Fate of the Jedi: Abyss

The Jedi prioritize peace, but with formidable adversaries surrounding them, conflict might be their only recourse.

Luke Skywalker persists in his galactic journey, pursuing insights into Jacen Solo's descent into darkness and seeking to restore the Jedi Order's standing. His time with the enigmatic Aing-Tii monks has yielded few concrete answers, only a growing suspicion that the truths he seeks reside within the forbidden Maw Cluster, far removed from known space. Within this labyrinth of black holes, the Mind Walkers reside, beings whose capacity to transcend their physical forms and merge with the Force is both alluring and perilous. Yet, this path may hold Luke's sole chance at uncovering the truth.

Simultaneously, on Coruscant, the power struggle intensifies between Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala and the Jedi Order. Infuriated by the carbonite imprisonment of young Jedi Knights Valin and Jysella Horn following their inexplicable mental breakdowns, the Jedi are resolved to challenge Daala's stringent methods, bypass the hesitant leadership of Council Master Kenth Hamner, and independently address the escalating madness plaguing their ranks. As Han and Leia Solo, alongside their daughter Jaina, rally to shield more afflicted Knights from arrest, Jedi healers frantically search for a remedy to the rapidly spreading condition. Unbeknownst to them, Daala is poised to unleash a devastating blow.

Equally unaware are Luke and Ben, immersed in the Maw Cluster, pushing their Force abilities to unprecedented limits. They are drawing ever closer to the Sith strike force intent on eliminating the Skywalkers, a nexus of dark-side energy of unparalleled intensity, and a volatile confrontation between opposing Force wielders, where only one Master—good or evil—will survive.

The narrative commences in the subterranean levels of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where Jedi Knights Seff Hellin and Natua Wan are confined due to their affliction with Force psychosis. Han and Leia Organa Solo are visiting to assess the condition of the two Jedi. They also pay a visit to Raynar Thul, who has experienced significant healing from his burn injuries sustained in the Tachyon Flier crash on Yoggoy, in addition to the psychological trauma stemming from his reign over the Killiks as UnuThul. Cilghal deems him fit for release, although Raynar himself voices reservations about his preparedness. Han and Leia create a diversion for Seff, enabling Cilghal and Tekli to evaluate his mental state. Seff discerns the ruse and engages in a brief altercation with Leia, culminating in his incapacitation, thereby concluding Cilghal and Tekli's concise assessment of his mental capacity.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, Luke and Ben Skywalker persist in their endeavor to ascertain the factors that led the late Jacen Solo down the path of the dark side of the Force. They venture into the Maw, and following a near-fatal encounter with the missing Jedi Knight Qwallo Mode, the Skywalkers arrive at a space station resembling a scaled-down replica of the destroyed Centerpoint Station. Concurrently, Ben detects a dark presence within the system, reminiscent of his experiences as an infant in the Maw. Aboard the station, they encounter the Mind Walkers, a collective of Force-sensitive individuals who are meditating to the point of death to transition beyond shadows. They espouse the belief that the physical realm is merely an illusion, with a superior plane of existence awaiting them in the Force. The Mind Walkers reveal Jacen's sojourn with them and assert that upon his departure, he resolved to rectify the galaxy's wrongs as he prepared to leave their ranks. Luke infers that this marked the genesis of Jacen's descent into darkness, a notion disputed by the Mind Walkers, even after learning of Jacen's transformation into the Sith Lord Darth Caedus before his demise. To substantiate their claim, the Mind Walkers invite Luke to transcend shadows with them, seeking the impetus that drove Jacen to embrace the dark side. In doing so, Luke could comprehend Jacen's motivations preceding his fall.

