Chapter Summaries

Padmé Amidala coordinated the Rebel Alliance’s plan to exploit a political power vacuum and free Ryloth from Imperial control. The chapter traced how she united scattered rebellions under a shared goal, establishing herself as the Alliance’s secretive Leader.

• Padmé Amidala met Rebel Alliance fighters in a hidden village on Ryloth and reviewed Imperial forces and preparations for an attack on Christophsis.
• Padmé explained that the Alliance would impeach Ryloth’s governor, Ulooda, and use the expected investigation to create a power vacuum for an uprising.
• The chapter recounted how Imperial forces crushed the uncoordinated rebellion on Raffa, including Ahsoka Tano’s participation in the resistance.
• Padmé connected resistance movements across many planets through a secret communications network and gave them a shared goal of overthrowing the Sith Lords and restoring the Galactic Republic.
• Padmé advised rebels to weaken the Empire and wait for favorable opportunities, while building elite forces to strike Imperial targets.
• Padmé remained hidden from the Empire as the former Naboo Senator, while Darth Vader privately suspected she might still be alive.

Padmé Amidala coordinated a plan with Mon Mothma and Jan Dodonna to exploit Governor Ulooda’s impeachment and seize control of Imperial forces on Ryloth. The chapter ended with the planet’s fleet in Rebel hands and Tusken fighters rebelling in Ulooda’s name.

• Padmé Amidala told Mon Mothma to help secure Ulooda’s impeachment while delaying the appointment of a new governor for the 14th Army.
• Mon Mothma warned Padmé that Palpatine had ordered an audit of twenty-nine planets, including Chandrila, and Padmé told her to protect herself.
• Padmé authorized Jan Dodonna to use Ulooda’s transfer orders to take command of two Nightwatcher-class frigates.
• Jan Dodonna brought two Imperial-class Star Destroyers and two captured frigates to Ryloth, then used his authority to reorganize the garrison fleet with Rebel soldiers aboard.
• Tusken fighters seized municipal centers and arrested Imperial officials, claiming their uprising supported Ulooda and demanding his return to Ryloth.

Padmé Amidala used Ryloth’s uprising and the Imperial dispute over Governor Ulooda to place Jan Dodonna in control, divert supplies to the Rebel Alliance, and isolate the planet from Imperial rule. After insisting that the Rebellion must not bargain with either the Galactic Empire or the Duchy of Dawn, she left Ryloth, while Jing Fang trained and welcomed Arden Lin back.

• Imperial officials questioned Ulooda about the Ryloth uprising, and he claimed credit for the events before agreeing to let Jan Dodonna command the planet’s defenses.
• Senators Mothma and Bail Organa prolonged the dispute over Ulooda as Faxi entered the contest for governor of the 14th Army, leaving Ryloth under Dodonna’s control.
• Dodonna replaced Imperial officials and troops while Padmé Amidala reorganized the local Tusken security force and secretly diverted Imperial supplies to the Rebel Alliance.
• Padmé explained that the rebellion would not exchange favors with the Galactic Empire or the Duchy of Dawn, and her fighters pledged themselves to their cause.
• Jing Fang practiced his punches with the Force, and Arden Lin returned and teased him about his weak technique.

Arden Lyn trained Jing Fang in Ters Ksi until he learned to focus its power and unleash a devastating punch. Their lesson ended with concern over Hora, who had gone to protect his tribe after it raided an Imperial convoy on Tatooine.

• Arden Lyn demonstrated how control, rather than raw strength, let her defeat Jing Fang with a single punch.
• Arden Lyn guided Jing Fang to sense the Force through his body, and he successfully unleashed a punch that damaged a nearby house.
• Jing Fang and Arden Lyn exchanged the martial artists’ salute, which Jing Fang had taught her years earlier.
• Arden Lyn explained that Ters Ksi could let its masters fight Jedi with bare hands and vowed to challenge the Sith Lords.
• Jing Fang told Arden Lyn that Hora had returned to his tribe after it raided an Imperial transport convoy, and they discussed the Empire and Duchy of Dawn’s influence on Tatooine.

Arden-Lyn and Jing Fang raced toward the Rahr tribe after communications went dead, while Imperial storm commandos attacked the tribe. A Force-wielding Tusken Raider overwhelmed a Bith Inquisitor until a shuttle arrived with Second Sister.

• Arden-Lyn realized Hora was likely in trouble and took Jing Fang on her speeder bike toward the Rahr tribe.
• More than a hundred Imperial storm commandos advanced on the Rahr tribe while the Tusken Raiders fought back from the hills.
• The Bith Inquisitor prepared to join the assault but was ambushed by a massive Tusken Raider wielding a Gaderffii stick.
• The Tusken Raider used the Force to overpower the Inquisitor and drive him back.
• A blaster beam struck near the fighters, and Second Sister leaped down from a shuttle as the Inquisitor confronted her.

