Alien activity is discovered in a Kirkwood gap; the aliens are identified as self-replicating machines (von Neumann probes). Their activity is potentially an immense threat, as Malenfant notes in an earlier speech: "A target system, we assume, is uninhabited. We can therefore program for massive and destructive exploitation of the system''s resources, without restraint, by the probe. Such resources are useless for any other purpose, and are therefore economically free to us. And so we colonize, and build." The self-replicating spacecraft are named Gaijin (Japanese for "foreigner"), after their discovery by a Japanese observer on the Moon. Malenfant travels in a prototype fusion engine to the Kirkwood Gap and discovers an interstellar teleportation device. His travels around the galaxy uncover information about the Fermi paradox (see below). At the same time, the story also follows the efforts of Humans on Earth and the eventual draining of the Earth''s resources, making a move off-world necessary. At the same time small group of humans use anti-aging techniques and an alien form of interstellar teleportation to "parachute" in on the changing solar system over many centuries. Eventually, it is revealed that in this version of the Fermi paradox, sentient life is endemic throughout the universe; Humanity simply hadn''t noticed it earlier because the universe destroys any race before it becomes advanced enough to develop a Type IV civilization. The story ends with Malenfant helping the Gaijin build a shield to prevent a pulsar from sterilizing a large part of the galaxy. Although this project will not be completed before another predicted pulsar event wipes out all extant species, it is hoped to give the sentient aliens who develop from the aftermath of the coming extinction a better chance at long term survival.

Manifold: Space

Luik is the young son of Lair, one of the minor kings of Dionia, a world where no sin, pain, or problems exist. At least, that''s how it has been for centuries. When this story begins, strange occurrences are starting to befall Dionia. Malice, jealousy, greed and physical injury are beginning to mar this perfect world. The wise kings know that this is the work of Morgui, traitorous former servant of Dionia''s ultimate ruler, the Most High. In response to this growing evil, war measures are taken, the chief of which is the selection of the sons of Dionia''s kings to train as elite warriors. While Luik, along with the other Kings'' sons, is brought by Gorn, a powerful man with experience from a past war, to island of Kirstell, his childhood friends are also experiencing changes in their lives. His talented princess friend Anorra is learning, under a separate trainer, how to physically as well as mentally fight against the coming evils. Another of his old comrades, Hadrian, is trying to cope with the loss of his father, who seems to have reverted to Morgui and has disappeared from Dionia. Lastly, young Fane is now being trained by Li-Saide, dwarf servant of one of Dionia''s kings, learning to hear messages in the water and wind and being trained in wisdom. On Kirstell, a place mainly free from the spreading effects of evil, Gorn trains the eighteen boys for four years into men, warriors, the Dibor. When they are at last ready to defend their people, Gorn brings the fighters back to the heart of Dionia, its capitol, Adriel Palace. On the route they experience a skirmish in the city of Jahdan. The Dibor fight and overcome a massive army of Dairne-Reih, also known as Dairneags, demons working for Morgui. At Adriel itself, Luik and a portion of the Dibor engage in a devastating battle against the demons, while the rest, headed by Gorn, attempt to find Morgui himself. King Ragnar, the leader of Dionia''s human kings, is assassinated, both Luik''s father and another king perish in the battle, nearly all Dionia''s soldiers present are killed, and Luik himself is badly wounded. Fane and Li-Saide, who had attended King Ragnar in his last hours - during which he named "his son" heir, much to the disbelief and curiosity of Fane, who thought the king had none - take King Ragnar''s body through a secret passage and down an underwater tunnel to a secret place. While this is going on, Gorn and about half of the Dibor find Morgui''s second in command, Velon. The younger warriors first break the arch from which the Dairne-Reih have been entering Dionia and then kill as many of the demons as they can. Meanwhile, Gorn kills Velon after a furious battle and the Dibor escape with their teacher back towards Adriel. As the story ends Luik, semi-conscious, is being borne on a stretcher by the straggling line of soldier and Dibor survivors headed for Mt. Dakka, the last standing greatest stronghold against Morgui.

