Cover Artist: Jason Felix

Understanding that Ben Skywalker may not be suitable as an apprentice, Jacen Solo (now calling himself Darth Caedus) begins cultivating Tahiri Veila by taking her to view her final moments with Anakin Solo through the technique of flow walking. For his own part, Ben has decided that his mother was killed by Jacen and he is determined to get close enough to Jacen to kill him. Arriving on Coruscant for Mara Skywalkers funeral, Han and Leia Solo are held up by the Galactic Alliance Guard who have been sent to arrest them by Jacen. Rather than cause a scene during the funeral, they escape and travel to Kashyyyk to convince the Wookiees to not join the Alliance fleet. Jacen knows that a battle is coming at Kuat and if the Alliance wins there it will break the Confederation's push to Coruscant so he convinces Tenel Ka to commit all of Hapes defenses to the battle. She agrees as long as he agrees to make up with Luke Skywalker. Ben confronts Jacen about mara and Jacen sends him on a wild goose chase by implying that Cal Omas was behind the plot to kill Mara. Ben confronts Cal and explains that he knows Jacen was behind the plot to kill Mara and tries to determine a way to make it look like he has killed Omas when he really hadn't. Omas on the other hand, realizes that the only way it will work is if he is really dead and so commits suicide by running into Ben's lightsaber. While this is happening, Jaina Solo, Jagged Fel and Zekk track Alema Rar to the Jedi Academy on Ossus where they learn that Jacen has taken the Academy hostage with a GAG force. Alema escapes from the planet and makes her way to Lumiya's asteroid where she finds a message from someone in black robes directing Lumiya in how to contact them. Following their instructions, she finds herself at Korriban where she persuades them to help her help Jacen on his path to the dark side. They teach her how to fully control the Sith meditation sphere that she is using and also give her the holocron of Darth Vectivus to give to Jacen. At Kuat, when the Jedi learn of the death of Cal Omas and the role that Ben apparently played in it, Luke leads them in deserting to Kashyyyk where they join the Solos and the Wookiees. With the Wookiees convinced to not support Jacen, Han and Leia travel to the Hapan system to try and convince Tenel Ka to abandon the Alliance as well. At Ossus, Jaina and the other Jedi overpower their GAG captors and save the children at the cost of death and serious injury to many of the older Jedi. Left with no leads on Alema, Jaina joins the rest of the Jedi at Kashyyyk. Jacen arrives at Kashyyyk with the Fifth Fleet, and when his parents and the Jedi aren't surrendered to him he orders his flagship to set fire to the wroshyr forest. Leading a Jedi strike force against Jacen's flagship, Luke is shot down by Jacen and he lets everyone believe that he is dead in order to get close enough to Jacen to kill him. Before he can do so, he discovers his son being held captive in the Embrace Of Pain. Between Luke and Ben, Jacen is defeated but not killed because Luke realizes that if either of them killed Jacen at this time then Ben would fall to the dark side. Utterly defeated and betrayed by the Hapan fleet, Jacen and the Fifth Fleet only escape when Alema shows up with the Sith meditation sphere and provides an avenue for retreat.