Star Wars: Edge of the Abyss, the second chapter in the Reign of the Empire trilogy arrives Tuesday 15th September, from author Rebecca Roanhorse, and an excerpt has arrived over at EW which puts Saw Gerrera and Anto Kregyr together, two men with very different ideas on how to break the grip of the Empire and bring freedom to the galaxy.
Hood up and chin down, he approached the café warily, his eyes searching for the bald man the librarian had told him about. He spied three who fit her description. One huddled over an elaborate tea-steeping contraption, another with his head bent over a datapad, and the third . . . Well, the third Saw recognized as the man who was looking for him. He cursed himself for not guessing that Anto Kreegyr would not be content with sending a message and waiting for Saw to reply. But more concerning was that Kreegyr had the assets to find the Library. Maybe that was a sign that this place was less secure than he had thought and that Luthen had been right to implore Saw to decommission it before the bloodstains on the floor of the chieftess’s palace were even scrubbed clean.
Either way, Kreegyr was here now, so it would be best to deal with him before he drew even more attention.
Saw approached Kreegyr’s table, letting his shadow loom over the man. He looked up from his cup of caf, surprised. His jaw dropped, and it took him a moment to control his shock. “I . . .” he started to say, obviously nervous, his voice cracking like a schoolboy’s. He cleared his throat to try again, but Saw cut him off.
“We walk,” he said curtly, and turned on his heel, not giving Kreegyr a chance to respond. He didn’t look back to see if the man was following directions, but he heard the scrape of a chair against tile and a muffled curse as Kreegyr knocked into the table, setting the utensils rattling.
Saw grunted, amused, but didn’t speak again until they were well down the block. He glanced over at Kreegyr. He looked much the same as he had the last time they had spoken almost two years ago. Heavyset, dark beard, piercing eyes. And not so bright. But maybe that wasn’t fair. He’d found the Library, hadn’t he?
“I’ve been looking for you,” Kreegyr said as they passed a street vendor selling fruit drinks.
“You weren’t particularly subtle,” Saw countered.
“But did you get my transmission? The one I sent to the outpost?”
“Outpost is closed down.” Another casualty of Nankry’s capture. “But I saw it.”
“I’m ready to fight.”
Saw frowned. What did that mean? “I’m always looking for good soldiers,” he said slowly, “and audacity counts. You have”— he checked his chrono—“three minutes to convince me you’re not still a fool.”
Be sure to get the book when it lands on Tuesday 15th September, check out our review which arrives on the same day, and don’t forget – you can meet Anto Kregyr (aka Andor Graphics Designer Barry Gingell) at next months Thank The Maker: Rogue One in Winchester on 17th October. Tickets are still available, and to hear more about the event, check out the latest episode of Making Tracks with event organisers Dave Tree and Martin Keeler.