Chapter Summaries

Darth Malthael used the arrival of two Jedi Knights to push Edra Kestis toward becoming a true Sith apprentice, trapping them in the Geth station as she approached. Edra confronted her former classmates Layun and Yajin and declared that killing them was her Master's task.

• Darth Malthael ordered Edra Kestis to kill the two Jedi Knights and prevent them from reporting the Geth to the Galactic Republic.
• Darth Malthael and Darth Tenebrus watched Edra approach the Jedi, with Malthael explaining that he sought to turn her into a Sith apprentice.
• Darth Malthael ordered the Geth to hold the Jedi in the control center and stop attacking so Edra could face them.
• Edra walked through the Geth station, questioning the light and accepting Darth Malthael as her Master.
• Edra blasted open the control center doors and confronted Layun and Yajin, who recognized her and urged her to return to the Jedi.
• Edra ignited her blood-red Lightsaber and told Layun she would kill them because it was her Master's task.

Edra Kestis defeated Jedi Master Yajin and Layun, declaring that her past life’s warmth had made her weak and that she had been reborn through the Dark Side. After destroying the two Jedi, she emerged from the control center and told a Geth that her master said the war had begun.

• Edra Kestis attacked Layun, and Yajin pulled him out of the way before engaging her in combat.
• Layun joined Yajin against Edra, but she overpowered them with a frenzied assault and Force lightning.
• Edra rejected Layun’s pleas, saying that the happiness they had shared had made her weak and that her master had given her strength and rebirth.
• Edra’s lightning killed Yajin, and she then killed Layun and reduced both Jedi to ashes with the Dark Side.
• Edra’s eyes regained their liveliness, and she told a Geth that her master had sent word that the war had begun.

Edra Kestis surrendered herself to Tang Xiao and pledged to follow Darth Malthael as his apprentice. After sensing her essential nature, he gave her the Sith name Darth Lilim.

• Edra Kestis told Tang Xiao she had killed the Jedi Knights, including her childhood sweetheart Layun, and declared her hatred for Layun.
• Tang Xiao worked on plans for the Confederacy of Independent Systems while Edra knelt before him, waiting for him to accept her desire.
• Edra asked to give Tang Xiao everything she was, and he drew her into his arms.
• After the night had passed, Edra pledged herself to Darth Malthael and swore to serve his ambitions.
• Darth Malthael sensed Edra's nature and named her Darth Lilim.

Tang Xiao reunited with Cun Te after ten years and met the Chiss Sefrans Tann and Vandalor, whose arrival stirred a powerful memory from the Star Wars plot. At a lavish banquet, Tang Xiao displayed Dawn Star Planet’s strength while he and Cun Te discussed the state of the navy.

• Tang Xiao welcomed Cun Te back after his ten-year exploration of the Unknown Regions and embraced his old friend.
• Cun Te introduced Dubrak Kunto, Kenneth, George Cardas, and the Chiss couple Sefrans Tann and Vandalor to Tang Xiao.
• Tang Xiao recognized the Chiss newcomers and invited the group to dine, while Sefrans Tann said they had more important business the next day.
• Tang Xiao led the visitors through an elaborate reception and banquet that showcased Dawn Star Planet, the Star Ring, and its shipyards.
• Tang Xiao told Cun Te that he had formed three fleets and that his navy was about ninety percent complete.

Tang Xiao revealed to Sefrans Tann that war was approaching and brought her to Ailiya Isabella’s concert on Dawn Star Planet. As the crowd rallied around the Fourth Civilization and its war slogans, Tann recognized Tang Xiao’s determination to mobilize the entire planet for war.

• Tang Xiao told Cun Te that the fleet was short on time and warned Sefrans Tann that war was coming.
• Tang Xiao revealed that he knew about the Yuuzhan Vong, alarming Tann, then used the Force to make Vandalor agree to attend a concert.
• Tang Xiao took Tann and Vandalor to Ailiya Isabella’s final Outer Rim Territories concert, where she sang before a crowd of more than a million people.
• Tann saw soldiers and civilians cheering alongside slogans supporting the Fourth Civilization and war.
• Tann realized Tang Xiao had brought her to witness the planet’s commitment to total war and understood that he had turned it into a war machine.

Tang Xiao showed Sefrans Tann the Fourth Civilization’s Martha-class heavy cruisers, then revealed his command of the Force and his knowledge of her Chiss past. He left her asking what he had seen in her future.

