The darkest secrets are the hardest to bring to light...
Sylvestri Yarrow is on a streak of bad luck with no end of sight. She's been doing her best to keep the family cargo business going after her mom's death, but between mounting debt and increasing attacks by the Nihil on unsuspecting ships, Syl is in danger of losing all she has left of her mother. She heads to the galactic capital of Coruscant for help, but gets sidetracked when she's drawn into a squabble between two of the Republic's most powerful families over a patch of space on the frontier. Tangled up in familial politics is the last place Syl wants to be, but the promise of a big payoff is enough to keep her interested...
Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh has been summoned to Coruscant, but with no idea of why or by whom. She and her Padawan Imri Cantaros arrive at the capital along with Jedi Master Cohmac Vitus and his Padawan, Reath Silas—and are asked to assist with the property dispute on the frontier. But why? What is so important about an empty patch of space? The answer will lead Vernestra to a new understanding of her abilities, and take Syl back to the past... and to truths that will finally come out of the shadows.
Sylvestri Yarrow, owner of the cargo hauler Switchback, is stressed out over a run of bad luck. Ever since her mother Chancey's death at the hands of Nihil pirates, Syl has been losing money faster than she can make it. The dissolution of the Byne Guild didn't help matters, although she knows that her copilot Neeto Janajana was a victim of their abusive indentures. The Switchback abruptly jolts out of hyperspace in the middle of the empty Berenge sector, leaving Syl, Neeto, and the ancient droid M-227 puzzled, assuming it's a glitch. However, the sudden appearance of pirate starships leaves Syl reminded of her mother's death, and Neeto has to persuade her to get into the escape pod by pointing out that if she dies she can't warn anyone about the new tactic the Nihil appear to have come up with.
Vernestra Rwoh is meditating in a garden on the Starlight Beacon when her Padawan, Imri Cantaros, interrupts her to show off his recently completed new lightsaber. He also tells her there's a comm droid waiting for her outside. The droid, however, is glitching, and Imri asks to be excused because the number of people around is stressing his powerful empathic abilities. As Vernestra waits by herself, she encounters Padawan Reath Silas, who has recently arrived on the space station with his Master, Cohmac Vitus. Reath helps fix the droid, telling her he'll see her later. Vernestra finds herself on a call with her old Master, Stellan Gios, who says he wants her to report to Coruscant, as a Galactic Republic senator wants her help dealing with a situation in the Berenge sector.
Reath has had an adventurous year since becoming Cohmac Vitus' Padawan, and after they have finished unloading their ship, Cohmac dismisses him so he can go eat while Cohmac goes to see Marshal Avar Kriss. In the cafeteria, Reath sits with Vernestra and Imri, learning about the Padawan's recent discovery of powerful empathic abilities he's having a hard time controlling when he uses them on Reath. Coming to think about romantic relationships after the two leave, Reath is reminded of Nan, the Nihil he met on the Amaxine space station, before deciding he doesn't want to think about her and throwing himself into his food.
On board the Gaze Electric, Nan watches a meeting between Marchion Ro and the Tempest Runners that she is not strictly supposed to be attending. She has spent the past year as one of the Eye of the Nihil's trusted spies. During the meeting, Ro executes an Ithorian Tempest Runner for losing twenty ships and all of his Storm in a Republic ambush. Ro throws an explosive charge on his helmet, which kills the Ithorian and those around him. Ro also questions Lourna Dee about the progress of her Gravity's Heart weapon, which is capable of disrupting hyperspace. Lourna convinces a reluctant Ro to lend his savant Mari San Tekka to the project. Ro agrees and dispatches Nan to accompany his savant to the Gravity's Heart, tasking her with safeguarding the price with her life.
After unsuccessfully attempting to warn the Republic authorities about the hyperspace anomaly in the Berenge sector, Syl meets a Gigoran at a Coruscant tavern who introduces her to Xylan Graf, a shipping magnate who seeks her in help in investigating the disappearance of one of his ships, the Belt Runner, which disappeared in the Berenge sector while transporting a shipment of coaxium. Graf explains that he has lost four ships within the week. Since Syl has survived a similar hyperspace anomaly, he hopes that she can shed light on the phenomenon. Syl agrees to help in return for a meal.
