Chapter Summaries

The Republic forces were trapped on Geonosis as the war between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems officially began. The Separatists launched a galaxy-wide offensive, leaving the Republic facing battles on multiple fronts.

• General Grievous split the droid army into more than seven hundred groups and destroyed Geonosis's evacuated main hive, while Master Yoda rejected Mabel Garson's call to retreat and ordered the clones to dig in and buy time.
• Count Dooku met Darth Sidious on Coruscant, delivered the storage device containing the DS-1 Super Mobile Combat Platform, and received orders to kill the Jedi on Geonosis before reinforcements arrived.
• Count Dooku announced the Confederacy of Independent Systems on Luks Major Planet, and Sheev Palpatine declared that the Galactic Republic was entering a full state of war.
• With the Hunter Class Battlecruisers delayed, Depa Barris and Shaak Ti asked Republic Strategic Command to assemble an emergency fleet to rescue Yoda and the clone troops on Geonosis.
• Republic intelligence received reports of Separatist fleet movements and disappearances across several systems as the Confederacy launched its full-scale offensive.

After Count Dooku announced the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Tang Xiao declared war on the Galactic Republic and ordered the Fourth Civilization’s forces to launch coordinated operations. Fleet A reached Bespin and began the Battle of Bespin, while Fleet B headed for Cerea and Sefrans Tann received a secret mission.

• Tang Xiao rallied the commanders and ordered Fleet C to defend the Endor system while the other forces attacked the Galactic Republic.
• Tang Xiao sent Fleet A and Army forces under Matt Hona and Xian Hui to seize Bespin’s gas factories in Operation Blast.
• Tang Xiao ordered Sefrans Tann to send part of Fleet B to Cerea and lead a secret mission to obtain intelligence on a Republic secret weapon, with Edra Kestis as her assistant.
• Fleet A departed Annaj Planet for Bespin, and Fleet B followed for Cerea as Ayrou agents reported their movements to the Galactic Republic.
• Fleet A emerged from hyperspace near Bespin, where the local defense fleet opened fire and the Battle of Bespin began.

Admiral Matt Hona’s Fourth Civilization fleet invaded neutral Bespin, seeking its resources and strategic position, while Depa-Barris led a Republic fleet toward Geonosis by a dangerous hyperspace route. The Republic assault on Bespin began with heavy damage to the invaders, but Matt Hona’s fleet recovered and launched its attack on Cloud City.

• Depa-Barris chose to take the Hydian Way toward Geonosis, using Master Tholme’s hyperspace theories to bypass Separatist Interdictors, while Luna-Meng and Luna-Huan studied her use of the Force.
• Tang Xiao diverted General Grievous’s fleet from Crisslist to seize neutral Bespin because of its resources and position on the Corellian Trade Route.
• Admiral Matt Hona’s fleet dropped out of hyperspace near Bespin, where the Republic garrison attacked before the Fourth Civilization ships could activate their shields.
• The Republic barrage severely damaged six Kohl-class Battlecruisers, but Starling-class repair ships and SCVs began restoring them as Matt Hona ordered the fleet to activate its shields and launch Vulture droids.
• After the shields came online, Matt Hona ordered the Kohl-class ships to charge and attack, the Hiigaran-class battlecruisers to flank the enemy, and the Luukri-Hok-class battleships to land on Cloud City.

Lord Santamaria’s Republic fleet fought Fourth Civilization’s forces near Bespin but was overwhelmed by their powerful weapons and forced to retreat. Fourth Civilization then sealed off Cloud City and began a forceful landing as its residents watched in terror.

• Santamaria ordered his fleet to repel Separatist ships maneuvering around its flank, but Fourth Civilization’s kinetic weapons heavily damaged the Republic cruisers.
• Santamaria ordered a retreat toward Cloud City, where unmanned missile platforms broke up his fleet and forced it to withdraw toward other Floating Cities.
• Six Luukri-Hok-class battleships approached Cloud City while Sova-class Carriers launched Wraith fighters to destroy the city’s outer defenses.
• Fourth Civilization sent transport aircraft packed with B-1 battle droids and its army to land in Cloud City.

