Death Troopers
Encyclopedia
Death Troopers is a Star Wars
novel written by Joe Schreiber. Schreiber's idea was to create a horror story in the Star Wars universe that pulled from horror movies he enjoyed such as the Shining
and Alien
. The novel is the first horror story
based in the Star Wars
Universe since the Galaxy of Fear
series, released in the late 90s. Released on October 13, 2009, Death Troopers is set just before the events shown in A New Hope
. It will be heavily featured in the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies
with SOE confirming a full page of information and advertisements of the game in the book. On September 22, 2010, Ballantine Books revealed the cover of the prequel novel, also by Schreiber, called Red Harvest
drifting nearby, derelict and seemingly abandoned. When a boarding party from the Purge is sent to scavenge for parts, only half of them come back, bringing with them a contagion so lethal that within hours, almost all aboard the Purge are dead - the half-dozen survivors are two teenage brothers, Kale and Trig Longo, a ruthless captain of the guards, Jareth Sartoris, and the chief medical officer, Zahara Cody, all of whom seem to possess natural immunity.
The Purge's onboard computer informs Cody that there are also two survivors in isolation, and Cody leaves the medibay to release them and administer an antidote synthesized from her blood by the incumbent 21B medical droid "Waste". The isolated prisoners are Han Solo
and Chewbacca
who initially are sceptical of the situation, however allow her to immunize them, and make their way back to medical. Upon returning to medical they find it empty, and Waste destroyed. The dead have become undead
and begin to hunt the survivors who are forced to abandon Purge and take shelter in the Star Destroyer, unaware that the Destroyer is not the better place to be.
All the survivors are separated: Sartoris faces the few living survivors who have become cannibalistic, and are hiding in an Imperial Assault shuttle previously captured by the Star Destroyers tractor beam. Solo & Chewbacca make their way to the bridge in an attempt to either fly the Destroyer, or at least turn off the tractor beam. Kale dies from an infected wound, returns to life as a zombie, and is subsequently killed again by Trig. Cody finds herself in the Destroyers medbay, and with the aid of the destroyers own 21B discovers the cause of the contagion: Codenamed Blackwing, it is an artificially created virus - intended to slow the onset of decay and rigor mortis
, and increase the healing capacity of the human body prior to death. The Destroyer was taking it to an isolated outpost for testing. However, the contagion - characterised by a grey goo - leaked from its containers and infected the entire ship, converting its 8,000 crew into the undead. Cody observes from her vantage point that the remaining ships in the docking bay are being filled with the zombies - they are attempting to leave the Destroyer and spread their contagion throughout the galaxy.
After escaping from the shuttle, Sartoris meets up with Solo, Chewbacca & Trig, then sacrifices himself to allow them to escape, after revealing he has been bitten by an undead and is himself turning into a zombie. They return to the shuttle and successfully leave the destroyer, but discover a zombie has made it aboard the shuttle, and has killed the two remaining original survivors. The zombie is shot by Cody - who they had previously thought killed when the shuttle ready room she was hiding in was destroyed by the zombies - and she points out that the rest of the escaped ships are no longer controlled - as they watch two infested Tie fighter
s collide with each other and explode. Cody theorises that Blackwing is only effective when in range of the original contagion source on the Destroyer, and that now removed from the source the zombies have again "died".
The four survivors leave the Destroyer and now-derelict ships, and find a planet where they sell the shuttle to a pirate group. Solo and Chewbacca leave to re-buy their impounded ship, while Cody and Trig use their share of the sale to visit a distant planet - home to one of the dead prison guards, and deliver a note he was in the process of writing when Blackwing took him.
