Kathy Tyers 2001 – Del Rey 26 years after The Battle of Yavin Site Rating =  Buy Now From Amazon.Com

SPOILER ALERT: This Will Spoil The Plot of the Book!

The next in the line of attack of the Yuuzhan Vong is Kalarba and its nearby moon Hosk Station. Jaina Solo, flying with Rogue Squadron and Chiss fighters, is in engaged in a fierce battle. The Yuuzhan Vong are attempting to relive the nightmare of Sernpidal by pulling the moon onto Kalarba’s surface. She attempts to intercede as the Vong attacks Champion, a powerful New Republic ship, but she is hit by the concussion of the explosion as the ship explodes and is forced to eject.

Jacen and Han are on the devastated planet of Duro, home to millions of refugees. The refugees are attempting to bring the world back to life. Han and Jacen have been tasked with interceding in the local disputes. Through the Force, Jacen senses something is coming soon, but he does not yet understand. Suddenly he collapses as he senses something awful has happened to Jaina. He has a vision of Luke and a hideous alien in a battle near the Core. He watches as the Yuuzhan Vong marches across the galaxy destroying system after system. Luke tosses his lightsaber towards him, but Jacen misses as it passes him. Jacen feels a deep dark feeling to destroy the Vong. The galaxy tips towards the evil darkness. Jacen is helpless, despite a voice telling him to stand firm. He wakes up from the vision in a hospital and sees Han and Droma. Jacen believes the galaxy hinges on a slight balance point that could tip with one wrong move.

Back on the Falcon, they attempt to contact Rogue Squadron to find out about Jaina. Since Centerpoint, Jacen has held a severe doubt in the use of the Force believing that the constant use of aggression can lead to the Dark Side. Because of this, Jacen decides to leave the Force behind him forever! They learn that Jaina has been rescued, but has severe injuries that will take time to heal.

Leia is now the Administrator of the Duro recovery project. She has had almost no contact with anyone outside of this operation. She has only been living with Threepio and her Noghri bodyguards. As usual, she is left to mediate scientists as they work to restore the world. One of them, Cree’Ar, has caused problems by never attending meetings, despite this, he has done excellent work. Cree’Ar is actually the Yuuzhan Vong Nom Anor who is secretly plotting sabotage to the area.

Warmaster Tsavong Lah plots his next move in the invasion as the Yuuzhan Vong marches towards Coruscant. He speaks with Nom Anor and they discuss the state of affairs on Duro which will become the next target! He tells Anor to be on the look out for worthy sacrifices.

Luke and Mara meet on Coruscant with several Jedi, including Anakin, to talk about the state of the galaxy. There is much unrest and the Jedi Healers have been under constant duress.

Despite her protests, Jaina has been taken to Duro to be with Jacen and Han. When Jacen goes after a supply ship, he encounters Randa the Hutt who tells him about the latest “heroic” efforts of Kyp Durron’s dozen. Randa hopes to help the Hutt homeworld which has been under attack. Jacen discovers that the supplies have been stolen by several Duros and taken to the orbiting cities.

Nom Anor contacts Tsavong Lah and tells him that three Jedi have been spotted on Duro. Nom has also created a new organism that will assist in Duro’s destruction.

Luke and Mara meet with the New Republic High Council. Apparently Centerpoint has been damaged, but this has been kept a secret. The senators speak out against the Jedi pursuits around the galaxy. Luke tells them the Jedi are allowed to follow their feelings provided they uphold peace and justice. He vows to follow the Council’s orders. Many of the senators are only concerned with their own planets.

After the meeting, Luke and Mara meet with Tresina Lobi and learn that her apprentice Thrynni Vae has gone missing on Duro. Mara feels something strange about her body and fears that the Yuuzhan Vong virus has returned. After returning to her room, she realizes instead that she is pregnant!

Randa contacts Borga and tells her that he may be able to deliver a Jedi to the Yuuzhan Vong. Perhaps it will buy them some time and assist with their efforts to claim Tatooine as their own.

After skipping out on another meeting with scientists, Nom Anor looks over his handiwork. He has dug several passages using insects that were later discarded. Their carcasses became the driving force behind Duro’s rehabilitation. He has sabotaged many areas including his own workspace should the time come to destroy it.

Tsavong Lah contacts Viqi Shesh. She asks for peace. He inquires about the current project of disabling Centerpoint, even though he has already set plans in place to destroy it.

Jacen and Jaina have a bad feeling about the situation at the colony. Jacen investigates the mysterious infestation started by Nom Anor that discovers it will soon devour the entire settlement. They contact Han and then Gateway to begin an evacuation. As they arrive at the decontamination area, Leia arrives! She greets her husband in disguise to surprise him. The two did not last leave each other on the best of terms, but they are able to reconcile.

