{"product_id":"reunion-star-wars-legends-isbn-9780345428721","title":"Reunion: Star Wars Legends","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Jedi move one step closer to saving the embattled galaxy— only to confront a formidable wall of resistance. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe harrowing search for Zonama Sekot is finally over for Luke Skywalker, Jacen Solo, and the others aboard the Jade Shadow. But joy turns to alarm when the living planet sends a defiant message: it refuses to follow them back to a galaxy full of war, exploitation, and misery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile Luke works feverishly to persuade the elusive planet to reconsider, the Yuuzhan Vong launches a full-scale attack aimed at the heart of the new alliance. Sent to defend a major communications base, Han and Leia find themselves hopelessly outnumbered. Reinforcements are just too far away to help before everything is destroyed. So the courageous pair must now fight an unrelenting battle against staggering odds. Whether they actually survive is another matter. . . .\u003cb\u003eSean Williams\u003c\/b\u003e is the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling and award-winning author of more than seventy published short stories and thirty novels, including \u003ci\u003eStar Wars: The Force Unleashed \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance\u003c\/i\u003e. He is a judge for the Writers of the Future contest, which he won in 1993. He is also a multiple winner of Australia’s speculative fiction awards and is the recipient of both the Ditmar and the Aurealis for \u003ci\u003eThe Crooked Letter, \u003c\/i\u003emarking the first time in the history of the awards that a fantasy novel has won both. Williams lives with his wife, Amanda, in Adelaide, South Australia.Leia literally took a backseat during the flight to Esfandia. Trying to compete with her husband and Droma was too exhausting, and, ultimately, pointless. At times it seemed their affinity wasn’t entirely amicable, but it was perfectly natural. They’d hardly stopped talking since the Ryn had come aboard. Bringing each other up to date on events since they’d parted at Fondor, they covered everything from sneaky tactics to Anakin’s death. After the latter, Droma had left the bridge for a while, to sing a plaintive lay in a language Leia didn’t understand, but then he’d returned with a story about one of his exploits in the Senex sector. The tale was as tall as a Bolenian hillspinner,\u003cbr\u003ebut it served its purpose by easing the pall of melancholy that had engulfed the \u003ci\u003eFalcon\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“So they started taking apart the tanker module,” Han\u003cbr\u003ewas saying now, relating one of his own stories to Droma,\u003cbr\u003ehis mood far removed from the grief that had consumed\u003cbr\u003ehim earlier.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Which you said was filled with liquid hydrogen.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Yeah, but destroying the tanker didn’t stop the hydrogen.\u003cbr\u003eIf anything, it spread out a little, exactly as\u003cbr\u003eplanned.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Why?” Droma asked, frowning. “Hydrogen won’t\u003cbr\u003eburn without oxygen.”\u003cbr\u003e“That’s what Goldenrod said. That’s the trouble with\u003cbr\u003edroids: no imagination. As our shields failed, I told Leia\u003cbr\u003eand Jacen to punch holes through the cruiser’s hull with\u003cbr\u003eour quads. Before I could tell those scarheads to eat ions,\u003cbr\u003ethere was more than enough oxygen for the hydrogen to\u003cbr\u003ereact with. The cruiser went up so fast we had a tough\u003cbr\u003etime dodging the pieces. After that, it was just a matter of\u003cbr\u003egetting out of there. The few skips we left behind weren’t\u003cbr\u003eputting up much of a fight.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Understandably. I hear Vong skips are useless once\u003cbr\u003ethey’re cut off from their yammosks.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Well, they’re not completely useless,” Han said, “but\u003cbr\u003eit does give you an advantage.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDroma shrugged. “Speaking of yammosks, I’ve heard\u003cbr\u003esome stories about them that would make your tail stand\u003cbr\u003eon end!