Rise of the Dibor

New school year starts. Chloe''s friend, Emma, left school and she feels lonely. Luckily she finds a new friend, Jasmin Johnson. Jasmin helps her with sending an e-mail to Jack Kempton - a boy, whom she met during holidays in Greece. Meanwhile, Sinéad meets her friends from Burnthedge - Bianca and Abby. The girls receive presents from Sinéad - a pearl and a bracelet. When they realise how much money Sinéad''s family has, they start to make Sinéad spend it for their clothes and accessories. Sinéad does not see anything wrong in it, until she overhears Bianca''s and Abby''s conversation about her. She ends friendship with them and finds a new friend - Chloe, who was her enemy for a while. Nick starts new school, but he is very upset. He meets Sanjay Fraser, who is short and everybody from his class think he is a weirdo. Nick talks to him, but Sanjay is sad, because Nick is tall and he always knows, what to say. Luckily, he discovers that Nick is not as self-confident as he looks and they become friends. Sanjay is very pleased with Nick being nice to his sister, Rani. Chloe has a birthday party at Jasmin''s parents'' cafe. She invites Nick, Sanjay, Jasmin and Sinéad. Sanjay talks to Jasmin and he falls in love with her. Sinéad wants to impress Nick, but she knows that he''s in love with Chloe and she can''t change it.

Best Friends Together

The novella centres on the antagonisms that exist between two brothers. It recounts the story of Robert, a priest whose conduct appears so exemplary that he is called "L''Abbé" ("the abbot"), and is also involved in the clandestine activities of the French Resistance. Against his perspective of ecclesiastical morality, one encounters his twin brother Charles, who is a "libertine." It is the Second World War, which serves as a backdrop for the paradox of interpersonal betrayal, anti-clericalism and its disconnection from public virtue that characterises this work. Charles has a sexual relationship with Eponine, a female libertine. However, Eponine is also attracted to Robert. Worse, Robert is secretly attracted to Eponine, which precipitates an atmosphere of psychological and sexual tension within this triangle. The story turns out badly for all involved, as the resolution of this unstable triangle is not a healthy outcome. The story is told mostly from Charles''s point of view. Robert undergoes a nervous breakdown, as he faints at a church service that he officiates at, with Eponine in the congregation. Robert becomes an alcoholic, and starts to harass Eponine at home late at night, leaving behind traces that suggest growing psychological instability. He loses his moral compass, and eventually becomes insane, leaving his village for a hotel on its outskirts, and spends a fortnight with two prostitutes, Rosie and Raymonde, before the Gestapo apprehend Robert for his activities with the French Resistance. While he has abandoned his clerical vows, however, Robert will not betray his resistance colleagues, and dies an heroic death after severe torture at the hands of his Nazi captors. Charles mourns his death, unable to forget what happened to his brother, until he and his wife Germaine encounter the unnamed narrator of the bracketing sections of this work, read as if an autobiography. Two years after Robert''s heroic death, Charles commits suicide, but the narrator fulfils his responsibilities and takes the work to a publisher.

