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734fb35
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Under the rule of the ancient Sith, the future of the galaxy had been in the able hands of many dark sovereigns. Now responsibility for maintaining order rested only with Darth Sidious.
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James Luceno |
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fa6594e
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Could Vader actually be Anakin Skywalker? the two men wondered. Based on Obi-Wan's account of what had occurred on Mustafar, Anakin's survival didn't seem possible. But perhaps Obi-Wan had underestimated Anakin. Perhaps Anakin's peerless strength in the Force had allowed him to survive.
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James Luceno |
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9b471a2
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I don't work for the Republic, and I'm certainly not about to work for Count Dooku." "Science doesn't take sides, is that it?"
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James Luceno |
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2cabb03
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Dooku chose his next words carefully. "Qui-Gon returned from Tatooine with a former slave boy. According to the boy's mother, the boy had no father."
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James Luceno |
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88613b5
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Understand this: you no longer represent your homeworlds solely. "Coruscant, Alderaan, Chandrila ... All these and tens of thousands of worlds far removed from the Core are cells of the Empire, and what affects one, affects us all. No disturbances will be tolerated. "Interplanetary squabbles or threats of secession will meet with harsh reprisals. I have not led us through three years of galactic warfare to allow a resurgence of the old ways..
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James Luceno |
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79397ae
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Qui-Gon believes that the boy--Anakin is his name--stands at the center of a vergence in the Force, and believes further that his finding him was the will of the Force.
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James Luceno |
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438846a
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Where Darth Sidious had gained everything, Vader had lost everything, including-for the moment, at least-the self-confidence and unbridled skill he had demonstrated as Anakin Skywalker.
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James Luceno |
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3c1d643
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His strategy of flying boldly into the face of adversity was studied and taught, and during the Clone Wars would come to be known as "the Tarkin Rush,"
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James Luceno |
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eb7f1fc
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Vader might very well be Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, whom Tarkin had fought beside during the Clone Wars, and for whom he had developed a grudging appreciation.
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James Luceno |
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e3f3c26
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Tarkin had long nursed suspicions about who Vader was beneath the black face mask and helmet, as well as how he had come to be, but he knew better than to give open voice to his thoughts.
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James Luceno |
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d8051d0
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His father placed his elbows on the table and leaned toward him. "We need to know if you are simply ordinary or larger than life." To the best of his ability, he mulled over the notion of being larger than life. "Did you have to go there when you were young?" His father nodded. "Were you afraid?" His father sat back into his tall, brocaded armchair, as if in recall. "In the beginning I was. Until I learned to overcome fear."
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James Luceno |
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ddb346c
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And the Jedi?" Lyra asked. "Also doing what they can. But remember, Dooku is one of their own, and he's a crafty opponent. At times he seems to be able to read our minds, if not simply outguess us."
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James Luceno |
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3451462
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Where Darth Sidious had gained everything, Vader had lost everything.
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star-wars
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James Luceno |
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14f29e0
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It was that genuflecting obedience, the steadfast devotion to execute whatever task the Emperor assigned, that had given rise to so many rumors about Vader: that he was a counterpart to the Confederacy's General Grievous the Emperor had been holding in reserve; that he was an augmented human or near-human who had been trained or had trained himself in the ancient dark arts of the Sith; that he was nothing more than a monster fashioned in so..
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James Luceno |
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6537e49
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Qui-Gon was the key to everything.
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James Luceno |
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f6fb3db
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EFFORTS HAD BEEN MADE BY Coruscanti who cared about such things to preserve some of the structures the B'ankora had built and lived in for more than fifty generations. In the rush to relocate the species' sole survivors and complete the construction of the Celestial Power facility, the request to create a museum had been denied. Regardless, some of the B'ankora's original paths remained, winding through gardened parcels, around landscaped a..
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James Luceno |
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35dd225
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petty
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James Luceno |
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9c56abc
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Providing power is the only way forward." She"
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James Luceno |
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1254bb2
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CHRONICLES
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James Luceno |
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29f5bb6
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There it was again, Plagueis thought: the deceptive cadence; the use of flattery, charm, and self-effacement as if rapier feints in a duel. The need to be seen as guileless, unassuming, empathetic. A youth with no desire to enter politics, and yet born for it.
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James Luceno |
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f177844
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Abraxin had been strong in the dark side during Bane's lifetime, when it had been aligned with Lord Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness, but Plagueis could sense that the power had waned significantly in the intervening centuries.
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James Luceno |
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c8a659a
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Blue-skinned, yellow-eyed bipeds from the far side of the Core had been the first to colonize Saleucami, which meant "oasis" in their tongue, for the world was just that among those they had visited during the long journey from Wroona. Since then had come hearty groups of Weequay, Gran, and Twi'leks, in flight from conflicts or in search of hardscrabble isolation, and up to the tasks of farming the colorless ground for moisture and subsisti..
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James Luceno |
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bff42fe
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Already the galaxy had been shaped by the birth of one, and henceforth would be reshaped by the death of the other. But had the change been felt and recognized elsewhere? Were his sworn enemies aware that the Force had shifted irrevocably? Would it be enough to rouse them from self-righteousness? He hoped not. For now the work of vengeance could begin in earnest.
