User:Havac/Workbench

This subpage is for Havac's use in writing articles while he's away over the summer, as his internet connection at home won't let him stay logged in. If you notice an anon editing this page with rewrites of articles on Havac's to-do list, then, yeah, it's him. Or me. This third person things is really screwing with me. Or him. Everything here will be transferred to the appropriate articles when Havac is logged in. Because he wants credit, dangit. Although having an article FAd by an anon would be pretty darn funny.

"Whatever Jacen has become, he was a hero once. Jacen Solo saved the galaxy."

- Leia Organa Solo, to Han Solo

The son of Han and Leia Organa Solo, Jacen Solo was a leading Jedi Knight who proved crucial in defeating the Yuuzhan Vong and protecting the galaxy during the Yuuzhan Vong War. The grandson of Darth Vader, Darth Caedus was a Sith Lord who turned against his family and friends, betraying his former principles and leading the Galactic Alliance he once championed into a reign of terror as he attempted to bring order and stability to a fractured galaxy. INSERT SOMETHING HERE ABOUT THE CHANGE.

Born in 9 ABY, Jacen Solo spent most of his early years as the target of various kidnapping plots and schemes against his famous parents. When he was thirteen, he and his sister traveled to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, where their uncle Luke Skywalker taught them the ways of the Force. There he made several friends, among them the Hapan princess Tenel Ka Djo, to whom he became strongly attracted. While training, he and his friends defeated numerous plots against the New Republic and, in 24 ABY, he and his younger brother Anakin were apprenticed to Skywalker. A philosopher who struggled with the idea of employing violence to fight violence, Solo entered a personal crisis with the outbreak of the Yuuzhan Vong War. He preferred to serve off the frontlines, but felt obligated to volunteer for the strike team assembled to eliminate the voxyn queen at Myrkr. There, Anakin Solo was killed and Jacen Solo stepped up to lead the team, killing the queen and ending the voxyn threat before he was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong.

Solo spent nearly a year in captivity, during which he was tortured for weeks at a time. Solo struggled with his circumstances and with the teachings of his captor and mentor, Vergere. He slipped to the dark side before returning and embracing the idea of responding to the universe with unconditional, all-encompassing love. He escaped Yuuzhan Vong custody with Vergere, a former Jedi of the Old Republic, and rejoined the war effort. In the final battle of the war, Solo stormed Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jaamane's Citadel and defeated Onimi, who was mentally controlling the Supreme Overlord, while experiencing a moment of unity with the Force.

Darth Caedus, born Jacen Solo, was the eldest son of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, the younger twin of Jaina Solo and the older brother of Anakin Solo. Even before he and his sister were born, their uncle, Luke Skywalker, could sense their strong presence in the Force, for the twins shared an inseparable mental bond. Later in his life he became the mentor to his cousin, Ben Skywalker and fathered a baby girl, Allana, with Tenel Ka Djo.

Even as an infant, Jacen showed latent Force powers, such as when he helped his uncle and his uncle's students defeat the spirit of Exar Kun. He began his formal Jedi training years later at his uncle's Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. He excelled as one of the best students, getting involved in many adventures with his friends, Lowbacca, Tenel Ka and his sister. Later, during the Yuuzhan Vong War, he often did not see eye to eye with the orthodox Jedi view of the Force, despite being one of the more powerful Knights of the New Jedi Order.

After being captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, he became associated with Vergere, who molded many of his ways of thinking. Jacen had always been an empathetic person, forming close bonds with Humans and animals alike; as a child he developed an affinity and sensitivity toward nature and the Living Force. However, this bond with living beings diminished severely following his travels amongst other Force users. By 40 ABY, Jacen's empathy to others had become largely nonexistent, a trait later evidenced by his remorseless torture and killing of suspected terrorists.

Earlier that year, Jacen had followed into his grandfather's footsteps and became the third and final Sith apprentice of Lumiya. After his aunt Mara Jade Skywalker's failed assassination attempt on his life and her subsequent death at Jacen's hands, Jacen declared himself Darth Caedus, Dark Lord of the Sith, bringing the Skywalker legacy full circle. He later replaced Ben Skywalker as his apprentice with Tahiri Veila following the Second Battle of Fondor and her murder of Gilad Pellaeon.

In 40 ABY, Caedus was killed by his twin sister after a ferocious duel. As his sister brought her lightsaber down he disengaged his, giving his life in order to warn Tenel Ka through the Force to take care of their daughter, Allana. After his death Jaina realized that her brother had succeeded; he had brought peace to the galaxy, sacrificing his own life to do so.

Target from birth
"I was just thinking about children. Trying to imagine what it's like to try to raise them. Wondering how much of their character a family can mold, and how much is innate in the children themselves. Wondering if the evil in a family's history can be erased, or whether it always passes itself on to each new generation."

- Leia Organa Solo, to the Maitrakh of Clan Khim'bar

Jacen Solo was a figure of galactic political significance before he was even born. The son of former smuggler, retired general, and Rebel icon Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa Solo of Alderaan, the New Republic Minister of State, Jacen Solo and his twin sister Jaina were immediately matters of public interest, and news of the pregnancy was spread throughout the New Republic. Taking a different sort of interest in the developing twins, Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, the new leader of the Galactic Empire's military, promised Organa Solo's powerful Jedi children to Joruus C'baoth, the insane clone of Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth, as his to raise and make his apprentices in exchange for C'baoth's participation in the Grand Admiral's schemes. This resulted in several kidnapping attempts by Grand Admiral Thrawn's Noghri agents against Organa Solo during her pregnancy. Organa Solo evaded all of them and was able to appeal to the Noghri to change their allegiance to her, exposing Thrawn's manipulations of their people and playing on their reverence for Darth Vader, the man who had been Organa Solo's father.



As Jacen and Jaina Solo developed in their mother's womb, it was immediately apparent that they were Force-sensitive, and Organa Solo was able to make mental contact with their developing minds through the Force. She did so frequently to calm them when they were agitated. When Jacen Solo was born in 9 ABY in the medical ward of the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, Organa Solo did the same throughout the ten-hour labor, until Solo, born after his sister, had emerged from the womb.

The children were raised in the Solos' Imperial Palace suite, with Organa Solo's adoptive sister Winter serving as their nurse. Their uncle, Luke Skywalker, tested their Force potential and found it astonishing. Shortly after their birth, they were the targets of another kidnapping attempt by an Imperial Intelligence team. Trapped in their suite, they were nearly captured before Mara Jade intervened and saved the family. After that incident, when the Solos, the Wookiee Chewbacca&mdash;who owed the Solos a life debt&mdash;and Skywalker had to leave Coruscant on a mission that saw the defeat of Thrawn and C'baoth, they were left with Winter and a cadre of Noghri bodyguards, having sworn their lives to the defense of Vader's line.



Shortly after Thrawn's defeat, a new threat emerged: Emperor Palpatine reemerged from the Deep Core, conquering Coruscant. The twins were evacuated from the world and hidden away on the uncharted world of New Alderaan from the resurgent Empire and the growing threat of the dark side of the Force. Winter cared for them, and a squad of Noghri warriors provided security. They only saw their parents twice in 10 ABY before Han and Leia Organa Solo arrived on the Millennium Falcon to stay in seclusion with the children for the birth of a third child, Anakin Solo. They were quickly followed by members of Palpatine's Dark Side Elite, seeking to kidnap the children for the Dark Lord of the Sith. Defended by the Jedi Kam Solusar, Empatojayos Brand, and Rayf Ysanna, the twins were still snatched by Kvag Gthull before Ysanna freed them and their mother killed Gthull, causing the rest of the Dark Jedi to flee. With the arrival of Imperial All Terrain Armored Transports, Organa Solo had to take the children and flee. Evacuated to Nespis VIII, the twins were present when their brother Anakin was born. They were once again forced to flee when Palpatine targeted Nespis VIII, the site of the New Republic's hidden headquarters, with the Galaxy Gun. Traveling to Onderon, they were followed by Palpatine, who managed to sneak into Organa Solo's room, seeking to transfer his spirit from his dying body to that of Anakin. Brand sacrificed himself to defeat Palpatine once and for all, and the Empire's resurgence was ended.

As Skywalker feared that the young Solo children could be permanently affected by any further exposure to the dark side, they were once taken into hiding, this time on the remote world of Anoth, the coordinates of which were known only to Winter, Skywalker, and Admiral Ackbar. Only the children and Winter lived on the inhospitable rock, into which had been built a home provided with advanced security systems. Visits from their parents took place every few months until, in 11 ABY, the twins returned to Coruscant to live with their family, having turned two years old and, in Skywalker's judgment, beyond the point of greatest vulnerability to the dark side.

Winter flew Solo and his sister back to Coruscant, where they were greeted by their mother. Having so little contact with her for so long, they were more attached to their nanny Winter. They were given a tour around the Imperial Palace and and their new home before being put to bed by C-3PO, whose attempts to tell a bedtime story Solo rebuffed. Later that week, Skywalker returned, and Solo got to know his uncle. When Winter left to return to Anoth to care for Anakin, Solo was extremely distressed by the separation from the woman who had raised him, and it required much adjustment to get him used to his new routine and caretakers.

Organa Solo was called away from the children to receive the Caridan ambassador, Furgan, the next day. Angered at having to spend time away from her children, she took them to the diplomatic reception held that night at the Skydome Botanical Gardens, with C-3PO shepherding them. Solo and his sister quickly slipped away from the protocol droid and into the botanical exhibits, where they slipped past the spines of a tentacle-cactus to rest safely against its center. When C-3PO attempted to recover them, they slipped away safely as the tentacle-cactus caught the droid.

Only a few days later, Han Solo returned from his diplomatic mission to Kessel, which had seen him captured first by Moruth Doole and then by Admiral Natasi Daala of the Empire; thus reunited, Solo could begin to reconnect with both his parents. Han took the children to Coruscant's polar region, where they could play in the snow with C-3PO, but their vacation was cut short by the need to return to the capital region to greet their mother, who had been involved in a tragic crash during a diplomatic mission to Vortex.

Organa Solo was safe, and Solo eventually settled into the new routine of dinners, baths, and bedtime stories. Yet another Solo family crisis intruded on their life when Organa Solo was stranded on Mon Calamari during the renegade Imperial admiral Daala's attack on it and Han Solo rushed off to save her; Jacen and Jaina Solo were left with C-3PO and Chewbacca. To occupy the twins, Chewbacca and C-3PO took them to the Holographic Zoo of Extinct Animals. There, the young Solos quickly became bored and evaded their guardians. Wishing to go home, they took a turbolift, thinking that, like the turbolifts in the Imperial Palace, it would take them home. Instead, after Solo hit the button for the first level, it took them to the long-abandoned surface of Coruscant. They wandered through the derelict and deadly undercity, attempting to use the lessons learned from their favorite bedtime story, "The Little Lost Bantha Cub", to reach their home. Eventually, they were captured in a trap set by one of the underdwellers to catch food. Rather than be eaten, they worked together to pull out the pins holding their cage together through use of the Force. Pursued by the creature's ferocious pet, they were forced to take shelter in a small crack. Moving through a small tunnel, they came upon a camp of undercity residents. Onibald Daykim, the king of the refugees from the Empire who had created the settlement, took an immediate liking to the children. He gave them food and then, using ventilation shafts and other utility systems, carried the twins up the many stories of Coruscant's worldwide city and safely back to their home, where they found their parents had returned.

When Skywalker was felled by his corrupted student, Kyp Durron, the Solos flew to his Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 within the week. Skywalker lay in state, comatose, and no efforts had been able to revive him. At dinner with Skywalker's Jedi trainees, Solo and the rest of the Force-sensitives were struck by a wave of death felt in the Force, the result of Durron's destruction of Carida with the Sun Crusher superweapon. Han Solo set off to track down and talk down Durron, leaving Organa Solo and the twins on Yavin 4. Solo and his sister, exploring the ruined Massassi temples, encountered a pack of woolamanders; through the Force, Solo was able to "speak" to them, a fact which greatly intrigued him. That night, both Solo twins felt through the Force that Skywalker was in danger. Their cries woke their mother, who with the aid of several other students was able to rescue Skywalker from the trainee Streen, manipulated by the spirit of the Sith Lord Exar Kun.

The next morning, Organa Solo departed to save Anakin, having been informed by the traitor Terpfen that he had given the location of Anoth to the Imperial remnants on Carida. Solo and his sister were left in the care of Skywalker's students. Visiting Skywalker's bier, Solo was able to see and hear his uncle's spirit, standing in the room, as was his sister. They said so, but their caretaker Cilghal did not believe them. That night, Skywalker's spirit appeared to Solo, warning him that his body was in danger from another of Kun's efforts. Solo woke his sister, who began raising the others, while Solo rushed to the Grand Audience Chamber, where he immediately sensed the dark side aura of the three Sithspawn battle hydras Kun had sent to attack. Fearlessly, young Solo charged the creatures to drive them away. At Skywalker's urging, he took up the Jedi Master's lightsaber and, with Skywalker fighting through him, defeated all three creatures. In the aftermath, the rest of the students realized that the Solos could see Skywalker, and Jacen Solo relayed Skywalker's message that Kun was behind the attacks and needed to be stopped before Skywalker could return to his body.



The students arranged a trap for Kun, luring his spirit into the Grand Audience Chamber and surrounding him. The twins were part of the circle surrounding Kun, overwhelming his spirit with light side energy and, joined by the spirits of Skywalker and Kun's long-dead Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, eliminating the Sith Lord once and for all. Skywalker returned to his body and awoke, much to Solo's delight. Organa Solo succeeded in rescuing Anakin, and thereafter all the children stayed on Coruscant with their parents, tended by Winter.

Neither Coruscant nor his parents were absolute constants in Solo's developing life; 12 ABY saw the family travel to Ithor for the Time of Meeting, at which they were accosted by Drub McKumb. McKumb, insane, caused a commotion that sent the children to the nursery with Winter and Chewbacca for safety and sent Solo's parents off on a mission to Plett's Well. In the same year, the Darksaber crisis and the creation of the Imperial Remnant again sent the adult Solos and Chewbacca scrambling while Solo was left with Winter and C-3PO. Nevertheless, most time was spent with family. Skywalker began developing Solo's Force talents, training him in the use of basic powers. However, utilization of the Force was only allowed under Skywalker's supervision, to prevent misuse.

The Empire Reborn
"Your dear family is gone, my children. The Republic asked me to take you, to keep you, to protect you and teach you. I am so sorry&hellip;that your mama and papa are dead."

- Hethrir, to Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo, and Anakin Solo

In 14 ABY, the Solo children traveled with their mother and Chewbacca on a diplomatic tour which saw them visit Mon Calamairi, Gbu, and then Munto Codru. There, Solo spent time with Doctor Hyos, learning about medicine. As Munto Codtru had a long tradition of political abductions&mdash;kidnappings played out along a set of traditional rules&mdash;the children were kept very secure. Nevertheless, while playing outside with Chewbacca and the son of Chamberlain Iyon, they were kidnapped&mdash;not by local Codru-Ji but by agents of Hethrir's Empire Reborn. A pressure bomb knocked out Chewbacca while the children, and the ground on which they sat, were spirited away, unconscious.

When they woke on Hethrir's worldcraft, the Rebirth, they were frightened and alone. Their kidnapper came to them, presenting himself as their hold-father. Hethrir claimed that he had been coming to visit them when he witnessed an earthquake destroy the castle in which their mother&mdash;and, he said, their father and uncle&mdash;had been. He did not know the password which hold-parents were supposed to know, explaining that he had not yet met Organa Solo to learn it. However, he was now their guardian; Hethrir dismissed the fact that Winter was supposed to care for them if anything should happen to their family. Neither twin fully believed Hethrir's account, and so they mentioned that Jacen had been the firstborn of the twins. Hethrir, who had claimed to be present at the birth, agreed with the lie, exposing him as a charlatan. The twins went along, and young Anakin did not pick up on the subtext. When Hethrir attempted to separate the twins from Anakin, however, they resisted. Hethrir used his own command of the dark side to suppress their Force abilities and had his aide Tigris take the twins away and lock them into separate small bedrooms. Solo had been playing with a bat on Munto Codru, and it had been spirited away with him when he was kidnapped. He covertly kept the animal in his tunic, caring for it throughout the coming days.



The next morning, the Solo twins and several other captured children were roused and gathered in lines. Upset and disinclined to follow the orders of Tigris and Hethrir's Proctors, Solo refused to line up. He had to be forced into line, and even then he and his sister resisted, walking out of step and causing disturbances. Angered, Hethrir canceled breakfast for the children and sent them straight to study. They were provided with educational programming and expected to complete quizzes on it. Later in the day, the children were lined up and those who could not wield the Force, or who were not human, were weeded out of the group to be sold as slaves.

The next morning, at breakfast, Jaina used the Force to put sand in the Proctors' food, causing a disturbance with the cook. Solo capitalized on the altercation to use his Force-driven affinity for animals to convince the myrmin-like insects in the dining hall to crawl inside the Proctors' clothing. When the Proctors began to stamp on the creatures, he felt intense guilt for causing their death, and immediately swept them out the way with the Force. In doing so, he tapped into the Force strongly enough that Hethrir, constantly monitoring them through the Force, immediately suppressed Solo's abilities once again. The Proctors were sufficiently irritated by the insects' biting that they rushed from the room, leaving the children unattended after only minimal attempts to ensure order. The Solos, reunited for the first time since their capture, led the other students to the play yard on the surface of the worldcraft. There, they distracted the fearsome-looking but mostly harmless sand dragon which guarded the end of the canyon in which the yard resided with a spot of light focused by the lens of Jaina's multitool while he approached her and, reaching out with the Force, communicated with her. Before he could accomplish anything, however, the Head Proctor returned and sent all the children to their tiny rooms.

That night, Jaina used her multitool to open her door and let Solo out of his cell. When the Proctor on watch awoke, they decoyed him into Solo's room and, pushing him inside, latched the door to keep him in before freeing the rest of the children in the dormitory. Going out the play yard, Solo used the Force to move air molecules fast enough for them to glow with heat, creating a light in the evening to distract the dragon as he again approached her. Communing with the creature through the Force, Solo befriended her and convinced her to carry the escaping children on her back. As they rode away, he set his bat free. They eventually reached an artificial stream on the worldcraft's artificial surface, where they could drink and eat berries growing on bushes nearby.

However, the five-year-old twins lacked any sort of plan for the escape group which they found themselves leading. They settled on crawling along a path through the bushes, where they hoped the Proctors could not follow them. They were only barely ahead of the Proctors, and the trail ended at a large and impassable field of mud. The Solos again manipulated molecules, this time freezing the water in the mud to create a solid pathway to a tree on the far side, which was hollow. They were able to ascend it, where they were quickly found by Organa Solo in her ship Alderaan. With the children aboard, Solo summoned his bat so that he could take it back to its home as well. Organa Solo and Chewbacca rescued the Proctors, who had been stranded in the middle of the muddy marsh, and obtained from them the knowledge that Hethir had taken Anakin to Crseih Station. Organa Solo and Rillao, Hethrir's former lover and recently freed prisoner, took the worldcraft to Crseih after attending to the children and locking up the Proctors. Rillao was able to comfort the twins and ease their fear of Hethrir, convincing them that he could no longer smother their powers.

At Crseih, they were able to track down Hethrir and his entourage. Solo and his sister were left with Chewbacca while Organa Solo, Rillao, and Han Solo and Skywalker, on Crseih for another mission, rushed to save Anakin. However, the children and Chewbacca were unable to resist intervening when the sounds of a fight reached them. They arrived to see Anakin rescued, but Skywalker had been consumed by Hethrir's trans-dimensional ally Waru. Solo's parents leaped into Waru to recover him. The twins surrounded Waru, screaming for their parents and uncle. Their shouts reached the three and were able to cut through the haze of Waru's mental manipulations, allowing them to escape. Foiled in his attempt to acquire their power, Waru instead consumed Hethrir and vanished to his home dimension.

Family life
"Why do I have to be strong? Someday I'll be able to go anywhere I want, or get anything I want, just by thinking about it&mdash;like Uncle Luke."

- Jacen Solo, to Han Solo

Over the next two years, Solo's life remained relatively stable. Han remained at home to parent, and when Organa Solo returned from the office, the family would gather to relax and play in their vortex pool. Skywalker spent more time at his Praxeum, allowing Organa Solo to handle the children's instruction in the Force. The Solos moved to a larger estate outside the Palace which had a yard of its own. However, Solo spent little time in it; as of 16 ABY, he was more interested in mastering the Force than in physical play. He believed that the Force would provide for all his needs, avoiding the need for strenuous activity. This caused him to become somewhat pudgy, and he, like the rest of the Solo children, lacked friends due to their strict security measures; they had few other children of their age with whom to mix. Even more, Solo played less and less with his siblings, and Han became increasingly concerned with Solo's lack of interest in sport.



In 16 ABY, Chewbacca left to be present for his son's coming of age ceremony, and Han was forced to leave to supervise the New Republic Fifth Fleet temporarily, leading to Winter returning to take care of the children during the day. Solo was back after two months, but the crisis in the Koornacht Cluster, where the Fifth had been dispatched, quickly escalated. Organa Solo, suffering burnout, took the family on vacation to Rathalay, where Solo happily played on the beach, eager to see one of the carnivorous narkaa. After they returned to Coruscant, Han was again sent to command the fleet at Koornacht, but he was captured in transit by the Yevetha. Organa Solo kept the news quiet, but it eventually went public. Solo was terrified for his father, but eventually Han was freed by the intervention of Chewbacca. Han had to spend time in a bacta tank on returning to Coruscant, but the children visited him. Returning home after their visit, they were delighted to find Skywalker present. Rejecting his self-imposed hermitage, Skywalker was ready to take a larger hand in guiding the children's development.

The Solos soon moved back to the Imperial Palace, where the twins enjoyed exploring the vast building. They frequently used Anakin in their explorations, using his uncanny talent with machines to have him open locks, interfere with security equipment, repair equipment, and otherwise facilitate their adventures. Getting out more, Solo overcame his previous sedentary lifestyle and no longer attempted to depend on the Force for strength.

Later in 17 ABY, after helping Winter and C-3PO dismiss a nanny droid mischievously ordered by Anakin, Solo was stricken by a sensation of evil and death. Joining with his similarly affected siblings, he pushed back the feeling through the Force, but it was quickly followed by an explosion nearby that made the children worry their actions had caused it. However, the explosion was a terrorist bombing of the Senate Hall which injured Organa Solo. Skywalker hurried from Yavin 4 and was able to catch up with the children at their mother's bedside and assured them that the explosion had not been their fault.

With Organa Solo concerned about the children's safety, she had Winter take them to Anoth for the duration of the crisis. When another terrorist explosion struck Smuggler's Run, the children felt that as well, but were better able to deal with it. Ultimately, the ringleader of the plot, Kueller, was killed and the threat neutralized, freeing the children to return to Coruscant.

In 18 ABY, the Solo children joined together in an attempt to construct a droid secretly, which would serve them without any adults being able to take it away or place restrictions on it. Jacen Solo scavenged most of the parts from junk heaps while the mechanically-talented Jaina and Anakin assembled it. Around the same time, the Solos met Zekk on Coruscant. A street urchin and expert salvager slightly older than the twins, Zekk befriended the children, and the twins and Zekk often spent time exploring the less reputable lower levels of Coruscant and skirting trouble. When the droid was fully assembled, a bad actuator caused it to overload and shut down, ruining the droid and leaving burn marks in the room. As the twins attempted to figure out how to avoid blame, Skywalker entered the room, lectured them on responsibility, and made them clean up the mess. Solo was simply relieved that it had not been his parents who found out.

Caught up in revolt
A few days after the droid incident, Organa Solo was to attend a major trade conference on Corellia, Han Solo's homeworld. The whole family made an outing of it, traveling there ahead of the summit to see the world. The trip in the Millennium Falcon was long, but the time was filled with family activities and an explanation of the situation in the Corellian system from Solo's father. When they entered the system, however, the Millennium Falcon was the victim of a clumsy staged ambush attempt which was beaten off by a Corellian Space Defense Force squadron. After the momentary scare, Solo and his family were able to make landfall safely.

They were taken to the villa at which the family was staying, where Solo learned that he and his siblings were to have a tutor. On the next day, he was introduced to the Drall Ebrihim and his outspoken droid, Q9-X2. Ebrihim gave them lessons on the history of the Corellian system as they prepared for an expedition to an archaeological site near Coronet City the next day. Storms delayed the trip for a day, but the Solos, Chewbacca, and Ebrihim and his droid set out for the dig on the next day. Solo was bored by the tour, conducted by General Brimon Yarar of the Human League, the organization which was funding the dig. He was also suspicious, as he had read about archaeology and recognized that the Human League was not following proper procedures. Instead, they seemed to be looking for something. He and his siblings fell behind the group, and stopped when Anakin began to act strangely. Anakin had, with his Force-powered affinity for machinery, discovered a live power conduit beneath the floor. He ran off to follow it, and Solo and his sister went along. Anakin found and activated a hidden keypad, opening a likewise hidden door. Solo led the way into the revealed passage, onto a platform near the apex of a vast conical chamber. He was interrupted in his explorations by the arrival of Q9-X2, who had noticed their absence and tracked them down. Realizing they would be missed, Solo immediately took charge of the situation and insisted that they leave, knowing that they had found whatever Yarar was looking for&mdash;and that Yarar should not be allowed to find it. Leaving and making the others promise to keep the chamber a secret, they rejoined the group, with Solo using the Force to brush away their footprints so that they could not be tracked.



The Solos spent the next several days touring before they moved into a suite in Corona House, the governmental center in Coronet, where the trade summit was to be held. During that time, when Solo felt that they were secure, he and his siblings explained to their parents about the chamber they had found. When the summit started, the children took advantage of their parents' absence to stay up late in their bedroom playing board games. While doing so, Mara Jade entered the apartment. Realizing that their parents would be meeting her and discussing exciting adult business, they returned to bed, pretended to be asleep when their parents returned and checked on them, and once more sneaked onto the landing above the living room to spy on the discussion. Jade had been sent a message to deliver to the Solos and the Corellian governor-general, Micamberlecto. The message offered a list of stars and dates and was understood to threaten that, if the unspecified blackmailers' unspecified demands were not met, supernovas would be triggered in those stars, which harbored increasing populations as the list progressed. The first star, an uninhabited one, had already exploded.

Early in the morning, synchronized species riots erupted across the Corellian system, with the Human League foremost among the offenders on Corellia. As the children, Chewbacca, Ebrihim, and Q9-X2 watched the violence from their suite, a series of explosions shook Corona House. The Wookiee immediately gathered the children and took them to the Millennium Falcon, docked on the roof, for evacuation. Solo answered his father's comlink call, and learned that his parents would be staying behind to deal with the crisis. Han charged his son with taking care of the others and following Chewbacca's instructions.

As the Falcon attempted to escape the system, it was attacked by forces of the Corellian Space Defense Force, which had aligned itself with the treacherous elements. During the dogfighting, the hyperdrive was damaged. Restricted to subspace travel, Chewbacca and Ebrihim decided to take refuge on Drall with Ebrihim's relatives. Over the course of the long, slow journey, Solo had to deal with the tedium of the voyage and with the necessity of managing Anakin&mdash;a challenging task even for adults. On landing at the estate of Ebrihim's aunt, Duchess Marcha, they were able to find refuge.

The next morning, Ebrihim had the children describe the chamber they had found on Corellia to Marcha. Jaina also told Marcha about the secret message they had seen, against Solo's advice. Marcha and Ebrihim decided to take the children to a very similar archaeological site on Drall in hopes of piecing together the mystery of the chamber and its importance to the Human League, which had announced its control of the mysterious "starbuster" superweapon and the fact that its leader was Thrackan Sal-Solo, Han Solo's cousin. Approaching the dig in the dark, Chewbacca drilled an entrance into the tunnel system near where they suspected the entrance to the chamber to be, if the Drallish site corresponded to the Corellian one. They were able to find an identical copy of the Corellian chamber, and Anakin activated the protruding platform on which the group stood, and was able to open the top of the chamber to the surface. Observing it, Marcha came to the conclusion that the chamber was a colossal repulsor of a planetary scale, used to move Drall when the Corellian system was constructed, just as rumors had long suggested it had been. On Marcha's advice, they took their supplies and the Millennium Falcon and set up camp at the base of the repulsor itself, planning to study it.

The group spent quite some time living inside the repulsor, with Anakin constantly exploring its functions. One night, Anakin crept away from the camp and found and activated the main control panel for the repulsor, firing it off. Tremendous groundquakes woke Solo, who rushed aboard the Millennium Falcon with the others and there safely rode out the massive energy output of the repulsor's firing. After the incident was over, Solo tracked down his brother and convinced Anakin, frightened and guilty, to come back to the ship.

Before Chewbacca could repair the damage to the ship from the power surge, Sal-Solo and a squad of Human League troops arrived and took control of the repulsor. The Solo children, Chewbacca, and the Drall were captured and put inside a force-field stockade inside the camp the Human League set up at the base of the repulsor. Sal-Solo dropped the jamming that had kept the Corellian system isolated and broadcast a message demanding that Organa Solo and the New Republic accept his claims of sovereignty in exchange for the safe return of the hostages.

When night fell, Ebrihim summoned Q9-X2, who had been hidden inside the smuggling compartments of the Millennium Falcon, with a hidden comlink. The droid was able to reduce the intensity of the force field, but not to turn it off without the key to the controls. Anakin began to push his way through the force field, using the Force to strain and distort it. The twins joined him, and together they were able to escape the field. The technique could not effect the adults' escape, however. Ebrihim urged the children, the most valuable hostages, to escape in the Millennium Falcon with Q9-X2.

Chewbacca directed the final repair efforts by comlink; when completed, Solo took the pilot's seat. With his sister as copilot, he tentatively powered up the ship while Jaina shot apart the force field generator and attempted to cripple Sal-Solo's assault boat. Solo put the Millennium Falcon into motion, escaping the repulsor. Before Solo had fully mastered flight, the assault boat was in pursuit. Wildly dodging Sal-Solo's shots, Solo's amateur flying was able to put him on the assault boat's tail, allowing Jaina to disable it. The Millennium Falcon was immediately seized by a tractor beam from the Intruder, a Bakuran cruiser which had entered the system in a New Republic rescue attempt and had been planning on seizing the Drall repulsor. Old family friend Lando Calrissian was aboard and was able to reassure Solo and explain the situation while conveying his compliments on their escape. Sal-Solo was captured.

Aboard the Intruder, the children were joyously reunited with their parents, who quickly came from negotiations on Selonia. As the Bakuran fleet went into battle against the fleet of the Sacorrian Triad, the real masterminds of the starbuster plot, the children were sent back to the Drall repulsor to help the New Republic crew which was attempting to use it to deflect Centerpoint Station's next starbuster shot, targeting Bovo Yagen. The twins helped control Anakin, whom the control system had imprinted on, making him the only one who could control the repulsor. When Anakin got upset and stormed off before it was time to fire, Solo had to track him down and convince him to come back. When it turned out that the repulsor had been improperly aimed, Solo convinced Anakin to aim it by feel and the Force. Anakin made the shot that deflected Centerpoint's shot, saving Bovo Yagen. Meanwhile, the Triad fleet was defeated, ending the threat.

Student of the Force
"As I have told you many times, I don't believe the training of a true Jedi comes from listening to lectures. I want to teach you how to learn action, how to do things, not just think about them. 'There is no try,' as Yoda, one of my own Jedi Masters, taught me."

