10 Important Ships Of 'The High Republic'

Star Wars

Dec 12

Comic art: starships boosting quickly. — Image Source: Wookieepedia

The High Republic has been running for nearly four years and ends next summer. In that time, it has introduced fans to a treasure trove of characters and a wide range of new starships! We at Culture Slate felt it was high time to highlight these different vehicles. Today we run through ten of the most important starships during The High Republic!

***WARNING: This article will contain spoilers up to and including Wave 2, Phase 3 of The High Republic.***

10. Republic Longbeam Cruiser

Comic art: Republic Longbeam Cruiser — Image Source: Wookieepedia

One of the workhorses of the Galactic Republic during the High Republic period, the Longbeam is found across all three Phases, and many have beautiful, hopeful, and strong names to underscore their role during an era of largely peace and prosperity. The Aurora series, for instance, appears in Light of Jedi, flying to the rescue of the Hetzal system as the first Emergence of the Great Hyperspace Disaster breaks out and begins to rain devastating debris across the region. More individual Longbeams, like the Karvoss Dawn, fly in military engagements as the Dawn battled Lourna Dee but was destroyed in the effort to bring this Nihil criminal to justice. The Shattersong, meanwhile, was the flagship of Elzar Mann during his attempt to breach the Stormwall during Eye of Darkness. Finally, there were Longbeams like Chancellor Orlen Mollo’s Paxion, a personal starship he took across the galaxy on his travels with spaces suitable for instigating diplomacy and trade talks. The Longbeam is ultimately a versatile ship designed to handle various tasks and has been seen in a range of different scenarios as a result. This is all the more ironic as, out of universe, the Longbeam was developed using a ship design originally intended for the Resistance bomber of The Last Jedi. It has significantly expanded its roles in the Star Wars universe from that original design concept!

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9. Republic Pacifier-Class Cruiser

Comic art: Republic Pacifier-class Cruiser — Image Source: Wookieepedia

An upgrade in size and firepower to the Longbeam (and drawn from yet more concept art for The Last Jedi), the Republic Pacifier-class cruiser has come into prominence during Phase 3 as one of the ships now on the frontline on the Galactic Republic’s conflict with the Nihil, but it also existed during Phase 1. Crewed by members of the RDC, we have seen several notable Pacifiers working with the Jedi, taking the fight to the Nihil, or both. At the Battle of Kur, the Marillion and the Yekkabird were destroyed in the conflict. Meanwhile, over the world of Travyx Prime, Azlin Rell manipulated a crewmember aboard the Galliance just as he left the ship, causing the crewmember to steer the cruiser down into a city below, killing thousands in the resulting explosion. But other Pacifiers have been more resilient. In Eye of Darkness, we see the Tracate under the command of Captain Amaryl Pel with Burryaga, Bell Zettifar, and Ember the charhound aboard for various patrol and relief missions. Bell and Burry form a close bond with the crew of the Tracate, but the ship ultimately stays behind in the Occlusion Zone during the events of Temptation of the Force, with Burry and Bell leaving alongside other RDC ships. The Pacifier is a heavier craft perfect for the more militaristic response required by the Nihil, and will hopefully continue to appear in the final wave of High Republic content.

8. The Brightbird

Comic art: the Brightbird starship — Image Source: Wookieepedia

The custom-built starship owned by Helis Graf, the Brightbird was soon stolen by their younger sibling, Sky Graf, and used in their quest to try and locate the pair’s missing father. Helis tried chasing Sky to stop them, but the two soon reconciled and agreed to work together on the ship. A century and a half later, the Brightbird fell into the possession of Cair San Tekka, a young man involved with the playboy physicist scion of the Graf family, Xylan Graf. The current ownership of the vessel is poetic ownership for the Brightbird, as Helis Graf was involved in a relationship with a female San Tekka in his time. Their forbidden love has come full circle in the era of Phase 3, where Cair uses the once Graf-owned ship to help those in need behind the Stormwall. A sleek, relatively simple craft with plenty of tricks up its sleeve, the Brightbird serves as a bridge between the Phases and a symbol of exploration and discovery on many different frontiers.

