Allowing a Star Wars megafan to write licensed material is just asking for an onslaught of obscure references, retcons, in-jokes, and assorted minutiae. For those who are interested in playing the "Did I Catch All the References?" game, here are the end notes for my Starwars.com Hyperspace fiction piece "Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd, or, What I Did On My Inter-Term Break".

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The characters of Tash Arranda and research-droid-turned-tutor DV-9 were both introduced in Galaxy of Fear #1: Eaten Alive (John Whitman, Bantam Skylark, 1997). Whitman used both "DV-9" and "D-V9" interchangeably throughout the Galaxy of Fear series; I have settled on "DV-9" to match the droid's more familiar nickname "Deevee". Deevee's "class-one" designation is from Eaten Alive.

Note the learning module number on the side, as well as the old school Adventure Journal-style date. I was extremely reluctant to put a date on anything, given that a lot of the HoloNet News dates had to be thrown out following the release of The Clone Wars, but it helps to give the essay the feel of a real document from the GFFA.. I had some help with the date from fellow Jedi Council Literature forum member Mavrick, who is something of an expert in this area. The date should correspond to a time period between the sixth and seventh books in the Galaxy of Fear series.

Lorrd was first mentioned in Han Solo's Revenge (Brian Daley, Del Rey, 1979). Its major exports are established here, with gapanga fruits being a new creation and Lorrdian gemstones being a reference to Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (LucasArts, 2004).

HC (Homework Check) droids first appeared in The Lost City of the Jedi (Paul and Hollace Davids, Bantam Spectra, 1992). While the unit from that story is said to have been the creation of another droid, I'm assuming that, like C-3PO, he is also representative of a mass produced droid model. I'll be honest: I'm channeling my own dislike of essays for grades here. I hate being required to insert specific elements (like "attention getters") at specific junctures in order to get a good grade.

This section recaps Tash's backstory from Galaxy of Fear while throwing in some new details. Like many seemingly important details in the series, exactly where Tash and Zak were on their field trip while Alderaan was destroyed was never made clear. They do always seem to have had knowledge of the Death Star and exactly how Alderaan met its end, which is interesting considering that the Empire attempted to cover up and obscure the details. I concluded that they might have either seen its destruction from Alderaan's sister planet Delaya, or learned about it on Delaya during the immediate aftermath. Delaya has appeared in many sources; mine is Coruscant and the Core Worlds (Craig R. Carey, et al., Wizards of the Coast, 2003). Interestingly enough, not long after I submitted the article, Rebel Force #2: Hostage (Alex Wheeler, Scholastic, 2008) was released, which revealed that many returning Alderaanians were forced to put down on Delaya.

The Arranda parents and Hoole's brother were strangely unnamed in Galaxy of Fear. Hoole's brother in particular is hardly mentioned during the series; he seems to exist only to tie the human Arrandas to the Shi'ido Hoole. Milessa is an Alderaanian name from Coruscant and the Core Worlds (though she is unrelated to Milessa Kand, the character from the sourcebook), while Moloch is the name of a demon from Milton's Paradise Lost. Forms of Belial and Mammon, also used as demons by Milton, have previously been used as Shi'ido names. It's not mentioned in the article (I ran out of space), but the aunt in question is named "Beryl" in Eaten Alive. Why she got a name and her husband and the Arranda parents did not I don't know, but I was pleased to finally give these unseen characters some identity.

The Shroud's seemingly permanent crash landing and the Arranda's encounter with the Rebel Alliance occurred in Galaxy of Fear #6: Army of Terror, while Zak had near-death experiences in both Galaxy of Fear #2: City of the Dead and Galaxy of Fear #5: Ghost of the Jedi. The Shroud reappears, inexplicably salvaged and intact, in Galaxy of Fear #7: The Brain Spiders, which is reconciled for the first time here. (All John Whitman, Bantam Skylark, 1997).

