sri, 2. studenog '05 u 03:26
"In Episode III you witnessed Anakin Skywalker succumb to the dark side and be reborn as the fearsome Darth Vader. To find out what happens next, you'll need to read Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader.
The Republic has become the Empire, ruled by the wicked Palpatine with order enforced by his new right hand agent, Darth Vader. The galaxy is reeling from civil war and the shocking elimination of the Jedi Knights. Some worlds are resistant to the New Order, and are determined to make a stand against these sweeping new changes.
One of Darth Vader's first tasks is to snuff out these early embers of resistance, and it is this mission that will lead him to discover his true strength and come into his own as the Emperor's iron fist.
Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader is a new novel by author James Luceno. Together with his previous book, Labyrinth of Evil and Matthew Stover's bestselling Revenge of the Sith novelization (which are now being combined into an omnibus, as described here), this new hardcover forms a trilogy of novels chronicling the collapse of the Republic and the emergence of the Empire.
Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader is due out in hardcover from Del Rey Books on November 22."
Labyrinth of Evil, ROTS i ova tvore svojevrsnu trilogiju. LOE je službeni kanon, no za ovu ne znam. Ako se nađete u prilici, pročitajte ih sve tri. ROTS knjigu toplo preporučam, LOE je navodno prilično dobro prošla kod fanova (AFAIK, bavi se događajima (ne)viđenim u 3 sezoni CWa).
Enivej, ako vas zanima što je bilo tijekom/nakon N66, dolje su spoileri...
Part 1
Anyway, we open with an assault on Murkhana, the headquarters of the Corporate Alliance with a Jedi saddled with a Clone Commander who is eager to bombard the city, even though the Chancellor has ordered restraint so as to win over the Separatists. Gunships launch from a Victory-class Star Destroyer that is later joined by two more Star Destroyers. The gunships deploy droidbuster weapons that are missiles with a localised EMP effect on droids, so creating landing areas instantly.The city is shielded with generators deployed near medical centres. The Jedi check it out despite the commander's objections, they find no patients. A short while after the firefight the clones receive Order 66, but a number of the clones question it, as well as the principle that Palpatine is the Republic which is interesting. The Jedi flee and initially obey the beacon to return to Coruscant then as they near an ARC fighter they plan to steal, the beacon message reverses. Unfortunately by this time several gunships have dropped in a thousand clones as the droids have all instantly shut down, so they are captured.
Part 2: The Emperor’s Emissary
As stated this opens with the Imperator SD Exactor en route to Murkhana. The Vader-Sidious conversation is spot on, of particular significance is the time Luceno spends detailing the sheer extent of the loss of ability Obi-Wan’s defeating of Anakin inflicted upon him. At the same time it is done in a cool style, this is not a sympathetic portrait. Anakin suspects the suit is deliberately inferior, that Sidious manipulated him, but even if true, it’s irrelevant he can’t challenge the Emperor. On Murkhana Vader interrogates and executes the squad of rebellious troopers, before engaging one of the fugitive Jedi. He wins but is injured, with his left arm incapacitated. Before only Dooku, Obi-Wan and yoda had been his equals now it seems an insignificant Jedi can wound him. A fact that Sidious rubs in later in the medical laboratory on Coruscant.
Part 3: Imperial Center
Thus far this concerns Sidious’ steady ongoing corruption of Vader, with much information on the nature of the Sith and how they operate. Sharyf is on board a freighter where the Captain is his mother he has never known. Turns out his parents disagreed over how to raise the child, his father giving him to the Jedi. The padawan Sharyf has taken on following her master’s death at Vader’s hand seems incapable of facing the hard, cold reality that the Order is dead and the Jedi way worthless. She keeps on talking about finding other Jedi and outlasting Palpatine.
Other pieces: Palpatine addresses Senators, assuring them he will not disband the Senate but that his decisions will be final and instantly executed. More capital ships and starfighters are planned, at the same time Sienar Systems is building a fighter to Vader’s specifications. Bel Iblis is at the meeting. Mothma and Organa discuss things afterwards, with Organa hesitant to continue engaging in covert opposition now he has Leia to care for. Then he sees Vader returning to Coruscant, coming out of an Imperial shuttle.
On his return to Coruscant Vader is sent to the Jedi Temple to search for Sith Holocrons, Vader suspects his master's agenda is to remind him of his past acts. At the time the fugitives have accessed the databanks, Armand Isard notices this and informs Vader. Vader orders the troops on the moon of Jaguda to scramble, but they get trapped in an abandoned separatist base. The Jedi activated the generator, so reviving the Sep war droids, they shut down but flee, setting the base to re-activate a short time later as activation seals all accesses. The defeat they inflict is minor, but it convinces Vader that the few Jedi that remain are not an annoyance but a potential threat. Sidious in response refuses to allow Vader to pursue the Jedi, so as to increase his rage further. He sends Vader to capture or kill a fleeing Senator named Zar Fang, who is on Alderaan, at the same time the crew the Jedi are with are contacted to give Fang safe passage home from Alderaan.