L''Abbe C

After a fatal car accident on Earth, Herb Asher is placed into cryonic suspension as he waits for a spleen replacement. Clinically dead, Herb experiences lucid dreams while in suspended animation and relives the last six years of his life. In the past, Herb lived as a recluse in an isolated dome on a remote planet in the binary star system, CY30-CY30B. Yah, a local divinity of the planet in exile from Earth, appears to Herb in a vision as a burning flame, and forces him to contact his sick female neighbor, Rybys Rommey, who happens to be terminally ill with multiple sclerosis and pregnant with Yah''s child. With the help of the immortal soul of Elijah, who takes the form of a wild beggar named Elias Tate, Herb agrees to become Rybys''s legal husband and father of the unborn "savior". Together they plan to smuggle the six-month pregnant Rybys back to Earth, under the pretext of seeking help for Rybys'' medical condition at a medical research facility. After being born in human form, Yah plans to confront the fallen angel Belial, who has ruled the Earth for 2000 years since the fall of Masada in the first century CE. Yah''s powers, however, are limited by Belial''s dominion on Earth, and the four of them must take extra precautions to avoid being detected by the forces of darkness. Things do not go as planned. "Big Noodle", Earth''s A.I. system, warns the ecclesiastical authorities in the Christian-Islamic church and Scientific Legate about the divine "invasion" and countermeasures are prepared. A number of failed attempts are made to destroy the unborn child, all of them thwarted by Elijah and Yah. After successfully making the interstellar journey back to Earth and narrowly avoiding a forced abortion, Rybys and Herb escape in the nick of time, only to be involved in a fatal taxi crash, probably due to the machinations of Belial. Rybys dies from her injuries sustained in the crash, and her unborn son Emmanuel (Yah in human form) suffers brain damage from the trauma but survives. Herb is critically injured and put into cryonic suspension until a spleen replacement can be found. Baby Emmanuel is placed into a synthetic womb, but Elias Tate manages to sneak Emmanuel out of the hospital before the church is able to kill him. Six years pass. In a school for special children, Emmanuel meets Zina, a girl who also seems to have similar skills and talents, but acts as a surrogate teacher to Emmanuel. For four years, Zina helps Emmanuel regain his memory (the brain damage caused amnesia) and discover his true identity as Yah, creator of the universe. When he''s ready, Zina shows Emmanuel her own parallel universe. In this peaceful world, organized religion has little influence, Rybys Rommey is still alive and married to Herb Asher, and Belial is only a kid goat living in a petting zoo. In an act of kindness, Zina and Emmanuel liberate the goat-creature from his cage, momentarily forgetting that the animal is Belial. The goat-creature finds Herb Asher and attempts to retain control of the world by possessing him and convincing him that Yahweh''s creation is an ugly thing that should be shown for what it really is. Eventually Herb is saved by Linda Fox, a young singer whom he loves and who is his own personal Savior; she and the goat-creature meet and she kills it, defeating Belial. He finally discovers that this meeting happens over again for everyone in the world, and whether they choose Belial or their Savior decides if they find salvation.

The Divine Invasion

The start of the book chronicles Joe Mackatozi (Mack) daring escape from captivity, but also introduces another captive, an English chemist whom the Soviets believe is working on chemical warfare agents. The chemist is mentioned later, as the first of their captor Zamatev''s mistakes, because it turned out he was after all only working on developing insect repellents. The success of his subsequent foot travel across Siberia to the Bering Strait is dependent on his Native American hunting, tracking, and evasion skills. It is mentioned several times in the text that these skills were learned by his people, and taught to each generation across thousands of years. Now the skilled flyer of aircraft must remember and practice bow and arrow, fire-making, tracking, stalking, hunting, skinning, and ambush skills taught by his elders. Knowing that "a man with a knife can survive," he sneaks into a miner''s cabin, and leaving no evidence he was there, he steals preserved food, a heavy sweater, and a knife. Although this knife is needed for Mack to survive in the wilderness, his stealing of the knife gives the Yakut tracking him a clue as to where to begin searching for Mack. He also has strong attachments to his people''s discipline and self-mastery. When he comes upon an army patrol he crawls inside in an old hollow tree to hide. His pursuers make camp in the same area, and he must remain motionless until it gets dark and only the sentries are awake. When captured, he receives a very rough beating from his pursuers, but true to his heritage, he never makes a sound. A man who previously informed on him unlocks the shed he is in and allows him to escape. He ends up killing Alekhin the Yakut, who was following him, and sending his scalp back to Colonol Arkady Zamatev with a note written on birchbark that reads "This was once a custom of my people. In my lifetime I shall take two. This is the first." At the end of the book, the success of Joe''s 90-mile kayak ride to Alaska (given a good kayak) is left unresolved. The resolution of the story is left to the imagination of the reader.

