The NJO is almost over. What next?

[El Chuxter]

The countdown has begun. There are two more paperbacks (Force Heretic III: Reunion and The Final Prophecy) and one last hardcover (The Unifying Force) before the war between the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong will be over.
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

So two related questions immediately come to mind: how will it end, and what next?

Here's some tidbits we know, and I'm just stealing these from the descriptions at theforce.net (http://www.theforce.net/books/bookschedule.shtml), combined with some logical deductions.

Reunion

1. Luke's team will find Zonoma Sekot, which will (at least initially) be unwilling to join them.
2. The Yuuzhan Vong will attack Luke's team, meaning they are making incursions into Chiss Space. (And thus bringing those blue boys right into the war.)
3. Han and Leia are somehow involved in the Vong plot to inflame ethnic conflicts into genocidal wars. Presumably the Vong who disguised himself as a Ssi-Ruuk will show up.

The Final Prophecy

1. Luke's team will still be negotiating with Zonoma Sekot. The Yuuzhan Vong will steal a ship from the planet, which Nen Yim will study, learning "long-forgotten secrets of the Yuuzhan Vong." (I assume this will be the final prophecy referred to in the title, and tie in with the Eighth (?) Cortex that's been mentioned in several recent books.)
2. Wedge will fight the Vong and become stranded in Vong space.
3. Tahiri somehow plays a major role.

The Unifying Force

1. Zonoma Sekot may still be wishy-washy. :mad:
2. Many high-ranking good guys are scheduled to be sacrificed (including Wedge? :eek: ).
3. The Yuuzhan Vong will be encroaching on Mon Calamari.
4. Nom Anor's rebellion will at last come to fruition.
5. Judging from the title, my guess is that the Jedi will finally learn from Tahiri, Anakin, Jacen, and Vergere and be able to sense the Yuuzhan Vong.
6. The bio-weapon will be at or near completion.
7. One side will win or lose.

Okay. . . I don't much care about Zonoma Sekot, to be honest. It may or may not play a crucial role in the war, but the Yuuzhan Vong are already spread way too thin, and I think with the application of the knowledge they should've already picked up and the aid of the Chiss and Empire, the Jedi should be able to whomp them good without Zonoma Sekot.

Unfortunately, I think at least one major character will have to die in these three books. :( You can't start with death, keep killing people all throughout, and then make everything happy and jolly in the end. I doubt Lucas will okay another main character from the films, so perhaps it's Mara, Kyp, or Corran who will make the ultimate sacrifice. :(

But then, what next?

Troy Denning is scheduled to write a trilogy of paperbacks set after the NJO (see The Official Site (http://www.starwars.com/eu/news/2003/06/news20030619.html)), so at least there's a galaxy left.

Coruscant, Ithor, Rodia, Duro, most of Hutt Space, and countless other systems are effectively destroyed. The Library at Obra-Skai and the Sith Temples of Yavin are gone, as is the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. There is no remaining link to the history of the galaxy that I can think of.

Several species, including the Barabels, Yevetha, and possibly the Hutts, are extinct.

Where will the new government be headquartered? What will they do?

Perhaps more importantly, given how our favorite characters are aging and dying, will anyone care?

I'm stumped. I can't think of how the series can possibly go on. There's the chance we'll get (probably in 2006) the book or books where Luke finally learns about Padm&eacute, but aside from that, it's pretty open. . . and bleak.

[Eternal Padawan]

Tatooine will either become the new capital, or be the pivotal system in the final outcome of the war. perhaps the Vong will end up residing there... Lando, Han and Leia will die.

I thought DelRey was putting "current" continuity (i.e. post NJO)on the back burner for awhile and concentrating on Clone Wars and Episode III, as well as filling in gaps in the older stories (like Tatooine Ghost.) I think after Episode III comes out, there will be a large multi book epic concentrating on Luke and Leia's search for their mother's identity. I mean, at that point the story will have been filled in filmwise, so nothing contradictory could be written. Then I think enough time will have passed that they can bring back Anakin Solo as the new reconstructed uber-heavy in the SW universe. BECAUSE HE'S NOT DEAD....

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Chuxter and others, let's all say this together:
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Thank you. I just feel that Z. Sekot (which is "tokes a monoz" backwards :confused: ) is going to turn out to be not as important as Luke thinks it will be. A la Planet of Twilight when he's looking for his mother and finds diddly squat. I hope that's not the case, but I just have a hunch. Tahiri has to be a major player, since she's the logical go-between as a hybrid human/Y.Z.
Isn't SW an escape from reality? Why do the authors feel the need to make the made-up universe "real" by killing off characters? To quote El C. "Unfortunately, I think at least one major character will have to die in these three books." That's sad; your deduction is logical, Chuxter, but still a crummy idea (not yours, theirs). Sigh. :(
Maybe we'll be shown in SW Episode III: Threepio is Sidious :p that the galaxy is ruined and thrashed, so the NJO will seem tame by comparison. :sur:

[Vortex]

I was thinking that they find the rogue planet...it doesn't want to get involved and while luke and co. are sweet talking it, the vong show up and try to steal a ship, but like the rogue planet book, the ships need to be made in conjunction with the pilot. The planet says it will only make 1 ship after some grueling test and of course our heros win that test, but then it comes down to who gets to have a ship made, mara, luke, jacen are the prime canidates, but jacen won't do it since he's still wishy washy. So it down to luke and mara. And I think Mara wins the draw.
The good guys get one ship, take it back and it does a number in the battles and luke finds out that his father and obi wan had one made.

Battle rages for a bit, chiss get attacked and threaten to use the chemical agent, but hold off for a bit. Droma's Ryn movement finds out about some big vong offensive and warns the solos and the galactic alliance heads it off and pretty much destroys the bulk of the vong forces. In the process Ackbar take one last final command and sacrifices his ship and life to turn the tides.

Big T, discovers how to sense the vong and teaches the other jedi who to sense them and helps teach others vong mentality and compassion since she's part vong.

The vong get beat back to belkidan and some other rim world and the galactic alliance sets up safe guards to keep them contained, and they start the galaxy wide clean up and try to pick up the pieces.

As for books after these events...I couldn't even begin to guess...rebuilding, new civil war...

As for kill offs...we've already lost chewie and anakin, ackbar is on his last leg...fel could go, or any of the other made up folks, but isn't that taboo to kill off a character that's not your creation? I don't think we'll loose any more actual screen characters.

[scruffziller]

I would like to see more books like Tatooine Ghost.
OT books that bring in the PT references.

[El Chuxter]

I agree, scruffziller. Like the Eternal Padawan has pointed out before, at some time in or shortly after 2005, we have to have a book where Luke and Leia finally learn about Anakin, Padm&eacute, and Jar Jar Binks.