The Fourth Civilization overwhelmed Cloud City with air power, destroying Bespin fighters and ground defenses as its troops began landing. Bespin’s defenders were scattered, and the invasion force secured a landing zone for more transports.

• Wraith fighters destroyed Cloud City anti-aircraft guns while stealth-equipped fighters shot down four Bespin Air Force Z-95s.
• Vulture fighters attacked Bespin soldiers deploying anti-aircraft positions, killing many and scattering the survivors.
• A Vulture fighter crashed into an office building, shifted into walking mode, and fired a rocket at employees trying to flee before rejoining its formation.
• A Luukri-Hok-class battleship passed over Cloud City as C-9979 transports dropped B-1 and B-2 battle droids into the city.
• The battle droids established a landing zone, allowing more transport aircraft to land.

Huang Yehao and Cummings led Fourth Civilization troops in capturing the Melas Hotel during the assault on Cloud City, where a B-2 droid killed civilians despite Huang Yehao's attempt to make them surrender. The Fourth Civilization captured Cloud City within four hours, and Bespin's Defense Fleet fled with Miera Figo and Santamaria.

• Huang Yehao briefed 4th Platoon on its mission to seize the Melas Hotel as the assault on Cloud City began.
• Huang Yehao and Cummings led their troops into the hotel, using machine-gun fire and alternate entrances to break through Bespin resistance.
• Huang Yehao tried to persuade armed civilians to surrender, but a B-2 super battle droid fired on them and killed several guests.
• Fourth Civilization troops cleared the hotel and set up a Missile Turret on its roof.
• The Fourth Civilization captured Cloud City four hours after the battle began and advanced on Bespin's other Floating Cities.
• Miera Figo, Santamaria, and the Bespin Defense Fleet fled as the situation became hopeless.

After Bespin Planet fell to the Separatists, Sheev Palpatine and Wilhuff Tarkin planned a counterattack designed to make fear a weapon against both the Separatists and neutral worlds. Shaak Ti agreed to provide Jedi support, and Palpatine prepared to send sixty Hunter Class Battlecruisers toward Bespin.

• Governor Miera Figo and military commander Santamaria escaped Bespin Planet to Dolla Planet and requested aid from Coruscant.
• Sheev Palpatine contacted Wilhuff Tarkin, who warned that fear of the war could turn the Republic’s people against the Republic itself.
• Tarkin urged the Republic to use Bespin’s defeat to strike the Separatists and punish neutral planets for refusing to fight.
• Shaak Ti agreed to a counterattack if the Republic had the capability, and Palpatine revealed that sixty Hunter Class Battlecruisers were ready.
• Shaak Ti assigned Jedi Masters Glynn Beti and Aiden Ward and their apprentices to join the expedition.

The Republic fleet arrived over Geonosis and began battling Admiral Trench’s Confederacy forces while Depa Barris ordered the first cruisers to hold out for reinforcements. As Luna Phantom and Luna Dream joined the fighter battle in a modified ARC-170, the Republic’s fighter count suddenly surged from a few hundred to more than a thousand, leaving both sides stunned.

• Depa Barris sensed countless deaths and ordered Luna Dream and Luna Phantom to lead the fighter squadrons and buy time for the follow-up fleet.
• Admiral Trench kept his ships in formation and launched Vulture droids, whose attacks broke the shields of three Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers.
• The Republic launched its fighters, including a modified ARC-170 piloted by Luna Phantom with Luna Dream as copilot.
• Luna Phantom and Luna Dream prepared to enter the dogfight as over a thousand Vulture droids engaged the Republic fighters.
• Alarms sounded across the Confederacy ships and Vulture droids when the Republic fighter force suddenly registered as more than a thousand real fighters.

