Kessel Run

Zine
Title:	Kessel Run
Publisher:	De Van Press did the reprints, unclear if it was the original publisher
Editor(s):	Michelle Malkin
Date(s):	1981 - 1984
Series?:	Yes
Medium:	print fanzine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Wars
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Kessel Run is a Star Wars gen fanzine. It ran for four issues, and at its largest was over 300 pages long. It includes stories by multiple authors, and has black and white covers and interior illustrations by various fan artists.

Issue 1

cover of issue 1, Dot Sasscer

submission request/announcement printed in Alderaan #9, click to enlarge

inside page from issue #1, art by Gee Moaven

Kessel Run 1 was published in 1981 and contains 165 pages.

• editorial
• Old Comrade's Children by Christine Jeffords (3)
• The Question, poem by Marica Brin (4)
• To Kill a Corellian by Kay Crist (16)
• Classified by Debbie Alexander and Wendy Heilweil (31)
• It Can't Stay Winter Forever, poem by Irene Shafer (33)
• The Last Dream by M.H. Loughlin (35)
• Corellian Haze by Samantha Black (41)
• Circle, poem by Marica Brin (47)
• Delayed Reaction, satire by Irene Shafer (49)
• Toward a Corellian Conquest by Pat Nussman (how good a team are Han and Leia on Ord Mantell?) (discussed in Han and Leia in Fanfiction) (57)
• cartoon by Kay Cris (75)
• Past Tense, poem by Karen Miller (77)
• New Beginnings by Lynne Terry (78)
• A Friend's Hymn, poem by Beverly Lorenstein (79)
• Solilquoy on a String of Beads by Wanda Lybarger (87)
• Report to the War Council: The Battle for Bespin by Susan Matthews (89)
• Interpretations, article by Michelle Malkin and Beverly Lorenstein (93)
• Pro-Leia responses by various fen (94)
• Departures by Christing Jeffords (99)
• Martyrs to the Cause, poem by Peggy Barilla (115)
• The Start of Something Big Marcia Brin (An alternate universe version of Han and Leia's first meeting.) (discussed in Han and Leia in Fanfiction) (116)
• Wanderer, poem by Lynne Terry (133)
• Dust in the Wind by Michelle Malkin (young Han Solo comes up again Imperial treachary) (134)
• art by Gee Moaven, Dot Sasscer (front cover), Paulie Gilmore, Kay Reynolds, Wanda Lybarger, Susan Matthews, MRO Ludwig, Bev Swan, Dale Holman, Kyle Baker, Linda Yamashiro (back cover), Carol McPherson, Stefanie Hawks

Issue 2

front cover of issue #2, Wanda Lybarger

back cover of issue #2, Cathye Faraci

Kessel Run 2 was published in 1981 and is 215 pages long. Art by Wanda Lybarger, Yvonne Zan, Cathye Faraci, Kim Reis, June M. Edwards, Debra R. Drake, Anne Davenport, Sergio Iaconianni, Bev Swan, Carol McPherson, Judith Low, Dot Sasser, J.R. Dunster, Deborah Kogan, MRO Ludwig, Stephanie Hawks, and Karen River.

