Indara Meets Yaddle In An Exclusive Excerpt From ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte — Wayseeker’

Although the onscreen journey of The Acolyte is seemingly over, the rich stories of the High Republic era in Star Wars continue to grow. And now, on May 6, a new novel set before the events of The Acolyte will bridge characters and plotlines from the High Republic books to that popular TV series.

The book is called Wayseeker and is written by acclaimed novelist Justina Ireland, who is no stranger to Star Wars, having previously written several High Republic books before, as well as The Rise of Skywalker prelude, Spark of the Resistance. As her biography states, Ireland is one of the “architects of the High Republic,” and so, with Wayseeker, Ireland is connecting several threads in that pre-Phantom Menace era. Specifically, the new novel focuses on Vernestra Rowe and her first meeting with a Jedi Knight named Indara. We know what the future holds for Indara and Rowe, but this novel reveals the untold story of how these two Jedi form an unlikely partnership.

Although the book is told primarily in first person from Rowe’s point of view, we also do get some insight into Indara’s journey, too, who is much younger in this story than she appears even in the flashbacks of The Acolyte.

Inverse is proud to present an exclusive excerpt from Wayseeker in which we find Indara being summoned by the Jedi Council and meeting with the famed Master Yaddle. Here’s a preview from the second chapter of Wayseeker. Also included below is a sample of the audiobook, read by Jessica Almasy.

Excerpt from STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE: WAYSEEKER by Justina Ireland (on sale May 6^th):

Jedi Knight Indara has been working in the Jedi Archives on Coruscant for nearly a year. But a request from the Jedi Council will send her back out into the galaxy.

“Indara. It is good to see you. Come, the Council is waiting.”

Master Yaddle stepped into the turbolift, and Indara followed, re­luctant to share a lift with the Jedi Master when she was not quite sure what the summons had been about. The silence between them was awkward, and when they reached the spire where the Jedi High Coun­cil Chamber resided, Indara could no longer hold her tongue.

“Master Yaddle, is this about Tevu? I want you to understand that I was going to send my findings through the proper channels. I was just finalizing my thesis and my thoughts on the best way to discuss any failure on the Jedi’s part—or rather not failure but perhaps a lack of patience?”

Master Yaddle smiled at Indara and shook her head but did not answer the question. She set off at a pace that should not have been possible given her short stature, and Indara had to hurry to keep up, talking faster to say her piece before they reached their destination: “Perhaps the better phrase is lack of clarity? Not really sure the term I want to use there . . . Either way, I still have a lot of work to do before my research is going to be ready for review, so I hope you don’t think I’m setting out to condemn you—I mean, you were just a Padawan! I was just making sure that everything was, um, fact-checked.”

The silence between them was awkward, and when they reached the spire where the Jedi High Coun­cil Chamber resided, Indara could no longer hold her tongue.

Master Yaddle did a mere half turn toward Indara as she spoke, never once slowing her steps, so that by the time Indara finished her defense of her process, she was a bit out of breath.

But Yaddle just chuckled. “Child, the battle on Tevu is ancient his­tory, even for me. That is not our concern today. We have a mission for you, but it will be best if I allow the Council to explain.”

By that point, they’d reached the Jedi Council Chamber, and In­dara froze as Yaddle continued, entering the room and leaving the younger Jedi behind.

“A mission?” Indara said. A tingle started in her toes and began to work its way to the top of her head, like a crackle of electricity. Indara had always seen the Force as energy, sparking through the galaxy and connecting everything and everyone, and when she got excited or overly worried, it was normal for her to feel that same sizzle of energy pulsing through her.

A mission? It couldn’t be.

She still didn’t feel ready.

Indara swallowed hard, trying to keep her anxiousness off her face as she stepped into the room. Before she’d taken the position as an archivist, she’d traveled the galaxy as a Padawan alongside her master, saving endangered tomes and learning all that she could about various cultures, most especially their fighting forms. But that was before the disaster that had stolen Indara’s confidence in her abilities. For the last year, Indara had not left Coruscant, working instead in the archives, researching. When her request to be assigned to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant had been granted, she’d felt a deep sense of relief. That was for the best. Coruscant was the safest place to be.

The Jedi High Council did not make mistakes.

And her time before being a Jedi? She had been dropped at the Temple mere days after her birth, so there was no before the Order for her. There was only the Order and Coruscant.

The idea of having to go back out in the galaxy gave Indara pause. What if she was no longer the Jedi the Order needed her to be? She had only been knighted a year ago, and at twenty-six she felt like the galaxy was more confusing than it had ever been.

