Fate of the Jedi: Allies

The Jedi and Sith must unite against a foe of immense power and danger, surpassing them both.

Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben, began seeking the truth, but it has morphed into a fight for their lives. Using Mind Walker secrets, they've communicated with spirits of the deceased, risking everything. They overcame a team of Sith assassins. Now, Vestara Khai, the surviving Sith apprentice, has called in a Sith fleet to confront them. However, the Sith offer a surprising proposal: an alliance between Jedi and Sith against an ancient, alien evil.

As the Skywalkers and their Sith allies embark on their mission into the Maw's treacherous black hole web, Han and Leia Solo risk arrest to help the imprisoned Jedi on Coruscant. Chief of State Natasi Daala's orders threaten to permanently divide her government and the Jedi Order, potentially turning all Jedi into outlaws.

The galaxy's future hinges on the Maw. There, the Skywalkers and their Sith allies will battle a true monster, and Luke will face a shocking revelation.

The events of this novel pick up directly where Fate of the Jedi: Backlash concluded. Luke and Ben Skywalker find themselves surrounded by the Sith fleet above Dathomir, summoned by their Sith captive, Vestara Khai. High Lord Sarasu Taalon, the Sith commander, proposes a truce with the Jedi to discuss working together. His suggestion is that the Sith and the Skywalkers should collaborate to eliminate the malevolent Force entity known as Abeloth. Abeloth is the cause of 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, and Luke reluctantly agrees. Once Gavar is aboard, Luke allows Vestara and her father to use his quarters for a private conversation, but he secretly records their discussion. To ensure privacy, the Khais communicate in the Keshiri language. Gavar reveals to Vestara that the Sith apprentices are unharmed and that the lie was a ploy to convince Luke of their shared interest in destroying Abeloth. He also observes Vestara's developing feelings for Ben and encourages her to pursue them, seeing Ben as a potential source of information or a convert to the dark side of the Force. Vestara agrees, excited by the possibility of Ben joining the Sith. As they exit Luke's room, the Jedi Master confronts them and agrees to help the Sith destroy Abeloth. However, he insists on keeping Vestara with him for the time being. Her father reluctantly accepts this, and they decide to travel to Klatooine, the nearest supply point on their way back to the Maw. Simultaneously, Luke begins experiencing dreams of his deceased wife, Mara, beckoning him to the Maw.

On Coruscant, Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala is facing growing criticism for her harsh methods of suppressing the Jedi. To counter the increasing claims that she is another Palpatine, she dismisses Nawara Ven and the Jedi Court, demonstrating that she will treat the Jedi no differently than anyone else. As Tahiri Veila's trial approaches, Jaina Solo asks her fiancé Jagged Fel to find a lawyer for Tahiri who has a good chance of proving her innocence. Jag, hesitant to get involved in Galactic Alliance politics, agrees to help.

On Klatooine, Luke contacts Lando Calrissian to request the use of an old starship that can guide him and the Sith fleet through the Maw. Lando agrees, 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, asking him to translate it. 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 Jedi dropout who was one of their scouts from Dathomir. While on the surface, Dyon succumbs to Abeloth's Force-psychosis, steals a speeder, and heads towards a sacred landmark known as the Fountain of Hutt Ancients. Ben and Vestara manage to stop Dyon before he can desecrate the Fountain (where technology is forbidden), but all three are arrested by the Klatooine police. Luke arrives with Gavar to bail them out and retrieve their afflicted ally. He is disturbed by Vestara's flirtations with Ben, just as Gavar is unconcerned about the harmless connection between them, although Vestara assures him that it is merely a ploy to deceive Ben. The Klatooinians agree to release Ben, Vestara, and Dyon, stating that they lack the facilities to hold Jedi. Once back on their ship with an immobilized Dyon, Luke warns Ben that Vestara is not to be trusted. Ben, angered, 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 recover 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 and killed by Belok Rhal, the leader of the Mandalorian mercenaries, in plain sight. Han and Leia Organa Solo, witnessing the scene on the HoloNet, manage to smuggle medication into the Jedi Temple through the substructure, using small animals to deliver it, in order to 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 killing him as well. Dorvan and Thul then take Asari's body back into the Temple. During this time, Jaina, realizing how often she asks Jag to compromise for her, decides to end their engagement, believing that their careers will always interfere. 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 has promised to relieve Daala's pressure on the Jedi.

Above Klatooine, C-3PO provides 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, although he 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 instructed to remain behind to relay messages, but they also have orders to collect samples of the Fountain's structure, as it is composed of an exceptionally strong material. This leads to widespread chaos among the planet's population 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 promised in the Treaty of Vontor approximately twenty-five thousand years ago. Jaina and Lando deliver their verdict, declaring the Sith to be at fault. The Klatooinian elders promptly sentence Captain Vyn Holpur and his crew, those who desecrated the Fountain, to execution. However, due to the riots resulting from the incident, it seems unlikely that the Hutts will regain control of the planet, leading to the loss of a significant number of slaves. This sparks numerous anti-slavery movements throughout 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, but she denies ever contacting him. Luke now realizes that he has been tricked. He and the Sith leave Beyond Shadows (losing one of the Sith, Leeha Faal, who falls into the Depths of Eternity) to find 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, whom Vestara had released so they could 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 and absorbed her life force years ago, resulting in Abeloth possessing Callista's memories and appearance. During a fierce battle with Abeloth (in which Gavar attempts to attack Luke but is stopped 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 in 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 development that Kenth Hamner and several senior Jedi now have outstanding warrants for their arrest. Meanwhile, the alliance between the Jedi and Sith remains in effect, if only to learn more about Abeloth's nature by studying her corpse. At the same time, now free from Abeloth's control, Ship escapes from a dogfight with Jaina's StealthX X-wing starfighter, resulting in Jaina nearly being killed when Ship destroys one of her engines. Ship then enters hyperspace while Jaina is rescued by Lando.

Daala and her secret lover, Nek Bwua'tu, meet for dinner. Bwua'tu intends to persuade her to call off the siege, but before he can do so, he decides that it would be futile, given her anti-Jedi tirade. Later, as he leaves her apartment, he is attacked by two seemingly crazed Jedi. Realizing that they are not Jedi (because if they were, he would already be dead), 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 his 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 as evidence. With that, she believes that all is lost.

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

Luke Skywalker reflects that it has been two years since Mara Jade Skywalker's death, when it has actually 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 same light freighter's name reverts to Starstalker as an unidentified Sith skiff emerges from within. 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 a few times, which did not occur. They fought there, but she escaped and was not taken hostage until the Sith completed their capture of the Nightsisters on Dathomir.

This novel serves as the official conclusion to the Force psychosis story arc within the series, even though it continues with the Horn siblings in Fate of the Jedi: Conviction. In that novel, they become the final 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]