[Extremely Ron Howard Voice] "Now the story of a wealthy Empire who lost everything...and the one Captain who had no choice but to keep them all together..."

While your man Pellaeon can't sleep well, he sure can scheme. His investigations into Imperial corruption are going swimmingly and he's plotting an elaborate library heist. Meanwhile, Han and Leia get caught between a mob and a Bothan staircase. C3P0 is blasted to smithereens but apparently, "he'll be alright" (WTF?! Droids' rights!). Mara Jade is trapped in an ugly ass cave, going cuckoo bananas and yelling about Skywalkers to any bats who will listen. And Lando has unwittingly become a pawn in Disra's latest plot to blue the Imperial remnant.

The Bothan people continue their crime spree with a turn into massive financial fraud. Talon Karrde shows up with a gift and a threat. Mara just parked in the driveway but she has to turn around and go to the corner store for more intel. Luke might finally understand what the Force is all about. And Pellaeon continues his gofundme tour of the remnants of the Empire.

The Senate is in an uproar about how to dish out justice in the face of genocide — but at least they agree that their new interior decorator has impeccable taste. Han Solo casually commits Watergate-adjacent political crimes so that he can argue over payment plans for espionage with Talon Karrde. And Luke Skywalker goes on a bonkers undercover mission with the help of stage makeup and a rack of ribs — but without the help of the Force. As per yuzh, Mara Jade saves his farmboy butt.

The High Council of Imperial Bitches has their inaugural meeting. An extremely stable political alliance forms. A Smuggle Buddy begins to doubt her life choices. Pellaeon puts on his detective hat. Wedge tries to back out of buying a melon.

Once again, we find ourselves on the bridge of the Chimera with one Gilad Pellaeon, staring thoughtfully into space. Only this time, there's no more Thrawn and Pellaeon is having a bad case of the Mondays. 19 years after the Battle of Yavin, the galaxy is completely changed, with the Empire controlling scraps and the New Republic (theoretically, at least) large and in charge. While Pellaeon is pondering surrender, Han Solo is trying to do some diplomacy in order to ensure his wife gets an actual break from running the galaxy. Luke is having a mental breakdown while flying when he realizes that not everyone likes him -- even if they have read his wiki page!! And Leia has an unexpected meet up with Talon Karrde and the smuggle buddies, in which they come to the horrifying conclusion that Borsk Fey'lya might actually have a point.

This week, we chat with the delightful author of The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire. Dr. Kempshall walks us through what an Imperial archive might include (or not include), which EU character he could imagine ghostwriting for, and finally gives us an answer to the persistent question: "how often should Luke Skywalker be thrown in the brig for stealing an X-Wing?" (tl;dr just like...maybe don't recruit any space wizards to your military.)

We loved this book. So our only remaining question is this: what Chandrillan palms do we have to grease to get Chris assigned to write Artistically Done: The Life and Times of Grand Admiral Thrawn?

If all goes according to plan, we'll start our new year and next season with an interview with Dr. Chris Kempshall — author of "The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire."

The book traces how and why Palpatine took power (spoiler: Sith crap) and how middle managers, bureaucrats, and neutral evil civilians held the Empire together. It also tries to make the most rational case we've encountered so far for the "return of Palpatine" and his Vegas residency on Exegol. It's an in-universe history, written from the perspective of an in-universe historian who is slowly losing his mind with the realization that you can't snuff out fascism just 'cause you blew up a Death Star. Or...three?

Stay tuned after a small break for an interview with this galaxy's author. And then we'll embark on the HAND OF THRAWN DUOLOGY (I know, right?! It's finally happening!).

A quick pre-cap of what you can look forward to from us in early 2026, so you can scour the used bookshelves now! (Hey-la, hey-la, the Grand Admiral's back.)

As this novel and trilogy draw to a close, the universe seems to be conspiring to make Han the grumpiest space pirate this side of Nar Shadda.

Actually, it's not the universe. It's Bria and Han's inability to hear one another, despite a surprising amount of honesty (okay, and maybe the teensiest bit of betrayal). After a firm business handshake leads to a naughty coin flip and sexy times on the cat warrior planet, Han and Bria are separately convinced that the other one is going to ditch their respective dreams in order to keep the party going. Uh..."spoiler"...? No.In the end, Kelly gives A.C. Crispin's Han Solo trilogy 1,000/12 parsecs and Emily is left longing for more close-up magic and Wookie sandwiches. And for some reason, we're strangely compelled to go watch Rogue One.......... 🤔

Sit yourself down, my lads, as we delve into ever more Hutt schemes and ever wilder seating arrangements. Hutt clans are squaring off both metaphorically and literally. Xizor and Guri are using the power of Black Sun and electronic butts that just don't quit to take over the galaxy's spice production. Chewie is practicing self care and going to bed early. And, in the true spirit of Space Thanksgiving, Han is grabbing a series of increasingly emotionally fraught catch-up drinks with old friends and exes now that he's back in his hometown after doing a study abroad.

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