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Sean Stewart2004 – Del Rey19.5 Years Before The Battle of YavinSite Rating =
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SPOILER ALERT: This Will Spoil The Plot of the Book!
A battle scared Jedi Master named Jai Maruk returns to Coruscant to meet with the Jedi Council immediately regarding an extremely urgent matter.
Jai tells Yoda and some of the other Jedi Council members that he intercepted a Trade Federation ship that was delivering supplies and tracked the ship to the planet of Vjun. Yoda tells them the planet is strong in the Dark Side of the Force. Jai admits that he was captured by Asajj Ventress who then delivered him to Count Dooku. Dooku allowed Jai to return to the Jedi Temple and give a message to Yoda personally. He wanted to tell Yoda that he wants peace and in exchange he gives Yoda a small sea shell.
63 years earlier Yoda and Dooku (holding the same shell) sit by a pond and discuss Dooku’s impending departure from the Jedi Temple. After many years of training, Dooku is a little bit saddened by the upcoming experience but Yoda tells him that he always a place in the Jedi Temple. Yoda and Dooku discuss the role of the Jedi in a very touching scene between master and apprentice. The course of the conversation eventually turns to the meaning of the Force and that there is a light and Dark Side. Yoda tells him that even he is not perfect and has had lapses where he has been touched by the Dark Side. As they depart, Yoda tells Dooku that he will always keep a candle lit at the Jedi Temple so Count Dooku willl always know that he can return.
63 years later, Yoda and Mace discuss development. Mace offers some insight that surprises Yoda but he agrees they must take the chance that Dooku’s overture is legitimate.
On Vjun, Ventress and Dooku talk about the latest happenings. Asajj has recently destroyed a Jedi ship and has brought the severed hand of its Jedi pilot still clutching a lightsaber to Dooku. She wishes to become a Sith. Dooku denies her request saying he likes her in the position she’s in right now and uses a Force attack to punish her for her insistence. A new delegation arrives to meet with Count Dooku and he releases Asajj and sends her to greet them.
Dooku talks with Darth Sidious over a hologram. Sidious tells him to promise the envoy that additional military help will be coming to them very soon as they are ready to surrender to the New Republic.
After Dooku leaves the room, a door swings open from one of the secret passages throughout the Château and a Vjun fox and an old woman comes through. They pay special attention to the severed hand that now lays in the corner. The old woman tells the fox that the baby will be returning home soon.
After Dooku placates the convoy that more troops will be coming soon, the envoy gives him a package that was delivered to them by Senator Amidala. The package is from Yoda and contains a wax candle.
Back on Coruscant two droids, Solis and Fidelis, are playing a game. One of them has some sort of super sight and sees that the envoy has returned to the Jedi Temple and is delivering a package to the Jedi.
Jedi Master Maks Leem is summoned to the door by her Padawan Whie, who has taken the package from the envoy and delivers it to Yoda.
Inside the package is the lightsaber from the severed hand. Yoda asks Maks if Whie, is ready for the outside world and she reluctantly admits that he is. Once he is alone, Yoda reveals that the lightsaber is actually modified to produce a hologram from Count Dooku. Dooku appears solemn as he invites Yoda to Vjun to talk. Dooku implies that old age is finally calling him back home and he wishes for an end to all the war. He does threaten that nothing should come towards them except Jedi. If he sees anything else he will commence the attack in full force. After the hologram is gone, Qui-Gon Jinn visits Yoda. Yoda is a bit saddened by this whole scenario, but Qui-Gon shows him the light by implying that Dooku only thinks he is lying about the situation.
In a dream, Whie encounters Asajj Ventress, along with fellow Jedi learner Scout. In the dream Scout is bleeding from the head and Asajj is doing her best to entice Whie to kiss her. Whie is awoken by some of the other Jedi Padawan.
It is the day of the Jedi Apprentice Contest. Scout is surveying the competition. She knows she is not as strong in the Force as most; in fact she is quite weak compared to most of the others except for her ability to anticipate things before they happen. Yet this day she was summoned by Yoda to the room of thousand ponds. She’d given up on becoming a Jedi Knight herself. Scout was previously accepted as a Padawan but her master was killed three months later. This was very disheartening for her, but it also drove her to train harder than she thought she could and work her way to the top of all the classes. Scout had spent much the last few weeks scouting for weaknesses in all of her potential opponents. Scout defeats a much better opponent in the first round using a faint trick and putting him in an arm bar until he submitted.
