Heir to the Empire

Thrawn and his troops, back on the Chimaera, are still monitoring activity on Karrde’s base and the surrounding area. Thrawn has determined that Karrde wanted to hide something from him about the speeder chase, and he suspects that one of the speeders was occupied by Luke. Thrawn instructs Pellaeon to send stormtroopers to the only feasible place where Luke and Mara could leave the forest so that they can take Luke prisoner while Thrawn and the Chimaera continue with their plans for the attack on Sluis Van.

Karrde tells Han that he and Lando should not leave yet, as the Chimaera is still in orbit. Han agrees, but he and Lando slip away to check on likely areas Karrde might keep the prisoner that Karrde’s man mentioned to them. They find evidence of an escaped prisoner; Karrde comes upon them, refusing to share who the prisoner is, but Lando finds the power source used to wire the door. He recognizes it as the kind used in Luke’s hand, and with Han’s discovery of restraints likely used for an R2 unit, the two determine Luke is the prisoner. Karrde admits to it but insists he had not yet planned to give Luke up to the Empire. He insists on his trustworthiness. Han wants to pursue Luke immediately, especially since Karrde admits that Mara, who wants to kill Luke, is with him, but Karrde explains the dangers of the forest at night. They agree to do more in the morning.

Mara and Luke settle down to sleep, with R2-D2 watching over them. A predator comes upon them, going for Luke, but Mara kills it. Mara is surprised by Luke’s calm and his ability to lie down to sleep around her but dismisses it. She takes a stim pill to stay awake.

Karrde observes the forest that night, fearful of what will happen. His men have found the message from Mara on the X-Wing and are trying to decode it, but he does not know why she took the risk. He is also unsure if she will keep Luke alive. Now that Han and Lando know about Luke, he knows he has no choice but to give Luke to them if he is found, but he also knows that the Grand Admiral will be displeased. Karrde admits to himself that he will have to leave the planet soon, no matter the outcome of this ordeal.

Leia wakes in the middle of the night, her Jedi senses noting something. She does not see anything, but as she sits up, something in the dark grabs her wrist. She wrestles with her assailant, one of the Noghri, until she can grab her lightsaber and kill him. Another assailant follows, however, and grabs her from behind. Unexpectedly, he releases her, calling her “Mal’ary’ush.” Chewie rushes in and knocks him unconscious.

Other Noghri had also attacked Chewie, Ralrra, and Salporin; Salporin died. They have to leave quickly—Leia knows from previous attacks that there will be a second wave of attackers—and Ralrra tells her that a home a few units down has been set on fire as a distraction from their own cries for help.

Leia tries to leave on her own to protect the others, but Chewie and Ralrra insist on staying with her. Leia cuts a hole in the home’s floor so they can climb out and onto the tree branches of the tree supporting the home, with Leia strapped to Chewie’s chest. When they notice a Noghri ship following them, Leia uses a stretched rope with her activated lightsaber on the end to destroy the other ship.

Before leaving the planet, the surviving Noghri is captured, and he requests a meeting with Leia. He reveals that by her smell, he knows that she is “Mal’ary’ush,” or the daughter of his master, Lord Vader. His current master had only told him and his fellow Noghri her name, not her status or relation to Vader. He says that Vader and the Emperor saved the Noghri from harm at the hands of the Rebels, not believing Leia when she claims they would not have harmed them and did not know about them.

Using her status as near-royalty in his eyes, she tries to convince the Noghri to tell her where his world is so she can help his people. He refuses, so she offers to release him and, if he changes his mind, to meet him alone by Endor so he can take her to his people.

Chewie and Ralrra leave to attend the Wookie-only portion of mourning for Salporin. Leia waits until she can join, wondering if the war will ever be over.

Two days into their trek, Mara’s reflexes are becoming more sluggish. She kills another predator attacking Luke, but she knows she almost dropped her weapon. They reach another clearing and she sets R2-D2 up to see if any messages have come from Karrde. Finally, a message arrives, sent as a one-minute holo of C-3PO to further confuse any possible observers of their interactions. If Karrde, Han, and Lando cannot rescue them before they reach the city where Thrawn has laid a trap, Karrde suggests the two switch places and act as the fleeing smuggler and his captive that Karrde had told Thrawn about, since he had not told Thrawn Jade is a woman.

Mid-conversation with Luke about the idea, Mara is jumped by a vornskr, her reflexes too slow to defend herself. It pins her, and Luke and R2-D2 distract it from killing her until Luke can get his lightsaber from Mara’s side and kill it.

Mara, unwilling to be grateful to Luke for saving her life, says it is repayment for her not shooting him two days prior. He asks her directly what happened and why she hates him. Mara finally explains. She had been the Emperor’s Hand, doing work that his troops and other servants were unable to accomplish. She could hear him and communicate with him from far distances. He had sent her to Jabba’s headquarters to intercept and kill Luke, but Jabba would not allow her on the speeder that took Luke to execution, leaving her unable to complete her task. Not many in the Empire knew of her role, so when the Emperor was defeated, she had few options but to survive however she could and, finally, to join Karrde. She hates Luke for destroying the life in which she had power and influence, leaving her with little. Luke remembers the vision he had in the cave on Dagobah and realizes that it had shown him an alternate past.

