freedom be extinguished from the galaxy. . . .

Plot summary[]

The story begins shortly beforeThe Force Awakens, with General Leia Organa reluctantly recording her memoirs. She is reminded of a particular mission she participated in the time betweenEmpire andJedi.

As she tells the story, we go back to that time. We find Leia on her flagship, a Nebulon B frigate named theRemembrance. It is under attack by Imperial forces. The ship escapes the battle at the cost of one of their escorts. The main goal of this small flotilla is to protect Leia, as she is a high priority target for the Empire. The best way to keep her safe is to keep her moving. The fact people die just to keep her safe bothers her very much.

In the wake of the battle,C-3PO informs Leia thatMon Mothma has ordered a gathering of the rebel leadership on the planetZastiga. They recruitNien Nunb and his ship, theMellcrawler, to ferry her to the important meeting.

Arriving on the planet, she attends the meeting only to find out that the Empire is building another Death Star aboveEndor. In an effort to come up with a plan, the meeting goes late into the night, the result of which is the basic plan for theBattle of Endor. They decide the Rebel fleet will mass nearSullust to take advantage of a secret Imperial hyperspace lane which will get them to theOuter Rim much faster than otherwise possible.

Leia suggests an additional aspect to the mission. In an effort to distract the Empire from the massing Rebel fleet, Leia will take a small team to various planets and lay message beacons summoning Rebel ships to rendezvous at Yellow Moon in the Corva system, far from Endor. Mon Mothma is uneasy, but says she'll think on it.

Later that night, Mon Mothma visits Leia. After a deep discussion about Leia's motivations and state of mind, the mission, codenamedOperation Yellow Moon, is approved.

The next day the Rebels quietly leave the planet. Leia meets her crew at theMellcrawler. In addition to Nunb as the pilot, she has recruitedKidi Aleri as comm tech;Antrot, the "tinkerer," as their engineer; and commandoMajorLokmarcha as personal protection for Leia. She explains their mission, leaving out the detail that the codes used to encrypt the beacon messages have been broken by the Empire.

Their first stop is the planetBasteel. They meet their contact, a man named Yoff, in his underground home. He informs them the best place to set their beacon is through a complex network of tunnels connected to his chimney. They climb into the tunnel system and plant the beacon near the surface. After a harrowing climb, an encounter with hostile creatures, and a close call with some patrolling TIEs, they escape on theMellcrawler.

As things settle, Kidi comes to the realization that the codes they've used have been cracked. The crew discovers a Star Destroyer is now in orbit of Basteel and is subjugating the planet. Though the point of their mission, Leia feels immense guilt.

Their next stop isSesid, a water world. After buying awful vacation clothes, they rent a boat and plant their beacon on the slopes of a volcano. On their way back, their boat is chased by Imperials. They are rescued by a local pirate band, who prove to be their contacts on the planet. Once again successful, Sesid soon suffers at the hand of the Star DestroyerShieldmaiden.

The crew makes way to the primitive agricultural planetJaresh and sets another beacon. They learn the local population is going to publicly denounce the Empire. Leia tries but fails to convince their leader against this. Her uneasiness finally too much to bear, Leia reveals the true nature of their mission to her crew. She devises a plan to defend the local populace, and they fight off the Empire. Leia knows they will return, but the locals are comfortable with their choice.

According to the plan, their mission is now complete. However, Leia cannot live with abandoning any Rebel ships who respond to their beacons. She decides they will go to Yellow Moon to warn off anyone who shows up. They succeed but are captured by theShieldmaiden.

The crew is imprisoned and prepared for interrogation. Lokmarcha sacrifices himself, allowing Leia and the others to escape. They make their way back to the landing bay. Before the rendezvous, Leia had ordered Antrot to rig theMellcrawler to explode. He realizes that the bomb will not cause enough damage to disable the Star Destroyer so he runs off, sacrificing himself to save the other three.

Leia, Nien and Kidi steal the Imperial shuttleTydirium and escape amidst a space battle. Rebel ships that have rendezvoused at Yellow Moon are attacking theShieldmaiden in an effort to defend Leia. She is able to flee, but at the cost of more life.

Leia contacts Luke. New intel on Han has been discovered; he is onTatooine. They begin to organize a rescue. Back in the present, Leia closes out her story. MajorEmatt lets her know that news has come in fromPoe onJakku.

Continuity[]

Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure hasLeia Organa being informed of theDeath Star II. HoweverDark Droids 1 features Leia already aware of the Death Star II, despite taking place beforeMoving Target.^[8]

Media[]

Editions[]

• ISBN 9781405277877;September 4,2015;Egmont UK Ltd; UK paperback^[9]

Cover gallery[]

Temporary cover

Final cover

Back cover

Egmont paperback cover

Brazilian cover forAlvo em Movimento

Czech cover forPohyblivý cíl

Japanese cover

Appearances[]

Sources[]

• "Journey toStar Wars: The Force Awakens" Publishing Program Coming Fall 2015 onStarWars.com(backup link)
• "Blaster" —Star Wars Insider 157
• Coming Soon to Your Personal Jedi Archives: Journey toStar Wars: The Force Awakens - Sneak Peek! onStarWars.com(backup link)
• "Blaster" —Star Wars Insider 159
• "50 Things to Notice inStar Wars: The Force Awakens" —Star Wars Insider 165(reprinted in Special Edition 2020)
• Continue Your Training: KidsStar Wars Summer Reading List onStarWars.com(backup link)
• How theLast Jedi Novelization Connects to a Galaxy ofStar Wars Books and Comics onStarWars.com(backup link)

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure onDisney Publishing Worldwide'sofficial website(backup link)
• Star Wars The Force Awakens: Moving Target onEgmont'sofficial United Kingdom website(original link is obsolete)