The first excerpt from Battlefront II: Inferno Squad introduces the elite strike force lead by the Empire's Iden Versio. A prequel to the upcoming video game Star Wars: Battlefront II, set to hit stores November 17, 2017, Battlefront II: Inferno Squad by Christie Golden will take place after the events of Rouge One and A New Hope following the Empire's response to the destruction of the Death Star. The novel will focus on the members of Inferno Squad as they hunt down the rebel faction led by the legendary Saw Gerrera.

Golden is best known for her work in science fiction, fantasy and horror and has written nearly fifty novels including over a dozen Star Trek and World of Warcraft novels. This is also not her first time writing stories set in the galaxy far, far away - from 2009 to 2011 she wrote three novels in the Fate of the Jedi series of the Star Wars novels and in 2015 wrote Star Wars: Dark Disciple, which was based on an eight-episode unfinished arc of The Clone Wars animated TV series and follows Jedi Quinlan Vos, who partners up with Nightsister Asajj Ventress in hopes of executing the Sith Lord Count Dooku.

In a new post on StarWars.com, a first excerpt of the new novel is revealed that introduces the Empire's finest. The passage is set directly after the destruction of the Death Star. Admiral Versio has gathered together a group of four exceptional members of the Empire: Del Meeko, a TIE pilot who has the skills to repair anything; Seyn Marana, a young woman with the gift of eidetic memory who speaks twenty-nine languages, can read and write seven more, is a master cryptologist and a good shot; Gideon Hask, who was first in his class at Coruscant Imperial University and served aboard the Mandate; and Iden Versio, the Admiral's daughter who survived the destruction of the Death Star and holds the record for most verified kills in battle.

Their mission is to make sure the rebels never get their hands on important information that can harm the Empire again and to "clean things up" if any information has already fallen into the hands of the wrong people. The excerpt ends with the group accepting their orders and Gideon turning to the Admiral asking if their team as a name yet, which he replies with, “It does. It’s a promise to the rebels. It’s called Inferno Squad.” Read the full excerpt here.

Based on the excerpt, the novel in combination with the video game should provide an interesting and more human perspective on the Empire, which is mostly perceived as evil in most Star Wars media. Golden's novel will be arriving in stores July 25, 2017 and is available for pre-order now. The audiobook version of the novel will be read by actress Janina Gavankar, who plays Iden Versio in the video game. Those attending San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) will be able to purchase a special edition of the book with the video game’s deluxe edition box art and signed by the author at the Del Rey booth (#2913-F).

Screen Rant will keep you updated on all Battlefront II: Inferno Squad news.

Source: StarWars.com