During this savage civil war, all efforts to end Jacen Solo's tyranny of the Galactic Alliance have failed. Now with Jacen approaching the height of his dark powers, no one--not even the Solos and the Skywalkers--knows if anything can stop the Sith Lord before his plan to save the galaxy ends up destroying it.
Jacen Solo's shadow of influence has threatened many, especially those closest to him. Jaina Solo is determined to bring her brother in, but in order to track him down, she must first learn unfamiliar skills from a man she finds ruthless, repellent, and dangerous. Meanwhile, Ben Skywalker, still haunted by suspicions that Jacen killed his mother, Mara, decides he must know the truth, even if it costs him his life. And as Luke Skywalker contemplates once unthinkable strategies to dethrone his nephew, the hour of reckoning for those on both sides draws near. The galaxy becomes a battlefield where all must face their true nature and darkest secrets, and live--or die--with the consequences.
Boba, how has your illness progressed? Has my data been of use to you? My offer still stands. --Taun We, former human clone development supervisor on Kamino, now Head of Clone Adjustment at Arkanian Micro
Galactic City spaceport, Coruscant
It was a planet of a trillion people, and Ben knew Coruscant well enough now to vanish within it.
He shut himself down in the Force long before the flight from Bespin landed in Galactic City, more out of fear of implicating the people he intended to contact than worrying that Jacen would sense him and come after him. Knowing Jacen, he'd probably written Ben off as a weakling who couldn't take it. Ben was consigned to the also-rans, minor disappointments Jacen would deal with when he came across them.
And Ben had his sources. They said Tahiri had pretty well taken his place at Jacen's side.
At Galactic City Spaceport, the transport disgorged its long-haul passengers and Ben slipped through in the merging streams of bodies from all parts of the galaxy, a single fish in a multicolored shoal. With the easy obscurity of sun visor and a cap, he was just another young man out of millions in the Galactic City area. And maybe it was wishful thinking, but he thought he detected a faint growth of beard, more fluff than anything, but it was still . . . different. He didn't look like Lieutenant Skywalker.
Ben logged his identichip at the transit security control gate--bogus, naturally, one of a dozen he carried--and was still expecting a sudden wail of alarms for a good ten paces as he headed for the open walkway. But nothing happened. All he had to do now was remember to disguise his walk to defeat the gait recognition system on security cams, and then he could wander around at will. A small pebble in each boot changed his stride enough to cheat the software without crippling him. In his bag--a reversible bag--there were various changes of clothing. He got as far as the first public refreshers by a branch of the Bank of Aargau and started adding to the deception.
That's your problem, Jacen. You taught me all this. Or at least the GAG did.
In a cubicle, he changed his tunic, cap, and pants, turned the bag inside out to show its light brown side, and repacked. He changed shoes to ones with stack heels. Then he emerged a totally different person, walking differently and dressed differently. He'd keep doing that, and the security cams would have no pattern to track.
Lon Shevu's girlfriend, Shula Palasj, worked for a haulage company. He'd start with her; no comlink calls, just in case. The GAG might be monitoring, the same way Ben had eavesdropped on Senators and politicians when he was in the Guard. He made his way to Shula's workplace, doubling back occasionally just as Jori Lekauf had--
It hit him hard sometimes. Even when he was mired in grief over Mom, Lekauf would suddenly appear in his mind, and he'd feel it all over again. It wasn't any less of a sense of loss than the one he felt for his mother, just different, and it could still make him stop breathing for a moment while he steadied himself. Lekauf had taught him about evading detection and tracking others, so this was another way of ensuring that his sacrifice to save Ben hadn't been in vain; using that training to bring down Jacen was right.
Ben swung right into a walkway lined with clothing stores and tapcafs. What do I really mean by "bring him down"? He was sure now that he didn't mean killing him. It wasn't Ben's job to be the judge. He was just getting a case together, and someone else would decide what to do with Jacen in the end....
About the Author
Karen Traviss is the author of two previous Star Wars: Legacy of the Force novels, Bloodlines and Sacrifice, three Star Wars: Republic Commando novels, Hard Contact, Triple Zero, and True Colors, as well as City of Pearl, Crossing the Line, The World Before, Matriarch, and Ally. A former defense correspondent and TV and newspaper journalist, Traviss has also worked as a police press officer, an advertising copywriter, and a journalism lecturer. Since her graduation from the Clarion East class of 2000, her short stories have appeared in Asimov's, Realms of Fantasy,On Spec, and Star Wars Insider. She lives in Devizes, England.
