Written by some of todays leading science fiction writers these tales sweep us into a world where the only laws are cunning force and powerand only the bravest craziest and deadliest dare to tread. Here mercs and smugglers gangsters and warriors fight toe to toe side by side and behind each others backs in the backwaters of a universe ripped apart by war. On Zelos II a man and a woman are held prisoner in a dark cell each fighting in their own way for survival at the hands of Imperial captorsand a chance for escape that could cost one of them their life. On the tortured landscape of Ryloth Fenig Nabon awaits a ship of women warriors to complete a dangerous deal the smuggling of a troupe of dancers to the homeworld of the Huttsonly to get more than she bargained for. And in a stunning novella written especially for this collection by Hugo Awardwinning New York Times bestselling author Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole Senator Garm Bel Iblis believed dead at the hands of an Imperial assassin teams up with Hal Horn in a duel against the Empires most dangerous agent. At stake are the plans for a terrifying new weapon called the Death Starand the fate of both the Empire and the New Republic. Including these stories of intergalactic derringdo Interlude at Darkknell by Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole Jade Solitaire by Timothy Zahn Gathering Shadows by Kathy Burdette Hutt and Seek by Chris Cassidy and Tish Pahl The Longest Fall by Patricia A. Jackson Conflict of Interest by Laurie Burns No Disintegrations Please by Paul Danner Day of the Sepulchral Night by Jean Rabe Uhl Eharl Khoehng by Patricia A. Jackson The Last Hand by Paul Danner Simple Tricks by Chris Cassidy and Tish Pahl show more