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 Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 2:25 pm
Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn
Saber Rating: 5/5
Reviwers Notes: Great book, very well written EXCELLENT story, Thrawn's traps and stuff are great. Also put Thrawn and Palpatine in a new light. Pick this one up, and then read Survivor's Quest. Personally, they're a duology, just set many years apart.
Good read.
Summary:
Jorj Car'das is a crewman on the Bargain Hunter along with his crewmates Maris Ferassi and Dubrak Quennto. While outrunning a Hutt spacecraft that is pursuing them, they make a blind jump into the Unknown Regions where they are taken aboard a Chiss craft the Springhawk commanded by Mitth'raw'nuruodo, aka our homie Thrawn. Thrawn is kind to his semi-prisoners and promises to let them go with treasures if they teach him Basic. In return, he agrees to teach Car'das to understand Cheunh and speak a regional trade language. Thrawn and Car'das become loose friends and Thrawn confides in Car'das that he is at odds with the rest of the Chiss Ascendency over foreign policy. Chiss foreign policy states that the Chiss cannot attack unless provoked first. Thrawn tells Car'das about the Vagaari, a race of pirates, slavers and raiders, who have been attacking worlds around Chiss Space. Thrawn believes that the Vagaari will undoubtedly attack the Chiss at one point or another, and that they should be apprehended quickly. It is because of this that he and the Ascendency dissagree. Meanwhile, Jorus C'baoth, Jedi Master, is furious that the Senate has cut the funding for his Outbound Flight project, which will consist of six Dreadnoughts and a central core full of potential colonists going out to find another galaxy. The Jedi Council is only interested in finding out what happened to Vergere, who dissapeared in the Unknown Regions a few years before. C'baoth agrees to go mediate a dispute on Bardok if Palpatine tries to restore the funding. Meanwhile, the Jedi Council asks Obi-Wan and Anakin to go keep an eye on C'baoth and his padawan Lorana Jinzler. On Bardok, C'Baoth leaves Lorana with Obi and Ani. The trio discover that the bodyguard of the head of the Corporate Alliance is concerned about an attack on the Alliance's leader. In a pursuit, Lorana is knocked unconcious and taken captive by a group of rebels who are creating a homebrew missile under the aid of Kinman Doriana, Palpatine's aid and Sidious' b***h. Next, the Jedi Council asks Obi-Wan and Anakin to board Outbound Flight to the outer reaches of the galaxy so they may look for vergere, and then leave using a Delta-12 Skysprite fighter. Onboard Outbound Flight, Lorana Jinzler confronts her brother who hates her for being the standard he parents put him up to. Obi-Wan notices C'baoth's increasing bending of the Jedi Code, going so far as to take force-sensitive children from their parents at night to be trained as Jedi in OF's storafe core. Obi-Wan disagrees with ruling OF but C'baoth insists that as a Jedi Mission, it is under C'baoth's direction. On the other front, Thrawn and the humans are out flying when they suddenly run into a Trade Federation battlefleet, with Doriana in it that is coming to destroy OF. Thrawn owns the fleet. Onboard the remaining TF ship, Kinman Doriana tries to convince Thrawn to destroy OF, first by lying about it initially. It is then revealed that Sidious and Doriana do not wish OF to leave because if it is intercepted by the Far Outsiders (Yuuzhan Vong), it will be information to coordinate a swift invasion of the Republic. Thrawn agrees to destroy OF. Meanwhile, Thrawn's superiors are working to relieve Thrawn of power because of his "agression". Next, Thrawn, who genuinly intends to stop OF from leaving the galaxy, not destroy it, plans a trap. He sends Car'das to the Vagaari, bribing them with droid technology, unheard of in the Unknown Regions. The Vagaari then attack at the Vector of OF, and Trawn and C'baoth both attack the Vagaari. However, C'baoth goes after Thrawn too, and when Thrawn asks OF to return home repeatedly, C'baoth falls to the darkside and Force chokes Thrawn. Panicking, Doriana hits the button to send radiation bombs to each Dreadnaught, killing everyone onboard save for Lorana Jinzler and the 57 people C'baoth had locked in the storage core. Next, the 5th Ruling Family's representative, Chaf'orm'bintrano arrives to take OF's wreckage. Thrawn agrees that one ruling family cannot have the technology, and so his brother Thrass and Jinzler pilot OF to the Redoubt cluster, but the 57 in the Storage core make it out and go to Dreadnought 4. To ensure that those people crashed rightside up and do not die, Thrass and Jinzler are forced to turn OF so that their Dreadnaught is crushed, and that Dreadnaught 4 is not. Later, Thrawn is approached by Doriana, who wishes to show Thrawn to Palpatine. Also, Doriana appoints Car'das to form a smuggling empire which would also be a secret info network for Palps. Thrawn and Car'das part ways as friends.
