Lost Tribe of the Sith : Precipice Lost Tribe of the Sith : Precipice is the first eBook in the " Lost Tribe of the Sith " series . It is written by John Jackson Miller and was released on May 28 , 2009 . Publisher ' s summary . " For the ruthless Sith Order , failure is not an option . It is an offense punishable by death — and a fate to which Commander Yaru Korsin will not succumb . But on a crucial run to deliver troops and precious crystals to a combat hotspot in the Sith ' s war against the Republic , Korsin and the crew of the mining ship " Omen " are ambushed by a Jedi starfighter . And when the Sith craft crash - lands , torn and crippled , on a desolate alien planet , the hard - bitten captain finds himself at odds with desperate survivors on the brink of mutiny — and his own vengeful half brother , who ' s bent on seizing command . " " No matter the cost , Korsin vows that it will not be his blood and bones left behind on this unknown world . For the way of the Sith leaves little room for compromise — and none for mercy . " Plot summary . The short story " Precipice " occurs in 5000 BBY and is told from the point of view of Yaru Korsin , the captain of the Sith transport ship " Omen " and a slave to the Sith Lord Naga Sadow , one of the last rulers of the Sith Empire . The ship " Omen " is falling apart and Captain Korsin is trying to save his ship . He is talking to the engineer Lohjoy when she is killed by another breach in the hull . Even Gloyd , the gunnery officer , is not finding much funny today . None of the crew members have any ideas on how to save the ship and its fight against the atmosphere of the planet they are stuck in . The " Omen " is the more desirable ship of the Sith . There is the " Harbinger " as well , but it is run by the most recent Sith Lord , fallen Jedi Saes Rrogon , who many of the Sith do not like to trust . Both the ships leave Phaegon III earlier that day with large loads of Lignan crystal s , when a Jedi starfighter attacks the defenses of the Sith . The Blades are to take out the Jedi while the " Omen " jumped to hyperspace , but the " Harbinger " is hit and before the " Omen " can jump , the " Harbinger " hits the " Omen " and knocks them off - course . The " Omen " ends up in a gravity well which destroys the shielding and then the armory of the ship explodes . Because it is destroyed in hyperspace it doesn ' t destroy the whole ship , but it seems to just vanish . Devore Korsin comes in and blames the navigator , Boyle Marcom , who worked for Yaru Korsin ' s father under Marka Ragnos . Yaru ' s father commanded for the Sith Lords for many years and he never lost a ship . He had Devore with a mother from a different planet . Yaru decided to work away from his father and in five years he was a captain , and in ten he beat out his father to command the " Omen " . As the ship enters more into the atmosphere of the planet the crew begins to see rain , but they also begin to think for a minute that they are on a gas giant . Something with wings hits the side of the ship for a second , but then disappears . Part of the ship opens up and air rushes in ; " breathable " air . Seelah , Devore ’ s wife , enters the bridge with her baby , Jariad Korsin . Devore has her go to the lifepods , but they do not work . Just then , they see land , but the ship will have to slow down considerably . The " Omen " opens up its torpedo doors to create drag to slow down . It works enough for them to be able to see exactly what is below : mountains . Yaru made the decision to make a landing on land to save the cargo , instead of landing in the sea . The " Omen " slams into a cliff and slides down an incline towards the edge of the cliff . The ship stops in time before going over . Most of the crew of the " Omen " came from what would become the Tapani Empire . Naga Sadow needed the Lignan crystals for the Battle of Kirrek . In bringing the 355 people down from the crashed ship , 21 have died on the trip . They have to evacuate the still - burning ship and about halfway down the mountain they find a grassy clearing they could stay at . Ravilan Wroth , the quartermaster , is in charge of the Massassi , who are getting sick and dying from something in Kesh ' s atmosphere . Already a third of their numbers have died since making their way from the ship . Yaru Korsin starts up the mountain with the three healthiest Massassi . They have all died before they make it to the ship . Back at the camp at night , it has gotten colder than expected and many more have died . A six - legged mammal also attacks and it takes five guards to slay it . When eaten , the person who takes a bite dies almost instantly . Another fight breaks out over a foodpak and another Sith is killed . Yaru knows the ship won ' t fly again , but he hopes the transmitter will be able to send out a message so that Naga Sadow will be able to get the Lignan crystals , though if that causes Naga Sadow to lose the Battle of Kirrek , he knows Sadow will take his life . Devore gets to the " Omen " before Yaru does . Inside , Yaru tries turning on the transmitter , but it doesn ' t work ; " nothing " does . Yaru looks through the ship for things that will be useful for those at the camp , but there isn ' t much for him to take . Yaru hopes they will be able to put the blame on the " Harbinger " , because Naga Sadow doesn ' t trust Saes . Devore had talked to Sadow earlier about command of the " Omen " giving him the idea that Yaru Korsin was not completely in control of the ship . While Yaru thinks , Devore ignites his lightsaber . Devore uses the Force to throw objects at Yaru . In his spice - induced rage he is able to be more powerful than normal . Their fight on the " Omen " causes the ship to teeter knocking Devore out of the chair he is in . Yaru then uses the Force to shoot Devore out a window . As Yaru leaves the ship , he hurts his ankle and falls down the slope . Yaru makes his way back up and he sees another of the winged creatures that hits the ship on its crash landing . Then Devore knocks him into the side of the ship . Devore batters him along the edge of the ship , when they get to the torpedo tubes , Yaru shoots open the door hitting Devore ’ s shoulder . Yaru helps his brother to his feet , who can no longer stand on his own . Yaru faces the sun and then lets go of his brother , who falls into the abyss below . Yaru Korsin doesn ' t make his way back down until sunset . He brings the last of the foodpaks and blankets from the " Omen " . Ravilan meets Yaru as he comes back , asking what was going on with the beacon . All Yaru can tell him is they have to wait . Seelah wants to know where Devore was , but Yaru doesn ' t have to say anything . Seelah knew what has happened . Yaru gives a speech to everyone , telling them that someone is looking for them , and that they have to make the best of the situation and make the land theirs . The Massassi have died and Yaru remembers that he had seen a rider on the winged creature at the ship and he felt the Force with them . He smiles over at Seelah and she reluctantly smiles back . She will bide her time and get revenge on Yaru Korsin . Behind the scenes . In an dated to August 2013 , author Jackson Miller attributes the deaths of the Massassi in response to their contact with Kesh ' s atmosphere to their genetic differences . The Massassi were a mutated sub - species within the wider Red Sith species which meant that they had different genetic strengths and weaknesses . While the other Red Sith possessed certain genetic traits which allowed them to survive on Kesh , the Massassi clearly did not have them anymore .