Chapter Summaries

Rear Admiral Dolla’s attack on Druckenwell collapsed after the Calamity Legion and a fleet of forty Victory II-class Star Destroyers joined the battle. Orman Tagge lost half of Tagge Company’s warships, and he vowed to use his prototype ships against Silas.

• A mysterious high-speed fleet ambushed Rear Admiral Dolla’s forces, while forty Victory II-class Star Destroyers appeared near Druckenwell in support of the defenders.
• Rear Admiral Dolla ordered a full retreat, and the Imperial fleet scattered as the Calamity Legion pursued it with warp disruption fields and Claw-class frigates.
• Kig-Yar pilots in Claw-class frigates destroyed fleeing Imperial ships, and the Galactic Empire’s fleet disintegrated over the next three hours.
• More than twenty Claw-class frigates trapped Rear Admiral Dolla’s flagship, and their bombardment destroyed him before his surrender could be heard.
• Orman Tagge learned that half of Tagge Company’s warships had been lost and vowed to use his prototype ships against Silas.

Silas Tagge’s fleet defeated Orman Tagge’s forces near Druckenwell, while the Dream Sisters’ illusions helped turn the battle into a rout. As Silas prepared to reclaim the family leadership, Sanya Tagge moved to arrange his downfall, and Orman sought help from Imperial Marshal Niel Declan.

• Cassio Tagge reported that Silas’s fleet had destroyed or routed Orman’s forces, leaving him unable to threaten Druckenwell.
• Roan demanded thirty million credits for his mercenaries, but Cassio insisted on their agreed payment of twenty million; Silas admitted he could not currently pay in cash.
• Cassio urged Silas to reclaim the Tagge family leadership, and Silas declared himself the rightful head after his victory.
• Sanya Tagge acknowledged that the Dream Sisters’ illusions had decided the battle, and Luna Dream and Luna Illusion told her to proceed with their plan against Silas.
• Orman Tagge learned of his crushing defeat and, unable to leave Milagro without appearing to concede, contacted Imperial Marshal Niel Declan for help.

Orman Tagge enlisted Niel Declan to deal with Silas Tagge, while Silas’s bid to take control of the Tagge family collapsed amid a pirate crisis and an Imperial blockade. Niel declared an Extermination Order against Druckenwell, and after the trapped defenders opened fire, he unleashed Battle Meditation on his fleet.

• Orman Tagge asked Niel Declan to help deal with Silas Tagge, and Niel assembled a fleet under the pretext of suppressing rebels and pirates.
• Silas Tagge demanded that the Tagge family recognize him as patriarch, but the family ignored him, and the Navy sealed the hyperspace routes around Druckenwell.
• Silas discovered that his family and subordinates had abandoned him, while Niel’s fleet arrived beyond Druckenwell with forty Imperial-class Star Destroyers and three hundred smaller warships.
• Niel broadcast an Extermination Order against Druckenwell, causing panic among civilians and Silas’s fleet as surrender attempts received no response.
• After a turbolaser shot triggered fighting, Niel used Battle Meditation to fill his fleet with bloodlust and drive them to attack.

Imperial Marshal Niel Declan's uncontrolled Battle Meditation drove the Imperial fleet to slaughter Druckenwell's defenders and bombard the planet. After Cassio Tagge betrayed Silas Tagge by revealing his location, Niel found him and ignited his lightsaber.

• Niel Declan's fury spread through his Battle Meditation, and he ordered the Imperial fleet to destroy Druckenwell.
• Forty Imperial-class Star Destroyers crushed the planet's defenders while the bombardment and collapsing order caused mass deaths on the surface.
• Cassio Tagge confronted Silas Tagge about poisoning their mother, then left him a transmitter that could reveal his location to the Imperial fleet.
• Druckenwell's Planetary Shield failed after its unattended generator caught fire, and Niel received a signal identifying Silas's hiding place.
• Orman Tagge told Niel there could be no rebels in the Tagge family, and Niel agreed before going to Silas's underground base.
• Niel found Silas in the base and ignited his blood-red lightsaber.

Niel Declan killed Silas Tagge and imposed military control on Druckenwell, triggering a political crisis among the Empire’s elites. As Luna Dream and Sanya Tagge kept Declan alive for their own purposes, news broke that the Kingdom of Dawn had captured Bilbrin Planet and completed a Stargate that opened the Empire’s Core Worlds to attack.

