Chapter Summaries

Tang Xiao and Semir Tang maneuvered Parsel Argent into borrowing money from San Hill to fund the Corporate Alliance’s planned attack on Christophsis, while Tang Xiao prepared for Argent’s likely failure. Meanwhile, the Fourth Civilization expanded its military position around Bespin and pressured the Republic 19th Army from multiple directions.

• Tang Xiao and Semir Tang agreed that Parsel Argent’s efforts to secure help for Christophsis could be used to pressure the Corporate Alliance and strengthen the Cooperative Alliance.
• Parsel Argent asked San Hill to lend him five billion credits so he could pay the Semirians to send a fleet to Christophsis.
• Parsel Argent relied on the Retail Association and the Kloiden to help seize Christophsis, while Tang Xiao anticipated that his plan would fail.
• Lin Nanyi positioned Fleet B outside Planet Kaal and secretly sent warships toward Tatooine while Sulama remained behind the Republic’s defenses.
• Matt Hona captured Hoth Planet’s spaceport, destroyed its Republic outpost, and deployed one hundred thousand B-1 battle droids.
• Matt Hona began using the expanding base on Bespin Planet to take nearby worlds as Fleet A and Fleet B encircled the Republic 19th Army.

A Separatist fleet raided Sarapin and attacked the Republic defenses around Satellite 426, revealing that the Core Worlds were vulnerable. Sheev Palpatine refused to evacuate and ordered the Republic to crush the attackers, summoning Yoda and Windu for help.

• A Separatist fleet arrived in the Sarapin system and opened fire on the defensive space station near Satellite 426.
• Republic Supreme Strategic Command struggled to find nearby reinforcements, and Kuat Drive Yards refused to send ships.
• Sheev Palpatine recognized that the raid threatened the security of the Core Worlds and refused to leave his post.
• Palpatine ordered the Separatist threat at Sarapin eliminated and summoned Master Yoda and Master Windu.

Sefrans Tann led the Confederacy of Independent Systems to capture Satellite 426 and destroy its planetary shield generator, leaving Sarapin exposed. He then seized the planet’s energy reserves while making its defenders believe the fleet was focused on looting, prompting them to weaken their defenses.

• Sefrans Tann used agile fleet maneuvers and a droid landing force to defeat the Republic defenders and capture Satellite 426 after twelve hours of fighting.
• The Confederacy fleet destroyed Satellite 426’s planetary shield generator, removing Sarapin’s shield protection.
• Sefrans Tann ordered an immediate strike on Sarapin’s supply station and explained to Zian Phineas that Republic reinforcements could arrive within ten hours.
• The Confederacy droids seized enough stored energy to supply Dawn Star Planet for two years and threatened to raid other supply stations.
• Sarapin’s defense commander mistook the assault for a looting raid and sent forces to reinforce other supply stations.

The Republic retook Alaris satellite and discovered the terrible losses left by the Separatist attack. Jedi Master Shen-Jon mourned the dead and learned that Sarabin Planet was under siege.

• Sefrans Tann smiled as the Republic commander sent fifty thousand troops to defend the remaining supply stations.
• Republic forces landed on Alaris satellite and quickly destroyed the scattered Separatist droids.
• Jedi Master Shen-Jon and Stam Reath surveyed the battlefield and mourned the Republic soldiers and Wookiees who had died.
• Stam Reath found Joel Drakas's body, and Shen-Jon recognized that Drakas had fallen to the Dark Side before his death.
• A clone commander reported that the M-917 Combat Regiment and Clone 061st Assault Battalion had been annihilated and told Shen-Jon that Separatists were besieging Sarabin Planet.

Stam Reath and Master Shen-Jon learned that the Separatists were attacking Sarapin and rushed ahead to reinforce it. At Mount Kolvister, Sefrans Tann’s army used Extractors to destroy the Republic’s defenses, and she vowed to conquer Coruscant.

• Stam Reath learned that the Separatist force attacking Sarapin had also raided Alaris satellite, and he urged Master Shen-Jon to reinforce the planet.
• Shen-Jon and Stam Reath flew ahead in their Delta-7 fighters while three Hunter Class Battlecruisers set course for Sarapin.
• Sefrans Tann launched a full assault on Mount Kolvister, where the Republic’s defenses initially overwhelmed the droid army.
• Three Extractors destroyed Turbolaser Turrets Four and Two with powerful energy beams, while the Republic commander ordered intelligence gathered and the vehicles destroyed.
• Sefrans Tann watched Mount Kolvister burn and declared that she would conquer Coruscant before firing another beam that destroyed a city building.

Fedalle and dozens of other wealthy Core Worlds planets plunged into darkness after losing the electricity supplied by Energy Planet Sarapin. As the blackouts crippled factories and daily life, Mount Kolvister on Sarabin Planet burned under attack by three Extractors.

• A wealthy man on Fedalle bragged to his lover about luxury goods and flirted with four women as his speeder headed to a hotel.
• The lights went out across Fedalle, and the man learned that his family's factory had stopped operating while its robots had less than six hours of power remaining.
• Dozens of Core Worlds planets, including Krumms Planet and Bel LS Planet, were plunged into blackouts because they relied on Energy Planet Sarapin for electricity.
• Three Extractors broke through Mount Kolvister's defenses on Sarabin Planet, setting the capital ablaze as fighting spread into the city.

