Fate of the Jedi: Allies

A foe of immense power and danger, exceeding even the combined might of the Jedi and Sith, is the only possible catalyst for their unity.

Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben, embarked on a quest for truth that has morphed into a desperate fight for survival. Utilizing the techniques of the Mind Walkers, they have communicated with the spirits of the deceased, risking their own lives in the process by leaving their physical bodies. They successfully overcame a squad of Sith assassins, defying the odds. Now, Vestara Khai, the lone surviving Sith apprentice, has called in a whole fleet of Sith frigates to confront the beleaguered father and son. However, these dark warriors arrive with an unexpected proposal: an unprecedented alliance between the Jedi and Sith to combat an ancient and alien evil beyond their comprehension.

As the Skywalkers and their Sith allies embark on their joint mission into the perilous Maw, a network of black holes, Han and Leia Solo face the risk of arrest, and worse, as they try to assist the Jedi who are imprisoned on Coruscant. Natasi Daala, the tyrannical Chief of State, has issued decrees that threaten to create an irreparable divide between her government and the Jedi Order, potentially turning all Jedi into outlaws and wanted criminals.

The fate of the galaxy hinges on the events unfolding in the depths of the Maw. It is there that the Skywalkers and their Sith allies will confront a true monster, and Luke will uncover a shocking revelation.

The narrative picks up directly where Fate of the Jedi: Backlash concluded. Luke and Ben Skywalker find themselves surrounded above Dathomir by the Sith fleet summoned by their Sith prisoner, Vestara Khai. Sarasu Taalon, the High Lord commanding the Sith forces, proposes a truce with the Jedi. His suggestion is that the Sith and the Skywalkers should collaborate to eliminate Abeloth, a malevolent Force entity responsible for the Force psychosis affecting the young Jedi Knights on Coruscant, as well as the Sith's own apprentices. Gavar, Vestara's father, requests permission to board Luke's ship, which Luke hesitantly grants. Once Gavar is aboard, Luke allows Vestara and her father to use his quarters for a private conversation, while secretly recording their discussion. However, the Khais communicate in the Keshiri language to ensure privacy. Gavar reveals to Vestara that the Sith apprentices are unharmed and that the claim of their affliction was merely a ruse to convince Luke of their shared interest in destroying Abeloth. He also detects Vestara's growing affection for Ben and encourages her to pursue it, seeing Ben as either a source of information or a potential convert to the dark side of the Force. Vestara, excited by the possibility of turning Ben to the Sith, agrees. As they leave Luke's quarters, the Jedi Master confronts them and agrees to assist the Sith in their mission to destroy Abeloth. However, he insists on keeping Vestara with him for the time being, a condition her father reluctantly accepts. They decide to proceed to Klatooine, the nearest supply point on their way to the Maw. Meanwhile, Luke begins to experience vivid dreams of his deceased wife, Mara, beckoning him to the Maw.

On Coruscant, Natasi Daala, the Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance, faces increasing criticism for her oppressive measures against the Jedi. To counter accusations that she is becoming another Palpatine, she dismisses Nawara Ven and the Jedi Court, demonstrating that she will not grant the Jedi special treatment. As Tahiri Veila's trial approaches, Jaina Solo asks her fiancé, Jagged Fel, to find Tahiri a lawyer who has a realistic chance of winning her case. Jag, hesitant to involve himself in Galactic Alliance politics, reluctantly agrees.

On Klatooine, Luke contacts Lando Calrissian and requests the use of an old starship capable of guiding him and the Sith fleet through the Maw. Lando agrees to help, but informs Luke that it will take a week or two to prepare the ship. Luke then contacts C-3PO and sends him a recording of Vestara's conversation with her father, requesting a translation. Threepio, delighted to receive a communication, immediately begins the translation. Meanwhile, Ben and Vestara are sent to the planet's surface with Dyon Stadd, a former Jedi who now serves as one of their scouts from Dathomir. While on the planet, Dyon succumbs to Abeloth's Force-psychosis and steals a speeder, heading towards a sacred site known as the Fountain of Hutt Ancients. Ben and Vestara manage to stop Dyon before he can desecrate the Fountain (where technology is prohibited), but all three are arrested by the Klatooine police. Luke, accompanied by Gavar, arrives to bail them out and retrieve their afflicted ally. He is disturbed by Vestara's flirtatious behavior towards Ben, just as Gavar is by the seemingly harmless connection between them. However, Vestara assures him that it is simply a tactic to manipulate Ben. The Klatooinians agree to release Ben, Vestara, and Dyon, citing their lack of facilities for holding Jedi. Once back on their ship with an immobilized Dyon, Luke warns Ben about Vestara's untrustworthiness. Ben, angered by this, retreats to his quarters.

