Legacy of the Force: Exile

• ISBN 0345477537 ; February 27 , 2007 , Del Rey , paperback spanning 337 pages
• ISBN 9780739323984 ; February 27 , 2007 , Random House Audio , condensed CD version
• ISBN 9788324130962 ; June 3 , 2008 , Amber , Polish paperback consisting of 304 pages

'_Within the _Stars Wars [sic] universe, malevolence spreads as the Galactic Alliance and Jedi Order confront both overt and covert adversaries, ranging from internal betrayal to widespread conflict.'

Jacen Solo's influence, capabilities, and conviction in securing galactic tranquility grow with each triumph over the Corellian insurgents. Nevertheless, this tranquility might demand a sacrifice. Despite the tension arising from conflicting allegiances during the war, Han and Leia Solo, along with Luke and Mara Skywalker, are united by a chilling apprehension: a clandestine entity is manipulating the conflict, and unless thwarted, all reconciliation attempts could prove futile. As ominous visions lead Luke to suspect Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith, as the source of the evil, the greatest danger centers on Jacen himself.

The narrative commences several weeks following the Battle of Hapes, depicting Jacen Solo in solitude within his office aboard the Anakin Solo. His insomnia stems not from remorse for targeting the Millennium Falcon near the battle's conclusion, but from the expectation that he should feel remorseful. Subsequently, his mother, Leia, materializes and employs a Force wave to obliterate the viewport of Jacen's office, propelling them both into the vacuum of space. Jacen then awakens, realizing it was merely a dream.

Later, a group of smugglers, spearheaded by Captain Uran Lavint, endeavors to breach the blockade of Corellia, only to be swiftly apprehended despite their purportedly infallible plan against the Galactic Alliance forces. Subsequently, Lavint encounters Jacen, anticipating payment for betraying her associates. However, Jacen confiscates her vessel, the Breathe My Jets, as an Alliance asset, providing Lavint with a replacement, the Duracrud. In response, Lavint questions Jacen about his past heroism. Retaliating after her departure, Jacen arranges for the Duracrud to experience a hyperdrive malfunction, marooning her in isolation upon exiting hyperspace, intending it as a lesson for her insolence, assuming her survival. An hour later, Jacen engages with Corellian Admiral Wedge Antilles to deliberate on ending the Second Galactic Civil War. The meeting proves unproductive as Wedge declines Corellia's surrender, yet imparts wisdom from Wes Janson during their service in the Rebel Alliance: losing one's sense of humor signifies fanaticism, reflecting Jacen's recent demeanor. Wedge's departure leaves Jacen contemplating his transformation from a warm, humorous individual to a cold, logical figure, attributing it to his captivity with the Yuuzhan Vong and the influence of the late Vergere, which altered him from a thoughtful, positive young man to that of the Sith he will become. With that, Jacen finally rests, knowing where the previous Jacen has gone, and that he will not miss him.

On Coruscant, as the surviving GA fleet from the Battle of Hapes returns, Jedi Master Kyp Durron convenes with Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker to escort them to Chief of State Cal Omas and Supreme Commander Cha Niathal to discuss Jacen's potential promotion to Jedi Master. During their discussion, Omas and Niathal assert that such a promotion would enhance public sentiment and relations between the GA government and the New Jedi Order, an idea inspired by Kyp's suggestion. Kyp clarifies that it was a part of taras-chi, a Jedi Masters' debate format involving proposing potential solutions to problems, countered by opposing arguments until a mutually agreeable solution emerges. Kyp emphasizes that suggesting Jacen's promotion was merely a suggestion. Nevertheless, the three Jedi commit to considering Jacen's promotion, and then leave. Afterward, Kyp reveals to Luke and Mara that taras-chi is just a bug in the space mines of Kessel. Regardless, Luke still thinks that taras-chi, as a form of debate, is a good idea and that they will actually ingrain it into the actual New Jedi Order.

