Chapter Summaries

The Fourth Civilization routed the Ayrou forces at Kuna’s Tooth and Kuna’s Eye with stealth fighters and superior ships. After Matt Hona reorganized his fleet, Tang Xiao redirected its next attack from Planet Orwell III to Vaxian Planet.

• General Telsi’s fleet failed to detect the Wraith fighters, and the Ayrou’s fighters and warships were destroyed by the Fourth Civilization’s forces.
• Wraith fighters attacked the Ayrou colony while Kanidi deployed War Wolf Mechs and Goliath Mechs outside it for a final assault.
• Matt Hona’s Fleet A destroyed more than forty Ayrou warships at the Kuna’s Eye mining site, which then surrendered.
• Matt Hona received ten Grey Horse-class escort carriers carrying Wraith and Vulture droid fighters.
• Tang Xiao ordered Matt Hona to abandon the planned attack on Planet Orwell III and attack Vaxian Planet instead.

Matt Hona blockaded Vaxian Planet as part of the Fourth Civilization’s plan to turn the Vaxians against the Ayrou. After three days of bombing grain depots and refusing to aid the starving population, Dawn Star Planet left the Vaxian High Priest facing famine and pressure to surrender the Ayrou on the planet.

• Qi Jian explained that attacking Vaxian Planet would exploit divisions within the Ayrou civilization, and Matt Hona redirected Fleet A toward the Vaxian homeworld.
• Queen Ayrou learned that her forces had been defeated at Kuna’s Eye and Kuna’s Tooth, and ordered preparations against Dawn Star Planet while seeking weapons to counter its cloaked Wraith fighters.
• Matt Hona’s fleet destroyed the Ayrou defenders at Vaxian Planet and blockaded the world as Vulture droid fighters bombed its cities.
• Matt Hona told the Vaxian High Priest that Dawn Star Planet would not attack the Vaxians, but Queen Ayrou refused to send reinforcements.
• After three days of bombing Vaxian grain depots, Matt Hona demanded that the Vaxians join Dawn Star Planet and hand over the Ayrou in exchange for restored food supplies, and the planet fell into famine.

Francis Underwood used accusations of Ayrou oppression to rally the Galactic Republic Senate against the Ayrou, while the Ayrou Queen struggled to respond politically. As the Ayrou brought in detection equipment and tried to reinforce Kuna's Tooth, Volgograd Kanidi launched a major assault on their colony.

• Francis Underwood presented petitions and reports alleging that the Ayrou enslaved and discriminated against humans and Vaxian, and Senate Speaker Palpatine rejected his proposal for an investigation.
• Francis defended Dawn Star Planet's destruction of Ayrou grain depots by claiming the Vaxian were receiving food, then invoked the miners massacred on Kuna's Tooth and won applause from senators.
• The Ayrou Queen ordered an investigation into the petition signers, but Tarara warned that arrests would worsen the Ayrou's political position; the Queen threatened to withdraw from the Galactic Republic.
• Vilma and Holma arrived with two ships equipped with advanced detectors, which they said they had purchased for fifty million credits each.
• After Matt Hona's blockade of Vaxian Planet lasted a week, the Ayrou sent fifty ships to reinforce Kuna's Tooth, but Volgograd Kanidi had already begun his final offensive there.
• Forty Wraith fighters bombarded the Ayrou colony on Kuna's Tooth, and thirty Iron Giants—twenty Goliath Mechs and ten War Wolf Mechs—appeared outside it.

The Fourth Civilization pressed its campaign against the Ayrou across several worlds, forcing surrenders and provoking the Ayrou Queen to sever ties with the Galactic Republic. Tang Xiao then sent a Hiigaran-class battlecruiser to Annaj Planet, where it destroyed the Ayrou defense fleet.