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
novel written by Joe Schreiber. Schreiber's idea was to create a horror story in the Star Wars universe that pulled from horror movies he enjoyed such as the Shining
Shining
-In fiction:*The Shining , a 1977 novel by Stephen King**The Shining , a loose 1980 film adaptation of King's novel directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson...
and Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
. The novel is the first horror story
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
based in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
Universe since the Galaxy of Fear
Galaxy of Fear
Galaxy of Fear is a series of science fiction novels set in the Star Wars galaxy three years after Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The books are meant for younger readers. The books ranged from 100 pages to 200 pages in large print. The series of 12 books was written by John Whitman, and were...
series, released in the late 90s. Released on October 13, 2009, Death Troopers is set just before the events shown in A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
. It will be heavily featured in the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies is a Star Wars themed MMORPG for Microsoft Windows developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts.-History:...
with SOE confirming a full page of information and advertisements of the game in the book. On September 22, 2010, Ballantine Books revealed the cover of the prequel novel, also by Schreiber, called Red Harvest
Plot
The Imperial prison barge Purge, temporary home to five hundred of the galaxy's most ruthless killers, rebels, scoundrels and thieves, breaks down in a distant, uninhabited part of space. Its only hope appears to lie with a Star DestroyerStar Destroyer
Star Destroyers are capital ships in the fictional Star Wars universe. The Imperial Star Destroyer, which first appears in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , is "the signature vessel of the Imperial fleet"...
drifting nearby, derelict and seemingly abandoned. When a boarding party from the Purge is sent to scavenge for parts, only half of them come back, bringing with them a contagion so lethal that within hours, almost all aboard the Purge are dead - the half-dozen survivors are two teenage brothers, Kale and Trig Longo, a ruthless captain of the guards, Jareth Sartoris, and the chief medical officer, Zahara Cody, all of whom seem to possess natural immunity.
The Purge's onboard computer informs Cody that there are also two survivors in isolation, and Cody leaves the medibay to release them and administer an antidote synthesized from her blood by the incumbent 21B medical droid "Waste". The isolated prisoners are Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
and Chewbacca
Chewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
who initially are sceptical of the situation, however allow her to immunize them, and make their way back to medical. Upon returning to medical they find it empty, and Waste destroyed. The dead have become undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
and begin to hunt the survivors who are forced to abandon Purge and take shelter in the Star Destroyer, unaware that the Destroyer is not the better place to be.
All the survivors are separated: Sartoris faces the few living survivors who have become cannibalistic, and are hiding in an Imperial Assault shuttle previously captured by the Star Destroyers tractor beam. Solo & Chewbacca make their way to the bridge in an attempt to either fly the Destroyer, or at least turn off the tractor beam. Kale dies from an infected wound, returns to life as a zombie, and is subsequently killed again by Trig. Cody finds herself in the Destroyers medbay, and with the aid of the destroyers own 21B discovers the cause of the contagion: Codenamed Blackwing, it is an artificially created virus - intended to slow the onset of decay and rigor mortis
Rigor mortis
Rigor mortis is one of the recognizable signs of death that is caused by a chemical change in the muscles after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff and difficult to move or manipulate...
, and increase the healing capacity of the human body prior to death. The Destroyer was taking it to an isolated outpost for testing. However, the contagion - characterised by a grey goo - leaked from its containers and infected the entire ship, converting its 8,000 crew into the undead. Cody observes from her vantage point that the remaining ships in the docking bay are being filled with the zombies - they are attempting to leave the Destroyer and spread their contagion throughout the galaxy.
After escaping from the shuttle, Sartoris meets up with Solo, Chewbacca & Trig, then sacrifices himself to allow them to escape, after revealing he has been bitten by an undead and is himself turning into a zombie. They return to the shuttle and successfully leave the destroyer, but discover a zombie has made it aboard the shuttle, and has killed the two remaining original survivors. The zombie is shot by Cody - who they had previously thought killed when the shuttle ready room she was hiding in was destroyed by the zombies - and she points out that the rest of the escaped ships are no longer controlled - as they watch two infested Tie fighter
TIE fighter
TIE fighters are fictional starfighters in the Star Wars universe. Propelled by Twin Ion Engines , TIE fighters are depicted as fast, fragile starfighters produced by Sienar Fleet Systems for the Galactic Empire...
s collide with each other and explode. Cody theorises that Blackwing is only effective when in range of the original contagion source on the Destroyer, and that now removed from the source the zombies have again "died".
The four survivors leave the Destroyer and now-derelict ships, and find a planet where they sell the shuttle to a pirate group. Solo and Chewbacca leave to re-buy their impounded ship, while Cody and Trig use their share of the sale to visit a distant planet - home to one of the dead prison guards, and deliver a note he was in the process of writing when Blackwing took him.