Chapter Summaries

Carl Kestis discovered that a Jedi-encrypted storage device inside a salvaged naval computer core carried a living Dark Side aura. After taking it home, he was confronted by a mysterious man who claimed the device belonged to him.

• Zhang Guomin told Carl Kestis that Sunny Recycling Company had salvaged a valuable tactical computer from a smuggler fleet near Terminus Planet.
• Carl Kestis sensed a Dark Side presence inside the computer core and carefully guided BD-1 to open its casing.
• Carl Kestis found a palm-sized encrypted storage device emitting the aura and took it home to investigate.
• Carl Kestis recognized the device's encryption as a Jedi Knight method but could not find its hidden switch.
• A mysterious man contacted Carl Kestis, claimed the storage device was his, and said underworld friends had been carrying it before they were caught.
• Carl Kestis asked the man whether he was a Sith.

Kestis hid a mysterious storage device after a powerful, unseen man warned him not to let Tang Xiao obtain it. When the National Security Bureau came looking for the device, Kestis faced a choice between surrendering it and fleeing with his Lightsaber.

• A hidden Force-sensitive man told Kestis the storage device could strengthen Tang Xiao and warned him to keep it away from the Archangel of Death.
• Kestis concealed the device alongside a holographic projector and Lightsaber, then passed a Security Bureau inspection of his apartment.
• At work, Kestis learned the Security Bureau had seized the core mainframe from Zhang Guomin and was searching the area for an Imperial spy.
• The next morning, Zhang Guomin warned Kestis that the National Security Bureau knew he had taken the storage device and was coming for him.
• Kestis retrieved the device from its hiding place, hesitated over whether to hand it over or flee, and hardened his resolve after seeing the hollow face appear again.

Carl-Kestis was detained and interrogated over a mysterious storage device, but kept its hiding place secret. When Talia discovered the compartment in his emptied apartment, an attacker arrived and destroyed the cloaked Banshee Fighters, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Carl-Kestis surrendered to the Security Bureau while secretly hiding the storage device in a Force-shielded compartment beneath his apartment floor.
• A baby-faced Security Bureau woman interrogated Carl-Kestis, but he maintained that the device had vanished, and the Bureau held him for days.
• Talia, a powerful Force-sensitive Ayrou, took Carl-Kestis back to his apartment and found the hidden compartment.
• Carl-Kestis warned Talia that the device must not fall into the hands of the Archangel of Death, citing the Palanci Planet massacre.
• A modified shuttle attacked, destroying both cloaked Banshee Fighters, while Talia drew her Lightsaber and leaped into the air.

Talia attacked the Wraith fighter as Aayla Secura disrupted the forces on the ground, giving Carl Kestis a chance to escape. Talia pursued Carl but was intercepted by Aayla, whom she recognized, and suspected Quinlan Vos was piloting the fighter.

• Talia deflected the Wraith fighter’s fire and attacked it with her Lightsaber while soldiers prepared anti-aircraft missiles and Blade-class fighters arrived.
• Aayla Secura attacked the battle droids and officers, destroyed the missile preparations, and created chaos at Carl Kestis’s holding site.
• Carl Kestis broke free, retrieved his Lightsaber and belongings, and escaped through a window using the Force.
• Talia pursued Carl, but Aayla blocked her crimson Lightsaber and fought her with Ataru-style attacks.
• Talia recognized Aayla Secura and guessed that Quinlan Vos was flying the Wraith fighter, then said the mysterious device must be important.

Cal Kestis was wounded during an escape after Shen Yuanhao and Talia cornered him, but Quinlan Vos rescued him and Aayla Secura. After learning the stolen object held a Sith Lord’s Kyber Crystal, Quinlan asked whether Cal could sense the soul inside it.

• Cal Kestis dodged Shen Yuanhao’s Warthog but was shot in the thigh when Shen attacked him with an assault rifle.
• Talia saved Shen Yuanhao from Quinlan Vos’s crashing Wraith fighter and shielded him from the explosion, while Cal, Aayla Secura, and Quinlan escaped.
• Shen Yuanhao ordered a search for the fugitives and told Talia to analyze Cal’s blood sample.
• Aayla Secura treated Cal’s wound, and Quinlan Vos introduced himself and Aayla as former Jedi Knights.
• Quinlan Vos revealed that the stolen object contained a Kyber Crystal once used in a Sith Lord’s Lightsaber, and Cal said he sometimes saw a face lunging at him.
• Quinlan Vos asked whether Cal could sense the soul inside the crystal.

Cal Kestis learned that Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura were trying to smuggle Darth Andeddu’s dangerous Kyber crystal out of the Kingdom of Dawn while evading the Twilight Covenant. After Sky Squad discovered an ancient dark soul aboard the salvaged ship, Talia reported the threat to Tang Xiao, who was startled to learn that Cal Kestis had come to his kingdom.