The illustrations on this page are of Han Solo and Mammon Hoole. I can't take credit for these, and did not even know the article was to be illustrated until it was posted. Star Wars webmaster extraordinaire Pablo Hidalgo insists that these are by Tash Arranda herself, although he concedes that she may have had some help.

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Janu Godalhi's status as a law enforcement expert/galactic historian was established in his databank entry (StarWars.com, 2005). Not-so-coincidentally, this was also the first databank entry I contributed to. The Lorrdian's enslavement during the Kanz Disorders was first mentioned in Han Solo's Revenge, and expanded on in Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook, (Michael Allen Horne, West End Games, 1993) which established the Kanz Sector and provided background on the Argazdans, including their race's name and that of their traitorous governor Myrial. The terms "Argazdan Redoubt" and "Myrialite" are from upcoming The Essential Atlas (Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry, Del Rey, 2009), which also links the Mandalorian Wars directly to the Kanz Disorders. (Thanks to Jason Fry for providing the relevant information.)

The planet Amaltanna is from the comic story "Impregnable" found in Clone Wars Adventure Volume 7 (Chris Avellone, Dark Horse Comics, 2007). Its placement in the Kanz Sector and role in the Disorders are new. Amaltanna is a holdover from a very different version of the story that I scrapped, but I still enjoyed using it as an obscure planet.

Tash's knowledge of Lorrd's ancient history allows me to showcase something that Whitman wasn't always able to: Tash's extensive knowledge of certain Jedi legends, which she was constantly reading throughout the series.

Mari-Elan Nora is a new character, but the length of the Kanz Disorder was established in the Corporate Sector Sourcebook. Fiolla first appeared in Han Solo's Revenge. She's one of my favorite characters that Daley introduced in his Han Solo Adventures, so it was exciting to be able to use her, however briefly. Qatamer, Kinyov, Frezen, New Shallos, and the Slave Pits are all new for this article. Felucia's Ancient Abyss is from The Force Unleashed (LucasArts, 2008).

Raygar has only appeared in the animated television episode Ewoks: Battle For the Sunstar (Paul Dini, Nelvana, 1986). His counterpart Imperial villain from the Droids cartoon show, Admiral Screed, has received considerable coverage in other EU materials, so I figured it was time to give Raygar his due. There is an alternate spelling of his name: "Raegar" in several sources, including the latest edition of the Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (Steven Sansweet, et al, Del Rey, 2008) but I realized this too late to address it in the article.

Raygar's identification as an Argazdan is new. This adds history to an obscure character and provides a visual for a previously unseen race. It's a continuity two-for-one! The Wolhanian expedition was first mentioned in Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary (James Luceno, DK Publishing, 2005) as having recovered Sith artifacts for Chancellor Palpatine; this is probably when Raygar was first noticed by the future Emperor. Deevee's "brain capacity of a supercomputer" complaint is from Galaxy of Fear.

Illustrated here are Fiolla and one of the Slave Pits.

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The name of Hart and Parn Starships is taken from Fiolla's full name in Han Solo's Revenge, based on the idea that Lorrdian names are taken from family members. Han alludes to events from the same book. The landspeeder dealership was mentioned in the Corporate Sector Sourcebook, but its expansion is new information. Daermor is new. Meego's dealership was visited in Galaxy of Fear #2: City of the Dead. (This was where Hoole purchased the Shroud. It's a very reliable vehicle-owned only once, by a mad undead scientist, who only flew it to church on Sundays.)

Hoole's visit to a Lorrdian governor and son Kal with Zak and Tash is from The Essential Guide to Alien Species (Ann Margaret Lewis, Del Rey, 2001), but the governor's name, gender, and exact position are all new. I was reluctant to retcon Face and Kal into the same character, but space constraints made it necessary. Zenobia's status as a regional, rather than a planetary governor makes sense as both Face and the Arrandas wouldn't hide out with someone too important.