• Niel Declan killed Silas Tagge and broadcast the execution, prompting Sate Pestage and Koru Van D'ron to seek mediation while they could not reach Emperor Palpatine.
• Niel Declan issued Order 37, sealed Druckenwell, and sent Imperial troops to search for a supposed traitor; he then discovered Orman Tagge had asked him to protect Silas and fled with seven Dark Followers after sensing a Force disturbance.
• Luna Dream proposed frightening Niel Declan into leaving Druckenwell, while Sanya Tagge insisted that keeping him alive would be more useful than killing him.
• Imperial senators prepared to demand that Niel Declan lose his rank and face trial for killing a Core Worlds noble without authorization.
• Imperial leaders learned that the Kingdom of Dawn had captured Bilbrin Planet and completed a Stargate, placing Coruscant and Scipio within reach of its fleet.

The Galactic Empire completed its Northern Territory deployment as its commanders clashed over whether the Kingdom of Dawn would attack Palin-Minor Planet or Bilbrin Planet. With defenses concentrated across the region and the Core Worlds, the Empire remained divided by internal rivalries as the Kingdom of Dawn’s next move loomed.

• The Kingdom of Dawn established a forward base in the Bilbrin system after defeating Lieutenant General Horst Strege, then used the Archangel Titan to surprise and defeat General Gillard Perine at Ord Mantell Planet.
• Lieutenant General Dagon Niels attacked the Kingdom of Dawn’s defensive line at Bilbrin Planet, failed to break through under Major General Luo Huacheng’s command, and was later arrested by Dunn Vesex.
• Luo Huacheng expanded the forward base to fifteen Dawn's Radiance-class industrial motherships and developed facilities to support and repair the fleet.
• Dunn Vesex reinforced Palin-Minor Planet, while the Galactic Empire’s Supreme Strategic Command promised two Assertor-class Dreadnoughts and ordered Oswald Taehick to move the Reaper and Guardian into position.
• Oswald Taehick established defensive lines at Scipio and Anax Planet with 1,500 capital ships, bringing the Empire’s commitment to the Northern Territory to 3,300 capital ships.
• The Empire’s commanders argued over the Kingdom of Dawn’s likely target and competed for reinforcements and authority.

Tang Xiao recovered from the Son’s corruption and convened his commanders to plan Operation Golden Plan, the campaign to capture Bilbrin Planet and build a Stargate. The chapter ended as Qi Jian explained that they would exploit the conflict between Dunn-Vesex and Oswald-Taishik to create an opening for the attack.

• A Kingdom of Dawn raiding force attacked the crashed Lila Super Star Destroyer, Doku, but Imperial defenses and Ninth Sister forced the survivors to retreat into the jungles.
• The failed raid convinced Dunn-Vesex that the Kingdom of Dawn planned to attack Parin-Minor while the Lila was vulnerable, leading him toward mistaken decisions.
• On July 10, 9BBY, Tang Xiao examined the permanent scar left by the Son’s corruption and realized his Dark Side Force was showing signs of slipping out of control.
• Tang Xiao gathered General Trench, Ander-Viking, Luo Huacheng, Qi Jian, Carl Walton, Peggy Carter, and the Priestess to discuss the second phase of the Northern Territory Campaign.
• Qi Jian outlined the strategic gains from capturing Bilbrin Planet and said the operation would exploit the conflict between Dunn-Vesex and Oswald-Taishik.

The Kingdom of Dawn and Galactic Empire escalated their deployments across the Northern Territory as Dunn-Vesex clung to his defenses and battles intensified on Dantooine and near Agamar. After an accident during Archangel’s live-fire exercise at Ord Mantell, the Empire concluded the Titan might be damaged and focused its intelligence efforts on the sealed moon while the fleet at Dawn Star Planet remained an unknown threat.

• Luo Huacheng fortified the Kingdom of Dawn’s Bilbrin Planet base while the Empire held its defensive lines and planned a later attack.
• The Kingdom of Dawn and the Empire committed massive ground forces to Dantooine, where their armies fought fiercely as Geth ships harassed Imperial positions.
• The Taowu Titan probed Agamar Planet, an Assertor-class Dreadnought reinforced Dunn-Vesex at Palin-Minor, and the Lila Super Star Destroyer’s engine tests failed.
• The Kingdom of Dawn held a live-fire exercise on Ord Mantell, and its Archangel Titan suffered a violent Doomsday Weapon accident that halted the exercise and triggered a HoloNet blackout.
• The Empire observed engineering activity and a shipyard near Ord Mantell’s locked-down moon, judged Archangel possibly damaged, and made the moon its intelligence priority.
• The Taowu Titan attacked Agamar again, while the Kingdom of Dawn’s fleet assembled at Dawn Star Planet remained in place and its intended target stayed uncertain.