Back on Starlight Beacon, Imri confides in his master Vernestra about his ability to use the Force to calm people's emotions and ease their pain while on Valo. Vern reassures her Padawan that his empathic abilities are not a dark-side manifestation and that the Jedi Order can make use of Jedi like him. Vern also meets with Master Avar Kriss to discuss her lightwhip, an unorthodox weapon. Avar reassures the younger Jedi that her lightsaber whip is effective in helping her carry out her Jedi duties but to keep the Order informed about her new weapon. Later, Imri also asks Vernestra about a dispute between Master Stellan and Master Avar. Vern responds that the dispute is between the two masters and none of their business.
Having trouble sleeping, Reath has a lightsaber practice with Vernestra. Vern gets the upper hand due to Reath's defensive style of fighting. Reath confides that Master Cohmac has been sending them on more dangerous missions since the Nihil attack on the Republic Fair at Valo. The following morning, Vernestra goes to obtain a ship for her and her Padawan Imri's upcoming trip to Coruscant. However, quartermaster Master Nubarron refuses to loan her a ship since Vern wrecked her junk hauler during the events on Valo. Fortunately for Vern and Imri, Reath invites them to travel with him and his Master Cohmac to Coruscant.
On Coruscant, Xylan Graf hosts Syl at a luxurious hotel. While enjoying her plush quarters, Syl is attacked by a Mon Calamari assassin. She fights back and drives the assassin away. During the incident, her hotel room's fish tank is damaged. Following the assassination attempt, Graf decides to move Syl off-world since someone is aware of the critical information she holds.
Meanwhile, Nan learns that the Oracle is an elderly Force-sensitive human woman named Mari San Tekka. Mari has the ability to locate Paths, unconventional hyperspace routes. The Nihil have kept her alive beyond the natural human lifespan inside a medical capsule. Nan views her assignment as an opportunity to advance up the ranks of the Nihil. During the voyage, Ro's doctor reports that the puzzle box is missing.
While the Jedi are traveling to Coruscant on the former Hutt hauler Fraunesaa, Master Cohmac explains to Vernestra that they have been summoned to Coruscant to testify about the atrocities they witness on Genetia before a Galactic Senate committee consisting of several prominent senators and the Jedi High Council. The two Jedi also discuss concerns about the Jedi being pressed into the Republic's service. During the hyperspace journey, Vern experiences a Force vision of a group of Nihil attacking an Ugnaught family for stealing a puzzle box. Vernestra relates her vision to the Jedi, who also receive a distress call from the Jedi temple on Tiikae, who have reported a recent Nihil incursion.
Upon landing on Tiikae, Vernestra recognizes the town as the desert location she had seen in her vision. The local Jedi marshal Master Oprand Qwen explains that the Nihil have taken hostages at the town's lodging house, demanding the return of something that was stolen from them. Vernestra and Reath storm the lodging house and discover that the Nihil have murdered the Ugnaught hostages. The Nihil escape on speeder bikes with the puzzle box, which Vernestra resolves to retrieve.
Vernestra finds an unlikely ally in the form of Jordanna Sparkburn, the San Tekka clan's deputy on Tiikae. Working together, the two pursue the fleeing Nihil via speeder bike. They overpower and subdue the fugitives. Vern examines the Nihil's puzzle box but is unsure about its purpose. Meanwhile, the other Jedi have subdued the other Nihil marauders, taking one as prisoner. The Nihil that Reath subdued escapes and attempts to attack his captors but is killed by a vollka, a predator that can become invisible.
Master Cohmac agrees to give Jordanna a ride to Coruscant so that she can seek help from the San Tekka clan. While investigating the lodging house, the Jedi discover a hologram recording of Nan, a Nihil girl whom Reath had encountered earlier on the Amaxine space station. Master Cohmac decides that the Jedi should bring the puzzle box to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in order to investigate why the Nihil are interested in it.
Xylan Graf later takes Syl to his opulent residence where he shows her his laboratory on hyperspace research. He theorizes that Syl's purportedly dead mother Chancey Yarrow is helping the Nihil to attack using uncharted hyperspace routes. Syl initially does not believe that her mother is still alive.
