for a second Death Star; they bring these to Kothlis to be decoded. Luke is briefly captured by the agents of Darth Vader and learns of Prince Xizor, a Falleen who is the leader of powerful crime syndicate Black Sun. Xizor plans to kill Luke in a plot to gain the Emperor's favor. Seeking information on the attempts on Luke's life, Leia and Chewbacca go to Rodia to meet Xizor's human-replica droid, Guri, who takes them to Coruscant. There, Xizor tries to seduce the princess in an attempt to bait Luke. Meanwhile, Luke, Lando and Dash sneak into the crime lord's palace to save Leia. As the Rebels engage Imperial fighters above Coruscant, Xizor is prevented from escaping by the vengeful Vader, whose Star Destroyer shoots down his repulsor craft and Skyhook base. The debris from the explosion hits the Outrider, apparently killing Dash. Back on Tatooine once more, Luke records a holographic message for Jabba the Hutt. Author Steve Perry was commissioned to write the novel—the backbone of the multimedia project—after writing the novelizations of The Mask for Bantam, and Aliens based upon graphic novels by Dark Horse Comics, which had been licensed by Lucasfilm to create Star Wars comics. In addition to studying the original Star Wars trilogy, Perry read the first spin-off novel in the franchise, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, to get an idea of how to write for Vader. The publishers wanted a 'substitute' for the incapacitated Han Solo, and Perry came up with the character of Dash, noted by fans as being mainly a vehicle for Solo-esque dialogue. The publishers also instructed Perry to make Xizor's attempt to seduce Leia successful, but the author refused as he feared fan backlash. Steve Perry has expressed his support of adapting the story as an animated film. A prequel novel was planned, to be written by author Charles Grant, but was cancelled due to a Lucasfilm Licensing move from Bantam to Del Rey Books. Comics The six-issue comic book series was written by John Wagner and illustrated by Kilian Plunkett; Steve Perry was a story consultant. It focuses on Boba Fett and his fellow bounty hunters (first seen briefly in The Empire Strikes Back) as well as Jix, a hireling of Darth Vader who infiltrates Jabba the Hutt's gang of bikers (led by Gizman) to prevent their attempt to kill Luke Skywalker. Excerpts from the comic were