Dark Tide II: Ruin (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 3)

From the Inside Flap The alien Yuuzhan Vong have launched an attack on the worlds of the Outer Rim. They are merciless, without regard for life - and they stand utterly outside the Force. Their ever-changing tactics stump the New Republic military. Even the Jedi, once the greatest guardians of peace in the galaxy, are rendered helpless by this impervious foe - and their solidarity has begun to unravel. While Luke struggles to keep the Jedi together, Knights Jacen Solo and Corran Horn set off on a reconnaissance mission to the planet Garqi, an occupied world. There, at last, they uncover a secret that might be used to undermine the enemy - if only they can stay alive long enough to use it! The alien Yuuzhan Vong have launched an attack on the worlds of the Outer Rim. They are merciless, without regard for life -- and they stand utterly outside the Force. Their ever-changing tactics stump the New Republic military. Even the Jedi, once the greatest guardians of peace in the galaxy, are rendered helpless by this impervious foe -- and their solidarity has begun to unravel. Now a rogue group of Knights have split off to deal with the Yuuzhan Vong on their own. Luke Skywalker must stop them -- any way he can -- before they fall to the Dark Side. While Luke struggles to keep the Jedi together, Knights Jacen Solo and Corran Horn set out to learn some kind of secret that might be used to undermine the enemy. With a team of commandos they slip onto Garqi, an occupied world. If they are discovered, the Jedi will fall, and the New Republic will die... Michael A. Stackpole is the author of the New York Times bestselling Star Wars X-wing novels. Dark Tide: Onslaught is the first of two new Star Wars novels he is writing. When not chained to a desk madly fighting deadlines, he plays indoor soccer, rides a mountain bike, and reads, but not all at the same time. He lives in Arizona with Liz Danforth and a small pack of Welsh Cardigan Corgis. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Excerpt Shedao Shai spun on his heel before the harsh, hoarse scream had a chance toecho down the street. A ragged human slave, flesh coated with dust, beard patchyand unkempt, broke form the work detail and rushed at him. The slave's eyesblazed past the nubbins of the coral growths on his cheeks, and he raised apiece of duracrete debris to smash the Yuuzhan Vong leader down. Two younger warriors belatedly moved to intercept the assassin, but Shedao'ssharply barked warning held them back. Clad in vonduun crab armor, with his rankbaton, the tsaisi, coiled about his right forearm, the Yuuzhan Vong leader hadlittle fear of injury. He flowed forward, keeping his center of gravity low,then came up, catching the slave's throat in his right hand. He lifted the maneffortlessly, then battered the debris aside with his left hand. The slave grabbed Shedao's right wrist. His eyes widened as the tsaisi hissedand rose up, ready to strike. The human's lips peeled back in a feral snarl,then he looked into Shedao's eyes defiantly. Unable to speak because of the handcrushing his throat, the man nodded, once, sharply, as if to demand death fromthe Yuuzhan Vong leader. Shedao's thumb pressed up along the man's jaw, slipping past the curve of thebone, touching the skull right behind his ear. The two combatants watched eachother, both knowing that with a simple increase of pressure Shedao Shai wouldpop the man's skull free of his spine, killing him. The man, with spittleflecking his lips and beginning to ooze down into the Yuuzhan Vong's gauntlet,nodded again, daring Shedao to kill him. The Yuuzhan Vong commander shook his head once, then cast the man forward thetwo warriors who were overseeing the work group. "Take this one to the priests.Have them prepare him. If he survives, he will be of use." The two warriors each grabbed an arm and bowed respectfully, tugging the manback down the street. Shedao Shai allowed them to get ten paces away, then added, "And while there,ask the priests for a regimen of contemplation for warriors who are slothful." The warriors bowed again and set off, but at a pace noticeably quicker thanbefore. Deign Lian, his direct subordinate, resumed his place a half pace behind Shedao,at his left hand. "Was that wise, my leader?" "Easily as wise as your questioning my judgment, here, in the streets." ShedaoShai was pleased that his face mask hid the crooked smile born of Deign'sflinching at that remark. "The warriors will return chastened, enlightened, andmore dedicated to their duty." "It was not that, Commander, but sending the man off with them. He attempted tomurder you. The other slaves will see his survival and exaltation as a licenseto try to kill you again." Shedao Shai continued his tour down the broad Drubrillion street in silence,knowing his lack of an answer would weigh more heavily on his aide than anyrebuke. The destruction caused by the conquest of Dubrillion had not beenoverwhelming. Much of the cityscape was recognizable, and the work details weremaking much headway in clearing debris. Soon the slaves would be trained in howto use gricha to repair minor damage, and gragricha would be brought in toproduce proper Yuuzhan Vong buildings. "I believe, Deign Domain Lian, you are looking past the obvious to explore arealm we may never approach. Your question presumes the slave will surviveinculcation. We do not know this. Yes, I chose him because he had spirit. Hedidn't shy from pain. More importantly, he wanted me to kill him. He hadembraced his insignificance, which means