The R-22 Spearhead, invented as a blanket stand-in for A-Wings before their mass production following the Battle of Yavin, first appeared in C-3PO: Tales of the Golden Droid (Daniel Wallace, Chronicle Books, 1999). The R-22 serves as the Chekov's Gun of this story.

As a side note, I think that the illustration in this article is the first full and intentional depiction of an R-22-other appearances were mostly anachronistic A-Wings retconned into this fighter.

Sebs Jemas Memorial Flight School is new, but Face Loran's future enrollment in a civilian flight school on Lorrd is from X-Wing: Iron Fist (Aaron Allston, Bantam Spectra, 1998). Lorrd City is seen in Legacy of the Force: Betrayal (Aaron Allston, Del Rey, 2006). I intentionally moved the action of this story away from the established Lorrd City because it seemed a little...well, bland. (Sorry Mr. Allston!)

Kal's assumed last name "Berri", is a reference to the actor John Berrymore-one of Aaron Allston's inspirations for Face's character.

Poi fish...I'm not a fan of lifting Earth creatures directly, changing a little bit of their name, and plunking them down in the Star War galaxy, but in this case part of me thought it was necessary to get the full effect of the joke.

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Salis Kabor is a new character; the Kessel revolts mentioned in connection to his name are intended to be those referenced in Queen of the Empire (Paul and Hollace Davids, Bantam Skylark, 1993). Originally, this was to be a much longer, more involved story combining elements from Classic Star Wars: The Second Kessel Run (Russ Manning, Dark Horse Comics, 1997) and Glove of Darth Vader, but it was too much of a tangent and had to be cut. Still, the groundwork for some serious retconning is laid here. Melida/Daan and the Halls of Evidence appeared in Jedi Apprentice #5: The Defenders of the Dead (Jude Watson, Scholastic, 1999). Having a character from one of my favorite young adult Star Wars series reference a location from another of my favorite young adult Star Wars series was awesome.

The brothers Jemas are also new, though the Sebs Jemas character mentioned in the previous section is intended to be one of them. Their backstory also had to be cut for space reasons. The Sertar slave market rebellions are easily the most obscure reference in the article, having only been mentioned in a throwaway line in Monsters and Aliens From George Lucas (Bob Carru, Abradale Books, 1995). (Give yourself 1,000 Mission Points if you caught it on your own!)

The Sith resurgence is the basis of the new online game The Old Republic, and was first mentioned on the game's website (swtor.com, 2008) only weeks after I started work on the article. This reference was a last-minute addition to add historical accuracy; previously, the end of the Kanz Disorders was the only major historical event in this era and all my earlier drafts reflected this. The rank of Jedi Watchman was first mentioned in the endnotes for Dark Empire (Tom Veitch, Dark Horse Comics, 1993). Noremac is a new planet for the Kanz Sector.

It's not explicitly stated here because it would be difficult to do so, but Nora's additional holographic message to Tash implies that she left behind some kind of holocron matrix that was incorporated into her tomb.

Mari-Elan Nora is illustrated here with really nice details.

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Sister Sigil is a new alias for Imperial agent Diamond, who appeared only in Jedi Dawn (Paul Cockburn, Boxtree, 1993), but it follows her penchant for choosing gemstone-based names. Sigil is a type of lightsaber crystal found in Knights of the Old Republic (LucasArts, 2003), and is also a name for a type of religious symbol. Another twofer!

Vianism is a new religion, but it has roots in the Seoulian mother deity Onrai from Star Wars #84: Seoul Searching (Roy Richardson, Marvel Comics, 1984). The Zhell were established as ancient humans in The New Essential Chronology (Daniel Wallace and Kevin J. Anderson, Del Rey, 2005). The similar Sisterhood of the Beatific Countenance was established in the Databank (StarWars.com, 2005) represented by a character appearing in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, Lucasfilm, 2002). The Sisterhood of the Glorious Radiance is intended to be another order of the same religion. The idea of a female divine trinity intrigued me.