Next, she fights Hanna that she does not really particularly like very much. They are forced to fight with the lights out to simulate real combat. After an intense back-and-forth battle, Scout is victorious by putting her in a choke hold.
In the cafeteria, Yoda and Master Leem discuss Whie’s bad dreams from the night before. Yoda tells her that that Whie was born on Vjun. Jai Maruk joins them and discusses how he doesn’t think Scout should be fighting anymore as she doesn’t exactly keep with the Jedi ways. Yoda disagrees and it takes a little wager out on Scout’s behalf. If she finishes in the bottom four Yoda will send her to the agricultural core. If she finishes second, third, or fourth she shall remain an apprentice. But if she wins it all, Maruk will have to take her on as his new Padawan. Suddenly Master Ironclad stands up and proclaims that the next phase of the tournament will be held within the dining room they are currently in and begins the tournament. After a flurry of intense skirmishes throughout the cafeteria, the only two remaining contestants are Scout and Whie. It takes barely a few seconds before Whie had her in a thumb lock, and he be a nice guy asks her to give up rather than continue inflicting pain. Playing on Whie’s lack of killer instinct she’s able to break free and turn the tide and best him in the battle.
Yoda and Master Maruk find Scout in the infirmary and tell her that she is now to be a Padawan learner.
Master Leem finds Whie in one of the chambers. Whie realizes that he’s actually had this encounter before in his one of his dreams from months earlier. Master Leem requests that Whie go with her to see Yoda in the infirmary as they have something that they need to do.
Whie and Master Leem, along with Maruk, Scout and Yoda talk in the infirmary. Yoda tells them that he will be sending them on a mission together and that he himself will be a traveling along with them. He will not say where they’re going and the fact that Yoda is going with them must be remain a secret.
Back on Vjun, Darth Sidious again contacts Dooku and tells him that Yoda visited the Chancellor that day to inform him of his secret mission. Sidious requests that Dooku treat Yoda accordingly. After the conversation, the crazy old woman returns. Apparently she says that she can read people’s futures in broken dishes and spilled drinks, and demonstrates by telling Dooku that something that will be happening soon to his apprentice.
Using an actor who does a spot on impersonation of Yoda, the Jedi make it look like Yoda is going to Ithor as opposed to where his real mission is.
The droids, Solis and Fidelis, witness two Jedi, two Padawan, and a particularly strange moving R2 unit leaving the Jedi Temple. Solis says the target is moving.
In space above Coruscant, Asajj Ventress keeps watch for Yoda’s ship as it leaves.
The Jedi group, in disguise as tourists, have a few hang ups, but eventually get through spaceport security.
Asajj Ventress tracks the fake Jedi ships to Ithor. She takes out several ships little trouble and centers her attention to Yoda’s ship. As she moves in to destroy it, she realizes that the ship is being controlled by the R2 unit and that she’s been tricked by a decoy. She isn’t entirely upset by this, however, because she knows that since one of the ships flew back to Coruscant, chances are it’s going to tell everyone that Yoda’s ship was destroyed and send the Republic into chaos.
As the Jedi group heads toward Vjun, Whie is becoming very agitated because he is quite concerned that they’re going to meet Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress. Since he had the dream regarding himself, Scout and Asajj he’s uneasy about the whole trip.
Solis approaches Scout and tells her that someone has turned in one of her belongings to the lost and found and they must go together to retrieve it. As Whie is collecting the food for the group, he is approached by Fidelis who calls Whie by his real name.
As the Jedi Masters go about their tasks in their room, the two children are being led around by the droids. Fidelis tells Whie about his birth and childhood on Vjun and how he works for the Malreauxreaux family (Whie’s family) has been watching over Whie for a decade. The droid tells Whie that his mother is currently living in the same house as Count Dooku.
Both Whie and Scout hear the news at the same time from the Holonet. Word has gotten out that Yoda as been killed by Asajj Ventress.
One of the droids contacts Asajj and tells her he is willing to sell the information about the whereabouts of the real Yoda to her for Republic credits.
