Star Wars Dark Apprentice

578 Pages·1994·1.33 MB·English

by  Anderson Kevin J

DARK APPRENTICE
TheJediAcademy Trilogy
Volume 2
by Kevin J. Anderson
Copyright 1994 by
Lucasfilm Ltd.
All rights reserved.
THE BLOCKBUSTER
SAGA CONTINUES
STAR WARS
As theNewRepublic takes devastating losses in the
ongoing war with the scattered remnants of the Empire,
the galaxy's future depends on three small children--
among them the Jedi twins--butorn to incredible powers
among them the Jedi twins--butorn to incredible powers
and perils, as an extraordinary new Star Wars R saga
unfolds....
While theNewRepublic struggles to decide what to do
with the deadly Sun Crusher--a new doomsday weapon
stolen from the Empire by Han Solo--the renegade
imperial Admiral Daala uses her fleet of Star Destroyers
to conduct guerrilla warfare on peaceful planets. And
now she threatens the watery homeworld of Admiral
Ackbar. But as the battle for a planet rages, an even
greater danger emerges at Luke Skywalker's Jedi
academy. A brilliant student delves dangerously into the
dark side of the Force and unleashes the spirit of
an ancient master of the evil order that warped Darth
Vader himself. Working together, they may become an
enemy greater than any the New Republic has ever
fought... more powerful than even a Jedi Master can
face.
About the Author
For the past ten years Kevin J. Anderson has worked as
For the past ten years Kevin J. Anderson has worked as
a technical editor and writer at the large government
weapons research lab, Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory... which he insists has nothing to do with the
large Imperial weapons research lab, Maw Installation, in
Jedi Search. He is also the author of 18 science fiction or
fantasy books, including three co-written
with Doug Beason for Bantam--Lifeline, The Trinity
Paradox, and Assemblers of
Infinity. His works have appeared on numerous Best of
the Year lists, as well
as preliminary or final ballots for the Nebula and Bram
Stoker Awards. In addition to the three novels in the
"JediAcademy" trilogy, he is also at work
on various other Star Wars projects, including The
Illustrated Star Wars Universe, an art book featuring
many new paintings by artist Ralph McQuarrie showing
daily life on the planets in the Star Wars universe. He is
also editing three anthologies of short stories, the first of
which--Tales from the
Mos Eisley Cantina - comtells the stories of all the
bizarre characters from the famous Star Wars Cantina
scene.
OTHER BOOKS BY
KEVIN J. ANDERSON
Resurrection, Inc. Gamearth Gameplay Game's End Star
Wars Jedi Search Star Wars Dark Apprentice Star
Wars Champions of the Force
[Forthcoming]
by Kevin J. Anderson and
Doug Beason
Lifeline The Trinity Paradox Assemblers of Infinity
by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and
Kevin J. Anderson
Afterimage
Acknowledgments
I'd like to shower thanks upon Lillie Mitchell for
transcribing piles of my microcassettes with lightning
speed; my wife Rebecca Moesta Anderson for just
about everything, from brainstorming to copyediting to
personal support to helping dialogue make sense; the
exhaustive Star Wars expertise of Bill Smith at West End
Games (not to mention all the wonderful source material
available fromWest End ); Tom Veitch for helping me
create the entire history
of Exar Kun (so much, in fact, that we are writing his
story and the Great Sith War in twelve issues of Dark
Lords of the Sith to be published by Dark Horse
Comics); Ralph McQuarrie, whose imagination and
original painting inspired thetempleofExar Kun ; my
editor Betsy Mitchell, who helped develop
this story, and her successor Tom Dupree, who came
aboard the starship when we
were already leaping into hyperspace; Heather
McConnell, who helps keep all systems under control;
Karen Anderson for custom-designing the word
"praxeum";
Sue Rostoni at Lucasfilm for helping things run smoothly;
Rose Guilbert for the sentient mollusks; Dave Wolverton
and Timothy Zahn for their invaluable assistance and
cooperation; David Brin for the Startide; my agent
Richard Curtis; Rita Anderson; Chuck Beason; and of
course, George Lucas, for creating
such a marvelous universe in the first place.
Dedication
To Lucy Autrey Wilson, of Lucasfilm Licensing... who
gets thrilled just to see her name in the acknowledgments
of a book; no telling what she'll do when she sees a
dedication! Lucy has always been enthusiastic, willing to
listen to ideas and offer her own, and a pleasure to work
with on all my Star
Wars projects.
DARK APPRENTICE
The huge orange sphere of the gas planet Yavin heaved
itself over the horizon of its fourth mood. Soft, misty light
shone across the ever-stirring jungles and the ancient
stone temples.
Luke Skywalker used a Jedi refreshing technique to
remove weariness from his body. He had slept soundly--
but the future of theNewRepublic and the fate of the
galaxy weighed heavily upon him.
Luke stood atop the squared pyramid of theGreatTemple
that had been abandoned millennia before by the lost
Massassi race. During theAlliance 's early struggles
against the Empire, they had built a secret base in the
ruins,
from which they had launched their desperate attack
against the first Death Star. Now, eleven years after the
Rebels' departure, Luke had returned to the
fourth moon of Yavin.
Now he was a Jedi. A Jedi Master. He would be the first
of a new generation, like those who had protected the
of a new generation, like those who had protected the
Republic for a thousand generations. The old Jedi
Knights had been respected and powerful, until Darth
Vader and the Emperor had hunted and slaughtered
virtually all of them. Luke had received support from
Mon Mothma, theNewRepublic 's Chief of State, to
seek others who had a potential to use the Force--
trainees who might
become part of a new order of Jedi. Luke had managed
to bring a dozen students
to his "academy" on Yavin 4, but he felt uncertain about
the best way to train
them.
His own instruction by Obi-Wan and Yoda had been
abbreviated, and Luke had since discovered facets of
Jedi lore that made him realize just how much he still did
not know. Even a great Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi had
failed with his student and had let Anakin Skywalker
become a monster named Darth Vader. Now Luke was