The novella Side Trip was the first collaboration between Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole. The novella consists of four parts, parts one and four being written by Timothy Zahn and parts two and three written by Michael A. Stackpole. Parts one and two were originally published in the Star Wars Adventure Journal 12 by West End Games in February 1997 and parts three and four were originally published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 13 by West End Games in May 1997. The full story was later compiled in the Short Story Anthology Tales from the Empire which was published by Bantam Spectra in November 1997. It was also available online via Hyperspace.