Whie sneaks out to the gym and is followed by Jai and the two discuss whether or not they could kill a Jedi that’s gone to the Dark Side. They also discuss what it means to actually go to the Dark Side. Jai tells him that it is a choice of action not just the mere thought. Whie wonders whether Scout would turn to the Dark Side. Jai tells him that her trials have been her whole life since she is used to dealing with things that Whie has not yet encountered. Whie decides to stay up all night for fear of having more bad dreams.
The Jedi land on a spaceport to await the next phase of their journey. Solis convinces Scout to escort him to the second level while they wait. The droid takes Scout over to where Fidelis is speaking to Whie. A group of soldiers from the port surround them and say that there are unauthorized droids in the area. Before anything can happen, the room is filled with battle droids who take out all the guards and begin firing into the crowds.
Several assassin droids enter and emit a sonic blast that causes the Jedi and all the others to react in severe pain. The Jedi Masters realize that the droids know Master Yoda is in hiding and they’re trying to get him. Each of the Masters eliminates one of the droids.
Soon reinforcement battle droids show up, along with Ventress who goes to inspect the R2 unit and see what was left of Yoda. She’s disappointed when she finds a hole in the bottom of the floor that Yoda used to drop down into the lower levels. One assassin droid that followed him in is destroyed easily before Asajj sends the rest in after him.
Leem and Maruk are both still in the heat of battle but things are not going exceptionally well for either one. Scout and Whie also enter the fray, but Scout is caught by blaster bolts and knocked to the floor.
In the docking bay below, Yoda meets up with his impersonator who has just escaped from Asajj’s ship. He tells Yoda that he set the ship to self destruct. Unfortunately, his plan neglected the fact that the ship is indoors and will destroy the hangar bay.
Finally, the tide begins to turn as the Jedi Masters are able to disable the remainder of the assassin droids. The only enemy remaining is Ventress and her two lightsabers.
Yoda is busy trying to chop the restraints off the ship so it will launch out of the bay before self destructing. He and the impersonator come under attack from the droids so Yoda hands his lightsaber to the impersonator to finish off the ship so he can deal with the droids. The restraints are released just in time as the ship comes to life and blows a hole in the side of the spaceport sucking all the assassin droids out. Yoda holds both of them inside in a safe pocket of air.
One of the assassin droids has Scout by the throat. Fidelis comes and has words with the droid then tears the droid’s head off and Scout and Whie dismantle the rest of it. They noticed that Master Leem and Master Maruk are still in danger.
Maruk is engaged in a lightsaber battle with Ventress and he is beginning to realize that Ventress is just better than he is. They make their way closer to where Master Leem is laying on the ground and Ventress slashes her across the stomach. Suddenly they feel the air being sucked out of the room as hull breach from below wreaks havoc throughout the station. Max Leem tries to convince Maruk to die as a Jedi as is teetering on the verge of going to the Dark Side, his rage overwhelming him. At the end, he is able to outlast it and overcome it. After this revelation, however, Ventress cuts him down.
Scout sees her master killed. Master Leem is able to close the breach in the hall using the Force. Whie comes face-to-face with Ventress who then walks over and kills Master Leem. Whie attacks her, but she tosses him across the room with relative ease. He tells her that he will not die today at her hand because he dreamed his own death and he knows he will be killed by a fellow Jedi! Ventress taunts them as well as a Jedi Order. Asajj takes the moment to try and convert Whie to the Dark Side. She counsels them on what she refers to as "The Truth", as opposed to the Dark Side, and the fact that the Jedi are not allow attachments is an unintelligent way of handling life and the universe. She then gets the word that her ship has been destroyed and her droids have been thrown out the airlock. She decides she should probably steal another ship and take off before Yoda returns. She blows another hole in the wall, forcing Whie to use the Force to try to close it up. Master Jai Maruk has enough life left in him to say a final farewell to Scout before he dies.
Back in the Jedi Temple Mace Windu meets with Chancellor Palpatine. Palpatine is excited about the news Yoda has survived while Mace Windu is disheartened that he’s lost two fellow Jedi and Yoda is now on his way to meet Count Dooku with only two young Padawan’s. Palpatine suggests that Windu send Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to assist Yoda.
Asajj contacts Count Dooku, who was very displeased with the recent activity that went on without his knowledge. The Republic morale has been boosted seriously now that Yoda has been discovered alive. Ventress is concerned that Dooku will attempt to kill her. She attempts to convince him to kill Sidious before Sidious kills him. Dooku is mildly impressed at her audacity but orders her to return to Vjun anyway.
