Aaron Allston was an editor of Space Gamer magazine, which won the H. G. Wells Award for Best Role-Playing Magazine in 1982. Allston later became a freelance game designer, working for Hero Games and Dungeons & Dragons publisher TSR. He is the author of Web of Danger, game-based fiction supporting the Top Secret/S. I. game line, as well as the original fantasy Galatea in 2-D. He now writes fiction full-time. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Not since Emperor Palpatine have the Jedi battled such monstrous evil. Unless they succeed against staggering odds, the galaxy is doomed. Luke Skywalker's daring mission to halt the Yuuzhan Vong's nefarious plot to overthrow the New Republic is struggling on all fronts. And time is slipping away for Han and Leia Organa Solo, trapped on a small planet whose rulers are about to yield to Yuuzhan Vong pressure to give up the Jedi rebels. On Coruscant, Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker have made a shocking discovery that is preventing the Yuuzhan Vong from exerting complete control. But when the enemy tracks them down, Luke and Mara are thrust into a fierce battle for their lives. Suddenly, the chances of escaping appear nearly impossible. And in space, another battle rages, one that holds ominous consequences for the New Republic-and for the Jedi themselves. . . .