• Quisling by Deborah June Laymon and Deborah K. Goldstein (9 pages)
• Eternal Heart by Beverly Lorenstein
• So Much for Reality, Right? by Jane S. Sibley (13 pages)
• A Consumer’s Guide To Star Wars Pro-Fic (Article) (2 pages)
• The Life Day Peril by Chris Jeffords (22 pages)
• Oh, You're Quite Welcome, Sir by Jacqueline Taero
• Sweet Revenge by Pat Nussman (2 pages)
• Visitor's Day by Wanda Lybarger (3 pages)
• Mission to Garin by Sheila Paulson (Han and Chewie encounter trouble on a cargo run.) (7 pages)
• Fugitive Devotions by Susan Matthews
• Close Encounters of the First Kind by Marcia Brin (9 pages)
• Blind Man's Bluff by Kay Crist (12 pages)
• Perchance by Sharon F (1 page)
• Choices by Jane E. Sibley
• The Albatross' Blood by L.A. Adolf (How does Chewbacca's son Lumpy react to Lando after learning what has happened to Han on Cloud City?) (8 pages)
• Rogues’ Gallery (5 pages)
• The Rest is History by Irene Shafer (SW meets the Frisco Kid.) (24 pages)
• After Dinner Conversation by Pat Nussman
• Sun-Grazer by Anne Elizabeth Zeek and Barbara Wenk (4 pages)
• A Lover's Embrace by Sharon F
• Solo by Ann Colford
• Together We'll Rule the Galaxy -- Father and Son" by Michelle Malkin
• Still a Chance (Dialogue) (2 pages)
• In Whose Back Yard (Article) (12 pages)
• Soliloquy on a String of Pearls by Wanda Lybarger (2 pages) (discussed in Han and Leia in Fanfiction)
• Superscription by Deborah J. Laymon (3 pages)
• Reflections in Starlight by Sharon F (6 pages)
• New Kid on the Block by Marcia Brin (4 pages)
• Corellian Haze by Samantha Blakely (discussed in Han and Leia in Fanfiction)
• Love's Mysteries by Pat Nussman (Han and Leia realize their feelings for each other on the ill-fated trip to Bespin. A definitive Han and Leia story and a classic of Star Wars fanzine fandom. PG13, contains some adult situations. Reprinted in Alliance & Empire) (21 pages)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

I could tell I had a good zine in my hands when I pulled Kessel Run out of the envelope. It has a crisp, professional appearance, generally good artwork, a compact layout, and no typos! At least none that I noticed, and that's the real trick. Most of the stories and poems in KR fall under two categories -- pre-Star Wars, and Han/Leia relationship... The Han/Leia stories and poems are all very good. My favorites were 'Soliloquy on a String of Beads' and 'The Start of Something Big,' with 'Toward a Corellian Conquest' running a close third. 'Soliloquy,' a one-page vignette with a lovely illustration by the author, is a poignant view of Leia examining herself as she tries to 'grow up.' The style and the mood of this piece are exquisite. 'Something Big' is an Alterniverse tale which goes into how Han and Leia meet in that universe, where the Republic escaped becoming the Empire and Leia is engaged in trying to thwart those who still want to overthrow the Republic. Its only real fault is that Han and Leia seem to fall in love too quickly. Otherwise the action is believable and exciting, and the background is described well enough to explain what's going on without getting boring. 'Toward a Corellian Conquest' deals with Han and Leia's developing relationship in the context of their Rebel activities on Ord Mantell. The politics are difficult to understand, but the characterization of Han and Leia are careful and excellent. Pat extrapolates their relationship backwards from the beginning of Empire and shows it developing in a credible way. The three Han/Leia poems, two by Marcia Brin and one by Karen Miller, are touching and lyrical, two from Leia's point of view and one from Lando's at the end of Empire. The story 'Corellian Haze' is a nice story with nothing wrong with it, but I didn't particularly enjoy it -- except for the end. Next came the pre-SW stories. 'Old Comrad's Children' has Ben Kenobi just after the fall of the Republic meeting young Luke, Han, and Leia. This story doesn't have much too it. 'The Last Dream' starts off with a long first-person soliloquy so that it takes a page and a half to find out the protagonist is Luke's father. It deals with his death, somewhat unconvincingly. 'New Beginnings' is a pleasant piece about Luke's first few moths before leaving Tatooine. It's nicely written, but one thing jangles -- [the author] gives him a lover on a nearby homestead and one wonders how he could just forget her such a a short time later to go off with Ben. The last two stories are decidedly better. 'Departures' is the story of a final expedition on Tatooine for Luke and his friends before Biggs' and Tanks' departure for the Academy. It has a good mixture of humor, adventure, and sadness and has good characterizations, especially of Biggs and teenage Luke. 'Dust in the Wind' is about Han's military service and the reason he left it to become a smuggler. The military background is sketched in well, and the characterizations are very good, especially Han, Chewie, and Han's turncoat superior officer. Immediately before this story is a poem called 'Wanderer' -- it seems to go hand-in-hand with this story. There are two stories and several poems that fall under neither category. First is 'To Kill a Corellian,' a somewhat boring murder mystery with sloppy characterizations and an unconvincing baddie. The zine's one comedy piece (besides the cartoons and the terrific inside back cover) is 'Delayed Reaction,' a hilarious parody of MarySues, the situation at the end of Empire, and -- believe it -- 'The Frog Prince.' 'The Battle for Bespin' with an illustration by the author, is an epic-style poem about the honor of an Imperial. It's short but also [the author] doesn't waste a line, so the characters and the central idea come across clearly and flawlessly. We even have some non-fiction in this zine. 'Interpretations' is a set of very well-thought-out questions in which the editor postulates some possible answers and calls for readers' responses on three of the burning questions in Empire -- why Luke jumped, why Han said 'I know,' and whether Leia is a 'bitch' or a 'feeling human being.' These issues are stated in a positive manner, quite the opposite from the attacks I've seen on the movie in some areas. Along the same positive vein are the pro-Leia responses, letters from assorted fen in response to Leia as a character and a person. I was very glad to see these -- I was beginning to think no one liked Leia, but it seems that this is because her attackers have been so loud and raucous... The artwork, as I have said, is mostly very good and it's reproduced nicely. The most significant contributions are Dot Sasscer's cover and Gee Moaven's several illustrations. The best thing about Kessel Run is its variety. The editor has made the most of her resources, and I think her zine has an illustrious future ahead.

