Rave reviews for previous Star Wars® adventures:

HEIR TO THE EMPIRE

“MOVES WITH A SPEED-OF-LIGHT PACE THATCAPTURES THE SPIRIT OF THE MOVIE TRILOGY

SO WELL, YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR JOHNWILLIAMS’S SOUNDTRACK.”

—The Providence Sunday Journal

“A SPLENDIDLY EXCITING NOVEL … READ ANDENJOY, THE MAGIC IS BACK.”

—Nashville Banner

“CHOCK FULL OF ALL THE GOOD STUFF YOU’VECOME TO EXPECT FROM A BATTLE OF GOOD

AGAINST EVIL.”—New York, Daily News

DARK FORCE RISING

“CONTINUES [ZAHN’S] REMARKABLEEXTRAPOLATION FROM GEORGE LUCAS’S

TRILOGY.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“ZAHN HAS PERFECTLY CAPTURED THE PACEAND FLAVOR OF THE STAR WARS MOVIES. THIS

IS SPACE OPERA AT ITS BEST.”—Sunday Oklahoman

THE LAST COMMAND

“INTELLIGENT, FAST-PACED FUN, A WORTHYCONCLUSION TO THE TRILOGY.”

—Chicago Sun-Times

“FILLED WITH CHARACTERISTIC STAR WARSTECHNOLOGY AND COSMIC BATTLES … THE

DETAIL AND PLOT DEVELOPMENT FAR EXCEEDWHAT ARE POSSIBLE IN A TWO-HOUR MOVIE.”

—The Indianapolis Star

“ZAHN HAS BEEN FAITHFUL TO THE REGULAR

CHARACTERS, CAPTURING THE NUANCES OFTHEIR PERSONALITIES TO THE POINT THAT

READING THE BOOKS IS LIKE WATCHING THEMOVIES AGAIN AND AGAIN.… SIT BACK WITH

THIS BOOK AND SAVOR THE FUN ANDEXCITEMENT. IT MOVES AT THE PACE OF A STAR

DESTROYER IN HYPERSPACE.”—The Flint Journal

This edition contains the complete textof the original hardcover edition.

NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED.

STAR WARS: THE COURTSHIP OF PRINCESS LEIAA Bantam Spectra Book

PUBLISHING HISTORYBantam hardcover edition published May 1994

Bantam paperback edition / May 1995

SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks ofBantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

All rights reserved.

®, TM & © 1994 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. UsedUnder Authorization.

Cover art by Drew Struzan © 1995 by Lucasfilm Ltd.No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or byany information storage and retrieval system, withoutpermission in writing from the publisher.

For information address: Bantam Books.

eISBN: 978-0-307-79628-8

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division ofRandom House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words“Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registeredin U.S. Patent and Trademark O ce and in other countries.Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1745 Broadway, New York,New York 10019.

v3.1

Contents

CoverTitle PageCopyright

Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14

Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27About the AuthorAlso by This AuthorIntroduction to the Star Wars Expanded UniverseExcerpt from Star Wars: Tatooine GhostIntroduction to the Old Republic EraIntroduction to the Rise of the Empire EraIntroduction to the Rebellion Era

Introduction to the New Republic EraIntroduction to the New Jedi Order EraIntroduction to the Legacy EraStar Wars Novels Timeline

G

Chapter1

eneral Han Solo stood at the commandconsole viewport of the Mon Calamari Star

Cruiser Mon Remonda. Warning sounds tinkledlike wind chimes as the ship prepared to dropout of hyperspace at the New Republic’scapital on Coruscant. It had been so long sinceHan had last seen Leia: ve months, vemonths hunting the warlord Zsinj’s Super StarDestroyer, Iron Fist. Five months ago, the NewRepublic had seemed so secure, so in control.Maybe now, with the Iron Fist gone, warlordZsinj would be crippled and things would gosmoother. Han longed to get o the humidCalamarian ship, longed even more for thetaste of Leia’s kisses, the caress of her hand onhis brow. He’d seen too much darkness lately.

The white star eld on the screen resolved as

the hyperdrive engines cut, and Chewbaccaroared in alarm: across the blue velvet of spacewhere the city night lights of Coruscant blazedfrom a dark world were dozens of enormous,saucer-shaped starships that Han recognizedimmediately as Hapan Battle Dragons. Amongthem were dozens of slate gray Imperial StarDestroyers.

“Get us out of here!” Han shouted. He’d seena Hapan Battle Dragon only once before, but ithad been enough. “Full shields! Evasiveaction!”

He watched the three dorsal ion guns of thenearest Dragon, expecting them to knock himfrom the sky. The blaster turrets on the saucer’srim all swiveled toward him.

T h e Mon Remonda twisted and doveplanetward, toward the lights of Coruscant.Han’s stomach wrenched. His Mon Calamaripilot was well schooled, and knowing thatthey could not run before setting a new course,he surged into the thick of the Hapan warshipsso that they could not re without the risk of

hitting one another.Like all the technology on the Mon Calamari

ship, the viewport was exceptional, a work ofart, so that as they hurtled past the commandport of a Hapan Battle Dragon, Han couldmake out the startled faces of three Hapano cers, the silver name tags sewn into theircollars. Han had never seen a Hapan. Theirstar sector was renowned for its wealth, andthe Hapans guarded their borders jealously.He’d known that they were human—forhumans had scattered like weeds across thegalaxy—but he was surprised to discover thatwithout exception, all three of the femaleo cers were astonishingly beautiful—likefragile, living ornaments.

“Cease evasive action!” shouted CaptainOnoma, a salmon-colored Calamarian o cerwho sat at a control console, monitoringsensors.

“What?” Han shouted, surprised that thelower-ranked Calamarian would reverse hisorders.

“The Hapans are not ring, and they arebroadcasting as friendlies,” Onoma answered,swiveling a large golden eye at Han. TheCalamarian cruiser ceased its crazy headlongdive and slowed.

“Friendlies?” Han asked. “They’re Hapans!Hapans are never friendly!”

“Nevertheless, they’ve apparently come tonegotiate a treaty of some sort with the NewRepublic. The accompanying Star Destroyersare theirs, captured from the Imperials. As youcan see, our planetary defense forces are stillintact.” Captain Onoma nodded up toward aStar Destroyer in another quadrant, and Hanrecognized its markings. Leia’s agship, theRebel Dream. It had seemed so huge, so vastwhen they’d captured it from the Imperials,but here beside this Hapan eet, it lookedsmall, insigni cant. Huddled around the RebelDream, he saw a dozen smaller RepublicDreadnaughts, their hulls still painted with themarkings of the old Rebel Alliance.

The rst time Han had seen a Hapan

warship, he had been smuggling guns with asmall convoy eet under the command ofCaptain Rula. Since the Hapans hadn’t yetfallen to the Empire, the smugglers had beenusing an outpost in neutral territory near theborders of the Hapan star cluster, hoping thattheir proximity to the Hapans would keep theEmpire o their back. But one day they cameout of hyperspace and found a Hapan BattleDragon hovering in their path. Even thoughthey were in neutral territory, even thoughthey made no aggressive moves, only three ofthe twenty smuggler ships managed to survivethe Hapan attack.

A communications o cer said, “GeneralSolo, we’re receiving a call from AmbassadorLeia Organa.”

“I’ll go to my quarters and pick it up there,”Han said, and he hurried to punch up the call.Leia’s image appeared on the small screen.

Leia was smiling, euphoric, and her darkeyes had a dreamy look to them. “Oh, Han,”she said in a breath, her voice mellifluous. “I’m

so glad you’re here.” She wore the pure whiteuniform of an Alderaanian ambassador, andher hair was down. In the past months it hadgrown longer than Han had ever seen it. In herhair she wore the combs he had given her,made from silver and opal mined on Alderaanbefore Grand Mo Tarkin blasted the planet tocinders with the first Death Star.

“I missed you, too,” Han said huskily.“Come down to Coruscant, to the Grand

Reception Hall,” Leia said. “The Hapanambassadors are about to arrive.”

“What do they want?”“It’s not what they want, it’s what they’re

o ering. I went to Hapes and spoke with thequeen mother three months ago,” Leia said. “Iasked her for aid in our ght against WarlordZsinj. She seemed very distant, noncommittal,but promised to think about it. I can onlyguess they’ve come to give that aid.”

Lately, Han had begun to realize that thewar against the remnants of the Empire mighttake years, even decades to win. Zsinj and

some lesser warlords were rmly entrenchedin over a third of the galaxy, but the warlordsnow seemed to be on the move—pillagingentire star systems as they swept toward thefree worlds. The New Republic could notpatrol such a vast front. Just as the old Empirehad struggled to repel the Rebel Alliance, theNew Republic battled the might of thewarlords and their vast eets. Han didn’t wantLeia to get her hopes raised for a Hapanalliance. He said, “Don’t expect too much fromthe Hapans. I’ve never heard of them givinganyone anything—except a hard time.”

“You don’t even know them. Just come tothe Grand Reception Hall,” Leia said, suddenlyall business. “Oh, and welcome back.” Sheturned away. The transmission ended.

“Yeah,” Han whispered. “I missed you, too.”

• • •

Han and Chewbacca hurried through thestreets toward the Grand Reception Hall on

Coruscant. They were in an ancient part ofCoruscant where the planetwide city had notbuilt over the top of ruins, so that all aroundthem plasteel buildings rose up like the wallsof a canyon. The shadows thrown by the steepbuildings were so deep that overhead theshuttles streaming through the spaces betweenbuildings were forced to keep their runninglights on even in the daytime, creating amassive tapestry of light. By the time Han andChewie reached the Grand Reception Hall, theprocessional band was already playing anoddly mincing marching song, using janglersand deep woot horns.

The Grand Reception Hall was an enormousbuilding, more than a thousand meters long,with fourteen levels for seating, but as Hanneared the entrance, he found that all of theportals were jammed with curious onlookers,eager to see the Hapans. Han ran past the rst

ve entrances, then suddenly saw a goldenprotocol droid nervously trying to jump orstand on tiptoe to see over the crowd. Many

people claimed that all droids of a certainmodel looked alike, but Han recognized See-Threepio instantly—no other protocol unitever managed to look quite as nervous orexcited.

“Threepio, you hunk of tin!” Han shouted tobe heard over the crowd. Chewbacca roared ingreeting.

“General Solo!” Threepio responded, a noteof relief in his voice. “Princess Leia asked that I

nd you and escort you to the Alderaanianambassador’s balcony. I was afraid I’d missedyou in the crowd! You’re fortunate that I hadthe foresight to wait for you here. This way,sir, this way!” Threepio led them back across abroad street and up a side ramp, past severalguards.

As they climbed a long winding corridor,passing door after door, Chewbacca sni ed theair and growled. They rounded the corner andThreepio halted by a balcony entrance. Within,only a few people stood looking through theglass onto the procession below. Han

recognized some of them: Carlist Rieekan, theAlderaanian general who had commandedHoth base; Threkin Horm, president of thepowerful Alderaanian Council, an immenselyfat man who rested in a repulsor chair ratherthan try to carry his own weight. And MonMothma, commander of the New Republic,stood next to a bearded gray Gotal, who gazeddispassionately toward the main oor, headtilted, aiming his sensor horns in Leia’sdirection.

The diplomats were all speaking softly,listening to comlinks and watching Leia, whosat on a dais, regally gazing on a Hapandiplomatic shuttle that had landed on a padbuilt within the great open-air hall. Perhaps

ve hundred thousand beings had gathered onthe main oors, eager to catch a glimpse of theHapans. Tens of thousands of security guardshad cleared the gold carpet between theshuttle and Leia, and Han looked up to thebalconies. Nearly every star system in the oldEmpire had had its own balcony here, and

beside each balcony was the nation’s standard.Over six hundred thousand of those standardshung now on the ancient marble walls,showing the membership of the New Republic.Down on the oor, silence fell as the shuttledropped its loading ramps.

Han went to Mon Mothma. “What’s goingon?” he asked. “Why aren’t you down on thedais with Leia?”

“I was not invited to meet the Hapanambassadors,” Mon Mothma replied. “Theyasked only to see Leia. Since even the OldRepublic had very limited contact withHapan’s monarchs over the past threethousand years, I felt it best to remain aloofuntil invited.”

“That’s very considerate,” Han said, “but youare the elected leader of the New Republic—”

“And Queen Mother Ta’a Chume feelsthreatened by our democratic ways. No, I thinkit best that Ta’a Chume’s ambassadors speakthrough Leia, if she makes them feel morecomfortable. Have you counted the number of

Battle Dragons in the Hapan eet? There aresixty-three—one for each inhabited planet inthe Hapes cluster. Never have the Hapansinitiated contact with us on such a grand scale.I suspect that this is to be the most importantcontact our peoples have made in the pastthree millennia.”

Han would not say it, but he felt slighted atnot being seated by Leia’s side. The fact thatMon Mothma had been similarly treated addedto the o ense. They waited only a momentbefore the Hapans began to disembark.

First from the shuttle came a woman withlong dark hair and onyx eyes that glittered inthe lights. She wore a light dress of peach-colored shimmering material that left her longlegs exposed. Microphones on the oor fedinto the balcony, and Han could hear a sighpass through the crowd as the beautifulwoman made her way up the promenade.

She approached Leia and dropped gracefullyto one knee, keeping her eyes on Leia. In astrong voice she spoke in Hapan, “Ellene

sellibeth e Ta’a Chume. ‘Shakal Leia, erenesetha’apelle seranel Hapes. Rennithelle saroon.’ ”She turned and clapped her hands six times,and dozens of women in shimmering golddresses began descending from the shuttle,running quickly and playing silver utes ordrums while others sang over and over in clearhigh voices, “Hapes, Hapes, Hapes.”

Mon Mothma listened intently to hercomlink as a translator broadcast the words inBasic, but Han couldn’t hear the translator.

“Do you speak this stu ?” Han askedThreepio.

“I am uent in over six million forms ofcommunication, sir,” Threepio said regretfully,“but I think I must be experiencing amalfunction. The Hapan ambassador cannothave said what I heard.” He turned and startedto walk o . “Darn these rusty logic circuits!Excuse me while I report for repairs.”

“Wait!” Han said. “Forget about the repairs.What did she say?”

“Sir, I think I must have misunderstood,”

Threepio said.“Tell me!” Han added more forcefully and

Chewbacca growled a warning.“Well, if you’re going to be that way about

it!” Threepio a ected a hurt tone. “If mysensors monitored her correctly, the delegatereported the words of the great queen mother:‘Worthy Leia, I o er gifts from the sixty-threeworlds of Hapes. Take joy in them.’ ”

“Gifts?” Han said. “That sounds prettystraightforward to me.”

“Indeed it is. The Hapans never ask a favorwithout o ering a gift of equal value rst,”Threepio said condescendingly. “No, whattroubles me is the use of the word shakal,‘worthy.’ The queen mother would neverapply that word to Leia, for the Hapans use itonly when speaking to equals.”

“Well,” Han hazarded a guess, “they are bothroyalty.”

“True,” Threepio said, “but the Hapanspractically worship their queen mother.Indeed, one of their names for her is Ereneda,

‘she who has no equal.’ So you see, it wouldnot be logical for the queen mother to refer toLeia as her equal.”

Han looked back down to the unloadingramp and shivered as a sense of forebodingwashed through him. The sounds of drumsthundered. Three women in bright, almostgarish silks rushed from the shuttle bearing alarge container the color of mother-of-pearl.Threepio still spoke to himself, shaking hishead and saying “I really must have these logiccircuits repaired,” as the three women spilledthe contents onto the oor. The whole crowdgasped. “Rainbow gems from Gallinore!”

The gems glittered with their own re indozens of shades from brilliant cardinal toblazing emerald. Indeed, the invaluable gemswere not gems at all, but a silicon-based lifeform that glowed with its own brilliant innerlight. The creatures, often worn on medallions,matured only after thousands of years. Onegem could buy a Calamarian cruiser, yet theHapans had thrown hundreds of mated pairs

to the floor. Leia showed no surprise.A second trio of women, far taller than the

others, descended from the diplomatic shuttlewearing leathers in colors of tawny ocher andcinnamon. They danced lightly to the soundsof the utes and drums, and between them

oated a platform that bore a small, gnarledtree with ruddy brown fruits. Twin lights

oated above it, beaming steadily like the sunsof some desert world. The crowd murmuredquietly until the ambassador explained,“Selabah, terrefel n lasarla.” (“From Selab, atree of wisdom, bearing fruits.”) The crowdsuddenly shouted and cheered in delight, andHan stood dumbfounded. He had thought thewisdom trees of Selab to be only a legend. Itwas said that the fruit of the wisdom treescould greatly boost the intelligence of thosewho had passed into old age.

Han’s blood pounded in his veins, and hefelt lightheaded. A man came forward to thesound of the music, a cyborg warrior dressedin full Hapan body armor, black with silver

trim. He stood nearly as tall as Chewbacca, andstrode purposely, pulled some sort ofmechanical device from his arm, and laid it onthe ground before Leia. “Charubah endara,mella n ses-seltar.” (“From the high-tech worldCharubah, we offer a Gun of Command.”)

Han leaned against the glass for support.The Gun of Command had made the Hapantroops nearly irresistible in small-arms combat,for it released an electromagnetic wave eldthat virtually neutralized an enemy’s voluntarythought processes. Those shot with the Gun ofCommand stood helpless as invalids, unawareof their surroundings, and tended to follow anyorders given them, for they could notdistinguish the command of an enemy fromtheir own voluntary thoughts. Han begansweating. Their every world, each planet in theHapes system, is o ering its greatest treasures,Han realized. What could they hope to gain?What could they want in return?

He watched over the next hour. The musicof the drums and utes and the high, clear

calls of the women singing “Hapes, Hapes,Hapes,” over and over again seemed to poundthrough his veins, through his temples. Twelveof the poorer worlds each gave Leia StarDestroyers captured from the Empire, whileothers brought things that held more esotericvalue. From Arabanth came an old womanwho spoke only a few words on theimportance of embracing life while acceptingdeath, o ering a “thought puzzle” that herpeople held to be of great value. Ut sent awoman who sang a song so beautiful that thesound seemed to carry Han away to her worldon a warm breeze.

At one point, Han heard Mon Mothmawhisper, “I knew Leia had asked for money tohelp ght the warlords, but I neverimagined …”

And nally, the singers stopped singing andthe drums stopped beating and a portion ofthe wealth of the hidden worlds of Hapes layscattered on the oor of the Grand ReceptionHall. Han found that his breathing came

ragged from his lungs, for he keptunconsciously holding his breath as the giftswere offered.

The silence on the oor of the hall seemedheavy, ominous. More than two hundredambassadors from the worlds of Hapes stoodon the promenade, and Han marveled at them,for once again he was impressed by theirgrace, by their beauty, by their strength. Untiltoday, he had never seen a Hapan. Now hewould never forget them.

No one spoke as the Hapans held theirsilence. Han waited to hear what they wouldask in return. His blood thrilled, for herealized they could only want one thing: a pactwith the Republic. The Hapans would ask theRepublic to join an all-out war against thecombined might of warlords who served as thelast remnants of the Empire.

Leia leaned forward from her throne, lookedover the gifts approvingly. “You said that youhad gifts from all sixty-three of your worlds,”Leia told the ambassador, “but I see here gifts

from only sixty-two. You have o ered menothing from Hapes itself.”

Han was shocked by the remark. He had lostcount of the gifts long ago, stunned by thewealth the Hapans o ered, and now Leia’scomments seemed churlish, greedy. Heexpected the Hapans to sco at her badmanners, take everything, and leave.

Instead, the Hapan ambassador smiledwarmly, as if pleased that Leia had noticed,and looked up and held Leia’s eyes. She spoke,and Threepio translated, “That is because wehave saved our greatest gift for last.”

She motioned with her hand, and all theHapan ambassadors stepped aside, clearing theaisle. Without fanfare, without the music ofhorns, only in silence did they bring their lastgift.

Two women, modestly dressed in black withsilver ringlets in their dark hair, came from theship. A man walked between them. He wore asilver circlet that held a black veil in front ofhis face, and his long, blond hair fell down

around his shoulders. The man was bare-chested except for a small silk half-cloakfastened with silver clasps, and in his musculararms he carried a large, ornate box of ebonyinlaid with silver.

He brought the box and set it on the oor.He sat on his haunches, hands resting lightlyon his knees, and the women pulled back hisblack veil. Beneath it was the most incrediblyhandsome man that Han had ever seen. Hisdeep-set eyes were a dark blue-gray, like thecolor of the sea on the horizon, and promisedwit, humor, wisdom; his powerful shouldersand rm jawline were strong. Han realizedthat this must be some high dignitary from theroyal house of Hapes itself. The ambassadorspoke, “Hapesah, rurahsen Ta’a Chume, elesaIsolder Chume’da.” (“From Hapes, the queenmother o ers her greatest treasure, her sonIsolder, the Chume’da, whose wife shall reignas queen.”)

Chewbacca growled and in the crowd beloweveryone seemed to talk at once, an uproar

that swelled in Han’s ears like the sound of astorm.

Mon Mothma pulled o her headset andgazed at Leia thoughtfully, one of the generalsin the room swore and grinned, and Hanstepped away from the window. “What?” Hanasked. “What does that mean?”

“Ta’a Chume wants Leia to marry her son,”Mon Mothma answered softly.

“But, she won’t do it, will she?” Han said,and then his certainty faltered. Sixty-three ofthe wealthiest planets in the galaxy. To rule asmatriarch over billions of people, with thatman beside her.…

Mon Mothma looked up into Han’s eyes, asif gauging him. “With the wealth of Hapes tohelp fund the war, Leia could overthrow thelast remnants of the Empire quickly, savingbillions of lives in the process. I know howyou have felt about her in the past, GeneralSolo. Still, I think I speak for everyone in theNew Republic when I say that, for all oursakes, I hope she accepts the offer.”

L

Chapter2

uke could sense the ruins of the ancient JediMaster’s home before his Whiphid guide

brought him to the place. Like the landscapeof Toola itself—a barren plain where the shortpurple lichens thrust up from patches of thinwinter ice—the ruins felt clean and refreshing,yet empty, almost as if they had never beenvisited by humans. The clean feeling assuredLuke that the ruins had once been inhabited bya good Jedi.

The huge Whiphid, its ivory fur ru ingunder the spring winds, trudged over thepurple moss, a vibro-ax tted in its paw. Itstopped and raised its long snout in the air sothat its massive tusks pointed up at a distantpurple sun, then gave a trumpeting whistle,glaring ahead with small black eyes.

Luke pulled back the hood of his snowsuitand glimpsed the danger on the horizon. A

ock of snow demons was dropping from theshelter of storm clouds, hairy wings ashinggray in the slanting sunlight. The Whiphidwhistled a battle cry, afraid they would attack,but Luke reached out with his mind and feltthe snow demons’ hunger. They were huntinga herd of shaggy motmots that moved like icyhills on the horizon, seeking a calf smallenough to slaughter.

“Peace,” Luke said, reaching up to touch theWhiphid’s elbow. “Show me the ruins.” Luketried to use the Force to calm the warrior. Butthe Whiphid quivered, clenching its vibro-ax,eager for battle.

The Whiphid whistled a long reply, pointingnorth, and Luke translated by power of theForce: “Search the Jedi’s tomb if you must,little one, but I go to hunt. Having sighted anenemy, honor demands that I attack. My clanwill feast on a snow demon tonight.” TheWhiphid wore a weapon belt as its only article

of clothing, and from the array hanging there,it pulled free a blackened iron morning star.With a weapon in each huge st, it chargedover the tundra faster than Luke would havebelieved possible.

Luke shook his head, pitying the snowdemons. Artoo whistled from behind, askingLuke to slow his pace as the little droidnegotiated a treacherous patch of ice.Together, Luke and Artoo traveled north untilthey reached three huge at rocks that rosefrom the ground to form the roof and sides ofa tunnel. The tunnel smelled dry, and Lukepulled a minilantern from his utility belt andmade his way down. A short distance from thesurface, the tunnel had been caved in. A hugeboulder blocked the path. Black soot on theboulder showed where a thermal detonatorhad blown the stone free in ages past, closingoff whatever lay beyond.

Luke closed his eyes and reached out withhis mind until the Force channeled throughhim. He shifted the rock, lifted it free, and held

it. “Go ahead, Artoo,” Luke whispered, and thedroid rolled forward, whistling in dismay as itpassed beneath the oating rock. Luke duckedunder the hovering boulder, then let it settlebehind him.

On the dirt oor immediately behind therock, Luke found the boot prints of Imperialstormtroopers, still preserved after all theseyears. Luke studied the prints, wondering ifany would have belonged to his father. DarthVader probably would have had to come. Onlyhe could have killed the Jedi Master who hadlived in these caverns. But the footprints toldhim nothing.

The tunnels wound down through storagerooms carved deep beneath the ground. Theair carried the stale scent of rodent dung andfur. A small, square power droid lay dead inone hallway, long since drained of energy. Athermal heater lled another room, its powercables chewed away by small animals. Lukefollowed the tunnels toward the clean feelingof the Jedi, and nally found the dead Master’s

room. The body was gone, dissipated as Yoda’sand Ben’s had, but Luke could feel the residueof the Master’s force, and he discovered asnowsuit, slashed and burned, with a lightsabernearby. Luke picked up the lightsaber, ippedit on. A stream of opalescent energy shot outas the lightsaber hummed to life.

Luke wondered momentarily about the manwho had owned the lightsaber, then ipped ito . He knew little except that the Jedi Masterhad served the Old Republic in its nal hours.For months now, Luke had followed the man’strail. As curator of records for the Jedi atCoruscant, the man had seemed only a minorfunctionary, hardly worthy of notice by theinvading Imperials. Yet he had ed Coruscantwith the records of a thousand generations ofJedi.

Such records, Luke hoped, would be morethan a mere catalog of the Jedis’ deeds.Instead, they might contain the wisdom of theancient masters, their thoughts, theiraspirations. As a young Jedi who had not been

thoroughly educated in the ways of the Force,Luke hoped to learn the deeper mysteries ofhow the Jedi had trained their warriors, theirhealers, their seers.

Luke cast about the room, looking in thefeeble light of his minilantern for anything thatmight provide a clue. Artoo had gone down aside passage, guiding himself through the darkusing his headlamps. From the passage Lukeheard a mournful whistle and followed.

It was a hallway that led to blackened roomscarved in the stone where cell after cell ofholographic video recordings had been stored.But the recordings were blasted and burned tocinders. Computer cylinders lay in piles ofmolten slag, their memory cores fried. Thermaldetonators had melted the things, but Lukealso found chunks from EMP grenades.Whoever had destroyed the holo vids had donehis or her best to erase them first.

Luke paced the tunnel, passing dozens upondozens of cells, gazing into each cell in turn,and his heart went from him. Nothing was left.

All of it gone. The knowledge and deeds of athousand generations of Jedi.

“It’s no use, Artoo,” Luke said, and his wordsseemed to be swallowed by the darkness, thesilence of the empty tunnels. Artoo whistledsadly, rolled on down the corridor, lifting upon his wheels to peek over the lip of each cell.

Gone. All of it gone, Luke realized. TheEmperor had not been content to hunt downand murder the Jedi. He had felt the need, inhis bid to gain absolute control of the galaxy,not only to extinguish their re from theuniverse but to crush their embers, scatter theirashes, so that the Jedi would never rise again.So that after months of searching, Luke foundonly ashes.

Luke sat on the oor, put a hand over hiseyes, wondering what his next move shouldbe. Certainly there had been other records,other copies. He would need to go back toCoruscant and begin the search there.

From down the hall, near the end of thetunnel , Artoo began to whistle excitedly.

“Found something?” Luke asked, and he gotup, dusted cinders from his clothing, forcedhimself to walk slowly. Artoo had found a cellwhere the records were not melted. A thermaldetonator still lay atop them, an obvious dud.The EMP grenade had fragmented, but Lukewondered how e ective it had been. He took acomputer cylinder from the top, plugged itinto Artoo. The droid whistled and bentforward, preparing to display the hologram,but after a moment ejected the cube with agrinding wheeze.

“Come on,” Luke whispered hopefully.Reaching near the bottom of the pile, Lukefreed a second cylinder, popped it into thedroid, and Artoo ashed the image of a mandressed in owing, pale green robes. Yet staticso interfered that the holo image soon brokeup. Artoo spat out the cylinder, and light fromhis headlamp shone once again into the cell,urging Luke to try again.

“Okay,” Luke sighed, and he searched for acylinder farthest from the EMP grenade. He

dug through the pile, found one in a far corneron the oor, and was about to pull it freewhen he felt the Force tug him in anotherdirection. He fumbled among the cylinders,until his ngers brushed one. Very distinctly,he felt a sense of peace. This one, this one, avoice seemed to whisper. This is what youseek.

Luke grasped it, pulled it free, and steppedaway. Somehow, he knew that to search thecaverns further would be useless. If anyanswers were to be found here, they were inhis hand.

He popped the cylinder into Artoo, andalmost immediately Artoo caught a signal.Images ashed in the air before the droid: anancient throne room where, one by one, Jedicame before their high master to give reports.Yet the holo was fragmented, so thoroughlyerased that Luke got only bits and pieces—ablue-skinned man describing details of agruel ing space battle against pirateers; ayellow-eyed Twi’lek with lashing headtails

who told of discovering a plot to kill anambassador. A date and time ashed on theholo vid before each report. The report wasnearly four hundred standard years old.

Then Yoda appeared on the video, gazingup at the throne. His color was more vibrantlygreen than Luke remembered, and he did notuse his walking stick. At middle age, Yoda hadlooked almost perky, carefree—not the bent,troubled old Jedi Luke had known. Most ofthe audio was erased, but through thebackground hiss Yoda clearly said, “We tried tofree the Chu’unthor from Dathomir, but wererepulsed by the witches … skirmish, withMasters Gra’aton and Vulatan.… Fourteenacolytes killed … go back to retrieve …” Theaudio hissed away, and soon the holo imagedissolved to blue static with popping lights.

Other people gave reports, but none of theirwords seemed to o er hope. Again and again,Luke re ected on the words Chu’unthor fromDathomir. Was the Chu’unthor a single person,perhaps a political leader, or could it have

been a whole race of beings? And Dathomir—where was it?

“Artoo,” Luke said. “Run through yourastrogation les and tell me if you nd anyreference to a place named Dathomir. It couldbe a star system, a single planet …” Maybeeven a person, he thought with dismay.

Artoo took a moment, then whistled anegative. “I thought not,” Luke said. “I’ve neverheard of it, either.” During the Clone Wars, somany planets had been destroyed, madeuninhabitable. Perhaps Dathomir was one ofthose, a world so ravaged that it had beenforgotten. Or perhaps it was a small place, amoon on some planet on the Outer Rim, so farfrom civilization that it had merely been lostfrom the records. Maybe even less than a moon—a continent, an island, a city? Whatever thecase, Luke felt certain that he would nd it,sometime, somewhere.

They went up topside, found that night hadfallen while they worked underground. TheirWhiphid guide soon returned, dragging the

body of a gutted snow demon. The demon’swhite talons curled in the air, and its longpurple tongue snaked out from between itsmassive fangs. Luke was amazed that theWhiphid could haul such a monster, yet theWhiphid held the demon’s long hairy tail inone hand and managed to pull it back tocamp.

There, Luke stayed the night with theWhiphids in a huge shelter made from the ribcage of a motmot, covered over with hides tokeep out the wind. The Whiphids built abon re and roasted the snow demon, and theyoung danced while the elders played theirclaw harps. As Luke sat, watching the writhing

ames and listening to the twang of harps, hemeditated. “The future you will see, and thepast. Old friends long forgotten …” Thosewere the words Yoda had said long ago whiletraining Luke to peer beyond the mists of time.

Luke looked up at the rib bones of themotmot. The Whiphids had carved stick lettersinto the bone, ten and twelve meters in the air,

giving the lineage of their ancestors. Lukecould not read the letters, but they seemed todance in the relight, as if they were sticks andstones falling from the sky. The rib bonescurved toward him, and Luke followed thecurve of bones with his eyes. The tumblingsticks and boulders seemed to gyrate, all ofthem falling toward him as if they would crushhim. He could see boulders hurtling throughthe air, too, smashing toward him. Luke’snostrils ared, and even Toola’s chill could notkeep a thin lm of perspiration from dottinghis forehead. A vision came to Luke then.

Luke stood in a mountain fortress of stone,looking over a plain with a sea of darkforested hills beyond, and a storm rose—amagnificent wind that brought with it toweringwalls of black clouds and dust, trees hurtlingtoward him and twisting through the sky. Theclouds thundered overhead, lled with purple

ames, obliterating all sunlight, and Lukecould feel a malevolence hidden in thoseclouds and knew that they had been raised

through the power of the dark side of theForce.

Dust and stones whistled through the air likeautumn leaves. Luke tried to hold on to thestone parapet overlooking the plain to keepfrom being swept from the fortress walls.Winds pounded in his ears like the roar of anocean, howling.

It was as if a storm of pure dark Force ragedover the countryside, and suddenly, amid thetowering clouds of darkness that thunderedtoward him, Luke could hear laughing, thesweet sound of women laughing. He lookedabove into the dark clouds, and saw thewomen borne through the air along with therocks and debris, like motes of dust, laughing.A voice seemed to whisper, “the witches ofDathomir.”

L

Chapter3

eia unplugged the comlink from her ear andgazed at the Hapan ambassador in shock.

Hapans were hard to deal with—so culturallydistant, easily o ended. The roar of thehundreds of thousands in the crowd began toswell, and Leia looked up to the windows ofthe Alderaanian balcony, wondering what toanswer. Han had turned away and wasspeaking excitedly to Mon Mothma.

Above the uproar, Leia said to theambassador, “Tell Ta’a Chume that her giftsare exquisite, her generosity unbounded. Still, Ineed time to consider the o er.” She paused,wondering how long she could legitimatelytake. The Hapans were a decisive people. Ta’aChume had a reputation for making decisionsof monumental importance in the space of

hours. Could Leia take a day? She felt dizzy,almost giddy.

“Please, may I speak?” Prince Isolder askedin accented Basic, and Leia halted, surprisedthat Isolder could speak her language at all.She looked into his gray eyes, rememberingthe warm thunderheads over the tropicalmountains of Hapes.

Isolder smiled apologetically. There was acertain strength to his face, a ranginess. “Iknow your customs di er from ours. Amongthe ancients, this is how we arranged our royalmarriages. But I want you to feel comfortablewith any decision. Please, take time to get toknow Hapes, our worlds, our customs—taketime to know me.”

Something in the way he spoke made Leiarealize that this was an unusual o er. “Thirtydays?” she asked. “I would take less time, but Imust leave for the Roche system in a couple ofdays. A diplomatic mission.”

Prince Isolder lowered his eyes inacceptance. “Of course. A queen must forever

be at the call of her people.” Then he addedapologetically, “If you are leaving on adiplomatic mission, will I have time to meetwith you previous to it, under less formalcircumstances?”

Leia considered furiously. She had a greatdeal of studying to do before she left—tradeagreements, registered complaints, studies inexobiology. The Verpines, an insect race, hadapparently broken dozens of contracts to buildwarships for the carnivorous Barabels, and itwas very unhealthy to break a contract with aBarabel. Meanwhile, the Verpines claimed theships had been taken by one of their mad hivemothers and felt no obligation to force thehive mother to return the merchandise. Thewhole a air was complicated by substantiatedrumors that the Barabels had begunnegotiating to sell Verpine body parts to chefsamong the insect-loving Kubazis. Leia simplyfelt that she had no business letting herpersonal life interfere with her work, at leastnot now.

Leia glanced up at the observation deck.Han had left with Chewbacca, and now MonMothma stood, holding the comlink to her ear.Mon Mothma did not move, but beside her satThrekin Horm, president of the AlderaanianCouncil. Threkin nodded the a rmative,urging Leia on.

“Yes, of course,” Leia said. “If you are free tojoin me before the mission.”

“My days and nights are yours,” the princesaid, smiling gently.

“Then please,” Leia asked, “join me fordinner tonight, in my stateroom aboard theRebel Dream?”

Isolder lowered his eyes again, used thethumbs and index ngers of both hands to pullthe black veil over his face. Leia had marveledat the beauty of the Hapans during her visit,but now felt a twinge of regret that Isolder hidhis face, felt guilty for wanting to gaze at himlonger.

Leia left the Grand Reception Hall,thousands watching her departure. Leia felt

anxious, and only wanted to nd Han. Shewent to her quarters at the embassy, hopingHan would be there, but the apartments wereempty. Perplexed, she used her comlink on themilitary frequency, found he had left Coruscanton his way to the Rebel Dream. That was abad sign. The Millennium Falcon had beendocked aboard the Rebel Dream, awaitingHan’s return. When Han felt worried orfrustrated, he liked to work on the Falcon.Working with his hands, solving familiarproblems, seemed to ease his mind. So he hadrun to his ship, to work. This proposal musthave disturbed him deeply, probably moredeeply than even Han knew. Leia was boneweary, but she could see why Han would be ina bad mood. She summoned her personalshuttle.

She found the Falcon at docking bay ninety.Han and Chewie were in the main cabin at thecontrol panels, worrying over the tangled massof wires that connected to various projectileand energy shields. Chewie looked up and

roared in greeting, but Han sat holding aplasma torch, facing away. He switched o thetorch, but did not shift in the captain’s chair tolook at her.

“Hi,” Leia said softly. “I was hoping to ndyou back in my room on Coruscant.”

“Yeah, well, there were some things Ineeded to check into,” Han said. Leia didn’tanswer for a long moment. Chewbacca got upand hugged Leia, pressing the fur of his tawnybelly into her face, then went down below,leaving them alone. Han turned to face her.His forehead was sweaty, though she knew hecouldn’t have been working long enough toperspire. “So, uh, how did it go down there?What did you tell the Hapans?”

“I asked them to give me a few days tothink,” Leia answered. She didn’t feel ready totell him that Isolder would be visiting aboardthe Rebel Dream that night.

“Hmmm.…” Han nodded.Leia took his grimy hands in hers. She said

softly, “I couldn’t just send them away—it

would be rude. Even if I don’t want to marrytheir prince, I can’t destroy our chance to builda relationship with them. The Hapans are verypowerful. The whole reason I went to Hapeswas to see if they would aid in our ghtagainst the warlords.”

“I know,” Han sighed. “You would do justabout anything to win against them.”

“Now what is that supposed to mean?”“You hated the Empire, but now Zsinj and

the warlords are all that is left of it. You’verisked your life ghting them a dozen times.You would give your life for the New Republicin a moment, wouldn’t you—without thinking,without regrets?”

“Of course,” Leia answered. “But—”“Then I suspect you’ll give your life now,”

Han said, “give it to the Hapans. But instead ofdying for them, you’ll live for them.”

“I, I couldn’t do that,” Leia assured him.Han stared at her, breathing hard, and all the

pain and accusation went out of his voice. “Ofcourse not,” Han sighed, setting the torch down

on the oorboard. “I don’t know what I wasthinking. I just …”

Leia stroked his forehead. After ve monthsaway from him, she felt a little clumsy.Normally, she imagined, he would takesomething like the Hapan proposal as a joke,but he was quiet. Something more was goingon. Something was hurting him very deeply.“What’s wrong? You aren’t acting likeyourself.”

“I don’t know,” Han whispered. “It’s just—this last mission. Coming back to this. I’m sotired. You saw what the Iron Fist did onSelaggis. It turned the whole colony intorubble. I kept following it for months, andeverywhere we went it was the same: starstations obliterated, shipyards ruined. Just oneSuper Star Destroyer with a murderer at thehelm.

“Back when the Emperor died, I thoughtwe’d won. But I keep nding that we’re

ghting something so huge, so monstrous.Every time we blink, another Grand Mo

announces another lofty uni cation scheme, orsome ragtag sector general rears his or her uglyhead. I have dreams at night that I’m ghtingthis beast in the fog, this huge beast that’sroaring and devouring. I can’t see its body, butits head comes out of the mist, eyes aming,and I battle it with an ax, and I nally strikeo the head. Then within moments I hearroaring in the fog as the beast grows a newhead. I can’t see where it’s coming from, I can’tsee the body. I know it’s out there, but it’s allinvisible. We’ve lost so much, and we’re stilllosing.”

“The war?” Leia said. “It must feel that way,out on the front lines,” she soothed him. “Thewarlords, like the Empire they served, thriveon fear and greed. But as a diplomat, almostall I see are victories. Every day another worldjoins the New Republic. Every day we makesome small inroads. We may be losing somebattles, but we’re winning the war.”

“What if the Empire were perfecting thecloaking devices for their Star Destroyers?”

Han asked. “We keep hearing rumors. Or whatif Zsinj or some other Grand Mo just buildsanother ship like the Iron Fist, or a eet ofthem?”

Leia swallowed. “Then we’d keep fighting. Ittakes so much energy to run a Super StarDestroyer of that size, Zsinj could not a ord torun more than one or two at a time. Theexpenses are too high. Eventually, we wouldwear him down.”

“This war isn’t over,” Han said. “It might notend during our lifetimes.”

She had never seen Han like this, looking sodrained. “If we can’t win peace for ourselves,then we’ll ght for our children,” Leiaanswered. Han leaned back, rested his headagainst Leia’s breast, and she knew what hewas thinking. She had said our children. Hanwould be thinking about the Hapans.

“I have to admit,” Han said, “the Hapanssure made a tempting o er today. You hearrumors about the riches of the ‘hidden worlds,’but wow! Did you get to see much of Hapes

when you were there?”“Yes,” Leia answered firmly. “You should see

what the queen mothers have built over thecenturies: Their cities are beautiful, stately,serene. But it’s not just the homes or factories,it’s their people, their ideals. It feelslike … peace.”

Han looked up into her dreamy eyes.“You’re in love.”

“No, I’m not,” Leia said.But Han twisted around, grabbed her

shoulders. “Yes, you are.” He looked into hereyes. “Listen, sweetheart, you may not be inlove with Isolder, but you’re in love with hisworld! When the Emperor destroyed Alderaan,he destroyed everything you loved, everythingyou were ghting for. You can’t put thatbehind you. You’re homesick!”

Leia caught her breath, realizing it was true.She had never quit grieving for Alderaan, forfriends lost. And there was a certain similaritybetween the two worlds in the simplicity andgrace of the architecture. The people of

Alderaan had had such a respect for life thatthey refused to build their cities in the plainswhere the inhabitants would trample thegrasses. Instead, their majestic cities rose fromthe tops of sandstone blu s among the rolling

elds or were wedged into crevices underpolar ice or stood on gigantic stilts inAlderaan’s shallow seas.

Leia put her hand over her eyes. The tearsstarted to well up. Those had been simplertimes.

“Here, here,” Han whispered, and he pulleddown her hand and kissed it. “There’s no needto cry.”

“Everything is such a mess—” Leia said, “thismission to the Verpines, the battles with thewarlords. I’ve been working so hard, taking onone mission after another. And through it all Ikeep hoping we’ll nd a home world, butnothing seems to work.”

“What about New Alderaan? SupportServices found you a nice place.”

“And ve months ago some of Zsinj’s agents

discovered it. We had to evacuate, at leasttemporarily.”

“I’m sure something else will turn up.”“Maybe, but even if we nd something, it

won’t be like home,” Leia said. “We’ve beenholding meetings with the Alderaanian Councilevery month. We’ve discussed terraforming oneof the worlds from our own system, starting aspace station, or buying another world, butmost of the refugees from Alderaan are poortraders or diplomats who were o planet whenthe Empire attacked. We don’t have the kindof money it takes to buy or terraform. It wouldimpoverish us for generations. Meanwhile thescouts are looking for some unmapped worldon the fringe of the galaxy, but our tradersrightfully don’t want any part of that. They’vealready established trade routes on otherworlds, and we can’t ask them to isolatethemselves from their sources of income. We’rereaching an impasse, and some of the councilmembers are just giving up.”

“What about the gifts the Hapans gave you

today? They would go a long way towardmaking a big down payment on a planet.”

“You don’t know the Hapans. Their customsare very strict. If I accept their gifts, it’s an all-or-nothing deal. Unless I marry Isolder, I haveto give it all back.”

“Then give it back,” Han said. “I don’t thinkyou want to get involved with the Hapans.They’re a bad lot.”

“You don’t even know them,” Leiaanswered, astonished that he would speak thatway about an entire culture that spanneddozens of star systems.

“And I suppose you do?” Han countered.“Does a week getting brainwashed by theirpropaganda chiefs on Hapes make you anexpert on their civilization?”

“You’re talking about an entire cluster here,”Leia said, “billions of people. You’ve neverseen a Hapan before today. How could youtalk about them that way?”

“The Hapans have kept closed borders forover three thousand years,” Han said. “I’ve

seen rsthand what happens when you get tooclose to them. Believe me, they’re hidingsomething.”

“Hiding something? They’ve got nothing tohide. All they have is a peaceful way of lifethat they feel is threatened by outsideinfluences.”

“If this queen mother is so fantastic, whywould she feel threatened by us?” Han asked.“Nah, Princess—she’s hiding something. She’sscared.”

“I can’t believe this,” Leia said. “How couldyou even think that? If things were so terriblein the Hapes cluster, don’t you think we’d seedefectors, refugees? Nobody ever leaves.”

“Maybe it’s because they can’t get out,” Hansaid. “Maybe those Hapan patrols don’t justkeep out the troublemakers.”

“That’s absurd,” Leia said. “You’reparanoid.”

“Paranoid, huh? What about you, Princess?Have a few baubles and trinkets so blindedyou that you can’t see straight?”

“Oh, you sound so sure of yourself. Do youreally feel so threatened by Isolder?”

“Threatened? By that big lout? Me?” Hanpointed at himself. “Of course not!”

She knew he was lying. “Then you won’tmind that I’m having a private dinner withhim tonight?”

“Dinner?” Han asked. “Why should I mindthat he’s dining with the woman I love, thewoman who claims to be in love with me?”

“You’re so cute,” Leia said sarcastically. “Icame here to invite you to dinner, too, butnow I think that maybe, just maybe, I shouldjust let you sit up here and gnaw on your ownpetty jealous fantasies.”

Leia stormed from the control room of theMillennium Falcon, and Han shouted at herback, “Well, ne—I’ll see you at dinner!” Hebanged a wall with his fist.

After Leia left, Han threw his heart intoworking on the Falcon so that his mind

numbed and the sweat poured from his face.He used a few tricks he’d learned to boost therear energy de ector shields 14 percent overtheir peak e ciency rating, then went underthe ship to work on the swivel guns whileChewie stayed inside, pulling out the mainfocusing lenses for the ventral blasters. Twohours of hard work later, an entourage enteredthe docking bay with fat old Threkin Horm inthe lead. The president of the AlderaanianCouncil oated in his repulsor chair as he ledPrince Isolder, the prince’s bodyguards, andhalf a dozen curious minor o cials around thehangar bay.

“This, as you can see, is one of our repairdocks,” Threkin Horm said in his nasal voice,planting a thumb rmly between his third andfourth chins. “And this is our esteemed GeneralHan Solo, a hero of the New Republic,working on his private—er, uh—ship, theMillennium Falcon.”

Prince Isolder scrutinized the Falcon, gazing

at the rusting metal exterior, the odd panoplyof components. Somehow, in all his yearsrunning the Falcon, Han had never felt quite soembarrassed by the thing. It truly did look likea hunk of junk, sitting there on the gleamingblack oors of a Star Destroyer. Isolder stoodtaller than Han, and his thick chest and armsseemed somehow intimidating, but not asintimidating as his regal manners or the calmstrength of his face, the sea-gray eyes, thestraight nose, and the thick hair hangingaround his shoulders. He wore a di erentout t now, another silk half-cape, over a whitetop that did not conceal the sculpted musclesof his belly or the prince’s dark tan. Isolderlooked like some barbaric god come to life.

“Han here is an old friend to Her HighnessPrincess Leia Organa,” Threkin Horm added.“He has, in fact, saved her life a number oftimes, if I am not mistaken.”

Isolder shifted his attention to Han andsmiled warmly. “So, you are not only Leia’sfriend but her savior?” Isolder asked, and in

his eyes Han thought he saw true gratitude.“Our people owe you a great debt.” Isolder’sstrong, soft voice had an odd accent. The longvowels were deeply in ected, as if the princewere afraid he would cut them short.

“Oh, I guess you could say I’m more than hersavior,” Han answered. “We’re lovers, to beprecise.”

“General Solo!” Threkin sputtered, butPrince Isolder raised a hand.

“That is all right,” Isolder said. “She is alovely woman. I can understand why youwould be attracted to her. I hope myappearance here hasn’t beentoo … unsettling.”

“Annoying is the word,” Han answered. “Imean, it’s not as if I wished you were dead oranything. Neutered perhaps—not dead.”

“I apologize, Prince Isolder!” Threkinstuttered, then shot a venomous glance at Han.“I rather expected more civility from a generalin the New Republic. I thought he would atleast know how to behave himself.” Threkin’s

frown suggested that Han was seriously injeopardy of losing his rank, if Threkin had anycontrol over it.

Isolder studied Han a moment, then bowedslightly so that his long, sandy blond locksdanced around his shoulders. He smiled atHan, “Believe me, no o ense is taken. GeneralSolo is a warrior, and he wishes to do battlefor the woman he loves. That is the warrior’sway.

“General Solo, would you kindly show methe inside of your ship?”

“Gladly, Your Highness,” Han answered, andhe led Isolder up the gangplank. ThrekinHorm sputtered and tried to follow, but two ofIsolder’s female bodyguards stepped in Horm’spath. One beautiful redhead casually droppedher hand to her blaster, and a silent alarmsounded in Han’s head. He’d seen people likeher before, people who were con dent,people so familiar with their weapons that theblaster seemed almost an extension of theirbodies. This woman was dangerous. Threkin

Horm must have realized this, too, for hestopped in his tracks.

As Han climbed up into the ship, he keptwaiting for Isolder to slug him from behind.Instead, the prince simply followed, listenedattentively as Han showed o his hyperdriveunit, the sublight engines, and the weaponryand defenses that he’d slowly built up throughaccretion over the years.

When Han had nished, Isolder leanedtoward him and asked, seeming bewildered,“Do you mean to say that it actually flies?”

“Oh yes,” Han said, wondering if the princewas truly astonished or if he were merelyimpudent. “And she’s fast.”

“The fact that you can keep this shiptogether at all speaks very highly of your skills.This is a smuggler’s ship, no? Fast speeds,secret compartments, hidden weaponry?”

Han shrugged.“I’m familiar with smugglers. I left home

when I was young and worked for a fewseasons as a pro teer,” Isolder said. “Have you

seen one of our Hapes Nova-class battlecruisers?”

“No,” Han answered, looking at Isolder,feeling curiosity and a sudden sense of respectfor the prince.

The prince clasped his hands behind hisback, said thoughtfully, “They are over fourhundred meters long, go without refueling forover a year, are very fast, and could blow thisship out of the sky before you had time to cryout.”

“Are you threatening me?” Han asked.“No,” Isolder said, then whispered

conspiratorially, “I will give one to you, if youpromise to use it to y far, far away fromhere.”

Han leaned forward, whispered back in thesame tone, “No deal.”

Isolder grinned, admiration shining from hiseyes. “Good, you are a man of principles. Thenlet me appeal to those principles. GeneralSolo, what can you really offer Leia?”

Han faltered a moment, unprepared to

answer. “She loves me and I love her. That’senough.”

“If you love her, then leave her to me,”Isolder said. “She wants the security that Hapeso ers her people. But loving you would onlycramp her, give her a smaller life than shedeserves.” He began to leave, edging past Hanin the small hallway, but Han grabbed theprince by the shoulder and spun him around.

“Wait a minute!” Han said. “What’s going onhere? Let’s put all our weapons on the table.”

“What do you mean?” Isolder asked.“I mean there are a lot of princesses in the

universe, and I want to know why you’re here.Why did your mother choose Leia? She has nowealth, nothing to o er Hapes. If you want atreaty with the New Republic, there are easierways to get it.”

Isolder looked down into Han’s eyes, andsmiled, “I understand that Leia has invited youto dine with us this evening. I think, perhaps,both of you should hear what I have to say.”

W

Chapter4

hen Han arrived at Leia’s stateroom fordinner, dressed in his nest military blues

with all the appropriate bangles, the party wasalready into its second course. It was obviousthat Leia had not expected him. Prince Isoldersat to Leia’s left, dressed in a conservativedinner jacket, with his amazon guards at hisback. Han couldn’t help staring at the womenfor a moment—both of them were dressed inseductive out ts of ery red silk, with silver-plated blasters sheathed on one hip andintricately decorated vibro-swords on theother. Threkin Horm sat to Leia’s right in hisrepulsor chair, acting as a dinner escort. As theservers hurriedly set a place for Han, Leiaintroduced him to Isolder.

Threkin Horm blurted rather icily, “They’ve

already met.”Leia looked at Threkin, whose face was

reddening in anger, and Han said, “Yeah, theprince stopped by for a chat while I wasworking on the Millennium Falcon. We, uh,found that we have some things in common.”

Han turned away rather quickly as he tookhis seat, hoping that Leia wouldn’t see hisembarrassment.

“Oh, really, I’d like to hear all about it.”Leia’s tone hinted at reprisal.

“Yes, General Solo, why don’t you tell herall about it,” Threkin growled.

There was an uncomfortable silence, andPrince Isolder cut in, “Well, for one thing, Iwas fascinated to learn that both General Soloand I had once worked as privateers. It reallyis a small universe.”

“As privateers?” Threkin asked suspiciously.Han released a breath in relief.

“Yes,” Isolder said. “When I was a boy, stillin my teens, privateers attacked the royal

agship and murdered my older brother. That

is when I became the Chume’da, the heir. Iwas young, idealistic, so I secretly left home,assumed a new identity. For two years I pliedthe trade lines as a privateer, working on shipafter ship, hunting for the pirate who killedmy brother.”

“What an intriguing story,” Leia said. “Didyou ever find him?”

“Yes,” Isolder said. “I did. His name wasHarravan. I arrested him, and we held him in aprison on Hapes.”

“Working with pirates must have been verydangerous,” Threkin interjected. “Why, if theyhad ever discovered your identity …”

“The pirates were not so dangerous as onemight think,” Isolder said. “The greatest threatcame from my mother’s naval forces. We hadfrequent … encounters.”

“You mean your own mother didn’t knowwhere you were?” Leia asked.

“No. The media believed I was hiding infear, and since my own mother did not knowwhere I had gone, she downplayed my

disappearance, hoping I would resurface.”“And the pirate that you captured, Harravan,

what became of him?” Han asked.“He was murdered in prison while awaiting

trial,” Isolder said heavily, “before he couldever name his accomplices.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for amoment, and Leia looked at Han. Sheobviously recognized that Isolder had changedthe topic to protect him from her anger. Hancleared his throat. “Do you have a lot ofproblems with privateers in the Hapescluster?”

“Not really,” Isolder said. “The interior ofthe cluster is remarkably secure, but weconsistently have problems on the rim, nomatter how well we patrol. Our encounters onthe rim are frequent, and frequently bloody.”

“I survived one of those encounters as aprivateer,” Han said. “After what we wentthrough, I’m amazed that pirates would workyour cluster.” Han wondered at Isolder. He hadworked as a privateer, risking his life against

the might of his mother’s own navy, riskingthat the pirates he worked with might discoverhis identity. Isolder was handsome and rich,and those traits in themselves made him athreat, but Han began to realize that thisforeign prince must have a great deal of grithidden beneath his smooth exterior. He wasn’tthe kind of man who needed to hide behindamazon bodyguards.

Isolder shrugged. “The Hapes cluster is veryrich, and that always attracts interest fromoutsiders. But I’m sure you know our history.Certain young men tend to glorify the oldlifestyle.”

“Your history?” Han asked.Leia smiled. “Didn’t you learn anything at

the academy?”“I learned how to pilot a ghter ship,” Han

said. “As for politics, I leave that to thediplomats.”

Leia said, “The Hapes cluster was originallysettled by pirates, a group called the LorellRaiders. For hundreds of years they stalked the

trade routes of the Old Republic, seizing ships,stealing cargo. And when they found abeautiful woman, some raider would take heras a prize to the hidden worlds of Hapes. Inshort, Han, the raiders were your kind ofpeople.” Han began to protest, but Leia smiledwarmly, teasing him.

Threkin Horm said in his high voice, “So thewomen of Hapes raised their children as bestthey could. The pirates would steal the boys,making them pirates in turn. They would leavefor months at a time, then come back to rest.”Han looked up. Threkin Horm was studyingIsolder’s bodyguards with as much interest ashe usually showed food, and Han suddenlyunderstood why so many of the Hapans werebeautiful—they had been bred for it overgenerations.

Prince Isolder said, “When the Jedi nallywiped out the Lorell Raiders, the pirate eetsnever returned. The worlds of Hapes wereforgotten for a time, and the women of Hapestook control of their own destiny and vowed

that no man would ever rule them again. Forthousands of years now, the queen mothershave kept that vow.”

“And they’ve done a ne job for theirworlds,” Leia said.

“Still, sadly, a few of our young men feelpowerless in our society,” Isolder added. “Andso they glorify the old ways. When they rebel,often they become pirates. Thus we have aperennial problem.”

Han ate a few bites of dinner, some type ofmeat that tasted spicy and amphibious, and herealized he had no idea what he was eating.

“But we are o the subject,” Threkin Hormsaid. “I believe Leia asked only a few minutesago what you two talked about today.” Heglared at Han.

“Ah, yes,” Prince Isolder said. “Han asked aquestion that I believe deserves an answer. Hewondered, with all the other princesses in thegalaxy, including many that are far morewealthy than Leia, why my mother wouldchoose her.

“The truth is, the queen mother did notchoose Leia,” Isolder said calmly, gazing atHan. “I chose her.” Threkin Horm must haveinhaled some food, for he began coughing intohis napkin. Isolder turned to Leia. “WhenLeia’s shuttle landed on Hapes, she met mymother for a soiree in the gardens. They wereso surrounded by dignitaries from the worldsof Hapes that Leia did not speak to me,perhaps never even saw me. I do not think sheeven knew I was alive. But I became enamoredof her. I have never done anything like this.I’ve never been so impulsive. No other womanhas captivated me this way. It was not mymother’s idea to arrange a marriage with Leia.She only consented to my request.” Isoldertook Leia’s hand and kissed it. Leia blushed,simply staring at Prince Isolder.

Han looked at Isolder’s gray eyes, at thegolden hair cascading down his shoulders andthe strong, handsome face, and he could notsee how Leia could resist such a man.

Then Han’s mind went blank, and the next

thing he knew, he was rising from the table,stumbling out of his chair. All eyes turned tohim, and he felt clumsy, stupid, like a littleboy. His tongue felt thick in his mouth, and hesat down. His mind was in such a turmoil thathe said nothing, practically heard nothingthrough the rest of the dinner.

As they prepared to leave an hour later, Hankissed Leia good night, swiftly, and wonderedafterward how it had felt to Leia, as if kissingwere some athletic event she would judge.Threkin Horm shook Leia’s hand warmly andleft rst, while Prince Isolder stood and talkedquietly with Leia for a moment, thanking herfor the dinner, thanking her for the time shehad spent with him. He made some smalljoke, and Leia laughed quietly. Just as Hanrealized that Isolder was hesitant to leave Leia,the prince kissed her good night, holding herclose. It started as a friendly kiss, the kind thatdignitaries often exchange, but he lingered asecond, and then for a second more. Hestepped away, and Leia gazed into his eyes.

Isolder thanked her again for a wonderfulnight, glanced at Han, and a moment later Hanand Isolder were outside her door, Isolderwalking off with his bodyguards at his back.

“I’m going to ght you for her,” Han said tothe prince’s back. It was an oa sh thing to say,but Han’s head was spinning, and he couldthink of nothing else.

The prince sti ened, turned. “I know,” hesaid. “But I promise you, General Solo, I intendto win her. Much is at stake here, more thanyou know.”

Long after dinner with Prince Isolder, Leialay in bed luxuriating. She nearly fell asleeponce, but the whining of the ship’s engines astechnicians tested the hyperdrive awakenedher. On her dresser the rainbow gems ofGallinore smoldered in their dull lights, and ina corner, the Selab tree gave o an exotic,nutty scent that suffused the room. Threkin hadinsisted on storing the treasures in Leia’s room,

but Leia tried not to dwell on the riches.Instead, Isolder lled her thoughts—hiscourtesy to Han during dinner, hisattentiveness, his small jokes and easylaughter. And finally, his profession of love.

In the middle of her normal sleep cycle Leiarose from bed. In an attempt to get her mindo Isolder, she sat down at a computer consoleand studied the Verpines. The large insects hadlong been a spacefaring race and hadcolonized the Roche asteroid belts before theOld Republic was born. They had developedan odd form of government. Because theycommunicated via radio waves using a strangeorgan in their chests, a single Verpine couldtalk with the entire race within seconds,allowing the Verpines to develop something ofa communal mind. Yet each Verpineconsidered itself completely aloof from thegroup, not controlled by the hive. A Verpinewho made a decision that might be considered“wrong” by the group was never punished,

never condemned. The acts of the “mad” hivemother who had sabotaged the Barabelcontracts weren’t seen as a crime to berectified but only as a sickness to be pitied.

Leia looked through the les and foundample evidence of Verpine criminals in thehistory books—murderers, thieves. And shediscovered something very interesting. Nearlyall of them had one thing in common: a set ofdamaged antennae. This fact made Leiawonder if the Verpines hadn’t developed moreof a communal mind than they realized. AVerpine without antennae was forever alone,unreachable.

Whatever the reason for the Verpines’behavior, the Barabels were mad enough toslaughter the whole species and chop theminto hors d’oeuvres. Leia knew she wouldn’t

nd an answer until she reached the Rochesystem and met the Verpines. She probablywouldn’t understand the whole truth even ifshe met the mad hive queen herself.

Leia rubbed her weary eyes, but was too

wound up to sleep. Instead, she walked thelong corridors to the holo vid room and said tothe operator, “I would like to arrange abroadcast to Luke Skywalker. You should beable to reach him at the New Republicembassy on Toola.”

The operator nodded, made the connection,and spoke with an operator there. “Skywalkeris in the wilderness. We can have him at theholo vid screen within an hour, if it is anemergency.”

“Please do,” Leia said. “I’ll wait for himhere. I can’t sleep anyway.” She took a seatnearby, then waited for Luke. When heappeared, he stood in a tall building wearing adark wool greatcoat. Behind him was a hugewindow of cut glass. A pale red sun shonecoldly through the glass, scattering light allaround him in a fiery halo.

“What’s the emergency?” Luke asked,breathless.

Leia suddenly felt embarrassed, shy. She toldhim about Isolder, about the treasures piled in

her room and the Hapan’s proposal. Lukeremained calm, studied her face a moment.

“Isolder frightens you? I can feel yourfright.”

“Yes,” Leia said.“And you feel tenderness for him, something

that might even turn into love. But you don’twant to hurt either Han or the prince?”

“Yes,” Leia said. “Oh, I’m almost sorry Icalled you with something so trivial.”

“No, this isn’t trivial,” Luke said, andsuddenly his pale blue eyes seemed to lookbeyond her, focusing on something in thedistance. “Have you ever heard of a planetcalled Dathomir?”

“No,” Leia answered. “Why?”“I don’t know,” Luke said, “just a feeling.

I’m coming to you. I sense an urgency. I shouldreach Coruscant in four days.”

“I’ll be to the Roche system in three.”“I’ll meet you there, then.”“Good,” Leia said. “I’d like you nearby.”“In the meantime,” Luke o ered, “take

things slowly. Find out how you feel. Youdon’t have to decide between the two in a day.Forget about Isolder’s wealth. You wouldn’t bemarrying his planets, you would be marryinghim. Just give him the same consideration youwould give to any other man, okay?”

Leia nodded, suddenly became conscious ofhow much this call would cost. “Thank you,”she said. “I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you,” Luke said, and he faded.Leia went back to her room, lay in bed for a

long time before she fell asleep.She was wakened in the early morning by

door chimes. She found Han at the door,holding a starburst plant.

“I came to apologize for yesterday,” Hansaid, o ering the plant. The brilliant yellow

owers on their dark stalks seemed to twinkleas they opened and closed. Leia took it, smiledwarmly, and Han kissed her.

“How do you think dinner went?” he asked.“Fine,” Leia said. “Isolder was a perfect

gentleman.”

“Not too perfect, I hope,” Han said. Leiadidn’t laugh at his joke, and he hurried to add,“After dinner last night, I went to my roomand gnawed on my own petty jealous fantasiesfor a while.”

“How did they taste?” Leia asked.“Oh, you know. I ended up going to one of

the ship’s galleys in the middle of the night,looking for something tastier to eat.” Leialaughed, and Han stroked her cheek. “There’sthat smile. I love you, you know.”

“I know.”“Good,” Han said, taking a deep breath. “So

how do you think the dinner went?”“You aren’t going to give up, are you?” Leia

asked.Han shrugged.“Well, he seemed nice enough,” Leia

answered. “I guess. I plan to invite him to stayhere on the ship while we go to the Rochesystem.”

“You what?”“I’m going to invite him to stay here on the

ship.”“Why?”“Because he’s only going to be here for a

few weeks, then he’ll leave and I’ll never seehim again. That’s why.”

Han began shaking his head. “I hope youdidn’t fall for that line about how he fell inlove with you from a distance,” he said a littleloudly, “and how he begged his mother for thechance to marry you.”

“Does that bother you?”“Of course it bothers me!” Han shouted.

“Why shouldn’t it bother me?” His gaze turnedinward, and he clenched his st. “I’ll tell you,as soon as I saw that guy, I knew he wastrouble. There’s something seriously wrongwith him”—he glanced up, as if suddenlyremembering that Leia was in the room—“Your Majesty. That guy is, uh—I don’tknow—slime.”

“Slime?” Leia exclaimed. “You’re calling theprince of Hapes slime? Come o it, Han,you’re just jealous!”

“You’re right! Maybe I am jealous!” Hanadmitted. “But that doesn’t change my feelings.Something is wrong here. I can’t shake thisfeeling that something’s wrong.” Again he tookon that same inward look. “Believe me, YourHighness. I’ve lived in the gutter most of mylife. I’m slime. Most of my friends are slime.And when you’ve been among slime as long asI have, you learn to spot it at a distance!”

Leia didn’t understand how Han could saysuch things. First to insult her by saying that hefound it suspicious that another man might

nd her attractive, then to call the man a slime—all of it ran against her most deeplyingrained beliefs about how people should acttoward one another.

“I think,” Leia said, shaking with anger, “thatmaybe you ought to take your stupid plant andgive it to the prince with your apologies! Youknow, someday your slow wit and quicktongue are really going to get you in trouble!”

“Ah, you’ve been listening to Threkin Hormtoo much! It’s obvious he’s trying to get you

two cozy. Did you know that your preciousprince o ered to give me a new battle cruiserif I promised to y away and leave you twoalone? I tell you, the guy is slime!”

Leia glared at Han, stuck a nger in his face.“Maybe—just maybe—you should accept hiso er while you can still get something out ofthis deal!”

Han stepped back a pace, wrinkled browshowing his frustration at the way theconversation was going. “Hey, look, Leia,” Hanapologized. “I … I don’t know what’s going onhere. I’m not trying to be di cult. I knowIsolder seems like a nice guy, but … last nightin the galley I listened to people talk.Everyone is talking. As far as they’reconcerned, they’ve got you two marriedalready. And I’m here trying to hold on to you,and the harder I hold, the more you slipthrough my fingers.”

Leia considered what to say. Han was tryingto apologize, but he didn’t seem to realize thatat this moment, she found his whole manner

o ensive. “Look, I don’t know why peoplewould even begin to think that I’d marry theprince. I certainly haven’t given anyone thatimpression. So don’t listen to them. Listen tome. I love you for what you are—remember?A rebel, a scoundrel, a braggart. That won’tever change. But I think I need some time tomyself for a few days. All right?”

In the silence that followed, communicatortones sounded. Leia went to the little holo unitin the corner, flipped the switch.

“Yes?”A small image of Threkin Horm expanded

in the air in front of her. The old ambassadorwas resting his enormous weight on a daybed.Folds of fat nearly concealed his pale blueeyes. “Princess,” Threkin said jovially, “we areconvening a special session of the AlderaanianCouncil tomorrow. I’ve already taken theliberty of calling the usual celebrities.”

“A special session of the council?” Leiaasked. “But why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong!” Threkin said. “Everyone

has heard the good news of the Hapan’sproposal. Since the marriage of Alderaan’sprincess into one of the wealthiest families inthe galaxy will a ect all of us refugees, wethought it best to convene the council so thatwe could discuss the details of your impendingmarriage.”

“Thank you,” Leia said angrily, “I’ll be sureto attend.” She punched the o button withdisdain. Han gave her a knowing look, turned,and stormed from the room.

In the sterile white corridors of the RebelDream, Han leaned against a wall andconsidered his options. His attempt at anapology had failed miserably, and Leia wasprobably right about Isolder. He seemed like anice enough guy, and Han’s concerns wereprobably bred out of jealousy.

Yet Han had seen the yearning in Leia’s eyesas she spoke of the peaceful worlds of Hapes.And Isolder was right. Even if Han won Leia’s

hand, what could he really give her? Certainlynot the kind of wealth the Hapans o ered. IfHan convinced Leia to marry him, Alderaan’srefugees would only lose in the end, andThrekin Horm stood at Leia’s shoulder,reminding her of that fact every step of theway. Leia was endlessly loyal to her people.

Han chuckled to himself. I think I just needsome time to myself for a few days, Leia hadsaid. He’d heard that line before. It’s the onethat is always followed a few days later by,“Have a nice life.”

Han could see only one way to matchIsolder’s wealth. Yet his heart hammered andhis mouth went dry at the thought. He pulled ahandheld communicator from his belt andthumbed a number, contacting an oldacquaintance. The image of a huge, rubberybrown Hutt appeared on screen, looking out atHan with dark, drugged eyes.

“Dalla, you old thief,” Han said with falseenthusiasm. “I need your help. I’d like to takeout a loan on the Millennium Falcon, and I

want you to get me into a card game tonight.A big one.”

Captain Astarta, the prince’s personal guard,woke Isolder in his room. She was a woman ofrare beauty, with long, dark red hair and eyesas dark blue as the skies of her planetTerephon. “Flarett a rellaren?” (“Was dinnerspiced well?”) she asked almost casually. AsIsolder lay in bed, he watched her eyes scanthe room more thoroughly than normal, herscrutiny moving from dresser to bed to closets.Her movements were fluid, catlike.

“Dinner was spiced well,” Isolder answered.“I found the princess to be charming, goodcompany. What is wrong?”

“We picked up a coded message just an hourago. It was beamed to all the ships in our eet.We suspect it was an assassination order.”

“The signal came from Hapes?”“No. It was beamed up to our eet from

Coruscant.”

“Who was to be assassinated?”“The order did not name the target, or the

time or place,” Captain Astarta answered. “Thecomplete message reads, ‘The temptress seemstoo interested. Take action.’ I know it’s cryptic,but to me at least the meaning is clear.”

“Did you notify New Republic Security thatLeia is in jeopardy?”

Astarta hesitated. “I’m not convinced thatPrincess Leia is the target.”

Isolder did not say anything. If he died, theroyal line would fall to his aunt Secciah’sdaughter. Someone had also killed Isolder’sbetrothed once before, Lady Elliar. They hadfound her drowned in a re ecting pool. Isoldercould not prove his beliefs, but he was surethat his aunt Secciah was behind the killing,just as he was sure that his aunt had hired thepirates who had assassinated his older brotherafter sacking the royal agship. The pirateswould have known that the Chume’da wasworth a great deal to his mother, yet they hadkilled the boy without seeking a ransom.

Isolder asked, “So you think I am to be thetarget this time?”

“I think so, my lord,” Astarta answered.“Your aunt could blame it on the outsiders—on factions within the New Republic, on somewarlord who feared the marriage union, evenon General Solo.”

Isolder sat up in bed, closed his eyes,thinking. His aunts and his mother—all werevicious women, cunning and deceitful. He hadhoped that by marrying outside the Hapesroyal line he would nd someone like Leia,someone untainted by the avarice that plaguedthe women of his family. It hurt him to thinkthat someone had managed to plant assassinsin his own fleet.

“You will notify New Republic Security ofthe threat. If my aunt has managed to plant anassassin on this ship, perhaps they can helpuncover her identity. Beyond that, you willassign half of my personal guard to protectLeia.”

“And who will protect you?” Astarta asked.

Isolder could see the sense of betrayal in hereyes. She loved him, could not neglect him. Hehad always known that. It was what made herso good at her job. Perhaps Astarta even hopeda little that Leia would die. Yet Isolder knewthat Captain Astarta would follow his orders.Above all, Astarta was an excellent soldier.

He pulled a blaster from under the covers ofhis bed, saw the icker of surprise in Astarta’seyes at having missed the presence of a gunpointed at her chest. “As always,” Isolder said,“I will watch my own back.”

T

Chapter5

hat evening Han found himself in a seamydive in Coruscant’s underworld—a casino

that literally had not seen sunlight in morethan ninety thousand years because layer uponlayer of buildings and streets had beenconstructed over it, until the casino becamewedged like a fossil in its layer of sediment.The moist air down here smelled of decay, yetfor many races in the galaxy, those bred for lifebeneath ground, the underworld provided ahabitat that they could thrive in. Deep withinthe gloomy shadows of the casino, Han couldmake out many pairs of large eyes, furtivelywatching.

Han had asked to get into a high-stakes cardgame and had worked his way up throughthree lesser games, but he had never been

prepared for anything like this. To his left sat aColumi counselor in an antigrav harness, witha head so large that the blue, throbbing,wormlike veins around his cerebrum were farlonger than his scrawny, useless legs. TheColumi’s vast intellect had made him one ofthe most feared gambling opponents in thegalaxy. Across from Han sat Omogg, aDrackmarian warlord known for her incrediblewealth. Her pale blue scales were polished toa high gloss, and green clouds of methaneinside her helmet hid her vicious teeth andsnout. To his left sat the ambassador fromGotal that Han had seen the day before, a gray-skinned, gray-bearded creature who playedwith his eyes closed, relying on the two hugesensory horns atop his head to probe the otherplayers’ emotions, hoping to read their minds.

Han had never played sabacc among suchcompany. In fact, Han had not played sabaccin years, and now sweat poured down hisbody, moistening his uniform. They played avariation on the game that hailed back

millennia, a variation called Force sabacc. Innormal sabacc, a randomizer built into thetable periodically altered the values of cards,giving the game an intensity and excitementthat had kept it alive for generations. Butunder the rules of Force sabacc, no randomizerwas used. Instead, the randomness of the gamewas provided by the other players. Afterdrawing the rst card for a hand, each playerhad to call out if his or her hand would belight or dark. The player who played thestrongest light or dark hand would win, butonly if the combined strength of his or herchosen side won. For example, if Han chose toplay a dark hand while all others played light,he would surely lose. Han stared at his cards,mixed cards—the two of sabers, the Evil One,and the Idiot. Altogether, a weak hand in thedark suit, and he didn’t think it would be goodenough. Han had won the last several pots byplaying cards from the light arcana. Perhaps itwas just superstition, but he felt that it wasn’ta good time to be switching to the dark suit.

Still, Han could only take the cards he hadbeen dealt.

“I will call your bet,” the Gotal whispered toHan, not opening his red-rimmed eyes, “andI’ll raise you forty million credits.”

Behind Han, Chewbacca whined, andThreepio bent close and whispered in Han’sear, “May I remind you, sir, that the odds aresixty- ve thousand ve hundred and thirty-sixto one against anyone winning eight hands in arow?”

He didn’t have to say it aloud, but Hanfinished for him: And they are signi cantly lesswhen the hand looks like this. “I’ll call,” Hansaid, pushing forward the deed to the mineralrights of a dead star system whose name onlythe Columi could pronounce. “And I’ll raiseyou eighty million.” He pushed over a stockchip that held a large percentage interest inthe spice mines of Kessel. Han’s nervousnessmust have overwhelmed the Gotal, for theambassador suddenly shielded his left sensoryhorn with his hand.

The others saw how the Gotal registeredHan’s sheer desperation and eagerly called thebet. “Would anyone like to call the gamenow?” Han asked. He hoped they would waituntil another round had been dealt.

“I’ll call the game,” the Gotal said. Eachplayer laid his cards on the table. The Gotalwas playing a dark suit, but for the momenthis was weaker than Han’s. The two otherswere playing light suits and could potentiallybeat Han. They waited for the dealer droid,which was bolted to the ceiling above thetable, to give each of them a last card.

Overhead, gears squeaked as the arms of theancient dealer rotated to place one in front ofthe Columi. The Columi touched it. The heatfrom his body activated the microcircuits in thecard so that it displayed its picture and Han’sheart nearly stopped: The commander of coins,the commander of asks, and the queen of airand darkness. At twenty-two points it wasnearly an unbeatable hand. Han only hopedthat the combined strength of the dark hands

might outweigh it.The dealer dealt the nal card to the

Drackmarian. A picture of a Jedi Knightblossomed under her touch—Moderation,upside down. The fact that Moderation hadbeen dealt upside down reversed theDrackmarian’s light hand, twisted it so thatpower was added to the dark hands of Hanand the Gotal. Han’s heart leaped. This couldturn it, this could turn the whole game. Butunder the rules, the Drackmarian could chooseto discard one card. She pushed the upside-down Moderation card away, keeping her lighthand at only sixteen points.

The mechanical arms shifted over to theGotal, dropping a seven of staves onto hisdeck. It was a minor card, but it served tostrengthen the dark hand. The Gotal held thequeen of air and darkness, Balance, andDemise. He came in at negative nineteenpoints. Han felt a surge of elation, realizingthat the dark hands would probably win. TheGotal must have sensed Han’s elation and

mistaken it to mean that Han believed hepersonally had won. The Gotal looked at Han’swinnings jealously, then discarded his seven ofstaves. Since his dark hand now totaled belownegative twenty-three points, the hand wasdeclared a bust, meaning that the dark arcanawould automatically lose—unless Han couldhit a natural twenty-three, either positive ornegative.

Han studied his cards again. The Idiot wasworth nothing, the two of sabers was worthtwo points, while the Evil One was worthnegative fteen. Han’s best chance to winwould be an idiot’s array—he could keep hisIdiot card, plus the two of sabers, plus a threeof any suit—thus making a literal twenty-three.He gured the odds of getting a three werepretty bad—about one in fteen, but it was theonly shot in town.

The mechanical hands rotated over Han,squeaking suddenly loud. The metal handspulled out the top card from the deck, set it onthe table, and Han reached out hesitantly,

touched it. The second Endurance cardblossomed under his ngers. Negative eightpoints. Han looked at his cards in disbelief,discarded the two. At negative twenty-three, hehad a natural sabacc.

“You’ve won!” Threepio shouted, and theGotal ambassador collapsed and began makingsmall barking noises that Han guessed couldonly be sobs. The Columi regarded Han coldlyfrom enormous black eyes.

“Congratulations, General Solo,” the Columisaid in a clipped tone. “I regret that this gamehas become too expensive for my tastes.” Theengines on his antigrav unit red, and hebegan to maneuver carefully from the room,taking care that his enlarged brain did notcollide with any of the furnishings.

The Gotal ambassador pushed himself fromthe table, lunged away into the shadows of theunderworld.

“You arrre verrry rrrich, hhoooman,” theDrackmarian warlord hissed through thespeakers of her helmet. She set two gigantic

paws on the table, scraping her talons over theancient black metal. “Toooo rrrich. Youuuummmay nottt mmake ittt outtt of theunderrrworld alllive.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Han said, slapping hishand against the blaster holstered at his sideand gazing into the warlord’s helmet. He couldmake out dark eyes, gleaming like wet stonesthrough the green clouds of gas. Han pulled allof the credit chips, stock certi cates, and deedsinto a single enormous pile. Over eighthundred million credits. More credits than hehad ever dreamed of owning. Yet still notenough.

The Drackmarian reached across the table,and her claws dug into his wrist. “Sssstop,” shehissed. “Annnotherrr hhhannnd.”

Han considered, trying to appear calm. Hismouth and tongue felt dry, but rather than lickhis lips, he downed a mug of Corellian spicedale. “Double or nothing?” he asked.

The Drackmarian nodded, and the methanetubes leading to her helmet jiggled. Among the

opponents that Han had been playing, shealone might possess what he wanted. A world.With so much money on the table, Omoggcould o er nothing less than a habitableworld.

Omogg whispered to a security droid in theshadows at her back, and the droid swiveledguns toward Han, then popped open a vault inits belly. The Drackmarian pulled out a holocube. “Thisss hasss been in fammmily forrrmmmany generrrationsss,” the Drackmariansaid. “It issss worth two poinnnt four billioncreditssss. I will ssssell you onnne-thirdinteresssst in it nnnow. If you winnn the nextgammme, you will ownnnn the plannnnet. If Iwinnnn, I will ownnn both the plannnnetannnd the creditssss.” She clawed a button onthe cube, and the image of a planet appearedin the air. Class M, nitrogen and oxygenatmosphere. Three continents in a vast ocean.The holo began rotating through a series ofshots of two-legged herd beasts squatting tograze on a wide purple plain, a bluish sun

setting over a tropical jungle, a ight ofdazzling birds sweeping over the ocean likecolored glass spilling across a blue tile oor.Perfect.

Han began sweating again. “What’s itcalled?”

“Daaathommmirrrrrr,” the Drackmarianbreathed.

“Dathomir?” Han repeated, mesmerized.Chewbacca growled in warning, placed arestraining claw on Han’s arm, begging him tobe cautious.

Threepio leaned close and his prissyvocalizers cut through the clouds of smoke.“May I remind you, sir, that the odds are onehundred thirty-one thousand and seventy-twoto one against you taking nine hands in arow?”

• • •

When Leia answered her door chimes at theAlderaanian consulate, she found Han there,

bathed in sweat, his hair a mess, his clotheslooking baggy. He reeked of smoke and hesmiled at her enormously, his bloodshot eyesgleaming with joy. He had a small box in hishand, wrapped in gold-colored foil.

“Look, Han, if you’ve come back toapologize, I forgive you, but I really don’t havetime for this now. I’m supposed to meet PrinceIsolder in a few minutes and some Barabel spywants to talk to me—”

“Open it,” Han said, shoving the box intoher hand. “Open it.”

“What is it?” Leia asked. She suddenlyrealized that the box wasn’t just wrapped ingold-colored foil, it was wrapped in gold.

“It’s yours,” Han said.Leia untied the strings, pulled the foil open.

It was a registry chip, one of the old kind witha holo cube built in. She thumbed the switch,watched the planet materialize in the airbefore her, a scene from space showing theplanet: Thin pink clouds shone at the edge ofthe terminus, dividing night from day, and

generous storm clouds swirled out from theocean. In the background, four small moonshovered. She studied the continents, green withlife, vast purple savannahs, exquisitely smallice caps at the poles. “Oh, Han,” she said, herbreath coming ragged with excitement. Herwhole face seemed to be lit up, glowing.“What is its name?”

“Dathomir.”“Dathomir?” She frowned in concentration.

“I’ve heard of it … somewhere. Where is itlocated?” She suddenly turned all business.

“In the Drackmar system. I won it fromwarlord Omogg.”

She looked at the holo, watched it sequenceinto its rst picture: giant green herd beasts,possibly reptilian, grazing on a blue plain.“This can’t be in the Drackmar system,” Leiasaid with certainty. “It’s only got one sun.”

She went to her console, locked intoCoruscant’s computer network, asking for thecoordinates to Dathomir. It must have takenthe huge computer banks some time to locate

the les, for they waited nearly a minutebefore coordinates came up on screen. Leialooked into Han’s face, saw his manic joy turninto a frown. “But, but that can’t be!” Han said.“That’s in the Quelii sector—warlord Zsinj’sterritory!”

Leia smiled regretfully, rubbed Han’s hair asif he were a kid. “Oh, you sweet, shaggy nerf-herder. I knew it was too good to be true. Still,it was kind of you to o er. You know, youreally are so kind to me!” She gave him aquick peck on the cheek.

He stepped back in shock. “The … theQuelii sector?”

“Go on home and get some sleep,” Leia said,as if distracted. “You won’t do yourself anygood thinking about it. This ought to teach younever to play cards with a Drackmarian.” Sheescorted him out the door of the Alderaanianconsulate, and Han stood for a moment,rubbing his eyes, trying to keep awake andthink at the same time. He looked up at thetowering buildings above him, and the sunlight

was thin, as if he were locked deep under ajungle canopy.

He had imagined that Leia would love hernew world, had imagined how she wouldcollapse in his arms with joy. He’d planned towait till that moment, then ask her to marryhim. Yet now all he had won was a worthlesspiece of real estate, and Leia had tousled hishair as if he were a kid brother. I probablylook pretty stupid right now, Han thought.Stupid and grungy. He jingled the money inhis pocket, enough credit chips so he could gett h e Falcon out of hock. Fortunately,Chewbacca had had the foresight to pull thatmuch out of the pot. Nearly two billion creditswon and lost. Han was feeling too old to cry—almost. He stumbled back through the graystreets of Coruscant to a small apartment thathe kept onplanet, just hoping for some sleep.

“You really shouldn’t go to this meeting,”Isolder said. “I don’t like the idea of you

traveling alone in the underworld.”Leia smiled tolerantly at the prince. He was,

after all, interested only in protecting her, butafter tripping over his bodyguards for the pasttwo days, she was beginning to wonder if heweren’t overly protective. “I’ll be all right,” shesaid. “I’ve handled his kind before.”

“If his information is so important,” Isoldersaid, “then why hasn’t he given it to youalready? Why insist on this meeting?”

“He’s a Barabel. You know how paranoidpredators get when they’re convinced someoneis hunting them. Besides, if he really does haveinformation about attack dates and battleplans, I’ll need that information before we goto the Roche system. The Verpines have got tobe warned.”

Isolder studied her with his clear, profoundgaze. He wore a yellow half cape, anenormous golden belt, and wide goldenbracelets that accented the bronze color of hisskin. He stepped forward, rested his hands

lightly on her shoulders, and Leia’s skin tingledat the contact. “If you insist on going into theunderworld, then I am coming with you.” Leiastarted to object, but he touched his nger tohis lips. “Please, allow me this. I suspect youare right. I suspect that nothing will happen,but I could not live with myself if anythingshould happen to you.”

Leia studied his eyes, wanted to object, butthere had been threats against her life. Isolderhinted that factions on Hapes would object tothe union, and already she had heard reportsthrough the New Republic spy networks thatwarlords on the far side of the galaxy weremaking e orts to sabotage the union. Theydidn’t want the Hapan eets adding their shipsto the New Republic. Leia was already gettinga taste of what it would be like to be thequeen mother, wielding her might.

“All right, you can accompany me,” Leiasaid, and she admired Isolder for having thecourtesy to ask to accompany her. Han wouldhave demanded it. She wondered if Isolder’s

good manners were a natural part of hispersonality or if they had become ingrainedsimply because he was reared in a matriarchalsociety where women were shown greaterrespect. Whatever the case, she found itcharming.

He took Leia’s arm, and they strolled out tothe curb, anked by Isolder’s amazonbodyguards, to wait under the marble portecochere for Leia’s hover car. Old ThrekinHorm came humming up the street in hisrepulsor chair. The broad streets here werefairly empty at this time in the morning, acouple of Ishi Tibs strolling, an old droidpainting the lampposts. Threkin greeted themcasually, as if he just happened to be passingby, but he did not volunteer to leave. Instead,he thumbed the switch that stopped his chairand just sat, waiting for the hover car. “I hearthat it’s such a nice day up top,” Threkin said,nodding toward the towering buildings abovethem, hover cars moving through slants ofsunlight, “that I’m almost tempted to go

sunbathing. Almost.”Isolder tenderly gripped Leia’s arm, and Leia

suddenly wished that Threkin would just getlost. She looked up at Isolder, and he smileddown as if sharing her thought.

“Ah, here’s your car now!” Threkin said. Ablack hover car plowed down the street,slowed, swerved in close. The tinted glass inthe passenger’s window shattered as someoneshoved a blaster barrel through.

“Down!” one of Isolder’s bodyguardsshouted, and the woman leaped in front ofLeia as the rst volley of red bolts cut throughthe air. One of the bolts caught the woman inthe chest, lifted her and threw her back. Goutsof blood glittered in the air, and Leia smelledthe familiar stench of ozone and charred flesh.

Threkin Horm cried out and hit a button onhis repulsor chair—he went hurtling south asfast as if he were in a land speeder, shouting atthe top of his lungs.

Isolder pushed Leia back behind one of thebroad pillars of the porte cochere and was a

blur of motion as he whipped o his belt. Partof it—a small gold shield—he held in his lefthand, and from somewhere he drew a smallblaster. Leia heard a humming noise and asecond volley issued from the car—but the red

aming bolts hit the air in front of them,exploded harmlessly.

A thin, blue, circular haze shimmered beforeIsolder, white at the edges, like a ring around amoon on a cold night. Personal shielding, sherealized. Leia was suddenly conscious that theremaining amazon bodyguard was behind her,taking momentary advantage of the shieldingto shout into a hand-held comlink for abackup.

A burst of blaster re whizzed past Leia’shead, hitting the marble above them, and Leiaturned. The droid that had been painting onthe corner fired a blaster at them.

“Astarta! Get the droid!” Isolder shouted.The prince’s shield couldn’t cover them in thecross re, and they couldn’t count on themarble pillars for much protection. Leia

lunged for the dead amazon’s blaster, red otwo quick rounds, enough so that the droid hidbehind his lamppost. It was only then that Leiaregistered the oddly erect main body, thebullet-shaped head and long legs. AnEliminator assassin droid, model 434. Astartajoined her in opening fire on it.

The hover car stopped, and two men leapedout, ring. Leia knew that Isolder’s personalshield couldn’t hold for more than a couplemore seconds. Personal shielding tended toprovide minimal protection, because youcouldn’t get a power source strong enough tode ect enemy re and still last for more than amoment. The second danger came from theshield itself—the energy shield got so hot thatthe wielders risked frying themselves if theyaccidentally touched it. Isolder held the shieldbefore him, lunged at his attackers.

Two more bolts whizzed past his head, andAstarta red. Leia looked just in time to seethe amazon’s single bolt hit the assassin droidat midtorso. Metal bits ew into the air,

followed by a massive explosion as the droid’spower plant exploded.

The prince swung his shield as a weapon,and its energy eld knocked his attackersbackward. Blue sparks erupted in the air as itmade contact. One man cried out and droppedhis blaster, holding his burned face. Isolderraised the shield over his head, spun it andtossed it at the last attacker. The shieldingcaught the assassin in the chest, sliced throughhim like a lightsaber, and then Isolder stoodalone with his blaster, aiming it at theremaining assassin, who was screaming inagony, clutching his face. He once had been ahandsome man, Leia thought. Too handsome.A Hapan.

“Who hired you?” Isolder demanded.The assassin screamed out, “Llarel!

Remarme!”“Teba illarven?” Isolder asked in Hapan.“At! Remarme!” the assassin begged.Isolder kept the gun leveled at the assassin a

second longer, and the man shouted again. A

piece of burned esh tore away from his face.The man leaped into the gutter for his gun,and Isolder hesitated. The assassin fumbled forthe gun, pointed it at his own face, and pulledthe trigger.

Leia turned away. Suddenly Isolder’sbodyguard was pulling at Leia’s arm, yelling,“Inside, get inside!” and Isolder grabbed Leia,took her back into the house. There was analcove by the door where guests could hangtheir coats, and Isolder pulled Leia toward thealcove, then stood protecting her, breathinghard and looking out into the hallway. Thebodyguard, Astarta, had bolted the door. As onmost of the consulates, Leia’s door was madeof ancient blastplate and could withstand evena sustained assault. The bodyguard was yellinginto her communicator again. Leia couldn’tunderstand Hapan, but the guard was makinga lot of noise.

“Who sent them?” Leia asked.“He wouldn’t say,” Isolder answered brie y.

“He only begged me to kill him.”

Outside, through the walls, Leia could hearNew Republic forces shouting as they sought tosecure the area.

Isolder stood panting, listening intently,probably trying to eavesdrop on both hisbodyguard and the police outside, make sure itwas safe. He held Leia lightly, protectively,and her heart hammered. She pushed at himgently, and said, “Thank you for saving me.”

Prince Isolder focused on the sounds aroundhim so strongly that at rst he seemed not tonotice that she was pushing him away. Thenhe looked down into her eyes. He lifted herchin and kissed her forcefully, passionately,and stepped in closer so that the entire lengthof him pressed against her.

Leia’s mind seemed to go white, and herwhole body felt electric. Her jaw wastrembling, but she kissed him long and slowly,the seconds ticking away far slower than thepounding in her chest. With each second shecould think of only one thing, I’m betrayingHan. I don’t want to hurt Han. But then Isolder

whispered into her ear, demanding. “Comeaway with me to Hapes! Come see the worldsyou will rule!”

Leia found herself crying, had never reallyimagined that she would let something likethis happen. But at that moment, whateverattachment she had ever felt for Han suddenlyseemed to become as insubstantial as fog, as agentle white mist, and Isolder was the sun,burning it all away. With tears running downher cheeks she tangled her arms around Isolderand promised, “I’ll come with you!”

