Dark Nest I: The Joiner King

Following their victory in Star Wars: The Unifying Force, the New Jedi Order's heroes embark on a thrilling new adventure!

Luke Skywalker finds himself concerned: A number of Jedi Knights, including his own relatives Jaina and Jacen Solo, his niece and nephew, have vanished into the Unknown Regions, answering a peculiar distress signal audible only to them. Now, the alien Chiss have formally protested, accusing these missing Jedi of interfering in a territorial dispute between them and an unknown enemy.

Faced with this situation, Luke is compelled to journey to the Unknown Regions to mitigate the potential fallout. Han and Leia accompany him, determined to safeguard their children from potential danger. However, what awaits them upon arrival is beyond their expectations.

A mysterious alien colony is expanding towards the Chiss border. The colony's leader is unwavering. Skilled in the Force, he is rallying former allies, coercing them into joining his colony and merging their Force abilities with his, even if it precipitates a full-scale conflict....

Six years following the Yuuzhan Vong War's end, Jaina Solo, Lowbacca, Tesar Sebatyne, Tahiri Veila, Tekli, and Jacen Solo receive a summons through the Force, drawing them towards the Unknown Regions. They decide to respond to this beckoning.

On the largely rebuilt Coruscant, the members of Luke Skywalker's Masters' Council, which functions as the New Jedi Order's Jedi Council, are engaged in discussions regarding the numerous issues facing the galaxy stemming from the absence of the Jedi Knights. These knights, all survivors of the Mission to Myrkr during the Yuuzhan Vong War, have abandoned their duties. An envoy from the Chiss Ascendancy, Mitt'swe'kleoni, presents himself before the Council to formally complain about the Myrkr survivors' involvement in a border conflict with an unidentified aggressor. Luke informs the envoy that the Council is unaware of the Knights' involvement, prompting the envoy to depart. At the urging of Galactic Alliance Chief of State Cal Omas, Luke is encouraged to travel to the Unknown Regions with his wife, Mara, their son Ben, and Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne in order to retrieve the Myrkr survivors. Simultaneously, the Jedi Council dispatches Kyp Durron to request that Han Solo and his wife, Leia, fill the gaps created by the Jedi Knights' departure into the Unknown Regions. However, instead of complying, Han and Leia opt to journey to the Unknown Regions themselves, meeting with Luke and Mara at a mysterious insectoid space station to search for the Knights. They enlist the assistance of Captain Jae Juun and his copilot, Tarfang, to travel to the planet Yoggoy in search of the Myrkr survivors. The Skywalker-Solo clan also discovers a species of insect-like humanoids, later identified as the Killiks, who were long believed to be extinct, as well as groups of beings known as Joiners, consisting of humans and aliens from across the galaxy who have bonded with the Killiks to the point of sharing their telepathy. The Skywalker-Solo clan fears that the Jedi Knights, particularly Jaina and Jacen, may have become Joiners themselves. In the meantime, R2-D2 experiences malfunctions that hinder his capabilities.

On Yoggoy, the Skywalker-Solo clan discovers that the Killiks are under the leadership of Raynar Thul, another survivor of the Myrkr mission. He was presumed dead after being abducted by the Dark Jedi Lomi Plo and Welk aboard the Tachyon Flier from the Baanu Rass. Plo and Welk abandoned the survivors to find their own way off the Baanu Rass before the latter group completed their mission of destroying the voxyn. Raynar reveals that he survived the Tachyon Flier's crash, but claims to have no memory of Lomi Plo and Welk. He was rescued by the Killiks, who transformed him into a Joiner. However, his Force-sensitivity elevated him beyond a typical Joiner; he became the UnuThul by merging with the nest of Unu, the leader of the Killik race, and organized the once-disorganized species into a hive mind known as the Colony. During the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, UnuThul initiated a campaign to establish Killik nests in the Qoribu system, located a light year from Chiss space. Following the Yuuzhan Vong War, UnuThul used his Force abilities to summon the Myrkr survivors to aid the Killiks in their border dispute with the Chiss. After UnuThul's explanation, the Skywalker-Solo clan visits the Flier crash site, where Leia experiences a vision of Jacen revealing the location of the Killik nests. This vision originates from Jacen's earlier visit to Yoggoy, where he flow-walked back in time to witness the crash and observed a severely burned Raynar rescuing a similarly burned Lomi Plo and Welk from the wreckage. Subsequently, the Skywalkers, Solos, and Saba are attacked by blue Killiks. Despite surviving the attack, they question UnuThul about the incident, but he denies any knowledge of it. Growing suspicious of the Killiks' motives, the clan decides to depart Yoggoy for Qoribu.