On Coruscant, Yaqeel Saav'etu and Bazel Warv become the next Jedi to succumb to Force psychosis. While swiftly subdued by the remaining Solos and Jagged Fel, the Solos and Jag are ordered to surrender Yaqeel and Bazel to Galactic Alliance Security. The Solos and Jag discover that GAS learned of the two Jedi's affliction through a cleaning droid equipped with a holocam installed by reporter Javis Tyrr, enabling the recording of critical information within the New Jedi Order. This revelation explains how Tyrr obtained footage of Seff Hellin's confinement beneath the Jedi Temple in the previous novel. Jag leverages his diplomatic immunity as Head of State of the Galactic Empire, Jaina employs a legal threat that could result in Tyrr's arrest for espionage, and Han and Leia execute a bait-and-switch maneuver, ensuring Yaqeel and Bazel remain in Jedi custody. GAS reluctantly acquiesces, while Cilghal asserts that with Yaqeel and Bazel in custody, she can deduce how the Force psychosis is targeting young Jedi Knights. One hypothesis posits that each Knight was present in the Maw at a young age to evade detection by the Yuuzhan Vong during the war against them, suggesting a Maw-related influence on their minds. Meanwhile, Jag informs Jaina of a conversation he overheard between Chief of State Natasi Daala and her assistant Chief of Staff Wynn Dorvan, wherein Daala proposed employing Mandalorian mercenaries to bring the Jedi in line with the Alliance government. Jaina pledges to keep this confidential, as Jag believes he can exploit this information to aid the Order.

In a separate location near Sinkhole Station, a contingent of the fleet assembled by the Lost Tribe of Sith persists in its pursuit of the Sith Meditation Sphere known as Ship. The Tribe enlists Vestara Khai, the Sith Tyro initially contacted by Ship on the Tribe's home world of Kesh, to locate the Sphere. However, they soon realize that Ship is guiding the fleet toward the entity that compelled him to abandon the Tribe. They track Ship to an unknown planet, but the planet's treacherous flora decimates the Sith members. Just as they locate Ship, he eludes their grasp, and they encounter a mysterious woman named Abeloth, capable of altering her physical form at will. She offers the Sith protection from the dangerous plants, but Vestara harbors suspicions regarding Abeloth's motives. These suspicions intensify when the Sith locate Ship again, and Vestara's Master, Lady Olaris Rhea, is nearly killed by a plant beneath one of the planet's crimson rivers. Vestara communicates with Ship through the Force and discovers that he cannot obey her or the Sith's commands due to the strange presence that lured him away from Kesh. Vestara concludes that Abeloth orchestrated Ship's arrival on the planet and is detaining the Sith due to loneliness. The near-fatal attack on Lady Rhea by the plant beneath the crimson river was likely motivated by Abeloth's desire to prevent Ship's retrieval, given Rhea's leadership position within the Sith squad. These suspicions enable Vestara to perceive Abeloth's true nature—a grotesque, monstrous being. Despite these misgivings, the Sith and Abeloth reclaim Ship, and the Sith subsequently utilize it to travel to Sinkhole Station.

Back on Coruscant, Wynn Dorvan informs Han and Leia of Daala's plan to deploy a contingent of Mandalorian supercommandos against the Jedi, information he intentionally allowed Jag to overhear during his conversation with Daala. The Solos are skeptical, suspecting a ruse, but Wynn insists that, unlike Daala, he recognizes the Jedi's necessity in safeguarding the galaxy from greater threats. The Solos relay this information to the Jedi Council, who pledge to leverage it to their advantage, while the Masters task the Solos with defending Tahiri Veila in court for the murder of Gilad Pellaeon two years earlier. Meanwhile, Jaina investigates the bug planted on the cleaning droid by Tyrr, tracing it back to Moff Drikl Lecersen. She summons Jag to share this information, and then she is confronted by her parents regarding Jag's concealment of Daala's plan to use the Mandalorians against the Jedi. Observing Jaina's lack of surprise and subsequent defense of Jag, Han and Leia realize that she was also aware of the Mandalorian situation and failed to inform the Order. This creates a rift between Jaina and her parents, who disapprove of Jag's secrecy. Jaina still informs Jag of Lecersen's involvement in instigating conflict between Daala and the Jedi, and he promises to share this information with Daala to reinforce her perception of the Order. However, on the day of Tahiri's arraignment, when Jag informs Daala of Lecersen's likely involvement in the conflict, she refuses to relinquish her public prejudice against the Jedi. She explains that Darth Caedus influenced her perspective, as he was a Sith, and in Daala's view, a Sith is merely a fallen Jedi.

