Repeated raids on New Republic ships have scored Shadowspawn legions of hostages. When reports trace his activities to Mindor, General Luke Skywalker leads a New Republic task force to the blighted world to confront the dark sider. A gravity bomb shreds Luke’s flagship, but the Jedi successfully lands the tortured remains of the ship on the planet. There he surrenders himself to the Shadow Stormtroopers—black-armor-clad soldiers loyal to Shadowspawn.

Amid Shadowspawn’s cultists, Luke Skywalker is oddly venerated by the brainwashed horde. They call him Emperor Skywalker and deem him to be the worthy successor to the Emperor’s throne—an opinion apparently based on a pulpy holothriller, Luke Skywalker and the Jedi’s Revenge. Luke sees firsthand the twisted machinations of Shadowspawn. He has used his Force ability as well as tech- nology to mold an odd mineral on Mindor called meltmassif—a rock that can liquefy and also transmit energy. He has impregnated fibrous strands of meltmassif into the minds of his followers through shadow crowns, allowing him control of his pawns. Shadowspawn even subjects Luke’s mind to a meltmassif invasion. He intends to use the mineral as a conduit to transfer his consciousness into Luke, who would then bodily inherit a legion of followers ready to proclaim him Emperor.

Luke’s friends soon join him on Mindor—Leia follows impressions in the Force that tell her Luke is in danger. She brings Han and Chewie with her aboard the Millennium Falcon and convinces Rogue Squadron to come along against orders. When General Lando Calrissian learns of this, he redirects a task force to Mindor, bolstered by Fenn Shysa’s Mandalorians, who are allied to the New Republic. They must battle Shadowspawn’s space defenses as well as the volatile nature of the gravity-strained star system. For a time, the New Republic ships are trapped in the system, pinned in place by gravity projectors and threatened by the impending nova.

On Mindor, Leia and Han tangle with Aeona Cantor, the hardened leader of the local resistance. After a series of tense misunderstandings and fighting, they eventually recognize each other as allies and join forces to explore the depths of Mindor, seeking to free Luke and the pawns of Lord Shadowspawn.

Luke defends himself against Shadowspawn, but discovers the villain in the robe to be an imposter under the influence of a shadow crown. Luke tears the crown free, returning will to the thrall. It is Nick Rostu, a Clone Wars veteran, disguised by Shadowspawn to be his proxy. Luke brings Nick with him to the Millennium Falcon, where Nick reunites with his lover Aeona.

Through his meltmassif connection with Luke, Shadowspawn comes to understand that Leia is a more fitting receptacle for his consciousness. He dispatches the mighty Kar Vastor, one of his mind-controlled warriors, to kidnap Leia. Luke pursues Vastor into Mindor’s depths and does battle with the hulking warrior. Rather than kill his opponent, Luke uses the Force and the meltmassif still contained in his body to free Vastor’s mind.

The flood of light causes Shadowspawn to retreat from Vastor’s body and back into his withered form. Shadowspawn escapes from Mindor in a rocky starship concealed in a volcano. Shadowspawn exhibits his ultimate control over his shadow stormtroopers by having them turn on Luke. In a great display of Force ability, Luke frees the troopers from their meltmassif influence, but trips a deadman switch within their bodies that kills thousands of troopers. An act of liberation becomes a massacre, and Luke is haunted by what he will later describe as a mass murder.

Defeated, Shadowspawn retreats into hyperspace. Nick and Aeona agree to continue their search for him, with Kar Vastor as a surprising ally. Shaken by the experiences on Mindor, Luke has an old friend of Nick’s, Lorz Geptun, investigate the mission to see if Skywalker is culpable of war crimes. Geptun’s analysis paints Luke as a hero. Nonetheless, he is haunted by Mindor and considers this his last military campaign. He resigns his commission as a general in the New Republic military.


- The New Essential Chronology