• Tang Xiao toured the shipyard with Sefrans Tann and the others, showing them thirty Martha-class heavy cruisers under construction.
• Cun Te led his crew out of the conference room so Tang Xiao could speak privately with Sefrans Tann.
• Tang Xiao demonstrated his Force powers, overwhelming Sefrans Tann with a vision of darkness and preventing her from reaching her pistol.
• Tang Xiao described Sefrans Tann’s background and suggested that one or more Chiss Ruling Families had fallen, prompting her to suspect he was connected to the Sabosen family.
• Tang Xiao claimed the Force had shown him Sefrans Tann’s past and future, and she asked what he had seen.

Tang Xiao revealed that Sefrans Tann was doomed whichever side she chose and offered her a place commanding his fleet as he planned to expand during the coming war. After Tann demanded proof of his power, Tang Xiao went to the bar, where Cun Te recounted meeting the Chiss commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo in the Unknown Regions.

• Tang Xiao told Sefrans Tann that Count Dooku served Darth Sidious, also known as Sheev Palpatine, and that the coming war was a scheme to destroy the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order.
• Tang Xiao offered Tann a chance to command his fleet and learn to use the Dark Side, explaining that he planned to exploit the war to expand his territory.
• Tang Xiao told Tann she could leave and join Count Dooku or Palpatine, but Tann said she would join him only if he handed over his fleet and proved his strength.
• Tang Xiao went to the Glory mothership's bar, where Cun Te told him that he and George Kadas had found Vagari pirates and encountered a Chiss commander named Mitth'raw'nuruodo.

Cun Te told Tang Xiao how Thrawn had recruited him and asked him to rescue Sefrans Tann from the Chiss power struggle. Tann agreed to join the Fourth Civilization on her terms, then told Tang Xiao she had killed Vandalor.

• Cun Te explained that he had worked with Thrawn, teaching him Galactic Standard and sharing information about the Galactic Republic.
• Cun Te said Thrawn had warned about the Yuuzhan Vong and later asked him to save Sefrans Tann after the Seff family fell to the Sabosen family.
• Cun Te recounted rescuing Tann from Csilla and telling her about the Fourth Civilization, though she had initially considered it too small.
• Tang Xiao discovered Tann had agreed to join the Fourth Civilization and arranged to meet him at ten, but he arrived late and made her wait.
• Sefrans Tann confronted Tang Xiao about his conduct and said she had killed Vandalor, asking him to have the body removed.

Tang Xiao appointed Sefrans Tann as commander of Fleet B and prepared to travel to Luks Major Planet, while a Senate bombing on Coruscant intensified fear of the Separatists and revived plans to create a Republic army. The chapter ended with Sheev Palpatine discussing war preparations with Mace Windu, who warned that the Jedi were too few to serve as soldiers.

• Tang Xiao told Sefrans Tann that she would command Fleet B and could compete with Matt Horner to become the next Commander of the Navy.
• Tang Xiao invited Sefrans Tann to Luks Major Planet to meet Count Dooku and learn basic Force techniques.
• An explosion in the Republic Senate Building killed five senators, including Aks Moe, and Sheev Palpatine ordered the Security Bureau to solve the case.
• Ainlee Tim blamed the Jedi Order for failing to protect the Republic, and the Senate revived discussion of the Military Creation Act.
• Sheev Palpatine told Mace Windu that he was preparing for war and proposed establishing an army to assist the Jedi.

Palpatine renewed his push for the Military Creation Act while Francis Underwood led a dramatic Senate protest and prepared to leave Coruscant. Meanwhile, Tang Xiao arrived at a gathering of Separatist leaders on Luks Major Planet, where Count Dooku noticed Sefrans Tann was Chiss and Force-sensitive.

• Palpatine told the Senate that peace remained his goal but urged passage of the Military Creation Act, with a second vote scheduled for one standard galactic week later.
• Francis Underwood denounced the act, threatened that Outer Rim senators would leave the Senate if it passed, and stormed out with many of them.
• Francis told Douglas Stamp he would return to Dawn Star Planet, while Douglas said Madam M would guarantee his safety.
• Tang Xiao arrived at Luks Major Planet with Sefrans Tann and Gross Shelby's fleet to meet the leaders of major Separatist worlds and corporations.
• Count Dooku recognized Sefrans Tann as Chiss and sensed that she was Force-sensitive.

Count Dooku rallied the Separatist leaders to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems and begin a war against the Galactic Republic. Nute Gonrey agreed to sign only after Padmé Amidala was killed, and Dooku promised Jango Fett would carry out the assassination.

