Set in the aftermath of The Rising Storm and Out of the Shadows, Lourna Dee is the most wanted woman in all of known space as the Republic and Jedi believe she is leader of the Nihil. As Lourna seeks to stay one step ahead of her foes, she finds herself confronting her past and questioning the events in her life that made her a Tempest Runner.
It was released on August 31, 2021.
Tempest Runner provides examples of:
- Brick Joke: More like a Rock Joke; Sestin says trying to talk to Lourna is harder than trying to extract blood from a Vintian, Geode's species.
- Canon Immigrant: At one point, Lourna curses "Damn it to the Nightlands!", the Nightlands being a term for the dark side of Ryloth back when the planet was tidally-locked in Legends. However, Ryloth's rotation is normal in canon.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Lourna. She plotted with Kassav and Pan to overthrow Asgar, but then secretly betrayed them by telling Asgar of their plan, and then she betrayed Asgar when she realized he couldn't be trusted and that he could betray her to the rest of the Nihil. This stems from being tricked into helping a coup overthrow her family, then being betrayed by that coup afterwards.
- Continuity Nod: Tasia is a Cathar, the second one in canon after it was recanonized in Star Wars: Victory's Price in the form of minor character Dhina. Interestingly, Tasia has the same accent as Juhani from Legends video game Knights of the Old Republic.
- The Coup: Lourna's father is deposed as Keeper of Aaloth by Bala and several other conspirators including Lourna, although she is soon betrayed and sold into slavery instead of taking over as Keeper as she believed would happen.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: A major reason why Lourna's redemption chance doesn't take is because she's convinced everyone is more interested in using her for their own ends.
- Fantastic Slur: Lourna and other Twi'leks are derogatorily called worm-heads by several characters.
- Flashback B-Plot: Each chapter is divided between the present day storyline and flashbacks to moments in Lourna's past.
- Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Ola Hest continues to run a massive criminal network from the Restitution, and also has a number of guards on board in her pocket as well. She uses this network to threaten Sestin's children and blackmail her into murdering Tasia.
- Mythology Gag: Aaloth is a colony world settled by Twi'leks from Ryloth. In the Legends guidebook The Essential Atlas, the world Or Tuma (another world in the Ryloth system) was stated to be home to a small colony of Twi'leks from Ryloth.
- Prison Ship: One of the primary settings of the novel is the Republic prison ship Restitution.
- Redemption Rejection: Lourna has a chance to atone for her crimes and comes close to taking it but ultimately goes back to the Nihil believing the people trying to help her atone were just using her.
- The Reveal: In previous novels, Marchion was trying to determine which Tempest Runner killed his father, suspecting first Kassav and then Pan. The truth is revealed to be that all three Tempest Runners were conspiring to kill Asgar Ro, but Lourna sold out the other two to the Eye to improve her own standing. However, Asgar had no intention of sharing more power with her and she realized she could not trust him, so she assassinated him before the other two Tempest Runners learned of her betrayal.
- That Came Out Wrong: "Top or bottom?". They're talking about bunks.
- Villain Episode: While she has been a POV character in prior High Republic works, Lourna is the main character of Tempest Runner as it dives deep into her past and her motivations.
