Allegiance (novel)

Allegiance is a novel by Timothy Zahn, set six months after the ending of A New Hope. It was released on January 30, 2007 in hardcover and on December 26, 2007 in paperback along with a preview of Darth Bane: Rule of Two. Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Mara Jade are the main characters, with Darth Vader making only a minor appearance. As the title would suggest, the book's subject is, according to Zahn, "...three different people and groups with allegiance issues." A sequel, Hand of Judgment, is planned for release in July 2011.

American

 * ISBN 0345477383; January 30, 2007, Del Rey, 336-page hardcover.
 * ISBN 0345477391; December 26, 2007, Del Rey, 448-page paperback.
 * ISBN 9780345477392; Del Rey 419-page paperback.

Foreign

 * ISBN 978-80-252-1341-4; November 18, 2009, EGMONT ČR, 269-page Czech paperback (Oddanost).
 * ISBN 9788324130498; Amber, 376-page Polish paperback.

Publishers Weekly summary
The following information, reported to be from Publishers Weekly, is currently appearing on such sites as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Five idealistic but fed-up Imperial stormtroopers led by Daric LaRone share the stage with young Rebel Alliance crusaders Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca in this politically fraught but still rollicking early years Star Wars adventure from Hugo-winner Zahn (Star Wars: Outbound Flight). Emperor Palpatine's favorite Sith, Darth Vader, has a new rival, the 18-year-old Countess Mara Jade Claria, whom Palpatine has schooled in the Force to assume the special agent role of "Emperor's Hand." Zahn depicts the intrepid Rebel quartet and the turbulent development of the Alliance while revealing the Human faces behind the stormtrooper armor of Daric and company, who become unexpected allies of Han and friends once the troopers are on the run after killing a superior officer. The author also underscores Mara Jade's tough-girl charm and blossoming Imperial clout against the background of Palpatine's dedication to Imperial domination and his insidious influence on his minions. This episode will please fans wondering about events between the first and second movies in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Back cover
When the battle lines are drawn, and the enemy engaged, pledging your loyalty may mean laying down your life.&hellip;

Inside flap
Never before has the incendiary mix of action, politics, and intrigue that has become Timothy Zahn's trademark, been more evident that in this new Star Wars epic. On the heels of the stunning events chronicled in Star Wars: A New Hope, the newly minted heroes of the Rebellion—fledgling Jedi Luke Skywalker, smuggler turned reluctant freedom-fighter Han Solo, and Princess Leia Organa, a bold leader with a world to avenge—must face the harsh realities of the cataclysmic conflict into which they have so bravely plunged. From this point forward, legends will grow, treachery will abound, and lives will be irrevocably altered, in the long, hard fight to counter the fist of tyranny and restore hope to a galaxy too long in darkness.

The destruction of the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance was a decisive blow against the Empire, but Palpatine and his monstrous enforcer, Darth Vader, are no less of a threat. The brutal extermination of Alderaan not only demonstrated the magnitude of their murderous power, but served as a chilling testament to their resolve to crush the Rebel uprising. Standing against them, Skywalker, Solo, and the Princess remain uncertain opponents. Luke is gifted and brave, but unschooled in the power he possesses. Han has doubts about waging someone else's war—and his contentiousness is one more burden for Leia to bear as she struggles to help keep the Rebellion alive. The three have been sent to mediate a dispute between Rebel Alliance factions in Shelsha Sector—agitating matters by forcing Han to deal not only with pirates, but with his more dreaded enemy, politics. At the same time, Mara Jade—all of eighteen and years away from her fateful meeting with Luke—is serving her evil master, Palpatine, well in her role as the Emperor's Hand: tracking suspected treachery in the Empire to what may be high places—while trying to stay out of Darth Vader's way.

But the Rebels will prove to be only one of the Empire's concerns. For Imperial Stormtrooper Daric LaRone, his faith in the Empire shaken by the wanton destruction of Alderaan, will commit a sudden and violent act of defiance, and take four other enforcers with him, in a desperate bid to elude their masters' wrath.

Each of these fateful actions, whether sanctioned, secret, or scandalous, will expose brutality and corruption, spur upheavals destined to shake the Empire to its core, and shape momentous events yet to come.

Plot summary
Six months after the Battle of Yavin, Daric LaRone and other stormtroopers from the Reprisal are on Teardrop and have been ordered to execute the civilians of that place, who are believed by the ISB to be in league with the Rebellion. However, the Rebels, including Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon, have already fled. LaRone tacitly refuses to obey the order, feeling it is against the oath that he swore to protect citizens of the Empire.