This issue of Kessel Run is probably one of the better of this year's Media West Con crop. I have some nitpicking to do with many of the stories, mostly dealing with my own opinion and tastes, rather than anything objectively wrong with the writing. I recommend that everyone buy this zine and make his/her mm judgments. First, though, let's touch upon artwork and layout. I often regret that I don't say more in my reviews about art; I have no training whatever in this area, I only know what I like and dislike. And I do l ike nearly every bit of art in KR 2 -- front cover by Wanda Lybarger, back cover by Cathye Faraci, story illos, portra1ts and cartoons by June Edwards, Anne Davenport, Carol McPherson, J.R. Dunster, MRO Ludwig, Stephanie Hawks, Judith Low, Dot Sasscer, and other good SW artists too numerous to name here, unfortunately. As for layout, it's clean and readable -- the variations in typeface don't bother me, though it will bother perfectionists. I simply wish that all editors who reduce print in an 8 X 11" zine would make products even more readable by using a double column format. Admittedly, this does take more time to lay-out. After the LoC column, the first story is "Quisling" by Deborah Laymon and Deborah Goldstein, another version of how Darth Vader was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. It' s a well-done version, and there are some interesting speculations here about what the political situation in the Republic was, what the Sith were, how the Jedi were organized, and so on. Darth is portrayed as an idealist who became more and more disgusted by the corruption he saw in the Republic and among the Jedi, and was seduced by the Dark Side because it could heal his mortal injuries. This doesn't seem consistent, to me, with the real SW Vader -- an evil scion of an even more corrupt Empire. The first few pages of Jane Sibley's "So Much For Reality, Right?" made me think that someone had finally written SW fanfic's answer to One Way Mirror. A SW fan is transported onto the Millenium Falcon, and is subject to all the fears, insecurities and bumbling mistakes anyone suffering culture shock would have. It's written humorously, and I was enjoying it and then all of a sudden, she's in bed with Han and the story ends. I guess I'm odd, but to me this is, uh, anticlimatic -- I wanted more of the girl's adventures in accustoming herself to her new world. (Sigh. No One Way Mirror.) "The Life Day Peril" by Chris Jeffords is a story which takes the reader back to Kazhyyyk Chewbacca: s home planet. I enJoy Chris's depiction of the jungle planet and the Wookiee cultureand the stories she sets against this backdrop. This one shows Han and Chewie going to Kazhyyyk to avoid a ruthless smuggler boss whom Han has offended, only to end up needing to prevent several Wookiee cubs from being taken as slaves by this same smuggler. My only criticism of this story concerns writing style. Chris has Han going through long monologues, and Chewie doing a lot of mental soliloquy, to explain plot rationalizations which I'd already assumed or figured out for myself from what had come before in the story. Over-explanation is something I've noted in other of Chris's otherwise-fine stories; I wish she'd give her readers a little more credit for intelligence. I have no nits to pick with IWanda Lybarger's "Visitor's Day," a short-short which is an interesting variation on the "Owen and Beru adopt Baby Luke" theme. Now I'd just like to see Wanda do another one, showing how young Luke was taken by slavers in the first place! Sheila Paulson's "Mission to Garin" concerns Han's and Chewie's early partnership. Han saves Chewie from a dangerous situation, and comes to realize how much his new co-pilot means to him. This type of story has been done before, of course, and isn't all that memorable ... but it's done well enough and should be enjoyable to those interested in character and relationship development. Next comes Marcia Brin's "Close Encounters of the First Kind," one of her "Alterniverse Cycle" stories. The main story is a flashback, set within the framework of Lei a bring Han home to Alderaan, so that she can introduce him to The Folks and make him her Prince Consort. The flashback concerns the first time Bail Organa dealt with Han, as Space Corps Officer