Bloodlines (novel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Bloodlines**

Author	Karen Traviss
Cover Artist	Jason Felix
Country	USA
Language	English
Era	Legacy of the Force
Series	Legacy of the Force
Galactic Year	40 ABY
Canon	C
Subject(s)	Star Wars
Genre(s)	Science Fiction
Publisher	Del Rey
Released	29 August 2006
Media Type	Paperback
Pages	416
ISBN	ISBN 0-345-47751-0
Preceded by	Betrayal
Followed by	Tempest

For other uses, see Bloodline (disambiguation).

Bloodlines is the second book in the Legacy of the Force series. The book is written by Karen Traviss and was released August 29, 2006. The book takes place 40 ABY. The book is a paperback. It will be followed by Tempest. The book's theme focuses on family.

[edit] Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

"But the bitterest enemy can be your own flesh and blood - and your foe can turn out to be your only ally."

In Bloodlines, a civil war continues to break out in the Galactic Alliance. Meanwhile, acts of terrorism force the Alliance to create even more repressive laws. Many families find themselves divided, including the Solo/Skywalkers as Han's Corellian roots and Luke's dedication to the Jedi order are creating conflict. Old enemies Han Solo and Boba Fett are forced to work together as they learn new information about their children. Meanwhile Luke and Mara Skywalker fear for their son, Ben Skywalker, when his Jedi Master, Jacen Solo, makes a dangerous choice. This choice shocks both families and the galaxy.

"Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it." As cliché as this addage is, it describes the book very well. Events that unfold in this novel puts the galaxy extremely close to where it has been before. It is as though the Force is placing the main characters the same position as their ancestors before, and Jacen Solo is at the helm.

Many of his actions in this book are reminscent of his grandfather's last days as Anakin Skywalker the great Jedi Hero. The galaxy is placed in a similar position as it was when his grandmother was Queen. He works closely with Cal Omas and other political leaders to establish a martial law environment against the Corellians. He heads up a campaign to capture Corellians on Coruscant and place them in an internment situation...his actions are such that those around him refer to him as a "pale imitation of his grandfather, Darth Vader," and he carries this stigma during the entire book. He orders a blockade against Corellia and he suspends his sister from combat missions for violating the "rules of engagement". Luke and Jaina are concerned that Jacen is turning to the Dark Side and that Ben really needs a new master.

After going on numerous raids with Jacen, Ben gets the chance to make a decision about a raid in which he kills two people, and at 13 years of age, it scares him. Jacen also uses his Force powers in an unusual way, and once again we see him send someone into a brain aneurysm- this time, however, he kills Boba Fett's daughter all the while Ben is watching. After her horrible death at Jacen's hands, Ben starts to question Jacen's intent because this is not the Jacen he admired...this is not the Jacen who has been caring towards him. Ben seems to becoming more and more like his grandmother everyday in trying to answer questions as to "why can't the fighting stop and the diplomacy resume." He boldly questions his parent's past actions in killing and why it was okay then, but not now.

Meanwhile, Boba Fett learns that due to fact that he is a clone, his body is slowly breaking down and at the current rate, he will die within a year. His only hope for salvation is to recover Kamino's lost knowledge of cloning and age modification, which leads him on a long journey across the galaxy. With the knowledge that he may die soon, Fett begins to reflect upon his past and the mistakes he had made, resolving to find his daughter and try to make amends to her (unfortunately, he isn't aware that Jacen had already killed her in a failed interrogation attempt). During this journey, Fett meets many old acquaintances and makes some new ones, including a mysterious young female bounty hounter, Mirta Gev, who accompanies him on his mission.

Eventually, by some twist of fate, Fett runs into Leia and Han Solo on Corellia. Fett is given a contract by a rival politician to assassinate Thrackan Sal-Solo, while Han decides to finally kill Thrackan for putting a bounty on his family. After the successful assassination, when Fett asks Leia and Han the location of his daughter, they tell him that she was killed by Jacen which throws him into a rage, demanding that they hand over her body. Mirta then reveals that she was Ailyn's daughter, making her Fett's granddaughter and threatens to kill Fett for abandoning Ailyn. However, Fett admits his mistakes and makes amends with the granddaughter he never knew. Leia and Han manage persuade Jacen to release the body to Fett. After receiving the body, Fett decides to return to Mandalore to follow up on a lead regarding his mission, to spend more time with Mirta, and use his position as the Mandalore to unite the Mandalorians and restore the Mandalorian Nation.

Meanwhile, Jacen, still on his path to Sith perfection, decides that the only thing left for him to do is to 'immortalize his love' according to the Sith tassels. Jacen loves Tenel Ka and their daughter Allana very much but if he is to achieve his full Sith ranking he must kill them. He deeply questions what he is doing and he realizes that this is not who he is but what he is destined to become: the next Sith Lord. With that goal in mind, he believes he must conform himself in the image of his grandfather in order to achieve it. He even 'flow walks' with the Force to explore his grandfather's fall and finds that his journey is meant to be different so there may be hope for him. Jacen may yet acquire full Sith knowledge and acknowledgement and not become the beast that Vader was.

As such, his ultimate goal is to bring peace to the galaxy as a Sith while at the same time not committing the same mistakes Vader made.