I

Chapter6

don’t know why I asked you here,” Han saidto Threepio, waving his hand in an

expansive gesture. They sat in a booth in acantina on Coruscant. It was a tame place byany standards—clear air, couples dancingslowly to the sound of Ludurian nose flutes.

Chewbacca looked up from his drink withweary eyes and growled. Chewie knew Hanwas lying. He knew exactly why Han askedThreepio there.

Threepio glanced at both of them, and hislogic drive told him to probe further. “Is thereanything I can help you with, sir?”

“Well, see … you’ve been closer to Leia overthe last couple of days than I have,” Han said,hunching his shoulders. “She hasn’t exactlybeen happy with me … and she’s spending all

of her time with that prince, and after whathappened to them this morning, they are sotightly surrounded by bodyguards that you canhardly get a glimpse of them. And now Leialeft me a holo message to say she might begoing to Hapes.”

Threepio studied the words for 3.12 seconds,searching through layer after layer of innuendoand unspoken meanings. “I see!” he said. “Youtwo are having diplomatic problems!”Although Threepio was a translator with someof the nest programming in the galaxy, hishuman friends seldom called on his talentswhen dealing with their own complexemotional entanglements. Threepio perceivedimmediately that Han was placing aninordinate amount of trust in his abilities. Thiswould be a rare opportunity to prove himself.“You’ve certainly come to the right droid! Howmay I help you?”

“I don’t know …” Han said. “You see themtogether a lot. I was just wondering, you know,how things are going. Are they really getting

that close?”Threepio immediately accessed all visual

records where he’d seen Leia and Isoldertogether over the last couple of days: dinnersthree nights in a row, council meetings wherethe two of them discussed potential di cultiesin negotiating a settlement between theVerpines and the Barabels, just walking,dancing at a party for a minor dignitary. “Well,sir, during their rst day together, PrinceIsolder kept an average distance of point vesix two decimeters between himself and Leia,”See-Threepio said, “but that space is closingrapidly. I would say that the two of them arebecoming very close indeed.”

“How close?” Han asked.“Over the past eight standard hours, the two

have been touching nearly eighty-six percent ofthe time.” Threepio’s infrared optical sensorspicked up a slight brightening as blood rushedto Han’s face. He quickly apologized, “I’msorry if this news disturbs you.”

Han downed a mug of Corellian rum. Since

it was his second in the past few minutes,Threepio quickly calculated Han’s body massand the alcohol content of the rum anddecided that Han was more than mildlyinebriated. Yet the primary manifestation ofthe intoxication seemed to be only a slightslowing of his speech.

Han placed a hand on Threepio’s metal arm.“You’re a good droid, Threepio. You’re a gooddroid. There’s not many droids I like as muchas I like you. I don’t know, what would you doif some droid prince was trying to muscle inon the woman you loved?”

Threepio’s sensors picked up heavyemanations of alcohol from Han’s breath, andhe leaned away to avoid any corrosion to hisprocessors.

“The rst thing I would do,” Threepiopro ered, “would be to gauge the oppositionand see what I have to give that the opposingparty does not. Any good counselor droidcould tell you that.”

“Uh-huh,” Han said. “So, what do I have to

offer Leia that Isolder doesn’t?”“Well, let’s see …” Threepio said. “Isolder is

extremely wealthy, generous, well-mannered,and—at least by human standards—attractive.So, now all that we need to do is see what youhave to o er that he doesn’t have.” Threepiosearched his les for several moments,overheating his memory drives.

“Oh dear!” he whined at last. “I see yourproblem! Well, there’s always emotionalattachment, I suppose. I’m certain that Leiawon’t forget about you just because a betterman has come along!”

“I love her,” Han said emphatically. “I loveher more than I love my own life, more thanbreath. When she touches me I feel like … Idon’t know how to say it.”

“Have you told her?” Threepio asked.“Like I say,” Han sighed, “I just don’t know

how to say it. You’re a counselor droid.” Hepoured another rum, just stared at it. “Do youknow how to say it? Do you know any songsor poems?”

“Indeed! I carry masterpieces from over vemillion cultures in my memory banks. Here isone of my favorites, from the Tchuukthai:

“Shah rupah shantenarshan erah patharthulath entarpa

Uta, emarrah spar tanearratha urr thur shaparrahUta, Uta, sahvarahhhhharahh sahvarauul ethuthares tarra hah durrrr—”

Han listened to the gentle music of thewords, the soft curling snarls, the mutedthunder. “That sounds pretty good,” Hanadmitted. “What does it mean?”

See-Threepio translated it as closely aspossible.

“When lightning rushes over the

evening plains,I return to my cold denwith a thula rat in my jaws.

Then, I smell your sweet spoorsmeared on the bones by the cave’smaw.Then, then my head ns begin totrembleAnd my tail sways majestically asmy mating howlbegins to ll the hollow of thenight—”

Han stopped him with a wave of the hand.“All right, all right, I get the picture.”

“There’s much, much more,” Threepioassured him. “It really is a beautiful epic, allfive hundred thousand lines of it!”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks,” Han said, sounding asdisheartened as ever. He sat, listening to afoursome who had just sat down at anothertable, and Threepio realized that over the past

minute, Han had been focusing on them.Threepio downloaded his auditory tracks andplayed back the conversation of those at theother table to find out what so intrigued Han.

FIRST WOMAN: “Oh, look, there’s General Solo!”SECOND WOMAN: “Gee, he looks pretty bad. Look

at those bags under his eyes.”FIRST MAN: “Kind of scru y looking, if you ask

me.”SECOND WOMAN: “It makes you wonder what

Leia ever saw in him, anyway.”FIRST WOMAN: “Now that prince from Hapes, he

i s so gorgeous! Down on Coruscant, streetmerchants are selling posters of him!”

SECOND MAN: “Yeah, I bought one for mysister.”

FIRST MAN: “As for me, I’d take one of hisbodyguards any day.”

FIRST WOMAN: “With a body like his, I’d kill tobe his guard.”

SECOND WOMAN: “Well, you can guard that body

all you want—I’d rather be his masseuse. Canyou imagine kneading that hot esh all daylong?”

Han said angrily, “Look, Threepio, whydon’t you keep an eye on Leia. If she asksabout me, tell her I miss her. All right?”

Threepio stored the request. “As you wish,sir,” he said, rising to leave the bar.

Chewbacca growled a good-bye to the spy.Threepio made his way out into the streets,wandered down chasms toward one ofCoruscant’s central computers that had areputation as something of a gossip. Such acomputer would gladly tell a droid secrets thatit would never reveal to a biological life form.So Han needed a diplomatic counselor. Thiswould be a wonderful opportunity for See-Threepio to prove himself! A wonderfulopportunity!

Threkin Horm looked his best—dressed in a

long, dark green waistcoat and white pants, histhinning hair meticulously curled so thatringlets danced around his ears. Leia noticedthat he didn’t look as fat as usual when hestood under his own power, and he wasstanding now at the podium. “As you allknow, I have called this session of theAlderaanian Council so that we can discusspreparations for Princess Leia’s marriage toPrince Isolder, the Chume’da of Hapes.”

The crowd erupted into vigorous applause.The plush council room with its curtainedwalls and plum-colored chairs could holdnearly two thousand people, yet only ahundred members of the council were present.The rest of the seating was occupied by curiousonlookers, while the back of the hall was agleaming forest of metallic media droids. Leiasat in her seat on the front row, only a coupleof meters from where Threkin stood on thepodium. Han sat in a back row, dressedcasually in a white shirt and vest, looking very

much the way he had when they’d rst met,years ago. Chewbacca sat beside him.

Leia had intended to discuss her plans herebluntly but hadn’t been prepared for so muchmedia attention. In the past day she suddenlyfound her entire life in the spotlight—theattempted assassination of the morning beforehad been covertly lmed from eight di erentangles and was playing on all the stations.New Republic Intelligence o cers had sweptthe embassy for bugs this morning and foundmicrophones with open channels to fteennetworks. It seemed that the only thing thepublic liked better than a royal marriage was aroyal assassination, and the media houndswere lapping this up. Leia’s only consolationwas that if another assassin struck, he or shewould have to shoot through the cameraoperators to get her.

Ah well, best to get this over with. “Threkin,members of the council,” Leia said, standing. “Iwould like to thank you all for coming here,but don’t you think this is a bit premature? I

agree that this seems like a marvelous o er,but I haven’t consented to marry Prince Isolderyet.” She sat down again.

“Oh, Leia,” Threkin said with acondescending smile. “Often in the past yourclear head and cautiousness have served youwell, but in this particular case …?” Heshrugged. “I’ve seen how you two look at eachother, and you have agreed to a six-monthexcursion with Isolder, touring the worlds ofHapes. I think it’s a grand idea! It will give youand Isolder a little time to grow closer whilethe royal house of Hapes gets an opportunityto see how well that pretty little head of yourswears a crown!” The crowd tittered withnervous laughter at the jest. “Let’s put it beforethe council.” Threkin waved at the seatedassemblage. “Don’t you all think that Leia andIsolder make a beautiful couple?”

Most of the professional politiciansremained somewhat somber, but many of thetraders snickered while members of the mediaand audience cheered and clapped. This didn’t

look at all to Leia like a normal councilmeeting, this looked like a carnival.

“You can’t plan my wedding without me!”Leia interrupted, rising from her seat,astonished at Threkin’s audacity. “Isolderunderstands, as I’m sure that you must, that wearen’t engaged—either formally or informally.I’m going to Hapes simply to …”

And she realized the truth. Isolder wastaking her to Hapes so that the planetarydignitaries she might someday rule could studyher, measure her for the crown. And she wasgoing so that she could have time to get closerto Isolder. It was just as Threkin said. Nomatter how she might try to deny it, everyoneelse in the galaxy could see what washappening. She glanced over at Han. Helooked miserable. She sat down, tried not toblush, intensely conscious that this encounterwas already being carried live over dozens ofnews nets. She knew she should argue againstThrekin, if only to save face, but right now shejust couldn’t think. For the rst time in her

life, Leia was at a loss for words.“Indeed, indeed we can’t plan your wedding

without you,” Threkin assured her from thepodium. “We wouldn’t think of it. We are onlymaking plans in the eventuality that you marryIsolder—”

“Councilman Horm?” See-Threepio’s voicecut through the council room. Leia turned, sawthe golden droid standing on tiptoe andwaving from the back of the room excitedly.“Oh, Councilman Horm, may I address thecouncil?”

“What?” Horm asked in disdain. “Let a droidaddress the council?”

Leia smiled inwardly. The droid rightslobbyists would have a eld day with thatcomment. It might well be the rst nail in theco n for Horm’s political career. Leia stoodquickly. “He may only be a counselor droid,but I think we should let him speak!”

There was grumbled assent from the generalassembly, along with deafening cheers fromthe forest of media droids in the back.

“I, I, I see nothing wrong with that!” Hormsputtered, waving his arms. “I yield thepodium to, to, to—that droid!”

The media droids cheered and Threepiowalked up to the podium, scanning the crowdon his left and right as he did so. Leia hadnever seen a droid take such initiative. Shewondered what he wanted. Threepio reachedthe podium and turned to address the crowd.

“Well,” he said, “I would like to proposethat the council should begin planning Leia’swedding—to General Han Solo!”

“What!” shouted Horm. “Why, why this ispreposterous! General Solo isn’t even royalty!He’s just, he’s just …” Horm must haverealized that he had better not say anythinglibelous, but he shrugged in disgust. Allthrough the crowd, a wave of grumblingbegan, and Leia wondered if she hadn’tmisjudged in letting poor Threepio address thecouncil.

“I beg to di er!” Threepio answered. “I havebeen communicating with various computers

through Coruscant’s network all morning, andI’ve discovered some startling facts that all ofyou seem to have overlooked—possiblybecause General Solo has labored intensely tohide them: although the Corellians became arepublic nearly three centuries ago, bybirthright Han Solo is the king of Corellia!”

The room erupted in a dull roar and mediadroids began hitting Han Solo with spotlights.Threkin Horm’s nasal voice sliced through thechatter with, “What? What? What?” Leiaturned and looked to the back of the room inshock. The back seats of the auditorium wereraised in tiers, and she could see Han plainly,blushing, trying to scrunch down into his seat.From the look on his face, she could tell thatHan was indeed trying to hide something. AndLeia knew that Threepio’s programming as acounselor droid made him incapable of lying.Han put his hand up over his eyes and lookeddown at the oor. In all these years, whydidn’t he ever tell me? Leia wondered.

Aboard the Bith counselor ship Thpffftht,Luke watched the holo vid with interest,surprised that even on a backwater world likeToola the doings of Leia and Isolder—and nowHan—could be of enough interest to warrantthe enormous expense it cost to send the newsclips through hyperspace. Well, Leia was livingevery woman’s fantasy—attracting the interestof an incredibly rich and handsome prince.And the intrigue of the assassination attempthad escalated the worth of the story so thatnow Luke could watch his sister live, nearlythree hundred light-years distant.

The Bith ship was scheduled to jump intohyperdrive within a few moments, and Lukestudied the video with interest. The holo vidcameras were focused on Han now, and Solosat scrunched in his chair, hand over his face.Even Chewbacca, sitting next to Han, openedhis eyes wide in surprise, a throaty roar ofastonishment escaping from between hiscanines.

Luke smiled inwardly. Of course, he thought,Han is a king. I should have recognized itbefore. But why did he hide it? In spite of hissmile, Luke felt troubled. He could feelsomething odd, something distant and darkstirring. Too many in the galaxy would resistLeia’s union to Isolder. He could feel the forceof their malevolent intent, and Luke silentlywilled the Bith technicians to hurry and nishtheir equipment tests before making the jumpto hyperdrive. Luke wouldn’t reach the Rochesystem any too soon.

“Indeed,” Threepio went on. “Han is theroyal heir! Birth records indicate that Han’spaternal ancestry goes back to Berethron eSolo, who introduced democracy in theCorellian empire. You can easily track thebirthright for the next six generations, to KorolSolo, but records from Korol’s period weredestroyed in the Clone Wars and the lineagebecame lost.

“But Korol Solo married and fathered hisrst son on Duro nearly sixty years ago, and

because of the wars and turmoil, that sonnever returned home. His name was DallaSolo, but he changed his name to Dalla Suul tohide his identity during the Clone Wars. His

rstborn son was Jonash Suul, and the rst sonof Jonash Suul was named Han Suul—whochanged his name back to Han Solo.Obviously, Han knew of his royal lineage, butfor reasons that are quite beyond me, he’s alsotampered with records back on Corellia in aneffort to hide that lineage!”

There was an audible gasp from the crowd,and Threkin Horm shouted for order. Han gotup slowly and walked out of the auditorium asthe roar in the background diminished. Leiahalf-stood, watching Han leave, and the crowdquieted enough for Threkin to cry out, “Butwasn’t Dalla Suul also known as Dalla theBlack? The famous murderer?”

“Well, yes, I suppose,” Threepio admitted,“though the history texts describe him moreaccurately as a kidnapper and a pirate.”

“And, well,” Threkin said, “well, what kind

of lineage is that? I mean—Dalla Suul was oneof the most notorious kingpins in organizedcrime! You can’t expect respectable people togive any credence to Han’s claims of royallineage.”

“Well, I am just an ignorant droid andconfess that I don’t really understand how theactions of one’s ancestors enhance or detractfrom one’s respectability,” Threepioapologized to Threkin Horm. “Such conceptsare beyond the ability of a model AA-OneVerbobrain to process. But since Dalla Suul’sillegitimate daughter was your mother, Iexpect that you are in nitely more familiarwith the logic of the arguments than I am.”

Threkin Horm’s face paled, and he stoodshaking.

The holo vid clip ended, and a droidannouncer began commenting on it. Luke

ipped o the holo and sat back in a thickchair, folded his hands on his lap. In only acouple of generations, Han’s line haddiminished from kingship to underworld

kingpin. No wonder Han had hidden hislineage, had turned his back on theAlderaanian Council and stormed away beforehis secret was revealed. Poor Han.

T

Chapter7

hat afternoon, Leia and Isolder strolledthrough a secluded forest in the botanical

gardens of Coruscant, a garden where plantsfrom hundreds of thousands of New Republicworlds ourished. Leia was showing Isolderthe oro woods of Alderaan—forests where thegraceful, clean-limbed trees climbed hundredsof feet into the air, but every inch of the trees’bark was covered with iridescent lichencolonies that glimmered in colors of cinnabar,violet, and canary—like the e uent ofrainbows. White cairoka birds uttered fromlimb to limb, while tiny brilliant red deer withgolden stripes fed among foliage on theground. On Alderaan the oro woods hadoccupied only a dozen small islands, and Leiahad only traveled there once as a child. Still,

seeing that even a piece of her home worldstill thrived lightened her heart.

Isolder walked hand in hand with her. Hesaid, “I called my mother on holo vid. She waspleased that you planned to come visit. She’sbringing her own personal vehicle to carry youback to Hapes.”

“Vehicle?” Leia wondered aloud at hischoice of words. “You mean she’s bringing herown personal ship?”

“In this case,” Isolder said, “I think the wordvehicle is more appropriate. It’s thousands ofyears old and rather eccentric in design. Still,you will like it.” The woods were quiet.Isolder’s bodyguards had spread out among thetrees, except for the woman Astarta, whowalked at their backs.

Leia smiled, stopped to smell a violet,trumpet-shaped ower. The ower had beenuncommon on the plains of her home world, apungent-smelling weed. “This is an arallute,”Leia said. “Folktales said that if a new bridefound one growing in her yard, it was a sign

that she would soon have a child. Of course,the bride’s mother and sisters always made it apoint to plant an arallute in the newlyweds’lawn after the wedding, and of course they hadto do it at night. It was considered bad luck toget caught.” Isolder smiled, ngered the

ower. “When it dries,” Leia said, “the petalsfold in and the seeds get trapped in the dry

ower. Mothers then give the dry owers totheir babies to use as rattles.”

“How charming,” Isolder said, and he sighed.“It’s sad to know that it’s all gone, alldestroyed. Except for what’s here onCoruscant.”

“When our refugees nd a new home,” Leiasaid, “we plan to take some of these specimenswith us, establish another garden on a newworld.”

Comlink tones sounded, and Leia ippedher comlink on reluctantly. “Leia, ThrekinHorm here. I have great news! The NewRepublic has canceled your mission to theRoche system!”

“What?” Leia asked, stunned. She had neverbeen pulled from an assignment. “How didthis happen?”

“It seems that relations between theVerpines and the Barabels are disintegrating ata faster rate than we anticipated,” Threkinanswered. “So Mon Mothma has escalated thelevel of intervention in hopes that we canavert a war. General Han Solo will be assignedto lead a eet of Star Destroyers to the Rochesystem to protect the Verpines until the crisisis resolved. Meanwhile, Mon Mothmapersonally will be handling this crisis with ateam of her most trusted counselors.”

“What crisis?” Leia asked.“Customs agents boarded a Barabel cargo

ship outside the Roche system this morningand found the thing we all feared.”

Leia’s stomach turned at the thought oflockers lled with Verpine body parts, hardfrozen in the depths of space. In spite of herattempts to overcome such prejudices, themore Leia dealt with species of carnivorous

reptiles, the more she anticipated suchatrocities. Still, she told herself, you couldn’tjudge an entire species by the actions of a few.“What of Mon Mothma? Won’t she need myhelp?”

“She and I both feel that there are … betterways for you to serve the New Republic,”Threkin said. “Mon Mothma has temporarilyrelieved you from duty for the next eightstandard months. I trust your time will be wellspent.” The undertone to his voice clearlyindicated what he desired, but he said itoutright. “You may leave for Hapes at yourearliest convenience.”

Threkin’s image icked o thecommunicator, and Isolder squeezed Leia’shand. Leia considered momentarily, and knewshe could not argue against Horm—theVerpines really would be better o with aNew Republic eet at their side, and Leia hadfelt overwhelmed by the assignment all along.As a diplomatic counselor, she had great skills,but the Barabels were never impressed by

stirring speeches or elaborate arguments. TheBarabels, who had evolved as communalpredators dominated by a pack leader, wouldrespect Mon Mothma for handling the a air.The simple fact that the “pack leader” for theentire New Republic had jumped into the fraywould disorient the Barabels, force them toregroup and rethink the situation.

In fact, now that Leia looked at it, sherealized that Mon Mothma didn’t need her atall. Leia had been so curious, trying tounderstand why a Verpine hive mother wouldbe allowed to go feral, that she had beenplanning to attack the problem from thewrong angle. She should have been looking atthe Barabels all along.

Perhaps the only thing that didn’t make agreat deal of sense would be to send a NewRepublic eet to the Roche system. TheVerpines could protect their hives. With theirability to communicate via radio waves, thefact that their colonies were built in anasteroid belt that was nonnavigable (at least by

human pilots), and their swarming attack stylein highspeed B-wing bombers, the Verpineswould make a formidable foe.

Isolder stepped in closer. “Why are youfrowning, little one?”

“Just wondering about something.”“No, you are worrying,” Isolder said. “Don’t

you think Mon Mothma has things in control?”“Too much control,” Leia said, and she

looked up into the stormy seas of his grayeyes.

“You aren’t ready to leave yet, are you?”Isolder asked. Leia started to speak, but Isolderadded, “No, no, that is all right. Leaving all ofthis behind,” he gestured to the oro woodsaround him, “will be a big step for you. It willfeel as if you are leaving it for good—andperhaps, if you so choose, you will indeed beleaving these worlds, this life, behind.”

He held her hands, and Leia smiledwistfully. Isolder said, “Take a few days. Spendsome time with your friends. Say your good-byes if you feel that you must. I understand.

And if it makes you feel any better, then justrepeat what you said to the AlderaanianCouncil: You are coming to Hapes for a visit,nothing more. There are no strings attached,no obligations.”

His words slid over her like a wave of warmwater, buoying her spirits. “Oh, Isolder, thankyou for understanding.” She leaned into hischest, and Isolder put his arms around her. Fora moment, Leia was tempted to add, “I loveyou,” but knew it was too soon to speak thosewords, knew it was too much of acommitment.

Isolder whispered softly into her ear, “I loveyou.”

Han Solo sat at the console of theMillennium Falcon, running dodge maneuversthrough an orbital junkyard of space debris oCoruscant’s smallest moon. Doing computerchecks of all ight systems on his ship was onething—but Han had long ago decided that only

a live test was sufficient.Flying through a junkyard was much like

negotiating through an asteroid eld, exceptthat the junk here tended to be all heavymetal, unlike those nice, soft carbonaceousasteroids. Threading his way through thedebris somehow seemed to ease Han,tranquilize him. He dipped under the slowlytumbling busted stabilizer wing of a TIE fighterand then came up to the skeletal hull of an oldVictory Star Destroyer, long since gutted forsalvage.

Just what I want, he thought. There weresome systems aboard the Falcon that justcouldn’t be tested in friendly space, and whereHan was headed, he didn’t expect to meet anyfriendlies. He slowed to match the StarDestroyer’s velocity, nosed into the mainexhaust nacelle up to where its turbodrivegenerator had once been housed, then carefullyset the Millennium Falcon down.

Han ipped on his modi ed Imperial IFF

Transponder, switched it to option fourteen.As his ship’s radio signals bounced against themetal shielding of the ssion chamber, Han’sproximity indicators screamed in warning ofapproaching enemy Incom Y4 passenger shipsin every direction, their blue-gray metallicimages ickering on the head-up holo display.Han had salvaged the transponder code from amilitary transport ship attached to warlordZsinj’s marines. The transport ship had beencarrying a twelve-member team from Zsinj’sRaptors—a special forces organizationsupposedly devoted to surveying planetarydefense systems, then in ltrating said planetsand demolishing their defenses. But theRaptors were developing a nasty reputation asthe strong arm of Zsinj’s secret police.Ultimately, on many thousand worlds, theRaptors ruled.

Secure in the knowledge that his newtransponder signal would identify him as oneof Zsinj’s ships, Han ipped on his jammers—and so much static and radio tra c came over

his sensors that the ghost ships blanked out onhis head-up display. Han smiled inwardly.Both the new transponder and the high-powered jammers were working ne. He’dneed them in unfriendly space.

Now that he’d tested his hardware, Han firedhis sublight engines and carefully lifted theFalcon out of the rusting innards of the olddestroyer. As he maneuvered through theorbiting junkyard, the call he’d been waitingfor came on audio.

Leia said, “General Solo, I hear that you’ll betaking a fleet to the Roche system tonight.”

“Yeah, that’s what they tell me,” Han said.“I’ll be sorry to see you go. I was hoping we

could get together for a few hours before youleave.”

A eet? She thought he was leading a eet?One Star Destroyer could hardly be called a

eet. Han knew who was behind the orders,who had stabbed him in the back. ThrekinHorm. Han had underestimated the fat man,and now they planned to ship him o , far, far

away, so that Leia would forget about him.“Yes,” Han said. “That would be nice. I’m kindof busy right now, trying to get a grip on a fewthings. I can’t come down planetside. Maybe Icould meet you at fteen hundred hours atyour place? Aboard the Rebel Dream? Wecould maybe talk a little, go out for a drink.”

“That sounds good. I’ll see you then.” Leiasigned off.

Han glanced at the timepiece on his console.Chewbacca and Threepio were supposed tomeet him on the Millennium Falcon atseventeen hundred hours. Time was runningout.

When Han came to Leia’s door, he had atired smile on his face. He gave Leia a quickhug, then entered the hallway to her quarters,glancing around nervously. She stepped backto look at him. His hair was mussed, eyesfatigued. He didn’t look happy at all.

“Can I get you a drink or something?” Leia

asked.Han shook his head. “Uh, no.” He didn’t say

anything else, just stood, looking at the wallsand glancing into the living quarters. In Leia’sbedroom, the dull lights shone from the gemsof Gallinore on her dresser. The twin sunsabove the Selab tree had gone dark, as if theywere on a night cycle.

“You aren’t happy about your transfer to theRoche system, are you?” Leia asked.

“Well, uh, to tell the truth, I’m not going,”Han admitted.

“Not going?” Leia asked.“I resigned my commission.”“When did this happen?” Leia asked.Han shrugged. “Five minutes ago.” He

walked into her bedroom, stood staring downat the bed, glanced at the gems on her dresser,the piles of treasure from Hapes. Part of Leiawas still surprised to have it here. If she’d hadany sense, she told herself, she would have hadit locked up.

“Well, where will you go?” Leia demanded.

“What will you do?”“I’m going to Dathomir,” Han said, and Leia

stood with her mouth open a moment.“You can’t go there,” she said. “That’s in

Zsinj’s territory. It’s too dangerous.”“Before I resigned, I ordered the Indomitable

to run a strike-and-fade against some of Zsinj’soutposts on the edge of New Republic space.Zsinj will be forced to fortify those outposts,drawing any ships away from Dathomir, and Ishould be able to just slip between the cracks.He won’t even know that I’m there.”

“That,” Leia said loudly, “is an abuse ofauthority!”

Han turned his interest from the gems,looked up at her and grinned. “I know.” Leiadidn’t say anything else. When he got in one ofthese headstrong moods, she knew she couldn’ttalk any sense into him. He shrugged again.“No one will get hurt. I ordered them to attackonly with long-range drones. Our soldiers willbe okay. You know, I think I must have beenlooking at that holo of the planet too long. I

dreamed about it last night: running on thebeach, the wind in my face, water slappingagainst my ankles. It was all so sweet. So whenI got my orders today, I just decided. I’mgoing.”

“What will you do there?”“If I like it, maybe I’ll just stay. It’s been a

long time since I’ve felt sand beneath my feet.Too long.”

“You’re burned out,” Leia said. “Don’t resignyour commission. I’ll pull some strings, get youreassigned. You can have a few weeks off …”

Han had been looking at the oor, but nowhe turned his attention to her, studied her face.“We’re both tired,” he said. “We’re bothburned out. Why don’t you come with me, runaway?”

“I can’t do that,” Leia said.“That’s what you’re planning to do with

Isolder. Run away. Why can’t you give meequal time? Chewie and Threepio are going tomeet me at the Falcon in an hour. You couldcome with us. Who knows, maybe you’d fall in

love with Dathomir. Maybe you would fallback in love with me.”

He sounded so pitiable. Leia felt guilty forthe past few days, for ignoring him, desertinghim. She remembered how she’d felt the daythat Vader had encased Han in carbonite,shipping him back to Jabba the Hutt, the joythey had shared when the Emperor wasvanquished. She’d loved him then. But thatwas a long time ago, she told herself. “Look,Han, I’ll always be fond of you,” Leia foundherself saying. “I know it’s hard.”

“But have a nice life?” Han asked.Leia found herself shaking. Han strolled over

to her dresser, and Leia saw that he waslooking at the polished black metal of the Gunof Command. “Does this really work?” heasked. He started to reach for it, and Leiarealized what he planned, shouted, “Don’ttouch that!”

Han snatched the gun and spun, faster thanshe would have believed possible. He stoodpointing it at her. “Come with me to

Dathomir!”“You can’t do this!” Leia pleaded, raising a

hand as if it could ward off the blast.“I thought you loved rogues,” Han said. A

spray of blue sparks erupted from the gun,bringing forgetfulness and the night.

“Are you sure that General Solo kidnappedthe princess?” the queen mother asked. Eventhough his mother’s image was only carried onholo vid, Prince Isolder dared not look up ather veiled face.

“Yes, Ta’a Chume,” he answered. “A newsnetwork planted a y eye in the hallwayleading to her quarters, and it lmed Leialeaving her quarters with the general. Shewalked like one who is dreaming, and Solowas armed with the Gun of Command.”

“So, what steps will you take to recover theprincess?” Isolder could feel the weight of theTa’a Chume’s stare. The queen mother wastesting him. On Hapes, the women in authority

often spoke deprecatingly of the “ineptitude ofmen,” their seeming inability to ever doanything right.

“The New Republic has already assembled athousand of their best detectives to track downHan Solo. Astarta has secured hourly progressreports, and we have put out calls for bountyhunters.”

The Ta’a Chume spoke softly, menacingly.“Look into my eyes.”

Isolder gazed up at her, tried to relax. Hismother wore a circlet of gold, and a thinyellow veil obscured her features. The lightsaround her lit the gold so that she seemedalmost to generate an aura of power. Isolderfocused beyond the veil, at her dark eyesboring into him.

“This General Solo is a desperate man,” shesaid. “I know what you are thinking. You wantto rescue Princess Leia from his clutchesyourself. But you must remember your duty toyour people: You are the Chume’da. Your wifeand daughters must someday reign. If you

place yourself in jeopardy, you will bebetraying the hopes and dreams of yourpeople. You must let our assassins handleGeneral Solo. Promise me!”

Isolder stared hard into his mother’s face,tried to hide his intent, but it was no use. Sheknew him too well. She knew everyone toowell. “I will hunt down General Solo,” Isoldersaid. “And I will bring home my bride.”

Isolder waited for his mother to explode,waited for the hot wrath in her voice to pourover him like magma. He could feel it in thesilence that followed, but the Ta’a Chume wasnot the kind of woman to show her anger. Shesaid calmly, almost with a sigh, “You disobeyme lightly, but no matter what you think, yourtendency toward sel ess heroics is no virtue. Iwould cure you of it if I could.” She did notspeak for a moment, and Isolder waited forher to pronounce his punishment. “I supposeyou are too much like your father. GeneralSolo will probably seek refuge with one of thewarlords, someone who might hope to

withstand the might of the New Republic. Iwill gather my assassins and bring a eet toCoruscant immediately. It goes without sayingthat if I nd Solo before you do, I will killhim.”

Isolder let his gaze drop to the oor. Isolderhad wildly hoped that now that Leia had beenabducted, his mother would forgo this trip,stay away. But it made sense: Solo hadkidnapped her successor. Honor demandedthat she take all steps to recover the princess.“I know you are displeased. Yet when I was achild you often said, ‘Hapes can only be asstrong as those who lead her.’ I often re ect onyour words, and I’ve taken them to heart.” Heended the communication, sat back andconsidered. Isolder almost pitied Han. GeneralSolo could not possibly guess the kind ofresources his mother would bring to bear onhim.

Corporal Reezen had somehow managed to

work in the military for seven years in relativeobscurity, never attracting the praise orattention he felt to be his due. All too often,that is how it went in military intelligence.You scraped and slaved for years to break abig case, hoping that some useful informationmight cross your way.

That is why he planned to send this reportto warlord Zsinj directly, for his eyes only,signing his name to the documents so thatnone of his superiors could take credit. It wasonly fair. Corporal Reezen was the only personto notice it—three strike-and-fades over aperiod of nine days, maneuvers designed todraw o Zsinj’s eet. Obviously the NewRepublic was planning some sort of an attack,hoping to open enough of a hole to send a

eet through. And it had to be a eet—something more important than a mere spyship—for anyone to have spent so muchmoney ensuring that the ships got through thecorridor safely.

Reezen could feel it in his bones—somethingbig was coming. So he had calculated thevectors, gauging possible military targets, hadnarrowed his list to six, ranking them bypossibility. So much territory to cover, and somuch uncertainty. Reezen pondered thepossible targets one last time, and lookedbeyond the obvious possibilities. There, far oon his charts, was Dathomir, and Reezenstudied the planet, felt an odd tingling in hisbones.

Dathomir was already well protected, so farwithin Zsinj’s territory that the New Republiccould not possibly know of the warlord’soperations there. The shipyards? Could theNew Republic be planning to attack theshipyards? No, that didn’t feel right. Theywanted something on the planet. Such arugged, dangerous place. There were a numberof prisoners on the planet that the NewRepublic might want—if the New Republiceven knew of the penal colony—but no onewould be stupid enough to try to land there.

Reezen had met the natives, and the verynotion of landing on Dathomir sent a chillcreeping down his spine. Still, the planetseemed to beckon to Reezen. Here, here. Theyare coming here!

Once, when Reezen was in his early teens,he’d watched a military parade on Coruscantwith his father, and during the parade DarthVader, Dark Lord of the Sith, had stalked by—nearly. Instead, Lord Vader had halted theparade, stopped to look at Reezen, pat him onthe head. Reezen remembered how hisfrightened image had been re ected in theDark Lord’s helmet, remembered the coldterror as that armored hand patted his head,but Vader had only said softly, “As you servethe Empire, trust your sensitivity,” and then hemoved on.

Hesitantly, Reezen suggested reinforcementsfor Dathomir despite his belief that the NewRepublic would not attack, then keyed in thesequence on his computer terminal that wouldsend the encrypted warning to Zsinj.

The warlord was a thorough man. Zsinjwould take care of it.

L

Chapter8

eia awoke to darkness. She had been lyingstill for a long time, staring up into

blackness, un-moving. She had beenconcentrating on being still, concentrating sohard that her head ached and her musclescramped. Han’s last words had been “Lie stilland be quiet,” and with all her might she hadstruggled to comply.

With the sudden realization of that betrayal,she screamed, “Han!” and tried to sit up. Herhead hit something hard, and she had to lieback down. She felt a grate beneath her andthe familiar, subdued rumble of theMillennium Falcon’s hyperdrive engines. It hadbeen ve years since she’d last hidden in theFalcon’s smuggling compartment, and it stillsmelled the same.

Han Solo, I’m going to kill you, she thought.No, on second thought, you’ll be lucky if youonly die. She felt in the dark around her forthe latch, found it, tried to pull it back. Itwouldn’t open. She ngered it, found that itwas broken. She rolled over, found somethingsmall and metal, banged it against the roof.

“Han Solo, you let me out of here thisminute!” she shouted, felt the thing in herhand vibrate and emit a hissing noise. Leiaheld it to her ear. Oh great! An air exchanger!At least he didn’t want me to su ocate. Sheshook it, listened to the rattling of the airexchanger’s busted innards. “All right, Solo.You let me out of here! This is no way to treata princess!” She banged on the ceiling of thecompartment, kept banging, but got noresponse.

As the air got warmer, Leia began to wonderif Han could even hear her. Was backgroundnoise drowning out her calls? She lay next tothe Quadex power core, the main powersource for the ship, and every few moments

the piping above her head would hiss ascoolant surged toward the core. Thecompartments weren’t large, but they circled athird of the interior of the ship—from theentry ramp, over to the cockpit corridor, andaround to the passenger bunkbeds. Leia closedher eyes and considered. Han and Chewienormally bunked over by the technical stationin the lounge. There was a wall separating herfrom the technical station, but Han shouldhave heard her pounding if he were there. Hemight, however, still be in the cockpit, a goodseven or eight meters away. If they were in thecockpit, and the bulkhead door was closed,there would be no way for Han or Chewie tohear her calls.

And now her air was running out. Leiapicked up the busted air exchanger, bangedagainst the ceiling harder and harder, butresisted the impulse to yell for fear that heroxygen would run out all the faster. After onlya few minutes, her arms burned with fatigue,and Leia stopped to rest. She felt like crying.

Han knew she didn’t trust this faulty metallicmélange gleaned from forgotten junkyards andcut-rate dealers. Sure, the Falcon was fast andwell armed, but it was also always fallingapart. Han had three droid brains running allhis jury-rigged, modi ed systems, and Leia feltsure that all his technical problems couldn’tcome by mere accident. Han said that thebrains bickered, but those droid brains had tobe sabotaging each other’s systems. Someday,one of them would do something really bad,and the whole ship would blow. It was just amatter of time. She banged on the ceilingagain.

The hatch above her opened a crack.Chewbacca growled.

“What do you mean the sound couldn’t becoming from here?” Threepio said, his voicemu ed by the hatch. “I’m sure I heardsomething banging right under here. Why youdon’t scrap this old bucket of space debris isfar beyond me!”

The hatch ipped open, and Chewie and

Threepio peered in. Chewie’s eyes widened insurprise, and Threepio lurched back. Chewiehowled, and Threepio said, “Princess LeiaOrgana, why are you hiding in there?”

“I’ve come to kill Han,” Leia said, “and thisis the only way I could sneak aboard the ship.What do you think I’m doing in here, youturbopowered dummy, Han kidnapped me!”

“Oh dear!” Threepio muttered, and he andChewie looked at each other, then hurried tohelp her from the hold.

Leia got up, feeling a bit dizzy, andChewbacca looked o toward the cockpit. Hiseyes were hard, and the fur on the back of hisneck had raised. He growled menacingly, andfor one moment Leia thought that surelyChewie would rip o Han’s arms in typicalWookiee fashion. Chewie stalked toward thecockpit, and Leia ran after him, saying, “Wait,wait …”

Han was sitting in the captain’s chair, hisngers ying over the instrument panels. The

wash of stars in the viewscreens was a brilliant

white—signifying that they were hurtlingthrough hyperspace at the Falcon’s top speedof point six above lightspeed. Chewie growled,and Han didn’t turn to face them.

“So, did you gure out what that bangingnoise was?” Han asked.

“You bet he did!” Leia said.At her back Threepio shouted, “I suggest you

return the princess immediately, before we allwind up in the brig!”

Han turned calmly, swiveling in his chair,and put his hands behind his head. “I’m afraidwe can’t return just yet. We’re locked oncourse for Dathomir, and the helm won’trespond to any other orders.”

Chewbacca rushed forward to the copilot’sseat, hit a sequence of keys, growledquestioningly at Leia. Threepio translated,“Chewbacca wants to know if you would likehim to beat Han for you.”

Leia looked at the Wookiee, knew howmuch that question must have cost him.Chewbacca owed a life debt to Han, and was

bound by his code of honor to protect Solo.But perhaps, under the extreme circumstances,the Wookiee felt Han needed a littlecorrection.

Han raised a hand in warning. “You can beatme if you want, Chewie, and I doubt I couldstop you. But before you knock me senseless, Iwant you to think about something: it takestwo people to bring this ship out ofhyperdrive, and you can’t do it without me.”

Chewie looked at Leia and shrugged.“You think you’re so smart,” Leia said. “You

think you have all the answers. Chewie, keephim in here. He brought a Hapan Gun ofCommand aboard, and I’m going to shoot himwith it.”

Han pulled a gun from his holster, and Leiarealized it wasn’t his normal blaster. It was theHapan gun—but Han had broken o thecircuitry on the barrel. “I’m sorry, Princess, Ithink it’s busted.”

He let it drop to the floor.“All right, what is it you want from me?”

Leia asked, feeling somewhat defeated.“Seven days,” Han said. “I want you to spend

seven days with me on Dathomir. I’m not evenasking for equal time with Isolder, just a mereseven days. After that—I’ll take you straightback to Coruscant.”

Leia folded her arms and tapped her footnervously, looked at the oor, made herselfstop tapping, then looked up at Han. “What’sthe point?”

“The point is, Princess, that ve months agoyou told me you loved me, and it wasn’t the

rst time. You used to love me. You believedit, and you made me believe it. I thought ourlove was something special, something I wouldgladly die for, and I’m not going to let youthrow away our future just because some otherprince comes along!”

Other prince, he’d said. Leia tapped herfoot, had to consciously will herself to stop.“Then you admit it? You are the king ofCorellia?”

“I never said that.”

Leia looked away at Threepio, glared backat Han. “What if I don’t love you anymore?What if I really have changed my mind?”

“The news nets are already reporting thatI’ve abducted you,” Han said. “They beganbroadcasting the story just before we buggedout. If you don’t love me, then I’ll bring youback in seven days, and I’ll serve my time inprison. But if you do love me,” Han paused,“then I want you to kiss Isolder good-bye andmarry me.” He jerked his thumb, pointing athis chest.

Leia found her head shaking in frustration.“You’ve got a lot of nerve.”

Han stared into her eyes. “I’ve got nothing tolose.”

He really was putting everything on the line,as he had done for her time and time again. Afew years ago she had thought he was dashingand bold, perhaps a bit reckless. Now that shethought about it, he had only seemed recklessbecause he so often risked his life for her. Hanwould almost throw it away at her whim.

What she had once deemed an almostinhuman courage was really a sign of hisun agging devotion. And Leia found her heartpounding in fear at the thought that someonecould love her that much.

“All right,” Leia swallowed. “You have adeal—”

“Princess Leia!” Threepio said inconsternation.

Leia added, “—but I hope you like prisonfood.”

As soon as the Bith ship dropped out ofhyperspace near the maelstrom of rubble thatcircled the Roche system, Luke knew there wastrouble. He couldn’t feel Leia anywherenearby. He went to his room, called the NewRepublic’s ambassador to the Verpines oversubspace radio, and got the old man out ofbed.

“What’s so important?” the ambassadorsnapped.

“What has happened to Princess LeiaOrgana?” Luke asked. “I was supposed to meether here.”

The ambassador frowned. “She gotkidnapped a couple of days ago, by GeneralSolo. I watch the holo vids when I can, but I’ma busy man! I don’t have much time for suchnonsense. You could always call Coruscant, ifit’s that important to you.”

Luke frowned. His status as a war herodidn’t give him enough pull to makehyperspace calls on holo vid. Besides, a callwouldn’t get him any closer to Leia. Heneeded to go back to Coruscant, start fromthere. “Do you have any ideas where I mightfind Han and Leia?”

The ambassador yawned, scratched his baldhead. “Who do you think I am, the chief ofespionage? Nobody knows where they are.Eyewitnesses claim to have sighted Solo on atleast a hundred worlds. Invariably it turns outto be only a rumor, or some lookalike getsnabbed. I’m sorry, son, I can’t be any help.”

The ambassador ipped o the communicator,and Luke sat, puzzled. He seldom receivedsuch rude treatment from anyone, much lessdignitaries. He guessed that the operator hadn’ttold the ambassador who was calling.

Luke closed his eyes, stretched with hissenses. Sometimes, in his sleep he woulddream about Leia. Usually, if she was withinthe same star system, Luke could feel herpresence. She was nowhere nearby. Hedecided to get his ghter out of storage andhead for Coruscant.

Han was working in the galley aboard theFalcon, trying to put together his fourthcandlelight dinner in as many days. The smellof spiced aric tongue wafted up, and Han wasbusy spooning some pudding into cora shellswhen the pudding bowl tipped over anddropped on the oor, spattering the walls andHan’s pant leg. Chewbacca had been standingat the viewport, and the Wookiee turned and

laughed.“Go ahead,” Han said. “Laugh it up, fur

brain. But let me tell you something: by theend of this trip, Leia is going to realize sheloves me. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s onlybeen four days, and she’s already warming upto me nicely.”

Chewbacca growled disparagingly.“You’re right,” Han said with a tone of

dejection, “Hoth will warm up before she will.And I suppose mating rituals are much simplerwhere you come from. When you love awoman, you probably just bite her on the neckand drag her to your tree. But we handlethings di erently where I come from. Wemake our women nice dinners, wecompliment them, treat them like ladies.”

Chewie laughed derisively.“So we shoot them and drag them into our

spaceships,” Han admitted. “All right, somaybe I’m not that much more civilized thanyou, but I’m trying. I’m really trying.”

“Han, oh Han,” Leia called from the lounge.“By any chance, do you have that rst courseready? I am getting so hungry, and you knowhow irritable I get when I’m hungry.”

“Coming, Princess,” Han called sweetly as heopened the oven. He tried to pull out the panof spiced aric tongue with the bottom of hisapron, burned his ngers. He yelped and stuckhis hot ngers in his mouth, got a hot pad anddumped the tongue on a plate. Somehow, thetongue looked bluer than it should, and hewasn’t sure if he had overcooked it, if thetongue was just bad, or if maybe he’d put intoo much ju powder.

“Are you about done in there?” Leia called.“Coming!” Han shouted, and he brought the

tongue to her. He’d set a nice red tableclothover the hologram board, and the candelabrawas all aglow. Leia looked spectacular in adazzling white dress jumpsuit and pearls, the

ames dancing in her dark eyes. He set theplate down, and said, “Dinner is served.”

Leia looked at him questioningly, raising an

eyebrow.“What?” Han said. “What is it this time?”“Aren’t you going to slice it for me?” she

asked. Han looked at the vibro-blade on thetable. He’d seen Leia hack her way through ajungle with a dull machete. He’d seen her sliceropes o her hands with a piece of brokenglass. He’d even seen her dispatch some kindof swamp monster with a pointed stick thatwasn’t anywhere near as sharp as that vibro-blade. “Of course I’ll slice it for you,” Han said.“It would be my pleasure.”

He took the blade, began slicing the tongueinto portions. When he was halfway done hedecided he’d better check his progress. “Arethese slices all right for you? Would you likethem thicker, thinner, sliced lengthwise insteadof sideways?”

“The portions look ne,” Leia said, and Hannished slicing the tongue, sat down to the

table and picked up a napkin.Leia cleared her throat, looked up at him.“What now, my pet?” Han asked.

“Are you going to sit at this table with yourdirty apron on?” Leia asked. “I mean, that is alittle disgusting.”

Han remembered a moment when they hadshared stale rations in a battle eld on Mindar,dead stormtroopers all around. “You’re right,”Han said. “I’ll take it o .” He got up, removedthe apron, took it and hung it on a peg in thegalley. He came back and sat down. Leiacleared her throat.

“What now?” Han asked.“You forgot the wine,” Leia said, looking at

her glass. Han glanced at her plate, noticedthat she’d already begun eating without him.

“Would you prefer white, red, green, orpurple?”

“Red,” Leia answered.“Dry or wet?”“Dry!”“Temperature?”“Thirty-nine degrees.”“You aren’t going to let me eat with you

again tonight, are you?”

“No,” Leia said firmly.“I don’t get it,” Han said. “It’s been four days

now, and outside of ordering me around, youhaven’t said one word to me. I know you aremad at me. You’ve got a right to be. MaybeI’ve ruined it for you, and you’re never goingto be able to like me. Or maybe you’re gettingso used to having servants around, that you justwant to turn me into your slave. But I wouldhope, if nothing else comes out of this, that atthe very least you would still like me as afriend.”

“Maybe you’re asking too much of me,” Leiasaid.

“I’m asking too much of you?” Han said.“I’m the one who has been cooking andcleaning and taking care of your clothes andmaking your bed and ying this ship. Just tellme this. Just answer me this, and answerhonestly: isn’t there anything you like aboutme anymore? Isn’t there just one thing?Something? Anything?”

Leia didn’t answer.

“Maybe I should just turn the ship around,”Han said.

“Maybe you should,” Leia agreed.“But I don’t get it,” Han said. “You agreed to

come on this trip,” he shrugged, “albeit underduress, I’ll grant you that. But you’re madderthan you should be. If you want to take it outon me, then go ahead. I’m right here. HanSolo, in the esh.” He leaned his face forward.“Go ahead, slap me. Or kiss me. Or talk tome.”

“You’re right,” Leia said. “You don’t get it.”“Get what?” Han said. “Get what? Give me a

clue!”“All right!” Leia said. “I’ll spell it out for

you: you, Han Solo the man, I can forgive. Butwhen you brought me on this ship, youbetrayed the New Republic that we serve.You’re not just Han Solo the man anymore.You were Han Solo the hero of the RebelAlliance, Han Solo the General of the NewRepublic. And that Han Solo I can’t forgive, Irefuse to forgive. Sometimes what you

represent is so important that you can’t letyour standards down. You become respected asan icon, as much for what you are as who youare.”

“That’s not my fault,” Han said. “I refuse tobe bound by anyone’s preconceived images ofme.”

“Fine,” Leia said. “Maybe you don’t thinkthe universe should work that way. Maybe youwant to be free to run o to be a pirate againor play around like a little boy, but that’s nothow the universe works! You’re going to haveto face up to that.”

“Fine,” Han said throwing his napkin on thetable, “so I’ll face up to it. After dinner. Youtell me what you want me to do, how youwant me to act. I’ll change—forever. I promise.Okay?”

Leia stared up at him, and something in herfeatures softened. “Okay.”

Four days later the Millennium Falcon

dropped out of hyperspace above Dathomirand the proximity indicators screamed inwarning. Leia came running, leaned over Han’spilot seat to look out: Star Destroyers litteredthe sky while shuttles and barges plodded upfrom a small red moon in a solid line toward ahuge mass of metal piping and struts—tenkilometers of gleaming sca olding that oatedin space at an L5 point. It looked like somegiant insect, but docked around it werethousands of craft—one Super Star Destroyer,dozens of old Victory-class models and escortfrigates, thousands of boxlike barges. For onemoment, Han stared at them in awe and thenbreathed angrily, “Trespassers!”

Leia drew a deep breath. “Well, Han, you’vecertainly struck the jackpot this time. Why, thisplanet must have more enemy ghters than aHutt has ticks.”

Han glanced over at Chewie. The Wookieewas trying to pull up the nav charts for theOttega star system. On the head-up holo

display, two red ghters began vectoring upfrom a Star Destroyer. “Can the sarcasm,Princess, and get yourself up to the gun well,we’ve got company.”

Han nodded out the viewscreen to the TIEintercep tors screaming toward them. Leiaknew enough not to ask if Han could outrunthem. He couldn’t. “Seriously, Leia, you betterget up there,” Han said. “Once they get closeenough to see that we’re not an Incom Y-four,they won’t wait to shoot.” Leia ran up thecorridor to the stairwell.

Over the Falcon’s radio, a controller beganquerying, “Incom Y-four Raptor, pleaseidentify yourself and your destination. IncomRaptor, please identify.”

“Captain Brovar,” Han answered, “carryingan inspection team for the planetary defensesystems?” Han wiped the sweat from hisforehead. This was the part he always hated,waiting to see if they’d swallow his story.

After a delay of four seconds, Han knew theight controller was querying his supervisor.

Always a bad sign. “Uh,” the controller saidafter a moment, “this planet doesn’t have adefense system.”

Chewbacca glared at Han, and Han keyedthe mike. “I know. We’re here to inspect thesites to install the planetary defense system.”The controller remained quiet too long, so Hanadded lamely, “We have an extra one, or partsof an extra one. I mean, you’ve got to storethese defense systems somewhere, right?”

“Incom Y-four Raptor,” a gravelly voicecalled over the same frequency. “Do you havesome kind of strange modi cations to yourship?”

The interceptors were coming into visualrange and Han couldn’t rely on stealthanymore. He reached up to switch on thesignal jammers, and Chewie winced. “It’s allright,” Han promised. “We won’t fry our owncircuitry this time. I tested it before we left.”

Han ipped the switch and prayed.Chewbacca roared in fright and Han glancedover—the nav computer had gone down. As

Han watched, the run lights for the hyperdrivemotivator died, along with the rear targetingcomputer. Han realized belatedly that hehadn’t tested the jammers with the navcomputer working. They wouldn’t be jumpingto hyperspace anytime soon.

Chewie growled in terror, and Han dippedtoward the glittering shipyard, diving toward aKuat escort Frigate. All that metal would haveto play hell with the sensors, and even thoughthe TIE interceptors were technically faster andmore maneuverable than the Falcon, Hanwould match his ying skills against theseacademy jocks any day.

Bolts of blue blaster re ripped across theFalcon’s prow, bounced o the hull, and Leiashouted over her radio, “They’re in range!”Threepio stood behind the pilot’s seatwatching the blaster re, shouting, “Oooh,aah!” and ducking with every near miss.

Han heard the welcome blam, blam, blam ofthe quad cannons as Leia returned re. TheFalcon screamed toward the sca olding and

the Frigate beyond. Huge beams of plasteelashed past, and Han ipped the Falcon

sideways to slip through the sca olding. Hanlocked his forward targeting computer ontothe Frigate’s primary sensor array. Withoutactive shielding on, the huge Frigate was justanother hunk of space debris, and Han’s rstblast enveloped the sensor array in bluelightning. He red his proton torpedoes inrapid succession, and they ashed in a brilliantball that would have fried Han’s eyes if hehadn’t looked away.

Among the brightening mushroom clouds,Han reversed thrusters, red two concussionmissiles into the thin stem of the Frigate, thewalkways that joined the Frigate’s monstrousengines with its forward arsenal. As theslowing Falcon dove for the breach in theFrigate’s hull, chunks of shrapnel burst againstthe forward concussion shielding.

Chewie roared and shielded his face with hishands. The Falcon slammed into the yawninghold of the Frigate, and warning sirens

screamed. The control panels darkened as theconcussion shielding overloaded, brightenedagain as it died. Smoke was rising fromChewie’s panel, and he growled.

“Shhh …” Han hissed, putting his hand overChewie’s mouth. Both of the TIE interceptorsscreamed into the Frigate and exploded. Thecorridor that the Falcon had crashed into lledwith light and fire.

That’s the problem with those transparisteelwindows on the TIE ghters, Han thought. Theworthless things darken when they detect ablast, and then you can’t see anything for thenext two seconds. He’d counted on it.

Han ipped o his radio jamming, beganshutting down the Falcon. Leia came runningdown the corridor. “What in the hell do youthink you’re doing? You almost got us killed!”

“Listen!” Han said, raising a hand for quiet.Between the concussion of the torpedoes andthe ghters, and a few well-placed ion blasts,the Frigate’s orbit was already destabilizing.The ship was peeling away from the docks as

Dathomir’s gravity well sucked it down.“Oh, great!” Leia said. “I’m supposed to be

happy that we’re going to crash into the planetinstead of blow up in space?”

“No,” Han said. “Our concussion shieldingshould have kept us from damaging the Falcontoo badly, and now that our sensor jamming iso , Chewie should be able to get the navcomputer back on line. Meanwhile, Zsinj’snavy thinks we all crashed, and as the Frigatedrops toward the planet, we’ll quietly moveout of their interception range for ten minutesor so—plenty of time for us to plot a course.Then we just casually ease our way out of hereand head for home. Trust me, I’ve done thisbefore!”

Han took a deep breath and prayed. “Goahead, Chewie, turn the nav computer backon. Show her.”

Chewie growled, shot Han a nasty look andipped the switch. The monitor stayed dim.

Chewie frantically began testing otherswitches. The hyperdrive motivator stayed o ,

as did the rear de ector shields. Threepio hadbeen watching behind the pilot’s seat and hebegan gesticulating wildly but refrained fromspeaking. When he saw that the motivatorswouldn’t go on, he shouted, “We’re doomed!”

Han jumped out of his seat. “It’s okay, it’sokay, nobody panic. We just have a little friedcircuitry here. I’ll x it.” He shoved his waypast Threepio and ran down the corridor tothe engineering station and pulled o a faceplate to get to the motivator circuitry. The navcomputer he could sort of live without—forten minutes. Just make a quick jump to getout of the solar system, then take a few days totry to x it nice and leisurely in the cold ofspace. But the motivators, he needed thosenow.

He pulled off his vest, wrapped it around hisst, jerked back the face plate. Fire erupted

from the charred slag in the circuit box, andLeia appeared behind him with a reextinguisher. She began spraying the circuitryand Han stepped back, saw that it was useless.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he muttered and ranback to the cockpit, red all his circuits and letthe diagnostics computer begin a readout. Theforward sensor arrays had been smashedduring the crash. “That’s okay, I don’t needsensors as long as I can see where I’m going,”he groaned.

Concussion shielding gone. Top radio dishesclipped o . Most of the rest of it looked prettygood. As long as the diagnostics were correct,they could y out of here—as long as theycould break free of the wreck and no one shotat them and no one caught them and theydidn’t try to make it offplanet.

Han’s head began to whirl, and he realizedthat the Frigate must be spinning as it sanktoward Dathomir. “Hang on, folks, it’s going tobe a rough ride down!” he muttered. Heglanced back at Leia, saw that she wasn’t mad,wasn’t berating him. Instead, her pale face wasset in fear, and her eyes seemed dilated. Thehair on her scalp had raised. Han had neverseen her so scared.

“What? What?” he asked, glancing franticallyat the diagnostics display.

“I feel something down there,” Leia said, “onthe planet. Something …”

“What?” Han asked.Leia closed her eyes. She didn’t have Luke’s

sensitivity yet. But Han knew she had thepotential. “I see … drops of blood on a whitetablecloth. No—more like sunspots, blackagainst the brilliance. Only the black spots are

lthier than that—loathsome …” Leia frownedin concentration, inhaled, sucking deepbreaths, her lower lip trembling.

Leia’s eyes blinked open, and her face waspale again, stark with terror. “Oh, Han, wecan’t go down there!”

A

Chapter9

t Han’s apartment on Coruscant, Luke feltthe walls. It was an odd apartment, one

without decorations, without warmth, the kindof place that a person sometimes inhabits butdoes not live in. The building had beenransacked. Han’s military uniforms layscattered on the oor with a ripped mattress,torn pillows. The oors were littered. Dozensof people had already searched the place, butnot the way Luke planned to search it.

Luke touched the pillow, closed his eyes. Hecould feel Han’s desperation on the pillow,and something older and odd—a trace ofmanic glee, of hope.

Luke stood. Such strong emotions carry aunique scent, and he ran his ngers along thewall, tasting it, followed the scent down

Coruscant’s long avenues. Sometimes the scentwould elude him at a corner, and Luke wouldstop for a moment, concentrating.

After hours of following the taste of thatmanic hope, he found himself in the upperlayers of the underworld, in an ancientgambling hall. He stood, looking at a sabacctable where a trio of rodents played while amechanical dealer dropped cards into theirhands.

He went to the manager, a batlike Ri’darwho watched over his domain with half-openeyes while gripping an overhead cable withhis toes. Luke asked, “Do your dealer droidskeep a visual record of games, to make surethere is no cheating?”

“Why?” the Ri’dar asked. “I run an honessstplaccce. Are you trying to imply that mydealersss cheat?”

Luke was tempted to roll his eyes at theRi’dar. Their paranoia was a species trait andcould lead to problems if Luke didn’t placatethe creature quickly. “Of course not,” Luke

said, “the thought never crossed my mind. ButI have reason to believe that a friend was hererecently, and that he played cards at the cornertable. If the lms are available, I’d like to seethe video. I could pay you.”

The Ri’dar’s dark eyes ashed, and helooked around furtively. He reached up withone winged hand, grasped the cable, anddropped to the floor. “Thisss way.”

Luke followed him to a back room, and theRi’dar glanced at him suspiciously. “Moneyfirssst.”

Luke handed him a credit chip worth ahundred. The Ri’dar shoved the chip into somehidden pocket in its vest, showed Luke how toscan through the video display unit that couldnot have been less than a hundred years old. Itwas rusting and crusted with dirt, but therewind on it went incredibly fast. Luke hit paydirt within moments, stopped the video, andwatched Han win his planet. There was nosound to the video, only the holograph of theplanet on the table, gleaming. So that was the

source of his joy.“Who is the Drackmarian here?” Luke asked.The Ri’dar looked at the Drackmarian, his

eyes ickering furtively between the imageand Luke. “Hard to sssay. They all look aliketo me.”

Luke pulled out another credit chip.“Yesss, I remember now,” the Ri’dar said.

“Warlord Omogg.”Luke knew the name. “Of course. Only she

would lose a planet in a card game. Where canI find her?”

“Gambling,” the Ri’dar said. “When she isssnot here, she playsss elsssewhere.Drackmarianss do not sssleep.”

Luke got the names of Omogg’s haunts,closed his eyes and let his fore nger driftdown the list. It stopped at the third name onthe list—a nearby place down four more levelsin the underworld.

He drew his robes tight around him, felt thelightsaber hanging at his side. Something in theair warned him to keep it handy, so he

unclipped it, put it in a pocket.The trip down took only a few minutes, but

it seemed as if he’d entered a di erent world.The air down lower was stale, the lightsdimmer than above. Hundreds of levels down,there were places in the underworld whereeven the bravest humans wouldn’t venture.Already living down here were aliens fromraces that Luke had never seen—a largeturquoise, bioluminescent amphibian walkedby, apping on webbed feet, eating some typeof fungus in its broad mouth. Something huge,with tentacles, slithered over the wet stones.Luke didn’t know if it was sentient or someform of vermin. Luke found the place he wassearching for by a dim light over its door: “TheStowaway.”

He walked in, squinted into the gloom. Theonly light in the place came from theheadlamps of a cleaning droid and frombioluminescent amphibians like the one Lukehad seen outside. Down here, the creatures didnot use artificial lights.

And in the depths of the shadows, Lukeheard choking sobs that could only have beendeath cries.

Luke whipped out his lightsaber, and itsbrilliant blue glow cut through the shadows.Dozens of aliens screamed and covered theireyes in pain, and many shouted in dismay asthey leaped for the door. A dozen rat peoplescurried deeper into the shadows to watch thefray with glittering eyes.

At the far back of the gambling room, at atable, three humans stood over theDrackmarian. Two of them held her with herback pinned to the table, while the thirdworked desperately to pull o her helmet,open her to the oxygen atmosphere that wouldsurely poison her. The Drackmarian foughtthem, digging into their arms with her talonstill she drew blood, kicking at them withclawed feet, batting at them with her tail. Twoother humans were already on the oor, butthe Drackmarian was near the end of herstruggle. The men had her pinned now. All

three of the men wore infrared goggles, a signthat they were not accustomed to life here inthe underworld.

“Let her go,” Luke ordered them.“You stay out of this,” one of the men said in

Basic, using an odd accent Luke had neverheard. “This one has information.”

Luke stepped forward, and the inquisitorwho had been ripping o Omogg’s helmetpulled up a gun, red at him. Blue sparks shotfrom the gun and enveloped Luke, and for aportion of a second Luke’s mind went blank—it felt almost as if his head were immersed infreezing ice water. He blinked and let theForce ow through him. The three men hadturned back to their task, apparently satis edthat the confrontation was over.

“Let her go,” Luke repeated, louder.The inquisitor glanced up at Luke in

surprise, pulled the gun again. Luke waved,used the Force to rip the weapon from hishand.

“Get out of here, all three of you—” Luke

warned.The men stopped, stepped back from the

Drackmarian. She lay gasping on the table,ghting the e ects of the oxygen that leaked

past her helmet seal. One man said, “Thiscreature has information that could lead us toa woman who has been kidnapped. We willget that information.”

“T hi s woman is a citizen of the NewRepublic,” Luke said, “and if you do not takeyour hands o her, I will take your hands oyou.” Luke swung the lightsaber threateningly.

The men looked nervously at each other,backed away. One pulled up a communicator,began speaking into it quickly in a foreignlanguage, obviously calling for reinforcements.The rat people in the corner scurried away,unwilling to brave the situation any longer,and the room seemed strangely quiet, withonly the dull hum of food processors in thebackground.

Within ten seconds, a female voice spokebehind Luke. “What is going on here?”

All three of Omogg’s attackers folded theirarms, bowed their heads. “O Queen Mother,we found the Drackmarian warlord as yourequested, but she has been loath to answer us.We could get no information from her.” Luketurned to look at their leader. She was a tallwoman with a gold circlet and a golden veil tohide her face. Every inch of her spoke ofregality and wealth. She wore a long owingdress that could not disguise her shapely

gure. Behind her were at least a dozen armedguards, blasters at the ready.

“You tortured her, a foreign dignitary?” thequeen mother asked, eyes ashing behind herveil. Luke could feel her wrath, but he wasn’tsure if she was truly angry at her men, or angrythat they had failed.

“Yes,” one of the men muttered. “Wethought it best.”

The queen mother grunted in disgust. “Getout, all three of you. Place yourselves underarrest.” For a moment Luke wondered if thiswere all an act, and he further tested the Force

of the newcomer. She was not surprised orappalled by her men’s actions, but that toldhim little. Leaders tend to become jaded,hardened.

“I owe you a debt of gratitude for steppingin here,” she told Luke. She gestured, and twoof her guards hurried to the fallenDrackmarian, made sure her gas mask tsnugly over her snout. Omogg was still gaspingbut seemed to be coming around. She movedher arms, and her tail twitched feebly. Theguards lifted her to a sitting position, adjustedthe valves on her backpack, increasing theamount of methane she received. She inhaleddeeply.

“I’m terribly sorry,” the queen mother saidto the Drackmarian. “I’m Ta’a Chume, ofHapes, and I asked my men to nd you, but Idid not order them to question you like this.They are already under arrest. Name whateverpunishment you think just.”

“Mmmake themmm breathe mmmethanne,”Omogg hissed.

The queen mother bowed her head slightlyin sign of acceptance. “It will be done.” Shepaused a moment. “You already know why Ihave come. I need to know where Han Solo is.It is said that you are organizing your ownprivate party to follow him. I will paywhatever price you ask, within reason. Do youknow where he is?”

Omogg studied Ta’a Chume for a moment.The Drackmarians were noted for theirgenerosity, but they were an independentpeople and could not be coerced. They hadbeen fearless opponents of the Empire andcould only loosely be considered allied to theNew Republic. They resisted coercion to thedeath. Omogg glanced at Luke. “Isss thissswhat you wannnt, too?”

“Yes,” Luke answered.The Drackmarian studied Luke a moment.

“You have saved mmmy lllife, Jedi. Yourrrrrreputationnn prrrecedes you. Nnnammmeyourrr rrrewarrrd.”

The Drackmarian hesitated, and Luke

understood. She would tell him where Hanhad gone, but she did not want to speak in thepresence of Ta’a Chume. Yet Luke could feelsomething from the queen mother.Con dence? If Omogg truly had planned tosend a party after Han—and the New Republicwas o ering enough of a bounty to make thatreasonable—then Ta’a Chume had probablyalready done her homework. She knew whichship Omogg would take, perhaps had evenquestioned crew members and bugged the shipso that they could follow it.

“As my reward, I ask that you leave GeneralSolo to me, and that you not reveal the nameof the planet to anyone, but that you look intomy eyes and think of the name.”

Omogg glanced up, and the dark orbs of hereyes shone from behind the wisps of greenmethane in her helmet. Luke let the Forceconnect him to her, and distinctly heard thename of the planet in his mind. Dathomir.

The name struck Luke, and for a second herecalled the holo of Yoda in a younger shade

of green saying, We tried to free theChu’unthor from Dathomir …

“What do you know of the place?” Lukeasked.

Omogg said. “Forrr a mmmethannnebreatherrr, it hass little valllue …”

“Thank you, Omogg,” Luke said. “TheDrackmarian reputation for graciousness iswell deserved. Do you need a doctor?Anything?”

Omogg waved Luke’s thanks away, begancoughing again.

Ta’a Chume studied Luke openly as if Lukewere some slave she might buy in a market,and nally he felt her nervousness. She wantedsomething from him. “Thank you for comingwhen you did,” she said. “I suppose you are abounty hunter of some type, looking for areward?”

“No,” Luke said defensively. “You might sayI’m a friend to Leia—and Han.”

The queen mother nodded, seemed loath toleave him. “Our eet will leave tonight”—she

glanced at the room, empty of all but herguards, Luke, and Omogg—“for Dathomir.”She must have seen Luke’s startlement whenshe spoke the name, for her voice took on anote of con dence. “Omogg made the mistakeof running a course check on her navcomputer. Once we learned that she plannedto make the trip, we had no trouble ndingwhere she might go. Yet I see no reason thatHan would choose to go to such a world.”

“Perhaps it holds … sentimental value,”Luke said.

“Of course,” Ta’a Chume agreed. “Aprobable choice for a crazed lover who hasjust kidnapped a mate. So you agree that it isworth checking out?”

“I’m not sure,” Luke said.“I’ll check it out,” Ta’a Chume said

thoughtfully. “I have not seen a Jedi since Iwas a small child. Even then, the one that Imet was an old man, balding. Nothing like you—but interesting. I would like you to join meon my ship for an hour or two, for dinner. You

will come tonight.”Her tone did not invite refusal, though Luke

sensed that it would be permissible to declineher o er. But something else struck him—thecasualness with which this woman served outlife or death, the way she accepted theexecution of her own men. This woman wasdangerous, and Luke wanted to probe hermind further.

“I would be … honored to join you,” Lukesaid.

A

Chapter10

s the Millennium Falcon plunged towardDathomir, Chewbacca roared in fear and

clung to his chair. The spinning of the shipnauseated Leia, but the Wookiee, having beenraised in the trees, perhaps felt more distressfrom the free fall.

“It’s getting hot in here,” Leia said, statingthe obvious. They had hit the atmosphere, andwithout much in the way of atmosphericshielding the big Frigate would burn. “Han, Idon’t know how I let you talk me into this! Idon’t care if you do go to prison, get me home,right now!”

Han leaned forward over his control panel.“Sorry about this, Princess, but it looks to melike Dathomir is going to be your new home—at least until I can get this thing xed.” Han

pressed a button, turned on the Falcon’sacceleration compensator, and the sense offalling abruptly stopped. He began pushingmore buttons, pulling levers. The enginesroared to life, and Han said, “Let’s get out ofhere.”

The Falcon lifted and made loud crunchingsounds as something metal scraped the roof.Han began backing out of the wrecked Frigateto the accompaniment of screaming metal.“Nothing to worry about,” he said. “It’s just ourantenna getting pulled o .” He muttered underhis breath. “We have to pull out slowly, staynear the Frigate so they can’t pick up ourexhaust trail. I gure that when the Frigatehits, the heat from the explosion will hide uspretty well for a moment. Still, we’ll have toland nearby.”

The Falcon eased free of the wreck, and Leiasaw that they were still several thousandkilometers above ground. The Falcon tumbledas it dropped, and for a moment they wouldsee the stars and moons that looked very

distant now, then they’d glimpse the planet.It was night down there. At least we’re

falling toward land rather than water, Leiathought. They were over what looked like atemperate zone, a huge area of rolling hillsand mountains on the edge of a dune sea. Itdidn’t look hospitable, but it might be livable.The mountains were dark with trees. Leia had

own over hundreds of planets, and ones likethis always gave her the creeps. It was so darkdown there, so lonely looking, without thecheerful lights of cities.

The recognition of how desolate this placewas sent a chill through her. “Han, stabilize usbefore we get any lower,” Leia said, “and get areadout from the sensors. Look for any sign oflife.”

Han ipped some buttons. “We don’t haveany sensors.”

“We’ve got to have sensors!” Leia shouted.“Where are you going to get the parts to xthis thing?”

“Over there!” Threepio shouted. “I see a city

over there!”“Where?” Leia asked, following the vector of

Threepio’s pointing nger. There wassomething on the horizon, a slight glowing,maybe a hundred and fifty kilometers off.

“Take us that direction!” Leia shouted.“I can’t just y in there!” Han said. “We’ve

got to land within half a kilometer of the crashsite, or else the infrared scanners on those StarDestroyers will pick us up.”

“Then take us half a kilometer in thatdirection,” Leia shouted.

Han grumbled something under his breathabout bossy princesses. The ground rushedtoward them, and in only seconds they werefalling between the peaks of incredibly tallmountains. The night sky was clear, and by theample light of the moons Leia could make outforests of high, twisted trees.

They were almost at ground level when Hanpulled them out of the dive. The sky lledwith brilliant white light as the Frigatecrashed, and the Falcon whisked over the

treetops for a portion of a second, skimmedover a mountain lake and dipped in under theforest canopy. They skidded through somethick underbrush, came to a jarring halt. A

reball rose behind them, shooting its lightacross the lake.

Han looked up through the viewscreen atthe tall trees. “Well, this is the place.” He shutdown the Falcon.

“Oh, Han,” Leia said. “Even if we can getparts to x the Falcon, you’ve seen all thatfried circuitry. How are we going to carry itback here?”

“That’s what droids and Wookiees are for,”Han said.

Chewbacca grumbled, shot Han a feral look.“I quite agree,” Threepio told Chewbacca.

“No one would blame a Wookiee for eating alazy pilot.”

“Do you think we made it?” Leia asked.“Are you sure they didn’t pick us up on theirscanners?”

“I’m not sure of anything,” Han said. “But if

Zsinj’s men follow Imperial procedure, they’llcome down here to check out that slag heap ofa Frigate as soon as it cools. At the very leastwe’ll need to get out and cover our skid marks,hide the Falcon.”

“Pardon me, sir,” Threepio interjected, “butmight I point out that Zsinj’s men aren’tImperials, at least not in the strictest sense, notsince the Empire has been overthrown.”

“Yeah,” Han grimaced, without stating theobvious fact that most of Zsinj’s men had beentrained by the Empire, “but look at it this way:what space jockey could possibly pass up thechance to come down and look at a really neatwreck? Believe me, we’ve got plenty ofcompany coming, and unless you want tothrow a picnic for them, we’d better get towork.”

The four of them went down into the holdand got out the camou age nets. The netsworked in two stages: A ba e net of thinmetallic mesh went over the Falcon to hide itselectronics from detection by sensors, and then

a second camou age net went over that tohide the ship from visual inspection.

Then they stepped outside. The air here waswarmer than Leia had expected, the stars

ercely bright. The night felt liquid, as if itcould melt the knots in the corded muscles ofher back and neck. The woods were quiet.They could hear the re from the wreckburning on the other side of the ridge, butthere were no bird calls, no strangled cries ofhunted animals. The smell of leaf mold andlive sap came rich to her nostrils. All in all,Dathomir did not seem like a bad place.

The four quickly threw down the mesh, thentook out the camou age net. It was a thirty-

ve-meter-long piece of photosensitive nettingattached to an activating strip. They pulled othe activating strip, then placed the nettingover the leafy soil for a minute so that itwould take a picture of the ground. Then they

ipped the netting right-side up and coveredt h e Falcon. Generally, the chameleonlikequality of the netting would hide the ship from

even the closest y over. There were evencases where searchers had climbed over shipsset in shallow depressions, never realizing thatthey were standing on top of their target.

When they nished, they raked leaves overthe skid marks in the brush, cut out a few ofthe badly mangled bushes and hid them. Bydawn Leia felt weary, stood in the brush by thesmall lake, looking up at the ery stars. Steamrose from the lake, a small fog threading itsway up through the woods, and a light windbegan to rattle the tree leaves up on thehilltops.

She was tired, and Han came up behind her,kneaded her back.

“So, how do you like my planet so far?” Hanasked.

“I think … I like it better than I like you,”Leia said playfully.

“Then you must love it an awful lot,” Hanwhispered in her ear.

“That’s not what I meant,” Leia said, pullingaway. “I’m not sure whether to be furious with

you for bringing me here in the rst place, orif I should thank you for getting us downalive.”

“So you’re confused. I seem to a ect a lot ofwomen that way,” Han said.

“Did you really use that tactic once before?”Leia asked, “—of crashing into a larger shipand letting the wreck drop you into ablockaded planet?”

“Well,” Han admitted, “it didn’t quite workas good back then as it did this time.”

“You call this good?”“It’s better than the alternative.” Han nodded

up at the sky. “We’d better get under cover.They’re coming.”

Leia looked up. Four stars seemed to befalling in unison out on the horizon. Theytwisted in the sky and vectored toward them.The little group hid in the Falcon for the restof the following day, unable to see how largethe search party was, whether a band ofstormtroopers might be surrounding the Falconas the fugitives fed on cold rations. Han kept

the automatic blaster cannon lowered, just incase. Dozens of times during the early morningthey heard ghters ying over, skimming thetreetops. And at mid-morning, a steady barrageof missiles dropped for an hour, decimatingthe downed Frigate. The Falcon rocked fromthe explosions, and the whole group sat therestunned, amazed that Zsinj’s men would go toso much trouble to demolish a wrecked ship,wondering if some of the missiles mighteventually be dropped on them.

Once the bombardment stopped, the shipbecame quiet. But after half an hour, anothergroup of ghters circled. Threepio ventured,“They’re searching for us!”

Han sat, staring up at the ceiling, listeningfor the return of the ghters. Some of thosecraft had sensors that could hear a whisper at athousand yards. Leia closed her eyes, strainingher senses. She could no longer feel thepresence of the dark beings she had feltearlier, could feel nothing at all, and shewondered if it had been a hallucination.

Early in the afternoon the ghtersapparently gave up the hunt, and Leiawondered at that. If Zsinj’s men believed theyhad made it to the planet, surely they wouldn’tgive up so easily. Certainly they would neverhave given up if they’d known that a NewRepublic general and an ambassador wereaboard the ship. So obviously they didn’t knowthe Falcon had landed safely and they didn’tknow who its passengers had been. But then amore troubling thought occurred to her:perhaps Zsinj’s men weren’t hunting becausethey didn’t believe the group could survive onthis wild planet. There had to be some reasonthat a planet this bene cent wasn’t moresettled.

As the sun began to set, Han got up andstretched, put on a ak jacket and helmet, gotout a blaster ri e. “I’m going to go on out andhave a look around, make sure that Zsinj’smen have left.”

Leia, Threepio, and Chewie waited in theship. Chewbacca began to get nervous after

half an hour. The Wookiee whined plaintively.Threepio said, “Chewbacca suggests that we

go look for Han.”“Wait,” Leia said. “A big Wookiee and a

golden droid are too easily spotted. I’ll go lookfor him.”

She pulled on some combat fatigues, threwon a ak jacket and helmet, then went outside,blaster turned to full power. She set o downa trail toward the lake, watching forstormtroopers. At the very least, she expectedsome kind of patrol on speeder bikes. But shefound Han only a hundred meters from theship, standing by the muddy bank of the lake,watching the sun set in a wash of vibrant redsand yellows with muted purples.

He picked up a rock, tossed it out over thelake and watched it skip ve times. Somecreature called in the distance, making awhooping sound. It was all very restful.

“What are you doing out there in the open?”Leia asked, mad as hell at nding him in suchreverie.

“Oh, just looking around.” He glanced downat the mud puddle by his feet, kicked overanother flat stone.

“Get back here under cover!”Han put his hands in his pockets and simply

watched the sunset. “Well, I guess this is theend of our rst day on Dathomir,” he said. “It’sbeen kind of uneventful. Do you love me yet?Are you ready to marry me?”

“Oh, please, get o it, Han! And get backhere under cover!”

“It’s all right,” Han said. “I have reason tobelieve that Zsinj’s troops have left already.”

“What could possibly give you that idea?”Han pointed down at the muddy shore of

the lake with his toe. “They wouldn’t hangaround after dark with these near.”

Leia sti ed a cry—what she had taken to bea mud puddle was in fact a footprint nearly ameter long, something incredibly big, with vetoes.

At the dinner table, Isolder sat with hismother and Luke, feeling glum, disappointed.His mother had arrived only this morning onStar Home, and in the course of a few hoursshe had achieved something that Isolder hadn’tbeen able to do in a week: learn where Hanhad taken Leia. She had rightly reasoned thatthe various rewards for Solo—o ered both bythe New Republic, which wanted him alive,and by various warlords, who wanted himdead—made the offers far too tempting. Ratherthan settle for a part of the pot by releasinginformation, everyone with a clue as to Solo’swhereabouts would hunt him downthemselves. So her spies had concentrated ontracking outbound ships, following variousdisreputable pilots. Omogg had accidentallytipped her hand by purchasing a new heavyweapons system for her personal yacht—thekind of system someone would use only for avery dangerous mission.

Now, Isolder was waiting for his mother to

revel in her victory, make some seeminglyinconsequential but pointed remark designedto show the superiority of the female intellectover that of a male. The women of Hapes hadan old saying: Never let a man become sodeluded as to believe that he is the intellectualequal of a woman. It only leads him to evil.

And Ta’a Chume would never do anythingthat might lead her son to evil. Still, sheremained remarkably cordial over dinner. Shetalked with Luke Skywalker, laugheddisarmingly in all the right places. She kepther veil down, yet managed to be seductive.Isolder wondered if the Jedi would sleep withher. It was obvious that she wanted him, andlike all the Mothers before her, she kept herage well. She was very beautiful.

But Skywalker seemed not to notice eitherher beauty or her veiled attempts at seduction.Instead, his pale blue eyes seemed to scrutinizethe ship, as if he wished he could take agander at its technical readouts. The first queenmother had begun constructing Star Home

nearly four thousand years earlier, basing theoor plan for the ship on her castle estate.

Plasteel interior walls were all covered with afacade of dark stone, and the minarets andcrenellated towers were all capped withcrystal domes. The castle on Star Homeperched on a great hunk of wind-sculptedbasalt that the ancients had hollowed out sothat they could hide the dozens of giantengines and hundreds of weapons in itsarsenal.

Though Star Home was no match for one ofthe new Imperial Star Destroyers, it wasunique, more impressive in its way, andcertainly more beautiful. It tended to aweforeigners, especially at times like this, whenthey were dining peacefully near some planet,and the brilliant light of dancing stars refractedin the ancient crystal domes.

“It must be fascinating to do your kind ofwork,” Ta’a Chume said to Luke as they

nished the last course. “I’ve always been veryprovincial, staying close to home, but you—

traveling across the galaxy, searching forrecords of the Jedi.”

“I really haven’t been doing it long,” Lukesaid, “just the past few months. I’m afraid Ihaven’t found anything of value. I’m beginningto suspect that I never will.”

“Oh, I’m sure there are records on dozens ofworlds. Why, I remember when I was younger,my mother once granted refuge to some Jedi, agroup of fifty or so. They hid out in the ancientruins of one of our worlds for a year, running asmall academy.” Her voice became rough.“Then Lord Vader and his Dark Knights cameto the Hapes cluster and hunted the Jedidown. After Vader killed the Jedi, he merelysealed them in the ruins at Reboam, I hear.Perhaps they kept some records of theirdoings, I don’t know.”

“Reboam?” Luke asked, suddenly intense.“Where is that?”

“It’s a small world, harsh climate, relativelyuninhabited—not unlike your own Tatooine.”

Isolder could see a sudden, unreasoning

hunger in Luke’s eyes, as if he wanted todiscuss this more. Ta’a Chume o ered, “Whenthis is all over and you’ve rescued Leia, cometo Hapes. One of my counselors, who is gettingquite old now, could show you the caves. Youwould be welcome to keep anything you ndin them.”

“Thank you, Ta’a Chume,” Luke said, and hestood, obviously too excited to eat. “I think I’dbetter prepare to go now. But before I do, mayI ask you one more small favor?”

Ta’a Chume nodded, inviting him to ask.“May I see your face?”“You atter me,” Ta’a Chume said, laughing

lightly. Behind her golden veils, her beautywas hidden, and in all of Hapes no man wouldever have been so bold as to ask. But this Lukewas simply a barbarian who did not know hewas asking for something that was forbidden.To Isolder’s surprise, his mother pulled up herveil.

For one eternal moment, the Jedi gazed intoher startlingly dark green eyes, the cascades of

red hair, and held his breath. In all of Hapes,few women could vie with the Ta’a Chume forbeauty. Isolder wondered if perhaps Skywalkerhad noticed his mother’s discreet advancesafter all. Then Ta’a Chume dropped her veil.

Luke bowed low, and in that moment hisface seemed to go hard, as if he had peeredinto Ta’a Chume and did not like what he’dseen. “Now I see why your people venerateyou,” he offered casually, and he left.

The hair prickled on the back of Isolder’sneck, and he recognized that somethingimportant had just happened, something hehad missed. When Isolder saw that Luke waswell out of hearing range, he asked, “Why didyou tell the Jedi that lie about an academy?Your mother hated the Jedi as much as theEmperor ever did, and she would haverelished hunting them down.”

“The Jedi’s weapon is his mind,” Ta’aChume warned. “When a Jedi is distracted,when he loses his focus, he becomesvulnerable.”

“So you plan to kill him?”Ta’a Chume rested her folded hands on the

table. “He represents the last of the Jedi. Listento him talk of his precious records. We don’treally want to see the Jedi rise from theirgraves, do we? The rst band was troublesomeenough. I won’t have our descendants bowingto his, ruled by an oligarchy of spoon bendersand readers of auras. I have nothing against theboy personally. But we must make certain thatthose of us who are best trained to rule,continue to rule.” She shot Isolder a glare, as ifdaring him to challenge her reasoning.

Isolder nodded. “Thank you, Mother. I thinkI had best get ready for my journey.” He rosefrom his chair, hugged his mother and kissedher through the veil.

He knew that he should have left Star Homeimmediately, headed for his own ship. Insteadhe hurried down to the guest docking bay,found Skywalker at his X-wing ghter,preparing to disembark. “Prince Isolder,” Lukesaid. “I was just getting ready to leave, but I

can’t nd my astromech droid. Have you seenit?”

“No,” Isolder said, glancing about nervously.A technician came in from a side corridor withthe droid.

“Your droid started throwing sparks,” thetechnician said. “We found a shorting circuit tohis motivator.”

“Are you all right, Artoo?” Luke asked.Artoo whistled the affirmative.“Mr. Skywalker,” Isolder said, “I … wanted

to ask you something. Dathomir is what, sixty,seventy parsecs?”

“About sixty-four parsecs,” Luke answered.“The Millennium Falcon will have to travel

a twisted course through hyperspace to makethat kind of jump,” Isolder said. “What kind ofman is Solo? Will he take the most directroute?”

Computing a jump in hyperspace was alaborious task. The nav computers tended totake “safe” routes, routes where the blackholes, asteroid belts, and star systems were

well charted. But such routes were often long,tediously twisted. Still, a long route was farbetter than a short, dangerous trip throughuncharted space. “If it were just him,” Lukesaid, “yeah, Han might take a shorter route.But he wouldn’t put Leia at risk, notknowingly, anyway.”

Luke had an odd tone to his voice, as if hewere not saying all that he knew. “Do youthink Leia is in danger?” Isolder pressed.

“Yes,” Luke said huskily.“I heard of the Jedi Knights when I was a

child,” Isolder said. “I was told that you hadmagical powers. I have even heard that youcan pilot starships through hyperspace withoutthe aid of a nav computer, and that you cantake the shortest routes. But I have neverbelieved in magic.”

“There’s no magic to what I do,” Luke said.“The only power that I have is what I drawfrom the life Force around us. Even inhyperspace I can feel the energy inherent insuns and worlds and moons.”

“Do you know that Leia is in danger?”Isolder asked.

“Yes. I’ve felt a sense of urgency for her.That’s why I came.”

Isolder made up his mind. “I think you are agood man. Will you take me to Leia? Perhapsyou could shave a few parsecs o our trip. Wemight even be able to reach Dathomir beforeSolo.”

Luke studied the prince, said doubtfully, “Idon’t know. He’s got a big head start.”

“Still, if we could reach Han Solo first …”“First?”Isolder shrugged, gestured to the eet of Star

Destroyers and Battle Dragons just outside theenergy field. “If my mother reaches Solo beforewe do, she will kill him.”

“I suspect you’re right, and she does notwish me well, either, though she seemsfriendly enough,” Luke said, surprising Isolder.So the Jedi had sensed his mother’s intent.

“Take care of yourself, Jedi, and meet me onmy ship,” Isolder whispered, knowing that in

all probability his mother would hear of hisbetrayal of her within the hour.

“I’ll be careful,” Luke said, and he patted hisR2 droid lovingly and stared at it, as if gazingthrough its metal exterior.

L

Chapter11

eia stormed up into the Millennium Falcon,threw her helmet to the oor so that it

bounced and clattered into a corner. Hanfollowed her up the ramp, around to thelounge where Chewbacca and Threepio wereplaying games on the holo board.

“Great, Solo, great!” Leia shouted. “Whathave you gotten us into? I’ll tell you whyZsinj’s men aren’t searching for us: they gurewe’re all going to die, so why bother!”

“Look, it’s not my fault!” Han shouted.“They’re trespassing on my planet. They’re alltrespassing! And as soon as we get out of here,I’m going to gure some way to evict thewhole bunch!”

Chewbacca growled questioningly.Han said, “Aw, nothing much.”

“Nothing much?” Leia shouted. “There aremonsters outside. For all we know the planetcould be crawling with them!”

“Monsters?” Threepio whined, rising fromhis seat, hands rattling. “Oh dear, you don’tsuppose they eat metal, do you?”

“I don’t think so,” Han said sarcastically.“Outside of space slugs, I’ve never heard ofanything that big that eats metal.”

Chewbacca growled, and Threepio asked,“How big are they?”

“Let me put it this way,” Leia said, “wehaven’t seen them yet, but if the footprints areany indication, one of them could probably eatall three of us for breakfast and then use oneof your legs to pick his teeth.”

“Oh dear!” Threepio shouted.“Aw, come on now,” Han said, “don’t

frighten the droid. For all we know, thesecould be harmless herbivores!” Han tried toput an arm around Leia’s shoulder to comforther, but she pulled away, waved a nger in hisface.

“I sure hope not,” she said, “because if thattrack came from a herbivore, then you can betthere’s something even bigger around here thateats it.” She turned and looked away. “I don’tknow why I let you bring me here. How couldI be so stupid? I should have made you turnyourself in. Warlords and monsters and whoknows what else? I mean, what can you expectfrom a planet you won in a card game?”

“Look, Leia,” Han said, touching hershoulder again, trying to get her to turn to himfor comfort, “I’m doing the best I can!”

Leia spun and talked directly in his face.“No! I’m not going to let you sweet talk me.This isn’t a game. This isn’t a fun ride. Ourlives are on the line. And right now, whetheryou love me and want me to marry you, orwhether I love Isolder and want to marry him—none of that matters anymore. We’ve got toget out of here. Now!”

Han had seen Leia like this only very fewtimes—always when her life was in danger. Hehad often thought that with his relaxed

attitude, perhaps he enjoyed his life more thanshe enjoyed hers. But when he saw her

erceness rise to the surface, he realized thatshe loved life more passionately, more deeplythan he could. Perhaps it was her Alderaanianheritage surfacing, her culture’s legendaryrespect for any life, something Leia was forcedto lay aside in her fight against the Empire. Butalways it surfaced, and Han kept nding thatLeia was like that: she hid her feelings deeply,so deeply that Han suspected even she didn’tknow what she felt.

“All right,” Han said. “I’ll get you out ofhere. I promise. Chewie, we’re going to needsome weapons. Let’s get out the heavy artilleryand the survival packs. We saw a city not morethan a few days over the mountains, andwhere there is a city, there’s got to betransportation. We’ll just steal the fastest shipavailable and blast out of here.”

Chewbacca whined his concern over leavingthe Falcon.

“Yeah,” Han answered. “Let’s lock her up

tight. Maybe someday we can make it back,salvage her.” He swallowed hard, unable tospeak anymore. Two or three seasons out herein the mountains, in the rain and snow, andthe wiring would get so rusted and shot thatthe Falcon would be practically worthless. Andchances were that the New Republic wouldn’twin its way this deep into Zsinj’s territory foranother ten years.

Leia stared at him, unbelieving.“You always said that the Falcon was my

favorite toy,” Han said. “Maybe it’s time togive it up.”

He went to the storage locker, pulled out anextra helmet, some snap-on camou age battlefatigues to hide Threepio’s golden exterior. Hewent to find Threepio and get him dressed, butthe droid was already standing at the bottomof the gangplank, his golden eyes shining as hegazed out into the forest in the dusk. Leia andChewie were shutting down the Falcon,preparing her for storage.

“I’ve got something for you,” Han said to

Threepio. He pulled out the battle fatigues. “Ihope they don’t ba e your sensors or impedeyour mobility or anything.”

“Clothes?” the droid asked. “I wouldn’tknow. I’ve never worn clothes before, sir.”

“Well, there’s a rst time for everything,”Han said, moving behind Threepio to snap thefatigues on. Somehow, it made him feeluncomfortable. In some homes, the wealthyhad droids dress them, but Han had neverheard of anyone dressing a droid.

“I think it would be best if you leave mehere, sir,” Threepio volunteered. “My metallicsurface might act as a lure for predators.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Han said. “Wehave blasters. There’s nothing out there thatwe can’t take care of.”

