Dark Disciple

"Ventress had become one of the most interesting characters&hellip; we had all this material, we had all these designs&hellip; This is based on scripts we had written with George Lucas&hellip; I'm super excited about this book."

- Dave Filoni

Dark Disciple is a canon novel starring Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, written by Christie Golden for release by Del Rey on July 7, 2015. The novel is part of The Clone Wars Legacy multimedia initiative, since it is based on an eight-part story arc that was scripted for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, comprised of the episodes "Lethal Alliance," "The Mission," "Conspirators," "Dark Disciple," "Saving Vos Part I," "Saving Vos Part II," "Traitor," and "The Path." The scripts were not produced as episodes prior to the show's cancellation. The novel includes a foreword by Katie Lucas, one of the writers for the original episodes, and skews toward adult readers. The book's audio edition is narrated by Marc Thompson.

Back cover
The only way to bring down the Sith's most dangerous warrior may be to join forces with the dark side.

Internal flap
"Dooku continues his attacks. Stop him, we must," Yoda said solemnly....

'''Finally Mace spoke. "The question before us now is-—who will strike the killing blow?"'''

''In the war for control of the galaxy between the armies of the dark side and the Republic, former Jedi Master turned ruthless Sith Lord Count Dooku has grown ever more brutal in his tactics. Despite the powers of the Jedi and the military prowess of their clone army, the sheer number of fatalities is taking a terrible toll. And when Dooku orders the massacre of a flotilla of helpless refugees, the Jedi Council feels it has no choice but to take drastic action: targeting the man responsible for so many war atrocities, Count Dooku himself.''

''But the ever-elusive Dooku is dangerous prey for even the most skilled hunter. So the Council makes the bold decision to bring both sides of the Force's power to bear&mdash;pairing brash Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos with infamous one-time Sith acolyte Asajj Ventress. Though Jedi distrust for the cunning killer who once served at Dooku's side still runs deep, Ventress's hatred for her former master runs deeper. She's more than willing to lend her copious talents as a bounty hunter&mdash;and assassin&mdash;to Vos's quest.''

''Together, Ventress and Vos are the best hope for eliminating Dooku&mdash;as long as the emerging feelings between them don't compromise their mission. But Ventress is determined to have her retribution and at last let go of her dark Sith past. Balancing the complicated emotions she feels for Vos with the fury of her warrior's spirit, she resolves to claim victory on all fronts&mdash;a vow that will be mercilessly tested by her deadly enemy. . . and her own doubt.''

Exposition
In a Republic ship fleeing Mahranee, a refugee, Ashu-Nyamal, runs away from her family, as she wants revenge on the Separatists. After evading a Clone trooper she reaches the bridge, where she sees Jedi General Chubor pleading to Count Dooku by hologram, to allow the refugees to escape. After revealing that he knows the conversation is being broadcast back to the Jedi Council, Dooku orders the ships destroyed. The Attack on Mahranee was witnessed by the Jedi Council. This pushes them to a morally questionable decision - as suggested by Master Mace Windu: assassinate Count Dooku and thus end the Clone Wars. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi suggests Quinlan Vos for that task.

Partnering with Asajj Ventress
Meanwhile, Master Vos, disguised as "Tal", along with the Mahran Jedi Knight Akar-Deshu foil a black market-operation in Otor's Hub run by the Koorivar merchant Sheb Valaad. While returning to Coruscant, they receive news of the Separatist attack on Mahranee and a message from Kenobi requesting that Vos attend a meeting with the Jedi Council. At the meeting, the Jedi Council briefs Quinlan about their plans to assassinate Count Dooku. Vos accepts the mission but insists that a companion accompany him. Master Yoda then recommended the Nightsister and failed Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress as Vos' partner. In the end, Vos reluctantly agrees to the mission and promises to get in touch with Ventress.

Following the meeting, Vos travels down to Coruscant's level 1313 to inquire about Ventress's whereabouts, At a seedy bar, the undercover Jedi meets several bounty hunters who are acquainted with Ventress including the Trandoshan Bossk and the late Jango Fett's son Boba Fett. Fett reveals that Ventress took a job on the planet Pantora, chasing down a Volpai fugitive named Moregi. Using this information, Vos travels to Pantora where he stumbled upon Ventress' hunt. Due to Quinlan's arrival, Moregi managed to escape. After a tense reunion, Vos and Ventress joined forces to capture Moregi.