Vader is sent with the Imperator-class SD, with Pestage in tow, who informs Organa that Vader is on his way down. The two meet and spar verbally, albeit as a shadowplay then news comes of Zar Fang's attempt to flee. At the time in the background a peaceful anti-Imperial protest goes violent as agitators activate, cue to riot form being deployed. As Fang flees, Vader pursues. Elsewhere Organa is ordered by Pestage to seal the Palace. Fang is gotten clear of the forcefield as it comes down, but just before it closes, Vader throws his saber near decapitating Fang in the process. In the meantime Organa has intuited Vader's identity, he doesn't know how he knows, but he's certain Vader is Skywalker. On his return to Coruscant Vader meets with a less than impressed Sidious, who all but challenges Vader to attack him. Taunting him, he reminds Vader he can fry the delicate electrical systems that power his suit easily, he forces Vader to acknowledge that Vader needs to learn from him before he can kill him. Sidious then unveils his own knowledge that the fugitive Jedi have fled to Kashykk.
Part 4: Kashykk
Vader rendezvous with another SD commanded by a figure he doesn't know too well despite meeting him a few weeks earlier, the commander is Tarkin. Tarkin explains to Vader he has a labour shortage on the new weapon platform, he intends to solve this but needs Vader's help to do so. Vader agrees. The two SDs head for Kashhyk. The Imperial assault is met with cannibalised and converted Sep war machines, but the Empire isn't interested in obliterating the planet, instead wookiees are being taken prisoner. On the surface Vader engages and kills over 20 wookiees in single combat, although he has to give the order for surgical bombardment from orbit due to the resistance. He is ambushed by Starshone's bunch of Jedi, none of whom can defeat him and is about to kill her when Sharyf intervenes.
aving made his entrance by lopping off Commander Appo’s head, Vader is less than impressed with Shryne, they duel whilst the Padawans he enabled to escape find and power up a Separatist cruiser. They encounter problems with the droid brain being determined to carry out its mission by exploding, they can't shut it down but decide to change the target. On the ground Shryne realises the key to defeating Vader is the chest contol panel, so he aims for that and is successful in dictating the terms of the fight, until Vader taps deep into the dark side to fuel a telekinetic assault by ripping up the balcony the are fighting on. In the descent that has followed, Shryne loses his sword. The duel between the Jedi mirrors the ground battle for the Wookiees are losing. However, before Shryne dies a huge explosion flares as the Sep cruiser the Padawans fired up takes out the Imperial Interdictor that was preventing flight, the result is sveral hundred ships escape. Shryne dies, his faith in the Force restored. Vader orders full bombardment of Kashyyyk. The planet falls, 200,000 Wookiees are enslaved, to be covertly transported and put to work on the Death Star project. The Padawans split up, go their separate ways and accept the Order is gone, they must wait for the Empire to rot.
Epilogue:
Sidious permits Tarkin and Vader's partnership to continue and decides to allow foootage of Vader in action. He considers everything to be going well, as for his apprentice, he will do fine, although if someone more powerful should ever be found, well...At the same time Vader is accepting he cannot yet overthrow Sidious, but if he were to find a powerful ally, well, the throne may well be his then.
On Alderaan Mon Mothma is trying to convince Organa of the need to publicly oppose Palpatine, Organa is eluctant as he fears greatly for Leia's safety, then the news of the conquest of Kashyyyk is seen. They both know it's over, the Empire is now established. And on a dusty, double sun desert planet a stranger in a bar sees the news and is stunned to hear the name of Vader. Obi-Wan is saved from trouble by a passing stranger, who buys him a drink. Obi-Wan's reflections are of interest:
"They hadn't realised that Palpatine had manipulated the war; that a Sith occupied the throne; that like everyone else, the Jedi had failed to grasp a truth that should have been evident years earlier: the Republic had never been worth fighting for.
The ideals of democracy hadn't been stamped out by Palpatine. The Jedi had carried out missions of dubious merit for any number of Supreme Chancellors, but always in the name of safeguarding peace and justice. What they failed to undrstand was that the Senate, the Coruscanti, the citizens of countless world and star systems, grown weary of the old system, had allowed democracy to die. And in a galaxy where the goal was single-minded control from the top, and wherein the end justified the means, the Jedi had no place.
That had been the final revenge of the Sith."(p.318-319)
Leaving the cantina, Obi-Wan hears Qui-Gon's voice for the first time in years, he asks his old teacher if it is true about Vader. Qui-Gon's view is the Anakin they both knew is imprisoned by the dark side. Obi-Wan thinks he should have sealed Vader's fate on Mustafar, Qui-Gon says the Force will determine his fate, Luke must not be told of his father until the time is right. Obi-Wan asks if he needs to take further steps to ensure Luke's safety, Qui-Gon says not. Vader will never return to Tattooine for fear of reawakening Anakin. Obi-Wan returns to quietly continue watching Owen, Beru and Luke. End.
Pročitao sam sve i prilično dobro zvuči.
Ova predzadnja rečenica objašnjava sitnicu koja je patila dosta ljudi već duuuugo. ^^
"Leaves from the vine, falling so slow.
Like fragile, tiny shells,
Drifting in the foam.
Little soldier boy, come marching home.
Brave soldier boy, comes marching home."
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