A Marine Went to Jedi Camp is a fan fiction novella written by Sean “Goodwood” Nash. The first edition was published to the Star Wars Fanon wiki on May 26, 2010, with a second, extensively rewritten edition being released in the early hours of June 20 of that year. Set within the Tales from the Corps series, it is preceded by Star Wars: Death and Life and succeeded by Star Wars: Saber Battalion. The novella’s cover art, as with the art from the of the series, was created by Nash as well.
The novella continues the adventures of Captain Laera Reyolé, a senior field officer who served with the Republic Marines for many years. Set after her death in the Mandalorian Wars and subsequent resurrection on the order of the Jedi Knights Revan and Malak, A Marine Went to Jedi Camp chronicles her training in the ways of the Force. Throughout the novella’s first-person narrative, Reyolé contemplates her role as a former combat fatality, her own past history with the Marines and the Jedi Order, as well as her place in the Galactic Republic as a whole.
The story is currently being spotlighted on the main page for the duration of October, or until a new story is selected as a featured work. The nomination garnered two votes from the Star Wars Fanon Archivists and five votes from non-Archivists. During the review process, Archivist Atarumaster88 left his thoughts on the novella:
A Marine Went to Jedi Camp is the quirky title of the sequel to Death and Life by Sean “Goodwood” Nash and it tells the story of how Laera Reyole, the resurrected Marine, becomes resurrected Marine-turned-Jedi. Because of that, you’ll find the polished prose structure and diction, careful attention to story-telling, and overall good form that are trademarks of his style. However, like most sequels, it’s not quite up to the same standards as the original. If you took the second third of I, Jedi, down to some of the same cheesy cliches that Stackpole invented, and reset it in the KotOR era, the result would be something similar to A Marine Went to Jedi Camp. The conflict and self-discovery of Laera Reyole that is supposed to be the central theme of the story is muted, and unfortunately some of that muting is done by showing how fast and capable a learner Laera is and how everyone generally puts up with her even with her attitude. My biggest complaint though, is that Laera rarely ever has any serious emotional conflicts about her new role. The story winds its way through without any major resolution because there’s no issue to resolve. That said, I can’t complain about having another story with the level of writing that Goodwood presents on SWF. A lot of authors here could learn about how to write prose from a technical prospective from Goodwood and the storytelling isn’t that shabby either. 4.5 out of 5 technical, 3 out of 5 narrative.
And finally, there comes the excerpt from the story, an excerpt that is currently showcased the Star Wars Fanon main page.
“With the Force, many things are possible,” Master Zhar chimed in, his voice low but fatherly, after a fashion. “You are a disciplined warrior, dedicated to the Republic. We are considering you for Jedi training.”
My attention not fully allocated toward the four-part harmony of Force-inspired philosophical yammering, the Twi’lek’s last words caught me blindsided. Realizing that my jaw had dropped several centimeters, I hastily closed it and regarded the Council with something that was intended to be a scowl, but from the nods that all four of them were shooting me, it was clear they could see right through the facade.
“You do not trust us, that much is clear,” Master Vrook said frankly. “But you trusted those Jedi who fought beside you against the Mandalorians, despite the fact that they did so against the wishes of the Order. Be mindful of—”
“Excuse me, Master Jedi,” I interrupted, my voice spiked with sudden anger, “but with all due respect, you are wrong. I fought alongside the Revanchists, yes, but I never fully trusted any of them, except for one. I’m a Marine, sir, trained to fight the enemies of the Republic, of civilization itself, no matter who leads me into battle!”
Click here to read more information about the story, and here to read the novella itself. Congratulations to Goodwood on his second featured work!