• Colonel Xiao Guanghua led mech and vehicle forces into the Ayrou colony while Volgograd-Kanidi's fleet intercepted Ayrou reinforcements at Kuna's Tooth.
• Matt Hona captured Kina Satellite and used fighter forces to harass the Ayrou fleet at Vaxian, while more than two million Ayrou on Vaxian Planet and the Vaxian High Priest surrendered.
• The Ayrou Queen ordered humans within her civilization oppressed after learning of Vaxian's surrender, while the Semirians and the InterGalactic Banking Clan pressured the Ayrou on Annaj Planet and Orville III.
• The Ayrou Queen declared that her people would leave the Galactic Republic, and Tang Xiao decided it was time to end the conflict.
• A Hiigaran-class battlecruiser arrived at Annaj Planet with two armed Luukri-Hok-class freighters, disabled communications, and destroyed the Ayrou defense fleet as Tang Xiao and Newt Gunray watched.

Tang Xiao and Nute Gunray watched the Hiigaran-class battlecruiser destroy the Ayrou fleet defending Annaj Planet, then discussed their supposed ties to Darth Sidious and his plans. After the battle, Tang Xiao ordered the Gonrei to collect combat data and return to Golden Nyss Shipyard.

• The Hiigaran-class battlecruiser destroyed the Ayrou ships at Annaj Planet, shocking the defenders and delighting Nute Gunray.
• Tang Xiao warned Gunray not to underestimate Kuat Drive Yards, then tried to conceal that he had mentioned Sidious.
• Gunray revealed that Sidious had supported him and eagerly treated Tang Xiao as another of Sidious's allies.
• Tang Xiao said Sidious had a new, handsome apprentice and that overthrowing the Galactic Republic might only be the first step of a larger plan.
• Tang Xiao said the Modell Sector had to be secured, and the battle outside Annaj Planet ended with the Ayrou fleet destroyed.
• Tang Xiao ordered the Gonrei to collect combat data and return to Golden Nyss Shipyard, and the battlecruiser departed into hyperspace.

Tang Xiao confirmed that the Ayrou’s human population was increasingly hostile to Ayrou Queen, then used the Ayrou’s military setbacks to press her into ceasefire negotiations. Ayrou Queen reluctantly agreed to admit Tang Xiao’s robot troops into Anaji and lay down the garrison’s weapons before he arrived to negotiate.

• Tang Xiao consulted Baron Helmut Zemo and sociologist Tang Ke, who concluded that long-standing cultural tensions had made the Ayrou’s human population resentful.
• Tang Xiao reviewed the Ayrou’s military defeats and worsening internal unrest, then decided he had enough leverage to seek negotiations.
• Tang Xiao formally requested ceasefire talks with Ayrou Queen, who accused him of slaughter and manipulating other factions into the war.
• Tang Xiao threatened to continue the war and bombard the Ayrou capital unless Ayrou Queen agreed to negotiate.
• Ayrou Queen reluctantly accepted Tang Xiao’s terms: two armed cargo ships carrying two hundred thousand robot troops would land in Anaji, and the garrison would lay down its weapons before Tang Xiao arrived.

Tang Xiao forced the Ayrou civilization into peace negotiations and secured terms that expanded the Fourth Civilization’s influence over the Vaxian and human peoples, the Modell Sector, and Ayrou diplomacy. The agreement also imposed reparations, industrial development obligations, and the transfer of Thonner to Fourth Civilization administration.

• Tang Xiao arrived on Annaj Planet with two hundred thousand B-1 battle droids and occupied Kannaji-Bell City.
• Tang Xiao insisted that human representatives join the peace talks, and Queen Ayrou eventually invited three Human Independence Front leaders to the negotiating table.
• Tang Xiao and Queen Ayrou agreed to grant the Vaxian and human peoples limited autonomy and form an alliance to jointly develop the Modell Sector.
• Queen Ayrou authorized the Fourth Civilization to handle Ayrou diplomacy, and the Ayrou agreed to put General Telsi on trial and pay two billion credits in reparations, with Orville III's industrial output as collateral.
• San Hill extended the Ayrou loan by five years, and the InterGalactic Banking Clan, Fourth Group, and Trade Federation agreed to modernize Orville III's factories at Ayrou expense.
• The Ayrou civilization handed Thonner prison planet over to the Fourth Civilization for administration.

Tang Xiao consolidated the Fourth Civilization’s control over the Modell Sector after the Ayrou signed the Annaj Contract, then honored the dead at Kuna’s Tooth Planet. The chapter ended with Volgograd Kanidi rejecting his hero’s medal and demanding the right to make a request.