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeia listened to the banter but offered nothing toward\u003cbr\u003ethe conversation. Instead, she concentrated on the information\u003cbr\u003eDroma had provided them: communications had\u003cbr\u003eindeed been lost with the Unknown Regions. The destruction\u003cbr\u003eof the base on Generis and the attack on Esfandia appeared\u003cbr\u003eto be the source of the disruption. A free-floating\u003cbr\u003eproto-world, Esfandia had long since cut free from whatever\u003cbr\u003estar had given birth to it, but still had enough radioactivity\u003cbr\u003ebubbling in its core to sustain a liquid atmosphere.\u003cbr\u003eIt wasn’t the most hospitable of places, but it didn’t need\u003cbr\u003eto be. A skeleton crew of about a dozen people, mainly\u003cbr\u003etechnicians, normally inhabited the relay outpost, which\u003cbr\u003ehad been hastily converted from a scientific station at\u003cbr\u003ethe beginning of the war with the Yuuzhan Vong. Since\u003cbr\u003eLuke’s mission had entered the Unknown Regions, the\u003cbr\u003eGalactic Alliance’s military presence around Esfandia had\u003cbr\u003ebeen upgraded to two squadrons of X-wings and a frigate\u003cbr\u003eby the name of \u003ci\u003eCorellian Way\u003c\/i\u003e. What had happened to\u003cbr\u003ethose forces was unknown. The relay staff only had time\u003cbr\u003eto broadcast a message alerting their superiors on Mon\u003cbr\u003eCalamari that they were under attack by the Yuuzhan\u003cbr\u003eVong before all communications had been lost.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat wasn’t necessarily a sure sign of disaster. The\u003cbr\u003erelay base was designed to resist such attacks. Imperial\u003cbr\u003eAT-AT technology had been adapted to the cold soup of\u003cbr\u003eEsfandia’s environment, creating a giant, mechanical, crablike\u003cbr\u003econstruction capable of moving from place to place\u003cbr\u003eat a slow but steady pace. Such mobility was an advantage,\u003cbr\u003egiven that most of the world was studded with\u003cbr\u003ereceivers sensitive enough to detect transmissions from\u003cbr\u003edeep in the Unknown Regions. The base was designed to\u003cbr\u003ecircumnavigate the globe, maintaining the receivers, while\u003cbr\u003ethe technicians remained safely inside. That the ability to\u003cbr\u003emove made it easier to hide when attacked was a bonus.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe base, therefore, could have simply gone to ground,\u003cbr\u003etucked away in a crevasse or under the thick silt of the atmospheric\u003cbr\u003esoup. If it could be found, it could be reactivated.\u003cbr\u003eAssuming, of course, that the Yuuzhan Vong hadn’t\u003cbr\u003efound it first and destroyed it for good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeia sent her thoughts outward, far beyond her location\u003cbr\u003ein hyperspace, beyond Esfandia and whatever awaited\u003cbr\u003ethem there, to her brother, Luke. The last message Cal\u003cbr\u003eOmas had received from him suggested he’d found a\u003cbr\u003epromising lead and was setting off to investigate. He\u003cbr\u003ehadn’t specified what that lead consisted of or where he\u003cbr\u003ewas headed, and now there was no way they would know\u003cbr\u003eunless they repaired the communications outage. Leia\u003cbr\u003ehad no doubt that, were anything terrible to happen to\u003cbr\u003ehim, then she would know about it. She would \u003ci\u003efeel \u003c\/i\u003eit,\u003cbr\u003ejust as she had in the past. Nevertheless, she was concerned.\u003cbr\u003eSo much was invested in his mission—personally,\u003cbr\u003eand on a galactic scale—that if something were to go\u003cbr\u003ewrong, it would be a disaster of unimaginable proportions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe conversation between her husband and his old\u003cbr\u003efriend shifted as the \u003ci\u003eFalcon\u003c\/i\u003e’s console began to beep and\u003cbr\u003eflash, announcing that they were nearing their destination.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Right on the nose,” Han said proudly, flipping switches\u003cbr\u003ein readiness for the return to realspace.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“And we didn’t even have to get out and push,”\u003cbr\u003eDroma said dryly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Yeah, that’s real amusing,” Han returned without\u003cbr\u003esmiling. “Now you want to move your funny, fuzzedup\u003cbr\u003eself out of that chair so Leia can come forward and\u003cbr\u003ehelp me?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“No, that’s all right, Han,” she said as Droma began\u003cbr\u003eto stand. “I’m sure Droma can manage.