Michael A. Stackpole - I, Jedi

Rave reviews for previousS TAR W ARSadventures

T HE T RUCE AT B AKURA
by Kathy Tyers

A fast-paced, rousing adventure novel, a worthy heir to George Lucass mighty epic.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel

S PECTER OF THE P AST
by Timothy Zahn

Zahn returns splendidly to the ranks of Star Wars authors.Absorbing reading. Label this one Not just for Star Wars fansfor sure! Booklist

T HE J EDI A CADEMY T RILOGY
by Kevin J. Anderson

Anderson has all but assumed the title of Chancellor of Star Wars University. Starlog

H EIR TO THE E MPIRE
by Timothy Zahn

Moves with a speed-of-light pace that captures the spirit of the movie trilogy so well, you can almost hear John Williamss soundtrack.
The Providence Sunday Journal

D ARK F ORCE R ISING
by Timothy Zahn

Zahn has perfectly captured the pace and flavor of the Star Wars movies. This is space opera at its best.
The Sunday Oklahoman

STAR WARS: I, JEDI
A Bantam Spectra Book

PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam Spectra hardcover edition published May 1998
Bantam Spectra mass market edition / June 1999

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

1998 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM
All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
Cover art copyright 1998 by Lucasfilm Ltd.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.

eISBN: 978-0-307-79642-4

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words Bantam Books and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

v3.1

This book is dedicated to my parents,

Jim and Janet K. Stackpole.

Without your support, help, and

encouragement, this and all my

other novels would just be something

Id like to do someday.

The author would like to thank the following people for their help in this project:

Janna Silverstein and Ricia Mainhardt for getting the ball rolling, Tom Dupree for naming and championing this monster and Pat LoBrutto for shepherding it home.

Sue Rostoni, Lucy Autrey Wilson and Allan Kausch for trusting me to play with such a core part of the Star Wars universe.

Peet Janes of Dark Horse Comics for his continued championing of Leonia Tavira, which led to her appearance here.

Kevin J. Anderson for having provided the background for half this book and A. C. Crispin and Kristine Kathryn Rusch for working tidbits of story back and forth with me.

Very special thanks to Timothy Zahn who graciously vetted all the pages that featured his characters, offered suggestions that made parts of this novel better, and who worked tirelessly to meld his two new Star Wars novels with this book. Working with Tim on this made the project more fun than I could have imagined.

To the Star Ladies for being a receptive audience, Kali Hale for sharp insights, Tish Pahl for quick lightsaber research and to the other Yellow DogsI feel your pain.

To Jennifer Roberson who, as always, caught this tale in bits and pieces and especially to Liz Danforth, who made the manic month in which this book was written endurable for me. I cant thank you enough for being there (when youre not in Spain).

N one of us liked waiting in ambush, primarily because we couldnt be wholly certain we werent the ones being set up for a hot-vape. The Invidsthe pirate crews working with the exImperial Star Destroyer Invidioushad so far eluded the best efforts of the New Republic to engage them. They seemed to know where we would be, when we would get there, and in what force, then planned their raids appropriately. As a result we spent a lot of time doing battle-damage assessments on their efforts, and they really pushed to give us plenty of BDA work.

Rogue Squadron had gone to ground to wait on several of the larger asteroids in the Kvath system. This location put us in close proximity to Kvath 5s primary moon, Alakatha. We powered down our engines and had our sensors in passive mode only to avoid detection by the folks we wanted to trap. According to our mission briefing, New Republic Intelligence had gotten a tip they considered reliable that at least part of Leonia Taviras pirate fleet would be hitting a luxury liner coming out of the resort coast on Alakathas northern continent. Mirax and I had actually honeymooned there three years ago, before Thrawn turned the New Republic inside-out, so I had fond memories of the place and could well remember the wealth dripping in jewels and precious metals from the throats and hands of the New Republics elite.

I glanced at my X-wings chronometer. The Glitterstar is still on schedule?

Whistler, nestled behind my cockpit, hooted with just a hint of derision in his voice.

Yes, I know I told you to let me know if there was a change and, no, I didnt think it had slipped your circuits. I forced my gloved hands open, then rotated my wrists to get rid of some of the tension. Im just anxious.

He blatted a quick comment at me.

Hey, just because patience is a virtue, that doesnt make impatience a vice. I sighed and turned the latter half of it into a piece of a Jedi breathing exercise Luke Skywalker had urged upon me when trying to recruit me as a Jedi. Breathing in through my nose to a count of four, I held the breath for a seven count, then exhaled in eight beats. With each breath I let more tension flow out of me. I sought the clarity of mind Id need for the coming battleif the Invids materializedbut it eluded me with the ease the Invids had shown in escaping the New Republic.

Things kept seeming to happen fast. Mirax and I married fast, and while I did not at all regret having done so, events conspired to make our married life extremely difficult. Grand Admiral Thrawn and his antics ruined our first anniversary, and rescuing Jan Dodonna and the others who had once been imprisoned with me on the Lusankya had called me away during the second. And then the reborn Emperors assault on Coruscant dropped a Star Destroyer on what had been our home. Neither of us were there at the time, which was standard operating procedure far too often.

In fact, the only benefit of being assigned to go after the Invids was that their leader, ex-Moff Leonia Tavira, seemed to have a taste for a life of leisure. When her Invidious vanished between raids, we usually had a week of down time before having to worry about another attack. Mirax and I put this free time to good use, rebuilding our home and our relationship, but with that came some consequences that I saw as incredibly disruptiveon the scale of