Later, the Jedi devise a plan to extract Valin and Jysella Horn from Daala's clandestine prison on Coruscant, disguising their reconnaissance as a visit to assess their physical stability in their carbonite-frozen state. Although Valin and Jysella's mother, Mirax, incapacitates the prison manager, Wruq Retk, for exploiting her children as office decorations, the plan fails due to Daala's arrival. She then assures them that the Horn children's carbonite-frozen forms will be treated with greater respect. Simultaneously, Han and Leia, aided by several Jedi Knights, plan to transport the Jedi in their custody to the Jedi base on Shedu Maad. However, Mandalorian supercommandos launch an attack, and despite their defeat, Bazel is provoked into killing one of them using an unknown Force ability: phasing his arm through the mercenary's armor without causing any damage. Fortunately, after the Mandalorians' defeat, Raynar Thul exploits Bazel's Force psychosis to the Order's advantage by threatening that if he didn't come with them to Shedu Maad, then he will leave Yaqeel, his friend, and the other Knights alone with the "imposters." Bazel complies and goes with his fellow Knights to Shedu Maad.

In Sinkhole Station, Ben overcomes the distractions provided by Rolund and Rhondi Tremaine and travels beyond shadows with his father and the Mind Walkers' leader Seek Ryontarr, as Ben is concerned that Luke is spending too much time beyond shadows. Ben wishes to quickly get their information of Jacen's fall to the dark side and get out of the station. With the assistance of their guides beyond shadows, the Skywalkers journey to the Lake of Apparitions, where they encounter the spirits of Anakin Solo, Luke's deceased wife and Ben's late mother, Mara, and ultimately, Jacen. None of the deceased characters that Luke and Ben encounter mention the mysterious female presence that Luke senses in the Lake of Apparitions, and the feelings between the Skywalkers and Jacen remain strained, considering his actions during the Second Galactic Civil War. Nevertheless, Luke inquires about the impetus for Jacen's descent into darkness, and he confirms Luke's suspicions—a significant threat to the galaxy compelled him to take any necessary measures to ensure peace. Jacen also reveals that, in the visions they shared of someone ruling with an iron fist on a great throne, it wasn't Luke on the throne. And Jacen is pleased to learn that when Luke had the vision, he saw the former's daughter, Allana, ruling in a time of ensured peace, surrounded by friends. With that, the Skywalkers depart the Lake of Apparitions, and subsequently beyond shadows, and return to the real world. They are about to depart when they confront the surviving members of the Sith squad, led to the station by the Sith Meditation Sphere and Abeloth. But thanks to the Skywalkers' superior fighting abilities, with one of the Skywalkers killing Ahri Raas (a potential Keshiri crush of Vestara's) and the treacherous ambitions of individual Sith members killing rival colleagues (such as Yuvar Xal intending to kill Lady Rhea and take her position as leader of the team, only to be foiled by Vestara killing him), all but one of the members are killed—the last member being Vestara. However, instead of killing or capturing her, Luke uses the Dathomiri blood mark on Vestara and allows her to leave using one of the abandoned ships in the station's hangar.

The novel concludes with Luke and Ben remaining in the Maw aboard the Jade Shadow, awaiting Vestara's departure from the star cluster, allowing them to utilize the blood trail on her to track her to her home planet, the Sith's residence. Ben inquires about the identity of the figure Jacen saw on the throne in his visions, and Luke responds that, at least for Ben, it is irrelevant... and always will be.

• ISBN 9780345509185 ; August 18 , 2009 ; Del Rey ; US hardcover [1]
• ISBN 9780345509192 ; June 22 , 2010 ; Del Rey; US paperback [2]
• ISBN 9780345509192 ; 2016 ; Del Rey; US paperback, Legends edition [6]