The two are then joined by the Gungan Professor Thaddeus Wolk, an expert on theoretical hyperspace physics. He supports Graf's theory that Chancey faked her death in order to continue her research into hyperspace physics. Wolk explains that Chancey was a former student whom he taught at the Academy of Carida, where he led the hyperspace theory and philosophy department. Chancey had proposed a theory about using artificial gravity wells to pull ships out of hyperspace at will. Since her mother's research challenged the status quo within her academic field they dismissed her as insane.
Still determined to continue her research, Chancey pretended to change her research topic in order to continue her research on gravity wells. When her misconduct was discovered, she was expelled from the university. Chancey subsequently left the Academy of Carida to continue her own research into gravity wells. Xylan believes that Chancey built the gravity well projector in the Begenge sector. Wolk believes that Chancey is indeed alive and working for the Nihil and vows to stop her.
After landing on Coruscant, Imri experiences a psychic episode through the Force. After Imri recovers, Vernestra counsels him to read the philosophies of the Jedi Samara the Blue, who came up with a series of meditations to help the Genetians cope with violent emotional swings. Vernestra then travels to the Jedi Temple to meet with her former Master Stellan Gios. While traveling through a hallway, she briefly meets Master Yaddle, who counsels her not to reject her instincts before directing her to Stellan's office.
Stellan briefs Vernestra that the Republic and Jedi have not yet decided on an appropriate response to the Nihil threat. He assigns Vernestra and Imri with accompanying Xylan Graf on a mission to the Berenge sector to investigate whether the Nihil are causing the hyperspace anomalies by testing an experimental technology. Stellan believes that Vern's visions could be a precursor to the rare Jedi ability to navigate through hyperspace via the Force. Despite her misgivings, Vern reluctantly accepts the mission out of her dutiful obligations to the Jedi Order.
Vern also shows Master Stellan the strange cube that she recovered from the Nihil. Stellan recognizes the object as a puzzle cube which can be unlocked by entering a phrase. While studying the glyphs, he recognizes an old hyperspace prospector symbol and suggests that the Gungan Professor Wolk will be able to help decipher the cube's mysteries.
Syl struggles to come to terms with the revelation that her mother Chancey is alive. After having breakfast, she meets with Xylan, who tells her about the Graf family's plans to designate the Berenge sector for hyperspace experiments. Xylan wants Syl to testify against Professor Wolk's theory that the Nihil are testing hyperspace-disrupting technology in that sector. In return, he offers to help her settle her debts. Despite her ethical discomfort, Syl agrees to Xylan's plan due to her poor financial situation.
At Gravity's Heart, Nan executes a Weequay Nihil Shrike who took part in the Tiikae raid for failing to recover the puzzle box. Nan is chastised by Chancey Yarrow for killing one of her subordinates. Chancey explains that the "Oracle" is the missing Mari San Tekka, whom the Nihil had kidnapped a hundred years ago. Mari has the rare ability to sell all of the possible routes through hyperspace, time and location phased. Not trusting Marchion Ro and his agents, Chancey has Nan confined to a cell.
Xylan and Syl meet with Senator Ghirra Starros of Hosnian Prime, whom Graf attempts to lobby into opening the Berenge sector into a testing ground for hyperspace research. Xylan claims that Syl can testify that Chancey is dead and that the Nihil are not responsible for the hyperspace disturbances there. Xylan offers to bring Syl and Professor Wolk along for the exploratory mission. Playing politics, Ghirra promises to grant Xylan's request if he allows two Jedi representatives to come along. These Jedi representatives turn out to be Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh and her Padawan Imri Cantaros. Xylan is outraged that Jedi adolescents will be sent to monitor the mission but reluctantly accepts Senator Starros' conditions.
Sylvestri is initially hostile towards Vernestra since she reminds her of a past trauma. Syl tells Vern that Senator Starros assigned her and Imri to the mission in order to provoke Xylan. Syl also educates Vern about the intricacies of Coruscanti politics. A senatorial staff named Kyrie escorts Syl, Vern and Imri to a waiting speeder that shuttles them to the building where Professor Wolk's office is located. Outside the building, Vern briefly chats with Jordanna who is heading to the San Tekka corporate office.
