Sean Williams & Shane Dix 2003 – Del Rey 28 years after The Battle of Yavin Site Rating =  Buy Now From Amazon.Com

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

Jedi Saba Sebatyne returns to her home planet to find it in ruins from the Yuuzhan Vong.  She encounters a balloon like ship supported by several coralskippers.  She is able to destroy all the subjects, and then she moves in on the slow transport and destroys it.  To her horror she realizes that it was carrying the remnants of her people and they are spilling out into the vacuum of space.

Three months later, on Mon Calamari in a meeting of the newly renamed Galactic Alliance, there is still the hotly debated issue as to whether or not to exterminate the Yuuzhan Vong.  At the same time, not far from where the Galactic Alliance leaders are meeting, the same discussion is going on amongst the Jedi.

Cal Omas gathers many of his closest allies including Luke, Leia, and Mara together and they discuss the current situation and what steps to take to go forward.  Cal wants a group to venture out and start reconnecting the Galactic Alliance worlds, particularly those that they haven’t heard from in months.  Luke suggests that they begin diplomatic talks with the Imperial Remnant and the Chiss to bring them into the fold.  While both had declined in the past now that the tide was beginning to turn in their favor perhaps they would be more inclined to join up.  Luke admits that he also has ulterior motives to going to see these groups and while he didn’t give specifics he explains to the group that it will hopefully bring a morally sound end to the war as opposed to extermination.  Leia and Han will be heading off to reestablish contact with many New Republic worlds.

Many Jedi begin to fear that Tahiri’s time with the Yuuzhan Vong is catching up to her.  She reaches out to Jaina who finds her in bad shape physically and emotionally.  She is covered in wounds and ranting about Anakin.  Her Vong alter ego, Riina Kwaad, is haunting her dreams.

A now disgraced Nom Anor, out of favor with Shimrra for his many failures, is doing his best to avoid capture.  While doing this, he is able to meet with many Shamed Ones and learns that they are indeed heretics that are worshipping the Jedi as he had once heard about.  It seems the relationship between Anakin Solo and Vua Rapuung on Yavin 4 has struck a chord with the Shamed Ones.  Nom adds fuel to the fire by telling them of his encounters with Jedi, and he realizes that this movement may be his key to returning to power.

Luke gathers a small group together and reveals that he is going to search for a mythical living planet call Zonama Sekot.  The group he takes with him includes Jacen, Mara, Saba, Tekli (a Jedi Healer), and Danni Quee.  As they prepare to depart, Jacen ponders that the information they received on Zonama Sekot was received from Vergere when she was sent there by the Old Republic.  She found the planet that preserved its own balance in the Force as well as their amazing starships that lived and died like any other creature.

Thinking it will do her some good, Leia asks Tahiri to accompany them on their trip to other New Republic systems.  Jaina and Jag Fel are making the trip as well.  Their first stop will be Galantos, but only because someone secretly planted the system in the Falcon’s computer.  The specter of the Yevetha and the Black Fleet Crisis looms, but Leia isn’t worried.

When the Jade Shadow comes out hyperspace they find themselves in the middle of a Yuuzhan Vong attack on Bastion and the Imperials are not faring very well.  They make contact with Grand Admiral Pellaeon and give him information about which ship is housing the yammosk controlling the attack against them.  Luke offers a request of unity and Pellaeon directs them to Yaga Minor where discussions can take place when and if they survive.

After being hassled by Imperial commanders upon arriving at Yaga Minor, Captain Yage decides to board the Jade Shadow.  They offer her further information to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong in exchange for help in defeating them.  The news on Pellaeon isn’t good as he has returned in a coma and is not expected to live.  The pilot who delivered him there told Luke that Pellaeon wanted to be brought there so he could thank them for the information.  Once inside of a bacta tank, Tekli begins the process of nursing Pellaeon back to health.  Yage is relieved to hear that the Admiral’s chances were getting better, but she knew that a power grab for his authority would be coming.  She is recalled to speak to her superiors and Jacen suggests that he do the talking.

During the discussion, Jacen tells the general that the Vong attack was in retaliation for them providing Deep Core hyperspace routes that helped defeat the Vong.  Since the information was only known at the highest ranks of the Empire, they must have a spy in their ranks.  Jacen offers his assistance as well as the other Jedi in detecting these spies amongst the ranks as well as offering information about how to better fight the coralskippers.  He only asks that they consider their offer of peace and unity and with the Galactic Alliance in return.

Jason meets with Moff Flennic who is not interested in hearing his suggestions. That changes when Pellaeon himself contacts them and orders them to make that exact plan happen.  He also threatens that of the Moffs interfere anymore with his decisions that he will take the Imperial Navy and not return to pick up the pieces of what’s left of them later on.

The Falcon and Twins Suns arrive on Galantos and are greeting very cordially by the Fia natives.  Leia and Tahiri explore the planet and learn that there is no longer a need to fear the Yevetha.  Back in her room, Tahiri finds a pendant representing the Vong slayer god, Yun-Yammka, and when she grabs it she is overcome and falls to the floor screaming in Vong language.  When she comes to, guards take her back to Han and Leia and Jag retrieves the pendant.

While looking to learn more about the Jedi heresy, Nom Anor has now amassed several followers, but Vong warriors arrive and kill all but one, Kunra.  Kunra agrees to serve under Nom.