In Coronet City, Corellia's capital, Wedge meets with Five World Prime Minister Dur Gejjen and his associates to address Corellia's recent attempts to aid the Heritage Council in overthrowing Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo. Unaware of the failed coup, Wedge questions the morality of targeting foreign rulers instead of fighting for independence from the Galactic Alliance. Consequently, Gejjen and his cohorts demote Wedge from Admiral to civilian volunteer, replacing him with Admiral Genna Delpin, who led Corellian forces alongside the Heritage Council fleet at the Battle of Hapes. Rather than enduring such humiliation, Wedge resigns from the Corellian military, agreeing to deliver a farewell address to Coronet's citizens. However, now cognizant of Gejjen's lengths for Corellian sovereignty, Wedge prepares to flee Corellia following his address to evade Gejjen's assassins.

On Gyndine, where Lando Calrissian operates a refueling and repair station, the battered Millennium Falcon arrives, with Lando greeting Han and Leia Organa Solo, but refrains from humor upon witnessing Han's injuries and the Solos' distress. He provides them shelter and care after hearing their account of recent events. Lando offers to repair the Falcon gratis out of loyalty and to assist the Solos in uncovering the Corellian government's authorization of the coup attempt against Tenel Ka. Under aliases, they utilize Lando's new vessel, the Love Commander, to travel to Corellia, coinciding with Wedge's resignation announcement. Following his speech, he escapes Prime Minister Gejjen's company with his wife, Iella's help. However, Wedge is soon attacked by figures who appear to be Jedi Knights who are easily defeated by those helping Wedge and Iella escape - Wedge's younger daughter Myri and Corran and Mirax Terrik Horn. However, they are unable to actually escape the planet, but take refuge in the Elmas private spaceport. Back with Han, Leia and Lando, they finally arrive in Coronet and meet up, in a bar, with the secret turncoat in Gejjen's company, Denjax Teppler. Teppler reveals that it was Gejjen himself who issued for the Corellian fleet to help the Heritage Council try to overthrow Tenel Ka. After providing that information, the foursome are attacked by the Corellian police, and a blaster fight ensues while Leia cuts a hole in the bar floor with her lightsaber. They drop into that hole to evade the police, and Teppler discreetly leaves their company to rejoin Gejjen, seeing as how he came disguised to provide them the information. Han, Leia and Lando retreat back to the Love Commander, which is at the Elmas spaceport with Wedge, his family and the Horns. Both parties join up with each other to evade the police in their respective ships and escape Corellia, even penetrating the GA blockade to meet up with Booster Terrik. With Booster as an ally, they would be able to use his Star Destroyer known as the Errant Venture as a base of operations for GA soldiers and use what they can find of them to discover who is pulling the strings behind the war. This had been influenced by the vague idea that most of the characters have that the nature of the war extends beyond the political and ideal differences between the GA and Corellia.

Back at the Home, Lumiya makes her return, bearing heavy wounds sustained from her duel with Luke at Roqoo Depot. Despite her injuries, she gradually recovers and communicates with Jacen through the Force, informing him of her survival and her intentions to further his development into a Sith Lord. They contemplate Ben Skywalker's potential as his apprentice, rather than Jacen's sacrifice to become the Dark Lord of the Sith and bring peace to the galaxy. However, they agree that Ben requires testing. Thus, Jacen and Lumiya devise a mission for Ben, secretly relaying the information via a Jedi apprentice named Seha Dorvald. Ben is tasked with retrieving the Amulet of Kalara, capable of rendering a user of the Force invisible, from the moon of Almania known as Drewwa in the offices of Tendrando Arms. This is to prevent any dark side user from claiming this object for their potential gains. Unbeknownst to anyone, including his parents who continue their search for Lumiya, Ben arrives at Drewwa to accomplish his mission. However, when he finds that he needs to eat, his credits somehow have no value to get the food that he needs. So he is forced to steal credits via his Force abilities and is not caught. Then, after being fed, he goes about his mission to find the Amulet of Kalara, but instead of finding the Amulet, he finds a note from an individual named Faskus Olvidan from the planet Ziost that claims that he had taken the Amulet. Ben then steals a Y-wing, making sure that no one catches him, and flies to Ziost with an R2 unit named Shaker. And all this time, Ben is being observed by a Bothan named Byalfin Dyur, who is under Lumiya's payroll, and his shipmates, so that when Ben begins his search for Faskus, Dyur's party destroys the Y-wing, stranding Ben and Shaker on Ziost.

