Resistance Reborn teases new allies for the Resistance – including General Rieekan!

The novel Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse will release on November 5, and it figures to be a very important read to set some of the context for the time period in-between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.

We previously got an excerpt from the book featuring a conversation between General Leia Organa and Rey, but we also got a second excerpt from the book, released recently by Barnes and Noble.

This excerpt focuses on allies of the Resistance arriving on Ryloth to lend support to General Organa. First, there’s Poe Dameron and Black Squadron arriving, with Jessica Pava and Suralinda Javos (we explored where they were at in the Poe Dameron comic). They brought back with them an ex-Imperial officer named Teza Nasz. Zay Versio and Shriv also arrived, saying hello to Leia and bringing with them several additional allies. One of them was quite familiar to Leia:

A man separated from the small crowd, and Leia’s brows raised in disbelief.

“This is—” Zay began.

“I know who this is,” Leia murmured. “General Rieekan.”

That’s where the excerpt ends, so we’ll have to wait until the book releases to get any additional information. But I think it’s pretty exciting to think about old allies of Leia’s now returning to lend their support to the cause.

Come to think of it, that’s exactly what Admiral Gial Ackbar did, only far before many of these others. Ackbar was retired and living peacefully on Mon Cala, but when Leia formed the Resistance and needed help, Ackbar came out of retirement to lend aid to his longtime friend. I think it’s cool to think about others doing the same, as the Resistance has been built on Leia and her extensive network of support, so I think it’d be cool to lean even more into that.

Of course, I do love Zay and Shriv showing up too, but I expected them to. Carlist Rieekan is a very surprising appearance, which is why I’m focusing on him in this article. He appeared in just one Star Wars film, but it was quite clear he had an important role in the Rebellion, as he was in command of Echo Base on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. He ordered and oversaw the evacuation of Echo Base when the Empire arrived, and then was involved in Rebellion leadership in the aftermath of that battle as well – including at the important meeting on Zastiga when the second Death Star was discussed, as well as playing a role at the Battle of Jakku for the New Republic.

Beyond Jakku, however, we don’t really know what Rieekan was up to – but we do know that his reputation continued on with the Resistance, as Poe Dameron was once awarded the Rieekan Ribbon for Bravery in Battle (it was given to him after rescuing Ackbar). But now, it appears that the man who was the recipient for that award may be coming to Leia’s aid once more, over three decades after the Battle of Hoth.

I think it’s really cool to see these kinds of things, assuming they make sense story-wise, as I like Leia’s allies – both old and new – coming to her aid in this most desperate hour.