The Galactic Empire prepared for an expected Kingdom of Dawn attack on Parlin-Minor Planet while political turmoil strained Palpatine and Marshal Oswald Tessik. The Kingdom of Dawn instead launched a surprise assault on Bilbrin Planet, leaving the Imperial defenders overwhelmed and the Empire scrambling to respond.

• The Empire monitored Ord Mantell, Makito, and Dawn Star Planet, believing the Kingdom of Dawn fleet would attack Parlin-Minor Planet.
• Palpatine received a message claiming the Empire would not have even an hour to react, but Oswald Tessik dismissed it and continued with his plans.
• The Lila Super Star Destroyer returned to space as the fleet gathered on Dawn Star Planet vanished, prompting the Empire to intensify its surveillance.
• The Archangel Titan warship and a vast Kingdom of Dawn fleet attacked Bilbrin Planet, destroying armed asteroids and launching strikes against the Imperial fleet.
• Darmala Holken reported the attack and tried to organize a defense, while the Empire realized the Dawn Star fleet had bypassed its expected routes and appeared at Bilbrin Planet.
• The Empire ordered Dunn Vesex to attack Ord Mantell and mobilized reinforcements, but hyperspace interference and the unprepared state of Holken's fleet left the defenders under fire with little time to resist.

The Kingdom of Dawn fleet caught the Galactic Empire garrison at Bilbrin Planet by surprise, destroying 150 capital ships and revealing that it had built a Stargate in less than a month. As the Empire ordered Dunn Wessex to attack Ord Mantell instead of sending reinforcements, the Taowu made a hyperspace jump directly into the Imperial fleet’s densest formation.

• Tang Xiao oversaw the Kingdom of Dawn fleet’s surprise assault on Bilbrin Planet, which left the Imperial garrison less than half an hour to react.
• Kingdom of Dawn fighters and warships overwhelmed the Imperial defenses, while Lieutenant General Dalmara Holken regrouped his scattered fleet near planetary synchronous orbit.
• Holken used deep-space telescopes to discover a Stargate at the Kingdom of Dawn forward base and requested reinforcements, but the Empire decided Bilbrin could not be saved and ordered Dunn Wessex to attack Ord Mantell.
• Dunn Wessex sent six hundred capital ships toward Ord Mantell to pin down the Kingdom of Dawn fleet and the Taowu.
• Guided by the Archangel’s Hyperspace Beacons, the Taowu emerged from hyperspace inside the densest concentration of Imperial warships at Bilbrin.

The Taowu used its position inside the Imperial fleet’s largest defensive formation to unleash a devastating close-range strike. It deployed Ogre-class Siege Cruisers and shielded their Super Proton Torpedoes with Fleet Shield, leaving Dalmara-Harken’s ships struggling to stop them.

• Dalmara-Harken ordered the scattered Imperial fleet to form seven defensive formations, with the largest gathering behind a screen of armed asteroids.
• The Taowu appeared near the center-rear of the largest formation, and Dalmara-Harken ordered the Star Destroyers to turn and destroy it.
• The Taowu launched more than a hundred Ogre-class Siege Cruisers, which fired over a thousand Super Proton Torpedoes at the surrounding Star Destroyers.
• Dalmara-Harken ordered his ships to destroy the cruisers and intercept the torpedoes, but the Taowu activated Fleet Shield around the torpedoes.
• Imperial ships fired on the shielded torpedoes, but their barrage achieved very little.

The Kingdom of Dawn fleet broke through Bilbrin Planet’s Imperial defenses, forcing many Imperial ships to retreat or make a last stand beneath the Planetary Shield. Meanwhile, Dunn-Vesex captured Ord Mantell Planet but discovered that its nearly completed Stargate had been removed.

