Mission to Alanciar The Mission to Alanciar was an airborne exploratory flight launched by the Lost Tribe of Sith in 2975 BBY to explore the continent of Alanciar , a large continent lying to the west of Keshtah Minor . The mission was led by the High Lord Edell Vrai who had developed the Tribe ' s airships . Unknown to the Sith , the Herald Adari Vaal had fled to Alanciar two thousand years ago and had warned the local Alanciari about the threat posed by the Sith Tribe . The Alanciari developed a highly militaristic society designed to repel any invader . They had constructed a network of forts , ballistae and signal station s in the Shank region which faced Keshtah . The Alanciari ballistae shot down the two of the Sith expedition ' s airships near Point Vigilance . Vrai ' s airship " Candra " crashed near Point Defiance where he and several survivors managed to capture two Alanciari locals : Wardmaster Quarra Thayn and her lover soldier Jogan Halder . The Sith then captured a local trawler called the " Mischance " and retreated to the coast . Vrai managed to coerce Thayn into serving as a guide for an overland mission into Alanciar in exchange for sparing the life of her lover Halder . After receiving orders from Grand Lord Varner Hilts , the remaining Sith departed on the " Mischance " for Keshtah with the captive Halder . Despite the recent losses and the poor intelligence available on Alanciar , Vrai ' s rival High Lord Korsin Bentado invaded Alanciar with the Ebon Fleet , which consisted of sixty airships . History . Background . The Sith Tribe on the planet Kesh were the descendants of a group of offworld Human Sith who had become stranded during the Great Hyperspace War in 5000 BBY . In 3000 BBY , the Caretaker Varner Hilts had ended the Time of the Rot after he discovered maps which confirmed the existence of another continent besides Keshtah Minor known as Alanciar , or " Keshtah Major " . In order to unite the Sith , Hilts made reaching Keshtah Major a major goal of the Tribe ' s long - term goal of returning to the stars . Under the leadership of his chief engineer High Lord Edell Vrai , the Tribe experimented with developing a reliable and safe means of reaching Alanciar . Following failed experiments with long - distance uvak flights and watercraft , Vrai managed to develop airships that were held aloft by gasbags powered by hydrogen and propelled by uvaks , winged reptiles native to Alanciar . In 2975 BBY , Lord Vrai obtained permission from Grand Lord Hilts to lead an overflight reconnaissance of " Keshtah Major . " His plan was to fly east of Keshtah Minor and then return by crossing the small ocean to the west coast of his home continent . This reconnaissance mission consisted of three airships : the " Candra " , the " Lillia " , and the " Dann Itra " . Each airship was propelled by two uvaks and carried a crew consisting of ten persons : a captain , pilot , thoughtcrier , five warriors , and two Keshiri ambassadors who would be used for communicating with the locals . Edell was captain of the " Candra " and other expeditionary members included the pilot and uvak - tenderer Peppin , the clairvoyant Taymor , the warriors Ulbrick and Janns , and the Keshiri scholar Tellpah . Unknown to the Lost Tribe , the Keshiri on " Keshtah Major " had developed a highly - militaristic society over the past two millennia . It was home to a large Keshiri population who called themselves the Alanciari and called their homeland Alanciar . Following a failed uprising against the Sith , the Herald Adari Vaal and three hundred followers had fled across the ocean to Keshtah Major . Vaal had warned the locals about the threat posed by the Tribe and had become revered among the Alanciari . She also made Galactic Basic Standard the new language of the Alanciari in order to prepare them for contact with the Sith . Under Vaal ' s influence , the Alanciari had built an intricate defense system consisting of ballistae , forts , uvak diamond - flak teams , and a large , well - equipped citizen army . The southern region of Alanciar known as the Six Claws was well - fortified with six seaside forts . The Alanciari were also led by a centralized military government that was based in the capital Sus ' mintri ' s Vaal Hall . Prior to the invasion , the Alanciari woman Quarra Thayn , the wardmaster and chief military administrator of Uhrar , was having an affair with a soldier named Jogan Halder , who was stationed at Point Defiance , a seaside fort on the peninsula Garrow ' s Neck . Thayn was married to Brue Thayn and had three children but was unhappy with her marriage . Three years earlier , she initiated an affair with Jogan Halder , who was a signals officer stationed at Point Defiance , the southernmost forts of the Six Claws . The affair began following one of Thayn ' s routine visits to Kerebba , a military supply center upstream on one of the canals that emptied into one of the bays defined by the Six Claws . Her cousin was a signal officer who operated the Kerebba signal station ' s semaphore system . Her cousin had learnt about Halder ' s tales of life in the wilderness and had shared it with Thayn , who fell in love with the author ' s writings . When her cousin was reassigned , Thayn managed to transmit signals to Halder through the signal station at Uhrar