2003 | please don't steal
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Heir to the Empire [by Timothy Zahn]
Heir to the Empire, the first novel in the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn, was published in 1991 by Bantam Spectra Books. From the Publisher: It's five years after Return Of The Jedi : the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and driven out the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet to a distant corner of the galaxy. Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting Jedi twins. And Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of Jedi Knights. But thousand of light-years away, the last of the Emperor's warlords has taken command of the shattered Imperial Fleet, readied it for war, and pointed it at the fragile heart of the new Republic. For this dark warrior has made two vital discoveries that could destroy everything the courageous men and women of the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to build. The explosive confrontation that results is a towering epic of action, invention, mystery, and spectacle on a galactic scale -- in short, a story worthy of the name Star Wars. Mara Jade's Part: [WARNING: spoilers for those who haven't read this novel] When we are first introduced to Mara Jade, the newly-appointed second-in-command of Talon Karrde's thriving smuggling organization, she is almost a complete enigma. Karrde has suspicions about her past when she shows a particular interest in Luke Skywalker (in causing his death, that is), but he and we are left in the dark. Until... Talon and Mara pick up Skywalker in The Wild Karrde when they find him stranded in his X-Wing without a working hyperdrive. They take him back to their Myrkr base, hiding him from the Grand Admiral who is searching for him, until they decide what to do with him. With the help of his trusty astromech droid, Skywalker escapes in a stolen fighter. Mara is hot on his trail when both of their ships crash in to the forest below. A forest that happens to be filled with Ysalimiri, creatures that create an anti-Force bubble around themselves, and that render Skywalker virtually helpless. Mara and Luke begin the long trek to the other side of the forest, anxious to avoid Imperial attention. The time spent together allows Luke to realize just how fully Mara seems to hate him, and gives Mara a chance to exercise self-control by not killing him. Eventually Luke is able to learn the truth as Mara tells him about her past life, the life that had promise and purpose, the life that she believed Skywalker had destroyed. She was the Emperor's Hand, a highly trained operative who could hear his sinister call throughout the galaxy. Her last command had been to kill Luke Skywalker-- and she had failed that mission. Until now. She believed that she needed to kill him to avenge the death of the Emperor, which he had caused. After Luke is rejoined with his friends and travels back to Coruscant, Karrde's organization is forced to vacate the Myrkr base because the Grand Admiral has learned that they once kept Skywalker there without telling him. At the same time, Mara is beginning to have premonitions, nudges or hunches, through the Force, and she knows that the dreams will not be far behind... BACK TO NOVELS |