Dark Force Rising | Chapter 22 | The Lost Holocron

Chapter 22 of Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (1992) (EU: 9 ABY) by Timothy Zahn. All links are available in this chapter’s document Share this link to find your preferred podcast player ## The Story So Far ## As Mara reclaimed one of Talon Karrde’s impounded ships, she was captured by an Imperial Star Destroyer. Declaring herself to be the Emperor’s Hand, she is taken to talk directly with Grand Admiral Thrawn. She offers a trade of Karrde’s knowledge of a long-lost fleet of warships — the Katana Fleet — for organisation-wide immunity within Imperial space. Thrawn insincerely accepts the offer and sends Mara on her way with a tracker to locate Karrde and extract the information himself. He declared to Captain Pellaeon that Jade is a deserter, not worthy of the Empire. Talon Karrde was captured, awaiting torture for his information about the Katana Fleet. Deceived into being party to his capture, Mara Jade is loath to ask for the help of Luke Skywalker in freeing Karrde from Thrawn’s flagship Chimaera. Her previous position as a direct agent of the Emperor still leaves her with permanent access into Imperial databases. ## Chapter 22 ## Disguised as a cargo shuttle, Mara and Luke land aboard the Chimaera. After confirming they have a few hours before they will be released, Luke uses his lightsaber to cut through their own hull and the decking into the flight prep area. Luke steals three flight suits to blend in as they make their way to the detention area. While Mara leverages her backdoor access into the Star Destroyer’s main computer, Luke makes his way through the garbage compactor to the detention level. Between the shift changes, Luke releases Karrde from his cell. Karrde is sleep-deprived but otherwise in fair condition to make the escape back through the garbage compactor. They meet back up with Mara and make it all the way to the elevator without being discovered. Mara suspects they have enough time to seal the hull of their stolen cargo shuttle before they get clearance to leave. On the bridge, Captain Pellaeon is overseeing the bridge deflector control overhaul as Thrawn walks in to hear a final report for the evening. A report from Endor prompts Thrawn to assign the appropriated Millenium Falcon to deep storage. Pellaeon shares another report from the surface where a dead ysalamir piques their interest. From the design of the ysalamir nutrient frame, Thrawn divines that they have been boarded. A call to the detention area confirms Karrde’s escape and he orders a ship-wide lockdown — and suspecting that Mara possesses hardwired access codes, orders the shutdown of the Chimaera’s main computer. ## Join Us ## Discuss with us on Discord or YouTube Support us on Patreon Our Website Support the show