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A Forest Apart

Manufacturer: Ballantine Books Release Date: 01 Feb 2003 Part No: 0345462319 MSRP: 0.00 USD Country: United States

Creative Team: - Author: Denning, Troy Format: e-book(Adobe Reader) Description: At first glance, Coruscant and Kashyyyk couldn't be more different: one is a metropolis-covered world of technology while the other is the verdant Wookiee homeworld enveloped by immense rain forests. But the two share a dangerous similarity: the further into the shadows one descends, the greater the danger. That's what Lumpawarrump, Chewbacca's son, discovers in A Forest Apart. The young Wookiee has grown up hearing tales of his father's heroics, but he hasn't heard them from Chewbacca. Chewie's life debt to Han Solo keeps him constantly on the move and away from home. Without the steadying influence of his father, Lumpy is running wild. His mother, Mallotobuck, decides that a visit to Coruscant is in order. It's the perfect opportunity for father and son to bond again -- and for Lumpy to learn that, even for a great hero like Chewbacca, there is more to life than adventure. But when Lumpy interrupts a burglar in the Solos' apartment, adventure is all he can think about. Eager to make his father proud, Lumpy disobeys his parents and pursues the escaping criminal into Coruscant's dangerous underlevels . . . only to stumble upon a secret as shocking as it is deadly. TENTATIVEBackground: Shortly after Han and Leia's wedding, Mallatobuck (Chewbacca's wife) brings their thirteen-year-old son, Lumpawarrump, to Coruscant to spend some time with his father. The StoryChewbacca and Mallatobuck are in Chewbacca's apartment (which adjoins the Solos') looking out on Coruscant's durasteel forest. It is a bittersweet time, for Malla is returning to Kashyyyk the following morning, leaving Lumpy behind. Lumpy's behavior has grown increasingly wild of late--in part, Malla believes, because all he really knows of his father is Chewbacca's heroic reputation. If Lumpy spends a few months with his father and sees that most of Chewbacca's time is spent working on the Falcon and performing other mundane tasks, perhaps he will calm down. A loud crash sounds from inside the Solo apartment. With Lumpy nowhere to be found, Chewbacca and Malla rush through the connecting door with visions of priceless Jalderian vases smashed on the floor. Instead, the Wookiees discover Lumpy struggling with a very gaunt burglar (the burglar is a troglodyte, one of the lost souls who inhabit Coruscant's lowest levels). The troglodyte makes the mistake of using Lumpy as a hostage while he retreats through a newly-cut hole into a cramped service run inside one of the apartment's interior walls. At the last moment, Lumpy bites the thief's arm and disappears down the service run after him--ignoring his parents' commands to return. Too large to fit into the hole themselves, Chewbacca and Malla rush to the bottom of the service run, where they discover that Lumpy is already gone, pursuing the burglar into Coruscant's dangerous underlevels. Chewbacca is proud of Lumpy's courage, but also angry that his son would disobey and do something so rash. Malla is less surprised; this is just the sort of thing Lumpy has been pulling back on Kashyyyk, trying to live up to his father's reputation. The Wookiees track the pair into the undercity, catching up to the burglar in the company of a small, well-organized band of troglodyte thieves. As Chewie and Malla watch, Lumpy leaps down from above, flattening the burglar and demanding that he return the Solos' stolen property. The troglodyte and his friends are not inclined to obey--until the adult Wookiees step into view. As the thieves flee, Lumpy is beside himself with bravado. Not wanting to get their time together off to a rocky start, Chewbacca patiently explains to Lumpy that what he did was dangerous and warns him that Coruscant is every bit as dangerous as any Wroshyr forest, then--ignoring a scowl from Malla--simply makes him promise not to go off alone. Once Lumpy agrees, Chewbacca asks Malla to take the boy and return to his apartment; he noticed that the thieves are trying to sneak off with a datapad that Leia uses to store confidential Advisory Council information. Since the datapad is kept in a safe when not in use, it must be the true target of the burglary. Chewbacca intends to track the thieves down and recover it. The prospect of being a New Republic hero is too much for Lumpy. Reciting what Chewbacca said about the dangers of going off alone, Lumpy waves his parents along and charges after the troglodytes again. By virtue of his smaller size, he follows the trogs through a cramped shortcut and, before Chewbacca can nab him, quickly outdistances his parents. With the thieves' loot satchel slung over his shoulder, Chewbacca leads the rush after Lumpy. She is furious with Chewie for not punishing the boy earlier and questions whether Chewbacca can keep Lumpy in line. Worried that she is having second thoughts about leaving his son with him, Chewbacca almost blames her for not teaching him to obey--but realizes how unfair it is to thrust Malla into the role of perpetual enforcer and simply promises to do better. When they catch up to their son, the troglodytes are about to carry him into one of the secret detention centers Palpatine kept in the undercity. The furious Wookiees leap to the attack and free Lumpy, but Malla is taken in his place and dragged through the gates. Under the withering fire of the facility's automatic defenses, Chewbacca barely manages to retreat safely with his son. After they escape, Chewbacca rebukes the boy harshly, and Lumpy's earlier bravado melts into a guilt and fear. He explains that he was only trying to impress Chewbacca, to prove that he was strong and brave enough to live on Coruscant and help keep Han out of trouble. Chewbacca's anger melts away. He never doubted Lumpy's courage, but Lumpy must learn to obey his parents. Though Chewbacca stops short of pointing out how Lumpy's disobedience