7. The Legacy Run

Comic art: the Legacy Run starship — Image Source: Wookieepedia

The Legacy Run was a transport ship of the shipping organization known as the Byne Guild that was selected for a terrible fate unknown to any of the thousands of souls aboard. Traveling away from the galactic core and carrying Republic colonists, the ship was unable to avoid a collision with a Nihil vessel that entered their path. This ship had been purposefully sent by Eye of the Nihil Marchion Ro to cause a crash, as the event caused a cascade of events soon known as the Great Hyperspace Disaster. While much of the Legacy Run was instantly destroyed, some of its passengers survived, and many were ultimately rescued once the Jedi and the Republic became aware of their survival in self-sustainable parts of the ship. The Legacy Run helped start The High Republic initiative off with a bang, and its senseless destruction clearly defined to readers of Light of the Jedi just what sort of a villain Marchion Ro was.

6. The Vessel

Comic art: the Vessel starship in hyperspace. — Image Source: Wookieepedia

The Vessel is another ship from the Byne Guild’s fleet, though far smaller and less prestigious. Operated by Leox Gyasi and Geode, Affie Hollow joined the two as she was maturing and found the unique pairing to her liking, even if her adopted mother in charge of the Guild tried to get her to explore other postings with other ships. However, the Vessel proved to be Affie’s home, and at the time of the Great Disaster, it was shuttling four Jedi out to the frontier. Following the adventures with the Amaxine space station and the Drengir, the Vessel was freed from the control of the Byne Guild when that organization was dissolved, and the crew took on several missions for Republic clients, such as transporting Jedi to Nal Hutta to help forge a formal alliance between the Republic and Hutt Cartel against the Drengir. The Vessel was later in danger of destruction as Starlight Beacon began to fall, but escaped, and Affie reorganized the Byne Guild to help the captains who signed up and the Republic. The Vessel is a nifty little ship, suitable for small cargo runs and small passenger complements, with a special crew that makes the Vessel an intriguing environment. They have continued to appear in Phase 3, and the ship will hopefully survive well after too.

5. Spiral-Class Viz-Core Eviscerator

Comic art: the Spiral Eviscerator starship — Image Source: Wookieepedia

This menace of a ship was designed and manufactured before Phase 2 of The High Republic, where their devastating firepower and destructive nature meant they were being considered for a full-on ban by the Galactic Republic. In the lead-up to the Battle of Jedha, the criminal gang known as the Dank Graks acquired one of these ships, intending to have delivered more to their partner Tilson Graf on Jedha, but failing. This one ship makes it to the planet, only for Padawan Sav Malagán (who had infiltrated the Graks) to turn it against both sides in the conflict, disabling multiple starship engines and causing much of the fighting fleets to crash into the desert without casualties. In the aftermath of the Battle though, the Eviscerator was banned and became an antique, with one turning up on Corellia to the great delight of Ram Jomaram 150 years after the conflict that made them legendary. He then used that Eviscerator against a Nihil-controlled ship, devastating the large vessel and successfully preventing it from completing its nefarious mission. Taken by Ram to Nihil-controlled Valo, it was notable during the events of Escape from Valo. More recently, a heavily beefed-up version of the Eviscerator was sought after by various Nihil factions, though their effort was sabotaged. These devastating ships have been a menace to the galaxy, too dangerous to remain active in the long term, though they have fortunately fallen into the hands of the good guys at key points where their use ultimately proved essential.

4. The Star Hopper

Comic art: the Star Hopper starship — Image Source: Wookieepedia

The Star Hopper was a Jedi training vessel used by Masters Torban Buck, Kantam Sy, and Yoda to ferry a large group of Jedi Padawans and Younglings across the galaxy on missions and expeditions. As The High Republic begins, this ship is called to Trymant IV, a world about to suffer from an Emergence. While there, the Padawans aboard the ship meet Zeen Mrala, a young Mikkian who has been hiding her abilities in the Force due to the cult she is part of rejecting any use of it. Saving her best friend, only to see him leaving her behind, Zeen instead joins the Jedi aboard the Star Hopper, which ferries the team throughout the galaxy over the subsequent months and years. However, it is assumed lost in Phase 1 due to the fall of Starlight Beacon, but later turns up in Phase 3 in the possession of the Nihil. Now serving the villains, this large ship has been turned away from its purpose as a ship of rescue and aid. Hopefully, the heroes of The High Republic Adventures (2023) can reclaim their old home and put it back into service with the Jedi Order.