Last Of The Breed

When the novel begins, Sookie Stackhouse is still recovering physically and emotionally from the torture she received at the hands of demented fairies Lochlan and Neave in the previous book (Dead and Gone). She has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too, with a solid new girlfriend, Michele. But all the other people in Sookie’s life&mdash;Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam&mdash;are having family problems. Eric’s maker, Appius Livius Ocella, shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow&mdash;he is Alexei Romanov, only son of the last Czar of Russia, who as an adolescent witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution, including the slaughter of his entire family. He developed emotional problems as a result. Appius has sought Eric out as a last resort, to see if Eric can help restore Alexei to sanity. Meanwhile, Bill is still suffering from the silver poisoning he got via the teeth of Neave when he rescued Sookie from her torturers. He is not getting better, and may only be able to be cured by the blood of a vampire made by Bill''s maker, the dead Lorena, but Bill refuses to ask his sibling for help. The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured continues, as Calvin Norris reveals himself to his co-workers and Sam''s family deals with the news of having the two-natured in the family. Certain forces are agitating for a were registration system, and the weres suspect that they are under surveillance by the government. Sookie begins to recover from her torture at the hands of Lochlan and Neave, but still has post-traumatic stress and anxiety. She wants to kill Victor because she realizes he is a major threat to Eric, Pam, and Bill, wanting them dead. But Sookie struggles with the idea of killing Victor in cold blood, rather than in the heat of battle or in self-defense. Victor sends assassins to kill Sookie, Pam, and Bill, without success. Sookie''s cousin Claude comes to live with her, claiming he suffers without the company of other fairies (his triplets, Claudine and Claudette, are now deceased). Sookie''s mad half-fae uncle, Dermot, has been wandering the property for reasons unknown, as has another unidentified fairy. Sookie seeks out Bill''s "sibling", Judith Vardamon, to ask for her help. She learns that Judith was made vampire by Lorena in an attempt to placate a sullen Bill, her reasoning being that having a companion who so resembled Bill''s late wife would please him. However, Bill avoids contact with Judith, believing that she blames him for her vampiric state. Judith won''t contact Bill because she fears and hates Lorena. Sookie contacts Judith for the sake of Bill''s health. Upon learning of Lorena''s death, Judith is overjoyed and happily anticipatory of her visit with Bill. Her blood serves to heal him, and the two seem to build a rapport quickly. Sookie is called upon to babysit her cousin Hadley''s young son, Hunter, who is also telepathic. She helps him with the social nuances of being telepathic. Sookie attends a trial by the Shreveport pack, to learn why the body of Basim, a new were, was found buried on her property. She learns that Alcide''s second is the bloodthirsty Jannalynn, who is dating Sam Merlotte. Sookie struggles to prevent the pack from killing any of their own. Ultimately, she learns that Colman, father of the baby Claudine was carrying, is seeking revenge on Sookie for the part he perceives she played in Claudine''s death. He was going to kill her, but after seeing her mothering Hunter, he can''t bear to kill her, and instead wants her to be arrested. Meanwhile, Alexei has been carelessly draining people and refusing to be controlled by Appius, and Eric struggles to control him. Ultimately, Alexei attacks and almost kills Pam and Eric, and kills Bobby Burnham (Eric''s "day man"), and Felicia. The stories converge at Sookie''s house, where Eric kills Alexei, Colman kills Appius Livius while attempting to kill Sookie, and Eric kills Colman. Sookie and Claude free Dermot from the spell that had made him mad.

Dead in the Family

The story opens with the discovery of a castaway in the Black Sea. Recovering in hospital in Turkey, the man is visited by Andrew Drake, an Anglo-Ukrainian. The castaway, Miroslav Kaminsky, is a Ukrainian nationalist who escaped after he was betrayed to the KGB. Drake convinces Kaminsky that they should strike a blow against the Soviet Union. Kaminsky tells Drake about Lev Mishkin and David Lazareff, two Ukrainian nationalists who may be able to help him. Meanwhile, a chain of failures at the Soviet Union''s plant that makes fungicide for wheat has led to the inadvertent poisoning of the wheat crop. The United States is aware of this crisis and plans to sell its food to the Soviets in exchange for political and military concessions. Hardliners in the Politburo come up with a different strategy: to take the food from the West by invading Western Europe. The Politburo, led by Chairman Maxim Rudin, narrowly votes down the war plan; however, Rudin is dying of cancer and it is only a matter of time before the faction in favor of war gains supremacy. The news of the war plan comes to British intelligence agent Adam Munro through a Russian woman, who works in the Kremlin offices and has access to the records of Politburo debates. The information shakes both the British and U.S. political leadership. Mishkin and Lazareff, with the help of Drake, complicate the situation for Rudin by killing his ally in The Politburo, the chief of KGB. Mishkin and Lazareff hijack a Russian airliner to escape from Ukraine. They are arrested in West Berlin after one of the pilots is shot dead during landing. Drake wants to help them because only they can reveal truth about the death of the KGB chief. Drake and other Westerners of Ukrainian origin hijack an oil supertanker and request freedom for Mishkin and Lazareff. The coastal countries threatened by ecological catastrophe support the release of the prisoners. US president Matthews receives information from the British that the USSR will stop negotiations regarding grain and military concessions if the prisoners are released. So there appear to be only two options: an ecological catastrophe, or a war that the USSR will start against western Europe. This is the ''Devil''s Alternative'' of the title. Munro devizes a third option which enables the prisoners to be released (thus ending the oiltanker hijack) without them being able to reveal that they have killed the KGB chief.