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:13 pm
Bloodlines by Karen Traviss
Book Two of Legacy of the Force
I absolutely adored this book. Karen Traviss' writing style puts you straight into the head of Jacen, Ben, Luke, Han and Boba Fett. The Boba parts were the best, and actually humanized him. Consider this the Huck Finn of bountyhunters.
Go read. Even if you aren't following the series. You owe it to Boba Fett.
Summary:
Starts off with Boba deciding to find Ailyn Vel, his daughter, and to cheat his disease.
Jacen and Ben arrive at Cal Omas's office. Jacen tells Omas that he believes that they need to strike the Corellian shipyards to immobilize them. Omas said that would lead to war, which the Senate would never approve of. He says he will think about it. Jacen and Ben discover that Cha Niathal believed the same as Jacen, so Jacen counts her as an ally.
Fett is on Kamino, where his docter says that he has only a year or two to live. Fett is told that Taun We, who has data of Jango's clones, could help him live, but she has gone missing for the past three weeks. He decides to go after her.
Han and Leia are on Corellia, where they find a message saying that Thracken wants them all dead. They track down the person who wrote it, and he says that he, like many other Corellians, want Thracken dead. Han and Leia decide to get off Corellia. Han and Jacen have been having problems since Jacen destroyed Centerpoint. Han decides to get in touch with him, and tell him about the bounty on his head.
Luke and Mara are in the quarters, when Luke expresses his distrust of Jacen. Mara says that she completely trusts him.
Jacen is thinking about Tenel Ka and Allana, who he misses completely. Then he thinks of Lumiya, and how he cannot fully trust her. Jacen goes to Niathal, where he finds that she, in fact, is an ally. When in a speeder with her, the buildings behind him explode, and hundreds die. Mara and Luke find Jacen with Cal Omas and Captain Lon Shevu. They all belive that the Corellians are behind it, except for Luke and Mara.
Fett is on Taris with Goran Beviin. Beviin tells him about the bounty on Han, but Fett says he has no need to take it. Beviin says that Ailyn Vel, or her alias, Ailyn Habuur, has already taken it. Fett says he cannot worry about her right now. Mirta Gav follows Fett, and tells him that she can help him find Ailyn. Fett agrees, and decides to find Ailyna and search for Taun We.
Maa is asked to lead the Galactic Alliance Guard, which is the secret police. Mara already knows she won't , but says she will think about it. Jacen goes to his quarters, where he flow walks back to when Anakin Skywalker is killing the Jedi. Jacenb feels much better about his role as Sith, since he belives that he would never do that. He then calls Lumiya to Coruscant. Ben is in the Corellian sanctuary, where he finds Barit Saiy. Barit tells Ben that he plans to fight the Coruscanti on Coruscant.
Han is attacked by a Bounty Hunter on the Falcon, but Leia manages to save him. They then head to Coruscant. Jacen and Ben meet Lumiya on Coruscant. Ben does not recognize her, but finds her familiar. Jacen leads Lumiya in the Jedi temple, to test her. He intentionally runs into Luke, who senses something disturbing. Luke does not know Lumiya is Lumiya. Lumiya tells Jacen that her hatred of Luke has diminshed, and that he can trust her. Jacen then gives her an apartment on Coruscant. Ben is in the Corellian section of Coruscant when he hears that the water supply on Coruscant has been contaminated. Many Coruscanti head to the Corellian embassy and cause a riot, and Ben stops Barit from killing a GA soldier.
Han, Leia, Jacen, and Jaina all meet up on Coruscant. Jaina tells them that she is once again a fighter pilot, and is fighting against Corellia. Han does not like it, but cannot do anything about it. In Jacen's quarters, Han and Luke get into a fght, and Han storms out. Luke then feels Lumiya's presence and finds out that she is on Coruscant.
Jacen becomes the leader of the Galactic Alliance Guard. Meanwhile, Fett finds out the location of Taun We. Fett is also told by Mirta Gev that she had met an original clone on Coruscant. Fett realizes that the clone had to have stopped the clones advanced growth, because the clone should have been dead by then.