- Luke Skywalker, in lecture to Solo's class

In 19 ABY, Organa Solo took a leave from the New Republic's presidency, and the family traveled to Wayland, where the Noghri had settled. Before they could take a tour of the ruins of Mount Tantiss, Organa Solo was called away to deal with Lak Jit, a scavenger who had found a collection of datacards in the ruins. Impatient to begin the tour, Solo entered the dukha where his mother was negotiated and began harassing her to hurry. When Jit settled and departed, Solo was able to sense the distress of his siblings as Jit dropped a smoke grenade and escaped with one of the stolen datacards still in his possession. Smuggler and information broker Talon Karrde, working with his lieutenant Jade, was arriving on-planet at the same time and managed to capture Jit. When it turned out that the datacard held vital information implicating the Bothans in the long-ago attack on Caamas, a crisis seemed liable to erupt and Karrde quickly gave the Solos a ride back to Coruscant.

As the Caamas Document Crisis gained in intensity, threatening to pull the New Republic apart, the children traveled to Kashyyyk with Chewbacca, there to see the Wookiee's family and homeworld and remain safe during the turmoil. Once the political situation was brought to a peaceful conclusion, the children left Kashyyyk and attended the signing of the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty, which brought peace between the New Republic and Imperial Remnant.



During the crisis, Skywalker had proposed to Jade. Solo attended a more private Jedi ceremony before the large, public-event wedding. When that event was threatened with disruption by angered ex-Imperials, the Rogue Squadron ushers were called away to secure the facility, and Solo and C-3PO filled in for them. Still, former Moff Derran Takkar was able to infiltrate the ceremony and threaten to release a virus into the New Republic's communications system. Skywalker was able to talk him down, and the wedding went forward peacefully.

In 22 ABY, the twins later spent a handful of months at Skywalker's Praxeum, training as Jedi. Solo enjoyed the outdoors, and familiarized himself with the wildlife of Yavin 4. When the twins returned to Coruscant, Anakin was sent off to begin his training. In the next year, Solo and his sister returned to the Praxeum, where they befriended Tenel Ka Djo. A serious young woman with whom Solo became rather infatuated, Djo rarely if ever laughed; therefore, Solo made it his mission to attempt to get a chuckle out of her with a daily barrage of jokes which consistently fell flat. Meanwhile, Solo worked to improve his quarters, where he kept an extensive menagerie of captured wildlife; he spent his free time acquiring even more specimens. The collection annoyed some fellow students, particularly Raynar Thul.

One morning, Solo noticed that his crystal snake had escaped. He recruited his sister to aid him in searching for it, and they found Thul in his room, passed out from the snake's soporific bite. He was able to retrieve it before Thul awoke, preventing the young noble from using the incident to argue against Solo's collection of pets. Later that morning, their lecture was interrupted by an alert at the Great Temple's landing pad. Skywalker left, and, eager to see what was happening, the Solos scaled the temple's exterior with Djo, a persistent outdoorswoman, to get there before the crowd of students. Outside, they found that a massive beast had emerged from the jungle, and was menacing the supply ship Lightning Rod. Solo watched in amazement as his uncle calmed the creature and sent it back into the jungle.

The next morning, the Solos eagerly awaited the arrival of their father, who was bringing a new Jedi trainee. The new student turned out to be Chewbacca's nephew Lowbacca. They gave Lowbacca a tour of the academy, and sat with him and Djo at lunch. The crystal snake had again escaped, and Solo noticed it as it prepared to bite Thul. He tried to knock Thul out of the way, an action which precipitated a food fight as the confused students reacted to what seemed a random action, as the crystal snake was nearly invisible. Eventually, Solo recovered it and was able to lock it away once again.



When Han Solo and Chewbacca departed, they left Lowbacca a gift: a disassembled T-23 skyhopper. The Solo twins aided their Wookiee friend in rebuilding the craft, and Lowbacca then took it out for a test flight. When he returned, he told the twins and Djo of a mysterious artificial object he had seen from a distance. They took the skyhopper out the next morning and found the wreckage of a TIE fighter, which Jaina decided the group should fix. They spent the next days traveling to the crash site, working to restore the wreck. While exploring around the crash site one day, Solo found a trail, which he followed to find the encampment of the TIE pilot, who had survived the crash after all. He rushed back to the others to alert them, but the pilot showed up just as he attempted to warn them, Armed, Qorl, the Imperial pilot, took the twins prisoner&mdash;Lowbacca and Djo were quick enough to escape.

Qorl took the pair back to his settlement, where he fed them. The next morning, he forced them to work on repairing the TIE fighter, demanding that they finish work on it immediately. They were able to finish the last repairs, and Qorl set off in the TIE, which included an added-on hyperdrive unit, abandoning the twins in the jungle. Qorl planned to attack the Jedi academy, but his weapons were non-functional, and Han Solo and Chewbacca, summoned from assisting Calrissian's new venture over Yavin Prime, chased the TIE off Yavin 4 before picking up the twins.

Temptation at the Shadow Academy
When a field trip to Calrissian's GemDiver Station was scheduled, Solo was extremely disappointed that Djo declined to attend. Calrissian took the Solos and Lowbacca on a tour of his Corusca gem-mining facility, and at their insistence allowed them to ride along on a mining expedition. Calrissian let them work the trolling controls in turn, promising any catch of the extremely rare jewels to the children. Solo was the only one of the three to succeed, snaring a very large and valuable stone. On returning to GemDiver Station, they found a fleet entering the system and bearing down on the station. They were boarded by stormtroopers, and it became clear that it was the Jedi children, not the Corusca gems, that they were after. Calrissian did all he could to protect the Jedi students, but he and the students were stunned and the children carried away.

The trio awoke in a cabin aboard a ship, and were soon visited by the woman who had commanded the stormtrooper assault&mdash;Nightsister Tamith Kai. Kai took them to the cockpit, where they found Qorl, having rejoined the Second Imperium, an Imperial splinter state in the Deep Core, and saw their destination&mdash;the Shadow Academy, where Kai intended to turn them to the dark side. On landing, they were introduced to the Shadow Academy's headmaster, Brakiss, who Solo knew to be a failed former student of Skywalker's. They were split up and put in small cells, but Solo was determined to remain defiant, mocking his captors and rejecting Brakiss and Kai's pronouncements. When all the Shadow Academy's students were gathered for Brakiss's lessons, which suggested that the power of the dark side must be added to that of the light, Solo rejected his arguments, but it was Jaina who voiced her objections, causing Brakiss to attack her with Force lightning. Lowbacca began attacking the stormtroopers in the room before Solo talked him down. Brakiss sent all three students away to their cells as a result of the disturbance.



Solo was later brought in for one-on-one training with Brakiss. The headmaster gave the boy a lightsaber, something which Solo had long wanted. Solo distrusted Brakiss, and refused the lightsaber, but Brakiss pressed the weapon on him and Solo gave in. The headmaster left the room, which began projecting a holographic simulation for Solo to fight&mdash;though, as an incentive to perform, he suggested that he might slip in genuine beasts as well. The training continued, until eventually Brakiss had Solo fight in a holographic disguise, calling it training for possible deployment in disguise. He battled the holographic specter of Darth Vader for some time, until Brakiss dropped the holographic shrouds and found that he had been fighting his sister, with both fighting as Darth Vader. They angrily ended the exercise.

The next day, the three Jedi students were brought together for an exercise. The Solos would be inside a chamber, blindfolded, and targeted with flying objects. Lowbacca would be in a control room operating drones which could protect them in addition to the sticks given to the twins. Standing back-to-back, they used the Force to sense the incoming projectiles, but as the onslaught intensified, he was increasingly battered. Once the systems began firing knives, Lowbacca was able to crash the computer controlling it and bring the test to an end.

Back in his room, Solo hit upon the idea of using his Corusca gem, still secreted in his boot, to cut his way out and escape. From within the room, he used the extremely hard gem to slice out the back of the control box which opened the door from outside, allowing him to hotwire the door open. Reaching out in the Force, he found Jaina and Lowbacca and freed them. Lowbacca sliced into the main computer system and locked down the station before the group fled to the docking bay. There, they found Skywalker and Djo, who had just arrived in a rescue attempt after tracking down the station's location, and escaped.

The threat of the Second Imperium
On returning to Yavin 4, Luke offered Solo his lightsaber, instructing him to show what he had learned. Solo refused it; he had realized that he was not yet ready to take up the weapon of the Jedi. Afterward, Han Solo took the children and their friends Djo and Lowbacca back to Coruscant for a break. On their approach to the planet, the twins played their customary game, competing to see who could shoot down more orbital debris with the Millennium Falcon's quad lasers. Reunited with his parents and little brother, Solo enjoyed visiting with his family. He offered his mother his Corusca gem as a present, but she insisted that Solo keep it. The youths spent the next day with Zekk, exploring the Coruscant undercity and assisting him in retrieving a hawk-bat egg. When the hawk-bat mother returned with Solo in the process of stealing the egg, he used the Force to calm the creature and allow the group to leave. On their way back, Zekk took them through the headquarters of the Lost Ones, a gang of malcontent youths. The Lost Ones emerged, seeking to rough up the explorers, but the Jedi fled with Zekk to the urchin's mid-level apartment, which he shared with Peckhum, the supply pilot for the Praxeum.

The next day, the Solo family took a private vacation to one of Coruscant's polar ice caps, where they rode tauntauns, turbo-skied, and played in the snow. They also convinced their mother to allow Zekk, Lowbacca, and Djo to attend the diplomatic banquet for the ambassador from Karnak Alpha that night. They attended, where Solo found that the egg Zekk had sold yesterday was presented to the ambassador as a gift for Karnak Alpha's collection of rare animals. Zekk was not fully prepared for the banquet, wearing an outdated suit and accidentally eating his bouquet, thinking it a salad. He stormed off, embarrassed, at the conclusion of the dinner.

The next day, the youths went to visit Zekk, but he was not in. When he still did not turn up at his apartment after an hour of waiting, they were convinced that something was wrong. They left a message for him, but when they came back the next day, there was still no sign of their friend. Solo led the search for Zekk, thinking the older boy was hiding out of embarrassment. The next day Peckhum arrived at the Imperial Palace, having returned from his tour of duty aboard an Orbital Solar Energy Transfer Satellite. Zekk had left no notes for him, and he was convinced the boy was not simply hiding; something had happened to him. Peckhum offered a list of suggestions as to where they might look for Zekk, and Solo took charge of the effort as his sister and Lowbacca went back with Peckhum to the OSETS in order to make badly-needed repairs. Using Anakin and C-3PO as well as Djo, he began systematically combing the areas the old pilot had suggested.

Paired with Djo, Solo searched the undercity, with Djo's quick thinking saving him from a crumbling bridge. They pressed on, and Solo was able to use the Force to sense Zekk. They found him speaking to the Lost Ones; he urged them to leave. When Kai emerged, it became clear that Zekk had been recruited by the Shadow Academy, a Force-sensitive whom the twins had never even suspected. Solo argued against the promises of the Second Imperium, trying to persuade Zekk that he was making a mistake. When Kai and her assistants made to intervene, Solo and Djo made to flee, but were stunned. The agents of the Second Imperium simply left them, and they only came to when Organa Solo arrived with Anakin, having tracked the students down. Solo alerted his sister aboard the orbital mirror, and she was able to realize that the Shadow Academy had been hiding, cloaked, in the Coruscant system. She exposed it to the New Republic fleet, but the mobile station fled into hyperspace before it could be disabled. Zekk left them a message pod before the station departed, promising that he held them no ill will, but was determined to make something of himself at the Shadow Academy.

Skywalker picked the students up from Coruscant, taking them back to the Praxeum. Skywalker grew increasingly worried about the threat that the Shadow Academy posed, expecting war to erupt with the growing power. He determined that it was necessary for the students to accelerate their training. For the four most experienced students&mdash;the Solos and their friends&mdash;it was time to craft their own lightsabers. Taking components from Jaina's store of spare parts, Solo spent a week meticulously assembling his weapon. The Corusca gem he had acquired became the focusing crystal of his lightsaber, creating a green blade.

Devastating accident
"I guess all I really need is for you to accept my apology." "Apology accepted. I&hellip;forgive you, if that is what you desire. Jacen, my friend."

- Jacen Solo and Tenel Ka Djo

The trainees spent weeks practicing, first with sticks against dueling droids, and then with their lightsabers against targets. When Skywalker deemed them ready, they used remotes for blaster-deflection practice, their eyes covered with a visor which filtered out the sight of the remotes so that they were obliged to trust in the Force. After that, they moved on to sparring with each other. Solo faced Djo, and attempted to keep her off-balance with constant banter while aiming to maneuver her onto bad footing. Djo would not be distracted or caught unaware. The pair ended up locking blades, each pushing to overpower the other. The clash took a tragic turn when Djo's lightsaber, hastily made with flawed crystals, failed. Meeting no resistance, Solo's blade swept through Djo's left arm, severing it above the elbow.

Solo was aghast, and was left wandering the halls in shock as Skywalker took Djo in to receive treatment. Skywalker maintained that the girl was not yet ready to see visitors, preventing Solo from apologizing. Unable to keep from dwelling on the incident, he finally fell asleep that night, only to be awakened by the feeling that Djo was in trouble. He rushed outside, where he saw a ship departing from the landing pad, with Skywalker watching. Djo had been picked up by her family; Solo never had a chance to say goodbye.

Tionne Solusar, one of the Praxeum's teachers, attempted to help guide the remaining friends through their lightsaber training. Now uncomfortable with their weapons and still horrified at what had happened to their friend, they were counseled by Soluar, but still did not overcome their grief. Deciding Djo could use a visit from her friends, Skywalker took the three to Hapes in the Shadow Chaser, the craft he had captured from the Second Imperium. When it became clear that they were visiting Hapes rather than Dathomir, the world Solo believed to be her homeworld, Skywalker finally explained that the girl Solo had known as Tenel Ka was in fact Tenel Ka Chume Ta' Djo, daughter of the Hapan Prince Isolder and Queen Mother Teneniel Djo, originally from Dathomir. She had kept her identity hidden to keep her friends from letting her standing as heir to the Hapan throne influence their view of her; she identified more with her Dathomiri heritage at any rate.

Solo joyously greeted the young princess on landing, and Skywalker, knowing Djo's ever-scheming grandmother Ta'a Chume was determined to prevent Djo from becoming a Jedi, arranged for the students to remain with Djo for a month. After settling in, Solo was visited by the princess, and each tried to take blame for the accident; finally, Solo attempted to defuse the tension with his trademark phrase, "Want to hear a joke?" That brought Djo to laughter for the first time since Solo had met her, glad to be reunited with her friend. They decided to contest blame no longer; Djo accepted Solo's apology and the pair hugged tearfully.

They spent the rest of the day in Djo's quarters with Jaina and Lowbacca. When it came time for dinner, Ta'a Chume summoned them to the dining hall. Djo refused, preferring to take her meal with her friends. Almost immediately, a bomb detonated in the dining hall. They were immediately evacuated to Reef Fortress Island, a royal stronghold. There, Djo picked out a special room for each of her friends; Solo's was lined with a vast aquarium, a fact he greatly appreciated. They relaxed for a few days, but eventually grew bored and restless on the small island. Their caretaker, Ambassador Yfra, offered to let them take a wavespeeder out for the day. Pre-programmed, it was to take them out in a loop, but when the craft traveled across a vast, foul-smelling expanse of seaweed, Jaina and Lowbacca disengaged the autopilot and attempted to turn around. However, Solo, touching the seaweed curiously, was ensnared by a tentacle that tried to pull him overboard. He was saved, but the carnivorous sea life lashed the wavespeeder with multiple tentacles. Solo lit his lightsaber and defended against the creature, from which the wavespeeder escaped. On examining the autopilot, Lowbacca found that it had been programmed to strand them in the middle of the dangerous stretch of sea.



They returned to Reef Fortress, where private investigation confirmed that the wavespeeder had been sabotaged. Djo suspected Yfra was making her own play for power. That night, Djo woke the other students; the power had been cut and Bartokk assassins were infiltrating the fortress. Ta'a Chume, who had arrived at the retreat that day, was the target. The Jedi rushed to defend her, and Solo made his first kills as he cut down assassins. As more Bartokks attempted to gain access to the Queen Mother's chambers, the group fled out the window and into a wavespeeder. Jaina and Lowbacca piloted the craft through the rock formation known as the Dragon's Teeth, and when that failed to wreck their pursuers, over the patch of carnivorous seaweed. There, Ta'a Chume was able to shoot down the pursuing craft, plunging the Bartokk to their deaths.

They returned to the mainland, where Yfra, who had attempted to assume power, was arrested. Djo declared her intention to return to the Praxeum, and the return of her parents to Hapes overruled any objection Ta'a Chume might have raised. Skywalker returned the youths to Yavin 4, where Djo built a new lightsaber. She insisted that Solo spar with her once more, a sign of trust and a way of moving beyond the accident; the duel went flawlessly.

The Second Imperium strikes
"This is Jacen Solo. Attention, New Republic. We have an emergency! This is Jacen Solo on Yavin 4, requesting immediate assistance. We are under attack by the Shadow Academy! Repeat. Imperial fighters attacking the Jedi academy&mdash;request assistance immediately. Our shields are down. We've got ground battles taking place and air strikes from TIE fighters. We desperately need immediate assistance."

- Jacen Solo

When Lowbacca became withdrawn, Solo noticed that something was wrong with his friend. Eventually, the Wookiee shared that he worried for his sister, Sirrakuk, who was approaching the age for her hrrtayyk ceremony and might act on her own, as Lowbacca had, and endanger herself in an attempt to prove her status. Moreover, Raabakyysh, Sirrakuk's friend and Lowbacca's romantic interest, had gone missing when she earlier attempted to duplicate Lowbacca's solo feat. Lowbacca was traveling to Kashyyyk to accompany Sirrakuk on her hrrtayyk, and the Solos and Djo promised to accompany him. Chewbacca took the group to Kashyyyk aboard the Shadow Chaser, and Solo attempted to fill the time in transit by explaining humor to Djo, a lecture which had no impact. In the Force, Solo sensed a creature aboard the ship; he found a rodent living in the ion shield generator circuits. Just as he retrieved it, the Shadow Chaser was pulled out of hyperspace by an ion storm. Without the protection of the shields, its navigational computer was disabled, but the two Wookiees were still able to lay in a course for Kashyyyk.



They arrived in Thikkiiana City, where they stayed with Lowbacca's family and toured the advanced electronics factory in the treetop city. After a few days spent on Kashyyyk, Solo, Djo, Lowbacca, and Sirrakuk received a distressed message from the factory suggesting the Wookiees' parents, who were employed there, had been injured. As they arrived, a squadron of TIE fighters began strafing the facility. The young Jedi rushed to the defensive turrets surrounding the station, where Solo shot down a TIE bomber before it could deliver its payload and brought down a few more fighters. When more Wookiees rushed to the scene, Solo abandoned his turret in favor of searching out the core of the problem; Lowbacca had pinpointed the traffic control tower as the site from which the automated defenses had been compromised and the attack was being directed. Rushing to the tower, they were intercepted by Zekk&mdash;the Second Imperium warrior commanding the strike&mdash;and the Nightsister Vonnda Ra. When stormtrooper reinforcements arrived, Solo decided the battle could not be won and ordered a retreat.

Hotly pursued, the Jedi descended to the lower levels of Kashyyyk's jungle with Sirrakuk. Solo and Djo followed the Wookiees through the darkness, hoping to evade the Imperials. However, they were forced to ignite their lightsabers and reveal their position when they were attacked by one of the myriad dangerous creatures of Kashyyyk's depths. Surrounded, they were forced to surrender. Solo was able to persuade a fierce slug to come to their aid, allowing them to flee once more. They were caught again, but Djo dispatched the stormtroopers while Sirrakuk and Vonnda Ra, struggling, fell into the maw of a syren plant. Working with the other Jedi, Solo helped free Sirrakuk by soothing the plant, but left Ra inside to be consumed. While inside, Sirrakuk seized the prized fibers from the plant which completed her hrrtayyk.



They tracked down Jaina, who had followed them with Chewbacca, hoping to arrange a rescue. A branch had given way and plunged Chewbacca lower, breaking his leg. She had been visited by Zekk, who warned her away from the academy, claiming it would be struck soon, before departing. They brought the injured Wookiee to the surface, where he was treated and repairs on the Shadow Chaser were completed before they rushed back to the defense of the Jedi Praxeum. They landed before any attack had been made and alerted Skywalker, who immediately began organizing a defense. He had Solo monitor communications in the system and admit Peckhum, making his regular supply run, under the newly installed shields. No sooner had Peckhum landed than the Second Imperium forces entered the system.

A saboteur was able to land and take the shields down, forcing Skywalker to consider evacuating the Praxeum. Solo rushed to his room to set his pets free so they would not be killed in any bombing before reporting to the Grand Audience Chamber with the rest of the Praxeum's occupants. There, Skywalker ordered the Jedi to evacuate into the jungle, where they could better fight the invaders. Solo and Peckhum took the latter's Lightning Rod into orbit to move outside the range of the Shadow Academy's jamming and broadcast a distress message to the New Republic. He managed to get an open-channel transmission past the jamming before the ship was beset by TIE fighters. One, piloted by the Lost Ones leader Norys, relentlessly pursued the Lightning Rod back into atmosphere&mdash;where Norys was shot down by Qorl, who was leading the TIE assault on the Praxeum, for insubordination and disobedience. The Lightning Rod went down, breaking Peckhum's arm in the crash. Solo was forced to pilot the badly damaged ship from its landing site to an emergency landing at the Great Temple. He put down at the very conclusion of the battle&mdash;after the Shadow Academy had been destroyed, Brakiss and Kai killed, the Dark Jedi routed, and the Second Imperium fleet defeated&mdash;as Jaina dueled Zekk and a saboteur's bomb caused damage in the Great Temple.

With the battle resolved and the Second Imperium thoroughly defeated, the students traveled to GemDiver Station to recover in Calrissian's bacta tanks. Rebuilding of the Great Temple began, and the students participated in the construction work. Meanwhile, Zekk went into a coma upon returning from GemDiver Station. Solo was at his side when the former darksider woke up four days later. Zekk still felt awkward and guilty over his time at the Shadow Academy, but he worked with the group of friends to repair the Lightning Rod and bonded. When it was repaired, Zekk departed aboard it, not ready to train with Skywalker. During the battle, Qorl had been shot down. The pilot returned to his ways as a hermit, renouncing galactic conflict. Solo and his friends eventually ran into the old pilot once more, and were able to consider him something of a friend.

The search for Bornan Thul


Soon thereafter, Djo was given a ship, the Rock Dragon, by her parents. This pleasant surprise was soon joined by the arrival of Anakin, with Han Solo and Chewbacca, at Yavin 4. Anakin believed that his puzzle-solving mind could be put to work in the rebuilding effort, and Organa Solo would be arriving in less than a week to spend her birthday with the rest of the family. Jaina suggested to Han that the twins and their friends travel to the Graveyard&mdash;the ruins of Alderaan&mdash;in Djo's ship and retrieve a piece of the rubble as a memento for their mother's gift. The elder Solo reluctantly agreed to allow it, and soon the party set off for the Graveyard. They entered it and found one asteroid almost entirely composed of pure metal, a former part of Alderaan's core. Landing, they donned spacesuits and cut out a section of pure metal.

As soon as they attempted to leave, the Rock Dragon came under attack, and the Jedi had to fake an explosion and take cover inside an asteroid in order to lose their pursuer. The students worked together to make what repairs they could, but as they attempted escape, the enemy ship showed up at the mouth of the cave and fired, collapsing the cave and burying the Rock Dragon. Lowbacca's translator droid M-TD, plugged into the ship's systems, detected that the ship's data banks were being accessed by remote slicer. The trainees left the ship to check on the cave-in, but their attacker soon blasted through the rubble and demanded information on Bornan Thul&mdash;Raynar Thul's father&mdash;who the youths knew had recently gone missing, with Han Solo searching for him. Their attacker identified herself as Boba Fett, but unknown to Solo or his companions, she was Ailyn Vel, Fett's daughter, in disguise. On being told that she had misinterpreted a transmission the Jedi had made to Raynar Thul&mdash;that they had not found Bornan Thul, only a birthday gift for Leia Organa Solo&mdash;Vel left, causing another cave-in to trap the friends once more and suggesting that she would use them as bait for Han Solo, who might know more.

Meanwhile, M-TD had tapped into the Slave IV ' s records with the Rock Dragon ' s own remote slicer, and files showed that Nolaa Tarkona, the Twi'lek politician whom the elder Thul had been on his way to meet, had issued the bounty on Thul which Vel hoped to collect. M-TD also detected a decoy distress message sent by Vel to Solo's father. Solo and Djo went back outside to clear a way out while Jaina and Lowbacca worked on repairs. When they were ready, they burst into the asteroid field, and Solo broadcast a warning and distress message. Vel disabled the Rock Dragon, but before she could destroy the ship, Zekk arrived in the Lightning Rod and drove off Vel. The Lightning Rod disappeared once more, and the youths were left to drift in space until the Millennium Falcon arrived and towed them to safety. Zekk returned from his pursuit of Vel and announced that he intended to become a bounty hunter himself and search for Thul.

They returned to Yavin 4, where the Solo family celebrated Organa Solo's birthday, at which she greatly appreciated the twins' gift. Solo made a conscious effort to be more friendly toward Raynar Thul, and when he learned that Thul was being sent to his mother, Aryn Dro Thul, during the stressful time for his family, Solo suggested that he and his friends go along to keep Thul company and work on his Jedi exercises.

Aboard the Thul flagship Tradewyn, they were warmly received and given a tour of the bridge. While on the bridge, they witnessed the next hyperspace jump of the Bornaryn Trading Fleet&mdash;in which the Tradwyn emerged alone, routed into a bounty hunter's trap. When Raynar and Aryn Dro Thul were ushered to safety in a secure cabin, Solo felt through the Force that something was amiss. He and Djo followed the guard assigned to them, Kusk, to the docking bay, where they found Kusk attempting to take the Thuls prisoner. Using the Force, the three Jedi captured Kusk, while the bounty hunter's ship was destroyed in battle.

On learning that Bornan Thul had last been seen on Kuar, Solo decided that the young Jedi ought to examine the world for leads. Raynar remained safe with his family while the other students set out in the Rock Dragon. On Kuar, they found a landmark which seemed to be the likeliest site for any meeting on the abandoned world. Landing, they searched and found a House of Thul sash; on it was written a message from Bornan Thul warning that there was great danger for the galaxy's Humans if he was captured. While further investigating, the group was attacked by a combat arachnid. They were saved by the intervention of Raabakyysh, the friend Lowbacca had thought dead. They fled attacks from more combat arachnids and made it back to their ship. Lowbacca spent time catching up with Raabakyysh, who seemed ill at ease around the other Jedi. The female Wookiee had been injured attempting her rite of passage, and had fled the planet in shame. The next morning, Solo suggested that he visit the other Wookiee on her ship, the Rising Star, with Lowbacca. From her, he learned that a trader named Fonterrat had been on Kuar recently, sent by Raabakyyshy's employer, Nolaa Tarkona's Diversity Alliance. Solo immediately surmised that it had been Fonterrat whom Thul met before departing Kuar. At that moment, Tyko Thul, Bornan's brother, arrived. After they had left the fleet, he had determined that he ought to aid them in their search. His disparaging comments about Tarkona caused Raabakyysh to leave the group, and they did not discover any new clues on Kuar.



That night, they were attacked by several ships, which deployed assassin droids led by IG-88A. They fled into the caves nearby, where they were corned between the assassin droids and more combat arachnids. Both the droids and the Jedi battled the arachnids, but when Thul was seized by one, IG-88A rescued Thul and left with him. The Jedi had to withdraw to their ship, repair the damage it had suffered in the droid attack, and return to the Praxeum.

There, Raabakyysh eventually visited, taking Lowbacca back to Kashyyyk with her so that they could announce her survival. Soon afterward, Lusa arrived at the academy, a Chironian who had been one of Hethrir's Force-sensitive captives when the Solo children were kidnapped and whom the twins knew. Lusa told the Solos and their friends that she had joined the Diversity Alliance, which taught hatred and resentment of Humans; she left after being assigned to what was effectively an assassination mission.

Raynar Thul returned from the Bornaryn fleet and decided that, with his uncle kidnapped, he would travel to Mechis III to watch over the droid assembly lines of the planet Tyko Thul administered. The Solos and Djo volunteered to take him there in the Rock Dragon. On landing, Tyko Thul's protocol droid, 3D-4X, insisted no visitors were allowed, but they entered the main office anyway. On attempting to use the equipment, they activated a security lockdown and had to eliminate automated security blasters before they could unlock the door and leave the office. Just outside the door, however, was IG-88A, and with him Tyko Thul. The elder Thul had faked his kidnapping, hoping to draw his brother out of hiding. They became Thul's guests, but while fitting M-TD with a repulsorlift enhancement, Zekk arrived. As a bounty hunter, he had been contracted by Bornan Thul&mdash;disguised but found out by Zekk&mdash;to rescue Tyko.

They were interrupted by a strafing run by Dengar, a bounty hunter who had followed Zekk. Convinced Bornan Thul was with them, Dengar was distracted by Zekk and Jaina in the Lightning Rod while Solo, Djo, and Raynar Thul attempted to flee in the Rock Dragon. Before they could get to the ship, though, Dengar landed and held them at gunpoint. Solo joined with the other students to distract Dengar by threatening to topple his ship over the edge of the rooftop. IG-88A arrived and disarmed Dengar, forcing the bounty hunter to retreat. With the threat over, Jaina and M-TD reprogrammed IG-88A so that the former bounty hunter droid would track down Bornan Thul and protect him.

The Diversity Alliance
"First we send a message. Then we blow up a weapons depot." "Hey, just another day's work for a bunch of Jedi trainees."

- Bornan Thul and Jacen Solo



While on Mechis III, the group received a message from Lowbacca's parents, stating that he, his sister Sirrakuk, and Raabakyysh had traveled to the Diversity Alliance's headquarters on Ryloth. Though the young Jedi returned to Yavin 4, they remained worried that their friend had fallen in with the dangerous anti-Human group. While camping, they decided to travel to Ryloth to get news of Lowbacca, who had been out of contact too long for their liking. When Thul was injured by a rakhmar attack, the arrival of Lusa, announcing that Ta'a Chume had arrived demanding to see Djo, allowed a way to get Thul back to the Great Temple. On their return, Solo accompanied Djo to see her grandmother. The Queen Mother had researched the Diversity Alliance, and her numerous sources had revealed that the organization was profiting from the sales of Ryloth's ryll spice and regularly hired bounty hunters to eliminate any defectors; its leadership appeared to be far more menacing than it let on to the public. Lusa confirmed the account and warned that Lowbacca would be in great danger if he attempted to leave the organization.

The Solos, Djo, and Thul took it upon themselves to leave for Ryloth, refusing to alert any adults lest it become a diplomatic matter or a New Republic crackdown put Lowbacca in danger. They sneaked onto the planet by clamping the Rock Dragon onto an automated freighter, then transferring to one of the ship's cargo pods. Undiscovered in the search of the Rock Dragon, they were able to skulk into the tunnel network of the Diversity Alliance's headquarters. While attempting to contact Lowbacca, they were found out by Hovrak, Tarkona's adjutant and head of security. Outnumbered, the students were captured and dragged before Tarkona. Raabakyysh exposed their identities as valuable hostages, but Solo attempted to attack Tarkona by telekinetically manipulating their captured lightsabers. His control was insufficient to do any damage, however, and he was again forced to surrender.