The Devil''s Alternative

Thérèse Raquin is the daughter of a French captain and an Algerian mother. After the death of her mother, her father brings her to live with her aunt, Madame Raquin, and her sickly son, Camille. Because her son is so ill, Madame Raquin dotes on Camille to the point where he is selfish and spoiled. Camille and Thérèse grow up side-by-side, and Madame Raquin marries them together when Thérèse is 21. Shortly thereafter, Camille decides that the family should move to Paris so he can pursue a career. Thérèse and Madame Raquin set up shop in the Passage du Pont Neuf to support Camille while he searches for a job. Camille eventually begins working for the Orléans Railroad Company, where he meets up with a childhood friend, Laurent. Laurent visits the Raquins and decides to take up an affair with the lonely Thérèse, mostly because he cannot afford prostitutes anymore. However, this soon turns into a torrid love affair. They secretly meet up regularly in Thérèse''s room. After some time, Laurent''s boss no longer allows him to leave early and so the two lovers have to think of something new. Thérèse comes up with the idea to kill Camille. They eventually succeed in doing so by drowning Camille during a boat trip. Defending himself, Camille bites Laurent in the throat. Madame Raquin is in shock after hearing the disappearance of her son and everybody believes the fake story of an accident. But Laurent is still uncertain about the death of Camille and frequently visits the mortuary, where he finally finds the dead Camille. Still, Thérèse has nightmares and doesn''t talk, so Michaud - one of the regular visitors of the family - comes up with the idea, that Thérèse should marry again and the ideal husband would be Laurent. But even after their marriage, the murder doesn''t let go of them. They have imaginations of seeing the dead Camille in their bedroom every night, preventing them from touching each other and quickly driving them insane. Laurent, who is an artist, can no longer paint a picture (even a landscape) which does not in some way resemble the dead man. They also have to look after Madame Raquin, who suffered a stroke after Camille''s death. Madame Raquin suffers a second stroke and becomes completely paralyzed except for her eyes (as in locked-in syndrome), after which Therese and Laurent reveal the murder in her presence during an argument. During an evening''s game of dominoes with friends, Madame Raquin manages to move her finger with an extreme effort of will to trace words on the table: "Thérèse et Laurent ont t...". The complete sentence was intended to be "Thérèse et Laurent ont tué Camille" (Thérèse and Laurent killed Camille). At this point her strength gives out, and the words are interpreted as "Thérèse and Laurent look after me very well". Eventually, Thérèse and Laurent find life together intolerable and plot to kill each other. At the climax of the novel, the two are about to kill one another when each of them realizes the plans of the other. They each then break down sobbing and reflect upon their miserable lives. After having embraced one last time, they each commit suicide by taking poison, all in front of the watchful gaze of Madame Raquin, who enjoys the late vengeance of her son.