• The Taowu Titan warship and General Trench’s forces shattered the Imperial defensive formation, destroying more than half its strength while losing far fewer ships.
• Lieutenant General Dalmara-Hawken ordered the remaining Imperial fleet to enter Bilbrin Planet’s atmosphere, but roughly one hundred capital ships escaped after the Kingdom of Dawn fleet opened a passage for them.
• The Archangel Titan warship fired its Doomsday Weapon through two Golan II-class armed space stations and struck Bilbrin Planet’s Planetary Shield.
• Dunn-Vesex attacked Ord Mantell Planet, met only symbolic resistance, and captured it.
• Dunn-Vesex searched for the planet’s Stargate, but found only an empty frame because the Stargate had vanished.

The Galactic Empire’s Imperial Supreme Strategic Command pieced together how the Kingdom of Dawn secretly moved a stargate to Bilbrin Planet using the Archangel Titan warship. Once the stargate brought in reinforcements, Bilbrin Planet fell and the Kingdom of Dawn gained an opening toward the Core Worlds.

• The chapter described how the Kingdom of Dawn’s stargate technology had advanced through multiple versions, including the adjustable-destination Stargate V5.
• The Imperial Supreme Strategic Command correctly concluded that the Kingdom of Dawn had moved the Ord Mantell stargate to Bilbrin Planet aboard the Archangel Titan warship.
• The Kingdom of Dawn staged an explosion aboard the Archangel Titan warship to seal off Ord Mantell and conceal its departure with the stargate components.
• The Archangel Titan warship secretly delivered the components to Bilbrin Planet, where Vasari Phase Engineers assembled them onto the existing stargate frame.
• The new stargate brought fleets from Dawn Star Planet and Makito to Bilbrin Planet, after which the Kingdom of Dawn fleet captured the planet.

After the fall of Bilbrin Planet, the Empire blamed the dead Lieutenant General Dalmara-Holken while Dunn-Vessex worried that Ord Mantell was exposed to a Dawn counterattack. Tang Xiao launched the Battle of Palanci against Palpatine’s elite fleet, giving Dunn-Vessex room to return to the Imperial Center and build political influence as he sought a way out.

• The Empire assigned responsibility for the defeat at Bilbrin Planet to the already deceased Lieutenant General Dalmara-Holken and suppressed news of the loss.
• Dunn-Vessex feared that the Kingdom of Dawn could strike Ord Mantell through the completed Bilbrin Stargate, but Tang Xiao’s advance toward Palanci made him feel his territory was safe for the moment.
• Tang Xiao rejected General Trench’s objections and ordered a fleet of 120 capital ships, 400 Heavy Cruisers, and 700 smaller warships to attack Palanci Planet.
• The Battle of Palanci began against the Galactic Empire’s First System Army, which included more than 800 capital ships and the Reaper, while 150 Geth King of Kings-class Battlecruisers joined the Dawn fleet.
• Dunn-Vessex returned to the Imperial Center, promoted his image as the “Northern Territory God of War,” courted Core Worlds nobles, and began seeking a way out for himself.

The Kingdom of Dawn and the Galactic Empire’s First System Army clashed at Palanci Planet as Darth Malthael and Darth Sidious confronted each other through the Force. Malthael’s Red Comet targeted the Empire’s Shield Ship MK-IIs, but Sidious sent a powerful black fighter to intercept it.

• The First System Army stopped at Palanci Planet, where it met the advancing Kingdom of Dawn fleet in a full-scale battle.
• Darth Malthael left the Archangel Titan’s bridge in the Red Comet and flew toward the Imperial formation while he and Darth Sidious exchanged threats through the Force.
• The Archangel Titan’s Doomsday Weapon destroyed an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer but failed to damage the Reaper, whose Sky Shield was projected by ten Shield Ship MK-IIs.
• Darth Malthael turned the Red Comet toward the damaged Shield Ship MK-IIs, evading the escort fleet’s anti-aircraft fire.
• Darth Sidious launched a black six-winged fighter, which attacked the Red Comet with twelve laser cannons.

Darth Malthael and Darth Sidious fought a high-speed fighter duel that ended in the destruction of part of Palanci Planet’s space city, where they continued battling with Force powers and Lightsabers. Depa Barris joined Malthael against Sidious, and the three-way fight left the space city in ruins.