Second Sister arrived on Tatooine seeking Aden-Lin while Mao fought a powerful Tusken Raider. Aden-Lin attacked Second Sister, who escaped after inviting her to join the Judicial Department, as TIE fighters arrived and Aden-Lin fled with Jing Fang.

• Second Sister mocked Mao as he struggled against a Force-sensitive Tusken Raider and said she was waiting for her target.
• Aden-Lin and Jing Fang arrived on a speeder bike, and Second Sister identified Aden-Lin as the person she wanted to meet.
• Aden-Lin attacked Second Sister, who defended herself with a double-bladed device before Aden-Lin knocked her back.
• Second Sister called off Mao and invited Aden-Lin to join the Judicial Department, then escaped aboard her shuttle.
• TIE fighters attacked Second Sister's shuttle, and Aden-Lin blocked their fire before fleeing with Jing Fang.

Second Sister’s attempt to approach Aden-Lin was disrupted when Mao and the Inquisitorius attacked the Tusken Raiders, while the Grand Judge ordered her to keep monitoring Aden-Lin. Aden-Lin withdrew with her allies after maiming Mao, leaving the Inquisitorius to carry him away.

• Second Sister left Tatooine aboard a shuttle with the Purge Troopers after the Inquisitorius disrupted her plans to contact Aden-Lin.
• The shuttle docked with a Nightwatcher-class frigate, where Second Sister reported to the Grand Judge, who ordered her to continue monitoring Aden-Lin.
• TIE fighters halted the battle, and Aden-Lin led Jing Fang and Hora toward retreat as Yun and Sariss arrived to recover Mao.
• Mao broke free and lunged at Aden-Lin, but she caught his Lightsaber with her bare hand and struck him with a Teräs Käsi kick that shattered his pelvis and severed his right leg.
• Yun and Sariss dragged Mao away, and Aden-Lin let them withdraw.

Arden Lyn and Jing Fang discovered Sok, a Gamorrean mercenary captured by the Rahr tribe after an Imperial transport raid, and learned he wanted revenge for his slain brothers. Arden Lyn freed Sok and offered him a chance to prove himself by fighting Hora after eating.

• Hora explained that the Rahr tribe had accidentally stolen a Galactic Empire transport carrying three Gamorreans.
• Arden Lyn and Jing Fang found Sok chained inside the transport beside the bodies of his brothers, Gorc and Pic.
• Sok said an Inquisitor had killed his brothers and demanded release so he could seek revenge.
• Arden Lyn proposed that Sok fight Hora for five minutes without falling before she would let him go; Jing Fang supported releasing him, while Hora called him too weak.
• Jing Fang freed Sok, and Sok mourned his brothers before agreeing to fight Hora for a chance at revenge.
• Hora offered Sok meat and tubers before their fight as the Rahr tribe gathered around the bonfire.

Sok the Gamorrean fought Hora to a draw after revealing formidable strength and a fiery breath. Aden-Lin stopped the match and accepted Sok as his third disciple, promising him a chance and the power to seek revenge.

• Sok devoured a huge meal provided by the Rahr tribe before challenging Hora to a fight.
• Hora sensed Sok’s danger and clashed with him in a battle of strength and speed.
• Sok breathed a stream of fire, but Hora evaded it and continued striking him with his Gaderffii stick.
• Hora and Sok fought to a stalemate for half an hour as Jing Fang watched in astonishment.
• Aden-Lin intervened, declared Sok qualified, and made him his third disciple.

Arden-Lyn defeated Sok, then led him, Jing Fang, and Hora to kill the Besadi Governor on Tatooine. After the group claimed the bounty for Hora’s tribe, Second Sister arrived to negotiate Arden-Lyn’s recruitment into the Imperial Inquisitorius.

• Arden-Lyn offered to make Sok her apprentice and defeated him after he refused to submit to her.
• Arden-Lyn told Jing Fang she planned to join the Imperial Inquisitorius to get close to Palpatine and later pursue the Archangel of Death.
• Three days later, Arden-Lyn, Jing Fang, Sok, and Hora killed the Besadi Governor in Mos Eisley City, and Arden-Lyn arranged for the bounty to go to Hora’s Rahr tribe.
• Second Sister arrived at the ruined palace and offered to help resurrect Xendor and compensate Arden-Lyn for her arm if she joined the Imperial Inquisitorius.

Arden Lyn agreed to join the Empire’s Judicial Department in exchange for wealth, power, status, and help regarding her husband. After meeting the Grand Judge on Imperial Center, she became First Sister and was warned that her unfinished Jedi apprentice Jing Fang could face execution if he obstructed her missions.