“I’m afraid I’m not designed to travel in thiskind of terrain,” Threepio argued. “It’s too wetand rugged. In ten days, my joints will squeaklike a roonat, if they aren’t frozen altogether.”

“I’ll bring some oil.”“If Zsinj’s men come looking for us,”

Threepio said, “they’ll be able to home in onmy circuitry. I’m not equipped with any kindof electronic countermeasures that would letme conceal my presence.”

Han bit his lip. Threepio was right. His verypresence could likely get them all killed, andthere wasn’t a thing they could do. “Look,”Han said. “You and I have been together for along time. I never turn my back on a friend.”

“A friend, sir?” Threepio asked. Hanconsidered. In all likelihood this trip wouldkill the droid, and though they’d never beenfriends, he didn’t really hate Threepio thatmuch. Out in the darkness, some animal gave awhooping call. It sounded peaceful, not at allthreatening, yet for all he knew it could be thealien call of some giant predator saying, “Ismell dinner.”

“Now don’t you worry about a thing,” Hansa id as he nished dressing the droid. Heplaced the helmet on Threepio’s head, and thedroid turned to him, looking somehow forlornin the bulky clothing. Han tried to think of

some way to get Threepio to stop worrying.“You’re a protocol droid, and if you reallywant to be helpful, you’ll help me gure outhow to get Leia to fall in love with me.”

“Ah,” Threepio said, obviously excited bythe idea. “Don’t concern yourself, sir, I’m sureI’ll think of something.”

“Good, good,” Han said, and he walked upthe gangplank just as Leia came out with apack and rifle.

As he turned the corner, he could hearThreepio telling Leia, “My, have you noticedhow dashing King Solo looks tonight? He’sincredibly handsome, don’t you think?”

“Oh, shut up,” Leia snarled.Han chuckled, got his pack, a heavy blaster

ri e, an in atable tent, infrared goggles, and ahandful of grenades that he thought might beespecially e ective if he tossed them down agiant predator’s throat. Then he walkedoutside, and they raised the gangplank, sealedthe Falcon, and headed into the dark woodswhere moonlight silvered the white bark of

trees. Overhanging branches left the grass andunderbrush highlighted in a patchwork wherelight furtively played tag with the shadows.

The woods smelled clean, the way that theywill in early summer when the sap is stillfresh, the leaves new, and summer drynessputs a halt to the decay of leaf mold. And yet,despite the calming familiarity of the woods,Han felt keenly aware that he was on an alienworld. Gravity here was too light, adding aspringiness to his step, a feeling of power, nearinvincibility. Perhaps, he thought, the lowgravity had led to the evolution of largercreatures on the planet. On such worlds, thecirculatory systems of large animals did notbecome strained, bones did not snap undertheir own weight. But Han could feel thealienness in the trees—too tall and willowythin, rising eighty meters above, swaying in thewarm night air.

They saw little in the way of animals. A fewpiglike rodents in the underbrush scurriedaway when they got near—barreling through

the foliage so fast that Han joked that theymust have had hyperdrive units built into theirposteriors.

They hiked for three hours, and at the top ofa barren mountain pass where rocks brokethrough a thin skin of grass, they took abreather and looked out toward theirdestination, the halo of a lighted city. Brownclouds had blown in, and blue-purplelightning crackled and ashed in the distance.As the thunder rolled over the shoulders of themountains, it sounded almost like the roar ofancient cannons.

“It looks like a thunderstorm heading ourway,” Leia said. “We’d better hurry down othis ridge and put up a shelter.”

Han studied the clouds for a moment, darkblue lightning suddenly icking like a strobe.“Not a thunderstorm, more like a dust storm ora sandstorm maybe, blowing up out of thedesert.” It seemed odd for the storm to be allconcentrated in one place, as if a giant tornadohad blown in from the desert and now was

dropping its weight here at the feet of themountains.

“Yeah, well, whatever it is, I don’t want toget caught in it,” Leia said, and they scurrieddown the ridge, scree sliding under their feet.

Once under the canopy of trees again, Hansomehow felt more secure. They picked acampsite beside a fallen tree, among myriadboulders washed smooth by a mountainstream. The size of the boulders—many ofthem taller than a man—gave mute testimonyto the ferocity of the oods that must havewashed through here during the rainy season.Camping there didn’t seem wise with a stormon its way, but it was a calculated risk. Thehuge boulders all around gave Han a sense ofsecurity. A person could easily hide here incase of an attack.

They set their tents, ate a light meal fromtheir packs and sterilized some water. “Youand Chewie take the rst watch,” Han said,throwing Threepio a blaster rifle.

The droid fumbled with the weapon. “But

sir, you know that my programming doesn’tallow me to harm a living organism.”

“If you see anything, just shoot at its feet andmake a lot of noise,” Han said, and he went tosleep. He planned to lie on his air mattressand think a while, but he was so tired that hejust swirled away into blackness.

Only moments later, it seemed, he woke tothe sound of blaster re shattering rocks andThreepio shouting excitedly, “Yoohoo, GeneralSolo, I need you! Waaake uhuuup! I needyou!”

Han grabbed his blaster and jumped out ofhis tent just as Leia climbed out of her own.Something big and metal creaked. Not a dozenmeters away stood an Imperial walker, ascouting vessel with a two-person crew. Itperched on a rock like some long-legged, steelbird, twin blaster cannons aimed at Han andLeia. Han wondered dimly how in the world itcould have sneaked up on the droid.

Within the carrier, shielded behindtransparisteel, the pilot and his gunner

watched, their faces dimly lit green by theircontrol panels. The pilot raised a mike,shouted in a gravelly voice. “You two, dropyour weapons and put your hands on yourheads!”

Han swallowed hard, looked around. Therewas no sign of Chewbacca with his bowcaster.“Uh, is there some kind of problem here?”Han asked. “We were just out for a littlefishing expedition. I do have a license.”

The pilot and gunner looked at each other.That split second was enough. Han grabbedLeia’s arm and jerked her away, jumpedbehind a boulder for cover, red at thetransparisteel window, hoping his blasterwould pierce through and hit the pilot, or atthe very least blind the gunner momentarily.The shot bounced o the window. His littlehand blaster didn’t have the kind of power heneeded, and he realized he’d left his grenadesin the tent. They crouched behind the boulderfor cover.

“You two come on out of there, or we’ll

shoot your droid!” the pilot shouted.“Run!” Threepio yelled. “Save yourselves!”The gunner cut loose with a barrage of

blaster re that sent rock shards ying aroundHan. Ozone and dust lled the air. A fragmentbounced o a boulder behind them, drove asplinter into Solo’s hand. Leia leaped out theother side of the boulder, red with her blasterrifle, jumped back for cover.

Solo searched frantically for some sign ofChewie, saw a shadow moving against thelower limbs of a silver tree, climbing stealthily.Chewie was there with his bowcaster. Hecrouched, red a bolt that splattered againstthe Imperial walker’s hull in a shower of greenlight. Metal screamed in protest.

The pilot tried to swivel his cockpit to lookbehind them. Leia jumped from her cover,

red three rapid shots into the vulnerablehydraulics assembly at the walker’s lowestjoint. Chunks of metal ew from the walker,and it twisted from its perch, opped to itsside. The giant metal legs kept kicking.

Han ran up to Threepio, took his heavyblaster and rushed to the windows. Thewalker’s blaster cannons couldn’t reach him.Han said, “Now, you two just crawl on out ofthere real slow. You aren’t going anywhere inthat thing, unless you’re going to die.”

The pilot frowned, raised his hands. Thegunner popped the hatch above his head, andthe two crawled out. Han muscled the two sothat they stood side by side, stuck the barrel ofhis blaster up the pilot’s nose.

“This is an interdicted planet!” the gunnershouted at them. “You’d better get off!”

“Interdicted?” Leia asked. “Why?”“The natives don’t take kindly to strangers,”

the pilot said. Leia and Han looked at eachother, and the pilot said in wonder, “Youmean you didn’t know?”

“We’ll take our chances,” Han grumbled.“These natives don’t happen to have ve

toes and footprints a meter long, do they?”Leia asked.

The pilot’s face took on a closed look.

“Lady, those are just their pets.”From the overturned walker, a voice issued

over the radio, “Strider seven, report yourstatus. Verify, please: is this General Han Soloyou’ve captured?”

Chewie came from behind the shadows of aboulder, shot his bowcaster into the Imperialwalker’s radio, then grabbed each prisoner bythe head and banged their helmets togetherhard enough so that the crack echoed throughthe woods. He growled and looked up the hill,asking them to hurry.

Leia had already begun packing the tents.

W

Chapter12

hen Isolder’s Battle Dragon, the Song ofWar, prepared to drop out of hyperspace,

Isolder was full of hope. Luke had managed topilot them to Dathomir in seven days, savingten days from the shortest route that the Hapanastrogation computers could devise! In fact,Isolder realized that he might even beat HanSolo to Dathomir.

Yet when they dropped out of hyperspace,his heart left him. Ten kilometers of shipyarddocks were being guarded by two ImperialStar Destroyers and a host of ships in dock.

Automatic alarms began ringing, and allacross the Battle Dragon, crew members rushedto their posts.

Luke Skywalker stood at the bridge, gazingat the viewscreen. He pointed up to a Frigate

that had peeled away from the docking systemand was plunging into Dathomir’s atmosphere,

ames shooting out of its sensor towers.“There—” Luke shouted, “Leia’s in thatburning ship!”

Isolder studied the monitor quickly. “She’son that?” Isolder said, astonished. Even withall our rush, he wondered, have we arrivedonly just in time to watch her crash?

“She’s alive!” Luke said rmly. “And she’sterri ed but hopeful. I can feel it. They’regoing to try to land! I’ve got to get downthere.” He rushed o , heading for his ghter.Already Isolder could see dozens of oldImperial TIE ghters launching from Zsinj’sStar Destroyers, pinpricks of light aring outfrom their engines.

“Launch all ghters!” Isolder ordered.“Knock out that Super Star Destroyer at thedocks along with anything else you can get. Iwant this to be messy!” The Song of War’s ioncannons opened re as torpedoes screamedfrom their launch tubes. Though the Imperial

Star Destroyers were three times the size andmore heavily armed than a Hapan BattleDragon, the Imperials had designed their shipsusing old-fashioned stationary gunemplacements. After a blaster cannon or ioncannon red, it took several milliseconds forthe cannon’s giant capacitors to recharge. Thenet e ect was that the gun was stuck idle 80percent of the time.

Not so with the Hapan Battle Dragon.Because the Battle Dragons were designed ashuge saucers and the gun emplacementsrotated rapidly around the rim of the saucer,idle guns moved on to recharge while freshguns swung into place.

Both Star Destroyers immediately retreatedfrom the onslaught. Isolder glancedmomentarily at Luke’s back as the Jedi left thecontrol deck. Though the Hapan Battle Dragonwas a fearsome opponent, it would be nomatch for Star Destroyers once their ghtersscrambled. The ghters would be able topenetrate the shielding and knock out the

rotating gun emplacements after they idled.Isolder’s own ghters could keep Zsinj’s warbirds at bay for a time, but the Hapanscouldn’t hold them off indefinitely.

“Captain Astarta,” Isolder said, glancing athis bodyguard. “Take over the attack. I’mgoing down to the planet.”

“My lord,” Astarta objected, “my job is toprotect you!”

“Then do your job well,” Isolder said. “Ineed enough confusion to cover my escape. Mymother’s eet won’t be here for ten days. Warnthem what to expect, and jump back into thefray with them. I’ll be monitoring radio signalsfrom the planet. If I can, I’ll rendezvous withyou at the first sign of your attack.”

“And if you don’t y up within veminutes,” Astarta choked, “then I’ll kill everyone of Zsinj’s men in this solar system, andwe’ll scour this planet until we find you!”

Isolder grinned, touched her on the shoulder,then ran from the control room, down thecorridors of the Song of War. So much of the

ship’s power was being diverted to guns thatthe corridor lighting had dimmed, and hemade his way to the ight decks by markingthe emergency light buoys. The decks werepretty much empty, the normal complement offighters having scrambled.

Skywalker was already powering up an X-wing—not his own, Isolder noticed. A dozenlaunch techs were checking his guns, loweringhis astrogation droid into its seat.

“Problems with your ghter?” Isoldershouted across the room.

Luke nodded. “Weapons didn’t check out.Can I borrow one of yours?”

“No problem,” Isolder said.Isolder grabbed a ak jacket and helmet

from their hangers and tied his own personalblaster on. The launch crew saw him andbegan readying his own ghter, Storm. Aglowing feeling of pride stole over him whenhe glanced at his ghter. He’d designed andbuilt it himself.

In one startling moment of clarity, Isolder

realized that he was much like Solo, perhapstoo much. Solo had his Falcon. Isolder hadStorm. Both of them had worked as pirates,both loved the same strong woman. And allthrough the trip to Dathomir Isolder had askedhimself why he was coming. His mother knewwhere Han had run to; the Hapan eets couldretrieve Leia. Isolder didn’t need to risk his lifein this senseless encounter.

But when Isolder considered it, he realizedthat part of him wanted to beat Solo senseless,yet he wanted something more. Solo hadthrown down a challenge that Isolder couldnot refuse. There on the ight deck, Isoldersuddenly realized: he’d come to steal Leia backfrom Han Solo, take her away at gunpoint ifhe had to.

Luke settled into his ghter, and Isoldershouted, “Skywalker, I’m coming with you. I’llbe watching your tail!”

Luke turned to Isolder, did not take o hishelmet as he gave a thumbs-up.

With a surge of adrenaline, Isolder ran across

the ight deck, leaped into Storm’s cockpitand red up the control panel. Overhead, the

ight techs battened down the transparisteelbubble as Isolder activated the turbogeneratorsand armed his missiles and blasters. The techswere taking extra time, rechecking his systems,and Isolder revved the generators as if hewould take off, sent them scrambling for cover.Then he erupted into space.

He ipped his transponder settings toidentify himself as a Hapan ghter, thenscreamed over the Song of War’s top saucer.

From space, he could more easily see howthe battle was going: the Star Destroyers hadbacked o in unison and spread apart so thatAstarta was forced to choose one of them as aprimary target. Instead, she had taken theBattle Dragon over the docks at the shipyardand had begun pummeling the helpless SuperStar Destroyer that waited for repairs, doingmore damage to the costly machinery in onestra ng run than she could ever haveaccomplished in a pitched battle.

Neither of the active destroyers was hurryingto stop her.

Two of the Victory-class destroyers at thedocks must have been partly operational, forTIE ghters and old Z-95 Headhunters werescrambling from their decks. The skies werelittered with swarming ghters, chunks oftwisted shrapnel, and scattering debris fromdestroyed ships.

Isolder ipped a switch on his radio, let itsearch the Imperial frequencies until he couldhear the chatter of the enemy ghters. LukeSkywalker was already circling out past theedge of the Hapan Dragon, and Isolderfollowed the Jedi out, closing on his tail.

“Red One to Red Two,” Luke called over theradio. “There’s a lot of debris falling from theshipyard.” Just as he spoke, a kilometer-longsection of sca olding took a hit, went spinningdown into the gravity well while othersegments blew out of orbit. “I’m going to shuto my engines and follow some of it down ina minute. But before I do, I want to take out a

couple of enemy fighters.”Isolder considered a moment. He and Luke

couldn’t land without being detected. He’dhave to eject, then let his ship crash.

“I’m right with you, Red One,” Isolderanswered.

Luke accelerated to attack speed, spun outtoward a phalanx of twenty incomingHeadhunters that glowed red on the scopeslike aming gems. Isolder followed at his rightwing, put double power to the front shields,listened to the Headhunters’ chatter strategiccodes over the Imperial bands. He hit hisjammers, and the Headhunters went silent. Hechecked his head-up display, noticedsomething odd, called out, “Luke—yourdeflector shields aren’t up!”

The Headhunters’ jammers shot static athim, and Isolder shouted again, “Luke, yourshields!”

Through the crackling static, Isolder heardLuke shout, “My shields are up!”

“No,” Isolder shouted. “Your shields are not

up!” but Luke threw a thumbs-up sign, tryingto calm Isolder, and then the ZebraHeadhunters were on them, blaster relighting up the skies. Isolder picked a target,

red simultaneously with ion guns and ahoming missile, twisted his stick abruptly tothe right. From the corner of his eye hewatched Skywalker take a hit to the top-rightwing, fall into a spin, simultaneously take a hitto the front sensor array. Skywalker’s shipbegan tumbling through space, breaking apart,and the astrogation droid was hurled from thevehicle. The Headhunter in front of Isolderexploded, and four or ve blaster shots hitIsolder’s front de ectors. The shields collapsed.Isolder couldn’t take another run.

Luke rattled around in his falling ship,thrown against the transparisteel like a doll.Isolder silently prayed, then aimed his life-sensors at the cockpit. Nothing. Skywalker wasdead.

Isolder cursed, and knew that he could donothing now but feign his own death. He

ejected a thermal detonator out the back of hisship, counted to one. A brilliant explosionpierced the sky behind him, and he ipped ohis transponder, powered down, and let theStorm drift and fall beside Luke’s ship. Theexplosion should have fooled the enemysensors, and with a pitched battle going on,Zsinj’s men wouldn’t have time to check thewreckage too closely.

Under Isolder’s display console was astorage area. From it, he pulled a re ectiveblanket, unfolded it, and turned it so that itheld his body heat in. Any sensors closeenough to detect him would register that hisbody had cooled, show him as dead. For amoment, Isolder watched Skywalker’s corpsetumbling in his ship, and little explosionsseemed to go off in Isolder’s brain. After all thehelp Luke had given, the Jedi was dead.

Isolder had warned Luke that his shieldswere down, and Luke hadn’t believed him.Such things didn’t result from technicalglitches. The X-wing ghter had to have been

sabotaged somehow. Isolder did not doubt thatTa’a Chume had murdered the young Jedi.

Isolder gritted his teeth, pulled the blanketover his head like a shroud, and waited tomake planetfall.

Leia pushed through a tangle of creepersunder the cover of darkness, looked up theslope to the top of the plateau. In the light ofthe double moons, she spotted several hugerectangular slabs of black stone. Somewhere inthe midst of each rectangle, a hole had beencarved in the shape of an eye, and within eacheye socket, a huge round boulder served as thepupil to the eye. The rectangular slabs werejumbled, elevated at di erent levels, so thatdi erent eyes pointed half a dozen directionsat once.

Leia halted, stared up there for a longmoment, mysti ed. Up on the plateau in thebrush beyond her line of sight, somethingroared, ran across the stone on slapping feet,

leaped from the other side of the hill andlanded in thick brush, then clambered othrough the trees. Leia stopped, heartpounding.

“What was that?” Han asked, standing still tocatch a breath. Chewie and Threepio hadstopped just behind her.

“Something alive—about the size of theMillennium Falcon, I’d say.” Leia sighed,grateful only that the thing had run off. “I’ll betit had five toes.”

“At least it wasn’t carrying a blaster.” Hanwaved his blaster at the sculptures on top ofthe ridge. “What do you think this means—theeyes, pointing off in different directions?”

“I don’t know,” Leia said. She looked backdownhill at Chewie and Threepio. “Anyideas?”

Chewie only whined, but Threepio lookedaround at the hills. “If I may say,” Threepioanswered, “I think it’s a kind of symbolicwriting used to instruct creatures of limitedintelligence.”

“What makes you say that?” Leia asked.“My data les contain similar structures

found on two other planets. You see, a lookoutsits in a particular spot, watching in eachdirection indicated by an eye. In this instance,the eyes seem to point toward di erent valleysand mountain passes. Using this method,creatures with superior intelligence can useinferior beings as lookouts.”

“Great,” Han said, “so whatever just ran o ,went to tell the boss that we’re here.”

“It would seem so, sir,” Threepio said.Han swallowed, looked back down the

valley they had come from. The trees wereextremely thick, and they had just hikedthrough a deep bed of plants with tall, thickstems and enormous round leaves. “Great.Well, I haven’t heard any Imperial walkerssince we went through that thick patch ofjungle. I think that might have slowed themdown.”

“We’ve been running for hours,” Leia said.“We’ve got to stop and rest, soon.” She wiped

the perspiration from her brow.Chewie growled a question. “He wants to

know why there aren’t any speeders yet,”Threepio translated.

Han nodded. “Yeah, I don’t get it. If Zsinjwants us, he could send speeders through thesewoods pretty e ectively. But so far they’ve justbrought the walkers. That doesn’t make muchsense. Why just come at us with walkers?”

“Maybe Zsinj’s men feel they need thearmor,” Leia said, “or the heavy guns.”

“Or both,” Han agreed. He pointed to theridge top, the ancient stone statues of eyes thatstared tiredly from the hill. “I want to go upthere.” He began scrambling up the steep hill,grasping roots and the trunks of small trees topull himself along.

“Wait, Han!” Leia called, too late. Han wasalready a third of the way up. She ran up afterhim, fought her way through some heavybriars that would have sliced her hands toshreds if she had not noticed them in time.

When Leia reached the top of the moonlit

ridge, Han stood on the lookout point. Theywere at the base of a mountain where threevalleys met, and this small plateau was asingle, smooth, windswept rock. A star carvedinto the stone marked the spot where alookout would stand, and as Threepio hadsaid, if Leia stood in that spot and looked out,the top of each eye marked a pass or a valleythat needed to be watched. Very simpleinstructions—except that by triangulation Leiacalculated that the lookout must have stoodbetween twelve and fteen meters tall. A holegouged into the stone was lled withrainwater. Leia took a drink.

Han walked around the plateau, blasterdrawn, gazing down the slopes with hisinfrared goggles. “Whatever was up here, it’sgone. Still, in a place like this, there’s notmuch to see. An army could walk throughsome of these forests and never be spotted.”

“Maybe they’re not so interested in watchingall of the passes,” Leia said. “Maybe this valleyis strategically situated, and it’s more

important to be right here, to watch this spot,than it is to watch those ridges.”

Distantly, over the mountains, borne on aslight breeze, came a roaring cry that shookLeia’s bones.

“It’s coming back,” Han said with certainty.“I’d say it’s two, maybe three kilometersaway.”

Leia ran o the small plateau, jumpeddownhill in a dozen strides. Chewie andThreepio were already backing down the hill.Han followed.

“Come on, come on, you guys!” Han said.“Let’s have an organized retreat here.”

“Fine,” Threepio said, “you organize while Iretreat.” The droid took o down a valleythrough the brush as fast as his metal legswould move. Chewie shot one glance back atHan and Leia, then followed Threepio.

Han rushed past Leia, and she whispered athis back, “Some hero you are!” Han caught upwith Chewie and Threepio and tried to getthem to slow down, but both of them were

running scared. Leia didn’t want to be leftbehind, kept looking over her shoulder as theymade their way down a hill, turned up avalley and began following a small creekthrough thick trees. At one point, Leia felt surethat she had heard a low grunt behind her, butthe shadows under the trees were so deep thatshe could have imagined it.

How long is the night cycle here? shewondered, realizing that she knew nothingabout the planet’s rotation, its tilt, its seasons.It seemed that dawn couldn’t be far off.

They were running uphill, toward twopillars of stone that pointed upward likejagged canines. Chewbacca was in the lead buthe stopped, wavered in his steps. They hadbeen running in a group for the past fewminutes, so scared that none dared to take astep without the other, and that proved theirundoing.

Behind the stone pillars stood four Imperialwalkers.

Floodlights blinded them, freezing them in

their tracks. “Halt!” a voice shouted over aloudspeaker, accompanied by the boom ofblaster cannons that exploded at Chewie’s feet.“All of you, drop your weapons and placeyour hands on your heads.”

Leia dropped her blaster ri e, almostrelieved to see the Imperial walkers. Chewieand Han did the same. Better a prison campthan whatever lived out in those mountains.

Two of the walkers circled the pillars. Theirsearchlights played through the trees, thenturned back to Leia and the others. “You,droid, pick up the weapons and carry them inyour arms. Dump them over the side of thetrail.”

Threepio took the weapons from Han,Chewie, and Leia. “I’m terribly sorry aboutthis,” he apologized, piling the guns into hisarms. He carried them to the side of the trail,tossed them into the brush.

Han’s eyes smoldered as he glared at thewalkers. All four walkers were two-persona airs, scouting models, the only size small

enough to maneuver through this mountainousterrain.

“Turn around and head back the way youcame,” one pilot shouted over theloudspeaker. “Move nice and easy, and don’ttry anything! If any of you try to run, yourcomrades will be shot first.”

“Where are you taking us?” Han demanded.“By what right? This is my planet: I have adeed!”

“You’re in warlord Zsinj’s territory now,General Solo,” the pilot said over his mike.“And every planet in this sector belongs toZsinj. If you want to protest this arrangement,I’m sure Zsinj would be happy to discuss it, atyour execution.”

“General Solo?” Han asked. “You think I’mGeneral Solo? Look, if I were a New Republicgeneral, what would I be doing here?”

“We’ll be very happy to pry those answersout of you—along with your toenails—duringyour interrogation,” the pilot said, “but fornow, turn around and start marching!”

A cold chill went through Leia, and theybegan marching downhill through the woods,the tall trees with their silver bark graceful inthe moonlight. The harsh glare of the bobbingheadlights on the Imperial walkers made asurreal track. The skeletal rotting leaves attheir feet seemed to dance and weave.

After a while, Leia realized that Zsinj’s menweren’t wholly preoccupied with theirprisoners. While two of the walkers kept themcovered, the other two played theirsearchlights on the path ahead and to the sides.From the lights of their control panels, Leiacould make out the faces of the pilots andgunners, like the faces of frightened children,eyes darting back and forth, sweat drippingdown their foreheads.

“These guys are more scared than I am,” Hanwhispered in Leia’s ear as they walked along.

“Maybe that’s because they know somethingyou don’t,” Leia shot back.

When they had been marching for twohours, Leia began to wonder in earnest when

dawn would come. The night air felt cold onthe back of her neck and her eyes felt gritty.The shadows of trees closed in about them likestanding sentries.

Then the attack came: one second they werewalking along, and the next she heard heavyfootsteps rushing behind. The two walkers onthe anks got tackled from behind by creatureswell over their seven-meter height. The middlewalkers swiveled to re their blaster cannons,and for a moment the gun re ashed likelightning.

Leia spotted one of the huge beasts involvedin the attack, its saberlike canines snapping theair.

Something enormous behind Leia smashed awalker using a huge club, grabbed the walkernext to it and tossed all three tons of itsarmored hull toward a rock where it crashedin a heap of rent metal. A gunner kept ringinto the air as a beast clubbed his walker,smashed it again and again—and in thegruesome blue actinic ashes, Leia saw the

beast and her heart nearly stopped: it stood tenmeters tall and wore a protective vest ofwoven ropes with bits of stormtrooper bodyarmor tied on it. Yet in spite of its attire, therewas no mistaking those oddly grotesque arms,the gaping curved fangs, the hunched stance ofthe warty beast with bony headplates. She hadseen one before. It had been smaller than theones here, perhaps only a juvenile, but it hadseemed enormous at the time—in the prisonbeneath the palace of Jabba the Hutt. Rancors.

Han yelled, turned to run, and tripped.Chewbacca took o leaping through thewoods, and one rancor chased him three stepsand threw a weighted net. The net caught theWookiee, knocked him to the ground.Chewbacca roared in pain and remained onthe ground, holding his ribs.

Leia stood, heart drumming, frozen withfear. Yet the sight of the enormous beastsattacking in their wrath was not whatfrightened her.

In less than ten seconds, the blasters of the

Imperial walkers were all silenced; themachines lay in smoldering ruins at their feet.Leia looked up at the three giant rancors, eachmore than ten meters in height. On thecreatures’ necks sat human riders.

One of the riders bent low, her dark hairshimmering in the light of the burningwalkers. She wore a high-collared tunic ofglittering red scales, and over it a supple robemade of leather or heavy material. On herhead she wore a helm with fanlike wings, andeach wing was decorated with ornaments thatbobbled as she moved. She held a very ancientForce pike, its vibro-blade rattling and in needof adjustment, the handle carved anddecorated with white stones.

If the costume and mount were notimpressive enough, the woman’s very presencestruck Leia like a blaster bolt to the ribs. Thewoman seemed to radiate power, as if herphysical body were a mere shell, and beneathit hid a being of terrible light. Leia knew shewas in the presence of someone strong in the

Force. The woman swung her pike overhead,motioning for Leia and the others to stay, criedout in an alien tongue.

“Who are you?” Leia asked.The woman bent low in the shadows and

sang softly in her own language, then spokecautiously, as if listening to her own voice,trying to catch the meaning.

“Is this how you form your words,o worlder?” Leia nodded, realized that thewoman was somehow using the Force tocommunicate.

She spoke brief orders to the other twowomen. One of them scurried down from herrancor and began gathering weapons from thecorpses of Zsinj’s troops, while the other urgedher rancor over to Chewie. The rancorunwrapped the injured Wookiee and carriedhim in one hand. Chewbacca cried out andtried to bite the rancor, but Han yelled, “It’sokay, Chewie. They’re friends, I hope.”

The woman with the Force pike leaned overLeia, pointed at Han and Threepio. “Keep your

slaves marching, o worlder. We will take youto the sisters for judgment.”

I

Chapter13

solder gritted his teeth, watched the desertswell toward him as Storm plunged toward

the planet. There was nothing he could do tosave his ship. Firing his engines would ensurethat Zsinj’s forces would detect him, so Isolderonly hoped that he could eject at the lastpossible second, let his parachute open brie yand carry him down, hoping it would slow hisfall enough so that he wouldn’t break anybones.

O in the distance, eighty kilometers to thewest, a small city lit the darkness. Other thanthat, there were no bright spots in the desert,not even the headlights of a speeder to show asign of habitation.

Isolder reached under the control panel tohis ghter, pulled out a survival kit. Above

him the parachute bolted onto Artoo’s ejectionseat opened, and the droid jerked upward.Luke’s demolished X-wing tumbled throughthe atmosphere. Isolder cracked thetransparisteel bubble of his ghter, let thewind catch it and ing it open. He unbuckledhis safety harness, checked the small pack thatheld his parachute to make sure it wasstrapped tight, slapped his blaster, then leapedfrom the ship, soaring in freefall.

The wind whistled through the crenellationsi n his oxygen mask, and he watched as theground rushed toward him. The ample light oftwo small moons let him see every rock, everywind-twisted tree, every gully and switchback.He waited until he could wait no more,

ipped the release to ignite the explosivecharges that would send up his parachute.

Nothing happened. He yanked theemergency cord, kept tumbling. He ailed hisarms, shouting—and miraculously, some typeof repulsorlift field hit him, slowed him so thathe dropped as softly as a feather. For one wild

moment he imagined that the ailing of hisarms was somehow carrying him, and he darednot stop apping till he hit the ground. Thebroken hull of the X-wing ghter dropped pasthim, several hundred meters o , crashed intothe ground in a fireball.

When Isolder’s feet hit rock, his knees shookso badly that he could hardly stand, and hisheart raced. Isolder threw o his helmet,gasped the warm night air, looked around atthe rocks and sparse trees of the desert.

Storm had also settled quietly to the ground,but nowhere could Isolder see a sign of therepulsorlift mechanism, no generators, noantigravity dishes aimed into the air. Helooked all around, then saw something above:Luke Skywalker sitting with his legs crossed,eyes closed in concentration, and arms folded,

oating to the ground. Skywalker, Isolderthought. Perhaps that is how his ancestors gottheir name.

When the Jedi had oated within inches ofthe rock, he opened his eyes and jumped, as if

dropping from a ledge.“How, how did you do that?” Isolder asked,

the hair prickling on the back of his arms.Until that moment, Isolder had never felt likeworshiping anyone or anything.

“I told you,” Luke said, “the Force is myally.”

“But you were dead!” Isolder said. “I saw iton my scopes! You weren’t breathing, and yourskin was cold.”

“A Jedi trance,” Luke said. “The JediMasters all learn how to stop their hearts, droptheir body temperature. I needed to fool Zsinj’ssoldiers.”

Luke scanned the desert, as if getting hisbearings, gazed up into the night. Isolderfollowed his line of sight. Far above he couldmake out the warships—pinprick ashes ofblaster re, tiny ships bursting into ames likedistant stars gone nova.

“When I was a boy on Tatooine,” Luke said,“I used to love to stay up at night with mybinoculars and watch the big space freighters

y into port. The rst time I ever watched aspace battle was from my uncle Owen’smoisture farm. At the time, I knew that menwere struggling for their lives, but I didn’tknow it was Leia’s ship or that I wouldbecome caught up in that struggle myself. But Iremember the thrill it gave me, and how Iyearned to be up there, in the battle.”

Isolder looked up, felt that gnawing desire.Part of him wondered how Astarta and histroops were faring in the battle, and he wishedthat he could be up there in the ghter,protecting the ship. Overhead, the huge redsaucer shape of the Song of War suddenlyaccelerated away, blurred into hyperdrive.

“You feel the pull, too, the bloodlust, thecall of the hunt,” Luke said, pulling o his

ight suit. Beneath it, he was dressed inowing robes the red color of desert

sandstone. “That’s the dark side of the Forcewhispering to you, calling you.” Isolderstepped back, fearing that Skywalker hadsomehow learned to read his mind, but Luke

continued, “Tell me, who do you hunt?”“Han Solo,” Isolder said angrily.Luke nodded thoughtfully. “Are you sure?”

Luke asked. “You have hunted other menbefore. I feel it. What was the man’s name?What was his crime?”

Isolder didn’t speak a moment, and Lukewalked around him, watching Isolder carefully,looking through him.

“Harravan,” Isolder said. “CaptainHarravan.”

“And what did he take from you?” Lukesaid.

“My brother. He killed my older brother.”Isolder felt lightheaded, dazed, to be sointerviewed by a man he had thought deadonly moments before.

“Yes, Harravan,” Luke said. “You loved yourbrother very much. I can hear you, as children,trying to fall asleep in the same large room.Your brother sang to you at night, making youfeel safe when you were frightened.”

Isolder felt confused, and tears stung his

eyes.“So tell me,” Luke said, “how your brother

died.”“Shot,” Isolder said. “Harravan shot him in

the head with a blaster.”“I see,” Luke said. “You must forgive him.

Your anger burns in you, a black spot on yourheart. You must forgive him and serve the lightside of the Force.”

“Harravan’s dead,” Isolder said. “Why shouldI bother to forgive him?”

“Because now it is happening again,” Lukesaid. “Once again, someone has taken a personthat you love away from you. Han, Harravan.Leia, your brother. Your rage, your hurt fromone ill deed long past colors your feelingsnow. If you do not forgive them, the dark sideof the Force will forever rule your destiny.”

“What does it matter?” Isolder asked. “I’mnot like you. I don’t have any power. I willnever learn how to oat through the air orraise myself from the dead.”

“You have power,” Luke answered. “You

must learn to serve the light within you, nomatter how dim it may seem.”

“I watched you on the ship,” Isolder said,thinking back to Luke’s behavior on theirjourney out. Luke had seemed inquisitive, butkept himself aloof. “You don’t talk like this toeveryone.”

Luke gazed at him in the moonlight, anddouble shadows played over Luke’s face.Isolder wondered if Luke was trying to converthim because Isolder was the Chume’da, theconsort to the woman who would becomequeen. “I talk like this to you,” Luke said,“because the Force has brought us together,because you are trying to serve the light sidenow. Why else would you risk your life, comehere to Dathomir with me to save Leia?Vengeance? I think not.”

“You are wrong about that, Jedi. I didn’tcome to save Leia, I came to steal her awayfrom Han Solo.”

Luke laughed softly, as if Isolder were someschoolboy who did not know himself. It was a

peculiarly disconcerting sound. “Have it yourway, then. But you will come with me, won’tyou, to rescue Leia?”

Isolder gestured to the desert, spreading hisarms. “Where do we look? She could beanywhere—a thousand kilometers from here.”

Luke nodded toward the mountains. “Overthere, about a hundred and twentykilometers.” He smiled secretively. “I warnyou, the trip will not be easy. Once you chooseto walk in the light, your path will lead youplaces you do not want to go. Already theforces of darkness gather against us.”

Isolder studied the Jedi, heart hammering.He wasn’t used to thinking of the world interms of forces of darkness, forces of light. Hewasn’t even sure he believed such forcesexisted. Yet here was a Jedi no older thanhimself who had oated from the sky likethistledown, who seemed to read his thoughts,and who professed to know Isolder better thanhe knew himself.

Luke looked o to the horizon. His droid

was oating down on a parachute, a couple ofkilometers off. “Are you coming?”

Isolder had acted almost without thoughtuntil now, but suddenly he felt frightened,more than he would have believed possible.His knees threatened to lock, and he found hisface burning with shame. Something frightenedhim, and he knew what it was. Luke wasn’tjust asking Isolder to follow him to themountains. Luke was asking him to follow histeachings, his example. And in the process,Luke promised that Isolder would inheritdetractors, enemies, in the same way that allJedi did. Isolder considered for only amoment. “Let me get some things out of myship. I’ll be right with you.”

Rummaging through Storm, gathering aspare blaster, Isolder found that he becamecalmer. All of the Jedi’s spooky talk reallymeant nothing, he realized. Perhaps there wereno forces of darkness lurking out there.Following Luke around in the mountainsreally meant nothing. It didn’t mean that

Isolder himself would necessarily have to learnthe ways of the Force. Luke could very well bedeluded, a harmless crank. But he oated fromthe sky. “I’m ready,” Isolder said.

During the rst part of their journey, thecountry was incredibly rugged—gullies washedthrough ground split by crevices. The bones ofhuge herbivores littered the crevices, creatureswith long hind legs, stubby tails, at triangularheads and tiny front legs. The skeletonsshowed that the beasts had been large, perhapsfour meters from nose to tail. Often the boneshad dry, gray scales lying about them. Yet theyfound no living beasts. Instead, it seemedalmost as if the creatures had died out in therecent past, within the last hundred years.

Little grew in this blasted desert. Short,twisted, leathery trees. Stubby patches ofpurple grass as pliant as hair.

Luke made light of the journey, sometimesjumping ten meters into a crevice whereIsolder had to climb tediously down. Isoldersoon found himself drenched with sweat, but

the Jedi did not sweat much, did not pant,showed no sign of being remotely human.Instead, the Jedi’s face was locked inconcentration. It took the better part of thenight to reach the droid, and Luke would notleave without it, showing uncommon devotionto the small lump of circuitry and gears.

So they made their way toward themountains following a tedious route that thedroid could navigate, until they reached adesert hardpan that ran over rolling hills.

There was no sign of water, and the sunbegan to rise over the desert, casting anethereal blue glow. Luke said, “We’d better

nd some shelter for the day—back there.” Hepointed to one of the last cracks, went andpushed Artoo over, then jumped in.

Isolder followed them down into the crevice,rested on his haunches in the sandy soil anddrank half of his water. Luke took a small sip,sat and closed his eyes.

“You had better get some sleep,” Luke said.“It’s going to be a long day, and a long walk

tonight.” With that, the Jedi seemed to fallasleep, breathing deep, evenly.

Isolder cast an angry glance at him. Isolderhad been wakened in the early morning fromhis sleep cycle, and as far as he was concerned,it was only midday. He had always haddi culty changing his sleep schedule, so he satwith his arms folded, trying to feign sleep, orat least show some portion of control worthyof a Jedi’s disciple.

Nearly half an hour later, just as the sun wasbreaking over the desert, Isolder heard theearthquake. It started as a distant rumblemoving down from the mountains, growinglouder and louder. The earth began to shake,and chunks of dirt broke from the sides of thecrevice. The droid Artoo whistled and beepedin alarm, and Luke jumped to his feet.

“What is it, Artoo?” he asked, and Isoldershouted, “Earthquake!”

Luke listened to the sound a moment,shouted back. “No—not an earthquake—”

Suddenly a huge shadow itted overhead,

then another and another. Large reptiles withpale blue scales were leaping over the crevice.One tripped and nearly fell on top of them,used its tiny forelegs to pull itself upright andrush forward.

“Stampede!” Isolder shouted, throwing hisarms over his head. Artoo whistled andwheeled in a circle, seeking shelter. Hundredsof reptiles leaped over the crevice.

The roaring quieted after several moments,and one huge reptile leaped into the ravinenot a dozen feet from them, stood panting,loose folds of light blue esh jiggling at itsthroat, as it studied them. The last of itsfellows leaped away.

The beast had bloodred eyes and black teethshaped like spades. The scales at the top of itshead shone slightly iridescent, almost lavender.Its breath smelled musky, of rotting vegetation,and it stared down at them, curious.

“Don’t worry, we won’t harm you,” Lukesaid, gazing at the creature steadily. It movedforward, put its nostrils to Luke’s outstretched

hand, and sniffed. “That’s right, girl, we’re yourfriends.” Luke poured some water from hiscanteen into his hand, let the beast lap it upwith its long, black tongue. The creature madebelching noises, plaintive whining sounds.

“What are you doing?” Isolder said. “Thatthing is drinking all of our water.”

“It’s eighty kilometers through the desert tothe mountains,” Luke said, “a di cult journeyeven for a Jedi, and there is no water betweenhere and there—only sand. But every evening,these creatures run to the hills to feed, andevery morning, they run back here to hidefrom predators and the day’s sun. That’s whywe saw so many skeletons here in the crevices,where their old ones have died. They callthemselves the Blue Desert People. Tonight,they will carry us to the mountains. We won’tneed all this water.”

“You mean they’re intelligent?” Isolderasked doubtfully.

“Not much more so than most otheranimals,” Luke said, gazing at Isolder, “but

smart enough. They care for one another andhave their own kind of wisdom.”

“And you can talk to them?”Luke nodded, stroked the reptile’s nose.

“The Force is within us all—you, me, her. Itbinds us together, and through it I can read herintent, make mine known.”

Isolder watched them a moment, then satdown, troubled for some reason that he couldnot express, could not quite grasp. He sleptpart of the day, ate from his pack, drank hiswater. All day long the beast slept besidethem, laying its head out at on the ground sothat it could sniff Luke’s feet.

That evening just before the sun began toset, the beast raised its head, made a honkingnoise. Several other beasts answered, came toits call.

“Time to go,” Luke said. Isolder climbed upfrom the ravine while Luke closed his eyes,levitated Artoo up, then climbed up himself.

The Blue Desert People were everywhere,climbing out of their holes, snorting loudly and

looking at the sunset. They seemed unwilling,or perhaps by some virtue of genetic memorywere unable, to begin the journey until the sunhad dropped below the mountains.

Under Luke’s guidance, Isolder climbed onthe back of a large male, set himself justbeneath its arms. When the beast stood, it wasa precarious position, but Luke carried Artooup to the same spot on a larger male andseemed to balance fine.

As the bottom of the sun touched the top ofthe mountains, the Blue Desert Peoplebellowed, lowered their heads, lifted their tailsout straight behind them as a counterbalance,and raced across the sand on their powerfulhind legs.

With the beast’s head down, Isolder foundthat his position was quite stable, evencomfortable, though Artoo whistled andgroaned about it at rst. The Blue DesertPeople thundered across eighty kilometers ofpan and towering dunes, their red eyesseeming to glow a glittering black in the

darkness, grunting and snorting. Isolderlistened to them talk, realized that the gruntingand snorting came from animals on theperimeters of the herd, and that they wereissuing instructions. If reptiles snorted two orthree times on one side of the herd, the herdwould veer away. But if animals issuedcontented grunts, the herd would stay oncourse.

By early nightfall they reached a widemuddy river where tall grasses and reeds grewin the shallows. Birds with long necks andleather wings swooped low over the river inthe moonlight, taking long drinks. Here theBlue Desert People stopped to water and feedamong the rushes.

“This is where we get o ,” Luke said, andthey dismounted. Luke patted the nose of eachof their mounts, thanking them with softwords.

“Can’t you make them carry us farther?”Isolder asked. “We’ve still got a long way togo.”

Luke ashed an annoyed glance his way. “Ido not make anyone do anything,” Luke said.“I do not make Artoo follow me, just as I didnot make you follow me. The Blue DesertPeople agreed to take us this far, and now thatwe have water, our own legs will su ce forthe rest of the journey.”

Isolder suddenly realized why he foundLuke’s behavior toward the Blue Desert Peopleso discomforting: among the royal family onHapes, they did not treat their servants so well.Women were accorded greater respect thanmen, industrialists more respect than farmers,royalty more respect than them all. But Luketreated his droid and these dumb animals as ifthey were Isolder’s equals, or as if they wereLuke’s own brothers, and that … alarmedIsolder, to think that the Jedi saw him as nomore important than a droid or a beast. Andyet, Luke showed the Blue Desert People suchtenderness that Isolder found himself feelingjealous of them.

“You shouldn’t do this!” Isolder found

himself saying. “The universe doesn’t work thisway!”

“What do you mean?” Luke asked.“You—you’re treating those beasts as equals.

You show my mother, the Ta’a Chume of theHapan empire, the same degree of cordialityas you give a droid!”

“This droid, these beasts,” Luke said, “allhave a similar measure of Force within them.If I serve the Force, how can I not respectthem, just as I respect Ta’a Chume?”

Isolder shook his head. “Now I see why mymother wanted to kill you, Jedi. You havedangerous ideas.”

“Perhaps they are dangerous to despots,”Luke said, smiling. “Tell me, do you serve yourmother and her empire above all else?”

“Of course,” Isolder said.“If you served her, you would not be here,”

Luke countered. “You would have beencontent to marry some local despot and sireyour heirs. Instead, your heart is divided. Youtell yourself that you have come to rescue Leia,

but I believe you have really come toDathomir to learn the ways of the Force.”

A thrill coursed through Isolder as herealized that it might be true, and yet, the veryidea sounded absurd. Luke was saying thatIsolder’s every small impulse, each maddecision, could be taken as evidence thatIsolder was his disciple, a servant to somehigher power that Isolder was not evenconvinced existed.

True, Luke had oated through the air,carried Isolder’s ship to safety, but couldn’tthat power have issued from Luke’s owntwisted mind, rather than from some mysticalForce? On Thrakia was a race of insects withgenetically transmitted memories whoworshiped their own power to speak.Apparently the insects all remembered that inthe recent past they had communicated onlythrough scent, and then one day theydiscovered that they had the ability tocommunicate by clicking their mandibles.After three hundred years they were all still

overawed by the fact that they couldcommunicate this way, and all of them took itas a sign that they had been gifted from somehigher being. But it was just their stupidmandibles clacking!

As they walked o through the low hills,following the course of the river, Isolderwatched the Jedi and wondered. Was Luketruly led by some mystical Force? Or did hesimply follow his own conscience, fooled intobelieving that his strange powers and crazednotions came from some outside influence?

With each step they took toward themountains, Isolder had to wonder: are myfootsteps guided by the light side of the Force?And if so, where will this Force lead me?

Whatever answer Isolder found to thatquestion, he knew it would change everyfuture moment of his life.

A

Chapter14

t dawn the morning fog blowing o themuddy river obscured Luke’s vision so that

he could not see more than a few metersahead. The ground along the riverbank hadturned swampy, hindering Artoo’s progress.The trees along the river had all burned androtted, so that limbs pointed up out of the foglike crooked ngers, in shades of ebony andice. Large speckled lizards clung to the trees,sometimes as many as a dozen to a branch,watching the fog-shrouded reeds for prey orpredators.

Behind Luke, Isolder did not speak. Severaltimes Luke turned to see him, deep in thought,brow furrowed. Luke knew only too well whatthe young man must be thinking. Only a fewyears ago, Luke had followed Obi-Wan Kenobi

o on a similar mad quest to take stolenblueprints to Alderaan.

For these past months, Luke considered, I’vewanted so badly to nd the records of theancient Jedi, to nd some talented studentsand teach them of the Force. Yet Luke realizedthe truth: Isolder had sought him out, eventhough the prince showed little talent.

This was Luke’s chance to practice, to teachsomeone to follow the light side of the Force,without the pressure of having to worry aboutwhether the student would become anotherVader.

He picked his way through the mud,watching for quicksand, wondered if that ishow it had happened with Obi-Wan Kenobi.Luke had always imagined that the old manhad been waiting for Luke to mature, like afarmer watching over his eld of grain. Butnow he wondered if Luke’s sudden intrusioninto Obi-Wan’s a airs hadn’t been as much ofa surprise to Obi-Wan as Isolder’s intrusionnow seemed to Luke.

Isolder was obviously moved by the Force.That much Luke could discern, but he couldfeel no power in the prince. Perhaps thepower was so new, so small, that Isolder couldnot feel it himself.

Luke reached a fork in the trail. One waywas high and safe-looking, but the muddy pathseemed to draw him. He followed his instinctdown the muddy path.

Perhaps there had never been a Jediacademy, he thought. Certainly, Ta’a Chumehad lied to him about an academy on one ofher worlds. He sensed that.

Perhaps the Force directed acolytes to theirMasters when they were needed. Perhaps theonly true training of any worth that a Jedicould receive came only as he or she battledagainst darkness.

If this were true, certainly Dathomir wouldbe the perfect academy. Luke could feeltremendous disturbances in the Force—yawning pits of darkness. He’d never runacross anything remotely like it. Yoda’s cave

had held such a darkness, but here—he felt itall around him.

Ahead of them, reptilian avians croaked andapped into the sky on leather wings. Luke

stopped, realized that he had just come to theend of a peninsula that jutted into the river.He could go no farther, and the brackish waterhere bubbled. A tar pit. He cast his eyes aboutfor a place to step.

Isolder said, “What’s that?”Luke looked up. Jutting above the fog in the

river sat a huge metal platform, leaning at anodd angle. The ocks of avians ew aroundthe platform nervously. The rising sun castgolden rays on the rusted metal, turning itbronze, and beyond the platform was anenormous exhaust nacelle, rotted through sothat Luke could see parts of the heavy turbogenerators still intact.

“It looks like an old spaceship crashedhere,” Luke said, realizing after he did so thatthe wreck was far larger than even one of theold Victory-class destroyers. Yet it must have

lain here for hundreds of years.A small wind blew over the river, stirring

the fog, and Luke glimpsed a dome outbeyond the exhaust nacelle, the transparisteelstill intact.

He started to turn to leave when the nameon the rusted exhaust nacelle caught his eye:Chu’unthor.

His mind did a little ip. It was not a race ofpeople that Yoda had tried to free from theplanet hundreds of years ago, but thespaceship. And in all that time, no one hadever gotten it off the planet.

“We’ve got to get out there,” Luke said, hisvoice husky with excitement.

“What for?” Isolder asked. “It’s just an oldwreck.”

Luke cast about through the fog, looking fora way to the ship. They walked back up thepeninsula, circled through the mire for nearlya kilometer until they found two ancientwooden rafts made of logs tied together withrotting hide. They looked like something

children played with. There were fresh markson the bank where the rafts had been tied up.

“Someone was here recently,” Isolderpointed out.

“Yeah,” Luke said, “well, who could pass upthe chance to look at a really neat wreck?”

“I could,” Isolder said. “We don’t really needto go out there, do we? I mean, we came hereto rescue Leia.”

Artoo whistled his agreement, issuing abunch of clicks and beeps to remind Luke thatevery time the droid gets near water, there’s amonster in it.

Isolder looked o toward the mountains,and Luke could see that the prince reallydidn’t want to delay his trip. Yet thepromptings of the Force had led Luke to theplace, just as he allowed it to lead him inbattle. He knew only too well that he musttrust his feelings. Now his feelings told him toget out to that wreck. “It will only take a fewminutes,” Luke said, hopping onto one of therafts. “Who’s coming with me?”

“I’ll wait here,” Isolder said, and Artoo’s eyeswiveled around to look at the prince. Thedroid was shaking scared, but made a grindingnoise at Isolder and rolled onto the raft.

Luke poled the raft out to the wreck. Hugebrown sh lazily sunned themselves in the stillwater. The morning sun had begun burning thefog away, and as he got closer, Luke could seemost of the ship—colonies of living domes, theengineering section. The hull around thehyperdrive engines had rusted through. Theship looked to be two kilometers long, akilometer wide, and eight levels high. Thespace between the windows to the livingquarters showed that the Chu’unthor had beenheavily inhabited, almost a oating city,perhaps some sort of pleasure craft. It wasde nitely made to house people. By the tilt ofthe ship, most of it seemed to be well sunkunder the tar pits, with only the upper decksshowing, and they were pretty badly rusted.

Yet this was no ordinary wreck—there wereno blast marks to show signs of battle, no

gaping holes to show an explosion, nocrumpled structure to indicate a violentlanding. Rather, it seemed that the ship musthave developed a technical problem, oateddown peacefully, then tried to land in the tarpits.

As he got closer, Luke saw that the ship hadbeen sealed tight. Entryways weren’t justclosed—they had been welded shut, and manyof the transparisteel bubbles on the domesbore heavy scu marks, as if something hadtried to batter its way through the transparentmaterial.

The ship was tilted at an angle, so Lukepoled the raft around to the front, which hadsunk deepest into the mire, then climbed uponto the wreck. Someone had indeed tried tobreak into the ship. Luke found many morescu marks on the domes, bent pieces of crudeiron that someone had used to try to pry openthe welded doors, along with shattered piecesof giant clubs and broken boulders. Writinghad been painted here or there in some

strange tongue, and arrows pointed to theweaker welds. Someone had worked for yearsat breaking into the ship, had made it a greatstudy, but their tools were ineffective.

Kids, Luke thought, but no child could havewielded those giant clubs.

Some of the domes had access sockets thatArtoo could have plugged into and opened,but the sockets were far too rusted. Anyway,the whole ship looked as if it had rotted insidetoo. The transparisteel was pitted by blowingsand, almost fogged. Many of the domesseemed to contain training rooms forgymnastics of some kind—huge balls litteredthe oors, as if someone had been playing agame when the Chu’unthor fell. Another domehad been a restaurant or night club. Beverageglasses and uneaten meals sat on rusted tables,covered with dust. Artoo wheeled alongbehind, working hard to negotiate the angle,whistling softly and studying all the damage.

“It looks like whoever was on this ship gotout fast once they landed, and they never came

back,” Luke told Artoo.The droid issued some beeps and clicks,

reminding Luke of Yoda’s message: “Repulsedby the witches.” Luke could feel thedisturbances in the Force here, like darkcyclones sucking in all light.

“Yeah,” Luke said. “Whatever Yodaencountered on this planet, it’s still here.”

Artoo groaned.Luke stopped, looked in at one bubble.

Workbenches stood at the center, and severalbenches held rusted mechanical parts—corroded power cells, focusing crystals, handlesfor lightsabers—tools to make weapons thatonly a Jedi could use.

Luke’s heart pounded. A Jedi academy, herealized, and everything suddenly made sense.I searched forty planets and never found a signof an academy, because the Jedi academy wasin the stars. Of course they needed aspaceborne academy. With so few peoplestrong enough to master the Force, the ancientJedi would have needed to scour the galaxy

hunting for recruits. In each star cluster theymight have found only one or two cadetsworthy to join.

He pulled out his lightsaber, ipped it on,and began cutting through the transparisteel,feeling desperate. This old wreck, as rusted asit was, couldn’t possibly hold anything ofworth. But he had to look. Blue gouts ofmolten transparisteel bounced o the deck ofth e Chu’unthor, and Artoo wheeled back apace.

Luke was so involved in trying to break intothe spaceship, that he almost did not feel herpresence, but suddenly there was a powerbehind him, rushing toward him. He turnedjust in time to see a woman—long reddishbrown hair ashing, tawny hides from somealien creature, strong bare legs. She spun andkicked at him with a leather boot, and Lukefelt the force of her intent, ducked, swung withhis lightsaber.

He felt a ripple in the Force signifying anattack, but before he could respond the girl

swung a club, smashing his arti cial hand hardenough so that circuits shorted and thelightsaber spun away. She kicked at his bellyand Luke dropped and rolled, used the Forceto call his lightsaber back to his left hand.

The girl stopped, and her mouth dropped inastonishment as she saw what he had done.Luke could feel her Force—powerful, wild,like that of no other woman he had ever met.Her brown eyes were ecked with orange, andshe crouched on the hull of the Chu’unthor,panting, considering. She could not have beenmore than eighteen years old, perhaps twenty.

“I won’t hurt you,” Luke said.The girl half-closed her eyes, whispered

some words, and Luke felt a touch, a probingnger of Force that rippled through him.

“How can you work the magic, being only aman?” the girl said.

“The Force is in us all,” Luke said, “but onlythose who are trained can become its Masters.”

The girl studied him skeptically. “You claimto master the magic?”

“Yes,” Luke said.“Then you are a male witch, a Jai, from

beyond the stars?”Luke nodded.“I have heard of the Jai,” the girl said.

“Grandmother Rell says that they areunbeatable warriors, for they battle death. Andsince they battle for life, nature cherishes them,and they cannot die. Are you an unbeatablewarrior?” The Force of the girl rippled, almostas if she would attack, but Luke felt adi erence—the rippling was almost like ablanket, smothering him, binding him, and asLuke tried to imagine what it foreboded, animage came to mind.

He saw the girl hunting in the desert,searching desperately for something that othersguarded, protected. He saw a hut made oftwigs beneath the shelter of a red rock ledge,an evening camp re twisting in the wind, half-naked children playing beside the re. And thegirl was searching, creeping toward the hut,hungering for something within.

The girl smiled at him and began chanting,and the look in her eyes shocked him. He hadnever seen such erce lust. “Waytha ara quethaway. Waytha ara quetha way …”

“Wait a minute!” Luke said. “You can’t bethinking—” Broken bits of stones and clubsbegan rolling over the surface of theChu’unthor, rumbling like an approachingstorm. Behind the girl, the fog over the riverswirled violently. We were repulsed by thewitches.

“Waytha ara quetha way. Waytha ara quethaway!” Lightning crackled overhead and adozen small boulders blasted toward Luke,hurtling through the air. Vader had triedsimilar tricks, but Luke re ected woefully thatVader hadn’t been nearly as good at it. Heswung wildly with his lightsaber, burstingseveral pieces of rock, but one caught him inthe chest, throwing him backward a pace.Repulsed by the witches.

“Wait!” Luke shouted. “You can’t just takemen as slaves and mate with them any time

you please!” Boulders thundered across thehull of the ship, hundreds of them, lungingtoward Luke like a herd of living animals, andhe realized that this woman could do justabout anything she wanted. He raised an armdesperately, trying to turn the rocks aside withthe Force, but his mind was a roiling sea andhe could not gain his focus. Repulsed by thewitches.

A log whirled toward him, spinning, and heducked, stones leaped at him in such numbershe could hardly see them whiz past, andsuddenly she was before him, whirling andswinging a club. He hadn’t even felt her movetoward him, yet her club smacked his skull,lights ashed in his head, and he reeled to theground.

Groggily, he heard the girl yelling at him,realized that she straddled his chest, lockinghis arms with her strong legs, but Luke was tooweak to ght her o . She held his jaw andshouted triumphantly, “I am Teneniel Djo, adaughter of Allya, and you are my slave!”

In the early morning Han struggled up thetreacherous ight of steps carved into the sheermountain cli . As on most low-gravity planets,the volcanic mountains rose tall and sheer, andthey were walking along a cli face twohundred meters above solid black rock. Thestone steps were wide enough even for arancor, and thousands of feet had worn themsmooth. During the night, cold water drippingfrom the mountaintop had deposited a thincrust of ice over the steps, making themtreacherous.

Behind Han, the rancors snarled and pacedslowly, grabbing at the bare rock cli s forsupport, terri ed of falling but drivenmercilessly by their riders. Chewbacca didn’tlook good. He held his ribs and moaned softlyas the rancor carried him along.

In the clear morning light, Han could see thethree women clearly now. Under their robes,they wore tunics made from colorful reptileskins. Each hide tunic ashed in colors of

green or smoke blue or yellow ocher. Overthese, they wore thick robes woven of ber,intricately trimmed with yellow plant bers orlarge dark beads made from seedpods. Yettheir most ornate decorations were the helms.What he had rst thought were antlers in thedarkness, he saw now were merelyheaddresses of blackened metal, curving uplike some odd insect wing. Drilled into thehelms were holes. A child’s playground ofornaments dangled in each hole, swaying witheach step the rancors took. For ornaments hesaw what looked like pieces of agate andpolished blue azurite, the painted skulls ofsmall carnivorous reptiles, a small petri ed stfrom some creature, bits of colored fabric, glassbeads, a piece of beaten silver, a bluish-whiteorb that might have been a dried eye. None ofthe women wore the same style of helm, andHan knew enough about various cultures to bewary. In any given society, the most powerfulmembers tended to dress the most elaborately.

Han kept hold of Leia and Threepio,

concerned that if one of them fell, they mightall tumble from the cli . His breath cameragged, steam pu ng from his mouth. Theyturned one last treacherous corner and lookeddown into an oval-shaped valley hidden in thefolds of mountain cli s. Stick shacks withthatch roofs dotted the valley, andcheckerboard squares of green and tan showedgrowing crops. Men, women, and childrenworked the elds, fed huge four-leggedreptiles in their pens. A large stream ranthrough the elds to a small lake, thentumbled over a cliff into the wilds below.

They descended the stairs, passing a phalanxof ten women, all mounted on rancors. Thewomen were all dressed in similar styles—inrough lizard leather with robes suitable for thecold mountains, helms with antlers. Most ofthe women had blaster ri es, though otherswere armed only with spears or throwing axestucked into their belts. None of them seemedto be younger than twenty- ve, and somehowthe dirty faces of the women chilled Han more

than the mountain air. They did not smile, didnot show grief or worry. Instead, they werecold, brutally impassive, like the faces of shell-shocked warriors.

Above the narrow valley, carved into thebasalt, were forti cations—turrets andparapets and windows. The women hadplaced slabs of plasteel from the hulls ofbroken spaceships over the rock like a mosaic.A couple of odd blaster cannons pointed outfrom the mountain stronghold. Black scorchmarks and pits in the rock showed that thesewomen were indeed at war. But with whom?

The group reached a landing of stone, andon orders from one of the women, one rancorgingerly carried Chewbacca, leading Leia uptoward the fortress, while other rancorsmarched Han and Threepio down into thevalley on a muddy trail, past pens lled withherds of giant dirty reptiles that sat quietlymunching fodder, sullenly staring at Han.

They came to a circle of huts made of twigsand mud, and at the opening of each hut was a

tall stone urn that Han guessed held water.Through open doors he could see colorful redblankets hanging on the walls, baskets of nutson small wood tables, various wood hayhooks.

His guard led him to the back of the huts,where he found dozens of men and youngwomen and children. In a sandy lot lled withweeds the villagers had dug holes and lledthem with water from buckets, making smallpuddles. Each adult sat gazing intently into thepuddle while children stood quietly outsidethe circle, watching.

The rancor stopped, and the warrior astrideit reached down and tapped Han on theshoulder with her spear, pointed at thepuddles. “Whuffa,” she said. “Whuffa!”indicating that he should go look into apuddle.

“Do you have any idea what they want?”Han asked Threepio.

“I’m afraid not,” Threepio said. “Theirlanguage is not in my catalog. Some terms of

their dialogue may be ancient Paecian, but I’venever heard the term whuffa.”

Paecian? Han wondered. The Paecianempire had foundered three thousand yearsback. Han went to one old gray-beard, lookedat his mud puddle. The puddle was small,perhaps half a meter around and only a ngerdeep.

The man sneered up at Han, growled,“Whuffa!” He handed Han a copper blade,indicating that Han should use it to dig, andgave Han a bucket of water, pointed toward afree space in the field.

“Whu a, right. I’ve got it,” Han said, and hetook the items to the clear spot, away from theothers, and scraped out a small hole, poured inthe water. It smelled terrible, and Hansuddenly realized it wasn’t water at all, butsome form of crude fermented beverage. Great,he thought. I’ve been captured by weirdos whowant me to stare into a puddle until I have avision.

He looked at his re ection in the puddle a

moment, realized his hair was mussed up, andused his ngers to comb it. The warriors didnot seem to know what to do with Threepio;they left him on the sidelines with thechildren, who gawked at the droid curiously,but not worshipfully. Up at the fortress, Leiahad already gone into the shadows of an opendoorway. Distantly, Han heard a TIE ghterscreaming through the atmosphere, and thewomen on rancors searched the sky nervously,hands shadowing their eyes.

It seemed a good sign. If these women werehaving trouble with Zsinj, then at least Hanwas in the right camp. But considering thehaphazard nature of the forti cations, maybenot. In any case, he didn’t like the sound ofbeing “judged.” If these women werexenophobes, they might kill or enslaveo worlders out of fear. If they thought Hanand Leia were spies, they could be in evenbigger trouble. Then there was the fact that thewomen had automatically assumed that Hanwas Leia’s slave. He glanced at the warriors on

their rancors. The women watched him coldly.He decided to pretend to be hard at work.

For an hour he sat gazing into his puddle offermented goo, the sun shining on his back,until he realized he was getting mighty thirstyand wondered if it was permitted for him todrink some of the liquor himself. Better not, hedecided. It might not be allowed of slaves.

Leia hadn’t come down from the fortress yet.Han watched a woman come out to a parapeta hundred meters above the valley oor. Shewas an old woman, wearing a leather hide fora cape, carrying a bucket. She stood gazingdown a moment, then waved her hands in theair and spoke, but her words did not carry.After a moment, a crystal ball rose from thevalley oor to meet her. She leaned out overthe parapet, held the bucket under the ball,and the ball dropped, splashing liquid over therim of the bucket. The old woman carried thebucket back into the fortress, and Han satastonished. It had not been a crystal ball

oating in the air at all—but water. Yet it had

not been a natural phenomenon. The ball ofwater had risen slowly.

Han heard a loud sucking sound, lookeddown at his puddle of liquor. Some form oflarge worm had risen to the hole and wasdrinking. Nearby, an old man whispered,“Whuffa!” and Han looked at the toothlessgeezer. He made grasping and pulling motionswith his hands, telling Han to catch the thing.

Han looked at the worm. All he could see atthe moment was a leathery, dark brown skinand a hole that it drank through. After amoment it oozed up a little, showed a headabout the thickness of a child’s arm. All aroundthe crowd, everyone was watching him—children, adults, warriors on their rancors. Allof them remaining absolutely silent, holdingtheir breaths. Whatever a whu a was, thesepeople wanted one pretty badly. There mighteven be a reward in it.

After a moment, the worm eeled up a bitmore, began rolling in the mud, sni ng formore liquor. Still, it looked pretty big, and

there wasn’t much to grab on to. Han waitedfor three minutes, till the worm got up enoughcourage to ooze farther out of its hole, headingfor the bucket of liquor. Han figured it couldn’thurt to let the thing get a little drunk, so he letthe worm stick its ori ce in, begin draining thebucket accompanied by slurping sounds. Theworm had long segments to its skin, no eyes.Han reached down and grabbed it with bothhands, afraid he might break it.

The worm jerked back so hard and soquickly it pulled Han to the ground, but hedidn’t let go. “You’re mine!” Han shouted, andsuddenly everyone rushed around him, waitingto help, children leaping in delight and crying,“Whuffa! Whuffa!”

The worm twisted in Han’s grip, turned itsori ce toward him and spat a pitcher of liquorinto Han’s face, then began wheezing andhissing.

Han held on tight. He could feel the wormtensing, using the friction of the ground to pullitself back, but after a couple of minutes the

worm exhausted itself, and Han pulled itforward a meter. Still, there was more in theground, so he grabbed another handful andpulled. Sweat was running down his face,down his hands, making his grip precarious,but after another three minutes he got anothermeter of the whu a up. Behind him, othermen had grabbed the thrashing head of thething and held it.

Han worked for half an hour before herealized that this was going to be a long job—he had twenty meters of whu a out of theground, and the thing hadn’t begun to taperdown or anything. Yet now he was developinga system. When the whu a fatigued, he pulledout as much as he could as fast as he could,tugging up two or three meters at a timebefore the whuffa could reestablish its grip.

An hour later, Han was reeling from fatiguewhen he yanked on some whu a and foundthat, miraculously, it seemed, he had reachedthe end. The force of his tug knocked Handown. Every kid and man in the village had a

hold on the whu a, which had now gone quitelimp down near its head. Han estimated that itmust be two hundred and fty meters long.With great fanfare, the villagers paraded thewhu a down to an orchard. Old men clappedHan on the back and whispered their thanks,and Han followed them.

The villagers began draping the whu a in abare tree, and Han saw other whu as there,drying in the sunlight. He went over andtouched one. It felt dead, almost rubbery, butthe supple leather of its skin felt good in hishand, strong, even elegant. The chocolate colorwas nice, too. On a whim, he tried to see if hecould tear it—but the stu wouldn’t snap,wouldn’t even stretch. He looked over at thewomen on their rancors, saw that saddles onthe rancors’ necks were tied in place withwhuffa hide.

Great! Han realized. So I caught a rope. Butthe villagers here seemed to think it was a bigdeal. They were all ecstatic. Who knew whatkind of reward they might give him? If they

executed o worlders, maybe being Han Solo,the heroic Whu a Grabber, had just saved hislife. And even though it was just a rope, Hanhad to admit that it was a darned good rope.You could probably sell it o world to fashiondesigners, and maybe there was more to itthan just rope. What if it had medicinalproperties? These people were at war. Maybethey applied whu a hide to their wounds asan antibiotic, or boiled it to make antiagingdrugs. Why, once Han thought about it, therewas no telling what you could do with awhuffa!

“Han?” a woman called. He turned. A dark-haired woman sat astride the neck of a rancorat the edge of the orchard. “My name isDamaya. You will follow me.” She tapped therancor’s nose with her heel, turned the beast.

Han’s mouth felt dry. “Why? Where are wegoing?”

“Your friend Leia has been pleading yourcase to the Singing Mountain clan for the pasttwo hours. She has won your freedom, but

now your future must be decided.”“My future?”“We of the Singing Mountain clan have

chosen not to be your enemies, but that doesnot mean we will be your allies. Weunderstand that you have a sky ship that maybe repairable. If this is true, the Nightsistersand their Imperial slaves will want it. And,since you are a man of power in the outsideworld, they may want you. Our clan needs toknow whether you want our protection, and ifso, what you will pay for it.”

Han followed Damaya, still panting, sweatdripping down his back. After nearly a daywithout sleep, his eyes itched and his sinusesburned as if he were allergic to something onthe planet. The messenger led him up towardthe fortress, and just before they reached thelanding where the stone stairway diverged intothree paths, a group of strangers came up fromoutside the valley—nine women, humanoid,with strangely blotched, purplish skin. Theydid not wear exotic helms like the warriors,

but instead wore only dark, shaggy, hoodedrobes crudely woven from some plant berand covered with trail dust. He wonderednervously if these women had been called into be his judges.

But Han watched the warriors guarding thetrail and knew that the hooded women wereenemies. The rancors growled and dgeted,scraping the stone walkways with their hugepalms. The warrior women held their blastersat the ready, unblinking, though the leader ofthe nine carried a broken spear, probably as asign of truce.

Damaya got o her rancor and led Han upthe steps toward the fortress.

The nine women hesitated at the landing towatch them pass, studying Han intensely. Theirleader, an older woman with graying hair ather temples, had glittering green eyes, and thehollows of her cheeks were a sickly yellowhue. She smiled at Han, causing him to shiver.

“Tell me, o worlder, where your ship is,”she said to his back.

Han’s heart hammered, and he turned. “It’s,uh, over—” he started to point, and themessenger Damaya spun violently on herrancor.

“Tell her nothing!” Damaya commanded,and her words were like a knife slicingthrough some invisible cord that held Han’sthroat. He realized suddenly that the oldwoman had used Luke’s Jedi trick ofcommanding those with weak minds.

His face must have reddened, for Damayasaid, “There is no need to be embarrassed.Baritha has a powerful gift for forcing minds.”

The old woman, Baritha, laughed at him,and Han turned away, angry. She followed himtwo steps, then swung the haft of her spear upfrom behind, tapping his crotchexperimentally.

Han spun, sts clenched, and the old womanwhispered under her breath, chanting, andheld her hand out in a clutching gesture. Hanfelt both of his sts caught in an invisible vise,and joints cracked under the pressure.

“Don’t be so quick to anger, you morsel of aman,” Baritha cackled. “Respect your betters,or next time, it will be an eye—or somethingequally as valuable to you—that I crush.”

“Keep your lthy hands o me!” Hangrowled. Han’s guide, Damaya, casually pulledout her blaster, aimed it at the old woman’sthroat and said something in her ownlanguage.

The old woman released her grip on Han. “Iwas only admiring your prisoner. From behindhe looks so … tasty. Who could resist?”

“We of the Singing Mountain clan su eryour presence here,” Damaya said, “but ourhospitality has limits.”

“You of the Singing Mountain clan are weak-minded fools,” the old woman croaked,sticking her head forward and raising hereyebrows so that her face unwrinkledsomewhat. “You couldn’t throw us out if youhad to, and so you will su er our presence,and submit to our demands. I despise yourpretensions of civility! I spit on your

hospitality!”“I could shoot you in the throat,” Damaya

said longingly.“Go ahead, Damaya,” the old woman said,

pulling open her robes, revealing a shriveledbreast, “shoot your dear aunt! I don’t love lifeanymore since you cast me out of your clan.Shoot me. You know how much you want it!”

“I won’t let you goad me into it,” Damayasaid.

The old woman cackled, said in a poutingvoice, “She won’t let me goad her into it,” andthe robed sisters behind her laughed. Hanfound himself unreasonably angry, wishingthat Damaya would raise the blaster and pluga few of them. Instead, she holstered theblaster, and tapped Han on the shoulder,urging him to walk ahead of her so that sheplaced herself between him and the ninehooded sisters.

The fortress turned out to be even morehammered than Han had seen from below.Everywhere around the patchwork of blast

shielding the rock was cracked and pounded.Many of the cracks had been patched withsome dark green, gummy substance so that thebasalt took on a marbled appearance. Chunksof red sandstone lay scattered on the walkwaysoutside, and Han wondered where thesandstone had come from—all the mountainsnearby seemed to be volcanic in origin.Someone had to have carried the stones severalkilometers.

Two guards at the door to the fortresspeeled from their posts and led the way. Hanglanced back: A dozen Singing Mountainwarriors followed on foot, guarding the robedwomen. They entered the dark chambers ofthe fortress, which was honeycombed withhalls and stairways. The walls were coveredwith thick tapestries and lit by sconces. Theyquickly turned to a room carved into thecorner of the fortress so that windows openedon two sides.

The huge room was nearly triangular inshape, with six openings looking out to the

prairie. Blaster ri es lay stacked near eachwindow, ak jackets had been tossed in pileson the oor, and a solitary blaster cannonpoked out toward the mountains to the east. Ahuge dent showed where something hadsmashed its housing, so that green liquidcoolant lay puddled beside it on the oor. Thecannon was useless. In the center of the room acooking pit was lled with bright embers. Alarge animal roasted above the coals while twomen basted it with a pungent sauce and turnedthe spit.

The room was lled with a dozen women inglittering robes of reptile hide, all in helms.Near the back of the crowd, dressed as one ofthe warriors, Han saw Leia.

One of the women stepped forward.“Welcome, Baritha,” she said to the old crone,ignoring Han. “On behalf of my sisters, I,Mother Augwynne, welcome you to theSinging Mountain clan.” The greeter steppedforward, and despite her kind words, her facewas cold, somewhat guarded. Augwynne wore

a tunic of glittering yellow scales, a hide robewith black lizard shapes sewn around its hem.Her headdress was made of smooth goldenwood and decorated with cabochons ofgleaming yellow tigereye.

“You needn’t bother with formalities,”Baritha said, and the old woman tossed herbroken spear to the oor, the purple veins inher head throbbing. “The Nightsisters havecome for General Solo and the othero worlders. We captured them rst, and by allright they belong to us!”

“We found no Nightsisters with them,”A u g w y n n e answered, “only Imperialstormtroopers trespassing on our land. Wekilled them, and have o ered their preysanctuary among us as equals. I’m afraid wecan’t honor your claims to ownership.”

“The stormtroopers were our slaves,working under our direction, as you wellknow,” Baritha answered. “They were bringingthe offworlders to prison for interrogation.”

“If you only want to interrogate General

Solo, then perhaps I can help you. GeneralSolo, why did you come to Dathomir?”Augwynne’s eyes ashed to the pouch at Han’sbelt, and he took the cue.

“I own this planet and everything on it,”Han said. “I came to check out my real estate.”

As one, the Nightsisters began hissing,shaking their heads, and Baritha spat, “A manclaims to own Dathomir?”

Han fumbled in his pouch for the deed,found the box and pressed its switch. The holoof Dathomir appeared in the air above hispalm, his name clearly registered as owner.

“No!” Baritha shouted, waving her hand. Thebox flew from Han’s grip, tumbled to the floor.

“That’s right,” Han said, “I own this world,and I want you and your Nightsisters o myplanet!”

Baritha glared at him. “Gladly,” she said.“Provide us a ship, and we will leave.”

He felt an odd tugging in his mind, foughtthe urge to divulge the location of the Falcon.

“Enough of this,” Augwynne said. “You have

your answer, Baritha. Tell Gethzerion thatGeneral Solo will remain with the SingingMountain clan, as a free man.”

“You cannot free him,” Baritha breathedthreateningly. “We of the Nightsisters claimhim as our slave!”

Augwynne answered calmly, “He has wonhis freedom by saving the life of a clan sister.You cannot claim him as a slave.”

“You lie!” Baritha said. “Whose life has hesaved?”

“He saved the life of clan sister Tandeer, andearned his freedom.”

“I have never heard of a clan sister by thatname,” Baritha argued. “Let me see her!”

The women of the Singing Mountain clanparted, revealing Leia in the shadows. Shewore a tunic of shimmering red scales, a helmof black iron decorated with small animalskulls. Baritha studied her face doubtfully.“Have I seen this one before?”

“She is new to us, a spellcaster from theNorthern Lakes region, and an adopted clan

sister. Speak the words to the spell ofdiscovery, and you will know that all I say istrue.”

Baritha glared at the women in the room. “Ido not need the spell of discovery to tell mewhat is true,” she said. “You base yourarguments for General Solo’s ownership upontechnicalities!”

“We base our arguments upon laws that youand your kind have never respected,”Augwynne countered.

Baritha growled, “The Nightsisters disputeyour right to these slaves. Release them to us,or we will be forced to take them!”

“Do you threaten bloodshed?” Augwynneasked, and suddenly the room lled withhumming, dozens of women all around Hanmumbling with half-closed eyes. TheNightsisters retreated into a circle, backs toeach other, and held hands, chanting, eyesclosed, heads half-concealed in the shadows oftheir robes.

Baritha shouted, “Gethzerion, we have found

the o worlder. He has a starship, but the clansisters will not give him to us!” Han could heara humming in his ears, almost as if a ybuzzed within his skull. The hair raised on theback of his neck, and he knew for a certaintythat no matter how far away this Gethzerionwas, she had heard Baritha’s call and was nowgiving the woman instructions.

Han started to back away from theNightsisters, seeking shelter, but Baritha lungedfrom her circle and grabbed Han’s arms, herpurple-skinned ngers biting into his shoulderlike claws. He twisted and tried to pull free.One of the warriors of the Singing Mountainclan raised a blaster and red at Baritha’s face,but Baritha merely released her grip, muttereda word, and used her hand to de ect theblaster bolt into the ceiling.

As one the Nightsisters turned and leapedthrough the open windows, their black robes

apping. Han’s heart skipped a beat at thethought of those bodies smashing on the rockstwo hundred meters below. But for a moment

Baritha hovered in the air, twisted to sneer atthem.

“We will have blood!” she roared and thesound of her threat lled the room so that thevery stone trembled. Then she let herself fall.

Han ran to the window, looked out: TheNightsisters lightly dropped to the ground,scurried o like insects into the cover of theunderbrush.

Several clan sisters reached for blasters, butAugwynne said softly, “Let them go.”

She came up behind Han and touched hisshoulder lightly, looking at the blood that ranfrom his wounded biceps. “Well, General Solo,you should consider yourself fortunate thatGethzerion wants you alive. Welcome toDathomir.”

T

Chapter15

eneniel Djo watched her o worldspellcaster struggle at his bonds. She’d

placed his hands in a wood stock, then tiedthem with whu a leather. The stupido worlders—both men—struggled secretlywhen they thought she was not looking, andthis pleased her. The handsome one, he wasno more than a commoner, beautiful butunable to cast spells. But this male witch, hewas a catch to prize.

She herded them through the foothills,unconcerned about whether her captives mighttry to escape. She had not bound their littlemachine, their droid. Oh yes, Teneniel knewwhat a droid was, though she had never seenone close. She feared its escape least of all.Like her other prisoners, it did not need a

close guard.Instead, she watched the brush on the hills

to both sides, often stopping to turn her headas if listening for pursuit. Something botheredher, a tingling feeling at the back of her scalp,a coldness that clawed the pit of her stomach.She whispered the spell of discovery and feltthe dark ones stirring all across the wilderness.For four years she had sojourned in this waste,knowing that she was too close to the Imperialprison, yet she had never felt so many of theNightsisters stir at once. She concentrated onlyon the nearest. She would need all her energyto keep from getting caught.

She led her captives up to a thicket of shorttrees so that she could survey the trails ahead.She climbed out on a rock. The mountainshere were nearly impassable, and Tenenieldared not take her captives on the roughertrails. The machine person would never beable to make it under any circumstances, andthe men would need their hands free. Tenenielsang the discovery spell again. She could feel

Nightsisters to three sides of them—one wastwo kilometers to the south, another threekilometers to the west, and one a kilometerstraight ahead to the east. To the north, youcould not climb the mountain unless you knewthe spells for levitation, and Teneniel doubtedshe could persuade the others to let herlevitate them. She whimpered softly.

“They’re hunting us, aren’t they?” the malewitch whispered.

Teneniel nodded, studying the landscape.She wiped the perspiration from her forehead.

“Free me!” the male witch urged her.“Whatever is out there, I can help you.” Sheglanced at him doubtfully. She had never metan o worlder she could trust. But if he did noteven know what was hunting them, thenmaybe he did not know of the Nightsisters andtheir lackeys at the Imperial prison. Or maybehe was in league with the Nightsisters and onlyfeigned ignorance.

“If I free your hands, do you promise not torun away?” Teneniel asked. Nearby, the

handsome slave twisted his head around,listening to them.

“If I stay with you, what will you do withme?” the male witch asked.

“I will take you to my clan,” Teneniel saidhonestly, “and all of my sisters will witnessthat I have caught you fairly. Once you areregistered as my property, you will live in myhut and sire daughters on me. Do you agree tothis?” She held her breath. She was o eringhim a good deal.

“I can’t agree to that,” the male witch said. “Ihardly know you.”

“What?” Teneniel asked. “Am I so ugly thatyou would rather be captured by theNightsisters? Would you rather spawn withone of them and watch your daughters mastertheir spells?”

“I … don’t know what the Nightsisters are,”the male witch said, yet his blue eyes openedwide with fear, and his voice was tight.

“You can feel them nearby, can’t you?”Teneniel asked. “Isn’t that enough? You will

be a valuable breeder. Who has ever heard of amale spellcaster? Rather than let you—ratherthan let any of us—fall into their hands, I willkill us all.” She pulled out one of theirblasters.

The little mechanical person squealed andits metal housing rattled on its frame. Its singleblue eye swiveled from Teneniel to the malewitch.

“No!” the male witch said, nodding towardhis friends. “It’s not them that the Nightsisterswant, is it? It’s you and me. The Nightsistersare drawn to us. Let my friends go. TheNightsisters will not bother them. You and Ican escape!”

“You will be my mate?” Teneniel askedhopefully. The male witch licked his lips,looked at her—not just at her face, but at herbody, and Teneniel realized with a start thathe thought she was attractive. Overhead awarm wind stirred the trees, and the leavesbegan to whisper.

“Perhaps,” the male witch said. “But I won’t

make that choice unwillingly. I didn’t come tothis planet looking for a wife. I’m not yourproperty, and I won’t allow you to kill anyonehere, including yourself.”

The male witch’s lightsaber ipped from herbelt, activated itself and tumbled through theair, slicing his bonds and returning to his hand.

“I had to ask, at least,” Teneniel said,glancing away. She had been wondering allday if it was possible to keep a male witchenslaved. The ease with which he’d just freedhimself answered that question, and the factthat he could cast spells without voicing themor using gestures unnerved her. Some of thesisters could do that with simple spells, butthis male witch did it with even complexspells. She didn’t want him to see the fear inher face, or the hope. “Tell me, o worlder, domen on your planet have names?”

“I am Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Knight. Theseare my friends, Isolder and Artoo.”

Teneniel laughed. “A Knight? You are notmuch of a warrior, Luke Skywalker.” He used

the lightsaber to cut the bonds of thehandsome prisoner.

Teneniel told Isolder and Artoo, “LukeSkywalker and I will lead the Nightsistersaway from here. As Luke Skywalker has said,they may not be interested in you. If you wantshelter, then you must go to that mountain—the one that juts up like a wall.” She pointedforty kilometers in the distance. “There youwill nd my clan sisters.” She did not tell themthat if they survived the journey, she wouldtake them slave again. She was not interestedin Isolder as a breeder, not with LukeSkywalker around, but she was sure she couldsell him for a small fortune.

She tossed Isolder his blaster, hoping itwould be enough to get him to the clan alive.He already had his pack with its food and tent.

“Come with me, Luke Skywalker,” Tenenielsaid.

“Just call me Luke.”She nodded, took o through the woods at a

run, heading east through a sunny glade where

dewplates grew thick and green. Her discoveryspell still worked; she could feel theNightsister ahead, not half a kilometer o .Teneniel tried to form her plans, consider herbattle spells, but somehow the e ort of tryingto run and think at the same time seemed toomuch. She felt confused, unsure even whichdirection she was running, and she wonderedif she might not be under the in uence of aspell herself—but the thought slipped awaybefore she could grasp it. Teneniel’s gift wascasting the Force storm, and here in the treessuch a storm should be able to hide them. Shehoped to meet the Nightsister head-on, thenslip past her in the storm. It seemed a daringplan to Teneniel, a brilliant plan, to rushtoward the Nightsister. Once the plan wasformed, Teneniel felt a great sense of ease,knowing she had made the right decision.

Luke ran e ortlessly. At rst she thought hemust have great stamina, but after a fewminutes she saw that he did not sweat like anormal person. Therefore, he must have cast a

spell—some spell she’d never heard of, andTeneniel had the unnerving realization that hemight be more powerful than she’d imagined.Truly, she had captured him easily, and he hadtrudged along through the day making a showof pulling at his bonds. But he could havefreed himself at any time, and she could feelthat he did not fear her. And he knew secretspells that none of the sisters had ever heard.

“Do you always use words when you castspells?” Luke asked almost casually as he ran.

“Or gestures. Some learn to cast silently, asyou do,” Teneniel gasped, sucking for air. Lukegauged her as she struggled up the hill,sweating. Teneniel knew she did not look herbest at the moment. When they got back to theclan, she could dress in clean clothes.

The Nightsister could not be far ahead, so asthey ran for the top of a small wooded rise,Teneniel began chanting, eyes half-closed,preparing her spell. She stopped with Luke,and the wind above her trembled, feeling herpower. She peeked over the hill into a small

valley lled with young snowbark trees.Through the thick woods she saw theNightsister dressed in purple robes, along withtwenty of Zsinj’s men dressed in thecamouflaged armor of Imperial stormtroopers.

One trooper shouted, “Up there!” and raiseda blaster ri e. Teneniel focused her spell.Immediately the magic wind rose—stormingacross the ground so hard that rotted leavesand twigs rose in a maelstrom, blinding herenemies. The trees swayed and cracked in thewind.

Luke would have stood watching, butTeneniel grabbed his hand and rushed throughthe storm, the wind following at their backs,unable to see more than an arm’s length infront of them. The wind began to die a bit, andTeneniel worked harder, drawing energy fromthe land. The tempest grew black as Tenenielwas compelled to blast topsoil from theground, and all around them the maelstromdenuded the slender green leaves from thesnowbarks.

The lthy wind blotted out the sun, andTeneniel dodged and wove through the trees,seeking a way past the Nightsister. Tenenielcould still feel her, twenty meters to theirright, and just when Teneniel was sure she waspast, a bolt of blue lightning pierced throughthe haze, struck Teneniel in the breast, jarringher mind, lifting her in the air.

The Nightsister stood before them, amesying from her ngertips, and Teneniel

recognized the hag: Ocheron, a woman whohad been powerful in her clan, a woman giftedat deception. Too late, Teneniel realized thatOcheron had caused them to run into her trap.

Ocheron laughed and the blue lightningarced from her ngertips, sucked Teneniel’sbreath away. She shrieked for help. The amesdug into her like fiery claws. The world reeled,and the blue lightning played over her. Ittouched a breast, and the breast went so cold itfelt as if it had been severed. Tongues oflightning played up her left arm, and the armseemed to die and wither instantly, like a cut

ola vine. A bolt of lightning sizzled into herear, and all sound left her, another arc touchedher eye and half the world went black.

The lightning sucked the very life from eachlimb it touched—slicing parts of her away likea giant blade. She could not ght it, could notrun away. She felt so helpless, she could noteven scream as she collapsed.

Time seemed to slow as she fell. Ocheroncackled and the killing re streamed from her

ngers. Teneniel’s spell faltered: the windhushed. Soot and debris still lled the sky likea dark fog, but twigs began to rain down in thestorm.

Then there was a ash of blue and the smellof ozone as Luke pulled his lightsaber,switched it on and lunged. Ocheron’s eyeswidened in surprise at his attack, and she triedto turn her attention to him—too late. Thelightsaber struck o her head. Purple ameserupted from her neck like water thunderingdown a mountain stream, and Luke coveredhis face, trying to shield himself from the touch

of the dark power he’d unleashed.Four stormtroopers rushed through the dark

fog, ring their blasters. Luke de ected boltswith his lightsaber and attacked, killing themen swiftly.

Teneniel found her voice, tried chantingagain. Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her asthe wind rose around them. She stumbledalong blindly, mumbling her spell indesperation until they reached the top ofanother hill and stepped out of the swirlingmaelstrom.

Teneniel fell silent, and Luke half-carriedher through some deep woods along a hillside.Teneniel remembered an old cave, pulled himto it, and they stumbled inside.

There Teneniel lay on the ground panting.Luke studied her wounds. The blue lightninghad left deep burns. The wounds were searinghot, and Teneniel coughed. Blood ecked outof her mouth, coming up from a wound in herlungs, and she began to cry, knowing she wasabout to die.

Luke pulled at the charred leather of hertunic until it ripped, then traced his ngersover the wound on her breast. His hand wascool, soothing like a balm, and she faded intoa deep, uneasy sleep.

In her dreams, Teneniel was a girl, and hermother had died. The sisters of the SingingMountain clan had laid the corpse out on astone table to dress it and paint her mother’sface in esh tones. But Teneniel knew she wasdead, could not bear to watch the sisters try tocreate the illusion of life. She ran up a ight ofgray steps, past a woven mat that bore theimage of a clan sister in yellows and white,holding a war spear. Beyond it was thewarriors’ hall, a room where commoners—those without the spellcasting ability—or mereapprentices like Teneniel were never allowedentrance, no matter if their mother had beenwar leader, no matter what their level oftalents.

Teneniel let the mat close behind her, andstopped, staring in horror at the sheerenormity of the room. The ceiling seemed tostretch up endlessly, and the far walls werelost in shadows. The war room had beenexcavated through much of the mountain, andeven the echoes of Teneniel’s rough breathingcame soft and di used, lost in the distance. Inthe wall to the left a lookout window hadbeen carved. The window was large enough sothat perhaps twenty women could stand at itabreast, and was shaped in an oval, like theopening of a huge mouth. A row of spears laypropped against the lower sill, remindingTeneniel of the ragged, uneven teeth of arancor.

For a long moment, she felt the yawningemptiness of the room, felt the yawningemptiness inside her. Swallowed, I’ve beenswallowed. Teneniel closed her eyes, tried toforget her mother’s sti and purpled body, therigid ngers curled into claws. Yet the yawninghorror could not be closed out. Somewhere,

she could hear a little girl shrieking in terror.She ran, and everywhere Teneniel went, shepulled aside the hanging curtains to exposerooms. Witches fed in the rooms, reclining onsoft leather cushions. Witches talked daintily,laughing and casting spells. And all the while,Teneniel could hear the young girl crying, butno one seemed to notice.

When Teneniel woke, hours had passed. Itwas night outside the cave, and Luke hadplaced a small mechanical light on a rockbeside her. Teneniel’s tunic was o , and theJedi had covered her with a blanket from hispack. She felt no pain, only a deep sense ofease, unlike anything she had ever felt in herlife.

Teneniel touched her breast, her face. Thescars were hot to the touch, but she could seewith her eye, hear with her ear. She lookedaround the cave. Its walls were crudely paintedwith stick images of women in various poses—

some resting their hands on the heads ofothers, one woman hovering above a crowd,another walking through ames. The cavewent back only twenty meters, and humanbones littered the oor near the back. Atop thepile of human bones was another skeleton—larger, with horri c teeth and a humeruslonger than a man. The skeleton of a rancor.

