Star Wars is finally delving into the ramifications of one of the Jedi’s biggest blunders. The Jedi have been champions of the Republic for a thousand years. Despite this, they were not always effective in their job as peacekeepers. In Phase I of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The High Republic transmedia venture, a gang of pirates known as the Nihil staged a catastrophic attack on an outpost known as Starlight Beacon. Starlight, located in the Outer Rim, was designed to assist navigation over the galactic rim by acting as a hyperspace lighthouse. The Nihil, who opposed the establishment of order throughout the cosmos, was successful in bringing down Starlight Beacon above the planet Eiram.

The destruction of Starlight Beacon was one of the Jedi’s biggest disasters, but Lucasfilm has avoided addressing its ramifications – simply because Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II rewinded time. All of that is about to change, according to an excerpt from the upcoming Star Wars anthology, For Light & Life. The extract from Claudia Gray’s “After the Fall,” published by Entertainment Weekly, finally shows the magnitude of the disaster. It is available in its entirety on EW.

EIram is a prominent world on the Outer Rim, having been involved in a “Forever War” with its neighboring planet E’ronoh, which was only ended by the Jedi. The collapse of Starlight Beacon, on the other hand, was a tragedy since it fell from the skies with the power of a crashing meteor. The Jedi utilized the Force to steer the crashing station into the water, but this created an impact wave. It wreaked havoc on the seaside city of Barraza, killing hundreds.

Yet it’s hard to estimate how many people died because Starlight Beacon was almost a metropolis in its own right. The Jedi, who had long served as the Republic’s defenders, found themselves sorely in need of assistance. Worse, the Nihil released Force predators known as the Levelers (or, sometimes, the Nameless). These beasts robbed Jedi of their Force abilities, making even the most experienced Jedi Masters susceptible. For Life and Light, it appears that the fate of several beloved Jedi from the High Republic Era will be revealed.

The anthology, which will be released on April 4, will be a must-read for anybody who has been following the tale of Star Wars: The High Republic. After revealing the truth about the Levelers in Phase II, Phase III will return to the time after Starlight Beacon’s demise. It will be intriguing to see what happens next in the Star Wars universe.