Pellaeon resigns from the GA military when he finds out about the Galactic Alliance Guard. Cha Niathal takes his place. Lumiya and Luke meet again, but Jacen is able to hide Lumiya's true self. Jacen and Ben leads the Galactic Alliance Guard to the Corellian Section of Coruscatn where they imprison all of them in their houses. Han and Leia see this on the HoloNet and are completely shocked at Jacen's actions. Mara actually has no problem with it.
Fett lands on Vohai in search for Taun WE. He finds the company that she works for and tries to figure a way inside. Jacen and Naiathal discuss a blockade of Corellia. They both think that it is a good idea. Han and Leia arrive back on Corellia and decide to assassinate Thracken once and for all. Fett breaks into the building that Taun We is in and locates the Kaminoan. Taun says that she cannot help him. She also tells him that Kal Skirata and his clones killed Ko Sai, a Kaminoan who could preserve the clones life. Fett leaves Tau We and decides that he needs to find the clones. He then gets a message from Thracken Sal-Solo.
Jaina and Luke are in a flight simulation, where Luke feels that he is "loosing his edge". Once they are done, Jaina hears a Captain say that Jacen is the spitting image of Darth Vader. Jaina freaks out when she hears this and force pushes him. She apologizes and leaves. Jaina tells Luke that she does not trust Jacen at all, and that Ben should get a new Master. Luke knows that Jacen is turning to the Dark Side. Ben is with the Jacen and the Galactic Guard. They are in the lower part of Coruscant, where they are trying to kidnap Ailyn Habuur, aka Ailyn Vel. Jacen had intercepted a message to Ailyn, and decided to arrest her. They succeed. Jacen and Niathal plan a blockade of Corellia, that consists of Fifth Fleet (no Nek Bwua'tu though) and Third Fleet.
On Slave I, Fett and Gev contact Goran Beviin, and tell him that they are going to Corellia. When Beviin asks why, Fett says that Sal-Solo wants them to work for him. Beviin doesn't like it, but they all go to Corellia. In the Jedi Council room, Cilghal and Kyle Katarn are greatly concerned about Jacen, and Kyp suggests that he be made a Master in order for Luke to order him around. Luke isn't sure, and when they leave, Luke tells Mara that Lumiya is back. On Niathal's flagship Ocean, Jacen thinks of calling Tenel Ka and Allna, but fears that Lumiya will find out and use them against him. Once the blockade goes into affect, Jacen, Jaina, and Zekk are in Rogue Sqaudron (with Jacen taking over the squadron from Jaina) where, Jacen kills the first Corellian. Slave I is able to get past the blockade and land on Corellia.
Jacen is on Coruscant, where he hears people exclaiming that the GA is the new Empire. Alone with Luke, Luke tells him that Lumiya is back. He also says that he is going to see if Ben could get a new Master. Jacen says that he could do what he thinks best. When Jacen gets to his apartment, he calls Lumiya over. Jacen and Ben are interogating Ailyn, and Jacen uses the Force to slam Ailyn's head on the desk when she doesn't answer his questions. Ben leaves, but Shevu says that they need to stop Jacen from killing Ailyn (he knew somehow). They burst into the room to see Ailyn dead. Jacen had tapped into her mind and unintenionally killed her. Ben is skocked, but thinks that Jacen did it for the right reasons.
Fett is with Thracken Sal-Solo. Thracken offers him a job in protecting Centerpoint. When Fett asks for a million credits per month, Sal-Solo says that he has to think it over. Gejjen approaches Fett and asks him to kill Sal-Solo. Fett agrees for one million credits. But he sets out to find Han Solo first. Jacen and Lumiya are talking, and Lumiya says that he will learn another lesson soon, and that she cannot tell him what it is, but that he would learn what it was. For Ben to be Jacen's apprentice, Lumiya tells Jacen that he needs to become a Master. Meanwhile, ben is with Luke and Mara. Luke notices that Ben is more grown up, and military like. Luke tells Ben that he thinks it would be best if Ben returns to the academy. Ben says that he needs to understand a few more things from Jacen before he goes back. Luke says that that is fine.
Han Solo is on Corellia, thinking of ways to assassinate Sal-Solo when Boba Fett approaches him. When aksed about her, Han says that Jacen captured Ailyn Vel on Coruscant. Fett and Mirta tell Han that he will have Jacen bring Ailyn back. Han says that he will only do that if Boba helped him assassinate Sal-Solo. Fett agrees.
