Star Wars Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu by L Neil Smith

In this excerpt from L. Neil Smith’s "Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu," the young gambler Lando Calrissian is manipulated into a high-stakes search for an ancient alien artifact within the Rafa System. Accompanied by his new droid Vuffi Raa, Lando navigates the hazardous political landscape of an Imperial penal colony ruled by the corrupt Governor Duttes Mer and the mysterious sorcerer Rokur Gepta. The narrative follows Lando as he retrieves the Mindharp, a device linked to the Sharu, a highly advanced civilization that vanished into a state of primitive "brokenness." Through his journey, Lando discovers that the Sharu actually hid their intelligence within monumental ruins to escape an ancient threat, using the Mindharp as a signal to reawaken their society. Ultimately, Lando must use his wits to escape the system as the world undergoes a violent transformation, returning the Sharu to their former glory while dismantling the local Imperial authority.