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James Luceno |
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0148dab
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Plagueis nodded. "Darth Bane advised: One day the Republic will fall and the Jedi will be wiped out. But that will not happen until we are ready to seize that power for ourselves."
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James Luceno |
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acda1bf
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Palpatine stared at the floor, then genuflected, uttering, "It is my will to join my destiny forever with the Order of the Sith Lords." Plagueis extended his left hand to touch him on the crown of the head. "Then it is done. From this day forward, the truth of you, now and forever more, will be Sidious."
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James Luceno |
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2ab80fc
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constant vigilance
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James Luceno |
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ab2068e
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Just now the Joint Chiefs of the Empire's military were gathered--Admiral Antonio Motti, General Cassio Tagge, Rear Admirals Ozzel, Jerjerrod, and others--along with several top officers from COMPNOR, including Director Armand Isard, ISB deputy director Harus Ison, and Colonel Wullf Yularen. Naval Intelligence was represented by Vice Admirals Rancit and Screed,
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James Luceno |
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ef5c514
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Galen didn't know anything about Tarkin, other than that he had served in the Republic Navy before being appointed adjutant general. A tall man some ten or fifteen years older than Galen, he had sunken cheeks, a high brow, and a look of penetrating intelligence.
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James Luceno |
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15fa6b4
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You don't mind that the war will go on and on?" "Palpatine could have prevented it. Now it's up to people like you to end it." Tarkin nodded. "And so we shall."
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James Luceno |
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2bfbb57
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My instructions to Lord Vader and Moff Tarkin were to make an example of the shipjackers, not to allow the shipjackers to make a laughingstock of the Empire's intelligence chiefs.
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James Luceno |
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1bcf6b0
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Glaciers and volcanoes both have the potential to transform landscapes, but one does so by burying what lies beneath, where the other spews forth new terrain.
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James Luceno |
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d2646ec
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Consider the mind-set of the anarchist who plans to sacrifice himself for a cause. For the weeks, months, possibly years leading up to the day he straps a thermal detonator to his chest and executes his task, he has lived in and strengthened by the secret he carries, knowing the toll his act will take. So it has been for the Sith, residing in a secret, sacred place of knowledge for one thousand years, and knowing the toll our acts will take..
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James Luceno |
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ac6a70b
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don't need to remind any of you what Tarkin did at the end of the war when there weren't Jedi around to keep a lid on the violence and retribution. We wouldn't be aboard this ship otherwise. The Emperor is going to win-now the populations of the galaxy until the only ones left are the ones he can control. And he and Vader and Tarkin are going to accomplish that with an army of steadfast recruits who might as well be clones for the little in..
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James Luceno |
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5065f05
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The Empire was quickly becoming the , a featureless grey enemy that species of varied sorts would be able to stave off only if they united, all differences set aside. It was almost heartening to witness the dawn of hope, as cautious and fragile as it was.
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hope
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James Luceno |
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940fab8
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Moral principles regarding natural selection seemed to be something they had left on the floor of what was now Kamino's planetwide ocean, which perhaps explained why they were no more reluctant about providing game animals for Sojourn than they were about supplying shovel-handed clones to work in the mines of inhospitable Subterrel. Damask
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James Luceno |
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184c463
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You look at the history of any sentient species and what do you find but tableaux of violence and slaughter. It's finger-painted on the ceilings of caves and engraved into the walls of temples.
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violence
slaughter
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James Luceno |
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a31ca64
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Mathematics isn't just science, it is poetry - our efforts to crystallise the unglimpsed connections between things. Poetry that bridges and magnifies the mysteries of the galaxy. But the signs and symbols and equations sentients employ to express these connections are not discoveries but the teasing out of secrets that have always existed.
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poetry
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James Luceno |
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233cb7d
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You will be in charge of that, Moff Tarkin. Or should I say Grand Moff Tarkin." Tarkin's gaped in genuine surprise. "Grand Moff?"
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James Luceno |
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5616dfa
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The Emperor's furtive smile gave Tarkin pause. Had he actually seen through Rancit's and the dissidents' schemes from the beginning? Had the events of the past few weeks been less about unmasking a cell of traitors than testing Tarkin's ability to foil the plot and to work effectively with Vader?
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James Luceno |
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fa473d0
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Good," the Emperor said. "Let that be a lesson to all of them"--he narrowed his eyes at Tarkin--"including the one who apparently got away."
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James Luceno |
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f1370bd
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One last thing, Vice Admiral," Vader said as Rancit was being escorted aft down the walkway. "Moff Tarkin sends his regards."
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James Luceno |
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30641b4
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Tarkin had lost all sense of how long he had been standing in the viewport bay when Vader's fury brought him back to the moment. "This freighter is to be tractored aboard the Executrix for a thorough inspection. The crew is to be kept in detention until I'm through interrogating them."
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James Luceno |
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1163a75
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The Truant is no longer on the wanted list, sir. Minimal collateral casualties.
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James Luceno |
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d338866
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And not surprisingly, under Tarkin's rule, Eriadu finally achieved the celebrity it had been clamoring for. It became the rising star, the planet other eager-to-be-exploited worlds began looking up to.
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James Luceno |