introducing herself . This began a secret three year secret relationship where thousands of messages were exchanged between Halder and Thayn . Most of these dispatches arrived overnight at Thayn ' s office in Uhrar and she read them in the morning . For Thayn , Halder ' s letters came to provide a form of escape from the drudgery of her work as an administrator and mother . During that fateful trip to Point Defiance , Thayn was going to meet Halder physically for the first time . She pretended to be away on a trip to the industrial cities on the Northern Slope . The Ambush . Jogan Halder and Quarra Thayn were the first Alanciari Keshiri to witness the arrival of Edell Vrai ' s airships . On that night , Thayn was visiting Halder ' s outpost at Point Defiance where he worked as a signals officer . By 2975 BBY , the Alanciari Keshiri had developed an intricate semaphore communication network spanning the entire continent which was based on ciphers and signals . Besides the signals operator , Point Defiance also had a Force - sensitive thoughtcrier who was charged with sending messages through the Force . While Halder was showing Thayn around his workplace , Jogan witnessed a black silhouette hovering over the fog from the western coast , which was reputed to face the Sith - controlled continent of Keshtah Minor . The Force - sensitive Quarra also sensed the presence of individuals aboard the airship . Jogan sent a flash signal from one of the semaphore system ' s cylindrical drums . Since the fort ' s thoughtcrier was off - duty , Quarra had no choice but to send a signal through the Force . She reluctantly did so because she knew that she was officially not supposed to be at Point Defiance . Thus , Halder and Thayn succeeded in warning Alanciar about the arrival of the Sith . As a result , the Alanciari ballistae were alerted and readied for battle . While approaching the Six Claws at night , the " Lillia ' s " gas envelope was hit by a javelin fired from a ground - based ballistae at Point Vigilance . The airship exploded , killing all its crew and the two uvaks attached to it . The wreckage crashed into the ocean below . The explosion startled the " Candra ' s " uvaks and Edell Vrai ordered Peppin to control the animals . Vrai initially thought that lightning had struck the " Lillia ' s " hydrogen - filled envelope , setting the ship aflame . The " Dann Itra " was then struck by two javelins , destroying the airship and its crew . Through his Force abilities , Vrai sensed that the Keshiri below were Force - sensitive and had used the Force to guide their javelins . Thus , the Tribe had made contact with the natives of Keshtah Major but the natives were stronger than them this time . The only remaining airship was the " Candra " which was being pursued by uvaks ridden by members of the Alanciari " air force . " These uvak riders used long tubes to fire dozens of diamonds at the Sith . The thoughtcrier Taymor was killed by diamond - fire . However , before her death , she managed to send a thought signal warning the Grand Consort Iliana Hilts ' thoughtcriers that something bad had happened to Edell ' s expedition . The Shore Guard also pierced the " Candra ' s " gas envelope , causing it to leak hydrogen . With the airship descending , Vrai attempted to deflate the ship while the other Sith crew fought off the attackers . While two of the enemy uvak - riders parried with the defenders , a third uvak - rider dived headlong towards the gondola . This suicide attack shattered the forward section of the " Candra " , causing the ship to break apart . One of the warriors and a Keshiri ambassador fell to their deaths during this attack . The only part of the " Candra " that remained intact was the rear section of the gondola which was still held afloat by the punctured balloon . Vrai and the remaining crew held onto debris as the airship descended into the harbor below . Meanwhile , Quarra and Jogan heard about the Sith incursion through the signal station at Point Defiance . They were taken surprise by the attack but Jogan was overjoyed that the Alanciari ballistae had managed to intercept the invaders . However , Quarra panicked because she knew that her husband thought that she supposedly be touring the industrial cities on the Northern Slope . She had been the one who had transmitted the thought - signal as soon as the invaders had been sighted . Since the Sith invasion would become big news among the Alanciari , she feared that other Alanciari would find out that she had been visiting Point Defiance Defiance illegally . Quarra also confessed to forging her travel supervisor Belmer Kattun ' s seal on her letter of transit to Point Defiance . The two Alanciari then entered the stables only to find that Quarra ' s muntok , a six - legged reptilian beast of burden , had escaped by chewing through its tether . Quarra did not know the name of the animal because it was a beast she had rented from the corral in Tandry and thus could not call it back . At that point , Starboard one of the " Candra ' s " tethered uvaks crashed on top of Jogan , breaking his ribs . Starboard had already been killed during the skirmish above . First Contact . Unseen , the Sith party had dropped north of Point Defiance while the balloon carried the wrecked gondola farther eastward . The