The young Jedi were sentenced to labor in the ryll mines. Solo and Djo were assigned to harvest stalactites of concentrated ryll from the ceiling of the caves. Eventually, Lowbacca discovered that his friends had been imprisoned and, posing as a guard, took them into his custody. Rearmed, they headed out of the cave network into the open air of Ryloth while Lowbacca retrieved Sirrakuk. Before they could escape fully, they encountered several guards. Jaina covered their escape by destroying a weapons cache, creating a cave-in that cut Solo and Djo off from Jaina and Thul. They ultimately emerged outside Ryloth's temperate zone, on the frigid night side of the planet. Solo and Djo forged through the bitter cold and rocky, hilly terrain toward the habitable zone, sharing warmth and emotion. When a heat storm entered the night side, they had to take shelter from the fierce, scalding heat. In the cave where they took refuge, they found Kur, a former Twi'lek clan leader who had been defeated and exiled by Tarkona. Briefly regaining their strength in Kur's cave, they set out again with the old Twi'lek in tow. They were rescued by Lowbacca and Sirrakuk in the Rock Dragon before they even reached habitable land. Meanwhile, Skywalker, Zekk, and Lusa arrived and picked up Jaina and Thul, allowing the group to depart Ryloth.

They recovered on Coruscant, where Organa Solo dedicated the resources of the New Republic to stopping the Diversity Alliance, which they now knew from Zekk's investigations and Hovrak's statements intended to release a plague across the galaxy, killing all Humans. After they healed, the Organa Solo had the young Jedi speak before the New Republic Senate about their encounter with the Diversity Alliance. Several nonhuman senators were critical of their testimony, as the youths had broken into the headquarters of another government. Cilghal, a Jedi Knight and senator, proposed a fact-finding mission to which the Senate agreed.

As Zekk had earlier planted a tracking beacon aboard Bornan Thul's vessel, he set out with Raynar Thul to bring the wanted man to safety. The Solos, Lowbacca, and Djo decided to back up their friends, arriving at the rendezvous in time to drive off Ailyn Vel, still posing as her father, and rescue the elder Thul. Before Thul had abandoned his ship and programmed it to self-destruct, he had noticed Vel slicing his computers, which gave her the location of the Emperor's Plague Storehouse, where the anti-Human virus Tarkona desired was stored. Deciding it was vital they set out for the storehouse before Tarkona could get there, they sent a message to Coruscant requesting reinforcements meet them there and headed for the secret former Imperial base.



Reaching the asteroid base after twelve hours of travel, they found that the main chamber contained multiple canisters of the deadly disease. They planned to use the munitions stored at the depot to destroy the asteroid and the plague with it, and split up to plant their explosives. Before they had finished, the Diversity Alliance arrived, and Solo, his sister, and Djo found themselves chased by Diversity Alliance agents. They fled to the Rock Dragon, setting up explosives to cover their launch and catch their pursuers. Once they launched, they were attacked by the Diversity Alliance fleet, but the swift arrival of a New Republic task force under General Solo saved them and put the Diversity Alliance's armada on the defensive. The Jedi returned to the asteroid to place and trigger the rest of their explosives. The New Republic fleet bombarded the asteroid as well, after Zekk, Lowbacca, and Raynar Thul had escaped; Bornan Thul had given his life attempting to destroy the plague and kill Tarkona. Tarkona escaped in a shuttle with Raabakyssh, but she had already been infected with another of the artificial diseases stored in the depot and was dying; Raabakyysh had chosen to flee and quarantine the pair rather than risk spreading the disease farther.

The Diversity Alliance was thoroughly defeated, and Solo and his friends became involved in the settlement of the situation on Coruscant, weeding out the ringleaders of the Diversity Alliance captives from those who had not known of the group's more extremist plans and helping the former members of the Diversity Alliance rejoin the New Republic.

Making peace
"We'll find a way to help your planet." "Right. A few pampered kids and one former smuggler will fix everything. I feel better already."

- Jacen Solo and Anja Gallandro

Lusa and Zekk both decided to begin Jedi training, which pleased the other Jedi trainees immensely. In the aftermath of the Diversity Alliance crisis, they enjoyed some downtime, reflecting on the gravity of the events which had occurred. When Solo expressed doubt that any events could shock them after the deeds they had already done, he was proved wrong, to his great delight, when Djo kissed him. After some time spent training, Han Solo arrived on Yavin 4 to take his children, including Anakin, to the 24 ABY Blockade Runners' Derby at Ord Mantell, for which he would serve as grand marshal. The Millennium Falcon served as the pace craft, taking a trial run through the course. During that flight, the ship narrowly avoided several mines. The race was put off to the next day, at which time the Solos were quite surprised to witness Zekk win the race with Lowbacca and Djo in the Rock Dragon.

After the intense media attention died down, the youths turned their attention to analyzing the debris of the mines which had nearly killed them, hoping to find out who wanted them dead. During a lunch break, an uneasy feeling in the Force led them to check the evidence, which was in the process of being stolen by camouflaged, color-changing creatures. Fighting the thieves, they were surprised by the arrival of a lightsaber-wielding woman. The thieves were able to get away with the evidence, but on one of those killed in the fight was a Black Sun tattoo. The woman introduced herself as Anja Gallandro, the daughter of an accomplished gunfighter Han Solo had once battled. The elder Solo tried to explain to her that he had not killed her father; when Gallandro drew his blaster to shoot a fellow treasure hunter, automated security systems in the area had killed Gallandro. However, the young woman would have none of it and left, castigating the Solos for never having aided her nearby war-torn homeworld, Anobis.



Solo found his mind turning to Gallandro's obvious pain and anger&mdash;and by his father's incomplete answer to her accusations, as Han Solo had not been able to explain the actual circumstances of her father's death before she left, saying only that the death was not his fault. Solo had sensed his father's sense of guilt over the matter, and discussed the matter with his siblings. When his father entered the room, Solo pressed him to explain, which he did; the elder Solo had avoided giving all the detail to Gallandro so as not to tar her image of her father. Still, Jacen Solo could not quite shake his doubts over the incident and his father's clear sense of guilt.

The next morning, the Solos set out for Anobis on a fact-finding mission with their Jedi friends. Before they left, Gallandro approached them, and Solo invited her along when she mentioned her intention to return to Anobis. She explained the nature of Anobis's civil war between Rebellion-aligned valley farmers and mountain miners dependent on Imperial trade, and Solo found himself sympathizing with her miner background. She also explained the lightsaber she used, telling them she had bought it, and was not a trained Force-user. On entering the Anobis system, they encountered the Rude Awakening, piloted by Lilmit. Suspecting it of gunrunning, Han Solo boarded the craft in his function as New Republic emissary, and with the Jedi students he found the hold full of illegal munitions. The New Republic representatives forced Lilmit to jettison and destroy his cargo before they landed in a farming village on Anobis. There they learned that the farmers' fields had been mined by the mountain villagers.

That evening, the village came under attack from a migrating herd of carnivorous knaars. The Jedi volunteered to stand and fight against the massive herd while as many villagers as possible were evacuated in the Millennium Falcon. Resistance proved impossible against the tremendous numbers, and instead the Jedi led the villagers though the treacherous minefields safely. As the villagers moved beyond the traditional territorial boundary of the knaars, Solo sensed the predators' unease and used the Force to convince them to give up their pursuit. In the aftermath, Han flew several leaders to a mountain village for refuge and to discuss peace, while the Jedi led the rest of the villagers through the dangerous forest and to the village. When they arrived, after avoiding most of the booby traps with which the forest had been seeded, they found themselves captured by hostile miners.

The villagers were imprisoned while the leader of the miners, Elis, attempted to persuade the New Republic emissaries that the farmers were the real villains of the civil war. Both sides inflicted vicious damage on the other, but each was tired of the endless destruction and wanted the war to end. When Elis's brother, Protas, was killed in an accident while placing burrowing detonators in the abandoned farming village, and the New Republicans revealed that Lilmit had been selling weapons to both sides, the diplomats were able to convince both sides to put aside their twenty-year feud and once more work together to clear their traps and make a life on Anobis. Using the Force, Solo and his friends were able to sense traps and remove them from a safe distance. In the aftermath, Solo suggested that Gallandro attend the Praxeum and explore her seeming Force powers.

Battling Black Sun
Gallandro spent weeks at the academy, during which both Solo and Zekk found themselves attracted to and spending time with Gallandro, who did not get along with the rest of the group. The two boys worked with her on lightsaber technique, and found themselves aggravated by the hot-tempered woman's aggressive, risky fighting. Solo nearly lost his own arm in practice with her, and Skywalker admitted to him that he felt no Force-sensitivity in Gallandro, only a darkness. Solo and Zekk's closeness with Gallandro drove a wedge between them and the rest of their friends, but a visit from Lando Calrissian offered an opportunity to bring the group together. Calrissian was planning to invest in an amusement center in Cloud City, SkyCenter Galleria, and wanted the Solos, Lowbacca, Djo, and Zekk to test the center and provide ideas. Solo suggested that Calrissian invite Gallandro along.



On arriving at Cloud City, however, they learned that Calrisian's business partner, Cojahn, had died in what was ruled a suicide. They toured the facility, but it was hard to enjoy the attractions after Cojahn's death. Calrissian was not convinced that it had been a suicide, and the Jedi suggested that they investigate. The next morning, before their investigation began, Calrissian told the students that he recognized Gallandro to be under the influence of andris. Solo found this hard to believe, but on questioning she admitted to using the spice. Upset, she vowed she was not addicted and stormed off.

When Calrissian learned that a band Cojahn had booked&mdash;Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes&mdash;had fled Cloud City for Clak'dor VII, he left to investigate the lead with Jaina and Zekk. Solo, Djo, and Lowbacca poked around SkyCenter Galleria looking for suspicious activity, but Gallandro was largely uninterested in their inquiry. When they noticed an Ugnaught who matched the description of the former construction foreman Cojahn had fired, the Jedi students followed him into the floating city's network of service tunnels and into Port Town. There, the Ugnaught led them into an ambush by seven armed Black Sun thugs. The Jedi ran, chased by the hit men, but the Ugnaught managed to drop them down a chute to Cloud City's exterior. Lowbacca and Djo were able to catch an antenna, but Solo plummeted into Bespin's atmosphere. He sent out a cry for help through the Force, causing a thranta rider named M'kim to direct his mount to catch the falling boy. M'kim refused to take him back immediately, suggesting that Solo should allow the assassins to believe him dead for the moment. Instead, M'kim took Solo to a floating mat of algae and told the Jedi that he had seen Cojahn fall to his death, pushed by Czethros&mdash;the old bounty hunter foe of Han Solo and supposed legitimate businessman Solo had met on Ord Mantell during the Blockade Runners' Derby.

M'kim then took Solo back to Cloud City, where he shared a happy reunion with his companions, who had thought him dead. Calrissian and the others returned, having learned from D'an that Black Sun had been attempting to muscle into Cloud City's entertainment sector and pressuring Cojahn. Calrissian demanded an investigation, and Solo, Djo, and Lowbacca were summoned for a debriefing on the assassination attempt. On reaching the supposed site of their report, however, it was deserted except for two of the Black Sun assassins and a pair of corrupt Wing Guard officers. The Jedi fled in a pair of cloud cars, with Solo shaking his pursuers by flying into a storm cell and using the Force to direct a pack of velkers to attack the following cloud car. He returned to Cloud City, and there, with the conspiracy uncovered, Calrissian began to break up Black Sun's influence over Cloud City. Czethros himself, however, slipped out of the grasp of the New Republic.

After the students returned to Yavin 4, Gallandro eventually ran out of andris, driving her to steal the Lightning Rod and take off in an attempt to secure a new supply of spice to feed her addiction. Skywalker assigned the Solos, Lowbacca, Djo, and Zekk to find her, recover the ship, and help their friend battle her addiction. The ship's course as it fled Yavin, and Gallandro's addiction, suggested that her destination was Kessel.

Solo felt that something was wrong with the mission, and on arriving on Kessel, the Jedi met with Nien Nunb, the Sullustan who administered the spice mines of Kessel for their owner Calrissian. Nunb offered his aid, but warned the students that he suspected some of his employees may be acting against him and the Jedi should be alert for betrayal. While the youths searched for any sign of the Lightning Rod, they noticed that the Rude Awakening, which they had earlier encountered running guns to Anobis under Lilmit, had docked in a secluded area, authorized by the former Second Administrator Torvon&mdash;who had died in the process of attempting to assassinate Nunb. The Jedi felt they should look into Lilmit's presence, and on confronting him were able to learn that Gallandro had visited and spoken with Lilmit before leaving for Mon Calamari. Additionally, the smuggler was desperate to leave Kessel quickly, suggesting that whatever conspiracy was acting against Nunb would soon come to a head.



The Jedi decided to divide their forces, with Solo, Zekk, and Djo pursuing Gallandro in the Rock Dragon while Jaina and Lowbacca remained behind to protect Nunb. Solo thought to signal Cilghal ahead of time, requesting assistance. When they arrived on Mon Calamari, Cilghal had already begun inquiries and arranged to meet the Jedi on Foamwander City. Cilghal was able to track the Lightning Rod to Crystal Reef, an elite arctic resort city. There, the resort's information systems were able to locate Gallandro, at that moment attempting to procure a submersible. Accompanied by Cilghal, the students approached Gallandro. They were able to convince her to explain herself, at which the young woman finally let down her guard and admitted her addiction. Additionally, she revealed that she had been working for Czethros, only to realize she had been manipulated and used by the Black Sun kingpin. Solo's friendship had helped convince her that she had been mistaken to hate the Solos, and she no longer wished to harm them. Instead, she was determined to destroy Czethros's cache of spice under the ice cap.

Taking a submersible, they were able to locate and destroy the cache. As they finished doing so, a gigantic and very rare Great Arctic Skra'akan began to harass the submersible. When it consumed some of the free-floating andris, its attacks became frenzied. They were able to escape by sealing their damaged submersible inside a fissure in the ice cap, but being thus trapped presented its own problems. As Gallandro became overcome by withdrawal in their cramped quarters, escape efforts came to a halt. Solo and his friends gathered around Gallandro to support her as Cilghal used her skills in healing to remove the toxins causing the woman's symptoms. With that complete, Djo suggested they use their lightsabers to clear the ice around the craft. Suiting up for the frigid waters, Solo helped carve away ice until the submersible could move freely.

They returned safely to Crystal Reef, where Zekk recovered the Lightning Rod, leaving only Solo and Djo to pilot the Rock Dragon back to Kessel. Solo and Djo enjoyed their time together, but were alarmed to learn that on Kessel, Jaina and Lowbacca had narrowly foiled a takeover attempt by Black Sun, capturing Czethros and presenting Black Sun from enacting a scheme to take over various major galactic institutions and locations.

Skywalker's apprentice
"Okay, the thing of it is that you were shaped as a weapon by Jedi Masters who were part of a tradition that had developed into peacekeepers. I get the feeling, though, that's not how the Jedi began. I think the Jedi philosophy started as something that strengthened people within. The powers we manifest&mdash;I think those are all outgrowths of the internal strengthening, but a lot of those teachings were lost along the way. I mean, I feel the need for something inside."

- Jacen Solo, to Luke Skywalker

The students made their way back to Yavin 4. There, Solo made a gift to Djo, with whom he was increasingly close, of a necklace of precious gort-egg shell. Skywalker took the students aside individually, and spoke with them about their futures as Jedi. It was decided that Solo and his younger brother would become their uncle's apprentices, traveling with him and being personally tutored in the ways of the Force. Jaina would be apprenticed to Mara Jade Skywalker.

A celebration was to be held to honor the students' progress and accomplishments, and the students' families were invited. Solo was able to apologize to his father for doubting his account of the elder Gallandro's death, and Anja Gallandro herself apologized before taking her leave of the Praxeum. Lacking ability in the Force, she instead took a job with Calrissian. At the ceremony, all the Solo children, Djo, Lowbacca, Zekk, Thul, Lusa, Gallandro, and even M-TD were honored for their roles in foiling the recent plots against the New Republic. After the ceremony, the Solos and Skywalkers took a vacation to Crystal Reef, where they had been invited to enjoy a trip by the local authorities when Solo and his friends had first arrived.



As Skywalker's apprentice, Solo found himself looking to rediscover more aspects of the ancient Jedi, aspects which involved more than battling to uphold the peace. Despite this, Solo disapproved of his Master's desire to reestablish the Jedi High Council, as he had come to believe that being a Jedi Knight was a deeply personal, spiritual matter and Knights should be internally, not externally, guided. A Jedi Council, he felt, would only lead to politicking and corruption. In the same vein, he felt that the Praxeum from which he had recently graduated was a poor idea, too formal and stifling of individual growth. In Solo's eyes, students should find their own way to the Jedi before being taken on individually by a Master to explore the Force. Solo's unorthodox, authority-challenging views led to several discussions with Skywalker, who had a more traditional view of the Jedi's role but valued Solo's opinions and insights nonetheless. Solo also argued fiercely with his brother, who saw the Jedi as bringers of peace and keepers of order whose martial skills were of vital importance. Solo rejected that view, seeing internal harmony and understanding of the Force as a Jedi's goal; the Force was not to be used as a tool to project individual interpretations of the good. Despite this view, Solo felt it his responsibility to lecture his younger brother until Anakin accepted this as truth.

In 25 ABY, after accompanying Skywalker to a meeting of new Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya's Advisory Council on the role of the Jedi, Solo again entered an argument with his brother, which escalated to a lightsaber duel when each insisted that his view of the Force led to a superior connection with it and greater lightsaber technique thereby. Jacen Solo won the sparring session, but his victory hardly settled the philosophical dispute between the two brothers.

Shortly thereafter, the Skywalker and Solo families took a trip to Dubrillion, where Lando Calrissian was running a new mining operation on Dubrillion's sister world Destrillion and the Lando's Folly asteroid belt. During a stopover on Reecee, Solo's Master asked his opinion of resurrecting the Jedi Council, and revealed that he shared the same concerns; however, he felt that the Jedi required oversight and did have duties to the New Republic. Skywalker also rebuked Solo for the pride that he evidenced in his philosophical arguments and his contempt for Fey'lya, warning him against excessive confidence in his views.

On Dubrillion, they toured Calrissian's facilities, and the Solo children eagerly took the chance to "run the belt" by flying a TIE Advanced x1, modified with strong repulsor shields, along the edge of Lando's Folly. Solo went first, surviving over five and a half minutes before he struck an asteroid and spun out of control. Kept safe by the collision shields, Solo was added to the record board. Anakin barely surpassed his time, but Jaina set the new single-pilot record in her run. The performance fueled the debate between Jacen and Anakin Solo of inner peace versus outer skill. Jedi Knight Kyp Durron, currently leading a squadron of fighter pilots against smugglers and a faction of Jedi who argued for an active, interventionist view of of the Jedi, was on Dubrillion and was drawn into the argument when he arrived to congratulate Jaina on her performance. Solo chastised Durron for his actions, regarding him as borrowing trouble and reducing the Jedi to simple galactic police. Durron, undisturbed by Solo's arguments, left with his squadron to investigate odd activity in the Helska system. After Han Solo and Chewbacca made a harrowing paired run of the belt in which their TIE Bomber lost its remotely projected shields, they departed with Anakin to make a delivery to Sernpidal for Calrissian, while the Skywalkers left to investigate a report of trouble at the ExGal Society facility on Belkadan.

The first losses; the first victories
"It's just like when you were younger, Jacen. You're prepared for the job, but you've not done it yet. You're off thinking about the next big thing, and the little thing in front of you might eat you up. The Yuuzhan Vong aren't one of the little adventures we've had in our lives. They are totally serious, and if you look past them, you won get past them."

- Jaina Solo, to Jacen Solo

On Sernpidal and Belkadan, signs a mysterious new threat emerged. On Belkadan, terraformed through unknown means, Mara Jade Skywalker battled a warrior using living weaponry and who could not be felt in the Force. Over Helska 4, strange yorik coral ships destroyed Durron's Dozen-and-Two Avengers. Only Durron escaped to report on the frighteningly capable craft. The most devastating news for Solo came from Sernpidal, where a strange creature caused the moon Dobido to collide with the planet. Separated from the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca was able to throw Anakin to safety. When Chewbacca could not be retrieved in time, Anakin was forced to speed away in the Millennium Falcon in order to save it and the refugees aboard. The Solos' Wookiee "uncle" died in the planetary catastrophe, among the first victims of the Yuuzhan Vong, an extragalactic race dedicated to conquering the galaxy.

Han and Anakin shepherded the Sernpidal refugees to Dubrillion, where the Yuuzhan Vong invaders followed. On Anakin's return, Solo learned of Chewbacca's death, and told his younger brother that, despite Han's anger, he had had no other choice and Chewbacca would not have wanted the others to die hopelessly attempting to save him. With the news that the enemy fleet was slowly approaching Dubrillion, Solo and his siblings volunteered to fight in the coming battle. Overcoming their parents' objections, they were allowed to pilot three of Calrissian's remotely shielded TIEs, armed with a single laser and rack of torpedoes, only so long as they remained in the atmosphere and within range of the Belt-Runner I, powering their shields.



When the battle came, the Solos flew as an atmospheric patrol, intercepting enemy coralskipper fighters which slipped through the orbital defenses before they could come within range of the planetary turbolasers. When Belt-Runner I came under attack, it was no longer able to shield them, leaving their fighters vulnerable. With the shields no longer in play, Jaina insisted the warning to stay atmospheric had ceased to be valid, and led the others into the main orbital battle. There, their excellent teamwork attracted enemy attention. While the swarm of enemies led the rest of the defenders to call a retreat to the atmosphere, Anakin insisted the Solos run the belt. He called to the other two Jedi through the Force, suggesting they join minds in the Force. Giving themselves over to the Force and sharing perceptions, they were able to evade the asteroids and easily target the Yuuzhan Vong fighters. The strain of the intense bond slowly proved too much for Anakin to coordinate, ending the experiment and forcing the unshielded Jedi to abandon Lando's Folly. Anakin was forced to jump blindly to hyperspace, and a furious Han ordered the twins back to Dubrillion.

With the Yuuzhan Vong attack blunted by the diversion of much of the attack force into the asteroid belt, the twins were greeted as heroes when they landed. In the aftermath of the experience, Solo felt that the perfect teamwork he had experienced called into question his belief that the Force was to be used purely internally, considering its application in battle too powerful and practical to ignore. Meanwhile, the Millennium Falcon recovered Anakin and returned to Dubrillion, where Calrissian's men had captured one of the enemy fighters, its pilot dead. Skywalker intended to use the ooglith cloaker environment suit and gnullith breather, combined with an iceborer ship, to infiltrate the Yuuzhan Vong base of operations on Helska 4; however, Solo was convinced that the Skywalkers should not undertake the mission; Jade Solo, who would be piloting the carry ship Merry Miner to deliver and recover the iceborer, was suffering from a severe and mysterious disease. Instead, the twins became convinced that they ought to be the ones to carry out the mission.

Convinced no one else would see the merits of their plan, the Solos did not seek permission before they took off in the Merry Miner, leaving only a message with R2-D2. In the Helska system, the launch of the iceborer went smoothly, but before he reached the planet, Solo sensed a cry for help through the Force. He altered his course toward the signal, alerting the Yuuzhan Vong to his presence, before bringing the iceborer through the thick crust of ice coating Helska 4's waters. He left the iceborer and, disguised in his ooglith cloaker, was assumed to be a Yuuzhan Vong by a procession of warriors who ordered him into line. This proved fortuitous, as the warriors traveled to a cell holding Durron's apprentice Miko Reglia, shot down in the earlier battle, and the woman Danni Quee, whom Solo was surprised to recognize as the source of the Force call. The warriors finally realizing that something was amiss, Solo was forced to battle them. Quee handled one, and Reglia, broken by Yuuzhan Vong torture, gave his life to remove the ooglith cloakers of a pair and carry them into the freezing water. Solo killed the other three and pulled Quee to the iceborer. He broke back through the ice and launched to space, where a New Republic task force had engaged the Yuuzhan Vong and been defeated. Jaina caught his ship and, with the Millennium Falcon and Jade Sabre, returned to Dubrillion.

Due to the design of the craft, Solo was forced to remain in the intensely cramped one-man tube with Quee for the entirety of the trip as he attempted to comfort the traumatized captive. Quee, a scientist at the ExGal-4 station on Belkadan, was able to explain much of the extragalactic aliens' invasion, equipment, and methodology: they sought to conquer the galaxy, and they utilized a living, sentient war coordinator, a yammosk, to direct the coralskippers' efforts. When Anakin and Quee came up with the idea of turning the yammosk's tremendous energy output back on the planet to freeze the planet by intense evaporation, Calrissian was able to provide the shieldships to reflect the energy. A quick stopover on Dubrillion allowed them to marshal their forces, and then the New Republic fighters returned to Helska, this time with Solo in the ventral turret of the Millennium Falcon. Many coralskippers had left to harry Dubrillion, and the attack took the Yuuzhan Vong by surprise. Solo provided cover for the shieldships as they sapped heat from Helska 4. The yammosk was killed, and the ice world exploded under the strain of the energy wreaking havoc on it.



While the Yuuzhan Vong attack had been blunted, Quee and the Solos and Skywalkers believed they had defeated only the earliest segment of a much larger invasion force. The New Republic's leadership did not see things the same way, however, and did not wish to put itself on a crisis footing, panicking the populace, for what they believed to have been an isolated, defeated threat. To formulate a Jedi response to the threat, Skywalker called a convocation of the Jedi two months after the initial invasion, which Solo attended. Skywalker shared the confusing news that the Yuuzhan Vong could not be sensed in the Force; they seemed invisible to or outside it. When Durron confidently stated the Jedi's ability to handle the threat, Solo spoke up to criticize him for overconfidence. Skywalker cut short an argument, but supported Solo's point, stating that he would direct the Jedi to gather information and prepare for war rather than attempt to carry on a war themselves. Jedi Knight Corran Horn brought the Solo brothers to see Skywalker about their assignments afterward. Anakin was instructed to accompany their aunt to Dantooine, where she could work on recovering from her debilitating illness. Before Jacen Solo's assignment was revealed, he revealed to his Master that he felt he should have no assignment, as he was having second thoughts about being a Jedi. Solo felt that the Jedi Order had fallen away from its origins as a meditative order, and the current Jedi Order was not fulfilling his need for an internally-focused, contemplative relationship with the Force. Skywalker insisted that he could not abandon his Jedi duty to protect life in the galaxy, and Horn pointed out that there was much to be learned from action as well as meditation. Skywalker denied Solo's request, insisting that he needed Solo's assistance on a dangerous mission to return to Belkadan. If, afterward, Solo decided that he required time alone for introspection, he could take it.

On approaching Belkadan, the two Jedi detected that its atmosphere was nearly returned to its norm, unlike the noxious hothouse atmosphere the Skywalkers had earlier encountered. Solo landed their craft, the GAT-12 Skipray Blastboat Courage, covertly near the ExGal facility. There they found a warning display of smashed technology, but no life. They moved on to an area where, on landing, they had sensed life which felt unnatural and diseased. There they found an encampment growing Yuuzhan Vong biological technology and worked by captives, slaves implanted with coral "slave seeds" which allowed the Yuuzhan Vong to exert control over them. Solo was convinced they should free the slaves, but Skywalker resisted the idea, stating that they did not know enough about the situation to risk freeing the slaves, whose lives might be beyond saving. Unhappily, the younger Jedi assented.

After a week of scouting the area in which the Yuuzhan Vong were growing their weapons and equipment with slave labor, Solo experienced a vivid dream in which he freed the slaves he had found the first day. Accompanying it was a sense of urgency which convinced him it was a Force vision, a prompting from the Force to liberate the Yuuzhan Vong's captives. He accepted the mission, sneaking from the Jedi camp in the ExGal station in the middle of the night. As he proceeded to the slave quarters exactly as he had seen in his vision, his sense of certainty grew. Finding the slaves at work in a villip paddy, he boldly summoned them to follow him. Rather than fleeing with him, the slaves were alarmed and retreated. Their Yuuzhan Vong overseer engaged Solo in combat. The Yuuzhan Vong warrior was able to gain the upper hand, as his amphistaff and vonduun crab armor resisted Solo's lightsaber. Unable to use the Force to move the Yuuzhan Vong, Solo was held underwater until he passed out.

Awakening in the Embrace of Pain, a Yuuzhan Vong torture device, Solo questioned whether he had used a simple dream as an excuse to do what he had wanted from the beginning and resolved to listen to more experienced Jedi in the future. The Embrace of Pain caused him too much pain to concentrate on using the Force, and he was unable to defend himself when a Yuuzhan Vong creature arrived and planted a surge coral seed on Solo's cheekbone. Shocked when his lightsaber flew out the door, Solo was able to look up and see Skywalker, wielding two lightsabers, defeat three Yuuzhan Vong warriors. The Jedi Master cut Solo free and removed the slave seed. Reporting that the slaves no longer existed in the Force&mdash;dead or given over completely to the Yuuzhan Vong implants&mdash;Skywalker insisted that they had to leave immediately for Dantooine.

On the front lines
Skywalker had felt that his wife and nephew were in danger from Yuuzhan Vong pursuers on Dantooine. Landing on the wilderness planet, Solo and Skywalker followed the Force to find three attackers about to kill Anakin. Skywalker saved Anakin while Solo knocked out the other two Yuuzhan Vong. They returned to the Courage but did not leave Dantooine, as Solo's mother and sister had landed on another continent with a large band of refugees from Dubrillion, which had fallen to the invaders. At the refugee camp, Solo found that his twin had joined the elite Rogue Squadron and would be serving with the other fighter pilots in the camp's defense. Jacen and Anakin Solo, along with Skywalker, assisted the New Republic Army forces guarding the perimeter. Solo also spoke with Quee, who had been traveling with Jaina and Leia Organa Solo and working on the Force skills Solo had discovered in her. In his conversation, Quee helped him realize that he was comfortable, at least for the time, taking a path of action and defense rather than retreating to meditate&mdash;he had found that his place was, in fact, with the Jedi. Quee, five years older, also gently deflected Solo's questions about romance, saying she valued him as a friend and could not trust her feelings in a time of such upheaval.

When the Yuuzhan Vong attack arrived, a concentrated assault of ground troops dominated by Chazrach slave-soldiers, Solo and his brother were ordered to the southwest corner of the defenses. As the Chazrach pressed into the New Republic lines, the Jedi were forced into a desperate defense. Skywalker was able to use the Force to push one of the gravitic anomalies the Yuuzhan Vong assault craft used as shields back onto the vehicle itself, destroying the command center for the assault. Without central control over their surge coral implants, the Chazrach went mad. Many of them made it into the camp, but their rampage was halted before the next wave of Yuuzhan Vong arrived. Though previous supply difficulties had forced the refugees to stop on Dantooine, many had been killed in the fighting and their position was no longer defensible. The New Republic forces took advantage of the respite to evacuate the refugees. The arrival of a pair of capital ships under the command of Admiral Traest Kre'fey drove off the Yuuzhan Vong fleet and allowed the refugee convoy to escape. Though Solo had accepted it as his duty to defend the refugees, in the aftermath of the carnage battling the seemingly mindless Chazrach, he found himself questioning whether the fighting had truly been the duty of a Jedi. He felt that he was receiving conflicting signals as to whether action or contemplation was the right course for him. After discussing his feelings with Anakin, he decided to simply walk the paths the Force presented to him, and learn what he could from each.



