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- "Can't shoot what you can't catch."
- ―Mara Jade Skywalker
The Jade Sabre was a custom-built and modified shuttle that was constructed by Luke Skywalker as a gift to his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker.
History
The vessel was shaped like a pointed blade, complimented by two flared side pods that protected its ion drives. Luke constructed the ship as a wedding present and as a way to thank Mara for sacrificing her previous ship, the Jade's Fire on Nirauan. Jade Sabre required a single pilot to operate, but the ship was designed to carry up to fifteen passengers and up to one hundred metric tons of cargo. For defenses Luke armed the ship with four concealed quad laser cannons and a tractor beam projector. The ship also had an expanded docking bay that could carry Luke's XJ X-Wing starfighter.
Mara used the ship extensively over the next few years, sometimes traveling alone with Luke and sometimes with Jaina Solo, her niece and Jedi Apprentice. In 22 ABY Mara and Luke used the ship to travel to Crustai on the edge of the Chiss Ascendancy where they rendezvoused with the Chiss ship Chaf Envoy for a journey to investigate the remains of Outbound Flight which had been recently discovered. In 25 ABY, at the very start of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Mara flew the Jade Sabre with Jaina and her mother, Leia Organa Solo, to Rhommamool as the New Republic envoys who had been sent to deal with Nom Anor's radical movement.
Two months after the start of the invasion, Mara and Anakin Solo piloted the ship to the remote world of Dantooine for a chance at rest and relaxation. Unfortunately the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the planet not long afterward and the two Jedi were forced to abandon Jade Sabre when they found themselves cut off from their landing site by warrior patrols. Although Mara and Anakin were rescued by Luke, the ship was lost forcing Mara to have it replaced with the brand-new Jade Shadow.
Behind the scenes
Survivor's Quest indicates that the Jade Sabre could attain a hyperspace speed of "somewhat better than 0.3 past lightspeed", which might seem rather slow, but is explained by Hyperdrive Classes, with smaller numbers denoting higher speed. A Class 4 is slow, a class 1 is fast and military grade, and anything faster is numbered less than 1, with zero being a theoretically impossible speed. Han Solo colloquially said the Millennium Falcon made point 5 past light speed, in reference to a Class 0.5 hyperdrive, so the Jade Sabre could be faster than the Millennium Falcon, having a Class 0.3 hyperdrive.
The intention may have been to indicate a very fast Class 0.3 hyperdrive, but Starships of the Galaxy indicates the ship has a Class 1 hyperdrive with a Class 4 backup.
Appearances
- Survivor's Quest
- The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime (First appearance)
- The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide I: Onslaught