Jacen is in the Jedi temple, where he flow walks into the past, and sees Anakin in the Council room, where he is just been made a member, but not a master. Then Jacen goes back to Corellia, where he, Jaina, and Zekk fight back the Corellian ships. Jacen orders Jaina to attack an innocent civilian ship, and when Jaina refuses, Jacen suspends her from duty.
Meanwhile, Han, Mirta, and Fett are all in mandalorian armor, and meet with Thracken. Fett says that he will help the Corellians. Then Han tackles him and tells him that he will not allow him to hurt his family any longer. Sal-Solo says that Ailyn was jut a pawn, and that he tipped off the GA about her so that his other bounty hunters could go after him. This angers Fett and Mirta, and Mirta shoots him dead. Fett and Han shoot him also, but just to make sure he was actually dead.
Jacen is told by Lumiya that he needs to be made a Master in order for Ben to really look up to him. On Corellia, Han, Fett, and Mirta escape and head back to Leia's apartment. On Coruscant, Ben and Shevu break into a building and attack the rebels in there. Ben, without realizing it at the time, kills two people. Ben is completely shocked at his actions. Jacen tells him that it is what he had to do, but Ben is shocked that he killed people for the first time.
Luke and Jaina talk again, and Jaina tells Luke that she thinks that Jacen is turning to the Dark Side. She also says that she thinks that he will break her heart one day. Back at the Solo's apartment, Leia contacts Jacen and find sout that Ailyn is dead. Fett and Mirta are devestated. Mirta reveales that she is Ailyn's daughter, and that her true mission was to bring Fett to her so she could kill him. She tries to kill Fett, but fails. What Leia did not say was how she died. Mirta is told by Fett to kill him, but she can't bring herself to kill him this time. Fett says that he wants Ailyn's body.Han and Leia are talking when she tells him that Jacen killed her and tortured her. Han is shocked.
Cal Omas says that he is going to discuss a peace treaty with the new Corellian government. They decline it, and Omas declares war. Jacen is told to bring Ailyn's body, and he personally brings it to Corellia in the Falcon. Fett is told about Jacen killing Ailyn, but decides not to go after him. he would rather watch the Solo's family be destroyed. Han and Leia pick up Ailyn's body and the Falcon. Han tells Jacen that he is not his son anymore and that he doesn't want to be bothered with him. Ben tells Luke and Mara that he killed someone.
Han and Leia are shocked that their son is turning into a monster. They give Ailyn's body to Fett. He and Mirta decide to bury her on Geonosis with Jango Fett. Lumiya tells Jacen that his last test before becoming a Sith is to kill what he loves. Jacen know that what he loves most is Tenel Ka and Allana. He reluctantly decides that he has to kill them (I HATED THIS PART!). Fett and Mirta are on their way to Geonosis, and Fett decides to focus more on being Mandalore, and find the clone.
(Copied from Zinnos on the NJOE boards)
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:58 am
Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
Book one of the Thrawn Triology
Saber Rating: 4/5
Reviewer's notes: Good book, moves along. Keeps you guessing if you're one of the thinking types. Biggest complaint is the sometimes under-described details. Rereadable.
Summary: The empire has not fully died yet in the galaxy, and apparantly it is up to a new commander to take the reigns. Captain Paelleon of the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimera finds the new commander to be a calculated, cold, and tactically adept Grand Admiral Thrawn, a commander whose exploits could provide hope for the dwindling empire.
Luke, on coruscant with leia, witnesses the end of Kenobi, who can no longer stay as a ghost in the force. This parting sorrows luke, but is reminded that "He is not the last of the old, but the beginning of the New." Leia has been tied up to no end with the founding of the New Republic with Mon Mothma, all the time carrying twins. Borsk Fey'lya does not help with his constant badgering and power mongering. Han returns from a failed attempt to recruit some smugglers to legally transport goods for the NR, only to find that he, leia, luke, and the rest of the gang are headed for Bimmisaari.
Thrawn heads to Mrkyr, home of the Ysalimari. Quickly recieving help from Talon Karrde, the biggest smuggler in the galaxy after Jabba's death, he aquires the force-nulling creatures, and reaches Mount Tantiss on Wayland. Thrawn encounters a clone of a jedi, Joruus C'boath, and the two work out a partnership for each other. In exchange for the jedi's services, Thrawn promises to deliver the remaining jedi Luke and Leia.