Back on Coruscant, the Jedi Temple is once again attacked by Mandalorian mercenaries under Daala's orders. Their mission is to retrieve two recently afflicted Jedi, Sothais Saar and [Turi Altamik], and to prevent the Jedi from launching a fleet to aid Luke. Kenth Hamner's assistant, a young Jedi named Kani Asari, is brutally shot down by Belok Rhal, the leader of the Mandalorian mercenaries, in broad daylight. Han and Leia Organa Solo, witnessing the scene on the HoloNet, manage to smuggle medication into the Jedi Temple through its substructure, using small animals to deliver the drugs and keep the crazed Jedi sedated. Wynn Dorvan, Daala's chief of staff, realizes that Raynar Thul will soon be leaving the Temple for his lunch break. Dorvan rushes to the temple and prevents the Mandalorians from shooting him down as well, and then the two of them take Asari's body back into the Temple. During this time, Jaina, realizing how often she asks Jag to compromise his principles for her, decides to end their engagement, believing that their careers will always be an obstacle. She leaves a stunned Jag and hurries to help her uncle. Meanwhile, Hamner refuses to openly oppose Daala because he has made a secret agreement with Admiral Nek Bwua'tu, who promises to relieve Daala's pressure on the Jedi.

Above Klatooine, C-3PO presents Luke with a preliminary translation that confirms his suspicions that the Sith are deceiving him and that Vestara is deliberately manipulating his son. He shows the recording to Ben, who feels humiliated but remains attracted to Vestara. Lando arrives with his starship, the Rockhound, and Luke and most of the Sith fleet head back to Sinkhole Station. Some Sith are ordered to remain behind to relay messages, but they also have instructions to collect samples of the Fountain's structure, which is made of an exceptionally strong material. This triggers widespread chaos among the planet's inhabitants as the Fountain is desecrated. Jaina and Lando are asked by the Klatooine elders to serve as judges to determine who is responsible for the incident: the Sith for desecrating the Fountain, or the Hutts for failing to protect it, as they had promised in the Treaty of Vontor approximately twenty-five thousand years ago. Jaina and Lando deliver their verdict, declaring the Sith guilty. The Klatooinian elders promptly sentence those who desecrated the Fountain to execution, specifically Captain Vyn Holpur and his crew. However, the riots resulting from the incident make it unlikely that the Hutts will regain control of the planet, leading to the loss of a large number of slaves. This sparks numerous anti-slavery movements across the galaxy, supported by the underground organization known as the Freedom Flight. These movements add to the criticism of Daala for her persecution of the Jedi.

During the journey to Sinkhole Station, several Sith ships are destroyed. Luke is shocked to discover that the station itself has been destroyed, leading him to believe that it was indeed keeping Abeloth in check. With Vestara's assistance, they manage to land on Abeloth's planet and venture Beyond shadows to locate and eliminate Abeloth. Luke manages to contact Mara from Beyond Shadows, informing her that he has finally responded to his dreams of her calling him to the Maw. However, she denies ever contacting him. Luke realizes that he has been tricked. He and the Sith leave Beyond Shadows (though one of the Sith, Leeha Faal, is lost, sinking into the Depths of Eternity) to confront Abeloth in the real world. Meanwhile, as part of a sabotage attempt against Abeloth, Vestara reawakens Dyon and helps him escape. He makes his way to Abeloth, who nearly kills him by draining his life force. Luke and the others find Dyon, as Vestara had let him go so that they can track him in the Force. Dyon is relieved to have regained his senses, stating that everyone around him still feels "wrong," but he knows that they are not imposters. Luke and the Sith confront Abeloth, and he is shocked when her human appearance is that of Callista Ming, his long-lost love, who left him decades earlier to reconnect with the Force. Initially, Luke believes that Abeloth is Callista, but he soon realizes that Abeloth killed Callista years ago and absorbed her life force, resulting in Abeloth possessing Callista's memories and appearance. During a fierce battle with Abeloth (in which Gavar attempts to attack Luke but is thwarted by a furious Ben), Luke manages to overpower and ultimately kill the monster, despite her attempts to deceive him. With Abeloth's death, the Force illness affecting the Jedi Knights Cilghal's custody is lifted.