remains of the " Candra " subsequently crashed a kilometer to the northeast of the harbor . Edell Vrai and four surviving ship crew fled from the scene before the Alanciari uvak riders arrived . Besides the Vrai , the other survivors included the uvak - tenderer Pepppin , the warriors Ulbrick and Janns , and the Keshiri Tellpah . They managed to evade Alanciari search parties which were scanning the northern shore across the party . Vrai ordered his party to climb the western summit where there sat a tall white tower which was ringed with a high white wall . This structure turned out to be Point Defiance which had been where Jogan and Quarra had been staying on the night of the attack . Upon reaching the top , Ulbrick was wounded in the thigh by glass projectiles fired from an exotic weapon , later revealed to be a hand - ballista . The gunner turned out to be Quarra Thayn , who had spotted the Sith survivors . Edell fought back against Thayn and used the Force to fire a spray of sand at the Keshiri woman . This jammed Thayn ' s ballista but she then used the Force to punch Edell , causing him to fall forward and drop his shikkar blade . Quarra then grabbed his shikkar and attempted to stab the Sith . However , Vrai tapped into Quarra ' s fear and anger and pushed her back , causing him to drop her dagger . Vrai ' s companions Peppin and Janns than tackled Quarra and wrestled her to the ground . Nearby , the Sith found Quarra ' s wounded companion Jogan , who was lying beside the corpse of Starboard . After ordering Tellpah to attend to the wounds of Ulbrick , Vrai was about to kill Jogan when he was told to stop by Quarra who spoke Galactic Basic Standard . This development surprised the Sith including Vrai who had thought that the natives of Keshtah Major spoke an ancient Keshiri dialect . Vrai and his companions also noted that some of the local Keshiri knew how to use the Force . Thayn informed them that her people had prepared for the Sith invaders and that there was an entire detachment of troops behind them . However , Edell sensed that Quarra was lying and use his Force powers to break down her mental defenses . He was able to find out that the woman was named Quarra and that she wanted to save the life of her wounded companion . After reading her mind , Vrai ordered his followers to bring them inside Point Defiance ' s tower . When Thayn warned the Sith to be careful with Jogan and blamed them for the accident with the uvak , Vrai retorted that she had brought the creature down on herself . He also warned that she was about to bring a lot more down on herself . When Thayn commented that the Sith would never get past the Alanciari defenses , Vrai again retorted that she had left the gate open for us . While two Sith carried Jogan inside the tower , Edell attended to Tellpah who was seeing to Ulbrick ' s injuries . With Ulbrick unable to walk due to numerous lacerations in his leg , Vrai personally decapitated the Sith Saber and ordered Tellpah to hide the body . Quarra was horrified by the violent nature of Sith culture but Edell warned her never to forget that sight . After ordering his men to bind their captives in the tower , Vrai went to the top of the tower to study the surroundings . Edell and Tellpah then rummaged through Point Defiance ' s belfries in an attempt to find a way to operate the signaling device . However , they were unsuccessful and Edell in frustration destroyed the stand carrying the signaling cylinders . By this stage , Alanciari forces were mustering outside the gates of the fortress at Garrow ' s Neck to the east and were heading up the trail towards Point Defiance ' s tower . Vrai ' s party was joined by two other Sith survivors from the " Candra " , bringing the party up to six individuals . While Quarra knew how to operated the signaling device , the Sith were unwilling to trust her since she was an enemy prisoner . While examining the balcony Edell and Tellpah spotted a ship approaching the southern shore of the peninsula Point Defiance . This ship turned out to be fishing harvester " Mischance " . While most fishing vessels operated in Alanciar ' s Southern Passage , captains that were behind on harvesting their quota of seafood were known to cut corners by operating at night and in the western sea , which was the domain of the Shore Guard , Alanciar ' s coast guard . The Sith also raided Port Defiance ' s archive and seized Halder ' s collection of books , which included a copy of the " Keshtah Chronicles " , an official account of the history of Keshtah Minor which had been written by Adari Vaal . This tome provided the Sith with a trove of information on what the Alanciari knew about the Sith Tribe . The Sith then took their Alanciari prisoners from Jogan ' s room and headed down the southern shore towards the boat . To hide their presence , they dumped Ulbrick ' s body down a cistern . The Sith party managed to evacuate Point Defiance minutes after Alanciari forces from Garrow ' s Neck arrived to secure the fort . Edell and his followers managed to find a boat which they used to board the sailing ship " Mischance " . While the Keshiri sailors were unaware of the earlier battle and were taken by surprise , they fought fiercely against the Sith invaders . It took the Sith until dawn to secure the " Mischance " and all