Thérèse Raquin

John Walker is a young American socialist, active and dedicated. Yet his personal poverty, and the slow progress of his cause, leave him despondent. In a fit of depression he decides on suicide by drowning: he hurls himself off "the long pier...called the Suicides'' Promenade" at Coney Island. He loses consciousness&mdash;but is revived by a man in a strange diving suit; Walker at first mistakes him for a kind of fish/man. In fact, the man is a surgeon engaged in research; he explains to Walker that they are in Atlantis, at the bottom of the sea, and gives the American a cursory explanation of the nature of Atlantean society. (He cannot say much; Atlanteans are limited to a thousand words of speech per day, as measured by the "verbometers" they wear.) Socialist literature found in Walker''s pockets suggests to the Atlantean authorities that Walker might be acceptable to their regime. (A few other Americans have penetrated to Atlantis in the past, though no one from the Earth''s surface is there when Walker arrives.) The American is assigned to a barracks; the doctor who serves it is appointed his guide in all things Atlantean (and is given a dispensation to speak more than 1000 words per day). Together, the surgeon and the doctor become Walker''s closest companions in his new life. The people of the domed city dress in red; their buildings, and even the cigars they smoke, are of the same color, giving their society its nickname, the Scarlet Empire. At first, Walker (or Citizen No. 489 ADG, as he is designated) is delighted to have awakened in a socialist state; but his enthusiasm quickly fades as he experiences the capricious irrationality and the privations of life in a dictatorship of the proletariat. He soon learns that his guide, the doctor, shares his repulsion from Atlantean life. Walker meets, and quickly falls in love with, a beautiful young woman, No. 7891 OCD; since she has no name, he comes to call her Astraea&mdash;"the last goddess of heaven to visit the earth". Yet he is shocked to learn that his new love is condemned as an "atavar" (from "atavism"), a reactionary individualist, a dissenter who cannot or will not conform to the dictates of society. As such, she is confined to an insane asylum (another anticipation of Soviet times). Atavars are given chances to conform; the recalcitrant ones are fed to a kraken outside the dome of Atlantis, in a ceremony reminiscent of the Christian sacrifices in the Colosseum of ancient Rome. The plot quickly resolves into Walker''s struggle to rescue Astraea and escape back to the surface. The Atlanteans keep all they recover from the surface world in their Hall of Curiosities; its contents include everything from ships'' figureheads and waterlogged books to enormous heaps of jewels and gold coins. In his research work, the surgeon comes into possession of a sunken miniature submarine; Walker and the doctor decide to use the vessel to escape. Their plan reaches a crisis when Walker is caught consorting with the imprisoned Astraea; the two are sentenced to be devoured by the kraken. Yet the hero and his friends manage a suspenseful getaway from the Atlanteans. Walker, Astraea, the doctor and the surgeon depart in their (treasure-laden) submarine; in a confrontation with the attacking kraken, they fire a torpedo, which kills the monster and also punctures the dome of Atlantis, destroying the city. Walker and friends reach dry land. With the advantage of enormous wealth (the appropriated Atlantean treasure), they manage to make their way through the individualistic capitalist world. The surgeon and doctor distinguish themselves in science and medicine; Astraea and Walker enjoy a long happy marriage. After her eventual death, Walker writes the story of their adventure.

The Scarlet Empire

In the story, the wizards are transported to Roundworld (the real universe, inadvertently created during the first book) during the Elizabethan era. This is the first time they learn there are humans on Roundworld; they previously learnt that something would escape an Ice Age by heading for the stars via a space elevator, but missed which species it was. They are befriended by the magician John Dee, who is understandably confused by their appearance. Back at Unseen University, the thinking machine Hex informs the remaining faculty (Ponder Stibbons, the Librarian and Rincewind) that history has changed and humanity no longer makes it to the stars. The reason for this is, apparently, an infestation of elves feeding off human imagination and encouraging them to be scared of the dark. The wizards travel back in time to suppress the elvish influence, but this only makes things worse; people are no longer superstitious, but they are no longer creative either. In the "new" 17th century humans are still in the Stone Age. Then Rincewind suggests doing the opposite, encouraging humanity to be more creative. They travel through time doing this, with the intent of creating a history in which William Shakespeare writes A Midsummer Night''s Dream. This achievement is symbolic of a new way of thinking, the human imagination is now sophisticated enough that stories can be told about stories. With the elves now seen as a harmless fiction, their power over Roundworld is gone.