Asajj is again contacted by Solis and he demands the remainder of his money that Ventress did not pay, but she says that she threw in the lives of the children to make up for the fact that she lost her ship and didn’t kill Yoda. He becomes quite displeased when she ends their transmission.
Despite the protests for the Padawans, Yoda plans to continue their journey to Vjun. The ship drops them off, along with Fidelis, in an area where they can look for used ships. At the fifth junkyard they come to they finally find an old tattered ship. Yoda’s bartering skills are equal to his Force abilities as he is able to get an excellent price for the tattered ship.
Fidelis wants to help the Padawans with their tasks on board, but Yoda tells him no. He wants them to stay busy so they do not worry about the fact that their masters were killed, and they’re still on a dangerous mission. Fidelis tells Yoda that he thinks he is a wise being. Yoda wants to hear more about Count Dooku’s lair. Fidelis tells him that he knows a secret passage into Châteaux Malreaux that Yoda can use to bypass any other potential problems that he might encounter getting to Count Dooku.
From a hidden vantage point Solis watches as Yoda’s ship appears to crash land outside of a small city. A moment later, several platoons of droids, as well as Trade Federation soldiers arrive to begin searching for the remains of the ship. Solis knows there are caves in that area that Yoda and his group are probably using.
From looking through some of old papers, Count Dooku realizes that the Padawan on his way is most likely the son of the old woman that is living in the house with him. He also wonders about the droid that went missing around the same time as her son. Asajj ran into a droid of the same type a week earlier. The woman admits she is Whirry Malreaux and that Whie is her son and she also knows the droid. Count Dooku asks if she has the ability to contact the droid, which she does.
In the caves, Whie is enthralled by the power of the Force on Vjun. Scout does not feel the same way. Whie bounds off ahead with Fidelis as Yoda and Scout remain behind. Yoda tells her to stay with Whie and keep an eye on him as the Dark Side will be talking to him throughout his stay on Vjun. He is going to try to find Dooku himself. He tells her that if he does not return within 12 hours, she should return to the ship and send a message to the Jedi Temple.
Scout catches up to Whie who would again reiterates how strong the Force is in this place. They hear some troopers coming up behind them so they ask Fidelis to lead them off into another area. Whie admits that he is acting strange.
Count Dooku is looking over his many monitors of outlying systems that are involved in the war as well as cameras around his château. He hears the rain tapping outside. Suddenly he realizes that the tapping is not from water and he turns to see Master Yoda tapping on the window in the pouring rain.
After some dazzling piloting skills, Anakin Skywalker, along with Obi-Wan Kenobi, lowers their ship down onto the surface of Vjun. Anakin feels energized in the Force and busts out of the ship and destroys most of the droids that are attacking them. They see that the droids have them covered from the caves so Anakin takes a concussion grenade and throws it into one of the caves blowing up all the droids and bringing most of the cave collapsing down. Obi-Wan reminds him that Yoda and the Padawans may have been inside.
Scout senses the explosion coming and Fidelis leads them quickly out of the caves and into a room where Asajj Ventress is waiting along with several droids. Whie realizes it is the same room from his dream!
Dooku thinks back to his early training with Yoda. In unarmed sparring combat Yoda would never let Dooku win. He would sometimes allow the lesser Padawan’s and students to beat him but never Dooku. Dooku got to the point where he expected to lose and went into matches planning on losing. Finally, Yoda showed him the error of his way. Dooku realized that Yoda had taught him something he never would’ve learned had he just simply continued to beat up on the other students and for this Dooku was grateful.
Dooku moves to the window and opens it for Yoda. Yoda brings a rose from the garden and it causes Dooku to recall the day that the Jedi came and took him off to the temple from Serenno. Whirry enters the room and asks Dooku to keep Asajj from doing any harm to her son. Dooku chastises her saying that she never really loved him anyway if she was able to give him to the Jedi when they came begging. Dooku tries to explain to Yoda that the Jedi have become pawns of the Republic, but Yoda is unimpressed by this comment. Yoda says he came for one reason and that was to learn the greatness of the Dark Side from Dooku!
Ventress smacks Scout across the head causing her to bleed. She then reveals that Fidelis was a traitor in this whole game. The droid thought it was in the best interests of the Malreaux clan that Whie be brought back to Vjun and make a pact with Count Dooku. Asajj then tells Fidelis that either he kills himself or she’ll kill Whie. Being of absolute loyalty to the Malreaux family, Fidelis, with much regret, destroys himself.