All the Solos returned to Coruscant, where Han, still dealing with his grief over Chewbacca's death, had given himself over to drinking. When Skywalker called another Jedi convocation, Solo attended. Skywalker made a decision to limit the scope of Jedi activity to helping refugees and gathering information until they knew enough about the invaders to formulate successful battle plans. Meanwhile, the New Republic refused to support Jedi action, as they were seen as ineffective and meddlesome through the war so far. Corran Horn, though, had been reactivated by the military and charged with leading a covert mission to the conquered world of Garqi to contact the resistance and gain information. Horn was assigned six Noghri commandos and two civilian observers, selecting Solo Jedi Knight Ganner Rhysode.

Solo spent a week in briefing and training before shipping out aboard the Ralroost, on which Jaina was stationed with Rogue Squadron. Solo had a conversation with Jaina in which his twin criticized him for looking beyond the mission at hand to focus on philosophical issues and urged him to turn his attention to surviving the mission to Garqi and learning from Horn and Rhysode, as he could not afford to look beyond the Yuuzhan Vong. When it came time for the scouting team to be inserted to Garqi, they boarded the shuttle Best Chance, hidden inside Lost Hope. Only the mission team, Kre'fey, and the technicians working on the ship knew that Lost Hope was intended to explode, allowing Best Chance to land without suspicion. The plan went off smoothly, with a false engine failure providing the explosion and cover for their landing. Solo withdrew in the Force from his sister, piloting her X-wing in the battle, as she, like all the others, was not intended to know the reality of the situation until the battle was over so that the enemy could not possibly be tipped off by their reactions.

After landing, the team met up with the Garqi Resistance and traveled to the planetary capital of Pesktda. There, they found the Yuuzhan Vong building an army of slaves covered in surge coral armor. Horn proposed that when the Yuuzhan Vong carried out war games in the city to train their slave army, the strike team capture some of the slaves in the confusion and take them offworld for study, attempting to develop a counter to the process without the Yuuzhan Vong knowing their research had been compromised. The New Republic strike team waited in the utility conduits under the training area during the next exercise. When the combat reached their area, Solo and the others exited and engaged the Chazrach comprising the bulk of the Yuuzhan Vong forces. Rhysode, Horn, and Resistance snipers killed the three Yuuzhan Vong leading the war game, causing the rest of the troops to retreat. The team grabbed two downed slave soldiers, but a coralskipper soon arrived. Horn ordered Solo to retreat while he held off the fighter. Instead, Solo used the Force to grab a heavy hatch cover and hold it against the coralskipper's plasma emitter. The ship was destroyed in the plasma backwash, and Horn pulled Solo out of the way of its debris.

Hotly pursued by the Yuuzhan Vong and still two hours away from their extraction time, the New Republic team fled to the Pesktda Xenobotanical Garden while two of the Noghri and the Garqi Resistance fighters sneaked away with the captives. Solo and Horn formed the rearguard, taking significant harassment from Yuuzhan Vong warriors. They holed up in the Ithorian section of the gardens, where they were challenged by Yuuzhan Vong commander Krag Val and six other warriors. Val killed a Noghri and wounded Rhysode with a slash across the face before Solo reached him and struck down Val. The other enemy warriors were killed by their own vonduun crab armor, which had an allergic reaction to the Ithorian bafforr tree pollen and swelled, suffocating the warriors. Horn, recognizing the value of this knowledge, ordered that the forest be burned to prevent the Yuuzhan Vong from realizing what had occurred. Solo objected to killing the semi-sentient bafforrs, but Horn insisted it was the best hope for the galaxy.

Instead of the suicidal last stand they had expected, the Jedi found that they had won a victory, and were able to make it to the Best Chance before extraction. Despite the arrival of an unexpected enemy fleet, Kre'fey's task force, with the surprise help of Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, leader of the Imperial Remnant, and a small force under his command, successfully recovered the Best Chance. Once they were safely away, Solo prepared the scouting team's report, while the combined New Republic and Imperial task forces proceeded to Ithor, intent on securing the bafforr population. They prepared for an invasion, expecting that the Yuuzhan Vong would soon realize the threat Ithor posed. In order for the Jedi to travel from the floading herdships to Ithor's surface, sacred to the Ithorians, they had to attend a purifying ceremony with High Priest Relal Tawron. Tawron required each Jedi to publicly state a part of himself which was holding him back, and which he renounced as part of the purification. Envious of the others' ease in finding their problems and desperate to realize what would allow him that same certainty and peace, Solo finally rejected his own need to know his future role, concentrating his focus on the present and leaving aside his urgency to know at that moment what he would become.

When a Yuuzhan Vong fleet arrived in the system, the Ithorian herdships were evacuated with the exception of Tafanda Bay, which the Jedi retained as an ambush ground for the Yuuzhan Vong. In order to extend the time the herdships had to evacuate, Horn proposed that he challenge Shedao Shai, the enemy commander, to a duel, which would allow the New Republic to keep Ithor or return to Shai the remains of an ancestor who had died scouting the galaxy, depending on who won. Before the duel there would be a truce to allow further evacuation. Solo was uncomfortable with the plan and attempted to talk Horn out of it, reasoning that Horn was seeking revenge for Shai's murder of Elegos A'Kla, a senator and friend of Horn's who had attempted to seek understanding of the invaders. Horn insisted that he was acting from impersonal motives, which Solo reluctantly accepted.

When the Yuuzhan Vong made their attack, Solo served on the surface of Ithor with Horn and Rhysode. While the Yuuzhan Vong landing force concentrated on attacking a droid-defended facility built over a large bomb as a trap, the Jedi took the landing craft serving as Shai's command center. Horn issued his challenge by villip to Shai, who accepted. A week later, Horn won the duel, but Shai's successor in command, Deign Lian, did not honor the agreement and instead bombarded Ithor with a bioengineered toxin which extinguished all life on the planet. Horn, reeling from negative press coverage which portrayed him and the Jedi as fools whose actions led to the destruction of Ithor and from his realization that he had in fact sought vengeance, left the Jedi Order, offering himself as a scapegoat. Solo objected, furious at the idea that the Jedi would bow to political pressure and public slurs, but Skywalker accepted Horn's reasoning and Horn urged Solo to stand behind Skywalker.

Six months after Chewbacca's death, Solo and his family attended a service on Kashyyyk for the fallen Wookiee. Han, still dealing with his grief, afterward departed with his old friend Roa to investigate the Peace Brigade, a group of mercenaries working for the Yuuzhan Vong. In the course of his travels, he encountered Elan and Vergere, a Yuuzhan Vong priestess and her familiar who claimed to wish to defect to the New Republic. The information was brought before Skywalker, who revealed to a gathering of Jedi which included Solo that the priestess insisted on meeting with the Jedi leadership, claiming to have information about Jade Skywalker's illness. Though the other Jedi expressed doubts, Skywalker intended to go through with the plan, though only he and his wife would meet with Elan and Vergere. Solo objected, insisting that the Skywalkers were the last people who should step into what was almost certainly a trap. He volunteered himself for the duty, and as others clamored to be included, Skywalker agreed to let a large group of Jedi attend and share the risk. The decision was rendered moot when Elan was revealed as a traitor prior to the meeting. Vergere, however, fled after giving Han Solo a vial of her tears&mdash;tears which had been manipulated to provide an antidote to Jade Skywalker's disease.



Approximately a month later, the New Republic, working on reactivating Centerpoint Station for use against the Yuuzhan Vong, attempted to recruit Anakin to assist their efforts. Solo objected vigorously, insisting that as a superweapon, Centerpoint should be used only for defense, not aggression. The pair got into a heated argument at the Praxeum in front of several senior Jedi, which was settled when Skywalker arrived. Skywalker shared Solo's concerns over the possible uses of Centerpoint, but felt that the defensive potential of the station was too great to leave it dormant. Determined to see that caution was exercised in the superweapon's use, Solo determined to travel to Centerpoint with his brother and observe the reactivation.

The Solos traveled to Drall, where they were reunited with Marcha and Ebrihim. Their arrival, and the New Republic takeover of Centerpoint station, was the subject of harsh protests with which Solo found it difficult to disagree. The Drall revealed that the New Republic planned to use the space station not as a defensive weapon, but in an ambush against the Yuuzhan Vong. Anakin suggested that he attempt to find a way to re-enable the weapon so that it could only be used defensively. The group traveled to Centerpoint, where, they found Thrackan Sal-Solo, paroled to assist in the reactivation effort. Anakin was immediately able to reactivate Centerpoint's systems, which had imprinted on him eight years prior when he operated the Drall repulsor. Soon thereafter, Yuuzhan Vong ships launched for what the New Republic expected to be an attack on temptingly under-defended Corellia. Instead, the enemy made a surprise attack on Fondor. Sal-Solo argued that they should target the Yuuzhan Vong fleet from a distance with Centerpoint's powerful repulsor as the only chance to save Fondor. The others in the room agreed, but Solo objected to the offensive use of the superweapon. Anakin looked to his older brother for guidance, and Solo forbade him from firing the weapon. Anakin complied, but Sal-Solo rushed to the controls and took the shot himself. Anakin could have made the precise shot, but Sal-Solo's sloppy targeting incinerated three quarters of the Hapan reinforcements Organa Solo had recruited into the New Republic's war effort and damaged some of the system's celestial bodies as it destroyed half the attacking fleet. The Yuuzhan Vong withdrew, though tremendous losses were inflicted on the New Republic's cause. Solo was disgusted that Corellian news reports painted Sal-Solo as a hero, but was proud that his brother had not fired the weapon.

Deep doubts
"I slipped. I fell, barely on the dark side of&hellip;of the balance point. Everything started to slide. Everything. Do we have the right to use this&hellip;magnificent, terrifying light&hellip;as if we were in charge of the universe?"

- Jacen Solo, to Luke Skywalker

Han returned to the family with many of his issues resolved, but Solo had new issues himself, coming to doubt his choice at Centerpoint and struggling to reconcile defense and aggression. He eventually decided that as evil could not be fought with evil, violence could not be stopped with violence. He not only ceased fighting, but ceased using the Force in order to completely prevent any misuse. Excusing himself from more active Jedi missions he was not sure he could support, Solo traveled to Duro, where Han oversaw Settlement 32, a refugee camp in which the Ryn friends and relatives of Droma, an individual Han had befriended during his time away, were staying. Solo helped his father manage the camp and adjudicate disputes. During one such dispute resolution, Solo was struck by the sensation of Jaina's pain through their twin bond. Collapsing, he entered a vision in which Luke Skywalker battled a Yuuzhan Vong atop the disk of the galaxy. Skywalker threw his lightsaber to Solo, who missed the catch and offset the galaxy's balance. As Solo desperately attempted to interpret the vision, a voice told him, "Stand firm." He was unable to do so, and slipped into the darkness to which the galaxy had tilted. Solo was shocked by the vision, which seemed to warn him that even a single misstep in these times could doom the galaxy.

When Solo awoke, he insisted that he and his father contact Rogue Squadron to find out what had happened to Jaina. They learned that Jaina had been injured in battle, but was recovering safely. Shortly thereafter they were contacted by the New Republic with the news that Jaina's corneas had been damaged in the battle, but would heal. She was furloughed to Duro, to be cared for by her family until she was ready to return to combat. When she arrived, Solo found her accommodations and on her assistance broke the moratorium had imposed on Force use to help Jaina into a healing trance.

Life continued at the camp, with Solo fending off the efforts of the young Hutt Randa Besadii Diori to recruit him into a grandiose but idle scheme for an irregular squadron battling the invaders. Solo also had to deal with CorDuro Shipping rerouting supplies meant for the refugee camp to the Duros orbital cities. A sudden change came when Solo found an infestation of synthplas-eating insects. He took them to Han and organized an effort to root them out before they damaged the containment dome which kept the settlement safe from Duro's noxious atmosphere. Meanwhile, Solo and his sister attempted to connect to the offices of the Senate Select Committee for Refugees, SELCORE, in order to locate their mother, who was working for SELCORE but had dropped out of contact. They were able to contact Senator Viqi Shesh, who was in charge of SELCORE, but made no progress. Solo, however, found himself highly suspicious of Shesh's demeanor and her administration of the agency.

Several nights later, Solo awoke to a sensation of danger. He roused Jaina and found that the infestation of insects, thought removed, had pupated and become an infestation of moths. Summoning the settlement's leadership, Solo began putting the repair droids to work combating the moths. There proved to be too many to control, and the camp had to be evacuated. Solo helped manage the effort, and stunned Diori when the Hutt became belligerent over his place on board one of the evacuation crawlers. As they headed for the larger settlement of Gateway, Solo was contacted by their authorities, who insisted that the newcomers would have to undergo decontamination to be sure the infestation did not spread. On arriving at Gateway, Solo was shocked to discover that his mother had been administering the nearby camp all along. While most of the Settlment 32 population remained in quarantine, Solo led the expedition that returned to the breached dome-city seeking to recover possessions left behind, as well as the ships remaining there. He had to intervene to protect some Ryn in the expedition from a mutant Fefze beetle, but refused to kill the creature, instead only distracting it. When five beetles menaced a pair of vulnerable Vors, however, he was forced to kill. More beetles were drawn to his lightsaber, forcing him to throw it away and run. Before he departed on the Millennium Falcon for Gateway, he reluctantly called on the Force to summon the lightsaber back to him.

Solo was decontaminated, which required that he be shaved and irradiated, and began assisting his mother with Gateway's management. When another CorDuro-handled shipment went missing, Solo traveled to the capital orbital city of Bburru to lodge a complaint and attempt to resolve the situation. Solo met with Vice-Director Durgard Brarun, where two other guests, seemingly a pair of Kubaz, revealed themselves through the Force as Luke Skywalker and Anakin Solo. Brarun was nervous and hostile, and effectively admitted to stealing supplies. Without authorization, Solo took the risk of offering the Duros a cut of future goods from the settlers on the surface, working to make Duro habitable once more. Brarun offered to house him as a guest while they continued negotiations. In his room, Solo was approached by his Master. He shared his vision and his concerns with Skywalker, who expressed approval of Solo's desire to make a stand against misuse of the Force and seek his own path, but cautioned that Solo approached dangerous pride in his belief in the importance of his own insights. Skywalker departed with a warning that Solo's resolution not to use the Force would put not only himself but also his loved ones in danger.

In his room, a Sunesi servant named Gnosos approached Solo, warning him that he was in danger and should escape. He provided the means to do so, but before Solo left, his sister arrived. While Solo still hoped to negotiate, Jaina revealed that her investigation, along with the Skywalkers and Anakin, had tied Brarun to the Peace Brigade and to Nom Anor, a Yuuzhan Vong secret agent in Gateway. The pair fled in a hoverpod provided by Gnosos and returned to Gateway, where they found Organa Solo preparing for yet another evacuation, expecting a Yuuzhan Vong attack to follow Anor's unmasking. The assault force appeared almost immediately, and the sabotaged planetary shields failed to cover Gateway. Solo rushed to find his father, who was overseeing the digging of an emergency shelter in the mines underneath Gateway. He led the rest of his family and many refugees there just before the Yuuzhan Vong landed at Gateway. Solo volunteered to accompany his mother and sister in a return to the administration building to activate the mining laser stored there. When Organa Solo asked him to use the Force to help free some refugees, Solo refused, feeling that this was the moment of his crisis. From secrecy atop the building, Jaina was forced to lift a droid herself from the pit into which the Yuuzhan Vong were throwing technological devices and drop it onto a group of the guards, allowing their prisoners to scatter.



Inside the administration building, Organa Solo showed the twins an escape hatch into the mine network, insisting that they should leave after she and her Noghri guard Olmahk brought the mining laser to the roof for their strike. Before they could do so, a Yuuzhan Vong patrol happened upon them. Organa Solo shut the door between her children and the fight, ordering them to run into the tunnels as she and Olmahk fought the Yuuzhan Vong. As Solo ran, however, he could not shake a feeling that he must return. He ordered Jaina to continue to the transport which Han and Droma were readying and tell them what had happened. Sneaking back into the building, he hid in a small storage closet, waiting for the moment in which he sensed his destiny would be resolved and struggling with his uncertainty as to what the Force required of him and whether he should return to using it. Finally, he made the conclusion to act, but to remain true to his pledge to cease his Force use. When he heard his mother's screams as she was tortured, Solo rushed out of the closet, attacking a pair of Yuuzhan Vong guards in the stairwell. He was able to defeat one without the Force, and the other fled to a room where Solo confronted Anor, several attendants, and the Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster Tsavong Lah. Realizing he had to stop them from killing his mother, and that he could not battle them without the Force, he drew upon it at last. Giving himself over to the Force, he battled Lah and his minions, whirling a barrage of objects at his opponents. Lah was struck by a desk and plummeted out a window, crushing his left foot.

Jaina arrived just as Solo won the battle. Tending to his mother's injuries, he allowed Jaina to lead him to the evacuation ship as he used the Force to control the bleeding from Organa Solo's mangled legs. They made their way through the tunnels to the Millennium Falcon, where they stabilized Organa Solo and manned the turrets as they escorted a handful of other transports containing all the Gateway residents who could be saved. They escaped into hyperspace and rendezvoused with the Jade Shadow. In order to avoid attracting attention, the twins transferred over to that ship and returned to Coruscant while Han took Organa Solo to nearby Corellia for emergency medical treatment. During their escape, Solo was able to feel through the Force that his aunt was pregnant, but as neither of the Skywalkers had revealed that to their family, he kept his knowledge to himself for the moment.

Tsavong Lah had survived and, furious, made a speech in which he claimed to offer peace to the galaxy, so long as they turned over the Jedi. His special desire was to seize Jacen Solo for sacrifice. The Senate began to consider the Peace Vote proposed by Senator Shesh, which would have accepted Lah's terms and outlawed the Jedi in exchange for peace. Meanwhile, Peace Brigaders and other fearful collaborators began to turn in, hunt down, and otherwise betray the Jedi.

On Coruscant, Solo reported on CorDuro's collaboration with the Peace Brigade and Yuuzhan Vong, but without strong corroborating evidence, the case stalled. On their return from Corellia, however, Han and Leia Organa Solo, working with the Jedi Eelysa and her Wild Knights squadron of Jedi, were able to provide further proof of CorDuro corruption and even link the company's collaborationism to Shesh, who arranged for assassination attempts on Organa Solo. Solo was present when his mother, still healing, presented her case to the Senate Corruption Panel. Victor Pomt, Staff Chief for Shesh, took the fall, preventing Shesh from being condemned as a traitor. Shesh's reputation suffered enough damage that, as Solo anxiously watched the newscasts, the Peace Vote was resoundingly rejected.

Meanwhile, Skywalker gathered the Jedi to discuss their rising persecution. There, Solo argued with Kyp Durron, who advocated a more aggressive "Jedi for the Jedi" response over Skywalker's suggestion of a more cautious, measured response. During a recess, Solo spoke with his siblings, who were discussing ways to be more proactive without degenerating into aggression. Attempting to figure out which worlds and Jedi would most be at risk, they realized that the Praxeum was vulnerable. They presented their concerns to Skywalker, who revealed he was already working on the problem, but the New Republic was stalling the evacuation and he could not get in touch with Booster Terrik, whom he wished to have keep the students safe aboard his personal Star Destroyer Errant Venture.

Feeling he had to act, Anakin covertly set out for Yavin 4. Meanwhile, Skywalker dispatched Talon Karrde to evacuate the students, but when he arrived he found that the Peace Brigade had already descended on Yavin 4. Karrde was able to evacuate most of the students, but Anakin, Tahiri Veila, Valin Horn, and Sannah were left on the planet. Karrde and his forces remained in orbit, attempting to hold off a Yuuzhan Vong fleet. When Karrde's lieutenant Shada D'ukal arrived on Coruscant with the rescued students, Skywalker appealed to Chief of State Fey'lya for relief, but Fey'lya did not want to break the truce the Yuuzhan Vong were currently extending and denied New Republic support. At Skywalker's behest, Solo and his sister began to comb the galaxy for Booster Terrik, Corran Horn's father-in-law and Valin Horn's grandfather, and his mobile headquarters. Mara Jade Skywalker initially wanted to travel with them, but Skywalker advised that they would have to lie low in order to avoid violating Fey'lya's injunction on a Jedi rescue mission. In the course of the conversation, it came out that Jade Skywalker was pregnant, and Solo had to admit that he had already known.



To keep the Jedi students from being revealed on Coruscant, the Solos took them along on the Jade Shadow, seeking to house them with Terrik when they found the smuggler and information broker. Though Terrik had largely dropped out of contact, Jaina thought that he could most likely be found running arms for the Hutt resistance movement. As Corran Horn was living in exile aboard the Errant Venture, Solo spent much time deep in meditation, attempting to locate Horn through the Force. He eventually did, and Terrik was eager to rush to the defense of his grandson. When the Errant Venture arrived at Yavin 4, Solo found his brother making his escape with the remaining students, as well as Qorl and the ex-Peace Brigader Remis Vehn. Solo, Jaina, and Horn piloted their X-wings in support of the escape and were able to safely recover Vehn's craft, rescue Karrde's outgunned force, and fight off the Yuuzhan Vong fleet. Anakin shared with Jacen his belief that during his time on the run on Yavin 4, working alongside a Yuuzhan Vong Shamed One&mdash;a member of their disgraced lowest caste&mdash;he had come to a new understanding of the Yuuzhan Vong as persons and in the Force, and was now able to battle them with confidence and without succumbing to the dark side. Solo was concerned that his brother remained set on fighting, but was encouraged that an understanding could be found.

Solo spent the next months crewing aboard the Millennium Falcon with his father and mother as they attempted to set up a network for hunted Jedi to flee to safety, dubbed the "Great River" by Skywalker. During one trip, the Millennium Falcon was suddenly pulled out of space by a Yuuzhan Vong Vua'spar interdictor. Solo, in one of the turrets, was knocked out with the rest of the crew by some type of enemy device. The first to awake, he roused the older Solos and Organa Solo's two Noghri bodyguards, then prepared to repel boarders. When a grutchin ate its way through the hull, Solo killed it and proceeded up the cofferdam behind it. There he killed two Yuuzhan Vong and cut the cofferdam, which sealed itself shut just before Solo would have been swept out into vacuum. While Han worked on returning power to the Millennium Falcon, Solo came up with the idea of using the garbage vent to launch a series of concussion missiles at the interdictor. With the missiles distracting the interdictor and Solo on a quad laser turret, the Millennium Falcon was able to make good its escape.

They traveled to Shelter, a secret Jedi base the Solos had helped construct in the middle of the Maw. There, all three Solos met with Lando Calrissian, who was managing Shelter, and representatives of various resistance groups. Solo helped mediate as they attempted to extend the Great River into a system by which the Jedi could aid resistance movements across the galaxy in their battles against the invaders. After the meeting, the Solos set out again. When they exited hyperspace in occupied territory, they detected a suspicious ship nearby, and observed as it met a Yuuzhan Vong escort. The Solos now had corroborating evidence for Calrissian's earlier assertion that the Peace Brigade was handling shipping within Yuuzhan Vong territory. Han decided to take the opportunity to destroy the enemy craft, but Jacen Solo objected that he had agreed to come along because there would be no unnecessary attacks. Han, fed up with his son's philosophical objections, angrily told the young man to simply follow orders and not expect everyone else to be bound by his moral qualms. Solo manned a turret as the Millennium Falcon destroyed the Yuuzhan Vong escort. Han and Jacen Solo boarded the freighter, Tinmolok, subdued the crew, and set them adrift on a shuttle with a warning that the "Princess of Blood" would privateer any other craft supplying the enemy. Solo still objected to their aggressive acts, but Han told him to follow orders or leave when they returned to Shelter with the captured ship.

At Shelter, both Solo men turned to working on the E-wing fighters the Tinmolok had carried, attempting to ignore the growing tension between father and son. Solo struggled with his father's ultimatum, and ultimately decided that he had to remain with his parents, putting his skills to work to prevent unnecessary loss of life in future hijackings. When Organa Solo confronted him about his clash with his father and explained that Han was simply struggling to understand his son and thought Solo ashamed of him, Solo was stricken and spoke up to reconcile with his father.

The Solos returned to privateering, and captured five Peace Brigade ships before making port on Tatooine to meet with Shalo, one of Han's contacts. As Han did not trust the man, they had Talon Karrde provide backup. When, during the meeting, Shalo attempted to have his enforcers collect the bounty on Solo, Karrde's people had already dealt with them. Han forced Shalo to reveal where the collaborationists were operating in Mos Eisley before more of Shalo's employees began to attack. The two Solos and Karrde's employees were able to fight off the Peace Brigade attackers, and on leaving they were able to interrogate Shalo, whom they had captured. Shalo admitted that a large convoy would be stopping at Tatooine in two days. The Solos prepared an ambush with Karrde, but it turned out that it was the privateers who were ambushed when an interdictor entered the system. During the battle, Warmaster Lah, aboard the interdictor Sunulok, called a truce while he demanded that Solo be turned over to him. Han took the opportunity to overwhelm the Sunolok ' s dovin basal shields with the liquid hydrogen cargo of one of the convoy ships. The interdiction field went down as the dovin basals attempted to shield the Sunulok, and the Millennium Falcon fled to hyperspace with Karrde's ships.

As they made their way back to Shelter, Solo felt his aunt's sudden pain through the Force as she nearly succumbed to her disease. However, with Skywalker's assistance, she was able to purge herself of the disease once and for all as she gave birth to Solo's new cousin, Ben Skywalker. The Solos quickly diverted to the Errant Venture to be with their family.

In 27 ABY, when the Yuuzhan Vong threatened to kill hundreds of thousands of refugees at Talfaglio if the Jedi did not surrender, Solo was present at a small summit Skywalker held at Eclipse, the new secret Jedi base in the Deep Core. Solo was convinced that both attempting a half-cocked rescue mission and doing nothing were unacceptable, but could find no alternative, and the Jedi did not settle on a course of action. When his mother was injured subduing several voxyn, specially created Jedi-hunting creatures newly appearing in the Yuuzhan Vong arsenal, aboard a ship over Coruscant, Solo traveled to the capital planet to be with her. Solo was present when Organa Solo spoke to the New Republic Military Oversight Committee concerning the Talfaglio issue. When Shesh used the opportunity to oppose the Jedi, Solo suggested an ambush of the blockade using an unexpected route to Talfaglio. The committee voted in support of Solo's plan, but with an insufficient majority to bypass a vote of the full Senate. Fey'lya moved the issue to a military study group, outraging Organa Solo at the possibly fatal delay. She declared herself once more done with politics, to Solo's dismay.

Everything changes


When Cilghal, who was researching the voxyn, discovered the location of the voxyn queen, she called a meeting which Solo attended. As their cells degenerated extremely quickly, destroying the voxyn queen, from whom the rest were cloned, would severely limit the voxyn threat. Cighal was able to determine that the voxyn queen was on or near Myrkr. It was impossible for the Jedi to sneak across the enemy frontier, leading Anakin to suggest that a group of young Jedi allow themselves to be turned over and carried across the enemy border before commandeering the enemy craft and setting off for Myrkr. Dissent emerged over the plan&mdash;Han argued that it was too risky, Skywalker that senior rather than younger Jedi should go, and Solo that the Jedi should not act at all due to the danger of even more severe Yuuzhan Vong retaliation at Talfaglio. Skywalker quieted the heated argument and called on each Jedi to voice his opinion. With Han's reluctant support, the decision was made to send a strike team of young Jedi after the queen. Despite his misgivings, Solo was the first to volunteer, knowing that as long as the mission was going forward, his skills would be needed.

Calrissian agreed to hand over the Jedi team, which would be led by Anakin. Ganner Rhysode would pose as the team's leader to the Yuuzhan Vong, and fifteen more Jedi, including Solo, his sister, Tenel Ka Djo, Lowbacca, Zekk, Raynar Thul, and Tahiri Veila, rounded out the team. Two of Calrissian's new YVH-series combat droids would provide support to the mission, securing themselves to the hull of the vessel in which the Jedi would be transported and securing their weapons. Traveling aboard Calrissian's Lady Luck, all the Jedi rehearsed their plan several times over with YVH 1-1A. When Calrissian provoked an argument over how far the team would go to accomplish its goals, Solo came down firmly in opposition to any philosophy in which the ends justified possibly dark side means. Anakin broke up the argument, but insisted that Solo get used to the idea that the Jedi would be forced to make swift judgment calls which he might not care for. With Anakin nearly ready to eject Solo from the team due to his disruptive influence, Jaina intervened with the suggestion that the Jedi use a form of the mental meld the Solos had employed at the Battle of Dubrillion both to be more efficient in carrying out their mission and to lend each other the mental strength to resist Yuuzhan Vong torture and attempts to break their wills. Solo's empathic skills would make him key to maintaining the meld. Anakin agreed to keep his elder brother on and explore the plan so long as Solo agreed to follow orders and let Anakin take responsibility for his decisions. Solo agreed to trust his brother's judgment.

When the Yuuzhan Vong came to seize the Jedi, Solo sensed a voxyn aboard the enemy ship. He initiated the group's meld as they waited for Calrissian's crew to begin the capture. They allowed themselves to be taken by Calrissian's crew and handed over to the Yuuzhan Vong, but in the process of boarding the Yuuzhan Vong craft they staged an attack. Their resistance provided enough time for the YVH droids to attach themselves to the enemy ship, and it was ended by Calrissian as arranged. As the Jedi were once more subdued, Ulaha Kore was stabbed in the back, wounding her severely and dealing the team the first blow to its confidence. Aboard the frigate Exquisite Death, the Jedi were tortured as the Yuuzhan Vong attempted to break their will. Solo manipulated the meld to provide strength to those undergoing torment. Duman Yaght, the enemy commander, insisted on trying to learn the location of the secret Jedi base, but none of the prisoners were willing to talk. Each Jedi was tortured, but Yaght lingered most on Kore. Finally, with the team's spirit near breaking, Kore used the strength of the meld to kill the voxyn Yaght was using to inflict the torment, with Solo's animal-control abilities helping distract the creature. Yaght was forced to end the torture, but Solo was shocked, thinking his brother had ordered Kore to sacrifice herself in the attack.

Once they were safely within Yuuzhan Vong space, Anakin activated the pair of YVH droids attached to the hull. The powerful war droids were able to free the captives. Solo donned an armored jumpsuit and took up his lightsaber and a small arsenal of additional blasters and munitions, as did the other Jedi. Solo joined his brother's assault squad, which secured the rest of the ship and rescued Rhysode, who was being held separately as the group's presumed leader. During the rescue, Anakin had to explain to his brother that he had not ordered Kore to take action, leaving Solo chagrined that he had misjudged Anakin. After they had taken control of the craft and set its course for Myrkr, they began to recuperate, with Solo and Djo spending their time together.

When the Exquisite Death arrived in the Myrkr system, Anakin sensed the presence of Force-strong captives on Baanu Rass, the worldship orbiting Myrkr and housing the voxyn-cloning operation. This prevented the team from simply destroying the facility with a baradium missile, as they had hoped. In addition, the Yuuzhan Vong were anticipating them, having caught on to the Exquisite Death ' s capture. Kore piloted the frigate while the rest of the team landed on Baanu Rass, and was killed before she could escape, leaving behind only a final musical performance, broadcast through the Force to the rest of the strike team. The team's landing was covert, and they were able to make their way to the spaceport facilities nearby on the worldship's surface without being harassed. They infiltrated the holding area where the Force-sensitives were, only to find that rather than the Jedi they had expected, the prisoners were Lomi Plo and Welk, a pair of Dark Jedi. Solo, holding the door, noticed a ship landing at the spaceport, and Nom Anor disembarking. With Anor was Vergere, returned to the Yuuzhan Vong fold and, Solo was convinced, Force-sensitive. Cut off from the spaceport by over one hundred Yuuzhan Vong warriors, the strike team, plus Plo and Welk, were forced to retreat into the warrens of the training course, where the voxyn were taught to hunt.



