In these excerpts from Timothy Zahn's Dark Force Rising, the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic compete to locate the Katana fleet, a lost legendary armada of two hundred warships. Grand Admiral Thrawn utilizes tactical brilliance and cloaking technology to outmaneuver his enemies, while Luke Skywalker seeks guidance from the mysterious Jorus C'baoth, a self-proclaimed Jedi Master with dangerous motives. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian attempt to recruit the estranged Garm Bel Iblis and his private resistance force to bolster the Republic’s dwindling military strength. Tensions rise as Leia Organa Solo uncovers the Empire's ecological deception on Honoghr, successfully swaying the Noghri people to reconsider their ancestral debt to the late Darth Vader. The narrative culminates in a desperate space battle over the derelict fleet, where shifting loyalties and political infighting within the Republic threaten to hand Thrawn a decisive victory. Through these interconnected plotlines, the text explores the fragile balance of power and the resurgence of the Jedi in a galaxy still scarred by war.