Before the letters, which were both written quite some time ago (I drafted the first one when I finished the first draft of the very last chapter to be written, which was Chapter 26, and my co-author drafted his when we finished the first big round of edits), a few things.

First, DrMckay (my coauthor) and I are doing final edits on on Interregnum. There are a few things that changed - grammar, spelling, for one, but also very minor plot things. For instance, the mention of Atril having a fiancee was supposed to pay off but when we got to writing the end, it just didn't work, so I went back and removed that mention. Other small continuity things, nothing major - we worked very hard to make sure we wouldn't be put in a position of going back and making major changes after the story was posted. When the edits are done I might take the time to (sighs) update the story one chapter at a time. I'll also find someplace to make an ebook copy available, one with actual proper formatting.

Second, we are in fact working on a sequel. Don't get excited. You won't see anything for months. Even if we can maintain a one chapter a week pace, which is ... optimistic ... I won't let us post anything until the story is mostly written, so... it'll be a long wait. (Also, I need to take some time to write fiction with characters and a setting I can actually own and maybe even sell for money someday. Star Wars is pure passion project, since even if the Mouse did hire me, they'd never let me write the stories I want to write.)

I'm really glad that you all have enjoyed the story! The really means a lot. As for the Chiss, well... feel free to speculate, but I'm saying nothing.

Please leave a review! They do wonders for my ego. Also, reviews, favorites, and follows all can help other people find the story, which would lead to even more reviews, which would also do wonders for my ego! Also, feedback really does help spur the passion for the passion project, might help us maintain something close to that one chapter a week pace...

Oh. Also, we've written three "Missing Moments" vignettes. The first is about Han and Kyp, the second is about Kam, and the third is about Luke and Mara. All of them take place between Chapters 33 and 34. They'll get posted... *shrugs* sometime?

Letter #1

Dearest readers,

Let's start with a simple thank you. When I started writing this novel (in February of 2020, pushed into isolation by the first round of COVID-19 shutdowns) I had a big picture idea of what I wanted to do:

· I knew I wanted Luke to rejoin the Rogues and fly with Wedge for a while

· I knew I wanted Iella and Mara to become a team and friends

· I knew I wanted to show Luke and Mara's deepening trust and, dare I say, love for one another

· I knew I was going to have some kind of HoloNet device that would allow ships to be tracked at a galactic scale used by the bad guys to hunt Karrde (that's a very old idea of mine)

· I knew I was going to put together the starting foundations of the new Jedi Order

· I knew I was going to use Atril Tabanne, because I think she was a woefully underused character in the Star Wars EU, and I knew she was going to eventually get captured by the Empire and rescuing her was going to drive the latter half of the story

Then I started writing it and other elements became clear. Pellaeon and Rogriss became part of the vital theme of Imperial complicity, and not just stand-in villains. The final decision I made was to use Vorru and Tavira as the primary two villains, and then to incorporate Kam Solusar into the story as the mysterious Tevas-kaar, a member of the Jensaarai. The original working title of the story was Dance with the Fringe.

After that I just had to figure out how to put all the pieces together! Believe it or not, adding Moff Disra really helped make that work. I needed a way to link the Rogue / Vorru plots together (more than just the coincidence of the Rogues intervening during Eliezer's escape, which was pure coincidence), and by making Disra both Rogriss' local superior and Vorru's former administrative aide I could use him to do that. Really, no joke: Disra was the key that made the whole story work.

I wanted Interregnum to be the beginning of something, not the end. So, almost nothing is resolved when this story ends. That was deliberate: there's so much potential. What do Vorru and Eliezer do? What's going on with the Empire? How is the birth of the Jedi Order going to go? (No, the fact that Kyp is in this story, Carida got a lot of mentions, and I sent Pellaeon there to help train the next generation of Imperial officers is not a series of coincidences. The Yavin IV reference I had wanted to include never made it in, though. Couldn't find the right place for it.) How's Wedge going to do in command of Lusankya? I have ideas for all of these, but the truth is if I have the creative energy and desire to write another novel like this one, it likely will have to be one in a universe I own. But we'll see! I certainly don't want to be done with Mara and Luke. (After that epilogue, I desperately want to write more about Asori Rogriss! She came out of nowhere with the annoyed Wonder Woman pose and now I so very much want to write about her.)

Finally, and most importantly, this story would not have happened, and certainly not been finished, without the aid of DrMckay. He has been vital, adding some of the best lines in the story, pushing back when I made bad creative decisions, pushing hard to help me make good creative decisions. This has been truly a collaborative project. Without him this would not exist, and even if it did exist it would not be as good as it is. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Please, leave your feedback and encouragement!Every note means an enormous amount.

Best,

Admiral Byzantium

January 18, 2021

Letter #2

I love Star Wars.

I may have taken a minute to watch the Original Trilogy (the stormtrooper helmet on the side of the VHS tape scared me a bit as a young 'un), but once I did, I was hooked. Not just with the stories, but with the idea that these characters were pieces in a much larger universe.

Then I found out that there was a whole array of books out there that could tell me more. The quality of course, was variable.

Then I found Aaron Allston and Wraith Squadron.

If you haven't read any of Aaron Allston's Star Wars books, what the hell are you doing reading this fic, go read them! It's the Dirty Dozen meets Pratchett in space!

He managed to breathe life into an array of characters, and indeed a galaxy that a much younger me had previously seen only as a set of action figures, giving me a life-long love of the "little guy/gal/Ewok" in whatever I was reading, watching, or writing.

His approach to characters and their settings eventually got me into writing on my own when most of the other Legends and current canon authors didn't measure up. He will be missed.

I didn't expect to be Number Two on a multi-chapter Star Wars fic, let alone one approaching completion. My style is more "One-shot, but then it sometimes expands into something I can't finish, because I haven't planned it, The End?"

So.

I was a little surprised that when I reached out with an offer to beta/edit/discuss his first story snippet, I got to ride shotgun on this thing. I've tried to do it, and the characters, the kind of justice I think they deserve, and give them the moments and development they so seldom received.

This story? The skeleton, the sinews, that's all Admiral Byzantium. He's had this thing in his head for a long time. He's planned out battles playing X-wing Alliance to test tactics. I like to think I put some sinew and skin on it and played a very useful rubber ducky to bounce ideas off of.

Folks? This story has been an absolute blast to write and collaborate on. It is an act of astounding generosity of spirit to add me as a co-author to something that I was, at best, operating on as a wingman.

To all the readers, I hope this has been as fun for you to read as it was for me to work on. We've really tried to bring something a bit more personal to the Galaxy Far Far Away, while still retaining a grander scale.

To Admiral Byzantium, I hope I've been a good one, and I look forward to flying any upcoming missions right behind you.

And Aaron, this one's for you.

DrMckay

February 16, 2021