The Science of Discworld II: The Globe

Luke and Leia are traveling to Circarpous IV to persuade the Circarpousians to join the Rebel Alliance. A strange energy storm forces them to crash land on the swampy planet Mimban. Luke, after finding Leia, begins looking for a station that would allow them to get off the planet but instead find a town near which agents of the Empire have a secret energy mine. Forced to keep their identities secret, Luke admonishes Leia to follow his lead, and in a nearby bar where they take refuge, claims she is his servant girl. An old woman named Halla approaches them; while revealing little of her own background, she identifies Luke as one who is strong with the Force and shows him a splinter of what she claims to be the Kaiburr crystal, a glowing crystal that magnifies and focuses the Force. Halla strikes a deal with Luke and Leia that if they help her find it, she will help them get off the planet. They leave together. Upon emerging, Leia retorts that Luke ought not to have struck her; the two squabble as some miners emerge from the bar. The miners claim that fighting in public is against Imperial law here, and they all get into a brawl. Imperial stormtroopers intervene and take Luke, Leia and the miners to the local jail. They are questioned by Captain-Supervisor Grammel. The miners are taken away while Grammel continues questioning Luke and Leia. Grammel discovers and confiscates the crystal shard, along with Luke''s weapons. Luke and Leia are placed in the maximum security cell with two drunken but friendly Yuzzem--hairy aboriginal creatures resembling squat Sasquatch--called Hin and Kee, while Grammel reports the incident and the crystal shard to Governor Bin Essada, in charge of the group of star systems including Circarpous. Halla, with Luke''s help, uses the Force to help rescue Luke, Leia and the two Yuzzem; the two Yuzzem rampage through the jail barracks, while Luke and Leia escape, and the four meet Halla to find the Temple of Pomojema, which Halla believes to be the location of the Kaiburr crystal. They travel through the swampy wilds of Mimban, during which travel they encounter a wandrella, a huge worm-like creature. The wandrella pursues them, forcing them to leave the transport and splitting Luke and Leia apart from Halla, the droids and the Yuzzem. Luke and Leia hide in a deep well, down which the wandrella falls, leaving the two trapped in the well as it destroys their escape path; Halla mentions from the lip of the well that there must be an escape route, and Luke and Leia go in search of it, though their travels involve floating across a lake on lily pads, and fending off creatures of the deep with Luke''s light saber. On the other side of the lake, they encounter the secretive residents of the caves, Coway guards/patrols. They kill all but one of the Coway; the survivor escapes and tells his Coway tribe about the visitors. Luke and Leia follow the single Coway to the tribe, where they find Halla''s group being held as prisoners. To save his friends, Luke defeats the Coway''s champion fighter. The Coway become his friends, but Luke senses Darth Vader. Coway patrols confirm Luke''s feeling: Imperials, led by Darth Vader and Captain-Supervisor Grammel, are attacking the underground cave. When the Imperials arrive, they are surprised by the Coway tribe''s powerful response and face a debacle. Vader and Grammel retreat with the handful of surviving stormtroopers, though Vader loses patience with Grammel for the defeat and kills him. Luke and company steal an Imperial transport left behind, and begin travelling to the Temple themselves. They beat Vader to the temple and find the Kaiburr crystal. They encounter a monster, and unsuccessfully try to fight it off with blasters. Luke tells Hin and Kee to get some rifles. Luke cuts down one of the pillars holding up the temple, crushing the monsters. Luke''s leg is pinned under a fallen boulder. Darth Vader then enters the Temple of Pomojema, announcing that he killed Hin and Kee. Leia takes up Luke''s lightsaber and begins fighting Darth Vader, but he toys with her, giving her multiple superficial burns with his own saber. Hin, mortally wounded, shows up and in his dying act, lifts the big rock off of Luke''s leg. Luke fights Vader, showing more skill than expected, deflecting some Force-based attacks and eventually slicing off Vader''s arm. Despite this, the Sith Lord seems about to win, but then falls into a pit. Luke senses that Vader is still alive. As the story ends, Leia and Luke, healed by the crystal, drive off with Halla into the mists of Mimban.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Manifold: Space

By Stephen Baxter

Rise of the Dibor

No Author Listed

Best Friends Together

No Author Listed

L'Abbe C

No Author Listed

The Divine Invasion

By Philip K. Dick

Last Of The Breed

By Louis L''Amour

Dead in the Family

By Charlaine Harris

The Devil's Alternative

By Frederick Forsyth

Thérèse Raquin

By Émile Zola

The Scarlet Empire

No Author Listed

The Science of Discworld II: The Globe

No Author Listed

Splinter of the Mind's Eye

By Alan Dean Foster