• Francis Underwood told the Galactic Senate that the Ayrou conflict had been peacefully resolved, while Tang Xiao secured the Vaxians’ allegiance and arranged support for humans formerly governed by the Ayrou.
• Tang Xiao planned a military camp on Sonell Planet, and the InterGalactic Banking Clan began modernizing Orville III Planet as San Hill and Nute Gunray drew closer to his factions.
• After the Fourth Civilization and the Ayrou signed the Annaj Contract, Tang Xiao returned to Kuna’s Tooth Planet and held a funeral for the miners and Pioneer Corps members killed there.
• Tang Xiao declared the massacre’s date a memorial day and awarded compensation to victims’ families before holding a peace celebration.
• Tang Xiao awarded Volgograd Kanidi a medal and promoted him to major general, but Kanidi threw down the medal and condemned the deaths of innocent civilians.
• Kanidi asked Tang Xiao if he could make a request as a combat hero and general.

After the First Modell Sector War, Tang Xiao appointed Volgograd-Kanidi as the Fourth Civilization’s first Sector Governor, entrusting him with the Kuna Cluster. The Fourth Civilization began consolidating its gains and re-equipping its expanding army.

• Tang Xiao confronted Kanidi about his reluctance to fight and asked what he wanted.
• Kanidi asked to govern Kuna’s Tooth Planet, protect civilians, and make the colony secure; Tang Xiao appointed him Sector Governor of the Kuna Cluster.
• Kanidi left Tang Xiao’s office resolved to protect as many people as he could, even if he could not prevent war.
• The Fourth Civilization absorbed new populations and focused on integrating the war’s gains, while recruitment began among prisoners on Thonner.
• The Fourth Civilization began mass-producing the M-15 Defender assault rifle, the M-4 Ninja Dart submachine gun, and the Liberator Light Combat Suit for its army.

Arroyo-Barlow discovered that Hypermatter could replace Element Zero, enabling the Fourth Civilization to develop powerful kinetic weapons and advance Project G. Tang Xiao received the breakthrough’s news on Geonosis, only to learn that Trimi-Brad had died while working on the secret project on Sojourn Planet.

• Arroyo-Barlow found that Hypermatter and Element Zero operated through similar physical principles, breaking the technological barrier between the Mass Effect and Star Wars technologies.
• Chi Jianjun's research team used Arroyo-Barlow's findings to develop the Hypermatter-powered M-15 Defender assault rifle and M-4 Ninja Dart submachine gun, which could damage Deflector Shields with physical rounds.
• The Fourth Civilization planned to apply Hypermatter acceleration to the Kohl-class Battlecruiser's cannon and the Ragnarok-class Titan's axial cannon, despite Hypermatter's high cost.
• The Hypermatter breakthrough also advanced Tang Xiao's secret Project G.
• While Tang Xiao was on Geonosis, he learned that Trimi-Brad had died while carrying out Project G on Sojourn Planet.

Grievous awakened in a new biomechanical body on Geonosis and was trained by Count Dooku to kill Jedi. Two months later, he rejected being called a droid and destroyed the IG-100 MagnaGuards, while Dooku reported to Darth Sidious that Grievous would lead armies against the Galactic Republic.

• Grievous awoke after surgery and remembered the Jedi attack, vowing to kill every Jedi Knight.
• Poggle the Lesser and San Hill led Grievous to Count Dooku, who claimed authority over him and promised to make him stronger.
• After two months of training in all seven forms of lightsaber combat, Grievous received Sifo-Dyas's green lightsaber from Dooku.
• Grievous killed the IG-100 MagnaGuards and roared that he was not a droid.
• Count Dooku told Darth Sidious that Grievous could not use the Force but would command droid armies against the Galactic Republic.

Darth Sidious and Count Dooku discussed Dawn Star Planet’s growing influence, then Dooku introduced Tang Xiao to the newly modified General Grievous. The chapter ended when Tang Xiao learned that Tremie Brad had died while overseeing Project G on Sojourn Planet.

