Publisher Description

At long last, the New York Times bestselling series that launched the Star Wars saga into the next generation and into thrilling new territory reaches its spectacular finale. Side by side, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, their children, and their comrades in the Galactic Alliance rally for their last stand against the enemy that threatens not only the galaxy, but the Force itself.

The Galactic Alliance's hard-won success in countering the Yuuzhan Vong onslaught has proven all too brief—and the tide has turned once more to the invaders' advantage. Having overcome the sabotage strategies of the Jedi and their allies, the marauding aliens have pushed deeper into the galaxy and subjugated more worlds in their ruthless quest for domination. Coruscant has been remade into a Yuuzhan Vong stronghold. The remnants of the resistance are struggling to form a united front. Luke, Mara, and Jacen are missing in action. Clearly the stage is set for endgame.

Now, as Han and Leia receive the chilling news that hundreds of high-ranking Galactic Alliance prisoners face slaughter in a sacrifice to the enemy's bloodthirsty gods, Luke and his team try desperately to convince the living world of Zonama Sekot to join the Jedi's final campaign against the Yuuzhan Vong. Yet even as they speak, a lone space station is all that stands between Alliance headquarters on Mon Calamari . . . and wave after wave of ferocious enemy forces waging their most decisive assault.

At the same time, the Jedi's alliances throughout the galaxy are being tested—and the chances of victory jeopardized—by rogue factions determined to deploy the lethal weapon that will exterminate the Yuuzhan Vong . . . and perhaps countless other species. And among the Yuuzhan Vong themselves, the threat of revolt has reached a boiling point—as the oppressed underclass and powerful officials alike fear their Supreme Overlord's mad actions will provoke the wrath of the gods.

Ultimately, for both the forces of invasion and resistance, too much has been sacrificed —and too much is at stake—to ever turn back. And now, nothing can stand in the way of seizing victory . . . or facing annihilation.

Back Cover

In the spectacular finale of the New Jedi Order series, Luke, Han, and Leia rally for their last stand against the enemy that threatens not only the galaxy but the Force itself. The Galactic Alliance's hard-won success in countering the Yuuzhan Vong onslaught has proven all too brief-and the tide has turned once more to the invaders' advantage. The marauding aliens have pushed deeper into the galaxy in their ruthless quest for domination. The remnants of the resistance are struggling to form a united front. Clearly the stage is set for endgame. Now, as Luke and his team try desperately to convince the living world of Zonama Sekot to join the Jedi's final campaign against the Yuuzhan Vong, a lone space station is all that stands between Alliance head-quarters and ferocious enemy forces, which are poised to wage their most decisive assault. For both sides, too much has been sacrificed-and too much is at stake-to ever turn back. And now nothing can stand in the way of seizing victory ... or facing annihilation.

Author Biography

James Luceno is the New York Times bestselling author of the Star Wars novels Millennium Falcon, Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, Cloak of Deception, Labyrinth of Evil, as well as the New Jedi Order novels Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial and Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, The Unifying Force, and the eBook Darth Maul: Saboteur. He is also the author of the fantasy novel Hunt for the Mayan Looking-Glass, available as an eBook. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with his wife and youngest child.

