[Book] Shadows of the Empire

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Other books in the Star Wars® series:

X-WING by Michael A. Stackpole

Book 1: Rogue Squadron

Book 2: Wedge's Gamble

Book 3: The Krytos Trap

Book 4: The Bacta War

THE BLACK FLEET CRISIS by

Michael P. Kube-McDowell

Book 1: Before the Storm

Book 2: Shield of Lies

Book 3: Tyrant's Test

The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers

Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina edited by

Kevin J. Anderson

Tales from Jabba's Palace edited by Kevin J. Anderson

Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly

Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson

And in hardcover:

The New Rebellion by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Illustrated Star Wars Universe by Ralph McQuarrie

and Kevin J. Anderson

Steve Perry

BANTAM BOOKS

New York Toro nto Lo n d o n S y d n e y Auckland

This edition contains the complete text of the original

hardcover

edition. NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED.

STAR WARS: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE

A Bantam Spectra Book

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Bantam hardcover edition published May 1996

Bantam mass market edition / April 1997

SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed "s" are trademarks of

Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing

Group, Inc.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-34660.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and

retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

For information address: Bantam Books.

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware

that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and

destroyed" to the publisher and neither the author nor the

publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

ISBN 0-553-57413-2

Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam

Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of

the words "Bantam Books" and the portrayal of a rooster, is Regis-

tered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New

York 10036.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

OPM 10 987654321

FOR DIANNE;

and for

Tom "Mississippi" Dupree,

who put me in the rotation and

thus let me get a chance to bat

Acknowledgments

1 could not have written a book set in such a wonder-

fully rich and complex universe as this all by myself. I

had help, lots of it, and I owe thanks to many people.

You should know who they are. My apologies to any I

might have missed, and the usual caveat applies: If I

screwed up their input, it is my fault and not theirs. If

you are a fan of the books, comics, games, or movies,

you'll probably recognize some of these names.

My gratitude goes to: Tom Dupree; Howard

Roffman, Lucy Wilson, Sue Rostoni, and Allan Kausch;

Jon Knoles, Steve Dauterman, and Larry Holland; Bill

Slavicsek; Bill Smith; Mike Richardson, Ryder

Windham, Kilian Plunkett, and John Wagner; Timothy

Zahn, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rebecca Moesta; Jean

Naggar; Dianne, Danelle, and Dal Perry; Cady Jo Ivy

and Roxanne de Bergerac. I'd also like to thank the

fans in the Star Wars Forum on America Online—I got

Acknowledgments

some great ideas as I lurked and listened there. And last

but certainly not least, thanks to the man who dreamed

up, then built this absolutely terrific toy in the first

place: George Lucas.

Appreciate it, gang. Really.

"Face it, if crime did not pay,

there would be very few criminals."

laughton lewis burdock

Prologue

He looks like a walking corpse, Xizor thought. Like a

mummified body dead a thousand years. Amazing he is

still alive, much less the most powerful man in the gal-

axy. He isn't even that old; it is more as if something is

slowly eating him.

Xizor stood four meters away from the Emperor,

watching as the man who had long ago been Senator

Palpatine moved to stand in the holocam field. He

imagined he could smell the decay in the Emperor's

worn body. Likely that was just some trick of the re-

cycled air, run through dozens of filters to ensure that

there was no chance of any poison gas being intro-

duced into it. Filtered the life out of it, perhaps, giving

it that dead smell.

The viewer on the other end of the holo-link would

see a close-up of the Emperor's head and shoulders, of

an age-ravaged face shrouded in the cowl of his dark

zeyd-cloth robe. The man on the other end of the trans-

mission, light-years away, would not see Xizor, though

2 S T A R WARS

Xizor would be able to see him. It was a measure of the

Emperor's trust that Xizor was allowed to be here

while the conversation took place.

The man on the other end of the transmission—if he

could still be called that—

The air swirled inside the Imperial chamber in front

of the Emperor, coalesced, and blossomed into the im-

age of a figure down on one knee. A caped humanoid

biped dressed in jet black, face hidden under a full hel-

met and breathing mask:

Darth Vader.

Vader spoke: "What is thy bidding, my master?"

If Xizor could have hurled a power bolt through

time and space to strike Vader dead, he would have

done it without blinking. Wishful thinking: Vader was

too powerful to attack directly.

"There is a great disturbance in the Force," the Em-

peror said.

"I have felt it," Vader said.

"We have a new enemy. Luke Skywalker."

Skywalker? That had been Vader's name, a long

time ago. Who was this person with the same name,

someone so powerful as to be worth a conversation

between the Emperor and his most loathsome creation?

More importantly, why had Xizor's agents not uncov-

ered this before now? Xizor's ire was instant—but cold.

No sign of his surprise or anger would show on his

imperturbable features. The Falleen did not allow their

emotions to burst forth as did many of the inferior spe-

cies; no, the Falleen ancestry was not fur but scales, not

mammalian but reptilian. Not wild but coolly calculat-

ing. Such was much better. Much safer.

"Yes, my master," Vader continued.

"He could destroy us," the Emperor said.

Xizor's attention was riveted upon the Emperor and

the holographic image of Vader kneeling on the deck of

a ship far away. Here was interesting news indeed.

SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE 3

Something the Emperor perceived as a danger to him-

self? Something the Emperor feared?

"He's just a boy," Vader said, "Obi-Wan can no

longer help him."

Obi-Wan. That name Xizor knew. He was among

the last of the Jedi Knights, a general. But he'd been

dead for decades, hadn't he?

Apparently Xizor's information was wrong if Obi-

Wan had been helping someone who was still a boy.

His agents were going to be sorry.

Even as Xizor took in the distant image of Vader

and the nearness of the Emperor, even as he was aware

of the luxury of the Emperor's private and protected

chamber at the core of the giant pyramidal palace, he

was also able to make a mental note to himself: Some-

body's head would roll for the failure to make him

aware of all this. Knowledge was power; lack of

knowledge was weakness. This was something he could

not permit.

The Emperor continued. "The Force is strong with

him. The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi."

Son of Skywalker?

Vader's son! Amazing!

"If he could be turned he would become a powerful

ally," Vader said.

There was something in Vader's voice when he said

this, something Xizor could not quite put his finger on.

Longing? Worry?

Hope?

"Yes . . . yes. He would be a great asset," the Em-

peror said. "Can it be done?"

There was the briefest of pauses. "He will join us or

die, Master."

Xizor felt the smile, though he did not allow it to

show any more than he had allowed his anger play. Ah.

Vader wanted Skywalker alive, that was what had been

in his tone. Yes, he had said that the boy would join

them or die, but this latter part was obviously meant

4 STAR WARS

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OtherbooksintheStarWars®series:X-WINGbyMichaelA.StackpoleBook1:RogueSquadronBook2:Wedge'sGambleBook3:TheKrytosTrapBook4:TheBactaWarTHEBLACKFLEETCRISISbyMichaelP.Kube-McDowellBook1:BeforetheStormBook2:ShieldofLiesBook3:Tyrant'sTestTheTruceatBakurabyKathyTyersTalesfromtheMosEisleyCantinaeditedbyKevinJ...

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[Book] Shadows of the Empire

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