In the large course, they were spotted by a pair of coralskippers. YVH 2-4S was destroyed taking out the craft shortly before the team had to wade across a lake. They found several voxyn under the surface, and after killing them, they set up an ambush for the pursuing column of warriors. Solo continuously manipulated and maintained the battle meld, keeping the team working at maximum efficiency. When the Yuuzhan Vong column was significantly reduced, Solo used the Force to summon another pack of voxyn and set them on the Yuuzhan Vong, eliminating the enemies.

The strike team set off across the training course, occasionally harassed by more coralskippers. With Zekk's enormous displeasure at taking the Dark Jedi along, discord mounted in the group, causing Solo to cease maintaining the battle meld lest it spread more discontentment. When they neared the cloning laboratory, they found the Yuuzhan Vong had anticipated them. The team withdrew and tried another approach. When that failed, they attempted several more, each time being cut off by enemy forces. One attempt to infiltrate through the city in which the Yuuzhan Vong housed their slaves led to chaos as Eryl Besa and Jovan Drark were killed and Anakin suffered debilitating internal injuries which Tekli had difficulty healing. They were able to make it into the voxyn warrens, a dangerous approach that held out their last hope of reaching the voxyn queen. They hurried through the caverns, harried by troops under Anor's command, while Solo used the Force to induce the feral voxyn to remain inside their deeper chambers. When Anakin's wound worsened, they had to halt. Solo took the opportunity to finally make the apology for his doubt of Anakin's character aboard the Exquisite Death, as Anakin had been turning him away previously, focused on the mission. Anakin required a healing trance, but they lacked the time to allow such a respite. When Alema Rar suggested entering the central caverns where the feral voxyn made their homes, Anakin doubted his decision-making abilities. He handed the decision to his elder brother, who elected to take the risk of the central chambers.

In the grand central chamber in which the voxyn laired, Solo realized that they were defending nests. With the blessing of her two Barabel hatchmates, Solo hatched a plan to use Bela Hara's body as a lure, killing those voxyn which came to claim it with a thermal detonator. As they proceeded, Solo worried over his brother's injury, but was given more pressing concerns when Krasov Hara was killed and Anakin began to crack under the mission's relentless pressure and continual casualties. Solo used the Force to calm the voxyn in the central chamber and keep them to their nests as the strike team retreated from a voxyn attack in a side tunnel. They exited the warrens into a semi-abandoned storage area in which technology was kept for use on the training course&mdash;including the starship Tachyon Flier. There the team recovered while Lowbacca repaired the ship and a scouting team reconnoitered the grashal in which the voxyn queen was kept. Solo was shocked when the Tachyon Flier took off, and it took some time to establish that Plo and Welk had stolen the ship, with M-TD and Raynar Thul aboard, and fled.



Though Solo was stricken with sorrow at the fate of his friend, he moved into action along with the rest of the Jedi, raiding the cloning site. Solo and Rhysode took the grashal, but the team was trapped inside when magma spitters arrived and Yuuzhan Vong resistance within the complex was high. Anakin, near death from his worsening amphistaff wound, gave himself over the Force and ran to hold the entrance. As the voxyn queen slipped away, Anakin put Solo in command of the strike team and gave his life covering the team's retreat in pursuit of the queen. Solo, himself agonized, had to pull his sister away as Anakin made his last stand and destroyed a cache of voxyn genetic material. Anakin's last words were mental sending to Solo ordering him to take Jaina and kiss his girlfriend Veila for him.

Losing the trail of the queen, the team desperately fled into the worldship, collapsing the ceiling of their escape passage and taking refuge inside a Yuuzhan Vong domicile warren, forcing a low-caste female to host their group while Tesar Sebatyne sought the voxyn queen's location. Solo attempted to comfort his sister, whose grief had turned into anger. When Lowbacca, separated from the group when the Tachyon Flier was stolen, reported that he had found the Yuuzhan Vong handling Anakin's body, Jaina rushed off with Veila, Zekk, and Rar to recover it, against Solo's insistence that they had to focus on killing the queen.

When he received a report from Sebatyne, Solo led the remnant of the strike force after the queen. They tracked her, but any use of the Force gave away the team's presence, requiring numerous fruitless stalkings as they progressed across the worldship. They at least managed to avoid drawing the attention of any Yuuzhan Vong search parties, allowing them to chase the queen unhindered. As they one more closed on the queen, Anor's frigate Ksstarr landed near the queen, with Anor and a shaper attempting to recover the voxyn queen. Vergere, whose behavior had been enigmatic throughout the course of the Myrkr mission, turned on Anakin's seized comm in order to let the team listen in. Jaina, who had given herself over to anger after Anakin's death, arrived with her team in a captured shuttle, attacking the Ksstarr. Her shuttle was shot down, and as it crashed Solo lost his sense of his sister in the Force, though he could not tell if it was from death or due to the depths of her anger cutting him off. As Anor and his Yuuzhan Vong retreated from the rubble left by Jaina's strike, Vergere contacted the team by comlink and offered to lead Solo to the voxyn queen. Though Vergere refused to answer questions about her past and Solo did not quite trust her, he did not feel she was a threat. They trailed the queen, who had been recaptured by the shapers. Solo repeatedly used the Force to convince the voxyn to turn on its handlers. One the enemy ranks had been sufficiently thinned and the Yuuzhan Vong were proceeding toward the Jaina's crashed shuttle over a dovin basal comb, Solo sent the others to capture the Ksstarr and rescue the other half of the strike team while he went after the queen himself. After a long and hard-fought battle, and with Vergere's assistance, Solo was able to send the queen plummeting onto a dovin basal, which defended itself by drawing the queen into a singularity and destroying her. Weakened, he could not resist when Vergere took him captive. Unable to come to his rescue due to enemy pressure, the rest of the strike team, led by Jaina, was forced to flee on the Ksstarr.

Loss and rediscovery
Under Anor's control, Solo was to be taken directly to Warmaster Tsavong Lah, who had recently captured Coruscant. Placed in the Embrace of Pain, he underwent continuous torture, still emotionally agonized by his brother's death. Even the Force could not help him overcome the pain, and he held his own presence back from his sister, fearing he would overwhelm her with his torment if he reached out through their twin bond. He could feel her rising anger, however, and his inability to counsel her against her growing acceptance of the dark side only drove him to greater despair. Finally, he was approached by Vergere. He reproached her for her betrayal, but she refused to offer her motivations. Reaching out with the Force, he perceived that Vergere was a powerful Force-sensitive before the Fosh stripped Solo of access to the Force in a single painful moment. Stricken and confused, Solo was only more confounded when his captor whispered to him that everything she said was a lie before leaving him once more to the Embrace of Pain.



The strike team survivors, with the single exception of Jaina Solo, and several other Jedi felt Solo's presence in a blaze of intensity before it was consumed by pain and once more cut off as Solo was left bereft of the Force, convincing all who felt it that Solo was dead. Only Leia Organa Solo maintained a conviction that her son's sending had been one of pain but not of death. Djo and Jaina were devastated, but Organa Solo was confident that though she had felt Anakin's death, Jacen Solo's broadcast had not had the same quality. Han Solo elected to believe his wife, taking hope that at least one of his sons had survived. Skywalker followed suit, not accepting that Solo had died.

Left once more in torture which ceased only when the Embrace of Pain had pushed him to his absolute limits and had to allow him to recover. Nourished by Yuuzhan Vong creatures, his body completely depilated, he was occasionally visited by Vergere. She eventually began to speak to him of the Yuuzhan Vong religion, which centered on pain, and suggested he was being not tortured, but educated. When Vergere suggested that she was helping Solo by protecting him as he went through a necessary but painful process of maturation, he abandoned despair, deciding no longer to hope for rescue but to take his destiny into his own hands. Rather than be a slave to pain, responding to it with fear, he elected to treat pain as a teacher, as a source of power. Drawing on nothing but his own inner reserves of willpower, Solo became impervious to pain, thriving on it rather than allowing it to break him down.

Having mastered the Embrace of Pain, Solo was released from it. After some time, Anor's craft docked with a vast seedship, ready to transform a planet into a new homeworld for the Yuuzhan Vong, onto which Vergere led her captive. He was taken to a vast central chamber, where slave gangs worked a replica world holding the specimens which would seed the new ecosphere. Solo was aghast at the pain of the slaves, who served as practice for a crop of dhuryams, world-brains, for the task of controlling the seeded world's ecosystem. Vergere suddenly stabbed him in the chest, implanting a slave seed within and tying him to one of the growing dhuryams. Impervious to the pain the dhuryam could cause him, he was able to resist its bidding and avoid engaging in the make-work of the other slaves. The dhuryam, furious, used its access to Solo's nervous system to put him in continual pain, spasming his limbs for over a week. It devoted so much energy to attempting to control the defiant Solo that it neglected the rest of its domain, and finally left him alone to do what he wished&mdash;tending to the wound of his fellow slaves. The dhuryam saw the advantage of this, and allowed him to continue.

After weeks or months in the Nursery, Vergere visited Solo. She healed the infected wound where she had implanted the slave seed using her tears, which she could manipulate chemically through the Force. When Vergere began to speak to him of the role of the gardener&mdash;choosing which plants were weeds and which flowers, which would live and which would die&mdash;Solo accused her of being a Sith. She rejected this, asking whether there were only the binary categories of Sith and Jedi. Solo's comment that all answers fall short of the truth elated her, and she left him after asking how, if the Force was life, there could be life without the Force, such as the Yuuzhan Vong&mdash;or himself. Solo spent the next days pondering the question as his bond with the dhuryam, which began directing him to various natural medicines, deepened. He concluded that the Yuuzhan Vong must exist on another spectrum of the Force, one the Jedi were not accessing. Entering a Jedi meditation, he reached out to the slave seed inside his body. Using the same empathy he had used to befriend various creatures, he was able to create a link in the Yuuzhan Vong spectrum, connecting himself to the dhuryam and the other Yuuzhan Vong creatures using what he called his "Vongsense." Able to communicate with the dhuryam and sense the entire landscape of creatures, he became a far more efficient healer, and began to treat slaves belonging to other dhuryams.



When a Yuuzhan Vong warrior, one of many guarding the centrally-located comb of growing dhuryams, killed one of Solo's slave assistants for coming too near, Solo decided that he had been wrong to believe that all in the Nursery were metaphorical flowers. Outraged, he determined to exercise what Vergere had called his responsibility to be a gardener by removing the Yuuzhan Vong. Solo formulated a plan with his dhuryam in which he would kill its competing brethren if it saw to it that the slaves survived seedfall. When the Yuuzhan Vong prepared for seedfall with the selection ceremony by which one of the dhuryam's would be selected as the World Brain for the new homeworld, known by the original world's name of Yuuzhan'tar, by blocking the dhuryams' transmissions, it drove the slaves to cluster at the coraltree basals which had grown their seeds. Solo ignored the pain of his slave seed and stood in the midst of the amphistaff grove, using his Vongsense and skill with animals to keep the feral amphistaff polyps from attacking him. When four Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators in ooglith masquers left the coraltree basal nearby and came to remove him, he egged one warrior into attacking, whom Solo threw to the ravenous amphistaff polyps. This provided the polyps enough strength to release their amphistaffs to breed, and Solo convinced the detached razor-sharp snakelike creatures to swarm him, covering him in impenetrable armor and providing him with a weapon. He cut his way through the Yuuzhan Vong troops opposing him and used a captured bandolier of blast bugs to destroy the shreeyam'tiz which blocked the dhuryams' signals. Though Solo was knocked unconscious by an onslaught of blast bugs, his dhuryam, prepared, used its slaves to stage an uprising against the Yuuzhan Vong. Solo awoke amid the confusion and made his way to the central island on which the dhuryam hive lay. There, he slaughtered the dhuryams. Agonized by their telepathically-projected terror, he nearly held back before realizing that if he did not kill the creatures, they would kill all the slaves in their panic. He made his choice, and killed each, feeling its death. He nearly killed the final one, the one which had controlled him and with which he had made his deal, before he heard Anakin's voice telling him that he could not. He halted, but quickly realized Vergere had projected the voice. His tutor and captor had just arrived, and with her insistence, Solo was able to see that he had become consumed with battle rage. He still intended to kill the dhuryam, destroying the hope of the new Yuuzhan Vong homeworld, until Vergere insisted that he could not kill the dhuryam he had befriended without betraying himself, and that if he did so, it would destroy the seedship and all aboard. Unsure whether he could believe her, he chose to slay it regardless, but Vergere interposed herself and used her tears as a contact toxin to knock him unconscious.

Solo awoke amid plant life on what he realized to his shock was Coruscant, covered in Yuuzhan Vong plant life and in the process of being reshaped into Yuuzhan'tar. Vergere was there and had removed his slave seed. She told him that the dhuryam had followed through on its promise to save the slaves while controlling seedfall. While Vergere congratulated him on the effects of his actions, Solo insisted that he had succumbed to the dark side. He and Vergere argued over the extent to which his intentions and the results of his actions mattered. After realizing that his fate was once more in his hands, Solo set off across the Coruscant landscape. He spent weeks trekking with his former captor, surviving on scrounged food and improvised gear, as he attempted to reach his former family home.

On his journey, he passed a deep crater, which Vergere said was strong with the dark side. The pair discussed the nature of the dark side, with Vergere again pushing Solo as to how much intention mattered as opposed to results, and asking whether the dark side was only a matter of degree. Their discussion, though, was interrupted by the arrival of Yuuzhan Vong shock troops, sent to eliminate Solo. He fled into the center of the crater, where he waited as Vergere attempted to find an exit. Through his Vongsense, the young man experienced unity with his opponents, feeling what they felt, as well as the sensations of the Yuuzhan Vong wildlife. Unarmed, he was easily able to evade his opponent's attacks, and felt all the pain he inflicted on his enemy. With Vergere's assistance, he fled, but passed out from exhaustion. When the Fosh pushed him to continue, he angrily snapped, nearly killing Vergere before he realized that he was under the influence of the crater's dark side aura. While expressing his fear of the dark side, he mentioned that his grandfather had been Darth Vader. Vergere expressed her grief at learning that Anakin Skywalker had become a Sith, and revealed that she had been a Jedi Knight of the old Republic, and the crater in which they rested was the former site of the Jedi Temple, the well of Force energy beneath it now tainted. As Vergere pushed Solo to decide who he was, he thought, and declared that he was a Jedi. Disappointed, Vergere revealed that their room was full of Yuuzhan Vong, led by Nom Anor. Furious at the betrayal, Solo gave himself over to rage and launched a barrage of Force lightning at Vergere. Unable to target the Yuuzhan Vong with the Force, newly returned to him, he buried them in rubble.

Coming back to himself, he was aghast at what he had done. Vergere, wounded, insisted to him that there was no dark side to the Force; only the Force, and the darkness within himself. If he surrendered his self-control and embraced his passion, it was his own inner darkness that tainted his actions. Shocked at what he had found himself and horrified by how easily he had slipped into darkness, Solo fled blindly. Fearing and hating his own weakness, he was considering suicide when he heard Anakin's voice and saw a projection of his deceased brother. He could feel that the projection was not present in the Force, and was therefore some type of trick rather than Anakin's Force ghost. Convinced he was dealing with a masqued Yuuzhan Vong, he chased the imitation in a furious pursuit that led him to the underlevels and into the gullet of a Yuuzhan Vong cavern beast, lured by a telepathic illusion. Realizing he had been duped, he was convinced that the other beings in the gullet were illusions also. Givin in to hatred of a universe that seemed to hate him, he attacked one of the cavern beast's victims, whose screams tormented him, until he realized he could feel the girl through the Force. Channeling his anger, he used it to free the girl from being digested and gave her his robeskin to help her heal. The other inhabitants of the gullet were outraged, as they threw new arrivals to the beast when it became hungry, saving themselves. Solo was disgusted, but willing to help them. When the girl he had saved attempted to convince the others to throw Solo to the beast rather than herself, he was once more furious. Using his anger, he convinced the cavern beast to vomit up all its victims and not readmit them. He left them, locked out from within the cavern beast, where they were safe from the Yuuzhan Vong at the cost of others' lives.

Solo proceeded to his former family home, where he spent hours without motivation to take any action at all. When what seemed to be Anakin's Force specter arrived and spoke to him, suggesting that it might not have been a trick of Vergere's when Solo heard his brother in the Nursery. Solo confessed to his struggles with the dark side, and admitted how much he had looked up to Anakin's certainty. Convinced that he was only hallucinating, Solo argued when the image of Anakin suggested that the Force was one, encompassing all opposites. Solo passed out in despair before awakening to find Vergere. She attempted to break through Solo's apathy toward the universe, pushing him to cease searching for answers from others, and look to himself for truth. At that time, Nom Anor and his warriors arrived, and insisted that Solo could find truth in the Yuuzhan Vong religion, the True Way. He could find the truth that he was a god, the incarnation of the war god Yun-Yammka. Anor offered him Anakin's lightsaber, and Solo realized that if he took it up, using the Force and his Vongsense, he could become one of the greatest warriors to live. Instead, he declined the path of violence and accepted Anor's offer to learn the True Way.

The Truth
"Jacen Solo had to be bereft of friends, of relatives, of teachers and knowledge and the Force and everything that could help him. He had to be reduced to nothing&mdash;or rather, to himself only. And then he had to act&mdash;to act purely out of himself, out of his own inner being. In that state of complete disinterest, everything else having failed him, he had no choice but to be himself, to choose and to act."

- Vergere, to Luke Skywalker



Uninterested in actually converting to the Yuuzhan Vong religion, Solo faked belief as he attempted to use his new position and understanding to his own ends. His captors wished to stage a duel between himself and his twin Jaina, whom they associated with the other Twin God Yun-Harla. The Yuuzhan Vong saw twins, rare in their species, as special, and one was always destined to kill the other before ascending to greatness. To lure in Jaina, Solo was installed aboard one of the camp ships&mdash;vast collections of Coruscanti refugees captured and sent out to New Republic systems as a drain on their resources&mdash;with a four-warrior escort who served both as bodyguards and wardens. As they did not yet trust Solo, a dovin basal was rigged to destroy the entire camp ship if Solo left his room. With Solo masqued as an obese Human, they began to quietly spread rumors that they had seen Jacen Solo on Coruscant, alive. Solo had designed the trap to be inefficient, and hoped that it would prove fruitless, forcing Anor to end the deception.

The bait did not draw Jaina; instead, Ganner Rhysode came to Solo's room in the camp ship over Bothawui following up on the rumor. Solo used the Force to overwhelm Rhysode with fear, attempting to compel him to turn away before entering the Yuuzhan Vong trap. Rhysode would not be deterred, and entered. Solo turned him away and attempted to keep the warriors from acting against Rhysode, but when the Jedi attempted to use the Force to persuade Solo, he was forced to prevent Rhysode's sensing him in the Force. Solo used a powerful mind trick to compel Rhysode to leave. When Rhysode recovered his will, he shut down his Force presence and returned once more. His surprise attack disabled the four Yuuzhan Vong and allowed him to put his lightsaber to Solo's throat. Unable to leave the room, Solo was disappointed that Rhysode's persistence had forced him to capture his friend. To Rhysode's shock, he revealed his identity to the Jedi before knocking him out with a dose of Vergere's tears. He did use the event as an excuse to call off the trap, telling his escorts to return to Yuuzhan'tar.

Rhysode was kept sedated on the throneworld. Anor, who still distrusted Solo, doubted his story, but could not disagree with his suggestion that he should sacrifice Rhysode. As Rhysode, semi-conscious, listened, Solo attempted to reassure him with the Force. Solo persuaded Anor that he needed to practice with Rhysode, converting and sacrificing him as he would his twin. In truth, he simply wanted to use the ceremony as an excuse to enter the Well of the World Brain and convert the World Brain, a goal he had had for some time.

After the preparations were complete, Solo was the only one present when Rhysode was awoken. He opened with a bombastic attempt to convert Rhysode, but ceased when he had put the chamber's observing devices to sleep. He then revealed to Rhysode that he had not, in fact, converted as he treated Rhysode's injuries. He explained his goal, and tried to convince Rhysode of how deeply his experience in captivity had changed him. He also insisted that Rhysode would be dead no matter what, as he himself was; Rhysode should make his death count by aiding Jacen in his deception. To convince Rhysode to choose and act, he offered him Anakin's lightsaber. When the Yuuzhan Vong intruded, Rhysode faked conversion. Anor easily saw through the act of both Jedi, but with the rest convinced, had to allow the ceremony to go forward.

They were marched to the Well, within the former Senate Building, amid a procession of hundreds of warriors. As they neared the building, Rhysode collapsed in fear and self-loathing. The Jedi nearly took his own life before Solo used the Force to manipulate his body, lifting him and driving his legs telekinetically. On entering, Solo shut the doors behind the pair of Jedi. They entered the Well, where Solo urged Rhysode to flee into a secret tunnel network beneath the building, possibly escaping. Rhysode insisted that he would not leave without Solo, but Solo was intent on following his own path; he felt that he needed to speak with the World Brain in order to be true to himself. Before either of them could take action, Anor's troops blew the door. Rhysode, inspired by Solo's words on being true to oneself, was spurred into action. He decided to make a stand, acting like the hero he had always wanted to be, and hold off the enemy. Understanding and accepting his sacrifice, Solo parted with Rhysode. The World Brain pulled Solo down into its pool with its tentacles, intending to kill him for his earlier betrayal. Instead, Solo opened himself up to the World Brain, expressing to it his regret, his newfound understanding that all was one, and the only way to approach the universe was with universal love. In their communion, the World Brain was convinced of Solo's beliefs, and agreed with him to frustrate the Yuuzhan Vong's attempts to reshape the world, to introduce imperfection. Solo believed that this would challenge the invaders' fanaticism and force them to learn compromise.

Feeling Rhysode's battle in the Force, Solo rushed from the pool to help him, but was cut off by Vergere. She insisted that if he went to the other Jedi's aid, both would die. He must honor Rhysode's sacrifice by escaping with his life. Solo was unwilling to let yet another person die for him, but when Vergere returned his lightsaber, he realized that the way of the warrior was not his. He was a student. He felt Ganner pass into the Force in a final effort that collapsed the entrance. Solo followed Vergere down into the tunnels, where they escaped in a coralcraft kept by Anor as a getaway ship.

Aboard the ship, in hyperspace, Solo thought on Rhysode's death, attempting to reconcile the fact that Rhysode had died in unity with the Force, confidently battling hundreds of Yuuzhan Vong warriors, with the Rhysode he knew. Vergere shared a vision she had had, that Rhysode would become "The Ganner"&mdash;a giant guarding the gates to the underworld in the Yuuzhan Vong mythology. Solo shared with her his plan for the World Brain, which earned Vergere's tearful pride and a confession that her student had surpassed her. Eventually, when he felt ready to deal with his imminent return, Solo opened himself up in the Force once more, sending his family reassurance that he was alive and on his way to them, though he had to break off contact with Jaina on realizing he was distracting her from battle. At that point, Vergere explained to him her past, that she had been a Jedi Knight in the last days of the Galactic Republic, sent on a mission to the living world of Zonama Sekot. There she communed with Sekot's collective sentience, newly aware in the wake of an attack by a scouting party of Yuuzhan Vong. Seeking to protect Sekot, she had gone as an envoy to speak with the Yuuzhan Vong. On realizing that they were outside the Force, she decided that she must investigate their nature. Leaving a message with Sekot, she returned with the Yuuzhan Vong to their worldships beyond the galaxy, spending the next fifty years learning their ways. In return, Solo explained what had occurred in the galaxy in her absence.

Return to the Republic


As his Yuuzhan Vong craft left hyperspace over Mon Calamari, the interim New Republic capital, Solo made contact with Skywalker on the surface, allowing his uncle to reassure the military forces scrambled in response that the new ship did not represent a threat. Solo and Vergere, in an escape pod, were picked up and transported to Fleet Command Annex, where they were met by Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker as well as a contingent of troops. Solo's parents were on Bastion negotiating with the Imperial Remnant, and were notified of his escape as was Jaina serving at Kashyyyk. The group then proceeded to a meeting with Supreme Commander Sien Sovv, his retired predecessor Ackbar, and Winter Celchu. After warm greetings, the two new arrivals were soon pulled away for a debriefing by Fleet Intelligence.

While Solo was soon released, Vergere was kept in detention. He filled his aunt and uncle in on his experiences, and while he considered Vergere a mentor and friend, they uncle was outraged at the treatment Solo had suffered at her hands. Though Skywalker calmed after speaking with Vergere, he ordered Solo to take a period of rest and relaxation and to spend time meditating and seeking his place in the Force.

Solo and the Skywalkers traveled to see Ackbar in his home. Solo told the ailing admiral of the Yuuzhan Vong, and his observations confirmed Ackbar's belief that he could defeat the invaders with the strategy he was drawing up. Afterward, Solo enjoyed his leisure time on Heurkea Floating City and returned to a more normal mode of life, though he remained in contact with the World Brain through his Vongsense. With the World Brain, he coordinated a campaign of sabotage and irritation, though he avoided acts of violence. Solo shared his insight on the Yuuzhan Vong with his uncle, as well as revealing his development of Vongsense, before Danni Quee invited Solo to a day out on Mester Reef. He enjoyed relaxing with her and her friend Thespar Trode. Within a day, Jaina arrived on Mon Calamari, and filled Solo in on her struggle with despair and the dark side after Myrkr, a struggle she had put behind her. That night, Han and Leia Organa Solo returned to the planet as well, and Solo's family was reunited as much as it could be in the wake of Anakin's death.

Skywalker, working with newly elected Chief of State Cal Omas, established a new High Council to govern the Jedi Order, made up half of Jedi and half of government figures. Among their first decisions was the promotion of the Myrkr veterans to the rank of Jedi Knight. In a public ceremony, Solo and his friends were knighted by Skywalker and the Jedi Masters. At the party afterward, Solo spoke with Jaina and was alarmed by her single-minded focus on battling the enemy and her resignation to the idea that she would eventually die in combat. He also spoke with Vergere, who became agitated on learning from Solo, who had himself been told by Quee, that New Republic scientists had isolated a specific set of genes common to the Yuuzhan Vong and all their creatures.

The rest of Solo's friends were assigned to Kashyyyk, where Admiral Kre'fey had requested the use of Jedi for a project in battle coordination. Solo elected to join them when Skywalker cleared him to return to action, rather than accept the other option of continuing his work with the Great River. It was his hope that he could protect Jaina and bring her away from her grim outlook. Solo immediately met with Kre'fey and his senior commanders, at which time Master Durron presented a plan to strike at the Peace Brigade government on Ylesia. Kre'fey approved it and intended an orbital bombardment, but the Jedi were uncomfortable with the possible civilian casualties. Solo suggested they capture the government instead, which he learned included newly-declared President Thrackan Sal-Solo.

Solo joined his sister's squadron as Twin Suns Thirteen. He re-acclimated himself to combat piloting and to working as part of the meld with several other Jedi scattered across multiple squadrons. Solo flew against the orbital Peace Brigade forces during the assault on Ylesia before Twin Suns Squadron and Jagged Fel's Chiss Squadron were tasked to escort the landing force. While Solo saved Jaina's wingmate Vale, he was attacked by a grutchin which tore off one of his X-wing's s-foils before he could kill it. He was forced to return to Kre'fey's Ralroost for a new fighter. As the enemy forces had surrendered by the time he touched down, Solo did not return to the field. Kre'fey instead summoned him to the bridge. Before he could arrive, Solo sensed a Yuuzhan Vong fleet arriving in the system. Without a spare fighter, Solo was stuck on the bridge, and turned his attention to strengthening the meld. While observing the manner in which the enemy commander attenuated his battle line in order to draw Kre'fey into doing the same, Solo realized that an ambush was coming. His use of Vongsense confirmed that another fleet was on its way. He advised Kre'fey in time to prevent the ambush and instead ambush the attackers. With the Peace Brigade leadership captured, the ground forces were able to return to the fleet, which withdrew.



In the wake of that experience, Solo decided that his talents were better used on the bridge, coordinating assaults, than in a starfighter. Kre'fey's forces continued to make experience-building raids on relatively weak Yuuzhan Vong targets, building experience for two months. Solo took to his role coordinating the meld, taking in others' experiences and providing tactical insight he gained through his combined perceptions and connection with the Force. He was not able to completely coordinate a complex battle, but he was determined to improve. Solo also began work with Tahiri Veila, who had been captured and shaped by the Yuuzhan Vong previously. He attempted to open her to Vongsense, using the same techniques he had.

After his first session with Veila, Solo was contacted by Vergere in the Force and instructed to meet secretly with her on the surface of Kashyyyk. He did so, and she told him that she had learned that the genetic code unique to the Yuuzhan Vong had been exploited to build Alpha Red, a biological weapon designed to exterminate Yuuzhan Vong life. Vergere had neutralized it and destroyed the research on it before fleeing, but in months it could be recreated. New Republic Intelligence was determined to arrest her. Distressed by the revelation, Solo agreed to smuggle her back to the Ralroost, where she could escape into the galaxy without detection. Before he could land his fighter, though, he was summoned a Jedi meeting aboard Mon Adapyne. There he was told that Skywalker had issued an order to cooperate and detain Vergere if contacted, but he remained determined to protect his mentor. He was eventually able to move Vergere to his quarters and keep her secret, but he had no opportunity to get her off Ralroost, as it was kept busy in a series of raids against enemy targets.

Finally, Kre'fey's fleet proceeded to Ebaq 9, a moon in the remote Deep Core Treskov system. There, Solo was reunited with his sister, who had preceded him there with a task Force under Jedi General Keyan Farlander. Solo understood that Jaina was serving as part of the bait for Ackbar's trap, in which the Yuuzhan Vong would be lured to Ebaq 9, attack it, and be trapped and ambushed by other forces held in reserve.

When Tsavong Lah led his forces in an attack on Ebaq 9 in the mistaken belief that the New Republic's government was sheltering there, Solo was aboard the Ralroost coordinating the battle meld as part of the ambushing force. The battle went well until Lah, perceiving the trap, turned his forces to assaulting Ebaq 9 in the hope of taking the Jedi there with him. Solo grasped the threat, and immediately issued orders to hold off the attacking force before rushing to his fighter to lend his own personal aid to his sister, who had put her disabled fighter down at the base on Ebaq 9. Vergere attempted to persuade him that he was only throwing his own life away, but he would not be dissuaded. By the time he reached the moon, Lah's forces had already landed, but Lah allowed him to land unmolested in order that they might meet in personal combat. Solo rejected the other Jedi's attempts to talk him out of landing, as he was determined to distract Lah from his sister and did not trust that she could hold out until the New Republic fleet was able to fight through the remainder of Lah's fleet and land troops.

Solo landed away from the Yuuzhan Vong force, but the handful of dying voxyn they maintained were able to sense him. He led his pursuers in a chase through the excavated base away from Jaina before making a stand in a narrow corridor. The enemy troops proved overwhelming, however, and Solo had to retreat before their superior numbers. He was despondent at his failure to save his sister, and when his blaster ran out of energy, he began to use a stunning Force lightning against his opponents. As he fought, a projection of Vergere appeared nearby, warning him that he was about to lose atmospheric pressure. He used the Force to seal in the air in his portion of the tunnel, and was preserved as the Yuuzhan Vong warriors died in the lack of oxygen. As he spoke regretfully with Vergere of his poor choice in recklessly attempting to save his sister, he realized that he was speaking with her Force ghost. His mentor had sacrificed herself by crashing an A-wing into the entrance so that he and Jaina could live. Solo was sorrowful at the realization that his choices had brought about Vergere's death, but she accepted her fate. As the main shaft was too radioactive for immediate rescue, Solo had to hold out with droid-shipped supplies until it was safe to leave.