Excerpt from Book

"Cakhmaim''s getting to be a pretty good shot," Han said over the sound of the reciprocating quad laser cannon. "Remind me to up his pay--or at least promote him." Leia glanced at him from the copilot''s chair. "From bodyguard to what--butler?" Han pictured the Noghri in formal attire, setting meals in front of Han and Leia in the Falcon ''s forward cabin. His upper lip curled in delight, and he laughed shortly. "Maybe we should see how he does with the rest of these skips." The YT-1300 was just coming out of her long turn, with Selvaris''s double suns off to starboard and an active volcano dominating the forward view. Below, green-capped, sheer-sided islands reached up into the planet''s deep blue sky, and the aquamarine sea seemed to go on forever. Two coralskippers were still glued to the Falcon ''s tail, chopping at it and holding position through all the insane turns and evasions, but so far the deflector shields were holding. His large hands gripped on the control yoke, Han glanced at the console''s locator display, where only one bezel was pulsing. "Where''d the other swoop go?" "We lost it," Leia said. Han leaned toward the viewport to survey the undulating sea. "How could we lose--" "No, I mean it''s gone. One of the coralskippers took it out." Han''s eyes blazed. "Why, that--which one of ''em?" Before Leia could answer, two plasma missiles streaked past the cockpit, bright as meteors and barely missing the starboard mandible. "Does it matter?" Han shook his head. "Where''s the other swoop?" Leia studied the locator display, then called up a map from the terrain sensor, which showed everything from the mouth of the estuary clear to the volcano. Her left forefinger tapped the screen. "Far side of that island." "Any skips after it?" A loud explosion buffeted the Falcon from behind. "We seem to be the popular target," Leia said. "Just the way you like it." Han narrowed his eyes. "You bet I do." Determined to lure their pair of pursuers away from the swoop, he threw the freighter into a sudden ascent. When they had climbed halfway to the stars, he dropped the ship into a stomach-churning corkscrew. Pulling out sharply, he twisted the ship through a looping rollover, emerging from the combo headed in the opposite direction, with the two coralskippers in front of him. He grinned at Leia. "Now who''s in charge?" She blew out her breath. "Was there ever any doubt?" Han focused his attention on the two enemy craft. Over the long years, Yuuzhan Vong pilots faced with impossible odds had surrendered some of the suicidal resolve they had displayed during the early days of the war. Maybe word had come down from Supreme Overlord Shimrra or someone that discretion really was the better part of valor. Whatever the case, the pilots of the two skips Han was stalkling apparently saw some advantage to fleeing rather than reengaging the ship their plasma missiles had failed to bring down. But Han wasn''t content to send them home with their tails tucked between their legs-- especially not after they had killed an unarmed swoop pilot he had come halfway across the galaxy to rescue. "Cakhmaim, listen up," he said into his headset mike. "I''ll fire the belly gun from here. We''ll put ''em in the Money Lane and be done with them." Money Lane was Han''s term for the area where the quad lasers'' firing fields overlapped. In emergency situations, both cannons could be fired from the cockpit, but the present situation didn''t call for that. What''s more, Han wanted to give Cakhmaim the chance to hone his firing technique. All Han and Leia had to do was help line up the shots. From the way the coralskippers reacted to the Falcon ''s sudden turnabout, Han could almost believe that the enemy pilots had been eavesdropping on his communication with the Noghri. The first skip--the more battered of the pair, showing charred blotches and deep pockmarks--poured on all speed, separating from his wingmate at a sharp angle. Smaller and faster, and seemingly helmed by a better pilot, the second skip shed velocity in an attempt to trick the Falcon into coming across his vector. That was the skip that had taken out the swoop, Han decided, sentencing the pilot to be the first to feel the Falcon ''s wrath. Leia guessed as much, and immediately plotted an intercept course. Exposed, the skip pilot went evasive, moving into the gunsights and out again, but with mounting panic as the Falcon settled calmly into kill position. The dorsal laser cannon was programmed to fire three-beam bursts that, all these years later, still had the ability to outwit the dovin basals of the older, perhaps more dim-witted coralskippers. While the enemy craft was quick to deploy a gravitic anomaly that engulfed the first and second beams, the third got through, blowing a huge chunk of yorik coral from the vessel''s fantail. Han tweaked the yoke to place the skip in the Money Lane, and his left hand tightened on the trigger of the belly gun''s remote firing mechanism. Sustained bursts from the twin cannons whittled the skip to half its size; then it blew, throwing pieces of coral wreckage in every direction. "That''s for the swoop pilot," Han said soberly. He turned his attention to the second skip, which, desperate to avoid a similar fate, was jinking and juking all over the sky. Zipping through the showering remains of the first kill, the Falcon quickened up and pounced on the wildly maneuvering skip from above. The targeting reticle went red, and a target-lock tone filled the cockpit. Again the quad lasers rallied, catching the vessel with burst after burst until it disappeared in a nimbus of coral dust and whitehot gas. Han and Leia hooted. "Nice shooting, Cakhmaim!" he said into the headset. "Score two more for the good guys." Leia watched him for a moment. "Happy now?" Instead of replying, Han pushed the yoke away from him, dropping the Falcon to within meters of the surging waves. "Where''s the swoop?" he asked finally. Leia was ready with the answer. "Come around sixty degrees, and it should be right in front of us." Han adjusted course, and the swoop came into view, streaking over the surface, bearing two seriously dissimilar riders. In pursuit, and just visible beneath the surface, moved an enormous olive-drab triangle, trailing what appeared to be a lengthy tail. Han''s jaw dropped. "What is that thing?" Leia said. "Threepio, get in here!" Han yelled, without taking his eyes from the creature. C-3PO staggered into the cockpit, clamping his hands on the high-backed navigator''s chair to keep from being thrown off balance, as had too often happened. Han raised his right hand to the viewport and pointed. "What is that?" he asked, enunciating every word. "Oh, my," the droid began. "I believe that what we''re looking at is a kind of boat creature. The Yuuzhan Vong term for it is vangaak , which derives from the verb ''to submerge.'' Although in this case the verb has been modified to suggest--" "Skip the language lesson and just tell me how to kill it!" "Well, I would suggest targeting the flat dome, clearly visible on its dorsal surface." "A head shot." "Precisely. A head shot." "Han," Leia interrupted. "Four more coralskippers headed our way." Han manipulated levers on the console, and the Falcon accelerated. "We gotta work fast. Threepio, tell Meewalh to activate the manual release for the landing ramp. I''ll be there in a flash." Leia watched him undo the clasps of the crash webbing. "I take it you''re not planning to land." He kissed her on the cheek as he stood up. "Not if I can help it." The swoop fought to maintain an altitude of eight meters, but that was enough to keep it from the snapping jaws of the Yuuzhan Vong vangaak that had almost snagged it on surfacing. Thorsh might have opted to head inland if the Yuuzhan Vong search parties and their snarling beasts hadn''t reached the marshy shore. Worse, four specks in the northern sky were almost certainly coralskippers, soaring in to reinforce the pair the YT-1300 was chasing. Instead, the Jenet had the swoop aimed for deeper water, out toward the volcano, where the waves mounded to a height of ten meters. Thorsh and his rider could feel the sting of the saline spray on their scratched and bruised faces and hands. Behind them, the vangaak was rapidly closing the gap, but if it had weapons other than tor- pedo analogs it wasn''t bringing them to bear. An unsettling vociferation from the Bith broke Thorsh''s concentration. "The vangaak''s gone! It submerged!" Thorsh didn''t know whether to worry or celebrate. The vangaak put a quick end to his indecision. Breaching the surfa

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