It's possible that this Goddess, attached to a different but related belief system, was the one briefly mentioned recently in "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji" (Nathan O'Keefe, LucasOnline, 2009) but since that article wasn't released until long after I'd submitted my final draft, that is just speculation.

The spread of Vianism is new, but the Argazdan's descent from a lost Core World colony ship is from The Essential Atlas, as are the settlers of Lorrd. The Sipsk'ud are a new species for the Kanz Sector...authorial intent is that they are the ducklike species with multiple eyes seen in Classic Star Wars: Bring Me the Children (Russ Manning, Dark Horse Comics, 1997)...but authorial intent is, as always, to be taken with a grain of salt.

The section describing the liberation of Lorrd II is intended to explain the backstory for the Lorrdian gemstones given in Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, using elements from the original Knights of the Old Republic. The former stated that Force sensitive Lorrdians had produced Lorrdian gemstones after being rescued from the Argazdans...an event which was not supposed to take place for several centuries. Thanks to Arwan_Fenn of the Jedi Council Forums for providing the in-game text for reference, and Leto II for anticipating my retcon. The rescued slaves were the ancestors of Mari-Elan Nora, as mentioned in the previous section.

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Nee Alavar appeared as a signatory of the Petition of 2000 in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, Lucasfilm, 2005), while her Lorrdian heritage was established in the Databank. Her execution is new information.

Ebenn Q3 Baobab is the in-universe author of The Galactic Phrasebook and Travel Guide (Ben Burtt, Del Rey, 2001). Performance Square, Pordi zet Chatc, and Torphceris are all new. Adarlon, Coruscant, and Per Lupelo would be the GFFA equivalents of Hollywood, New York, and Las Vegas, respectively. Adarlon first appeared in Star Wars Adventure Journal #5 (West End Games, 1995), while Per Lupelo is from Rebellion: The Ahakista Gambit (Rob Williams, Dark Horse Comics, 2007).

Jungle Flutes is a Face Loran holodrama mentioned in X-Wing: Wraith Squadron (Aaron Allston, Bantam Spectra, 1998). The term "vid-palace" is from Jedi Dawn. The clue here is that Face disappeared because he didn't want to be recognized, which later causes Zak to believe that Kal/Face was meeting with Raygar at the time.

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The phrase "crazed Mimbanite" is a double in-joke: Mimbanites appeared in the granddaddy of all Star Wars novels Splinter of the Mind's Eye (Alan Dean Foster, Del Rey, 1978), and each of the Galaxy of Fear books has at least one reference to a denizen of the Circarpous system featured in that novel. Thus, a reference in this story was pretty much required. "Diary of a Crazed Mimbanite" is, of course, the greatest Star Wars fan parody webstrip ever created. (Sorry, "Darths and Droids"...)

The prank described here is recounted by Hoole himself in The Essential Guide to Alien Species and was the inspiration for this article. It was tricky to make it a part of the plot, but I think it worked out well. Tash is rather vague about her reasons for going along with all this-her infatuation with Kal/Face was originally a larger plot point, intended to explain her sudden change of attitude toward Zak and life in general between Army of Terror and The Brain Spiders. This plot point fell by the wayside for several reasons: it took up too much space, it was kind of fan-ficcish, and there was no real reason for Tash to mention her infatuation explicitly in a school essay. I toyed with the idea of having Zak chime in as well, but would be too hard to pull off since Deevee was already commentating.

Fiolla introduced herself in Han Solo's Revenge with an unusually long name, a very interesting cultural element that has not generally been carried over to other Lorrdian characters. The explanation here allows for virtually any names given to Lorrdian characters while still preserving this unique aspect of Lorrdian culture. Additionally, I've assumed that the "le" element of Lorrdian names (used in Medstar I: Battle Surgeons, Michael Reaves and Steve Perry, Del Rey, 2004) is used to denote female Lorrdians, while I've introced a "zet" element to denote male Lorridians. I've used this consistently in the article, but it's not explicitly spelled out.

