By George & Josh Bate
The Aldhani heist in Andor Season 1 remains one of the most acclaimed arcs in Star Wars history. Over three episodes, Tony Gilroy and company create a meticulously constructed heist thriller, one serves as a turning point for Cassian by bringing him closer to the committed rebel he eventually becomes.
After fleeing Ferrix, Cassian joins Vel Sartha’s small rebel crew under the alias “Clem,” arriving just days before their operation to steal the quarterly Imperial payroll from the Aldhani garrison. The team infiltrates the base during the Eye of Aldhani, a rare celestial event. But the carefully rehearsed plan collapses into a firefight, costing several lives before Cassian pilots the stolen freighter through the dazzling storm and into freedom with the credits.
But the Aldhani heist may have looked very different. A new Star Wars novel hints at what the mission might have been before the plan we saw on screen took shape.
Available now wherever books are sold, Edge of the Abyss (Reign of the Empire) by Rebecca Roanhorse takes place one year before the events of Andor Season 1. The novel follows Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Saw Gerrera as their conflicting philosophies lead them to search for decidedly different ways to loosen the Empire’s ironclad grip on the galaxy. When one of Gerrera’s partisans is captured by the Empire after a mission gone wrong, panic ensues about what to do with a prisoner whose knowledge of resistance efforts could spell an end to rebellion before it’s even truly begun. Meanwhile, Mon grapples with a horrifying discovery that the Empire has turned its sights toward indoctrinating the youth of the galaxy to further cement Imperial control in the galaxy.
In one of the novel’s final moments, Saw Gerrera stands on the shore of a continent as he contemplates the loss of his sister Steela, the departure of Jyn Erso, and more. While deep in contemplation, Saw’s comlink beeps with a call from Kleya Marki, Luthen Rael’s right-hand woman from Andor.
“I’m busy,” Saw growls.
“He wants to talk to you,” Kleya tells Saw, referencing Luthen. “He said it’s important. THere’s an Imperial armo-”
Saw doesn’t have the patience to listen to Kleya, throwing the comlink into the sea in front of him.
It’s clear that Kleya is about to say “Imperial armory” before Saw abruptly cuts the call off. The proximity of Edge of the Abyss to Andor Season 1 makes it fairly clear that Kleya is referring to the planned heist of the Aldhani garrison and armory, suggesting that Luthen was interested in bringing Saw Gerrera in on the plan.
Clearly, Saw did not end up collaborating with Luthen on the Aldhani heist. In Andor Season 1, Saw questions whether Luthen devised the daring heist, confirming that he was not involved.
It is interesting to speculate just how the Aldhani heist would have gone down had Saw Gerrera played a role. Saw’s uncompromising philosophy holds that violent resistance is the only effective way to dismantle Imperial tyranny. But the heist required a more measured, stealthy approach. Not exactly Saw’s modus operandi.
Thankfully for Luthen, Saw did not answer Kleya’s call. She seemingly pivoted to Vel to lead the heist, which proved to be a good decision as her crew miraculously pulled it off (and ending up learning more about Cassian Andor in the process).
Edge of the Abyss (Reign of the Empire) is available now, courtesy of Random House Worlds