Vernestra and Imri take a lift to the floor where Professor Wolk's office is located. Before they can find Wolk's office, the two are caught in a bomb attack. Meanwhile, Syl talks with her ex-girlfriend Jordanna. Jordanna regrets not leaving with her when she asked. Syl heads off to rejoin the two Jedi adolescents but Jordanna insists on following. The two soon hear the sound of gunfire.
Meanwhile, Vern uses the Force to deflect the debris from her and Imri. The two soon encounter the terrified Professor Wolk, who tells them that he is in danger. The Gungan professor is soon hit in the chest by a blaster bolt. Vern pursues a Twi'lek assassin and uses her lightwhip to deflect the blaster bolts, knocking him out. Vern gives an account of the assassination attempt to a Balosar security officer named Ashdree Marq.
Imri has been injured by debris during the bombing. After reuniting with Jordanna and Syl, they learn that Professor Wolk. Syl tells Vern that Professor Wolk had been the subject of an assassination attempt the previous day. She tells Vern that she believes that Xylan Graf was behind the assassination of Professor Wolk. Imri agrees that Graf is hiding something. Syl also offers another theory that Graf may be the next target of the assassins.
Following Wolk's assassination, Senator Ghirra Starros convinces Master Cohmac and his Padawan Reath to accompany Vernestra, Imri, Xylan Graf, and Syl on their expedition to the Berenge sector. She is concerned that the Nihil are working on a "destructive weapon" in the Berenge sector and that Graf is not being forthcoming.
Syl meets in a diner with Vernestra, Imri, Jordanna, her vollka Remy. Syl reflects on her mother Chancey leaving her in the care of the Ugnaught mechanics Klanna and Roy, intending for them to teach her how to repair a hyperdrive. Syl recalls this was the last time that she saw her mother. Syl invites Jordanna to travel the galaxy together with her. However, Jordanna is training to be a deputy for the San Tekka and plans to return to Tiikae.
While discussing the recent assassination of Professor Wolk, they are joined by Xylan and his entourage. Xylan speculates that the Gungan academic was assassinated to throw suspicion on the Graf family. He also reminds Syl of her promise to testify before the Senate committee. Vern also shows Xylan the puzzle box which she recovered on Tiikae. Xylan believes that his grandmother who lives at the Graf family compound near Neral's moon can help decipher the glyphs. He convinces the four to accompany him to the Graf family compound while en route to the Bergen sector.
Meanwhile, Nan spends two days in captivity aboard the Gravity's Heart, which she resents. By contrast, Doctor Uttersond regards his imprisonment as a holiday. Later, they travel with Chancey Yarrow and several Nihil aboard the Whisperkill to an unknown location in the Hynestian sector.
Back on Coruscant, Xylan invites Syl, Vernestra, Imri, and Jordanna to his luxurious tower in the upper levels of the planet. They are joined by Master Cohmac and Padawan Reath. While meeting in the dining room, they discuss the family feud between the Grafs and San Tekkas over control of the Berenge sector and the late Professor Wolk's theory about a Nihil weapon in that sector. Xylan claims that the Nihil are not building weapon in the Berenger sector but Jordanna and Cohmac are skeptical and believe that an investigation is warranted. Xylan convinces Master Cohmac to let the group travel with him to Neral's moon so that they can travel to the Berenge sector on his experimental starship Vengeful Goddess.
During the journey aboard Xylan's ship Resplendent Pearl, Syl and Jordanna spend time together, talking about Chancey, Xylan, the Jedi, and the Nihil. Jordanna explains that the Nihil attract outcasts and losers by giving them a home and misleading them into believing that violence is a tool they can use. While checking the navicomputer, Syl realizes that Xylan's ship is bound for Haileap in the Dalnan sector. She realizes that Xylan has been deceiving them and rushes to warn the Jedi.