• Quinlan Vos identified the crystal as belonging to Darth Andeddu, and he and Aayla Secura explained that they needed to hide it and escape the Kingdom of Dawn.
• Aayla Secura described the Twilight Covenant and Sky Squad, while Cal Kestis offered to ask his boss, Zhang Guomin, for help smuggling them out.
• Quinlan Vos repaired Cal Kestis’s Lightsaber and said he planned to enter Galactic Empire territory before deciding what to do with the crystal.
• Talia learned that Quinlan Vos had stolen a Wraith fighter, and Zhang Xucheng reported that the salvaged ship contained an ancient, dark soul.
• Tang Xiao received Talia’s report and was shocked that Cal Kestis had appeared in the Kingdom of Dawn and clashed with the Twilight Covenant.

Tang Xiao ordered Sky Squad to capture Quinlan Vos and seize the crystal of the Immortal God-King, while keeping Carl Kestis alive. As Aayla Secura tried to flee with Carl, Quinlan warned that they had been spotted and said he would draw Talia away.

• Tang Xiao learned that Zhang Xucheng could not locate the elusive Imperial Inquisitor and ordered his forces to focus on Quinlan Vos and the object he carried.
• Tang Xiao told Zhang Xucheng to keep Carl Kestis alive, and Zhang agreed to join Talia's operation against Quinlan Vos.
• Carl Kestis treated his thigh wound and struggled with whether to betray Aayla Secura and Quinlan Vos or flee with them.
• Aayla Secura returned and said heightened security at the spaceports had made escape difficult.
• Quinlan Vos warned Aayla Secura that they had been spotted and said he would lure Talia away, so Aayla grabbed Carl and fled.

Aayla Secura and Carl-Kestis tried to escape the Ghost Agents, but Carl used his visions to identify their pursuers and Aayla led them into a fight with Augus. Augus defeated Carl and disarmed Aayla, then lifted Carl by the throat with the Force.

• Aayla Secura disguised herself and led Carl-Kestis through a crowd as Ghost Agents closed in on them.
• Aayla took down a Ghost Agent and gave Carl his communicator, and Carl used his visions to identify Sky Squad, fourteen Ghost Agents, and Star Squad from the Twilight Covenant.
• Aayla destroyed surveillance devices and fled southwest with Carl, while Augus realized the chase was a diversion and pursued them alone.
• Augus sliced apart a speeder bike sent at him, crashed, and fought Aayla with their blue Lightsabers.
• Carl joined the fight but Augus kicked him away, disarmed Aayla, and lifted Carl by the throat with the Force.

Kaal-Kestis escaped Augus with Aayla Secura and hid in a warehouse while treating Aayla’s near-fatal wounds. With Quinlan Vos’s help, she contacted Zhang Guomin and told him Tang Xiao wanted the Sith relic she had found.

• Aayla Secura was pierced by Augus’s Lightsaber while trying to protect Kaal-Kestis, but Kaal’s Force surge and BD-1’s shock prod let her sever Augus’s right hand and part of his face.
• Kaal-Kestis escaped in a stolen hovercar with Aayla Secura as Star Squad’s members rushed to treat Augus and Sky Squad tightened the search perimeter.
• Kaal-Kestis hid with Aayla in a fruit warehouse, stole medical supplies, and used the Force to ease Aayla’s burns while Aayla calmed Kaal’s fear.
• Quinlan Vos stopped Kaal from sending an exposed distress signal and used an advertisement broadcast to establish an encrypted call to Zhang Guomin.
• Kaal-Kestis gave Zhang Guomin the warehouse’s location and explained that Tang Xiao sought the ancient Sith Empire crystal and the secret arts recorded within it.

Carl Kestis and Quinlan Vos tried to keep the Kyber Crystal from Tang Xiao, while Zhang Guomin secretly sent their location to the National Security Bureau. Meanwhile, Pong Krell awakened Augus through pain and the Dark Side, leaving him on the path toward becoming a weapon.

• Carl Kestis failed to persuade Zhang Guomin to oppose Tang Xiao's use of the Kyber Crystal, and Quinlan Vos cut off their communications before they could be traced.
• A message warned Carl Kestis and Quinlan Vos that the National Security Bureau had found them and directed them to seek help at the Play-H Bar; Quinlan Vos began planning their escape as danger approached.
• Zhang Guomin sent Carl Kestis's location to the National Security Bureau, then watched police speeders approach and resolved to test her commitment to justice.
• Pong Krell entered Augus's operation at Umbrella Hospital, removed the anesthetic's effects, and used pain and the Dark Side to force Augus toward becoming a killing machine.

