The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way

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The New Jedi Order:
Destiny's Way

Publisher's summary[]

The time of reckoning is close at hand. Events in theNew York Times bestsellingStar Wars The New Jedi Order series take a decisive turn, as the heroes of the New Republic prepare for their most volatile clash yet with the enemy—from without and from within.

In the war against the ruthless Yuuzhan Vong, the fall of Coruscant leaves New Republic divided by internal strife and on the verge of bowing to conquest. But those who steadfastly refuse to consider surrender—Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, and their children and comrades-in-arms—are determined to seize victory against overwhelming odds. And now, finally, there are signs that the tide may be turning in the New Republic's favor.

After capturing crucial Yuuzhan Vong intelligence, Jedi fighter-pilot Jaina Solo prepares to lead a daring surprise strike against an enemy flagship. Meanwhile, Jaina's brother Jacen—liberated from the hands of the enemy and newly schooled in an even greater mastery of the Force by the Jedi Knight Vergere—is eagerly poised to bring his unique skills to bear against the invaders. And on Mon Calamari, the New Republic's provisional capital, the retired, ailing hero Admiral Ackbar has conceived a major tactical plan that could spell the beginning of a swift end for the Yuuzhan Vong.

Yet even as opposing squadrons face off in the depths of space, intrigue runs rampant: in the heated political race for Chief of State…in the shadows where Yuuzhan Vong spies plot assassinations…and in the inscrutable creature Vergere, a Jedi Knight whose allegiance is impossible to predict. And as Luke Skywalker sets about reestablishing the Jedi Council, the growing faction opposed to the ways of the Force unveils a terrifying weapon designed to annihilate the Yuuzhan Yong species. But in doing so, they may be dooming the New Republic to becoming the very thing it has sworn to fight against—and unleashing the power of the dark side.

Plot summary[]

Solo command[]

Han and Leia Organa Solo are flying through space in theMillennium Falcon while they are shippingImperial officerVana Dorja to theplanetBastion and working out a deal withGrand AdmiralGilad Pellaeon to get the Imperial Remnant back into the Yuuzhan Vong War on the New Republic's side. Leia experiences a flash in the Force that feels like her son Jacen's presence. Leia tells Han that Jacen might be alive after all, which inspires some hope in both theSolos. However, en route to Bastion, theMillennium Falcon gets pulled out ofhyperspace by adovin basal mine and is confronted by severalcoralskippers. Han flies theFalcon around and close to the mine in a battle that destroys nearly every coralskipper, then Han, Leia and Dorja are saved from the remnants byJagged Fel and a group ofChissclawcraft.

OnObroa-skai, Jaina Solo leads a strike force against a giant Yuuzhan Vongworldship belonging to the Vong leader,Supreme OverlordShimrra. Thebattle starts off as an advantage for the New Republic forces, but it soon becomes a stalemate untilHapanBattle Dragons, led byQueen MotherTenel Ka Djo ofHapes, turn the tide of the battle in the New Republic's favor and destroy the worldship. However, it turns out it didn't belong to Shimrra, and that it was actually the worldship commanded bySupreme CommanderKomm Karsh, who is second rank toWarmasterTsavong Lah. During the battle, Jaina experienced a little flash in the Force that felt like her twin brother Jacen's presence, like the one Leia felt.

Vergere's teachings[]

After the fall of Coruscant and theoperation atBorleias, the New Republic moved its assets and itsSenate to the planet Mon Calamari.Pwoe, who replaced the lateBorsk Fey'lya as Chief of State of the New Republic, was voted out as the ruler and the Senate began a vote for Chief of State, withFyor Rodan in the lead. Those of theNew Jedi Order support Rodan's opponent,Cal Omas, so he can establish a new Jedi Council. Luke Skywalker feels Jacen's presence, and says, "It's the turning point." Meanwhile, Jacen Solo and Vergere, pilotingNom Anor's stolen coralcraft from their escape from Yuuzhan'tar, are heading for Mon Calamari, and before their arrival, Vergere tells Jacen about how and why she joined the Yuuzhan Vong.

