Disturbance in the Force/Legends

"I sense a disturbance in the Force." "You always sense a disturbance in the Force. But yeah – I sense it too."

- Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn

A disturbance in the Force was an unusual fluctuation or anomaly in the Force that could be sensed by Force-sensitives. These disturbances could range in intensity from mild fluctuations to full-blown psychic trauma that would cause the individual to experience literal, physical pain and perhaps even mental shock.

Types of disturbances
"Somebody went away. And somebody else. They're going away."

- Amelia Solo, feeling disturbances in the Force during the Battle of Commenor



Wounds in the Force were the most easily recognizable form of disturbance. Such massive disturbances were created from the most catastrophic events of death and destruction. Force adepts could often feel such disturbances from across the Galaxy.

While death caused the greatest ripples in the Force, many other developments in the Force caused disturbances such as alignment shifts. One such disturbance was sensed by Master Luke Skywalker when he no longer felt the dark side aura around the Massassi Temple and, years earlier, when he felt great power coming from a cave during his training on Dagobah. In the Thrawn trilogy, Leia senses this when she passes through the place in orbit around Endor where Darth Sidious had died. Luke and Mara Jade also sense this in his former palace.

The dark side of the Force often created disturbances. During the time of the Jedi Civil War, the Jedi Malak felt great amounts of power coming from the inside of the Rakatan ruins on Dantooine, stating that "he could feel its power". Almost a decade later, Kreia felt the dark side aura emanating from Korriban and she refused to even set foot on the planet's surface when the Jedi Exile traveled there.



Disturbances in the Force caused by the dark side often had powerful effects on surrounding flora and fauna. When the Jedi Padawan Juhani briefly turned to the dark side, she drove the Kath hounds on Dantooine mad&mdash;causing them to become extremely aggressive and violent. The fractured planet Malachor V was so corrupted with the dark side that it affected the life on its surface&mdash;namely, the Storm Beasts. Another creature corrupted by the dark side was the Terentatek. The power and presence of the dark side gradually distorted their shapes and corrupted their minds. As a side effect, terentatek became virtually immune to the effects of the Force.

Other disturbances may occur during unnatural events in the Force. One such event occurred when Kyle Katarn first felt the power of the Reborn warriors. After his first duel with one of the Reborn, he remarked that his encounter with the warrior felt strange. He stated that the Reborn looked like a Jedi and fought like a Jedi, but that his power felt warped. The Reborn and the Shadowtroopers were Dark Jedi that had been artificially infused with the Force. As such, when a Force adept came near them, they could feel the unnaturalness of their power.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith (audio)
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 4: Jedi Holocaust
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Galaxy of Fear: Ghost of the Jedi
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Shadows of the Empire novel
 * Phantom Menaces
 * The Courtship of Princess Leia
 * Dark Force Rising
 * Dark Apprentice
 * I, Jedi
 * Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast
 * Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Champions of the Force
 * The New Rebellion
 * Ambush at Corellia
 * Specter of the Past
 * Balance Point
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * Soulcalibur IV
 * Soulcalibur IV