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Elusion Illusion

Author: Michael A. Stackpole
Artists: Jan Duursema and Joe Wayne
Publisher: Star Wars Insider (#66)
Publication Date: March 2003

Reviewed by Andrew Liptak

Summary: Just a week after the battle of Geonosis, Mace Windu summoned Aayla Secura and Ylenic It'kla to him, and gave them a mission to Corellia, where a Techno Union agent was believed to have fled after leaving the company. Ylenic and Aayla set out, posing as smugglers, arriving under cover.

After trading off their cargo, they began to look for the man, called Tane. After a short period of time, they found a bar, with him in it. Before they could move to get him, two Gotals, who were after him, attacked the pair, which started a short fight in the place. During that fight, Aayla and Ylenic revealed themselves as Jedi, partially blowing their cover. The Corellian Security Force, CorSec, arrived, and questioned the two, although they did not find out about their mission.

Aayla and Ylenic then found a Toydarian who lead them to Tane and his captors, but then sold them out, allowing the pair to be captured. They found Tane under gunpoint. Aayla had a force vision, showing her what to do. One of the captors shot Tane as a lightsaber flew towards Aayla. Six battle droids appeared and were shortly dispatched. Ylenic got his lightsaber back, and the fight was soon over.

Tane was really not Tane, but another Jedi named Nejaa Halcyon. He had sent Aayla the vision and the lightsaber, while absorbing the blaster shot. CorSec arrived, and Aayla realized that this was a much bigger mission. They allowed one of the captors to escape, who brought news to Count Dooku that their mission was successful, although the entire thing was a setup.

What Worked: Like Timothy Zahn, Michael Stackpole often uses familiar characters in his works. This is no exception. Fans of I, Jedi will recognize both Ylenic It'kla and Nejaa Halcyon, who appeared briefly in the novel. It was also great to see Aayla Secura, a fan favorite, in action.

Plot-wise, the story is pretty good, showing intelligence and skill. While slightly confusing at first, everything comes together later on. The story also alludes to several Holonet News articles, explaining Corellia's isolationism from the rest of the Republic, something that was fairly important in "Elusion Illusion". There was also a great cover for this story.

"Elusion Illusion" also contained some great action scenes, the one in the bar and in the warehouse, both of which are well written and very clear. Jedi fighting is something that many fans enjoy reading, and you'll not be disappointed.

What Didn't Work: Nothing really to add here, although the last battle scene in the warehouse was slightly confusing, which may require could reads to full understand. In addition, the plot is fairly dense, and is not fully resolved until the end.

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