vs. Crafty Young Smuggler. Both aspects of this story strained my sense of credibility. (1) I can't see Alderaan's government allowing its Prince Regent (which Bail is for young Leia) to run away from his duties to become an intergalactic policeman. No matter how distraught said Regent is over his wife's death. (2) I tend to doubt that Alderaan's government would allow Leia to take a common smuggler as her Prince Consort. Seems to me she'd be forced to step down from her throne instead, similar to what happened in Britain earlier this century. Same inability to suspend disbelief extends to Marcia' s other story in KR2, "New Kid on the Block, where Han, now Prince Consort, runs rings around experienced politicians during a Battle of the Budget. In both of these stories, Han seems to be portrayed as too competent. He's very smart, yes-- but he's not perfect. Kay Crist's "Blind Man's Bluff" gets my applause mainly for being a story in which Lando Calrissian has dignity, instead of continually cringing and apologizing to Rebels who consider him the scum of the earth, so to speak. The story shows Lando and Chewbacca releasing Han from carbon freeze, and Han' s (understandable) trauma at finding that he' s lost his eyesight. Naturally, he tries to blame Lando, but Calrissian stands up for himself and, through a few well-aimed caustic remarks, breaks Han out of his self-pity. There is also an action-adventure element in this story. A problem with the plot resolution, which is perhaps a little too convenient, is minor compared to the interesting interplay of personalities in this story. "The Albatross' Blood" by L.A. Adolf concerns a Lando who is trying to cope with his guilt feelings over his mistake on Bespin. He does a lot of apologizing in this story, but it's mostly to Chewie's son Lumpy, who loves Han and at first hates Lando for his role in Han's capture. They eventually learn to understand each other -- it's a personality growth for both -- and the emotional tone feels deep and real, rather than being maudlin sentimentality. If you like cross-universe stories, you'll probably love "The Rest Is History" by Irene Shafer. It's "The Frisco Kid" translated into SW terms, with Han Solo and Avram Bulin instead of Tommy Lillard and Avram Belinsky. Although I found this mildly amusing in spots, I don't really have too much to say about it -- uniess extremely well-done, cross-universe isn't my bag. Sorry. "Reflections In Starlight" by Sharon F starts out with an "epic" feel -- it purports to be from The History of the Rebellion by Luke Skywalker. It ends up being one long, static scene, in which Luke and Leia sit and listen to a tape from Chewbacca, after Chewie and Lando have left to look for Han. The idea -- that Chewie has a more significant role in The Scheme Of Things than we think -- is interesting, but I would have rather been shown it in a story. I also probably would not have felt disappointment with this piece if it hadn't been given such a huge build up in the introduction. The last major story of the zine, Pat Mussman's "Love's Mysteries" ... uh, perhaps I'm not the right person to review this one, not being a fan of blatant romanticism. The story is sort of a retelling of TESB, filling in scenes we didn't see on-screen concerning Han's and Leia's budding love affair. My main problem with this one is that the author hits the reader over the head with the Great Love between the Smuggler and the Princess, instead of showing it mainly through dialog, character development, and the course of their lives. Their mutual affection seems to be the only thing they can think about, even after Han's torture by Vader -- when I, for one, would have been contemplating possible means of escape, ways of heading Luke off, punching out Lando, and other such mundane things. In general, I think this story would have been much better if it had been considerably tightened cut to half its length (at least). There are many other pieces which make this zine a good one, by Bev Lorenstein, Eluki bes Shahar, Judith Gran, Susan Matthews, Cynthia Shannon, Anne Zeek and Barbara Wenk, which and space does not permit me to here. Despite my criticisms which, again, are mostly personal opinion, I think KESSEL RUN 2 is a fine zine, and it should be part of every SW fan's zine library.

