About the Book
Sometimes it seems a Jedi’s work is never done and Luke and Mara Jade
Skywalker know this only too well. Despite the bond they share in the
Force, after three years of marriage the Jedi Master and his wife are
still learning the ropes of being a couple — and struggling to find time
together between the constant demands of duty. But all that will change
when they’re united on an unexpected mission — and must pool their
exceptional skills to combat an insidious enemy... and salvage a part of Jedi history.
It begins with a message from a surprising
source: Nirauan, the planet where Thrawn, dangerous disciple of Emperor
Palpatine, once held sway... and from which Luke and Mara barely
escaped with their lives. The message itself is shocking. After fifty
years, the remains of Outbound Flight — a pioneering Jedi expedition
viciously destroyed by Thrawn — have been found on Nirauan. Now, the
fiercely honor-bound aliens who reside there wish to turn over the
remnants of the doomed mission to the New Republic. Accepting the
gesture will mean a long voyage into the treacherous cluster of stars
where the thousands of souls aboard the Outbound Flight vessel met their grim fate. But it may also mean something more... something that has stirred an inexplicable sense of foreboding in Mara.
Whatever
may await, the Skywalkers will not face it alone. Joining them on the
strange and solemn journey are an officer of the post-Palpatine Empire,
escorted by a detachment of Imperial stormtroopers; a party of diplomats from a gentle alien species that reveres the fallen Jedi for saving
them from bloodthirsty conquerors; and a New Republic ambassador who
harbors his own mysterious agenda.
Soon enough, suspicion,
secrecy, and an unknown saboteur run rampant aboard the isolated ship.
But it is within the derelict walls of Outbound Flight itself, buried
for half a century on a desolate planetoid, where the gravest danger
lies. As the marooned hulk yields up stunning revelations and unexpected terrors to its visitors, Luke and Mara find all they stand for — and
their very existence — brutally challenged. And the ultimate test will be
surviving the deathtrap carefully laid by foes who are legendary for
their ruthlessness... and determined to complete the job Thrawn
began: exterminating the Jedi.
