Interlude at Darkknell, a novella presented in four parts, is a collaborative effort between Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole. Zahn authored parts one and four, while Stackpole penned parts two, three, and the epilogue. This story was initially published within the collection of short stories titled Tales from the New Republic by Bantam Spectra, appearing in December of 1999. Furthermore, it was featured in the Czech anthology Setkání v mlze in July of 2009.
The narrative centers on Senator Garm Bel Iblis, presumed dead along with his family due to an Imperial assassin, and CorSec inspector Hal Horn, as they face off against Ysanne Isard, one of the Empire's most formidable operatives. Moranda Savich, attempting to evade Inspector Horn, comes into possession of a set of datacards containing sensitive Imperial intelligence. Isard, along with her associates, is tasked by Armand Isard with recovering these datacards.
According to The Essential Reader's Companion, the story of Interlude at Darkknell unfolds around the time of 0 BBY. However, this conflicts with events depicted in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, where Garm Bel Iblis is taken to the Death Star by Darth Vader. As Interlude at Darkknell portrays Bel Iblis as having only a vague understanding of "Tarkin's project", the story logically must occur no later than 2 BBY.