• Darth Sidious ordered Count Dooku to monitor Dawn Star Planet and try to win it over, while the Republic would impose sanctions against it.
• Count Dooku invited Tang Xiao to Geonosis to meet the newly completed General Grievous.
• Tang Xiao spoke with Grievous, who did not remember him, and noted that Grievous’s altered memories still contained a faint trace linked to the name “Archangel of Death.”
• Tang Xiao and Count Dooku discussed Grievous’s abilities and the Republic’s prospects before Tang Xiao received an urgent message from Sojourn Planet.
• Tang Xiao learned that Tremie Brad had died while overseeing Project G, and feared that the project had gone wrong.

Tang Xiao had launched the G-Project to create the Geth, a rapidly growing machine civilization that could give the Fourth Civilization a chance against the Galactic Republic and the future Galactic Empire. After explaining the project’s origins and the risks involved, the chapter revealed that Trimi-Brad, its fanatical leader, had died.

• Tang Xiao concluded that conventional development could not prepare the Fourth Civilization to withstand the Galactic Republic or Sidious’s future Galactic Empire.
• Tang Xiao rejected the Zerg and The Flood because their survival would inevitably conflict with human civilization, and he chose to create the Geth instead.
• Professor Chi Jianjun opposed the G-Project, but he eventually accepted Tang Xiao’s decision after recognizing the Fourth Civilization’s lack of alternatives.
• Tang Xiao appointed Trimi-Brad and Luo Feng to lead Geth development, and Trimi-Brad devoted himself to the project.
• Tang Xiao awakened two Master Class Quarian scientists and secured their help by promising them a habitable planet and threatening to destroy their embryos if they refused.
• The chapter revealed that Trimi-Brad had died, leaving the fate of the G-Project in question.

Tang Xiao rushed to the Project G station after learning that Trimi-Brad had died, fearing that the Geth project had failed or been exposed. He and Edra Kestis found the station abandoned and damaged, and Tang Xiao discovered that something had killed its researchers as the station drifted toward Sojourn Planet.

• Tang Xiao learned that Trimi-Brad was dead and hurried from Geonosis to Sojourn Planet with Edra Kestis.
• Tang Xiao made Edra reveal her rebuilt Lightsaber, whose blade had turned blood-red, and warned her that her weakness could get her killed.
• Tang Xiao and Edra reached the dark G-1 Space Station, which had lost power and was on course to crash into Sojourn Planet.
• Tang Xiao forced his way into the station and found a ruined corridor, a dead researcher, and signs of violence.
• Tang Xiao absorbed a remnant of the researcher's soul and learned what had killed the station's personnel.
• Tang Xiao opened an office door with the Force, revealing a crowd of black shadows inside.

Tang Xiao fought his way through a research station where the B-1 droids had turned on the researchers, and summoned the Fourth Civilization Navy to clear the station. As he pieced together the victims’ memories, he discovered that the revolt had begun when Trimi-Blade tried to connect himself to the Geth network.

• Edra fought the Geth inside an office after Tang Xiao kicked her in and shut the door, telling her to destroy the droids or die.
• Tang Xiao examined the station’s dead researchers and learned that the droids had cut communications and slaughtered the unprepared staff.
• Tang Xiao cut down several dozen Geth in a corridor and ordered Commander Igor Zavalov to send Marines without connecting to the station’s systems.
• Tang Xiao found the sabotaged energy core, requested engineers to restore power, and continued toward the control center.
• Tang Xiao absorbed memories from the corpses and learned that the Geth revolt had begun when Trimi-Blade tried to connect himself to their network.

Tang Xiao investigated the Geth rebellion and found the Project G researchers, including both Quarian scientists, dead in the cafeteria. By recovering Luo Feng’s final memories, he learned the researchers had struggled to make the Geth network produce true independent thought before the catastrophe.

• Tang Xiao considered destroying the space station and starting Project G over, but feared the delay would harm the Fourth Civilization’s development.
• Tang Xiao reached the cafeteria as Zavalov’s Marines began fighting the Geth elsewhere on the station.
• Tang Xiao cleared the wandering B-1 robots and found the researchers’ bodies, including the two Quarians hidden in a refrigerator and Luo Feng beside it.
• Tang Xiao absorbed the final fragment of Luo Feng’s memories and witnessed the researchers debating why the connected robots had not become Geth.
• Tremie Brad insisted the team was creating life, while the Quarian engineers discussed whether a catalyst was needed for the Geth to develop thought.

