Jedi Avar Kriss steals a ship in exclusive excerpt of new “Star Wars: The Eye of Darkness ”novel
Starlight Beacon has fallen. Marchion Ro and the Nihil have struck their biggest block against the Jedi order. So what's next?
Phase III of Star Wars' The High Republic book series is about to officially kick off with the Nov. 14 release of the next adult novel The Eye of Darkness. The book by George Mann takes place one year after the events of Claudia Gray's The Fallen Star — which saw the destruction of Starlight Beacon as well as the appearance of more Force-eating Levelers — and we've got an exclusive excerpt featuring the return of Jedi Avar Kriss. Not only that, but you can also hear an exclusive audio excerpt from the book on EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast below.
Before we get to the print excerpt, here's the official summary of the novel from Random House Worlds.
The galaxy is divided. Following the shocking destruction of Starlight Beacon, the Nihil have established an impenetrable barrier called the Stormwall around part of the Outer Rim, where Marchion Ro rules and his followers wreak havoc at his every whim. Jedi trapped behind enemy lines, including Avar Kriss, must fight to help the worlds being pillaged by the Nihil while staying one step ahead of the marauders and their Nameless terrors.
Outside the Nihil's so-called Occlusion Zone, Elzar Mann, Bell Zettifar, and the other Jedi work alongside the Republic to reach the worlds that have been cut off from the rest of the galaxy. But every attempt to breach the Stormwall has failed, and even communication across the barrier is impossible. The failures and losses weigh heavily upon both Elzar and Bell as they search desperately for a solution.
But even if the Republic and Jedi forces manage to breach the Stormwall, how can the Jedi fight back against the Nameless creatures that prey on the Jedi's connection to the Force? And what other horrors does Marchion Ro have in store? As desperation for both the Jedi and the Republic grows, any hope of reuniting the galaxy could be all but extinguished…
Cover of 'Star Wars: The Eye of Darkness (The High Republic)' by George Mann
Excerpt from Star Wars: The Eye of Darkness (The High Republic) by George Mann
Behind the Stormwall, Jedi Master Avar Kriss has spent the last year doing what she can to support the citizens of the galaxy trapped in the Nihil Occulsion Zone, collecting new allies along the way.
"Who are you?"
After jettisoning the escape pod containing the two still-unconscious Nihil, Avar had made her way to the transport ship's cockpit, where a series of alarms was blaring and the Ugnaught pilot seemed to be in something of a panic. He turned to stare wide-eyed at Avar as she strode purposefully into the small space, leaned over the controls, and silenced the annoying alarms. KC-78 trundled in behind her.
"It doesn't matter who I am. I'm here to help."
The Ugnaught — a small, hairy, porcine male with a heavy brow ridge and downturned mouth — looked at her appraisingly. "A pirate? A smuggler?" He caught sight of the holster strapped to Avar's hip. "Oh no. No. A Jedi!"
Avar narrowed her eyes. "You sound worried."
"Well of course I'm worried!" spat the Ugnaught. "There's been a disturbance in the cargo hold, and one of the escape pods has been jettisoned. Now, instead of the two Nihil guards that were supposed to be overseeing this grain shipment, I've got you, standing there all uppity with your lightsaber."
Avar tried to keep her smile to herself but failed. "All uppity?"
"Well, you do seem rather pleased with yourself."
"Hmmm. Well, I can assure you, my lightsaber is staying right where it is, in its holster."
"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?" said the Ugnaught.
"You're not Nihil, then?" said Avar. It was thunderingly obvious that the Ugnaught was not affiliated with Marchion Ro's regime, but Avar thought it might be a way of drawing him out, calming him a little. Her best guess was that he was just a haulage pilot who'd been co-opted into serving the Nihil through coercion and threats.
"Me? I've got nothing to do with those mask-wearing fools. I mean, look at me." He thumped his chest. "Do I look like I go running about threatening folk and daubing blue paint on my face? Well, do I?"
"You don't," conceded Avar. "So I'd imagine you'll be happy to be free of them."
"Free of them? They'll probably feed me to a whickersnipe for this! Reptile food! That's all I'll be good for. That's assuming I even survive whatever foolishness it is you have planned." He shook his head. "Jedi," he muttered under his breath.
Avar examined the navigation readouts. "Don't you want to know what I'm doing?" she asked.
"I don't know. Do I?" replied the Ugnaught.
"I'm redirecting this cargo. To people who need it." She leaned over the control panel and started inputting a course to Prandril, a small Rodian colony on a moon in the Minos Cluster, which Avar had heard was running close to starvation after the colonists' regular food supply channels had been disrupted by the Nihil. It was close by. They'd be unloading the grain within a couple of hours. Grain that had been grown on Hetzal, where the Nihil now had their main base of operations, and from where they were controlling all food shipments in the region, starving out the populations that refused to pledge fealty or pay tithes. It was utterly barbaric.
"Are you mad? If the Nihil catch you . . ."
Avar shot the Ugnaught a glance. "They won't."
"So you say. They've caught plenty of others." The Ugnaught stuck out his chin. "And what about me? Where do I fit into this plan?"
"You can tell them I held you against your will. Threatened you if you didn't help me."
"Are you threatening me?" asked the Ugnaught, cautiously.
"Of course not."
"Hmmm." He looked thoughtful. "What have you done with the guards? Kill them, did you?"
"No," said Avar. She slipped into the copilot's chair as she finished inputting the new course. She was beginning to like this spiky Ugnaught pilot. "I didn't kill them. I knocked them unconscious and jettisoned them in the escape pod. They'll be picked up by another Nihil ship within a few hours."
The Ugnaught looked stricken. The color drained from his face. His hands clutched the arms of his chair. "You've killed us both, you fool!"
Avar frowned. "And how's that?"
"The Nihil patrols! This ship doesn't have a Path engine. It's just a hauler. Without the guards to vouch for us, we'll never get past the blockades."
The Ugnaught was right. No one moved inside the Occlusion Zone without the correct permissions. Avar had just assumed a haulage ship from Hetzal would be programmed with the correct codes.
Clearly, she'd been wrong. Of course, the Nihil would ensure any haulage ships were reliant on them for safe passage. Especially as they knew the pilots and other workers were operating under duress. They didn't have time for revolts, and they didn't have enough Nihil to pilot the ships themselves.
Avar examined the flight map, seeking alternative routes. The shortest, uncontrolled route would get them near, but they'd have to emerge close to a dangerous debris field that orbited Prandril. Making use of such a route risked attracting the attention of the scav droid swarms, too. Without the right access codes, the swarms would attack indiscriminately. But there was no other option. Avar couldn't give up now. She started inputting the new coordinates.
The Ugnaught's frown deepened as he watched the new route appear on the readouts. "You're taking us through an unapproved hyperspace lane! And into the middle of a debris field! What about the scav swarms?" His voice rose in pitch as he grew increasingly panicked.
"We'll deal with them. Kaysee has been working on slicing their attack protocols. We'll find a way." Avar looked across at him. "Of course, there's another escape pod back there if you'd rather take your chances with the Nihil?"
The Ugnaught folded his arms across his chest. "And abandon my ship? I don't think so."
Avar engaged the hyperspace drive. "Then you'd better hold on," she said.
Reprinted from Star Wars: The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness. © 2023 by Lucasfilm Ltd. Published by Random House Worlds, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
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