Regardless, Ben and Shaker continue their mission and find the campsite set up by Faskus. Ben attacks him and manages to take the Amulet of Kalara. However, he finds that Faskus has been mortally wounded when his ship was shot down by a TIE fighter, and that he didn't steal the Amulet, but it was given to him by a Bothan (Dyur) who told him to take the Amulet to a cave. Faskus dies from his injuries, leaving his daughter, Kiara, an orphan. Ben decides to leave Kiara behind to fulfill his mission of bringing the Amulet to Jacen by finding a shuttle on Ziost, but his conscience, and a voice of reason from Shaker, has him take Kiara along after they bury her father. But during their trek to find a ship, Ben begins to hear voices that tell him to eat Kiara so that he could survive long enough to fulfill his mission. However, he refuses, and this furthers his starvation as the trek continues. And what makes the journey all the more difficult is Dyur's party trying to kill him via the TIE fighter which brought Faskus's ship down. This is because, after Dyur reported that Ben is making inadequate progress to leave Ziost, Lumiya finds that Ben is unworthy to be Jacen's Sith apprentice and orders Ben's death. But he manages to fend off Dyur's machinations to make it inside a mountain where he finds a peculiar ship that runs not on technology or navigation, but by thought and feeling alone. Ben takes pilot of the ship, uses it to blast off of Ziost with Kiara and Shaker and defeat Dyur's forces with the ship's weaponry. Afterward, Ben tells the ship to take them back to Coruscant, and it disappears to hyperspace for the destination.

Meanwhile, Lumiya persists in manipulating the war's trajectory, now favoring Corellia. She deceives worlds like Bothawui and Commenor, formerly staunch Galactic Alliance supporters, into defecting to the Corellian Confederation, particularly utilizing Alliance Admiral Matric Klauskin as a pivotal figure in her schemes; Klauskin later retires from the military service after completing his actions for Lumiya. In what commences as the Battle of Corellia, the Corellians and their new allies destroy the blockade of Corellia and scatter the GA forces out of the system, and then plan to hold a vote as to who should be the Supreme Commander of the Confederation forces. For this, Jacen, who was tricked by the Skywalkers into using the Errant Venture as an information hub on the GA's side, encounters Captain Uran Lavint again, who survived from being stranded thanks to the help of Alema Rar. Jacen tasks Lavint again with the promise of no treachery on his part to find out where the Confederation meeting to elect their new Supreme Commander will take place. Elsewhere, the Skywalkers come across evidence in their search for Lumiya that suggests that the woman who took Jacen, Ben and the late Nelani Dinn to the Home wasn't Lumiya herself, but rather her daughter, Brisha Syo. When they confront Jacen about this, Jacen lies by giving an estimated guess that it was Ben who fought Lumiya's daughter when he thought he was dueling the dark side apparition of Mara. And now aboard the Venture, thanks to Lavint, Alema continues her revenge plot against Leia by locating Han so that she can kill him and bring great sorrow to Leia.