The Alliance group discusses their next move. The most likely reason they attacked Bastion first was to claim all of the leftover citizens to be used as slave drones in the war.  One of the ships that waiting nearby avoiding the battle was probably similar to the one that Saba shot down on her home planet earlier.

The battle is underway and Vong are a bit surprised that the Imperials are is faring better than they did the first go around.  Pellaeon is leading the battle from inside the bacta tank.  After using a droid that detected the Vong infiltrators, Jason calls a meeting of all the spies and their leaders in order to capture all of them.  The traitors become more and more uncomfortable as they begin noticing their undercover leaders entering the room as well, the last of which recognizes Jason and reveals his true self.  All the Vong spies attack Jacen, but he along with a few Stormtroopers easily dispatches them.  Jacen tells Pellaeon the plan succeeded and he recalls all of his troops down to the surface of the planet in hopes of tricking the Vong into thinking they are retreating and thus luring them into a trap.

Unlike on her home planet, Saba is able to sense the slave transport ship.  Saba suggests using bait to attack the slave transport and then allow the occupants to be captured who can then try and free the captives from the inside.  The plan is to use the Jade Shadow tractor beam to keep everything in place with the slave ship and use tie fighters that are hidden inside the rescue freighter to hold off any attacks until the slaves are safe.  Luke, Mara and Danni go along for the mission and Jacen stays in the freighter to help control the ship that will end up taking in the slaves.

After making the appropriate hyperspace jumps, the plan begins.  The slave ship holds up well to the attacks although they obviously aren’t really trying to destroy it.  It doesn’t take long for coralskippers to enter the fray.  The skip attacks are effective and the outer hall of the decoy freighter fails.  Jason shuts down of all systems and lies in wait.  The plan works as the slave ship’s dovin basal grabs their ship and begins taking it inside.  The Vong commander contacts the Imperials telling them to surrender, but Pellaeon answers that it will never happen.

Saba and Danni are both captured by the slave ship tentacles and brought inside the ship.  Once inside they make their way inside they find a passage and Danni releases several droids to try to find their way through.  The droids are full of poison they kill two warriors, but not before they are able to sound the alarm.  Realizing she has no other choice, Saba takes her lightsaber and cuts a five meter gash in the belly of the ship and slaves began spilling out while Mara uses her tractor beam to pull them in.  She hopes the jelly they are covered in and the masks that the slaves are wearing will insulate them long enough.  The plan works, and they are safely moved back into the decoy freighter.

While the escape plan proves successful, the rest of the battle is not going in the Imperial’s favor until they deploy the yammosk jammer Luke suggested.  Luke contacts Pellaeon and tells him the good news about the battle and the captives.  This is followed by a contact from the Vong Commander who throws out several threats that are all mocked by Pellaeon.  He tells them to be on his way as the Empire will always strike back!  They notice that some of the retreating Vong ships are heading back to Yaga Minor and Pellaeon orders his ships to follow in pursuit.

The next day Pellaeon gives a stirring speech suggests to the Moffs and the Naval Council that they join up with the Galactic Alliance in order to stave off their own extinction.  After heated exchanges with Moff Flenicc about this decision Pellaeon says that if they don’t unanimously accept his proposal he will take the entire Imperial Navy and leave.  With rage in his eyes, Flennic pulls a blaster on Pellaeon, but as he raises it to fire it is pulled out of his hand and bolt misses its target thanks to Mara.  Stormtroopers arrest Flennic, but Pellaeon says that he will forgive this indiscretion as long as he now goes along with the new plan.

Two days later after regrouping the Imperial Navy and heading back to follow the Vong and continue to push them back, Pellaeon offers Captain Yage to accompany Luke on the trip to the unknown regions.  He also gives a bit of information from one of the Moffs that his stationed near the unknown regions, including a legend about a planet that will appear in one region than disappear and appear later on in a different one.

Back on the ship, Luke accidentally interrupts a surprisingly tender moment between Danni and Jacen.  After Danni leaves Luke tells Jacen that having a relationship is often harder than being a Jedi and Jason surmises maybe that’s why the Jedi of the Old Republic never married.  Along with an Imperial escort, they head off into the unknown regions.

Still distrusting of the Fia, Jaina decides to investigate the Yeventhan home world.  When she and her Chiss escorts arrive they find the plant has been blasted away and is nothing but a burning mass!  She races back to Galantos and finds a Yuuzhan Vong fleet heading in the same direction.

With the assistance of a secret masked individual, the Solos and Tahiri escape on the Falcon.  Jaina and Jag lead the defense to drive back the Vong attackers.  The informer tells them he is part of a vast information network and will help their cause.  He tells them that some of the worlds they will be visiting have in fact not gone silent by accident, but instead are under Vong control.  He reveals that the Fia made a deal with the Vong to surrender provided the Vong wipe out the Yevethans.  He suggests they head to Bakura, and reveals to Han that he is a Ryn.

As they prepare to leave, Jag gives Jaina the Vong pendant he took from Tahiri.

Nom Anor and Kunra (who doesn’t trust Nom a bit) decide to take their cause to then next level.  Nom renames himself Yu’shaa The Prophet and they decide to recruit as many followers as possible from all walks of Vong society.

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