the Keshiri crew fought to the death . Their bodies were thrown into the sea . The Sith managed to captured one Keshiri sailor who was then interrogated by Peppin . However , he refused to disclose any information even under torture and succumbed to his wounds . Aftermath . While Edell Vrai ' s reconnaissance mission succeeded in reaching Keshtah Major and making contact with the Alanciari , much of it was wiped out by the Alanciari military . While Vrai had been unable to conduct an aerial reconnaissance flight over Alanciar , he and his followers had managed to capture an Alanciari sailing ship . While it was only a lowly harvesting vessel , it was larger than any seagoing vessel that Keshtah had every produce . By morning , only a fifth of Vrai ' s original expeditionary force remained . The Sith party also noted the martial spirit of the local Keshiri and were concerned that this could complicate their conquest of the new continent . Prior to being attacked by the Alanciari defenders , Vrai ' s thoughtcriers had managed to inform their superiors in Keshtah that they had made contact with Alanciar . They also managed to transmit emotions of surprise , shock and confusion during the attack . Following Vrai ' s contact with Keshtah Major , another High Lord named Korsin Bentado requested an audience with Grand Lord Hilts and his consort Iliana Hilts . The ambitious and violent Bentado advocated a military invasion of Keshtah Major with his fleet of sixty airships known as the Ebon Fleet . However , Hilts and Iliana wanted to wait until Edell returned since Iliana ' s thoughtcriers had sensed that some sort of harm may have befallen Vrai and his followers . However , Bentado insisted in going ahead with the attack even though the Lost Tribe had no reliable intelligence on the military capabilities of the Keshiri on Alanciar . When Iliana speculated that Edell and his airships may have crashed into the Southern Ocean , Hilts replied that he was still alive since he would have sensed his death . In the end , Hilts reluctantly gave approval for Bentado to launch an invasion of Alanciar . In private , Hilts and his wife regarded Lord Bentado as a hot - headed fool who was sending his forces to a watery death . However , they were willing to sacrifice Bentado and his men since that would eliminate a potential rival . Back in Alanciar , Edell ' s uvak - tenderer and pilot Peppin managed to figure out how to operate the ship ' s sails and steerage . They decided to return to Keshtah by sailing through the Southern Passage to the Sea of Flames . Both reasoned that the Tribe would be interested in the Alanciari sailing vessel and Jogan Halder , along with his collection of books which included the invaluable " Keshtah Chronicles " . However , Edell decided not to return and made up some new orders to justify his continued presence in Alanciar . He managed to convince Thayn to serve as his guide for a ground reconnaissance mission of Alanciar in exchange for attending to the wounds of her lover Tahyn . Edell agreed to Quarra ' s conditions but stated that they had to return by two weeks or she would never see her lover again . While Quarra appeared to collaborate with the invaders , she secretly intended to scare the Sith " back to where they came from . " After dropping Vrai and Thayn at a small cove to the northeast of Point Defiance , the " Mischance " returned to Keshtah Minor . In response to the Sith incursion , Alanciari society was placed on a war footing . The Alanciari prepared their military forces and ballistae to repel another Sith attack . Across Alanciar ' s cities , civilians and dependents were evacuated to war shelters . The Alanciari military reported directly to a central command , the War Cabinet , which was based in Vaal Hall . The War Cabinet ordered the deployment of military forces to the western regions while troops scoured the peninsulas for any trace of the attackers . The Sith incursion also coincided with Observance Day , a patriotic holiday held every ten years which commemorated the memory of Adari Vaal , the Herald and Rock of Kesh . This year ' s Observation Day saw an upsurge of anti - Sith sentiment among the Alanciari . These developments set the stage for the Sith invasion of Alanciar . Behind the scenes . The Mission to Alanciar served as the exposition of John Jackson Miller ' s short story " " , which was first released on July 24 , 2012 . It was told from the points - of - view of the Alanciari wardmaster Quarra Thayn and the Sith High Lord Edell Vrai . According to Miller ' s production notes on his personal website Faraway Press , he modeled the Lost Tribe of Sith ' s first contact with the Alanciari after the real world interactions between colonial powers and native cultures . However this time , he hypothesized a ' thought experiment ' where the natives of the on had received early warning about the and had developed an advanced civilization . Miller also likened the situation of the Alanciari to the in during the . The three Sith airships " Lillia " , " Candra " , and the " Dann Itra " were also a reference to the ' three ships " " , " " , and the " " which discovered the New World in 1492 . Since puncturing the of was not sufficient enough to cause an explosion , Miller decided to equip the Alanciari with fiery arrows