Issue 3

cover of issue #3

Kessel Run 3 was published in 1983 and contains 295 pages.

• R&R--story-- Martie Benedict ---10 pgs (Set before Star Wars: A New Hope. While taking a much-needed vacation, Han meets the mysterious Oracle of Keth and discovers she needs some help only he can provide.)
• Run That By Me One More Time--story--Marcia Brin--4 pgs
• ActII,Scene1--story--Chris Callahan--9 pgs (A half-trained Leia Organa is called on to save Luke Skywalker when he is ambushed by Darth Vader. (written after The Empire Strikes Back, before Return of the Jedi)
• High Stakes---story--Patricia D'Orazio--11 pgs
• The Ultimate Right--story--Patricia D'Orazio-- 25 pgs
• Moonflower Secrets--story--Sharon F--8 pgs
• Luke's Prologue to Han's Con--vignette--Sharon F--2 pgs
• Han's Con--story--Sharon F---10 pgs
• Witness for the Defense--story--Carol Hines-Strode---26 pgs
• Apology--story--Jeanine Hennig--4 pgs (also in Catalyst! Collected)
• Questions in the Dark--story--Christine Jeffords--3 pgs
• To Conquer Death--vignette--Linda Knights--2 pgs
• Next Time---story---Linda Knights---4 pgs
• Beloved Enemy---story---Laymon & Goldstein---24pgs
• Han Solo & The Amazing Technicolor Lightsaber--story--Fern Marder--17pgs
• A Search for Truth--story--Pat Nolan---14 pgs
• Prelude:The Falconer---story---Pat Nussman--4 pgs ( A prequel looking at the childhood of one of the rebels. Part of The Lady of the Rebellion series.)
• At First Sight---story---Pat Nussman---15 pgs (Han and Leia have an encounter long before the Death Star is built. What do child slavers and militant pacifists want with 6-year old Leia Organa and how did 18-year old Han Solo get involved?)
• Listener in Hell---vignette--Pat Nussman-- 1 pg
• Pavane--vignette--Pat Nussman--1 pg
• Hyperspace Interlude--story--Joan Shumsky---2 pgs
• Dialogue on a Starry Night---story---Joan Shumsky--4 pgs
• Protector---Joan Shumsky---story---4 pgs
• Skyfall---story--Anne Zeek---44 pgs (Will Luke fall to the Dark Side? Will the Vader defeat the Emperor? What is the secret of Han's past?)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

All in all, I find Kessel Run #3 one of the best SW fanzines I have ever seen. "Period. To me, it is basically a model of what zines should look like, of the variety a zine should contain, and of the tolerance for all sides which a zine should demonstrate. Bravo.,, its a real pleasure to read and reread this zine, and Kessel #3 is a must for any fan reader's collection. Listen--even if you don't generally get many zines, get this one.