Thrawn and Pellaeon check data on the cloaking shield as their team works on final glitches. Pellaeon argues that they need Joruus on this mission for communications, since the cloaking shield prevents comms going in or out. Thrawn does not want Joruus to get a taste for more power. Pellaeon asks why Thrawn does not have him killed, and Thrawn explains that once they give Leia to Joruus, Joruus will be far too distracted by his own goals to bother the Empire.

When the shield is ready, they complete a successful test on the shipping frigate. The narrative switches to Wedge on Coruscant, responding to a request to escort a frigate. He’s wary because the request is unusual—X-Wings normally escort ships with people on them. But the person he is speaking to hints that Fey’lya might gear up for more of a challenge to Ackbar’s power, and it might be worthwhile to be away from Coruscant for a while. Wedge agrees.

Luke and Mara spy on stormtroopers searching the forest, and Mara finally agrees to Karrde’s plan when she sees how the troops have cut off their escape route. She gives Luke her blaster, they hide his lightsaber, and the two switch places.

The commander of the troops does not seem to believe their story; he also notes that the disfigurement on Luke’s face is likely from an outside source rather one he was born with. He plans to have their doctor bring the swelling down so they can identify Luke. He takes both captive, but as they move through the city, they find another group with a prisoner. Luke recognizes the prisoner as Han. The men holding him claim that they thought the stormtroopers would want anyone who was sneaking around.

The commander takes Han, as well, and the group moves forward again. Luke notices an area that would be an obvious ambush spot, and he sees that the troops are prepared for it. He trips R2-D2 and uses the confusion to instruct the droid to send a message to C-3PO that Karrde’s men should wait until they are under the bridge beyond the area Luke had noticed.

C-3PO interrupts Lando and one of Karrde’s men, Aves, to share Luke’s message. Aves refuses to follow Luke’s plan, claiming his men would die if the stormtroopers were able to bring their Chariot vehicle down to protect them under the arch. Lando understands the land tactics, but he trusts Luke. Gambling on Luke being right, Lando threatens Aves into agreeing to the new plan, and Aves responds that he will not forget the threats.

When Karrde’s men attack, it looks like Aves is right, as the Chariot comes down to protect the troops. A shot through the window hits Lando, who falls to the ground believing he may have made his last gamble.

Luke, however, had planned on the Chariot’s positioning. Han uses his trick cuffs to uncuff Luke and provide a distraction while Luke calls for R2-D2 to throw his lightsaber to him.

Newly armed, Luke dispatches the stormtroopers attempting to subdue Han. Without the Force, he cannot deflect all the shots that he knows the remaining troops will take; instead, he turns around and cuts the supports out from under the arch, throwing his lightsaber to cut the supports on the other side. He, Han, and Mara escape, but the stormtroopers are trapped as the arch falls.

Karrde surveys the aftermath of their ambush in amazement, shocked that Luke could have accomplished so much by himself, especially without the Force. Han thanks him for the help and promises to follow through on providing a ship Karrde had requested. Karrde throws in one last, similar request before Han, Luke, and Lando leave with the droids.

With Luke’s X-Wing hitched to the Falcon, the group leaves Myrkr; Luke appreciates the return of his powers as they leave the planet. Han shares that before heading to Coruscant, where he expects political chaos, they will stop at Sluis Van to get medical attention for Lando and rest for them all. Han may also be able to get the ship for Karrde there.

Pellaeon completes final check-ins with Thrawn. They discover that the stormtroopers on Myrkr are late in their report, and Thrawn deduces that Luke was indeed on the planet and that he defeated the troops. He suspects Karrde must have helped, but he claims the Sluis Van attack is more important at the moment. Everything is ready for the attack that Thrawn believes is the beginning of their final victory over the Rebellion.

The Sluis Van attack begins in Chapter 31. The chapter opens on Wedge as he arrives with the frigate to which he had been assigned; as he observes a nearby ship, he feels that there is something wrong about it. Just in case there is danger, he orders all X-Wing fighters to their ships.

As the X-Wing fighters fan out, the suspicious ship explodes to reveal Tie Fighters and the mole miners that Thrawn stole from Lando, which Han recognizes as he and Luke arrive on the scene. Han realizes that the Empire is trying to steal ships rather than destroy them, so he orders the X-Wing fighters to focus on stopping the mole miners, but they’re not stopping enough of them. Suddenly, Han remembers the radio system that the miners use and calls Lando to the cockpit to help. Lando inputs codes to transmit to the miners, and they all destroy the hulls of the ships they have attached themselves to, destroying the resources that Thrawn wanted.

Pellaeon expects an outburst of rage and perhaps for Thrawn to jump into the battle in his anger, but Thrawn stays focused on his end goal: destroying the Rebellion. He tells Pellaeon that as long as they have the emperor’s hidden treasures on Wayland, they will still defeat the Rebels. Thrawn orders a retreat.

Han and the others realize that although destroying ships to prevent the Empire from taking them was their only option, Fey’lya will likely use it against them, criticizing the loss of life and resources.

A call comes in from Coruscant—Leia has returned and is trying to reach Han. She tells him that Ackbar has been arrested under charges of treason and needs as many friends as he can get. Han and Luke recognize that they may be on the edge of civil war. Han prepares to head to Coruscant, with Luke not far behind, once his X-Wing is repaired. Both are determined not to let the New Republic fall.