• Second Sister offered Arden Lyn an advanced mechanical arm and a high-ranking position in the Imperial Inquisitorius, and Arden accepted while demanding wealth, power, and status.
• Arden Lyn claimed the bounty for killing the Hutt and boarded the shuttle with Hora, Sok, and Jing Fang.
• Second Sister explained the divisions between the Inquisitorius and the Judicial Department and their ties to Palpatine, Darth Vader, and Blackhole.
• The Nightwatcher-class frigate took Arden Lyn and her apprentices to Imperial Center, where they met the Grand Judge.
• The Grand Judge questioned Arden Lyn’s ability to train Jing Fang, warned that he could be executed if he obstructed missions, and named Arden Lyn First Sister of the Judicial Department.

Francis Underwood raged over Chris Anderson’s removal and Operation Zero, while Claire Underwood challenged his failure to prepare and reminded him that war had shaped his choices. The chapter left Francis reflecting on Tang Xiao’s relentless focus on war.

• Francis Underwood smashed objects in his home over Chris Anderson’s removal, and Claire Underwood stopped him from breaking a bottle of Nightglow Fruit Wine.
• Francis blamed Tang Xiao and Zemo for using Operation Zero to remove officials, while Claire pointed out that Chris had failed to meet Vaxian Planet’s supply needs for months.
• Francis condemned Operation Zero as a reckless plan that diverted resources and would lead them to ruin, while Claire listened in silence.
• Claire comforted Francis as he recalled meeting Tang Xiao twenty years earlier and explained that joining the Fourth Civilization had been his only choice.
• Francis and Claire agreed that war had become Tang Xiao’s overriding pursuit.

Francis Underwood told Claire Underwood he would stop Operation Zero, which he considered an unnecessary and dangerous war plan. The next day, he confronted Helmut, Baron Zemo, over a proposed supply-chain appointment and the human costs of pursuing the operation, ending in a furious standoff.

• Francis Underwood and Claire Underwood discussed the threat of Operation Zero, and Francis argued that the Duchy of Dawn could defend itself without launching an unnecessary war.
• Claire urged Francis to return to work, and he promised he would not let Operation Zero be carried out.
• At the Prime Minister's Office, Francis rejected Helmut, Baron Zemo's proposal to appoint Torres Chado as Sector Supply Chain Deputy Minister, insisting Hua Chao was the suitable replacement for Chris Anderson.
• Francis warned that Torres Chado's supply plan would burden supplier planets and disrupt civilian logistics, while Zemo defended the sacrifices as necessary for Operation Zero.
• Francis and Zemo argued over whether Operation Zero was the only way to defeat the Galactic Empire, and Francis accused Zemo's faction of harming the Duchy of Dawn before angrily confronting him.

Francis Underwood clashed with Zemo over Operation Zero and moved to address the Hoth Sector’s unrest. He remained wary of Tang Xiao’s growing power and planned to investigate Hari Seldon personally on Yago-Dul.

• Francis Underwood rejected Zemo’s objections, appointed Hua Chao to replace Chris Anderson, and ordered Douglas Stamp to escort Zemo out.
• Douglas Stamp reported protests and strikes across the Hoth Sector, where Hari Seldon had left most duties to others; Francis ordered Graham appointed Acting Governor.
• Francis refused to meet General Ling and warned Douglas that an Emperor who put personal desires above the nation could endanger the Duchy of Dawn.
• Francis ordered Douglas to support Graham in the Hoth Sector and said he would delay Operation Zero until Tang Xiao returned from the Unknown Regions.
• Francis arranged to visit Yago-Dul and question Hari Seldon about why Tang Xiao trusted him.

Ling Liang and Helmut Zemo discussed why Prime Minister Francis opposed Operation Zero and why the looming conflict with the Galactic Empire made the plan necessary. The story then returned to a year earlier, when Ling Liang and Hari Seldon warned Tang Xiao that the Duchy of Dawn might collapse before it could defeat the Empire.

• An officer told Ling Liang that Prime Minister Francis had again refused talks and opposed her choice of Torres Chado for a supply-chain post.
• Ling Liang and Zemo discussed Francis’s resistance, the danger of war, and the rival predictions that each side could defeat the other.
• Ling Liang said Operation Zero was needed to settle the war once and for all.
• A year earlier, Tang Xiao angrily confronted Ling Liang and Hari Seldon after they reported that the Duchy of Dawn might fall into internal turmoil before defeating the Galactic Empire.
• Hari Seldon explained that his psychohistorical model and three years of travel across the Duchy supported the prediction that its weak social foundation made it likely to collapse first.

Tang Xiao and Hari Seldon argued over whether the Duchy of Dawn’s population identified with it and would support its war against the Galactic Empire. Hari warned that people suffering under the Duchy’s burdens would want to restore the Galactic Republic rather than defend Dawn, and he left Tang facing the question of whether the Duchy could survive without decades of peaceful development.