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe couldn’t say that she was enjoying the break from\u003cbr\u003eroutine, but it was interesting to watch Han’s interaction\u003cbr\u003ewith the Ryn. Memories of the terrible time when Han\u003cbr\u003ehad pulled away from her while grieving for Chewbacca\u003cbr\u003estill stung, but only Droma had witnessed how low Han\u003cbr\u003ehad really sunk back then. If having the Ryn aboard did\u003cbr\u003eremind Han of those painful times, he certainly wasn’t\u003cbr\u003eletting it show.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You remember how to operate the copilot’s board?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHan asked Droma without looking up from what he was\u003cbr\u003edoing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Follow orders, and curse when something goes\u003cbr\u003ewrong,” Droma replied with a smile. “Which it invariably\u003cbr\u003edoes.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHan affected an indignant expression on behalf of his\u003cbr\u003ebeloved freighter. “Hey, she may be old—”\u003cbr\u003e“But she’s still got it where it counts, right?” Droma\u003cbr\u003esaid.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“What have I told you about doing that?” Han said\u003cbr\u003eirritably.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDroma laughed. “Anyway, it’s not the age of the ship\u003cbr\u003ethat worries me,” he said, flicking a couple of switches of\u003cbr\u003ehis own. “It’s the age of the pilot I’m more concerned\u003cbr\u003eabout.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe navicomputer bleeped, cutting off any retort Han\u003cbr\u003emight have been about to offer. Both faced the front just\u003cbr\u003eas the sweeping streaks of hyperspace dissolved into a\u003cbr\u003ecold and distant starscape. There was no primary to dim\u003cbr\u003ethe stars with its glare; the nearest inhabited system in\u003cbr\u003ethis section of the Mid Rim was more than ten light years\u003cbr\u003eaway, and the nearest star of any kind was half that\u003cbr\u003edistance. There was nothing for trillions of kilometers\u003cbr\u003ebut space dust, and the tiny bauble that was the lonely\u003cbr\u003eworld of Esfandia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOr so it \u003ci\u003eshould \u003c\/i\u003ehave been. As \u003ci\u003ePride of Selonia \u003c\/i\u003ealong\u003cbr\u003ewith Twin Suns Squadron emerged from hyperspace alongside\u003cbr\u003ethe \u003ci\u003eFalcon\u003c\/i\u003e, Droma’s eyes checked the sensor console\u003cbr\u003efor the orphaned planet. The \u003ci\u003eFalcon\u003c\/i\u003e’s sensor suite was\u003cbr\u003estill ahead of standard tech, and it soon acquired the target.\u003cbr\u003eIt was covered with thick clouds, and glowed a burnt\u003cbr\u003eorange in artificial colors that looked wrong to Leia’s\u003cbr\u003eeyes until she realized what was missing: because Esfandia\u003cbr\u003ehad no sun, its sole source of heat lay at its core. And\u003cbr\u003ewith no orbit to follow, that meant it would have no seasons,\u003cbr\u003eeither—which in turn meant no icy poles, and no\u003cbr\u003ebroiling equator. It would be the same temperature all\u003cbr\u003eover.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCloser scans, however, revealed that not to be entirely\u003cbr\u003ethe case. There were at least six hot spots on the hemisphere\u003cbr\u003efacing them, and even as they watched, another\u003cbr\u003eblossomed into life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDroma zoomed in closer to examine the cause.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Aerial bombardment,” he said. “Someone’s dropping\u003cbr\u003emines from orbit.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“They’re taking out the sensors,” Leia said. “The Yuuzhan\u003cbr\u003eVong are still here!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHan’s eyes darted across the displays in front of him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I’ve got a strong presence in close orbit. Seven capital\u003cbr\u003evessels, nine cruisers. Not many skips detached, though.\u003cbr\u003eNo sign of the local defenses, or the reinforcements from\u003cbr\u003eMon Cal.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I think I can guess why not, too,” Droma commented.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeia knew exactly what he meant. The Yuuzhan Vong\u003cbr\u003eforce in orbit over Esfandia was enormous by any standard.\u003cbr\u003eAgainst the two squadrons and one frigate Esfandia\u003cbr\u003ehad possessed, plus the two squadrons Mon Calamari\u003cbr\u003ehad dispatched to investigate, it was almost obscene.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eOverkill \u003c\/i\u003edidn’t cover it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I thought the Vong’s resources were stretched,” Droma\u003cbr\u003esaid.