The search for Zonama Sekot
"Call it an instinct. Zonama Sekot is the key to the whole thing&mdash;to victory. I'm sure of it."

- Jacen Solo, to Tahiri Veila

With Lah dead at Jaina Solo's hand and his large fleet devastated, the Battle of Ebaq 9 was a success. Omas put deployment of Alpha Red on hold as a last resort, and began to reform the government into more effective form. Within three months, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances had been born and was gaining strength. Skywalker turned his attention to finding Zonama Sekot; the living world, possessing hyperspace engines, had fled many decades ago and Skywalker felt that understanding Sekot and enlisting its cooperation was crucial to winning the war without having to exterminate the Yuuzhan Vong. Solo, who strongly shared that sentiment, was enlisted for the mission, as were Jade Skywalker, Quee, Tekli, and High Council member Saba Sebatyne. They believed that the mobile world must be hiding in the Unknown Regions, as it had not been seen for many years, and intended to take advantage of their trip there to enlist the Imperial Remnant and Chiss Ascendancy in the Galactic Alliance.



Before they were ready to depart, Tahiri Veila reemerged after having disappeared for some time. She was found on Mon Calamari, suffering a mysterious mental breakdown and blacking out. Solo was one of many friends who watched over her in the hospital, and was present when she awoke. He attempted to comfort her, and filled her in on Skywalker's plans before putting her into a Force-assisted sleep. A few days later, she was among those who saw the expedition off. Solo felt uneasy leaving his family behind after having returned from captivity only months ago and harbored doubts over the future, but was committed to the mission.

When the Jade Shadow arrived at Bastion, its crew found itself in the middle of a battle in which the Empire's capital was in the final stages of falling. They communicated with Grand Admiral Pellaeon, who instructed them to meet the retreating forces at Yaga Minor. There, Solo and Quee welcomed a boarding party under Captain Arien Yage, an officer Pellaeon had assured them would be loyal to him. At that time, Pellaeon finally arrived from Bastion, but comatose and badly injured. Tekli, the healer, attended to him as Solo anxiously awaited word that Pellaeon, their strongest ally in the Remnant, would live. When local Moff Kurlen Flennic, hostile to the Jedi, began consolidating power, Solo volunteered for a role in negotiating with Flennic to keep the mission secure. Realizing that the attack was in retaliation for the Remnant's role in providing the secret hyperspace routes which made the Battle of Ebaq 9 a success, Solo further realized that there must have been a leak from within the Empire's command structure. He told Flennic's General Berrida the same, offering Jedi assistance in unmasking the traitors. Solo gained a meeting with Flennic himself, who blustered and attempted to intimidate the young man. Solo insisted that it was vital the Remnant retreat to the fortress world of Borosk, where it could mount a more effective defense. Before he could convince the stubborn Moff, Pellaeon intervened by comlink from his bacta tank, ordering the retreat and full cooperation with the Jedi.

Solo returned to Yage's Widowmaker, where he discussed the situation with Skywalker and a recovering Pellaeon. The Jedi shared their anti-Yuuzhan Vong combat techniques and had Yuuzhan-Vong detecting YVH-M MSE droids deployed throughout the fleet to ferret out spies. Solo coordinated that effort, tracing the contacts of the three masqued Yuuzhan Vong the YVH-Ms discovered in order to expose over a dozen traitors in the fleet. The Imperial forces retreated as ordered to Borosk, where the Yuuzhan Vong fleet made a follow-up attack almost immediately. It was during the earliest stages of the battle that Solo had all the spies summoned to a supposed meeting aboard the Star Destroyer Right to Rule. When the final Yuuzhan Vong arrived, he immediately realized he had been exposed, and attacked Solo as a Jedi. The other two joined in before a squad of stormtroopers burst into the room, gunning down two of the attackers before Solo killed the last. The traitors from within the Remnant were arrested.

When a Yuuzhan Vong slaveship arrived, Sebatyne hatched a plant to infiltrate the ship using the Dreadnaught Braxant Bonecrusher as bait an liberate the prisoners aboard, captives from Bastion. Solo volunteered for the mission, but Pellaeon, who had taken a shine to the young man as a future leader, suggested he remain safe. Solo struck a compromise in which he remained aboard Braxant Bonecrusher coordinating the droid brains which operated the decoy craft. Jade Shadow was hidden inside the larger craft with a complement of TIE Fighters. Solo skippered the ship through a hyperspace jump to the rear of the enemy lines, where the droid brains launched a swiftly-defeated attack. As the Dreadnaught was damaged, it shut down and was captured by the slaveship. Sebatyne and Quee infiltrated the slaveship, but before they could take over the enemy craft, the Yuuzhan Vong fleet was alerted. Sebatyne resorted to a desperate evacuation maneuver, opening the ship's hold to space and having the Jade Shadow pick up the prisoners, protected by the jelly filling the hold, with its tractor beam. The captives were brought aboard Braxant Bonecrusher, and Solo reactivated the ship's systems, freed Quee and Sebatyne from the jelly, and authorized a hyperspace jump back to Imperial lines. Meanwhile, Pellaeon, commanding from his bacta tank, forced the enemy fleet to withdraw.

In the aftermath, Solo was present as Pellaeon forced the Moff Council to ally with the Galactic Alliance. The Jedi expedition acquired Imperial data on the Unknown Regions for their journey forward, and Pellaeon assigned them an escort&mdash;Yage and her Widowmaker. As they set out for Yashuvhu, Solo began striking up a relationship with Quee, his feelings reignited by the time they were spending together.



After some time tracking down locations where Zonama Sekot might have visited, the team landed on Munlali Mafir, where records indicated that Zonama Sekot had once appeared. There, they found the local Jostrans extinct. Instead, the Krizlaws, listed as herd beasts, appeared to have become sentient and acquired Jostran culture. Solo, Skywalker, Imperial Unknown Regions specialist Doctor Soron Hegerty, and a stormtrooper guard were invited to dinner. When Skywalker explained that Zonama Sekot, which had been associated with severe seismic upheaval when it appeared, would be unlikely to appear again, the Krizlaws turned on them, taking them captive. When a Krizlaw forced a creature down a stormtrooper's throat, the Jedi freed the others and fled. As the landing party retreated to their shuttle, they were chased by their former captors. Solo had to use the Force to sustain Hegerty as they raced uphill, until he and Skywalker finally turned and used the Force to create a landslide that pushed the Krizlaws back. As they reached the summit of the hill on which their Sentinel-class landing craft waited, another group of eleven Krizlaws attacked. Solo, reaching out in the Force, was able to discern that the Krizlaws were being controlled by higher intelligences living as symbionts with them. Solo and Skywalker reached out, disabling enough of the higher intelligences to loosen their control over the Krizlaws, which Solo finally turned away. On the way to Widowmaker, Solo and Skywalker realized that the Jostrans were the mysterious symbionts, having seized control of the Krizlaws. Tarl, the stormtrooper in their group, had been infected by his earlier force-feeding, and Solo attempted to counter the Jostran's attempt to take over his body. When they docked with Widowmaker, Solo kept the Jostran docile while Tekli carefully removed it from the soldier's body.

While still in the system, the Widowmaker and Jade Shadow were challenged by a Chiss patrol under Commander Hess'irolia'nuruodo. Irolia met with the expedition's leadership aboard Widowmaker, where Solo argued that the Chiss should allow them to continue their mission. The commander ultimately decided to give them permission to travel to the capital of Csilla, where they could present their case in person to governmental leaders. Solo supported the decision to travel there, hoping the Chiss, who controlled much of the Unknown Regions, could provide them with information that would lead them to Zonama Sekot. On arriving at Csilla, they landed at Ac'siel and met with Irolia and Chief Navigator Peita Aabe, a Human who had joined the Chiss after Imperial service. They were taken to representatives of the four ruling families of Chiss. On Aabe's advice, the Chiss refused them the right of free travel, but granted the team two days' access to the Expeditionary Library's records to search for data on the wandering planet.

Assistant Syndic Soontir Fel offered them a ride to the library. There, the Jedi team had to search through a mass of books for any possible references to the world they sought, a difficult task. They were eventually able to gather enough references to trace Zonama Sekot's travels through the Unknown Regions, but could not ascertain its current position. Wynssa Fel, Soontir Fel's daughter and Jagged Fel's young sister, joined the effort after visiting the library. When the others left to move the Jade Shadow to their location and take a brief rest, Solo elected to continue searching, which left him alone with Wynssa Fel and Irolia. Fel was friendly and curious, and pressed Solo to describe galactic life, the war, and his own convictions.

Soon, Aabe arrived to summon Fel for her father. After she left with him, Solo felt suspicious and called Skywalker, who said that Soontir Fel had not contacted Aabe recently before the conversation was ended by an attack on Skywalker's craft. Now thoroughly convinced the girl was being kidnapped, Solo set off after with Irolia, tracking Aabe and his guards through the ice tunnels. As Aabe and Fel reached a tramway station, Solo intervened. The guards surrendered before the Jedi subdued Aabe. The Chief Navigator was arrested, and Solo learned from Skywalker that he had been involved in a political move against the Fel family by isolationist elements.

Returning to the quest for information, Solo and the others ran a search of astronomical data for systems which had been catalogued as having acquired a planet recently. The search turned up no satisfactory records, disappointing Solo. He went into the library stacks to brood, where Quee approached him and attempted to encourage him, telling him how much she admired him. The conversation led Solo to strike on the idea of searching for planets which had acquired planetary satellites, which he immediately did. The search found a new moon of Mobus, a gas giant in the Klasse Ephemora system. With the blessing of the Chiss, the expedition set out for Klasse Ephemora, traveling through the dangerous and unstable hyperspace routes of the Unknown Regions.

They were stalled near the system, held off by hyperspace anomalies, when Solo and the other Jedi felt a cry of pain in the Force. Tracing the sensation, the Jedi pressed forward, arriving at Zonama Sekot as a battle raged in space above it. The planet itself, powerful in the Force, battled against a Yuuzhan Vong fleet assailing it. Sekot overwhelmed the Jedi, rendering them unconscious before waking up Solo so that he could take landing instructions from one of Zonama Sekot's inhabitants. Jade Skywalker was awoken to pilot Jade Shadow, and they safely landed on the mysterious world.

The living world
"We want Sekot to leave its place of sanctuary, to abandon the security it's found in Klasse Ephemora system and rejoin the rest of the galaxy&mdash;a galaxy that is at war with the Far Outsiders. It is a war we might not win. If you join us, you'll be risking your lives. But if you don't join us, and we lose without you, there'll no longer be anything to stand between you and the Far Outsiders. This is the unpleasant message we bring to both Sekot and your people. If you wish to live in this galaxy, then you must address the issue of the Far Outsiders once and for all. Now."

- Jacen Solo, to Senshi

Solo remained aboard ship, watching over the unconscious others, while the Skywalkers exited to talk to Zonama Sekot's Ferroan colonists. The others soon awoke, and the party traveled to a nearby village with their Ferroan guides, leaving Tekli to guard the ship. The Jedi and Hegerty marveled at the world, attempting to understand Zonama Sekot's secrets. While waiting for a meeting with the world's Magister, Solo spoke with a Ferroan child, who told him of the previous time Jedi had visited, when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker arrived, and young Skywalker had killed an opponent using the Force. The party was soon summoned before Magister Jabitha Hal and a council of Ferroans. Skywalker explained the course of the war to them, and Hal told of Skywalker and Kenobi's journey to the planet. The council was not convinced that it should take action, if there was any action it could take, and dismissed the newcomers so that it could deliberate.



The Jedi were awoken in the middle of the night when assailants killed their habitation and collapsed it on them. A group of Ferroans dragged Quee away as the others struggled to free themselves. While the Ferroans of the village insisted that the kidnappers could not be tracked in the heavy rain, Solo set after them anyway, determined to free Quee. Sebatyne followed him, but Solo soon drew ahead of her as he tracked Quee by her presence in the Force. He caught up to them in a clearing, where he faced fifteen of the kidnappers; the swift arrival of Sebatyne sent eight of them fleeing in panic. Determined to avoid bloodshed, Solo insisted to those remaining that they could not defeat him, and they should talk out their differences. When one mentioned a leader, Senshi, Solo knew that he would have to speak with that man to avoid further attacks. He surrendered himself and Sebatyne, insisting that they be taken to see Senshi.

When they arrived before Senshi, they found that the man blamed them for the Yuuzhan Vong attacks, lumping all outsiders together and fearing being consumed by another war and dangerous hyperspace crossing. Magister Hal was soon brought in as well, captured by another party. Solo could not reach Senshi, and the leader decided to retire for the night. Though Sebatyne wanted to free the other captives and leave, Solo argued that they had to stay and show the dissident Ferroans that they meant no harm. The next morning, after a discussion in which Senshi failed to convince Hal of his cause, he ordered that she be taken elsewhere in order to make a point. Admitting that he could not hold the Jedi, Senshi allowed them to choice to go or stay. Solo and Sebatyne elected to proceed with the Ferroans and guard the Magister. Senshi led them into a stand of rogue boras, semisentient treelike flora. The rogue boras were hostile, leading Sebatyne to insist that they take the captives and leave. Solo had to talk her down, insisting that there had to be a way to resolve the conflict peacefully. When Senshi took the Magister hostage, pointing his lightning rod at her while the angered boras attacked, Solo turned his attention to the boras, contacting their simple intelligence in the Force and convincing the rogue flora to give up their anger and isolationism.



Solo had passed Sekot's test. The planet's intelligence appeared to him in the guise of their mutual friend Vergere, and Senshi released Hal as Quee awoke. Sekot approved of Solo's peaceful nature, and spoke to him of itself. Still, neither he nor Sekot knew how Sekot could bring a peaceful resolution. The planet spoke of its ability to create living starships, using technology similar to that of the Yuuzhan Vong but with fewer weaknesses. Pressed, Solo rejected Sekot's offer of military assistance. He was convinced a military solution could not provide the answer the galaxy needed, and he refused to take steps that he felt could only end in the genocide of the Yuuzhan Vong. However, Skywalker, conversing with Sekot at the same time, accepted. Sekot decided that it would leave Klasse Ephemora, and see what it could do to stop the Yuuzhan Vong.

They spent two months on the planet as it prepared to depart Klasse Ephemora. At the end of that time, a second expedition landed on another area of the planet. It consisted of Corran Horn, Tahiri Veila, the Yuuzhan Vong priest Harrar, shaper Nen Yim, and Nom Anor, disguised as Yu'shaa, prophet of a sect of heretics among the Shamed Ones who venerated the Jedi and opposed Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane. All felt that there was something valuable the Yuuzhan Vong could learn from Zonama Sekot, but Anor valued the opportunity to betray the planet to the Supreme Overlord, who desired to eradicate it. He summoned a craft of warriors and attempted to destroy the planet by releasing a plague. Solo and his Jedi companions sought out the site of the infection in the Jade Shadow. They arrived just in time to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong warriors who deployed from the ship Anor summoned, saving Horn and Veila. Anor, who had already killed Yim and, it was believed, Harrar, escaped on the ship.

The infection, attacking Zonama Sekot's interface with its hyperdrives, was defeated, but Sekot was unable to prevent its engines firing it into a hyperspace jump. Widowmaker was left behind or destroyed in the leap. Sekot appeared to the Jedi, telling them that it had learned much from Yim's studies, and warning them to take shelter in the planet's caves as hyperspace travel took its toll on the world. The expedition spent nearly a month in the caves of Middle Distance as Zonama Sekot jumped in and out of hyperspace. Emerging too near a sun began a series of forest fires; as a consequence the rest of the trip was spent under conditions of perpetual rainstorms engineered by Sekot. Groundquakes completed the series of natural disasters. Solo and Sebatyne eventually ventured out in an airship to examine Zonama Sekot's condition. The devastation in the southern hemisphere was tremendous, while the northern ice cap melted. In addition, the Ferroans had grown resentful of the Jedi.

The pair returned to report to the others just in time for Sekot to announce to them that it was reconsidering its commitment and for Tekli and Veila to find Harrar, alive after all. All rushed to see him, and the high priest helped explain some of the events which had taken place, and told them of the growing power of the Jedi-venerating heresy spreading through the Yuuzhan Vong undercastes, and of events in Shimrra Jamaane's court that showed the Supreme Overlord's great fear of the sentient world. Doubt and dissent was growing in the halls of the powerful. Harrar himself, seeing the power of Zonama Sekot, wished to build a rapport with the Jedi and bring peace and understanding between the two cultures.

When the rains ceased, Solo, the Skywalkers, Sebatyne, Harrar, and Hal braved another airship journey to the southern hemisphere, where they visited the ruins of the former Magisters' dwelling in hope of contacting Sekot, which had grown distracted and distant. There, where Sekot had first become aware of itself, they contacted the world's guiding intelligence, which was fascinated by Harrar. Sekot was puzzled by its inability to sense Harrar, and also by his sense of familiarity. Solo and Skywalker, working with Harrar's knowledge of Yuuzhan Vong lore, puzzled out a theory, confirmed by Sekot, that the Yuuzhan Vong had long ago been stripped of the Force and exiled by their homeworld Yuuzhan'tar, a living planet much like Zonama Sekot.



Zonama Sekot began a series of trial hyperspace jumps, attempting to test the hyperdrives and get back to known space now that it had regained control of its hyperdrives. During that journey, Solo spoke with Sekot again, as the planet questioned him, attempting to learn more about his commitment to the Force and about the Yuuzhan Vong. He told it of Skywalker's plan to have Sekot travel to the Coruscant system, where it would distract and frighten the Yuuzhan Vong, but would be capable of defending itself. Skywalker likewise spoke with Solo, discussing their roles once they returned to the known galaxy. Skywalker offered criticism of Vergere's philosophy as he understood it, but did not convince Solo that he was wrong to embrace Vergere's teachings.

The planet jumped into the Coruscant system, terrifying the Yuuzhan Vong as it took up orbit. The Yuuzhan Vong considered Zonama Sekot an ill omen, with the exception of the heretics who venerated it, and would not approach it. Skywalker summoned more Jedi and the Solos to the planet in order to explain his vision for their involvement in the conclusion of the war, which primarily involved allowing the dissension in the enemy leadership and lower castes undermine the government until they had to sue for peace. Solo was happily reunited with his family, and Sekot began to shape ships for many of the Jedi. The Skywalkers departed to confer with Galactic Alliance High Command while Solo remained on Zonama Sekot. The Jedi Master was unable to convince the military and civilian leaders to hold off their planned attack on Coruscant while the Yuuzhan Vong government unraveled. He returned to Zonama Sekot and reported as much. Solo was annoyed that the government had dismissed his report that the World Brain would render the planet uninhabitable if it was invaded; the danger had only increased since he had lost contact with the dhuryam in the Unknown Regions, giving Jamaane a chance to reestablish some measure of control over it. Skywalker decided that in the event of the invasion, the Jedi would have to reach and neutralize Jamaane before he could order the World Brain to ruin Coruscant.

The Galactic Alliance assault came soon, and during it new Warmaster Nas Choka sent a fleet against Zonama Sekot, against expectations that the frightened Yuuzhan Vong would stay clear of the living planet. As the large Jedi contingent scrambled to defend it in their new Sekotan ships, Solo traveled to Coruscant with the Skywalkers, Master Kenth Hamner, Veila, Harrar, and the rest of the Solos and their Noghri bodyguards. Landing at the Galactic Alliance beachhead in Galactic City after slipping through the Yuuzhan Vong orbital forces, Solo set off with his sister, aunt, and uncle as well as Hamner, Veila, and Captain Judder Page and several of his Katarn Commandos, hoping to infiltrate the sacred precinct and enter the Supreme Overlord's Citadel. When they encountered a unit of rebellious heretics, Hamner, Veila, Jade Skywalker, and several of the troops were dispatched to aid them in the battle against Jamaane's forces. The rest proceeded, but were halted when the biots Tu-Scart and Sgauru began demolishing a walkway they needed to cross. Solo could not convince the creatures to desist until Solo contacted the World Brain, convincing it to cease taking Jamaane's orders and instead assist the Jedi in reaching the Citadel.

Solo, his twin, and Skywalker entered the Citadel and fought their way up a winding staircase, encountering constant resistance from hordes of devoted warriors. They made their way to the summit, within the Supreme Overlord's escape craft. There they faced Shimrra Jamaane and his bodyguard of fifteen Slayers, genetically enhanced warriors. The three Jedi, melded in the Force, faced the Slayers. Four pitted themselves against Solo before he was relieved by Skywalker; Solo then went to assist his sister. The chamber began to rock violently as the Citadel shifted, and Solo and Skywalker were left to finish off the Slayers amid the turbulence when Jaina rushed after Jamaane's familiar Onimi, who had ascended to the escape vessel's control room a level above. Hard-pressed and much wounded by the Slayers, who began to move under outside coordination, Solo nonetheless defeated his share before he was knocked out of the fight by Jamaane, who was the last enemy standing. Skywalker slew Jamaane using Anakin's lightsaber, taken from the Supreme Overlord, but sustained an amphistaff bite in the process.



Having cast his own weapon at Jamaane, Solo was unarmed. He missed catching Anakin's lightsaber when Skywalker threw it to him, but Skywalker urged him to continue unarmed to Jaina's assistance. Before Solo could reach him, Onimi launched the escape vessel. When Solo did arrive, he realized that Onimi had restored the Force to himself, having grafted yammosk cells to his nervous system. Onimi had been using his mental abilities to control Jamaane. He was the true Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong. Onimi believed that he did battle with the Yuuzhan Vong deities, and thought that Solo embodied Yun-Shuno, the redeemer of Shamed Ones. Anakin Skywalker again spoke through the Force to Solo, telling him to stand firm against Onimi. Solo gave himself over to the Force to counter Onimi's complete control of their surroundings, enabling him to counter the mastermind's actions. When Onimi met him in combat, the Jedi countered the array of toxins the former shaper excreted, neutralizing them instantly. He had surrendered completely to the Force, experiencing a blissful state of oneness. Onimi expended himself in the manufacture of toxins, and was undone and dissolved by his own poisons.

Solo rescued Jaina, whom Onimi had paralyzed, and was joined by his parents and the defector Nom Anor, who had arrived in the chamber below before the vessel launched. With Onimi dead, the craft began to die with him, forcing Anor to lead the group to an escape craft for the escape craft. When Anor attempted to lead the group into a waste disposal area, Solo caught on to the deception. Anor, always looking out for himself, attacked Han Solo with a gout of venom from his plaeryin bol, but Jacen Solo intercepted the blast and neutralized it. Anor opened the passage to the yorik-trema escape ship for them, but refused to board himself despite Han Solo extending the offer; he preferred to die on his own terms, having no use for galactic society. The Millennium Falcon, piloted by Jade Skywalker, docked with their escape ship and recovered them. Solo went to Skywalker, badly wounded and abed, and healed him of the amphistaff poison's effects, using his tears as Vergere had.

They traveled to Zonama Sekot. There, Sekot had embraced the Yuuzhan Vong whom it had forced down during battle. After a week, Sekot and Hal met with Solo, Skywalker, and Harrar to reveal that it had realized it was the seed of the original Yuuzhan'tar. Sekot now volunteered to serve as a new homeworld for the Yuuzhan Vong, to house and rehabilitate them in the Unknown Regions once Warmaster Nas Choka surrendered. After the surrender, Solo traveled back to Coruscant, where he assisted in reaching an understanding between the World Brain and the Galactic Alliance. Solo was then present at the Jedi convocation Skywalker called on Zonama Sekot, in which he proclaimed a new vision for the future, one which sought to reconnect with the Unifying Force, spend time in self-examination, and adopt lessons from Vergere. Nearly two months after the surrender, once Zonama Sekot had departed, Solo traveled with his family to Kashyyyk, where they gathered at Chewbacca's memorial and lodged Anakin's lightsaber.

Still the student
"I know what I don't want to do&mdash;I don't want to be part of an order or a select group. I don't want to be looked to as the guiding light of the new fealty, and I don't want to be surrounded by students who'll ask more of me than I can explain. Most of all, I don't want to be an object of fascination or admiration, because that'll only distract me from what I really need to learn. I don't have dreams of being a lightsaber master or an ace starfighter pilot, and I'm not on a campaign to change anyone or anything, except myself, maybe, just to clear away some of the confusion that's built up."

- Jacen Solo, to Jaina Solo



Solo decided that his place was as a student. He did not want to remain among the Jedi, where he would be looked upon as a hero and feel pressured to live up to others' expectations. He also did not want to remain on Sekot, feeling that he would be too tempted to grow complacent on the seeming paradise. He decided to seek out other Force-using groups and learn from them, expanding his understanding of the Force and discovering more about himself. The Jensaarai, Theran Listeners, Sunesi, and Fallanassi were all on his itinerary. Solo set out on his travels in 30 ABY, taking a leave of absence from the Jedi Order and no longer considering himself an active Jedi Knight.

Over the course of his long journeys, Solo sought out many different Force-using orders. He spoke with the Jensaarai, a light-side sect descended from a Sith cult, who were in amiable contact with the Jedi. He probed their understanding of the Force, questioning their doctrine in ways which offended them. Solo also spent time with the Witches of Dathomir, from whom he learned Force techniques but who, like the Jensaarai, criticized him for learning their ways but not their beliefs, not accepting their understanding of the Force. From the Theran Listeners of Nam Chorios, who communed with the sentient Tsil crystals of that world, he learned quieting and listening techniques which improved his abilities to communicate in the Force. Solo trained with the Aing-Tii, experts in the manipulation of time and space. They taught him flow-walking, a technique to experience the past or future, projecting himself into it. As with many other sects, Solo critiqued their understanding of the Force and received their displeasure.

In 35 ABY, Solo was on Pydyr studying with the Fallanassi, who specialized in illusions and secrecy. There, he learned from Akanah Norand Goss Pell, a former lover of his uncle, Fallanassi techniques for manipulating the White Current, their understanding of the Force. While training with Pell, Solo began feeling a sensation in the Force, a compulsion to come to the caller's assistance in the Unknown Regions. After several weeks, the call strengthened into a plea for help, and Solo felt that the time had come to leave his training and seek out the source of the compulsion. Pell counseled against it, feeling that Solo had to remain and complete his training, and did not truly understand the White Current. She also sensed that Solo lacked "light" in his views on the Force, and was determined that he could not leave without moral guidance. Nevertheless, Solo departed.

The Killik problem
Traveling into the Unknown Regions, Solo found the source of the call in the Colony, a series of Killik nests in which each had its own hive-mind and all were controlled by Unu, an overmind. Other species had been drawn to the Colony and were unwilling to leave, joined to one nest's mind. Arriving at the Lizil nest, Solo was assigned a guide who brought him to the world on which Yoggoy nested. There, he heard that there had been a spacecraft crash on the planet years before, and sought out the site of the Crash, which had become a monument. It was, as Solo had suspected, the wreck of the Tachyon Flier, which Lomi Plo and Welk had stolen at Myrkr with Raynar Thul aboard. Against the wishes of his impatient insect guide, whose language Solo had to understand through the Force, Solo entered the wreck, seeking to understand what had happened and who was summoning him. Cutting into the crew quarters, he found the melted remains of M-TD, and on the bridge he found signs that the others might have perished in the fire subsequent to the crash. He flow-walked back to the events of the crash to see what had occurred, and saw Thul levitating the two Dark Jedi from the burning craft. When Thul observed Solo's presence, he withdrew to the present, traced Thul's passage to an exit, and was pleasantly surprised to find that his friend had apparently survived.

On exiting, his guide presented him with a new XJ5 "ChaseX" X-wing. Solo refused to take up a combat role until the Colony explained to him why and whom he was supposed to be fighting. The same presence which had earlier called to him now spoke, insisting that it knew Solo and knew he would find this fight worthy. Solo opened himself to flow-walking once more, seeking to determine what had become of Thul and if he might be the other presence, and was surprised to find himself in the future, seeing his mother for the first time in five years. She spoke to someone else, mentioning that Thul had survived. Solo had his guide tell him where he was going, and offered the location to his mother, who had seen his future projection: Qoribu, in the Gyuel system.

Solo flew to Qoribu's moon Jwlio, where he found the other Myrkr survivors, with the lone exception of Tenel Ka Djo. They were engaged in battling the Chiss Ascendancy, which was attacking the Killik worlds near its borders with defoliant to destroy their food supply. Solo found this unacceptable behavior, and joined the other Jedi in flying against Chiss defoliant sorties. Though he accepted Killik ways and fought for the nests, he was not as absorbed into the hive mind as the other Jedi; he resisted becoming a Joiner.

Finally, in one raid a month after Solo arrived, the conflict escalated, when the Killiks destroyed a Chiss Star Destroyer with a suicidal ramming attack by a swarm of dartships and Lowbacca was left extravehicular, where he was recovered by the Chiss. As they took the Wookiee Jedi in, Solo's parents, the Skywalkers, and Saba Sebatyne arrived in the system with Jae Juun and Tarfang, smugglers who had worked for the Killiks. They had learned that Thul had survived and become UnuThul, the leader of the Unu nest, which provided the Colony's guiding will. When the others landed, Solo introduced himself to his cousin Ben Skywalker, whom he had not seen since the boy was a toddler, and the pair immediately connected. Solo then hugged his parents for the first time in five years, then listened as the other Jedi attempted to defend their desertion from their duties and role in the war to their elders. Finally, the Masters' Council members decided that the Joiner Jedi had lost their neutrality and were only aggravating a confused situation, and requested that they depart the Unknown Regions. Solo, Tesar Sebatyne, Tekli, and Veila agreed to leave immediately, while the others waited for the Solos to recover Lowbacca before departing.

On their return to the Jedi Academy on Ossus, Solo and the other Jedi had their brain activity scanned. Solo used the ayna-seff technique to mask his readings and manipulate the equipment, explaining that he preferred that the Masters examining them trust their feelings rather than technology. Using the others' readings, Cilghal disproved that the blurring of the Jedi's minds was related to overuse of the meld during the war; instead, Killik pheromones were altering their brain functions, joining them to the collective nest mind. Solo, however, likely had not been present long enough to become a Joiner. As the Masters argued as to how they might address the Killik-Chiss tensions, Solo opined that the Killiks were dangerous, but did not mean anyone harm. In such a situation, the important thing was that the Jedi chose a position and acted.

Solo himself felt that he ought to send a fleet to safeguard the Killiks, and so chose to approach his old friend Djo, who had ascended to the Hapan throne while Solo had been a captive in the Yuuzhan Vong War. He traveled to Hapes, where he sneaked into the Queen Mother's gardens when her secretary would not announce him. She was delighted to see him for the first time in five years, and dismissed the courtiers around her in order to catch up with her old friend. They proceeded to a private island in her gardens, where Solo explained the situation in the Unknown Regions, and asked her to send a fleet to guard the Killiks. She agreed after asking Solo to stay the night. He did, the pair finally giving in to their feelings and sleeping with each other. Unknown to Solo, he impregnated the Queen Mother in the encounter.