But the Jedi had gone, leaving his pack.Teneniel got up, drank some water from hergourd. Her feet were cold, so she packed somestraw into her boots, then lay back to rest. Shestill felt weak. Her head spun from more thanfatigue. The Jedi had healed her wounds,never chanting a spell. Among the sisters, nonewho had the healing gift could do such a thing.The healing spells were the most di cult tomaster, and they were sung in such a

amboyant manner that Teneniel oftenthought the sisters put on more of a displaythan they needed. Still, all agreed that thehealing spells must be sung. If the Jedi hadcast such spells without so much as a word, he

must be truly powerful indeed.Often, while camping under the stars,

Teneniel had wondered what it was like onother worlds. She had heard from her sisters ofthe stormtroopers at the prison, so secure withtheir armor and their weapons. But these weakstormtroopers did not understand spellcasting,and they fawned over the recreant Nightsisters.Yet Teneniel had often dreamed thatsomewhere up there on another world weremen like Luke.

Teneniel reached up under the blanket,touched her breast where the Jedi had restedhis ngers. Someday, she thought, someonewill fill this emptiness inside me.

Outside the cave, she heard a scu ing. Lukecame in, followed by Isolder and Artoo. Lukesat at her side, stroked her cheek with hispalm.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked. Tenenielgrabbed his hand, nodded, unsure what to say.She looked into his pale eyes. She had losthim. He had saved her life, and now she could

no longer claim ownership.“The Nightsisters met where we did battle,”

Luke said, “but then turned back. I’m not sureif they are leaving for reinforcements, orwhat.”

“They know there are two of us,” Tenenielsaid, “and you killed Ocheron, one of theirstronger warriors. They may be afraid that wecan overpower them.”

“What about the stormtroopers?” Isolderasked. “They must have had a hundred troopswith them.” Being only a human, he did notunderstand.

“They don’t count,” Teneniel said, and shewondered. Perhaps these o worlders did notunderstand the situation as well as she thought,so she explained, “Stormtroopers are easy tokill.”

“I don’t like this,” Isolder said. “I don’t likethe idea of being backed into this cave.”

“The Nightsisters will not ght us here,”Teneniel said. “This place is sancti ed by theblood of the old ones.” She sat up, nodded

toward the human skulls littering the oorbeneath the skeleton of the rancor.

“You really think that they’ll keep clear ofthis place?” Isolder asked.

“Even the dead have some power,” Tenenielsaid, nodding toward the piles of skulls. “TheNightsisters would not court their wrath.”

Luke nodded. At least the Jedi understood.He asked, “What were your ancestors doinghere? How did they get here?”

Teneniel wrapped her arms around her legs,and stared into his eyes. “Long ago,” she said,“the old ones came from the stars. They werewarriors, masters of machines who builtforbidden weapons—machine warriors thatlooked like men. And they sold them to others,cheap.

“Your people cast them out of the sky fortheir crimes, and sent them here. The warriorswere given no weapons—no metal, noblasters. So they fell prey to rancors.” Tenenielhalf-closed her eyes. She’d heard the story somany times that now she envisioned that

distant past, saw the prisoners sent toDathomir. They were violent people who hadcommitted gross crimes against civilization andwho, therefore, merited only a life outsidecivilization. Many of the prisoners consideredthemselves above the law and thought of theirweapons only as toys. So the ancients hadconsidered it just to strand them on a worldwithout technology.

“For many generations they lived like beasts,and were nearly hunted to extinction, until thestar people cast out Allya.”

Luke had a faraway look in his eye, the wayold Rell did when she saw visions. “This Allyawas a rogue Jedi,” Luke said with certainty,leaning forward. “The Old Republic did notwant to execute her, so the Jedi exiled her,hoping that given time she would turn awayfrom the dark side.”

Teneniel said, “She used her spells to tamethe wild rancors and hunt food. She taught herdaughters all of her lore, and taught them tohunt for their mates, even as I hunted for you.

While rancors dined on others, the daughtersof Allya prospered from generation togeneration, teaching their own daughters thespells. We divided into clans, and for a longtime the clans vied for men in friendlycompetition, stealing mates. We governedourselves, punished anyone caught using thenight spells. In my grandmother’s day, wepushed the wild rancors from these mountains.My grandmothers hunted the last of them. Wehoped for peace at last.

“But in my mother’s time, the outcastNightsisters gathered together. At rst, theywere not many, but …”

“Some of you tried to ght them, using theirown tactics,” Luke offered. “And those who didbecame Nightsisters themselves.”

Teneniel looked up at Luke. “So, does thisthing happen on other worlds too? Some ofthe sisters say it is only a disease, an illnessthat we catch, which turns us into Nightsisters.Others say it comes from using the spells—butI do not know which spells they are talking

about. Our spells have been tested overgenerations.”

“It is none of your spells and all of yourspells,” Luke said. “Tell me, how old wereAllya’s daughters when she died?”

“The oldest was sixteen seasons,” Tenenielsaid.

Luke shook his head. “A mere child—tooyoung to learn the ways of the Force. Listen,Teneniel, it isn’t the spells themselves that giveyou power—you are drawing on the Force, apower created by all living things around us.Because the daughters of Allya were strong inthe Force, they mastered it somewhat. But itisn’t the words you speak that give you power,nor is it any one spell that corrupts you: it isthe intent with which you cast your spells, thenature of your desires. If your heart is corrupt,your works will be corrupt. If you listened toyour heart, then you would know this.”Teneniel dgeted. “I think you do know this,”Luke continued. “You could have killed thatNightsister and the stormtroopers a few hours

ago. Instead you simply tried to cover yourescape, sneak around them. Your … generositysurprised me.”

“Of course. If I killed the Nightsisters, Iwould be as evil as they are,” Teneniel said

ippantly, trying to hide her fear that shemight become one of them.

“You listened to the Force, let it guide you,”Luke said. “But in other ways you are cruel.You tried to kidnap me and Isolder. Do youreally think you could take a man slave, orpummel me with rocks, and still hope toretain your innocence?”

“I wasn’t trying to kill you when I hit you,”Teneniel said, “just catch you! I wouldn’t evenhave hurt you badly!”

“Yet you know it is wrong to take anotherperson captive?”

Teneniel glared at him, dgeted. “I—hopedto love you. And if I did not love you, then Icould have sold you to someone else whowanted you more. It’s not as if I were going tomake you do anything bad. The daughters of

Allya have always hunted for mates this way.”Luke sighed, as if exasperated. “Do all of the

daughters of Allya do this, or just some ofthem?”

“If a woman is rich enough,” Tenenielanswered, “she can buy a man she likes. I amnot rich.”

Isolder leaned forward. “These Nightsisters,what are they doing with the stormtroopers?”

“Eight seasons ago, a leader from the starssent stormtroopers to build a new prison. Anoutcast from our clans, a Nightsister namedGethzerion, took employment from thestormtroopers, helping to catch runawayslaves. At rst the Imperials liked her,promised to train her as a warrior and give herglory. But when they began to see her power,they feared her and decided to strand her onDathomir. The Imperials blew up the ships atthe prison, stranding their own soldiers in theprocess. It is rumored that Gethzerion killedthe leaders at the prison, and thestormtroopers are so terri ed of her that they

obey her every whim. She has promised themfreedom if they will help her escape to thestars, for now that she has seen how weak theImperials are and how much they fear her, shebelieves that she will someday rule worldswithout end. But for now Gethzerion contentsherself by making war with the clans, killingsome of our sisters, enslaving others. Many ofthe clan sisters have joined her.”

“What does she do with the unfortunatecaptives there at her prison?” Luke asked.

“She keeps them as slaves, hoping somedayto barter them,” Teneniel said.

Luke half-closed his eyes. “Gethzerion knowswhat she is doing. She hopes to turn all ofyour sisters to the dark side. With an army ofthem at her back, she really could become apower in the galaxy.” He looked at Teneniel.“How many Nightsisters are there?”

“No more than a hundred,” Tenenielanswered. For a few moments she dared hopethat Luke knew how to get rid of them—buthe paled at her answer.

“And how many spellcasters are in yourclan?”

Teneniel seldom visited her clan, had notbeen home in three months. With so many ofher sisters killed recently, and so many havingbeen captured by Gethzerion, Teneniel wasafraid to give an answer, yet perhaps the Jediwould think it was enough.

“Twenty-five or thirty.”

T

Chapter16

hat evening, ames ickered in the cookingre and juice sizzled and popped over the

coals as men carved the beast and heaped it onearthenware platters with tubers, nuts, anduncooked shoots. Han sat on leather cushionson the oor with Chewbacca, Leia, andThreepio in the fortress of the SingingMountain clan. Han found that his weariness,the coming dark, and a full stomach made ithard to keep his eyes open. Yet Chewie fedhungrily, bandages wrapped over his ribs. TheWookiee’s marvelous regenerative powers lethim heal more in a day than a human wouldin two weeks.

Outside, through the open portals, Hancould see erce storm clouds in the distance,

ashing lightning. The stars here burned

fiercely above the tree-covered mountains.Around him, the witches laughed and taught

their daughters spells in the shadows. Theyoung girls wore shirts and pants of simplehides, not the elaborate costumes of the fullytrained witches. Yet the witches seemed morecasual, more cozy around their children. Theyremoved their headdresses and let their hairdown. Without their full attire, they weren’t sointimidating, and reminded Han only ofrugged peasants.

The witches’ husbands worked silently,dressed in tunics of woven plant bers, servingmeals to the women so quietly that Hanalmost felt as if they must be communicatingtelepathically.

Augwynne sat nearby so that she couldspeak softly to Han and Leia. She noticed howHan frequently eyed the distant storm. “Do notworry yourself,” she said. “That is onlyGethzerion, thrashing in impotent fury. But sheis too far away. There will be no Force stormtonight.”

“Gethzerion is making that lightning?”Threepio asked, his eyes suddenly bright.“Why, I wonder how much power output shecan produce.”

Augwynne looked at the distant clouds,unconcerned, and a brilliant branch of orangelightning with many tongues arced up into thesky, as if expressly for her to see. “Oh, she’svery powerful, and very angry. But for tonight,she will not come. She’s gathering the sisters ofher clan and won’t move against us until theyare all safely together.

“So,” she said, as if to change the subject,“this deed to Dathomir that you own. Is itreally worth anything?”

Leia said, “It will be when the NewRepublic wins back this sector.”

“And how soon will that be?” Augwynneasked.

“That’s hard to say,” Han answered,nervously eyeing the sky. “It could be threemonths, it could be three decades. But it’s apretty sure thing. Zsinj is a great warrior, but

he’s not a good governor. The more we whittleaway at his eets, the faster his worlds willslip from his grasp. As soon as his commanderssee him falter, they’ll be at his throat.”

Chewbacca roared a confident agreement.“Chewie believes Zsinj will fall within a

year,” Threepio said. “But my programsindicate that at the current rate, he could holdon to his power for considerably longer thanthat. I estimate that he’ll fall in fourteen pointthree years.”

“I think Chewie’s guess is closer,” Han said.“But things could still be rough for a whileafter that.”

“Tell me,” Augwynne said, her voice edgedwith excitement. “How can I buy this planetfrom you? Do you value gold, gems? There areplenty of both here in the mountains.” Theroom suddenly quieted around him, as witchesnearby listened for Han’s answer.

Leia shot Han a knowing glance, waiting forhim to name a price. “Well,” Han hesitated.“Since I own everything on this planet, those

gold and gems are pretty much mine. Theplanet is valued at three billion credits. Ofcourse that’s just for the real estate. Thatdoesn’t include improvements—buildings,fixtures …”

Augwynne studied his face a moment,nodded, not realizing that he was joking. Shelooked at the faces of her sisters. “We of theSinging Mountain clan have no money,” shesaid, “but we would o er you our service inpayment. Tell me three things you desire, andwe will grant your wishes, if it lies within ourpower.”

“Well,” Han said, looking at the expectantfaces of the witches. He had not forgottenDamaya’s words earlier. Though these witcheswere not his enemies, they had also not chosento be his allies. That could come only with aprice, and now they were naming the coin. Hewasn’t taking them too seriously. “The rstthing I wish, is that I could get o of thisplanet.” He looked up at the vaulted stoneceilings. “Then, I guess I’d like some of the

gold and gems you were talking about—say asmuch as a grown rancor could carry. And lastof all … if you can convince her, I want Leia’shand in marriage.”

Augwynne looked at Han and Leia, noddedthoughtfully. “Leia told us you would ask forthese three things,” the old woman said. “TheSinging Mountain clan will do all that it can tomeet your purchase price, but Leia is not partof the bargain. We cannot force her into amarriage. We will have the gold and gems bydawn. At this very moment, three sisters havegone to retrieve your ship so that you and yourhairy Wooka can fix it.”

“Now wait a minute!” Han said, realizing hehad spoken too soon, not realizing the witcheswere serious.

“You’re too late!” Leia gloated. “You’ve justsold yourself a planet!”

Han began to object, and Chewie growled,but Augwynne raised a hand. “Do not regretyour price, Han Solo. The sisters of the SingingMountain clan will gladly pay it, though it cost

many of us our lives. Gethzerion may ght usin hopes of capturing you and your ship. Thatis why the Force storm rages out over thedesert. But we have already considered yourterms, and we accept.”

Already considered your terms, Hanwondered. So that was why Leia had spent somuch time with them earlier in the day whilehe had worked in the elds. The witches hadbeen pumping her for information, schemingways to get this planet from him, and they’dagreed to ght the Nightsisters in his behalf.They’d probably even timed it so that theybrought Han and the Nightsisters upstairstogether so that Han would see what theopposition was like. In other words, they hadmanipulated him from moment one. ThisAugwynne was pretty slick. Han asked, “Whatwould you do even if you owned this planet?”

“We would sell land to settlers,” Augwynnesaid, “and hire teachers to come to us from thestars. We would join the New Republic andlearn your ways so that in time our children

will no longer be outcasts, living in theserough hills.”

She did have things planned. In fact, itsounded to Han as if Leia might have donesome recruiting before Han was brought upfrom the elds. Threepio said, “Excuse me, butmight I inquire as to how you are going toretrieve the ship?”

Augwynne said, “The sisters took threerancors. They will cut down some trees andmake a skid, then pull the ship back here. Wewill cast a spell and lift it up into themountain, where we can conceal it while youwork on it. Would this be adequate?”

“I suppose,” Han said, taken aback. Hedidn’t like the idea of selling his planet, butnow that he thought about it for a moment,considering the Nightsisters, he suspected thismight be the best o er he could get. “If therancors are as big as the ones I’ve seen, then,yeah, three or four could pull it. But I wouldn’twant it banged up any more than it is.”

Augwynne pursed her lips, studied him

thoughtfully. “Our sisters should have it backhere by dawn. I must warn you, you will be ingreat danger: Now that Gethzerion knows youhave a starship, she will not relent in herpursuit of it. She will send the Nightsisters tocapture it at the very least.”

“If the Nightsisters plan to launch an attack,”Leia asked, “how long will it take?”

“The Nightsisters are cautious,” Augwynnesaid. “I think they will launch a full attack onlyif they believe that their forces can overwhelmus. We have cast spells to learn of their plans.Right now, some of the sisters are scatteredand are in the process of returning to the city.Once they combine their numbers, I believethey will march as soon as possible. We haveperhaps three days. You will need to repairyour ship and leave before then.”

“Or what?” Han asked.“Or we might all die,” Augwynne said

seriously. “If the Nightsisters attack, I do notbelieve that our clan will be able to withstandthem. There are a dozen other clans in the

mountains, but even the nearest is a four-daymarch. I have sent runners to the sisters of theFrenzied River and the Red Hills clans, askingfor aid, but it will come only after we retreat.You must leave before the Nightsisters canattack!”

Han looked at Chewie, Leia, and Threepio.He’d gotten them into a real jam this time. Thebest thing for the clan here would be if hesimply blew up the ship so that Gethzerionwould have no reason to hunt him down. Butif he did that, they might never get o of thisplanet. Han could handle being maroonedhere, but what of Chewbacca? The Wookieehad a family, and though he would stay here ifHan required it, Han couldn’t demand thatkind of sacri ce from him. Threepio? Withouthis oil baths and spare parts, he’d fail within ayear. And of course there was Leia. He’d forcedher here against her will and now feltobligated to take her back. Yet he knew shewould not value her freedom above the livesof others.

Han sat cross-legged, rested his hands on hisknees and rubbed his eyes. I covered my trailpretty darned good, Han thought. But sooneror later, someone is going to track us down.Omogg might gure out where he’d gone. TheDrackmarian was smart. She might even sellsuch information to some bounty hunters. Hanwas sure the New Republic would put a priceon his head. Sooner or later, someone wouldcome looking. There might still be some hopefor escape from this planet. “I don’t reallywant Gethzerion trying to run o in my shipany more than you do,” Han admitted. “Butmaybe we should just give it to her.”

Chewie roared and Augwynne said, “Wecan’t give Gethzerion a ship. She is toopowerful. You can’t give her access to thestars.”

“Han,” Leia said, “Augwynne has lled mein on a few things. I believe the Emperorhimself was afraid of the Nightsisters. That’swhy he interdicted this planet. Years ago, hestarted a nice little penal colony here, not

knowing about the Nightsisters. When helearned about them, he blew the planet’sair eld from orbit and stranded hundreds ofhis own people here, along with the prisoners,rather than risk letting Gethzerion escape.That’s how frightened he was of Gethzerion.

“Those warships up above us were put thereto keep people on this rock as much as tokeep them fenced out. And now that Zsinj is incharge of this sector, he’s still afraid. TheImperials who got stranded at the prison mightstill be able to cobble some kind of a shiptogether, and Zsinj has to watch out for that.”

Han sighed, “Maybe we should just blow theFalcon. Then Gethzerion wouldn’t have anyreason to come hunting for us.”

“Never concede to evil,” Augwynne said.“That is our oldest and most sacred law. Whenwe concede to evil, even in a small way, wefeed it, and it grows stronger. Gethzerion hasgrown powerful because we of the clans havenot challenged her for far too long. We shouldhave fought her years ago, when we saw what

she was becoming, but we always hoped thatwe could turn her from her ways. If we needto ght her now, then we will do it, for it isthe right thing for us to do. And you must xyour ship and leave. That is the right thing foryou to do. I for one will do all in my power toprotect you.”

Han fumbled in his pocket, pulled out thedeed for Dathomir, and extended it toAugwynne. “Here,” he said, “you take this.” Inthat moment, Han wondered how he couldhave ever been so deluded as to think that Leiawould choose a husband based on the materialgoods he could offer.

“No,” she objected, pushing his hand away.“We have not earned it yet.”

“Take it for safekeeping then,” Han said,“until you feel you’ve earned it.”

Augwynne cradled the cube in her hand,lovingly. “Someday,” she whispered.

Han sighed. He remembered the explosionsas the orbiting warships pounded the wreckup by the lake, destroying any trace of it. Parts

would be hard to come by. If he had all theparts—the wiring, coolant, and a nav computer—then he and Chewie could probably x theFalcon in a few hours. But that was starting tolook like a big if. He could strip wiring fromanywhere—a couple of crushed Imperialwalkers would do. He toyed with the idea ofdraining coolant from the walkers’ hydraulics,but decided it wasn’t worth the risk: themixture might not meet the rigors of trying tocool a hyperdrive generator on a spacefaringship. Still, if the prison had had even a modestshipyard, they ought to have a couple ofbarrels of coolant, maybe a spare astrogationbrain or even a whole R2 unit. “In themorning, I’ll check out my ship, gure outexactly how damaged it is. I know right nowthat it’s going to need some parts. We’ll needto leave for the prison tomorrow to scavenge.Augwynne, can you send someone to guideus?”

Augwynne studied him for a moment,dancing ames re ecting from her dark eyes

and graying hair. “I think it is time for you torest. You can look at your ship and make yourplans in the morning.”

Han yawned, stretched. Leia watched theground by the re. At rst, Han thought shewas thinking, but he realized after a momentthat she was just exhausted, half-asleep, lettingher mind drift. He got up, pulled o her helm,surprised to nd that it was actually quite lightin his hands. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”

She looked up at him dully, a hint of angeror confusion in her eyes. “I’m not going to bedwith you!”

“I just meant—I thought you’d like it if I xa bed up for you.”

Leia looked away angrily, and said, “Oh.”“You all look tired,” Augwynne said. “I’ll

take you up to your room.” She lit a candle inthe re and then led Han, Leia, Chewie, andThreepio away from the noisy diners, up thedrafty stairs to a large sleeping chamber. Anopening led from the room out to a stoneparapet overlooking the valley. The room

itself held dozens of straw beds spread out onthe oor, covered with heavy blankets.Augwynne’s male servant lit a re in a smallhearth, while Augwynne went out on theparapet for a moment and watched the distantlightning. She sang softly. When she returned,she muttered, “Gethzerion is restless, and shehas posted Nightsisters quite close to thefortress. I’ll increase the guards tonight. Sleepsoundly.”

“Thank you,” Threepio said, patting herback as she left. “Well, she seems hospitableenough,” he remarked after she’d gone. “Iwonder what they have in the way of oilaround here.” The droid paced the room,studying his surroundings.

Leia took o her robe, pulled out her blasterand set it under her blanket, then lay down ona mat to sleep. Chewbacca went into a corner,put his back against a wall, then sat down withhis bowcaster in hand, hung his head andclosed his eyes. Han glanced around the room,took a mat by the window where the fresh

mountain air blew in. His sinuses werede nitely bothering him. Great, he thought, Iwin a planet in a card game, and to top it allo , I’m allergic to it. Outside, he could stillhear the booming of thunder, the songs of thewitches in their halls below, and waterdripping on the parapet outside the window.

It was quiet, and Han could not quite get tosleep. Threepio walked around the roomnervously and then said, “Princess Leia, wouldyou like some relaxing music to help yousleep?”

The golden droid stood in the center of thestone room, eyes shining, head tilted to oneside.

“Music?” Leia asked.“Yes, I’ve written a song,” Threepio said,

“and I thought you might appreciate it if I sangit to you.” His tone said that he’d be o endedif she didn’t listen.

Leia frowned, and Han rather pitied her.He’d never heard Threepio sing, but hecouldn’t imagine that it would be much good.

“Sure,” Leia said hesitantly, “but, maybe justthe first verse.”

“Oh, thank you!” Threepio said. “I’ve titledmy song, The Virtues of King Han Solo’!”

A musical intro with horns and strings beganplaying, and Han found himself a bit surprised.He knew that Threepio could mimic othervoices, and he’d heard the droid give somenice sound e ects when telling stories to theEwoks, but he’d never heard music comingfrom the droid. Threepio did a ratherconvincing impression of a full symphonyorchestra.

Then he began swirling in dance, doing asoft-shoe that scraped and echoed over thestone oors, and the droid sang in a deepvoice that sounded an awful lot like JukasAlim, one of the galaxy’s more popularsingers:

He’s got his own planet,Although it’s kind of wild.Wookiees love him.

Women love him.He’s got a winning smile!Though he may seem cooland cocky,He’s more sensitive thanhe seems,

(Chorus sung in accompaniment with threewomen who all sound like Leia)

Han Solo,What a man! Solo.He’s every princess’sdream!

Threepio ended with a ourish of horns anddrums and a tap routine, then took a bow toLeia. Leia just stared at him with an expressionsomewhere between bewilderment and horror.

“Hey, that’s pretty good,” Han said. “Howmany more verses do you have?”

“Only fteen so far,” Threepio said, “but I’msure I can come up with more.”

“Don’t you dare!” Leia said, and Chewieroared his agreement.

“Well!” Threepio hu ed. He powered downfor the night.

Han lay back and smiled to himself. Thechorus “Han Solo, / What a man! Solo,” keptringing through his mind the way that stupidjingles will, and he took a strange sort ofpleasure in knowing that Threepio had goneto so much trouble.

He listened to Chewbacca’s deep breathingas the Wookiee fell asleep. Yet Han lay,restless.

“Han,” Leia whispered.“Yeah?”“That was nice of you, o ering her the

planet.”“Oh,” Han said, almost choking on the

words, “it was nothing.”“You’re a pretty nice guy sometimes,” Leia

said.Han raised an eyebrow, looked across the

room to where Leia rested on her mat,

blankets pulled tight against her throat. “So,uh, does that mean you love me?”

“No,” Leia said flippantly. “It just means thatsometimes I think you’re a pretty nice guy.”

Han lay back, smiled, and breathed thesweet night air.

When Augwynne returned to her councilchambers, the children and men were stillthere, but the sisters of her clan had formed acircle. “Well,” she said to the sisters, madenervous by the presence of the men andchildren she had sworn to protect, “you haveall seen what the o worlders o ered. Now wemust decide how best to meet their price.”

Old Tannath said, “Moments ago you quotedthe Book of Law, saying that we should notconcede to evil. But when have we of theSinging Mountain clan ever stopped concedingto evil? Gethzerion is powerful because we ofthe clans have not challenged her for far toolong. When she began following her dark

ways, we could have put an end to her easily.”“Hush,” Augwynne said. “That was long ago,

the mistake cannot be unmade. We were rightto hope that she would turn from her ways.”

“She violated all of our laws,” old Tannathsaid. “Those who commit evil are supposed togo into the wilderness alone to seek cleansing,but she sought to unite the forsaken ones andcreate the clan of Nightsisters. We could havekilled them all when there were less than adozen. And when she and her cohorts went towork for the Imperials, we could have warnedthe o worlders at the least. Yet even then wedid not ght her. Admit it, Augwynne, youhave loved Gethzerion too much, and we havefeared her too much. We should have killedher years ago.”

“Tannath, do not question past decisionshere,” Augwynne said, letting her tone of voicecarry her anger, “in the presence of men andchildren. We would not want to upset them.”

“Why not? Will my words upset them anymore than Gethzerion’s attacks?” Tannath

asked. “ ‘Never concede to evil.’ I ask that thecouncil obey its own law.”

“We have all agreed to this already, earlierthis afternoon,” Augwynne said. “We have allagreed to help Leia and the offworlders.”

“You agreed to help them, but did you agreeto pay the full price? Even if we can helpthem x their ship and escape, do you thinkGethzerion will just allow us that smallvictory? No, she will seek vengeance.”

The room became silent as the witches heldtheir breath, thinking. If a sister from anotherclan stole a male slave to take as a husband, itwas considered unseemly for the man’s ownerto steal him back. You allowed the victory. ButAugwynne could see that Tannath understoodthe Nightsisters too well. The Nightsisterswould not allow the Singing Mountain claneven a small victory.

Sister Shen was nursing her baby, and shelooked up, suddenly frightened. “We will haveto prepare to escape,” the young woman said.“We can evacuate the children and the old

now, send them to the Frenzied River clan. Weshould prepare to retreat if we are attacked.”

“And leave the ship in the hands of theNightsisters?” Tannath asked.

“Yes,” another answered. “If Gethzerion leftthe planet, we would be rid of her.”

“For how long?” Sister Azbeth asked. “Shedreams of power and glory. Yet she wouldknow that we are her enemies. No, she willhunt us down. We would gain nothing, in theend. No, we must fight her.”

“But if we ran—” one of the sisters said.“Then the Nightsisters would only chase us,

ght us in the open where we have noadvantage,” Tannath said. “No, we mustprepare to make our stand here, at SingingMountain, where our weapons andfortifications will be some help.”

“Sisters, you are talking war,” a witch saidfrom the back of the crowd.

“And what choices do we have, really?” oldTannath asked.

“But I am afraid it is a war that we cannot

win,” Augwynne said.“If we choose not to ght, then we will have

only chosen to lose without ghting,” the oldone answered. “I for one will ght. Who iswith me?”

The old witch looked around the room, andthe clan was quiet, even the sound of breathingwas sti ed. Augwynne looked at the rigidexpressions, the set eyes of the women, andcould see that this decision was one theyregretted having to make. It was a decisionthey had put off too long.

Sister Shen juggled her nursing child to theother breast, said, “I am with you,” and at theback of the room two more answered, “I amwith you,” and their small voices fell like thefirst tumbling stones that signify an avalanche.

Hours later, Han woke to the sound ofdistant thunder in the moonlight, the smell ofsome sweet perfume. The re had died in thehearth, and outside the window, out on the

parapet, Leia stood facing him. Her long robedraped to the stone, and the scattered light ofmoonbeams made a halo of her hair.

“Han, come here,” she said. Her voice rangin his ears, unnaturally loud in the still room,but not unpleasant.

He got up from the straw mattress, slowly.He cleared his throat, and said, “What’s goingon? What are you doing out there?”

She put a nger to her lips, glanced downthe side of the cliff. “Come,” she whispered.

Han hurried over, nervous. Leia seemed so—at ease, rested. Not her usual self. Hanwondered if it was just the darkness wideningher pupils that made her eyes seem so large,so liquid. Leia took his hand. Her small ngerswere cold, more heavily calloused than heremembered. She walked out to the edge ofthe parapet. “Come with me,” she said moreloudly. “I won’t let you fall.” She began singinglightly, swaying in dance, and it felt as if awarm woolen blanket fell over his mind,

making his thoughts muzzy. She took a stepout and stood in midair, and Han thought heshould be surprised, yet somehow it seemednatural for Leia to be standing in the air. Hewanted to follow, but somehow his throattightened, his face felt hot, and his kneeswobbled.

“Don’t be afraid,” Leia whispered. “The dropis not so far as it seems. I won’t let you gethurt.”

Han’s knees seemed to strengthen, and thewarm burning in his cheeks and ears lessened.He took a careful step.

A blurring gure dressed all in hides leapedfrom the dark doorway behind them. The steelof a vibro-blade hummed in the air, slasheddown through Leia’s face. She shrieked anddropped, clinging to Han’s wrist, pulling himover the edge.

Suddenly Han recognized his danger. Hejerked away re exively as Leia fell shriekingto the rocks two hundred meters below.

The gure in black pushed Han to the

ground, pulled a blaster and began firing at thecli face. There were women crawling up therock wall, clinging impossibly like spiders. Allof them looked like Leia. Han gasped, watchedthem scurry backward, then leap away anddrop safely to the ground. Other guards rushedout to the parapets and began ring. Withinseconds the Nightsisters disappeared.

The woman who had saved him pulled backher hood, stood panting in a cloud of paleblue smoke and ozone from the blaster. “Iknew they’d come for you,” Leia said, glancingsideways at Han, and only that dangerous rein her eyes and the sure way she gripped theblaster let him know that it was the realprincess. “They’ll be back.”

T

Chapter17

he next morning as Isolder sat at thecamp re cooking a clutch of lizard eggs, he

looked up at the cave walls, at stick gurepaintings of women that danced on the roughstone. The smoke above the re gathered atthe top of the cave, an ominous blue cloud.Outside the sun had just risen, and ecks ofsunbeams beat through the wiry trees. A longgreen lizard on a nearby tree apped its gillsand made spitting noises.

At the back of the cave Teneniel stirred,propped herself on one elbow. “Thank you forstaying with me,” she said, blinking sleep fromher eyes.

“It was nothing,” Isolder said.Teneniel argued softly, “You could have run

away.”

Isolder nodded, looked down at the re toavoid seeing the gratitude in her eyes. Tenenielseemed thoughtful. In the corner, Artoo’s lightssuddenly ashed as he powered up for theday. The little droid looked around the cave,whistled and chimed.

After a moment, Teneniel said, “Your metalfriend asked to know where Luke is.”

A chill ran down Isolder’s spine. Every timeh e turned around, it seemed that Luke orTeneniel was doing one more superhumanthing. Teneniel had rst come upon him bythe river, danced around him, singing to himcoyly, then held a rope out for him. He’dthought perhaps it was some odd custom, andas he reached to take it, the thing had leapedin the air and wrapped its coils around him sofast he’d thought it was a snake. Before he’deven thought to yell, Teneniel had stuck a gagin his mouth. Later in the afternoon he’d seenthe devastated forest where she’d battledZsinj’s troops—trees stripped of leaves,denuded of bark; even the ground had been

gouged. Now she was interpreting somecybernetic code for him. It gave him the chillsto be in the presence of beings with suchpower.

“Luke just went to ll the canteens. He’ll beback in a moment. How much farther till wereach your clan?” He turned the eggs, listenedto them sizzle and pop.

Teneniel got up, wrapped her robe aroundher naked body, and walked over to the re.Isolder thought she would sit to warm herself,but instead she leaned over and cupped hischin in her hands, then kissed his lips tenderly,experimentally. He was so surprised that hedid not pull back. On all of Hapes, no womanhad ever treated him that way: so casuallyforceful. Instead, the women around him hadbeen respectful but distant. When she nished,she stepped back, licked her lips as if to tastehim. “You are very handsome,” she said. “Iwish you were Luke, and not just somecommoner.”

Isolder had to think for a moment. He’d

never been called a commoner before, beingthe prince of the hidden worlds, yet when hesaw her power, he understood how she couldthink of him that way. “Luke’s … a good man—a great man,” Isolder agreed. “I can see whyyou would like him.”

“All night long I dreamed about him,”Teneniel said. “You could never take his placein my heart.”

Isolder thought it such an odd thing to saythat he suddenly realized that more was goingon than he understood. Luke came in at thatmoment. “I’ve got the water bottles lled, andthe trail ahead seems clear. Let’s go.”

Isolder scraped the rubbery eggs from thepan, gave several each to Luke and Teneniel.Teneniel wrinkled her nose in disgust, butLuke said, “They’re pretty good. You ought totry them.”

“I do not know what you eat on yourworlds,” Teneniel said, “but it is obvious thatyou do not know how to cook.” She did noteat the eggs.

They broke camp and walked a kilometerthrough the forest, then came to a wide, lightlygraveled trail leading north and south.Teneniel led them south on the trail for fourkilometers, then took a better road east,following a river. By midmorning they came toa low valley where fog climbed up the stonemountainsides. Teneniel led them up awinding stone trail, still wet from the night’srain. She took Isolder’s hand and held it therest of the way, as if he were some schoolchildthat might slip o the face of the cli . Whenthey reached the top, he thought they hadcome into a valley of oddly shaped stones, butas they walked through the fog he saw thewitches, dark shapes in the white fog,straddling shadowy monsters.

Isolder stopped to stare at the women withtheir helms, their intricately embroideredcloaks and glittering tunics of scaled leather.Luke’s R2 unit began to rattle in its housingand moan softly. Teneniel gripped Isolder’swrist tighter, pulled him urgently, and Luke

followed.As they passed between the monolithic

mounts, the women stared down at Isolder andgave a loud ululating cry, smiling at Tenenieland laughing. He could not doubt the meaningof the hoots and chatter. These women cheeredhim as if he were a stripper.

Teneniel led them to a landing, then up aight of stairs to a stone fortress marred from

battle. Apparently their presence was causingsome kind of stir, for a crowd followedbehind.

There, at the doors of the fortress, an oldwoman came out, bearing a sta of goldenwood with a great white gem near a knob atthe top.

“Welcome, Teneniel, my daughter’sdaughter,” the old woman said. “It has beenmonths since you last visited us. Did you ndwhat you seek?”

“Yes, Grandmother,” Teneniel said, stillholding Isolder’s wrist. She dropped to oneknee. “I hunted near the old wreck at the

throat of the desert, guided by a vision, until Ialmost despaired. But I captured this man fromthe stars, and I claim him as my husband.” Sheraised Isolder’s wrist in the air. “His name isIsolder, from the planet Hapes!”

Isolder was stunned. He pulled his wristdown and backed up a step, but the womenaround him crowded close, cooing inadmiration. “All of you sisters see this man,”the old woman said. “Do any of you disputeTeneniel’s ownership?”

A tenseness to Teneniel’s stance told Isolderthat this was a dangerous moment. The oldwoman searched the faces of the crowd, andIsolder looked at the warrior women. Manyhad dark looks on their faces, openly envious.Others smiled at him playfully, lustily.

“I do!” Isolder said, because no one elsespoke up.

The old woman jerked back a step. “Youclaim that some other sister of the SingingMountain clan is your owner?”

“He came with me peaceably!” Teneniel

argued. “He could have run away, but he gavehimself!” Her voice was lled with such pain,such betrayal, that Isolder did not know howto answer her.

“I—I only wanted to help you!” he said,looking to the old woman to referee. “She wasinjured. I only wanted to help care for her!”

From the recesses of the stone archway, Leiaappeared in a gown of glittering red scales.“Isolder? Luke?” she called, and Isolder’s heartswelled inside him.

He choked back a cry, and Leia rushed intohis arms, hugged him. “Are you all right?”Isolder asked.

“Fine,” Leia said. “I can’t believe you cameall this way. I can’t believe you found me!Luke,” she cried, and she hugged the Jedi.Isolder stared at them agape a moment.Somehow, he had never realized that theywere so close.

The old woman said to Leia, “Do you knowthis man? Is he your slave?”

“No, Augwynne,” Leia said, separating from

Isolder and Luke a bit. “He’s a friend. Where Icome from, we don’t have slaves.”

Augwynne thought a moment. “So, Tenenielcaptured him fairly. This one belongs to her.”

“Isolder once saved my—” Leia began toargue, then tensed as Augwynne gave her ahard look.

“What?” Augwynne asked. “You wouldplead for his freedom on the same ground thatyou did for Han Solo?”

“We were attacked,” Leia said. “Isoldersaved me.”

Augwynne studied Leia’s face and saidskeptically, “You seem uncertain. Why? Whatis the whole truth?”

“It was a brief melee,” Leia answeredregretfully. “I’m not sure who our attackerswere firing at—me or Isolder.”

“Thank you for answering honestly,”Augwynne said, patting Isolder’s hand.

Augwynne glanced at Luke. “What of thisone?” she asked Teneniel. “He’s not badlooking. Will you also take him for a slave?”

As one, both Teneniel and Leia said, “Hesaved my life,” and Teneniel added, “This oneis a male spellcaster, a powerful Jedi. He slewNightsister Ocheron.”

At those words, many of the clan sistershissed and stepped back, gauging Lukeskeptically, and some of them beganwhispering to one another in their ownlanguage. From the cautious glances, thefrowns, the whispered voices, Isolder guessedthat more was going on here than he knew. Itwas almost as if they found Luke’s presence tobe … portentous.

Augwynne studied Luke carefully and thenglanced at the other women. She shook herhead and laughed, feigning dismay. “Bah!Three new men in the village, and only one ofthem eligible—and him just barely? It soundsto me as if every man up there in the starsmust have saved Leia at least once. All of mylife I’ve wanted to travel o planet, but now—Iwonder how I’d fare. Tell me, Sister Leia, arepeople always trying to kill you?”

Isolder could not miss the uncomfortabletone in her voice. She was nearly begging Leiato change the subject. “Well, the last few yearshave been pretty rough,” Leia admitted.

“Perhaps some evening, you will have to sitby the re and spin your tale,” Augwynne said.“But for now, I must make a ruling. I give thisman Isolder into custody of Teneniel Djo, tokeep as her husband.”

“What?” Leia asked so loudly that Isolderjumped.

Augwynne whispered into her earinsistently, as if to keep her quiet. “He belongsto Teneniel. She hunted for him, she caughthim, and she is very lonely.”

“But, you can’t just take him as a slave!”Leia said.

Augwynne shrugged, waved at the womenaround her as if to give proof. “Of course wecan. Every woman on the council owns at leastone man.”

“Don’t fear,” Teneniel said, trying to calmLeia, “I won’t use him harshly.”

“Luke,” Leia urged. “You’ve got to stopthem! You can’t let them do this!”

Luke meditated a moment, shrugged.“You’re the New Republic’s emissary. Youknow galactic law better than I do. You handleit.”

Leia stopped speaking a moment, looked atLuke and Isolder. Isolder thought about itquickly. Under New Republic law, the normaladministration of a airs on any planet wouldbe handled by the planetary governor,whoever that was, or by regional heads ofo ce in case there was no planetary governor.In this case, Augwynne was a regional head ofgovernment, and all the New Republic coulddo was lodge a formal protest.

“I protest this,” Leia said. “I protest this verystrongly!”

“What does that mean?” Augwynne asked.“Do you wish to ght Teneniel Djo for right ofownership?”

Isolder shook his head no, and Leia held hiseye a moment. “What kind of ght?” Leia

asked. “Are we talking to the death, or what?”“Perhaps,” Augwynne said, shaking her

head. “You might be wiser to o er to buyhim …”

Luke shook his head at Leia and said, “Don’tworry, Leia, it will be all right.”

Leia waited for a long time, and said,“Teneniel Djo, I wish to buy this servant. Whatwould you require for him?”

Teneniel glanced around the crowd, andIsolder suddenly realized that she might havemore than one bidder.

“He is not for sale—yet,” Teneniel said.Leia looked at Isolder, and said, “I’m sorry.”Teneniel took Isolder’s hand, looked up at

him, and her eyes shone in a strange shade ofcopper that Isolder had never seen on Hapes.Isolder let her hold his hand, and he did notfeel uncomfortable. That in itself seemed odd.Everything in him, all of his training, screamedthat he should ght these barbaric customs, yeton some deep level he didn’t fear Teneniel,and in fact trusted her implicitly.

Luke hugged Leia to comfort her, and Artoocame close enough so that she could pet hissensor window with her hand. Luke said, “Sowhere are Han and Chewie? I thought they’dbe with you.”

“They should be down soon,” Leiaanswered. “The sisters dragged the Falcon inearly this morning. Han is checking thedamage now. It got pretty well trashed duringthe ride down to Dathomir, but it looks likethe only way o this rock. What about yourship?” Leia had an undertone of warning inher voice when she asked about the ship.

“We could probably sell whatever is left of itfor scrap,” Luke said, but Isolder noted that theJedi did not mention that Isolder’s ghter wasstill intact. Isolder took it as an unspokenwarning. The fog was continuing to climb upthe mountain even as they spoke, and now ithung over their heads by an arm span, likesome celestial ceiling.

Isolder felt someone touch his buttocks,turned. The witches were pressing close,

brushing against his back. He thought perhapsthey were trying to get a better look at Leia,but suddenly realized that they weren’t tryingto get a view of Leia or Augwynne, they weretrying to get a closer look at him. One youngwitch patted his hip and whispered lustily,“My name is Ooya. Let me show you where Isleep.”

“I think we’d better go in to talk,” Leia toldTeneniel, grabbing the witch’s arm with herleft hand. Leia also grabbed Isolder’s handpossessively, pulled him along. “Come on, let’sgo nd Han,” she said, glancing over hershoulder at the other women. Isolder thoughtit odd how much Leia’s grip was likeTeneniel’s. She had not been on the planet twodays, and already she was mimicking thewitches’ body language—the way they heldtheir heads high, their peculiar strut. Inanother week he imagined that she would tinto their clan as if she’d been born to it. Itwas the type of subtle thing that only adiplomat with a great deal of training could

manage.They went into the fortress, and though

many of the witches did not follow, some ofthe women began whooping and making lustyululating cries. Isolder felt his face going red.

As they walked through the door of thefortress, Augwynne touched his armmomentarily, stopping both him and Luke.“Go visit your friends,” she said to Luke, “butcome see me immediately afterward. Yourcoming here is no accident.”

Leia led them through a maze of stonepassageways up six ights of stairs, then downa hallway to a huge cavelike room. The Falcon

lled almost the whole space. Isolder couldsee no large opening, no way that they couldhave brought the ship in.

He studied the walls for a moment, saw thatseveral huge stones had been cracked on thefar side. Which meant that the witches hadsomehow broken a hole through the stonewall, hoisted the Falcon vertically over twohundred meters in the air, then resealed the

wall once they had gotten the Falcon insideunder the cover of fog. The witches had done alot of work. Given the simple Iron Agetechnology of the place, all of these featsseemed impossible, and Isolder realized thatsomehow, in the back of his mind, he did notwant to know how the women hadaccomplished so much.

The Falcon lit the room with one headlamp,and the ship’s running lights were on. Hancouldn’t have powered up so many systemsoutside without worrying about detection fromorbit, but Isolder realized that the thick rockwould cover the electronic signature.

They went up the ramp into the Falcon,found Han and Chewbacca in the cockpitrunning diagnostics. A protocol droid wasmessing with fried wiring around the maingenerators.

“Han!” Luke said, as they entered thecockpit, but Han didn’t return the enthusiasticgreeting; instead, he turned back to hiscomputer, and Isolder realized that Han felt

guilty, couldn’t face Luke at the moment.“So, you found us, kid? Well, I gured it was

only a matter of time. Things have gottenpretty sticky here. You didn’t happen to bringany spare parts, did you?”

“What’s going on, Han?” Luke asked. TheWookiee patted the Jedi on the shoulder,growled a ectionately. “You don’t just kidnapLeia, drag her halfway across the galaxy, andthen say hi, as if nothing happened.”

Han spun in his captain’s chair, looked up,smiled a controlled smile, as if he wouldscream if he did not smile. “Well, see, ithappened this way: I won a planet in a cardgame and really wanted to see it badly.Meanwhile, the woman I love was planning torun o with another man, so I convinced herto take a short trip with me. Only when wegot here, I found the skies full of warships thatshot me down—because no one bothered towarn me that the planet was interdicted—andafter we crashed, a bunch of witches decidedto start a war over who gets the wreckage of

my ship. So I’ll tell you, Luke, I’ve had a reallyb a d week so far. Now, to top it all o , Isuppose you’re going to lecture me, or arrestme, or beat me up. So tell me, how is yourweek going?”

“About the same,” Luke said. He held histongue a moment, looked at the control panel.“What’s wrong with your ship?”

“Well,” Han said, “we blew ouranticoncussion eld generators, cracked thesensory array window, fried the brains out ofmy astrogation computer, and leaked abouttwo thousand liters of coolant from the mainreactor.”

“I brought Artoo,” Luke o ered lamely. “Hecan navigate the ship.” Luke looked back atIsolder, as if asking him to speak. Isolder couldsee that now was not the time for reprimandsor sticu s. Right now, they needed to worktogether. But it was all he could do to keepfrom bashing Han Solo in the mouth.

“I’ve got my ghter here,” Isolder said, andTeneniel took his hand. Isolder didn’t want to

speak about it too loudly, and he glancedbehind him. None of the other witches hadfollowed them into the ship.

“You’ve got a working ship on this planet?”Han asked. “How many people can it hold?”

Isolder considered his answer. If he told himtwo, would Han try to steal the ship and takeLeia with him? “Two.”

Luke looked at Isolder curiously, and Handrew a breath in relief. “I want you to get Leiaand y her out of here, right now!” Han said.“There’s a bunch of people here who wouldkill for that ghter, and believe me, you don’twant to meet them!”

“He’s testing you,” Luke casually said toHan. “His ghter holds only one, and we’vealready met the Nightsisters.” Han’s face gotdark with anger, and his eyes looked hollow,haunted.

“You passed the test, General Solo,” Isoldersaid.

“We’re in serious trouble here,” Han warnedIsolder. “Don’t play so rough with me.”

Isolder didn’t like Han’s tone of voice.“You’re lucky I don’t play rougher,” Isoldersaid. “I’d gladly beat your face in for whatyou’ve done here. You’ll be lucky if I don’t.”

Luke watched Isolder calculatingly.“Go ahead and try it,” Han said, “if you

think you can handle me.”Isolder glanced at Chewbacca. Wookiees

specialized in their own form of hand-to-handcombat, and when a Wookiee disarmed anopponent, the opponent was literallydisarmed. And if that didn’t subdue you, theWookiee would go ahead and rip off your legs,too. Isolder wanted to make sure the Wookieedidn’t join in the fray. Chewbacca shrugged,whined something in his own language.

“Hold on, now,” Leia said. “We’ve gotenough problems here without ghting amongourselves. Isolder, I came here with Hanwillingly … sort of. He asked me toaccompany him as a friend, and I agreed.”

Isolder glanced at her, disbelieving, not surewhat was going on. He’d seen the holo vid

clips of the alleged abduction, but he couldn’tcall Leia a liar. “Uh,” he said, embarrassed.“General Solo, I think I owe you an apology.”

“Great,” Han said. “So, let’s get back towork. Why don’t you start by coming up witha way to get us out of here?”

“I’ve got a eet on its way,” Isolder said.“They should be here in another seven or eightdays.”

Han asked, “When you say eet, how big afleet are you talking?”

“About eighty destroyers,” Isolder said.Han’s jaw dropped, but Leia said, “Seven

days isn’t quick enough. If Augwynne iscorrect, the Nightsisters will attack in three.”

Isolder put his arm around Leia. “Myastrogation droid can pilot the ship for a jump.We could send Leia home.”

“I don’t think so,” Leia said. “I’m not goingwithout the rest of you. Han—if you had all ofyour spare parts, how soon could you get thisship fixed?”

Han calculated. Plugging the rupture to stop

the coolant leak would take only a fewminutes. You might even be able to pour thecoolant in while in ight. The R2 unit couldpatch in on a moment’s notice to navigate.Installing new anticoncussion eld generatorsmight take two hours. The easiest thing wouldbe to put on a new sensory array window.Two hours, if everyone helped and theyhurried.

“Two hours,” Han answered.“I suggest we cannibalize Isolder’s ship,”

Leia said, “fix the Falcon, and get out of here.”Isolder looked at the Falcon skeptically. It

was a big ship compared with his fighter—fourtimes the length. With all the extra shieldingand cargo space, it had to be forty times themass. “What kind of anti-concussion eldgenerators are you using?” Isolder asked.

“I’ve got four banks of Nordoxicon thirty-eights. All of them are down. What are yourunning on?”

“Three Taibolt twelves.”Chewbacca roared something.

“Yeah, that’s a bust,” Han admitted. “Whatabout your sensory array window?”

“Point six meters across,” Isolder said.“That’s a little small for us,” Han grimaced,

“but if we had to, we could weld some plateover my current array, make the windownarrower. It would cut our sensor capabilitiesa little.”

“Yeah, that would work,” Isolder agreed.“But where are we going to get a big enoughfield generator?”

“Could we y without it, sir?” Threepioasked.

“Too dangerous,” Han said. “We’re not justworried about missile attacks, we’ve got tode ect micrometeorites. If one tore throughthe sensor array, it could take out a lot ofsensitive instrumentation.”

“Maybe there’s some kind of eld generatorsnear the prison,” Han said, throwing his handsup. “An armored gun emplacement, a wreckedship, something. I’ll just have to go there andsee.”

“If we can nd some generators to steal, itwill be a four-man job just to pull them, andwe might need a sentry to watch for trouble,”Isolder said. “Then there’s the problem oftransporting the stu . We’re talking nearly twometric tons of equipment here.”

“We can worry about moving the stu oncewe get it,” Han said. “The prison’s got to havesome antigrav sleds at least.”

“You can count me in,” Luke said.“I’m already in,” Leia added.Isolder considered a moment. They wouldn’t

be able to take the Wookiee into the city.Chances were that no one on this planetoutside of the soldiers had ever seen one. Thesame was true of Threepio. That left themshort-handed. He didn’t like the idea of havingLeia endanger herself, but they were runningshort of options. He looked back at Teneniel,pleading. The witch appeared to be frightenedbut determined.

“I’ll guide you to the prison,” Teneniel said.“But I’ve never been inside. I don’t know what

you are looking for, and I don’t know where tofind it.”

“Have any of your clan sisters been insidethe prison?” Leia asked.

Teneniel shrugged. “Augwynne would knowsuch things better than I. I’ll get her.” Tenenieltook o , returned a few minutes later with theolder woman.

“None of our clan has been inside theprison,” Augwynne said, “except those whohave become Nightsisters.” She was silent for along moment.

“What of Sister Barukka?” Teneniel saidhesitantly. “I heard that she has becomeforsaken.”

Augwynne hesitated a long time, thenlooked up at Leia. “There is a woman of ourclan who joined the Nightsisters, but hasrecently left them at great price. She now livesalone as one of the forsaken and haspetitioned to rejoin our clan. Perhaps shecould help guide you, tell you where to ndwhat you seek.”

“You seem reluctant to recommend her,”Leia said. “Why?”

Augwynne answered, softly. “She is ghtingto cleanse herself. She has committedunspeakable atrocities that have left a greatmark upon her. She is forsaken. Such peopleare … untrustworthy, unstable.”

“But she’s been inside the prison?” Hanasked.

“Yes,” Augwynne said.“Where is she now?”“Barukka lives in a cavern called Rivers of

Stone. I can send one of our warriors to guideyou.”

“I’ll take them, Grandmother,” Tenenielo ered, placing a hand on Augwynne’sshoulder. “Perhaps you could escort them tothe war room and get some lunch. You couldshow them the map and plan our route. I’llhave some children prepare mounts.” She tookIsolder’s hand. “Come with me, please,” shesaid. “I’d like to speak with you.” She pulledhim along as if she expected him to follow.

She took him down some stairs through amaze of corridors and stopped to pick up apitcher of water, then led him into a smallchamber that held a single mattress and atrunk. A large mirror made of silver sat on onewall, with a sink beneath it. “This used to bemy room, when I lived here with the clan atSinging Mountain,” Teneniel said. She openedthe trunk, pulled out a soft tunic of red lizardhide, another of green. She held them up.“Which do you think Luke would like the beston me?”

Isolder didn’t dare tell her that the wholeidea of wearing lizard hides seemed ratherbarbaric. “The green goes better with youreyes.”

She nodded, casually stripped o her tornand soiled tunic, pulled o her boots, andstood gazing in the mirror as she took a ragand gave herself a sponge bath. Isolderswallowed hard. He knew that on someplanets, humans had di erent notions ofmodesty, and the businesslike way in which

Teneniel bathed seemed to indicate that shereally wasn’t trying to entice him.

“You know, I don’t understand yourcustoms,” Teneniel said. “Yesterday morningwhen I captured you, I thought you wantedme, and the idea attered me. I gave you everyopportunity to escape rst, and you took thecapture rope in your own hand. I knew thatyou had come seeking a woman. I could feelthat about you.” She frowned, glanced over herback at him. “But now I see that it is this Leiawoman you want.”

“Yes,” Isolder said, looking at the sculptedmuscles in her back. Teneniel was not abeautiful woman by Hapan standards—in fact,she was rather plain—but Isolder decided thatshe had some rather fascinating musculature.She was de nitely athletic. He’d seen fewwomen on Hapes with her kind of build—notthe compact, beefy muscles of a bodybuilder,nor quite the leanness of a runner or swimmer.Instead, she was something in between. Heasked, “Do you like to climb a lot?”

Teneniel shot a smile over her back. “Yes,”she said. “Do you?”

“I’ve never tried it.”Teneniel toweled o , slipped on her tunic,

pulled her long hair back over the top of itand began combing the tight curls from herhair. “I like the feel of climbing rocks,”Teneniel said, “getting all sweaty. When youget to the top of the mountain, if the weatheris right, you can take o your clothes andbathe in the snow.”

Although he really felt no attraction for thegirl, he realized he would have to be prettytired not to dream about her tonight. “Isuppose you could.”

When she nished combing her hair, she puton a headband of bright white cloth, turned tohim and smiled. “Isolder, I would give youback your freedom outright, but if I did, theother clan sisters would only capture you. Sountil you leave, I think it best if I give youyour freedom in all but name.”

Isolder knew she was trying to be kind.

“You’re very generous.”She gave him a friendly kiss on the forehead,

and took his hand again, led him down to thewar room.

Leia and the others stood around a hugemap on the oor, molded of clay and painted.A clan sister was plotting a route through themountainous countryside, a route that wouldkeep them away from established trails thatGethzerion’s spies might be watching. Theroute would take them on a tortuous path overa hundred and forty kilometers of mountainand jungle, to the edge of the desert where theprison lay. Only the strongest rancors would beable to make such a journey in just three days.

Isolder looked at Leia, kept wonderingabout her, wondering if she were really allright, wondering if Han had really kidnappedher. She did not seem to be angry with Han orfrightened of him. Yet Isolder could notimagine that she would simply run away withhim on some wild ing. He swore in his heartthat if she had chosen Han, he would win her

back. He casually made his way to her side,held her hand. Leia smiled up at him, gazed athim fondly, and though they stood there forten minutes while the witch marked their trail,Isolder studied only the curve of Leia’s neck,the color of her eyes, the scent of her hair.

After they had eaten, Augwynne took Lukeand Isolder to a side bedroom where atoothless crone with wisps of white hair satwrapped in a blanket, snoring. Her seat was astone box with a cushion atop it, and twoelderly women attended.

“Mother Rell,” Augwynne whispered to thecrone, lightly shaking the woman’s shoulder.“We have two visitors to meet you.”

Rell caught her breath, opened her eyes andsquinted at Luke. Her leathery skin wasspotted purple with age, but her eyes gleamedlike brown pools. She tenderly took Luke’shand. “Why, it’s Luke Sky-walker,” the cronesmiled in recognition, “who started the Jediacademy all those years ago.” Luke inched,for the crone had not been told his name.

“How are your wife and children? Are theywell?”

Luke stuttered, “We’re all ne.” The hair onthe back of Isolder’s neck stood on end. Hehad the odd feeling that he was looking into abrilliant light.

The crone smiled knowingly and nodded.“Good, good. If you have your health, you havemuch. Have you seen Master Yoda lately? Howis that old flirt?”

“I haven’t seen him lately,” Luke answered,and Rell’s grip went slack, her eyes dimmed.She seemed to forget that Luke was evenstanding there.

Augwynne directed her attention to Isolder.“Luke brought another friend to see you,”Augwynne said, and she put the old woman’sspidery fingers in Isolder’s hand.

“Oh, it’s Prince Isolder,” the old woman said,leaning close to peer at him. “But, I thoughtGethzerion killed you. If you’re alive, then …”She studied him a moment, then her face wentdark with realization and she looked up at

Augwynne. “I’ve been dreaming again, haven’tI? What century is it?”

“Yes, Mother, you’ve been dreaming again,”Augwynne answered soothingly, patting theold woman’s hand, but Rell would not looseher grip on Isolder’s hand. Her eyes lost theirfocus.

“Mother Rell is nearly three hundred yearsold,” Augwynne explained, “but her spirit is sostrong that it will not let her body die. When Iwas a child, she used to tell me that someday aJedi Master would come with his pupil, andthat when he did, I should bring them straightto her. She said she had a message for you, butshe is not lucid at the moment. I’m sorry.”

Augwynne seemed tense, and she tried topry the old woman’s grasp free from Isolder’shand. Rell smiled at them all, her white headbobbing like a oat on the water. “It’s beenpleasant visiting you,” Rell told Isolder. “Pleasecome see me again. You’re such a nice younggirl or boy or whatever you are.…”

Augwynne got the old woman to free

Isolder’s hand, and she took the men from theroom, ushering them hurriedly.

“She sees the future, doesn’t she?” Luke said.Augwynne nodded mechanically, and Isolder

became extremely uncomfortable, for if the oldwoman was right, Gethzerion would kill himwithin the next few days. “Sometimes she getslost in it as easily as she becomes lost in thepast,” Augwynne explained.

“What else did she tell you about me?” Lukesaid.

“She said that after you came,” Augwynneanswered softly, “she would let herself die.And she said that your coming would signalthe end of our world.”

“What did she mean by that?” Luke asked,but Augwynne only shook her head and wentto the hearth. Her manservant ladled somesoup into her bowl. Luke must have seen thefear etched into Isolder’s face, for he put hishand on Isolder’s back.

“Don’t worry,” Luke said. “What Rell saw isonly one possible future. Nothing is written.

Nothing is written.”

A

Chapter18

fter lunch, Teneniel led the group down totheir mounts. Though the noon sun did not

seem particularly warm, the rancors werealready bathing in the ponds below thefortress, wading around on the bottom withonly their nostrils showing.

Some of the boys from the village wereshouting orders to the rancors, and soon fourof them came up out of the water. The boysput breastplates on the rancors, hauling up theheavy mail made of pieces of bone and bits ofarmor all tied together with whu a hide. Oncethey got the armor on the rancors, the boysclimbed up on their bony headplates and tiedon the saddles. The saddles were situated in ashallow depression just in front of theheadplate, and were held in place by means of

ropes tied to the beast’s fangs, then strung backbetween its nostrils to the thorny bones at thetop of its head plate. Two saddles were put oneach mount.

Leia chose to ride an old sow, a herd leadernamed Tosh, who had pale green lichens andmoss growing in her warty brown skin. Hangave her a boost up on the rancor so that shecould climb up its knobby arms to the bonyplates on its shoulders, then leap over to thesaddle. Then Han helped Isolder and Luke lugthe droids up onto one of the mounts and tiethem in. Taking the droids was di cult, butthey needed Artoo’s sensors.

Once they nished, Teneniel climbed up onone of the mounts and Chewie on another.Han came to Leia’s mount and started lookingfor a foothold to climb up, but Luke hurriedover.

“Say, uh, Han,” Luke said softly. “I was sortof hoping to ride with Leia. It’s been a longtime since I’ve seen her, and I sort of wantedto get caught up on a few things.” Leia could

feel an unusual tenseness in Luke.“No way, buddy,” Han said. “She’s mine.

Why don’t you ride on that rancor over there?”He nodded toward Teneniel. “That Teneniel isdefinitely hot for you.”

“Her?” Luke said. “I wouldn’t know aboutthat.” Luke blushed, and Leia suddenlyunderstood: Luke was feeling shy, and yet shecould feel that he was pulled in two directions.He liked the girl but didn’t want to get close.

“You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed her,”Han said. “I mean, that woman is de nitelyput together just right.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Luke smiled weakly.“So, what? You’re telling me you don’t want

her?” Han asked in disbelief.“We’re just from such di erent worlds,”

Luke said.“But you’ve got so much in common. You’re

both from strange little backwater planets. Youboth have odd powers. You’re male and she’sfemale. What more do you need? Believe me,buddy, if I were you, I’d go right up there and

ask her if she wants to ride on my rancor.”“I don’t know,” Luke said. Above them, Leia

could feel some of the tension ease out of him.Han had nearly talked Luke into it.

“Okay, if you don’t want to ask her to ridewith you, maybe I should ask her to ride withme,” Han said, glancing up at Leia.

“Oh, you’re so juvenile,” Leia shot back,“trying to make me jealous. Well, it won’twork.”

“Hey,” Han said, “I’m the jilted lover here. Ifyou want to ride with His Highness Isolder,that’s your prerogative.” He waved towardIsolder, who was standing over by Teneniel’srancor. “But if I go looking for some lovelyyoung lady to comfort me while I’m on therebound, why should you care?”

“I don’t care—much,” Leia said. “It’s not youI’m worried about. I just don’t want you usinganother woman that way!”

“Me?” Han said, throwing his arms wide andshrugging in a gesture of disbelief. He turnedto look at Teneniel, but Luke was already

climbing the rancor to sit next to her. Isolderhad sneaked back around Leia’s mount, and hescurried up in that instant, leaped in the saddlebeside Leia.

“Too bad, General Solo,” Isolder said,patting Leia’s knee. “It looks as if you willhave to ride beside your hairy Wookiee friend.But I know that won’t bother you, since youtwo are so close.”

Han glared up at Isolder, and Leia de nitelydid not like the look in his eyes. The daydidn’t get much better from then on.

They started by taking a back trail overSinging Mountain so that the rancors had toclimb down a hundred-meter cli . Theyproved to be terrible mounts in many ways—when a rancor looked around, the creature’sentire head plate shifted right and left orbobbed up and down, depending on its line ofsight. If it walked upright, its awkward gaittended to be jarring enough so that aninattentive rider could easily get thrown, andwhen it dropped to all fours and loped

through the thick brush, just staying mountedbecame an incredible feat. All in all, riding arancor proved to be as physically demandingas any task Leia had ever undertaken. Yet bynightfall she was convinced that a personcould never travel in these mountains withoutone.

Twice they came to great canyons a trainedclimber would be afraid to scale, yet therancors dug their huge claws into ancienthandholds and toeholds carved in the cli s,and shinnied up and down the stone. Duringone such incident, Han’s rancor knocked free astone that barely missed crushing Isolder. Theprince glared up at Han, and Han smiled downweakly. “Sorry.”

“Perhaps not sorry enough! If you cannotsteal her from me, do you think to murderme?” Isolder said, jaw clenched.

“Han wouldn’t do that. It was only anaccident,” Leia assured Isolder, but the princescowled up at Han nonetheless.

Isolder remained quiet for a long time, but

when their rancor was marching well ahead ofthe others, he said, “I still don’t understandwhy you came here with Han so abruptly.” Hedid not say any more, did not pry, but his tonespoke of his frustration, demanded an answer,an answer that she did not want to give.

“Does it really seem so odd that I would runo with an old friend like Han?” Leia asked,hoping to change the subject.

“Yes,” Isolder said rather vehemently.“Why?” Leia asked.“He’s rather abrasive …” Isolder said,

cautiously, as if thinking.“And?”“Oa sh,” Isolder concluded. “He’s not good

enough for you.”“I see,” Leia said, trying not to let her rising

anger show in her voice. “So, the prince ofHapes thinks that the king of Corellia is anabrasive oaf, and the king of Corellia thinksthat the prince of Hapes is slime. I can see thatyou two won’t be forming a mutualadmiration society anytime soon.”

“He called me ’slime’?” Isolder said, shockevident on his face.

A moment later, in heavy brush where aman would have spent hours cutting his waythrough even with a vibro-blade, the rancorssimply crashed through the foliage. As Isolder’smount pushed through some trees, Isolder helda branch to keep it from scratching Leia, thenlet it swing back, whacking Han andChewbacca. Han shouted, “Hey! Watch it!”

Isolder ashed a smile. “Perhaps, GeneralSolo, you should watch out for yourself. This isa very dangerous planet you’ve led us to, lledwith all manner of dangerous species ofslime.”

Han’s face darkened. “I’m not worried!” hesaid. “I can take care of myself.”

They rode on for most of the rest of theafternoon without incident, perhaps too wearyto ght. Leia listened to Luke and Tenenieltalking softly, Luke instructing her in the waysof the Force, the girl telling of hunting ahorned beast she called a drebbin in these

mountains. Apparently the creatures preyed onrancors, though Leia found that hard toimagine.

When the party came to a mountain river inthe late evening where oodwaters roared, therancors leaped in and swam with long strokes,only their nostrils showing above water, theirtails oating behind them. Leia beganmindlessly humming a tune, then realized shewas humming, “Han Solo, / What a man!Solo,” and she stopped, embarrassed.

Han brought his rancor up beside Leia andIsolder, smiled at Leia broadly. The rancorsswam side by side for a moment, then thecurrent pushed Han’s rancor so that it nudgedtheirs. Isolder responded by turning his rancorinto Han’s so that for a moment the tworancors swam shoulder to shoulder jostling oneanother.

Leia glared at Han and Isolder and shouted,“Cut it out, both of you!”

“He started it!” Han yelled, and Isolderslapped his reins into the water, splashing

Han.Behind them, Teneniel began singing lightly

and a water spout rose from the river, carryingtwisted sheets of brown foam forty meters intothe air. It whirled toward the group, thencollapsed, drenching Han and Isolder. Lukeand Chewbacca broke out laughing, and Leiasmiled back at the witch.

“Thank you,” she said. “Maybe someday youcan teach me that spell.”

Leia felt a sudden sense of bliss and desire,realized she had touched Luke’s emotions.He’d seldom felt that way about a womanbefore, she was sure. Leia winked at him.

“We can camp soon,” Teneniel said whenthe rancors climbed out of the stream. Artoohad his antennae dish extended. “The caves arenearby.”

“Artoo isn’t picking up any Imperialsignals,” Threepio said, his golden eyes shiningunnaturally bright against the dark foliage ofthe forest. “Though he is getting a great deal ofradio traffic above us.”

“What’s going on?” Luke asked, and Artoobegan twittering and beeping.

“Apparently, sir,” Threepio informed them,“several Imperial Star Destroyers just jumpedout of hyperspace above us. Artoo is trying toget a count of the ships now. So far, he’sdetected signals from fourteen ships.”

Leia glanced up nervously at the sky eventhough it was still far too light to make out aspaceship, and Isolder said, “I shouldn’t havebrought in a Hapes Battle Dragon. After ourlittle attack, they’ve got only two choices—reinforce or bug out. It looks as if they plan toreinforce.”

Leia almost asked, “What are the chancesthat Zsinj’s men will gure out that we’redown here?” but decided she’d better not sayit. She didn’t want to cause the group anyconcern, just in case no one else had thoughtof it. But she looked at Han, knew by thefrown lines what he was thinking. The guardsfrom prison had already broadcast his nameover the air. It was a good bet that Zsinj’s men

knew Han was alive down here. And like allgood New Republic o cers, Han carried aprice on his head. The only question was, didZsinj want him badly enough to break his owninterdiction order and send a ship down?

Leia looked back at Isolder. “I think you’reright. I don’t like the idea of having all thosedestroyers above us.” The chances that theships’ sensors could detect the droids’electronics was remote, but still there was achance, so she added, “Let’s get to those cavesand hide for a while.”

In less than ten minutes, Teneniel led themup a hill through the thick trees, till they cameto a yawning hole in the ground half-concealedby twisted red vines with pungent white

owers. Teneniel got down from her rancor,went to the cave mouth and shouted,“Barukka? Barukka?” But no one answered.She stood for a moment, nervous, then closedher eyes and began to sing softly. When sheopened her eyes, she said, “I can’t feel heranywhere near.”

“If we don’t nd her,” Threepio said, “howwill we get any information about the prison?Artoo, scan the area for human life forms!”Artoo whistled and began aiming his antennadish along the horizon.

Teneniel peeked inside the cave, walked in.A moment later, she came back out. “There aresome clothes there, some pots. It looks as ifshe may have left several days ago.”

“Great,” Han said. “Where would she go?”“Hunting for food?” Teneniel guessed. “Or

maybe she has rejoined the Nightsisters. This isa dangerous time for Barukka. As one who isforsaken, she is supposed to remain here in thewilderness, remain alone and consider herpast, her future. But often the lonelinessbecomes too much.”

The sky was beginning to darken as the sunset. “Let’s camp here,” Luke said. “We can waitfor her.”

He urged his rancor into the dark, andTeneniel began setting stones in a semicirclearound the cave’s mouth, apparently to signify

that it was occupied. Somehow, the wholeidea of going inside bothered Leia. She felt asif she were violating Barukka’s privacy.

Isolder urged his rancor forward into theshadows. Once inside, the caves proved to be aglimmering wonderland of stalactites andstalagmites encrusted with garnet in hues ofpale citrine streaked with metallic green andivory. It looked like seawater splashing allaround, and Leia understood why the witcheshad named it Rivers of Stone. The roof of thecave reached high enough so that the rancorscould have stood on one another’s shoulders.Water owed through the caves in a shallowstream.

Teneniel dragged some logs in from a cacheby the door, and Han started them a re withhis blaster. During the day, the group hadremained quietly alert while riding, keeping alookout for scouting parties from theNightsisters. Now that they could talk, Leiafound she was too tired.

The rancors, however, seemed not to be

tired. They hunched around the re in theirgruesome breastplates of bone andstormtrooper uniforms, and warmed theirknuckles near the re, growling softly. Toshspoke to the younger ones, gesticulating withher claws, the relight playing over her teethand the warty bone plates on her shoulders.

Chewbacca curled up on a mat and slept;the droids went to the mouth of the cave sothat Artoo could monitor the countryside withhis sensors. Han took o exploring the back ofthe cave with a torch. Luke and Tenenieltalked softly as she put some large green nutsin the coals of the re to roast in their shells.Isolder lay against a garnet-encrusted pillar,eyes half-closed, playing with his blaster.

The rancors made a moaning sigh, andTeneniel nodded up toward Tosh. “She’stelling her children how her ancestors rst metthe witches,” Teneniel said. “She says that asickly female met a witch that healed her, andthe witch rode on the rancor’s back, learned tospeak its tongue. By riding the rancor’s back,

the witch was able to spot food better with hersharp eyes that see well even in the daylight,and the rancor thrived and became huge. Intime, she became a herd mother, and her herdsprospered while others died out. Back then,the rancors did not know how to make neweapons like spears or nets. They did notknow how to protect themselves with armor.Because the witches have taught them suchgreat things, she says, the rancors must alwayslove the witches and serve them, even whenwe make unreasonable demands to give usrides through the wilderness or ask them tofight the Nightsisters.”

Leia studied Teneniel thoughtfully, realizedthe girl must have felt her curiosity about therancors. “I think Tosh loves your people,” Leiasaid.

Teneniel nodded, reached up to scratch therancor’s hind leg. “Yes, she’s very grateful thather herd is strong, but none of the rancors arehappy about the Nightsisters.”

“You told me earlier that the rancors will

not serve the Nightsisters,” Luke said. “Why isthat?”

“The Nightsisters treat them badly, as if theywere mere slaves. So the rancors always runaway.”

“I nd it interesting,” Isolder said, “that youtreat your rancors as friends but treat men asslaves. You have an interesting power structurewith men at the bottom, but I nd it all ratherbarbaric.”

“It’s often easier to see the barbarism inalien cultures than it is to see it in your own,”Luke said. “The witches have built a hierarchybased on power, as do most cultures.”

Isolder nodded.“For example,” Leia said, “I nd the whole

concept of rule by birthright to be ratherbarbaric. Don’t you, Isolder?”

“That’s an odd statement, coming from you,Princess,” Isolder said. “You come from afamily that has been bred and trained to leadfor generations. It is only right that you shouldlead, and all of your people know it. Even

when your title and throne have become littlemore than a token honor, your people stillclamor for you to serve as the ambassador forAlderaan.”

“So you claim that we are leaders not bybirthright, but because we inherited thoseskills?” Leia asked in dismay. “I think that’spretty farfetched.”

“No, it isn’t,” Isolder a rmed. “We breedanimals for intelligence, for beauty, for speed.Among social carnivores, the herd leadersoften select the strongest and smartest mates.As a result, their o spring usually ‘inherit’ adominant position in their pack, if you will.”

“Even if I gave you that point,” Leia said, “itreally doesn’t have any bearing on humanbehavior. Humans aren’t social carnivores.”

Isolder glanced into the shadows. “If youknew my mother better, you would not arguethat particular point.” Leia wondered at thosewords.

“Certainly many groups of humans seethemselves to be social carnivores,” Luke said.

“Look at any speeder pack, and you can’t helpbut see some thing of that attitude. Then ofcourse there are the warlords.”

“And the Nightsisters,” Teneniel said.“Luke, I can’t believe you’re arguing against

me on this!” Leia said. “You’re the gentlestperson I know.”

“All I’m saying,” Luke said softly, “is that asdistasteful as it may sound to you and me,Isolder might have a point. Intelligence,charisma, decisiveness—all of these traits arelikely to have genetic components. And solong as these traits breed true, thenperpetuating a guild of leaders might not be abad idea.”

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Leia said.“You’ve seen it, Isolder. You’ve seenbusinesspeople on your planets who couldlead as well as you.”

Isolder hesitated. “I suspect they might servewell as leaders—they are certainly leaders incommerce—but I’m not certain they should beallowed to lead governments.”

“How could you not be certain?” Leia asked.“Our business leaders tend to measure

everything in terms of growth, profits, output. Ihave seen worlds operated by businesspeople,and they take little thought for those peoplewho are seen as a drain on their economy—theartists, the priests, the in rm. I would prefer tolet such leaders run their businesses.”

“You complain about a mercenary attitudeamong businesspeople, yet only a moment agoyou called your mother a predator?” Lukesaid. “What is the di erence between her andsomeone in business?”

“My mother was a good leader for her time,”Isolder said. “Your Old Republic was fallingapart. We needed someone brutal to fend othe Empire, and when we could not fend themo any longer, we needed someone strongenough to hold our worlds together under thepressure of Imperial rule. My mother metthose needs. But her day is past. Now we needa queen mother strong enough to ght o myaunts, yet gentle enough to lead through

kindness.”Teneniel was still rubbing the rancor down,

and the huge beast leaned into her, seeking herministrations. “I don’t profess to understand allof your argument,” Teneniel said, “yet you callus barbarians because women rule this worldand you men have no power. But if you areled by a queen mother, then how can you beany less barbaric than us? Men hold no poweron either of our worlds, so what is thedifference?”

“In a sense, I hold ultimate power,” Isoldersaid. “For although I am only a man, I willchoose the next queen mother.”

Leia gritted her teeth. It was the same stupidargument that repressed people came up within every society. One way or another, theysatis ed themselves that they held somecontrol even though they relinquished it toothers. You often couldn’t argue with peoplewho were so thoroughly grounded in theirown culture.

But Leia realized that something else made

her angry: The fact that she happened to t allof Isolder’s speci cations for a perfect queenmother. He claimed to love her, and he wasone of the most attractive men she’d ever seen.But maybe he was one of those people whoonly let themselves fall in love when they metsomeone who had the right quali cations. Ifthis were the case, Leia didn’t know how shefelt about that.

Perhaps Teneniel had the right answer. Shejust looked at Isolder and laughed. “ ‘I willchoose the next queen mother,’ ” she mocked,feigning his accent surprisingly well. “ ‘I haveall the power!’ ” She shot a wicked smile overher shoulder as she rubbed down the rancor,and she laughed, “You’re so dumb!”

In the back of the cavern, Han suddenlybegan shouting and ring his blaster. Lukeleaped to his feet, pulled his lightsaber.“There’s a monster back there in the pond!”Han yelled as he rushed up to the re, blasterstill smoldering. “It’s big and green and it’s gottentacles! It tried to eat me.”

“Oh, yes,” Teneniel said, “I forgot abouther.”

“You mean you knew there was a monsterthere,” Han shouted, “and you didn’t tell meabout it?”

“The clan sisters put her in the lake severalyears ago,” Teneniel said. “We thought whenshe grew large enough, she would make agood meal for the rancors.”

Teneniel patted Tosh’s ank, whispered intoher ear. The rancor regarded her calmly amoment, a feral light gleaming in her eyes,then she roared and the small herd took o ata run, heading for the lake. The humansmoved in close to the re and began eatingroasted nuts.

The re was cozy, warm, and they talkedsoftly among themselves for a few minutes asthe last of the sunlight faded and the caveseemed to darken and close in around them.For a while, Leia felt comfortable, butsuddenly her heart began to pound, and shefelt sti ed, su ocating. She stood up, looked

behind her. A woman in black stood at themouth of the cave, holding a great staff.

“What are you doing here?” Barukkademanded, walking toward the light. WhenLeia had rst spotted her, the sta had madethe woman appear old and in rm, but as shegot close, Leia saw that Barukka was a youngwoman, perhaps no more than thirty. Still,Leia could feel an aura of dark power aroundher, something that made her feel worn,ageless. Barukka’s piercing blue eyes were veryintent, and she watched them all warily frombeneath a hood. “I must warn you that I amforsaken, and that this is my house you haveentered. I cannot welcome you or o er youshelter.”

“Then perhaps we can welcome you, ando er you shelter and some dinner,” Luke said,rising from his seat.

“Please,” Teneniel said, “we’ve come foryour help!”

Barukka stayed outside the light of the re,watching them like some wild animal. Her

face was badly bruised. “You are in danger,”Barukka said at last. “Gethzerion has beensummoning the Nightsisters for a war. I canfeel her summons, pulling at me. You are herenemies.” Barukka’s voice was strangelycontemplative, as if she were studying her ownfeelings.

“But we are not your enemies,” Luke said.“Mother Augwynne told me that you

petitioned to join the Singing Mountain clan,”Teneniel said. “We would like to welcome youback fully as a sister some day.”

“Yes,” Barukka said distantly. “She haschosen to leave the Nightsister clan.” She saidit as if she were speaking of someone else,someone who was not in the cave, and Leiaknew that this woman was not sane.

“You chose to leave the Nightsisters,”Teneniel said.

“Yes,” Barukka whispered, as ifremembering.

“Will you help us?” Teneniel asked. “Weneed to go to the prison, to nd some parts for

a ship. Can you tell us where to look?”Barukka stood unmoving for a long moment,

frowning in concentration. She began totremble, and whispered, “No, I can’t.”

“Why can’t you?” Luke said. “Gethzerion hasno power over you.”

“She does!” Barukka said. “Can’t you hearher calling me? She hunts me! Even now, sheis stalking me!”

“Does she call to you?” Luke asked. “Do youhear her voice in your head?”

“Yes,” Barukka said.“What does she say?”“She rails against me, curses me,” Barukka

answered. “Sometimes I hear her at night, as ifshe is standing by my bed.”

“You two must have been close,” Luke said.Teneniel said, “Gethzerion is her sister.”“Barukka,” Luke said softly. “She was your

sister, but the part of her that you loved iseither gone or has been hidden very deeply.”

Barukka looked down at the oor, as ifgazing into the depths of the earth, then

looked up at Luke. “Who are you? You aremore than you seem. I feel your presence.”

“He is a Jedi Knight from the stars—”Teneniel said.

“—Come to put an end to our world!”Barukka hissed, suddenly erce. “Yes! Yes! Theprison! I have been there!” She spun intomotion, began to make hissing and spittingnoises. She pointed her sta at the cave oorand swirled it. Leia’s heart pounded in fear,and she suddenly realized that the spittingsounds were words, an incantation. Theground at Barukka’s feet buckled and rose toform a miniature chain of mountains as high asher knees, stretching from one side of the caveto the other. Suddenly the dust swirled darklyand buildings arose at Barukka’s feet: nestledin the mountains was a long building with sixsides, with a great courtyard in the center. Cellblocks ran around the inside of each wall, tinywindows and doors showing in minute detail.Small round guard towers rose at each cornerof the prison, and perfectly sculpted guard

droids swiveled in chairs, keeping watch withtheir miniature blasters. Small Imperialwalkers stood guard at one end, gures madeof dust that walked impossibly along thegrounds. Outbuildings rose near them, and atlast a single large tower formed from theground near the prison, with a walkway of dirtleading through the air from the upper levelsof the prison to the top of the tower. On thefar side of the prison, the dust roiled in waves,as if a small lake had formed.

Chewbacca roared in fear and pointed: tinyhumanoid gures of dust walked around theperimeters of the prison, some dressed asstormtroopers, others dressed in the robes ofwitches. Barukka stood over her creation,sweat running down her face, panting. Hereyes were glazed, and the relight ickered inthem. Leia could tell that only a great act ofconcentration let the woman manipulate thedirt this way. It was a talent beyond anythingthat Leia had ever seen in Luke, and itfrightened her. If Barukka could do this, what

kind of power did some of the otherNightsisters have?

“These are the entrances to the prison,”Barukka said, stabbing toward doors on theeast and west of the prison. “And here are itsguardians.” She stabbed the tower guards withher sta , smashed the Imperial walkers,squashed an outpost on the western edge ofthe desert.

“Gethzerion has long sought to assemble acomplete ship so that she can escape,”Barukka said, “and she keeps the componentshere, in the basement beneath her tower.” Shejabbed her staff into the base of the tower.

Han and Luke went to the living map,studied it thoughtfully. “That tower is tooheavily guarded for us to come at it in theopen,” Han said. “In fact, the whole easternvalley here is just too exposed.”

They looked at the lake to the west of thehills. “I’d say our best bet is to hike throughthe hills here on the north or south,” Lukeagreed, “then sneak to the prison from the

back side. Once we’re in, it’s an easy walkthrough the prison blocks, over the walkwayand into the tower.”

“Yeah,” Han said. “And they’ve got a hovercraft and a couple of speeder bikes parked outfront. Once we get our parts, we should beable to just load them up and leave.”

On top of the tower, a tiny gure of aNightsister walked through a door, stoodlooking up at the sky for a moment, as ifstaring directly into Barukka’s face. Barukkasuddenly shrieked, “Gethzerion!” and spun,smashing the figure with her staff.

The perfect living replica of the prisoncrumbled into sand, and Barukka fell to herknees, sobbing. Luke reached over to her,gingerly touched her back, and held her.

“It’s all right,” Luke said. “She won’t hurtyou anymore. She won’t hurt you anymore.”

Barukka looked up at him, and her face wasa mass of purpled bruises. “But what of me?”she cried. “When will my scars heal?”

Luke touched her face. “Those who use the

dark side of the Force to harm others often doharm to themselves,” he said softly. He ran his

ngers over the bruises, and immediately thepu ness diminished. “Sit with me tonight,”Luke said, “and together we can begin yourhealing.”

For a long time that night, Leia stretched outon a blanket. The chorus “Han Solo, / What aman! Solo,” played over and over in her minduntil she had a erce desire to take a hammerto Threepio. Had he known it would a ect herthis way? Had he known it would get caughtin her mind and play over and over again untilshe thought she’d scream?

To calm herself, she lay awake and listenedt o Luke as he taught Teneniel, Barukka, andIsolder. “The Jedi uses the Force only forknowledge and defense, never to injure or gainpower.”

“But with the spells of our clans,” Tenenielcountered, “the words of the spells are the

same whether we cast them for darkness orlight. How will we know whether we areusing them rightly?”

“It’s not the words that give you power, it isyour intent,” Luke said. “When you remaincalm, when you feel at peace, when you showmercy and justice to those who makethemselves your enemies, then you will knowthat you are using the Force correctly. But ifyou surrender to hate, or despair, or greed,then you give in to the dark side and it willdominate your destiny, take control of you.”

“I have … friends among the Nightsisters,”Teneniel said. “As a child I played with Graniaand Varr, and I considered them dear friends.Even Gethzerion gave gifts to me duringWinterfest. We cast her out of our clan onlyseven years ago. I cannot think of them as alllost.”

“Some of them you may win back from thedark side,” Luke said. “If you feel good inthem still, then you must awaken them to thatif you can. But don’t be fooled. The dark side

can be compelling, and some turn completelyfrom the light, become agents of evil.Remember the good that was once in them ifyou can, love them for it, but don’t let themsway you. The agents of evil seldom revealthemselves willingly.”

“You said that those who follow the darkside can be won back. But what if you yourselfbecome tainted?” Barukka asked quietly.“How can you free yourself?”

“Then you must turn away from the darkside with your whole heart. Give up youranger, give up your greed, give up yourdespair.”

Leia looked over at Barukka, saw that thewoman’s brow was furrowed and a tearglimmered in her eye. Though Leia could notimagine what was going through the woman’smind, she somehow felt grateful not to haveBarukka’s problems.

Luke reached out and touched Barukka’schin, raised her face and said softly, “And intime, you must give up your guilt.”

G

Chapter19

ethzerion isn’t with them,” Teneniel saidwith certainty the following evening as they

looked from the hills toward the prison. Shenodded toward a long line of marchingstormtroopers and Imperial walkers thatpicked their way across the brown atlandslike a ock of ungainly metallic birds. Secretly,she’d wished that Gethzerion were with thesmall army. Teneniel did not like the idea ofgoing into the prison complex knowing thatshe might meet Gethzerion around any corner.The atlands around the complex appeareddry. What was a lake in winter became a plainin summer. Patches of cane grew tall aroundfrequent mud holes where burra sh had dugdown into the lake bed, hoarding water aslong as possible.

“I count about eighty Imperial walkers andmaybe six hundred stormtroopers,” Isoldersaid. “Too bad we don’t have a way to send amessage back to the clan sisters.”

I can send a message,” Teneniel said. Sheclosed her eyes and half-whispered, half-sangthe spell for talking at great distances.“Augwynne,” she said. “Hear my words, seewith my eyes. These are the forces that theNightsisters send against you.” Teneniel felt theeasy sense of contact with Augwynne, let thewoman see the marching Imperials from herown eyes.

“How long do you think it will be beforethey reach Singing Mountain?” Isolder asked.Teneniel broke contact.

“Two days,” Teneniel said. “We should getback before they do.” They stood on a hill,hidden by the green fanning leaves from tallwaxbrush. Eight kilometers o , the lights ofthe prison gleamed like stars on the horizon. Atall guntower that seemed made of glass thrustup from the earth like a thorn. The black steel

walls of the prison squatted on the green hills.Teneniel whispered a slight spell to sharpenher vision, looked o toward the prison. Shecould see several witches in their black robesoutside the fortress. On towers over the prisonwalls and at the top of the gleaming city,guardian droids swiveled constantly, coveringthe prison compound with their guns. A largecraft oated in the air in front of thecompounds. It looked just as Sister Barukkahad showed them.

Luke took his macrobinoculars from hisutility belt. “They’ve only got one speeder outthere, and the hover car is gone. I see somesensor arrays up on the towers, nothing fancy.Still, Artoo and Threepio will need to stayhere. We can’t risk having them get a whi ofour electronics. This being a prison, we’ve gotto gure that they’ll have a full array ofbiosensors. If we’re going to make it inunannounced, we’ll need to stay out of theirrange as long as possible, circle south to thehills. Once we make it there, the rock will

screen us out.”Artoo began whistling and rocking in his

housing. “Sir,” Threepio translated, “Artoo ispicking up communications between Zsinj’sstarships and the prison.”

“Well, what do they say?” Han asked.“I’m afraid the transmissions are coded,”

Threepio answered. “However, the code doesappear to be based on one that the RebelAlliance broke several years ago. If you giveme a few hours, I may be able to translate itfor you.”

“Sorry, Threepio,” Luke said, “I’d like toknow what they’re saying, but we can’t waitthat long. Why don’t you work on it whilewe’re gone?”

“Very well, sir,” Threepio said. “I’ll devotemy full resources to the task.”

“Good,” Luke said. “Chewie, you take careof the droids for us. We’ll see you soon.”

Chewbacca growled and patted Han on theback as they said their good-byes. Tenenielunharnessed her rancors, told them to go into

the forest to hunt. As always here on Dathomir,the sun fell away suddenly, and in the purpletwilight Han, Leia, Luke, Isolder, and Tenenielheaded across the plain, keeping the canepatches between them and the towers of thecity. Teneniel whispered spells to sharpen herhearing and her sight, but for the rst fewminutes, the only sound was the occasionalcroak of a lizard or the splashing of burra shin their mud holes, until in the distance, sheheard Tosh roar, a lonely wailing call biddingthem farewell.

They headed for the barren hills to thesouth, reached them in two hours just as the

rst of Dathomir’s small moons rose, and thenraced northward through the washes andgullies. The rocks and soil re ected the dullsilver light of the moon and still radiated dryheat from the day, but a cool wind from themountains whispered through the dead grasses.In one wash, they met a pair of horned

creatures digging their way out of the sand,and Luke stopped. The husky sauriansthrashed their tail spikes in surprise, but didnot seem frightened enough to ght. Insteadthey retracted their heads beneath theirarmored shells, shook the last of the dirt fromtheir backs, then ambled over a hill, headingtoward the cane fields for dinner and a drink.

Soon after that, the company turned a cornerin a wash and found the guard post—a white,covered tower perhaps fteen meters high.The tower had two chairs on a platform, and amount for a blaster cannon. But the cannonhad been taken o its mount, and no one wasstationed at the guard post.

“What do you think is going on?” Leia said.“Where are the guards?”

“We saw quite a few stormtroopersmarching o ,” Han said. “Maybe the prison isonly running a skeleton crew, so some of theguards got pulled.”

“No,” Luke said. “Look at the sensor array

up on that tower. The dish is rusted over.” Hesuddenly realized that none of the others couldhave spotted that kind of detail in the dark.Luke was straining his Jedi senses to theirfullest. “I don’t think they’re using this post atall anymore and haven’t put a guard out herein years. Think about it: since the Emperorinterdicted this planet, everyone here is aprisoner. Even if someone runs away, theycan’t really go anywhere.”

“Still,” Leia said, “they wouldn’t wantmurderers and thugs running loose.” There wasa wrongness to her thought, and Lukeconsidered, trying to decide what it might be,but needed to focus his attention elsewhere atthe moment.

Luke sighed. “Well, this is it. Let’s go seewhat we can nd,” and he headed up thedraw, past the guardhouse. A moment laterthey came out of the draw and found a widebrown river. He’d expected a lake. Duringtheir trip through the winding gullies, they’dactually crossed the small chain of hills.

Up to the north a kilometer, a dozen giantdroids bristling with arrays of shovels andclippers and multiple hands worked at movingirrigation pipes over several well-manicured

elds. Barukka’s map had not shown thedroids. So there were subtle di erences.Beyond that, he could see only the east wall tothe prison, a lofty black wall that even arancor couldn’t climb. On each of two towers,vaguely humanoid droid gunners handled theblaster cannons. Both droids faced inward,guns trained on the courtyards.

“I don’t see much out there,” Luke said,surveying the ground with hismacrobinoculars. “There’s some harvesterdroids and a pumping station. I see the sallyport at the back of the prison, but it’s hard totell how well guarded it might be.”

Luke began to put his macrobinocularsaway, but Teneniel snatched them, held themup and smiled to see that the amethyst lightshowed the world better than even her spellscould.

“Let’s go in that door,” Isolder said.“We can’t just walk up to it,” Han objected.“We can hijack one of the harvester droids,”

Isolder said. “They’re pretty basic droids. If youjump into their hoppers, they’ll think thatthey’ve harvested a crop and take you rightinto the food-processing plant.”

“Are you sure it will work?” Han asked.“What if the guards at the sally port check thehopper? What if those droids on the wall seeus and take a shot? What if the harvest droidshave built-in shredders to mulch the crop? Ican think of a million things that could gowrong!”

“Do you have a better idea?” Isoldercountered. “First of all, guards work at tryingto keep people from getting out of prison.They don’t worry about people trying to breakin. Second, we don’t have to worry about theguards on the walls seeing us, because we’regoing to crawl in low, under the crop cover.And third, I know those harvest droids don’thave internal shredders because those are

Hapan model HD two thirty-four C’s!”Han glared at Isolder, and Luke glanced at

Leia to see her reaction. Obviously the twomen were trying to impress her, and Isolderhad just scored the rst point—if his planworked.

