The New Jedi Order - Book 6: Balance Point

Author: Kathy Tyers
Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen

Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: October 31, 2000
Media Types: Hardcover, paperback
Pages: 333
ISBN: 0345428579

Era: New Jedi Order
Timeline: 26 ABY

Taking place two months after Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, Jaina Solo, who was on a mission with Rogue Squadron in a battle against the Yuuzhan Vong at the planet Kalarba, goes EV and her vision is slightly impaired for a short time. Therefore, she is sent to the refugee planet of Duro to meet up with her family, consisiting of her father, Han, and her oldest brother, Jacen, along with the resident Hutt, Randa Besadii Diori, who was a survivor from the Battle of Fondor. Jaina is to have a sick leave from Rogue Squadron at Duro's Settlement Thirty-two. While residing on Coruscant, Anakin Solo is still in guilt after his responsibility in the destruction of the Hapan Fleet at the Battle of Fondor, and Jacen, after having a Force vision, believes that by using the Force any further, he will ultimately tip the galaxy to the Yuuzhan Vong's favor. The vision that made him believe so was missing the lightsaber tossed to him by his uncle Luke and let the galaxy fall to the Vong clutches, and following this vision is a voice telling him to "stand firm." So Jacen vows to suppress his Force abilities for the rest of his life. But as the novel progresses with his story, he finds that the galactic tipping point in his vision is still falling to the Yuuzhan Vong's side. Meanwhile, it is revealed that thanks to the healing tears of Vergere and regular relations with her husband Luke, Mara Jade Skywalker realizes that she is pregnant. After a capture of a Vong agent on Coruscant by Mara and Anakin, which ended with the agent killing herself when she found herself "tainted" by the infidelities of the galaxy's natives, the two go to Duro to investigate if CorDuro Shipping has any affiliation with the Yuuzhan Vong, and even Leia Organa Solois head of Settlement Thirty-two's partner, the Gateway Dome. Eventually, Luke also comes along, and things become rough for Randa, who is believed to be a spy for the Vong among the residents at Duro. Later, Mara and Jaina figure out that a New Republic scientist is actually Executor Nom Anor of the Yuuzhan Vong, who survived the events of Vector Prime. Anor unleashes a group of moths that chew on synthplas on Settlement Thirty-two, leading to an evacuation of Settlement Thirty-two headed by Jacen. The refugees of Settlement Thirty-two are set in quarantine in Gateway for the possibilities that they might have attracted any of the moths. Jacen then goes to Duro's capital orbital city of Bburru to discuss to Vice-Director Durgard Brarun about undelivered supplies to those of the refugees of both Gateway and the destroyed Settlement Thirty-two. Brarun holds Jacen as a hostage, lying to him about being his guest in Brarun's guest quarters, to exchange a Jedi to the Yuuzhan Vong to lessen the chances of them attacking. In the end, the Vong immediately come in and attack Duro. During the battle, though, Leia is captured and meets up with the Vong's leader, Warmaster Tsavong Lah, and Randa is killed by Lah's subordinate, Priestess Vaecta, trying to protect Leia. Before she can be executed, however, Jacen breaks his eternal vow of never using the Force anymore and saves his mother from the warmaster. Jacen and Tsavong Lah fight, and Jacen defeats him when he once again hears the voice telling him to "stand firm" and he uses a Force wind to knock the Vong out of a window via the objects of the room (Leia's office) that they are fighting in. When the Battle of Duro comes to its conclusion, the Vong win again, as usual, and the New Republic saves what refugees it could, including Luke, Han, Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, Droma, his family and the Solo kids. The remaining survivors are captured and killed by the Vong, and it is revealed that Tsavong Lah survived his fall but permanently broke his foot, thus planning to replace it with a living prosthetic. After the Vong find a way to broadcast their living technology to all New Republic tech, Tsavong Lah announces throughout the galaxy that if they surrender all the Jedi, or kill them, especially bringing Jacen Solo, the one who crippled him, alive, the galaxy will be free from the Vong invasion and they will not attack Coruscant.