Solo returned to Ossus, where some Jedi were concerned that he had inflamed the situation, making war more likely to break out, rather than less. As this seemed to be an unconscious motivation of at least some of the Joiners, this was troubling. When Alema Rar attacked Han and Leia Solo on their return trip, being the only Joiner Jedi who had agreed to leave when the Chiss under Commander Jagged Fel captured Lowbacca, she was captured. So was an assassin Killik, calling itself Gorog, when it attacked Mara Jade Skywalker after stowing away aboard ship and attempting to make a Joiner of Ben Skywalker. It was a member of the Killik nest which had been attacking the Solos and Skywalkers while the Colony continued to deny knowledge of the assaults. Solo was part of a test in which all the Jedi from Jwlio were put in rooms nearby while the Gorog assassin was subjected to pain without their knowledge. Rar, whom readings showed to be a Gorog Joiner, was restrained, and Solo was the only one of the other Jedi who did not feel the need, unconsciously provoked by Gorog, to terminate the experiment, as he was not a Joiner. Cilghal determined that Gorog was acting as the Colony's unconscious, manipulating the other nests and influencing Thul without their knowledge. She explained this to Skywalker, and Solo joined in with his own observation that Gorog was almost certainly controlled by Plo and Welk, the Dark Jedi survivors of the crash. They had created a secretive, dark side nest. Rar's own inner darkness had led her to join with them.

When Chief of State Cal Omas angrily arrived on Ossus, demanding a meeting with the Jedi leadership to discuss the arrival of the Hapan fleet over Qoribu, Solo entered the meeting, admitting that he had persuaded her to send the fleet. He explained to Omas that he had believed that the only way to prevent the Chiss from exterminating the Killiks on Jwlio was to give them naval force to protect themselves, holding the Chiss back from action and giving the Jedi time to resolve the crisis. Omas ordered the Jedi to force Djo to withdraw the fleet and withdraw themselves from the Unknown Regions likewise, averting a diplomatic crisis with the Chiss. This sparked a debate among the Masters as to whether the Jedi should be accountable to the government, in which Solo argued that the Jedi could only trust their own consciences; governments were too weak and corruptible to be in control of the Jedi. Omas's thread to withhold Galactic Alliance funding if the Jedi could not comply exacerbated the argument, until Skywalker put an end to it. Organa Solo proposed that the Hapan fleet move the Killik nests to a set of planets they had discovered in the Utegetu Nebula, where the Killiks would be far from the Chiss border. Still, the Jedi would first have to deal with Gorog, which Solo realized seemed to want war.

The Jedi arranged to allow Rar to escape with the Gorog insect, tracking her back to the Gorog nest's location. The Jedi leadership sent a strike team to deal with the nest, eliminating it to allow a peaceful resolution. Solo remained on Ossus, as the Masters wished to take no risk of any of the Jedi who had spent time with the Killiks betraying their plans. Instead, Solo spent his time with his young cousin Ben Skywalker, who had withdrawn from the Force and showed signs of having joined with the Gorog stowaway. Solo also reached out to his twin, still with the Killiks, and urged her to resist the Colony's will, letting her know that Plo and Welk were in control. Jaina warned Jagged Fel, commanding the Chiss task force, of the imminent attack the Killiks were preparing, and the Jedi strike team rooted out Gorog, killing Welk in the process. Plo, however, escaped. Thul agreed to move the Killik nests to the Utegetu Nebula. The conflict seemed resolved.

Personality and traits
As a small child, Solo spent most of his first two years in the care of Winter, first on New Alderaan and then on Anoth. As a result, he developed an attachment to his nanny, and infrequent visits from his parents prevented him from connecting with them. When he returned to Coruscant in 11 ABY, it took time for him to accustom himself to his family and new routine. Solo settled into a comfortable family life, but eventually grew over-reliant on a belief that the Force would provide everything he needed, keeping him from seeking to stay in shape. Within two years, however, he had lost that belief and was once more in shape and willing to explore, though he remained unconvinced of the need to study non-Jedi combat techniques.

Solo had no fear of animals, eagerly interacting with and "befriending" them with his Force talents. He was always able to placate them, and consequently showed no fear of venomous or carnivorous animals so long as he had the opportunity to pacify them. He began collecting animals as pets. He also liked plants, and could similarly affect carnivorous plants through the Force.

Like his siblings, Solo was a tremendously mischievous youth. He saw rules as challenges and adults as spoilers of fun, to be evaded when at all possible. Constantly exploring&mdash;both the Imperial Palace around him and the boundaries of what he could get away with&mdash;he frequently got into trouble, especially as both his uncle and mother were always able to sense whether he was telling the truth, but reveled in his escapades and was uninspired to change his ways.

Solo's apprenticeship to Luke Skywalker led him to consider more philosophical issues, seeking to find a new role for the Jedi in an era not dominated by war&mdash;a role not simply as warriors, but as something more, connecting with the broader past of the Jedi before the Order had been overthrown. It was his conviction that as a member of the first generation of new Jedi to have experienced the Force since birth and been trained from childhood, he had different and valuable insights to offer on the Force and a Jedi's relationship with it. He came to see Jedi Knighthood as a deeply personal, spiritual matter of connection with the Force, with Jedi answering to their own conscience and governing themselves so long as they resisted the call of the dark side. He rejected Anakin Solo's arguments that the Jedi should be active keepers of the peace wielding the Force as a tool for justice. Instead, he insisted that the Force was to be used to gain internal harmony and understanding of truth, not projected outward. In his view, the Jedi should rectify injustice when they came upon it, but not seek out trouble by acting as simple "galactic police."

His experience of the meld during the First Battle of Dubrillion caused him to reevaluate his beliefs, judging that the coordinating use of the Force in combat was so powerful and useful that it suggested an external and martial application of the Force to be valid. Nevertheless, Solo came to the conclusion that the Jedi Order was not for him, as it failed to meet his need for a deep internal connection with the Force, a contemplative focus he felt had been the original purpose of the Jedi, long since fallen by the wayside. However, in the midst of the Yuuzhan Vong War, both the words of Skywalker and Solo's own experiences convinced him that he could not abandon the Jedi and the war effort and still maintain his Jedi ideals of respect for life and selflessness, though the Force might later present opportunities for meditation and self-exploration. In the wake of the battle's carnage, however, Solo felt torn between action and meditation, and was uncertain as to which the Force was suggesting for him; discussion with Anakin ultimately led him to accept whatever path the Force placed before him.

The Yuuzhan Vong inability to be detected in the Force troubled Solo, and suggested to him that something was wrong with mainstream Jedi teachings. He hoped that further meditation would open him to a wider spectrum of Force perception in which he could find the mysterious aliens. However, during his time on Duro, Solo gave up on Force use entirely, seeking to avoid any possible aggressive or incorrect use of it. After the fiasco at Fondor, he had become concerned that violent problems would not truly be resolved by violent solutions, and worried that evil was only served by fighting against it. Skywalker again warned him against pride in his attitude toward his insights. After feeling that he reached a point of crisis during his rescue of his mother, Solo came to the decision that he could not cut himself off from the Force in fear of what might happen. Instead, he gave himself over to it completely, making himself the Force's servant. Afterward, he remained uncertain of how the Force should be used, and whether it had a will or encompassed the Yuuzhan Vong in some broader spectrum of understanding the Jedi were not accessing. After discussion with his mother, he decided that while he still had to seek out his own answers, he could not subject others to his moral dilemmas or expect them to follow his path, and rejoined the war effort, seeking to do his best to minimize the violence of the war.

In the course of his capture by the Yuuzhan Vong, Solo attempted to stick to his Jedi ideals. During his attack on the dhuryams, he began to give in to his anger, and in the crater tainted by the death of Nyax, he became consumed by rage and continued to give in to the dark side intermittently. After escaping the cavern beast, he was consumed by apathy, disillusioned and hating that he had succumbed to temptation. He was unable to motivate himself to take action. Vergere jarred him out of this by suggesting that he look for answers not from others but in himself. This caused Solo to see it as absolutely necessary that he be true to himself, and part of doing so was accepting the belief that all in the unverse was fundamentally one. All things were tied together, united in the Force; to harm another was to harm himself. Solo chose to meet the universe with unconditional, all-embracing love and compassion, the best answer he saw to the irrational pain pervading it. Before leaving the Yuuzhan Vong, he shared his insight with the World Brain, which agreed and accepted his plan to confront the Yuuzhan Vong with imperfection and force them to learn compromise.

Solo grew to accept Vergere's philosophy of choosing and acting; he could not spend his life second-guessing his decisions. Instead, he acted as seemed best, and accepted the consequences. It was Solo's decision that the war could not truly be won by exterminating the Yuuzhan Vong. Instead, the Jedi needed to come to understand them and to move them away from their violent religion and autocratic society, and he felt that somehow, Zonama Sekot would provide the key to this. Zonama Sekot did play an instrumental role in solving the war without genocide at Solo's urging, and Solo was able to balance fighting with an ultimately peaceful solution.

When a debate about Jedi obedience to the government emerged during the Killik crisis, Solo took the position that the Jedi could not be accountable to any government, as such bodies were simply too weak and easily corrupted to be trusted with control over the Jedi. Instead, the Jedi should trust their own consciences; only they could bear the burdens of the decisions they must make.

During his time at the Jedi Praxeum, Solo became fond of Tenel Ka Djo. He constantly told jokes, some long-established and some of his own making, in an attempt to get the humorless girl to laugh. She never did, and Solo's jokes were rejected as poor by his other companions as well. His jokes soon became a mechanism to deal with awkward situations, though he was able to recognize that jokes were not always appropriate. Solo and Djo became more openly fond of each other during their time at the Praxeum, even though a brief infatuation with Anja Gallandro diverted Solo's attention, but did not move into a full relationship.

At the outbreak of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Solo rescued Danni Quee and began to develop feelings for the woman. Five years older than he was, she shot down his earliest roundabout inquiries into the possibility of a romance, citing their friendship and her own personal turmoil. Solo accepted that this was probably for the best, as he was most likely dealing with a passing attraction. The extended time he spent with Quee on the mission to find Zonama Sekot three years later, however, began to reignite Solo's thoughts of romance. When he realized that Quee felt the same way, Solo remained confused, still feeling too young and lacking confidence that he could genuinely interest her. The romance ultimately came to nothing, with neither deciding to pursue the other.

Solo's relationship with Djo had long been stalled, much to her chagrin. When Solo went to see her in 35 ABY, after a complete five-year absence, Djo and Solo were both struck by their feelings for each other. Djo finally spoke up, asking him to sleep with her, and Solo happily agreed. However, they could not carry on a relationship beyond that, as Djo was bound to Hapes by her duties and Solo was active dealing with the Killik situation.

Powers and abilities
"You will be able to do anything you want, Jacen. You have the potential&mdash;as long as you have the discipline."

- Luke Skywalker, to Jacen Solo

Even as a developing fetus in the womb, Jacen Solo was contacted by his mother through the Force, though he only expressed rudimentary sensations and emotions. After birth, he was able to respond to these Force messages through the bond he had with his mother. He had a bond with Jaina as well, which was especially strong on account of their twin heritage and time together in the womb and afterward. From childhood, they were able to communicate with each other through the Force, rendering much conversation superfluous; they were also able to feel what the other felt. During the First Battle of Dubrillion, Solo was able to link himself mentally with his siblings, sharing perceptions and thoughts through the Force in order to fight with superior coordination. The meld went beyond the heightened bonding he had sometimes employed with Jaina in combat situations, to the point where their minds seemed to work as one. During the Myrkr mission, the strike team expanded on this concept, with Solo and his great empathic powers serving as the focus for a seventeen-Jedi battle meld. The battle meld worked in much the same way as the meld at Dubrillion, allowing the Jedi to share thoughts. Under Solo's control, they became nearly one mind, and he was at times liable to lose track of his own body, submerged in the thoughts of the others. Through the bond, he could shift the feelings of some Jedi to others, drawing the proper emotion from one Jedi to reinforce others.

Caedus had great Force potential, which his uncle was able to sense shortly after his birth. He and Jaina were able to manifest their powers very early on, using telekinesis as two-year-olds to retrieve items from high shelves and make other mischief. By the time he was five, he could use exceptionally tightly-focused telekinesis to move air molecules rapidly, heating them and creating a glow, and to slow water molecules enough to cause them to freeze. However, he had great difficulty with levitating objects in the air and sustaining their motion. This disability was quickly eliminated by his training, and by 26 ABY, Solo was able to launch a telekinetic whirlwind launching a barrage of debris at opponents. Using the Force, he could jump great heights, and also slow his fall.

As a two-year-old, Jacen Solo was able to speak with animals through the Force, understanding their thoughts and making himself understood to them. By the time he was five, he could direct the behavior of insects, and "make friends" of creatures, convincing them to do his bidding. His empathy did not extend only to animals; Solo was skilled in detecting emotions and understanding what others were feeling.

By the time Solo was five, he had been trained by Skywalker to erect a Force shield and defend himself.

Solo was able to use the Force to dull pain. He was also talented in healing, able to skillfully put others into healing trances, among other healing powers. He could exercise precise control over his own bodily functions, manipulating blood flow and organ performance in order to modify his physical condition and adapt to his environment or wounds. Tapas, the technique of keeping warm within a cold environment, was among these practices of bodily control. Solo could also influence others, putting them to sleep or lending them strength.

During his battle with Onimi, Solo experienced a moment of oneness with the Force, in which he was united with its power. He could counteract any of Onimi's actions and neutralize his poisons, finally destroying and melting Onimi through the power of the Force and his own toxins. To observers, Solo appeared to age grow and age five years in the moment, bathed in a glow of light.

Solo had the predictive ability common to Jedi, sensing danger before it happened.

He could use the Force to "see" for him.

Solo was considered broadly gifted in the Force, skilled in numerous areas.

He could absorb energy, including blaster bolts, through the Force, and safely dissipate it. He could also deflect bolts rather than absorbing them.

Solo could project his voice through the Force.

Solo could use the Force to project a sensation of dread to others, driving them away, and exert a powerful mind trick would could compel even a talented Jedi. He was also able to fool the perceptions of fellow Jedi and project a false Force presence, even making himself feel like multiple individuals.

As a teenager, he could close himself off from the Force, rendering himself difficult to sense in it and preventing any guidance from the Force reaching him.

Solo had a natural talent for fencing, and was considered one of the best duelists in the Praxeum shortly after getting his lightsaber.

Solo could stun enemies, even Yuuzhan Vong, using a Force power which manifested as a green, lightning-like discharge from his fingertips.

By the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Solo could neutralize toxins and manipulate substances on a molecular level, as Vergere had been able to.

Using his empathetic skills, Solo was able to form a bond with the slave seed Vergere implanted in him, giving him access to Yuuzhan Vong life by means of a sense analogous to, or part of, the Force. With it, he could influence Yuuzhan Vong life much as he did other life through the Force. He could not, however, access the Force and his Vongsense at the same time.

During his fall to the dark side while wandering on Coruscant, Solo instinctively summoned Force lightning as well as performing a Force choke.

From the Theran Listeners, Solo learned techniques to quiet his mind and focus on communications through the Force, hearing and understanding them more clearly and determining greater detail about the communicator. Theran Force-listening allowed him to comprehend the speech of others.

On Solo's journeys, he acquired the Dathomiri ability to kindle a globe of light through a Force spell, which he could move and manipulate to provide illumination.

From the Aing-Tii, Solo learned the power of flow-walking, a technique which let him experience the past and future by projecting himself forward or backward in time but not in space.

Behind the scenes
Solo appears as a child in the Star Wars Tales comic The Other, an ambiguously canonical source. However, the timeline given in the comic does not match that established by the canonical works Dark Empire and Jedi Search.





As a result, Tenel Ka and Jacen's relationship once again began to blossom, with Tenel Ka becoming pregnant. Jacen was not aware until he arrived on Hapes with Ben Skywalker and found Tenel Ka with a baby. She gave birth to their daughter Allana in 36 ABY, a year after Jacen's last visit to Hapes. Tenel Ka used the force to slow the pregnancy to conceal the the identity of her Father, for fear that Hapan nobles would try to assassinate her.



The fear proved well founded when the Dark Nest immediately attempted to assassinate the child at the request of Ta'a Chume, Tenel Ka's grandmother. Tenel Ka and the baby were saved, and Jacen, to protect Tenel Ka and his daughter, caused a hemorrhage in Ta'a Chume's brain, rendering her comatose. Jacen went as far as to erase his own cousin Ben's memory to protect his daughter's existence. Jacen then had a vision of endless war, and concluded that there was only one way to preserve his new found family: wipe out the Killiks. In order to do this, Jacen tricked Lowie, Tesar Sebatyne, a still Joined Jaina and Zekk, into instigating a war between the Chiss and the Killiks. Jaina, upon realizing what Jacen had done, was furious with her twin, and vowed never to fly with him again.

When Luke called all of the Jedi to the Temple, Jacen went. He was asked by Han and Leia who was the father of Tenel Ka's baby, but Jacen wouldn't answer.

When Luke was told by Lowie and Tesar that Jacen had tampered with Ben's memory, Luke confronted his nephew. Jacen responded with a cover-up story, explaining that on Endor, a group of Ewoks had been captured by a Gorax and killed, and that Ben had felt their deaths in the Force. Jacen said he then erased the traumatic memory from Ben in order to prevent Ben from retreating further from the Force. He was lying, of course, to keep Tenel Ka and his secret.

Jacen had the chance to get to know his maternal grandparents when he was asked to stay and watch holo recordings that R2-D2 was trying to keep secret. He witnessed Anakin's attack on Padmé on Mustafar. Though he had reckoned from the holos he saw before that his grandfather was "only trying to protect his wife", he didn't understand how he came to Force Choke her.

During the final phases of the Killik expansion, Jacen joined his aunt and uncle on a mission to destroy the Dark Nest. In a saber duel with Lomi Plo, Jacen was stabbed in the stomach saving Mara, puncturing three organs and preventing him from aiding Luke in his showdown against Lomi Plo and Raynar Thul. While in the infirmary with Luke and Mara, Jacen explained to his uncle that the reason Lomi had been able to become invisible was because she had been exploiting Luke's doubts to hide behind them and create the illusion of her not being there. According to Jacen, the only way Luke could fight Lomi on equal ground was if he banished all doubt from his mind, so he urged him to watch the last hologram R2 was hiding: the one showing the death of Padmé Amidala and his own birth. After this, he insisted Luke had to accept his fears and anger and use them to defeat his enemies. While Luke agreed he had to accept those emotions, he still refused to use them. Luke fought both Lomi Plo and Raynar with the combined power of the colony behind them, successfully defeated and killed Lomi Plo and captured Raynar Thul alive. Afterwards, Jacen became the Jedi mentor to his cousin Ben.

Second Galactic Civil War (40 ABY)
"There are times when the end justifies the means. But when you build an argument based on a whole series of such times, you may find that you’ve constructed an entire philosophy of evil."

- Luke Skywalker

Raid on Centerpoint Station
In 40 ABY, Jacen and his cousin Ben were sent on a mission to investigate a missile factory on the planet Adumar with the two Jedi discovering the factory selling unlawful amounts of armaments. After the successful mission, Luke informed Jacen of Corellia's plan to make Centerpoint Station into an operational weapon and the necessity of stopping it. Luke discussed using an Alliance fleet to distract the Corellians so Jacen would succeed in this task. While Jacen was skeptical of the reliability from data gathering, he agreed to neutralize the station together with Ben. After covertly entering the station through cargo compartments, Jacen met Thrackan Sal-Solo, his distant cousin who had recently become Minister of War. Jacen decided to distract Thrackan so Ben would succeed in crippling the station. After chasing Thrackan throughout the station and single-handedly defeating most of Thrackan's numerous security forces in the process, Jacen cornered Thrackan. During this time, Ben succeeded in his role and Jacen encountered a Force vision. He saw if Thrackan lived, a destructive war would consume the entire galaxy. Deciding to kill Thrackan, Jacen almost succeeded but Thrackan used a quick diversion to escape, forcing Jacen to leave Centerpoint behind.

Toryaz Station
Later, Jacen attended the galactic conference between Gilad Pellaeon and Aidel Saxan with his family. Jacen fought alongside his Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara after Corellian commandos stormed the station. Jacen discovered Aidel Saxan was killed in the attack and afterwards decided to investigate the mysterious threat.

Trailing the source
Using tassels found by his twin sister Jaina and Zekk as a guide, Jacen and Ben led an investigation ending at Lorrd to learn about tassels in hopes in finding out what they mean. There Jacen met Nelani Dinn, a former Jedi student of Jacen seven years prior. During a conversation, Nelani revealed to Jacen she had long harbored romantic feelings towards him and agreed to help translate the tassels. Along with help from cultural language expert Dr. Heilan Rotham, Jacen discovered Sith philosophy encoded in the tassels.

Disturbances
As Dr. Rotham translated the tassels, random public disturbances occurred throughout Lorrd within a space of weeks. As Jacen and Nelani defused each problem, Nelani questioned Jacen's aggressive methods in dealing with the problems as several perpetrators died in the process along with one innocent civilian. Later, Ben tracked the cause of the disturbances to a woman named Brisha Syo. After Brisha's capture, she refused to be cooperative unless Jacen took her to a remote asteroid field. Jacen agreed, much to Ben and Nelani's protests. Nelani and Ben decided to accompany Jacen to protect his life from any unseen hazards.

Lumiya


"You will be the man your grandfather couldn't."

- Lumiya to Jacen Solo

Along with Ben and Nelani, Jacen followed Brisha to the Home, an asteroid lair of Darth Vectivus. Brisha told the trio of the civilization which once inhabited the asteroid along with a narrative of Darth Vectivus's history and then separated Ben and Nelani from Jacen as they entered deeper into the caverns. Jacen sparred with a Force phantom of Luke, and saw an apparition of himself as a future Sith Lord, then Syo revealed to him that she was Shira Brie, also known as the Sith Lady Lumiya. Lumiya told Jacen about Vergere's true identity as a Sith student who attempted to end Palpatine's life decades ago and had sacrificed herself so Jacen could become the new Dark Lord of the Sith. Nelani, who overheard Lumiya's conversation, rejoined the two and was shocked by Jacen yielding to Lumiya's views. Overwhelmed by concern, Nelani then engaged in a duel which ended after Jacen intervened. As Nelani arrested Lumiya, Jacen saw a vision that confirmed what Lumiya told him: only by accepting her Sith teachings and embracing the dark side could he prevent the galaxy from sliding into chaos. After seeing himself kill Luke Skywalker in this vision, Jacen freed Lumiya and then reluctantly killed Nelani to prevent this occurrence. He left the asteroid with an unconscious Ben (upon whom he used a memory rub, making him forget this event) to make time for his Sith training.

Galactic Alliance Guard
As the Corellian dispute continued, Jacen neared complete mastery of the Force. Proficient in masking his presence in the Force completely, Jacen honed his dark powers under the tutelage of Lumiya and he began to take steps to ensure the safety of his family and the galaxy at large. After silently allying himself with Admiral Cha Niathal in her drive to one day replace Cal Omas as chief of state, Jacen manipulated his way into the rank of colonel in the Galactic Alliance military. He later supported a first strike against Corellia, and was given control of a "secret police" referred to as the Galactic Alliance Guard. Hearing and reveling in frequent comparisons to Darth Vader, Jacen flow-walked back to the Raid on the Jedi Temple and Order 66, helping to assure himself that he was not joining the Sith for selfish reasons by viewing the motivations of his grandfather or Emperor Palpatine. He was shocked to discover his grandfather Anakin Skywalker had been driven to the dark side by his own selfish love for Jacen's grandmother Padmé Amidala and observed in horror as Anakin Skywalker killed a group of Jedi younglings while the other Jedi spread across the galaxy were slaughtered by the Clone troopers. After Jacen escaped the vision, he decided his own reasons as a Sith were purer than his grandfather's and prepared to embark on the Sith path. Jacen repeatedly tested Lumiya in the presence of an unsuspecting Luke to ensure her loyalties were with him, and not to her precious vendetta on his uncle. He moved her to Coruscant, shielding her from detection by other Jedi as she assisted him in rationalizing his conflicting emotions via the Sith prophecy of the tassels.

After the neutralization of Centerpoint Station, Thrackan Sal-Solo eventually placed a bounty on the entire Solo family, which was taken up by Boba Fett's daughter, Ailyn Vel. Already in custody from a prior GAG raid, Vel was interrogated by Jacen about her employers, tortured, and finally died when Jacen attempted unsuccessfully to rip the information from her mind, instead causing a massive aneurysm that killed her. Ben was shocked by Jacen's actions causing Jacen to begin to fear what he was becoming and what he could do, doubting himself.

Shortly thereafter during a blockade of the Centerpoint Station, Jacen ordered Jaina to destroy a disarmed freighter that was retreating from the blockade. When she refused, he removed her from active duty for refusing to carry out orders, for which she was suspended indefinitely. The rift between Jacen and his family widened further as Luke decided to ask his son to separate from Jacen's dark influence and return to the academy on Ossus. Though not accepting his father's request, Ben began to have suspicions of his own regarding Jacen's character after witnessing the murder of Ailyn Vel. After discovering Jacen's crime, Han Solo in disgust swore that he no longer wanted to know his son and disowned him, something Lumiya would say later was a necessary sacrifice.

Fears
"I don't know who you are, but you aren't my son anymore. My Jacen would never do the kind of stuff you do. Get out. I don't want to know any more."

- Han to Jacen after seeing Ailyn Vel's body

Lumiya told Jacen that it would be necessary to make huge sacrifices in order to become a Sith Lord and restore order to the galaxy. Reflecting on the prophecy of the tassels, Jacen realized that the "ultimate test of selflessness" that Lumiya was speaking of would be to kill what he loves. Jacen quickly realized he might have to kill the love of his life, Tenel Ka Djo, and their daughter, Allana, in order to change into the Sith Lord that he was destined to become.

Although this thought caused him enormous emotional pain, Jacen realized that Lumiya's words were true. Sacrificing that which he loved most would remove his inhibitions and attachments, allowing him to succeed where his grandfather had failed in his quest to become a Sith Lord. Reluctantly, Jacen accepted the fact that he would have to make huge sacrifices, whatever they may be, for the sole purpose of obtaining galactic peace.

Events at Hapes
"Hunting bad men is my job."

- Jacen Solo

In helping him find more Corellian insurgents on Coruscant, Jacen used the World Brain. On one trip to the World Brain, Jacen was followed by Alema Rar, who was believed to have been killed in the Battle of Tenupe during the Swarm War. Alema sought revenge on the Solo family and attempted to kill him with a blow-dart. However, Lumiya was able to warn Jacen in time for him to dodge the dart, which then struck the World Brain.

Jacen wanted to go after Alema and eliminate her, but Lumiya convinced him that saving the World Brain was more important, and they let her go. As of then, Alema was the only living being aware of Jacen's apprenticeship to Lumiya.

While Luke attempted to find a trace of the dark side in Ben through a series of sparring matches, Jacen ordered Lumiya to have all members of the Bothan True Victory Party killed in order to prevent further attacks on the World Brain. During a meeting between Jacen and Lumiya, Tresina Lobi, a Jedi Master who was tracking Ben, learned about Jacen's relationship with Lumiya and attempted to contact Luke. Alema Rar, hiding nearby however, was waiting for Jacen to become a Sith to hurt Leia, and attempted to protect Jacen and Lumiya from the Jedi. Alema and Lumiya formed a hasty and tense partnership, working together to kill Master Lobi while Jacen and Ben made for the orbital General Crix Madine Military Reserve.

Jacen became the commander of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, Anakin Solo. During this time, Tenel Ka requested that Jacen lead an investigation into an assassination attempt on her life, and also entrusted him with the safety of their daughter, Allana. Jacen agreed, vowing in his own mind he would never sacrifice Allana for any reason. He decided on his parents as possible candidates instead, after learning of their suspicious involvement with the assassination attempt. Soon after, Aurra Sing arrived on board the Star Destroyer and engaged Jacen in a duel. As the battle wore on, Jacen found Sing challenging despite calling upon the dark side to enhance his strength. Jacen was about to kill Aurra Sing with Force Lightning but he saw Allana watching them. Eventually, the duel ended after Allana incapacitated Sing using a paralyzing agent and Sing was incarcerated.

During a later starship engagement with a rebel Hapan fleet, Jacen was confronted by Alema Rar, who began to sow seeds of doubt in his mind about his parents' involvement with the threat to Tenel Ka. Believing his own parents to be behind the plot to assassinate Tenel Ka and Allana, Jacen ordered his ship gunner to attack the Millennium Falcon with his mother, father, sister, and cousin aboard. Although the old freighter escaped, one of the Anakin's turbolaser shots dealt it severe damage, punching a hole through the Falcon's central core and killing Cakhmaim and Meewahl.

Testing Ben
"You're stalling. You don't know whether he will be fit to become a Sith apprentice. The time to learn that is now, not when you reveal yourself. You must test him."

- Lumiya tells Jacen to test Ben Skywalker

After coming to terms that his parents were to be his Sith sacrifices, Jacen experienced a vision in which he had met his end in a duel with his mother. Jacen later commanded the Anakin Solo in an attempt to round up members that were a part of a smuggling operation near Bespin. Jacen managed to capture smuggler Uran Lavint and her Hutt co-pilot, Blatta, after she sold them out to the Galactic Alliance to pay her debts. Just before releasing her, Jacen ordered his crewmen to disable her ship's hyperdrive. Kyp Durron also reported to Luke Skywalker saying that Cal Omas and Cha Niathal wanted Jacen to become a Jedi Master.

Jacen later met with Admiral Antilles aboard the Anakin to discuss the terms of agreement in which Corellia agreed to surrender itself to the Alliance. His conversation with Wedge also made Jacen realize that he wasn't the same nature loving and easy going adolescent he used to be. He would convince himself that it was a necessary change. At the request of Jacen, Lumiya organized a test for Ben in order to see if the boy was ready to become Jacen's Sith apprentice. Though Lumiya doubted that Ben would survive, Jacen had complete faith in Ben and believed that Ben was going to take up his mantle someday.

Ambush at Gilatter VIII
In an effort to gain information aboard the Errant Venture, Jacen once again crossed paths with Uran Lavint. Jacen decided to assign Lavint a job, which was to gain information on the conference held by the Confederation on Gilatter VIII. Shortly after, Jacen was confronted by Luke and Mara though he was forced to leave after he and the others were attacked by Alema. Under the disguises of Najack Ell and Silfinia Ell, Jacen and Lumiya were able to gain passage into the Gilatter System just in time for the G.A. military to carry out their surprise attack. The surprise attack failed after Jacen was recognized by Turr Phennir, the Supreme Commander of the Confederation.

The mission ended in a violent ambush, in which his parents along with his Aunt Mara and Uncle Luke went to his rescue. To keep from being seen with Lumiya, Jacen sneaked away to take part in the space-battle, and left his family behind, returning to the Anakin.

Sacrifice
In an attempt to sort out supply issues for troops at the front, Jacen found a way to manipulate the law so that he could, in effect, create laws. On receiving GAG surveillance of Cal Omas agreeing a ceasefire with Dur Gejjen - on the condition that Omas allowed both Jacen and Admiral Niathal to be assassinated - Jacen used his new administrative powers to have Omas removed from office and arrested for treason. Jacen was then appointed co-leader of the Galactic Alliance with Cha Niathal. Mara Jade Skywalker soon discovered Jacen's Sith affiliation and she attempted to intimidate him into renouncing the dark side. When Jacen refused, she resorted to force at Kavan. Mara was averse to engaging him in a direct duel, knowing he would win such a fight, so instead she escaped to narrow underground tunnels where a saber would be almost useless. After ambushing Jacen using one of his own techniques, the fight quickly devolved into a physical brawl. When Mara caused a cave to collapse upon him, Jacen sustained heavy wounds and was unable to concentrate on the Force. When Mara attempted a blaster shot, Jacen flung both the shot and the cave rocks off himself with a powerful Force Wave which left him even more exhausted. Badly wounded, and forced to fight on ground of Mara's choosing, Jacen lost the advantage. However, realizing that even during a fight to the death Mara's utmost thoughts were of her son, Jacen Force-projected Ben's face onto his own, making Mara hesitate for the fraction of a second needed for him to stab her with a poison dart, which slowly killed her.