“Fine,” Han said. “I’ll lead.” He unholsteredhis blaster and followed a ridge downhill,keeping a spur of land between them and theguard droids on the wall. When they crept tothe edge of the muddy elds, he ran lowbetween rows of tall vines, thick with berries.Several times he snatched large berries andpopped them in his mouth.

They quickly reached a harvester droid. Ithad dozens of small claws, and it used them tofeed berries into a mouthlike hopper. It stoodonly three meters tall and walked on stubbylegs. Han looked up at it dumbly while Isolderclimbed a little access ladder on the droid’sside, lowered himself experimentally partwayinto the droid. The droid seemed unaware ofhim and kept feeding berries into the hole, so

that Isolder had to push them back out. “Comeon in,” Isolder said. “This one is nearlyempty.”

Han, Leia, and Luke quickly followed.Teneniel hesitated, and Luke could sense herfear. She didn’t like the idea of going into thatmouth, dropping into a dark room.

The droid turned and began walking towardthe prison, apparently satis ed that its hopperwas full. Luke stuck his head out the hopperand whispered, “Teneniel, hurry!”

She raced up the ladder and leaped in.The hopper was pretty cramped with ve

people in it, and Luke found himself standingin berries up to his knees, wedged tightlybetween Teneniel and Isolder. Luke sensedTeneniel’s desperation, held her hand andwhispered, “It’s all right. You’ll be all right.”

Han lifted himself up, looked out the droid’s“mouth” as it marched them toward the prisonwalls. “Looks like two guards at the sallyport,” Han whispered, then dropped back.

Teneniel’s heart was beating wildly, and she

tried hard to still her breathing, feel calm, feelthe Force as Luke had told her. Luke studiedher effort. At long last, she breathed easier, andLuke whispered, “Good,” and squeezed herhand.

A light shone overhead through the mouthas they reached the sally port, and the droidstopped. Its metallic voice grated, “I have aload of hwotha berries for delivery to theprocessors.”

“So soon?” one of the guards queried.“Those vines must be snapping under theweight. Go on ahead.”

The droid marched into the prison, anddimly Luke could hear the guards talking.“With that many berries, do you think we’ll getsome?”

“Nah,” the other said. “The brass will eatthem all.”

The droid trudged through brilliantly lithalls, past machines that hissed and spatsteam, then stopped momentarily. The oordropped out beneath them, and Luke found

himself sliding through the dark down asmooth metal tube. Teneniel made a noise,frightened, and Luke grabbed her hand,whispered, “It’s all right.”

Conveyer wheels pushed them along in atangle as nozzles built into the roof squirtedthem with water. They passed through thewashers and suddenly jets of freezing airsquirted over them.

And then there was light from an opening inthe tubing just ahead. Luke rolled o theprocessor and pulled Teneniel with him, andthey all lay amid a heap of machinery thatclanked and droned. Metal legs held the foodprocessors up at waist level. The air was moistand warm, but Luke could not see much. Helistened intently. He could hear voices o tohis right, echoing down a narrow hallway.

“Where are we?” Teneniel asked.“We’re under the kitchens, in the service

tunnel for the food processors,” Han answered.“Now all we have to do is nd a way out ofhere.”

“This way,” Luke whispered, listening to thesound of voices. He led them crawling througha forest of metal legs and machinery, under aceiling of pipes, over a carpet of dust balls.After six minutes they reached an opening—aheavy grate bolted to the oor. Through it hecould see hundreds of people milling about ina large dining room, all of them wearingorange jumpsuits. Many of them were humans,but several were hairless reptiles withenormous eyes mounted on a face that curvedout like a ladle. “Ithorians,” Han grunted.

“What are Ithorians doing in a prison?” Leiasaid, and she stopped and gazed out. A greenwoman walked by. Up on a catwalkoverlooking the kitchens, armored Imperialstormtroopers strolled with blaster ri es inhand, watching the prisoners.

Luke looked down through the forest ofmachinery, saw another light. “This way,” hesaid, moving on. Several minutes later theycame to the second grate. Beyond that theycould see a lighted room that smelled hot and

wet. An elderly man supervised several droidsthat were hanging uniforms on racks. BehindLuke, the others scrunched up, looking out atthe exit.

“What now?” Han asked. The old laundererordered the droids to wheel the clothes out anexit, and the droids soon left.

Luke said loudly and calmly to the loneoccupant of the room, “You, come and openthis grate!”

“Oh, please, Luke,” Leia whispered urgently,“don’t try that trick. It never works for you!”

The man walked over to the grate, lookedin. “What are you doing down there?”

“You must open this grate!” Luke said,letting his Force flow into the old man.

“I don’t know the access code,” the old manwhispered conspiratorially, “or I’d be glad tohelp you. What are you doing in there? Didyou get lost or something?”

Luke suddenly realized that his Jedi trickswould not work on this old man, yet theprisoner would be happy to help them.

“Wait a minute, Luke,” Han said. “I see theaccess plate right up here. Maybe I can hotwireit!”

“Don’t bother!” Leia said. “You’ll probablyjust set o an alarm!” Han whipped out hisblaster, demolished the plate. A few bluesparks bit into Luke’s face. Everyone held theirbreaths, listening.

“See,” Han assured them. “No alarm.”“You got lucky,” Leia whispered. “Now

you’ll want to ddle with the wiring for anhour, and then you’ll set off an alarm!”

Han reached up with one hand, said “Ow!”as he touched the hot metal. Immediately thegrate slid up. “See,” he whispered. “Easy.”

“Braggart,” Leia hissed as she crawled intothe laundry room.

“You only say that because you nd it sohard to express your true admiration,” Hansaid.

“Good job,” Luke said as he crawled throughthe hatch. The laundryman helped him up,gawking.

“What are you doing?” the old man asked.“We’re breaking in,” Han said.By the time Teneniel got out, the old

prisoner stood looking at them. “Hmmm …”he said, studying Isolder. “You folks can’t gorunning around in here dressed like that. Whatwill you wear?”

“What have you got?” Han asked.“Just about everything comes through here,”

th e old man said. “Uniforms for prisoners,guards—even that local junk the witches wear.So where you folks from?”

“All over,” Han said suspiciously. “Why allthe questions?”

“Lighten up,” Luke answered. “He’sharmless.”

“How can you be so sure?” Han said. “He’s acriminal, after all.”

“Wait a minute, Han,” Leia said. “I feel it,too. What are you in here for?”

“I objected to the Empire,” the oldlaundryman said. “I ran an aerospaceengineering rm on Coruscant. When they

tried to steal some of our designs, we burnedour buildings to the ground. I’m afraid that ifyou’re looking for dangerous felons, you’vecome to the wrong facility.”

“Political prisoners?” Han asked.“And conscientious objectors,” Leia said.

“Potentially too valuable to the Empire to loseand too dangerous to let remain free and jointhe rebellion.”

“That’s why the Empire imprisoned themhere,” Luke said, “on a virtually unchartedplanet. If they were dangerous felons, they’dbe sent to a maximum security facility wherethe Empire could boast that they’d neverescape. But these are people that the Empirewanted simply to disappear.”

Leia studied the face of the old man, akindly face. “How many like you are here?”

“Three thousand,” the laundryman said. “Butplease, we can talk while you dress. Quickly!What are you doing here? Where will youneed to go? Are you trying to take prisonersout?”

“We’ll need free access to the compound forright now,” Han said.

The laundryman sorted through stacks ofclothing, pulled out two black robes for thewomen, guard uniforms for the men. But hestopped short when he heard someoneapproaching through the corridor. Two burlystormtroopers passed the open door, andeveryone in the group stood still, tried toappear casual. The stormtroopers stopped,backed up and looked in the laundry room,fingering their rifles.

“Hey, you two!” Han shouted. “Get in here!On the double!”

“Are you talking to us?” one of thestormtroopers said, pointing to himself withhis thumb.

“Yes, I am, soldier,” Han said. “Now get inhere!”

The stormtroopers glanced at each other,cautiously stepped into the room.

“I’m Sergeant Gruun,” Han said, steppingforward, “external security! My people just

in ltrated your prison here, right under yournoses! In all my years in security, I’ve neverseen such sloppy work. Tell me, who is yourcommanding officer?”

The stormtroopers looked at each other,pulled their blasters instantaneously. Hangrabbed both blasters by the barrels, twistingthem so that the shots red into the ceiling.Isolder and Luke jumped the guards, bowlingthem over. Han threw the blasters to the oor,whimpering, “Oh, oh, hot!”

In close quarters, the stormtroopers’ bodyarmor hindered their movement, and in a fewseconds Luke and Isolder pried their helmetso . A couple of well-placed blows quieted theguards. Leia gagged and tied them while Hanand Isolder stripped o their armor, thendumped the bodies into a laundry bag. The oldworker pushed them into a back room.

Luke, Han, and Isolder donned stormtrooperout ts. As they dressed, the laundrymanwatched them but did not question them at all.Sometimes, Luke knew, it was better not to

know the answers. If he were tortured later,the laundryman would not be able to revealany vital information.

“Thanks,” Han said, patting the laundrymanon the shoulder when they nished. “We won’tforget this. If we make it o this rock, we’llcome back for you.”

Luke watched the old prisoner, knew thathe’d su er for his part in this unless the guardswere neutralized. “Wait!” Luke said, and hewent to the sleeping guards, placed a hand oneach of their heads, let the Force wash throughthem, submerging their memories of the briefstruggle. When he nished, he was breathingheavily. “Dump the men in the tunnel underthe grate. When they waken, they won’tremember you being here. At least they won’tremember for a few years.”

The old man nodded solemnly, gazed atLuke. “I know what you are. I’ve seen menlike you before. I remember the Jedi,” he said,and he clasped Luke’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Luke said, standing up. He

swayed a little with fatigue under the weightof all his armor. Altering another’s memorywas a di cult task, and Luke worried that hemight have overextended his powers for theday. It would have been easier to just kill theguards, but he could not allow that. He hopedhe would not regret his decision as they madetheir way into the prison compound.

O

Chapter20

h dear,” Threepio said point four secondsafter he broke the Imperial code. He had

hoped to engage Chewbacca in an extendedconversation, describe exactly how he hadreasoned out the more subtle nuances of thecode, but realized that all of this would haveto wait. “Zsinj has learned from monitoringradio broadcasts that General Solo is hereonplanet,” Threepio hastened to explain, “andGethzerion has negotiated to sell Han to Zsinj’smen. She says she found the skid marksshowing where the sisters of the SingingMountain clan towed the Millennium Falcon,so she anticipates that Han will come to thecity looking for spare parts. She has set a trapfor General Solo!”

Chewbacca growled, shaking his bowcaster

in the air.“We must warn them!” Threepio shouted,

and Artoo emitted a burst of static, squealinghis agreement.

A whistle blew over the prison’s intercom,and in the plasteel corridors a jet black droidwheeled along, shining its arti cial eyes to theright and left. It had a small hand blaster of thekind that could injure but not kill built into itshelmet, and as it wheeled down the hallway, itshouted, “Count! Count! Count!” The inmatesscattered, trying to stay out of the blaster’spath, but the droid nailed two men whoweren’t fast enough to make it to their cells,and the hapless prisoners screamed in pain.

Han and Isolder followed it down thecorridor, dressed in their stormtrooper attire.Leia and Teneniel followed close behind,disguised as witches. Luke followed last, slowwith fatigue. Teneniel took his hand, urgedhim to walk close behind. Still, Luke stretched

his senses to the maximum. They were gettingcloser to the witches’ tower. He could feelthem there, ahead. The prison corridorsseemed strangely quiet, lacking guards. Theprisoners had been locked in their cells for thenight.

The guard droid let them pass withoutcomment, and they walked through the emptyhalls, footsteps ringing against the plasteel. Asthey passed a side hallway that led betweentiers of cells, Leia paused.

“Wait a minute …” she whispered, peeringinto the rst cell. “I know that woman! She’sfrom Alderaan! She served as senior weaponstechnologies adviser to my father.”

“Keep moving,” Luke said softly. “We can donothing for her at the moment.”

“But she’s supposed to be dead!” Leia said.“Her ship was found crashed.”

“Move along,” Luke said softly.They came to a sealed door with an

electronic lock beside it. Through a window inthe door they could see a second door. Han

looked at the number pad for the electroniclock, pushed in a four-digit sequence atrandom. A red light ashed above the pad,indicating that he’d hit the wrong combination.

“Don’t!” Luke said. “Let me see if I can getit.” He walked to the pad, put his hand on it,closed his eyes in concentration. Dozens ofguards used the pad daily. He could sensewhich four keys they pressed, but did notknow the precise order. Hesitantly, he pressedthe four numbers in the order he hoped wouldbe correct. A green light ashed at the top ofthe pad, then the door swung open.

Luke pressed a button to open the nextdoor. It led to a tiny elevator. When the othersstepped into the tiny room, Teneniel stoodstaring at them a moment, frowning.

“Come on,” Luke said. “It’s an elevator. Itwill take us up to the walkway that leads tothe tower.” Teneniel blushed and hurried in.

When the elevator reached the top, the dooropened into a glass causeway that spannedover the dark prison walls. The glass was so

clear, so perfect, that Luke could see starsabove him. Down outside the towers was awork yard, a few metal shacks, someNightsisters walking under brilliant electriclights.

And a smothering sensation hit Luke. Hecould feel Nightsisters near, just ahead in thetowers. Isolder and Han took the lead, headedover the causeway, but Teneniel stood rootedin terror.

“It’s all right,” Luke whispered. “Let theinner calm come to you. Draw your strengthfrom the Force, let it wrap around you like acloak. We have to get past them, if we’re goingto get to their shipyard. The Force can hideyou from her.”

At the far side of the causeway, a dooropened. Four Nightsisters in black robes, theircowls down low, walked toward them. Theone in the lead walked with sti legs, slowly,hands clasped over her belly. Luke breatheddeeply, slowly, and let the Force ow throughhim.

The others walked ahead, and Tenenielheaved her legs forward, woodenly. TheNightsisters passed in the narrow corridor, andone woman’s black skirts slapped againstTeneniel’s. And then they were past.

The Nightsisters stopped, and Luke couldfeel Teneniel’s fear, could feel how she wantedto run.

“Halt! You there!” a Nightsister shouted attheir backs, her voice dry and crackling likerotted leather. As one the group stopped. TheNightsister demanded, “What were you doingso late at the prison?”

Han turned, answered through his helmetmicrophone. “Trouble in cell block C.”

The Nightsister nodded her headthoughtfully, began to turn away, but lookedback at them. “What trouble? Why wasn’t Inotified?”

“A minor scu e between inmates,” Hansaid. “We did not wish to disturb you.”

The Nightsister pulled her hood back, and inthe brilliant lights, Luke was struck with

horror. Her white hair was unkempt andmatted. Her bloodshot eyes were a vividcrimson. But most horrible was her face—apurplish monstrosity from ruptured bloodvessels, gray and dead in the cheekbones.

“I feel your fear,” the Nightsister said. “Whatwould a Nightsister have to fear here—in ourdomain?”

“With so many guards gone, there arerumors of an impending riot,” Han said,stepping forward, inserting himself betweenTeneniel and the Nightsisters. “I’m afraid theremay be some truth to those rumors.”

The Nightsister nodded thoughtfully. Lukecould feel her trying to probe them, and healmost pulled his blaster. Instead, hechanneled the Force, let it ow into the witch,quiet her suspicions. “I will pay a visit to blockC. My presence should cow the rabble,” shesaid. “Thank you for alerting me.”

Han nodded, and the Nightsister turned,pulled up her hood and proceeded to theelevator.

Han led the way into the glass tower. Heopened a door and marched them throughsome kind of common room.

A dozen Nightsisters dressed in black robeslounged on plush couches in a circle,engrossed in the spectacle of watching ghostly

oating images of beautiful men and women.The Nightsisters sat snacking on exotic foods,and did not even seem to notice them pass.

Han led them to an elevator, and as the doorclosed, Teneniel nearly collapsed. “TheNightsister we passed,” she said. “That wasGethzerion. I was sure she’d recognize me.”She swallowed a deep breath.

Luke stood looking at the elevator door, andsuddenly he felt as if he were very high in theair, looking down at Dathomir below, and allof it was black. All of it was frozen. Every bitof it. Everyone, everything was dead. He closedhis eyes, tried to rest for a moment, thinkingthat perhaps his fatigue was a ecting hisvision, but the blackness remained, and atremendous sense of despair and urgency lled

him. He stared into the blackness, knowing itfor what it was: A vision of the future.

“What?” Leia said, turning to Luke. “What isit?”

“We can’t leave here,” Luke said, the wordsfeeling dry in his mouth. “We can’t leave thisworld yet—not this way.”

“What do you mean?” Isolder asked, andHan said, “Yeah, what do you mean? We’vegot to leave!”

“No,” Luke said, staring away. He pulled ohis helmet, gasped for breath. “No, we can’t.Everything here is so wrong. There’s so muchdarkness.” He could feel the darkness coming,the cold, seeping into every ber of hismuscles.

“Look,” Han said. “We’re going to get somespare parts for the Falcon, then the wholebunch of us are going to y our tails back tosafety. As soon as we get back to Coruscant, wecan send a eet in, you can command amillion troops—whatever it takes!”

“No,” Luke said with certainty. “We can’t

go.” He was frightened. But he had no plans.He couldn’t go back up to the Nightsisters andattack them. They couldn’t a ord aconfrontation now.

“Listen to Han,” Isolder said. “These peoplehave been trapped here for years! They don’tneed us to martyr ourselves for them tonight.They’ll last until we can get back to rescuethem.”

A pale light of certainty seemed to ashthrough Luke, and the Jedi turned to Isolder,glanced quickly at all of them. “No, they can’t.Watch, and you’ll see. Believe me, the powersof darkness are gathering rapidly. Isolder, yousaid your eet will be arriving in six days. Butif we don’t stop it before then, this planet willbe destroyed!”

Han shook his head doubtfully. “Listen, kid,”he said. “Don’t go getting all crazy on me. Iknow you’re under a lot of pressure. You’vegot a few problems now—and I really dosympathize—but if you keep talking like thatand scaring these folks, I’m going to have to

bust you in the chops.”Luke could feel Han’s nervousness. He didn’t

want Luke upsetting the others. Perhapsrightfully so. The elevator jarred as it hitbottom, and Luke hit a keyplate. The doorshissed open, but Luke still had his back to thedoor. “Go ahead, Han,” Luke said, gesturing atthe immense storage chamber behind himwithout bothering to turn around. “Here iswhat you want.”

Luke turned to see three dozen damagedships—three nearly demolished Imperial lift-wing carriers, a dozen TIE ghters meltedhalfway down to slag, parts of broken hovercars. Han surveyed the damaged vehicles, andgasped. In the center of the junkyard, withfootlights shining under them, sat a nearlycompleted TIE ghter and a stock lightfreighter that looked almost exactly like theMillennium Falcon. Most of the forward sensorforks were painted rust-orange, while the hullwas a faded olive and the rear drives were anold space-pirate blue. Weld marks showed

where parts of three ships had been cobbledtogether.

“They’ve almost got themselves a ship!” Hansaid, pulling off his helmet to get a better look.“It looks like all they need is a few more cellsfor the sublight drives.”

“We couldn’t be that lucky,” Leia said.“Hey, these old Corellian stock light

freighters were some of the most popular inthe galaxy in their day,” Han said. “And youstill can’t find a ship that’s more durable.”

Isolder pulled o his helmet, took a deepbreath of the fresh air. “More overweight andclunky, you mean.”

“Same thing,” Han said.Han headed down a shallow ramp toward

the ship, and Leia said, “Wait!”Han stopped, and Leia studied the shipyard

suspiciously. “These are pretty valuable piecesof equipment,” she said. “They’re hereunderground, lighted. Don’t you think it’s oddthat they aren’t guarded?”

“Who needs guards?” Han asked. “These

ships won’t y. Besides, you saw thestormtroopers marching o . The place is alittle understaffed tonight.”

“What about alarms?” Luke asked. Hepicked up his macrobinoculars, scanned theroom, adjusted the dials. “I don’t see any laseralarms, but this place could be rigged withanything—motion detectors, magnetic eldimagers—and in this junk pile, we wouldn’teven know where to begin looking.”

“So what do you want us to do,” Han asked,“just stand here? We’ve got to check this shipout.”

“Come on,” Leia said, touching Luke’sshoulder. “He’s right.”

Han and the group crept forward, scanningthe ground, the surrounding junk piles. TheCorellian freighter’s hatch doors were closed,and Han stopped a moment, studying theaccess keypad. “If I were going to guard thisship, the place where I’d put the alarm is righthere,” Han said. “If someone punches in thewrong sequence, bzzzt. The alarm goes off.”

“What’s the right sequence?” Teneniel asked.Luke placed his hand over the keypad, but noone had touched it in a long time. He couldn’tfeel the sequence.

“I don’t know,” Han said, studying thecharacters. “Every captain has his or her owncode. But of course the port authorities haveoverrides, depending on what systems you’reregistered in. Here are the licenses.” Hepointed out a column of characters. Some ofthe alien scripts were tiny, delicately curved.Others were in pictographs, while still otherswere blockish and bold with crude knifeshapes, as if they’d been designed by somewarrior race. “Whoever ran this ship did a lotof traveling in the Chokan, Viridia, and Zi’Deksystems. I used to know some of those portaccess codes back in the days of the OldRepublic, but this character was running forthe Imperials. They changed all of the codes.Damn, I wish I’d done more pirating.”

Isolder stepped up to the ship, punched inthe code fteen-zero-three-eleven. The hatch

swung down. “Chokan Imperial port authoritycode,” Isolder said, smiling.

Han looked at him, astonished. “You workedthe Chokan system? Even with that nastyplague?”

Isolder shrugged. “I knew a girl there.”“Must have been some girl,” Leia said.Han hurried up into the ship. “I’ll go run

diagnostics and make sure these parts areworth stealing. Isolder, you and Leia nd somewrenches and get the sensor array window o ,then go down in the hold and start pulling theAC generators o their mounts. Luke, run get acouple of barrels so we can drain the coolant.”

As the others went inside, Luke stood withTeneniel a second, patted her on the shoulder,his face tense. “This is going to take sometime,” Luke said. “Keep your eyes open.”

Leia and Isolder got some tools out of theship, and pulled o the sensory array window.Luke went to a far wall where huge metal

containers were stored, rolled a barrel acrossthe room. Teneniel whispered some spells tosharpen her senses, but found that it did nogood. Somehow, subconsciously, she hadalready tapped into the Force. With herheightened senses, she could hear everythudding movement and clank of tool, Han’sexcited delight from the cockpit as hewhispered, “Jackpot!” the echoing pings asLuke rolled the barrel over the floor, crunchingbits of sand and dirt. Luke went inside thefreighter, grunting as he worked a hand pumpto transfer the coolant to the barrel. Leia andIsolder carried their window inside and redup some torches to cut through frozen bolts.The ames hissed and squealed as they cutthrough the metal.

Teneniel walked away from the ship so thatshe could hear better, wished she had a blasterri e if only to make her feel morecomfortable, better armed. There were somany scrapped spaceships in the room that

she felt as if she were in a rocky cave. Shereally couldn’t see much from the floor.

She decided to climb up the side of atransport that was more molten slag than itwas ship. She went to it, looked for ahandhold. The tang of oxidizing metal bit intoher nostrils. She found a knobby lump,grabbed it and began pulling herself up, butcould have sworn she heard the swishing ofskirts, a mumbled word.

She glanced around the room, lit only by thefootlights at the base of the two partlyrepaired ships. There were a lot of deepshadows. The high ceilings mildly echoed thethumps of Han and the others as they worked.Teneniel quickly and quietly hurried to the topof the ship, sat looking over the junkyard.From here she could see everything—thestorage area, the elevators, a door that openedto a stairway on the south wall. At the farnorth end of the room a rectangular openingled outside. The opening was silvered bymoonlight. The darkness, the creepy feel of the

place, the muted echoes, the mouth leadingoutside. All of it came crushing in on Teneniel.It was so much like the warriors’ hall she’dentered as a child when her mother died.

She felt that same su ocation here, the sameyawning emptiness. She looked o into theshadows at a far corner of the room—thoughtshe glimpsed movement, dark shapes runningin the shadows. She stared at the place butcould see nothing.

She began chanting softly, a spell ofdetection, and a bolt of cold fear pierced her.She could feel them there—in the darkness,closing in with deadly intent.

Teneniel scanned the room, searching vainly.Something was wrong with her sight. Shecould feel a cool pressure over her eyes, astu ness in her ears, and she tried wiping itaway with her hands.

Suddenly her vision cleared. Baritha stood atthe foot of her pile of rubble, with three otherNightsisters at her side. One of the womenchanted softly, and she held her thumb and

forefinger out, pinching them together.Invisible ngers seized Teneniel’s throat,

choking her.“Welcome, Sister Teneniel,” Baritha said.

“So, we set a trap, and look who has falleninto it! What happened, did you nally tire ofhiding in the mountains?”

Teneniel gasped for breath, found herselfstruggling. Her ears thudded and rang; herlungs burned. She tried to sing a counterspell,but could get no air.

“Too bad I cannot let you live anothermoment,” Baritha said. “I’m sure thatGethzerion would have enjoyed tormentingyou!”

She gave a hand signal, and the Nightsisterat her side sang louder. She balled her purpledhand into a st. Teneniel felt her windpipewrench terribly, and Luke’s words rangthrough her ears. “Let the Force ow throughyou.”

There were no spells she could sing, nochants, not even a funeral dirge. The

Nightsisters thought her powerless. Tenenieltried to calm herself, let the Force owthrough her, open her throat. The pile of slagon which she stood seemed to twist and buckbeneath her like a frightened rancor, andTeneniel dropped to her hands and knees. TheForce was not there, nowhere to be found. Herheart pounded wildly with terror, and with allher will she tried to shriek for help before shedied.

The world twisted, and she dropped into thedark void, swallowed by blackness like hermother before her.

Luke heard Teneniel’s scream in his mind,shouted for Han, and ran down the gangplank.

He saw the Nightsisters huddled in theirrobes a hundred meters from the ship,Teneniel lying in a heap on the carrier abovethem. “Stop!” Luke shouted. “Let her go!”

He let the Force surge through him, openedTeneniel’s trachea. The girl gasped for breath.

“What?” Baritha asked. “A puny little manseeks to command us?” The witches turnedtoward him.

“Leave this place!” Luke said. “I warn you:Tell Gethzerion to take the Nightsisters awayand set your slaves free!”

“Or what, o worlder?” Baritha said. “Oryou’ll bleed all over us when we pop yourhead open? Has your stay on our world beenso short that you don’t know what we are?”

“I know what you are,” Luke said. “I’vebattled your kind on other worlds.”

One of the Nightsisters grabbed Baritha’sarm, a warning gesture. Behind Baritha, two ofthe Nightsisters began to sing softly inharmony, and their images faded. Luke let theForce ow through him, realized they weretrying to alter his perceptions.

“You cannot hide yourselves from me,” Lukesaid. “No matter where you run, I would huntyou down. Your only chance to live is to leavenow, peaceably.”

“You lie!” Baritha shouted, throwing back

her hood. At the top of her voice she beganyelling her spell, “Artha, artha!”

Luke pulled his blaster and red. Baritha cutshort her spell. She reached out with a gestureand slapped the blaster bolt away.

“You are no spellcaster!” Baritha shouted,and one of the Nightsisters rushed toward him.Luke pulled out his lightsaber, ipped it onand threw it, so that it tumbled end over end.The Nightsister grabbed for the handle, andLuke used the Force to twist the lightsaber inmid-air, killing the hag. He called thelightsaber back to his hand.

Baritha and the Nightsisters drew back apace. One of the women shouted, “Gethzerion,sisters—come to us!” And Luke knew that shewas summoning reinforcements.

Teneniel lurched from the top of the wreck,took a flying leap toward Luke.

“No!” Baritha shouted, and she beganchanting her spell again. A solar panel brokefree from a TIE ghter, went spinning towardTeneniel, caught her in the back and knocked

her to her belly. She slid next to Luke’s feet,but rose to her knees. Baritha chanted her spelland another solar panel flew across the room.

Teneniel ducked beneath it and glared at theold woman. “You really don’t want to try thiswith me!” Teneniel warned viciously. Behindthem, the engines to the freighter roared tolife, and Luke had to question the sanity oftrying to y the thing with over half itssublight drive cells missing while overhead theStar Destroyers were poised to blow anyoutgoing craft from the sky. But at themoment, he really didn’t feel like arguing.

A sensor array broke free from the TIEghter, went swirling toward Teneniel. Luke

shouted, “Come on!”But the girl stood her ground, began singing

a counterattack. The computer array twisted inthe air, hurtled toward the Nightsisters. Barithajumped aside to dodge hardware, but oneNightsister got hit and went ying to theground.

“Damn you, Gethzerion!” Teneniel shouted

to the air. “I’m sick of the way you hunt us. I’msick of trying to stay out of your path! I’m sickof the way you hurt and kill. I’m sick—” Lukelooked at Teneniel’s face, realized that she wasenraged, mad beyond reason. He could feel theforce of her wrath. Her face was red and tearsstreamed from her eyes. Teneniel beganmuttering her song, and a hurricane blewthrough the room. A TIE ghter ipped overunder the force of the onslaught, tumbledtoward the Nightsisters. The witches duckedand raised their hands, gesturing a wardingspell.

“No! Don’t give in to anger!” Luke shouted,grabbing Teneniel’s shoulder. “That’s notGethzerion! That’s not her!”

Teneniel turned, looked in his face, gaspingfor breath, and suddenly seemed to realizewhere she was. Han red the freighter’sforward blasters into a heap of slag, throwingshrapnel and creating a cloud of smoke andionized gases that blew toward the Nightsisterslike a storm.

Luke grabbed Teneniel’s hand, pulled herup the gangplank and hit the close switch,rushed to the cockpit. Han was there alone.Luke could not hear the witches singing anylonger, but through the view-screen he sawthem, sts outstretched in a gripping gesture.Han slowly pulled the thruster stick, trying toraise the ship.

“Man, these drives are in worse shape than Ithought,” he said doubtfully. “I don’t think thisbucket can even lift off.”

At the far side of the room, gures in blackrobes owed from a doorway. Luke said, “Getus out of here—now!”

Han struggled to lift the stick. “This throttleis stuck!” he shouted, grasping it with bothhands. Luke looked at the witches with theirgripping gesture, channeled the Force throughhim, then reached down and pulled thethrottle up easily. The ship rattled and rose,and Luke spun it around, threw the sublightson full power as they surged toward the portalon the far side of the building.

The witches behind were caught in the ashof tail re as the thrusters ignited. The shipburst out of the building, and the freightershuddered and rolled to the sound of blasterfire.

“Don’t worry,” Han said. “It’s just thesentries on the prison towers. The shields canhold them.” Han took the throttle, and theyrumbled over the plains. The freighter wassluggish, definitely sluggish.

Han shouted over the intercom. “Hey, YourHighnesses, have you about got thosegenerators loose?”

“Negative,” Isolder said over the intercom.“Give us a few more minutes.”

“Might I remind you that this is aninterdicted planet?” Han said. “And we have asky full of Imperial destroyers above us whoare no doubt arming missiles at this verymoment in hopes of blasting us to pieces.”

“A rmative,” Isolder said. “We’re workingon it!”

“I don’t want you to work on it,” Han said.

“I want you to get those generators out of there—now!”

“I’ll go help,” Luke said, and he hurrieddown the corridor. Teneniel was still standingby the hatch, looking at the door. Her face waspale. She glanced away guiltily.

“I’m sorry,” she told Luke. “I won’t let ithappen again.”

Luke nodded, crawled down into the hold,up into a snug corner of the right sensor arrayfork. Isolder had already unbolted twogenerators from the mounts, and he had a hugewrench and tried vainly to loosen another bolt.Leia was pulling on the generators, trying tosqueeze them past Isolder’s body.

“Pull those generators out of the way if youcan,” Luke urged Isolder, ring up hislightsaber. “Leia, get up there and cap thecoolant.” Luke slashed the heads o theremaining six bolts, then gave the last twogenerators a good kick. Both of them tumbledo the mounts. He and Isolder dragged thegenerators up to the main deck. They worked

desperately to wrestle them onto the hatchgate, and just as they got the last one up, Leia

nished capping the barrels of coolant. Theydragged all the coolant to the hatch at once.

“Evacuate ship!” Han called over theintercom.

He had hardly said the words when he ranout from the cockpit. “We’ll be ying over alake in about thirty seconds. I saw it on myscreens!”

Han hit the open latch on the hatch, and asthe entry ramp dropped away, the coolant andgenerators went spilling out. Luke wassurprised to see that they were only traveling

ve meters above ground at perhaps sixtykilometers per hour.

A blast rocked the ship, and Han looked up.“Those Star Destroyers know we’re here. Let’shope the shields can hold for thirty seconds.”

A sudden barrage sent the ship bouncing,and Isolder grabbed the sensory array windowand slipped down the ramp. He caught himselfhalfway, dropped the window, tried crawling

back. A second barrage rocked the ship, senthim sliding farther.

Leia screamed, grabbed his hand. Moon-silvered water ashed beneath them, and Lukegrabbed Teneniel’s hand and pulled her fromthe ship. All five of them dropped together.

Luke plunged into the water, and his feet hitmud. He bobbed back up to the surface,looked around desperately for the others.Teneniel came up beside him, Han and Leiatwenty yards away. Beyond them, Isolderfloated up on his back.

Leia swam for Isolder. Luke looked out atthe ship, ying over the lake. After severalmore missile hits, the shields died, and theship exploded in a green reball thatmushroomed up into the night.

Luke swam to Leia and Isolder, foundIsolder’s face muddy. He’d hit the shallows andwas coughing dirty water. “He’s lucky he didn’tsnap his neck,” Leia said.

Luke touched him, felt life still strong inhim. “He’ll be all right.”

They walked a hundred yards through theshallows, lay down on the beach. Luke couldfeel a tremor in the Force, like a thin probing

nger of thought, Gethzerion stretching outwith her mind, trying to nd them. They wereless than ten kilometers from the city, in fairlyclear view, and the Nightsisters had surely seenthe ship blow up, but Gethzerion was usingthe Force to search for survivors. Luke clearedhis mind, let Gethzerion’s touch wander pasthim. He looked at Teneniel, saw her strugglingfor control. She suddenly relaxed, and Lukefelt that the danger was over, at leasttemporarily. The probing touch moved outfarther over the lake.

“Well,” Leia panted. “That wasn’t so hard!”“Yeah,” Isolder agreed, still coughing.

“Maybe we should go back, try it again.”“We need to hurry and get out of here,”

Luke said. “Gethzerion will be sendingstormtroopers to look for survivors and see ifshe can salvage the wreck. I don’t want themto find anything but our tracks.”

Luke’s words seemed to sober the entiregroup. Luke tried to catch his breath.

“Luke, let me see your macrobinoculars,”Han said. Luke reached down to hiswaterproof pouch, pulled out themacrobinoculars. Han lay panting, looking upinto the sky.

“What? What’s up there?” Isolder asked.“I don’t know,” Han said. “I saw it as we

flew out. Something funny on the sensors.”“What?” Leia asked.“Satellites,” Han said, “Zsinj’s men have

released thousands of satellites overhead.”“Like what?” Isolder asked. “Orbital mines?”“Maybe,” Han said. “Probably. Whatever

they are, there’s a lot of them.”Leia looked up at the sky, searching among

the stars. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve got abad feeling about this.” Luke followed hergaze. He could see the satellites, thousands ofdim stars, as if the number of stars in the skyhad doubled within the past few hours. Hethought back, realized that the satellites must

have been released near the same time he hadhis vision in the elevator. He closed his eyes,saw the vision again—eternal night.

A

Chapter21

pale pink sun was just rising under clearskies and Luke was struggling to patch a

breached container of coolant when therancors came loping across the ats. The grouphad been working for less than fteen minutes,and Luke sensed that they needed to leavesoon. Gethzerion’s stormtroopers would behere in another half hour.

Chewbacca bellowed in greeting, andThreepio shouted, “Oh, thank goodness wefound you!” He turned to Chewie and Artoo.“See, I told you they would be all right. HisHighness King Solo would never allow himselfto get blown up!” His head swiveled backaround. “So, what are you doing out here?”

“We had to bail out of the ship before it gotshot down,” Luke said. “But we broke open a

canister of coolant. I put some steel tape on it,but I’m waiting for the adhesive to dry. We’reglad you showed up.”

“I’m the one who found you,” Threepiobragged. “Thanks to my superior AA-oneVerbobrain, I was able to crack that Imperialcode!” Artoo squealed derisively, and Threepioadded, “With Artoo’s help, of course. We werejust on the way to the city to warn you!”

Han grunted, sat down on the barrel. “Warnus of what, Mr. Verbobrain?”

“Gethzerion!” Threepio said. “She plannedto set some kind of trap for you!”

“Yeah, we sort of gured that out on ourown,” Han said, “when she sprung it.”

“But there’s more,” Threepio said. “Showthem the latest message, Artoo.”

Artoo squealed, leaned forward on therancor and focused his holo cams. Two imagesappeared on the mud ats standing side byside: Gethzerion and a young o cer wearingthe slate gray uniform that identi ed him asone of Zsinj’s generals.

Gethzerion said, “General Melvar, you mayinform Zsinj that we have captured GeneralHan Solo, and we of the sisterhood await theshuttle he promised in trade.” The old witchstood silently, hands folded over her stomach.General Melvar calmly regarded her with athrill-killer’s glimmering eyes, scratched hisjaw with a platinum ngernail shaped like aclaw. Such cuticle implants were costly andpainful, and those who wore them often cutthemselves accidentally. General Melvar hadthe thin white facial scars to prove it.

“Warlord Zsinj has reconsidered his o er,”Melvar smiled coldly. “He wishes to expresshis sorrow at having had to bomb the ship thatleft your compound, but now that Solo’sMillennium Falcon has been destroyed, mattershave changed. It was Solo’s ship that wedestroyed?”

Gethzerion nodded. Her eyes were half-closed, secretive.

“Who was on it?” Melvar asked, his voicethreatening.

“Stormtroopers,” Gethzerion lied. “They sawthat we were repairing the ship and tried to flyit before the repairs were completed. If youhad not killed them, I would have.”

“I suspected as much,” Melvar smiledtriumphantly. “Although I must admit that Ihad rather hoped you were aboard.” He took adeep breath. “So, you have General Solo, andyou wish for a shuttle.”

Gethzerion nodded sti y, her dark hoodhiding her eyes.

“You realize that now that Solo’s ship hasbeen annihilated,” Melvar said, “yourbargaining position has weakened. Therefore,Warlord Zsinj wishes to make acounterproposal to your ratty band.”

“As I fully expected,” Gethzerion answered.At this, the general averted his eyes, tried tohide his annoyance at being anticipated. Shecontinued, “After all, it is well known even onour remote world that Warlord Zsinj neverkeeps his word when doing so mightinconvenience him. I rather expected that he

might sco at releasing the Nightsisters fromDathomir. So tell me, what lesser bauble doeshe offer?”

“Warlord Zsinj o ers to retrieve GeneralSolo from your sisterhood in thirty-six hours.He will be coming personally to collect thegeneral. In return he will refrain fromdestroying your planet.”

“So, he offers us nothing?” Gethzerion asked.“He o ers you your lives,” Melvar grinned.

“You should be grateful to receive even that.”“You do not understand the Nightsisters,”

Gethzerion sco ed. “We don’t value our ownlives. So you see, he o ers us nothing ofvalue.”

“Nevertheless,” Melvar said, “we demandthat you release Han Solo to us at once.Extinction is such a permanent condition. Takea few moments to decide.”

“And you may tell Zsinj that we of theNightsisters have an o er of our own: tell Zsinjthat in return for our release from this world,our sisterhood will serve him.”

Melvar’s eyes brightened with interest. “Howcan he be sure of your devotion?”

“We will bring him our daughters and ourgranddaughters—all our females under the ageof ten. He may keep them where he will, ashis hostages. If we displease him, he may killour children.”

“Only a moment ago you admitted that lifeheld no value for you,” Melvar argued. “If thisis true, then wouldn’t it be reasonable toassume that you would sacri ce your ownchildren to gain your freedom?”

Gethzerion’s voice grew rough with emotion.She said softly, “No mother could be so evil.Tell Zsinj to consider our o er, as we mustconsider his.”

The holograms ickered o , and Han stoodup, looked around. “So,” Han said, “what doyou think Zsinj has planned? Aerialbombardments, what?”

Leia refrained from answering. “He said he’ddestroy the planet—not just the Nightsisters ortheir city.” She breathed deeply. “Could he be

working on something big?”“Like another Death Star?” Luke asked. “I

don’t think so.”“I don’t know about this,” Han said.

“Gethzerion’s playing Zsinj for a sucker—telling him that she’s taken me hostage,destroyed my ship. Obviously, she’ll do justabout anything to get off this rock.”

“And Zsinj sounds like he’s willing to do justabout anything to get you,” Leia said.

“Yeah,” Han agreed. “The really scary thingis, that if we could just introduce Gethzerionand Zsinj, they have so many personality traitsin common that I think they’d really hit it off.”

Leia looked at Han, frowning inconcentration. “I don’t get it. Zsinj sure seemsto want you bad, Han. Coming herepersonally? He’s going to an awful lot oftrouble to extort the Nightsisters. What has hegot against you?”

Han scratched his jaw uncomfortably. Froma t o p the rancor, Chewbacca roared,encouraging Han to continue. Somehow Luke

knew it would be bad.“Well, you know after I destroyed his Super

Star Destroyer, I sort of—well, called himpersonally on holo vid, and, uh, gloated.”

“Gloated?” Leia asked. “What do you mean,gloated?”

“I, uh, don’t remember the exact words, but Ipersonally took credit for blowing up his shipand said something like, ‘Kiss my Wookiee!’ ”

Chewbacca broke into deep laughter andnodded vigorously.

“Let me get this straight,” Isolder asked.“You said ‘Kiss my Wookiee!’ to the mostpowerful warlord in the galaxy?”

“All right! All right!” Han said, sitting downon the generator. “I’m sorry! You don’t have torub it in. I admit that I screwed up! I, I just didit in the heat of the moment.”

Isolder slapped Han’s back. “Ah, my friend,you’re even dumber than I thought—heck,maybe you’re dumber than anybody thought—but I wish I’d been there!” Luke felt rathersurprised at the way Isolder had called Han his

“friend.”“Yeah,” Leia said. “Me, too. You could have

sold tickets to that.”Han looked up into Isolder’s eyes. “Really?

Oh, you should have seen the look on Zsinj’sface—you know, he’s got little fat red cheeks,and the spittle was dripping out of his mouth,nose hairs twitching! It was great! Do youknow he really is a genius? He can curse

uently in nearly sixty languages. Now I haveheard some obscenities in my time, but thisman has a special talent.”

“Oh yeah,” Isolder smiled. “You know he’sgoing to put your head on a platter, don’t you?And considering Zsinj’s reputation, he mighteven eat it.”

“Yeah, well,” Han said, “it keeps lifeinteresting.”

“We can worry about Zsinj later,” Luke said.“Right now, we had better get these parts backto the Falcon. Let’s not get caught out here inthe open. When Gethzerion nds out that wemade it o the ship alive, she’ll be right on

our tails.” Luke looked at the barrel of coolant,feeling uncomfortable. Even with the patch,they’d lost half the barrel, and he knew thatthey needed every drop to make a safe jump.

Leia patted Luke’s back reassuringly. “We’llhave to make do.”

He nodded, agreeing only because that wasall he could do. They had the rancors quicklyload the generators and barrels of coolant intosacks woven from whu a hide, and then therancors slung them on their backs. Themonsters didn’t even seem to notice the load,and in ten minutes they made it o the mudflats and into the shelter of the foothills.

After a day and a night without sleep, thewhole party was exhausted, but the rancorswere rested, so they rode until near sunset,then made camp. Yet Luke could not rest. Hewalked o into the forest and paced. It wasearly evening. He stood on a hill looking outover the plains, and when he blinked his eyesthe plains seemed dark, frozen, void of life.Eternal night, a voice whispered in him.

Eternal night is coming. He wondered if thevisions were symbolic, a representation of hisown impending death.

He stretched out his senses, felt the stirringsin the Force. Already, the army of Nightsisterswas over halfway to the clan at SingingMountain. Gethzerion had her landspeeder,and a trip that took three days for her armywould take her only an hour. She and the restof her clan could spend those three days layingstrategy.

Often, Luke had found that in the past hecould imagine a battle as it might go, rehearseit in his mind. When he did so, the Forcewould guide him, give him insights he mightnot otherwise have had. But this time it wasdi erent. His skirmish beneath the towers hadtaught him little about the Nightsisters’capabilities. He wished that Yoda or Benwould appear to counsel him, yet the onlyimage that came to his mind was Yoda on theholo tape, Repulsed by the witches.

Yoda had been a greater Jedi Master than

Luke ever hoped to be, yet the witches hadwithstood him and others like him. Luke feltunsure of his power. The Force. Where did itreally come from? Yoda had said that lifecreated it, that it was energy. But could Lukeuse it in good conscience? If he was drawingenergy from other living things, sucking themas if he were some leech bleeding them dry,how could he really justify what he did?

And there was a further matter. In his battleswith Darth Vader and the Emperor, Luke felthe had never truly tested his powers to thelimits. Vader had sought only to turn him, hadkept Luke alive. Yet Luke had no illusions thatGethzerion would be so lenient.

“What’s going on here, Ben?” Lukewhispered, staring back into the deep greenjungle. The dying sunlight ashed on theleaves. “Is this some kind of test, or what? Areyou trying to nd out if I’m ready to standalone? Do you think I don’t need your help?What’s going on here?”

Yet Ben did not answer. An evening breeze

rustled through the tops of the trees so thatleaf shadows danced over the ground. Lukelooked up at the setting sun, found himselfsurprised. The forest carried the scent of leafmold and some type of fruit in the upperbranches of the trees. The evening was warmand perfect, the sun shining on him. Overhead,oblivious to the Nightsisters or Zsinj, lizardsjumped among the upper foliage of the forest.In spite of everything, Luke realized, Dathomirreally was a beautiful world. If the map inAugwynne’s war room was correct, humansseemed to have explored perhaps only one-hundredth of the livable surface of the planet.And for most of the creatures here, and onmillions of planets elsewhere in the galaxy,Gethzerion’s schemes mattered less than thescattering of a handful of sand in the desert.

As Luke wandered into the forest, Isolder satand listened to Han talking to his droid. Leiasoon fell asleep, but Isolder woke a bit later,

noticed Teneniel sitting by the re, outside thecircle of light, watching the stars. He went andsat by her.

“Sometimes at night when I’m out in thedesert,” Teneniel said softly, “and there are noclouds, no trees to obstruct my view, I lieawake at night and look at the stars,wondering who lives there, what the peopleare like.”

Isolder studied the points of light abovethem. In his pirating days he had worked thispart of the galaxy, and he had a gift forastrogation. By noting a couple of major stars,he was able to picture where he was in space.“I’ve often done the same,” he said. “Exceptthat between my history books and lessons indiplomacy and a little travel, I’ve learned agreat deal. Pick a star,” he waved at the stars.“I’ll tell you about it.”

“That one,” Teneniel said, pointing at thebrightest one on the horizon.

“That’s not a star,” Isolder said. “That’s just a

planet.”“I know,” Teneniel smiled at him, “but I had

to test you. All right, there are six stars upthere right next to each other that form acircle,” she said, pointing directly above them.“The brightest one is blue. Tell me about it.”

Isolder studied the star a moment. “That’sthe Cedre system, and it’s only about threelight-years from here. There is no life aroundthat star, for it’s too young, too hot. Pickanother star—a yellow one, or an orange.”

“What about the dim star to its left? Thatone?”

Isolder considered. “That one is really twostars, a double system called Fere, or Feree,and it’s pretty far away. Two hundred yearsago, the people there had a very great culture,and they built some of the better starships inthe galaxy—small luxury cruisers. I have anuncle who collects antique starships, and hehas a restored Fere.”

“Don’t they build ships anymore?”“No, during some wars a lot of people were

moving around, checking out new worlds tohide on. Someone accidentally carried aplague to Fere and wiped out the planet. Still,if you had a powerful enough telescope, youcould view the people there as they oncewere. The Fere were very tall, with soft skin arich ivory, and six delicate ngers on eachhand.”

“How could I see them, if they are alldead?” Teneniel asked, disbelieving.

“Because with a telescope, you would beseeing light that re ected o their worldhundreds of years ago. Since the light is justreaching us, you would be looking into theirpast.”

“Oh,” Teneniel said. “Do you have such atelescope?”

“No,” Isolder laughed. “We don’t make themthat well.”

“What about the dim star beneath it?”Teneniel asked.

“That’s Orelon, and I know that star verywell,” Isolder said. “It’s big, and it’s bright, and

from here it is the only visible star from myhome cluster, Hapes. There are really sixty-three stars very close to each other in thatcluster, and my mother rules over them.”

Teneniel remained quiet for a long time,thoughtful. “Your mother rules sixty-threestars?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“Yes,” Isolder said.“Does she have soldiers? Warriors and

starships?”“Billions of warriors, thousands of starships,”

Isolder said. She drew a deep breath, andIsolder realized that his answer must havefrightened her.

“Why did you never tell me this?” she asked.“I did not know I had captured the son of sucha powerful woman.”

“I told you that my mother was a queen, andyou knew that when I chose a wife, she wouldbe queen.”

“But—I thought she was the queen of a clanvillage,” Teneniel gasped. She lay back on thegrass and held her hands up to her head for a

moment, as if dizzy. Isolder decided to give hertime, let her become accustomed to life on hisgrand terms. “So,” Teneniel said thoughtfully,“when you leave Dathomir, if I look up at thatstar, I will know where you are?”

“Yes,” Isolder said.“And when you are on your home world,

will you ever look up in the sky at night andsee my sun, and think about me?” Her voicewas choked, desolate.

“From Hapes, we cannot see your sun. It’stoo dim. Hapes has seven moons, and theydrown out the light from stars this dim,”Isolder said, wondering at her tone of voice.

He turned to the side, studied Teneniel’s facein the starlight. As with most Hapans, his nightvision was poor; the light of seven moons anda brilliant sun made night vision unnecessary,so over the millennia his people had graduallylost the ability to see well in the dark. Still, hecould make out her silhouette, the tight linesof her face, the curve of her breast. “I don’tunderstand you,” Isolder said. “What do you

think I am to you? You say that I am yourslave. You say that your people kidnap men tobe husbands, and the fact that you own megives you some kind of status in your clan, if Iunderstand correctly.”

“I would never force you to do anythingagainst your will,” Teneniel said. “I … Icouldn’t. As I have said, if some other womancaptured you, perhaps you would not be solucky.” Isolder recalled Teneniel’s enigmaticsmile as she had rst approached him, shylywalking around him, singing softly, yetwatching him intently, copper eyes never

icking away. He had smiled in return,thinking only to be cordial, and then as hereached out to take the cord she o ered, it hadentangled him. Now he understood. She hadgiven him every opportunity to escape, and hehad let her catch him.

As far as mating rituals went, this one wasnot particularly complex, but the players onboth sides had to understand the rules.

“I see,” Isolder sighed. “What if you and I

did not like each other? What if the marriagedidn’t work? Then what would you do?”

“Then I could sell you. If you preferredanother woman, then an honorable masterwould try to sell you to her, setting whateverprice seemed reasonable given the purchaser’swealth and circumstances. Or, if there was noone you liked in our clan, you could arrange tobe captured by someone outside the clan—oryou could run away up into the mountains, tolet me know you were not satis ed, and if Ithought it could still work out, I would huntyou down again. There are many things youcould do.”

Isolder considered. Though it soundedbarbaric on the surface, the witches’ way ofmating sounded no less onerous than mostother systems. As on his own world, thewomen dominated, but the men here hadrecourse. He tried to imagine this world as ithad been for thousands of years—small humanbands battling the rancors without weapons.Given such an alternative, marrying a witch,

gaining her protection even if only to becomea slave, would have been a great boon.

And now Teneniel was giving him hisfreedom. She would let him run away, try tomake it o this planet, and she wanted onlyone thing in return: to be remembered, to bethought of fondly.

Given the grasping nature of his aunts, theavarice of his mother, he wondered how manywomen on his own world would have been sogenerous, so understanding. She had a beautyto her that he had seldom seen matched.

Isolder got up on his elbows, crouched overTeneniel, and kissed her softly on the cheek,knowing that he was kissing her good-bye. Hefound that her face was wet. She’d been crying.“If I ever make it back to Hapes,” he said, “I’llremember you. I know where you are, andsometimes I will look toward Dathomir, andI’ll wonder if you are looking across theheavens at me.”

An hour later, Luke woke the others, andthey mounted the rancors and rode hard,driving the rancors mercilessly through theforests, over mountains and through deepcanyons. Late in the night, they halted againdeep in the woods just fourteen kilometersfrom Singing Mountain. The rancors were tooexhausted to move any farther. Luke could feela sense of urgency, wanted to hurry, but therancors were too tired and the whole campwas exhausted.

“We’ll rest here for a bit,” Luke said, and asone the group sloughed o their mounts, andlay on the ground with blankets. Both of thedroids had already powered down for thenight.

Luke ate some meager rations in nearsilence without a re, and the rancors stoodheaving from exhaustion in the shadows,sleepy-eyed. They weren’t recovering wellfrom their exertions, so Teneniel lled a waterskin, and as the others in the party slept, the

monsters bowed down to her and let hersponge their faces with a wet rag. Lukewondered at their behavior, then realized thatsince the rancors had no sweat glands, therigors of the trip left them su ering from theheat. He went to Teneniel.

“Here,” he said. “Use the Force to helpthem. It can cool their bodies.” He touched the

rst rancor, let the Force wash over thecreature. It sighed contentedly, touched himwith a great muddy claw, as if to pet him.

Teneniel shook her head in frustration. “Istill don’t see how you do it,” she said. “Itseems to me that it would be so much easierwith a spell.”

“If saying some words helps youconcentrate,” Luke said, “then I don’t see thatit would do any harm. But the Force cannot bebound by words, encapsulated in words.”

“I’m sorry—for what I did back at theprison,” Teneniel said. “I almost killed them.I … suddenly, when I was angry, it seemedthat nothing you had said made sense. I only

wanted to kill them, put an end to their evil,yet your rules prevented me.”

“They wanted you to try to kill them. Theywanted you to give in to hate.”

“I know,” Teneniel said, “but in thatmoment, I couldn’t see how the light side ofthe Force was stronger than the dark.”

“I’ve never said it was stronger,” Lukeanswered. “If it is power that you want, it maybe that both sides serve equally well. But lookat the Nightsisters—look at what the dark sideo ers: fear instead of love, aggression insteadof peace, dominion in place of service, andinstead of contentment, consuming appetite.

“If you crave easy power, then the dark sideo f the Force o ers what you desire—at theexpense of all else that you value.”

Luke touched each of the rancors in turn,cooling them. Teneniel put her arms aroundLuke’s chest, hugged him from behind, hercheek nuzzling his shoulder.

“And what if I crave love more thananything else?” Teneniel asked. “Will the light

side of the Force lead me to it?”It was hard not to understand her question,

but Luke was tempted to feign confusion. Lukefound her attractive, but to professlove … would be misleading. “I don’t know,”Luke said honestly. “I believe it could.”

“Before you came,” Teneniel said, “I sawyou and Isolder in a vision. I’d been lonely forso long, living in the wilderness, and I onlywanted to nd a husband, rejoin my clan. Formany days I worked at casting the seer’s spells,and then I saw you in my dreams. I thinkperhaps you are my destiny.”

Luke took her clasped hands in his, heldthem. “I don’t believe in destiny. I think weforge our own path in life through the choiceswe make. Look, I have something I have tosay, but I haven’t said it because I don’t wantto hurt you: I feel like we hardly know eachother. I think, that we need to just calmdown.”

“You mean I need to calm down,” Tenenielwhispered. “Among my people we choose our

husbands quickly, often in the ashing of aneye. When I saw you, I knew in a moment thatI wanted you. I haven’t changed my mind. Butyou act as if love must come tentatively.”

“I’m not sure it comes tentatively,” Lukesaid. “It’s just that sometimes it grows, butusually it dies a quick death.”

“So?” Teneniel said. “If our love dies a quickdeath, what have we lost?”

“I can’t do that,” Luke answered. “Love ismore than a mere curiosity or a momentaryexcitement. I don’t think that two people canknow it’s real until they’ve spent timetogether, until they have a history together. ButI have a duty to ful ll. I’m going to nish myJedi training, and after I leave this planet, thetruth is that I’ll probably never see you again.You and I won’t ever have much of a history.”

Luke wanted to say more, wanted to tell herthat someday he hoped to meet a girl like her,but over in the deeper shadows under thetrees, Han stirred in his sleep, raised a hand inthe air, and said loudly, “No! No!” Then he

pulled a hide to cover his head and rolledover.

Luke thought it strange. He’d never seen Hantalk in his sleep before. Then Luke felt it, adisturbance in the Force, as if somethinginvisible had moved under the canopy of thetrees with them. He could feel it oatingnearby, and wondered if some kind of animallurked in the shadows. He turned to look up,and a pressure encircled his head, as if a darkhelmet had been placed upon it. A chill randown his spine, and he fought to remain calm,invisible. He recognized that it was some sortof probe.

“What’s going on? What is it?” Tenenielasked, and Luke waved his hand, gestured forher to remain silent. He held still for severalminutes, ghting for control, drawing upon theForce. Then the feeling faded.

Teneniel gasped, as if she’d suddenly beenstruck by cold water. She tried to cover herhead with her hands, then looked up at thenight sky and laughed. “Gethzerion, you’ll

never learn anything of value from me!”Gethzerion’s brittle voice rang through

Luke’s ears, lling the woods, coming fromeverywhere and nowhere. “But I already have,”Gethzerion said. “I’ve learned that Han Solo isalive, and that he dreams with hope ofrepairing his ship. I must confess, I am glad hewas able to salvage his precious generators.Believe me, I want as much as you do for himto get that ship running smoothly.”

Luke reached out with the Force, tried totouch Gethzerion’s mind. He saw a brief imageof Imperial walkers marching in the darkness,and then Gethzerion recoiled, hiding herself.

“Get the saddles back on the rancors,” Lukesaid, feeling grateful that he had been able toheal the beasts of their discomfort, even if onlyfor a few moments. “We’ve got to leave now.Gethzerion has been marching her troopsthrough the night so that she can attack yourclan at dawn.”

T

Chapter22

he group hurried to mount their rancors forone last ride. Something subtle had changed

during the night. Teneniel and Isolder rodetogether, as did Han and Leia. Luke rode withArtoo, and realized that his talk with Tenenielhad sobered the woman somewhat. She’dgiven up on him, and in a sense, he feltrelieved.

As the rancors raced toward the clanstronghold at Singing Mountain, plungingthrough the jungle at breakneck speed, theirmacabre chain mail rattled and clacked,making the only sound to disturb the night. Noreptiles leaped through the branches orcroaked in dismay at the sound of theirapproach. No birds apped from their limbs.Instead, it seemed almost as if the animals of

the jungle had died, dropping silently from thevines, they were so quiet.

They ran the rancors for another hour,climbed over a chain of hills, and stopped,gasping, to look into the bowl-shaped valleywhere Singing Mountain lay ve kilometerso . Overhead the sky was a dull red, relightre ecting from smoke- lled skies. TheNightsisters had set re to the jungle on thesurrounding hills, so that the mountain lookedas if it sat in a tureen of smoldering embers.Very clearly, Luke heard Augwynne’s voice callin his mind, “Luke, Teneniel, come quickly!”

And Luke shouted in return, “We’re on ourway!” He urged the rancors to run faster sothat dirt ew up behind as their claws rippedthe forest floor.

Luke could feel the darkness hurtling towardthem. In the pit of his stomach, he could feelthe wrongness, like a sickness. The air carriedthe scent of ames and soot. Ash and smokedrifted in the copper-colored sky. Lukeregretted that he had to lead the group in a

huge semicircle, come at the mountain from itsnorthern rim. A terrible sense of urgency drovehim, but he could not take them to the moreassailable south side of the mountain wherethe Nightsisters would be gathering for theirattack.

The rancors circled to the cli s at the northslope of the mountain, and Luke could feel thepresence of Nightsisters nearby. He raised hishand, silently ordered the rancors to halt, andlooked up the sheer face of the rock cli s,wreathed in smoke. Firelight re ected on therock, lighting all but the deepest crevices.

Luke gazed steadfastly at the cli . Theycouldn’t go up there without exposingthemselves to attack.

The brown smoke hung ominously abovelike a pall to cover the world, yet it wasutterly motionless. Somehow, the Nightsisterswere manipulating the smoke, using the Forceto wield it like a hammer. The air felt chargedwith static electricity.

Luke said, “Artoo, do a sensor scan, tell me

if you pick up any electronics.” Artoo raisedhis antenna dish, let it rotate.

“Master Luke,” Threepio commented, “theair is very highly charged, and the ionization iswreaking havoc with my circuitry. I doubt thatArtoo will be able to pick up much. This is noweather for a droid.”

“This is no weather for anyone,” Luke said,sni ng the air. The clouds were not the grayof storm clouds lled with heavy rain or thewhite of billowing clouds that promisesummer sprinkles. These were dense clouds ofdirt and soot rather than of water. He lookedup, and suddenly the clouds above the valleyswirled, as if a hand had waved above acooking re. Gethzerion’s face lled the sky, aface made of reddened smoke that frowneddown upon them, eyes twitching. Then theface dissolved, but Luke was left with theuncanny feeling that Gethzerion was still upthere, hidden behind the clouds, watchingthem. The rancors snarled and backed awayfrom the cliff.

“Don’t worry,” Teneniel soothed the group.“Gethzerion is only trying to frighten you.”

“Yeah,” Han said, “well, it’s working.”Artoo rotated his antenna uncertainly, nally

began shaking, pointing southeast. He squealedand gave an electronic blip.

“Artoo can read several Imperial walkers inthat direction,” Threepio said.

Luke glanced southeast, then looked back upat the mountain. The shadows in some of thosecrevices above them were dark enough thathuman eyes might not be able to see therancors if they crept up through the deepercracks. But Luke knew that the life-sensors onan Imperial walker would spot them in asecond. He would need to take out thosewalkers so the others could climb the cli , andhe didn’t have much time.

Luke reached down, patted his rancor. Thebeast was overheating again. He could feel itsfatigue, its dizziness. He let the Force owthrough him, cooled the rancors and tookaway their thirst, then spoke to them. “Tosh,

have your best climbers get my friends up tothe clan stronghold. I will stay down here withtwo of you to ght, and I will join the othersas soon as I can.”

Tosh began grumbling orders to herchildren, and the two smaller males took thegenerators from her pack. Tosh and herdaughter unstrapped their pikes and nets fromtheir backs as they prepared for battle.

“Han,” Luke said, glancing over at Han andLeia on their rancor. “Get Leia and the droidsup into the Falcon and start working on theship.” To emphasize his words, Luke raised hishand, and Artoo oated from Tosh’s back overto sit between Han and Leia. “There’s nothingyou can do down here. Teneniel, they mightneed your help.”

“What do you mean?” Han said. “I’m stayingwith you. I’ve still got my wits and myblaster.”

“And they won’t do you any good,” Lukesaid.

Han looked a bit dismayed, “Yeah, but—”

Thunder rumbled over the clouds, echoed fromthe mountain wall. Purple lightning spat at thecli face above, exploding like a blaster bolt,sending splinters of magma aming down inan arc.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Leia said. “TheNightsisters are coming for the Falcon becausethey know it’s a sure ticket o of this planet.The best thing we can do for these people is toget that ship xed as fast as possible and y itout of here so that there’s nothing left tosquabble over!”

“I know that,” Han said in a hurt tone. “I cansee that! I’m right with you!” But Luke knewthat in his heart, Han couldn’t stand thethought of deserting a friend who was in need.

Chewbacca and Threepio climbed o thelarger female and sat uncomfortably behindIsolder and Teneniel. On the huge rancors,even four riders could t easily on the bonyheadplates above the eyes. Luke did not worryso much about overburdening the rancors withriders as he worried about the heavy packs

with the generators and coolant. The rancorswould have to climb the mountain with thosepacks.

“Will you be okay?” he asked the rancors,and the two small males grunted reassuringly.

He looked up, saw Leia’s face lit in a suddensplash of lightning. He could feel her concern.

“Don’t worry,” Luke said. “I’ll take out thoseImperial walkers for you.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Leiaanswered. “Just take care of yourself. Noheroics. There are some bad people out here.Even I can feel it.” The silence stretched outbetween them, and Luke didn’t quite knowwhat to answer. If ever there was a day whenthey’d need heroics, this was it.

“I’ll try to be careful,” Luke said.Luke nudged Tosh back, left the others

behind in the forest as they remounted. Toshran for a hundred meters up a gently slopinghill, then stopped, stood tall and sni ed theair. The thick brush ahead was a solid blackmass. Tosh grumbled softly, and Luke felt her

sense of urgency. She wanted him to get o soshe could move quickly in a ght. Shecrouched low, and Luke leaped to the ground.

He probed the darkness ahead. He could seenothing, smell nothing—even when probingwith the Force, he felt nothing. Yet the rancorsquietly crept to their left, circling the brush.Luke followed noiselessly, using the Force toguide his footsteps.

They came to a trail that led into the deeperbrush, and the ground was lit with re ected

relight. Luke could see scu marks. Only theclawed metal toes of Imperial walkers left theground so gouged and trampled. He peeredtoward the brush again. It was lighter here, thefoliage above somewhat bare, and Lukerealized he was on a little promontory, and nobrush could be that thick.

A stormtrooper ahead shouted over hishelmet mike, “Look! Up on the cli !” Lukeglanced over his shoulder. The two malerancors were scurrying up the nearly verticalrock, grasping ancient handholds with their

huge claws. Luke could barely see the shapesthat were Han, Leia, and the others.

Almost immediately, blaster cannons openedahead of him, and in the blinding ash of theguns, Luke saw that what he’d thought wasbrush was really an Imperial camou age net,hiding a gun emplacement. A dozenstormtroopers, four Imperial walkers, and asingle Nightsister hunkered there. Luke knewthat there must be dozens of outposts like this,hoped that taking out this one would a ordLeia and the others enough of a chance tomake it up the mountain.

Tosh and her daughter gripped theirhalberds and ran forward, using the sound ofcannon re to cover their assault. Lukenervously watched Leia, saw both rancors onthe cli swing magically away from the attack,placing a rock outcrop between them and thegunfire. It took Luke a moment to see that theyhad swung away by grasping ropes of whu ahide that hung like creepers.

Luke charged in behind Tosh and her

daughter. Tosh met the Imperials rst,smashing into two Imperial walkers at once,knocking them into the gun emplacement.Frightened stormtroopers red into her withblaster ri es, and Tosh roared in pain as theshots bounced o her thick hide. Luke pulledo three rapid shots, putting the Imperialsdown. Tosh’s daughter swung her greathalberd, cleaving a third walker in half.

The fourth Imperial walker spunmalevolently and red its twin blaster cannonsinto the young rancor. Ichor spattered acrossthe installation, and the rancor’s right arm fellaway at the shoulder, splinters of yellow boneprotruding through the dark tangle of meat.The rancor stared at her wounds in shock,grabbed her net with her good hand andhurled it at the last Imperial walker, thencollapsed and died. The weight of its throwingstones bowled the walker over, and Toshjumped up, slapped a retreating stormtrooperinto oblivion with one paw, then rushed to theImperial walker and slammed a st into its

cannons.Flames and blue sparks erupted from the

crumpled walker as its power plant melteddown, yet Tosh smashed her st into it againand again, crumpling the hull. No one couldbe alive in there, yet Tosh screamed and priedat the metal, seeking to rip out the gunner’scorpse.

Luke red into two more stormtroopers, andheard the Nightsister singing. She was huddlednear the ground, frightened, retreating fromTosh and the carnage. Luke drew hislightsaber.

“You!” he shouted, and the Nightsisterturned to him, her hood falling back. She wasyoung, nothing more than a child really,perhaps sixteen. Luke could not imagine herbeing truly evil. He could feel her terror.

She began singing, and Luke raised his freehand with a gesture, used the Force to closeher windpipe. The singing stopped, and shestood frozen, horror etched on her face.

“Don’t make me kill you!” Luke said.

“Promise me you’ll leave Gethzerion and herclan forever!”

The girl stared at him, lit by the res ofburning Imperial walkers, eyes wild withterror, strangling. She nodded dumbly, andLuke could taste her animal fear. He let her go.

She dropped to the ground, looked up athim with rage. Luke could feel her surprise ather own impotence. With a single swattinggesture she cast a spell, knocking the lightsaberfrom Luke’s hand.

Luke pulled out his blaster, red. The girlscreamed a curse, tried to ward the bolt awaywith her palm, but she was young and tooweak. The blaster bolt tore into her esh,leaving the hand blackened and burned. Thegirl looked at her own hand in horror,shouted.

The lightsaber leaped from the ground,swung at Luke’s head. Luke channeled theForce, turned it o just before the blade arcedinto his face, then grabbed his weapon inmidair.

“Please!” Luke shouted, but the girl begansinging another spell. Suddenly Tosh reared upbehind her, smashed the Nightsister with onegreat blow that thundered into the groundwith the wet smack of pulping esh and thecrackling of bones.

Luke stood in shock, unable to comprehendhis foe’s own self-destructive behavior,unwilling to believe that one so young couldhave turned so completely to the dark side.

Tosh grabbed Luke in one claw, swung himup on her back, and raced through the jungle.

Luke could see black scorch marks in heresh along the bony ridge behind her head.

Some of them were deeply pitted, bleeding.Tosh was roaring in pain, not the pain ofbattle, but the pain of having watched her owndaughter die. The rancor dodged through thetrees, took him to the cli and began climbingup in the darkness toward the clouds of re-litsmoke.

Fires ringed the mountain, and thunderpealed around him. When Tosh reached the

cli top, Leia and the others were o in thedistance, rancors standing hip-deep in a cane

eld. Leia was watching to make sure he gotup all right, then she took the reins to herrancor, ordered it forward. The rancors raced,running through grain elds on their knucklesacross the bowl-shaped valley toward thesouth rim and the fortress carved of stone. OldTosh roared a battle challenge, and the rancorsahead joined her cry. Han and Isolder took upthe cry for the human hosts.

As Luke reached the south side of the valley,he saw fty rancors standing like shadowedmonoliths along the sides of the cli , wieldinggreat poles and maces. A small army of menand juveniles dressed in their simple leatheraprons slaved to carry huge throwing stones tothe lip of the blu , setting them beside therancors.

When Leia reached the cli , she urged herrancors upstairs to the great fortress. Therancors could not make it through thedoorways, so Han, Leia, Isolder, the droids,

and Teneniel stopped, began lugging thegenerators up the stairs. Yet Luke could stillfeel the urgency behind Augwynne’s call ofnearly an hour ago, and he left the others,rushed upstairs three steps at a time, passingroom after room where huddled children andthe village’s invalids squatted in fear, until hereached the warriors’ hall.

The clan sisters waited inside, dressed intheir robes and headgear, standing above thesculpted maps of the terrain, intoning thewords, “Ah re, ah re, ah suun corre. Ah re, ahre, ah suun corre.”

Augwynne greeted Luke soberly, her face acarefully controlled mask, “Welcome, LukeSkywalker,” she said as the others continuedchanting. “I’d hoped you would hurry. We aredoing a reading, trying to learn the locations ofthe Nightsisters so that we can discover theirstrategy.” She used the end of her carved woodsta to nudge a scale model of Gethzerion’shover car closer to the fortress. If Augwynnewere right, Gethzerion was only two

kilometers from the mountain, movingbetween two groups of warriors. Luke guessedthat Gethzerion must be using the hover car totake orders to each group personally. “Wasyour trip successful?”

“As well as can be expected,” Luke said.“Good,” Augwynne breathed. “How long

will it take for Han to repair his ship?”“Two hours,” Luke answered. “He’s up there

now, trying to mount the generators.Gethzerion knows he has a repairable ship.”

“She was bound to gure that out,”Augwynne said. “We’ll try to fend o theNightsisters until Han finishes.”

One clan sister bent down, placed seventeenblack stones at the western foot of themountain. Luke studied the map. TheNightsisters’ strategy seemed so odd as to befreakish. They had placed guard postsconsisting of one sister each at twelve points ofthe compass. Since Luke had recently takenout such a post, he knew exactly what eachinstallation contained. But in addition,

Gethzerion had placed three assault squadsevenly around the mountain. One was directlyin front of the main stairs—the only easilyaccessible entrance—and two more teams wereat 120-degree angles. Gethzerion’s assaultplans apparently did not take into accountsuch mundane notions as terrain, forti cations,defensibility of the clan’s positions. Sheseemed instead to expect her troops to swarmover any barrier. But Luke knew the power ofthe Force, and knew that her plans couldwork.

“Many of the Nightsisters are unaccountedfor,” Augwynne commented, looking at themap. “We shall have to beware.” She movedthe gure representing Gethzerion’s hover carnearer the southern base of the mountain, thenwent out to wait on the balcony.

Luke ambled up beside her, and the otherwitches filed behind. It was almost sunrise, andthe clouds above had begun to lighten. Still,there was so much smoke above them thatLuke was not sure if a real sunrise would

dawn this morning. They had traveled so muchin the last night, with only two brief stops, thatLuke felt he hadn’t slept in days. Down in theforest, he could see Imperial walkersdeploying in the woods, stormtroopers likewhite rats scurrying about for cover. Augwynnesaid, “Do you have any words of wisdom forus, Jedi? Any advice?”

“Use your powers only in the service oflife,” Luke said, “to protect yourself or thosearound you.”

“Do you mean to say that we should not killthe Nightsisters?” one of the women asked.

Luke looked down at the forces massing attheir feet. “If you can avoid it, yes. In this casethough, I have already warned Gethzerion andher band.”

“As have we,” Augwynne said. “Those whoght against us this day will die with their

blood on their own hands. I for one will showno mercy.”

They waited, and Teneniel came to Lukeand held his hand. “They’re working up there

on the ship as fast as they can. I felt as if Iwere in their way. I thought I might be morehelp down here.”

Luke looked at her, and the relight broughtout the color of her copper eyes, re ected redhighlights in her hair.

Teneniel swallowed hard, and a breezegusted. Luke had thought that perhapsGethzerion would come forward, make somesort of speech to announce her presence, butthe only announcement came from Augwynne:“Here they come!”

The clan sisters around Luke began chanting,and far below, down in the shadows of thewood, the Nightsisters sang loudly. The airswirled around the balcony, and Luke felt dustsifting in his hair, suddenly realized thatsomething was dropping on him from above.He looked up, and the clouds of soot wereraining down around him. He reached into hisutility belt, grabbed some goggles, and thenfelt a tremor rip through the Force.

The winds surged, and Luke found himself

in a maelstrom of blowing soot and gravel. Heput on his goggles, and the clan sisters hidtheir eyes as they backed away from thebalcony toward the shelter of their stronghold.

Teneniel Djo began singing, “Waytha araquetha way. Waytha ara quetha way …”Blaster re ripped into the parapet beneathLuke, and a lone Imperial walker rose intoview, blasters blazing. The Nightsisters wereusing the Force to levitate it.

Teneniel threw her hand out, ngerssplayed, focusing her spell. The dust aroundthem swirled o like water in a drain. Grit andpebbles surged against the Imperial walker,and the static charge that they built caused abolt of lightning to erupt from the mountain,reaching out like a nger to touch the walker.It exploded into ames and the Nightsisters letit fall so that it suddenly screamed out of sight,crashed in a blinding ash that showedImperial walkers and stormtroopers rushingup the path to the fortress.

Luke leaned out for a better view, and

through the swirling smoke glimpsed rancorsat the top of the stairs, rolling boulders downthe path like marbles. He watched the rstboulder smash into an Imperial walker,sending it sprawling backward so that thewalkers and soldiers behind it were sweptover the cliff.

He marveled at the brazenness ofGethzerion’s assault. It was a phenomenalwaste of lives and equipment. Two clan sistersgazed down at the wreckage, muttering spells.Behind him, Augwynne shouted orders, “Ferra,Kirana Ti, go to the front doors. TheNightsisters are upon us!”

Luke looked about, saw no sign ofNightsisters, but used the Force, felt a tremorfrom above. He glanced up, saw threeNightsisters clinging to the rocks three metersoverhead as if they were spiders. As one theydropped to the balcony.

Luke shouted a warning, whipped out hislightsaber and danced back a step. One witchbeside him did not have time to react; a

Nightsister landed beside her, shot the girl inthe face with a blaster, then ipped asomersault as she leaped off the balcony.

Luke dodged a similar shot, sliced aNightsister in half as she touched down besidehim. On the far side of the balcony, Augwynnestruggled with a Nightsister and Luke drew hisown blaster. Augwynne pushed the womanover the balcony, and Luke jumped after theNightsisters in hot pursuit.

The air was a gritty maelstrom, and as hefell past the stairs he saw Imperialstormtroopers spread out on a death road likepieces of white confetti. Blaster re rippedpast him as Imperial walkers shot at the stone-hurling rancors above.

He saw the ground coming up fast, twoblack-robed Nightsisters standing on the rocks.Luke dropped beside one of them. He shoutedin warning. A Nightsister turned, readying aspell. Luke red. She stood as if angered,

ames smoldering from her cloak, and herealized that the Force must be strong in this

one. The other ran off into the haze.The lone witch glared at Luke. Gethzerion

pulled back her hood to show the purpledveins in her face. Her red-glowing eyes werewide with surprise. “So,” she said loudly to beheard over the sounds of battle, “we meet. Ihave been aware of the stirrings of your Force.I have always wanted to meet a Jedi, yet here Ipassed one in the halls of my own prison andnever recognized him.” She studied Lukemomentarily, as if waiting to con rm that hewas a Jedi.

“I’ve met your kind before,” Luke said.“Listen to me, Gethzerion: turn away from thedark side before it is too late!”

Gethzerion nodded thoughtfully. “Pardon meif I say that I don’t nd you to be veryimpressive, young Jedi. It’s a shame that youmust die before you have a chance to witnesshow I make your friends writhe.”

She pointed a nger at Luke, and beforeLuke even recognized her evil intent, a rippleof Force slammed into him. White lights

exploded behind his eyes, and the right side ofhis face felt as if it had been smashed by ahammer. His left arm and right leg crumpledunder their unbearable weight, and hedropped to the ground on one knee, stunned.All the noise and blaster re and screams ofpain died away, became a distant roaring.Gethzerion pointed at him again, twitched her

nger, and his eyes lost focus. He felt thehammer blow to his left temple, dropped tohis side and rolled over to his back, gasping.Luke stared up at the sky, watching streams ofrocks hurtling above him—some propelled bythe Force, others hurled by rancors.

Time seemed to slow. His head throbbed,pounding to the same rhythm as the beating ofhis heart. His face had gone cold, numb, andLuke realized distantly that Gethzerion’s spellhad ripped open blood vessels in his brain,and he was about to die, one among hundredsof fatalities on this battlefield.

So this is how it would have been, if Vaderhad tried to kill me. Who had Luke been

kidding? Teneniel had been right, Luke was nowarrior. Ben, Luke thought. I failed you. I’vefailed you all. And suddenly there was a waveof pain, and Luke tried to remember who he’djust been talking to, tried to think of a name,someone he could call for help, but his mindwas numb, empty, like the vast deserts ofTatooine lying naked beneath setting suns.

I

Chapter23

solder hurried to grab the new sensor arraywindow. Chewbacca was already using the

power wrench to pull o the old window,while Leia and Han labored in the crampedspace of the Falcon’s hold to get theanticoncussion eld generators in place. Thedroids were inside the Falcon, dumpingcoolant for the hyperdrive. Outside the fortress,a war was in full swing. The stone oorsrumbled and shook under the assault of blaster

re and hurtling rocks, while a wind sangthrough the honeycombed corridors.

It felt to Isolder as if the whole mountainwould shake down to dust at any moment. Healmost wished that the room had a window, aparapet like so many of the other rooms herein the fortress, so that he could see what was

happening outside. But at the same time hefelt safer secluded here in this sealed room,with only one door to guard.

Isolder carried the window to Chewbacca,held it up for a moment as the Wookieesearched with his hairy paws to grab a bolt sothat he could fasten the new window to theFalcon. The Wookiee’s hands were shaking infear.

Behind them, Isolder heard a voice thatsounded almost distant, even though thewoman shouted, “Gethzerion, I’ve foundthem!”

Isolder spun, dropped the window. ANightsister stood in the doorway, panting.Isolder pulled his blaster, red, and theNightsister waved her hand, knocked theblaster bolt away.

“Well,” she said. “You’re a pretty one. Ithink I’ll keep you.”

Chewbacca roared and leaped at theNightsister, and she backed up a step. Chewiedodged aside as if to pass her while retreating

from the room, and the Nightsister lurchedback. The Wookiee had snatched o theNightsister’s arm so fast that Isolder had nevereven seen it.

She gazed at the bloody stump of hershoulder, and Isolder red again. TheNightsister went down.

Chewbacca howled, began lookingfrantically on the oor. Even though Isolderdidn’t understand Wookiee, he realized thatChewie had dropped the bolts. “Go inside andget some more!” Isolder shouted. “Hurry!”

Chewbacca scrambled to the Falcon. Isolderfollowed him up to the gangplank, nervouslyfingering his blaster.

He heard a hammering sound above hishead. The stone walls burst open as if a giant

st had slammed against them. Isolder put hishands over his head to shield himself fromfalling rock, and a swirling hurricane ofchoking dirt and smoke whipped through theroom.

Through the scream of the wind, he heard

women’s voices singing all around. Hesquinted his eyes and hit the close button ont h e Falcon’s hatch, shouting, “Go! Saveyourselves!”

And in that moment, he knew that Rell’sprophecy would come to pass. If he stayedhere a moment longer, he would die. In thered glowing skies out side, he saw shadowshapes of women crawling along the rock,dropping through the rent in the torn wall.

Isolder ducked under the Falcon, rolledaway, and made a run for the door, hoping toreach safety. A Nightsister came through thedoor to meet him.

She held up her hand, and an invisible forcehammered into him.

Teneniel had watched Luke leap over theedge of the balcony, following the Nightsistersinto the swirling mists, but she dared notfollow. She heard screaming within thefortress, children shrieking in terror, and she

rushed down a ight of stairs, leaving six ofher sisters to fight on the balcony.

There had been three guards at the doors,and Teneniel followed hard on the heels ofFerra and Kirana Ti down the windingstairway. Ferra rushed around a corner andshouted in horror as her head suddenly, andwithout apparent cause, twisted aroundsharply, snapping her neck.

Kirana Ti stopped, pointed a blaster, waitingfor someone to come up the stairwell, but amadness took Teneniel. Without voicing herspell, Teneniel sent a wind screaming throughthe stairwell powerful enough so that Ferra’scorpse tumbled away. Below her, theNightsisters shouted in dismay and Tenenielrushed down around the corner, saw twoNightsisters clinging to the handrails in orderto avoid being swept downstairs.

A black rage lled her mind, and Tenenielpounded the hags with the Force wind, rippedthe handrail from the stone walls so that the

Nightsisters went shrieking into oblivion,bouncing down the winding stairway.

She let the wind fade, and Kirana Ti sathunched on the oor, looking up at Teneniel’sface in fear, weeping. Teneniel wondered whythe stupid girl didn’t get up, go out and fight.

“What are you looking at?” Tenenielshouted. “You miserable weakling!” Upstairs,one of their clan sisters shrieked, her voice cutshort. “Get out of here. Go on and ght! Yoursisters are dying!”

“Your face,” Kirana Ti whimpered. “You’veburst a vessel!”

Teneniel stopped, touched her cheek, feltthe tender bruise beneath her eye. The mark ofa Nightsister. Her mind reeled at the thought,and she realized that she’d murdered thoseNightsisters in rage. She turned and ran blindlyup the ight of stairs, past the warriors’chambers, and her footsteps rang on the stone.

She turned a corner at the top of the stairs,heard Nightsisters above her singing theirspells. She looked around, surprised to nd

them so high in the fortress. There were nomore open rooms this high—nothing but a fewsealed sleeping and storage chambers. If theNightsisters had not come up the stairs, theycould have entered only by using the Force tobreak through the stone walls. And the onlything of value up this high was the MillenniumFalcon.

Teneniel raced upstairs, running silently inthe guttering torchlight past the fadedtapestries of clan sisters long dead, roundedthe corner to the upper chamber where theFalcon was stored.

The Nightsisters huddled there—twelvehooded gures muttering their spells, handsoutstretched. They had torn the north wallasunder, and the cracked stone opened into themaelstrom.

Into the storm the Nightsisters sent theFalcon, oating on a eld of Force. It washalfway through the crack in the wall, driftingout through space. The hatch door was closed.On the far side of the room, a lone Nightsister

crouched over the still form of Isolder, bindinghis wrists, unable to resist the impulse to stealsuch a handsome slave.

Teneniel halted, backed against the wall,thinking. She could not ght so many, and ifshe tried to stop them from stealing the Falconnow, breaking their concentration on the spell,the ship would simply tumble out the rent inthe wall, fall over the cli s. Even with herpowerful gift, her ability to move objects, shecould not manage to save such a heavy shipand still fight the Nightsisters.

Her only hope was that Leia and Han wereall right, hidden inside the ship. She reachedout with her mind, calling for Leia. “Please,”she whispered. “Fire your engines.”

She inhaled a deep breath, turned and ranthrough the room, and channeled the Force toIsolder, using it to levitate his unconsciousbody. She bowled his captor aside, grabbedhim and leaped against the stone wall,shielding Isolder with her body.

T h e Falcon’s engines amed, lling the

room with white fire. The Nightsisters shriekedin the inferno, but Teneniel channeled theForce, let the ames ow around her. TheFalcon shot o through clouds of brownsmoke.

Teneniel slumped to the oor. The ameshad burned her, singed her clothing. She didnot feel damaged so much as just in pain.

The ames had blasted the rooms. A shelf ofparchments burned in one corner. Tapestriesof ancient clan sisters smoldered. Among theNightsisters, only one woman had been strongenough to survive the re. She crawled,stunned, on her hands and knees, hair singed,face reddened as with a sunburn.

Leia piloted the Falcon through the dust andswirling debris of the Force storm. They hadbeen working desperately to get theanticoncussion eld generators on line, andhad not even managed to get the rstgenerator mounted. The gravel crashing into

the Falcon’s sensor array forks was taking itstoll, yet Leia didn’t dare try to rise above thestorm. The ashing lightning from the staticelectricity, the soot and accumulated garbagein the sky, was all she had to protect themfrom being detected by Zsinj’s warships abovethe atmosphere.

She circled the fortress once, twice. Fromthis altitude, she could see the sun risingthrough the storm, so she headed back over thevalley beneath the fortress, ying low. Hanrushed up from the hold and shouted, “Whatare you doing to my ship? You can’t stay inthis storm!”

He took the copilot’s seat, and they headedlow over the valley. Artoo was whistling andbeeping in the back, and Threepio came out.“King Solo, Your Highness, good news! I’veemptied all the coolant into the hyperdrivegenerators!”

“Great, Threepio,” Han muttered. “Can youthink of a way to stop this storm?”

“I’ll have to work on that,” Threepio said.Leia looked down at the ground, at the tilled

fields of the Singing Mountain clan. Just ahead,at the limit of vision, a dozen Imperial walkersand perhaps two dozen Nightsisters marcheddown a wooded road. Han spotted them.

“Boy, I hate messing up a good road,” Hansaid as he launched his proton torpedoes. Leiaonly hoped the energy shielding would holdthrough the blast.

The proton torpedoes blossomed into a eldof white, and Leia looked away. An incrediblesonic boom shook the ship, echoed betweenthe hills over and over. When the light fadedenough so that she could see, gravel and sootbegan raining from the sky, long trails ofdebris that glittered in the morning sun likegolden waterfalls.

Han whooped and laughed, ran his ngersthrough his mussed hair. For one eternalmoment, Leia realized that they had struck amajor blow. The Force storm was over. Han’storpedoes had taken out some of the

Nightsisters’ major talent.

In the fortress, Teneniel sat up, and thewhole mountain suddenly shook with a hugeexplosion. Down below her in the valleyoutside, a cheer of victory arose. As quickly asthe Force storm had erupted, it stopped. Sootand debris rained from the sky in dirtystreams. Yet out above the residue of clouds,Teneniel watched the sunrise, a golden seamwhere land met sky.

Teneniel crawled to the wounded Nightsisteron the oor where the Falcon had beenrepaired, and the hag looked up, tried feeblyto whisper a spell, but collapsed. Teneniel

ipped the woman onto her back, looked intoher eyes. The Nightsister inched, frightened.Her breath rasped through burned lungs,weakening. She had been standing in thewrong place, right behind the Falcon’s exhaustports as it blasted off.

“Don’t worry,” Teneniel said, stroking the

creature’s soot-stained face. “I won’t hurt you.I’ve killed too many of your kind alreadytoday. No matter what you do to meafterward, I want you to have this.” Teneniellooked at the horrible woman, a victim of herown evil, and Teneniel channeled the last ofher strength, granting her enough life force thatgiven time and care, the Nightsister might live.

Han gazed at the streaming sunlight, and hisheart leaped within him. For one moment, hethought he’d won.

Then, the darkness blossomed. On the farhorizon, a circular black spot appeared, andthen another beside it, and another, as if thesky had been lit with ten thousand glowglobesand someone suddenly was switching them off.

Within thirty seconds, the MillenniumFalcon hovered beneath a sky void of light.Only ames from burning elds and cropsilluminated the ground below. Chewbaccaroared and shook his head in frustration, eyes

wild.“King Solo, help!” Threepio shouted

urgently. “My photoreceptors are registering amost startling phenomenon: Dathomir’s sunappears to be going dead!”

“No kidding,” Han said.“Hey,” Leia said, her voice betraying her

nervousness. “What is this?”“Something far beyond the power even of

the Nightsisters,” Han answered with certainty,looking up at a ceiling of perfect night.

H

Chapter24

an set the Falcon down, shut o theengines. The night was absolutely black,

and he looked up at the sky, wondering ifperhaps something was wrong with theviewscreen. He thought about pounding it, justto see what would happen.

He glanced at sensor panels. “Oh man,” hesaid. “That little ride of yours through thestorm cost us dearly. The sensors are gummedup bad. I can hardly get any readings at all.”

“Would you rather be dead?” Leia asked.“No,” Han conceded. “Where’s Isolder?”“I don’t know,” Leia answered. “He went out

to put up the sensor window. I think theNightsisters got him.”

“Got him? What do you mean, got him?Killed him?”

“I, I don’t know. He was lying on the oorwhen we blasted o . Teneniel was with him.She told me to get out of there.”

Han looked at her; the ship’s lights revealedthe lines of dread etched in her face. Whatshe’d done was tantamount to human sacri ce,and she knew it. He said, “We’d better get themedkit and go back. Make sure he’s okay.How far do you gure we are from thefortress?”

“I did a lot of circling,” Leia answered. “Itcouldn’t be more than half a kilometer.”

Han turned to Chewie. “Leia and I are goingback to the fortress. You and Threepio see ifyou can get those generators mounted. Artoo,see if you can get some sensor readings, tell uswhat’s going on. If you learn anything, I wantto hear about it immediately.”

Chewie roared an a rmative, and Han wentback for the medkit, grabbed a heavy blasterand a helmet. He gave Leia a ashlight, andtogether they hurried down the gangplank,through the valley.

Dust and soot still ltered down on them,and here and there across the valley they couldsee res burning. On the far side of the valley,green running lights showed four Imperialwalkers scurrying o in retreat, ghoulish littlefigures running beside them.

Leia didn’t turn on the ashlight. Instead,they ran along the road guided only by thefeeble light from res. What had seemed along, bumpy ride in the Falcon turned out tobe only a short run back to the fortress. Whenthey reached it, the battle was over.

Grim-faced men milled about the fortress,torches in hand, staring at the total darknesswith trepidation. Rancors roared in agony onthe stairs, and Leia ashed her light over them.A dozen of them lay in a bloody heap likesmall hills at the top of the stairs, and Toshstruggled to drag the corpse of her son away,roaring her anguish.

Han and Leia hurried upstairs in the fortress,running past the dead. In the upper chamber,they found Teneniel sprawled over the body of

a Nightsister. Leia ipped Teneniel on herback, and the girl breathed deeply. Hanexamined her. Outside of burn marks on herrobe, he could find no injuries.

“Where’s Isolder?” Leia asked, but Tenenieldidn’t move. Leia played her light across theroom. A splash of white revealed Isolder in acorner. Leia rushed to him.

Han brought the medkit, but when he gotnear, he found Isolder snoring. Leia shook himawake, and Isolder snapped to suddenawareness.

“Where am I?” he asked. “What’s going on?”Then he scanned the room, noticed the bodiesof the Nightsisters, seemed to recall. He gazedinto Leia’s eyes. “Wow! What a beautiful faceto wake up to.” Isolder put his arm aroundLeia, kissed her quickly.