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Corellia Antilles first appeared in the Star Wars Adventure Journal #8 (West End Games, 1995). She originally had a large part in the story, having been kicked off the Slave Pit excavation by Raygar, but I soon realized that she would be doing too much of the work for Zak and Tash...and this story had enough Indiana Jones parallels as it was.

The precedent for this Yuuzhan Vong shaper being present in the galaxy thousands of years before the main invasion lies in the Knights of the Old Republic video game. The Mandalorian Ordo tells a tale of an encounter with a vessel that matches the description of a Vong ship. Bimmiel, one of the earliest worlds the Vong were known to have visited, is also in the Kanz sector according to the Essential Atlas.

The illustration here shows Sigil revealing herself to be Agent Diamond. This is actually a pretty good likeness. Raygar is illustrated here as well, although he is strangely not green.

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Heilan Rotham appeared as an ancient scholar on Lorrd in Legacy of the Force: Betrayal. She would be a much, much younger woman in this era.

In my original drafts, it was revealed that, according to legend, Raygar needed Lorrdian blood to awaken the monster, and that Diamond (an established master of disguise) was a native of Lorrd, which also explains why she and the Argazdan Raygar were assigned to this particular project. I also tried to set up some animosity between the two Imperials-all of which was intended to lead up to this dramatic moment where Raygar murders Diamond. Unfortunately, for space and logistical reasons (if Tash didn't know who Diamond was, why would she know she was Lorrdian?) this particular plot thread had to go.

Still, I hope that this gives Raygar some much-needed villain street cred. For someone who tried to assassinate the Emperor and rule the galaxy, Raygar doesn't get much respect. Maybe it's his thinly-veiled Transformer references...

Garik Loran's backstory comes from X-Wing: Wraith Squadron. In that book he mentions having acquired an A-Wing under "kind of odd circumstances." R-22s are frequently referred to as A-Wings. I probably didn't use Face nearly as much as I should have, but once I figured out he and the Arrandas would have been on Lorrd at approximately the same time, Galaxy of Fear rules dictated that they would have to meet, um, face to face.

Face's "won't be back for the sequel" line is appropriate for his irreverent former-actor character, and also references Diamond's cheesy promise that "every book has it's sequel" from Jedi Dawn. That book actually did have a sequel, The Bounty Hunter...which Diamond wasn't in. This article explains why. Thanks go out to Lit Forum member Havet_Storm for helping clear up some of these details.

There's a final line by Deevee on this page that isn't in red, so be sure to watch for it. And, of course, the obligatory horror story "what if it's not dead/already served its purpose" tag at the end. Bum bum BUMMMM!!!

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This section is probably unnecessary, but I like it because it makes the essay feel more like a real school assignment. Still, I had to pare it down considerably: one article that didn't make the cut would have been by Dusque Mistflier, of the notorious Ruins of Dantooine (Voronica Whitney-Robinson, Del Rey, 2004). Note that Godalhi's article was published in the Coruscant Law Journal, since his databank entry doesn't have him embarking on a strictly historical academic career until after the Emperor's death.

Going by the date given here, the edition of the Galactic Phrasebook and Travel Guide Tash referenced would be the one mentioned in Holonet News #51, rather than the edition actually published by Del Rey, which had many post-Endor references.

Ualp Xathan first appeared in Star Wars #84: Seoul Searching, although the book attributed to him here is new, as is his first name. TriPlanetary Press has been mentioned in a number of works, including HoloNet News, but it is, of course, a reference to Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. Beshka was a university location mentioned in "That's Entertainment: The Tale of Salacious Crumb" in Tales from Jabba's Palace (Esther M. Friesner, Bantam Spectra, 1996).

Deevee's reasons for leaving and Koaan are straight from Galaxy of Fear #7: The Brain Spiders. I realize that very few people are going to be able to read the series all the way through, but I hope that this story will make the transition between the first six books and the last six books a little easier for those who do.

Phew! Thanks to those of you who made it all the way though the article and the endnotes! Give yourself another 100 MP!