Star Wars_ The New Rebellion - Kristine Kathryn Rusch [0]
An explosion rocked the Chamber, flinging Leia into the air. She flew backward and slammed onto a desk, her entire body shuddering with the power of her hit. Blood and shrapnel rained around her. Smoke and dust rose, filling the room with a grainy darkness. She could hear nothing. With a shaking hand, she touched the side of her face. Warmth stained her cheeks and her earlobes. The ringing would start soon. The explosion was loud enough to affect her eardrums.…
The tone had truly been set for this Senatorial term.
And for that, the Empire would pay.
This edition contains the complete text
of the original hardcover edition.
NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED.
STAR WARS: THE NEW REBELLION
A Bantam Spectra Book
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam Spectra hardcover edition published December 1996
Bantam Spectra paperback edition / October 1997
SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved.
®, ™, & © 1996 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
Cover art copyright © 1996 by Drew Struzan.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-8073.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-79635-6
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, New York, New York.
v3.1
This book is dedicated to four groups of special people:
First, to the old friends who sat with me in that darkened theater in Duluth, Minnesota, on May 25, 1977: Mindy Wallgren-Holte, Janine (Plunkett) McCusker, Kevin O’Neill, and Daniel W. Bergman. I miss you all and wish you well.
Second, to the nieces and nephews who, as children, helped me experience the excitement anew: Tim Rusch, Priscilla Wolfe, Kathy McNally, Kristine Hofsommer, Knute Hofsommer, and Aaron J. Reynolds.
Third, to the friends of the heart who have never lost their sense of wonder: Kevin J. Anderson, Paul B. Higginbotham, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Dean Wesley Smith.
And finally, to George Lucas, for giving me so many hours of enjoyment, and to John Williams, whose exceptional score still makes me shiver with delight.
Acknowledgments
Thanks on this one go to Tom Dupree, Lucy Autrey Wilson, and Richard Curtis for thinking of me in the first place; to Sue Rostoni, who answered all my questions; to Renee Dodds for keeping me on the straight and narrow; to Jenny Goodnough for understanding the depth of the Star Wars universe; to Dean Wesley Smith for reminding me to laugh in all the right places; to Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Dave Wolverton, Steve Perry, and Barbara Hambly for their thoughts, theories, and advice; and to all the other Star Wars authors for providing me with the most enjoyable month of research I’ve ever had.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine