Betrayal Aaron Allston
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Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page viii Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page i ® BETRAYAL Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page ii BY AARON ALLSTON Galatea in 2-D BARD’S TALE Series (with Holly Lisle) Thunder of the Captains Wrath of the Princes CAR WARRIORS Series Double Jeopardy DOC SIDHE Series Doc Sidhe Sidhe-Devil Star Wars: X-WING Series Wraith Squadron Iron Fist Solo Command Starfighters of Adumar Star Wars: NEW JEDI ORDER Series Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand Star Wars: LEGACY OF THE FORCE Series Betrayal Exile TERMINATOR 3 Series Terminator Dream Terminator Hunt Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page iii ® BETRAYAL AARON ALLSTON L D BALLANTINE BOOKS • NEW YORK Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page iv Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as “un- sold or destroyed” and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it. Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Betrayal is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. 2007 Del Rey Books Mass Market Edition Copyright © 2006 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & ® or ™ where indicated. All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization. Excerpt from Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines copyright © 2006 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & ® or ™ where indicated. All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization. Published in the United States by Del Rey Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. DEL REY is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc. Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Del Rey Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a divi- sion of Random House, Inc., in 2006. ISBN 978-0-345-47735-4 Printed in the United States of America www.starwars.com www.delreybooks.com OPM987654321 Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page v acknowledgments Thanks are due to my partners-in-plotting Troy Denning and Karen Traviss, to my Eagle-Eyes (Chris Cassidy, Kelly Frieders, Helen Keier, Bob Quinlan, Roxanne Quinlan, and Luray Richmond), to Shelly Shapiro of Del Rey, to Sue Rostoni and Leland Chee of Lucas Licensing, and to my agent, Russ Galen. Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page vi T HE STAR WARS NOVELS T IMELINE 1020 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: EPISODE III STAR WARS: A New Hope REVENGE OF THE SITH Darth Bane: Path of Destruction Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader 33 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope 10-0 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope The Han Solo Trilogy: Darth Maul: Saboteur* The Paradise Snare The Hutt Gambit 32.5 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope Rebel Dawn Cloak of Deception Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter 5-2 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope 32 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope The Adventures of Lando Calrissian STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE The Han Solo Adventures 29 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope STAR WARS: A New Hope Rogue Planet YEAR 0 27 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope STAR WARS: EPISODE IV Outbound Flight A NEW HOPE 22.5 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope 0-3 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope The Approaching Storm Tales from the Mos Eisley 22 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope Cantina Galaxies: The Ruins : STAR WARS EPISODE II of Dantooine ATTACK OF THE CLONES Splinter of the Mind’s Eye Republic Commando: Hard Contact 3 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope STAR WARS: EPISODE V 21.5 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Shatterpoint Tales of the Bounty Hunters 21 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope 3.5 : The Cestus Deception YEARS AFTER STAR WARS A New Hope The Hive* Shadows of the Empire Republic Commando: Triple Zero 4 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope 20 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope STAR WARS: EPISODE VI MedStar I: Battle Surgeons RETURN OF THE JEDI MedStar II: Jedi Healer Tales from Jabba’s Palace Tales from the Empire 19.5 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope Tales from the New Republic Jedi Trial Yoda: Dark Rendezvous The Bounty Hunter Wars: 19 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope The Mandalorian Armor Slave Ship Labyrinth of Evil Hard Merchandise The Truce at Bakura Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page vii 6.5-7.5 YEARS AFTER 19 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope STAR WARS: A New Hope The Hand of Thrawn X-Wing: Duology: Specter of the Past Rogue Squadron Vision of the Future Wedge’s Gamble The Krytos Trap Showdown at Centerpoint The Bacta