Pong Krell appointed Xin Ling captain of Star Squad as Quinlan Vos tried to help Carl Kestis escape with the wounded Aayla Secura. When Imperial forces closed in, Quinlan stayed behind to buy Carl time to flee and face the approaching attackers.

• Pong Krell made Xin Ling captain of Star Squad and said he would handle Quinlan Vos while she pursued Carl Kestis.
• Quinlan Vos led Carl Kestis, carrying the wounded Aayla Secura, through abandoned passages to evade the search.
• Quinlan gave Carl a speeder bike and said an EMP bomb would create an escape window, while he stayed behind to hold off their pursuers.
• Quinlan warned Carl that Darth Andeddu could devour lives and souls to achieve immortality, then ignited his and Aayla's Lightsabers.
• A D-77 Pelican arrived, and a four-armed attacker leaped down with two double-bladed Lightsabers ignited.

Quinlan-Vos and Pong-Krell fought while Star Squad pursued Carl-Kestis, but Quinlan-Vos’s concealed EMP bombs destroyed the battlefield and killed him. Aayla Secura then awoke aboard the ship to find its passengers dead and Carl-Kestis assembling a Lightsaber around Darth Andeddu’s Kyber Crystal.

• Quinlan-Vos insulted Pong-Krell before the two fought, while Star Squad pursued Carl-Kestis on a speeder bike and in aircraft.
• Quinlan-Vos overwhelmed Pong-Krell, attacked Star Squad, and was disarmed by Pong-Krell as he tried to kill a squad member.
• Quinlan-Vos’s hidden EMP bombs exploded, destroying nearby vehicles and equipment and killing him and a Star Squad member.
• Aayla Secura woke in the ship’s medical bay, discovered that no one else aboard was alive, and followed a dark Force presence to the bridge.
• Aayla found Carl-Kestis surrounded by the shriveled corpses of passengers as he assembled a Lightsaber around Darth Andeddu’s Kyber Crystal, then saw his scarlet eyes.

Tang Xiao ordered a renewed hunt for Carl Kestis after Quinlan Vos escaped with an ancient Sith artifact and the pursuit exposed flaws in the Kingdom of Dawn's security. He then turned to the third phase of the Northern Territory operation, where Qi Jian reported signs of trouble brewing at the heart of the Galactic Empire.

• Peggy Carter reported that Quinlan Vos had been eliminated, Carl Kestis had escaped with the Sith artifact, and Star Squad had suffered casualties.
• Tang Xiao considered why Quinlan Vos had sought the artifact and suspected it might be connected to Darth Andeddu.
• Tang Xiao ordered a dedicated team to track Carl Kestis and told Star Squad to keep pursuing her while prioritizing the war in the Northern Territory.
• Tang Xiao reflected that Carl Kestis's arrival might have been guided by another force and considered the Will of the Force.
• Qi Jian told Tang Xiao that White Lotus intelligence suggested a storm was brewing at the Galactic Empire's core.

Coruscant’s aristocrats grew increasingly fearful as the Galactic Empire’s military presence expanded and trust in its leadership collapsed. Vice Admiral Herman Stracker resolved to take over Coruscant’s defenses, unaware that Captain Lena Hardt welcomed his decision.

• The fall of Bilbrin and revelations about Imperial corruption deepened panic on Coruscant, where the Empire imposed strict controls and deployed troops and security droids.
• Vice Admiral Herman Stracker arrived drunk at his office and asked Captain Lena Hardt to brief him on public security in Sector 779.
• Stracker kissed Lena and forced her onto the sofa despite her protests.
• The next morning, Stracker proposed that he and Lena be together, but she rejected him because he was married.
• Stracker declared that his faction would rise to power and ordered Colonel Hardt to draw up a rotation plan to take over Coruscant’s defenses, while Lena secretly smiled.

Leo Van Komoros prepared to help overthrow Palpatine, convinced the Empire was doomed and that his family should seize power. Meanwhile, the White Lotus group assessed the growing crisis on Coruscant and accepted orders to intensify it and provoke the First System Army into action.

• Leo dismissed his butler’s warning about Cassandra and said he intended to prevent the Van Komoros family from perishing with the Galactic Empire.
• The butler gave Leo an Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group drug, and Leo injected it while condemning Palpatine and his family’s leaders for backing the Empire.
• After learning that Tang Xiao had continued injuring Palpatine, Leo ordered sleeper assets in the First System Army to send false intelligence and directed his staff to prepare to seize the media center.
• A hidden intelligence base on Coruscant gathered reports of fleet rotations, Core Worlds families plotting against Palpatine, personnel transfers, secret projects, and the Inquisitors’ retreat from the capital region.
• A woman operating the base received High Command’s order to spread the turmoil and provoke the First System Army into attacking, then confirmed that the White Lotus group would continue its operations.