“All right,” Han said. “No mushy stu . We’vegot work to do.” Han glanced up through thebreach in the stone wall, saw the res out inthe surrounding valley. It was like gazing outof some primitive observatory.

Augwynne said, “There you are!” Hanturned. The clan leader held a torch, andseveral children stood at her elbow. Shemoved feebly, as if weary. Leia helped Isolderup, and Augwynne stopped to inspectTeneniel in the darkness, said to one of thechildren, “Go, run get the healer.”

“What’s going on?” Han asked.Augwynne looked out at the night, nodded.

“I was hoping you could tell me,” she said.“Gethzerion has retreated to the city. I saw theheadlights of her hover car speeding throughthe forest. Over a dozen of our clan sisters liedead, and several others are missing, as is LukeSkywalker.”

Leia started, gave an involuntary whimper,looked around the room as if Luke mightsuddenly appear.

“Do you have any idea where Luke is?” Hanasked Augwynne.

“We saw him chase after some Nightsisterswhen the attack rst started,” Augwynne said.“He leaped down over the cliffs.”

“Luke can take care of himself,” Han said,trying to sound con dent for Leia’s sake. “Let’sgive him a few more minutes. I’m sure he’llmake it back.” But Leia was frowning, staringout over the valley into the blackness.

Augwynne limped over to the crack in thestone wall, searched the sky fearfully. “Few ofour common folk were hurt, and for that wecan be grateful. I fear that this darkness is allthat saved us. It turned back the Nightsisters’attack.

“I’ll be down in the war room,” Augwynnesaid. “I’ll wait for my sisters to regroup.” Shewalked wearily downstairs.

Han and Leia waited for the healer. An oldwoman came, passed her hands overTeneniel’s body three times and sang softly,then sat holding Teneniel’s hand. Teneniel’seyes uttered open, and the woman said,“Rest, now. You gave some of your life to saveanother. Who was it?”

“A Nightsister,” Teneniel said weakly,looked over to the shadows behind her.

“There.”The healer went to the Nightsister, felt at her

neck for a pulse, then considered for a longtime. At last, she got up, walked downstairswithout ministering to the woman.

Leia said loudly to her back, “You plan tojust leave her? You’ll let her die?”

The witch stopped, her back sti ening. Shespoke without turning. “I have little enoughtalent, and others of my clan need my service.If Gethzerion desires to revive the creature, shemay send another healer. But I would notplace much hope in it.”

Leia’s eyes ashed with outrage, and Hanplaced a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.Leia said, “I’m going to speak to Augwynneabout this.”

Isolder gathered Teneniel in his arms, andLeia nodded at Han. “Take her down, too.”Han lifted the Nightsister and carried herdownstairs to the warriors’ hall, followingIsolder. The Nightsister’s robes smelled dirty,rank, as if from soured fat. Han placed her on

cushions near the re while Leia quarreledloudly with Augwynne. The remaining witcheshad gathered around the re, and all of themwere dazed, listless. The men brought the deadto the hall, and began washing and dressingthe bodies, preparing them for the funeralpyre.

At last Augwynne consented to heal theNightsister, and placed her palm over theNightsister’s leathery face, then sang long andsoftly until the Nightsister’s eyes opened. Thecreature lay on her cushions, looking up atthem from green eyes cracked to mere slits.Han could not tell if she were sick or merelyfeigning illness. She looked as trustworthy as aviper. He suddenly realized that he wouldhave preferred her dead.

“Han,” Leia said uncomfortably, looking atthe Nightsister, “I’m really worried about Luke.He should be back by now.”

“Yeah,” Han said. “I’m worried, too.”“I, I can’t feel him. I can’t feel his presence

anywhere,” she choked. “I have to go look for

him.”“You can’t,” Isolder cut in. “It’s too

dangerous out there right now. Just becauseGethzerion has left, it doesn’t mean that theothers have gone. The Nightsisters can’t be faraway.”

Augwynne studied Leia with eyes dulledfrom fatigue. “Isolder is correct. You can’t goout. The Jedi left over the cli , and I doubtthat he could have survived. Even if he is onlyhurt, he is still beyond your grasp.”

Artoo appeared in the doorway, swiveledhis eye around and whistled.

“Artoo,” Han asked, “what’s up? Did you getany readings on what’s causing the darkness?”He listened carefully to bleeps and whistles,unable to decode the droid’s answer, but Artooraised up on his wheel pads, leaned forwardand showed a split-image holo.

Gethzerion stood under a light, chest heavingfrom exertion, gazing up at her holo camera.“Zsinj, what is the meaning of this?” Shewaved her hands, indicating the sky.

Warlord Zsinj, a pudgy human, reclined in alarge captain’s chair, while colored monitorlights ashed behind him. The warlord, abalding man with a large gray moustache andpenetrating eyes, smiled. “Greetings,Gethzerion. It’s so good to see you again afterso many years. This … darkness … is my giftto you: It is called an orbital nightcloak, and Ithought a nightcloak sounded like anappropriate gift for the Nightsisters. It’s reallyquite fun. The cloak consists of thousands ofsatellites chained in a network—each designedto distort light, bending it in toward thesatellite. It’s quite a marvelous toy.”

Gethzerion glared at him, and Zsinjcontinued. “You told my men over two daysago that you had Han Solo. You will releasehim to me today. If you do not, the nightcloakwill remain in place, and Dathomir will beginto cool. By this time tomorrow, you will havesnow in your valleys. Within three days, allplant life will wither. In two weeks’ time thetemperature will drop to a hundred degrees

below zero. You and everything on your worldwill die.”

Gethzerion bowed her head in token ofacknowledgment so that her hood concealedher face. “And if we release Han Solo to you,will you remove the nightcloak?”

“On my word as a soldier,” Zsinj said.“Your reputation is widely—regarded,”

Gethzerion said. “Have you considered ouroffer to you? Our offer of service?”

“Indeed,” Zsinj said, leaning forward in hischair with interest. “I have considered where Imight place you in my organization, and Iregret that I can’t seem to nd a suitableposition.”

“Then perhaps you will consider o ering usa position outside your organization,”Gethzerion said.

“I don’t understand.”“You are at war with the galactic New

Republic. It is a foe so widespread that youcannot defeat it. I have foreseen it. Therefore,perhaps you would consider giving us access to

travel to the New Republic worlds. You couldname the star cluster. There the Nightsisterswould carve out a niche for themselves,carving into the heart of your enemies, neverto bother you again.”

Zsinj folded his hands in his lap, sat thinkingagain. He studied Gethzerion’s face for a longmoment. “It is an intriguing o er. How manyof your sisters would need transport?”

“Sixty-four,” Gethzerion answered.“How soon would you be ready to leave?”“In four hours.”“We will work the exchange this way,” Zsinj

said. “I will drop two transports on yourgrounds in four hours. One ship will beunarmed, the other will be armed to the teeth.

“You will bring Han Solo to the armedtransport, alone. The transport will departwith General Solo, and you will then be free toboard the remaining ship, and leave for adestination that I will choose. Agreed?”

After a moment of re ection, Gethzerionnodded, “Yes, yes. That would be quite

adequate. Thank you, Lord Zsinj.”Both holographs faded, and Han looked

around the room at the faces of the witches.“Bah!” one old woman growled. “Both of themare liars. Gethzerion does not have Han oranything else to o er Zsinj, and Zsinj has nointention of releasing this planet or of lettingGethzerion leave.”

“Did you read him,” Augwynne asked, “or isthis a guess?”

“No, of course I couldn’t read him,” the oldwoman said, “but Zsinj lies so poorly, onedoes not have to.”

“He’s no diplomat, that’s for sure,” Leia said.Augwynne shot her a curious glance. “What

do you mean by that?”“Simply that Zsinj is rumored to be a

pathological liar, yet even with all his practice,he sure seems transparent.”

“Yes,” Augwynne said. “I agree. Plots withinplots. Perhaps this Zsinj is more devious thanyou imagine.”

“Maybe Zsinj is blu ng,” Isolder said. “He’s

built his orbital nightcloak, but those satellitesup there would be pretty easy to knockdown.”

“You’re right—” Leia agreed. “What didZsinj say? He called it a chain of satellites.”

“Meaning it can be broken,” Han said. “Likea string of lights in sequence. You shoot downone or two satellites, and the system couldcollapse.”

“I could go up and knock out some satelliteswith my ghter,” Isolder said. He wasvolunteering for tough duty, Han knew. Zsinjhad well over a dozen destroyers up there toprotect his nightcloak. A lone ghter didn’tstand much of a chance, unless it could knockout some satellites and then run forhyperspace.

“It doesn’t sound like much of a weapon,”Leia said, considering. “Any planet withspace ight capabilities, or even a radio to callfor help—”

“Would be able to ght against them,”Augwynne said. “And so the weapon is good

only for subjugating planets like Dathomir,primitive worlds without technology. Here, itis adequate.”

“Three days,” Isolder grunted, staring intothe fire.

“What’s in three days?” Augwynne asked.“We only need to make it through three

more days,” Isolder said, “and my eet willarrive. If we can take control of this planet,even for a single day, we could evacuate.”

“We don’t have that long,” Han argued. “Inthree days, if that orbital nightcloak stays up,this planet will pretty much be a chunk of ice.And don’t forget, this is still my planet. I’m notgoing to let that happen!”

“Yeah,” Isolder admitted, “I’m sure you’llthink of something. But even if you don’t, atleast we could get the people off.”

Augwynne said hopefully, “Do you think so?Our people are very scattered.”

“And when temperatures start hitting ahundred below,” Leia said, “they’re going tohole up in caves, burrowing as deep as they

can get.”Han considered. There was no way they

could wait for three days. Someone needed toget up there soon and take out some of thosesatellites, bring down the nightcloak longenough to stall Zsinj. With a great deal of luck,Han thought, I might even be able to y Leiaout of here. He imagined ying through thesatellite net, blowing away a few satellites,then trying to blast free of the planet. But thefact was, once he began ring on thosesatellites, he’d have to vector o to followtheir orbital path, and he’d have to maintain aslow attack speed to hit those satellites.

Considering the repower up there,whoever tried to take out those satelliteswould be committing suicide.

He looked at Isolder, and the prince staredat him, and Han knew they were waiting forone another to volunteer. “Should we drawstraws?” Han asked.

“Sounds fair enough,” Isolder admitted,biting his lower lip.

“Wait a minute,” Leia said. “There’s got tobe another answer! Isolder, what about your

eet? You left the same time that they did. Isthere any possibility that they could get heresooner?”

Isolder shook his head. “If they stay to theprescribed route, no. Those ships are worthtrillions. You don’t y that kind of equipmentthrough hazardous routes.”

Isolder was right, of course. More than onegeneral in history had sent eets throughproscribed routes, hoping to shave a fewparsecs o their trip so that they could winsome advantage through surprise, only to ndthat their entire eets got wiped out by yingthrough an asteroid belt.

Han glanced toward the stone door, realizedhe was waiting for Luke, and he shook hishead. It wasn’t like a Jedi to leave them allhanging, and Han felt more than a littleworried. He fought the impulse to run downthe mountain, shouting Luke’s name. Leiafolded her arms across her stomach, almost in

a fetal gesture.Han felt pulled in several directions at once

—he wanted to nd Luke, even if only to ndhim dead. He wanted to y out of here andblow some satellites out of the sky. But whathe did was go to Leia, wrap his arms aroundher shoulders.

She began to sob, her chest heaving. “He’snot here,” she said. “I can’t feel him. He’s nothere anymore.”

“Hey,” Han said, wanting to o er somewords of comfort, knowing that he could saynothing. Leia’s ability to sense Luke’s presence,to touch his feelings and know his thoughts,was too strong to doubt. Leia began shaking,and Han kissed her forehead. “It will be allright,” Han said. “I’ll … I’ll—” He could see noway out, nothing left that he could do.

Suddenly, something shoved its way into hisconsciousness, as if an invisible hand hadp ushed through his skull. It was an oddsensation that left him feeling violated, dizzy.Very clearly, an image formed in Han’s mind,

a vision of dozens of men and women inorange coveralls, standing in a well-lightedroom. They were looking up curiously, gazingaround at walkways above them. On thewalkways stood stormtroopers with blasterrifles. Han recognized the prison.

General Solo, Gethzerion’s voice crawledthrough his mind. I hope you will nd thisamusing. As you see, I am here at the prisonwith dozens of your kind below me. I trust thatyou are a compassionate man, a caring man. Isuspect you are.

As you know, I have struggled throughvarious means to cause you to come to me.Perhaps this will convince you.

A hand waved in front of his face, a handpartly concealed by a black robe, and Hanperceived that he was viewing the scenethrough Gethzerion’s eyes. The stormtrooperslooked at her waving hand, began ring intothe crowd. Men and women screamed andscattered, trying to run from the blaster re,but the gates back to the cell blocks had

closed, and they could not escape.Han threw his arm in front of his eyes, tried

to blind himself to the atrocities, but the visionpersisted. He could not close his eyes againstit, for the vision remained even when his eyesshut. Nor could he turn away, for the imagesfollowed him: a woman ran shrieking belowthe parapet, and Han saw Gethzerion’s handgo up, blaster aimed as if he were staringthrough the laser sights, and she snapped ashot into the woman’s back. Gethzerion’svictim spun with the impact of the blast, thencollapsed, stunned, as Gethzerion pulled oanother shot. A man beside the dying womanraised his clasped hands, pleading forGethzerion to spare them. The witch red highinto his right leg and the prisoner was thrownto the floor to die slowly as he bled to death.

These fty people are already dead,Gethzerion said, forcing Han to continueviewing the murders. They die because of yourstubbornness. When my stormtroopers nishwith them, I will round up ve hundred more

just like them, bring them to this room to die.But you can save them, General Solo. I will

send a Nightsister to pick you up at the foot ofthe fortress in my personal hover car. If youare not there to meet her in one hour, thenthose ve hundred people will die, and youwill get the privilege of watching. If you donot surrender after that, you will watch thedeaths of another ve hundred, and another.As I said, I trust that you are a compassionateman.

At rst Leia thought Han was crying whenhe backed away, covering his eyes with hisarm, but then he gasped for breath and hismuscles went rigid. He gazed around the room,unseeing, and she’d never witnessed such alook of utter desolation in his eyes.

She took his hand and said, “Han! Han!What’s happening?” but he did not respond.

“It is a sending,” Augwynne said.“Gethzerion is speaking to him.”

Leia looked at the old witch. Augwynne hadremoved her headdress and now sat on a stoolby the re, looking like nothing more than adowdy old woman.

Han gasped and pulled his hands from hiseyes, stood looking around the room. “I’ve gotto go,” he said. “I’ve got to get out of here.”

He turned and ran, leaping blindly down thestairs. “Han, wait!” Leia called.

She chased after, followed the echoingretreat of his footsteps down the corridors.Artoo whistled for them to wait, but Leiaignored the droid. Han ran outside, pushed hisway through the crowd of commoners thathuddled by the doors, and took o at a fullrun.

Leia stood on the stone landing and watchedhim disappear, swallowed by the shadows.Isolder came out with the ashlight, pointedits powerful beam at Han’s back.

“Where is he going?” Isolder asked.“To the Falcon,” Leia said, and she followed

him.

They did not reach him until they got to theFalcon. By then he was already down underthe right front sensor fork, working withChewie on mounting the last generator. Whenhe saw Leia and Isolder, he glanced up for amoment.

“Isolder, I need your help. We’ve got to getthis ship ying and get out of here. Go back tothe fortress and get that sensor array window.”Isolder stood a moment, as if to wait forfurther instructions, and Han shouted, “Now,damn you!”

Isolder took his light, ran o through thedarkness.

“What are you doing?” Leia asked. “What’sgoing on?”

“Gethzerion just upped the ante on me,”Han said. “She’s killing innocent prisoners.” He

nished bolting the last generator down, threwthe wrench on the ground. “I’m sorry I everbrought you here! You were right. If I hadn’tcome here, Zsinj wouldn’t have his orbitalnightcloak up, Gethzerion wouldn’t be killing

her prisoners! Zsinj, Gethzerion—these peopledon’t even know me. They’re ghting againstHan Solo the New Republic general, againstwhat the New Republic stands for!”

“So what are you doing?” Leia asked as herushed inside the Falcon. “Running away? Isthat your answer? Augwynne’s people aredesperate. You’re supposed to be some kind ofmilitary genius—stay here and ght back. Theyneed you and your blaster.” She followed himup the gangplank, and Han remained silent,but instead of heading for the toolcompartments as she expected, he ran down tothe command console, set the ship’s radio tostandard Imperial frequency.

“Gethzerion?” he said quickly, and anunfamiliar voice answered.

“This is Prison Control. Do you have amessage to relay to Gethzerion?”

“Yeah,” Han said. Sweat dotted his face.“This is General Han Solo, and I have anurgent message. Tell her I’m coming in. Isurrender. Do you copy? Tell her not to kill

another prisoner. I’ll meet her at the foot ofthe stairs to the fortress, just as she asked.”

“This is Control One, we copy you, GeneralSolo. What of your companions? Zsinj hasbeen asking about any traveling companionsyou may have brought with you.”

“They’re dead,” Han said. “They all died inthe battle, not more than an hour ago.”

Han threw the mike down, pushed his waypast Leia, hurried down the access tube. Leiastood, watching his back for a moment, toosurprised and confused to speak.

“Wait a minute,” she said. “You can’t do this!You can’t just walk in there! Zsinj doesn’t wantyou alive. He wants you dead.”

Han shook his head. “Believe me,” Han said,“I’m not happy about it either, but it wasbound to happen sometime.” He turned thecorner, went to his bunk and angrily pulled upa mattress, exposing a hidden weapons lockerthat Leia had never seen. It held a nastyassortment of laser ri es, blasters, old-fashioned slug throwers—even a portable laser

cannon. All the weapons were highly illegal,especially in the New Republic. Han reachedunder one of the ri es, pushed a button, andthe bottom of the compartment rose, revealinga second hidden compartment lled with anodd assortment of grenades in various styles.Han grabbed a very small, but very deadlybrand: a Talesian thermal detonator powerfulenough to destroy a large building. It t nicelyin his palm.

“This ought to do it,” Han said, tucking thedetonator down under his belt. Detonators likethis were used only by terrorists, those who nolonger valued their own lives as much as theyvalued the destruction of their enemies. Hancouldn’t touch the thing o without killinghimself. He pulled out his shirt so that it hungloosely over the detonator, concealing it.

“There, how does that look?” he askedcalmly.

Leia couldn’t see a sign of the detonator,would never have known he carried it if shehadn’t watched him tuck it into his belt. Yet

she couldn’t answer him. Her heart raced, andshe couldn’t nd her voice. She watched himthrough tears.

“Hey,” Han said, “don’t take it too hard.You’re the one who said I had to grow up,take responsibility for who I am. General HanSolo, hero of the Rebel Alliance. I gure if Iplay it smart, I can take out Gethzerion and allher damned cronies with her. I’ll have to leaveit up to Isolder to do something about Zsinj.He’s a good man. You made a good choice.Really.”

Leia heard the words distantly, realized witha shock how strange they sounded. She hadn’tthought about her involvement with Isolder forthree days, hadn’t really believed she had evermade a choice. Because she hadn’t made achoice. Deep in her heart, she’d still beenwaiting to see if she loved Han.

Yet, she knew that that wasn’t true. She hadchosen Isolder, out of necessity. Her peoplehad needed her to wed the Hapan worlds, andshe’d responded to those needs. As long as the

Empire remained a threat, she hadn’t beenable to see any other path she could take.

She glanced down at Han’s belt line, tried tosound calm, controlled. “Yeah,” she said. “Thatought to do it. I’ve got to say, you really lookgood with a bomb strapped to you.”

Han bent down and kissed her ercely,passionately, and the blood thundered in herears. Leia suddenly realized how much she hadmissed this, missed feeling such raw, elementalfervor for a man. She looked over his shoulder.Chewbacca was putting tools away. TheWookiee looked at her mournfully, and Leiaclosed her eyes, leaned into Han and kissedhim harder.

He broke away, minutes later, gasping. “Han—” Leia began to say, but Han raised a finger.

“Don’t say anything,” he told her. “Don’tmake me regret this more than I already do.”Han went to Chewbacca, talked softly to theWookiee for a moment and gave him a hug.Leia sat down on the holo board and began tosob, trying to get her emotions under control.

She could hear Threepio’s voice, too loud anddistraught, trying to talk Han out of it. ThenHan returned to the lounge, squeezed her handgoodbye.

“I’ve got to go now,” he said. He walkedoutside.

Leia tried to stay a moment, but shefollowed him down the gangplank, stood inthe light thrown from the ship. Most of thelittle res around the valley had burned downto nothing, and the skies were perfectly black,darker than any night she had ever imagined.A cold wind whipped through the mountains,and she hugged herself, realized she could seeher breath in the chill air.

She watched Han’s back as he walked away,disappearing into the darkness. “Han!” shecalled.

Han turned, looked at her. She could barelysee his face at this distance, dark andinsubstantial, almost an apparition. “I likesome things about you,” Leia said. “I like theway your pants fit.”

Han smiled. “I know.” He turned and beganwalking again.

“Han!” Leia called again, and she wanted tosay, “I love you,” but she did not want to hurthim, did not want to say it now, and yet couldnot bear the thought of leaving it unsaid.

Han turned to her, ashed a weak smile. “Iknow,” he called softly. “You love me. I’vealways known.” He waved good-bye, andjogged off into the deeper shadows.

She heard his running footsteps for severalmoments after. Leia sat on the grass in thelight from the doorway and wept. Chewbaccaand Threepio came out; Chewie put a hairypaw on her shoulder. Leia waited for Threepioto say something. He always told comfortinglies in desperate situations. But the droidremained silent.

Oh Luke, Leia thought. Luke, I need you.

A

Chapter25

s Luke’s life drained away, a soft buzzinglled his ears. His muscles relaxed like

never before. Overhead, rancors still tossedstones. He saw a blinding ash as one boulderhit an Imperial walker, and the machine split,giving off a fierce actinic glare as it burst.

Overhead, part of the mountain explodedoutward, tearing away. Luke could seeNightsisters there, climbing the steep cli s,halfway suspended by use of the Force, likegreat black arachnids dangling from theirwebs.

A sharp ache throbbed through his temples,and Luke turned to his side. A boulderdropped beside his arm, shattered, anddistantly he could still hear screams and,mingled with them, Teneniel’s voice.

“The Jai never die,” she said. “Naturecherishes them. Nature.”

A body fell beside him with a thud—thecorpse of a clan sister, her metal helmetaskew, the tiny gems and skulls bobbling. Thesun was getting brighter, he noticed as hewatched the dark red blood draining from hermouth.

Luke did not feel like he was dying so muchas expanding. He could hear noises all around,minute digging sounds of some salamanderscratching beneath the rocks, worms burrowingbeneath his head, a bush scratching a rock as ittussled with the wind. Everywhere was life,everywhere he could feel it, see the light of theForce glowing around him, in the trees, in therocks, in the warriors above him on themountainside.

The salamander raised its head above thesoil, and it glowed with luminous Force. Hello,my little friend, Luke thought. The salamanderhad green skin and erce little black eyes. Itopened its mouth, and a white mist came out,

stroked Luke as if it were a nger, and Lukeunderstood that he was seeing Force, not justfeeling it. A gift, the lizard whispered. This is agift for you, and the gentle light stole overhim, reinforced Luke’s waning Force. Abovehim, the bush that scratched the rocks seemedto twist, and twigs of light bent down to cradlehis head. Here, here it is, the bush whispered.Life. A nearby rock glowed white, and on thedistant plains, one of the Blue Desert Peopleraised its head as it fed in the rushes by theriver, and its red eye stared across the leagues.Friend, it said, offering support.

Luke seemed to hear Teneniel’s words,“Nature cherishes them,” and he did not knowif he was subconsciously controlling the Force,or if the life around him actually sought toheal him, but he saw the Force all around him,and he grasped those threads more easily thanhe’d ever done before.

To control the Force, to use the Force, wasnot such a violent thing as he had imagined. Itwas everywhere, more abundant than rain or

air, o ering itself. He had hoped someday tobecome a Jedi Master, yet now realized thatthere were levels of control he had neverenvisioned, far beyond anything he haddreamed.

The sweet power stole through him, and hed i d not know if he commanded it, or itcommanded him. He knew only that he feltsomething heal in his head as ruptured veinsclosed, and then the vision ended.

He lay for a long time with his eyes closed,unable to do more than breathe, and wait forthe Force to strengthen him.

Leia called his name, and Luke’s eyessnapped open. The sky was so magni centlyblack that it seemed a perfect night had fallen.There were no more chaotic sounds of battle.On the mountains, he could see lights,torchlights in the hands of villagers, and oneperson walking down the treacherousmountain path, torch in hand. He thought Leiamust be up there. “Leia,” he called. “Leia?”

On the mountainside, the torchbearer held

the torch aloft, looked down over the cli .“Luke?” Han called. “Luke, is that you?”

“Han,” Luke called weakly. He lay back inthe blackness, felt at his side for his lightsaber,mustered energy to thumb the switch, hopingHan would see its light.

Distant voices came to him indistinctly.Someone grabbed him, shook him. A brightlight shone in his eyes, and Han said, “Luke!Luke! You’re alive! Hang on. Hang in there.”

Han sat for a moment, holding Luke’s hand,and Luke could feel Han’s terror. “Listen,buddy,” Han said. “I’ve got to go. Leia iswaiting for you up top. Take care of her forme. Please, take care of her.”

Han tried to pull away, and Luke couldsense the terror and desperation that raged inhim. “Han?” Luke said, grasping his wrist.

“I’m sorry, friend,” Han said. “You’re not inany shape to help me, this time.” Han pulledaway, and Luke felt as if he were swirling indarkness.

After what seemed an eternity, someone

grabbed him, lifted him up. Luke managed toopen his eyes, but could keep them open foronly a moment. He was in the hands ofpeasants, a dozen rough peasants in simpleleather tunics, torches held high. Han toldthem with deep concern, “Get him out of here!Carry him back up to the Millennium Falcon!”

The voices buzzed in his head, questioning.“Yeah, yeah, the Falcon, my spaceship,” Hansaid. “Take him there. I’ve got to go!”

Then the hands lifted Luke, and the peasantscarried him, and Luke let himself rest.

I

Chapter26

n the uppermost chamber of the fortress,Isolder found the sensor array window just

where he had set it. The corpses of theNightsisters lay scattered on the oor, andeither that or the total darkness set his nervesjangling.

He reached to pick up the window, heard arustling in the corner, played his light in thatdirection and pulled his blaster in one uidmove. It was Teneniel Djo, sitting in thedarkness. She glanced at him, then turnedaway. Her cheeks were wet from crying.

“Are you all right?” Isolder asked. “I mean,do you still feel weak? Is there anything I cando? Anything you need?”

“I’m ne,” Teneniel said, voice rough. “Fine,I guess. So, you are about ready to leave?”

“Yes.” Isolder directed the light away so thatit would not shine in her eyes. He wasn’t sureyet of Han’s plans, but at this point about theonly thing that made sense was for them all tobug out, get o this rock. Teneniel had takeno her helm and exotic robes, wore only bootsand a simple summer tunic of orange hide,similar to the one she’d worn when they firstmet. She looked out into the starless sky. The

res below had died down, but the villagers’ickering torchlights still cast a soft yellow-

orange glow.“I’m leaving, too,” she said.“Oh,” Isolder asked, “where are you going?”“Back to the desert,” Teneniel said, “to

meditate.”“I thought you wanted to stay here with your

clan. I thought you were lonely.”Teneniel turned, and even in the faint light

he could see the bruise on her cheek. “Theclan sisters all agree,” she said. “I’ve killed inanger, violated my oaths. So now I mustcleanse myself, or risk becoming a Nightsister.

I’ll be banished. At the end of three years, if Istill desire to come back, then they will acceptme.” She wrapped her arms around her knees.

Teneniel’s hair was brushed out straightdown her back, cascading in tiny waves.Isolder stood for a moment, not knowing if heshould say good-bye, or o er her a word ofcomfort, or if he should just pick up thewindow and hurry back to the ship.

He sat beside her, patted her back. “Look,”he said. “You are a very tough woman. You’llbe all right.” Yet his words felt hollow. Whatdid she have to look forward to? In three days,the Hapan eet would come here, blow Zsinj’sforces all to hell. But by then this world wouldpretty well be ice. At the very least, thesummer crops would be ruined. But Isolderexpected that beyond that, ecosystems wouldcollapse, whole species of plants and animalswould die o . Even if the orbital nightcloakwere knocked out in three days, this planetmight never completely recover.

And, of course, there were the Nightsisters.

Few of the Singing Mountain clan survived,and they would be no match against theNightsisters.

Perhaps these thoughts were making theirway through Teneniel’s mind, too, for shebreathed raggedly. Her lower lip trembled andshe tried to hold back a sniffle.

“Look,” Isolder said. “A Corellian stock lightfreighter like Han’s can carry up to sixpassengers. That means there’s an empty bunk,if you want it.”

“But where would I go?” Teneniel said.“To all those stars out there,” Isolder said.

“Just pick one out of the sky and go there, ifyou want.”

“I don’t know what’s out there,” Tenenielsaid. “I wouldn’t know where to go.”

“You could come to Hapes, with me,”Isolder said, and he knew even as he said itthat he wanted nothing else. He gazed at herlong hair, at her bare legs. At this moment,even with all the craziness and death on thisworld, nothing else that happened on this

planet was more important than her pain. Atthis moment, even though he was nearlyengaged to Leia, he craved nothing more orless than to put his arms around Teneniel.

Teneniel looked at him angrily, and her eyesashed. “And if I came with you to Hapes,

what would I come as? An oddity? The strangewoman from backward Dathomir?”

“You could come as a bodyguard,” Isoldersaid. “With the Force as your ally, youcould …” Teneniel frowned at the thought. “Oryou could come as an adviser, a trustedcounselor,” Isolder said, thinking frantically.“With your powers, you would be my greatestasset. With the Force, you could penetrate thesubtleties of my aunts’ plots, frustrate theirplans …” Isolder had not considered it before,but as he thought, he saw that indeed shewould be a great asset to his people. Heneeded her.

“And what else would I be?” Tenenielasked. “Your friend? Your lover?”

Isolder swallowed, knew what she wanted.

On Hapes she would be considered acommoner, without a title or inheritance. If hemarried her, there would be publichumiliation, embarrassment. He would have torelinquish his title, let one of his murderouscousins take the throne. The welfare of theHapan worlds hung on his decision.

He put his hand on her back, hugged hergoodbye. “You’ve been a good friend,” he said,then he remembered that by her law, he wasstill her slave, “and a good master. I wish younothing but happiness.”

He got up, retrieved the sensory arraywindow, looked back. Teneniel sat watchinghim, and Isolder had the creepy sensation thatshe was looking through him, reading histhoughts.

“How can I be happy if you leave me?”Teneniel asked.

Isolder did not answer. He turned his back,began to walk away, and she said, “You’vealways been such a brave man. What will youthink of yourself now, if you turn your back on

the woman you love?”He halted, wondering if she had read his

mind or if she was just reading his emotions.Can you hear me? he asked silently, but shedid not answer.

He thought of her long, naked legs; of theearthy smell of the hides she wore; of hercopper eyes in a color unlike anything he’dseen among Hapan women; and of those fulllips that he wanted to kiss so badly.

“Why don’t you do it?” Teneniel asked.“I can’t,” Isolder said, refusing to turn and

look at her. “I don’t know what you’re tryingto do to me. Get out of my mind!”

“I’ve done nothing,” Teneniel said, her voicefrank, innocent. “You’re the one who has doneit. You and I are connected. I should haverealized that in the desert when I rst saw you:I knew immediately that you had come to thatspot looking for someone to love, just as I had.And I’ve felt the connection growing strongerfor days. You can’t fall in love with a witch ofDathomir without her knowing of it—not if

she loves you in return.”“You don’t understand,” Isolder said. “If I

tried to marry you, there would be publicdisapproval, repercussions. My cousins—”Isolder’s blaster crunched in its holster andsparks ew from it. He looked down, saw itcrushed into a ball, then looked up and sawthe anger in Teneniel’s eyes. A wind whippedthrough the room, tearing tapestries from thewall, lifting stones in a cyclone. The windcarried the stones and tapestries through thebreach in the wall, sent them ying down overthe cliffs.

“I’m not afraid of your cousins or publicdisapproval,” Teneniel said. “And I don’t wantyour planets. Pick a neutral world for us if youlike.” She got up, sauntered over to him, andstood before him, looking up into his eyes. Herbreath whispered against his neck, and sheleaned close to him. The very touch of her feltelectric.

Isolder’s heart pounded. “Damn you!” hewhispered ercely. “You’re making a mess out

of my life!”Teneniel nodded. She put her arms around

his neck and kissed him, and in that endlessmoment, he remembered being with his fatherat age nine, playing in a virgin ocean onDreena, an uninhabited world in the Hapescluster. And Teneniel’s kiss seemed as clean asthose pure waters, washing away his doubtsand uncertainties.

He kissed her ercely, backed away. “Let’sgo. We’re in a hurry!”

Teneniel grabbed his right hand, as if tohelp hold the ashlight, and they ran togetherdown the fortress stairs.

When the villagers brought Luke to Leia, shewas sure he was dead. He had a mass ofbruises beneath the eyes, a slash on his facewhere blood had dried. The peasants set himon the grass, beneath the Falcon’s runninglights, and Leia held his face in her hands.

He opened his eyes, smiled weakly. “Leia?”

he coughed. “I heard you … call me?”“I—” She didn’t want to worry him, wanted

only to let him rest. “I’m all right.”“No,” Luke said, “you’re not. Where did Han

go?”“He turned himself in to Gethzerion,” Leia

said. “She was taking hostages, killingprisoners. He had to go. Zsinj will be pickinghim up in three hours.”

“No!” Luke said, ghting to sit up. “I muststop her! That’s why I came here!”

“You can’t!” Leia pushed him back down aseasily as if she were knocking over a child.“You’re hurt. Rest now, rest! Live to ghtanother day.”

“Let me rest, for three hours,” Luke said,closing his eyes, breathing deeply. “Wake mein three hours.”

“Just sleep,” Leia said. “I’ll wake you.”Luke’s eyes snapped open, and he studied

her face angrily. “Don’t lie to me! You have nointention of waking me!”

Isolder came up from the front of the craft

where he and Teneniel had been hurriedlytrying to clean the dirt and gravel out of thesensor array. Isolder crouched down, withTeneniel at his back. “Hey, friend,” Isoldersaid. “Leia’s right. Take it easy. You’re tooweak to do much for us now.”

Luke laid his head back, shut his eyes as ifhe could no longer stay awake, but his voicesuddenly became strong and commanding.“Give me time. You don’t know the power ofthe Force.”

Isolder put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “I’veseen it,” he said. “I know.”

“No! No, you don’t,” Luke said desperately,rising up with unexpected strength. “None ofus do!” Luke sat up for a moment, fell back.“Promise,” he gasped. “Promise to wake me!”

Leia felt something, something in his wordsmore than mere conviction—she feltsomething powerful in Luke, just under thesurface, as if he were a raging fire. A new hopeburned in her. “I’ll wake you,” Leia promised,and she stepped back, looked at Luke’s

battered form lying on the stretcher. Sherealized that she couldn’t delude herself.Perhaps in a few days, a week, he really mightbe ready to battle Gethzerion.

Isolder put a blanket over Luke. “Tenenieland I can get him to a bunk.”

Leia nodded. “Is the sensor array windowback on?”

“Yes,” Isolder said, “but I’m still havingtrouble with the long-range scanners.”

Leia thought desperately. Everything in hercried out that she should go to rescue Han, butthey didn’t have enough time. If she usedrancors, it would be a two-day trip. If theytried to y the Falcon, even at top speed,they’d have a tough time making it more thanhalfway before the destroyers above homed inon their electronics and torpedoed the Falconout of the sky. A thought struck her.

“Artoo, Threepio, come out here,” Leiacalled into the ship.

Threepio hurried out. “Yes, Princess—howmay I be of service?” Artoo rolled out,

watching the edges of the gangplank with hiselectronic eye.

“Artoo,” Leia asked, “can you get a count ofthe Star Destroyers up there for me?”

Artoo hesitated a moment, then a hatchipped open and the droid extended his

sensor dish. Artoo played the dish across theskies, then began emitting a series of electronicclicks and bleeps.

“Artoo reports that he cannot get a x onany extraorbital objects through any of hissensors other than radio waves. Apparently,the orbital nightcloak is blocking light at mostwavelengths even through the ultraviolet andinfrared ranges. However, he can verifytwenty-six sources of radio emissions, and hesuspects from previous counts that forty StarDestroyers are in orbit.”

Isolder looked at Leia thoughtfully. “Nowonder I can’t x the long-range scanners.There’s nothing wrong with them.”

“Right,” Leia said.“So as long as we y under the orbital

nightcloak and maintain radio silence, we’reeffectively a cloaked ship.”

“Right!” Leia said.Isolder nodded, glanced up at the Falcon’s

array of conventional and proton torpedoes.“Let’s go blast the hell out of those witches andsee if we can rescue Han.”

“No!” Leia said, glancing down at Luke,lying unconscious on his pallet. “Luke wants usto wait for him.”

Han stood silently among the Nightsisters asthe hover car dodged between the boles ofgiant trees lit only by its headlights. A fulltwenty Nightsisters were packed in the hovercar, a solid, stinking mass in their dark robes.

They had tied his hands in front of him witha rope of whu a hide, not even bothering tosearch him, they were so con dent that hecould not harm them.

The hover car shot over a hill, dropped witha stomach-wrenching thud and suddenly they

were out of the forest, racing over the cleardesert toward the city lights.

Han closed his eyes, contemplated what hemust do. He had to wait. He could blow thedetonator at any time—but he wanted to getGethzerion, had to get Gethzerion.

They drove into the city, and the Nightsistersjumped from the hover car, hurried towardtheir towers. Two stayed with Han, walkedhim to the abandoned air eld, took him intoan old spaceport hangar whose roof had beenblown away so that the dome walls rosearound him like an impossible fence. “Wait bythe back wall,” one of the women said,dismissing him. The two stood by the door,talking quietly.

Han found his heart hammering, and he satin the shadows on a hunk of rubble, waitingfor Gethzerion to appear. He rested his thumbsin his belt buckle, palmed the thermaldetonator.

She never came. Over the next several hours,the temperature dropped continually, until a

light frost clung to the ground. Han keptchecking his watch. Zsinj’s four-hourappointment came and went. The shuttlesnever arrived, and Han began to wonder ifGethzerion was playing some kind of gamewith the warlord, perhaps trying to barter for abetter deal.

As if to prove his worries true, Gethzerion’shover car made two more trips a eld, eachtaking nearly two hours—just enough time togather personnel from Singing Mountain.

After the third trip, a pair of stars appearedin the black sky, swept down toward theprison. The carriers extended their wings, thensledded in smoothly on antigrav, haltedoutside the tower. Han could see the ships’ bigstabilizer fins over the broken wall.

One Nightsister hissed, “Come on, GeneralSolo. It’s time.”

Han swallowed, got to his feet, and walkedto the exit. Lights from the carriers played overhim, blinding him. Han walked slowly towardthe lights, anked by the two Nightsisters. He

could not see the towers well. The ground wascovered with Zsinj’s stormtroopers, dressed inold Imperial armor. Han squinted, trying to seebeyond them into the shadows on the otherside of the carriers. If he detonated the bombnow, he would certainly take out thestormtroopers, and would probably damageone of the carriers—but he couldn’t see forsure if the witches were there, unprotected.

“That’s far enough!” a stormtrooper shouted,and the witches held Han’s arm, halted.

An o cer descended from the ship—a tallgeneral with glittering platinum ngernails.General Melvar. He came within arm’s reach,studied Han’s face momentarily. He placed oneplatinum ngernail under Han’s eye, as if topluck it out, then raked a gash down Han’scheek.

He spoke into a microphone at his shoulder.“I’ve made visual identi cation. Han Solo ishere.”

Melvar listened momentarily, and only thendid Han notice the microphone jacks behind

his ears.“Yes, sir,” Melvar said. “I’ll bring him aboard

immediately.”The general grabbed Han roughly, digging

his platinum nails into Han’s biceps. “Hey,pal,” Han said. “Don’t be so hard on themerchandise. You might regret it.”

“Oh, I don’t think I’ll regret it,” Melvar said.“You see, causing others pain is, well, morethan just a pastime for me. In my work forZsinj it has become a cherished responsibility.”He dug the claw of his pinky into a nervecenter on Han’s shoulder, then twisted. Fireblossomed all along Han’s arm from the wristup to the center of his back, and he gasped inpain.

“Hey, uh, that’s some talent you’vedeveloped,” Han admitted.

“Well,” Melvar smiled, “I’m sure that I canconvince Warlord Zsinj to let me demonstratemy talents more fully and at greater leisure.But come, we mustn’t keep Zsinj waiting.” Hehurried Han toward the gangplank for the

carrier, between a crowd of stormtroopers, andfor one moment Han wondered if he wouldever see Gethzerion.

He was halfway up the gangplank when thewitch shouted, “Wait!”

General Melvar halted, glanced over hisback. Gethzerion stood in the shadows at thebase of her tower, a hundred meters o ,

anked by a dozen Nightsisters. The old witchdrew her robes up tight, stalked up to thecarrier. Han surveyed the eld. He’d surelytake out the armed carrier with his detonator,along with General Melvar and Gethzerion,and at least the few Nightsisters outside thebuilding. He’d hoped for better, but knew thiswas about all he’d get.

It felt odd, knowing that he was about todie. He’d expected to feel butter ies in hisstomach, a tightness in his throat. But nothingcame. He felt only numb, disheartened,regretful. After the life he’d lived, it seemedanticlimactic.

Gethzerion stopped at the foot of the

gangplank, only an arm’s length away. Shelooked up at Han, her leathery face stillconcealed by her hood. Han could smell heavyspices on her breath, and the scent of vinegarywine.

“So, General Solo,” she said. “You led me amerry chase. I hope you enjoyed your stay.”

Han looked at the old woman, said smugly,“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist comingto gloat.” He hooked his thumbs under hisbelt. “Why don’t you gloat about this!”

He whipped out the thermal detonator andpushed the button. General Melvar lurchedaway, as did his guards. Melvar tripped over astormtrooper behind him and both men wentdown in a tangle.

The detonator didn’t go o . Han looked atit. The firing pin was broken.

“Having trouble with your explosivedevice?” Gethzerion opened her eyes wide andsmiled. “Sister Shabell detected it before youever boarded the hover craft, and shedismantled it with a word. You self-

congratulating, strutting oaf! You never poseda threat to me or my Nightsisters! How dareyou!” She reached out and made a graspinggesture, and the detonator ew from Han’s

ngers, landed in her palm. She o ered it toMelvar. “I’ll let you dispose of this, General. Itstill presents some danger. I thought it best toretrieve it before you depart.”

Melvar got up, tried to recover his dignity,and took the detonator. “Thank you,” hegrunted.

“Ah, and allow me to do you one morefavor!” Gethzerion whispered, steppingforward. “By giving you this—” Her eyesopened wide, blazing, and she made a rakingmotion with her index nger. Beside Han thegeneral gasped, reached up to hold his temple,then staggered forward a pace. “A simpledeath!” Gethzerion cackled.

All around Han, a hundred stormtrooperscrumpled simultaneously, some of themstaggering a step or two, some ring blasterri es in the air so that Han instinctively

ducked. Within three seconds thestormtroopers lay on the ground like druggedbirds, unmoving. Han looked up at the carrier,waiting for the gunners in the ship to openfire.

Nothing happened. The ship remaineddeathly still.

Several Nightsisters rushed from their tower,pushed past Han, made their way up to thecarrier bringing dozens of Imperial prisonerswith them to y the ships. One Nightsistershoved Han aside, knocking him o the ramp.Han heard screams inside the ship, so thateven though the gunner had never red, hecould tell that the crew was waging some kindof battle. Han gured the gunner must havedied with the other stormtroopers. He foundthat he wasn’t really surprised that the witcheswould attack this ship. Gethzerion wouldn’thave been so stupid as to try to y o thisplanet in a ship that had no armaments, noshielding—not with Zsinj’s Star Destroyers inrange.

Han waited beside the ramp, watching asGethzerion approached. She pointed a ngerat him and smiled. He glanced at a blasterlying near his hand, knowing that even if hemanaged to grab it, he would still die.

“Now, General Solo, what shall I do withyou?” Gethzerion asked.

“Hey,” Han said, raising his hands. “I haveno quarrel with you. In fact, if you’llremember, I spent most of the last several daystrying to avoid you. Why don’t you and I shakehands and just go our separate ways?”

Gethzerion stopped at the foot of the ramp,looked in his eyes and laughed. “What? Don’tyou think it only fair now that I treat you asbadly as you would have treated me?”

“Well, I—”Gethzerion twitched her nger, and Han

jerked upright, found himself with his feetdangling in the air, held by an invisible cordaround his throat. Gethzerion watched himintently, began to sing, swaying from side toside. He felt the noose around his neck

tightening.Han choked, kicked, fought to break free.“I wonder what your thermal detonator

would have done to me,” Gethzerion re ected,still swaying. “I suspect it would have blastedmy esh into scraps, and broken my bones,and fried me all at once. So I think I shall doall of these things to you—but not so hastily.Not all at once. I think we shall work from theinside out. First I’ll snap your bones, one byone. Do you know how many bones there arein the human body, General Solo? If you do,just triple the number, and you’ll know howmany bones you’ll have when I nish withyou.

“We’ll begin with your leg,” Gethzerion said.“Listen carefully!” She twitched her nger, andthe tibia in his right leg made cracklingsounds. A painful spasm made its way up tohis hip.

“Aaaghh,” he cried—and saw somethingover the desert. There about two kilometers offhe saw the running lights of the Millennium

Falcon speeding toward them, only metersabove ground.

Gethzerion smiled in satisfaction. “Therenow, you have three bones where you had butone.”

Han tried to stall her, tried to think ofanything that would slow her for a moment.“Listen,” he strained to speak. “You aren’tgoing to do this to, to, to my teeth, are you?”he said, unable to think of anything else. “Imean, uh, anything but the teeth!” He glancedaround the compound. Several Nightsisterswere coming out the bottom of the towers.

“Oh, yes, the teeth,” Gethzerion said, and shetwitched her forefinger.

Han’s right upper rear molar exploded witha popping sound, and the stabbing pain shotthrough his ear and upper face, until it felt asif Gethzerion had grabbed his eye at the socketand were intent on pulling it through the roofof his mouth. Han silently cursed himself forgiving her nifty ideas. The Falcon wasn’tgetting here fast enough, and Han shook his

head.“Wait!” he cried. “Let’s talk about this!” and

Gethzerion wiggled her fore nger again. Theupper left rear molar snapped, and suddenlythere was a whooshing sound as the Falcon

red its missiles. The bottom of the towerexploded, tossing black-robed witches into theair. The tower began to lean as it collapsed.

Gethzerion turned, and Han dropped to theground, released. Pain tore through his brokenleg. A volley of blaster re shot from thedorsal turrets with pinpoint accuracy.Gethzerion crouched as the bolt rippedthrough the air where her head had been. Sheleaped away from the ship, jumped andtwisted just as another volley tore beneath her.

Han got a spooky feeling about this. Nobodycould re a ship’s blasters with such accuracy.He rolled under the gangplank to take coverfrom ying debris. The heavily armored guarddroids on all six prison towers spun on theirturrets and opened re on the Falcon, blastingwith their cannons.

T h e Falcon rocketed over the prison,ipping in a complex quadruple spin that

somehow managed to avoid all the incomingre. Han had never seen anyone y like that—

not Chewie, not himself. Whoever was at thecontrols was an ace ghter pilot the likes of noone he’d ever seen, and he guessed it must beIsolder. The Falcon made a nearly impossiblytight roll a kilometer out, and shot back overthe prison, upside down, all guns blazing.

Guard droids flared into mushroom clouds atthe touch of the blaster cannons. The unarmedcarrier took a hit and crumpled, began to burn.T h e Falcon whizzed overhead, banked foranother pass.

Gethzerion must have recognized thatstaying on the ground to ght was futile, forshe leaped up the gangplank of the Imperialship faster than Han would have believedpossible. The carrier’s turbines whirred to lifebefore the gangplank even raised, and the airaround the ship took on a blue sheen asshields activated. This was an Imperial

personnel carrier—fully armed and shielded,nothing for the Falcon to toy with.

If Han remained under the carrier as it tooko , he would get fried. Yet even if his legweren’t broken, by running he would haverisked the Falcon’s blaster re. He crawled forit, moving across the yard as fast as he couldwith a broken leg, then fell more than jumpedover a bit of rubble from the tower, hoping theNightsisters wouldn’t shoot at him in theirhaste to leave.

The Falcon red with its ion cannons, andblue lightning ickered around the carrier’shull, but the shields held. The carrierthundered into the air, white ames screamingfrom its exhaust nacelles.

The Falcon twisted around a hill, blasted ahole in the prison walls and skidded to a haltsix yards from Han. The bottom hatch ewopen, and Leia shouted, “Come on! Come on!”

Augwynne rushed down the hatch with twoof her clan sisters, all three dressed in fullhelms and robes, and from the looks in their

eyes, Han pitied the prison guards.He crawled for the Falcon, and Isolder ran

out, grabbed his shoulder and half-carried Haninto the ship. Han looked at Isolder, confused.“Who, who’s flying?”

“Luke,” Leia said.“Luke?” Han asked. “Luke’s not that good!”“Nobody’s this good,” Isolder said, slapping

Han on the back. “I’ve got to see this!” He ranback down the access tube to the control room.

Leia stared hard into Han’s eyes, grabbed hisface and kissed him. Pain ared from thebroken molars and Han nearly screamed, butinstead held Leia and closed his eyes, justenjoying it.

The ship jostled and swerved as Luke pulledmaneuvers that even the acceleratorcompensators couldn’t neutralize, andChewbacca gave a terri ed roar from thecockpit. Han limped in, holding onto Leia forsupport. He strapped himself into a seat,reached up and grabbed the emergency medkitfrom the compartment above his head, and

slapped a painkiller patch on his arm. Thedorsal quadruple blaster cannons red, andHan looked around. Chewbacca, Isolder,Teneniel, and the droids were all in thecockpit, watching Luke.

“Who’s up there ring the blaster cannons?”Han asked.

“Luke,” Leia said, and Han looked down thehallway, confused. You could re the blastersfrom the cockpit, but only with greatlyreduced accuracy. Yet Luke had nearly takenGethzerion’s head o , with Han less than ameter away, while piloting this hunk of junkat full attack speed. The whole thing was toodarned spooky.

Luke sweated from the e ort of ying theFalcon. Levers and buttons on Chewie’s controlpanel seemed to take on a life of their own asLuke manipulated them with the Force. TheJedi was doing the work of three—pilot,copilot, gunner. Luke red a missile barragewithout lowering the particle shields, andChewie roared in terror and threw his hands in

front of his face.But as the missiles hit the fty-meter mark,

Luke dropped the shields and restarted them,so that they ickered for less than the blink ofan eye. Han had never seen anyone withreflexes so sharply honed.

The carrier’s rear shields erupted in adazzling display of lights, and the witches

nally managed to re a barrage of blastercannons on their own. Luke hit the thrustersand the Falcon leaped up, dodging. He redhis proton torpedoes, and the torpedoesaccelerated toward the carrier in a white blur.

The Nightsisters shot their blasters at themissiles, and the torpedoes erupted in asulfurous cloud. Han stared in disbelief at whatthe witches had done. No gunner was thatgood.

“Leia, Isolder,” Luke shouted, “get on thosequad cannons and open re. Give themeverything you’ve got.”

“Give it up,” Han said. “They’re too heavilyshielded! You’re just going to get my ship all

busted.”“And let these Nightsisters free on the

galaxy? No way! I’m not giving up,” Lukeshouted. “Go on, Leia, get up there!”

Luke reached out, ipped on the radiojammers, sending out a storm of broadcastinformation. Han raised an eyebrow,wondering what Luke was up to. The witchescertainly weren’t going to try to call anyone, sothe jammers served little function other than towarn everyone in the star system that a shipwas there.

Leia ran down to the ventral cannon, beganring. Luke downed all shields and red the

ion cannons, risking that the carrier wouldn’tlower its shields to return re. Isolder began

ring from the dorsal cannon, and the carrieraccelerated, moving out of their range.

“They’re getting ready to jump tolightspeed!” Han shouted, and he looked at theviewscreen. Space was a at black curtain andthe carrier accelerated into it.

“Not this close to the gravity well, they

aren’t!” Luke argued, and he acceleratedbehind.

Then Han understood. Luke knew hisblasters and missiles couldn’t bring down thecarrier’s shields. He’d turned on the radiojammers because he was calling for Zsinj. Hewanted the Star Destroyers to know that thewitches were hightailing it away, hoping to getenough altitude to make their jump intohyperspace.

They accelerated into the blackness of thenightcloak, Han holding his breath. Theviewscreen went black; an onyx fog. Luke

ipped o the jammers, and the Falcon roaredinto the sunlight, the carrier still ahead, andten thousand stars glittered like jewels. Somuch light.

Han felt as if he’d just gotten a breath offresh air.

Proximity indicators screamed in warning,and Han looked up, saw the slate gray V’s oftwin Star Destroyers converging ahead of them.Luke swerved to starboard, and a barrage of

missiles ripped from the destroyers, puncturedthe carrier’s weakened shields.

Han watched the missiles puncture the hullof the witches’ carrier. A plume of white-hotmetal fragments burst from its right exhaustnacelle. For two full seconds, the carrier’srunning lights dimmed and the engines aredmore brightly. Then it sputtered in midair anderupted into a ball of flame.

Han whooped in celebration as Lukeaccelerated wildly back toward Dathomir, intothe protective covering of the orbitalnightcloak, and once again the darknessswallowed them.

Leia was screaming for joy down in herturret, and Luke shouted, “Leia, Isolder, stayput. We’re not done yet.”

Luke ipped a switch, and the cockpitooded with radio chatter. The screens picked

up the sources, plotted them in tri-D on thehead-up holo display. Han stared at the messabove them in dismay. The sky was full ofships. No matter which way they vectored, it

would be a tight squeeze, trying to make it outof the gravity well. Apparently the nightcloakwas fouling the scanners somewhat. Althoughthe scanners showed the ships, they weren’tpicking up the transponder signals, and Hancouldn’t tell what kinds of ships were outthere.

Han swallowed. “What are you thinking,kid, what are you going to do?”

Luke sighed, looked at the assembly ofdestroyers above them. “We’ve got to bringdown this nightcloak,” Luke said. “It’s not justpeople down there—it’s, it’s trees and grassand lizards and worms! Life! A whole livingworld!”

“What?” Han said. “You want to get yourhead blown o for a bunch of lizards andworms? Don’t ip on me now, kid! Find ahole in their net, and let’s blast out of here.”

“No,” Luke said, breathing heavily.Chewbacca roared at Luke, yet Luke didn’trespond. Instead the Jedi remained in thepilot’s seat as if frozen, staring ahead in the

smothering darkness as he flew.Good, good, Han thought. At least he’s

putting some distance between us and thoseother ghters. Wherever they came out, Zsinj’smen would not likely be ready for them. Lukeclosed his eyes, accelerated, as if in a trance,and smiled serenely. Han looked at his face,and though he was desperately afraid thatLuke would get them all killed, right at thismoment it didn’t seem to matter. Go aheadand get us killed, Han thought. We owe youour lives anyway.

“Thanks,” Luke said, as if Han had spokenthe words. Luke red the quad blasters, andHan did not see their light trail. The darknesswas so complete, that even that little bit oflight seemed denied them. Luke waited amoment, and Han watched the targeting sightsplaying over the head-up holo display. Lukelocked onto something, red. Han couldn’t seea target, nothing on the scopes, and hewondered if Luke really was hitting anything.

Again and again over the next twenty

minutes Luke repeated the tactic, with novisible results. Threepio stood behind Han andwhispered, “Pardon me, Your Highness, but doyou think we’re accomplishing anything?Perhaps you should take the fire controls?”

“Nah, let Luke do it,” Han said, and heglanced back at the holo display. The radiosignatures were rapidly increasing in number,and Han realized that Zsinj must havescrambled several hundred fighters. ApparentlyLuke’s efforts had begun to worry the warlord.

And suddenly Luke red a salvo and theycame out of the blackness again, ying throughthe stars. It took a moment for Han torecognize that the orbital nightcloak hadshorted out, and Dathomir once again turnedbelow them, a shining world of turquoiseoceans and dark brown continents.

Chewie roared, and Luke accelerated awayfrom the planet.

Han gasped as the holo display beganreading the transponder signals, showing theships above them. There were hundreds of

ships in the air—Imperial Star Destroyers andthe rust-colored disks of Hapan Battle Dragons.TIE ghters and X-wings gyrated overhead in adeadly dance. Zsinj hadn’t just scrambled

ghters—the whole Hapan eet had jumpedout of hyperspace.

Huge silver orbs shot out in all directionsfrom one Hapan Battle Dragon, and Hanswallowed hard. The Hapans were mininghyperspace with pulsemass generators. It was arisky maneuver, because it stranded both theattacker and the victim in normal space for tenor fteen minutes. It was a tactic that theRebels had never used. One way or another, noone would be leaving this planet soon. TheHapans planned to either win or die.

Luke accelerated to attack speed, glanced upat the viewscreen and locked his sights on anenemy Star Destroyer that was besieged oneither side by Hapan Battle Dragons. The skyaround the Imperial destroyer was alive withTIE ghters—more than any one destroyercould carry, and the hair rose on Han’s head as

he realized that it must have drawn off supportfrom other destroyers. Han checked the holodisplay. Two other Imperial destroyers werevectoring in, coming to the ship’s rescue.

“Who is on that Star Destroyer?” Han asked,gazing at the highly protected ship.

“Zsinj,” Luke answered softly. “That’s theIron Fist.”

“Give me the helm, kid,” Han said, mouthdry. “I want him.”

Luke looked over his shoulder, and for therst time Han noticed that the Jedi’s face was

a bruised mess, but his eyes were clear. “Areyou sure you can handle it?” Luke said. “Thatis a Star Destroyer up there.”

Han nodded soberly. “Yeah, and that’s myplanet he’s trespassing on! I want him—butdon’t be afraid to help me out, if I need it.”

“Whatever you say, Your Majesty,” Lukesaid, and the way he said it, it didn’t soundlike a joke. Luke got up from the pilot’s seat.

Han sat down, pain spasming through hisleg, leaned his head back against the headrest,

and breathed deeply. For the rst time inmonths, he felt at home. “Look, kid,” Han said,

icking the stick so that he veered away fromthe Iron Fist, headed on a collision course witha TIE interceptor. “I don’t know any of yourJedi tricks, but the best way to get close to aStar Destroyer is to sort of mosey on in, and tryto act like you would rather be anyplace butwhere you are.”

Han glanced down at his weapons display.He still had four Arakyd concussion missiles inhis launch tubes, but his proton torpedoeswere dry. He armed the concussion missiles,took remote control of the dorsal quad blastercannons, and red a couple of salvos ahead ofthe TIE interceptor, giving just enough lead.The little gray ship hit the blasts and aredinto oblivion, and Han vectored towardanother ghter that was hightailing it towardZsinj’s Iron Fist.

Han accelerated as if to attack, but hungback a good kilometer until he felt the Falconshimmy. Tractor beams.

Chewbacca growled.“I know,” Han said. “Transfer power from

the rear de ector shields. We won’t let themhold us long.”

Calmly, he accelerated toward the Iron Fistat full sublightspeed, jiggling the stick so thateven though the tractor beams were pullingthem in, the Falcon presented a moving target.He dove through a bevy of TIE ghters, andbehind him he heard Luke gasp. They werecoming up on that Star Destroyer mighty fast.

Han looked to see which port the tractorbeam was pulling him toward. In half a secondhe spotted it, waited until he gured he’dpassed through the ship’s particle shields, thenfired two of his concussion missiles.

The tractor beams pulled the missiles home.When they hit, an explosion blossomed on theIron Fist, and Han hit the decelerators andtried to hang onto the stick as he turned.

He held his breath, tried not to let the otherssee him sweat as he skimmed over a turret thatcouldn’t spin fast enough to fire on him.

“You’re under their shields!” Isolder shoutedover the intercom. “You can fire anytime!”

“Yeah,” Han said. “I know!” A blastercannon turret swung at them, and Han spunthe ship, dodged the re. He armed his lasttwo Arakyds, then ipped his radio switch tostandard Imperial frequency.

“Emergency message for Warlord Zsinj of theIron Fist! Priority Red. Respond immediately!Do you copy! Priority Red. I have anemergency message for Warlord Zsinj!”

He waited for an eternity, weaving lowthrough a maze of blaster turrets. At last Zsinjresponded, and his face came up on the holodisplay.

“This is Zsinj!” he shouted, and the warlord’sface was red, eyes frenzied from the battle.

“This is General Han Solo.” Han nudged thestick, and the Falcon rose toward the forwardcommand module of the Iron Fist. “Look up atyour viewscreen, you vermin. Kiss myWookiee!”

He waited half a second as Zsinj looked out

h i s viewscreen to see the Falcon hurtlingtoward him. Realization dawned on Zsinj’sface. Han fired his last two concussion missiles.

The top half of the Iron Fist’s forwardcommand module disintegrated in a cascade ofsplintered metal. With its shields down, thedestroyer became a sitting duck. A shot from aHapan ion cannon bathed the Iron Fist in bluelightning, and with its complex circuitry down,immediately it fell victim to a hail of protontorpedoes.

Han accelerated away from the dying ship,out of orbit for a moment, content to leave anyother dog ghts to the Hapans. With Zsinj gone,he gured it would only be a few momentsbefore the Imperial fleet surrendered.

There were no wild shouts of celebrationbehind him, no glee. Instead, only a profoundsilence.

He found that his hands were shaking, andhis vision blurred. “Chewie, take the controlsfor a minute,” Han said. And Han folded hisarms over his chest. Months of frustration,

months of doubts and worries and fears. That’swhat Zsinj had cost him.

Han felt Leia’s thin hands on his shoulders,massaging them. His breath was comingragged, and he leaned back in the captain’sseat, let her knead some of the tension away. Itwas as if for the past ve months, his muscleshad been cramping tighter and tighter intolittle knots, warping him, and suddenly thoseknots began to unravel, work themselves out.What a cramped little man I’ve been, Hanrealized, wondering how he had not seen it,not noticed it himself, and promising himselfthat he would never let it happen again.

“Feel better?” Leia asked.Han considered. Killing Zsinj was not

something he could feel good about. Killinghim was such a small, petty thing. Yet, he feltsuch a profound sense of relief. “Yeah,” Hansaid. “I haven’t felt this good since … I don’tknow when.”

“The monster has one less head,” Leia said.“Yeah,” Han said, “now that the papa shark

is dead, all the little baby sharks will have tostart gobbling each other.”

“And pretty soon, there will be a lot fewersharks,” Leia said.

Han added, “And in the meantime, the NewRepublic can rush into Zsinj’s old territory andtake a few hundred star systems out of theirhands.”

Leia swiveled his seat around, and Hancould see Isolder, Teneniel, Luke, and thedroids in the corridor. It was funny how mostpeople wanted a crowd around celebrating avictory. Han always wanted to relish it alone.

“You won,” Leia said, and her eyes werebright, full of tears.

“The war?” Han asked, wondering if shewere just trying to make him feel good. “No.Not hardly.”

“Not that—” Leia said, “our bet. Seven dayson Dathomir? You said that if I fell in lovewith you all over again, I had to marry you.The seven days isn’t over yet. You won.”

“Oh, that,” Han said. “Look—that was a

stupid bet. I would never force you to dosomething like that. I release you from it.”

“Oh yeah?” Leia said. “Well, I don’t releaseyou!” She took his chin in her hands andkissed him, a long slow kiss that seemed topenetrate every aching ber of his being,making him whole.

Isolder watched them kiss. This wholeepisode would be a colossal embarrassment onHapes. It wouldn’t play well at all. Andyet … he felt happy for them.

His comlink buzzed a secure channel thatcould only be accessed by Hapan security. Hepulled it from his belt, ipped it open, sawthe image of Astarta on the comlink’s tinyscreen. His bodyguard smiled in greeting.

“It’s good to see you,” Isolder said. “Yet Ihadn’t expected the eet for three more days—which means that someone ordered them to flythrough a proscribed route.”

“Once I ed Dathomir,” Astarta said, “I fed

the Jedi’s route to our eet’s astrogators viathe holo vid. The eet was able to shave a fewparsecs off their trip.”

“Hmmm,” Isolder said. “An interestinggamble, but still it was dangerous.”

“We did it on your mother’s order,” Astartaexplained. “She’s coming in with the Olanji

eet tomorrow. We’ve begun receivingsurrenders from some of Zsinj’s vessels. Sinceyou are temporarily in command of the eet,what are your wishes?”

Isolder’s mind did a little ip, stunned thathis mother would take such a risk on hisbehalf. “Accept only unconditional surrenders,”he said, “and prepare to take any spaceworthyStar Destroyers back to Hapes. As for theImperial shipyard—destroy it!”

“Yes, sir,” Astarta said. “How soon shouldwe be ready to pull out?”

Isolder thought for a moment. Zsinj mayhave sent for reinforcements. They’d have toget away from Dathomir as soon as possible.“Two days.”

“Two days?” Astarta asked, the surprise inher voice showing that she thought it anextraordinarily slow retreat. “We will have toverify that with your mother.”

“There are political prisoners on the planet,along with several thousand locals that maywish to be evacuated,” Isolder said rmly. “Wewill need to contact them, give them theopportunity to leave.”

H

Chapter27

an gathered sisters from all nine ofDathomir’s clans for a feast the following

evening, in the hall of warriors at SingingMountain. The witches wore their nest helmsand robes, but all of their nery seemed drabcompared with that of the queen mother, whowore lavender silks and decorated her hairwith rainbow gems from Gallinore. Ta’aChume seemed mildly annoyed by theproceedings and rested uneasily on the crudeleather cushions, as if the witches’ nery werebeneath her. She kept swatting at stinginginsects, glancing toward the door distractedly,eager to get back to Hapes and her ownbusiness.

Han watched her through the evening,bemused by the beautiful face hidden behind

the lavender veil, appalled at her badmanners.

At the height of the feast, Han presentedAugwynne with the deed to Dathomir, and theold woman wept in gratitude, then hadservants bring up the gold and gems she hadcollected, and the servants dumped the basketsonto the floor at Han’s feet.

Han stood amazed for a moment, and said,“I, uh, forgot about that. Look, I don’t reallywant all of this.” He looked into Leia’s eyes.“I’ve already got everything I want.”

“A bargain is a bargain, General Solo,”Augwynne said. “Besides, we owe you morethan we can repay. Not only have you freed usfrom Zsinj, but you helped destroy theNightsisters. We will forever be in your debt.”

“Yeah but—” Han started to object, but Leianudged his ribs. “Keep it,” she whispered. “Wecan use it to pay for the wedding.”

Han looked at the gems at his feet, andwondered just how big a wedding Leia hadplanned.

“I have an announcement that also willa ect your people,” Prince Isolder said from acushion beside his mother, and he rose to hisfeet, reached out his hand across the room.“Teneniel Djo, the granddaughter of AugwynneDjo, has consented to be my wife.”

“No!” Ta’a Chume shouted, and she stood,glared at her son. “You can’t marry a womanfrom this uncivilized little mud hole. I forbidit! She can’t be the queen mother of Hapes.”

“She’s a princess, with her own world toinherit,” Isolder said. “I think that isquali cation enough. You’ve plenty of yearsleft to sit on the throne, and in that time youcan train her.”

“Even if she is a princess—” the queenmother said, “something that I doubt you couldsuccessfully argue—her family has held deed tothis world for less than ve minutes! She hasno royal blood in her, no lineage.”

“But I love her,” Isolder said, “and with orwithout your permission, I will marry her.”

“You fool,” Ta’a Chume hissed. “Do you

think I would allow that?”“No,” Luke said, from the back of the room,

“just as I’m sure that you never intended forhim to marry Leia. Why don’t you removeyour veil and tell him who sent the assassins todispose of her?” Luke’s voice had thatcon dent, commanding tone it took on whenhe used the Force. Ta’a Chume cringed as ifshe’d been touched with an electric prod, andshe backed away. “Go ahead,” Luke said,“remove your veil and tell him.”

Ta’a Chume’s hands shook as she pulled theveil back. She fought Luke’s command. “I sentthe assassins.”

Isolder’s eyes widened, and grief washedthrough him. “Why?” he asked. “You gave yourpermission. You sent your gifts and yourentourage. I did nothing in secret.”

“You asked for an alliance I could notapprove of,” Ta’a Chume said. “You chose adowryless paci st from a democracy. Listen toher talk of her vaunted New Republic! Forfour thousand years our family has ruled the

Hapan cluster, but you would turn Hapes overto her, and in a generation her children wouldsurrender control of the government, give itover to the rabble!

“Still, I did not want to deny you outright. Idid not want to … compromise … your senseof loyalty to me.”

“You would rather murder someone thanrisk losing my allegiance?” Isolder found hisnostrils aring. “Did you also hope that bydoing this you could further distance me frommy aunts?”

The queen mother’s eyes narrowed. “Oh,your aunts have committed their shares ofmurders. They’re every bit as dangerous as youbelieve. But Leia is a paci st. I couldn’t let youmarry a paci st. She would be too weak torule. Don’t you see? If Hapes had had astronger military presence before the rise ofthe Empire—as I always advocated—we neverwould have fallen to the Empire.Mealymouthed paci sts and diplomats nearlyruined our realm.”

“And the Lady Elliar,” Isolder said withwonder in his voice, “she was a paci st. Didyou kill her, too?”

Ta’a Chume pulled the veil back over herface, turned away. “I will not be interrogatedin this fashion. I’m leaving.”

A note of wonder and horror came toIsolder’s voice. “And my brother—was he tooweak to rule? Is that it? Have you neverintended to let anyone but you choose yoursuccessor?”

Ta’a Chume spun around. “Keep yourassumptions to yourself!” she said vehemently.“Don’t ponder things that you can’t possiblyunderstand. You are, after all, only a male.”

“I understand murder!” Isolder shouted,nostrils aring. “I understand infanticide!” ButTa’a Chume began picking her way throughthe crowd, heading for the door.

Teneniel took his elbow and said softly, “Letme reason with her. Ta’a Chume,” she saidsoftly, and Ta’a Chume stopped as if Tenenielhad yanked her with an invisible cord. “I’m

going to marry your son, and someday I’ll ruleyour worlds in your place.” Ta’a Chumeturned, and her eyes seemed to be burninglights as she glared through her lavender veil.

Teneniel continued. “Let me assure you thatI am not a paci st. In the past two days alone,I have killed several people, and if you evertry to harm me or mine, I will force you toconfess publicly all of your crimes, and then Iwill execute you. I assure you, I nd you to bethat contemptible!”

Ta’a Chume’s four bodyguards had beenstanding against the wall. Teneniel could notknow it, but threatening the queen mother wasgrounds for immediate execution. The queen’sguards went for their blasters, and Tenenielwaved her hand. The blasters crumpled andclattered to the oor. One guard rushedforward, and Teneniel waved her hand andstruck her from a distance with an invisible

st. The guard’s jaw cracked with a sickeningthud, and she fell backward, stunned.

Ta’a Chume watched the brief battle from

the corner of her eye.“Reconsider, Mother,” Isolder said. “You

once told me that you didn’t want to risk thechance that our ancestors would be ruled by anoligarchy of spoon benders and readers ofauras. But if I take Teneniel as my wife, thereis a good chance that your grandchildren willbe those spoon benders.”

Ta’a Chume hesitated. Looked at Tenenielfor a long moment. “Perhaps,” Ta’a Chumesaid with conviction, “I was hasty in myjudgment. I suspect that Teneniel Djo, princessof Dathomir, will make an adequate queenmother. Make sure you dress her in somethingappropriate before you bring her home.”

She turned to leave, and Isolder said to herback, “One more thing, Mother. We are goingto join the New Republic. Now!”

Ta’a Chume hesitated, nodded her head inconsent, and stormed from the room.

The next morning, Luke stood on the

parapet of the war room in the early sun,watching the shuttles rise in the distance,carrying the last of the refugees from theprison.

Augwynne came and stood behind him,watching the tiny ships leave. “Are you sureyou won’t go with them?” Luke said. “Thiswill still be a dangerous sector.”

“No,” Augwynne answered. “Dathomir is ourhome. And we have nothing here that anyonewould want—except you. We have somethingyou want. I can feel that about you. What doyou desire?”

“A wreck, out in the desert,” Luke answered.“Once it was a spaceship, called theChu’unthor, and the Jedi trained there. I’d liketo come back someday and salvage it, see ifany of its records are intact.”

“Ah, yes. Our ancestors once fought a greatbattle there with the Jai.”

“And you won,” Luke said.“No,” Augwynne said, leaning her back

against the stone wall of the fortress andfolding her arms. “We didn’t. In the end, bothsides sat down and talked, negotiated asettlement.”

Luke laughed. “So you got the ship, but it satin the desert for three hundred years androtted? What did you gain?”

“I don’t know,” Augwynne said. “OnlyMother Rell was there, and her mind is nearlygone.”

“Mother Rell?” Luke asked, and an oddsense of peace stole through him. Augwynnelooked at him questioningly, and Luke hurriedthrough the hall, down to Rell’s room. The oldcrone sat on her cushion on the stone box asbefore, wisps of silver hair shining in thecandle lights. She looked up at him vacantly.

“Mother Rell, it’s me, Luke Skywalker,”Luke said, and the old crone peered at himthrough rheumy eyes.

“What?” she asked. “Are the Nightsisters alldead? You killed them?”

“Yes,” Luke answered.

“Then our world is ended, and a new onebegun, as Yoda foretold.” Luke found he wasshaking with excitement. “I suppose you havecome for the records?”

“Yes,” Luke answered.“We wanted them, you know,” Rell said.

“But the Jai would not give us the technologyto read them. They said that the teachingswere too powerful, and as long as there wereNightsisters on our world, we could not havethem. Yoda promised that someday you wouldshare them with our children.” She feebly gotup from her seat, turned to the stone box andpulled off the cushion, tried to open it.

“Help me, here,” she said, and Luke heavedthe box open. Inside was a metal locker,corroded, with an ancient access control panelon it. The green run light on the box stillshone. Luke studied the box, punched in thetwo glyphs that spelled Yoda’s name. A hissingnoise erupted from the locker as the lidpopped and air seeped in. Luke opened it.

The box was lled with reader disks—

hundreds of them, containing more volumes ofinformation than any one person could hopeto study in a lifetime.

At noon that day, a Hapan shuttle came topick up Teneniel and Isolder. Luke, Han,Chewie, Leia, and the droids went to see themo . Isolder found that he was hesitant to leavethis planet. Leia hugged them both and wishedthem happiness, weeping openly untilTeneniel reminded her that their paths wouldcross from time to time, now that Hapes hadjoined the New Republic.

Han shook Teneniel’s hand, punched Isolderon the arm in a friendly sort of way, and said,“See you around, Slime. Watch out for pirates.”

Isolder smiled back, held Han’s eye. Thewitches and Luke had done their best to healHan’s broken leg and teeth, though he stillwore a brace on his leg. Han looked like apirate. He still had that cocky air, the swaggerto his walk. Even with a brace, Han could

swagger. “See you around, Oaf,” Isolder said,but he couldn’t leave it at that. “So where doyou two think you’ll take your honeymoon?”

Han shrugged. “I had hoped to take it hereon Dathomir, but things have quieted down somuch in the past two days, I’m afraid it wouldget boring.”

“Perhaps you would like to tour the Hapanworlds,” Isolder suggested. “I’m sure youwould find this visit more hospitable than yourlast.”

“That’s an easy promise to keep,” Hanagreed, “as long as they don’t shoot me onsight.”

“We won’t do that,” Isolder promised,“though I might have my people check yourbags for stolen goods before you leave.”

Han laughed, clapped him on the back.Chewbacca and Threepio said their good-byes,and then it was Luke’s turn. The Jedi had hungback from the rest, watching them intently. Hedid not give them a tearful farewell. Instead,he took Teneniel’s hand, held it for a moment

and looked into her eyes—no, looked beyondher eyes. “You will give birth to a daughter

rst,” Luke said, “and she will be strong andvirtuous, like you. When you feel the time isright, perhaps you will send her to me fortraining.”

Teneniel smiled, hugged him. Luke tookIsolder’s hand, held it. “Remember to serve thelight side of the Force,” Luke said. “Thoughyou will never wield a lightsaber or heal thesick, you have some light within you. Be trueto that light.”

“I will,” Isolder promised, and he wonderedat how much his life had changed in the pastfew days. In a fraction of a second he haddecided to follow Luke to this planet, and nowhe knew that he would be following Luke’spath for the rest of his life. “I will,” he saidagain, and he hugged the Jedi.

For a moment, they all stood staring at oneanother, and then Isolder looked around thevalley once again, to the huts in the elds, thedark fortress above them, the rancors splashing

in the pond, the bright sun shining over thesouthern valleys, the mountains and the desertsbeyond. Isolder inhaled the sweet, clean air,tasting the rich scent of Dathomir for one lasttime, and he felt his sinuses burn just a little.He realized that he must have been allergic tosomething on this planet.

He took Teneniel’s hand, and headed aboardthe shuttle with his betrothed, taking her toother worlds, other stars.

Six weeks later, under the blue skies ofCoruscant, Luke had just nished bathing andhad dressed in a ne gray robe. As best man atLeia’s wedding, he’d planned to arrive early,but then the shuttle driver dropped him at theAldereenian consulate by accident, a buildingoccupied by some insect race Luke had neverheard of and which happened to be nearly twohundred kilometers from the Alderaanianconsulate.

So he found himself arriving at the consulate

an hour later than he planned, and when hemanaged to get in the door, he raced down along corridor paneled with great slabs oflustrous ancient uwa wood, toward the WhiteRoom. He turned a corner, and found See-Threepio running frantically just ahead.

Luke caught up with the droid and said,“Hey, Threepio, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, Master Luke,” Threepio said. “I’m sorelieved to see you. I’m afraid I’ve gotten us allinto a terrible mess! It’s all my fault! We muststop the wedding immediately!”

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked. “What are youtalking about?”

“I just learned horrible news from the citycomputer. It was cross-verifying some files, andfound that Han isn’t royalty after all!”

“He’s not?” Luke said.“No! His great-grandfather, Korol Solo, was

only a pretender to the throne—and gothanged for his crimes! We must warneveryone!”

“So that’s why he got so embarrassed and

walked out on the Alderaanian Council whenyou announced his lineage,” Luke said. “Heknew that his great-grandfather was apretender all along!”

“Indeed!” Threepio agreed. “Stop thewedding!”

“All right! All right!” Luke said, placing hishand on Threepio’s shoulder. “Don’t worryabout it. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Oh, that’s so good of you, Master Lu—”Luke ipped the droid o , dragged him intoan empty o ce, locked the door, then madehis way to the White Room, opened one of itsmany doors.

The room had an enormous vaulted ceiling,ornately carved from one monolithic stone,and brilliant lights re ected from the dome,bathing everything in a soft, celestial glow. Athousand guests from a variety of planets sat towitness, and some of them turned to look atLuke. In the front row, Teneniel Djo andPrince Isolder sat together next to Artoo andChewbacca, who was immaculately

shampooed and brushed. The prince held aplant on his lap, a purple, trumpet-shapedarallute flower.

Luke stood at the back, staring up at themarble altar where Han and Leia knelt acrossfrom one another, holding hands across thealtar. The o ciator stood in his emerald robesof office, leading Leia in her vows.

She turned and glanced at Luke, the diademsin her veil ashing in the light, and Luke couldfeel that she was not angry at him for havingarrived late, only grateful that he had made it.And at that moment Leia was more serene,more content, than she had ever been in herlife. And perhaps she was as lled with joy asanyone could be.

About the Author

DAVE WOLVERTON—aka, David Farland—isan award-winning, New York Timesbestselling author with nearly fty science

ction and fantasy novels to his credit, writtenfor both adults and young adults.

He has won the Writers of the FutureInternational Gold Award for best short storyof the year, the Philip K. Dick MemorialSpecial Award for Best Novel in the EnglishLanguage, the Whitney Award for Best Novelof the Year, and many other awards.

His novels have been translated into more thantwenty languages, and his readership runs intothe millions.

Over the years he has worked with some of thelargest franchises in the world—writing novelsfor Star Wars and The Mummy, and designingand scripting international bestsellingvideogames for StarCraft and Xena.

In addition to writing novels and video games,Dave worked for many years as the judge forone of the world’s largest writing contests, asan educator teaching creative writing atBrigham Young University, and has taughtnumerous writing seminars, and thus hastrained dozens of other New York Timesbestsellers, including Brandon Sanderon,Brandon Mull, Erick Flint, and StephenieMeyer.

He has also worked as a movie producer inHollywood, and as a screenwriter.

In 1999 Dave set the Guinness Record for the

world’s largest book signing with the sciencefiction novel A Very Strange Trip.

Dave currently lives in Saint George, Utah,with his wife and children. For moreinformation on Dave, go towww.davidfarland.com.

Science Fiction Books Written as DaveWolverton

Star Wars: The Courtship ofPrincess Leia

Star Wars: The Rising Force(Scholastic)

On My Way to ParadiseSerpent CatchPath of the HeroThe Golden QueenBeyond the GateLords of the Seventh Swarm

Fantasy Books Written as David Farland:

The Runelords Series:

The Runelords: The Sum of All MenBrotherhood of the WolfWizardbornThe Lair of BonesSons of the OakWorldbinderThe Wyrmling HordeChaosboundA Tale of Tales (forthcoming)

The Ravenspell Children’s Fantasy Series:

Of Mice and MagicThe Wizard of OozeFreaky Fly Day

Historical Fiction Written as David Farland:

In the Company of Angels

STAR WARS—The Expanded Universe

You saw the movies. You watched the cartoonseries, or maybe played some of the videogames. But did you know …

I n The Empire Strikes Back, Princess LeiaOrgana said to Han Solo, “I love you.” Hansaid, “I know.” But did you know that theyactually got married? And had three Jedichildren: the twins, Jacen and Jaina, and ayounger son, Anakin?

Luke Skywalker was trained as a Jedi byObi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. But did you knowthat, years later, he went on to revive the JediOrder and its commitment to defending thegalaxy from evil and injustice?

Obi-Wan said to Luke, “For over a thousandgenerations, the Jedi Knights were theguardians of peace and justice in the OldRepublic. Before the dark times. Before theEmpire.” Did you know that over those

millennia, legendary Jedi and infamous SithLords were adding their names to the annals ofRepublic history?

Yoda explained that the dreaded Sith tend tocome in twos: “Always two, there are. Nomore, no less. A Master, and an apprentice.”But did you know that the Sith didn’t alwaysexist in pairs? That at one time in the ancientRepublic there were as many Sith as Jedi, untila Sith Lord named Darth Bane was the lonesurvivor of a great Sith war and created the“Rule of Two”?

All this and much, much more is brought tolife in the many novels and comics of the StarWars expanded universe. You’ve seen themovies and watched the cartoon. Now ventureout into the wider worlds of Star Wars!

Turn the page or jump to the timeline ofStar Wars novels to learn more.

ONE

Instead of bed, where she usually awokefrom her dreams, Leia found herself slumpedforward in her crash webbing, ears hissingwith static and eyes aching from the glare oftwo G-class suns. Han and Chewbacca werestill busy at their stations, Han plottingapproach vectors and Chewbacca setting sensor

lters. The planet Tatooine was just driftinginto view, its yellow sodium-rich sandsglowing so brightly it resembled a smallsibling star in orbit around the big twins.

A metallic hand tapped Leia’s shoulder. Sheturned to see C-3PO’s photoreceptors shiningat her from the adjacent passenger seat.

“Pardon me for asking, Princess Leia, but areyou well?”

“Don’t I look well?”“Oh dear,” C-3PO replied, a diplomatic

subroutine activating in response to her tone of

voice. “Why yes, you do look as splendid asever, but it seemed for a moment as thoughyou might have overloaded your primarycircuits.”

“My circuits are fine.”“I’ll need to con rm that later.” Han twisted

around and glanced over his seat with thesame crooked smile that had alternatelycharmed and worried Leia since their rstmeeting on the Death Star. “Princess.”

“Oh, really?” Leia straightened herself in herchair without fully realizing she was doing it.With his tough-guy good looks and eyessparkling with trouble, Han still made her situp and take notice. “And you think you canread my schematics?”

“Sweetheart, I know your schematics byheart.” Han’s smile faded, and his expressiongrew concerned. “Threepio’s right. You looklike you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Something like that. A bad dream.”Han looked doubtful. “I’ve sat in that chair.

That chair isn’t comfortable enough for dreams

—good or bad.”“It’s been a long trip,” Leia said, perhaps a

little too quickly. “I must have nodded off.”Han regarded her a moment longer, then

shrugged. “Well, see if you can stay awake.”He looked forward again, to where the twinsuns were slowly being eclipsed by Tatooine’ssteadily swelling disk. “Until the sensors comeup, we need to keep an eye out for othertraffic.”

Leia gazed out the canopy and began tosearch for the rapidly swelling silhouette ofblocked starlight that would mean anapproaching vessel. Her thoughts remainedfocused on the strange dream. It had a similarfeel to the Force-vision she had experiencednearly ve years earlier at Bakura, when herfather had sent an apparition begging for theforgiveness she would never—could never—grant. But that had been his doing, not hers.

Han’s hand rose into view between the pilotand copilot’s seats, pointing toward a blockysilhouette oating some distance to one side of

Tatooine’s yellow disk. The twin suns werenow completely hidden behind the planet, andLeia could see that the tiny silhouette wasgrowing larger as they approached. It seemedto be staying in the same place relative toTatooine, deliberately hanging in the shadowof the planet.

“That’s too square to be a moon,” Han said.“And it’s no asteroid, not hanging in one

place like that,” Leia added. “But at least itdoesn’t seem to be coming our way.”

“Yet,” Han replied. “How about those lters,Chewie?”

An impatient rumble suggested that theWookiee was still struggling with the lters.Anyone else might have been frightened, butLeia found the groan reassuring, a touch of thefamiliar in a time of shifting alliances andrandom annihilation. When she had marriedHan six months ago, she had knownChewbacca would be an honorary member oftheir family, and that was ne with her. Overthe years she had come to think of the

Wookiee as something of a furry big brother,always loyal to Han and protective of her, andnow she could not hear him growl withoutfeeling that she lived in a safer place, that withChewbacca and Luke and Han—when he wasin the mood—and millions of others like them,the New Republic would beat back theEmpire’s latest onslaught and one day bringpeace to the galaxy.

That, and she liked how Wookiee fur alwayssmelled of trillium soap.

The comm hiss nally fell silent asChewbacca found the right combination of

lters. He brought the sensors up, ddled amoment longer, then let out a startled ruumph.

“The mass calibration is off,” Han said. “Thatreads like a Star Destroyer.”

Chewbacca oowralled indignantly, then sentthe data readout to the auxiliary display besideLeia’s seat and glanced back for hera rmation. She had to look only a second tosee that he was correct.

“Sixteen hundred meters, six comm bands in

use, and a TIE squadron circling on station,”Leia said, feeling a little sick and worried.When the Millennium Falcon came across aStar Destroyer these days, it was usuallybecause one was stalking the other. “I don’tknow, Han. The mass calibration looks ne tome.”

As she spoke, the Falcon’s computer found apro le match in its military data banks anddisplayed the schematic of an Imperial-classStar Destroyer. Below the image appeared thevessel’s name.

“The Chimaera,” Han read. “Isn’t she still inservice to the Empire?”

“As of two months ago, she was one of theirmost e cient Destroyers.” Leia did not need tolook up the information. The death of WarlordZsinj eight months earlier had emboldened theImperial eet, and the Provisional Council hadbeen mired in war minutiae ever since.“Admiral Ackbar has been wondering whatbecame of her.”

“Deserters?” Han caught her eye in the

canopy re ection. “Another captain wanting toset himself up as a warlord?”

“Please, no! The situation out here is alreadytoo confused.” With the New Republic battlingthe Imperials over the scraps of Zsinj’s empireand the surviving warlords exploiting the warto enlarge their own territories, confused wasan understatement. Several times, the NewRepublic Navy had moved against one enemyto nd itself engaging another, and sometimestwo or three at once. “And the Chimaera’scommander isn’t the type. By all accounts,Gilad Pellaeon is both loyal and competent.”

“Then what’s he doing at Tatooine?” Hanasked. “There isn’t a con ict zone within ftysystems of here.”

Chewbacca groaned the opinion that it wassomeone else’s job to analyze Imperialobjectives, then began to plot hyperspacecoordinates. Leia braced herself, moreconcerned with Han’s reaction thanChewbacca’s when she explained why theystill had to risk a run planetside.

She was spared the necessity when Hanscowled at the Wookiee’s flying fingers.

“Chewie! I can handle this, no problem.”Han looked vaguely insulted. “It’s only onelittle Star Destroyer.”

Chewbacca grunted doubtfully, then added ayawl about the folly of tempting fate for apiece of art.

“Killik Twilight means a lot to Leia,” Hansaid. “It hung in the palace on Alderaan.”

Chewbacca growled a long question thatsuggested they might be ying into a trap; thepainting might not even be real.

“You can’t forge moss-paintings,” Leiaanswered. “Not anymore. They require strainsthat don’t spread or reproduce, the cultivationof which was a closely guarded secret even inAldera. That secret died with the rest ofAlderaan.”

“You see?” Han asked. “Besides, if theImperials were trying to lure Leia to Tatooine,they wouldn’t leave their Star Destroyer out inthe open like that.”

Han pointed at the tiny silhouette of theChimaera, which had started an edgeward driftacross the canopy as the Falcon eased past ittoward the planet. Chewbacca stubbornlyshook his head, reminding them of the syrenplant on his native Kashyyyk, which drewvictims to certain death with a scent so alluringit could not be resisted.

“Not a certain death,” Han corrected. “Orthere wouldn’t be so many Wookiees in thegalaxy.”

Never one whose purpose could bede ected by humor, Chewbacca reiterated thequestions that had been troubling them allsince learning of the auction. Why was such avaluable painting being sold in a seedyspaceport like Mos Espa? Where had it beenall these years? Why was it surfacing now?

The answers were a mystery—as much amystery as the Star Destroyer’s appearancehere. At the time of Alderaan’s destruction,Killik Twilight had been returning home froma museum loan on Coruscant. It had dropped

out of sight, and Leia had believed thepainting destroyed with her home—at leastuntil Lando Calrissian reported that it wouldsoon be offered at auction on Tatooine.

Chewbacca continued to press his case,maintaining that the Chimaera’s presence wasno coincidence. With an Imperial StarDestroyer hanging o Tatooine, there wouldalmost certainly be Imperials at the auction.The argument was all too sensible, and—though Chewbacca clearly did not realize this—one that made it all the more imperativethat Leia attend the sale herself. She leanedforward and grasped the Wookiee’s shoulder,and his tirade rumbled to an end.

“Chewie, everything you say makes sense.The Star Destroyer worries me, too. If thiswere just any piece of Alderaanian art, Iwouldn’t ask you to take the risk. But for KillikTwilight, I must.”

Chewbacca studied her in the canopyre ection. He was a ferociously brave Wookiee—one who would never deny a friend’s

request for aid once he knew a matter to beimportant. Leia only hoped she could win hishelp without having to explain herself now.Han was still stinging from that whole Hapanincident eight months ago, and being asked torisk his beloved Falcon on behalf of theProvisional Council would not sit well withhim at the moment. Maybe not ever.

Leia held Chewbacca’s gaze with a soberexpression that came to her face all too readilythese days. Finally, he wrump ed softly andnodded.

Han glanced over, his jaw dropped indisbelief. “That’s it? She says must, and youdon’t even want to know why?”

Chewbacca shrugged.“But you’ll argue with me?” Han glanced at

Leia’s re ection in the canopy. “Those aresome powers of persuasion you have there,Princess. You been studying with Luke whenI’m not looking?”

“I’m no Jedi,” Leia said. Then, slipping backinto the irty mood that had been the norm

between them since their wedding—it had tobe driving Chewbacca mad, judging by how heturned away to look out the viewport—shegave Han a sultry half smile. “Just yourcommon everyday Princess.”

“There’s nothing common or everyday aboutyou,” Han replied in a tone so cloying that itmade Chewbacca groan. “Or your hiddenagendas.”

“Hidden agendas?” Leia cringed inwardly asshe vacillated between sounding innocent andplayful and came o as neither. “We’re justhere to buy a moss-painting.”

“Yeah?” Han’s eyes assumed an amusedtwinkle. “Maybe Chewie’s right.”

“I didn’t say he was wrong,” Leia said, tryingto sound cool—and failing. He had her, and heknew it. She hated that. “Han, I really wantthat painting.”