Meanwhile, Vernestra speaks with Master Cohmac, who reassures her that Master Stellan did not send him and Reath because the Order underestimated her and Imri's ability to handle Xylan. Cohmac believes that Senator Starros was not being honest about her request for assistance and suspects that some politics is at play between the San-Tekkas and Grafs. Cohmac also explains that being a Jedi Knight also requires maturity and does not depend solely on one's Force powers. While resting, Vernestra hears a mysterious telepathic voice through the Force, telling her that the way is clear and that she must come.
Vern is woken up by a concerned Imri, who warns about the dangers of deep meditation. Vern admits that she can't control her deep meditation powers. Shortly later, they are joined by Sylvestri who warns them that Xylan is taking them towards the Dalnan sector. Syl warns the Jedi that Xylan cannot be trusted. Vern agrees with Syl but decides that they should also speak with Master Cohmac about the matter.
Elsewhere, Nan accompanies Chancey Yarrow for a meeting with Catriona Graf, the of the Graf family, at the Graf family compound Everbloom. The Matriarch has agreed to let the Nihil set up an ambush for the Jedi at her opulent retreat. Following the meeting, Chancey questions Nan about her loyalty to Marchion Ro. Nan professes her loyalty, stating that Ro has assigned her to look after the "Oracle." Chancey however is aware that Nan had secretly sent a message to a San Tekka conglomerate office about Mari San Tekka being held captive on the Gravity's Heart. Her plan was to use the San Tekka clan attack as a means of escaping her captivity at the hands of Chancey. Chancey responds that she had intercepted the message before it could be sent out. Admiring Nan's resourcefulness, Chancey offers her Nan a place as her spy.
Back aboard the Resplendent Pearl, Sylvestri confronts Xylan about their trip to Haileap in the presence of Cohmac and Reath. Xylan admitted that he lied about their true destination due to the presence of Jordanna, who is serving the San Tekka clan. Xylan says that he also wanted to mislead the Nihil in case they were tracking them. Having analyzed the Nihil's attack patterns, Xylan believes that they are being aided by sympathetic insiders within the Republic government. He promises that they will arrive at the Graf family compound the following day before traveling to the Berenge sector. Xylan asks Syl to trust him. Master Cohmac accepts Xylan's explanation, having sensed through the Force that he is being truthful.
The Resplendent Pearl arrives at Everbloom, a space city that serves as the Graf family's compound. Upon landing in the hangar, the Jedi are attacked by several Nihil, who unleash purple gas that incapacitates Xylan. Xylan's Gigoran bodyguard Basha carries him to safety and leaves the Jedi trapped outside the ship. Jordanna, Reath, an Master Cohmac are stunned by the Nihil. Vernestra wounds a Nihil militant by slicing off his hand with her lightsaber. She tells Imri to run before succumbing to the Nihil's gas.
Aboard the ship's cockpit, Syl hears the fighting outside. She attempts to leave the cockpit but is blocked by Basha, who tells her to return. The two fight and Syl's vollka Remy comes to her aid, stunning him with an electronic bolt. Syl exists the ship to aid her friend Jordanna but is confronted by her mother Chancey. Chancey orders Syl to stand down but Syl is still bitter towards her mom. Chancey wants to reunite with her daughter and stuns the unwilling Syl.
Later, Vernestra awakes in the luxurious Everbloom, where she is tended to by the Graf servant Saffa with Sassaberry juice. Saffa explains that the Nihil gas was originally manufactured by the Zygerrians to suppress slave revolts. She apologizes for the attack on behalf of the Matriarch. She soon rejoins Jordanna, Cohmac, and Remi, who are recovering from the effects of the Nihil gas. Vern learns that the Nihil have kidnapped Syl and the Padawans. The Jedi confront an apologetic Matriarch Catriona, who tells them that her grandson Xylan had been collaborating with Nihil elements on an experimental technology. As part of their contract, Xylan had agreed to bring them the girl Sylvestri.
When pressed on the Padawans, Catriona says that kidnapping the Padawans had not been part of the plan. Catriona agrees to lend the Jedi and Jordanna their fastest ship Vengeful Goddess and directions to find the Nihil. When Vernestra asks her about the puzzle cube, Catriona explains that they are old prospector markings and that the glyphs translate as "increase," "decrease," and "home." She reveals that the riddle to the puzzle cube is "Always return home," an old San Tekka saying. While examining the puzzle cube, the Jedi and Jordanna discover a holographic recording of a young girl who turns out to be the missing Mari San Tekka. Cohmac believes that Catriona is setting up Xylan as a scapegoat to conceal her own involvement. The Jedi depart on the Goddess to rescue Syl and the Padawans.