Later, Vos met up with Ventress in her starship, Banshee. There, the undercover Jedi posed as a wannabee bounty hunter who was interested in partnering up with Ventress. Believing that Vos had potential to become a bounty hunter despite his irritating behavior, Ventress reluctantly agreed to accept him as her partner. Vos spent the next two weeks aboard Ventress' Banshee training and conducting several hunts together, usually involving underworld contracts and outlaw targets. On one occasion, Vos saved Ventress' life by using the Force to knock the blaster out of a Weequay target's hand; allowing Ventress to finish him off permanently.

On their fifth hunt together, the two bounty hunters worked together to capture the estranged former first mate of the Blood Bone Order's captain Lassa Rhayme. Ventress managed to bait the fugitive using her feminine charms. As part of their payment, Rhayme gave them a bottle of Tevraki whiskey, which the two hunters enjoyed together. While drinking, Vos tried to prod Ventress with information about her training but she remained tight-lipped. The two hunters also began to develop feelings for each other. Later, while Ventress visited Coruscant's Level 1313 to make modifications to the Banshee, Vos took the opportunity too meet up with Kenobi to discuss the progress of their mission. Since Vos had established a rapport with Ventress, Kenobi urged his fellow Jedi to find a a way to motivate her against Dooku.

While on Coruscant, Ventress accepted a job from the Pyke Syndicate, a powerful cartel of drug runners and spice dealers, that was based on the rocky planet Oba Diah. The Pyke Syndicate boss Marg Krim tasked the two bounty hunters with rescuing his wife Tezzka Krim, and their two children Laalee and Vram, who had been kidnapped by the rival Black Sun crime syndicate. Black Sun was holding his family prisoner at their fortress on the volcanic world of Mustafar. Traveling to Mustafar, they rented two lava fleas and visited a bar called The Last Resort. There, they accosted a Falleen Black Sun guard and forced him to divulge information about the Pyke hostages.

The two hunters managed to infiltrate the Black Sun fortress through an exposed balcony outcropping. They managed to rescue Krim's two children but were unable to find their mother. Pursued by the Black Sun sentries, the two hunters and the children escaped on their lava fleas through the lava flow. While Ventress with Laalee managed to jump onto their lava flea mount, a blaster bolt hit Quinlan's back; causing Vram to lose his grip and fall into the lava flow. However, the undercover Jedi used his Force powers to levitate the boy to safety. After returning to the Banshee, the two bounty hunters formulated a plan to rescue Tezzka while Ventress treated Vos' wounds.

Using his psychometric powers, Vos touched Laalee's locket and discovered that her mother Tezzka was still in the fortress and a prisoner of the Black Sun leader Ziton Moj himself. While Ventress entered the fortress disguised as a negotiator, Vos managed to free Tezzka from her cell. Following a struggle with Moj and his men, the two hunters managed to escape Mustafar on the Banshee with Krim's family. After returning to Oba Diah, Marg Krim rewarded Ventress with double the pay. As they departed the planet, the two hunters witnessed a Black Sun fleet exiting hyperspace to settle scores with the Pyke Syndicate. Unable to help the Pykes, Vos and Ventress had little choice but to flee into hyperspace.

Joining forces against Dooku
Burdened with the guilt of being unable to protect Krim's family, Quinlan Vos revealed that he was a Jedi to Asajj Ventress. However, Ventress was already aware of this fact since she had witnessed him using his Force powers to save himself and Vram during their earlier escapade on Mustafar. Vos also told Ventress that the Jedi Council had sent him to kill Count Dooku and also wanted him to enlist Ventress' support. Having come to respect Vos and seeing an opportunity to strike back against her former Master, Ventress agreed to help but warned Vos that assassinating the Separatist leader would not be possible without tapping into the dark side of the Force. Later, Vos informed Kenobi of this new development in their assassination plot. However, Kenobi cautioned his fellow Master to be wary of Ventress' manipulative nature. Still, Quinlan insisted that he could trust her for the moment.