“Jedi Knight Indara, please step forward.” Jedi Master Oppo Ranci­sis, his long white hair tidied up into a bun on the top of his head, beckoned Indara closer with a taloned hand. Master Yoda and Master Yaddle sat on either side of him. Master Niko Jiro, a slim human with pale skin and a halo of wild, dark curls, was the only other Jedi High Council Member in attendance. They gave Indara a kind smile of en­couragement. The remaining seats sat empty.

Indara stepped into the center of the room, folding her hands in front of her so that she could better channel the inner peace that befit­ted a Jedi and not the swirling mass of nerves her midsection had become. She took a deep breath and let it out. “Masters, I await your request.”

Indara could feel all the eyes in the room upon her, the energy of the Council’s gazes crackling across her skin. But the feeling only gave her strength. She was worried, but she could do this. They had chosen her for a reason, had sent for her over all the other Jedi Knights as­signed to any number of tasks within the main Temple. She could show them she was worthy. Because she was.

The Jedi High Council did not make mistakes.

“Called you here, we have, for an important reason,” Master Yoda said, nodding as he looked to his colleagues. “Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh.”

Indara blinked. She had heard the name before. Of course she had. There were few Jedi—from the smallest youngling to the most ambi­tious master—who did not know the name Vernestra Rwoh. She was a force unto herself, dedicated and calm, her exploits legendary.

“I—Did you want me to research Master Rwoh’s most recent log entries?” Indara was surprised at the sense of disappointment she felt. Had she really wanted to be out in the galaxy again, courting danger in the name of the greater good? Her uncertainty about her own emo­tions was surprising, but at least if she had to be stuck in the Jedi Temple, she would be spending her time doing something exciting. Vernestra Rwoh was a Wayseeker, out in the galaxy doing as the Force willed. Her reports were sent to the Temple at irregular intervals, and Indara had spent some of her own personal time reading through the missives as though they were the latest entry in a holodrama. Just hearing the name conjured up images of Vernestra Rwoh in her younger days, fighting pirates, liberating planets from despots, helping with harvests, saving innocents, just about anything one could think of. Even for a Mirialan—a people who lived much longer lives than humans—Vernestra had accomplished a lot.

And if the Jedi High Council wanted her to spend her time sum­marizing the exploits of one of the greatest Jedi of their time, well . . . she would. Happily.

(Excerpted with permission of Penguin Random House Audio from Star Wars: The Acolyte: Wayseeker by Justina Ireland; Read by Jessica Almasy © 2025, Justina Ireland, ℗ Penguin Random House, LLC.)

Indara had once wanted to be a Wayseeker, but she’d given up on that idea following the tragedy that had brought her back to Corus­cant. And now it felt unlikely. After all, how could the Order trust her to her own devices after what had happened on Seswenna?

It had been silly to think that she was being assigned to a mission. She was becoming an accomplished archivist. Though it had been only a year, Indara was beginning to believe she belonged in the library, not out jaunting about the galaxy.

“No, child,” Master Yaddle said with a small, indulgent laugh. “We don’t want you to research her. We want you to fetch her from her current location and bring her back to Coruscant.”

Indara blinked. She was smart. Quick. Her current supervisor had even praised the way she was able to pivot so effectively from one idea to the next within an analysis. She was far from ignorant.

But in that moment, she felt incredibly behind.

“You want me to go find a Jedi Master?” Indara said. She tried to keep the skepticism from her voice. “I . . . wouldn’t it be easier to just send her a message to return?”

A chorus of laughter erupted from the Jedi Council. “The first thing you should know about Vernestra Rwoh is that she is not easily swayed from her path,” Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis said. Indara did not know if that meant they had sent her a request to return and she had ignored it, or if they just thought a face-to-face request was a better route. “We have a matter that needs her personal attention, and the timing is urgent.”

Indara nodded. “I understand. I thank you for thinking of me.” Emotions warred within her: fear, excitement, worry. But she swal­lowed them all down. She didn’t really want to go, but she was a Jedi. Her desires mattered very little in her service to the Order. She would simply do the same as she did when setting on any other task: try her best and hope the effort was sufficient.

Indara stood a little straighter, looking around the room so that she could remember this moment later when it came time to write in her personal datalog. “When do I leave?”

“Right now,” Master Yaddle said, climbing from her seat and ges­turing for Indara to follow her. “Come, I will show you to your as­signed Vector and see you off.”

Reprinted from Star Wars: The Acolyte: Wayseeker by Justina Ireland. © 2025 by Lucasfilm Ltd. Published by Random House Worlds, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.