Luke and Ben return to Lando's starship and are surprised to find Jaina waiting for them. She informs them of the siege on the Jedi Temple and the new warrants for the arrest of Kenth Hamner and several senior Jedi. Meanwhile, the alliance between the Jedi and Sith remains in effect, at least to further investigate Abeloth's nature by examining her corpse. Ship, now free from Abeloth's control, escapes from a dogfight with Jaina's StealthX X-wing starfighter, nearly killing Jaina when Ship destroys one of her engines. Ship then jumps into hyperspace, while Jaina is rescued by Lando.

Daala and her secret lover, Nek Bwua'tu, meet for dinner, where Bwua'tu intends to persuade her to call off the siege. However, he changes his mind, deeming it futile given her anti-Jedi tirade. Later, as he leaves her apartment, he is attacked by two seemingly crazed individuals who appear to be Jedi. Realizing that they are not Jedi (as he would already be dead if they were), he manages to kill one with a shot to the head. However, the body falls on top of him, driving the lightsaber still clutched in the attacker's hand into Bwua'tu's torso.

The novel concludes with Tahiri's trial, which initially seems to be going in her favor thanks to her lawyer, Eramuth Bwua'tu (the Admiral's uncle). However, the situation takes a turn for the worse when a recording of Gilad Pellaeon's murder is played in court, leading her to believe that all is lost.

The novel contains multiple spelling errors. For example, Kyp Durron's last name is incorrectly spelled "Durran" several times, and on page 341, Gilad Pellaeon's last name is incorrectly spelled "Pallaeon." Additionally, Dyon Stadd's last name is spelled "Stad" throughout the entire novel. On page 149, Allana is misspelled as "Alanna." Also, during a description of slavery on Vinsoth, Chev and Chevin are confused, only to be corrected later in the passage. The plurals of Sith and Jedi are incorrectly written as "Siths" and "Jedis" at least once each.

In the novel, Luke Skywalker reflects that it has been two years since Mara Jade Skywalker's death, when in reality it has been four years since she was killed. In chapter 14, there is an error stating that Chevs have enslaved the Chevins, when the opposite is true. In chapter 15, Allana states that she has just turned eight, but she was already eight years old in the Fate of the Jedi: Abyss novel. In chapter 17, it appears that the Sith frigate Starstalker contains another ship, an unidentified light freighter piloted by Vyn Holpur himself, for the mission. However, when approaching the one-kilometer forbidden zone, the light freighter's name changes back to Starstalker as an unidentified Sith skiff emerges from inside. In chapter 18, hyperdrive is mistakenly used in place of hyperspace.

One of Leia's lines, delivered as she, Han, and Allana relax in their safehouse, is attributed to Daala. The book also mentions Luke apprehending Vestara in the Maw Cluster on a couple of occasions. This is incorrect, as they fought there, but she escaped and was not taken hostage until the Sith completed their capture of the Nightsisters on Dathomir.

This novel marks the official conclusion of the Force psychosis story arc of the series, although it continues with the Horn siblings in Fate of the Jedi: Conviction. In that novel, they are the last Jedi to be cured of the illness after Luke Skywalker confronts Abeloth on Nam Chorios.

• ISBN 9780345509147; May 25, 2010; Del Rey; US hardcover [1]
• ISBN 9780345509147; May 25, 2010; Del Rey; US hardcover, Science Fiction Book Club edition (1311152) [5]
• ISBN 9780345519566; May 25, 2010; Del Rey; US eBook [2]
• ISBN 9780345509154; April 26, 2011; Del Rey; US paperback [3]