Returning to Taris
Once home to a sprawling planet-wide city, Taris was razed long ago by the Sith Lord Darth Malak while seeking to eliminate the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan. Now, a post-apocalyptic Taris is being realized in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. After 300 years, Republic and Jedi leaders are moving forward with the efforts at colonization.

Watch insights from James Ohlen, Drew Karpyshyn, Scott Carpenter, and Mark How about the new environments – and adventures – awaiting players in our latest Developer Dispatch: Returning to Taris! (Source)

Threat of Peace, Issue #27
The twenty-seventh issue of Threat of Peace™ concludes the volume with a surprising turn of events as Jedi Knight Satele Shan, Fortris Gall, and Special Forces Lieutenant Tavus report their battle with the Sith to Master Orgus Din. The story comes full circle when Braden the Bounty Hunter finally completes the contract which got him tied up in this mess in the first place.

Check out the final issue of Threat of Peace now. (Source)

This is the final issue for Threat of Peace. That said, we do have an announcement coming in two week’s related to The Old Republic webcomic.

Dromund Kaas, Imperial Seat of Power
Colonized and built upon by the Sith Empire, Dromund Kaas is home to the Emperor and his Dark Council. Almost completely forgotten for over a thousand years, the rediscovery of this world prompted the Sith surprise attacks that plunged the entire galaxy headlong into war. Despite being “off the map” by comparison to more heavily visited planets, such as the training world of Korriban, Dromund Kaas is very much the center of the Empire. Although the Emperor himself seems to have fallen silent recently, his Dark Council may have awakened a dangerous, hidden power within the planet’s jungles and ruins. (Source)

Threat of Peace, Issue #23
The twenty-third issue of Threat of Peace™ brings us beneath the surface of Dantooine where Sith Lords Baras and Angral are waiting in the planet’s ancient crystal caves; they know the Jedi will attack. Sure enough, Master Dar’Nala leads Jedi Knight Fortris Gall and Lieutenant Tavus to the caves to slay the Sith and lay the blame on them for destroying the peace treaty. When Jedi Knight Satele Shan tracks down her friends and realizes her Master yet lives, however, anything can happen…

Check out the latest issue of Threat of Peace now. (Source)

Far in the Outer Rim, the sands of Tatooine bake beneath the glare of two bright suns. Small pockets of barely civilized communities dot the desolate landscape, surrounded by the endless expanse of barren dunes and rocky canyons that have silently slain so many of those who ventured out into desert. Among the small shantytowns and settlements that persist, travelers may find shelter from the brutal climate, but trust is as rare as water on this lawless world. Visitors and locals alike must constantly watch their backs in Tatooine’s townships.

The twenty-second issue of Threat of Peace™ takes us to the long-abandoned Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, where Lieutenant Tavus meets the true culprit behind the efforts to undermine the peace treaty. It seems Master Dar’Nala survived her Imperial captivity after all, and everything that’s happened since has been all part of her plan. Despite his doubts, Lieutenant Tavus agrees to assist Master Dar’Nala in completing her plan by slaying the Sith mastermind, Lord Baras.

Check out the latest issue of Threat of Peace now.

LucasArts and BioWare are forging a new Star Wars™ era of epic adventure with their forthcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Set more than 3,500 years in the past of the far-away galaxy, the game occurs in a time when the Jedi and the Galactic Republic clashed with the Sith Empire. It is an era rich with storytelling opportunities not only for players, but for fans of Star Wars literature.

Already, online fans are aware of Threat of Peace™, the serialized web-comic written by BioWare’s Rob Chestney. This April, Dark Horse Comics begins collecting the comic into a 96-page trade paperback, Star Wars: The Old Republic Volume 1: Threat of Peace, with art by Alex Sanchez, and colors by Michael Atiyeh.

Threat of Peace author Rob Chestney is also slated to write a new, original The Old Republic short story for online publication here at StarWars.com.

Next July, Del Rey Books will publish in hardcover Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, a novel by bestselling author Sean Williams. Now in the early planning stages is a second novel set in the Old Republic time frame, written by Paul Kemp, author of the forthcoming Crosscurrent.

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For those of you who may have attended or read reviews from the Electronic Arts European Press Tour that happened earlier this week, you already know the answer to this. It’s the Imperial Agent!

The Imperial Agent is heavily inspired by several classic Star Wars characters such as Zam Wessel and Grand Moff Tarkin. Imperial Agents work behind the scenes to get the work of the Empire done. Specializing in high-tech gear, the Imperial Agent always has the right tools at the right time. They use abilities of subversion and subterfuge to infiltrate and assassinate enemies of the Sith Empire with deadly efficiency. Players who choose to be Imperial Agents in The Old Republic (TOR) will see the underbelly of the Empire in a whole new light.

The weapon in question here is actually a supercharged Imperial vibroblade. It’s shorter than the traditional vibroblade–designed for one-shot stealth attacks. The blade’s powercell releases one massive jolt of energy when the weapon hits its target, rendering it largely useless afterward, but usually, of course, the target is in pretty much the same state.

Will you get to wield these weapons in the game? I can neither confirm nor deny that. Suffice to say, if you do, don’t bother trying it against Baras. Electricity is practically running through his veins in the first place. You don’t want to wind up like the would-be assassin the comic. Maybe if you try two? (Source)