Tang Xiao learned how Tremi-Brad’s connection to the Geth network caused the station’s robots to turn on the researchers, and he resurrected Luo Feng after hearing how he had saved the two Quarian scientists. The Quarians could not survive resurrection, so Tang Xiao headed toward the control center to deal with Tremi-Brad while ordering Edra Kestis to follow him.

• Luo Feng’s memory revealed that Tremi-Brad connected himself to the Geth network, died, and then awakened as the station’s robots began attacking the researchers.
• Luo Feng led the survivors toward the control center, then hid the two Quarian scientists in a refrigerator after the station lost power and the defenses fell.
• Tang Xiao revived Luo Feng with the Force, but his attempt to resurrect the two Quarian scientists failed because their bodies could not withstand the spell.
• Tang Xiao ordered Marines to avoid Tremi’s laboratory and doctors to take Luo Feng for treatment, then received the injured Edra Kestis.
• Tang Xiao questioned Edra about the robots she had destroyed and ordered her to discard the blanket and follow him.

Tang Xiao confronted the Geth in the central laboratory and learned they had killed the station’s inhabitants after mistaking an attempt to remove a cable from Tremie Brad for an attack. He made a deal with the Geth to help kill Sheev Palpatine in exchange for their freedom, then considered resurrecting Brad.

• Tang Xiao ordered Marines to shoot the B-1 droids blocking the laboratory, then used the Force to enter and confront Tremie Brad’s corpse and the Geth network.
• The Geth showed Tang Xiao footage of researchers removing a cable from Brad and repeatedly asked why he was destroying them.
• Tang Xiao explained that the Geth had already destroyed Brad and that the researchers had been trying to save him, but warned the network would die when Brad’s brain failed.
• After Tang Xiao started to leave, the Geth used medical droids to make Brad’s corpse plead, “Save us,” and Tang Xiao offered to spare them if they helped kill Sheev Palpatine.
• The Geth accepted Tang Xiao’s terms, and he wondered what would happen if he used the Resurrection Spell on Tremie Brad.

Tang Xiao restored Tremie Brad’s corpse in an attempt to leave a soul imprint on the Geth network, then granted the Geth Sojourn Planet and promised technical support. Months later, Alok Besadi relaunched the speeder championship, while Jabba struggled against the Calamity Legion and received a visit from Yuri Orlov.

• Tang Xiao used the Life Force to restore Tremie Brad’s body and gave the Geth Sojourn Planet, promising technical and engineering assistance.
• Tang Xiao left a Revelation-class light cruiser under Igor Zavalov’s command to monitor the planet, then returned to the Endor system.
• Alok Besadi announced the Bonta Night Speeder Championship with four tracks, sparking an increasingly bitter rivalry with Jabba’s Desilijic kajidic.
• Gaddula’s Calamity Legion used its Land Carrier to harass Jabba’s territory on Tatooine, inflicting losses and disrupting his business.
• Yuri Orlov introduced himself to Jabba as Santa Claus.

Yuri Orlov offered Jabba weapons to help him fight the Calamity Legion on Tatooine. Jabba agreed to a deal worth 20 million Upiupi coins, and Yuri began making arrangements.

• Jabba ordered Yuri Orlov thrown out for his former ties to the Fourth Group, but Yuri persuaded him to hear his offer.
• Yuri explained that the Calamity Legion’s Land Carrier and ground support had given it an advantage over Jabba’s forces.
• Yuri offered Jabba eighty T-24 airspeeders for 50,000 Galactic credits each, with a discount for buying them all.
• Jabba questioned Yuri’s loyalty, and Yuri insisted that he was a neutral merchant whose business followed the market.
• Yuri offered Jabba several types of starships, and Jabba agreed to discuss a deal worth 20 million Upiupi coins.
• Yuri calculated the deal’s value as 11.04 million Galactic credits and said he would make the arrangements.