The next day Leia asks Jacen to go on mission to investigate a stolen shipment. She knows he is trying to get away from typical Jedi tasks.

Nom Anor has planted a villip in Randa’s quarters. Randa is uneasy, but uses it to communicate with Lah. Randa reiterates that he can deliver a Jedi. Lah tells him he had better make good on the deal or he would regret it. He hopes to lure others into his plan to protect him in case things don’t go as planned. He contacts Shesh and tells her about the Vong agent hiding on Duro. He will also give the villip to Leia and let her deal with it. Shesh, on the other hand, contacts Lah and tells him of Randa’s plot. She is hoping to eventually spare her homeworld from the Vong invasion.

Mara pilots her new ship with Luke and Anakin on board to one of Duro’s floating cities. They are disguised. They encounter an individual spouting anti-New Republic propaganda. Luke thinks there is something familiar about the speaker. He reminds him of Nom Anor who they believe died on Rhommamool. They get word of the evacuation of Han’s settlement and that Jacen is also in the city. Anakin isn’t happy about this. Mara reiterates that they are there in search of the missing apprentice and to gather intel on the situation there.

Luke and Anakin, dressed as Kubaz, meet with the CorDuro shipping vice-director. Jacen arrives to meet the vice-director to discuss the stolen shipment. Luke reaches out to Jacen so he can aid with their plan. The vice-director is weary of Jacen’s motive, but when Jacen makes an interesting offer, he is allowed to stay.

Mara slices her way into the Duro systems. She discovers a code that had been used on Rhommamool! She leaves to visit Gateway.

Elsewhere, Jaina uncovers Randa’s deception and takes the villip away from him.

Mara tells Leia of her discovery. Leia tells her that she has suspicions of Cree’Ar. Mara takes Jaina and they head off to investigate the doctor’s lab. Once they encounter Dr Cree’Ar they realize that they cannot sense him through the Force! He must be a Yuuzhan Vong! A battle ensues as Cree’Ar’s disguise disappears. They realize it is indeed Nom Anor! He tells Mara that he was responsible for infecting her with the virus on her visit to Monor II. He runs towards another tunnel and the booby trapped chamber collapses with the women inside. Relatively unharmed, they use a Force bubble that allows them to move to safety down the long tunnel.

Mara updates Leia on their discovery, but they are cut off. Jaina is upset that Leia didn’t ask about her well being. Mara reunites with Luke and tells him Nom Anor was alive and he was the one that had poisoned her. R2 pulls information that leads them to believe the Peace Brigade is behind much of the trouble. Luke says they need to get Jacen away from the CorDuros. It appears that Duro may be the next Yuuzhan Vong target. They wonder whether it will be the orbiting Duros or the refugees on the planet.

Jacen receives a datacard from a waiter along with a warning that he may be in danger.

Luke returns to his search for the missing apprentice, but discovers that she has been killed for information she found! CorDuro had indeed sold out the refugees, but they themselves will be killed as well.

With Han’s help, Leia is frantically attempting to set up the evacuation before the attack.

Using a distraction by Luke and Anakin, Jaina rescues Jacen who is still unaware he is part of a larger plot. She fills him in and he tells her has given up on the Force. They escape, and disguised as Duros, they take a transport down to Duro. Leia contacts them and wants them to pick up a few others before leaving. They want her to come as well, but Leia refuses. They argue, but are cut off. The Yuuzhan Vong are attacking!

Jacen finds his dad who is helping refugees hide in an underground tunnel that the Ryn have been digging. In the control room, Jaina assists with the take offs of transport ships. A transmission from the Yuuzhan Vong interrupts the New Republic airwaves and Lah tells everyone to stay put. Any attack or attempts to leave will not be tolerated. Leia tells the ships that they should do whatever they think is best for themselves and those they are transporting. Luke and Mara, along with Anakin launch their ships as well.

The Vong attack in full force bringing various creations down with them, including a giant snake that begins eating an orbital city and any unlucky ship in the area.

Admiral Wuht’s New Republic troops gather together to protect any cities that are salvageable. Luke tries to get the Council to send additional help, but Fey’lya denies the request. The blame again will fall to the Jedi.

The Solo family meets together inside the tunnel and discusses what to do next. Leia tells of a hidden freighter that will hold two thousand refugees. Han goes to check it out with some Ryn while Leia heads back to the administration building with Jacen and Jaina to sabotage whatever she can.