Let's see--first, how it looks. A very striking Stefanle Hawks shadow composition on the cover—very handsome and gritty, A complete, concise and straightforward ToC (don't laugh -- ever noticed how sadly many zines leave out this consideration?) Very simple and eminently readable double-column reduced type. Saddle stapled spine. A dearth of borders (a sigh of relief here). Illos few and to the point, and always handsome with particularly nice work from Cathye Faraci, Wanda Lybarger, Nancy Stasulis, Judith Low and J.R. Dunster. The most immediately surprising and delightful piece is by Fern Marder: "Han Solo and The Amazing Technicolor Lightsaber", a musical play pastiched from you-know-what. "How he loved his sword of many colors:/ In a class above the rest/It even went well with his vest." An absolute delight; one aches to see a full big-time production of this. Particularly Yoda singing the "Jedi Calypso" with a full steel-drum band back there. A sprightly rendering of a fun musical into SW usage—AND IT SCANS. Such lyrics, and all of them scan beautifully and singably. A real classic. Pat Nussman has a couple of pieces in the zine which are also worth particular attention. "At First Sight" is about Leia as a small Princess on Alderaan who gets kidnapped by some vicious nasties due to internecine madness. Leia is very small, but is soon the terror of her abductors due to her sharp wit and mean bite. During the abduction, she happens to meet up with this really nifty Corellian boy... The characterizations are a delight; Nussman is particularly adept a deft point-of-viewing; she gets into the thoughts of Leia, Han, Rieekan et al, with great dexterity. In fact, I've decided to hate Nussman; she's one of those writers who make me wonder why I'm alive and making a pretense of scribbling. She has a aood future; if she doesn't go on soon to pro-writing, I'll really hate her. The Nussman piece herein which really makes me jealous is the vignette "Pavane", which follows somewhat upon "love's Mysteries' Exquisite. It has sentiment, but it is not sentimental slosh; it presents Han's and Eela's love as something truly believable—the love of a real woman for a real man—and yet has a real enchantment to it; all of which is handled with great restraint. Pat Nolan presents a very wise and gentle story, "A Search for Truth", which deals with Luke's (pre-ROTJ) training by Obi-Wan and Yoda, where Luke eventually learns of the truth—and necessity—of his own darkness, which Is his triumph. Good work; this is one of the best handled Lukes I've yet seen. Speaking of "wiser" Lukes, I was pleased with-Marcia Brin's poem "Dichotomy", with Luke's thoughts on dreams that Inspire vs. reality; a small war between optimism and pessimism. It's a pleasure to see Luke grow up in fan fiction. It affords many of us to mature with him.

I have a quibble or two with Jean Stevenson's vignette, "Protector". Jean's technical ability is excellent; she has great flair with imagery. She needs a slightly tighter hand on the editing. At times, passages which could have been strikingly effective with sparer treatment are a little too melodramatic. Also, I think It would make part of a marvelous alternate-universe scenario; however eloquently Leia is presented, I have never felt that Leia was a woman who needed any protection. - Patricia D'Orazio has a pair of stories in the zine, and both are excellent. My favorite of the two was "High Stakes", dealing with tough dame Sybelle Solo rescuing this little orphan punk from a tight situation...and ending up having to adopt him. A charming and tightly crafted piece; yet not so tight that Patricia doesn't have fun with the characters. Sybelle, in particular, is a plum character. The story has some of the happy-go-lucky feel of ANH. "The Ultimate Right" suffers a bit from too much tightness; also, Leia always seems to be a bit tight-lipped and nattery, and then steps In Han Solo who is always right, always wise and common senslcal. Why must Leia suffer in character whenever Han Solo steps in? She always, in the films, seemed to have eminent wisdom and sense. Still, Patricia worked very hard on the story, and it shows. Her ambition, her care for story structure and for stylistic spareness shows, and care always tells. She has a terrific future, I think. There are several fan writers whose stories eventually develop greater thematic depth and richness of treatment than the films upon which their work is based. Anne Elizabeth Zeek certainly does this with "Skyfall". Some fan readers won't like it; it is ambitious and symbolically complex. However, Zeek can be especially proud of this effort. It works in legend, mythology, and symbolism in an almost Tolkienesque vein. It is simply a slam-bang story. It has a few flaws, which may be due to Its ambitious scope: the final battle of psyches either goes on too long, or else needs some sort of break in POV to provide relief and pacing: and Luke's soul-mate the Lady Kiara is only sketchily dealt with. However, while reading this story, I was filled with jealousy and went into a two-day sulk, which seems to be my ultimate sign of approval. In fact, if that is my ultimate sign of approval, then there's much for me to be irritated with and jealous over in Kessel Run #3. Fine, fine writers, excellent artwork, judicious editing, design with an extremely steady hand, handsome yet not ostentatious or pretentious...God, I'm furious. This is worth a really good sulk.

All I ask is that Michelle hurry up and infuriate me some more with Kessel Run #4; such delight I've rarely known.

Issue 4

back cover of issue #4, Drake

front cover of issue #4, Drake

Kessel Run 4 was published in 1984 and is 337 pages long. Wide black plastic comb (spiral binding). Fiction, articles, poetry and artwork by Agel, Benedict, Brin, Edwards, Laymon & Goldstein, Hennig, Matthews, Hines-Stroede, Molitar, Nussman, Sibley, Taero, Adolf, Zeek, Lorenstein, Varesano, Drake, Dunster, Martynn, Cargill, Faraci, Low, Lybarger, Ludwig, Stasulis, Rosenthal, Wells.

