Heir to the Empire

Luke is awakened from Jedi hibernation by R2-D2’s screeches of worry. They have been pulled from lightspeed by an Imperial ship; Thrawn’s ploy worked, as Luke assumes it was just bad luck that he was pulled out of lightspeed alongside another ship.

Luke uses several maneuvers to try to escape, but Thrawn’s ship captures him in a tractor beam. Luke comes up with an unlikely solution, essentially making the beam re-lock onto missiles instead of the X-Wing, and is able to go into lightspeed to escape.

Thrawn’s calm rage is clear. He confronts the ensign in charge of the tractor beam, who claims he was not trained to deal with such maneuvers. Thrawn has him killed brutally by the Noghri. When he is shown Luke’s path and the exact maneuvers he used, he determines that Luke’s hyperdrive will die, meaning they have an opportunity to capture him still. He instructs Pellaeon to inform all smugglers in the area of Luke’s path and to offer a reward for his capture so that the fleet can concentrate on the Sluis Van attack.

Luke and R2-D2 are trapped in empty space, just as Thrawn predicted. They conduct tests and try to find ways to work around the parts of the ship that have died, but they cannot find a way to make the ship run again. Luke suggests finding a way to work the comms system. They find a solution and Luke goes into a deep Jedi hibernation to try and contact Leia while R2-D2 monitors comms and space around them.

Leia wakes, hearing Luke’s final call to her, but she believes it’s a dream. She and Chewie are approaching Kashyyyk, which impresses Leia with its sophistication and ingenuity. They are met by two Wookiees, one of whom, Ralrra, Leia can understand much better than most Wookiees. Ralrra explains that he has a sort of speech impediment, but it is one that makes it easier for humans to understand him. He was a slave for the Empire before the Rebels freed the Wookiees and others from Imperial control. Leia had expected Wookiees to hold anger toward humans as a race for enslaving them, but Ralrra explains that they owe a life debt to the New Republic for freeing them from the Empire. Leia begins to feel much safer.

After a brief tour to show Leia how the city is constructed, the three Wookiees head to the home of Salporin (a Wookiee warrior) where Chewie and Leia will stay. On the way, Leia sees one of the Noghri in one of the homes they pass. The Wookiees search the home, but do not find him even though Leia insists he was there. They decide to get her to safety before searching further.

Luke awakens to R2-D2’s anxious beeps. Reorienting himself, he realizes a freighter ship is approaching; it is the Wild Karrde. Mara Jade, hailing Luke on behalf of Karrde, offers help. They allow Luke to come aboard and offer to tow his X-Wing for their typical fee.

The entire time, something feels off to Luke, but he struggles to find anything specific when reaching out with his Jedi senses. He is taken to meet Karrde, and Luke becomes more uneasy, sensing that Karrde knew where to find him. Karrde admits that he did, and points out Mara, saying it was she who found Luke. When Luke sends his Jedi senses toward Mara, he recognizes her deep hatred for him. He tells Karrde he has never met her, and Karrde expresses regret, as he had hoped Luke could tell him why Mara hates Luke.

Karrde apologizes for what is to come, and Luke is suddenly stunned into unconsciousness by someone behind him too quickly for him to bring any of his Jedi defenses to bear.

Luke wakes in a sunlit room, realizing he must have been drugged and unconscious for days. He senses no one in the room, so he is shocked to find Mara Jade inside with him, a blaster on her lap. She hints that he has been deprived of his powers somehow.

Mara walks Luke at gunpoint to meet Karrde. Karrde is pleasant with Luke, but admits that he is in a conundrum. He had originally denied the Empire’s request to search for Luke, claiming other engagements, but they happened upon him by accident. Karrde needs to stay in good graces with both the Empire and the New Republic, and he is sure the Empire would discover his role in freeing Luke if he did so, since they knew of Luke’s incapacitated ship. He does, however, offer to try to find a solution that both frees Luke and keeps peace with the Empire.