At Qoribu, the Myrkr survivors, allied with the Killiks, engage in battle with Chiss forces around the nests. The Skywalker-Solo clan arrives in the system and is once again attacked by Killik forces. Luke expends nearly all of his Force energy to defend the Jade Shadow, resulting in an appearance reminiscent of the late Palpatine. The Skywalker-Solo clan survives the attack and lands on Jwlio, one of Qoribu's moons that houses the nest of the Taat, a Killik division, after the battle concludes. They reunite with the Myrkr survivors, who explain the Killiks' survival strategies. The survivors justify their actions, which risk damaging relations between the Galactic Alliance and the Chiss, by asserting that they are defending the Killiks, a displaced species seeking a permanent home in the galaxy. The Skywalker-Solo clan attempts to persuade the survivors to abandon the Killiks and allow the Masters' Council to resolve the Killik-Chiss dispute before it escalates into total war. Jacen, Tahiri, Tekli, and Tesar agree to accompany Luke, Mara, Ben, and Saba back to the New Jedi Temple on Ossus to observe how the Killiks gather Joiners. Alema Rar chooses to join Han and Leia. Jaina and Zekk decide to remain behind to rescue Lowbacca, who was lost in space during the recent battle against the Chiss. Before the groups depart for Ossus, Saba is attacked in a cave by Welk and several blue Killiks, an event that UnuThul denies any knowledge of, and is severely wounded, with Welk escaping. The groups are aware that Welk, and possibly Lomi Plo, survived the Yoggoy crash, a fact that UnuThul refuses to acknowledge. Nevertheless, the groups depart with the Jedi Knights they have recovered. However, Saba, in her wounded state, fails to share a crucial hypothesis she formed after her fight with Welk: that a blue Killik has secretly boarded the Jade Shadow with Luke, Mara, and Ben. On the Shadow, Ben is reprimanded by Mara for consuming excessive amounts of gelmeat, who suspects Ben is lying when he claims to be feeding the gelmeat to his new Killik pet/friend. Meanwhile, Luke decides to repair R2-D2 to diagnose his malfunctions and discovers a recording of his father, Anakin Skywalker, and a woman Luke believes to be his mother. Artoo terminates the recording, attributing it to a programming error, but Luke is skeptical, questioning why the astromech droid would conceal information about his parents.

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Leia subtly attempts to extract information from Alema regarding her decision to board, especially given that Alema made this decision shortly after Saba's injury, and to the surprise of Jaina and Zekk—an anomaly within a hive mind. When Leia presses too hard, Alema demands that "you follow our demands," confirming Leia's suspicion that Alema has been completely overtaken by the Killiks. Later, the Falcon is sabotaged, secretly by Alema, and they land on a planet located amidst a group of other planets in a nebula. Leia and Alema investigate the "malfunction" of the Falcon, at which point Alema turns on Leia and attempts to flee. She fights Leia and her Noghri bodyguards, Cakhmaim and Meewalh. Although the bodyguards are defeated, Han manages to activate an escape pod, knocking Alema unconscious. After repairing the Falcon, they bring Alema back to Ossus with the other Jedi Knights in Luke's company to determine the cause of her condition.