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHan just grunted. A crackle of information flowed\u003cbr\u003eacross newly reopened communications lines. Captain\u003cbr\u003eMayn and Jag were looking for instructions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Tell them to hold off for a moment,” Leia ordered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“We can’t go in like this. It’d be suicide.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHan turned in his seat to face her. “We can’t just leave,\u003cbr\u003eLeia.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe nodded in agreement. “The relay base must still be\u003cbr\u003edown there, otherwise the Yuuzhan Vong wouldn’t be\u003cbr\u003ewasting time taking out the sensors. Without the base,\u003cbr\u003enone of it would work.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“So what are we going to do?” Han asked. “They’re\u003cbr\u003egoing to see us any second.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeia stood to look over Han’s shoulder, placing a hand\u003cbr\u003egently on his neck. The Yuuzhan Vong forces were formidable.\u003cbr\u003e“If we can get past the capital ships, we might\u003cbr\u003ebe able to make it down into the atmosphere and find the\u003cbr\u003ebase before they do.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Then what?” Droma asked. “We’d be in exactly the\u003cbr\u003esame position as the base. It would just be a matter of\u003cbr\u003etime before they find us.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe could feel her frustration mounting as a solution\u003cbr\u003eto the dilemma failed to present itself. If they had to\u003cbr\u003eabandon Esfandia, they might still be able to jury-rig another\u003cbr\u003erelay base elsewhere that would allow them to\u003cbr\u003ereestablish contact with Mon Calamari.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe shook her head irritably. It would still mean leaving\u003cbr\u003einnocents here on Esfandia to die, and the thought of\u003cbr\u003ethat simply made her feel ill, reminding her as it did of\u003cbr\u003ethe time back on Gyndine, where so many had to be\u003cbr\u003eabandoned to a cruel fate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere has to be another way, \u003c\/i\u003eshe thought.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlmost in answer to the thought, a bleeping sounded\u003cbr\u003efrom the sensor suite, announcing hyperspace emissions\u003cbr\u003efrom the far side of the planet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Incoming,” Droma announced, his tail wrapped\u003cbr\u003earound the base of his chair, gently twitching.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“That’s all we need,” Han muttered. “Maybe it’s time\u003cbr\u003ewe bid a hasty retreat, after all.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hold on.” Leia switched vantage points to look over\u003cbr\u003eDroma’s shoulder. “I don’t think they’re Yuuzhan Vong.\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast an emergency on the Imperial codes.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Imperial—?” Han started, but clammed up at a glance\u003cbr\u003eat the scanner display. The corner of his mouth curled up\u003cbr\u003einto a grin as he sent off the coded transmission. “Well, I\u003cbr\u003enever thought I’d be glad to see a Star Destroyer.”\u003cbr\u003eNot just one of them, Leia noted. Two of the massive\u003cbr\u003evessels were lumbering out of hyperspace over Esfandia,\u003cbr\u003efully equipped with support vessels and TIE fighters\u003cbr\u003ealready streaming from launching bays. The way they\u003cbr\u003eswooped in to engage the Yuuzhan Vong filled her with\u003cbr\u003ean immediate sense of optimism and kinship.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe didn’t immediately recognize the markings on the\u003cbr\u003eStar Destroyers, but judging by the blast scoring and\u003cbr\u003eother minor damage, it looked like they’d both recently\u003cbr\u003eseen combat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eFalcon\u003c\/i\u003e’s comm bleeped, and Han quickly answered\u003cbr\u003eit. It was Grand Admiral Pellaeon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I should have known I’d find the \u003ci\u003eMillennium Falcon\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ehere,” he said. “You’re always at the heart of trouble.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeia felt a smile creep across her face. “It’s good to\u003cbr\u003ehear from you, Gilad.