On Bimmisaari, Leia attempts to open negotiations, only to find the heroes have been led into a trap. Between Luke's jedi skills, and Chewie's flying, the party is able to safely get off the planet, but not to much pleasure from Fey'lya or Leia.
Thrawn, who engineered the trap, takes little notice, as the first test of C'baoth's abilities are tapped. Attacking the Sluis Van facilities simultaneously throughout the system, it turns out to be a complete success. The NR will soon be sending supplies and diplomats to the system, all according to Thrawn's plan.
Luke heads to the dagobah system to find anything he can on training jedi, specifically leia. His search leads nowhere, but inside the dark cave R2 picks up a small device. As luke descends, he encounters a vision where a woman prevents him from grabbing his lightsaber on the sailbarge on Tatooine, but nothing else happens as Luke examines the triangle. Upon closer notice, R2 remembers that Lando Calrissian had such a device, and the pair head to Nllkon. Meanwhile, Han and Leia require the use of a slicer and information to help hide Leia from the kidnapping attempts which happen to be more and more prominent. Of course, the best person for the job happens to be Lando as well.
When the Falcon gets to Nllkon, a shieldship is waiting to transport them into system, since the suns are too hot for most ships to fly through. Luke meets up, and after 10 hours, they reach nomad city, Lando's mining creation. Information is exchanged. Lando suggests Talon Karrde being the best bet for a slicer, and the triangular device was actually a homing beacon for a slave circuit ship.
Thrawn has kept busy. First, rumors have been spread about C'baoth on a small backwater planet, as a trap for skywalker to fall into. He requires mole miners, a small ship, for his plans to advance. The best place for this happens to be (and what a surprize) Nomad City. Leading a Star Destroyer into the system, a quick fight ensues, but Thrawn gets what he wants. In addition, he plans to betray C'baoth for the time being, and make sure that when luke heads for the planet, Thrawn can intercept the jedi master.
With the attack on Nomad City, Han decides it is time to move Leia. Chewie and Leia will seek sanctuary on Kashyyyk, while Lando and Han appear to have leia with them as a decoy. This is aided by modifying C-3P0's voice modulator, and apparantly all works out well.
Luke's adventure does not help so much. Caught in the trap Thrawn laid out, Luke is forced to fight against the tractor beams of star destroyers. He manages to get away, only resulting in heavy damage to his fighter during the hyperspace jump. Talon Karrde picks the jedi up, and promptly knocks Luke out until they reach the home base of Mykrr. There, Luke is hidden from empire and Republic alike, but only for the moment.
Lando and Han manage to reach the contact sent by Karrde, and arrive on Mykrr. Luke is transferred to a storage shed, while Han and Lando are fed and discuss the matter of slicing. Luke manages to break out of his temporary cell, just as the imperials arrive. While Lando and Han are hidden from Thrawn, Luke steals a Blastboat, and is pursued by Mara Jade, a woman with strong contempt for the jedi, especially since Luke killed her boss, the Emperor and ruined her life.
Luke cannot fly the blastboat very well, ending up wrecking it in the forest, and takes Mara down with him. Now in the forest, Luke and Mara send and recieve encrypted messages about their progress from Karrde as the pair make their way to the nearest city.
Thrawn, who witnessed the pursuit, knows something is amiss. Assuming that Karde is trying to hide the fiasco, stormtroopers are sent down to the city to wait for the pair. Han and Lando also find out about Luke's kidnapping, and attempt to rescue him.
On Kashyyyk, Leia has been cared for quite well. Only a small sighting by Leia has set everyone on guard, and all is quiet, until she wakes up one morning too early and finds herself in the process of kidnapping. A skirmish breaks out, with leia killing one, and chewie knocking out another. Several wookiees are injured, and one is killed by the sneak attack. The one noghri Leia saved manages to realize that Leia is the daughter of Vader, and to the Noghri, she is the daughter of their savior. Thus, she cannot be hurt. Setting up a time to meet with the lizard again, Leia embarks back to coruscant.
Luke and Mara are forced to confront the stormtroopers in the city. Luke disguises himself by swelling his face up, and as the pair are taken into custody, they meet solo, who is there to aid in the rescue. While it seems that all could fail, Karrde is impressed at luke's ability to tackle the unit single-handedly, though the smuggler realizes it is time for him to leave the planet for good. Han and the gang head for Sluis Van to check out the new Republic's efforts.