• Tang Xiao told Count Dooku that a Chiss commander led his fleet and identified his new warships as Kohl-class Battlecruisers.
• Count Dooku urged the gathered corporate and system leaders to unite against the Republic and announced plans to reveal the Confederacy of Independent Systems in one month, when the war would begin.
• Shu Mai, Passel Argente, Wat Tambor, and Tang Xiao voiced support for breaking from the Republic and expanding their power.
• Nute Gonrey demanded Padmé Amidala's head before the Trade Federation would sign the agreement, citing the losses and humiliation caused by the Battle of Naboo.
• Count Dooku promised to send Jango Fett to kill Padmé Amidala, and Nute Gonrey agreed to sign once she was dead.
• Count Dooku instructed the leaders to coordinate the Confederacy's formation and prepare their fleets and droid armies for the war.

Tang Xiao reorganized the Fourth Civilization’s government and military as it prepared for integration with the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the coming war. The chapter ended with the civilization’s population reaching four hundred million and its diverse communities continuing to grow.

• Tang Xiao convened a summit, established five-year terms for officials, and appointed Francis Underwood as the Fourth Civilization’s first Prime Minister, with Daphne Clement as Deputy Prime Minister.
• Tang Xiao reorganized the legislature, courts, ministries, sectors, and military command structure, and confirmed Volgograd Kanidi as Kuna Sector Governor and Kuna Cluster Theater commander.
• The Fourth Civilization split its Intelligence Department among the National Security Bureau, Madam M’s Military Intelligence Department, and Ni Yongxiao’s secretive organization.
• Tang Xiao announced the reforms to four hundred million citizens as the civilization continued raising its cryo-embryos toward adulthood.
• The Salarian population on Khef Bir grew beyond three million, while Semirians, Muuns, and The Givin continued settling on Dawn Star Planet.

Tang Xiao confronted the Fourth Civilization’s population pressures and military shortcomings as it expanded beyond Dawn Star Planet. The chapter left the civilization preparing for a war it could not survive alone, with the Confederacy of Independent Systems needing to absorb the Galactic Republic’s main attack.

• Tang Xiao planned to move 50 million humans from Dawn Star Planet to Kuna’s Tooth Planet over five years, where they would help assimilate the growing immigrant population and expand the colony.
• The Fourth Civilization’s military grew to 2 million personnel, but rapid expansion left its units short of upgraded equipment and armored forces.
• Army General Xian Hui warned Tang Xiao that the Republic’s 3 million clone soldiers could overwhelm the Fourth Civilization’s regular army, and simulations showed 300,000 to 500,000 clones could defeat its defense of Dawn Star Planet.
• Xian Hui told Tang Xiao that the Confederacy of Independent Systems had to bear the Republic’s main offensive, because the Fourth Civilization could not withstand a full-force strike on its own.

The chapter outlined the Fourth Civilization Navy’s strength, escort fleets, and five outlying industrial zones supporting its war preparations. It left the civilization expanding defenses and production while building up a fleet of two hundred capital ships.

• The Fourth Civilization maintained three main fleets and more than thirty small escort fleets, with plans to expand the escorts to fifty to protect shipping lanes.
• The Semirres Planet and Indjori industrial zones produced Kohl-class and Hiigaran-class battlecruisers, while the Yag'Dhul Planet zone built major warships and prepared an Agonev-class star base under heavy protection.
• Tang Xiao entrusted the Onderon industrial zone to Tyran Heavy Industries and the InterGalactic Banking Clan, while Onderon's leaders strengthened ties with the Separatists.
• Dawn Star Planet and the Trade Federation upgraded the Orville III Planet industrial base, which produced light weapons, ammunition, and obsolete frigates.
• The Star Ring around Dawn Star Planet used Dor Planet's mineral resources to build warships continuously, giving the Fourth Civilization a fleet of two hundred capital ships.

The Fourth Civilization built a navy of 200 capital ships and more than 600 smaller warships, organized its fleets, and received senior military appointments in the Separatist Movement. Tang Xiao then began planning to alter the coming war, declaring that the Fourth Civilization had to win on Geonosis.

• The Fourth Civilization assigned its capital ships to three fleets led by Matt Horner, Sefrans Tann, and the central fleet guarding Endor, while the Martha-class cruisers awaited completion.
• Tang Xiao became Western Reaches War Zone Commander and Admiral of the Navy, while Matt Horner and Sefrans Tann also received admiral appointments.
• Count Dooku established a war tax for Separatist member systems, describing it as a necessary price for overthrowing the Galactic Republic.
• Francis Underwood’s Prime Minister’s Office began reforms and preparations to integrate the Fourth Civilization with the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
• Tang Xiao told Xian Hui, Cheng Shitao, Igor Zavalov, Matt Horner, Sefrans Tann, Madam M, and Helmut Zemo that war would likely begin on Geonosis within a month and called for victory there.