caused his mother's capture, that fact is not lost on the boy. He apologizes for his behavior, then, as Chewbacca turns to study the detention center, recounts what he overheard while in the troglodytes' custody. They took Leia's datapad to steal the access codes to the Imperial Palace, where the Provisional Council is holding a state dinner that evening to welcome its newest member worlds. The trogs intend to slip a lethal poison into the auditorium's air supply and assassinate the entire leadership of the New Republic government. They did not mention the reason for their plan, only that their leader, "It," would be pleased by their success. Chewbacca comms Han to inform him of the plot and ask for backup, but he fears that by the time help arrives, it will be too late for Malla. Taking Lumpy along--even if the boy could be trusted to stay in one place, it is too dangerous to leave him alone--Chewie finds a structural crack opening into the dilapidated detention center. Unfortunately, the gap is too small for a full grown Wookiee; Lumpy must slip inside and open a nearby security door. Once Lumpy is inside, a corridor ghoul appears in a dark corner where Chewbacca cannot blast it. He calls Lumpy back, but the boy promises that he can still make it and asks permission to continue. Worried about Malla--and also that if Lumpy tried to return, the ghoul would catch him anyway--Chewbacca consents and rushes around to the security door. By the time he arrives, Lumpy is charging out of the entrance with the ghoul close behind. Chewbacca slays the creature, and together they enter the detention center. After a difficult fight against skulking troglodytes, they finally locate Malla. The troglodytes' leader, an advanced IT-3 interrogation droid ("It"), is attempting to brainwash her into believing that the Solos are a danger to her child. The sight is more than Chewbacca can bear. He goes into a berserker rage and frees Malla, then gets wounded capturing the interrogation droid. As the Wookiees depart the detention center, Malla ends up carrying Chewbacca, while Lumpy brings along the deactivated droid. Han arrives with a New Republic security company and chases off the last of the troglodyte pursuers, then takes Chewbacca to the nearest medical center. By the time the Wookiee emerges from surgery, a military slicer has determined that after the Krytos Virus failed to destroy Coruscant, Ysanne Isard sent an agent back to reprogram the Emperor's hidden interrogation droids to seek the destruction of the New Republic government. The droid captured by Chewbacca and his family used its "persuasive" abilities to win control of the troglodyte band, then sent them on the mission to steal Leia's datapad. So far, New Republic security has located three additional detention centers with similarly reprogrammed IT-2 and IT-3 droids. Mon Mothma is so grateful that she intends to present a medal of honor to Chewbacca's entire family. (NOTE: At this point in time, Ysanne Isard is erroneously believed to be dead, killed as her shuttle jumped to hyperspace at the end of The Bacta War. Therefore, NR Intelligence will assume this plan to be one she set in motion before her "demise." Looking back from the events of Isard's Revenge, however, the assassination plot may seem more a harbinger of things to come.) Before Chewbacca is placed in a bacta tank, Han again tries to release the Wookiee from his life debt. Chewbacca and Malla are indignant at such a dishonorable idea, but it is Lumpy who points out that Chewbacca is doing more than paying his life debt. Important things seem to happen around the Solos. By being there to aid and protect them, Chewbacca is serving a cause even higher than his personal honor. Knowing better than to argue with a Wookiee--much less three of them--Han has no choice but to agree. Chewbacca reluctantly turns to his son. As dearly as he loves Lumpy, he wants the boy to return to Kashyyyk with his mother. Lumpy starts to argue, then stops short when Chewbacca scowls in warning. Disappointed, the boy says he has learned his lesson about disobeying and will return home--if that's what Chewbacca wants. Heart breaking, Chewbacca says it is. Until the last of the Interrogation Droids are found and destroyed, life at the Solo apartment is going to be more hazardous than usual, and he doesn't want Lumpy endangered. To Chewbacca's relief, Malla supports his decision--keeping Han safe is a bit more "exciting" than she imagined. Besides, Lumpy has already absorbed the lesson she brought him to Coruscant to learn. She tells Chewbacca how much she loves him and how proud she is of him, then she and Lumpy give him a long farewell hug. Chewbacca is lowered into the bacta tank, knowing that by the time he comes out, his wife and son will be safe at home on Kashyyyk. At first glance, Coruscant and Kashyyyk couldn't be more different: one is a metropolis-covered world of technology while the other is the verdant Wookiee homeworld enveloped by immense rain forests. But the two share a dangerous similarity: the further into the shadows one descends, the greater the danger. That's what Lumpawarrump, Chewbacca's son, discovers in A Forest Apart. The young Wookiee has grown up hearing tales of his father's heroics, but he hasn't heard them from Chewbacca. Chewie's life debt to Han Solo keeps him constantly on the move and away from home. Without the steadying influence of his father, Lumpy is running wild. His mother, Mallotobuck, decides that a visit to Coruscant is in order. It's the perfect opportunity for father and son to bond again -- and for Lumpy to learn that, even for a great hero like Chewbacca, there is more to life than adventure. But when Lumpy interrupts a burglar in the Solos' apartment, adventure is all he can think about. Eager to make his father proud, Lumpy disobeys his parents and pursues the escaping criminal into Coruscant's dangerous underlevels . . . only to stumble upon a secret as shocking as it is deadly. Variations: - A Forest Apart

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