our inculcation can give him newsignificance. He is a vessel ready to be filled with the truth of the universe.If he can contain what he learns, he will be of great use to us." "This I understand, Commander Shedao Domain Shai." Deign bowed his head as hespoke. His using Shedao's full, formal title—aping Shedao's formality—acknowledgedhis subordinate status. Shedao knew this acknowledgment was halfhearted at best.Domain Lian wished for a return to its former days of glory, and Deign was itsbest chance for such a return. In his aide Shedao had a feral amphistaffclutched to his breast, and he knew he would feel the sting of its bite when hecould least afford it. "Perhaps then what you do not understand is that despite the work of our agentslike Nom Anor, we do not know our foe well at all. This New Republic is curiousin how it approaches warfare." "They are cowards at heart, my leader." "To make that judgment so coldly, Deign Lian, is to deny that we have much tolearn." Shedao glanced left, catching a spark of hatred in his aide's eyes."Enlightenment is always useful, and we need more, much more, concerning thesepeople." Shedao Shai ignored Deign's fatuous mouthings about his wisdom. The New Republicand its response to the Yuuzhan Vong invasion had him puzzled. Nom Anor hadprovided a succinct political analysis of the situation within the New Republic,which is why they had chosen the invasion corridor they did. They hit the NewRepublic at a point where it was weakest, along a line joining it to theImperial Remnant. That was pure military strategy: any force is weakest wheretwo commands meet. The Remnant had not reacted and attacked the flank, whichfreed up units Shedao had held against that possibility. The New Republic still had not struck back, and this puzzled Shedao Shai. He didknow of the galactic civil war, and it did strike him as possible that somepeoples would not want to see a return to a conflict. Still, the actions of theslave showed that these people were capable of martial conduct. A totalacquiescence to the invasion did not seem to be a rational response, which ledhim to suspect deception. He was willing to admit, as well, that of the worlds taken, only Dubrillion hadtrue significance. The others had been sparsely populated and largelyundeveloped, so their losses would be insignificant to the galaxy. Garqi, towhich he had sent Krag Val to oversee occupation and transformation, did producea lot of foodstuffs, but its loss could easily be compensated for since many ofits products were geared for consumption by the elite, not the masses. In their military engagement, the New Republic forces had fought a series ofrearguard actions. Shedao Shai refused to acknowledge their destruction of theYuuzhan Vong base at Helska 4, because that had been a Praetorite Vongoperation. When politicians seek to play at being warriors, one must anticipatedisaster. He glanced again at Deign. The reverse can also be very bad. Shedao Shai found his foes admirable, after a fashion. That they were corruptand weak was not in doubt. Their reliance on abominable mechanicals pointed outtheir moral decay, but the facility with which they employed their tools didimpress hi. The military response to initial encounters with Yuuzhan Vongbiotechnology had neutralized the invaders' advantages, leaving theirstarfighters on even terms. The land battle on Dantooine had likewise shown how formidable the NewRepublic's personnel could be. When Shedao Shai reviewed a report listing thecasualties among two training cadres of warriors in pursuit of a pair ofrefugees, he felt his belly begin to tighten. Given that the two being chasedwere jeedai, some casualties were to be expected, but the escape of the quarrywas not. Domain Lian lost four warrior in that escapade, which only partiallydulled the sting of Domain Shai's losing two warriors to a jeedai on Bimmiel. In his grudging admiration for the enemy, Shedao Shai wondered if theirreluctance to attack centered around the same problem he was having: that theNew Republic did not know enough about the Yuuzhan Vong to be able to formulatea solid strategy. If they need more intelligence, we will have insertions offorces on conquered worlds. They investigated Belkadan and likely know we havebeen producing coralskippers there. What else they gleaned from there I cannotimagine, but I shall have to assume they know all. Shedao Shai mounted the steps to the building in which he had situated hisoffice. The building both irritated and soothed him. The irritation came fromthe predominance of straight lines, hard edges, and exposed piping, all of whichhad been described to him with the vulgarity industrial. The building was nomore elegant than a big stone box, and the uniform shade of gray it had beenpainted did little to enhance it. The reason he chose it as his headquarters, however, was because of the purposeto which it had been put. The building had been the Dubrillion Aquarium and wasfilled with scores of transparisteel tanks teeming with sea life from Dubrillionand other worlds. A central column filled with water dominated the building'sheart, and through it swam a rainbow riot of fish, including huge emeraldsharks. Shedao Shai did not acknowledge the guards at the doors as he swept into thebuilding. He mounted the stairs to the right, then cut back to the left, to thecentral chamber. Fish swirled in a lazy cyclone through the column and eclipsedthree figures whose outlines were distorted by the water. The two taller figureswere his own people, but the golden pyramid between them intrigued him. He circled through the