Yoda and Dooku continue the discussion of the Dark Side and how to know its power. Dooku tells him that it’s just a matter of opening oneself up to the evil that’s already inside. Yoda thinks that the two of them are equal. They live in big houses and both command large armies. After a while Dooku begins to think that Yoda is playing a game with him. Yoda even suggests joining the Dark Side to help end the war, but Dooku is of unimpressed by this. Yoda asks if the Dark Side can create him another flower like the one he holds in his hands. Dooku says that not even Yoda can do such a thing, but Yoda responds that his Force is capable of creating that flower, as well as lighting the sun and other feats of nature. Dooku says the Dark Side will free him from fear and make him safe, but Yoda says nothing can make him safe. Dooku tries to get Yoda to seek revenge for all the Jedi that have died while one his watch. Yoda turns around and faces Dooku and for a moment Dooku is aghast as Yoda’s face is hidden in the shadows and he looks as though he was in touch with the Dark Side. Dooku realizes his folly at attempting to turn Yoda to the Dark Side. If Yoda would unleash his 900-year-old mind to the Dark Side even Darth Sidious would be annihilated.
Asajj has Scout by the throat, and is slowly choking the air from her. She says she is insignificant, but Whie, on the other hand, is something that she could be interested in. She tries to persuade Whie to just take what he wants. This whole house is all for him, as it was taken from him by the Jedi. Scout is also there for the taking and she tries to convince him to kiss her.
Yoda comes out of his Dark Side persona and takes Dooku by the hand and tells him that he doesn’t plan to go to the Dark Side now or ever. He says he does carry the dark inside him just as Dooku carries the lights inside him. After all the years of being separated Dooku still calls out for his Master Yoda. Dooku says he’s gone too far down the dark path to ever come back but Yoda says everyone can recreate themselves.
Off in the other room, Whie is nearly on top of Scout when she suddenly tells him her realization that Whie is going to make the right choice. A sense comes over Whie and he realizes the same. He is not going to turn to the Dark Side and has broken free of its spell. Asajj is not pleased and ignites her lightsabers as several assassin droids begin to open fire. As they do the door explodes open and Solis comes in and takes them all out. Solis clarifies for Ventress that it was he that was giving information on Yoda and not Fidelis. Solis says he isn’t there to save the Padawans. He just wants revenge for Asajj backing out on the deal and figures three against one is better odds. Ventress grabs the neural eraser from Fidelis’s hands and uses it on Solis. Solis tells them to run and head down a corridor to escape Ventress. Ventress heads after them, but runs right into Obi-Wan Kenobi. When Anakin’s lightsaber ignites Ventress turns and runs the other way.
As his home begins falling around him, Dooku receives a message from Sidious. He does not answer since Yoda is present. Yoda attempts to lure Dooku back to the light. On the monitors, he sees Obi-Wan and Anakin. Dooku takes Whirry and throws her through the window. Yoda saves her, but has to fend off Dooku’s lightsaber attack in the process. The battle is on! Dooku continues to tempt Yoda with the Dark Side, Yoda resists easily. Dooku hits a button on the console that releases a missile directly for the chateau and then jumps out the window. Yoda uses the Force to direct it into the sea nearby, but Dooku is gone.
Yoda meets up with Anakin and Obi-Wan and then they stumble upon Whie and Scout. The group returns home to the Jedi Temple together as Count Dooku sets up his headquarters on another Trade Federation world
Comments
Major Characters |
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Count Dooku
Asajj Ventress Yoda Whie Malreaux Jai Maruk Maks Leem |
Solis
Fidelis Whirry Malreaux Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy (aka Scout) |
Why Should You Read This Book? |
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| A good look at the history of the relationship between Yoda and Dooku, as well as plenty of Asajj Ventress. | |
Good Moments |
Bad Moment |
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(Yoda’s) ears perked. "Secret, shall I tell you?" He leaned in close, so she could feel his whiskers rasping against her face. "Grand Master of Jedi Order am I!" he said loudly right in her ear. "Won this job in a raffle I did, think you?" |
I could have done without the Yoda impersonator.
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MedStar II: Jedi Healer
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Labyrinth of Evil
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