Darth Caedus is born
"Caedus. My name is Darth Caedus."

- Darth Caedus

Following Mara's death, Jacen realized that she was the one he needed to sacrifice in order to become a Sith Lord, although he didn't understand why it had to be her. Jacen then dropped his name in favor of a Sith one, becoming a Dark Lord of the Sith and taking the title of Darth Caedus.



Hoping to keep up his alibi and set his plans into action, the newly-christened Darth Caedus attended Mara's funeral as Jacen. Despite protests from many other Jedi, including Saba, Luke allowed his nephew to stand with him and the family. Trying to arrest his parents, Caedus put his plans into motion. He hinted to Ben that Cal Omas was Mara's killer to keep suspicion away from him and attempted to tighten his control of the Galactic Alliance. Later, he personally led the Battle of Balmorra, which he had thought to be the decisive battle of the war. All was going as planned until Rear Admiral Darklighter changed battle tactics that allowed them to destroy the Commenorian fleet and the Hutt forces in space. Caedus showed his darkness when he commanded his forces to let the Balmorrians finish off the fighting on the ground. During the battle, he put Admiral Bwua'tu in command of the battle plan, which would only be a success with the support of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker refused to help Jacen in the conflict once he learned that Jacen had sent Ben to kill Cal Omas and left the battle.

Unhappy with this new development, Caedus deployed the GAG to Ossus and, like Darth Vader decades ago on Coruscant, attempted to kill all the Jedi residing there as an example of how intolerable dissent was to the GA. The war between Corellia and the GA had become yet another war between the Jedi and the Sith. After Kashyyyk refused to follow Caedus's rule, he attacked the planet and its Wookiee inhabitants by setting fire to their planet. He not only attacked Kashyyyk to punish the Wookiees, but also to draw Confederate forces away from Kuat. His plan worked and the Bothan, Corellian, and Commenorian fleets arrived to aid the Wookiees. Aboard the Anakin Solo Ben Skywalker attacked Caedus intending to kill him, but, because of a shadow bomb from Lowbacca that had hit the ship, they lost their balance and Ben's lightsaber only brushed Jacen's ribs. Seeing the potential of the dark side in the boy, Jacen held Ben captive on the Anakin Solo.

When Luke came to ambush and possibly destroy the Anakin Solo, Caedus was waiting in his StealthX. Caedus forced Jaina to fire on her uncle. Believing Luke dead, Caedus returned to his ship and tortured Ben Skywalker in the Embrace of Pain, the Yuuzhan Vong device Vergere had used which had partly caused Jacen to turn to the dark side. Like Vergere did to Jacen, Caedus temporarily severed Ben's connection to the Force. Luke was, however, not dead like Caedus believed, and infiltrated the ship, catching Jacen trying to turn Ben to the dark side. Shocked by the cruel and dangerous man his nephew had become, and not waiting for Caedus to notice his presence, Luke attacked his own nephew to save Ben. The ensuing lightsaber fight was brutal and both Caedus and Luke were badly injured, despite the fact that Luke possessed superior skill, power, and experience. Even though Caedus had managed to break Luke's nose, shoulder and leg, he suffered far greater injuries and only gained the advantage when Luke was distracted by Ben. He managed to entangle Luke with a Yuuzhan Vong vine, but Luke managed to break free and inflict further injuries on Caedus. Just as Caedus was getting the upperhand, he was stabbed in the back by Ben, who had escaped from the Embrace to kill Jacen. Ben summoned Jacen's fallen lightsaber and attempted to kill Jacen, remarking "This kill is mine." Jacen's life was spared only when Luke told Ben that Mara's killer was Alema Rar. Horrified by his son's dark actions and Jacen's wanton brutality, Luke limped away from the room with his son and escaped the Anakin Solo, sparing Caedus his life.

During the battle, Tenel Ka, also horrified after witnessing Caedus's destructive tactics, turned against Jacen despite her love for him. At first, Jacen thought his parents were threatening Allana and forced Tenel Ka to turn on him, but after he sensed her true feelings, he knew she had willingly turned on him. Tenel Ka assaulted his ship when he refused to surrender. However, Alema Rar intervened in the Sith ship and used Battle Meditation to weaken the will on the Bothan fleet, thus allowing Jacen to escape.

Dark Lord of the Sith
"We should have dropped that kid out the medcenter window the day he was born."

- Han Solo

Shortly after the Battle of Kashyyyk, Luke said that Jacen now commanded at least master-level abilities, but will never rise up to the rank of Jedi Master. Not only that, but when asked how to solve the problem that had become Caedus, Luke, not being able to come up with an answer, left it up to Kyp Durron on to decide how to deal with Caedus. The plan resulted in Caedus fighting a Jedi strike team consisting of, Master Kyle Katarn, Knights Valin Horn, Kolir Hu'lya, Thann Mithric and an apprentice whom Caedus had sponsored, Seha Dorvald. During the ensuing fight, Caedus severely wounded Katarn by impaling him in the chest, which brought a rash attack from Mithric who received a deflected blaster bolt in his chest from Caedus and followed it up by decapitating the Falleen Jedi. After the fight, Caedus was somewhat disappointed that he could not find the body of Katarn.

Caedus felt he was truly alone as nearly everyone in his family, and even Tenel Ka, had turned against him, and admitted he would kill anyone who stood between him and his daughter, including Tenel Ka. He then planned to get the Hapes Consortium back into the Galactic Alliance by taking Allana away from Tenel Ka. After he kidnapped her, he told Allana that he was her father. He also left Tenel Ka a holo-message saying that he would kill Allana if she didn't repledge military support to the Galactic Alliance. But the threat towards his daughter, however, was a lie.



Jacen, learning that Centerpoint Station was back on line, led an armada to capture it. It was during this battle that Master Skywalker, Master Sebatyne, Ben Skywalker, and the rest of a special strike team boarded the Anakin Solo. Before a fight broke out, Caedus noticed that there was no anger in Ben towards him, and realized that he could no longer try to turn him. While Luke, Saba, and Ben distracted Caedus on the bridge of the ship, Han and Leia were able to locate and rescue Allana. Sensing that Allana was being taken from him, Caedus abandoned the fight on the bridge and rushed to Allana's room to find her missing. He rushed to the hangar bay, but it was too late. The strike team retreated with Allana and Centerpoint Station was destroyed due to Jedi sabotage. Infuriated by the loss of his daughter, Caedus killed Patra Tebut (in a manner very similar to his grandfather's methods for punishing failed subordinates) for allowing the strike team to dock on the Anakin Solo, despite the fact that she had not known who was on the shuttle and that the shuttle had broadcasted all the correct codes.

Caedus built a new lightsaber using a traditional red Sith crystal, giving his blade a reddish glow, after losing his old lightsaber at the duel between he and Luke above Kashyyyk. His extended immersion in the dark side as a Sith Lord later appeared as sulfuric irises on his eyes and dark lines upon his face. After the Battle of Centerpoint Station, his eyes would normally turn yellow without his noticing. He now realized why his officers recently seemed much more frightened and terrified in his presence.

At one point he was asked by Niathal if he were Sith, to which he admitted it, slowly coming out of his hiding as a Dark Lord of the Sith. He knew the Moffs wanted territory and used their greed to garner their allegiance. Though he used his Flow-walking to lure Tahiri into his grasp, he disliked using her in such a way. While going through a preliminary fly through in his StealthX viewing the Fondorians defenses, he was confronted by Luke who hid himself in the Force and took apart his fighter piece by piece finally breaking one of Caedus' ribs with the Force and asking him to surrender himself to the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Council to which he refused.



He would later take Tahiri Veila as his Sith apprentice during the Second Battle of Fondor after she killed Gilad Pellaeon. When rescuing Tahiri from Mandalorians led by Boba Fett, Caedus encountered Baltan Carid, who shot Caedus in the knee. He did not try to kill him because Boba Fett had given an order to all his men to save the Sith Lord for Jaina to fight. Caedus barely escaped from the ordeal alive with Tahiri who had been wounded by Jaina and Mirta. Four days later on Coruscant, Caedus told the whole truth about his killing of Mara and his Sith identity to Captain Lon Shevu. Shevu had been helping Ben uncover evidence of Mara's murder, and during his conversation with Caedus, he secretly recorded it. Shevu sent the recording to Ben on Endor, and Ben used it to prove to his family that Caedus had indeed killed Mara. Luke then became determined for Caedus to be removed as a threat.

Death
"At the end, there was a second when he just stopped fighting so he could warn Tenel Ka. I think he became Jacen again for a second before I...before I killed him."

- Jaina Solo

Caedus was wounded by his sister Jaina in a duel on Nickel One resulting in the loss of his arm. Jaina later faced Caedus again on the Anakin Solo. During their duel, Caedus said that he had to warn Tenel Ka of a nanovirus targeted at her and Allana. Jaina believed this to be a trap and they fought. Although Caedus had thought he was superior to his sister Jaina, he came to understand that he greatly underestimated his sibling as she held her ground against him, though only barely so due to Jaina's Mandalorian training. After a brutal fight (where Caedus lost the use of his leg) Caedus, sensing he was running out of time, disengaged his lightsaber, giving his life to warn Tenel Ka through the Force to protect Allana, their daughter. Jaina, still believing it to be a trap, brought her lightsaber down on him, slicing towards his heart. As she did so she felt Jacen reaching out to Tenel Ka. This sent a cold chill through her heart, but it was too late. Afterwards she believed that she felt Jacen, not Caedus, die through her twin bond and believed that he was himself for the last moments of his life.

Caedus's Sith apprentice, Tahiri Veila, engaged Ben Skywalker in a duel. Based on his dealings with Tahiri, Skywalker realized that it was still possible to bring Tahiri back to the light, and convinced her to leave the Sith Order and surrender to him.

Legacy
After his death, Jaina told her father that she believed her brother had been himself again during his final moments, as Caedus reached out to Tenel Ka. She thought that she had felt Jacen, not Caedus, through their twin bond. Afterwards, she realized that he had succeeded in his goal: by posing such a dangerous threat and unifying so many against him, he had brought peace to the galaxy, sacrificing his name and life to do so.

Luke Skywalker would later chart a new course for the Jedi―many of whom had once looked to Jacen for inspiration―while trying to understand what had caused his nephew's fall.

Little did Jacen know that there were other Sith on Korriban, and while they disapproved of him being a Sith Lord, they regarded him as a Sith lightning rod to distract the Jedi away from them, thus giving them time to grow in numbers and power. Alema Rar tried to warn him of this, but she was killed at the hands of Jagged Fel on The Home.

Personality
"Responsibility for others could blind me to my responsibility within the Force."

- Thoughts of Jacen Solo

When Jacen was born, he had a bond with his twin sister Jaina that allowed them to understand each other perfectly. As a young child, Jacen was often left by his parents under the care of other people including Winter, who bonded with Jacen and his siblings as much as his mother Leia Organa Solo did to safeguard Jacen's future. Despite this, Jacen admitted later he was very proud of his parents' accomplishments. Well into his teens, Jacen was described as a happy-go-lucky child who tried to make his friends laugh by telling them jokes. He also collected various animals as pets. Prior to the Yuuzhan Vong war, Jacen became more serious, often arguing with his brother Anakin upon the nature of the Force. At one point, he even outright refused to use the Force, but when his mother was attacked by Tsavong Lah on Duros, he unleashed a Force Whirlwind on the Warmaster to save her life. Prior to that Luke Skywalker had the impression that Jacen had to stand firm or fall utterly, at the point where Jacen was eschewing use of the Force. Plainly, Jacen did not stand firm, he used the Force to free his mother. This could have led to the chain of events that caused his fall to the Dark Side; that is, his Force use alerted Warmaster Tsavong Lah to his ability, who then made him a priority target, leading to his capture and influence by Vergere and ultimately Lumiya. Jacen also envied his uncle Luke Skywalker's connection to the Force and shared similar views to his own mother Leia.

After Jacen was captured by Vergere, tortured nearly to the brink of death and madness, emotionally broken and was influenced by her teachings, he no longer had a clear view of the 'light' and 'dark' sides of the Force. After achieving harmony with the Force during his battle with Onimi, he knew he could never reach that state again, but in an attempt to learn more about the Force, he decided to go on a quest to see the viewpoint of other Force using cultures such as the Witches of Dathomir, and the Fallanassi.

Five years after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war, Jacen tortured Ta'a Chume using the Force, rendering her comatose, and tricked his sister and her squadron into attacking the Chiss, which instigated the Swarm War. His rationalization for his actions was that he was protecting Tenel Ka and the newborn Allana, and that the Swarm War needed to happen to make the galaxy safer for them and everyone else. Jacen also adopted the Potentium view of the Force and convinced the rest of the Jedi to do the same. Although Luke abandoned this view during the Swarm War, Jacen still continued to follow it, saying that a Jedi's job is to be effective and that the end more than justifies the means. It is speculated that continuing to follow this belief, had a large effect on his becoming a Sith Lord.

Jacen had also advocated that the Jedi assassinate his childhood friend Raynar Thul, and when viewing a hologram of his grandfather Force choking his pregnant wife Padmé Amidala, he failed to understand why Anakin did so.

During the Second Galactic Civil War, Jacen fell further when questioned on his views by Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith. He willingly became her apprentice, and killed his former apprentice Nelani Dinn to preserve secrecy. After Jacen accidentally killed Ailyn Vel during interrogation, he was more annoyed than remorseful. Jacen also began to completely shun his uncle's guidance, instead relying upon Lumiya's and Admiral Niathal's. Jacen severed his bond with Jaina to prevent her from discovering Jacen's affiliations. Like Darth Revan many millennia before him, Jacen felt that he would gain stability and order by either strengthening the galactic government or rebuilding it. Indeed, Jacen shared Revan's view; the galaxy was ill prepared to deal with internal and external threats, which to him (Jacen) was the reason it needed Sith teachings to preserve a stable lasting order.

Because of his admiration for his grandfather's resolve to use his abilities for a good end before his flaws undid him, Jacen began mirroring a number of dominant traits his grandfather had as Darth Vader, including arrogant confidence in his own power, a tendency to be offended when his motives were questioned by others, complete intolerance to either outlaws or threats to galactic unity, a prideful need for respect, and severe dislike of being proven wrong. These traits became more persistent as he studied further under Lumiya's tutelage. Jacen felt he was about to surpass his uncle's Force abilities to become either the greatest Jedi or Sith of all time. He believed he could become a Sith without repeating the mistakes his grandfather made to preserve galactic order. A flaw Jacen was aware of in himself was a lack of patience, however, Jacen came to value the importance of patience after the fight with his aunt Mara.

Jacen was told by Lumiya in order to complete his Sith training, he must sacrifice someone he loved. Jacen was heartbroken at the prospect of sacrificing Tenel Ka and Allana, but to avoid killing his daughter and her mother, he decided to sacrifice his parents instead after Lumiya informed Jacen he had a free choice in the sacrifice. As a Sith, Jacen became increasingly distant towards most of his family members, displaying cold indifference to the point he abandoned his own parents on a damaged space station and showed no affection to his former nanny Winter to whom he was especially close to in his childhood. He retained his compassion and affection only towards Ben Skywalker, Tenel Ka, and Allana. Jacen willingly betrayed both his Uncle Luke and aunt Mara Jade Skywalker into a trap involving Lumiya to keep their suspicions off him, and later would even kill Mara Jade as his Sith sacrifice.

Shortly before the Battle of Hapes, Jacen issued an arrest warrant for his own parents, and during the battle he ordered the Anakin Solo to fire upon the Millennium Falcon, endangering his parents, twin sister Jaina, Ben Skywalker, and Zekk as well. The aftermath of this incident allowed Jacen to recognize the contrasts from his adolescence to adulthood, a difference both Jacen and Luke Skywalker attributed to the consequences of the Myrkr mission and Anakin Solo's death. Jacen also came to understand he no longer felt any guilt for his own actions. Wedge Antilles remarked how Jacen had lost his sense of humor and wondered whether that same boy who would help animals down from trees would return. Jacen reflected on that thought and felt that the Myrkr mission had changed him and that every animal he saw had the face of a Voxyn.

Jacen also allowed Lumiya to endanger Ben by letting her set up a deadly mission that would take Ben to Ziost to determine if he would make a suitable Sith apprentice. The mission created a rift driving Ben and Jacen apart from each other, a void widening larger after Ben discerned Jacen's Sith affiliation. Jacen named himself Darth Caedus after he became the Dark Lord of the Sith and would cringe whenever he was identified as Jacen. Although he had fully embraced the ways of the Sith, he still cared for his family and missed the days when he wasn't hated. After the Battle of Kashyyyk, Caedus would be abandoned by everyone that was once dear to him, including Tenel Ka. Filled with anger and hatred, Caedus could only see it as another 'sacrifice' to his ultimate destiny, and hoped one day to understand it. However, despite everyone turning their backs on him, Caedus continued to draw upon his love for his family and friends in addition to his anger to make him stronger in the dark side.

As time progressed, Caedus became more and more anger driven. He would even use the Force to choke Lieutenant Tebut to death for accidentally letting Jedi saboteurs onto the Anakin Solo, much like Darth Vader had shown a tendency to do decades earlier. Later, he admitted that killing her was a mistake during a brief loss of control and believed that the incident was a reminder from the Force. He was even willing to use Centerpoint Station to destroy the Confederation fleets. While he was able to keep his composure outside the field of battle, he often lost his composure in the field of battle. During the Second Battle of Fondor, Caedus refused to accept Fondor's surrender and ignored the cease-fire. He also directly disobeyed a direct order from Niathal to stand down. After refusing to recognize Niathal's authority, he rallied two-third of the GA forces and the Imperial Remnant to his cause.

Moments before his death Caedus's last thoughts were of his family; his sister Jaina believed that Jacen was himself for the last few seconds of his life.

Abilities
"It's time he became a Master. We all know what he can do."

- Kyp Durron

Jacen was well known to be naturally gifted with great Force abilities and lightsaber skill since the age of four. While guided by his uncle's spirit when Exar Kun ripped Luke's soul from his body, Jacen fought with the abilities of a master swordsman, which he seemingly had no recollection of afterwards. Later, witnesses would recall that it seemed like Luke's own fighting style, because Luke was doing the fighting using Jacen's body. Jacen demonstrated considerable telekinetic and telepathic abilities throughout his life eventually including Force wave, Force choke, and Force whirlwind, yet Jacen's greatest expertise was befriending or influencing animals. As Jacen grew older, he demonstrated piloting ability comparable to his twin sister. Yet Jacen's greatest talent was perhaps his natural ability as a leader, guiding others to victory, which proved instrumental in the Yuuzhan Vong War, a trait Gilad Pellaeon himself personally noted.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, after Jacen was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and began studying under Vergere's guidance, his Force connection deepened to the point that he could match the greatest members of the New Jedi Order. Jacen learned how to neutralize toxins by rearranging molecules with the Force and began learning to mask his Force presence. Jacen's molecular rearrangement technique would save his Uncle Luke from amphistaff venom after Shimrra's defeat. After being implanted by a slave seed by Vergere and later having it removed, Jacen learned to modify his existing empathic ability (which appeared to exist outside the Force) to sense and influence the previously Force invisible Yuuzhan Vong and their biological constructs. During the war, his ability to befriend animals and the development of a "Vongsense" proved useful in undermining the Yuuzhan Vong's organic creations against them. Jacen also used the ability of Force Meld, a Force power which allowed him to coordinate the minds of the Jedi participating in the battles of Ylesia and Ebaq 9. When fighting with the true Supreme Overlord Onimi, Jacen drew upon the Unifying Force to destroy him using the Force alone in order to save his sister Jaina by achieving perfect balance between the light and dark sides. The result was possibly the most powerful use of Force Light ever known, a manifestation that surpassed the usage even by the legendary Jedi Masters Nomi Sunrider and Thon. This caused Jacen to physically age by five years and made him realize this state could never again be attained.

After studying under the Aing-Tii, Theran Listeners, Fallanassi, Dathomiri witches, Jensaarai, and various other groups Force-sensitives, Jacen became even more powerful in the Force. He mastered the art of flow-walking, the ability to view both past and future, as well as leave an imprint of himself in either time frame. Through this power, Jacen was able to give Ta'a Chume a Force-induced hemorrhage. He also mind-wiped Ben's knowledge of the incident. Jacen could also channel the Force into other individuals to bolster their Force abilities. Also, Caedus seemed to be able to resist incredible amounts of pain, as demonstrated during his first duel with Jaina on Nickel One when she cut off his arm and he was still able to give orders, and their second duel on the Anakin Solo when Jaina stabbed him through with her lightsaber and he still almost killed her.

During Jacen's time with Lumiya, he gained greater proficiency, completely concealing his Force presence, thereby becoming undetectable to other Jedi. This was trained to the point where he did not even have to put forth effort and was only discovered if he chose to magnify his presence. His confidence in this ability was shaken when he discovered that Ben's Sith Meditation Sphere had found him by the presences of others around him. Jacen tortured and killed Ailyn Vel using the Force and Force-choked Major Moreem Espara for questioning his own orders. When Jacen's daughter Allana was being threatened by Aurra Sing, Jacen intervened and held his own ground against Sing, who was noted as an infamously deadly Jedi assassin.

During his Sith training, Lumiya promised that he would gain a much greater "insight" after taking up the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. Jacen was highly skeptical of this claim, as he did not sense any greater understanding at the time. However, shortly after taking his place as the Master of the Sith, Lumiya's claim was proven to be true. While on the bridge of the Anakin Solo, Jacen suddenly displayed an amazing sense of battle coordination and insight into how the enemy would not only move their forces, but how to counter them. Jacen had just employed one of the Sith's greatest Force abilities, a precognitive battle awareness that allowed him to know exactly how his enemy would react. Caedus had just employed the Sith variant of the ancient Force technique called battle meditation. As Caedus further immersed himself in the Sith teachings, he became extremely proficient with Sith lightning, even being able to use it at full force despite having just lost his arm in a duel with his sister Jaina. His proficiency was such that he also instructed his Sith apprentice, Tahiri Veila in its use. Caedus had also mastered the shatterpoint technique, a Force ability made famous by the Jedi Master Mace Windu. Caedus used this ability during the second battle of Roche to destroy the beskar-forged armor of the Mandalorian Protector Roegr. By tapping the breastplate lightly with the hilt of his lightsaber, Caedus was able to completely shatter the armor.

Outside the Force, Caedus displayed the ability to manipulate and deceive people as powerful as Luke Skywalker, a feat done by Palpatine long before, and Luke Skywalker during his own trek. Being the eldest son of longtime politician Leia Organa Solo, Jacen had learned much of political machinations from his mother and used this knowledge to manipulate the Galactic Alliance into appointing himself as joint Chief of State.

Caedus engaged Luke Skywalker in what he described as the most "ferocious and terrible lightsaber duel of his life". Although both were heavily wounded, Caedus was amongst the few people to survive a duel against the Jedi Grand Master and wound him badly in the process. Luke admitted that Caedus had the same skill and ability level as a Jedi Master, although he would never achieve that rank.

Caedus considered himself the best lightsaber duelist of his time, second only to Luke Skywalker. Originally, Caedus considered himself superior to Luke both in saber skill and Force ability but dropped the assumption after facing Luke on Anakin Solo.

Tenel Ka
Jacen had known Tenel Ka since they were both students at the Jedi Praxeum. In a lightsaber practice session both Jacen and Tenel Ka used live lightsabers, a following accident led to the loss of one of Tenel Ka's arms, however Tenel Ka never held a grudge against Jacen for this. When they were younger, Jacen had always tried to make her laugh in an effort to get her to open up, which usually failed. Nonetheless, Jacen viewed Tenel Ka as a close friend, and even at one point wished he could be more to her. As they grew older, they spent less time together due to their differing duties.

When Jacen was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and cut off from the Force by Vergere, Tenel Ka finally expressed her emotions regarding Jacen when she felt his "death". Long after Tenel Ka became Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, Jacen finally admitted his love for her, and together they had a child, Allana. Although he loved Tenel Ka and Allana very much, he could not be with them due to the political climate on Hapes. As a result, he spent very little time with both Tenel Ka and their daughter, and could not openly acknowledge that Allana was his daughter for fear of the destabilization of Tenel Ka's throne by Hapan nobles.

Tenel Ka would support and defend Jacen during the first part of the Second Galactic Civil War. Despite Jacen's increasingly brutal acts during the war, Tenel Ka would excuse his actions out of her love for him. However, this changed as a result of the Battle of Kashyyyk, when Jacen used his Fifth Fleet to bombard the planet surface when the Wookiees refused to support him. Feeling betrayed and crushed, Tenel Ka used her Hapan Fleet to attack the remnants of Jacen's fleet with the intention of stopping him. Jacen could still sense love in Tenel Ka's heart, but as he described it, it was a sad love that results from one losing someone precious to them.

Danni Quee
Jacen met Danni Quee during the beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong War, when he rescued her from Helska 4. Although she was five years older than Jacen, she did admit to him that she felt an attraction to him.

After Jacen returned from his captivity, Jacen and Danni started to grow closer, but at the end of the war, they decided that they both had different paths to pursue: She was to remain on Zonama Sekot, and he was to travel across the galaxy to learn from other Force cultures.

Name
Timothy Zahn originally intended "Jacen" to be "Jasen", after his son, but his editor at Bantam Spectra, Betsy Mitchell, suggested changing the "s" to a "c" to make the name less Earth-based.

"Jacen" is an alternate spelling of the Greek name Jason (Iason), which means 'healer'.

Jacen Solo was accidentally referred to as Jacen Skywalker in the Wizards of the Coast web supplement "Behind the Threat: The Sith."

I don't know what I want to do with this ugly thing.

Appearance
When he created the cover artworks for the Young Jedi Knights book series, artist Dave Dorman used young Calvin Engel, son of cartoonist Jim Engel, as a model for Jacen's appearance. Dorman however didn't try for his exact likeness due to Calvin's hair color and other differences. An inconsistency between visual representations and textual descriptions in latter works affects Jacen. In The Joiner King it is mentioned that he has a thick beard. However, no visual depictions show him with facial hair, other than stubble.

Parallels
"I'm your daddy."

- Jacen Solo, to Allana

Jacen's actions during the Dark Nest trilogy had many fans drawing parallels between Jacen and his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, during the final days of the Clone Wars. The extreme measures Jacen took to protect Tenel Ka and Allana (such as his torture of Ta'a Chume and his insistence that Raynar Thul be killed) have drawn comparisons to Anakin's actions to protect Padmé and the unborn Skywalker twins.

These actions, coupled with Jacen's denial of the dark side of the Force, led some fans to predict that Jacen would fall to the dark side in the then upcoming Legacy of the Force series&mdash;predictions which came true. Ironically, Jacen believed that he could master the dark side without making the same mistakes as his grandfather, but he seemingly failed to realize that his desire to protect his family mirrored Anakin's own.

Lightsaber
Jacen had used four lightsabers in his life. After he was kidnapped by Brakiss, he was given a lightsaber with an indigo blade as a means of persuasion to join the Second Imperium. When he was rescued by his uncle, Jacen left the saber behind and learned a hard lesson about wielding one.

His first official lightsaber was built after his friend Zekk was taken in by the Shadow Academy. After taking great care to build it, he used his Corusca gem as his focusing crystal, which gave the blade an emerald green color. He used this saber for most of his life, even as a Sith Lord. This saber was lost during his duel with his uncle and taken by his cousin and former apprentice, Ben.

While constructing his Sith lightsaber, Jacen made use of another lightsaber of unknown color and origin (it is possible that he had intentionally built this lightsaber beforehand as a backup though it is equally possible that he simply took it from the abandoned Jedi Temple after his duel with Luke).

His fourth lightsaber would consist of a red synth crystal, which gave a crimson glow to the blade, representing his membership to the Sith. It is not stated what this lightsaber looks like, but on the front cover of Revelation, the lightsaber wielded by Caedus resembles that of Anakin Skywalker's saber as Darth Vader. Another possible look is that of the "Sith Jacen" that Lumiya had visioned in her habitat. The "Sith Jacen" is described as: Wearing black robes, with a golden and black lightsaber hanging from his belt.

Sith Name
As revealed at starwars.com, Jacen indeed became a Dark Lord of the Sith in Sacrifice. There was a contest through the site where registered members could choose Jacen's Sith name. Prior to this, many believed that he would become Darth Krayt. The finalist names were: Acheron (a river in Hell for those who deny justice), Caedus (a battle of darkness), Judicar (the final judge), Paxis (bringer of peace) and Taral (ancient Sith for "he who protects").

The winning name, which appeared at the end of Sacrifice, was "Darth Caedus." Caedus was originally thought to be an invention based on the Latin verb cædo, cædere (the noun form of which is cæsum, not cædus) which means "to cut" or "to kill"; however, Cædus is also a Latin noun, either of the second declension or the fourth, meaning "slaughter". It is a more obscure Latin root. Cædus would not necessarily be related to Cæsum. From both derivatives, the word's meanings accurately describe Jacen's increasingly violent tactics towards civilians and his murder of his own loved ones. This word is more obscure.

However, caed is also an early Welsh word which translates as battle. It is also reminiscent of the Spanish word "caido", which means "fallen". In Star Wars Legacy 18: Claws of the Dragon, Part 5, Darth Caedus's name is misspelled "Darth Cadeus". This was corrected in the trade paperback.



Appearances

 * Millennium Falcon
 * Prophets of the Dark Side
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Heir to the Empire comic adaptation
 * Dark Force Rising
 * Dark Force Rising comic adaptation
 * The Last Command
 * The Last Command comic adaptation
 * Dark Empire
 * Dark Empire II
 * Empire's End
 * I, Jedi
 * Jedi Search
 * Dark Apprentice
 * Champions of the Force
 * The Other
 * Children of the Jedi
 * Darksaber
 * Planet of Twilight
 * The Crystal Star
 * Before the Storm
 * Shield of Lies
 * Tyrant's Test
 * The New Rebellion
 * Ambush at Corellia
 * Assault at Selonia
 * Showdown at Centerpoint
 * Specter of the Past
 * Vision of the Future
 * Star Wars: Union
 * Junior Jedi Knights: The Golden Globe
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Lyric's World
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Anakin's Quest
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Vader's Fortress
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Kenobi's Blade
 * Young Jedi Knights: Heirs of the Force
 * Young Jedi Knights: Shadow Academy
 * Young Jedi Knights: The Lost Ones
 * Young Jedi Knights: Lightsabers
 * Young Jedi Knights: Darkest Knight
 * Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Under Siege
 * Young Jedi Knights: Shards of Alderaan
 * Young Jedi Knights: Diversity Alliance
 * Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur
 * Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Bounty
 * Young Jedi Knights: The Emperor's Plague
 * Young Jedi Knights: Return to Ord Mantell
 * Young Jedi Knights: Trouble on Cloud City
 * Young Jedi Knights: Crisis at Crystal Reef
 * The Crystal
 * Vector Prime
 * Star Wars: Chewbacca
 * Dark Tide I: Onslaught
 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse
 * Balance Point
 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest
 * Recovery
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Star by Star
 * Dark Journey
 * Traitor
 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * Destiny's Way
 * Ylesia
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Force Heretic II: Refugee
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * The Final Prophecy
 * The Unifying Force
 * Dark Nest I: The Joiner King
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * Betrayal
 * Bloodlines
 * Tempest
 * Exile
 * Sacrifice
 * Inferno
 * Fury
 * Revelation
 * Invincible
 * Outcast
 * Star Wars Legacy: Claws of the Dragon