To begin Vos' training in the dark side, Ventress took him to her adopted homeworld of Dathomir, a planet that was strong in the dark side. While in Ventress' company, Vos learned about her background including her enslavement, her apprenticeship to the stranded Jedi Knight Ky Narec, her subsequent apprenticeship and falling-out with Count Dooku, and the loss of her Nighsister comrades. During his discipleship, Vos also developed a romantic relationship with Ventress but struggled to avoid fully embracing the dark side of the Force. In an effort to drive Vos closer to the dark side, Ventress claimed that Dooku had murdered his later Master Tholme; when in reality she had been the real culprit. Under the tutelage of Ventress, Vos underwent a rigorous training regime designed to boost his strength, endurance, fighting spirit, and Force powers.

Later Ventress received word from one of her informants, the Gossam Sumdin, that Dooku was planning to visit Raxu, a planet in the Tion Hegemony. As part of his final trial, Vos had to kill The Sleeper, a near-extinct crustacean creature that inhabited a series of pools near the former Nightsisters village. Despite his initial hesitance, Vos managed to kill the Sleeper and passed the trial; completing his dark side training.

Development
"We were particularly interested because [the unproduced episodes] center on Asajj Ventress, who to me is extraordinarily interesting as a character, because she's one of the few who aren't just light or dark, but straddle both. It's an interesting balance to explore: how can you use the dark side but not be completely, truly dark? What's the difference between being an actual Sith and utilizing the dark side of the Force when you need it? How did she become what she became after her training by Dooku? That makes her really, really interesting."

- Shelly Shapiro

The novel was first announced on July 25, 2014 at San Diego Comic-Con, in Del Rey's Star Wars panel that prominently featured the novel A New Dawn. The author was announced as Christie Golden, who adapted scripts that were written in conjunction with Series Producer George Lucas, for what would have been the seventh season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series prior to its cancellation. According to Jennifer Heddle, the novel skewed toward adult audiences, with Pablo Hidalgo noting that the novel could explore the characters in deeper ways than the television series was able to. The first illustration for the novel was developed as conceptual art for the animated series.

On September 25, 2014, StarWars.com launched a new section dedicated to what was termed The Clone Wars Legacy, a multimedia project to release other unproduced The Clone Wars scripts in various mediums. The site revealed the title of Golden's novel as Dark Disciple &mdash;named for one of the adapted episodes &mdash;and also contained a gallery featuring concept art from the episodes. Although the gallery listed the story as being a four-part arc, Del Rey editor Shelly Shapiro later stated that the novel was based on eight episodes in total. Golden reaffirmed the number via Twitter, stating that the eight episodes had comprised a single, lengthy story arc.

The episodes were titled as follows: "Lethal Alliance," "The Mission," "Conspirators," "Dark Disciple," "Saving Vos Part I," "Saving Vos Part II," "Traitor," and "The Path." The episodes were written by Katie Lucas, Head Writer Matt Michnovetz, and Series Supervising Director Dave Filoni. Golden received animatics for the first four episodes and the scripts for all eight of them.

Del Rey editor Erich Schoeneweiss was the first to announce a July 2015 release for the novel. Amazon.com listed the novel's release date as July 7, while the British release date was July 9. StarWars.com unveiled Matt Taylor's cover art for the novel on December 9, 2014. On January 16, 2015, Golden reported that she had finished the novel and passed it on to her editor, and was finishing the second draft as of February 24. In an interview released on March 11, Shelly Shapiro revealed she had just finished working on the novel. The novel included a foreword by Katie Lucas, one of the writers for the original episodes. Golden also wrote a prequel short story entitled "Kindred Spirits," which was published in Star Wars Insider 159.

Reception
The novel debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list at number 17.

Editions

 * ISBN 0345511530; Del Rey, July 7, 2015, 336-page hardcover
 * ASIN B00ZAUXCXW; Random House Audio, July 7, 2015, 11 hour, 12 minute audio edition
 * ISBN 1780893744; Century, July 9, 2015, 320-page hardcover