Thrawn himself tests out his new cloaking device, and prepares to attack the NR at the shipyards of Sluis Van. Due to the lack of transports, the NR is forced to use cruisers for transports, making them vulnerable targets. Thrawn pounces, as Han and the gang arrive in system. Rogue Squadron assists, but Thrawn uses the mole miners as a assault vessel. Punching into the sides of the cruisers, the mining ships deposit crews to take over the vessels and begin to pilot them out of system. Quick thinking on Lando's part forces the miners to drill through the entire hulls on all the cruisers, effectively stopping the theft. Thrawn pulls out of system.
The book ends with Admiral Ackbar arrested for treason by Fey'lya and the gang going to defend their friend, preparing for the next novel, Dark Force Rising.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 11:09 pm
The New Jedi Order:
The Unifying Force
James Luceno
(4.5/5 sabers)
This book is the conclusion to the New Jedi Order series, where the fate of the galaxy is determined. The wandering planet, Zonoma Sekot, has been found, and Luke and Mara try to convince it to help as Ackbar has been initiating a plan to be able to win this final part of the war, very much reminicent of a tactic used by Thrawn.
The Story opens upon a prison where a number of Republic POWs are being held. One of them manages to escape, through the help of the rest at the complex to deliver an encoded message to the Alliance. Coruscant has been fully worldshaped into Yuuzhan Tar, upon which half of the final battle is waged.
(Spoiler) In the conclusion of the book, it is found that Jacen Solo is in fact the chosen one, his "Balancing of the Force" being granting the living Force back to the Vong, who make their home on Zonoma Sekot, where they might live in peace, after the destruction of their Overlord, Shimrra, who was actually a puppet of Onimi. In the final pages of the book, Chewbacca is given a proper funeral, after which Han takes his dead son's lightsaber, ignites it, and stabs it into the tree limb hung in Chewie's honor, saying that if any needed it in the fight for good in the future, they could find it there. The group then goes to celebrate their victory over the Vong, their voices and laughter raising tot he sky to be heard in a galaxy far, far away...
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:26 pm
Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover
Saber Rating: 3/5
Reviewer's notes: Interesting book at times, total shat elsewhere. If you're into learning all about the history of Mace, this is your guide to his thoughts and past. But between turning him into an arrogant a*****e, and at the end suddenly going true in the jedi way, along with the whole bs he pulls off, it can get annoying. Its like everyone took force steroids. And this is a planet of force users. But, there are some parts which are quite valuable to read.
Summary: Okay, the Clone Wars have long been underway, and Mace Windu is summoned to the chambers of the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. On Harun Kal, Mace's home planet, a datadisk was recovered from the sewn-shut mouth of a massacred villager. The wounds seemingly came from a lightsaber, which quickly reduces the culprit to Depa Bilaba, Mace's apprentice who was sent there months earlier to create a revolution against CIS troopers stationed there.
The planet itself is a harsh one, as fungus not only eat away at anything metallic that isn't protected properly (especially blasters), but it in home to the force sensitive jungle people, clans which Windu was part of before he was taken away. On planet, as Mace goes through the germ spray, he is ambushed, but quickly beats the crap out of three people, stark naked. Trust me, this washroom is actually important, otherwise the need to put that detail in would seem irrelevant.
Mace goes to his contact on the planet, a woman who is supposed to hook him up with a group of guides. During a street battle going on, she is shot in the arm, as Mace tries to help her out. However, due to him being one of the Korrunai, the race of barbarians in the jungle, the militia stun the Jedi master, thinking he is attacking her.
When Mace wakes up, things are not what should be for a person of such high stature. colonel Geptun, a chief of security for the district, interrogates Windu, before making a deal with the Jedi master, that if he can take care of the "jedi problem" in the jungles leading the attacks, Mace will not be accused of murder of the woman. After paying Geptun Three thousand credits as bond, Mace heads out in search of a guide.
Not long, another Korrunai (these dudes are supposedly descendants of jedi, and are all force sensitive btw) signals Mace to follow him with the force. The man turns out to be leading the Jedi master into an ambush. Mace finds his lightsaber has been disabled, and must thwart off several mercinaries and repulsorlift craft. During the fray, a lightsaber is thrown, quicklly ending the battle. The Horuun who threw the saber is Nick Rostu. He has several companions, Chalk (female), Lesh and Besh (twins).