Meanwhile, Syl awakes in a cell with the unconscious Imri and Reath. Following a struggle with her Nihil guard Nan, Syl has a tense reunion with her mother Chancey. Syl is angry that her mother staged her own death and is collaborating with the Nihil. Chancey explains that she joined the Nihil after they offered to help her construct a prototype gravity well projector with the help of the Oracle. Chancey explains that the captive Padawans are tribute for the "Eye" Marchion Ro, the leader of the Nihil who is challenging the Republic. Syl is upset that her mother could consider sacrificing individuals as test subjects for the Nihil.
Chancey tells Syl that she needs her help to run the Gravity's Heart due to the unreliability of the Nihil. Syl suggests that they run away but Chancey tells her daughter that the Nihil have spies everywhere including spies in the Senate. While Syl accepts her mother's view that the galaxy is uncaring and vast, she disagrees that this is a license to be selfish and irresponsible. Chancey leaves Syl to spend time with the unconscious Nan, hoping the young Nihil will "talk sense" to her daughter.
Using the coordinates given by Catriona, the Jedi and Jordanna travel on the Vengeful Goddess towards Gravity's Heart, a beacon in the Berenge sector. Jordanna explains the disappearance of Mari San Tekka for the Jedi. While meditating through the Force, Vernestra encounters a Force vision of the captive Mari San Tekka, who appears in both her young and old form. She tells Vern that she has gone traveling but that she has a path for her. Vern relates the vision to Master Cohmac and the others, who deduce there is a link between the visions and their destination.
After exiting hyperspace, Vernestra, Jordanna and Remy depart the Vengeful Goddess in an escape pod to reach Gravity's Heart while Cohmac holds off the Nihil ships. A Nihil skiff attempts to intercept them, but Jordanna shoots down the skiff. However, the escape pod is hit by debris. The trio brace for impact as the pod descends towards the station.
Meanwhile, Reath and Imri awake in their cell. Syl updates the two Padawans about their situation. Reath recognizes Nan from an earlier adventure on the Amaxine space station. Nan convinces the Jedi and Syl to help escape the cell. However, she then takes the opportunity to flee the station. The trio are caught up in an explosion, which causes them to slide into a room containing a medical pod. The trio are cornered by a Chadra-Fan Nihil who holds them at gunpoint.
Vernestra guides the damaged escape pod into a large landing hangar, overturning one of the parked Nihil ships. The trio fight their way through several Nihil guards. Vern encounters the hallway from her vision where she reunites with Jordanna, Reath and Syl, who have been exposed to Nihil gas. Syl covers the gas canister with an empty trash can. Imri points Vernestra to the medical pod containing the ancient Mari San Tekka, whom both Vern and Jordanna recognize. They also find the incapacitated Chadra-Fan Nihil nearby.
Through the Force, the frail Mari tells Vernestra that she has gone traveling and that she has a gift for her, which she describes as one last Path before she passes on. Realizing that Mari is half-dead and wants to pass on to the next plane, Vernestra uses her lightsaber to slice through the hoses connected to Mari's pod, freeing her from her prison and allowing her to die as a free woman.
As the Jedi, Jordanna, Syl, and Remy head to the station's hangar, they find the Gravity's Heart under attack by Republic Defense Coalition forces led by Master Elzar Mann. The Nihil forces at the station scatter. While searching for a ship, Syl encounters her mother Chancey, who attempts to convince her daughter to leave with her aboard the Switchback. Syl refuses, not wanting to be used by her estranged mother. Vernestra uses the Force to throw Chancey's blaster out of her hand. As Chancey flees, Vern finds a shuttle that allows the Jedi, Syl, Jordanna, and Remy to escape Gravity's Heart before it is destroyed by Longbeam cruisers.