Han shook his head. “Something here smellswrong.” He began to ease the Falcon’s noseaway from the planet. “In fact, I’m sure of it.”

“Han!”

He glanced again at her reflection. “Yeah?”“You’ll draw attention to us.”Han shrugged. “What’s it matter, if we’re

leaving?” He turned to Chewbacca. “You aboutdone with those hyperspace calculations?”

Chewbacca snorted and, clearly not wantingany part of what was to follow, threw up hishands. Tatooine began to slide across theviewport, and Leia knew she had to call Han’sblu . He was too good a sabacc player toblank his cards without making her show herhand.

“Han, we need to be at that auction,” shesaid. “If Killik Twilight is down there, we haveto buy it. Thousands of New Republic livesdepend on it.”

“Really?” Han did not look at all surprised.“Imagine that.”

Tatooine stopped drifting toward the edgeof the viewport, but Han did not turn theFalcon back toward the planet.

Leia took a deep breath, then said, “There’sa Shadowcast code key hidden in the painting.

In the moisture-control circuitry.”Chewbacca’s eyes grew as round as bubbles.

Shadowcast was a secret communicationsnetwork that had sent Rebel messages,encrypted within the commercialadvertisements that paid for Imperialpropaganda programming, via the HoloNet.The system remained undiscovered, and theNew Republic still used it to send instructionsdeep behind Imperial lines to its mostdelicately placed spies.

Han’s eyes only hardened at the corners.“Honey, I think we’re about to have our rstmarried ght. Why didn’t you tell me theProvisional Council was behind this trip?”

“Because it’s not,” Leia said, sounding moredefensive than she would have liked. Why didher political skills always desert her with Han?“I’m the one who said Killik Twilight wouldbe a good place to hide the code. I’m the onewho thought the painting had been destroyedwith Alderaan. This is on me, Han. TheProvisional Council has authorized purchase

funds, but only because Mon Mothma strong-armed them. She’s the only one who knowswhy we’re really here.”

“Oh, that makes me feel better.”Eight months earlier, Mon Mothma had been

among those urging Leia to cement animportant strategic alliance by marrying theprince of a powerful consortium of planetsknown as the Hapes Cluster. Han still felt sobetrayed by the Chief Councilor and the rest ofthe council that, despite several generouso ers, he had so far refused to reactivate hismilitary commission or assume any otherformal role in the New Republic.

Han’s reaction was only one aspect of theHapan matter that Leia regretted. Had shemade it clear to Queen Mother Ta’a Chumethat marriage to her son, Isolder, was notreally a possibility—and that, given her geneticheritage, she had no interest in bearingchildren—she might well have salvaged analliance via some other arrangement, and shewould not have hurt Han.

Chewbacca yawled a warning, and Leialooked over at the auxiliary display to nd anassault shuttle and three TIEs departing theChimaera.

“Nothing to worry about,” Han said,studying his own display. “They just want tosee if we get nervous.”

Leia was nervous, and a little exasperated,but she didn’t say so. Maybe Han had drawnthe Chimaera’s attention, and maybe he hadn’t.Appearing too relaxed was just as likely toraise suspicions as appearing too worried.Anything could raise Imperial suspicions.

“Han, I didn’t mean to put the Falcon atrisk,” Leia said. “I only wanted to spend sometime together, and I thought this trip would bea good chance.”

“On a mission for the New Republic?”“I didn’t know it would be a mission,” Leia

said. “I’m sorry.”“So you thought we’d enjoy a little trip to

scenic Tatooine, pick up the lost code key,maybe swing by Jabba’s palace and relive old

times?”Chewbacca reported that the shuttle and

TIEs were approaching on an intercept vector.Han adjusted the Falcon’s course enough tokeep their line of escape open, then lookedback at Leia.

“I don’t see why this code key’s so importantanyway,” Han continued. “They must haveupdated it by now. It’s ten years old.”

“Nine years old,” Leia corrected. “And thecode is updated every sixth broadcast. But evenan old key would help the Imperials break thenew codes. Worse, it would alert them to theexistence of a network they haven’t detected innearly a decade. It would cost the lives ofthousands of former agents still living onenemy worlds. And there’s no telling how longit would take us to replace Shadowcast—orhow many current agents we’d lose in thetransition.”

Han looked away, his gaze dropping to hisinstruments, and Leia knew she had him. Hewould play hard to get, pretending to think it

over, but Han Solo always came through whenit counted. That was his weakness, and sheloved him for it.

“Han, I really do want Killik Twilight back,”Leia said. “When you see it—”

“When I see it?” Han interrupted. “You’retaking a lot for granted.”

Chewbacca stopped monitoring theincoming assault shuttle long enough to turnand growl.

“I know she’s my wife,” Han said. “Thatdoesn’t mean I’m responsible for dragging usout here. I can’t control what she does.”

Chewbacca dropped his eyes inexasperation, then awrooed at Han … twice.

“Me? I’m being Huttish?”Chewbacca snorted an a rmative, turned

back to the sensors, and reported that the TIEswere starting to accelerate ahead of the assaultshuttle. Han spent a moment considering hiscopilot’s charge, then glanced at Leia again.

“Me?” he asked. “Huttish?”Leia held her thumb and fore nger a few

millimeters apart. “Maybe,” she said. “Just alittle.”

Han’s expression turned from disbelieving tochagrined. He nudged the Falcon’s nose backtoward Tatooine, angling for the planethorizon, where the twin suns were casting acrescent of white brilliance.

“I’m not doing this for the council,” he said.“I’m doing it for you.”

“I know you are.” Leia’s smile was perhapsa little too broad, and she could not resistadding, “And the council is grateful.”

Han scowled, but his retort was cut shortwhen the comm speakers crackled to life.

“CEC transport Regina Galas,” a gruImperial voice said. “Maintain position andstand by for inspection.”

Regina Galas was one of a dozen falsetransponder codes the Falcon used whentraveling anonymously. Han turned to C-3PO.

“You’re on, Goldenrod.”C-3PO tipped his head. “On, Master Solo?”“Stall.” Han pointed to the microphone

above the auxiliary navicomputer interface.“Try Gand. They’ll have to rig for ammonia,and that’ll buy us some time.”

“Of course,” C-3PO said. “Perhaps I shouldsuggest—”

“Regina Galas,” a smoother voice said. “Thisis the Star Destroyer Chimaera. Stand by forboarding, or we will open fire.”

“Threepio!” Leia pointed at the comm unit.C-3PO activated the transmitter and used his

vocabulator to emit a staccato burst of dronesand clicks. There was a long pause while theImperials summoned a translator droid.

Han smiled, satis ed, and rose from thepilot’s chair. “You know what to do, Chewie.”

Chewbacca groaned and took the yoke,continuing to angle for the bright crescent atthe planet horizon. Han reached past C-3PO’sshoulder and linked the comm speakers to theFalcon’s intercom, then motioned for Leia tojoin him.

“I’ll need you in back with me,” he said.Leia unbuckled her crash webbing, her heart

rising into her throat. “Han, I don’t know ifshooting our way out of this—”

“Do I look like a gundark?” he asked. “If weshoot, we’re dead.”

Happy to know they agreed, Leia followedhim down the access to the rear hold. By thetime they opened the hatch, the Imperialswere back on the channel with their translatordroid, and it was conversing with C-3PO in acacophony of buzzes and clacks. Han retrieveda small cargo pod, then took it into the mainring corridor and opened one of the smugglingcompartments in the oor. He began to extractthe cases of ne Chandrilan brandy that hekept to pay o spaceport masters, passingthem to Leia to stow in the cargo pod.

“What are we going to do, bomb them withintoxicants?”

“You might say that,” Han said. “It’s called‘bribe-on-the-run.’ This stu is good currency,especially to a junior o cer who probablyhasn’t seen a payment voucher in months.”

“Han, didn’t you hear what I said about

Pellaeon?” Leia asked. “He won’t go for that.”Han smiled. “He won’t have to.”By the time he explained the details to Leia,

the cargo pod was loaded and the Chimaera’so cer was back on the comm channel,sounding as irritated as only C-3PO couldmake a sentient.

“Regina Galas pilot, our droid assures methere is no reason a Gand can’t speak Basic.”

C-3PO replied with a long rattle of aquestion.

There was a momentary translation delay,then the o cer replied, “My point is that Iknow you understand our instructions.Maintain position or you will be red upon.Our targeting computers have you locked in.”

Leia nearly fell as Chewbacca suddenlydecelerated and started what felt like a turnback toward the Chimaera. She knew it wasreally a maneuver to put the assault shuttlebetween them and the Star Destroyer’spowerful turbolasers. Han and Chewbacca hadbeen running Imperial checkpoints since

before there was a Rebellion. They knew everysmuggler’s trick in the data banks—and a fewmore.

“I said maintain position, not come about,”t h e Chimaera o cer barked. “And speakBasic!”

C-3PO replied with a stream of usteredclicking. Han and Leia chuckled withappreciation; they knew how frustrating thedroid could be when he was agitated. Theysealed the pod and ejected it through the airlock. When they returned to the engineeringstation in the main hold and brought thetactical array up on the display, Chewbaccahad already brought the Falcon around andwas accelerating away, with the assault shuttlenow squarely between them and the Chimaera.

The o cer began to yell. “Halt! Halt, orwe’ll open fire!”

“Open re?” C-3PO said, still in the voice ofa Gand but now speaking Basic. “Oh my!”

Chewbacca closed the channel and, laughingso hard his roars rumbled out the cockpit

access tunnel, continued to accelerate. Unableto make good on the o cer’s threats withoutrisking her own assault shuttle, the Chimaeraheld her re. The Falcon’s new bearing ranroughly parallel to Tatooine’s surface insteadof toward it. But Leia knew that once theywere beyond turbolaser range, or masked bythe electromagnetic blast of the twin suns,Chewbacca would turn. Leia continued towatch the tactical display, expecting the StarDestroyer to maneuver for a clear shot ordivert her shuttle, but she did neither.

“Good,” Han said. “They think we’re justspice runners. They’ll stop to collect ourjettisoned cargo, and then we’re home free.The boarding o cer won’t want prisonersaround to tell Pellaeon what was really in thepod.”

“You’re sure about that?”Leia watched with growing alarm as the

three TIEs passed the cargo pod, now anglingto put themselves between Tatooine and theirquarry. As long as Chewbacca continued on a

straight course, they would be unable to catchthe Falcon—but the instant she turned towardthe planet, the TIEs would be in good positionto cut her off.

“They don’t look all that interested in abribe.”

Han studied the display, his jaw falling alittle more with each kilometer the TIEs putbetween themselves and the ejected cargo. Fora moment, it looked as though the assaultshuttle would also ignore the pod and staybehind the Falcon. Then a tractor beamactivated in its stern, and it veered toward thebribe. Han sighed in relief, but grabbed Leia’shand and started for the laser cannon accesstunnel.

“C’mon.”“Han, what happened to no shooting?”

Despite her protest, Leia allowed herself to bedragged along. “ ‘If we shoot, we’re dead.’ Yousaid that. I remember.”

“I say a lot of things.” They reached theaccess tunnel and Han jumped in, not climbing

down so much as using the handholds to slowhis descent. “But they’re trying to grab the podon the y. The boarding o cer needs us tomake this look good, or his commander won’tbuy our escape.”

Leia was already climbing into the upperturret. “How good?”

“Good. That Pellaeon must be a realstickler.” The Falcon shuddered as Han test-

red his weapons. “Just don’t hit anything. Hitsomething and we’re—”

“Dead.” Leia buckled herself into the ringseat. “I know.”

She slipped on the headset and spun herturret toward Tatooine’s lambent disk.

The canopy dimmed against the sapphireash of an incoming turbolaser strike, and

Leia’s pulse stopped. She steeled herself tovanish in the crash of heat and light she hadbeen half expecting to take her since theRebellion began, then saw the tiny block of theassault shuttle silhouetted against the blossomof a distant eruption.

“What was that?” Leia gasped.Chewbacca’s rumbled answer made her

stomach go hollow.“They blasted it?” Han cried. “The brandy

alone was two thousand credits!”“It does eliminate our bribery plan.” It was a

bit of a struggle to keep her voice even. “Whatnow?”

Han answered by laying a wall of laser boltsin front of the TIEs. “The shuttle, we canoutrun,” he said. “But we need to check thosefighters. Just don’t—”

“Hit anything.” Leia activated her rangefinder. “I know.”

At this range, the TIEs were little more thanblue barbs of ion e ux. She brought hersensor-augmented sights on-line, and the claw-shaped images of three TIE interceptorsappeared on her targeting display. She set herlead ahead of the TIEs an extra length, thenanother one. She added another half length tobe certain, and squeezed the triggers.

The quad laser cannons red in diametric

sequence to minimize discharge shudder. Evenso, the turret shook. Leia checked her sights,found the interceptors still trying to cut themo , and red again. The Falcon was still atmaximum range, and the bolts took an eternityto reach their destination. Most winked outwell ahead of the TIEs, but some—Han’s, shehoped—merged with the blue glow of thestar ghters’ ion drives. She xed her gaze onher targeting display and continued to re,praying that none of the images vanished. TheImperials were accustomed to smugglersrunning and generally did not work very hardto chase them down, but they would prove alot more determined with any vessel thatactually destroyed one of their own craft.

The distance between Han’s bolts and theTIEs continued to diminish on Leia’s display.She cut one of the lengths out of her owntargeting lead, and their re turned to animpenetrable storm. The Imperials lost theirnerve and turned toward the Falcon so theycould bring their own guns to bear.

“Barge drivers,” Han sneered. “What kind ofplastiheads is the Empire recruiting for pilotsthese days?”

The TIEs opened re, and tiny lances ofgreen light stabbed out of Tatooine’s yellowglow. The lines faded to nothingnesskilometers shy of the Falcon, but distantblossoms of laser energy began to burgeonagainst the shields almost before Leia coulddisengage the lead adjustment on her sights.

Han’s laser cannons began to stitch spacealongside the TIEs. Leia followed his lead, andthey forced the trio back toward the StarDestroyer. The image on her targeting displayswitched to true size, and the interceptorsbecame thumb-sized blurs coming dead-on.Chewbacca continued ahead, keeping theassault shuttle between the Falcon’s tail andthe Chimaera’s guns.

They were going to make it, Leia saw. NoStar Destroyer in the galaxy was a match forHan and Chewbacca together. Once Leia andHan forced the TIEs into the Falcon’s rear

quarter, Chewbacca would hide behind themand dive into Tatooine’s atmosphere, and theChimaera’s big guns would be useless—unlessPellaeon cared to attack a whole planet to stopone vessel.

And even the Imperials would not do that,not unless they knew the true identity of theRegina Galas.

The TIEs kept closing, swelling to the size ofsts in Leia’s display. She grew bolder, timing

her shots to seize the area vacated by theirdodges, forcing the interceptors to slip fartherinto the Falcon’s rear quarter with each swing.Han shaved his attacks even closer, nearlyscorching their solar wing panels, daring themto try to cut off the Falcon.

Then the blast-tinting went black, thoughnot quickly enough to spare Leia a moment of

ash blindness as another turbolaser strike—this one much closer than the rst—erupted.Her shoulders hit crash webbing as the shockwave bucked the Falcon. Again her pulsestopped, and she hung suspended in that last

in nitely long instant between life andatomization, and she did not realize she wasstill holding her triggers open until thesynthetic rumble of the targeting computerannounced the destruction of a TIE interceptor.

Leia cursed and released the triggers,struggling to blink the blast-dazzle from hereyes and not quite able to believe they hadsurvived the strike.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean—”Chewbacca cut her o with an astonished

yawl.“T he Chimaera hit it?” Leia gasped. “By

mistake?”“To make a point.” Han’s laser cannons

opened up again. “She didn’t like her TIEsbeing pushed around.”

Leia checked her display and found the lasttwo interceptors weaving wildly as they rushedfor the Falcon’s forward quarter. She swungher turret around but was too distracted toopen re safely. Something here did not makesense.

“Pellaeon would never destroy his owninterceptor,” she said. “The Empire is too shortof good fighters.”

“A lesson the survivors’ll never forget.” Han’scannon bolts were dancing around the lead TIEin a tightening web of light. “If there are any.”Finally, the interceptor had no place left tomaneuver and ew into a dash of laser energy,exploding in a white cloud of re and light.“He’s using us as a training mission. I hatethat.”

“Han, you said don’t hit—”“Change of plans.” Han began to re at the

last TIE. “Now we make it cost them.”Leia joined in, forcing the TIE into Han’s

stream of re. It bobbed and weaved in ever-smaller oscillations, but maintained disciplineand continued on course—no doubt mindful ofthe lesson the Chimaera had delivered earlier.

Finally, it turned directly toward the Falcon,and the space beyond bloomed into brilliantsmears of color as it opened re. Leia kept hereyes xed on the targeting display and held

her triggers down, spraying bolts at theinterceptor in tightening spirals, trying not tothink about how large its image was growing,or how her display kept dimming, or why theturret’s blast-tinting had gone black.

Finally, the TIE had no room left tomaneuver. The pilot broke high, his wings andspherical cockpit rotating so smoothly thatLeia did not realize he had changed attitudeuntil the cannon bolts stopped coming.

“He’s yours!” Han yelled over the intercom.“Roll me up, Chewie!”

Leia raised her cannons and thumbed theautomatic lead active, but the TIE was alreadytoo far ahead. She managed only a few moreshots before the computer designated it out ofrange.

“That’s it, he’s been recalled,” Han said.“They aren’t going to give us any moretrouble.”

Leia checked the tactical display and saw theassault shuttle still trailing them. No match forthe Falcon’s speed, it was out of range and

steadily falling farther behind, but it wascoming.

“You’re sure about that?” Leia asked.“I’m sure. Experience isn’t much good to

dead pilots.”“What about assault troopers?”As Leia spoke, the shuttle broke o pursuit

and angled for the planet. Chewbacca wasquick to parallel its course, keeping the shuttlebetween them and the Star Destroyer, nowtraveling more or less in the direction theywanted to go. Leia kept waiting for the shuttleto turn toward the Chimaera, to weave or bobor try anything to give the turbolasers a clearshot, but it only continued its dive toward theplanet, still angling in the Falcon’s direction.

Leia swung her turret around, unsurewhether she should thank the shuttle pilot oropen fire.

Han gured it out before she did. “Chewie,cut behind them! Go sandside, fast!”

Chewbacca didn’t ask why. He brought theFalcon around so sharply that Leia had to close

her eyes against the starspin, and then Hanbegan yelling for her to bring her guns to bear.

Leia opened her eyes again and wished shehadn’t. Space was ying past the canopy in a

ashing whirl of stars and sand as Chewbaccaspiraled toward Tatooine. She still had no ideawhat Han wanted her to be ready for, but shefocused on the display and swung her cannonstoward the assault shuttle.

Half a dozen blips appeared at the edge ofthe tactical screen, and her heart had barely

nished falling before the interceptor symbolscon rmed what Han had realized twomoments before. Another ight of TIEs wascoming fast from the blind side of the planet.

Leia forced her attention back to the ringdisplay. With the Falcon gyrating so wildly, theturret broke into a nauseating whirring spin-dance as the servomotors struggled to keep theshuttle centered in the crosshairs.

“I have a lock.” Noticing that Han had notyet opened fire, she asked, “Should I—”

“Not yet,” Han said. “Chewie, see that

sandstorm? The really big one?”An a rming grunt came over the intercom.

Leia glanced out and saw only dizzying smearsof yellow and stars whirling against a violetbackdrop and felt instantly sick to herstomach. She xed her gaze on the targetingdisplay and hoped she was wrong about whyHan had pointed out the sandstorm.

The Falcon shuddered and slowed abruptly.Leia wondered if they could have reached theouter edge of the atmosphere so soon, butthere was still too much darkness outside, thenHan was cursing and asking no one inparticular if all the Chimaera’s pilots had adeath wish. She saw the assault shuttletumbling around the tactical display like a

itnat, connected to the Falcon by the invisibleribbon of a tractor beam that was pulling thetwo vessels slowly, steadily closer.

“Now, Han?”“Not yet,” Han said. “Chewie, launch the—”A soft thud reverberated through the Falcon

as two concussion missiles shot from their

tubes, riding the tractor beam toward theshuttle.

“Now, sweetheart!”Leia squeezed the triggers. The turret shook

as the quad lasers loosed their fury. The centerof the targeting display erupted into a dazzlingglow, and her canopy darkened to black as theshuttle returned re. All non-essential systemsdiverted power to the shields, and an ominoussilence fell over the Falcon. She tried to aimdown the tractor beam, but with the Falconreeling half out of control, Leia was doing welljust to hit the thing.

Then the missiles vanished into the glow.The tractor beam twinkled out of existence,and the brightness behind the crosshairsdissolved into a fading starburst.

Chewbacca wrenched the Falcon out of hertumble and dived straight for Tatooine. Thetactical display showed the interceptorsclosing, but they remained well out of range.Leia brought her turret around and nallyfound the sandstorm Han had pointed out to

Chewbacca—a raging swirl of amber thatcovered a tenth of the planet’s visible surface.Even from space, she could see clouds ofturbulence eddying up far above the primaryplane of the storm.

Chewbacca sent the Falcon corkscrewinginto a new helix of evasion. Leia checked hertactical display and found the TIEs still out ofrange and likely to stay that way. They couldnot cut o the Falcon without entering theatmosphere, a prospect even slower thantaking the long route around the planet. Norwas the Chimaera, still sitting in a remoteorbit, near enough to launch another boardingmission. There was only one thing the StarDestroyer could do to block the Falcon.

A bright line of turbolaser strikes eruptedahead, trying not to hit the Falcon but to forceher toward the approaching TIEs. Chewbacca

ew directly at the nearest blossom. Theshields crackled with sapphire energy as theypassed through the dissipation turbulence; thent h e Falcon was plunging into Tatooine’s

atmosphere, bucking wildly and engulfed inentry flame.

Han was instantly out of his seat, halftumbling and half climbing up the accesscorridor as Chewbacca struggled to control theship at an air velocity approaching meteoric.The Chimaera did not re into the atmosphere—no doubt because the captain believed theFalcon was about to crash anyway.

“Stay put.” Han started toward the mainhold. “Pellaeon’s got to be as mad as a rancor.Those TIEs may follow us down.”

“So where are you going?”“Flight deck,” he said. “When we slip into

that sandstorm—”“Into the sandstorm?” Leia started to object,

but saw the TIEs dropping into the atmosphereand knew they had no choice. “Okay, Han.Just don’t—”

“Hit anything,” Han finished. “I know.”

THE OLD REPUBLIC(5,000–33 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS:

A NEW HOPE)

Long—long—ago in a galaxy far, faraway … some twenty- ve thousand yearsbefore Luke Skywalker destroyed the rstDeath Star at the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars:A New Hope … a large number of star systemsand species in the center of the galaxy cametogether to form the Galactic Republic,governed by a Chancellor and a Senate fromthe capital city-world of Coruscant. As theRepublic expanded via the hyperspace lanes, itabsorbed new member worlds from newlydiscovered star systems; it also expanded itsmilitary to deal with the hostile civilizations,slavers, pirates, and gangster-species such asthe slug-like Hutts that were encountered inthe outward exploration. But the most vital

defenders of the Republic were the JediKnights. Originally a reclusive order dedicatedto studying the mysteries of the life energyknown as the Force, the Jedi became theRepublic’s guardians, charged by the Senatewith keeping the peace—with wise words ifpossible; with lightsabers if not.

But the Jedi weren’t the only Force-users inthe galaxy. An ancient civil war had pittedthose Jedi who used the Force sel esslyagainst those who allowed themselves to beruled by their ambitions—which the Jediwarned led to the dark side of the Force.Defeated in that long-ago war, the dark siders

ed beyond the galactic frontier, where theybuilt a civilization of their own: the SithEmpire.

The rst great con ict between the Republicand the Sith Empire occurred when twohyperspace explorers stumbled on the Sithworlds, giving the Sith Lord Naga Sadow andhis dark side warriors a direct invasion routeinto the Republic’s central worlds. This war

resulted in the rst destruction of the SithEmpire—but it was hardly the last. For thenext four thousand years, skirmishes betweenthe Republic and Sith grew into wars, with thescales always tilting toward one or the other,and peace never lasting. The galaxy was aplace of almost constant strife: Sith armiesagainst Republic armies; Force-using Sith Lordsagainst Jedi Masters and Jedi Knights; and thedreaded nomadic mercenaries calledMandalorians bringing muscle and repowerwherever they stood to gain.

Then, a thousand years before A New Hopeand the Battle of Yavin, the Jedi defeated theSith at the Battle of Ruusan, decimating the so-called Brotherhood of Darkness that was theheart of the Sith Empire—and most of itspower.

One Sith Lord survived—Darth Bane—andhis vision for the Sith di ered from that of hispredecessors. He instituted a new doctrine: Nolonger would the followers of the dark sidebuild empires or amass great armies of Force-

users. There would be only two Sith at a time:a Master and an apprentice. From that timeon, the Sith remained in hiding, biding theirtime and plotting their revenge, while the restof the galaxy enjoyed an unprecedented era ofpeace, so long and strong that the Republiceventually dismantled its standing armies.

But while the Republic seemed strong, itsinstitutions had begun to rot. Greedycorporations sought pro ts above all else anda corrupt Senate did nothing to stop them,until the corporations reduced many planets toraw materials for factories and entire speciesbecame subjects for exploitation. IndividualJedi continued to defend the Republic’scitizens and obey the will of the Force, but theJedi Order to which they answered grewincreasingly out of touch. And a new Sithmastermind, Darth Sidious, at last saw a wayto restore Sith domination over the galaxy andits inhabitants, and quietly worked to set inmotion the revenge of the Sith …

If you’re a reader new to the Old Republic era,here are three great starting points:

• The Old Republic: Deceived, by Paul S.Kemp: Kemp tells the tale of theRepublic’s betrayal by the Sith Empire,and features Darth Malgus, an intriguing,complicated villain.

• Knight Errant, by John Jackson Miller:Alone in Sith territory, the headstrongJedi Kerra Holt seeks to thwart thedesigns of an eccentric clan of fearsome,powerful, and bizarre Sith Lords.

• Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, by DrewKarpyshyn: A portrait of one of the mostfamous Sith Lords, from his horrifyingchildhood to an adulthood spent in theimplacable pursuit of vengeance.

Read on for an excerpt from a Star Wars novelset in the Old Republic era.

CHAPTER 1

SHIGAR KONSHI FOLLOWED the sound of blaster rethrough Coruscant’s old districts. He neverstumbled, never slipped, never lost his way,even through lanes that were narrow andcrowded with years of detritus that had settledslowly from the levels above. Cables and signsswayed overhead, hanging so low in placesthat Shigar was forced to duck beneath them.Tall and slender, with one blue chevron oneach cheek, the Jedi apprentice moved withgrace and surety surprising for his eighteenyears.

At the core of his being, however, heseethed. Master Nikil Nobil’s decision had cutno less deeply for being delivered by hologramfrom the other side of the galaxy.

“The High Council nds Shigar Konshiunready for Jedi trials.”

The decision had shocked him, but Shigar

knew better than to speak. The last thing hewanted to do was convey the shame andresentment he felt in front of the Council.

“Tell him why,” said Grand Master SateleShan, standing at his side with hands folded

rmly before her. She was a full head shorterthan Shigar but radiated an indomitable senseof self. Even via holoprojector, she madeMaster Nobil, an immense Thisspiasian withfull ceremonial beard, shift uncomfortably onhis tail.

“We—that is, the Council—regard yourPadawan’s training as incomplete.”

Shigar flushed. “In what way, Master Nobil?”His Master silenced him with a gentle but

irresistible telepathic nudge. “He is close toattaining full mastery,” she assured theCouncil. “I am certain that it is only a matterof time.”

“A Jedi Knight is a Jedi Knight in allrespects,” said the distant Master. “There areno exceptions, even for you.”

Master Satele nodded her acceptance of the

decision. Shigar bit his tongue. She said shebelieved in him, so why did she not overrulethe decision? She didn’t have to submit to theCouncil. If he weren’t her Padawan, would shehave spoken up for him then?

His unsettled feelings were not hidden aswell as he would have liked.

“Your lack of self-control reveals itself inmany ways,” said Master Nobil to him in astern tone. “Take your recent comments toSenator Vuub regarding the policies of theResource Management Council. We may allagree that the Republic’s handling of thecurrent crisis is less than perfect, but anythingshort of the utmost political discipline isunforgivable at this time. Do you understand?”

Shigar bowed his head. He should’ve knownthat the slippery Neimoidian was after morethan just his opinion when she’d sidled up tohim and attered him with praise. When theEmpire had invaded Coruscant, it had onlyhanded the world back to the Republic inexchange for a large number of territorial

concessions elsewhere. Ever since then, supplylines had been strained. That Shigar was right,and the RMC a hopelessly corrupt mess,putting the lives of billions at risk fromsomething much worse than war—starvation,disease, disillusionment—simply didn’t countin some circles.

Master Nobil’s forbidding visage softened.“You are naturally disappointed. I understand.Know that the Grand Master has spokenstrongly in favor of you for a long time. In allrespects but this one do we defer to herjudgment. She cannot sway our combineddecision, but she has drawn our attention. Wewill be watching your progress closely, withhigh expectations.”

The holoconference had ended there, andShigar felt the same conflicted emptiness in thedepths of Coruscant as he had then. Unready?High expectations? The Council was playing agame with him—or so it felt—batting himbackward and forward like a felinx in a cage.Would he ever be free to follow his own path?

Master Satele understood his feelings betterthan he did. “Go for a walk,” she had told him,putting a hand on each shoulder and holdinghis gaze long enough to make sure heunderstood her intentions. She was giving himan opportunity to cool down, not dismissinghim. “I need to talk to Supreme CommanderStantorrs anyway. Let’s meet later in UnionCloisters.”

“Yes, Master.”And so he was walking and stewing.

Somewhere inside him, he knew, had to be thestrength to rise above this temporary setback,the discipline to bring the last threads of histalent into a uni ed design. But on thisoccasion, his instincts were leading him awayfrom stillness, not toward it.

The sound of blaster re grew louder aheadof him.

Shigar stopped in an alley that stank like awoodoo’s leavings. A swinging light ashed

tfully on and o in the level above, castingrubbish and rot in unwanted relief. An ancient

droid watched with blinking red eyes from althy niche, rusted ngers protectively

gathering wires and servos back into its gapingchest plate. The cold war with the Empire wasbeing conducted far away from this alley andits unhappy resident, but its e ects werekeenly felt. If he wanted to be angry at thestate of the Republic, he couldn’t have chosena better place for it.

The shooting intensi ed. His hand reachedfor the grip of his lightsaber.

There is no emotion, he told himself. Thereis only peace.

But how could there be peace withoutjustice? What did the Jedi Council, sittingcomfortably in their new Temple on Tython,know about that?

The sound of screams broke him out of hiscontemplative trance. Between one heartbeatand the next he was gone, the emerald re ofhis lightsaber lingering a split instant behindhim, brilliant in the gloom.

LARIN MOXLA PAUSED to tighten the belly strap onher armor. The wretched thing kept comingloose, and she didn’t want to take any chances.Until the justicars got there, she was the onlything standing between the Black Sun gangstersand the relatively innocent residents ofGnawer’s Roost. It sounded like half of it hadbeen shot to pieces already.

Satis ed that nothing too vulnerable wasexposed, she peered out from cover and heftedher modi ed snub ri e. Illegal on Coruscantexcept for elite special forces commandos, itfeatured a powerful sniper sight, which shetrained on the Black Sun safehouse. The mainentrance was deserted, and there was no signof the roof guard. That was unexpected. Stillthe blaster re came from within the forti edbuilding. Could it be a trap of some kind?

Wishing as always that she had backup, shelowered the ri e and lifted her helmeted headinto full view. No one took a potshot at her.No one even noticed her. The only people she

could see were locals running for cover. Butfor the commotion coming from within, thestreet could have been completely deserted.

Trap or no trap, she decided to get closer.Rattling slightly, and ignoring the places whereher secondhand armor chafed, Larin hustledlow and fast from cover to cover until she wasjust meters from the front entrance. Theweapons- re was deafening now, andscreaming came with it. She tried to identifythe weapons. Blaster pistols and ri es ofseveral di erent makes; at least one oor-mounted cannon; two or three vibrosaws; andbeneath all that, a di erent sound. A roaring,as of superheated gases jetting violentlythrough a nozzle.

A flamethrower.No gang she’d heard of used re. The risk of

a blaze spreading everywhere was too high.Only someone from outside would employ aweapon like that. Only someone who didn’tcare what damage he left in his wake.

Something exploded in an upper room,

sending a shower of bricks and dust into thestreet. Larin ducked instinctively, but the wallheld. If it had collapsed, she would have beenburied under meters of rubble.

Her left hand wanted to count down, andshe let it. It felt wrong otherwise. Moving in—in three … two … one …

Silence fell.She froze. It was as though someone had

pulled a switch. One minute, nine kinds ofchaos had been unfolding inside the building.Now there was nothing.

She pulled her hand in, countdownforgotten. She wasn’t going anywhere until sheknew what had just happened and who wasinvolved.

Something collapsed inside the building.Larin gripped her ri e more tightly. Footstepscrunched toward the entrance. One set of feet:that was all.

She stood up in full view of the entrance,placed herself side-on to reduce the target shemade, and trained her ri e on the darkened

doorway.The footsteps came closer—unhurried,

confident, heavy. Very heavy.The moment she saw movement in the

doorway, she cried out in a rm voice, “Holdit right there.”

Booted feet assumed a standing position.Armored shins in metallic gray and green.

“Move slowly forward, into the light.”The owner of the legs took one step, then

two, revealing a Mandalorian so tall hishelmeted head brushed the top of thedoorway.

“That’s far enough.”“For what?”Larin maintained her cool in the face of that

harsh, inhuman voice, although it was di cult.She’d seen Mandalorians in action before, andshe knew how woefully equipped she was todeal with one now. “For you to tell me whatyou were doing in there.”

The domed head inclined slightly. “I wasseeking information.”

“So you’re a bounty hunter?”“Does it matter what I am?”“It does when you’re messing up my

people.”“You do not look like a member of the

Black Sun syndicate.”“I never said I was.”“You haven’t said you aren’t, either.” The

massive gure shifted slightly, nding a newbalance. “I’m seeking information concerning awoman called Lema Xandret.”

“Never heard of her.”“Are you certain of that?”“I thought I was the one asking questions

here.”“You thought wrong.”The Mandalorian raised one arm to point at

her. A hatch in his sleeve opened, revealingthe amethrower she’d heard in action earlier.She steadied her grip and tried desperately toremember where the weak points onMandalorian armor were—if there were any …

“Don’t,” said a commanding voice to her left.

Larin glanced automatically and saw ayoung man in robes standing with one handraised in the universal stop signal.

The sight of him dropped her guardmomentarily.

A sheet of powerful ame roared at her. Sheducked, and it seared the air bare millimetersover her head.

She let o a round that ricochetedharmlessly from the Mandalorian’s chest plateand rolled for cover. It was hard to say whatsurprised her more: a Jedi down deep in thebowels of Coruscant, or the fact that he had thefacial tattoos of a Kiffu native, just like she did.

SHIGAR TOOK IN THE confrontation with a glance.He’d never fought a Mandalorian before, buthe had been carefully instructed in the art byhis Master. They were dangerous, verydangerous, and he almost had second thoughtsabout taking this one on. Even together, he anda single battered-looking soldier would hardly

be sufficient.Then ame arced across the head of the

soldier, and his instincts took over. The soldierducked for cover with admirable speed. Shigarlunged forward, lightsaber raised to slash atthe net that inevitably headed his way. Thewhine of the suit’s jetpack drowned out theangry sizzling of Shigar’s blade as he cuthimself free. Before the Mandalorian hadgained barely a meter of altitude, Shigar Force-pushed him sideways into the building besidehim, thereby crushing off the jet’s exhaust vent.

With a snarl, the Mandalorian landedheavily on both feet and red two darts inquick succession, both aimed at Shigar’s face.Shigar de ected them and moved closer,dancing lightly on his feet. From a distance, hewas at a disadvantage. Mandalorians weremasters of ranged weaponry, and would doanything to avoid hand-to-hand combat exceptin one of their infamous gladiatorial pits. If hecould get near enough to strike—with the

soldier maintaining a distracting cover re—hemight just get lucky …

A rocket exploded above his head, thenanother. They weren’t aimed at him, but at thecity’s upper levels. Rubble rained down onhim, forcing him to protect his head. TheMandalorian took advantage of that slightdistraction to dive under his guard and griphim tight about the throat. Shigar’s confusionwas complete—but Mandalorians weren’tsupposed to ght at close quarters! Then hewas literally ying through the air, hurled byhis assailant’s vast physical strength into awall.

He landed on both feet, stunned butrecovering quickly, and readied himself foranother attack.

The Mandalorian ran three long steps to hisright, leaping one-two-three onto piles ofrubbish and from there onto a roof. Morerockets arced upward, tearing through theferrocrete columns of a monorail. Slenderspears of metal warped and fell toward Shigar

and the soldier. Only with the greatest exertionof the Force that Shigar could summon was heable to de ect them into the ground aroundthem, where they stuck fast, quivering.

“He’s getting away!”The soldier’s cry was followed by another

explosion. A grenade hurled behind theescaping Mandalorian destroyed much of theroof in front of him and sent a huge blackmushroom rising into the air. Shigar divedcautiously through it, expecting an ambush,but found the area clear on the far side. Heturned in a full circle, banishing the smokewith one out-thrust push.

The Mandalorian was gone. Up, down,sideways—there was no way to tell whichdirection he had chosen to ee. Shigar reachedout through the Force. His heart stillhammered, but his breathing was steady andshallow. He felt nothing.

The soldier became visible through thesmoke just steps away, moving forward in acautious crouch. She straightened and planted

her feet wide apart. The snout of her ri etargeted him, and for a moment Shigar thoughtshe might actually fire.

“I lost him,” he said, unhappilyacknowledging their failure.

“Not your fault,” she said, lowering the ri e.“We did our best.”

“Where did he come from?” he asked.“I thought it was just the usual Black Sun

bust-up,” she said, indicating the destroyedbuilding. “Then he walked out.”

“Why did he attack you?”“Beats me. Maybe he assumed I was a

justicar.”“You’re not one?”“No. I don’t like their methods. And they’ll

be here soon, so you should get out of herebefore they decide you’re responsible for allthis.”

That was good advice, he acknowledged tohimself. The bloodthirsty militia controllingthe lower levels was a law unto itself, one thatdidn’t take kindly to incursions on their

territory.“Let’s see what happened here, rst,” he

said, moving toward the smoke-blackeneddoorway with lightsaber at the ready.

“Why? It’s not your problem.”Shigar didn’t answer that. Whatever was

going on here, neither of them could just walkaway from it. He sensed that she would berelieved not to be heading into the buildingalone.

Together they explored the smoking,shattered ruins. Weapons and bodies lay nextto one another in equal proportions. Clearly,the inhabitants had taken up arms against theinterloper, and in turn every one of them haddied. That was grisly, but not surprising.Mandalorians didn’t disapprove of illegals perse, but they did take poorly to being shot at.

On the upper oor, Shigar stopped, sensingsomething living among the carnage. He raiseda hand, cautioning the soldier to proceed moreslowly, just in case someone thought they werecoming to nish the job. She glided smoothly

ahead of him, heedless of danger and with herweapon at the ready. He followed soundlesslyin her wake, senses tingling.

They found a single survivor huddled behinda shattered crate, a Nawtolan with blasterburns down much of one side and a dartwound to his neck, lying in a pool of his ownblood. The blood was spreading fast. Helooked up as Shigar bent over him to check hiswounds. What Shigar couldn’t tourniquet hecould cauterize, but he would have to movefast to have any chance at all.

“Dao Stryver.” The Nautolan’s voice was aguttural growl, not helped by the damage tohis throat. “Came out of nowhere.”

“The Mandalorian?” said the soldier. “Is thatwho you’re talking about?”

The Nautolan nodded. “Dao Stryver. Wantedwhat we had. Wouldn’t give it to him.”

The soldier took o her helmet. She wassurprisingly young, with short dark hair, astrong jaw, and eyes as green as Shigar’slightsaber. Most startling were the distinctive

black markings of Clan Moxla tattooed acrossher dirty cheeks.

“What did you have, exactly?” she pressedthe Nautolan.

The Nautolan’s eyes rolled up into his head.“Cinzia,” he coughed, spraying dark bloodacross the front of her armor. “Cinzia.”

“And that is …?” she asked, leaning close ashis breathing failed. “Hold on—help’s coming—just hold on!”

Shigar leaned back. There was nothing hecould do, not without a proper medpac. TheNautolan had said his last.

“I’m sorry,” he said.“You’ve no reason to be,” she said, staring

down at her hands. “He was a member of theBlack Sun, probably a murderer himself.”

“Does that make him evil? Lack of foodmight have done that, or medicine for hisfamily, or a thousand other things.”

“Bad choices don’t make bad people. Right.But what else do we have to go on down here?Sometimes you have to make a stand, even if

you can’t tell who the bad guys are anymore.”A desperately fatigued look crossed her face,

then, and Shigar thought that he understoodher a little better. Justice was important, andso was the way people defended it, even ifthat meant fighting alone sometimes.

“My name is Shigar,” he said in a calmingvoice.

“Nice to meet you, Shigar,” she said,brightening. “And thanks. You probably savedmy life back there.”

“I can’t take any credit for that. I’m sure hedidn’t consider either of us worthy opponents.”

“Or maybe he worked out that we didn’tknow anything about what he was looking forin the safehouse. Lema Xandret: that was thename he used on me. Ever heard of it?”

“No. Not Cinzia, either.”She rose to her feet in one movement and

cocked her ri e onto her back. “Larin, by theway.”

Her grip was surprisingly strong. “Our clanswere enemies, once,” Shigar said.

“Ancient history is the least of our troubles.We’d better move out before the justicars gethere.”

He looked around him, at the Nautolan, theother bodies, and the wrecked building. DaoStryver. Lema Xandret. Cinzia.

“I’m going to talk to my Master,” he said.“She should know there’s a Mandalorianmaking trouble on Coruscant.”

“All right,” she said, hefting her helmet.“Lead the way.”

“You’re coming with me?”“Never trust a Konshi. That’s what my

mother always said. And if we’re going to stopa war between Dao Stryver and the Black Sun,we have to do it right. Right?”

He barely caught her smile before itdisappeared behind her helmet.

“Right,” he said.

RISE OF THE EMPIRE(33–0 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS:

A NEW HOPE)

This is the era of the Star Wars prequel lms,in which Darth Sidious’s schemes lead to thedevastating Clone Wars, the betrayal anddestruction of the Jedi Order, and theRepublic’s transformation into the Empire. Italso begins the tragic story of AnakinSkywalker, the boy identi ed by the Jedi asthe Chosen One of ancient prophecy, the onedestined to bring balance to the Force. But, asseen in the movies, Anakin’s passions lead himto the dark side, and he becomes the legendarymasked and helmeted villain Darth Vader.

Before his fall, however, Anakin spendsmany years being trained as a Jedi by Obi-WanKenobi. When the Clone Wars break out,pitting the Republic against the secessionist

Trade Federation, Anakin becomes a war heroand one of the galaxy’s greatest Jedi Knights.But his love for the Naboo Queen and SenatorPadmé Amidala, and his friendship withSupreme Chancellor Palpatine—secretlyknown as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious—will behis undoing …

If you’re a reader looking to jump into theRise of the Empire era, here are ve greatstarting points:

• Labyrinth of Evil, by James Luceno:Luceno’s tale of the last days of the CloneWars is equal parts compelling detectivestory and breakneck adventure, leadingdirectly into the beginning of Star Wars:Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

• Revenge of the Sith, by Matthew Stover:This masterfully written novelization

eshes out the on-screen action ofEpisode III, delving deeply into

everything from Anakin’s internalstruggle and the politics of the dyingRepublic to the intricacies of lightsabercombat.

• Republic Commando: Hard Contact, byKaren Traviss: The rst of the RepublicCommando books introduces us to aband of clone soldiers, their trainers, andthe Jedi generals who lead them, mixingincisive character studies with a deepunderstanding of the lives of soldiers atwar.

• Death Troopers, by Joe Schreiber: A storyof horror aboard a Star Destroyer thatyou’ll need to read with the lights on.Supporting roles by Han Solo and hisWookiee sidekick, Chewbacca, are justicing on the cake.

• The Han Solo Adventures, by Brian Daley:Han and Chewie come to glorious life inthese three swashbuckling tales of

smuggling, romance, and danger in theearly days before they meet Luke andLeia.

Read on for an excerpt from a Star Wars novelset in the Rise of the Empire era.

DMURKHANA. FINAL HOURS OF THE CLONE WARS

ropping into swirling clouds conjured byMurkhana’s weather stations, Roan Shryne

was reminded of meditation sessions hisformer Master had guided him through. Nomatter how xed Shryne had been on touchingthe Force, his mind’s eye had o ered littlemore than an eddying whiteness. Years later,when he had become more adept at silencingthought and immersing himself in the light,visual fragments would emerge from thatcolorless void—pieces to a puzzle that wouldgradually assemble themselves and resolve.Not in any conscious way, though frequentlyassuring him that his actions in the world were

in accord with the will of the Force.Frequently but not always.When he veered from the course on which

the Force had set him, the familiar whitewould once again be stirred by powerfulcurrents; sometimes shot through with red, asif he were lifting his closed eyes to the glare ofa midday sun.

Red-mottled white was what he saw as hefell deeper into Murkhana’s atmosphere.Scored to reverberating thunder; the rush ofthe wind; a welter of muffled voices …

He was standing closest to the sliding doorthat normally sealed the troop bay of aRepublic gunship, launched moments earlierfrom the forward hold of the Gallant—aVictory-class Star Destroyer, harried by vultureand droid tri- ghters and awaiting HighCommand’s word to commence its owndescent through Murkhana’s arti cial ceiling.Beside and behind Shryne stood a platoon ofclone troopers, helmets tting snugly overtheir heads, blasters cradled in their arms,

utility belts slung with ammo magazines,talking among themselves the way seasonedwarriors often did before battle. Alleviatingmisgivings with inside jokes; references Shrynecouldn’t begin to understand, beyond the factthat they were grim.

The gunship’s inertial compensators allowedthem to stand in the bay without being joltedby aring anti-aircraft explosions or jostled bythe gunship pilots’ evasive maneuveringthrough corkscrewing missiles and storms ofwhite-hot shrapnel. Missiles, because the sameSeparatists who had manufactured the cloudshad misted Murkhana’s air with anti-laseraerosols.

Acrid odors in ltrated the cramped space,along with the roar of the aft engines, thestarboard one stuttering somewhat, thegunship as battered as the troopers and crew itcarried into conflict.

Even at an altitude of only four hundredmeters above sea level the cloud coverremained dense. The fact that Shryne could

barely see his hand in front of his face didn’tsurprise him. This was still the war, after all,and he had grown accustomed these past threeyears to not seeing where he was going.

Nat-Sem, his former Master, used to tell himthat the goal of the meditative exercises was tosee clear through the swirling whiteness to theother side; that what Shryne saw was only theshadowy expanse separating him from fullcontact with the Force. Shryne had to learn toignore the clouds, as it were. When he hadlearned to do that, to look through them to theradiant expanse beyond, he would be a Master.

Pessimistic by nature, Shryne’s reaction hadbeen: Not in this lifetime.

Though he had never said as much to Nat-Sem, the Jedi Master had seen through him aseasily as he saw through the clouds.

Shryne felt that the clone troopers had abetter view of the war than he had, and thatthe view had little to do with their helmetimaging systems, the lters that muted thesharp scent of the air, the earphones that

dampened the sounds of explosions. Grown forwarfare, they probably thought the Jedi weremad to go into battle as they did, attired intunics and hooded robes, a lightsaber theironly weapon. Many of them were astuteenough to see comparisons between the Forceand their own white plastoid shells; but few ofthem could discern between armored andunarmored Jedi—those who were allied withthe Force, and those who for one reason oranother had slipped from its sustainingembrace.

Murkhana’s lathered clouds nally began tothin, until they merely veiled the planet’swrinkled landscape and frothing sea. A suddenburst of brilliant light drew Shryne’s attentionto the sky. What he took for an explodinggunship might have been a newborn star; andfor a moment the world tipped out of balance,then righted itself just as abruptly. A circle ofclarity opened in the clouds, a perforation inthe veil, and Shryne gazed on verdant forest soprofoundly green he could almost taste it.

Valiant combatants scurried through theunderbrush and sleek ships soared through thecanopy. In the midst of it all a lone gurestretched out his hand, tearing aside a curtainblack as night …

Shryne knew he had stepped out of time,into some truth beyond reckoning.

A vision of the end of the war, perhaps, orof time itself.

Whichever, the e ect of it comforted himthat he was indeed where he was supposed tobe. That despite the depth to which the warhad caused him to become xed on death anddestruction, he was still tethered to the Force,and serving it in his own limited way.

Then, as if intent on foiling him, the thinclouds quickly conspired to conceal what hadbeen revealed, closing the portal an errantcurrent had opened. And Shryne was backwhere he started, with gusts of superheated airtugging at the sleeves and cowl of his brownrobe.

“The Koorivar have done a good job with

their weather machines,” a speaker-enhancedvoice said into his left ear. “Whipped up onebrute of a sky. We used the same tactic onPaarin Minor. Drew the Seps into fabricatedclouds and blew them to the back of beyond.”

Shryne laughed without merriment. “Goodto see you can still appreciate the little things,Commander.”

“What else is there, General?”Shryne couldn’t make out the expression on

the face behind the tinted T-visor, but he knewthat shared face as well as anyone else whofought in the war. Commander of the Thirty-second air combat wing, the clone o cer hadsomewhere along the line acquired the nameSalvo, and the sobriquet fit him like a gauntlet.

The high-traction soles of his jump bootsgave him just enough added height to standshoulder-to-shoulder with Shryne, and wherehis armor wasn’t dinged and scored it wasemblazoned with rust-brown markings. On hiships he wore holstered hand blasters and, forreasons Shryne couldn’t fathom, a version of

the capelike command skirt that had becomeall the rage in the war’s third year. The leftside of his shrapnel-pitted helmet was laser-etched with the motto LIVE TO SERVE!

Torso markings attested to Salvo’sparticipation in campaigns on many worlds,and while he wasn’t an ARC—an AdvancedReconnaissance Commando—he had the roughedges of an ARC, and of their clone template,Jango Fett, whose headless body Shryne hadseen in a Geonosian arena shortly beforeMaster Nat-Sem had fallen to enemy fire.

“Alliance weapons should have us in targetlock by now,” Salvo said as the gunshipcontinued to descend.

Other assault ships were also punchingthrough the cloud cover, only to be greeted by

ocks of incoming missiles. Struck by directhits, two, four, then ve craft were blownapart, aming fuselages and mangled troopersplummeting into the churning scarlet waves ofMurkhana Bay. From the nose of one gunship

ew a bang-out capsule that carried the pilotand co-pilot to within meters of the waterbefore it was ripped open by a resolute heatseeker.

In one of the fty-odd gunships that wereracing down the well, three other Jedi weregoing into battle, Master Saras Loorne amongthem. Stretching out with the Force, Shrynefound them, faint echoes con rming that allthree were still alive.

He clamped his right hand on one of theslide door’s view slots as the pilots threw theirunwieldy charge into a hard bank, narrowlyevading a pair of hail re missiles. Gunnersensconced in the gunship’s armature-mountedturrets opened up with blasters as ights ofMankvim Interceptors swarmed up to engagethe Republic force. The anti-laser aerosolsscattered the blaster beams, but dozens of theSeparatist craft succumbed to missiles spewedfrom the gunships’ top-mounted mass-drivelaunchers.

“High Command should have granted our

request to bombard from orbit,” Salvo said inan amplified voice.

“The idea is to take the city, Commander,not vaporize it,” Shryne said loudly. Murkhanahad already been granted weeks to surrender,but the Republic ultimatum had expired.“Palpatine’s policy for winning the hearts andminds of Separatist populations might notmake good military sense, but it makes goodpolitical sense.”

Salvo stared at him from behind his visor.“We’re not interested in politics.”

Shryne laughed shortly. “Neither were theJedi.”

“Why fight if you weren’t bred for it?”“To serve what remains of the Republic.”

Shryne’s brief green vision of the war’s endreturned, and he adopted a rueful grin.“Dooku’s dead. Grievous is being hunteddown. If it means anything, I suspect it’ll beover soon.”

“The war, or our standing shoulder-to-shoulder?”

“The war, Commander.” “What becomes ofthe Jedi then?”

“We’ll do what we have always done: followthe Force.”

“And the Grand Army?”Shryne regarded him. “Help us preserve the

peace.”

Murkhana City was visible now, climbinginto steep hills that rose from a long

crescent of shoreline, the sheen of overlappingparticle shields dulled by the gray underbellyof the clouds. Shryne caught a eeting glimpseof the Argente Tower before the gunshipdropped to the crests of the frothing waves andaltered course, pointing its blunt nose towardthe stacked skyline and slaloming throughwarheads red from weapons emplacementsthat lined the shore.

In a class with Mygeeto, Muunilinst, andNeimoidia, Murkhana was not a conqueredplanet but a host world—home to formerSenator and Separatist Council member PasselArgente, and headquarters of the CorporateAlliance. Murkhana’s deal makers and

litigators, tended to by armies of householddroids and private security guards, hadfashioned a hedonistic domain of toweringo ce buildings, luxurious apartmentcomplexes, exclusive medcenters, and swankshopping malls, casinos, and nightclubs. Onlythe most expensive speeders negotiated avertical cityscape of graceful, spiralingstructures that looked as if they had beengrown of ocean coral rather than constructed.

Murkhana also housed the nestcommunications facility in that part of theOuter Rim, and was a primary source of the“shadowfeeds” that spread Separatistpropaganda among Republic and Confederacyworlds.

Arranged like the spokes of a wheel, fourten-kilometer-long bridges linked the city to anenormous o shore landing platform.Hexagonal in shape and supported on thickcolumns anchored in the seabed, the platformwas the prize the Republic needed to securebefore a full assault could be mounted. For

that to happen, the Grand Army needed topenetrate the defensive umbrellas and take outthe generators that sustained them. But withnearly all rooftop and repulsorlift landingplatforms shielded, Murkhana’s arc of black-sand beach was the only place where thegunships could insert their pay-loads of clonetroopers and Jedi.

Shryne was gazing at the landing platformwhen he felt someone begin to edge betweenhim and Commander Salvo, set on getting abetter look through the open hatch. Evenbefore he saw the headful of long black curls,he knew it was Olee Starstone. Planting his lefthand rmly on the top of her head, hepropelled her back into the troop bay.

“If you’re determined to make yourself atarget, Padawan, at least wait until we hit thebeach.”

Rubbing her head, the petite, blue-eyedyoung woman glanced over her shoulder at thetall female Jedi standing behind her. “You see,Master. He does care.”

“Despite all evidence to the contrary,” thefemale Jedi said.

“I only meant that it’ll be easier for me tobury you in the sand,” Shryne said.

Starstone scowled, folded her arms acrossher chest, and swung away from both of them.

Bol Chatak threw Shryne a look of mildreprimand. The raised cowl of her black robehid her short vestigial horns. An IridonianZabrak, she was nothing if not tolerant, andhad never taken Shryne to task for his irasciblebehavior or interfered with his teasingrelationship with her Padawan, who hadjoined Chatak in the Murkhana system only astandard week earlier, arriving with MasterLoorne and two Jedi Knights. The demands ofthe Outer Rim Sieges had drawn so many Jedifrom Coruscant that the Temple waspractically deserted.

Until recently, Shryne, too, had had aPadawan learner …

For the Jedi’s bene t, the gunship pilotannounced that they were closing on the jump

site.“Weapons check!” Salvo said to the platoon.

“Gas and packs!”As the troop bay lled with the sound of

activating weapons, Chatak placed her handon Starstone’s quivering shoulder.

“Use your unease to sharpen your senses,Padawan.”

“I will, Master.”“The Force will be with you.”“We’re all dying,” Salvo told the troopers.

“Promise yourselves you’ll be the last to go!”Access panels opened in the ceiling,

dropping more than a dozen polyplast cablesto within reach of the troopers.

“Secure to lines!” Salvo said. “Room forthree more, General,” he added whilearmored, body-gloved hands took tight hold ofthe cables.

Calculating that the jump wouldn’t exceedten meters, Shryne shook his head at Salvo.“No need. We’ll see you below.”

Unexpectedly, the gunship gained altitude as

it approached the shoreline, then pulled upshort of the beach, as if being reined in.Repulsorlifts engaged, the gunship hovered. Atthe same time, hundreds of Separatist battledroids marched onto the beach, ring theirblasters in unison.

The intercom squawked, and the pilot said,“Droid buster away!”

A concussion-feedback weapon, the droidbuster detonated at ve meters above groundzero, attening every droid within a radius of

fty meters. Similar explosions underscoredthe ingress of a dozen other gunships.

“Where were these weapons three yearsago?” one of the troopers asked Salvo.

“Progress,” the commander said. “All of asudden we’re winning the war in a week.”

The gunship hovered lower, and Shryneleapt into the air. Using the Force to overseehis fall, he landed in a crouch on thecompacted sand, as did Chatak and Starstone,if less expertly.

Salvo and the clone troopers followed,

descending one-handed on individual cables,triggering their ri es as they slid to the beach.When the nal trooper was on the ground, thegunship lifted its nose and began to veer awayfrom shore. Up and down the beach the samescenario was playing out. Several gunshipsfailed to escape artillery re and crashed inflames before they had turned about.

Others were blown apart before they hadeven offloaded.

With projectiles and blaster bolts whizzingpast their heads, the Jedi and troopers scurriedforward, hunkering down behind a bulkheadthat braced a ribbon of highway coursingbetween the beach and the near-vertical cli sbeyond. Salvo’s communications specialistcomlinked for aerial support against thebatteries responsible for the worst of the fire.

Through an opening in the bulkheadhastened the four members of a commandoteam, with a captive in tow. Unlike thetroopers, the commandos wore gray shells ofKatarn-class armor and carried heftier

weapons. Hardened against magnetic pulses,their suits allowed them to penetrate defensiveshields.

The enemy combatant they had capturedwore a long robe and tasseled headcloth butlacked the sallow complexion, horizontalfacial markings, and cranial hornscharacteristic of the Koorivar. Like their fellowSeparatists the Neimoidians, Passel Argente’sspecies had no taste for warfare, but felt nocompunction about employing the bestmercenaries credits could buy.

The burly commando squad leader wentimmediately to Salvo.

“Ion Team, Commander, attached to theTwenty-second out of Boz Pity.” Turningslightly in Shryne’s direction, the commandonodded his helmeted head.

“Welcome to Murkhana, General Shryne.”Shryne’s dark brows beetled. “The voice is

familiar …,” he began.“The face even more so,” the commando

completed.

The joke was almost three years old but stillin use among the clone troopers, and betweenthem and the Jedi.

“Climber,” the commando said, providinghis sobriquet. “We fought together on DekoNeimoidia.”

Shryne clapped the commando on theshoulder. “Good to see you again, Climber—even here.”

“As I told you,” Chatak said to Starstone,“Master Shryne has friends all over.”

“Perhaps they don’t know him as well as Ido, Master,” Starstone grumbled.

Climber lifted his helmet faceplate to thegray sky. “A good day for fighting, General.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Shryne said.“Make your report, squad leader,” Salvo

interrupted.Climber turned to the commander. “The

Koorivar are evacuating the city, but takingtheir sweet time about it. They’ve a lot morefaith in these energy shields than they shouldhave.” He beckoned the captive forward and

spun him roughly to face Salvo. “Meet Idis—human under the Koorivar trappings.Distinguished member of the VibrobladeBrigade.”

“A mercenary band,” Bol Chatak explainedto Starstone.

“We caught him … with his trousers down,”Climber continued, “and persuaded him toshare what he knows about the shorelinedefenses. He was kind enough to provide thelocation of the landing platform shieldgenerator.” The commando indicated a tall,tapered edi ce farther down the beach. “Justnorth of the rst bridge, near the marina. Thegenerator’s installed two oors below groundlevel. We may have to take out the wholebuilding to get to it.”

Salvo signaled to his comlink specialist.“Relay the building coordinates to Gallantgunnery—”

“Wait on that,” Shryne said quickly.“Targeting the building poses too great a riskto the bridges. We need them intact if we’re

going to move vehicles into the city.”Salvo considered it brie y. “A surgical strike,

then.”Shryne shook his head no. “There’s another

reason for discretion. That building is amedcenter. Or at least it was the last time Iwas here.”

Salvo looked to Climber for confirmation.“The general’s correct, Commander. It’s still

a medcenter.”Salvo shifted his gaze to Shryne. “An enemy

medcenter, General.”Shryne compressed his lips and nodded.

“Even at this point in the war, patients areconsidered noncombatants. Remember what Isaid about hearts and minds, Commander.” Heglanced at the mercenary. “Is the shieldgenerator accessible from street level?”

“Depends on how skilled you are.”Shryne looked at Climber.“Not a problem,” the commando said.Salvo made a sound of distaste. “You’d trust

the word of a merc?”

Climber pressed the muzzle of his DC-17ri e into the small of the mercenary’s back.“Idis is on our side now, aren’t you?”

The mercenary’s head bobbed. “Free ofcharge.”

Shryne looked at Climber again. “Is yourteam carrying enough thermal detonators to dothe job?”

“Yes, sir.”Salvo still didn’t like it. “I strongly

recommend that we leave this to the Gallant.”Shryne regarded him. “What’s the matter,

Commander, we’re not killing the Separatistsin sufficient numbers?”

“In su cient numbers, General. Just notquickly enough.”

“ T h e Gallant is still holding at ftykilometers,” Chatak said in a conciliatory tone.“There’s time to re-con the building.”

Salvo demonstrated his displeasure with ashrug of indi erence. “It’s your funeral ifyou’re wrong.”

“That’s neither here nor there,” Shryne said.

“We’ll rendezvous with you at rally pointAurek-Bacta. If we don’t turn up by the timethe Gallant arrives, feed them the building’scoordinates.”

“You can count on it, sir.”

REBELLION(0–5 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A NEW

HOPE)

This is the period of the classic Star Warsmovie trilogy—A New Hope, The EmpireStrikes Back, and Return of the Jedi—in whicha ragtag band of Rebels battles the Empire, andLuke Skywalker learns the ways of the Forceand must avoid his father’s fate.

During this time, the Empire controls nearlythe entire settled galaxy. Out in the Rimworlds, Imperial stormtroopers suppressuprisings with brutal e ciency, many alienspecies have been enslaved, and entire starsystems are brutally exploited by the Empire’swar machine. In the central systems, however,most citizens support the Empire, weighingmisgivings about its harsh methods against thememories of the horror and chaos of the Clone

Wars. Few dare to openly oppose EmperorPalpatine’s rule.

But the Rebel Alliance is growing. Rebelcells strike in secret from hidden basesscattered among the stars, encouraging some ofthe braver Senators to speak out against theEmpire. When the Rebels learn that theEmpire is building the Death Star, a spacestation with enough repower to destroyentire planets, Princess Leia Organa, whorepresents her homeworld, Alderaan, in theSenate and is secretly a high-ranking memberof the Rebel Alliance, receives the plans for thebattle station and ees in search of the exiledJedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Thus begin the events that lead her to meetthe smuggler and soon-to-be hero Han Solo, todiscover her long-lost brother, Luke Skywalker,and to help the Rebellion take down theEmperor and restore democracy to the galaxy:the events of the three lms A New Hope, TheEmpire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.

If you’re a reader looking for places to jump inand explore the Rebellion-era novels, here arefive great places to start:

• Death Star, by Michael Reaves and StevePerry: The story of the construction of themassive battle station, touching on thelives of the builders, planners, soldiers,and support sta who populate themonstrous vessel, as well as themasterminds behind the design and thosewho intend to make use of it: theEmperor and Darth Vader.

• The Mandalorian Armor, by K. W. Jeter:The famous bounty hunter Boba Fettstars in a twisty tale of betrayal withinthe galactic underworld, highlighted by ariveting confrontation between bountyhunters and a band of Hutts.

• Shadows of the Empire, by Steve Perry: Atale of the shadowy parts of the Empireand an underworld criminal mastermind

who is out to kill Luke Skywalker, whileour other heroes try to gure out how torescue Han Solo, who has been frozen incarbonite for delivery to Jabba the Hutt.

• Tales of the Bounty Hunters, edited byKevin J. Anderson: The bounty hunterssummoned by Darth Vader to capture theMillennium Falcon tell their stories inthis anthology of short tales, culminatingwith Daniel Keys Moran’s elegiac “TheLast One Standing.”

• Luke Skywalker and the Shadows ofMindor, by Matthew Stover: A tale setshortly after the events of Return of theJedi, in which Luke must defeat the

amboyant dark sider known as LordShadowspawn while the pilots of RogueSquadron duel his servants amidtumbling asteroids.

Read on for an excerpt from a Star Wars novelset in the Rebellion era.

T

FLIGHT DECK, IMPERIAL-CLASS STARDESTROYER STEEL TALON, POLAR ORBIT,PLANET DESPAYRE, HORUZ SYSTEM,ATRIVIS SECTOR, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

he alert siren screamed, a piercing wail thatcouldn’t be ignored by any being on boardwith ears and a pulse. It had one thing to

say, and it said it loud and clear:Scramble!Lieutenant Commander Villian “Vil” Dance

came out of a deep sleep at the blaring alarm,sat up, and leapt from his rack to theexpanded metal deck of the Ready Roomquarters. Save for the helmet, he already worehis space suit, one of the rst things an on-call

TIE pilot learned to do was sleep in full battlegear. He ran for the door, half a step ahead ofthe next pilot to awaken. He grabbed hisheadgear, darted into the hall and turned tothe right, then sprinted for the launching bay.

It could be a drill; there had been plenty ofthose lately to keep the pilots on their toes.But maybe this time it wasn’t. One couldalways hope.

Vil ran into the assembly area. A-grav on theight deck was kept at slightly below one g, so

that the pilots, all of whom were human orhumanoid, could move a little faster and get totheir stations a little sooner. The smell oflaunch lube was acrid in the cold air, and thepulsing lights painted the area in bright,primary ashes. Techs scrambled, getting theTIE ghters to nal-set for takeo , while pilotsran toward the craft. Vil noticed that it wasjust his squad being scrambled. Must not be abig problem, whatever it was.

Command always said it didn’t matter whichunit you got. TIE ghters were all the same,

down to the last nut and bolt, but even so,every pilot had his or her favorite ship. Youweren’t supposed to personalize them, ofcourse, but there were ways to tell—a scratchhere, a scu mark there … after a while, yougot to where you knew which ghter waswhich. And no matter what Command said,some were better than others—a little faster, alittle tighter in the turns, the laser cannons ahair quicker to re when you touched the stud.Vil happened to know that his assigned shipthis rotation was Black-11, one of his favorites.Maybe it was pure superstition, but hebreathed just a little easier, knowing thatparticular craft had his name on it this timearound.

The command o cer on deck, Captain RaxExeter, waved Vil over.

“Cap, what’s up? Another drill?”“Negative, Lieutenant. A group of prisoners

somehow managed to take over one of thenew Lambda-class shuttles. They’re trying toget far enough away to make the jump to

hyperspace. That isn’t going to happen on mywatch. The ID codes and tracking will be inyour ghter’s computer. Don’t let ’em getaway, son.”

“No, sir. What about the crew?” Vil knewthe new shuttles carried only a pilot andcopilot.

“Assumed dead. These are bad guys doingthis, Dance—traitors and murderers. That’sreason enough to cook them, but we do notwant them getting away to tell anybody whatthe Empire is doing out here, do we?”

“No, sir!”“Go, Lieutenant, go!”Vil nodded, not bothering to salute, then

turned and ran. As he did, he put his helmeton and locked it into place. The hiss of air intohis face was metallic and cool as the suit’ssystem went online. It felt very comforting.The vac suit’s extreme-temp-resistant weave ofdurasteel and plastoid, along with thepolarizing densecris helmet, were the onlythings that would protect him from hard

vacuum. Suit failure could make a strong manlose consciousness in under ten seconds, anddie in under a minute. He’d seen it happen.

TIE ghters, in order to save mass, had nodefensive shield generators, no hyperdrivecapability, and no emergency life-supportsystems. They were thus fragile, but fast, andthat was ne with Vil. He’d rather dodgeenemy re than hope it would bounce o .There was no skill in piloting some lumberingchunk of durasteel; might as well be sittingwith your feet up at a turbolaser console backon the ship. Where was the fun in that?

The TIE tech had the hatch up on Black-11as Vil arrived at the gantry above the ship. Itwas the work of an instant to clamber downand into the fighter’s snug cockpit.

The hatch came down and hissed shut. Viltouched the power-up stud, and the inside ofthe TIE—named for the twin ion engines thatdrove it—lit up. He scanned the controls witha quick and experienced eye. All systems weregreen.

The tech raised his hand in question. Vilwaved back. “Go!”

“Copy that, ST-One-One. Prepare forinsertion.”

Vil felt his lips twitch in annoyance. TheEmpire was determined to erase all signs ofindividuality in its pilots, on the absurd theorythat nameless, faceless operators weresomehow more e ective. Thus theclassi cation numbers, the anonymous ightsuits and helmets, and the random rotation ofspacecraft. The standardizing approach hadworked reasonably well in the Clone Wars, butthere was one important di erence here:neither Vil nor any other TIE pilot that heknew of was a clone. None of the members ofAlpha Squad had any intention of beingreduced to automata. If that was what theEmpire really wanted, let them use droidpilots and see how well that worked.

His musing was interrupted by the small joltof the cycling rack below the gantry kickingon. Vil’s ship began to move toward the

launching bay door. He saw the tech slip hisown helmet on and lock it down.

Already the bay pumps were working fullblast, depressurizing the area. By the time thelaunch doors were open, the air would becycled. Vil took a deep breath, readyinghimself for the heavy hand of g-force thatwould push him back into the seat when theengines hurled him forward.

Launch Control’s voice crackled in hisheadphones. “Alpha Squad Leader, stand byfor launch.”

“Copy,” Vil said. The launch doors pulledback with tantalizing slowness, the hydraulicthrum of their movement made audible byconduction through the oor and Black-11’sframe.

“You are go for launch in ve, four, three,two … go!”

Outside the con nes of the Star Destroyer,the vastness of space enveloped Lieutenant VilDance as the ion engines pushed the TIE pastthe last stray wisps of frozen air and into the

in nite dark. He grinned. He always did. Hecouldn’t help it.

Back where I belong …The at blackness of space surrounded him.

Behind him, he knew, the Steel Talon wasseemingly shrinking as they pulled away fromit. “Down” and to port was the curvature of theprison planet. Though they were in polarorbit, Despayre’s axial tilt showed more of thenight side than day. The dark hemisphere wasmostly unrelieved blackness, with a few lonelylights here and there.

Vil icked his comm—though it came onautomatically at launch, a good pilot alwaystoggled it, just to be sure. “Alpha Squad,pyramid formation on me as soon as you areclear,” he said. “Go to tactical channel ve,that’s tac-fiver, and log in.”

Vil switched his own comm channel to ve.It was a lower-powered band with a shorterrange, but that was the point—you didn’t wantthe enemy overhearing you. And in somecases, it wasn’t a good idea for the comm

o cer monitoring you back on the base shipto be privy to conversations, either. Theytended to be a bit more informal than theEmpire liked.

There came a chorus of “Copy, AlphaLeader!” from the other eleven pilots in hissquad as they switched over to the newchannel.

It took only a few seconds for the last ghterto launch, and only a few more for the squadto form behind Vil.

“What’s the drill, Vil?” That from Benjo, akaST-1-2, his second in command and rightpanelman.

“Alpha Squadron, we have a Lambda-classshuttle captured by prisoners. They arerunning for hyper. Either they give up andcome back, or we dust ’em.”

“Lambda-class? That’s one of the new ones,right? They have any guns?”

Vil sighed. That was Raar Anyell, a Corellianlike Vil himself, but not somebody you’d wantto hold up as a prime example of the human

species. “Don’t you bother to read the boardsat all, Anyell?”

“I was just about to do that, sir, when thealarm went o . Was looking right at ’em. Hadthe latest notices right in my hand. Sir.”

The other pilots laughed, and even Vil hadto grin. Anyell was a foul-up everywhereexcept in the cockpit, but he was a goodenough pilot that Vil was willing to give himsome slice.

His sensor screen pinged, giving him animage of their quarry. He altered course tointercept.

“Anybody else behind on his homework,listen up,” he said. “The Lambda-class shuttleis twenty meters long, has a top speed offourteen hundred g, a Class-One hyperdrive,and can carry twenty troops in full battle gear—probably a couple more convicts in civvies.

“The ship carries three double-blastercannons and two double-laser cannons. It can’taccelerate worth a wheep and it turns slowerthan a comet, but if you get in its sights, it can

blow you to itty-bitty pieces. It would beembarrassing to have to inform your familyyou got shot apart by a shuttle, so stay alert.”

There came another chorus ofacknowledgments:

“Copy, sir.”“Yes, sir!”“No sweat.”“Anyell, I didn’t hear your response.”“Oh, sorry, sir, I was taking a little nap.

What was the question?”Before the squad commander could reply,

the shuttle suddenly loomed ahead. It wasrunning as silently as possible, with no lights,but as its orbit brought it across the terminatorand out of Despayre’s night side, the sunlightstruck rays from its hull.

“There is our target, four kilometers deadahead. I want a fast yby so they can see us,and then I want a fountain pattern dispersaland loop, two klicks minimum distance andbracket, one, four, four, and two, you knowwho you are. I’ll move in close and have a

word with whoever they have ying the stolenspacecraft.”

Benjo: “Aw, Lieutenant, come on, let us havea shot, too.”

“Negative. If you had a clue about the vessel,I might, but since you’re just as likely to shooteach other as the quarry, you’ll hold thebracket.”

More acknowledgments, but without muchenthusiasm. He couldn’t blame his squad—theyhadn’t had any action except drills since they’dbeen assigned to this project—but hissecondary goal was to bring all his men backalive. The primary, of course, was toaccomplish their mission. He didn’t need asquad for this; any ghter pilot worth his spitshould be able to deal with a lumberingshuttle, even one with the new-vehicle smellstill in it. The Lambda’s delta vee wasn’t allthat e cient, but with constant drive it couldget above the solar plane and far enough outof the planet’s gravity well to engage itshyperdrive fairly soon—and once it was in the

chute, they’d never find it.But that wasn’t going to happen.The pyramid-shaped formation zipped past

the eeing shuttle, close enough for Vil to seethe pilot sitting in the command seat. Hedidn’t look surprised, of course—he wouldhave seen them coming on the sensors. But hecouldn’t outrun them, couldn’t dodge, and noway could he take out a full squad of TIE

ghters even if he was the best gunner who’dever lived, not in that boat. And anyway, Vilwasn’t going to give him the opportunity totry.

The squad owered into the dispersalmaneuver as ordered, looping out and away totheir assigned positions, angled pressor beamsin their arrays providing maneuverability. Vilpulled a high-g tight turn and came around toparallel the shuttle a few hundred metersaway, slightly above it. He watched the wingturrets closely. As soon as they started to trackhim, he jinked to port, then to starboard,slowed, then sped up. They tried to keep up

with him, but they were a hair too slow.Vil toggled to a wide-band channel. They’d

hear this back in the Destroyer, he knew.“Attention, shuttle RLH-One. Turn the craft

around and proceed immediately to StarDestroyer Steel Talon’s tractor beam range.”

There was no answer; nothing but the slighthiss of the carrier.

“Shuttle craft, do you copy mytransmission?”

Another pause. Then: “Yeah, we hear you,rocketjock. We aren’t of a mind to do that.”

Vil looked at his control panel. They weretwo minutes away from Minimum SafeDistance—the point far enough from Despayrewhere they could safely attempt the jump tolightspeed. Jump too close to a planet’s gravitywell and the shift would tear the vessel apart.If the guy he was talking to had enough skill to

y the shuttle, he’d know that. His controlpanel would tell him when he reached MSD,and then it would be over. Lieutenant Dancewould have failed a mission, for the first time.

Never happen, he thought. “Turn it around,or we will fire,” he said.

“You’d do that? Just blow us apart?Essentially murder fteen men—and twowomen? One of them is old enough to be yourgranny. You can live with that?”

He was stalling for time, Vil knew. Thebeings on that shuttle were bad enough tohave been sent to the galaxy’s number oneprison planet, and the Imperial courts didn’tbother to do that with petty thieves or tra cviolators. His granny hadn’t robbed any banksor killed anybody. Not that he knew of,anyway.

“Shuttle pilot, I say again—”Vil saw the port turret on the shuttle open

up. He cut across the craft’s ight path, anglingaway aft as the starboard gun began ring. Hehit his thrusters full, coming up in a half loopand twisting away from the incoming laser-fire.

Even a good gunner couldn’t have spikedhim at this angle, and these guys weren’t

anywhere close to good enough. Still, thepulsed incandescent beams came close.

“Lieutenant—!” That from Benjo.“Hold your position, Alpha Squad, there’s no

problem here.” Cool and calm. Like discussingwhat they might be having for dinner.

He zipped Black-11 out of range.The clock was running down. Less than a

minute to MSD.“Last chance, shuttle. Turn it around. Now.”In answer, the pilot pulled the shuttle

topward so his gunners could get a betterangle. They started shooting again.

The shots were wild, but there was always achance a stray beam could hit you, even byaccident. And wouldn’t that be a glorious endto an unblemished career? To be killed by aconvict on a milking shuttle?

Enough of this. Vil hit the drive controls anddamped the thrust to zero. Then he pushed thethrottles to full, angled to port and topside, dida roll and loop, and came around, driving atthe shuttle amidships.

He pressed the fire-control button.Black-11 spat twin laser bolts from the low-

temp tips—blip-blip, blip-blip, blip-blip—Vil Dance was a better-than-average shooter.

The bolts ripped into the shuttle, chewed itup, and as he over ew and peeled away tostarboard-downside, the Lambda blew apart,shattering into at least half a dozen largepieces and hundreds of smaller ones amid acloud of flash-frozen air, liquid, and debris.

And pinwheeling bodies.Vil switched back to tac- ve. “Anyell, Lude,

move in and check for survivors.” He kept hisvoice calm, emotionless, no big deal. His pulsewas racing, but they didn’t have to know that.Let them think his heart pumped liquid oxy.

“None of ’em were wearing suits,Lieutenant,” Lude said a moment later. “Nosurvivors. Too bad about that brand-new ship.”

“Good hit, Vil,” Benjo said.“Congratulations.”

Vil felt a warm glow of satisfaction. It hadbeen a good hit. And they had been ring at

him, so it wasn’t like shooting yorks in acanister. It had been a righteous response.

He switched back to the main op-chan.“Fighter Control, this is ST-One-One,Lieutenant Vil Dance of TIE ghter AlphaSquadron. Mission accomplished. You mightwant to send out a recovery vessel to pick upthe pieces.”

“Copy, ST-One-One,” said Captain Exeter.“Good job.”

“Thank you, sir. Let’s return to base, AlphaSquad.”

Vil smiled as he waited for his team to formup again. This was the best job in the galaxy,being a ghter pilot. He couldn’t imagine abetter one. He was young, not even twenty- veyet, and already a legend among his peers—and among the ladies as well. Life was good.

As they started for the Destroyer, Vil saw inthe distance the frame of the gigantic battlestation that was being built in planetary orbit.They were a hundred kilometers away fromthe structure, and it was still skeletal, its

interior construction only just begun, but evenso, it looked impossibly huge at this distance.It was to be the size of a small moon when itwas nished, dwar ng the largest StarDestroyer.

Incredible to think about. And if he keptracking up missions like the one justcompleted, there was a very good chance thathe would be assigned as unit commander onboard the new station.

He led his squad back to the equatoriallaunching bay. Looking at the awe-inspiringbase, he felt a surge of pride in the Empire,and a feeling of gratitude at being a part of theTarkin Doctrine’s glorious mission. There wasno o cial appellation or designation, otherthan battle station, that he knew of for theGrand Mo ’s vision, but there was a name forit that everybody he knew, o cers andenlisted alike, used.

They called it the Death Star.

THE NEW REPUBLIC(5–25 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A NEW

HOPE)

The destruction of the second Death Star andthe death of Emperor Palpatine—the climacticconclusion of Return of the Jedi—has shakenthe Empire to its core. While the remnant ofthe loyal Imperials settles in for a long, drawn-out last stand, the victorious Rebel Allianceand its supporters found a galactic governingauthority they name the New Republic. Troopsand warships are donated to the cause, as NewRepublic military leaders forge plans to seizeImperial fortress worlds, invade the CoreWorlds, and retake Coruscant itself. Eventually,the Imperial Remnant is pushed back to asmall part of the Outer Rim, and the NewRepublic is nally able to focus on restoringjust and democratic government to the galaxy.

At last the heroes of the Rebellion are free topursue their own lives. Han and Leiamarry … but before the birth of their twins,Jacen and Jaina, the galaxy is once again tornasunder by war, as the Imperial forces—underthe control of military mastermind GrandAdmiral Thrawn—step up their campaign ofraids against the New Republic. Even afterThrawn is defeated, the Imperial forces forgeon, harrying the New Republic and Luke’snascent Jedi academy—the start of Luke’sdream to rebuild the Jedi Order from theground up. Plagues, insurrections, and roguewarlords add to the chaos and push the NewRepublic back a step for every two steps ittakes forward in its quest for peace andprosperity for all. Meanwhile, Leia becomesChief of State of the New Republic, and theSolos’ third child, a boy they name Anakin,after his grandfather, is born; Luke has metMara Jade, a secret dark side apprentice to theEmperor whom he helps bring into the light,and the two subsequently fall in love and

marry.Finally, after a series of further setbacks and

plots against the young galactic governmentand Luke’s Jedi, a peace treaty formally endsthe long con ict between the New Republicand the remnants of the Empire. The events ofthese years are the answer to thequestion … “What happened after themovies?”

If you’re a reader looking to dive into the NewRepublic era, here are three great startingpoints:

• X-Wing: Rogue Squadron, by Michael A.Stackpole: A taste of life at the edge,Rogue Squadron and the subsequent X-Wing novels bring to life Wedge Antillesand his brave, sometimes rambunctiousfellow pilots in fast-paced adventuresthat switch smoothly and easily betweenentertaining repartee and tense

battlefield action.• Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zahn: The

book that reintroduced a generation offans to Star Wars is full of the elementsthat made the movies great—spacebattles, intriguing villains, and derring-do.

• Before the Storm, by Michael P. Kube-McDowell: With a harder sci- edge toStar Wars, this novel features the classicheroes Han, Luke, and Leia, and exploreseverything from military forensics to thenature of the Force.

Read on for an excerpt from a Star Wars novelset in the New Republic era.

1

You’re good, Corran, but you’re no LukeSkywalker. Corran Horn’s cheeks still burnedat the memory of Commander Antilles’sevaluation of his last simulator exercise. Theline had been a simple comment, not meant tobe cruel nor delivered that way, but it cut deepinto Corran. I’ve never tried to suggest I’m thatgood of a pilot.

He shook his head. No, you just wanted it tobe self-evident and easily recognized byeveryone around you. Reaching out he ickedthe starter switches for the X-wing simulator’sengines. “Green One has four starts and is go.”All around him in the cockpit various switches,buttons, and monitors ashed to life. “Primaryand secondary power is at full.”

Ooryl Qrygg, his Gand wingman, reportedsimilar start-up success in a high-pitched voice.“Green Two is operational.”

Green Three and Four checked in, then theexternal screens came alive projecting anempty star eld. “Whistler, have you nishedthe navigation calculations?”

The green and white R2 unit seated behindCorran hooted, then the navdata spilled outover Corran’s main monitor. He punched abutton sending the same coordinates out to theother pilots in Green Flight. “Go to light speedand rendezvous on the Redemption.“

As Corran engaged the X-wing’s hyperdrive,the stars elongated themselves into whitecylinders, then snapped back into pinpointsand began to revolve slowly, transformingthemselves into a tunnel of white light. Corranfought the urge to use the stick to compensatefor the roll. In space, and especiallyhyperspace, up and down were relative. Howhis ship moved through hyperspace didn’treally matter—as long as it remained on thecourse Whistler had calculated and hadattained su cient velocity before enteringhyperspace, he’d arrive intact.

Flying into a black hole would actuallymake this run easier. Every pilot dreaded theRedemption run. The scenario was based onan Imperial attack on evacuation ships backbefore the rst Death Star had been destroyed.While the Redemption waited for threeMedevac shuttles and the corvette Korolev todock and o -load wounded, the Imperialfrigate Warspite danced around the system anddumped out TIE ghters and added bombersto the mix to do as much damage as theycould.

The bombers, with a full load of missiles,could do a lot of damage. All the pilots calledthe Redemption scenario by another name: theRequiem scenario. The Warspite would onlydeploy four star ghters and a half-dozenbombers—known in pilot slang as “eyeballs”and “dupes” respectively—but it would do soin a pattern that made it all but impossible forthe pilots to save the Korolev. The corvettewas just one big target, and the TIE bombershad no trouble unloading all their missiles into

it.Stellar pinpoints elongated again as the

ghter came out of hyperspace. O to the portside Corran saw the Redemption. Momentslater Whistler reported that the other ghtersand all three Medevac shuttles had arrived.The ghters checked in and the rst shuttlebegan its docking maneuver with theRedemption.

“Green One, this is Green Four.”“Go ahead, Four.”“By the book, or are we doing something

fancy?”Corran hesitated before answering. By book,

Nawara Ven had referred to the generalwisdom about the scenario. It stated that onepilot should play fleethund and race out toengage the rst TIE ight while the other three

ghters remained in close as backup. As longas three ghters stayed at home, it appeared,t h e Warspite dropped ships o at aconsiderable distance from the Korolev. Whenthey didn’t, it got bolder and the whole

scenario became very bloody.The problem with going by the book was

that it wasn’t a very good strategy. It meantone pilot had to deal with ve TIEs—twoeyeballs and three dupes—all by himself, thenturn around and engage ve more. Even withthem coming in waves, the chances of beingable to succeed against those odds were slim.

Doing it any other way was disastrous.Besides, what loyal son of Corellia ever hadany use for odds?

“By the book. Keep the home res burningand pick up after me.”

“Done. Good luck.”“Thanks.” Corran reached up with his right

hand and pressed it against the lucky charm hewore on a chain around his neck. Though hecould barely feel the coin through his glovesand the thick material of his ight suit, thefamiliar sensation of the metal resting againsthis breastbone brought a smile to his face. Itworked for you a lot, Dad, let’s hope all itsluck hasn’t run out yet.

He openly acknowledged that he’d beendepending quite a bit on luck to see himthrough the di culties of settling in with theAlliance forces. Learning the slang took somework—moving from calling TIE star ghters“eyeballs” to calling Interceptors “squints”made a certain amount of sense, but manyother terms had been born of logic thatescaped him. Everything about the Rebellionseemed odd in comparison to his previous lifeand fitting in had not been easy.

Nor will be winning this scenario.The Korolev materialized and moved toward

the Redemption, prompting Corran to beginhis nal check. He’d mulled the scenario overin his mind time and time again. In previousruns, when he served as a home guard tosomeone else’s fleethund, he’d had Whistlerrecord traces on the TIE timing patterns, ightstyles, and attack vectors. While di erentcadets ew the TIE half of the simulations, thecraft dictated their performance and a lot oftheir initial run sequence had been

preprogrammed.A sharp squawk from Whistler alerted

Corran to the Warspite’s arrival. “Great, elevenklicks aft.” Pulling the stick around to theright, Corran brought the X-wing into a wideturn. At the end of it he punched the throttleup to full power. Hitting another switch up tothe right, he locked the S-foils into attackposition. “Green One engaging.”

Rhysati’s voice came cool and strong throughthe radio. “Be all over them like drool on aHutt.”

“I’ll do my best, Green Three.” Corransmiled and waggled the X-wing as he ewback through the Alliance formation and outtoward the Warspite. Whistler announced theappearance of three TIE bombers with a lowtone, then brought the sound up as two TIEfighters joined them.

“Whistler, tag the bombers as targets one,two, and three.” As the R2 unit complied withthat order, Corran pushed shield power full tofront and brought his laser targeting program

up on the main monitor. With his left hand headjusted the sighting calibration knob on thestick and got the two ghters. Good, looks likethree klicks between the eyeballs and thebombers.

Corran’s right hand again brushed the coinbeneath his ight suit. He took a deep breath,exhaled slowly, then settled his hand on thestick and let his thumb hover over the ringbutton. At two klicks the heads-up displaypainted a yellow box around the lead TIE

ghter. The box went green as the ghter’simage locked into the HUD’s targeting crossand Whistler’s shrill bleat lled the cockpit.Corran’s thumb hit the button, sending threebursts of laser bolts at the lead fighter.

The rst set missed but the second and thirdblasted through the spherical cockpit. Thehexagonal solar panels snapped o and spunforward through space while the ion enginesexploded into an expanding ball ofincandescent gas.

Corran kicked the X-wing up in a ninety-

degree snap-roll and sliced through the centerof the explosion. Laser re from the second

ghter lit up his forward shields, making itimpossible for him to get a good visual line onthe TIE. Whistler yowled, complaining aboutbeing a target. Corran hurried a shot and knewhe hit, but the TIE ashed past and continuedon in at the Korolev.

Time to write a new chapter for the book onthe Requiem scenario. Corran throttled backalmost all the way to zero and let the X-wingdecelerate. “Whistler, bring up target one.”

The image of the rst TIE bomber lled hismonitor. Corran switched over to protontorpedo target control. The HUD changed to alarger box and Whistler began beeping as heworked supplying data to the targetingcomputer for a missile lock.

“Green One, your velocity is down to onepercent. Do you need help?”

“Negative, Green Two.”“Corran, what are you doing?”“Making the book a short story.” I hope.

The HUD went red and Whistler’s tonebecame constant. Corran punched the buttonand launched the rst missile. “Acquire targettwo.” The HUD ashed yellow, then red, andthe pilot launched the second missile.

Numbers scrolled away to zero as themissiles streaked in at their targets. Twokilometers away the rst missile hit, shreddingthe rst TIE bomber. Seconds later the secondmissile hit its target. A novalike explosion litthe simulator’s cockpit, then melted into theblackness of space.

“Acquire target three.”Even as he gave the order he knew the rate

of closure between the bomber and his shipwould make the last missile shot all butimpossible. “Cancel three.” Corran throttled upagain as the third bomber sailed past andbrought his ship around. He switched back tolaser targeting and climbed right up on thebomber’s stern.

The dupe’s pilot tried to evade him. Hejuked the double-hulled ship to the left, then

started a long turn to the right, but Corran wasof no mind to lose him. He cut his speed,which kept the bomber in front of him, thenfollowed it in its turn. As he leveled out againon its tail, he triggered two laser bursts and thetargeting computer reported hull damage.

The bomber’s right wing came up in a rolland Corran did the same thing. Had hecontinued to y level, the X-wing’s laserswould have passed on either side of thebomber’s fuselage, giving the bomber a fewseconds more of life. Keeping the bombercentered in his crosshairs, Corran hit twicemore and the bulky craft disintegrated beforehim.

Pushing his throttle to full, Corran scannedfor the ghter he’d missed. He found it twoklicks out and going in toward the Korolev. Healso found ve more TIEs coming in from theother side of the corvette, eighteen kilometersaway. Damn, the bomber took more time thanI had to give it.

He brought the torpedo targeting program

back up and locked on to the remainingghter. The HUD seemed to take forever

before it went red and acquired a lock. Corranred a missile and watched it blast through theghter, then turned his attention to the new

TIEs.“Green One, do you want us to engage?”Corran shook his head. “Negative, Two.

Warspite is still here and could dump anotheright.” He sighed. “Move to intercept theghters, but don’t go beyond a klick from the

Korolev.”“On it.”Good, they can tie the ghters up while I

dust these dupes. Corran studied thenavigational data Whistler was giving him. TheKorolev, the bombers, and his X-wing formed ashrinking triangle. If he ew directly at thebombers he would end up ying in an arc,which would take more time than he had andlet them get close enough to launch theirmissiles at the corvette. That would be lessthan useless as far as he was concerned.

“Whistler, plot me an intercept point sixklicks out from the Korolev.”

The R2 whistled blithely, as if thatcalculation was so simple even Corran shouldhave been able to do it in his head. Steeringtoward it, Corran saw he’d have just over aminute to deal with the bombers before theywere in ring range on the Korolev. Notenough time.

Flicking two switches, Corran redirectedgenerator energy from recharging his shieldsand lasers into the engines. It took theacceleration compensator a second to cycle up,so the ship’s burst of speed pushed Corranback into the padding of his command seat.This better work.

“Green One, the Warspite has hyped. Are wereleased to engage fighters?”

“A rmative, Three. Go get them.” Corranfrowned for a second, knowing his fellowpilots would make short work of the TIE

ghters. They would deny him a clean sweep,but he’d willingly trade two TIEs for the

corvette. Commander Antilles might havegotten them all himself, but then he’s got twoDeath Stars painted on the side of his X-wing.

