Star Wars
The Dark Nest Trilogy
1
The Joiner King
by Troy Denning
For Curtis Smith
Who invited me to play in the Galaxy Far, Far Away A long, long time ago
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people contributed to this book in ways large and small. Thanks are especially due to: Andria Hayday, for advice, encouragement, critiques, and much more; James Luceno for being such a fun target for idea-bouncing; Enrique Guerrero for his suggestions and our many useful Chiss discussions; Shelly Shapiro and all the people at Del Rey who make this so much fun, particularly Keith Clayton and Colleen Lindsay; Sue Rostoni and the wonderful people at Lucasfilm, particularly Howard Roffman, Amy Gary, Leland Chee, and Pablo Hidalgo. And, of course, to George Lucas for opening his galaxy to the rest of us.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Alema Rar; Jedi Knight (female Twi'lek)
Ben Skywalker; child (male human)
C-3PO; protocol droid
Cal Omas; Galactic Alliance Chief-of-State (male human)
Cilghal; Jedi Master (female Mon Calamari)
Gorog; mastermind (Killik)
Han Solo; captain, Millennium Falcon (male human)
Jacen Solo; Jedi Knight (male human)
Jae Juun; captain, XR808g (male Sullustan)
Jagged Fel; commander, Chiss task force (male human)
Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (female human)
Leia Organa Solo; copilot, Millennium Falcon (female human)
Lowbacca; Jedi Knight (male Wookiee)
Luke Skywalker; Jedi Master (male human)
Mara Jade Skywalker; Jedi Master (female human)
R2-D2: astromech droid
Raynar Thul; crash survivor (male human)
Saba Sebatyne; Jedi Master (female Barabel)
Tahiri Veila; Jedi Knight (female human)
Tarfang; copilot, XR808g (male Ewok)
Tekli; Jedi Knight (female Chadra-fan)
Tenel Ka; Queen Mother (female human)
Tesar Sebatyne; Jedi Knight (male Barabel)
Welk; crash survivor (male human)
Zekk; Jedi Knight (male human)
PROLOGUE
The feeling had returned, a sense of desperation that burned in the Force like a faraway star, clear and bright and beckoning. Jaina Solo found her gaze straying through the justice ship viewport, out into the blue- flecked void that hung behind the slowly spinning cylinder of Detention Center Maxsec Eight. As before, the sensation came from the direction of the Unknown Regions, a call for... what? And from whom? The touch was too wispy to tell. It always was.
"Jedi Solo?" The inquisitor stepped closer to the witness rail. "Shall I repeat the question?"
A tall, stiff woman with a shaved head and deep lines at the corners of her gray eyes, Athadar Gyad had the brusque demeanor of a retired military officer. It was a common affectation among petty Reconstruction Authority bureaucrats, even when the only notation in their service record was a decades-old planetary conscription number.
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