Emperor Palpatine visited the imprisoned Thrawn and explained that he intended to purge the Galactic Empire’s internal enemies, revealing that he saw Thrawn as a secret weapon for the campaign. Thrawn remained under arrest, but Palpatine’s declaration gave his confinement a new purpose.

• Thrawn read an ancient history book in his cell and reflected on his arrest after the Northern Territory Campaign and the destruction of Iron Moon.
• Palpatine appeared inside Thrawn’s locked cell, questioned his interest in Galactic Republic history, and declared the Empire to be its own enemy.
• Palpatine described the Republic’s corruption, the Empire’s dependence on the military, and his plan to eliminate internal parasites.
• Palpatine told Thrawn that his conquest would begin within the Empire and named Thrawn his secret weapon for reconquering it.

Rufon Digorinus, an Imperial Marshal caught between the Core Worlds aristocracy and the military, reinforced Coruscant’s defenses with twenty Imperial II-class Star Destroyers. He was tempted to use the deployment to take control of the capital’s defenses, but waited for a suitable opportunity.

• Rufon Digorinus rose through the military ranks but preferred politics and built influence among the Core Worlds aristocracy.
• Palpatine appointed Rufon Digorinus one of the Empire’s twelve marshals, using him to balance military power.
• The Tagge family’s civil war ended with Niel Declan killing Silas Tagge, inflaming the Core Worlds nobility and leaving Rufon caught between nobles and the military.
• After his staff urged stronger defenses, Rufon sent twenty Imperial II-class Star Destroyers into Coruscant’s atmosphere under the Capital Defense Fleet.
• Rufon’s staff proposed that he remove the First System Army’s influence from Coruscant and take charge of its defense, and he began considering the plan.

Demetrius Zarin rose from an ordinary scientist to Imperial Marshal through his leadership of stealth-warship and advanced-fighter projects and Palpatine’s trust. Despite his reputation for loyalty, the chapter revealed that he believed Palpatine’s rule would destroy the Empire and concealed a deep ambition that would drive him to rebel.

• Demetrius Zarin led the Republic’s Project V team, developing a stealth frigate, but scarce Stygium crystals prevented the technology from being deployed widely.
• Demetrius Zarin pursued Hibridium as a substitute, but its stealth effect was unstable and hid ships from their own forces as well as the enemy.
• Demetrius Zarin supported Palpatine during the Republic’s transformation into the Empire and was promoted to Imperial Admiral.
• Demetrius Zarin left Project V to lead advanced fighter development, including the TIE Advanced X1 and TIE-Vengeance Fighter.
• Palpatine appointed Demetrius Zarin one of the twelve Imperial Marshals, while Imperial officials considered him incapable of betrayal.
• Demetrius Zarin ultimately rebelled because he believed Palpatine’s rule would bring about the Empire’s destruction, while pursuing an ambition he had kept hidden.

The chapter described how the Empire’s dependence on the Core Worlds nobles, inadequate military strength, and the Kingdom of Dawn’s attacks pushed Imperial rule toward collapse. On Coruscant, Imperial leaders argued over redeploying defenses, while Demetrius Zaarin arranged weapons tests for Palpatine to observe.

• The Kingdom of Dawn’s harassment of the Core Worlds and Scipio prompted nobles and senators to question whether the Empire could protect them.
• Ruffan Digorinus proposed moving Coruscant’s second-line Capital Defense Fleet to the front and deploying the Dominion Super Star Destroyer near Scipio.
• Oswald Tessik opposed Ruffan Digorinus’s plan, and Ruffan later warned Palpatine that Oswald held excessive authority on Coruscant.
• Demetrius Zaarin announced new weapons tests near Coruscant and invited Palpatine to attend.
• Palpatine approved the tests, which were scheduled for September 1.

Oswald Teseik worried that Palpatine and Ruffan Digorinus were weakening his control over the First System Army and destabilizing Coruscant. He confided in Demetrius Zaarin as he prepared to move the front line to Scipio, but the chapter ended before he could explain what he needed Zaarin to do.

• Oswald Teseik reflected on his growing conflict with Palpatine and Ruffan Digorinus amid the worsening rift between the aristocracy and the military.
• At the First System Army’s anchorage at Centax-2, Teseik contacted Demetrius Zaarin and discussed the Empire’s failing war against the Kingdom of Dawn.
• Teseik said pressure from the Emperor and Senate might force him to move the front line to Scipio, though he feared leaving Coruscant vulnerable.
• Teseik warned Zaarin that Ruffan Digorinus was growing too close to Noble House scions and could make the situation on Coruscant dangerous.
• Teseik told Zaarin he was the only person he could rely on and began giving him instructions for after his departure.