Vergere reveals that 57 years earlier, she was a Jedi Knight in theOld Republic Jedi Council. She was sent to investigate a strange alien group known as the Far Outsiders, which would later become known as the Vong, and went to a mysterious planet calledZonama Sekot, which had all kinds of life, particularly plants and vegetation. The Vong attacked Sekot, resulting in agrand battle. Vergere later met with the Vong that were attacking Sekot, and she was angered by the fact that she couldn't sense them in the Force when she met them. However, she saw how the Vong valued life in their own perverse way, as one of the Vong had anavian pet similar to Vergere. She then fooled the Vong by displaying her powers and saying it was the power of Zonama Sekot. The Vong were pleased that they found a living planet, and decided to go back to their own galaxy to collaborate on the full-scale invasion ofthe galaxy. But instead of going back to the Jedi Council and reporting this to the Old Republic, Vergere went with the Vong to study them in their own galaxy. However, before she left, she left a message for Sekot to display to any Jedi who went to Sekot to find her about the Far Outsiders. As for Sekot, it turned out that the planet had repulsorlifts that let it travel further to the edges of the galaxy. Vergere states it is unknown if any Jedi received her message (this is revealed in the novelRogue Planet whenAnakin Skywalker received this message after he and hisJedi MasterObi-Wan Kenobi went to find her on Sekot). Vergere says that because of her choice to go with the Vong, she is largely responsible for the galactic invasion by the Vong.

Jacen and Vergere come to Mon Calamari, and Jacen reunites with his friends and family in a vacation given by AdmiralTraest Kre'fey on the water planet while Vergere is detained by New Republic Intelligence to see if she is a spy for the Yuuzhan Vong, especially considering that she had aidedElan's failed plot to destroy the Jedi. All of Jacen's friends and family, including Jaina, Luke,Mara Jade Skywalker, Han and Leia, hate Vergere for torturing him. Vergere also reveals she avoided revealing her Force potential to the Vongyammosks by using her mastery in Force potential to hide her Force abilities and even rearrange molecules for different purposes, which is how she created her healing tears that cured Mara of her coomb spore disease earlier in the series. The wise old Jedi even gives Luke her opinion that the Yuuzhan Vong actually do exist in the Force, but they are outside of every Force-sensitive's perception ability to sense them. It is also revealed thatDanni Quee and her team ofscientists have found aDNA pattern that all Vong-formed life, even the Vong themselves for that matter, share that makes them invisible from the Force.CommanderDif Scaur of the Republic used this knowledge with the Chiss early in the war to create a secret project called Alpha Red, which is an airborne virus that will only kill the Vong and all the life they created with their bioengineering.

Political turmoil[]

Meanwhile, on Yuuzhan'tar, after Jacen's manipulation of the planet'sWorld Brain, the Vong themselves are having trouble adapting to their new environment. TheBothans have declaredar'krai, a total state of war, against the Vong, meaning the Bothans won't stop killing the Vong until the invaders are all dead to the last individual, and until the very name of the Vong species is wiped from history. Nom Anor's agents learn that if Cal Omas is elected Chief of State of the New Republic, he will support the New Jedi Order and they will become an even bigger threat to the Vong. Anor therefore sends two of his agents to assassinate Omas, but the plot is foiled by Mara Jade Skywalker, who happened to have been searching for Vong infiltrators usingYVH technology developed byLando Calrissian andTalon Karrde of theSmugglers' Alliance. Lando and Karrde also blackmail most of the Senate into canceling their votes for Fyor Rodan and voting for Cal Omas by threatening to reveal their corruption to the public. With Omas now Chief of State, he gets the military on good terms with the Senate, as the the military was on the verge of a mutiny against the New Republic for all the losses that they have taken in the war. The Jedi Council is also reestablished with half the members being Jedi and the other half trusted members of the Senate and military, so it is established as theHigh Council. At this time, Scaur reveals his Alpha Red project, and former Admiral Ackbar, now old and dying withWinter Celchu taking care of him, returns with a plan to wipe out the Vong.