chamber to the right and saw seated on the floor along-limbed creature covered in golden down. The creature's long legs werecrossed, his hands folded into his lap and his spine straight along theduracrete wall at his back. Purple striping flowed back from the corners of hiseyes and over his shoulders. He wore a simple purple loincloth, gathered with agold cord. When Shedao Shai moved into view, the individual rose to his feet withouttouching his hands to the ground. The guards were a heartbeat late inrestraining him, clearly not having anticipated his action. He has lulled theminto carelessness, which marks the placidity with which he allowed himself to beborne here. By the same token, the supple strength in his body and the ease withwhich he slipped his shoulders from beneath the guards' hands marked him a s apotentially dangerous enemy. The Yuuzhan Vong commander halved the distance between them with two longstrides. "I am Commander Shedao Domain Shai." He spoke first in his own tongue,then repeated his introduction in the halting, clicky tongue native to thegalaxy. The creature blinked his big violet eyes. He spoke slowly but strongly, allowingShedao to capture his words easily. "I am Senator Elegos A'Kla of the newRepublic." He bowed his head for a moment. "I apologize for not having masteredyour tongue." Shedao looked at the two guards flanking Elegos. "You are dismissed." Deign looked at him. "Commander?" Shedao spoke in the New Republic's tongue. "I have nothing to fear from you,Elegos?" The Caamasi opened his three-fingered hands and displayed them as empty. "Mymission here is not one of violence." The Yuuzahan Vong leader nodded slowly. He does not say that I should not fearhim, but just should not fear violence at his hands. It is a difference thatDeign has missed entirely. "You see, Deign?" "Yes, my leader." The subordinate bowed. "I shall leave you." "Wait." Shedao reached up and stroked the vonduun crab making up his helmet andface mask. The creature relaxed, allowing him to slip the helmet off, baring hishead and face. Shedao shook his head, freeing his black mane and spraying sweatonto Deign's armor. He handed his aide his helmet. Even though Deign's face lay hiding behind amask, there was no disguising his shock at seeing his leader show his naked faceto the enemy. "You will take this to my contemplation chamber, then return withrefreshments. You will hurry." "Yes, Commander." Disbelief and disgust threaded through his words. Deign boweddeeply, then backed away until the fish-filled cylinder shielded him fromShedao's gaze. The Yuuzhan Vong leader returned his attention to Elegos. He watched him for amoment, slowly organizing the words of his enemy's tongue. "I was told youappeared in a small ship at the edge of this system. You used a villip torequest transport here on one of our ships. Why?" Elegos blinked once. "It is believed you see machines as abominations. I wishedto offer no offense." "Your respect of our sensibilities is appreciated." Shedao Shai stepped towardthe cylinder. He stripped off his left gauntlet and pressed his hand to thetransparisteel. The warmth of the water slowly filtered into his flesh. "Yourmission here is?" "One to promote understanding. One to see if the course our peoples are on nowis the only course possible, or if we might plot another one, together." TheCaamasi pressed his hands together. "I was at Dantooine. I would not see thathappen again." "And I reviewed the aftermath of Dantooine. I was also at the place known to youas Bimmiel." Shedao's dark eyes hardened. "There is much that separates ourpeople. Much that would speak against any peace between us." "Perhaps our ignorance of each other's nature and ways is what makes it appearthat we are falling into a black hole of conflict." Elegos lifted his chin,exposing his slender throat. "I would enlighten you and learn from you." Shedao smiled and caught the reflection of his twisted visage in thetransparisteel. "Do you know what you ask, what you suggest?" "In your mind, apparently not." The Yuuzhan Vong gestured toward Elegos with his right hand. The tsaisislithered down into his grasp, then stiffened into a blade the length ofShedao's forearm. "You know that I could kill you at my whim. Praise would beheaped upon me for slaying you, for you traffic in abominations. To some of us,there is no redemption for your kind." Elegos bowed his head. "Already I learn. And, yes, I knew my life could beforfeit in coming here. This did not deter me." "A commitment to mission above the preservation of self—this I understand. ThisI respect." Shedao spun the baton in his hand, then flicked it back so itslapped against his forearm. The tsaisi flexed, then coiled around his vonduunbracer. "What you are willing to teach me will contain no tactical informationthat would be of use." "I am not a tactician, nor am I privy to their counsels." Elegos regarded himclosely. "What I would learn from you would likewise be useless." "No, and this is another place we agree." Shedao Shai nodded slowly. "I will place you under my protection. I will teachyou. I will learn from you. We will understand each other." "And find a new path to bring our people together?" "Perhaps. You will know if this is possible when you know us better." Elegos clasped his hands together at the small of his back. "I am prepared tolearn." "Good." Shedao Shai nodded once. "Your lessons will begin now. Follow me. Tounderstand us, there is but one place to start. I will introduce you to theEmbrace of Pain." Copyright © 2000 Michael A. Stackpole. All rights reserved.ISBN: 0-345-42856-0 Read more