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Introduction

I remember experiencing (reading, I think) a science fiction, or space opera, story in which the main characters are on a ship, perhaps fleeing from someone, and the use a Hyperspace jump to get to the other side of a nearby planet. Character 1 thinks they jumped through the planet, but Character 2, who performed the jump, reveals that they actually jumped around the planet.

I think that it is a Star Wars story, since most of my Science Fiction/space Opera reading have been Star Wars, but it could be something else as well.

Question

In which Sci Fi story is a FTL jump used to reach the other side of a planet?

Notes

The Star Wars Wiki contains an article entitled Precision Hyperspace Jump, which this could qualify as. The story I'm thinking of is, however, not listed under Appearances in this article, because I have not read any of those books.

On suggestion in comments, I've tried to recall a few more things and listed them below. I am 100% sure of these details, though.

  • It most likely took place in the post-ROTJ Legends.
  • The person performing the jump may have been Jaina Solo
  • The person reacting to the jump may have been Jacen Solo, but could also have been someone else.

I seem to recall that the conversation between the two characters went something along these lines:

Person A: "You jumped THROUGH the planet!? How is that even possible!?"

Person B: "Not through. Around. [something about how he/she did it]"

Of course, this is not actual quotes, but rather a recollection of the feel of the conversation after the jump had been made.

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  • How close to the planet was this jump made? In atmosphere, low orbit, close but not in orbit?
    – kylieCatt
    Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 13:33
  • This is reminding me of a story where they jump through a gas giant. Well, not directly through the core, but still through the planet. I don't recall if it was Star Wars (there's a lot of EU out there) and I don't think it's what you're looking for, but it jogged a vague memory nonetheless.
    – Michael Itzoe
    Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 13:46
  • Do you remember roughly when you experienced this?
    – Paul
    Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 18:24
  • @MichaelItzoe You reminded me of Donald A. Wollheim's "Planet Passage" but there's no "jump" or FTL involved, the hero is flying a plain old rocket ship (with a very heat-resistant hull): "'. . . we're not going to pass through or near the core. We're going through at a tangent, far from its center' [. . .] I blinked again. The black was the black of outer space. We had gone straight through the planet of Uranus and come shooting out the other side! There ahead of us almost directly was the round, white disc of Ariel, AWP post and safety."
    – user14111
    Commented Sep 5, 2015 at 1:10
  • @Paul At least 5 years ago, but could be as much as 8.
    – Gunnar Södergren
    Commented Sep 6, 2015 at 20:58

3 Answers 3

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+200

Jedi Council: Acts of War #1

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To start with, this is Star Wars (as indicated in the question). That said, the person making the jump is Saesee Tiin, not Jaina or Jacen Solo, and it is not post ROTJ legends, but, I believe, pre-Phantom-Menace.

The wording, however, is almost an exact match for that in the question.

Person A: “You jumped THROUGH the planet!? How is that even possible!?” = “Is that possible? You used hyperspace to go through the planet?

And:

Person B: “Not through. Around. [something about how he/she did it]” = “Past, not ‘through.’ And I guarantee you, it is possible…just not recommended.”

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  • 1
    This is it! Awesome! My thinking that is was Jaina was mostly due to the fact that roughly 90-95% of my Star Wars reading, especially way back when I recall reading this, featured the Solo twins (Young Jedi Knights, New Jedi Order etc). This is definitely it! Awesome work, @Adamant!
    – Gunnar Södergren
    Commented May 19, 2017 at 8:28
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I think you're referring to the Stargate: SG1 episode Failsafe, when they use hyperspace to jump their ship (and the asteroid they're standing on) directly through the Earth.

Also happens in Stargate Atlantis, I believe.

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  • 5
    A reference to the episodes you're thinking of would go a long way here.
    – phantom42
    Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 12:38
  • No, that's not it. Like I stated in the question. The don't actually jump through the planet, it simply appears so. They actually through around it. Also, I think I've seen a total of 0.82 episodes of Stargate in my life.
    – Gunnar Södergren
    Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 12:40
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    The SG-1 episode referred to is "Failsafe" (5.17). I don't recall an Atlantis episode like this. The closest I can think of is the episode "Inferno", where they find an Ancient ship stranded in an old base sitting in the caldera of a supervolcano about to explode and they use the FTL to jump from the surface of the planet into orbit around the planet to escape the explosion of the volcano.
    – BBlake
    Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 13:58
  • @BBlake I think the SGA episode he was thinking of is "The Lost Tribe, part 2" (5.11)
    – Reyssor
    Commented Sep 5, 2015 at 11:14
  • To make absolutely sure, I checked the episode referred to by @BBlake. It was, as I thought, not the story I was looking for.
    – Gunnar Södergren
    Commented Sep 6, 2015 at 21:00
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This plot device is used in the book Starhammer by Christopher Rowley when the starship freighter Orn travels around a Gas Giant to escape the primary lasers of the battleship Illustrious of the Laowon Imperium.

The book is the first of three set in the same universe which contain The Vang (an advanced parasitic lifeform).

In the first book, The Worlds of Man have been dominated (and humans enslaved and experimented upon) by the alien Laowon Imperium for more than a thousand years. But an ex-laowon slave gets caught up with some free rebels who have discovered an ancient weapon so powerful that it can destroy the Laowon Tyranny. But the Laowon Imperium is close behind while the human rebels attempt escape...

Quote from the book about the FTL jump around the gas giant:

"But where are we now?"

"On the far side of Nocanicus, opposite where we were. We performed a simple, random-gravity flip-flop. Our jump spin was absorbed by the star. We traveled around its gravity centre along the lines of the magnetic field. It increased our chances of survival by twenty percent."

All three books are excellent:

  • Book 1: Starhammer
  • Book 2: The Vang - The Military Form
  • Book 3: The Vang - The Battlemaster
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  • Unfortunately, this is not the one I'm looking for, either.
    – Gunnar Södergren
    Commented Sep 6, 2015 at 21:01

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