On the ancient Jedi planet Ossus, Luke Skywalker, Kam Solusar, and the young Ysanna warriors Jem and Rayf explore an ancient library. Luke finds a book on ancient Jedi Battle Meditation, a subject spoken of by Obi-Wan Kenobi, about which Luke has learned little.

Luke asks the Ysanna tribe to join him and become Jedi Knights. The chiefs refuse, but they allow both Jem and Rayf to leave Ossus with Luke – as his Jedi apprentices.

Elsewhere, as the ''Millenium'' [sic] ''Falcon'' departs Nar Shaddaa, Boba Fett's ''Slave I'' appears out of nowhere, catching the ''Falcon'' with its shields down. Fett's firepower finds its mark, and the seriously damaged ''Falcon'' careens into a radioactive, interstellar gas cloud.

Emerging on the other side of the gas cloud, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca behold an unexpected sight: a massive, antique, steam-powered spacecraft. An entire race of people – the Ganathians – live cut off from the rest of the galaxy by the gas cloud. Their ruler is a Jedi, Empatojayos Brand, who has hidden here for decades from the wrath of the Empire.

Jedi Brand, who suffered terrible loss of limb in a battle with Darth Vader, wears complex life-support systems and high-tech prosthetics of his own design. Brand is overjoyed to meet Leia and Vima Da-Boda... and to learn of Luke Skywalker's plan to restore the Jedi Knights.

On Byss, Lando Calrissian's commando teams direct their powerful Viper Automadon war droids against the Emperor's citadel. But they are about to confront a new adversary from the Emperor's arsenal of dark-side surprises.