Luna Dream and Luna Phantom’s battlefield illusions turned the tide of the Battle of Geonosis, allowing the Republic fleet to overwhelm General Trench’s forces. The Republic broke through the blockade around Geonosis.

• General Trench ordered the Vulture droid fighters to attack, but they were confused by the Dream Sisters’ illusions and destroyed by Republic pilots.
• Luna Phantom charged into the fiercest fighting in her modified ARC-170 while Luna Dream warned her to be more careful.
• Republic reinforcements arrived, including four Invincible-class heavy cruisers, as Depa Barris assembled her mismatched fleet against General Trench.
• The Invincible-class cruisers’ main guns crippled a Generous-class frigate, and the Republic fleet advanced while fighter numbers rose above six hundred.
• The Dream Sisters maintained more than a thousand illusions as General Trench sent every Vulture droid fighter into a futile defense, and the Republic broke through the Geonosis blockade.

General Trench withdrew from the Republic fleet and agreed to bombard Geonosis after Tang Xiao revealed Count Dooku’s betrayal over Bespin. On Geonosis, General Grievous’s reinforced droid army overwhelmed the exhausted Republic forces, leaving Clone Troopers facing two charging NR-N99 tank droids.

• General Trench told Tang Xiao that Jedi Knights had devastated his fighter squadrons, then withdrew his fleet toward a moon of Geonosis.
• Tang Xiao explained that Count Dooku and Darth Sidious were working together to leave Bespin exposed, and ordered General Trench to bombard Geonosis.
• The Republic Clone Army captured the ruined main hive, while General Grievous led hundreds of thousands of droids and Geonosians in relentless attacks.
• General Trench’s fleet arrived and deployed reinforcements, including B-1 and B-2 battle droids and NR-N99 tank droids.
• General Grievous launched attacks from multiple directions, destroying Republic transports and pushing the Clone Army into grave danger.
• A Clone Trooper squad destroyed nearby B-1 droids but then saw two NR-N99 tank droids charging toward them.

Cody led the exhausted 212th Attack Battalion against Separatist tank droids on Geonosis until Republic reinforcements arrived and the army began evacuating. As the Republic fleet covered the withdrawal, General Trench launched a full-force surprise attack on its defensive line.

• Cody and his combat squad disabled two NR-N99 tank droids by destroying their rear engines, then Cody ordered the 212th Attack Battalion to charge and draw enemy fire.
• Master Windu and the Jedi fought alongside the Clone Troopers as Republic reinforcements led by Depa Barris descended over the battlefield.
• Master Yoda ordered the army to withdraw, and the Republic began evacuating wounded and exhausted soldiers aboard the newly supplied warships.
• General Trench contacted General Grievous, then sent the Separatist fleet out from behind the moon to attack the Republic ships covering the evacuation.
• Fleet Commander Wullf Yularen ordered the Republic fleet to return fire as Trench's ships charged its defensive line.

Wullf Yularen's Republic fleet struggled to hold off the Separatist assault while the Clone Army evacuated Geonosis under General Grievous's final droid attack. General Trench's fleet sacrificed itself to devastate the planet and cripple the Republic, leaving Master Yoda to send ships back into the fight.

• Wullf Yularen ordered the Republic fleet into a defensive formation, but the Separatist ships charged through its fire and badly damaged the Invincible-class cruiser Elf.
• Luna-Meng and Luna-Huan joined the Republic fighters, while General Trench ordered his ships to ignore the fighters and concentrate their fire on the Republic fleet and Geonosis.
• General Grievous committed nearly six hundred thousand battle droids to a final assault as the Clone Army retreated behind improvised barricades and boarded ships.
• Wullf Yularen warned Master Yoda that the Separatist fleet had broken through, and destroyed warships began crashing onto Geonosis with the force of an orbital bombardment.
• Master Yoda ordered ships carrying soldiers and half the smaller warships back into space, where the Separatist fleet redirected its fire against them.
• General Trench's droid-controlled fleet continued trading its ships for Republic vessels as part of his plan to cripple the Republic and destroy Geonosis's factories.