Karrde offers to tell Luke why his Jedi powers are not working if Luke tells him why the Empire is hunting him and Leia. When it becomes clear that Luke truly does not know the reason, Karrde shares his own secret, anyway, telling Luke of the ysalamiri.

Before being led back to his room/prison, Luke offers Karrde another alternative: drop him and his X-Wing back where they had found him. Luke says he’s willing to take his chances with other smugglers or even the Empire. Karrde’s tone implies Luke may not actually know what he’s up against, but he does not share his knowledge of Thrawn’s ysalamiri acquisitions.

Han has C-3PO check in with Winter, Leia’s assistant, as Leia, although Winter clearly suspects it is not actually Leia. Through coded words with Han, Winter reveals that there is more trouble brewing between Ackbar and Fey’lya; Han suspects Fey’lya is maneuvering for more power again. He tells Lando he should probably gather Leia and return to Coruscant, even with the lingering threats to her.

Before that, however, Lando sets up a meeting between Han and one of Karrde’s men, Torve. When they arrive, security officers are prowling the bar; Han suspects they had raided Torve’s ship, leaving Torve in need of escape. Han goes to the sabacc gambling table where Torve sits to help create a diversion—which he achieves, albeit a more chaotic one than he had planned, as a reverend accuses him of cheating, using the reverend’s own planted card. Torve slips away, and Han escapes when the security guards find no other evidence against him.

On board the Falcon, Lando and Han ask Torve, who now believes he owes them for the help, to take them to Karrde. He refuses at first, since Karrde is at their base, where they are not allowed to take outsiders. Han offers Torve a ride, which, combined with the debt he owes them, convinces Torve to help. He insists on taking care of navigation himself and wiping it from the Falcon’s system. Han and Lando agree.

Karrde informs Mara of the approach of Han and Lando with Torve. He does not yet know what to do with Luke, and he does not want Han to discover his presence, so he has Mara move Luke to a different building.

Luke examines the room for ways to escape, hoping Karrde and Mara have finally made a mistake he can use to his advantage. Mara destroys the inner lock mechanism of the door, but Luke finds an outlet behind the storage boxes and pulls wires out of it. He realizes the wires have no power running through them—Karrde has cut the power. Luke notices a slight tingling in his artificial, dual-power-supply hand and realizes a possible solution. He asks R2-D2, restrained in the adjoining room, to walk him through how to remove one of the power supplies so he can use it to power the wires and open his door.

Karrde expresses interest in Han’s offer to work for the New Republic legitimately, but he refuses, not wanting to risk his business with the Empire. When Han shares his second request, the use of a splicer to access New Republic communications without their knowledge, Karrde seems to file away the information as an indication of possible divisions within the Republic.

Karrde takes them to dinner with more of his crew, where Mara Jade stares at Han and Lando with the same hatred she leveled at Luke. When she and Karrde have to leave quickly to handle sudden business, Lando tells Han quietly that he recognizes her, but he is not sure from where.

Karrde’s urgent business turns out to be a signal sent to him from the Chimaera near the planet. He opens up the comms line and finds Thrawn rather than Pellaeon. Thrawn has several items of business to discuss. He needs more ysalamiri, he wants Karrde to acquire ships for him, and he wants Karrde to finally join the hunt for Luke. Karrde tries to indicate he cannot help with the last two items, but Thrawn claims they can discuss it in person, as he is landing on the planet to meet with Karrde in person.

Karrde instructs Mara to hide Luke’s lightsaber more carefully and to disguise the Millennium Falcon, and he heads back to Han and Lando to get them to a hidden location before Thrawn lands.

Meanwhile, Luke finally manages to open the door to his room using his artificial hand as a power source. He frees R2-D2, and they run to the forest, nearly being seen by several people, including Mara. His X-Wing is not where he thought, but since they do not have time, he and R2-D2 get into one of the smuggler’s ships.

Mara, on her way to move the lightsaber, sees the ship take off and realizes that it must be Luke; her suspicion is confirmed when she finds his room empty. Unwilling to cause Karrde problems by saying something over their comms, she instead runs to one of the other ships and pursues Luke herself.