War Wraith Squadron 22 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope Iron Fist Solo Command 25 YEARS AFTER 8 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope STAR WARS: A New Hope The Courtship of Princess Leia A Forest Apart* Boba Fett: A Practical Man* Tatooine Ghost The New Jedi Order: 9 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope Vector Prime Dark Tide I: Onslaught The Thrawn Trilogy: Dark Tide II: Ruin Heir to the Empire Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial Dark Force Rising Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse The Last Command Balance Point X-Wing: Isard’s Revenge Recovery* Edge of Victory I: Conquest 11 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope Edge of Victory II: Rebirth Star by Star The Jedi Academy Trilogy: Dark Journey Jedi Search Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream Dark Apprentice Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand Champions of the Force Traitor Destiny’s Way I, Jedi Ylesia* Force Heretic I: Remnant 12-13 : YEARS AFTER STAR WARS A New Hope Force Heretic II: Refugee Children of the Jedi Force Heretic III: Reunion Darksaber The Final Prophecy Planet of Twilight The Unifying Force X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar 35 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope 14 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope The Dark Nest Trilogy: The Crystal Star The Joiner King The Unseen Queen 16-17 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope The Swarm War The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy: Before the Storm 40 YEARS AFTER Shield of Lies STAR WARS: A New Hope Tyrant’s Test Legacy of the Force: 17 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope Betrayal The New Rebellion Bloodlines Tempest Exile 18 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope Sacrifice The Corellian Trilogy: Inferno Ambush at Corellia Assault at Selonia *An ebook novella Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page viii Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page ix dramatis personae Aidel Saxan; Prime Minister, Corellia (human female) Ben Skywalker (human male) Brisha Syo (human female) C-3PO; protocol droid Cal Omas; Chief of State, Galactic Alliance (human male) Cha Niathal; admiral, Galactic Alliance (Mon Calamari female) Gilad Pellaeon; admiral, Supreme Commander of the Ga- lactic Alliance (human male) Han Solo; captain, Millennium Falcon (human male) Heilan Rotham; professor (human female) Jacen Solo; Jedi Knight (human male) Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (human female) Kolir Hu’lya; Jedi Knight (Bothan female) Leia Organa Solo; Jedi Knight; copilot, Millennium Falcon (human female) Luke Skywalker; Jedi Grand Master (human male) Lysa Dunter; ensign, Galactic Alliance (human female) Mara Jade Skywalker; Jedi Master (human female) Matric Klauskin; admiral, Galactic Alliance (human male) Nelani Dinn; Jedi Knight (human female) R2-D2; astromech droid Syal Antilles; ensign, Galactic Alliance (human female) Tahiri Veila; Jedi Knight (human female) Thann Mithric; Jedi Knight (Falleen male) Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page x x DRAMATIS PERSONAE Thrackan Sal-Solo; Chief of State, Corellia (human male) Tiu Zax; Jedi Knight (Omwati female) Toval Seyah; Galactic Alliance scientist-spy (human male) Tycho Celchu; general, Galactic Alliance (human male) Wedge Antilles; general, Corellian Defense Force (human male) Zekk; Jedi Knight (human male) Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page 1 chapter one Coruscant “He doesn’t exist.” With those words, spoken without any conscious thought or effort on his part, Luke Skywalker sat upright in bed and looked around at the dimly illuminated chamber. There wasn’t much to see. Members of the Jedi order, even Masters such as Luke, didn’t accumulate much per- sonal property. Within view were chairs situated in front of unlit computer screens; a wall rack holding plasteel staves and other practice weapons; a table littered with personal effects such as datapads, notes scrawled on scraps of flimsi, datachips holding reports from various Jedi Masters, and a crude and not at all accurate sandglass statuette in Luke’s image sent to him by a child from Tatooine. Inset into the stone-veneer walls were drawers holding his and Mara’s limited selection of clothes. Their lightsabers were behind Luke, resting on a shelf on the headboard of their bed. His wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, had more personal items and equipment, of course. Disguises, weapons, communi- cations gear, falsified documents. A former spy, she had never given up the trappings of that trade, but those items weren’t here. Luke wasn’t sure where she kept them. She didn’t bother him with such details. Beside him, she stirred, and he glanced down at her. Her Alls_0345477359_3p_all_r1.qxp 1/29/07 8:24 PM Page 2 2 AARON ALLSTON red hair, kept a medium length this season, was an unruly mess, but there was no sleepiness in her eyes when they opened.