3. Jedi Vector

Comic art: Jedi Vector starships in battle over a city. — Image Source: Wookieepedia

Taken from an idea for a Republic Clone starfighter for Revenge of the Sith, the Jedi Vector is among the most prominent ships of The High Republic. The Jedi fighter in the era of Phases 1 and 3 and beyond, the Vector is designed to be activated with the insertion of a Jedi’s lightsaber makes them quite difficult to steal. Training ships, however, lack this feature. Regardless, Vectors are elegant, narrow craft built for speed, with drifts of Vectors forming beautiful, formidable squadrons of combatants when jetting through the atmosphere or space. Vectors are used by many Jedi characters across The High Republic, though they are not personalized since they are loaned out to individual Jedi by their quartermasters. A century later, we see another version of the Vector still in service to the Jedi of The Acolyte, showing its staying power as a vessel. A craft emblematic of the time, here’s to hoping we get an official LEGO build or proper model of a full Vector from a major company to help display this beautiful ship in more detail.

2. The Ataraxia

Comic art: the Ataraxia starship — Image Source: Wookieepedia

A beautiful vessel with advanced systems and heavy symbolism, the Ataraxia is the flagship of the Jedi Order, appearing at several points during the High Republic to transport Jedi and other dignitaries across the galaxy in style. By the end of Phase 1, the Ataraxia has fallen into near-exclusive use by the Jedi of Starlight Beacon, who take it for their assault on No Space, the heart of Nihil territory. Upon their return, the station suddenly begins to plummet from the sky and despite the effort of the Jedi who stay behind to guard the ship and help evacuate civilians to it, Lourna Dee escapes the cells onboard and stages a takeover of the vessel. She then steals it, vanishing until Phase 3 when she appears again, having converted the vessel into her personal ship, though she is soon relieved of command by Keeve Trennis and the bond-twins Terec and Ceret. The Ataraxia then conveyed these Jedi and their allies, including a reluctant Lourna, in a personal mission behind the Stormwall though the ship returns to Republic space after these events. We know it likely survives for quite some time, as a starship bearing that name appears in Dooku: Jedi Lost, but its ultimate fate is unknown though hopefully it served the Jedi for many decades after its time in the spotlight. As a final note, the Ataraxia’s design was adapted from concept work for a special forces ship planned to appear in Rogue One.

1. The Gaze Electric

Comic art: the Gaze Electric starship — Image Source: Wookieepedia

The Gaze Electric’s design was taken from concept art for a ship designed to appear in Return of the Jedi, likely as a Rebel vessel based on the silhouette. However, in The High Republic, it is instead an enemy ship, built by the Mother of the Path of the Open Hand as a ship to help spread the faith across the galaxy. Instead, it only serviced the needs of the Path for two months, carrying them away from Dalna to Jedha and then back to Dalna before it was stolen by Marda Ro and vanished into the ether after the Night of Sorrow. It became the property of the Ro family, housing the captured Mari San Tekka, and serving as a mobile fortress that nevertheless remained out of the direct line of conflict as the Nihil grew in strength. It had been designed with beauty and reverence in mind, but Marda began to marr that beauty, and it was fully complete by the time of Marchion Ro. At the end of Phase 1, its crew of Nihil operators was replaced by droids, loyal to only Marchion, and it remained the flagship of the Nihil into Phase 3. It is a key part of the logistics for the Stormwall now and has avoided major engagements to date. But, undoubtedly at some point, it will enter into battle, and this symbol of Nihil power and evil will hopefully fall to the forces of good.

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