Nick is a total jokester, and grew up in the streets of Pelek Baw, where horuun are quite mistreated. Mace quickly sets himself up as a leader of the group, knocking nick out of his usual position. As the group heads into the jungle, Mace is forced to contend with riding on the back of a grasser, and using akk hounds to watch out for other patrols.
Fate catches up, though, as the group is ambushed by a patrol. The fight ensues, as Mace pulls out some badass moves and basically rides an Akk Hound (breaking its connection with Chalk and re-establishing it with himself) and whoops a**. But not before Lesh and Besh are either dead or dying due to a brain worm thingy. The group moves to an outpost long since abandoned, as Nick rides to the Gosh (basically tribe) to bring back help. Chalk and Lesh (he survives) are put in hybernation.
During the day, a sandcrawler filled with outworlders falls into a dangerous situation over a volcanic precipice. Windu goes, and while saving two girls, he finds himself unable to save the boy (who sees him as Korrunai and therefore evil) because he's already holding the rocks together and everything from falling apart. Tricking him out, Windu brings the children back to the base, and waits for nightfall, when the adults come searching. Negotiating the transfer of the children, the adults are ambushed by natives, which turns out to be Nick and the tribe. Kar Vastor tries to kill the outworlders, and manages to succeed in some respect, before Windu stops everything.
Windu confronts the guards holding the adults hostage, and breaks the nose of one, before meeting with Kar, who is holding the boy up and about to kill him. Windu attempts to negotiate the kid's release, but the boy has been stabbing Chalk and Lesh while they sleep, and Kar decapitates the boy with a vibroshield (a weapon kinda like a shield with vibrosword spikes around the edges).
After Windu stops the fighting, he defies Kar's judgement on the situation. Kar wishes to let the outworlders go naked through the jungle, and if they survive, they may live, a punishment known as "jungle justice". Windu, however, uses the people as bait to lure Kar into a fight, by allowing a patrol to spot the people, and thereby allowing the outworlders to escape. Kar is furious, and Windu challenges him to fight under "Jungle rules" where the big dogs duke it out for supremacy. Windu uses vaapad, but Kar seems to do nothing but get stronger through rage, and kicks the holy hell out of Windu.
Kar wishes to perform a "jungle justice" on Windu, but depa talks the man out of the idea, even convincing Kar that the lightsaber was useless as well. Later, while Depa and Windu are talking with Nick about what happened, Windu reveals he wanted to be beat and the brilliance of Depa's move. They plan to evacuate the planet quickly, with Nick becoming a field officer of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The next morning in a cave on a mountain, Depa fails to show up. When Mace refuses to leave the planet, Kar (who has led pretty much all of the Koruuni to this one cavern in the mountain) begins to challenge Mace again, but when Mace lights his saber, something very wrong begins to happen. Giant propelled iron spikes are hurled from orbit onto their position, as the lightsabers signature was a trigger for a computer to launch these missle thingys.
As the group barely get hit by the first spike, they go underground to the com station and radio for an evac from the star destroyer in orbit. The pilots, however, are having trouble, since droid starfighters are everywhere, and there's little cover for the ventanator. Ordering every transport to go through the orbit and land, Mace must also fight the massive Balawai (offworlder) army heading their way.
So the fight begins, the Korunai kicking more balawai a** because of their force powers, and Mace hatches this brilliant plan to save the rest of the shuttles coming to the ground. By jacking two hovercraft, he fires off their entire missle salvo, which make the fighters attack the air support, and the transports are saved.
Mace heads into the spaceport by a trojan horse technique. Using a wounded hovercraft to look like the offworlders won the war, Mace surprizes many, as the clones come in from the outside. Without a single kill, they take the spaceport. Mace decides to leave to find the codes to deactivate the droid starfighters by going to the capital to find the colonel, but during his absence, Kar begins to destroy everything.
The colonel is found in his bunker under that bathhouse I was talking about earlier, and mace drags him to the spaceport. The colonel is the only one who knows the code by heart to shut it down, and Kar has seized the transmission room. So mace goes in with clones protecting the colonel, and he's forced to fight Depa. Even after Mace gets stabbed in the gut, he is able to knock her into a coma, and then turns to Kar. Instead of jungle rules, mace demands to do it by "jedi rules" and in one slice, kills Kar.
Quite melodramatic ending really, as the epilogue tells about going back to coruscant and reminiscing over what happened.
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