“Whistler, mark each of the bombers four,ve, and six.” Range to intercept was three

klicks and he had added thirty seconds to hisfighting time. “Acquire four.”

The targeting computer showed him to becoming in at a forty- ve-degree angle to the

ight path of his target, which meant he wasway o target. He quickly punched thegenerator back into recharging lasers and hisshields, then pulled even more energy from hisquartet of Incom 4L4 fusial thrust engines andshunted it into recharging his weapons andshields.

The resource redirection brought his speeddown. Corran pulled back on the stick, easingthe X-wing into a turn that brought him head-on into the bombers. Tapping the stick to theleft, he centered the targeting box on the rstof the dupes.

The HUD started yellow, then quickly went

red. Corran red a missile. “Acquire ve.” TheHUD started red and Whistler’s keen echoedthrough the cockpit. The Corellian red asecond missile. “Acquire six.”

Whistler screeched.Corran looked down at his display. Scrolling

up the screen, sandwiched between the reportsof missile hits on the three bombers, he saw anotation about Green Two. “Green Two,report.”

“He’s gone, One.”“A fighter got him?”“No time to chat …” The comm call from

the Twi’lek in Green Four ended in a hiss ofstatic.

“Rhysati?”“Got one, Corran, but this last one is good.”“Hang on.”“I’ll do my best.”“Whistler, acquire six.”The R2 unit hissed. The last bomber had

already shot past the intercept point and wasbearing in on the Korolev. The pilot had the

wide-bodied craft slowly spinning, making it adi cult target for a missile lock. The Korolev,being as big as it was, would present largeenough of a target that even a rolling shipcould get a lock on it.

And once he has that lock, the Korolev is somuch space junk. Corran switched back tolasers and pushed his X-wing forward. Eventhough two klicks separated them, he triggereda couple of laser blasts. He knew his chancesof hitting were not good at that range, but thelight from the bolts would shoot past the TIEand give the pilot something to think about.And I want him thinking about me, not thatnerf-vette grazing there.

Corran redirected all power back into theengines and shot forward. Two more laserblasts caused the TIE bomber to shy a bit, butit had pushed into target-acquisition range.The ship’s roll began to slow as the pilot

xated on his target, then, as Corran broughthis lasers to bear, the bomber jinked and cutaway to port.

The Corellian’s eyes narrowed. Bror Jace hasgot to be ying that thing. He thinks it’spayback time. The other pilot, a human fromThyferra, was—in Corran’s opinion—thesecond best pilot in the training squadron. He’sgoing to kill the Korolev and I’ll never hear theend of it. Unless …

Corran pulled all his shield energy forwardand left his aft as naked as the shieldless TIEbomber. Following Jace through a barrel roll,he kept the throttle full forward. As theyleveled out again Corran triggered a snapshotat the bomber. It caught a piece of one wing,but Jace dove beneath the X-wing’s line of re.Here we go!

Corran shoved his stick forward to followthe bomber’s dive, but because his rate ofspeed was a good twenty percent faster thanthat of Jace’s ship, the X-wing moved into abroad loop. By the time Corran inverted to

nish the turn o , Jace’s bomber came backup and banked in on the X-wing’s tail.

Before the bomber could unload a missile or

two into his aft, Corran broke the ghter hardto port and carved across the bomber’s line of

re . Basic maneuver with a basic response.Without even glancing at his instruments, andpaying no attention to Whistler’s squealedwarning, Corran cut engine power back intorecharging his shields. One more second.

Jace’s response to Corran’s break had been areverse-throttle hop. By bringing the nose ofthe bomber up in a steep climb, then rollingout in the direction of the turn, Jace managedto stay inside the arc of the X-wing’s turn. Asthe bomber leveled o , it closed very quicklywith the X-wing—too quickly for a missilelock, but not a laser shot.

The TIE bomber shrieked in at the X-wing.Collision warning klaxons wailed. Corrancould feel Jace’s excitement as the X-wingloomed larger. He knew the other pilot wouldsnap o a quick shot, then come around again,angry at having overshot the X-wing, buthappy to smoke Corran before taking theKorolev.

The X-wing pilot hit a switch and shifted allshield power to the aft shields.

The de ector shield materialized as ademisphere approximately twenty metersbehind the X-wing. Designed to dissipate bothenergy and kinetic weapons, it had no troubleprotecting the ghter from the bomber’s twinlaser blasts. Had the bomber used missiles, theshields could even have handled all thedamage they could do, though that would havebeen enough to destroy the shields themselves.

The TIE bomber, which massed far morethan the missiles it carried, should havepunched through the shields and might evenhave destroyed the ghter, but it hit at anangle and glanced o . The collision did blastaway half the power of the aft shield andbounced the X-wing around, but otherwise leftthe snubfighter undamaged.

The same could not be said of theunshielded bomber. The impact with theshield was roughly equivalent to a vehiclehitting a ferrocrete wall at sixty kilometers per

hour. While that might not do a land vehiclemuch damage, land vehicles are decidedly lessdelicate than star ghters. The starboard wingcrumpled inward, wrapping itself around thebomber’s cockpit. Both pods of the shiptwisted out of alignment so the engines shot ito into an uncontrolled tumble through thesimulator’s dataspace.

“Green Three, did you copy that?”Corran got no response. “Whistler, what

happened to Three?”The R2 unit gave him a mournful tone.Sithspawn. Corran ipped the shield control

to equalize things fore and aft. “Where is he?”The image of a lone TIE ghter making a

stra ng run on the Korolev appeared onCorran’s monitor. The clumsy little craftskittered along over the corvette’s surface,easily dodging its weak return re. That’sseriously gutsy for a TIE ghter. Corran smiled.Or arrogant, and time to make him pay forthat arrogance.

The Corellian brought his proton torpedo

targeting program up and locked on to theTIE. It tried to break the lock, but turbolaser

re from the Korolev boxed it in. Corran’sHUD went red and he triggered the torpedo.“Scratch one eyeball.”

The missile shot straight in at the ghter, butthe pilot broke hard to port and away, causingthe missile to overshoot the target. Nice ying!Corran brought his X-wing over and starteddown to loop in behind the TIE, but as he didso, the TIE vanished from his forward screenand reappeared in his aft arc. Yanking the stickhard to the right and pulling it back, Corranwrestled the X-wing up and to starboard, theninverted and rolled out to the left.

A laser shot jolted a tremor through thesimulator’s couch. Lucky thing I had all shieldsaft! Corran reinforced them with energy fromhis lasers, then evened them out fore and aft.Jinking the ghter right and left, he avoidedlaser shots coming in from behind, but they allcame in far closer than he liked.

He knew Jace had been in the bomber, and

Jace was the only pilot in the unit who couldhave stayed with him. Except for our leader.Corran smiled broadly. Coming to see howgood I really am, Commander Antilles? Let megive you a clinic. “Make sure you’re in theresolid, Whistler, because we’re going for a littleride.”

Corran refused to let the R2’s moan slowhim down. A snap-roll brought the X-wing upon its port wing. Pulling back on the stickyanked the ghter’s nose up away from theoriginal line of flight. The TIE stayed with him,then tightened up on the arc to close distance.Corran then rolled another ninety degrees andcontinued the turn into a dive. Throttling back,Corran hung in the dive for three seconds, thenhauled back hard on the stick and cruised upinto the TIE fighter’s aft.

The X-wing’s laser re missed wide to theright as the TIE cut to the left. Corran kickedhis speed up to full and broke with the TIE.He let the X-wing rise above the plane of thebreak, then put the ghter through a twisting

roll that ate up enough time to bring himagain into the TIE’s rear. The TIE snapped tothe right and Corran looped out left.

He watched the tracking display as thedistance between them grew to be a kilometerand a half, then slowed. Fine, you want to gonose to nose? I’ve got shields and you don’t. IfCommander Antilles wanted to commit virtualsuicide, Corran was happy to oblige him. Hetugged the stick back to his sternum and rolledout in an inversion loop. Coming at you!

The two star ghters closed swiftly. Corrancentered his foe in the crosshairs and waitedfor a dead shot. Without shields the TIE ghterwould die with one burst, and Corran wantedthe kill to be clean. His HUD icked green asthe TIE juked in and out of the center, thenlocked green as they closed.

The TIE started ring at maximum rangeand scored hits. At that distance the lasers didno real damage against the shields, promptingCorran to wonder why Wedge was wasting theenergy. Then, as the HUD’s green color started

to icker, realization dawned. The brightbursts on the shields are a distraction to mytargeting! I better kill him now!

Corran tightened down on the trigger button,sending red laser needles stabbing out at theclosing TIE ghter. He couldn’t tell if he hadhit anything. Lights ashed in the cockpit andWhistler started screeching furiously. Corran’smain monitor went black, his shields weredown, and his weapons controls were dead.

The pilot looked left and right. “Where ishe, Whistler?”

The monitor in front of him ickered to lifeand a diagnostic report began to scroll by.Bloodred bordered the damage reports.“Scanners, out; lasers, out; shields, out; engine,out! I’m a wallowing Hutt just hanging here inspace.”

With the X-wing’s scanners being dead, theR2 droid couldn’t locate the TIE ghter if itwas outside the droid’s scanner range. Whistlerinformed Corran of this with an anxious bleat.

“Easy, Whistler, get me my shields back rst.

Hurry.” Corran continued to look around forthe TIE ghter. Letting me stew, are you, sir?You’ll nish the Korolev then come for me.The pilot frowned and felt a cold chill rundown his spine. You’re right, I’m no LukeSkywalker. I’m glad you think I’m not bad, butI want to be the best!

Suddenly the star eld went black and thesimulator pod hissed as it cracked open. Thecanopy lifted up and the sound of laughter

lled the cockpit. Corran almost icked theblast shield down on his helmet to prevent histhree friends from seeing his embarrassedb l u s h . Nope, might as well take mypunishment. He stood and do ed his helmet,then shook his head. “At least it’s over.”

The Twi’lek, Nawara Ven, clapped hishands. “Such modesty, Corran.”

“Huh?”The blond woman next to the Twi’lek

beamed up at him. “You won the Redemptionscenario.”

“What?”

The grey-green Gand nodded his head andplaced his helmet on the nose of Corran’ssimulator. “You had nine kills. Jace is notpleased.”

“Thanks for the good news, Ooryl, but I stillgot killed in there.” Corran hopped out of thesimulator. “The pilot who got you three—Commander Antilles—he got me, too.”

The Twi’lek shrugged. “He’s been at this abit longer than I have, so it is not a surprise hegot me.”

Rhysati shook her head, letting her goldenhair drape down over her shoulders. “Thesurprise was that he took so long to get us,really. Are you certain he killed you?”

Corran frowned. “I don’t think I got amission end message.”

“Clearly you have too little experience ofdying in these simulators because you’d knowif you did.” Rhysati laughed lightly. “He mayhave hit you, Corran, but he didn’t kill you.You survived and won.”

Corran blinked, then smiled. “And I got Bror

before he got the Korolev. I’ll take that.”“As well you should.” A brown-haired man

with crystal blue eyes shouldered his waybetween Ooryl and Nawara. “You’re anexceptionally good pilot.”

“Thank you, sir.”The man o ered Corran his hand. “Thought

I had you, but when you shot out my engines,your missile caught up with me. Nice job.”

Corran shook the man’s hand hesitantly. Theman wore a black ight suit with no name orrank insignia on it, though it did have Hoth,Endor, and Bakura battle tabs sewn on the leftsleeve. “You know, you’re one hot hand in aTIE.”

“Nice of you to say, Mr. Horn—I’m a bitrusty, but I really enjoyed this run.” Hereleased Corran’s hand. “Next time I’ll give youmore of a fight.”

A woman wearing a Lieutenant’s uniformtouched the TIE pilot on the arm. “AdmiralAckbar is ready to see you now, sir. If you willfollow me.”

The TIE pilot nodded to the four X-wingpilots. “Good flying, all of you. Congratulationson winning the scenario.”

Corran stared at the man’s retreating back. “Ithought Commander Antilles was in that TIE. Imean it had to be someone as good as him toget you three.”

The ends of Nawara Ven’s head tailstwitched. “Apparently he is that good.”

Rhysati nodded. “He ew circles aroundme.”

“At least you saw him.” The Gand drummedhis trio of ngers against the hull of Corran’ssimulator. “He caught Ooryl as Ooryl xed onhis wingman. Ooryl is free hydrogen insimspace. That man is very good.”

“Sure, but who is he?” Corran frowned.“He’s not Luke Skywalker, obviously, but hewas with Rogue Squadron at Bakura andsurvived Endor.”

The Twi’lek’s red eyes sparked. “The Endortab had a black dot in the middle—he survivedthe Death Star run.”

Rhysati looped her right arm aroundCorran’s neck and brought her st up gentlyunder his chin. “What di erence does it makewho he is?”

“Rhys, he shot up three of our best pilots,had me dead in space, and says he’s a bit rusty!I want to know who he is because he’sdecidedly dangerous.”

“He is that, but today he’s not the mostdangerous pilot. That’s you.” She linked herother arm through Nawara’s right elbow. “So,Corran, you forget you were a Security o cerand, Nawara, you forget you were a lawyerand let this thing drop. Today we’re all pilots,we’re all on the same side”—she smiledsweetly—“and the man who beat theRedemption scenario is about to make goodon all those dinner and drink promises hemade to talk his wingmates into helping himwin.”

THE NEW JEDI ORDER(25–40 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A NEW

HOPE)

A quarter century after A New Hope and thedestruction of the Death Star, the galaxy is freeof wide-scale con icts—but the New Republicmust contend with many regional brush res.And Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Order faces its owngrowing pains: Some New Republic o cialswant to rein in the Jedi, leading Luke towonder if the Jedi Council should be restored.

On the planet Rhommamool, Leia OrganaSolo, Mara Jade Skywalker, and Jaina Solomeet with a mysterious rabble-rouser namedNom Anor. Anor rejects Leia’s diplomaticentreaties, but she’s more disturbed by whatshe nds when she reaches out to him in theForce: nothing. It’s as if he isn’t there.

Anor is a secret agent of the Yuuzhan Vong,

powerful warriors from another galaxy whoregard technology as blasphemous, relying onbiological constructs to serve as their starships,weapons, and communicators. Long ago, adevastating war destroyed much of theYuuzhan Vong’s galaxy and cut them o fromthe Force, sending their clans across theintergalactic void in search of a new home.Now they are at the edge of the Star Warsgalaxy, ready to invade.

As head of the New Jedi Order, Luke iscentral to the galaxy’s defense; Leia’s skills as aformer Chief of State and respected politicaladviser are also called on. The ve-year warshakes the galaxy to its foundations.Technologically advanced worlds within theYuuzhan Vong invasion corridor are subjectedto the newcomers’ biotechnology and alteredinto strange hybrids combining what they hadbeen with the new Yuuzhan Vong ecosystem.Entire species are enslaved—or eradicated. TheNew Republic is ill prepared to meet theextragalactic threat, with regional rivalries,

political dissension, and concern over theImperial Remnant limiting the e ectiveness ofits military response. Wrangling in the Senatesnarls the war plans, as do disagreementsbetween planetary eets and armies, whileassassination and war thin the ranks of theNew Republic’s leaders. O cers and pilotswho battled for so long against the Empire,such as Admiral Ackbar and Wedge Antilles,work feverishly to gure out how tooutmaneuver their new enemies.

The invasion sorely challenges the Jedi, aswell. Some take it upon themselves to meetthe Yuuzhan Vong threat head-on, disdainingfoot-dragging by politicians—and some ofthose skirt the dark side of the Force, giving into their anger and fear as the Yuuzhan Vongruin worlds and lives. The Yuuzhan Vongcome to recognize the Jedi as the biggestthreat to their plans, and begin hunting themdown using New Republic traitors andbioengineered killers. At the forefront of thewar against the Jedi are the Solo children—

now teenagers and Jedi Knights in their ownright. By the time the war is over, the Solofamily will never be the same again.

The other heroes of the Rebellion, too, facepersonal struggles and tragedies. Luke fears forthe life of his wife, Mara—infected with aYuuzhan Vong–engineered disease—and forthat of his newborn son, Ben, hunted by theJedi’s enemies. Han and Leia’s losses are evenharder to bear, as their oldest friends andchildren risk everything to stop the YuuzhanVong.

If you’re a reader looking to explore the epictale of the Yuuzhan Vong war and the era ofLuke’s New Jedi Order, the best place to startis with the first book in the series:

•The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime, by R.A. Salvatore: The rst novel in the seriesintroduces the pitiless Yuuzhan Vong andimmediately makes clear that the heroes

of the Rebellion are in mortal danger.

Read on for an excerpt from a Star Wars novelset in the New Jedi Order era.

ONEFraying Fabric

It was too peaceful out here, surrounded bythe vacuum of space and with only thecontinual hum of the twin ion drives breakingthe silence. While she loved these moments ofpeace, Leia Organa Solo also viewed them asan emotional trap, for she had been aroundlong enough to understand the turmoil shewould find at the end of this ride.

Like the end of every ride, lately.Leia paused a moment before she entered

the bridge of the Jade Sabre, the new shuttleher brother, Luke, had built for his wife, MaraJade. Before her, and apparently oblivious toher, Mara and Jaina sat comfortably, side byside at the controls, talking and smiling. Leiafocused on her daughter, Jaina, sixteen yearsold, but with the mature and calm demeanor

of a veteran pilot. Jaina looked a lot like Leia,with long dark hair and brown eyescontrasting sharply with her smooth andcreamy skin. Indeed, Leia saw much of herselfin the girl—no, not girl, Leia corrected herown thoughts, but young woman. That samesparkle behind the brown eyes, mischievous,adventurous, determined.

That notion set Leia back a bit, for sherecognized then that when she looked at Jaina,she was seeing not a re ection of herself butan image of the girl she had once been. Atwinge of sadness caught her as she consideredher own life now: a diplomat, a bureaucrat, amediator, always trying to calm things down,always working for the peace and prosperityof the New Republic. Did she miss the dayswhen the most common noise around her hadbeen the sharp blare of a blaster or the hiss ofa lightsaber? Was she sorry that those wildtimes had been replaced by the droning of theion drives and the sharp bickering of onepride-wounded emissary after another?

Perhaps, Leia had to admit, but in looking atJaina and those simmering dark eyes, shecould take vicarious pleasure.

Another twinge—jealousy?—caught her bysurprise, as Mara and Jaina erupted intolaughter over some joke Leia had notoverheard. But she pushed the absurd notionfar from her mind as she considered her sister-in-law, Luke’s wife and Jaina’s tutor—atJaina’s own request—in the ways of the Jedi.Mara was not a substitute mother for Jaina,but rather a big sister, and when Leiaconsidered the res that constantly burned inMara’s green eyes, she understood that thewoman could give to Jaina things that Leiacould not, and that those lessons and thatfriendship would prove valuable indeed to herdaughter. And so she forced aside her jealousyand was merely glad that Jaina had found sucha friend.

She started onto the bridge, but pausedagain, sensing movement behind her. Sheknew before looking that it was Bolpuhr, her

Noghri bodyguard, and barely gave him aglance as he glided to the side, moving soeasily and gracefully that he reminded her of alace curtain drifting lazily in a gentle breeze.She had accepted young Bolpuhr as hershadow for just that reason, for he was asunobtrusive as any bodyguard could be. Leiamarveled at the young Noghri, at how hisgrace and silence covered a perfectly deadlyfighting ability.

She held up her hand, indicating thatBolpuhr should remain out here, and thoughhis usually emotionless face did ash Leia aquick expression of disappointment, she knewhe would obey. Bolpuhr, and all the Noghri,would do anything Leia asked of them. Hewould jump o a cli or dive into the hot endof an ion engine for her, and the only time sheever saw any sign of discontentment with herorders was when Bolpuhr thought she mightbe placing him in a di cult position toproperly defend her.

As he was thinking now, Leia understood,

though why in the world Bolpuhr would fearfor her safety on her sister-in-law’s privateshuttle was beyond her. Sometimes dedicationcould be taken a bit too far.

With a nod to Bolpuhr, she turned back tothe bridge and crossed through the opendoorway. “How much longer?” she asked, andwas amused to see both Jaina and Mara jumpin surprise at her sudden appearance.

In answer, Jaina increased the magni cationon the forward screen, and instead of theunremarkable dots of light, there appeared animage of two planets, one mostly blue andwhite, the other reddish in hue, seemingly soclose together that Leia wondered how it wasthat the blue-and-white one, the larger of thepair, had not grasped the other in its gravityand turned it into a moon. Parked halfwaybetween them, perhaps a half a millionkilometers from either, deck lights glittering inthe shadows of the blue-and-white planet,loomed a Mon Calamari battle cruiser, theMediator, one of the newest ships in the New

Republic fleet.“They’re at their closest,” Mara observed,

referring to the planets.“I beg your indulgence,” came a melodic

voice from the doorway, and the protocoldroid C-3PO walked into the room. “But I donot believe that is correct.”

“Close enough,” Mara said. She turned toJaina. “Both Rhommamool and Osarian areground based, technologically—”

“Rhommamool almost exclusively so!” C-3PO quickly added, drawing a scowl from allthree of the women. Oblivious, he rambled on.“Even Osarian’s eet must be consideredmarginal, at best. Unless, of course, one isusing the Pantang Scale of Aero-technoAdvancement, which counts even a simplelandspeeder as highly as it would a StarDestroyer. Perfectly ridiculous scale.”

“Thank you, Threepio,” Leia said, her toneindicating that she had heard more thanenough.

“They’ve both got missiles that can hit each

other from this close distance, though,” Maracontinued.

“Oh, yes!” the droid exclaimed. “And giventhe proximity of their relative elliptical orbits—”

“Thank you, Threepio,” Leia said.“—they will remain within striking distance

for some time,” C-3PO continued withoutmissing a beat. “Months, at least. In fact, theywill be even closer in two standard weeks, theclosest they will be to each other for a decadeto come.”

“Thank you, Threepio!” Mara and Leia saidtogether.

“And the closest they have been for a decadeprevious,” the droid had to slip in, as thewomen turned back to their conversation.

Mara shook her head, trying to rememberher original point to Jaina. “That’s why yourmother chose to come out now.”

“You’re expecting a ght?” Jaina asked, andneither Leia nor Mara missed the sparkle inher eye.

“The Mediator will keep them behaving,”Leia said hopefully. Indeed, the battle cruiserwas an impressive warship, an updated andmore heavily armed and armored version ofthe Mon Calamari star cruiser.

Mara looked back to the screen and shookher head, unconvinced. “It’ll take more than ashow of force to stop this catastrophe,” shereplied.

“Indeed, it has been escalating, by allreports,” C-3PO piped up. “It started as asimple mining dispute over mineral rights, butnow the rhetoric is more appropriate for somekind of a holy crusade.”

“It’s the leader on Rhommamool,” Mararemarked. “Nom Anor. He’s reached down andgrabbed his followers by their most basicinstincts, weaving the dispute against Osarianinto a more general matter of tyranny andoppression. Don’t underestimate him.”

“I can’t begin to give you a full list of tyrantslike Nom Anor that I’ve dealt with,” Leia saidwith a resigned shrug.

“I have that very list available,” C-3POblurted. “Tonkoss Rathba of—”

“Thank you, Threepio,” Leia said, toopolitely.

“Why, of course, Princess Leia,” the droidreplied. “I do so like to be of service. Nowwhere was I? Oh, yes. Tonkoss Rathba of—”

“Not now, Threepio,” Leia insisted, then toMara, she added, “I’ve seen his type often.”

“Not like him,” Mara replied, somewhatsoftly, and the sudden weakness in her voicereminded Leia and Jaina that Mara, despiteher nearly constant bravado andoverabundance of energy, was seriously ill,with a strange and thankfully rare disease thathad killed dozens of others and against whichthe best doctors in the New Republic hadproven completely helpless. Of those who hadcontracted the molecular disorder, only Maraand one other remained alive, and that otherperson, being studied intently on Coruscant,was fast dying.

“Daluba,” C-3PO went on. “And of course,

there was Icknya—”Leia started to turn to the droid, hoping to

politely but rmly shut him up, but Jaina’s crystopped her abruptly and swung her back toface the screen.

“Incoming ships!” Jaina announced, hervoice full of surprise. The telltale blips hadappeared on her sensor viewer as if fromnowhere.

“Four of them,” Mara con rmed. Even as shespoke, the warning buzzers began to go o .“From Osarian.” She turned her curiousexpression up to Leia. “They know who weare?”

Leia nodded. “And they know why I’vecome.”

“Then they should know to leave us alone,”Jaina reasoned.

Leia nodded again, but understood better.She had come to the system not to meet withthe Osarians—not at rst, at least—but withtheir principal rival, Nom Anor, the cult gurestirring up trouble on Rhommamool. “Tell

them to back off,” she instructed Mara.“Politely?” Mara asked, smiling, and with

that dangerous twinkle in her eyes.“New Republic shuttle,” a halting voice

crackled over the comm. “This is CaptainGrappa of Osarian First-Force.”

With a ick of a switch, Mara put an imageof the captain on the viewscreen, and Leiasighed as the green skin, spiny head ridge, andtapirlike snout came into view.

“Wonderful,” she remarked sarcastically.“The Osarians have hired Rodians?” Jaina

asked.“Nothing like a few mercenaries to quiet

things down,” Leia replied dryly.“Oh, dear me,” C-3PO remarked, and he

shuffled aside nervously.“You come with us,” Grappa insisted, his

multifaceted eyes sparkling eagerly. “To Osa-Prime.”

“Seems the Osarians want to talk with youfirst,” Mara said.

“They’re afraid that my meeting with Nom

Anor will only heighten his stature, bothamong the Rhommamoolians and throughoutthe sector,” Leia reasoned, a notion notwithout credence, and one that she haddebated endlessly before making the decisionto come here.

“Whatever the reason, they’re closing fast,”Mara replied. Both she and Jaina looked toLeia for instructions, for while the Jade Sabrewas Mara’s ship, this was Leia’s mission.

“Princess Leia?” an obviously alarmed C-3PO asked.

Leia sat down in the chair behind Mara,intently studying the screen, which Jaina hadswitched back to a normal space view. Thefour approaching fighters were clearly visible.

“Lose them,” she said determinedly, arequest that neither of the pilots needed tohear twice. Indeed, Mara had been eager toput the shuttle, with its powerful twin enginesand state-of-the-art maneuvering systems,through a real test.

Green eyes sparkling, smile wide, Mara

reached for the controls, but then retracted herhands and put them on her lap. “You heardher, Jaina,” she said.

Jaina’s mouth dropped open; so did Leia’s.“You mean it?” Jaina asked.Mara’s only reply was an almost bored

expression, along with a slight yawn, as if thiswhole thing was no big deal, and certainlynothing that Jaina couldn’t easily handle.

“Yes!” Jaina whispered, clenching her sts,wearing a smile nearly wide enough to take inher ears. She rubbed her hands together, thenreached out to the right, rolling her ngersover the oating-ball control of the inertialcompensator. “Strap in,” she ordered, and shedialed it down to 95 percent, as ghter pilotsoften did so that they could gain a tactile feelto the movements of their ships. Reading theg’s, Jaina had heard it called, and she alwayspreferred ying that way, where fast turns andmighty acceleration could push her back in herseat.

“Not too much,” Leia said with concern.

But her daughter was in her element now,Leia knew, and she’d push the shuttle to itslimits. Leia felt the lean as Jaina veered right,angling away from the approaching ships.

“If you run, we shoot you down!” came theuneven voice of Grappa.

“Z-95 Headhunters,” Mara said derisively ofthe closing craft, an antiquated star ghter, andshe ipped o the comm switch and lookedback at Leia. “Can’t shoot what you can’tcatch,” she explained. “Kick them in,” sheadded to Jaina, motioning to the primarythrusters, thinking that a burst of the powerfulengines would shoot the Jade Sabre right pastthe befuddled Rodians and their outdatedstarfighters.

Even as she spoke, though, two more blipsappeared on the sensors, streaking out fromthe shadows around Rhommamool, anglingright in line with the Jade Sabre.

“Mara,” Leia said with concern. At that,Mara did reach for the controls. But only for amoment, and then she looked Jaina right in

the eye and nodded for the young woman toproceed.

Leia lurched forward in her seat, held backonly by the belt, as Jaina reversed throttle andkicked the etheric rudder right. There came ametallic thump behind them—C-3PO hittingthe wall, Leia guessed.

Even as the Jade Sabre came to a suddenhalt, nose turned starboard, Jaina pumped itout to full throttle and kicked the rudder backto the left, then hard right, shtailing the shipabout in a brutal one-eighty, then working therudder hard and somewhat choppy instraightening out her direct retreat. As theyturned, a laser cannon blast cut across theirbow.

“All right, the rst four are on our tail,”Mara instructed calmly. The Jade Sabre jolted,hit aft, a blow the shields easily held back.

“Try a—” Mara started to say, but she lostthe words, and nearly her lunch, as Jainapulled a snap roll right, and then another rightbehind it.

“Oh, we’ll be killed!” came C-3PO’s cry fromthe doorway, and Leia managed to turn herhead to see the droid leaning in against themetal jamb, and then to see him y away,with a pitiful cry, as Jaina kicked the ethericrudder again, putting the ship into anothersudden fishtail.

A pair of Headhunters streaked past theviewscreen, but just for a split second, forJaina vectored away at a di erent angle, andat single-engine full throttle, pressing Leiaback in her seat. Leia wanted to say somethingto Jaina then, some words of encouragementor advice, but found her words stuck in herthroat. And not for any g forces.

It was the sight of Jaina, the re in herbrown eyes, the determined set of her jaw, thesheer concentration. At that moment, Leiaknew.

Her daughter was a woman now, and withall the grit of her father and mother combined.

Mara glanced over her right shoulder,between Jaina and Leia, and both followed

her lead long enough to see that two of theinitial four had altered course accordingly andwere fast closing, laser cannons blasting away.

“Hold on,” a con dent Jaina warned, andshe pulled back the stick, lifting the JadeSabre’s nose, then shoved it forward, droppingthe shuttle into a sudden, inverted loop.

“We’re doomed!” C-3PO cried from thehallway—the hallway ceiling, Leia knew.

Halfway around, Jaina broke the loop witha snap roll, then kicked her into a shtail anda barrel roll, bringing her about to nearly theiroriginal course, but with the initial four behindthem. Now she did kick in both ion drives, asif to use sheer speed to split the gap betweenthe two incoming fighters.

Both angled out suddenly, then turned backin, widening that escape route but giving thema longer shooting angle at the shuttle, and aneasier turn to pursue.

“They’re good,” Mara warned, but, like Leia,she found her words lost in her throat, asJaina, teeth gritted to ght back the g’s,

reversed throttle.“Princess—” The plaintive cry from the

corridor ended abruptly in a loud crash.“Coming in hot!” Mara cried, noting the

fighter fast approaching to port.Jaina didn’t, couldn’t even hear her; she had

turned inward now, was feeling the Forcecoursing through her, was registering everymovement of her enemies and reactinginstinctively, playing the game three movesahead. Before Mara had even begun to speak,Jaina had hit the forward attitude adjustmentjets, lifting the nose, then she pumped thethrottle and kicked the rudder, lifting the JadeSabre and bringing her nose about tostarboard, to directly face the other incomingHeadhunter.

And that eager Rodian did come in at them,and hard, and the Jade Sabre’s defensive arrayscreeched and lit up, warning of a lock-on.

“Jaina!” Leia cried.“He’s got us!” Mara added.But then the closer ship, coming from port,

passed right under the Jade Sabre, and Jainared the repulsorlifts, bouncing the Jade Sabre

up and sending the poor Headhunter into awild, spinning roll.

The closing ship from starboard let y itsconcussion missile, but it, and the Headhunter,zipped right underneath the elevated JadeSabre.

Before the three women could even begin tocatch their breath, another ship streaked in, anX-wing, the new XJ version of the star ghter,its own laser cannons blasting away from itswingtips. Not at the Jade Sabre, though, but atthe Headhunter that had just gone past.

“Who is that?” Leia asked, and Jaina,equally curious, brought the Jade Sabre abouthard.

The Headhunter snap-rolled left and dived,but the far superior X-wing stayed on her,lasers scoring hit after hit, depleting her shieldsand then blasting her apart into a millionpieces.

“A Jedi,” Mara and Jaina said together, and

Leia, when she paused to collect the Forcesensations about her, concurred.

“Fast to the Mediator,” Leia instructed herdaughter, and Jaina swung the Jade Sabreabout yet again.

“I didn’t know there were any Jedi in thesector,” Leia said to Mara, who could onlyshrug, equally at a loss.

“Another one’s out,” Jaina informed them,watching the blips on her sensor screen. “Andtwo others are vectoring away.”

“They want no part of a Jedi showing awillingness to shoot back,” Mara remarked.

“Maybe Rodians are smarter than I thought,”Leia said dryly. “Smooth it out,” she instructedher daughter, unbuckling and climbingunsteadily to her feet.

Jaina reluctantly dialed the inertialcompensator back to full.

“Only one pursuing,” Jaina informed themas Leia made her way to the door.

“The X-wing,” Mara added, and Leianodded.

In the hallway outside the bridge, Leia foundC-3PO inverted and against the wall, his feetsticking up in the air, his head crunchedforward so that his chin was tight against hischest.

“You have to learn to hold on,” Leia said tohim, helping him upright. She glanced acrossthe way to Bolpuhr as she spoke, to nd theNoghri still standing calmly in the exact spotshe had assigned him.

Somehow, she wasn’t amazed.Jaina took the Jade Sabre at a swift but

steady pace toward the distant Mediator. Shechecked often for pursuit, but it quicklybecame obvious that the Rodians in theiroutdated Headhunters wanted no part of thisfight.

Leia rejoined them a short while later, tond Jaina in complete control and Mara

resting back in her seat, eyes closed. Evenwhen Jaina asked her aunt a question aboutdocking procedures, the woman didn’trespond, didn’t even open her eyes.

“They’ll guide you in,” Leia interjected, andsure enough, a voice from the Mediatorcrackled over the opened comm, givingexplicit directions for entry vector.

Jaina took her in, and Jaina took her down,easily—and after the display of ying she hadjust given them out with the Headhunters, Leiawasn’t the least bit surprised by her ability toso smoothly tight-dock a ship as large as theJade Sabre.

That nal shudder as Jaina eased o therepulsorlifts and settled the shuttle onto thedocking bay oor stirred Mara from her rest.She opened her eyes and, seeing where theywere, rose quickly.

And then she swayed and seemed as if shewould fall.

Leia and Jaina were there in an instant,catching and steadying her.

She regained her balance and took a deepbreath. “Maybe next time you can dial downthe inertial compensator to ninety-seveninstead of ninety- ve,” she said jokingly,

straining a smile.Jaina laughed, but Leia’s face showed her

deep concern. “Are you all right?” she asked.Mara eyed her directly.“Perhaps we should nd a place where you

can rest,” Leia said.“Where we all can rest,” Mara corrected, and

her tone told Leia to back o , a reminder thatLeia was intruding on a private place for Mara,a place she had explicitly instructed all of herfriends, even her husband, not to go. Thisdisease was Mara’s ght alone, to Mara’sthinking, a battle that had forced her toreconsider everything she thought about herlife, past, present, and future, and everythingshe thought about death.

Leia held her stare for a moment longer, butreplaced her own concerned expression withone of acceptance. Mara did not want to becoddled or cuddled. She was determined tolive on in an existence that did not name herdisease as the most pressing and importantfacet of her entire life, to live on as she had

before, with the illness being relegated to theposition of nuisance, and nothing more.

Of course, Leia understood it to be muchmore than that, an internal churning thatrequired Mara to spend hours and tremendousForce energy merely holding it in check. Butthat was Mara’s business.

“I hope to meet with Nom Anor tomorrow,”Leia explained, as the three, with C-3PO andBolpuhr in tow, headed for the lower hatch,then moved down to the landing bay. Acontingent of New Republic Honor Guardstood waiting there, along with CommanderAckdool, a Mon Calamarian with large,probing eyes, a shlike face, and salmon-colored skin. “By all reports, we should all berested before dealing with him.”

“Believe those reports,” Mara said.“And rst, it seems I get to meet with our

savior Jedi,” Leia added dryly, looking backbehind the Jade Sabre to see the X-winggliding in to rest.

“Wurth Skidder,” Jaina remarked,

recognizing the markings under the canopy onthe starfighter.

“Why am I not surprised?” Leia asked, andshe blew a sigh.

Ackdool came over to them, then, andextended his formal greetings to thedistinguished guests, but Leia’s reaction set himback on his heels—indeed, it raised more thana few eyebrows among the members of theMediator’s Honor Guard.

“Why did you send him out?” Leia snapped,motioning toward the docking X-wing.

Commander Ackdool started to answer, butLeia continued. “If we had needed assistance,we would have called for it.”

“Of course, Princess Leia,” CommanderAckdool said with a polite bow.

“They why send him out?”“Why do you assume that Wurth Skidder

ew out at my command?” the coolCommander Ackdool dared to respond. “Whywould you assume that Wurth Skidder heedsany order I might give?”

“Couple o’ ridge-head parachutes oatingover Osarian, if those Rodians had any luck,”came the singsong voice of Wurth Skidder. Thecocky young man was fast approaching,pulling o his helmet and giving his shock ofblond hair a tousle as he walked.

Leia stepped out to intercept him and tookanother quick step for no better reason than tomake the Jedi stop short. “Wurth Skidder,” shesaid.

“Princess,” the man replied with a bow.“Did you have a little fun out there?”“More than a little,” the Jedi said with a

wide grin and a sni e—and he always seemedto be sni ing, and his hair always looked as ifhe had just walked in from a Tatooinesandstorm. “Fun for me, I mean, and not forthe Rodians.”

“And the cost of your fun?” Leia asked.That took the smile from Wurth Skidder’s

face, and he looked at Leia curiously,obviously not understanding.

“The cost,” Leia explained. “What did your

little excursion cost?”“A couple of proton torpedos,” Wurth

replied with a shrug. “A little fuel.”“And a year of diplomatic missions to calm

down the Osarians,” Leia retorted.“But they shot first,” Wurth protested.“Do you even understand that your stupidity

likely escalated an already impossiblesituation?” Leia’s voice was as rm and cold asanyone present had ever heard it. So cold, infact, that the always overprotective Bolpuhr,fearing trouble, glided closer to her, hangingback just behind her left shoulder, within faststriking distance of the Jedi.

“They were attacking you,” Wurth Skidderretorted. “Six of them!”

“They were trying to bring us down toOsarian,” Leia harshly explained. “A not-so-unexpected response, given my announcedintentions here. And so we planned to avoidthem. Avoid! Do you understand that word?”

Wurth Skidder said nothing.“Avoid them and thus cause no further

problems or hard feelings,” Leia went on.“And so we would have, and we would haveasked for no explanations from Shunta OsarianDharrg, all of us pretending that nothing hadever happened.”

“But—”“And our graciousness in not mentioning this

unfortunate incident would have bought methe bargaining capital I need to bring somekind of conciliation from Osarian towardRhommamool,” Leia continued, anger creepingin thicker with each word. “But now we can’tdo that, can we? Now, so that Wurth Skiddercould paint another skull on the side of his X-wing, I’ll have to deal with an incident.”

“They shot rst,” Wurth Skidder reiteratedwhen it became apparent that Leia was done.

“And better that they had shot last,” Leiareplied. “And if Shunta Osarian Dharrgdemands reparations, we’ll agree, with allapologies, and any monies to be paid willcome from Wurth Skidder’s private funds.”

The Jedi squared his shoulders at the

suggestion, but then Leia hit him with asudden and devastating shot. “My brother willsee to it.”

Wurth Skidder bowed again, glared at Leiaand all around, then turned on his heel andwalked briskly away.

“My apologies, Princess Leia,” Ackdool said.“But I have no real authority over JediSkidder. I had thought it a blessing when hearrived two weeks ago. His Jedi skills shouldcertainly come in handy against any terroristattempts—and we have heard rumors of many—against the Mediator.”

“And you are indeed within striking distanceof surface missiles,” C-3PO added, but hestopped short, this time catching on to themany disapproving looks that came his way.

“I did not know that Jedi Skidder wouldprove so …” Ackdool paused, searching for theright word. “Intractable.”

“Stubborn, you mean,” Leia said. As they allstarted away, Leia did manage a bit of a smilewhen she heard Mara behind her tell Jaina,

“Maybe Nom Anor has met his match.”C-9PO, a protocol droid, its copper coloring

tinged red from the constantly blowing dusts ofRhommamool, skittered down an alley to theside of the main avenue of Redhaven andpeeked out cautiously at the tumult beyond.The fanatical followers of Nom Anor, the RedKnights of Life, had gone on the rampageagain, riding throughout the city in anapparent purge of landspeeders on theirtutakans, eight-legged lizards with enormoustusks that climbed right up past their blackeyes and curled in like white eyebrows.

“Ride the beasts given by Life!” one RedKnight screamed at a poor civilian as thewrinkled Dressellian merchant was draggedfrom the cockpit and punched and pushed tothe ground.

“Perversion!” several other Red Knights criedin unison. “Life-pretender!” And they set uponthe landspeeder with their tubal-ironpummelstaves, smashing the windshield,bashing in the side moldings, crushing the

steering wheel and other controls, evenknocking one of the rear drive’s cylindricalengines from its mounts.

Satis ed that the craft was wrecked beyondrepair, they pulled the Dressellian to his feetand shoved him to and fro, warning him toride creatures, not machines—or, better still, touse the legs that nature had provided andwalk. Then they beat him back down to theground and moved on, some climbing backatop the tutakans, others running beside.

The landspeeder continued to hover, thoughit had only a couple of repulsors still ring. Itlooked more like a twisted lump of beatenmetal than a vehicle, tilting to one sidebecause of the unequal weight distribution andthe weakened lift capacity.

“Oh, dear me,” the protocol droid said,ducking low as the contingent stormed past.

Tap, tap, tap came the ringing of metal onmetal against the top of the droid’s head. C-9PO slowly turned about and saw the fringe ofthe telltale black capes, and the red-dyed

hides.With a screech, the droid stood up and tried

to run away, but a pummelstave smashed inthe side of his leg and he went facedown inthe red dust. He lifted his head, but rising upon his arms only gave the two Red Knights abetter handhold as they walked past, eachscooping the droid under one shoulder anddragging him along.

“Got a Ninepio,” one of the pair called outto his lizard-riding buddies, and a cheer wentup.

The doomed droid knew the destination: theSquare of Hopeful Redemption.

C-9PO was glad that he wasn’t programmedto experience pain.

* * *

“It was a stupid thing to do,” Leia saidfirmly.

“Wurth thought he was helping us,” Jainareminded, but Leia wasn’t buying that

argument.“Wurth was trying to nd his own thrills,”

she corrected.“And that hotshot attitude of his will

reinforce the ring of truth to Nom Anor’sdiatribes against the Jedi,” Mara said. “He’s notwithout followers on Osarian.” As she nished,she looked down at the table, at the pile oflea ets Commander Ackdool had given them,colorful propaganda railing against the NewRepublic, against the Jedi, and againstanything mechanical and technological, andsomehow tying all of these supposed ills to thecultural disease that engulfed the society of theplanet Osarian.

“Why does Nom Anor hate the Jedi?” Jainaasked. “What do we have to do with thestruggle between Osarian and Rhommamool? Inever even heard of these planets until youmentioned that we’d be coming here.”

“The Jedi have nothing to do with thisstruggle,” Leia replied. “Or at least, they didn’tuntil Wurth Skidder’s antics.”

“Nom Anor hates the New Republic,” Maraadded. “And he hates the Jedi as symbols ofthe New Republic.”

“Is there anything Nom Anor doesn’t hate?”Leia asked dryly.

“Don’t take him lightly,” Mara warned yetagain. “His religious cry to abandon technologyand machines, to look for truth in the naturalelements and life of the universe, and to resistthe joining of planets in false confederationsresonates deeply in many people, particularlythose who have been the victims of suchplanetary alliances, like the miners ofRhommamool.”

Leia didn’t disagree. She had spent manyhours before and during the journey herereading the history of the two planets, and sheknew that the situation on Rhommamool wasmuch more complicated than that. While manyof the miners had traveled to the inhospitablered planet voluntarily, there were quite anumber who were the descendants of theoriginal “colonists”—involuntary immigrants

sent there to work the mines because of highcrimes they had committed.

Whatever the truth of the situation, though,Leia couldn’t deny that Rhommamool was theperfect breeding ground for zealots like NomAnor. Life there was tough—even basics likewater could be hard to come by—while theprosperous Osarians lived in comfort on whitesandy beaches and crystal-clear lakes.

“I still don’t understand how any of thatconcerns the Jedi,” Jaina remarked.

“Nom Anor was stirring up anger against theJedi long before he ever came toRhommamool,” Mara explained. “Here, he’sjust found a convenient receptacle for hiswrath.”

“And with the Jedi Knights scatteredthroughout the galaxy, and so many of themfollowing their own agendas, Nom Anor mightjust nd plenty of ammunition to add to hisarguments,” Leia added grimly. “I’m glad thatmy brother is thinking of reestablishing theJedi Council.”

Mara nodded, but Jaina seemed lessconvinced. “Jacen doesn’t think that’s such agood idea,” she reminded her mother.

Leia shrugged. Her oldest son, Jaina’s twin,had indeed expressed serious doubts about thecourse of the Jedi Knights.

“If we can’t bring some sense of order to thegalaxy, particularly to isolated planets likeOsarian and Rhommamool, then we’re nobetter than the Empire,” Mara remarked.

“We’re better than the Empire,” Leiainsisted.

“Not in Nom Anor’s eyes,” Jaina said.And Mara reiterated her warning to Leia not

to take the man lightly. “He’s the strangestman I ever met,” she explained, and given herpast exploits with notorious sorts like Jabbathe Hutt and Talon Karrde, that was quite astatement. “Even when I tried to use the Forceto gain a better perspective on him, I drew …”Mara paused, as if looking for some way toproperly express the feeling. “A blank,” shedecided. “As if the Force had nothing to do

with him.”Leia and Jaina looked at her curiously.“No,” Mara corrected. “More like he had

nothing to do with the Force.”The perfect disconnected ideologue, Leia

thought, and she expressed her feelings with asingle sarcastic word: “Wonderful.”

He stood on the platform surrounded by hisfanatical Red Knights. Before him, tenthousand Rhommamoolians crowded intoevery open space of the great public square ofRedhaven, once the primary trading spaceportof the planet. But those facilities had beenleveled in the early days of the uprising, withthe Rhommamoolians declaring theirindependence from Osarian. And morerecently, since the coming of Nom Anor asspearhead of the revolution, the place hadbeen renamed the Square of HopefulRedemption.

Here, the citizens came to declare freedom

from Osarian.Here, the followers came to renounce the

New Republic.Here, the believers came to renounce the

Jedi.And here, the fanatics came to discredit

progress and technology, to cry out for asimpler time, when the strength of a being’slegs, and not the weight of his purse,determined how far he could travel, and thestrength of his hands, and not the weight of hispurse, allowed him to harvest the gifts ofnature.

Nom Anor loved it all, the adulation and thefanatical, bordering on suicidal, devotion. Hecared nothing for Rhommamool or itsinhabitants, cared nothing for the foolish criesfor some ridiculous “simpler time.”

But how he loved the chaos his words andfollowers in icted upon the order of thegalaxy. How he loved the broodingundercurrent of resentment toward the NewRepublic, and the simmering anger aimed at

the Jedi Knights, these supercreatures of thegalaxy.

Wouldn’t his superiors be pleased?Nom Anor ipped his shiny black cape back

from his shoulder and held his st upraisedinto the air, drawing shrieks of appreciation.In the center of the square, where once hadstood the Portmaster’s Pavilion, now was ahuge pit, thirty meters in diameter and tendeep. Whistles and whines emanated from thatpit, along with cries for mercy and pitifullypolite words of protest—the voices of droidscollected by the folk of Rhommamool anddropped into the hole.

Great cheers erupted from all corners of thesquare as a pair of the Red Knights enteredfrom one avenue, dragging a 9PO protocoldroid between them. They went to the edge ofthe pit, took up the poor 9PO by the arms andthe legs, and on a three-count, launched himonto the pile of metal consisting of theastromech and mine-sni er droids, theRedhaven street-cleaner droids, and the

personal butler droids of the wealthierRhommamoolian citizens.

When the hooting and cheering died down,Nom Anor opened his hands, revealing asingle small stone. Then he clenched his stagain, squeezing with tremendous power,crushing the stone in his grasp so that dust andflecks of rock splinters slipped out the sides.

The signal to begin.As one the crowd surged forward, lifting

great chunks of stone, the debris from thewreckage of the pavilion. They came to theedge of the pit one after another and hurledtheir heavy missiles at the pile of droids.

The stoning went on for the rest of theafternoon, until the red glare of the sunthinned to a brilliant crimson line along thehorizon, until the dozens and dozens of droidswere no more than scrap metal and sparkingwires.

And Nom Anor, silent and digni ed,watched it all somberly, accepting this greattribute his followers had paid to him, this

public execution of the hated droids.

LEGACY ERA(40+ YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A NEW

HOPE)

The Yuuzhan Vong have been defeated, but thegalaxy has been slow to recover from theirdepredations, with powerful worlds cha ng atthe economic burdens and military restrictionsput upon them by the nascent GalacticAlliance, once-powerful species seeking to riseagain, newly prosperous worlds testing theirin uence, and long-buried secrets coming tolight. The result of all this instability is civilwar. Faced with a Galactic Alliance that hasfallen away from its values, Luke and the JediOrder must decide where their loyalties lie—and so, too, must the heroes of the Rebellion.

While hostilities spread across the CoreWorlds, lurking in the shadows is a Sith adeptwho wastes no time in taking advantage of the

galactic chaos to wage a very personal waragainst the Skywalkers and the Solos. Lukewill face terrible loss, Han and Leia will betested as never before, and their daughter,Jaina, will learn just what it means to ful llher destiny as “the Sword of the Jedi.” Andeven as the Galactic Alliance pulls the galaxyback from the brink of total disaster, theSkywalker–Solo clan will never be the sameagain.

The mop-up is di cult. Luke Skywalker isexiled from Coruscant, and while he and hisson, Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker, set out on aquest to discover what caused such darkness tobefall the galaxy and their family, Han andLeia are left to raise their granddaughter,Allana, and help shepherd the governmentback into some semblance of order. But littledo any of them know that a long-lost tribe ofSith is making its way toward the Core,determined to ful ll their destiny ofdominance over the galaxy … and that bothSith and Jedi are about to run headlong into a

terrifying creature of untold Force abilities andan insatiable appetite for power …

If you’re a reader new to the Legacy era, hereare four great starting points:

• Legacy of the Force: Betrayal, by AaronAllston: The rst in the nine-book Legacyof the Force series, setting the stage forgalactic civil war and a fall to darkness.

• Millennium Falcon, by James Luceno:Han Solo’s famous freighter becomes acharacter in her own right as Han, Leia,their granddaughter Allana, and the droidC-3PO set out on an adventure thatbrings to light the ship’s colorful,mysterious past.

• Crosscurrent, by Paul S. Kemp: A remnantof the Old Republic comes into LukeSkywalker’s time in a tale of insaneclones and time-traveling Jedi and Sith.

• Fate of the Jedi: Outcast, by AaronAllston: The nine-book Fate of the Jediseries blasts o with the new adventuresof Luke and Ben Skywalker—Jedi Masterand apprentice, father and son—in searchof answers to a terrifying question.

Read on for excerpts from Star Wars novels setin the Legacy era.

chapter one

CORUSCANT

“He doesn’t exist.” With those words, spokenwithout any conscious thought or e ort on hispart, Luke Skywalker sat upright in bed andlooked around at the dimly illuminatedchamber.

There wasn’t much to see. Members of theJedi order, even Masters such as Luke, didn’taccumulate much personal property. Withinview were chairs situated in front of unlitcomputer screens; a wall rack holding plasteelstaves and other practice weapons; a tablelittered with personal e ects such as datapads,notes scrawled on scraps of imsi, datachipsholding reports from various Jedi Masters, anda crude and not at all accurate sandglassstatuette in Luke’s image sent to him by a child

from Tatooine. Inset into the stone-veneerwalls were drawers holding his and Mara’slimited selection of clothes. Their lightsaberswere behind Luke, resting on a shelf on theheadboard of their bed.

His wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, had morepersonal items and equipment, of course.Disguises, weapons, communications gear,falsi ed documents. A former spy, she hadnever given up the trappings of that trade, butthose items weren’t here. Luke wasn’t surewhere she kept them. She didn’t bother himwith such details.

Beside him, she stirred, and he glanceddown at her. Her red hair, kept a mediumlength this season, was an unruly mess, butthere was no sleepiness in her eyes when theyopened. In brighter light, he knew, those eyeswere an amazing green. “Who doesn’t exist?”she asked.

“I don’t know. An enemy.”“You dreamed about him?”He nodded. “I’ve had the dream a couple of

times before. It’s not just a dream. It’s comingto me through currents in the Force. He’s allwrapped up in shadows—a dark hoodedcloak, but more than that, shadows of lightand …” Luke shook his head, struggling for thecorrect word. “And ignorance. And denial. Andhe brings great pain to the galaxy … and tome.”

“Well, if he brings pain to the galaxy, you’reobviously going to feel it.”

“No, to me personally, in addition to hisother evil.” Luke sighed and lay down again.“It’s too vague. And when I’m awake, when Itry to peer into the future to find him, I can’t.”

“Because he doesn’t exist.”“That’s what the dream tells me.” Luke

hissed in aggravation.“Could it be Raynar?”Luke considered. Raynar Thul, former Jedi

Knight, presumed dead during the YuuzhanVong war, had been discovered a few yearsearlier—horribly burned during the war,mentally transformed in the years since

through his involvement with the insectoidKillik race. That transformation had been amalevolent one, and the Jedi order had had todeal with him. Now he languished in a well-protected cell deep within the Jedi Temple,undergoing treatment for his mental andphysical afflictions.

Treatment. Treatment meant change;perhaps, in changing, Raynar was becomingsomething new, and Luke’s presentmentpointed toward the being Raynar wouldsomeday become.

Luke shook his head and pushed thepossibility away. “In this vision, I don’t senseRaynar’s alienness. Mentally, emotionally,whoever it is remains human, or near human.There’s even the possiblity that it’s my father.”

“Darth Vader.”“No. Before he was Darth Vader. Or just

when he was becoming Vader.” Luke’s gazelost focus as he tried to recapture the dream.“What little of his face I can see reminds me ofthe features of Anakin Skywalker as a Jedi. But

his eyes … as I watch, they turn a molten goldor orange, transforming from Force-use andanger …”

“I have an idea.”“Tell me.”“Let’s wait until he shows up, then crush

him.”Luke smiled. “All right.” He closed his eyes

and his breathing slowed, an e ort to return tosleep.

Within a minute the rhythm of his breathingbecame that of natural sleep.

But Mara lay awake, her attention on theceiling—beyond it, through dozens of oorlevels of the Jedi enclave to the skies ofCoruscant above—and searched for any hint,any icker of what it was that was causing herhusband worry.

She found no sign of it. And she, too, slept.

ADUMAR

The gleaming pearl-gray turbolift doors slidopen sideways, and warm air bearing anaroma that advertised death and destructionwashed over Jacen Solo, his cousin BenSkywalker, and their guide.

Jacen took a deep breath and held it. Theodors of this subterranean factory were not thesmells of corrupted esh or gangrenouswounds—smells Jacen was familiar with—butthose of labor and industry. The great chamberbefore them had been a missile manufacturingcenter for decades, and no amount of rigorouscleaning would ever be quite able to eliminatethe odors of sweat, machine lubricant, newlyfabricated composite materials, solid fuelpropellants, and high explosives that lled theair.

Jacen expelled the breath and stepped outof the turbolift, then walked the handful ofsteps up to the rail overlooking the chamber.He walked rapidly so that his Jedi cloak

would billow a little as he strode, so that hisboot heels would ring on the metal ooring ofthis observation catwalk, and so his apprenticeand guide would be left behind for a moment.This was a performance for his guide and allthe other representatives of the DammantKillers company. Jacen knew he was carryingo his role quite well; the company o cialshe’d been dealing with remained properlyintimidated. But he didn’t know whether toattribute his success to his bearing and manner,his lean, brooding, and handsome looks, or hisname—for on this world of Adumar, with itshistory of fascination with pilots, the name ofJacen’s father, Han Solo, went a very long way.

His guide, a slender, balding man namedTestan ke Harran, moved up to the rail toJacen’s right. Contrasting with the dull graysand blues that were common on this factory’swalls and its workers’ uniforms, Testan was ariot of color—his tunic, with its nearly knee-length hem and its owing sleeves, was theprecise orange of X-wing ghter pilot

uniforms, though decorated with purplecrisscross lines breaking it down into a

ickering expanse of small diamond shapes,and his trousers, belt, and scarf were agleaming gold.

Testan stroked his lustrous black beard, thegesture a failed attempt to conceal the man’snervousness. Jacen felt, rather than saw, Benmove up on the other side of Testan.

“You can see,” Testan said, “ar workarsenjoy very fan conditions.”

Ben cleared his throat. “He says theirworkers enjoy very fine conditions.”

Jacen nodded absently. He understoodTestan’s words, and it had taken him littletime to learn and understand the Adumariaccent, but this was another act, a ploy to keepthe Adumari o -balance. He leaned forward togive the manufacturing oor below his fullattention.

The room was large enough to act as ahangar and maintenance bay for four fullsquadrons of X-wing snub ghters. Tall

duracrete partitions divided the space intoeight lanes, each of which enclosed anassembly line; materials entered through smallportals in the wall to the left, rolled along onluminous white conveyor belts, and eventuallyexited through portals on the far right.Laborers in gray jumpsuits anked the beltsand worked on the materials as they passed.

On the nearest belt, immediately belowJacen, the materials being worked onappeared to be compact visual sensorassemblies. The conveyor belt brought in eightsuch units and stopped. Moving quickly, thelaborers plugged small cables into the unitsand turned to look into monitors, whichshowed black-and-white images of jumpsuitedwaists and worker hands. The workers turnedthe units this way and that, con rming that thesensors were properly calibrated.

One monitor never lit up with a view fromthe sensor. The worker on that unit unpluggedit and set it on a table running parallel to theconveyor belt. A moment later, the other

workers on this section unplugged their sensorunits and the conveyor belt jerked into motionagain, carrying the remaining seven units tothe next station.

One lane over, the conveyor belt remainedin constant motion, carrying sensor unithousings along. The workers on that belt,fewer in number than the sensor testers,reached out occasionally to turn a housing, tolook inside, to examine the exterior for cracksor warping. Some workers, distributed atintervals along the line, rapped each housingwith a small rubber-headed hammer. Jacenassumed they were listening for a musical tonehe could not possibly hear at this distance overthe roar of noise from the floor.

Another lane away from him, the workerswere clad not in jumpsuits but in full-coveragehazardous materials suits of a lighter and morere ective gray than the usual worker out t.Their conveyor belt carried white platesbearing irregular balls the size of a humanhead but a nearly luminous green. The belt

stopped as each set of eight such balls enteredthe lane, giving the workers time to plungeneedlelike sensors into each ball. They, too,checked monitors for a few seconds beforewithdrawing the needles to allow the balls tocontinue on. Jacen knew that poisonous green—it was the color of the high explosiveAdumari manufacturers used to fabricate theconcussion missiles they exported.

While Jacen made his initial survey, Benkept their guide occupied. “Do you wax yourbeard?” he asked.

“I do not.”“It just seems very shiny. Do you oil it?”Testan’s voice was a little more irritated in

tone. “I do not oil it. I condition it. And I brushit.”

“Do you brush it with butter?”Jacen nally looked to the right, past Testan

and at his cousin. Ben was thirteen standardyears of age, not tall but well muscled, with a

ne-featured freckled face under a mass ofame-red hair. Ben turned, his face impassive,

to look at Jacen, then said, “The Jedi Knightacknowledges that this factory seems to meetthe minimum, the absolute minimum, requiredsafety and comfort standards of a GalacticAlliance military contractor.”

Jacen nodded. The nod meant Goodimprovisation. He was exerting no Force skillto communicate words to Ben; Ben’s role wasto pretend to act as his mentor’s translator,when his actual function was to convince thelocals that adult Jedi were even more aloofand mysterious than they had thought.

“No, no, no.” Testan drew a sleeve over hisbrow, dabbing away a little perspiration. “Weare wall above minimam standards. Thoseduracrete barriars? They will vent anyexplosive farce upward, saving the majority ofworkars in case of calamity. Workar shifts areonly two- fths the day in length, unlike theold days.”

Ben repeated Testan’s words, and Jacenshrugged.

Ben imitated his motion. The gesture caused

his own Jedi robe to gape open, revealing thelightsaber hanging from his belt.

Testan glanced at it, then looked back atJacen, clearly worried. “Your apprentice—”Unsure, he looked to Ben again. “You are veryyoung, are you not, to be wearing such aweapon?”

Ben gave him a blank look. “It’s a practicelightsaber.”

“Ah.” Testan nodded as though heunderstood.

And there it was. Perhaps it was just thethought of a thirteen-year-old with a deadlycutting implement at hand, but Testan’sdefenses slipped enough that the worry beganto pour through.

It was like the game in which children aretold, “For the next hour, do not think aboutbanthas.” Try as they might, they would,within minutes or even seconds, think about abantha.

Testan’s control nally gave way and hethought about the banthas—or, rather, a place

he wasn’t supposed to go, even to think about.Jacen could feel Testan try to clamp down onthe thought. Something in the increasedpotency of that worry told Jacen that theymust be nearer to the source of his concernthan during previous parts of their factory tour.

When Testan turned back, Jacen lookeddirectly at him and said, “There is somethinghere. Something wrong.” They were the rstwords he’d spoken in Testan’s presence.

Testan shook his head. “No. Evrything isfan.”

Jacen looked past him, toward the wall tothe far right of the chamber. It was gray andregular, a series of metal panels each theheight of a man and twice as wide stacked likebricks. He began a slow, deliberate scrutiny,traversing right to left. His gaze swept thewalls, the assembly lines, the elevatedobservation chamber directly opposite theturbolifts by which they had entered, andcontinued along the wall to the left.

As his attention reached the middle of the

left wall, along the observation balcony, he feltanother pulse of worry from Testan. Bencleared his throat, a signal; the boy, thoughnowhere near as sensitive in the Force asJacen, had gotten the same feeling.

Jacen set o along the balcony in thatdirection. This time the ringing of his bootsand billowing of his cloak were a side e ect ofhis speed rather than an act.

“You wish to see the observation chambar?”Testan hurried to keep up. His anxiety wasgrowing, and there was something within it,like a shiny stone at the bottom of a murkypond.

Jacen reached into that pond to draw outthe prize within.

It was a memory of a door. It was broad andgray, closing from above as men and women—in dark blue jumpsuits, the out ts ofsupervisors in this facility—scurried out aheadof its closing. When it settled in place, it wasidentical to the wall panels Jacen saw aheadof him in the here and now.

Jacen glanced over his shoulder at Testan.“Your thoughts betray you.”

Testan paled. “No, there is nothing tobetray.”

Jacen rounded the observation balconycorner, took a few more steps, and skidded toa halt in front of one of the wall sections.

It was here. He knew because he could feelsomething beyond.

Con ict. He himself was there, ghting. Sowas Ben. It was a faint glimpse of the future,and he and his apprentice would be in perilbeyond.

He jerked his head toward the wall.Ben brought out his lightsaber and switched

it on. With a snap-hiss sound, its blue blade ofcoherent energy extended to full length.

Ben plunged the blade into the wall paneland began to drag it around in a large circle.

Testan, his voice pained, said, “He told us itwas a practice weapon.”

Jacen gave him an innocent look. “It’s truefrom a certain point of view. He does practice

with it.” In his nervousness, Testan didn’t seemto notice that Jacen was understanding himclearly now.

Ben completed his circle and gave themeter-and-a-half-high section he’d outlined alittle kick. It fell away into a well-lit chamber,clanging on the oor beyond; the edges stillglowed with the heat the lightsaber hadpoured into them.

Ben stepped through. Jacen ducked tofollow. He heard Testan muttering—doubtlessan alert into a comlink. Jacen didn’t bother tointerfere. They’d just been within clear sight ofhundreds of workers and the observationchamber. Dealing with Testan wouldn’t keepthe alarm from being broadcast.

The room beyond Ben’s improviseddoorway was actually a corridor, four meterswide and eight high, every surface made up ofthe same dull gray metal rectangles found inthe outer chamber, greenish white lightpouring from the luminous ceiling. To the left,the corridor ended after a few meters, and that

end was heavily packed with tall plasteeltransport containers. They were marked DANGER,

DO NOT DROP, and DAMMANT KILLER MODEL 16, QUANTITY 24.To the right, the corridor extended another

forty meters and then opened up; the rail anddrop-o at the end suggested that it openedonto another observation balcony aboveanother fabrication chamber.

Now making the turn from the balcony intothe corridor and running toward them werehalf a dozen troops armed with blaster ri es.Their orange jumpsuits were reminiscent of X-wing pilot uniforms, but the green carapacearmor over their lower legs, torsos, lowerarms, and heads was more like stormtrooperspeeder bike armor painted the wrong color.

And then behind the rst six troops cameanother six, and then another eight …

Jacen brought his lightsaber out andsnapped it into life; the incandescent green ofhis blade was reflected as highlights against thewalls and the armor of the oncoming troops.

“Stay behind me,” he said.“Yes, sir.” Ben’s sigh was audible, and Jacen

grinned.The foremost trooper, who bore gold bars

on his helmet and wrists, shouted, his voicemechanically ampli ed: “Stop whar you are!This saction is restricted!”

Jacen moved forward at a walk. He rotatedhis wrist, moving his lightsaber blade aroundin front of him in a pattern vaguelyreminiscent of butter y wings. He shoutedback, “Could you speak up? I’m a little deaf.”

Ben snickered. “Good one.”“You may not entar this saction!”They were now twenty meters from the

ranks of troopers ahead.Jacen continued twirling his blade in a

practice form. “Fewer people will be hurt ifyou just get out of my way.” It was a sort ofritual thing to say. Massed enemy forces almostnever backed down, despite the reputation ofthe Jedi—a reputation that became morewidespread, more supernatural, with each year

the Jedi prospered under Luke Skywalker’sleadership.

The phrase was ritual in another way, too.Once upon a time, Jacen would have felttragedy surround him when his actionsresulted in the deaths of common soldiers,common guards. But over time he’d lost thatsense. There was a wearying inevitability toleaders sending their troops to die againstmore powerful enemies. It had beenhappening as long as there were violentleaders and obedient followers. In death, thesepeople became one with the Force, and whenJacen had accepted that fact, his sense oftragedy had largely evaporated.

He took another two steps and the troopercommander called, “Fire!”

The troopers began ring. Jacen gavehimself over to the Force, to his awareness ofhis surroundings, to his sudden oneness withthe men and women trying to kill him.

He simply ignored most of the blaster bolts.When he felt them angling in toward him, he

twirled his lightsaber blade in line and battedthem away, usually back toward the crowd oftroopers. In the rst few seconds of theirassault, four troopers fell to blasts launched bytheir friends. The smell of burned esh beganto fill the corridor.

Jacen felt danger from behind; felt Ben reactto it. Jacen didn’t shift his attention; hecontinued his march forward. He’d prefer to beable to protect the inexperienced youth, butthe boy was good at blaster defense practice.Hard as it was to trust a Jedi whose skills werejust developing, he had to. To teach, to learn,he had to trust.

Jacen intercepted the next blaster shot thatcame his way and batted it toward the troopercommander. It struck the man in the helmetand caromed o , burning out against theceiling; a portion four meters square of theceiling’s illumination winked out, darkeningthe corridor. The commander fell. The shotwas probably not fatal—protected by hishelmet, the man would have forehead and

scalp burns, probably a concussion, but he wasunlikely to die.

The strategy had its desired e ect. Thetroopers saw their commander fall. Theycontinued ring but also exchanged looks.Jacen never broke pace, and a trooper withsilver stripes on his helmet called “Back,back.” In good order, the troopers began awithdrawal.

Behind him, Jacen heard more blaster reand the distinctive zap of a lightsaber bladeintercepting it, de ecting it. Within the ow ofthe Force, Jacen felt a shot coming in towardhis back, felt it being slapped aside, saw andfelt it as it hit the wall to his right. The heatfrom the shot warmed his right shoulder.

But the defenders continued their retreat,and soon the last of them was around thecorner. Jacen’s path to the railing was clear.He strode up to it.

Over the rail, a dozen meters down, wasanother assembly-line pit, where line after lineof munitions components was being assembled

—though at the moment all the lines werestopped, their anonymous jumpsuited workersstaring up at Jacen.

Jacen’s movement out of the corridorbrought him within sight of the orange-and-green defenders, who were now arrayed indisciplined rows along the walkway to Jacen’sleft. As soon as he reached the railing theyopened re again. Their tighter formationallowed them to concentrate their re, andJacen found himself de ecting more shots thanbefore.

He felt rather than saw Ben scoot intoposition behind him, but no blaster bolts cameat him from that direction. “What now?” Benasked.

“Finish the mission.” Jacen caught a too-close bolt on his blade near the hilt; unable toaim the de ection, he saw the bolt ash downinto the assembly area. It hit a monitor screen.The men and women near the screen dived forcover. Jacen winced; a fraction of a degree ofarc di erence and that bolt could have hit an

explosives package. As inured as he was tocausing death, he didn’t want to cause it byaccident.

“But you’re in charge—”“I’m busy.” Jacen took a step forward to

give himself more maneuvering and swingingspace and concentrated on his attackers. Heneeded to protect himself and Ben now, todefend a broader area. He focused on battingbolt after bolt back into the ranks of theattackers, saw one, two, three of the soldiersfall.

There was a lull in the barrage of re. Jacentook a moment to glance over his shoulder.Ben stood at the railing, staring down into themanufacturing line, and to his eye he held asmall but expensive holocam unit—the sortcarried by wealthy vacationers and holocamhobbyists all over the galaxy.

As Jacen returned his attention to thesoldiers, Ben began talking: “Um, this is BenSkywalker. Jedi Knight Jacen Solo and I are ina, I don’t know, secret part of the Dammant

Killers plant under the city of Cartann on theplanet Adumar. You’re looking at a missilemanufacturing line. It’s making missiles thatare not being reported to the GA. They’reselling to planets that aren’t supposed to begetting them. Dammant is breaking the rules.Oh, and the noise you’re hearing? Their guysare trying to kill us.”

Jacen felt Ben’s motion as the boy swung torecord the blaster-versus-lightsaber conflict.

“Is that enough?” Ben asked.Jacen shook his head. “Get the whole

chamber. And while you’re doing it, gure outwhat we’re supposed to do next.”

“I was kind of thinking we ought to get outof here.”

With the tip of his lightsaber blade, Jacencaught a blast that was crackling in toward hisright shin. He popped the blast back toward its

rer. It hit the woman’s blaster ri e, searing itinto an unrecognizable lump, causing hergreen shoulder armor momentarily to catch

re. She retreated, one of her fellow soldiers

patting out her ames. Now there were fewerthan fteen soldiers standing against the Jedi,and their temporary commander wasobviously rethinking his make-a-stand orders.

“Good. How?”“Well, the way we came in—no. They’d be

waiting for us.”“Correct.”“And you never want to ght the enemy on

ground he’s chosen if you can avoid it.”Jacen grinned. Ben’s words, so adult, were a

quote from Han Solo, a man whose wisdomwas often questionable—except on matters ofpersonal survival. “Also correct.”

“So … the ends of those assembly lines?”“Good. So go.”Jacen heard the scrape of a heel as Ben

vaulted over the rail. Not waiting, Jacen leaptlaterally, clearing the rail by half a meter, andspun as he fell. Ahead of and below him, Benwas just landing in a crouch on the nearestassembly line, which was loaded withopalescent shell casings. As Jacen landed, bent

knees and a little upward push from the Forceeasing the impact, Ben raced forward,re exively swatting aside the grasping hand ofa too-bold line worker, and crouched as helunged through the diminutive portal at theend of the line.

Jacen followed. He heard and felt the heatof blaster bolts hitting the assembly linebehind him. He swung his lightsaber back overhis shoulder, intercepting one bolt, taking thefull force of the impact rather than de ectingthe bolt into a neighboring line.

No line workers tried to grab him, and inseconds he was squeezing through the portal.

GALACTIC ALLIANCE DIPLOMATIC SHUTTLE, HIGH CORUSCANT ORBIT

ONE BY ONE, THE STARS OVERHEAD BEGAN TO DISAPPEAR,swallowed by some enormous darknessinterposing itself from above and behind theshuttle. Sharply pointed at its most forwardposition, broadening behind, the ood ofblackness advanced, blotting out more andmore of the unblinking star eld, until darknesswas all there was to see.

Then, all across the length and breadth ofthe ominous shape, lights came on—blue andwhite running lights, tiny red hatch andsecurity lights, sudden glows from withintransparisteel viewports, one large rectangular

whiteness limned by atmosphere shields. Thelights showed the vast triangle to be theunderside of an Imperial Star Destroyer,painted black, forbidding a moment ago, nowcomparatively cheerful in its proper runningcon guration. It was the Gilad Pellaeon, newlyarrived from the Imperial Remnant, and itsofficers clearly knew how to put on a show.

Jaina Solo, sitting with the others in thedimly lit passenger compartment of thegovernment VIP shuttle, watched the entiredisplay through the overhead transparisteelcanopy and laughed out loud.

The Bothan in the sumptuously paddedchair next to hers gave her a curious look. Hismottled red and tan fur twitched, either fromsuppressed irritation or embarrassment atJaina’s outburst. “What do you nd soamusing?”

“Oh, both the obviousness of it and the skillwith which it was performed. It’s so very, Youused to think of us as dark and scary, but nowwe’re just your stylish allies.” Jaina lowered

her voice so that her next comment would notcarry to the passengers in the seats behind.“The press will love it. That image will playon the holonews broadcasts constantly. Markmy words.”

“Was that little show a Jagged Fel detail?”Jaina tilted her head, considering. “I don’t

know. He could have come up with it, but heusually doesn’t spend his time planningdisplays or events. When he does, though,they’re usually pretty … effective.”

The shuttle rose toward the Gilad Pellaeon’smain landing bay. In moments, it was throughthe square atmosphere barrier shield anddrifting sideways to land on the deck nearby.The landing place was clearly marked—hundreds of beings, most wearing grayImperial uniforms or the distinctive whitearmor of the Imperial stormtrooper, waited inthe bay, and the one circular spot where nonestood was just the right size for the GalacticAlliance shuttle.

The passengers rose as the shuttle settled

into place. The Bothan smoothed his tunic, acheerful blue decorated with a golden sliverpattern suggesting claws. “Time to go to work.You won’t let me get killed, will you?”

Jaina let her eyes widen. “Is that what I wassupposed to be doing here?” she asked in drolltones. “I should have brought my lightsaber.”

The Bothan o ered a long-su ering sigh andturned toward the exit.

They descended the shuttle’s boarding ramp.With no duties required of her other than tokeep alert and be the Jedi face at thispreliminary meeting, Jaina was able to standback and observe. She was struck with theunreality of it all. The niece and daughter ofthree of the most famous enemies of theEmpire during the First Galactic Civil War of afew decades earlier, she was now witness toevents that might bring the Galactic Empire—or Imperial Remnant, as it was calledeverywhere outside its own borders—into theGalactic Alliance on a lasting basis.

And at the center of the plan was the man,

anked by Imperial o cers, who nowapproached the Bothan. Slightly under averagesize, though towering well above Jaina’sdiminutive height, he was dark-haired, with atrim beard and mustache that gave him arakish look, and was handsome in a way thatbecame more pronounced when he glowered.A scar on his forehead ran up into his hairlineand seemed to continue as a lock of white hairfrom that point. He wore expensive butsubdued black civilian garments, neck-to-toe,that would be inconspicuous anywhere onCoruscant but stood out in sharp relief to thegray and white uniforms, white armor, andcolorful Alliance clothes surrounding him.

He had one moment to glance at Jaina. Thelook probably appeared neutral to onlookers,but for her it carried just a twinkle of humor, atouch of exasperation that the two of them hadto put up with all these delays. Then anAlliance functionary, notable for his blandness,made introductions: “Imperial Head of Statethe most honorable Jagged Fel, may I present

Senator Tiurrg Drey’lye of Bothawui, head ofthe Senate Uni cation PreparationsCommittee.”

Jagged Fel took the Senator’s hand. “I’mpleased to be working with you.”

“And delighted to meet you. Chief of StateDaala sends her compliments and looksforward to meeting you when you makeplanetfall.”

Jag nodded. “And now, I believe, protocolinsists that we open a bottle or a dozen ofwine and make some preliminary discussion ofsecurity, introduction protocols, and so on.”

“Fortunately about the wine, and regrettablyabout everything else, you are correct.”

At the end of two full standard hours—Jainaknew from regular, surreptitious consultationsof her chrono—Jag was able to convince theSenator and his retinue to accept a tour of theGilad Pellaeon. He was also able to request aprivate consultation with the sole

representative of the Jedi Order present.Moments later, the gray-walled conferenceroom was empty of everyone but Jag andJaina.

Jag glanced toward the door. “Security seal,access limited to Jagged Fel and Jedi JainaSolo, voice identi cation, activate.” The doorhissed in response as it sealed. Then Jagreturned his attention to Jaina.

She let an expression of anger andaccusation cross her face. “You’re not foolinganyone, Fel. You’re planning for an Imperialinvasion of Alliance space.”

Jag nodded. “I’ve been planning it for quitea while. Come here.”

She moved to him, settled into his lap, andwas suddenly but not unexpectedly caught inhis embrace. They kissed urgently, hungrily.

Finally Jaina drew back and smiled at him.“This isn’t going to be a routine part of yourconsultations with every Jedi.”

“Uh, no. That would cause some trouble

here and at home. But I actually do havebusiness with the Jedi that does not involvethe Galactic Alliance, at least not initially.”

“What sort of business?”“Whether or not the Galactic Empire joins

with the Galactic Alliance, I think there oughtto be an o cial Jedi presence in the Empire.A second Temple, a branch, an o shoot,whatever. Providing advice and insight to theHead of State.”

“And protection?”He shrugged. “Less of an issue. I’m doing all

right. Two years in this position and not deadyet.”

“Emperor Palpatine went nearly twenty- veyears.”

“I guess that makes him my hero.”Jaina snorted. “Don’t even say that in

jest … Jag, if the Remnant doesn’t join theAlliance, I’m not sure the Jedi can have apresence without Alliance approval.”

“The Order still keeps its training facility foryoungsters in Hapan space. And the Hapans

haven’t rejoined.”“You sound annoyed. The Hapans still giving

you trouble?”“Let’s not talk about that.”“Besides, moving the school back to Alliance

space is just a matter of time, logistics, andnances; there’s no question that it will

happen. On the other hand, it’s very likely thatthe government would withhold approval fora Jedi branch in the Remnant, just out of spite,if the Remnant doesn’t join.”

“Well, there’s such a thing as an unofficialpresence. And there’s such a thing as rivalschools, schismatic branches, and places forformer Jedi to go when they can’t be at theTemple.”

Jaina smiled again, but now there wassuspicion in her expression. “You just want tohave this so I’ll be assigned to come to theRemnant and set it up.”

“That’s a motive, but not the only one.Remember, to the Mo s and to a lot of theImperial population, the Jedi have been

bogeymen since Palpatine died. At the veryleast, I don’t want them to be inappropriatelyafraid of the woman I’m in love with.”

Jaina was silent for a moment. “Have wetalked enough politics?”

“I think so.”“Good.”

HORN FAMILY QUARTERS,KALLAD’S DREAM VACATION HOSTEL,CORUSCANT

Yawning, hair tousled, clad in a blue dressingrobe, Valin Horn knew that he did not lookanything like an experienced Jedi Knight. Helooked like an unshaven, unkempt bachelor,which he also was. But here, in these rentedquarters, there would be only family to seehim—at least until he had breakfast, shaved,and dressed.

The Horns did not live here, of course. Hismother, Mirax, was the anchor for theimmediate family. Manager of a variety ofinterlinked businesses—trading, interplanetary

nances, gambling and recreation, and, ifrumors were true, still a little smuggling hereand there—she maintained her home andbusiness address on Corellia. Corran, herhusband and Valin’s father, was a Jedi Master,much of his life spent on missions away fromthe family, but his true home was where hisheart resided, wherever Mirax lived. Valin andhis sister, Jysella, also Jedi, lived wherevertheir missions sent them, and also countedMirax as the center of the family.

Now Mirax had rented temporary quarterson Coruscant so the family could collect onone of its rare occasions, this time for theUni cation Summit, where she and Corranwould separately give depositions on therelationships among the Confederation states,the Imperial Remnant, and the GalacticAlliance as they related to trade and Jediactivities. Mirax had insisted that Valin andJysella leave their Temple quarters and staywith their parents while these events weretaking place, and few forces in the galaxy

could stand before her decision—LukeSkywalker certainly knew better than to try.

Moving from the refresher toward thekitchen and dining nook, Valin brushed a lockof brown hair out of his eyes and grinned.Much as he might put up a public show ofprotest—the independent young man who didnot need parents to direct his actions or tellhim where to sleep—he hardly minded. It wasgood to see family. And both Corran and Miraxwere better cooks than the ones at the JediTemple.

There was no sound of conversation fromthe kitchen, but there was some clattering ofpans, so at least one of his parents must still beon hand. As he stepped from the hallway intothe dining nook, Valin saw that it was hismother, her back to him as she worked at thestove. He pulled a chair from the table and sat.“Good morning.”

“A joke, so early?” Mirax did not turn toface him, but her tone was cheerful. “Nomorning is good. I come light-years from

Corellia to be with my family, and whathappens? I have to keep Jedi hours to seethem. Don’t you know that I’m an executive?And a lazy one?”

“I forgot.” Valin took a deep breath,sampling the smells of breakfast. His motherwas making hotcakes Corellian-style, nerfsausage links on the side, and caf was brewing.For a moment, Valin was transported back tohis childhood, to the family breakfasts that hadbeen somewhat more common before theYuuzhan Vong came, before Valin and Jysellahad started down the Jedi path. “Where areDad and Sella?”

“Your father is out getting some back-doorinformation from other Jedi Masters for hisdeposition.” Mirax pulled a plate from acabinet and began sliding hotcakes and linksonto it. “Your sister left early and wouldn’t saywhat she was doing, which I assume eithermeans it’s Jedi business I can’t know about orthat she’s seeing some man she doesn’t wantme to know about.”

“Or both.”“Or both.” Mirax turned and moved over to

put the plate down before him. She set utensilsbeside it.

The plate was heaped high with food, andValin recoiled from it in mock horror. “Stang,Mom, you’re feeding your son, not a squadronof Gamorreans.” Then he caught sight of hismother’s face and he was suddenly no longerin a joking mood.

This wasn’t his mother.Oh, the woman had Mirax’s features. She

had the round face that admirers had called“cute” far more often than “beautiful,” much toMirax’s chagrin. She had Mirax’s generous,curving lips that smiled so readily andexpressively, and Mirax’s bright, lively browneyes. She had Mirax’s hair, a glossy black with

ecks of gray, worn shoulder-length to treadily under a pilot’s helmet, even though shepiloted far less often these days. She was Miraxto every freckle and dimple.

But she was not Mirax.

The woman, whoever she was, caught sightof Valin’s confusion. “Something wrong?”

“Uh, no.” Stunned, Valin looked down at hisplate.

He had to think—logically, correctly, andfast. He might be in grave danger right now,though the Force currently gave him noindication of imminent attack. The true Mirax,wherever she was, might be in serious troubleor worse. Valin tried in vain to slow his heartrate and speed up his thinking processes.

Fact: Mirax had been here but had beenreplaced by an imposter. Presumably the realMirax was gone; Valin could not sense anyonebut himself and the imposter in the immediatevicinity. The imposter had remained behindfor some reason that had to relate to Valin,Jysella, or Corran. It couldn’t have been tocapture Valin, as she could have done thatwith drugs or other methods while he slept, sothe food was probably not drugged.

Under Not-Mirax’s concerned gaze, he tooka tentative bite of sausage and turned a

reassuring smile he didn’t feel toward her.Fact: Creating an imposter this perfect must

have taken a fortune in money, an incredibleamount of research, and a volunteer willing tolet her features be permanently carved into thelikeness of another’s. Or perhaps this was aclone, raised and trained for the purpose ofsimulating Mirax. Or maybe she was a droid,one of the very expensive, very rare humanreplica droids. Or maybe a shape-shifter.Whichever, the simulation was nearly perfect.Valin hadn’t recognized the deception until …

Until what? What had tipped him o ? Hetook another bite, not registering the sausage’staste or temperature, and maintained the face-hurting smile as he tried to recall the detailthat had alerted him that this wasn’t hismother.

He couldn’t gure it out. It was just aninstant realization, too eeting to remember,too overwhelming to reject.

Would Corran be able to see through thedeception? Would Jysella? Surely, they had to

be able to. But what if they couldn’t? Valinwould accuse this woman and be thoughtinsane.

Were Corran and Jysella even still at liberty?Still alive? At this moment, the Not-Mirax’scolleagues could be spiriting the two of themaway with the true Mirax. Or Corran andJysella could be lying, bleeding, at the bottomof an access shaft, their lives draining away.

Valin couldn’t think straight. The situationwas too overwhelming, the mystery too deep,and the only person here who knew theanswers was the one who wore the face of hismother.

He stood, sending his chair clatteringbackward, and xed the false Mirax with ahard look. “Just a moment.” He dashed to hisroom.

His lightsaber was still where he’d left it, onthe night-stand beside his bed. He snatched itup and gave it a near-instantaneousexamination. Battery power was still optimal;there was no sign that it had been tampered

with.He returned to the dining room with the

weapon in his hand. Not-Mirax, clearlyconfused and beginning to look a littlealarmed, stood by the stove, staring at him.

Valin ignited the lightsaber, its snap-hiss ofactivation startlingly loud, and held the pointof the gleaming energy blade against the foodon his plate. Hotcakes shriveled and blackenedfrom contact with the weapon’s plasma. Valingave Not-Mirax an approving nod. “Flesh doesthe same thing under the same conditions, youknow.”

“Valin, what’s wrong?”“You may address me as Jedi Horn. You

don’t have the right to use my personal name.”Valin swung the lightsaber around in apractice form, allowing the blade to comewithin a few centimeters of the glow rod

xture overhead, the wall, the dining table,and the woman with his mother’s face. “Youprobably know from your research that theJedi don’t worry much about amputations.”

Not-Mirax shrank back away from him, bothhands on the stove edge behind her. “What?”

“We know that a severed limb can readilybe replaced by a prosthetic that looks identicalto the real thing. Prosthetics o er sensationand do everything esh can. They’re idealsubstitutes in every way, except for requiringmaintenance. So we don’t feel too badly whenwe have to cut the arm or leg o a very badperson. But I assure you, that very bad personremembers the pain forever.”

“Valin, I’m going to call your father now.”Not-Mirax sidled toward the blue bantha-hidecarrybag she had left on a side table.

Valin positioned the tip of his lightsaberdirectly beneath her chin. At the distance ofhalf a centimeter, its containing force eldkept her from feeling any heat from the blade,but a slight twitch on Valin’s part could maimor kill her instantly. She froze.

“No, you’re not. You know what you’regoing to do instead?”

Not-Mirax’s voice wavered. “What?”

“You’re going to tell me what you’ve donewith my mother!” The last several wordsemerged as a bellow, driven by fear and anger.Valin knew that he looked as angry as hesounded; he could feel blood reddening hisface, could even see redness begin to su useeverything in his vision.

“Boy, put the blade down.” Those were notthe woman’s words. They came from behind.Valin spun, bringing his blade up into adefensive position.

In the doorway stood a man, middle-aged,cleanshaven, his hair graying from brown. Hewas of below-average height, his eyes astartling green. He wore the brown robes of aJedi. His hands were on his belt, his ownlightsaber still dangling from it.

He was Valin’s father, Jedi Master CorranHorn. But he wasn’t, any more than thewoman behind Valin was Mirax Horn.

Valin felt a wave of despair wash over him.Both parents replaced. Odds were growing thatthe real Corran and Mirax were already dead.

Yet Valin’s voice was soft when he spoke.“They may have made you a virtual double formy father. But they can’t have given you hisexpertise with the lightsaber.”

“You don’t want to do what you’re thinkingabout, son.”

“When I cut you in half, that’s all the proofanyone will ever need that you’re not the realCorran Horn.”

Valin lunged.

The STAR WARS Novels Timeline

OLD REPUBLIC 5000–33 YEARS BEFORESTAR WARS: A New Hope

Lost Tribe of the Sith*

PrecipiceSkybornParagonSaviorPurgatorySentinel

3650 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A NewHope

The Old Republic: DeceivedLost Tribe of the Sith*

PantheonSecrets

Red Harvest

The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance

1032 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A NewHope

Knight ErrantDarth Bane: Path of DestructionDarth Bane: Rule of TwoDarth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

RISE OF THE EMPIRE 33–0 YEARS BEFORESTAR WARS: A New Hope

Darth Maul: Saboteur*

Cloak of DeceptionDarth Maul: Shadow Hunter

32 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New HopeSTAR WARS: EPISODE I: ThePhantom MenaceRogue PlanetOutbound FlightThe Approaching Storm

22 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New HopeSTAR WARS: EPISODE II: Attack ofthe Clones

22–19 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A NewHope

The Clone WarsThe Clone Wars: Wild SpaceThe Clone Wars: No PrisonersClone Wars Gambit

StealthSiege

Republic CommandoHard ContactTriple ZeroTrue ColorsOrder 66

ShatterpointThe Cestus Deception

The Hive*

MedStar I: Battle SurgeonsMedStar II: Jedi HealerJedi TrialYoda: Dark RendezvousLabyrinth of Evil

19 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New HopeSTAR WARS: EPISODE III: Revengeof the SithDark Lord: The Rise of Darth VaderImperial Commando 501stCoruscant Nights

Jedi TwilightStreet of ShadowsPatterns of Force

The Han Solo TrilogyThe Paradise SnareThe Hutt Gambit

Rebel DawnThe Adventures of Lando CalrissianThe Force UnleashedThe Han Solo AdventuresDeath TroopersThe Force Unleashed II

REBELLION 0–5 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: ANew Hope

Death StarShadow Games

0

STAR WARS: EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPETales from the Mos Eisley CantinaTales from the EmpireTales from the New RepublicAllegianceChoices of One

Galaxies: The Ruins of DantooineSplinter of the Mind’s Eye

3 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New HopeSTAR WARS: EPISODE V: THEEMPIRE STRIKES BACKTales of the Bounty HuntersShadows of the Empire

4 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New HopeSTAR WARS: EPISODE VI: RETURNOF THE JEDITales from Jabba’s PalaceThe Bounty Hunter Wars

The Mandalorian ArmorSlave ShipHard Merchandise

The Truce at BakuraLuke Skywalker and the Shadowsof Mindor

NEW REPUBLIC 5–25 YEARS AFTER STARWARS: A New Hope

X-WingRogue SquadronWedge’s GambleThe Krytos TrapThe Bacta WarWraith SquadronIron FistSolo Command

The Courtship of Princess LeiaA Forest Apart*Tatooine GhostThe Thrawn Trilogy

Heir to the EmpireDark Force RisingThe Last Command

X-Wing: Isard’s RevengeThe Jedi Academy Trilogy

Jedi SearchDark ApprenticeChampions of the Force

I, JediChildren of the JediDarksaberPlanet of TwilightX-Wing: Starfighters of AdumarThe Crystal StarThe Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy

Before the StormShield of LiesTyrant’s Test

The New RebellionThe Corellian Trilogy

Ambush at CorelliaAssault at SeloniaShowdown at Centerpoint

The Hand of Thrawn Duology

Specter of the PastVision of the Future

Fool’s Bargain*

Survivor’s QuestNEW JEDI ORDER 25–40 YEARS AFTER STARWARS: A New HopeBoba Fett: A Practical Man*The New Jedi Order

Vector PrimeDark Tide I: OnslaughtDark Tide II: RuinAgents of Chaos I: Hero’s TrialAgents of Chaos II: Jedi EclipseBalance PointRecovery*

Edge of Victory I: ConquestEdge of Victory II: RebirthStar by StarDark Journey

Enemy Lines I: Rebel DreamEnemy Lines II: Rebel StandTraitorDestiny’s WayYlesia*

Force Heretic I: RemnantForce Heretic II: RefugeeForce Heretic III: ReunionThe Final ProphecyThe Unifying Force

35 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New HopeThe Dark Nest Trilogy

The Joiner KingThe Unseen QueenThe Swarm War

LEGACY 40+ YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: ANew Hope

Legacy of the Force

BetrayalBloodlinesTempestExileSacrificeInfernoFuryRevelationInvincible

CrosscurrentRiptideMillennium Falcon

43 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New HopeFate of the Jedi

OutcastOmenAbyssBacklash

AlliesVortexConvictionAscensionApocalypse

*An eBook novella