Concerning Leia's position in the New Jedi Order, as she has sided with Corellia in the war, the Jedi Council agrees that she is still a recognizable Jedi Knight despite her turncoat decisions. And besides, the Skywalkers go aboard the Venture to reunite with the Solos to get the information that they, the Antilles family and the Horns have found. Meanwhile, Jagged Fel arrives on Coruscant to meet up with the Skywalkers to set up a task force to hunt down and neutralize Alema Rar. Jaina Solo and Zekk become Jag's teammates in hunting down Alema, and while Jaina and Jag gradually rekindle the old flame of their relationship that ended prior to the Swarm War, Zekk becomes the jealous lover and tries to impose his way through the relationship, despite setting aside his feelings for Jaina Regardless of hard feelings between the three, they all agree to work well enough to take down Alema. An opportunity arises when they are notified of her presence aboard the Errant Venture. Teaming up with Leia and Corran Horn, the Alema Rar Task Force tracks down and tries to eliminate her while she evades them all throughout the ship. Despite her pursuers' efforts, Alema escapes by taking the Duracrud with her, stranding Lavint aboard the Venture. She is promised a new ship by Han and Leia when she provides the information that the Confederation forces are setting up their election of their Supreme Commander at Gilatter VIII, which she also passes on to Jacen for the GA.

The GA forces arrive in secret to Gilatter VIII with Jacen and Lumiya acting as spies to sabotage the election of the Supreme Commander. But it turns out to have been a trap set up by the already-elected Supreme Commander Turr Phennir who used the election meeting to lure Jacen and the GA forces into an obliteration. Jacen manages to warn the Jedi in the GA fleet about the trap, and the Jedi in turn send this information to the rest of the fleet as the Confederation forces attack. Between the two forces, it becomes an all-out brawl that results in the Battle of Gilatter VIII. Meanwhile, despite all that he has done throughout the war, the Skywalkers and Solos feel obliged to save Jacen from the Confederation guards attacking him. Lumiya, still in disguise as an obscure partner to Jacen, meets up with Alema and the two women decide to attack the Skywalkers and Solos. Alema fights Leia, who is assisted by Han as he shoots at the Twi'lek, Mara fights the guards with Jacen and Luke duels Lumiya again. But this time, Lumiya shows that she is not doing anything to get revenge on Luke, but wants to save the galaxy. She even holds out her hand peacefully for Luke to touch, and nothing happens, indicating no animosity from Lumiya to Luke. However, as the battle proceeds, Alema uses an autopilot in the Duracrud to smash into the false election meeting room. Lumiya and Alema escape, and so do the Skywalkers and Solos. However, they are shocked to learn that, even when they risked their lives to save him, Jacen abandoned them for the GA fleet. He returns to the Anakin Solo to be in the battle, and when it is over, the Battle of Gilatter VIII turns out to be a stalemate between the GA and the Confederation, despite the Confederation looking upon it as a victory.

The novel concludes with Jacen reconvening with Lumiya in his office aboard the Anakin to contemplate the ultimate sacrifice necessary for his transformation into a Sith Lord, considering his parents. Regardless of his feelings for them, Jacen concludes that the galaxy would benefit from their demise.

• Aaron Alston: Examining Exile - Excerpt: Chapter 4 on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)

"I'll go now. I can find my way out." With a final bow to the Jedi Masters, Jag turned—correctly, Luke noted, despite the many twists and turns their walk had taken them through, toward the Temple's main entrance—and strode away, pulling his hood up as he walked.

Mara watched him go and shook her head. "That's a man with not enough to live for."

"He'll bounce back, " Luke said. "He's young." He fingered the device Jag had given him. "C'mon. Let's see if Cilghal is still up."

Returning to the Temple from a late errand, Jaina passed the lone Jedi performing guard duty at the building's wide-open main entrance and walked into the main corridor.

Just leaving was a man wrapped up in a dark cloak. He kept to the left side of the corridor, away from her, not even appearing to notice her. She hesitated as they came abreast of each other, his upright posture, military bearing, and the unconscious arrogance of his stride causing bells to sound in her memory.

When he was one step past her she stopped and turned her head to look at him. "Jag?"