• Darth Malthael and Darth Sidious pursued each other through the fleet battle in their fighters, each trying to draw the other into their fleet’s anti-air fire.
• Their duel reached Palanci Planet’s space city, where their attacks destroyed stations and a space botanical garden, damaging both fighters.
• Darth Malthael escaped his shattered Red Comet and confronted Darth Sidious amid the wreckage and flames.
• Darth Sidious attacked Malthael with lightning and a Force Storm, but Depa Barris appeared and joined Malthael in attacking him with her Vaapad lightsaber form.
• Darth Malthael and Depa Barris continued fighting Darth Sidious as the battle devastated the space city and the Death Force eroded those caught within it.

Darth Malthael and Darth Sidious fled as their fleets destroyed the space city over Palanci, causing more than a million civilian deaths and triggering a propaganda battle. As the Kingdom of Dawn prepared to attack Scipio, conspirators plotted against the wounded Palpatine, while Carl Kestis watched forbidden footage of the battle.

• Darth Malthael and Darth Sidious ordered their flagships to bombard the space city, then escaped aboard concealed shuttles as both fleets suffered heavy losses.
• The destruction over Palanci killed more than a million civilians, and the Galactic Empire and Kingdom of Dawn issued conflicting accounts of the battle.
• Tang Xiao secretly absorbed Dark Side Force on Planet Dagobah, then publicly claimed victory while both leaders avoided further personal confrontations.
• The Priestess remained with General Trench as the Kingdom of Dawn considered a swift attack on Scipio before the Empire could strengthen its defenses or move its financial assets.
• A woman and a man plotted to exploit Palpatine's injuries and move against him within a month, with the man planning to stir trouble in the Senate through Bail Organa.
• On Annaj Planet, Carl Kestis told BD-1 to delete footage of the battle and leave no traces.

Carl Kestis concealed his Force sensitivity while working for a recycling company in the Kingdom of Dawn, where Force-sensitives were recruited and trained for public service and military roles. The chapter ended by introducing BD-1, the droid Carl had acquired during his previous salvage trip to the Northern Territory.

• Carl Kestis recalled how a Population Census nearly exposed him as Force-sensitive and led to his friend Frey being transferred away.
• Carl Kestis studied the Kingdom of Dawn's public explanations of the Force and worried that Force-sensitives could eventually form a privileged class.
• Carl Kestis continued changing jobs to hide his identity and worked for Zhang Guomin's Sunny Recycling Company, salvaging battlefield wreckage.
• Carl Kestis traveled with the company from Annaj Planet through Dawn Star Planet's stargate to recover wreckage in Makito.
• Carl Kestis had acquired BD-1 during the company's previous salvage trip to the Northern Territory.

Carl Kestis weighed whether to get involved in the struggle between Tang Xiao and Palpatine while continuing his quiet life in the Kingdom of Dawn. After registering BD-1, he was called in by Boss Zhang Guomin to help open a potentially valuable warship wreck before the military discovered it.

• BD-1 showed Carl Kestis surveillance footage of Tang Xiao and Palpatine fighting, but Carl told it to delete the recording and said he did not know what to do about the Sith conflict or the rebuilding New Jedi Order.
• Carl Kestis headed out with BD-1 to register it after a guard B-1 battle droid warned him that unregistered intelligent droids would be reclaimed.
• Carl Kestis rode a hover bus through the commercial district and registered BD-1 at a Security Bureau office, where technicians scanned it for viruses and limited its hardware performance.
• Boss Zhang Guomin called Carl Kestis about newly recovered wreckage that might house a warship core computer and offered him extra pay to help sell it before the military found out.
• Carl Kestis accepted the call and went to wait for another bus to Boss Zhang Guomin's workplace.

Carl Kestis reflected on the Kingdom of Dawn’s public services, wartime economy, and social tensions as he traveled to his workplace near Freeport Seven. When he arrived at Sunny Recycling Company, he sensed a faint trace of the Dark Side Force.

• Carl Kestis rode public transit and considered how the Kingdom of Dawn’s collective, war-focused economy differed from the Galactic Empire and Galactic Republic.
• Carl Kestis traveled to Freeport Seven, where he saw Tyran Heavy Industries’ spaceport tower, spacecraft, and advertisements.
• Carl Kestis took a hover bike to Sunny Recycling Company and heard the driver describe buying the bike and a blaster rifle from a retired Clone Trooper.
• Carl Kestis recognized the faded Galactic Republic emblem and recalled the hardships facing former Clone Troopers.
• Carl Kestis arrived at Sunny Recycling Company, sensed the Dark Side Force, and froze.