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