As the Republic fleet and ground forces faced mounting losses on Geonosis, Master Yoda chose to evacuate most troops and leave forces behind to hold the line. The chapter ended with the abandoned regular soldiers nearly mutinying as Clone Troopers enforced the retreat order.

• General Trench exploited the Republic fleet’s weakened position while General Grievous launched a massive droid assault on the ground forces.
• Luna Dream and Luna Illusion damaged several Separatist warships, but the Republic fleet suffered heavy losses before reinforcements began shifting the space battle in its favor.
• Mabel Gassen told Master Yoda that the ground forces could not hold and that the remaining assault ship could evacuate only about twenty-five thousand more people.
• Mabel Gassen proposed evacuating the Clone Troopers and remaining behind with the regular soldiers, but Master Yoda decided to issue the retreat order himself.
• Master Yoda ordered twenty thousand regular soldiers and five thousand Clone Troopers to stay behind, with the regular soldiers allowed to surrender after the fleet departed.
• The regular soldiers nearly mutinied, and the five thousand Clone Troopers forcibly suppressed them.

The Battle of Geonosis ended in devastating losses for both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, while the Fourth Civilization gained strategic and political advantages through Tang Xiao’s intervention. The chapter left Tang Xiao working to protect Dawn Star Planet and the Fourth Group as Darth Sidious’s fleet threatened Bespin and Francis Underwood built support on Luks Major Planet.

• The Republic fleet escaped Geonosis after nine days of battle, leaving behind heavy casualties, captured troops, and nearly all of its largest warships.
• The Confederacy of Independent Systems also suffered severe losses, while wrecked warships and fighting damaged Geonosis’s factories and reduced its productive capacity by one-third.
• The chapter revealed that Sai Francis Tann’s intervention, arranged through the Fourth Civilization and Tang Xiao, had prolonged the battle and prevented the Republic from crushing the Confederacy.
• Tang Xiao sought to keep Count Dooku from attacking Dawn Star Planet and the Fourth Group by preserving the Confederacy’s dependence on their industry and by weakening it through continued fighting.
• Darth Sidious and Count Dooku sent a Republic fleet toward Bespin, while Francis Underwood promoted Dawn Star Planet’s standing in the Confederacy Parliament on Luks Major Planet.

Matt Hona prepared Bespin’s defenses against a looming Republic attack and planned to hold the planet for fifteen days. Meanwhile, Fourth Civilization Fleet B arrived at neutral Cerea, whose ruler urgently sought talks with its commander.

• Matt Hona learned that the Republic was sending sixty Hunter Class Battlecruisers and prepared to defend Bespin until Sefrans Tann’s operation began.
• Matt Hona oversaw construction of hidden Gauss Fire Platforms and Hangar Platforms, along with minefields and missile platforms around Bespin.
• Matt Hona recognized that the Fourth Civilization could not afford the losses the Republic could and began forming another battle plan before contacting Igor Zavalov.
• After Cerea declared neutrality, Fourth Civilization Fleet B departed on May 23 and arrived at the planet in the early hours of May 24.
• Grand Elder Dor Femi Bongmi panicked at the sight of Fleet B’s sixty capital ships and ordered diplomats to contact its commander.

Lin Nanyi pressured Cerea’s Grand Elder Dor into abandoning neutrality and joining the Confederacy of Independent Systems through a mutual defense agreement with Dawn Star Planet. As Cerea mobilized its industry and troops for the war, Admiral Sefrans Tann’s secret operation began.