Following the events at Gravity's Heart, Vernestra attends a debriefing with the Jedi Council. Master Teri Rosason asks if her young age led Xylan Graf to believe that he could manipulate as a bargaining chip in his dealings with the Nihil. Vern responds that Xylan is solely responsible for his actions and says that she is only aware that Xylan had convinced the Republic to fund a scientific mission to the Bergen sector. She explains that Master Cohmac's caution had led to the deployment of Coalition forces from the Hetzal system to aid them.
Master Stellan testifies that Catriona Graf has identified Lourna Dee as a key Nihil leader and talks about the Graf family's dealings with the Nihil. He advocates a public trial of the complicit members of the Graf family and advocates a fully coordinated military response. Master Rosason expresses concern about the Jedi becoming soldiers. Vernestra and Imri are dismissed from the meeting. They also chat with Master Cohmac, who reassures them that they did the best they could with the information they had.
Vern confides that she did not disclose her connection to Mari San Tekka or the Path that she gave her. She explains that she told the Council that they had found Mari and had given the puzzle box to Jordanna to return to her family. Vern thinks that the Jedi are not yet ready to learn about her hyperspace visions.
Meanwhile, Syl learns that has gifted the Vengeful Goddess as a consolation gift. Jordanna also finds a message from Xylan apologizing to Syl for his subterfuge. He explains that he left the ship behind as payment for her services prior to the Republic's seizure of the Graf family's assets. Xylan tells Syl that she has a friend on Takodana who is looking for enterprising new partners and advises her to get in touch with that friend. Syl and Jordanna decide to travel to Takodana to exploit this opportunity.
Jordanna decides to take a break from her duties for the San Tekka family. Syl also plans to stop by Port Haileap and pick up the rest of her crew. Imri also visits his friends to wish them farewell.
Prior to the destruction of the Gravity's Heart, Nan escapes with Chancey Yarrow aboard the Switchback. Unwilling to return to Marchion Ro empty-handed, she decides to stay with Chancey. Later, the Switchback is captured and boarded by Graf family forces.
The two meet with Matriarch Catriona Graf and Xylan. Chancey tells the Matriarch that the ship's cargo hold contains the routes and preliminary data in the datacrons. Chancey says that her research has proved her hypothesis that hyperspace can be vulnerable to attack but not the heavy-handed sort that Marchion Ro favors. She thinks that hyperspace warfare would require a more sophisticated kind of upheaval. The Matriarch decides to support Chancey's offer.
Xylan confirms that he has signed the Vengeful Goddess over to Sylvestri as a consolation for his subterfuge. Xylan also confirms that the Graf family have prepared a new laboratory for Chancey on an unlisted station built into an asteroid in the Hynestian sector. Chancey tells the Grafs that her research into gravity well projectors had drawn the interest of the Nihil and one of their sympathizers in the Galactic Senate. She adds that the late Mari San Tekka played a crucial role in helping them develop a more successful version of the gravity well protector that can predict timing as well as direction.
Matriarch Catriona also offers Nan a place with the Graf family since the Republic and Jedi are taking action against the Nihil. Realizing that the Nihil may eventually fall, Nan asks the Grafs what they want to know.
Out of the Shadows was written by Justina Ireland as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project. Announced at New York Comic Con on October 8, 2020, it was published on July 27, 2021. Ireland initially planned on a love triangle between Sylvestri Yarrow, her ex-girlfriend Jordanna Sparkburn, and Xylan Graf. When she began writing, however, Ireland discovered that neither Sylvestri nor she herself particularly liked Xylan, and dropped the idea less than halfway through the first draft.
The final version of the novel's prologue contains multiple differences from the version released as a preview in The High Republic: Into the Dark. Among the most notable, Sylvestri and her crew are now stated to be former members of the Byne Guild. The Berenge sector was originally referred to as a star system. The name of Sylvestri's blaster rifle and the doll it was named after were spelled "Betty" instead of Beti.
When Reath Silas and Imri Cantaros meet in the cafeteria in chapter two, it is indicated they have never met each other before. This contradicts Into the Dark, which mentions in its first chapter that Imri is one of the friends Reath hopes to see again when he arrives on the frontier.
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