Troy Denning - Apocalypse (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi) book 9

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse is a work of fiction.
Names, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.

Copyright 2012 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & or where indicated.
All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization.

Excerpts from Star Wars: X-Wing: Mercy Kill and Star Wars: Scourge copyright 2012 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & or where indicated.
All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization.

Published in the United States by Del Rey, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

D EL R EY is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

This book contains excerpts from Star Wars: X-Wing: Mercy Kill by Aaron Allston and Star Wars: Scourge by Jeff Grubb.
These excerpts have been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming editions.

eISBN: 978-0-345-51960-3

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Jacket design and illustration: Ian Keltie

v3.1

To Sue Rostoni

Its been a joy and a privilege working with you in the Star Wars

Expanded Universe. Have a blast on your next adventure!

Many people contributed to this book in ways large and small. I would like to thank them all, especially the following: Andria Hayday, for her invaluable suggestions and creative support; James Luceno, Leland Chee, Pablo Hidalgo, Keith Clayton, Erich Schoeneweiss, Scott Shannon, Frank Parisi, and Carol Roeder for their fine contributions during our brainstorming sessions; Shelly Shapiro and Sue Rostoni, for everything, from their remarkable patience to their insightful markups to their great ideas; Jennifer Heddle, for her contributions to Apocalypse and her graceful arrival in the final stages of a long and exciting series; Jason Fry, for our email brainstorming regarding the Celestial overlap in our two projectsI really wish that chapter had made it into the Essential Guide to Warfare!; my fellow Fate of the Jedi writers, Aaron Allston and Christie Golden, for being such a blast to work with; Laura Jorstad, for her usual attention to fine detail; all of the people at Lucasfilm and Del Rey who make writing Star Wars so much fun; and, finally, to George Lucas for sharing the galaxy far, far away with us all.

Abeloth; female entity

Allana Solo; child (female human)

Ben Skywalker; Jedi Knight (human male)

C-3PO; protocol droid

Corran Horn; Jedi Master (human male)

Han Solo; captain, Millennium Falcon (human male)

Jagged Fel; Head of State, Galactic Empire (human male)

Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (human female)

Leia Organa Solo; Jedi Knight (human female)

Luke Skywalker; Jedi Grand Master (human male)

R2-D2; astromech droid

Raynar Thul; Jedi Knight (human male)

Saba Sebatyne; Jedi Master (Barabel female)

Tahiri Veila; former Jedi Knight (human female)

Vestara Khai; former Sith apprentice (human female)

Wynn Dorvan; acting Chief of State, Galactic Alliance (human male)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

T HE STARLINER SWUNG INTO ORBIT AROUND THE PLANET C ORUSCANT , and beyond the observation bubble appeared the glittering expanse of a billion golden lights. Through a thousand centuries of strife, those lights had continued to shine. Nothing had dimmed their brilliancenot the Rakatan enslavement, not the tyranny of the Empire, not the chaos of civil war. And they continued to shine now, in this new age of creeping shadow, when enemy impostors ruled the Galactic Alliance and Sith Lords slept in the Jedi Temple itself. But all those gleaming lights made Jaina Solo wonder whether Coruscants trillion residents actually cared who won the coming warwhether it mattered that they were living under Sith rule, so long as those billion lights continued to shine.

The answer came to her almost instantly, in the form of a dark tinge in the Force that could only mean Sith. Jaina shifted her gaze to the interior of the starliner, where a teeming mass of passengers hung floating in their transit harnesses, tethered to the walls of the EconoClass hold. Floating down the central access aisle was a Coruscanti Immigration inspector, his zero-g motility pack emitting small hisses as he twirled in slow-motion cartwheels, demanding identichips and ten-credit expediting fees. Behind him followed a pair of Bothan escorts, their snouts wrinkling in disdain each time their superior solicited another bribe.

Jaina would have liked to believe the inspector was merely a greedy Sith Saber trying to line his pockets, but she knew better. Vestara Khai, newly defected from the Lost Tribe of Sith, had warned the assault teams to take nothing for granted. In her briefings, Vestara had emphasized that the Sith were not stupid. After insinuating themselves in the Galactic Alliance Senate, they would have moved quickly to take control of the Coruscanti Immigration Service and other key bureaucracies. They would expect the Jedi to be coming, and they would be on the lookout for infiltratorsand petty extortion was an ideal cover for someone trying to identify enemy agents.

The inspector stopped near a pair of human siblings in their late twenties. Both were slender and good-looking, with wary eyes and small expressive mouths. The sisters hair was reddish brown, the brothers merely brown. Their fierce loyalty to each other showed in the way they remained shoulder-to-shoulder when they turned to face the immigration team.

The inspector oriented himself to the same attitude as the siblingshead-down relative to Jainaand studied the pair without speaking or reaching for their travel documents. The unexpected change of routine sent a cold ripple through Jaina, but she quickly let out a calming breath and forced herself to relax. Allowing her alarm to permeate the Force would only confirm to the inspector that he had found something worth investigating.

The siblings, Jedi Knights Valin and Jysella Horn, continued to hold their documents, doing a good job of looking like ordinary passengers who were a little bit nervous. The inspector narrowed his eyes and waited, giving them a chance to betray themselves by doing something foolish. Jaina would probably never learn exactly what had caught the Siths attention, but she did know that it pointed to the one weakness of the Jedi Masters attack plan. These Sith were both careful and capable, and they outnumbered the Jedi ten to one.

Finally, the inspector said, Documents.

Valin and Jysella extended their hands, each holding a small packet containing a fare receipt, a forged identichip, and the expediting fee. The inspector took Jysellas packet, then slid her chip into a handheld reader and compared it with the point of origin listed on the fare receipt.