Meanwhile, Mara Jade is on one of her first missions as the Emperor's Hand. She uncovers evidence of Moff Glovstoak's embezzling, but also realizes that some of the priceless artworks that she found in the Moff's possession are missing, possibly taken by Rebels or pirates. She receives permission from Palpatine to follow up the issue and begins her search, only to find that a group of pirates are planning on attacking a group of Imperial military transports.

Returning to Yavin, Han Solo is unsure of his allegiance to the Rebel Alliance, while Luke is more than willing to help. Originally, Han, Luke, and Chewbacca were going to accompany Princess Leia to Shelkonwa, but instead were reassigned to investigate pirate attacks on Alliance supply lines.

Back on the Reprisal, LaRone is confronted by ISB Major Drelfin for his refusal to follow orders and LaRone kills him in self-defense. Realizing that they are now fugitives, LaRone and the other witnesses, Grave, Marcross, Quiller and Brightwater, steal an ISB ship and escape. They flee to Drunost to buy supplies, but a swoop gang attack causes them to defend the civilians (actually members of the Alliance) and chase the swoop riders off. Leaving Drunost, they journey to Janusar to finish their purchases, only to find that it is under control of a corrupt militia linked to pirates. The five rogue stormtroopers feel obligated to stop the corruption, and do so, dubbing themselves the Hand of Judgment in the process. Having defeated the militia and restored justice, they return to Drunost.

At the same time, Han, Luke, and Chewie meet up with their contact on Drunost, unaware that the Hand of Judgment is also there. Luke helps stop a bank robbery, but the Hand of Judgment follows them to where the Rebels have planned to ambush a group of pirates. The Falcon and the Hand of Judgment defeated them and the ex-Imperials and Rebels worked out an uneasy partnership.

Leia, who has been on Shelkonwa trying to unify three Adarian resistance groups, meets Administrator Vilim Disra, who had allegely wanted to join the Alliance. However, he betrays them and starts a massive manhunt for Leia, including calling Imperial Center and notifying Palpatine. Leia goes to ground, posing as a tapcafe waitress and waits for a chance to slip out.

Mara, on the other hand, boards a pirate ship and kills or subdues its crew as it attacks a military transport. Calling for help from the Reprisal, she boards the Star Destroyer and borrows two ISB stormtroopers to help her pilot the military transport back to the pirate base on Gepparin. Captain Ozzel, thinking she is onto him due to the five deserters, aids her, but also takes the Reprisal to Gepparin to attack the base. Mara had infiltrated the pirate base when her ISB stormtroopers betray her, causing the whole base to also attack her. Just as she defeats most of the pirates who haven't fled, the Reprisal attempts to kill her by blasting the base.

The Hand of Judgment and their Rebel companions have also tracked the pirates to Gepparin, and the Reprisal attacks them also. Thanks to stunt flying by Chewie in the Falcon, the two ships escape after tricking Ozzel into going to the Alderaan system. Mara Jade, relieved of the attack, takes a pirate ship to journey to Shelkonwa after seeing a transmission from the pirate base to the governor's office there. However, the Hand of Judgment and the Falcon also journey to Shelkonwa, the Rebels to rescue Leia and the Hand to find the pirate connection.

Mara Jade meets up with Darth Vader in orbit and informs him of her intentions. Landing on the planet, she is attacked by an AT-ST controlled by a pirate named Caaldra. The Hand of Judgment comes to her aid, leaving Han, Luke, and Chewie to find Leia. Mara commandeers the five men to take down the AT-ST and advance on the governor's palace, correctly believing Governor Choard to be a traitor to the Empire.

Han, Luke, and Chewie meet up with Leia and escape the planet while Mara and the Hand of Judgment take down Choard. Mara, although she later learns the story of the deserters, pardons them and tells them to discontinue their actions. The ex-stormtroopers leave the planet as the Rebels escape in the Falcon back to Yavin.

Behind the scenes


Both parts of the dust jacket that indicate the publishing era have the novel placed in the Rise of the Empire era. This is incorrect, as it should be in the Rebellion era. This error was, however, corrected in the paperback re-release.

Although an outside summary identified the Emperor's Hand as "Countess Mara Jade Claria," the book itself made no reference to "Countess Claria" being anything but an alias used by Mara Jade in the course of her professional duties.

The appearance of Stacy in this novel was an homage to the fanfilm Pink Five.