From the frontispiece: "This last issue of Kessel Run is, like the first issue dedicated to the end of hypocrisy, backstabbing, and censcorship in the world of fannish publishing. It is also dedicated to the hope that fewer fen will allow their dreamworld to become their only reality."

• The Readers Blast Off (LoCs) (4)
• The Legend of the Starbird, vignetted by Kathryn Agel (12)
• The Dark Path, story by Pat Molitar (15)
• There Have Always Been Leias in the House of Organa by Martie Benedict (28)
• Warlord, story by Martie Bendict (30)
• Free Flight, song by Martie Benedict (54)
• Life-Line, story by Anne Zeek -- Han and Leia must rescue Luke from the Imps with the help of Han's old friend Alain, also known as Dracula (56)
• Blood-Line, story by Anne Zeek (88)
• Born to the Breed, story by Deborah Laymon and Deborah Goldstein (93)
• No High Ground, story by Deborah Laymon and Deborah Goldstein (135)
• Run Before the Storm, story by Marcia Brin (Han is troubled by dreams.) (137)
• Best Laid Plans, story by Janice Bratton (141)
• Resolutions of a Star Wars Mary Sue, humor by Janet MacLellan (154)
• Star Wars Art Portfolio (155)
• Old Friends and Acquaintances by Carol Hines-Stroede (Lando and Vader must work together to save a space station (170)
• Shelter Talk, dialogue by D.J. Driscoll (185)
• Novitiate by Jeanine Hennig (Luke returns to Tatooine to train and do some heavy soul-searching) (187)
• Aspects of Evil in the Star Wars Saga, article by Liz Sharpe (209)
• And Now Luke's Side, LoCs (214)
• Star Wars Quiz by Barbara T(216)
• Evolution of a Jedi, article by Angela-Marie Versano (218)
• Climbing the Tree 0f Life: From The Star Wars Saga Point of View, article by Rebecca Kaplowitz (221)
• Buddhism in Star Wars, article by Beverly Lorenstein (232)
• What Meaning Victory?, vignette by Linda Knights (238)
• The Star Dreams, poem by M.H. Loughlin (240)
• Midnight Reflections, poem by Pat Nussman (242)
• Vader's Nightmare, vignetted by Angela-Maria Versano (244)
• Point of View, short story by June Edwards (246)
• Journey's End by Pat Nussman (A rather dark Princess Leia story set directly after The Empire Strikes Back.) (250)
• ...In Lover's Meetings, story by Pat Nussman (A sequel to "Journey's End...") (254)
• The Ultimate Alternative, vignette by Ann E. Huizenga (258)
• Ewok Meets Stormtrooper, Death Star Conversation, poem by Jacqueline Taero (261)
• Truths, poem by Cary A. Bucar (262)
• Web, vignette by Marcia Brin (264)
• A Flip of the Coin, vignette by Nancy Cole (267)
• Farewell, My Lady, poem by Marcia Brin (268)
• And Now I See, vignette by Lonna Poland (270)
• Mistress Chance, poem by Madge Longhurst (273)
• Answers at Midnight, poem by Angela-Marie Varseno (274)
• Retaliation, poem by Kathryn Agel
• Vader's Lamet: Truth, poem by June Edwards
• Mea Maxima Culpa , vignette by L.A. Adolf and Jacqueline Taero
• The Gallant Thing, poem by Kathryn Agel
• Alpha in Omega, poem by Nancy Stasulis
• La Madre de los Delores, poem by Deborah Laymon
• Where's Biggs, vignette by Susan Matthews, Bev Clark and Pam Kowalski
• Aftermath and Beginning, story by Becky Cope
• The Many Worlds Interpretation Of Quantum Physics (2 pages)
• Tainted Bloodlines by Anne Zeek (2 pages)
• Sword of Darkness, Sword of Light by Patricia D'Orazio (The Emperor still lives and chaos reigns) (20 pages)
• The Circle Of Love (3 pages)