Han and Leia's attempts at getting the Imperial Remnant to join forces with the New Republic fails in one meeting with Admiral Pellaeon. Supreme Overlord Shimrra, heavily displeased with the discomforts created by the World Brain, hasMaster ShaperCh'Gang Hool executed for his incompetence, and is angered by Tsavong Lah at the heavy casualties the Vong have taken in the war so far. Shimmra orders Lah to have the Vong hold back on major offenses until they can repopulate properly for warriors, and have all warriors sixteen years or older reproduce. TheShamed Ones andworkers are also forming ablasphemous faith against the Vong by believing and spreading the idea that the Jedi will be their saviors. Hence, Nom Anor investigates the blasphemous religion while Shimrra states that the Shamed Ones should learn that the Jedi won't save them, but if they won't listen, they should be killed on contact. Anor later learns, during his investigation, that everything that Shimrra ever stood for was a lie and that the Vong are fighting for a false cause.

Setting the bait[]

Jaina trains the rookies that have joined the fight against the Vong very well, and when Ackbar reveals his plan to destroy the Vong, he finds out about a hidden Imperial fortress in theDeep Core of the galaxy known asTarkin's Fang in theEbaq system. On the gas giant ofEbaq's ninth moon,Ebaq 9, there is an old abandoned factory the Empire was saving up in crucial times in its war against the Rebellion more than two decades earlier. Ackbar plans to lure the Vong there using bait they can't resist in capturing or killing. Later, Cal Omas decides that Jaina, Jacen and all the other Jedi who survived themission toMyrkr (not includingGanner Rhysode, who died in the previous novel) be promoted to full Jedi Knights in a public ceremony for their actions in the war. Those who died at Myrkr, includingAnakin Solo, are remembered, and every one of the Jedi apprentices are knighted, especially Jaina, whom Luke declares theSword of the Jedi, the bravest Jedi of all. After all the Jedi are knighted, Vergere learns of Scaur's Alpha Red project and sabotages it, then escapes Mon Calamari to an unknown location. Vergere's sabotaging is realized byNew Republic Intelligence, and Jacen is called through the Force by Vergere toKashyyyk. Vergere asks for Jacen's help to find a place in the galaxy where the New Republic can't find her, but this plan is foiled when Jacen realizes that it is now the new Jedi Knights' top priority to find Vergere and capture her. And while Jacen keeps Vergere's presence a secret from everyone else, he leads Admiral Kre'fey's fleets into battle and tries to teachTahiri Veila how tosense Yuuzhan Vong since she was captured and experimented by them back onYavin 4. Jaina,Lowbacca andTesar Sebatyne, as well as their pilot teams, are placed on Ebaq 9 as bait for the Vong.

Meanwhile, Nom Anor, disguising himself as a worker on Yuuzhan'tar, figures out that theeighth cortex of Vong-life shaping doesn't exist and Supreme Overlord Shimrra demanded forNen Yim and a team of her shaper caste to actually create the eighth cortex. Also, the New Republic learns that it has Vong spies among them, so they trick Nom Anor's agents into making them believe that the Vong aren't being baited at Ebaq 9. Fooled by this deceit, Anor promises Shimrra if the Vong are led into a trap that results in an epic catastrophe, Nom Anor will die. So five large squadrons, led by Tsavong Lah, attack Ebaq 9, but during theresulting battle, Jaina's forces fight back, aided by the Smugglers' Alliance, led by Han and Leia, and other New Republic divisions. While Luke Skywalker persuadesGarm Bel Iblis to join the Battle of Ebaq fromFondor, a large portion of the Vong forces are destroyed in the battle, and Tsavong Lah realizes if he keeps having the Vong fight the New Republic, they will all die. Meanwhile, Nom Anor becomes aware of the outcome of the battle from Yuuzhan'tar and escapes from his impending doom he promised Shimrra, killing his superior,High PrefectYoog Skell, in the process.

Battle on Ebaq 9[]