Padmé Amidala traveled to Coruscant to oppose the Military Creation Act, but a bombing destroyed her ship and killed her decoy, Cordé. Chancellor Palpatine postponed the vote and proposed that Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi protect Padmé, though she objected to Jedi protection.

• Padmé Amidala prepared to travel to Coruscant and cast her vote against the Military Creation Act despite Typho's warnings.
• A bomb destroyed Padmé's Naboo Royal Cruiser as it docked, killing Cordé, while Padmé survived by traveling in an N-1 starfighter.
• Chancellor Sheev Palpatine postponed the Senate vote until the next day and summoned the Jedi Order to discuss the attack.
• Master Windu, Master Yoda, and other Jedi Council members discussed the threat and the approaching war without opposing the Military Creation Act.
• Padmé objected to Jedi protection, but Palpatine proposed that Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi guard her.

After surviving an assassination attempt, Padmé Amidala returned to the Senate and publicly blamed the attack on Count Dooku, the Separatists, and supporters of the Military Creation Act. Her speech put Palpatine’s faction under pressure and cast doubt on the Act’s passage.

• Padmé Amidala told Master Windu she believed Count Dooku had ordered the assassination, but Windu defended Dooku as someone who would not slaughter innocents.
• Jango Fett reported to Count Dooku that the bomb had killed Padmé’s decoy, then said Zam Wesell would carry out another attempt.
• Palpatine announced that Padmé had been assassinated and postponed the Military Creation Act vote, while senators and demonstrators continued arguing over the Act.
• Palpatine returned to the Senate and defended postponing the vote as a normal response to security threats, as Kandablin Bu challenged his authority.
• Padmé entered the Senate alive, arranged for her speech to be broadcast, and accused Dooku, the Separatists, and her political opponents of causing the assassination attempt.
• Padmé’s speech put Palpatine’s supporters under scrutiny and threatened the Military Creation Act’s chances of passing.

Palpatine used the Jedi Order’s request to force Padmé Amidala to leave Coruscant while he cultivated Anakin Skywalker’s resentment toward the Jedi. Padmé and Anakin departed in disguise, and someone recognized her aboard their ship.

• Palpatine tried to persuade Padmé Amidala to return to Naboo, but she refused to leave Coruscant.
• Zam Wesell sent poison bugs into Padmé’s residence, but Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker stopped the attack; Jango Fett silenced Zam.
• Master Windu sent Anakin to ask Palpatine to persuade Padmé to leave, and Palpatine praised Anakin while undermining his trust in the Jedi Order.
• Palpatine issued an executive order forcing Padmé to leave Coruscant and falsely claimed the Jedi Order had requested it.
• Padmé instructed Jar Jar Binks to hold firm in her absence, then boarded a passenger ship with Anakin disguised as a war refugee.
• A voice aboard the ship called out to Padmé and asked why she was there.

Padmé Amidala reunited with her former teacher Mina Bontri aboard a refugee ship and learned that Onderon was evacuating amid rising war fears. She returned to Naboo with Anakin Skywalker, and the two began a passionate romance away from public view.

• Mina Bontri privately told Padmé that Onderon and other separatist worlds were evacuating because they believed Chancellor Palpatine wanted war.
• Mina warned Padmé that she could not see everything happening on Coruscant, then left without learning that Padmé was being pursued.
• Anakin used the Force to hide Padmé from people searching for her and promised to protect her.
• Mina concealed Padmé's identity from her escort, who ordered her to report Padmé and capture the Jedi Knight accompanying her.
• Anakin accompanied Padmé to Naboo, where they fell deeply in love and set aside their political troubles and obligations.

As the Separatists prepared to break from the Republic and war spread across the galaxy, Obi-Wan Kenobi followed clues erased from the Jedi archives to the hidden planet Kamino. He arrived at its ocean capital, Tipoca City.

• Count Dooku gathered Separatist leaders and secured the Ayrou Queen’s agreement to join the Confederacy under pressure from Dawn Star Planet Fleet A.
• Admiral Trench inspected Dawn Star Planet Fleet C before taking command of a separate Corporate Alliance fleet.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered that Kamino was missing from the Jedi archives, and Yoda concluded that someone within the Order had erased its records.
• Guided by the Force, Obi-Wan Kenobi crossed hyperspace without navigational assistance and located Kamino.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi landed his Delta-7 fighter at Tipoca City, Kamino’s capital.