Prior to Disney acquiring the Star Wars franchise, Lucasfilm fostered the creation of a mythos that expanded upon the universe established by the six feature films. The Expanded Universe utilized a range of media outlets such as novels, video games, and comic books to tell new, exciting stories set in the Star Wars galaxy. Expanded Universe creators generally stuck to a formulaic interpretation of the natural order of Star Wars: Jedi were serene, benevolent, and trusted by the galactic populace, while Sith were evil, malicious, and prone to sociopathic acts of mass violence. Characters not falling within those two categories usually appeared as supporting characters and bystanders, rarely featured in their own spin-off novels or comics.
In 2004 Lucasfilm hired author Karen Traviss to pen such a spin-off. Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact followed a squad of elite Republic Commandos as they executed a special operation during the Clone Wars, a series of campaigns that took place after the events of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (AOTC) in which the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) battled the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) for control of the galaxy. Traviss’s novel tied directly into 2005’s Star Wars: Republic Commando video game, which followed a squad of elite special operations soldiers in the events leading up to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Traviss approached the subject matter with a more objective, nuanced eye than many of her peers in the Expanded Universe bullpen. Her background in journalism prior to her work as a science fiction author imbues Hard Contact with a documentary atmosphere which contrasts sharply with the space opera of the Star Wars films. Traviss does not shy away from exploring themes that previous Star Wars stories merely glossed over, such as the role of the Jedi in the galaxy at large and the social and moral implications of a group of superpowered monks existing outside of the galaxy’s established political and judicial order. Traviss’s fresh perspective on the Star Wars universe makes Hard Contact a very accessible novel for those who may be only peripherally familiar with the source material, as she provides appropriate exposition and contextual detail to craft very vivid settings that do not rely on the reader being able to visualize characters or locations from the Star Wars films.
Consisting of equal parts The Guns of Navarone and Starship Troopers, Hard Contact begins at the end of AOTC, with the GAR defeating the CIS in the Battle of Geonosis. Clone commando Darman loses his squad in the battle and is reassigned to Omega Squad, which is tasked to disrupt CIS bioweapon research on Qiilura, an agricultural planet under the military heel of a Mandalorian mercenary named Ghez Hokan. Separated during infiltration, Omega Squad must move overland under crushing 90-pound packs to link up and complete the mission. Darman meets Etain Tur-Murkan, a Jedi Padawan working undercover on Qiilura, whose marginal Force powers and youthful inexperience provide a very welcome respite from the Mary Sue characterization that typifies Expanded Universe depictions of Jedi. With the help of Jinart, a shapeshifting apex predator, Etain and Omega Squad confront Hokan’s droid forces in a thrilling commando raid behind enemy lines.
Throughout the novel, Traviss’s background as a defense correspondent enables her to create a sub-universe of Star Wars in which George Lucas’s classic “used universe” concept gains an additional level of authenticity. From the chaos of Darman’s first firefight on Geonosis, to the nighttime freefall parachute infiltration of Qiilura, to the small-unit tactics Omega Squad employs against Hokan, Hard Contact bears a closer resemblance to Zero Dark Thirty than it does other Star Wars films. The darker tone allows for an adult-oriented exploration of themes such as the moral implications of “Jedi Mind Tricks,” the usage of a slave clone army to fight a war against separatists, and the question of identity for clone soldiers and their Jedi Commanders, both thrust into war without choice or recourse.
Traviss writes in a tight-third person point of view narrative style, rather than utilizing the more traditional omniscient narrator. While this stylistic choice allows for richer, deeper characterization, it can also create misconceptions for the reader, as the biases and opinions of a character can be mistaken for those of the author. Various online discussions accuse Traviss of being anti-Jedi due to the views expressed by characters in her novels, particularly surrounding Jedi ethics. It is important to recognize that Traviss does not employ the tight-third person perspective for the purpose of moral judgement or to further a personal agenda; she uses it to provide an immersive experience for the reader who is able to more closely relate to the characters as they process information, feelings, and sensations in their environment.
Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact is an excellent military sci-fi novel, and one of the better novels in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. As the first in the five-book Republic Commando series, Hard Contact introduces characters and concepts that become even more compelling as the story arc progresses. Ultimately, Traviss’s willingness to tackle uncomfortable discussions that often lie beneath the surface of other Star Wars media make the story more relevant and accessible to a broader audience than a typical Star Wars novel.