Traitor (Star Wars novel)
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| Author | Matthew Stover |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Steven Anderson |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The New Jedi Order |
| Subject | Star Wars |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey |
Publication date | August 1, 2002 |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 292 |
| ISBN | 0-345-42865-X |
| Preceded by | Enemy Lines: Rebel Stand |
| Followed by | Destiny's Way |
Traitor is a 2002 novel by Matthew Stover in the New Jedi Order series, which is set in the Star Wars universe. It is the thirteenth installment of the series.
Summary
At the beginning of the novel, Jacen Solo is being tortured via the Embrace of Pain as he is overlooked by his captors, the Yuuzhan Vong and the mysterious figure known as Vergere. Vergere increases this pain by somehow robbing Jacen of the Force, but at the same time, she helps him through his agony by telling him to embrace, just like the Yuuzhan Vong do. Jacen does just as Vergere suggested, which pleases the Vong, represented by Nom Anor throughout the novel, who believe that in no time, Jacen will become just like them.
Soon, nearly a year following the Fall of Coruscant, Jacen is transported to a Yuuzhan Vong seedship, where he is enslaved to a creature called a dhuryam. As this happens, he gains Vongsense, similar to how his late brother, Anakin, had sensed them with his lambent-imbedded lightsaber back in Edge of Victory I: Conquest.
The dhuryam is competing against other dhuryams to become the World Brain of the captured Coruscant, which has been renamed Yuuzhan'tar in honor of the Yuuzhan Vong's dead homeworld. As World Brain, the dhuryam that Jacen is enslaved to will have the responsibility and authority of everything technical on Yuuzhan'tar. Through more help from Vergere, who turns out to be a Force-user herself, Jacen forces the dhuryam to stop enslaving him and think of him as a partner; this way, the dhuryam would be more successful to be in consideration of being the World Brain of Yuuzhan'tar. As a result of this, Jacen's dhuryam indeed becomes more successful throughout various operations aboard the seedship.
Eventually, the day comes when a dhuryam aboard the seedship will become selected to govern Yuuzhan'tar. Jacen uses this day to start a riot where Yuuzhan Vong and slave alike are killed, and he takes advantage of the chaos to kill off his dhuryam's opponents. When he decides to kill his own dhuryam, he sees the spirit of Anakin telling him to stop. Unknowing of whether or not this was the real Anakin or a fabrication created by Vergere, Jacen's hesitation in killing the surviving dhuryam results in him getting knocked out.
Jacen's dhuryam becomes the World Brain of Yuuzhan'tar by default, and Jacen wakes up on the captured Coruscant, realizing in horror what this newly transformed planet once was. Vergere leads him on a journey throughout the transformed world, and gradually, she shows him evidence that the Jedi's ideals of the Force are flawed; there is no light or dark side, but an overall power of the Force whose raw power is only considered to be of the dark side. Jacen refuses to believe this until Vergere leads him into a Yuuzhan Vong trap where he nearly kills all of them, including Vergere herself. Jacen is shocked at just how right Vergere is, even after she revealed previously that she was once a member of the previous Jedi Order. But eventually, Jacen comes to accept the Yuuzhan Vong's ways as they give him the late Anakin Solo's lightsaber, which is considered a holy relic to the Vong due to its imbedded lambent crystal.
Jedi Knight Ganner Rhysode has spent much time searching the galaxy trying to find Jacen, being one of the few who believe that he is still alive. He comes into contact with Jacen and an entourage of Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators aboard a New Republic refugee ship, and Ganner is captured due to his Jedi nature. He is taken to Yuuzhan'tar in order to be converted to their ways like Jacen. But as it turns out, Jacen had feigned loyalty to the Vong so that he could get close to the World Brain. The plan works as both he and Ganner are allowed admittance into the Well of the World Brain, although Nom Anor knows that they were faking their obedience to the Yuuzhan Vong. Knowing that Jacen won't have time to do whatever he wants to the World Brain, Ganner takes Jacen's lightsaber and decides to take on every Yuuzhan Vong warrior at the Well of the World Brain, vowing that not one of them will ever pass. Ganner fights every Vong warrior to the death, but in the end, he is so mortally wounded that he brings down the hall of the Well of the World Brain on top of himself and every surviving Vong with him. Meanwhile, as the battle commenced, Nom Anor looked to Vergere to escape the disaster, and Vergere tricks him into revealing his escape craft. Vergere then coerces the Vong plant life around them to tie up Nom Anor so that she and Jacen could escape Yuuzhan'tar. Meanwhile, Jacen concludes his business with the World Brain, and he and Vergere leave.
As they travel back to the New Republic, Jacen reveals to Vergere that he convinced the World Brain to teach the Yuuzhan Vong the concept of compromise; the brain will cause problems throughout the Vong's occupation of the world so that for once, the invaders will know that not everything will ever be perfect for them. Vergere applauds Jacen for applying what she taught him throughout the novel to the World Brain.
Dramatis Personae
- Ch'Gang Hool; mastershaper (male Yuuzhan Vong)
- Ganner Rhysode; Jedi Knight (male human)
- Jacen Solo; Jedi Knight (male human)
- Nom Anor; executor (male Yuuzhan Vong)
- Tsavong Lah; warmaster (male Yuuzhan Vong)
- Vergere; (female Fosh)
Original characters
Traitor was the first Star Wars novel that did not include any characters from the films.