• Lin Nanyi rejected Cerea’s neutrality and demanded that it sign a mutual defense treaty with Dawn Star Planet.
• Grand Elder Dor argued that Cerea followed the Galactic Republic, while Lin Nanyi insisted the Confederacy represented the freedom of the Mid Rim and Outer Rim.
• Lin Nanyi sent a Kohl-class Battlecruiser over Cerea’s capital as a show of force and called it a delivery of the treaty.
• Dor signed the agreement, bringing Cerea into the Confederacy and aligning it with Dawn Star Planet.
• Cerea shifted factories to wartime production and planned to send a 500,000-strong expeditionary force to the battlefield after three months of training.
• Admiral Sefrans Tann’s secret operation officially began.

Sefrans Tann and Edra Kestis raided Kyl Station to find the captured spy Berga Bu Dai while the Geonosians attacked the facility. Tann diverted the Clone Troopers by ordering an assault on the Energy Center and began using her shuttle’s power to restart the station’s combat machinery production.

• San Hill hired Sefrans Tann to search Kyl Station for Berga Bu Dai and reclaim the industrial platform if possible.
• Sefrans Tann and Edra Kestis arrived at Kyl Station and found Geonosian forces fighting the Clone Troopers inside.
• Edra Kestis attacked a Clone Trooper patrol with her Lightsaber while Sefrans Tann avoided the guarded control center.
• Sefrans Tann used Trabo’s authorization codes to order the Geonosians to attack the Energy Center and cut the station’s power.
• Sefrans Tann directed her shuttle to the factory district and used its energy supply to resume combat machinery production.

Jor Drakas led Republic clone troopers against Geonosians who had sabotaged a power station, then confronted the Dark Side warrior Edra-Kestis. She revealed herself as Darth-Lilim and overwhelmed him before an ally arrived to help.

• Jor Drakas learned that Geonosians had sabotaged a power station and ordered his clone troopers to attack while a communications platoon stayed behind.
• Drakas told Jett to guard a spy who could lead them to a mysterious Hutt buyer, then raced toward the control center’s other side.
• Drakas found Edra-Kestis beside several dead clone troopers and challenged her as a Dark Jedi Knight.
• Edra-Kestis named herself Darth-Lilim and attacked Drakas with her Lightsaber and the Force.
• Darth-Lilim overwhelmed Drakas with Force lightning, and someone shouted that they had come to help him.

Darth Lilim overwhelmed Jedi Knights Joel Drakas and Jett as they tried to protect the spy carrying intelligence on the secret weapon. When OG-9 Nest Spider battle mechs emerged from the factory, Jett charged Lilim to give Drakas a chance to escape and warn Master Yoda.

• Jett arrived and told Joel Drakas that the Mabrus were on their way and the spy was secure.
• Darth Lilim revealed her mastery of Ataru and attacked Jett and Drakas, preventing them from reaching her.
• Explosions at the factory revealed OG-9 Nest Spider battle mechs, which began destroying the industrial platform.
• Jett told Drakas to escape with a warning about Darth Lilim and the secret weapon, then charged Lilim to hold her off.

Sefrans Tann used the factory’s unfinished battle mechs to attack the Clone Army’s control center and ambush the troops escorting Bo-Dai. Before dying, Bo-Dai revealed a lead on the Republic’s secret weapon: the Hutt Boorka on Tatooine.

• Sefrans Tann restarted San Hill’s factory and assembled its remaining OG-9 Nest Spider and DSD1 Dwarf Spider battle mechs.
• Tann sent the Geonosians to attack the energy facilities, drawing the Clone Army’s attention away while the mechs assaulted the control center.
• Clone Troopers began evacuating Bo-Dai as an Acclamator-class assault ship, the Mabrus, approached the industrial platform.
• Tann attacked the escort with her yellow Lightsaber and the Force, but a Clone Trooper captain shot Bo-Dai before she could recover him.
• Tann ordered the mechs to destroy the control center, then questioned the dying Bo-Dai, who named the Hutt Boorka and Tatooine.