On Ossus, medical healer and Jedi Master Cilghal examines the Jedi brought by Luke and Mara, discovering that the Killiks and the Joiners are interconnected through a limited form of telepathy that only functions when the members of the nests are in close proximity. Before the Jedi are tested for this, Saba awakens and alerts Luke and Mara about the presence of a blue Killik aboard the Jade Shadow. Realizing that Ben was truthful about the gelmeat, Mara confronts Ben and the blue Killik, which belongs to the Gorog nest. Mara defeats the Gorog. The Jedi brought by Luke and Mara are further tested for their connection, and Alema and the Gorog are also tested. The tests reveal that Alema and the Gorog are more closely linked than the other Jedi are to the Gorog. Cilghal theorizes that UnuThul denies knowledge of the Gorog not because he is lying, but because he is unaware of their existence. Cilghal posits that the Gorog are likely the unconscious part of the Killik nest, operating without UnuThul's knowledge, which explains the attacks on the Skywalker-Solo clan that UnuThul denied. Therefore, the Gorog must be controlled by an external force, likely Lomi Plo, and certainly Welk. Alema is among them because the Gorog exploited her grief over her deceased sister, Numa, and manipulated that grief to join the nest through the dark side anger that Alema had suppressed over the years. Knowing that the Gorog, or the Dark Nest (as the Jedi nickname them), are manipulating UnuThul to lead the Killiks into war against the Chiss, the Jedi conclude that the Dark Nest must be stopped to prevent further bloodshed. To achieve this, they allow Alema and the Gorog defeated by Mara to steal a ship, enabling them to track it to the Gorog nest. Before they pursue her, the hacker Zakarisz Ghent retrieves another recording from R2-D2 depicting a conversation between Luke and Leia's mother, identified as Padmé, and a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi, who informs Padmé that he is aware of the love between her and Anakin.

Meanwhile, the Killiks receive assistance from the Hapes Consortium due to a visit to Hapes by Jacen, who persuades Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo, the only Myrkr survivor to resist UnuThul's Force summons by isolating herself in her home, to provide the Killiks with the backup forces they need to counter the Chiss offensive. Jacen convinces Tenel Ka to do this by spending the night with her. Tesar enlists the help of Raynar's mother, Aryn, to aid the Killiks, particularly given that her son is leading the primary forces against the Chiss. Lowbacca, in the meantime, is captured by Chiss forces led by Jagged Fel.

At Qoribu, as the Killik-Chiss conflict reaches its peak due to Raynar's mother's forces and the Hapes Consortium's forces, the Skywalker-Solo clan tracks Alema and her Gorog companion to the Qoribu moon of Kr. There, while Han and Leia navigate the conflict between Hapan and Chiss forces as the Battle of Qoribu and the Battle of Kr unfold, Luke and Mara follow Alema and the Gorog into an underground cavern on Kr. They battle numerous Gorog insects to reach the prime nest, and upon arriving, they confront more Gorog, Alema, and Welk. The Millennium Falcon manages to reach the Kr underground lair with several YVH droids and Jedi Masters. Many Gorog are killed by the Skywalker-Solo clan's invading forces, Alema escapes after Luke severs her arm with his lightsaber, and Welk is killed in a lightsaber duel by a Jedi Master. After the Chiss are informed about the true nature of the conflict, they stand down, and UnuThul investigates the incident on Kr. He is shocked to discover the existence of the Gorog nest, which produces its larvae using Chiss captives and consumes those captives, revealing the Dark Nest's motivation for the war with the Chiss. UnuThul realizes that he is indirectly responsible for its existence by rescuing Lomi Plo and Welk from the crash, despite others attempting to absolve him of blame. UnuThul agrees that the next step is for the Killiks who are not Gorog to construct temporary nests aboard Hapan fighters until they can be relocated to their new home on the set of planets Han and Leia visited before Leia fought Alema. Subsequently, the Chiss return Lowbacca, and UnuThul severs the Joiner connection between the Jedi Knights and the Killiks, as they have served their purpose in aiding the race against the Chiss. However, Jaina and Zekk retain a powerful Force connection from the Killik-Chiss conflict that prevents them from separating, and they can even read each other's minds, creating an awkward situation in Jaina's relationship with Jag Fel.

Han and Leia both agree that Leia's place is no longer as the Millennium Falcon's copilot, and that Jae Juun, who has been with them since before Yoggoy, can easily replace her. However, despite her political expertise, she does not wish to return to government, having sworn off politics before the Yuuzhan Vong captured Coruscant during the war against them. Therefore, she chooses the only remaining option: she decides to train as a Jedi under Saba Sebatyne, a promise she made to Luke years prior, before the Thrawn campaign.

• ISBN 9780345463043 ; July 26 , 2005 ; Del Rey ; US paperback [1]
• ISBN 9780345463142 ; December 6 , 2005; Del Rey; US eBook [3]