Han finds the buried freighter and he and the Ryn attempt to get it running again.

In the admin building, Jaina, Jacen and Leia catch sight of a large sacrificial pit being dug. Using a distraction, they make their way to the mining laser platform in hopes of using it, but they run into some Vong warriors. Leia pushes the twins through a door into the tunnel system and closes them in. She is attacked and captured. Jacen tells Jaina to warn Mara and Luke while he goes back for their mother.

Nom Anor takes Leia to meet Lah. Leia attempts to stall them so the others will have a chance to save the refugees from being killed. Lah tells her that they plan to destroy Duro’s orbital cities and use the planet as a staging point for attacking the Core Worlds. After the invasion, they will sacrifice all of the Jedi. She is tossed into a cell with Randa who admits to her that he attempted to trade Jacen to save his homeworld. Looking around the cell, Leia realizes that a conduit runs directly into the tunnel system. She tries tapping on the pipe in code, but no one answers. Through the Force, she reaches out to Luke who gets her message and relays it back to Jaina. Luke also realizes that it is not Leia who is in danger, but it is Jacen who stands at a crossroads.

In the battle, Anakin is able to kill the giant snake by launching a proton torpedo and a reactor into its throat.

Jacen is nearing his mother’s location. Still being guided by a voice he doesn’t know, he again has the sensation that the galaxy is on the verge of tipping either to light or to dark. By standing in the middle, he now understands, he is doing nothing to affect it either way.

Still tapping on the conduit, Leia receives a response from Jaina and tells her to go warn Mara and Luke before coming to rescue her. Leia and Randa are taken back into the office and she sees that the sacrifice is beginning. As the Vong prepare to execute Leia, Randa uses his tail to attack the Vong. Leia gets her lightsaber and attempts to help, but she is bound and cannot. Randa is killed, and Leia is captured. Lah begins to torture her.

Jacen fights his way into the room and sees her lying in blood on the floor surrounded by Yuuzhan Vong. The room is almost spinning around him and Jacen now knows that he cannot fight the dark without the light of the Force. The energy he had been suppressing begins to flow from him as he takes his lightsaber and rushes into the crowd killing those he can. He hears the voice pressing him forward and he begins to through objects around the room knocking the warriors about. Lah taunts him and begins to attack, but Jacen flings the massive office desk into him and knocks him out the open window. The remaining Vong are stunned by this. Jaina enters the room with her lightsaber drawn and helps clear the way as Jacen helps Leia to safety.

After saying goodbye to Droma in the refugee freighter, Han and Threepio take the Falcon and head to the tunnel’s exit point to meet his family. As they land, coralskippers begin streaming in. Jacen gets Leia inside and he and Jaina begin medical attention. After Leia is sedated, they man the guns.

Mara and Anakin attack any ships around to draw their fire in attempts to save the last orbital city, which eventually is escorted out of the system. The heroes all get their shots in before finally breaking off the attack and leaving the system as well.

Surrounded by chaos and pain, Mara receives a message through the Force. Their baby will be a boy. They all begin the trip to Coruscant to give the Senate the bad news.

Lah has survived, but is injured. Nom Anor tells him the Jedi that attacked him was Jacen Solo. Nom Anor had hoped to be promoted, but instead was only transferred to another assignment. Using slaves to operating the com unit, Lah sends a message to the New Republic. He tells them to give them all the Jedi and they will be spared. Special reward awaits the one who brings him Jacen Solo alive. After the transmission he takes Leia’s lightsaber and throws it into the burning pit.

Comments

After being weighed down by the previous sets of duologies, it was nice to just have a one off book here. And just when I was beginning to be a little tired of the action, this title brought me back in.

Up to this point, there has been very little actual Jedi action in the NJO series. Bits and pieces, but Jacen Solo’s emergence in this book is one of the clear early highlights.

The interplay between the twins filled the book with a sense that I have finally really come to know the Solo children and Jacen’s arc proved that.

FInally, the Vong didn’t feel quite so overwhelming for the Jedi. Here is Jacen Solo who has shown little real power up to this point handing out a ass kicking to a Warmaster and a room full of his pals. Obviously with so many books left in the series, it isn’t all downhill from here, but clearly seeds are being planted that will help steer the series in the future.

Warmaster Lah and Nom Anor are both well written and quite nasty. Nom Anor’s undercover work is more pleasing with each episode. Clearly he is a down in the trenches creature that has done much to aid the Vong invasion in ways that may not always be revealed.

Overall, I was quite happy with this episode. I went through it very quickly and as I’ve said, having some real payoff in the Jacen Solo pity party he’s been having was very welcome indeed.

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