• Tang Xiao claimed the Duchy of Dawn had strong social foundations, but Ling Liang and Hari Seldon argued that most residents identified more with the Galactic Republic and Empire.
• Hari Seldon explained that people across the galaxy saw the Galactic Republic as the natural ruler and viewed the Duchy of Dawn as an unqualified, temporary power.
• Tang Xiao described the Duchy’s military plan to hold the Eriadu and Yag'Dhul systems and wear down the Galactic Empire with superior production and warships.
• Hari Seldon asked how residents of Hoth Planet could feel threatened by an enemy they never saw while facing worsening work, shortages, searches, taxes, and compulsory bond purchases.
• Hari Seldon said the population would seek to repair the Galactic Republic and punish Palpatine, not support the Duchy of Dawn, which they regarded as a broken part of the Republic.
• Hari Seldon said Dawn might gain recognition after twenty years of peaceful development, but the war would not wait that long.

Tang Xiao approved Operation Zero, a plan to defeat the Galactic Empire before war weariness and rebellion could destroy the Duchy of Dawn. At the Supreme Summit, he announced a five-year buildup followed by an offensive aimed at Coruscant, declaring the campaign would last only one year.

• Hari Seldon warned Tang Xiao that the Duchy would need at least three years of defensive warfare and risked internal rebellion before it could defeat the Empire.
• Ling Liang presented Operation Zero, and Tang Xiao ordered a Supreme Summit while requiring Hari Seldon and Ling Liang to keep their simulations secret.
• Tang Xiao convened the Duchy's senior military, political, economic, intelligence, and alien leaders at the Supreme Summit.
• Tang Xiao announced that Operation Zero would mobilize the Duchy for five years before launching an offensive toward Coruscant.
• Tang Xiao declared that the decisive war against the Galactic Empire would last one year.

Tang Xiao forced the Duchy of Dawn’s leaders to accept a plan to defeat the Galactic Empire within one year, presenting it as his personal decision and leaving no room for compromise. The meeting ended with the leaders turning to Operation Zero, though several senior officials remained opposed.

• Tang Xiao rejected Francis Underwood and Matt Hona’s calls for caution and declared that the Duchy of Dawn would defeat the Galactic Empire within one year.
• Harry Seldon explained to Ling Liang that Tang Xiao was using his authority to force the plan through and take responsibility for its consequences.
• Tang Xiao delivered a speech portraying the Galactic Empire as close to collapse and insisting that the Duchy of Dawn’s future depended on immediate action.
• Ling Liang, Harry Seldon, and Helmut Zemo applauded first, prompting the other leaders to join, some reluctantly.
• The leaders turned their attention to Operation Zero after Tang Xiao settled the meeting’s direction.

Tang Xiao approved Operation Zero, a six-year effort to prepare the Duchy of Dawn for war and defeat the Galactic Empire in a one-year campaign. The plan’s decisive strike would target Coruscant through the dangerous Nexus Route, whose coordinates Tang Xiao had secretly secured.

• Tang Xiao presented Operation Zero, and Sefrans Tann acknowledged the scale of Ling Liang’s plan despite their disagreements.
• The plan called for five years of military mobilization, industrial conversion, intelligence deception, and construction of three stargates, followed by a one-year war.
• The Duchy of Dawn would conceal its preparations and mislead the Galactic Empire into thinking its main military focus was in the Unknown Regions.
• Tang Xiao explained that The Nexus Route, discovered by Jedi Knight Evan Piel, passed through the galactic center and led directly to Coruscant.
• Tang Xiao revealed that his team of astronomers, primarily The Givin, had successfully calculated and located The Nexus Route’s coordinates.

Tang Xiao’s Operation Zero relied on a hyperspace route called The Nexus, which Givin mathematician Baher Banak reconstructed from scant clues. The plan aimed to draw Imperial forces away before striking Coruscant, but its immense risks meant that failure could destroy the Duchy of Dawn.

• Evan Piel’s route data was divided between him and Wullf Yularen, and Palpatine eventually obtained both halves while Anakin Skywalker recovered Piel’s half for the Jedi Order.
• Baher Banak and the Givin calculated The Nexus from Tang Xiao’s vague information, giving the Duchy of Dawn a route Palpatine did not know it possessed.
• Tang Xiao’s Operation Zero planned a year of offensives resembling a reverse Festival Offensive to misdirect the Galactic Empire before Dawn Star Planet’s fleet used the Stargate and The Nexus to attack Coruscant.
• Sefrans Tann was to command the attack, which aimed to capture Coruscant and kill Palpatine before the Duchy of Dawn withdrew and prepared for the resulting upheaval.
• The plan risked a decisive battle against Coruscant’s defenses and the First System Army, and failure could permanently undermine the Duchy of Dawn’s legitimacy and cause its collapse.