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As it is you, Princess,” he said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“That’s not \u003ci\u003eChimaera \u003c\/i\u003eyou’re flying,” Han put in. “It\u003cbr\u003elooks too old.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It’s \u003ci\u003eRight to Rule\u003c\/i\u003e,” Pellaeon said. “One of the oldest\u003cbr\u003ein the fleet. We’ve been chasing this sorry bunch halfway\u003cbr\u003eacross the galaxy, trying to restrict the amount of damage\u003cbr\u003ethey inflict. We lost them at the last jump, which is\u003cbr\u003ewhy we’ve only just arrived. Our intelligence data on your\u003cbr\u003eremote stations is sadly out of date.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Not as good as theirs, obviously,” Leia said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“We’re here to try to turn our luck around now.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I’m glad to hear it.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Are you joining us?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“We’re at your command, Admiral.” Leia said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I’ll have targets for you shortly. Commander Ansween\u003cbr\u003ewill relay them to you.” Then, almost as an afterthought,\u003cbr\u003ethe Grand Admiral added: “Nice to be fighting\u003cbr\u003ebeside you finally, Captain Solo.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHan looked up at Leia when the line closed a moment\u003cbr\u003elater. “We’re taking orders from an Imperial now?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Things have changed,” she said. Her heart was telling\u003cbr\u003eher that Pellaeon could be trusted, and the Force was\u003cbr\u003etelling her the same thing. “He’s defending a Galactic Alliance\u003cbr\u003easset. Think how strange that must feel to \u003ci\u003ehim\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHan chuckled ruefully. “I guess. It’s just that I’ve never\u003cbr\u003ebeen one for taking orders—from \u003ci\u003eanyone\u003c\/i\u003e. I hope this\u003cbr\u003enewfound camaraderie between us isn’t going to make\u003cbr\u003ehim think that’s about to change.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeia smiled at her husband; one hand fondly massaged\u003cbr\u003ehis neck. “I’m sure Pellaeon’s fully aware of that, Han.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe comm unit crackled back to life, this time with a\u003cbr\u003efemale voice—obviously the commander whom the Grand\u003cbr\u003eAdmiral had mentioned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Your primary target is the destroyer \u003ci\u003eKur-hashan\u003c\/i\u003e,”\u003cbr\u003eshe said. A flood of charts and other data accompanied\u003cbr\u003ethe message on the \u003ci\u003eFalcon\u003c\/i\u003e’s monitors. “This is a yammoskbearing\u003cbr\u003evessel. Secondary targets are support vessels. Engage\u003cbr\u003eat will. \u003ci\u003eRight to Rule \u003c\/i\u003eout.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHan punched a course into the navicomputer. “You\u003cbr\u003egot that, \u003ci\u003eSelonia\u003c\/i\u003e?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Loud and clear,” came back the voice of Captain\u003cbr\u003eMayn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Jag?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Twin Suns awaits your orders, Captain,” Jag said.\u003cbr\u003eHe sounded calm and controlled, but underneath the\u003cbr\u003ecool exterior Leia knew he was primed and ready for\u003cbr\u003ecombat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Are we about to do what I think we’re about to do?”\u003cbr\u003eDroma asked, somewhat nervously.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You’re the one always second-guessing everyone,”\u003cbr\u003eHan replied. “You tell us.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It doesn’t take much foresight to know we’re still\u003cbr\u003eoutnumbered. While it’s nice that we have company and\u003cbr\u003eall, it still only makes two Star Destroyers against sixteen\u003cbr\u003eof the big uglies.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I know,” Han said, a wide, familiar grin settling onto\u003cbr\u003ehis face. “It makes it so much more interesting when the\u003cbr\u003eodds are stacked against you, don’t you think?”","brand":"Random House Worlds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303195463909,"sku":"NP9780345428721","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780345428721.jpg?v=1767735700","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/reunion-star-wars-legends-isbn-9780345428721","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}