Back on Ebaq 9, Lah commands most of his remaining members of the squadrons to attack Ebaq 9, with the other Vong ordered to retreat and preserve their lives for the future of the war, as thevoxyn he brought with him to the battle I inform him of Jedi being on the moon. The New Republic does its best to hold the Vong off the moon, but the invaders break through and begin to hunt down Jaina, Lowbacca and Tesar, as well as all the surviving pilots in their squadrons that made it out of the battle alive. Most of Tsavong Lah's retreating ships are killed by New Republic forces participating outside the battle. Jacen, who leads theForce meld into Vong battles aboard Admiral Kre'fey capital ship, theRalroost, realizes Jaina's danger and goes against Kre'fey's orders by flying to the moon to help Jaina and her comrades escape. Vergere fails to stop Jacen from taking hisX-wing to the moon, and Tsavong Lah invites all Jedi to join in the hunt on the moon while all non-Jedi will be killed by the Vong forces if they proceed to the moon. Jacen safely lands, bringing the odds to 10,000 Yuuzhan Vong against four Jedi, and is subsequently hunted by Vong forces. During the battle, his physical armaments insufficient, Jacen releases bolts ofstunning Jedi lightning to defeat the Vong around him. However, while Bel Iblis and his forces arrive in the battle, Vergere, knowing Jacen wouldn't survive the hunt, steals anA-wing from theRalroost and sacrifices herself by deliberately crashing it onto the surface of Ebaq 9, destroying its air supply immediately and killing nearly every Yuuzhan Vong on the moon. This is after she convinced Lah that she wasForce-sensitive. However, before she dies, she conjures a Force projection of herself to Jacen to warn him about the imminent loss of air supply, so he builds a Force bubble around him that gives him his oxygen and after talking to the projection, he realizes that Vergere is dead. Meanwhile, Jaina, Lowbacca, Tesar and several New Republic pilots survive the air loss by quickly activating their vacuum suits.

Tsavong Lah is the only Vong survivor of the air loss thanks to his personal guards who protected him and hisgnullith from the thousands of suffocating warriors. They put anooglith cloaker on him to save him from cold and air loss. He falls unconscious but soon wakes up and encounters the Jedi, wounding Lowbacca and trapping Jaina, Lowbacca and Tesar inblorash jelly, resulting in a duel between Jaina and Lah. The battle ends as Jaina defeats and kills Lah by impaling herlightsaber through his throat while Tesar treats Lowbacca's wounds.

A few days after the Battle of Ebaq 9, the New Republic reforms itself into theGalactic Federation of Free Alliances. Jaina is the last to return to the newly formed Galactic Alliance and reunites with her friends and family. Shimrra places a death mark on Nom Anor for the Yuuzhan Vong to hunt him down and kill him after the disaster at Ebaq 9, and Shimrra and his Shamed underling,Onimi, both realize they have to redouble their efforts to defeat the natives of the galaxy after Ebaq.

Development[]

The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way was written byNebula Award–winning authorWalter Jon Williams. To prepare for writing the novel, Williams reviewed key information from theStar Wars Expanded Universe. In an early draft ofDestiny's Way, Admiral Ackbar died during the Battle of Ebaq 9, although it was decided to spare the character to strengthen the Republic victory.

The novellaThe New Jedi Order: Ylesia was written as a part ofDestiny's Way, but it was ultimately published as an independent title. According to Williams, the events ofYlesia are set between the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters ofDestiny's Way.^[5] The novella was planned to be published in the paperback edition ofDestiny's Way, but it was left out due to an oversight atDel Rey.^[4]Destiny's Way was published inOctober2002, alongside anaudiobook version.^[1]

The government created at the end of the book, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, was a nod to the fan-coined term "GFFA," which refers to theStar Wars setting of a "galaxy far, far away."^[4]

Continuity[]

The events ofDestiny's Way include an elaborateKnighting ceremony for Jacen and Jaina. Previously, the1998 novelYoung Jedi Knights: Crisis at Crystal Reef depicted the two characters going through a similar ritual.

Media[]

Editions[]

• ISBN 9780345428509;October 12002;Del Rey; US hardcover^[1]
• ISBN 9780345428509; 2002; Del Rey; US hardcover,Science Fiction Book Club edition(54238)^[6]
• ISBN 9780345428745;July 29,2003; Del Rey; US paperback^[2]
• ISBN 9780307795632;June 28,2011; Del Rey; US eBook^[3]

Cover gallery[]

US hardcover

US hardcover jacket

Legends edition

German-language edition

Japanese-language edition

Polish-language edition

Appearances[]

This Appearances list is incomplete. You can help Wookieepedia byexpanding it.

Sources[]

• First Look:Destiny's Way onStarWars.com(original site is defunct)
• Destiny's Author: Walter Jon Williams onStarWars.com(original site is defunct)
• The Essential Reader's Companion

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• Destiny's Way: Star Wars Legends (The New Jedi Order) onPenguin Random House'sofficial website(backup link)