Jedi Master Shen-Jon and Stam-Rees brought Republic forces to Sarapin as Sefrans-Tann destroyed Mount Kolvister’s geothermal facilities and prepared to confront the landing troops. The two armies moved toward an impending clash, with Shen-Jon ordering his forces to spread out and avoid a direct engagement.

• Shen-Jon and Stam-Rees arrived at Sarapin with three Hunter Class Battlecruisers and sent Marines to the planet while fighters reinforced the battle around Satellite 426.
• Sefrans-Tann used the Extractor’s Plasma Beam to destroy a geothermal power facility at Mount Kolvister as Republic transports entered the atmosphere.
• Sefrans-Tann taunted Edra-Kestis, who drew her Lightsaber but then sheathed it after a golden gleam flashed across her Kyber Crystal.
• Sefrans-Tann ordered the First and Second Battle Groups to counterattack, then told Qian-Phineas to prepare to retreat after killing the Jedi Master.
• Sefrans-Tann led her forces away from Mount Kolvister toward the Republic landing troops, while Shen-Jon ordered his units to spread out and avoid engaging head-on.

Shen-Jon’s forces bombarded the Separatist army before a devastating green beam struck their position and left him severely injured. Stam Reath rallied the Clone Troopers to attack the weapon’s location, while Shen-Jon warned that the Death Beam had to be destroyed.

• Shen-Jon split his Clone Troopers into six groups to face the robot army approaching from six directions.
• Shen-Jon used the Force to save Stam Reath from a green beam that vaporized an AT-TE and severely burned him.
• Shen-Jon told Stam Reath to destroy the weapon while he sat down to meditate and recover.
• Stam Reath regrouped the Clone Troopers after their radar located the Death Beam and ordered a full counterattack.
• The six Clone Trooper forces charged toward the Death Beam despite facing a robot army three times their number.

The Clone Army struggled against Sefrans Tann’s droid forces on Sarabin Planet, while Shen Jon prepared an unusual plan to turn the battle. As Stam Reath led a desperate attack on the enemy headquarters, Tann defeated him in combat and a B-2 droid struck at him from behind.

• Clone Troopers used coordinated squad tactics to hold back the larger droid army, prompting Sefrans Tann to micromanage their advances and redirect attacks to favor her Extractors.
• Sefrans Tann reinforced the battlefield with droids from Mount Kolvister as the Clone Army began to struggle.
• Shen Jon sent for a V-19 Torrent fighter, then took off in its open cockpit despite warnings about Sarabin Planet’s electromagnetic interference.
• Stam Reath gathered his remaining forces and led a desperate assault on the droid headquarters, dodging an Extractor’s shot as he advanced.
• Sefrans Tann confronted Reath with her yellow Lightsaber and overpowered him while B-2 droids drove back the Clone Troopers trying to help.
• A B-2 super battle droid raised its fist behind Reath and swung it toward the back of his head.

Shen-Jon attacked Sefrans-Tann in a desperate attempt to avenge Stam-Reese and stop her army, but Edra-Kestis intervened and blocked his killing blow. Edra then unleashed her lightning and Ataru swordsmanship against Shen-Jon.

• Sefrans-Tann killed Stam-Reese and ordered her droids to finish off the Republic army.
• Shen-Jon sensed Stam-Reese's death and plunged his damaged V-19 Torrent fighter toward Sefrans-Tann, using the Force to guide it.
• Sefrans-Tann narrowly dodged the crashing fighter, but the impact and explosion scattered her droids and left her vulnerable.
• Shen-Jon seized Sefrans-Tann's yellow Lightsaber and severed her arm, then brought both blades down to kill her.
• Edra-Kestis blocked Shen-Jon's attack and drove him back with lightning and Form IV Ataru.

Darth Lilim rescued the wounded Sefrans Tann while Shen-Jon mourned Stam-Ris and vowed to pursue the Separatists’ Death Beam and the Sith Lord behind it. As the Republic regrouped and Tang Xiao received an update on Kyber research, both sides prepared for their next moves.

• Shen-Jon’s Vaapad overwhelmed Darth Lilim, but she escaped with Sefrans Tann after droids covered their retreat, leaving Shen-Jon grieving over Stam-Ris’s corpse.
• Edra Kestis left Qian Phineas in command and ordered him to keep raiding Sarabin’s supply stations while planting explosives on an Extractor.
• The droid army withdrew, and the depleted Republic clone force returned to its positions and reorganized.
• Shen-Jon told Master Windu about the Death Beam and vowed to find its source and the Sith Lord; Windu assigned Stam’s younger sister, Naat Reath, as Shen-Jon’s new apprentice.
• Zekrath told Tang Xiao that the temple on Drai II and its Kyber Crystal research could aid reconstruction, though Kyber and the Force differed from their former universe’s psionics and Khalai Crystals.

Tang Xiao examined the Extractor's military value and tested the Dark Side power of Kresh's Gauntlet, which protected him from Siege Tank fire. The gauntlet's defense proved powerful but required Tang Xiao to sense threats, and Jedi Masters Gryn Bettie and Aiden Ward arrived for the next test.

• Tang Xiao negotiated with Zekrath for the Shelak Tribe's support in exchange for help with its research, construction, and rebuilding.
• Helmut Zemo explained that Sarabin Planet's terrain limited aerial forces and that Republic air superiority would weaken the Extractor, so Tang Xiao ordered its technology sent to Count Dooku while keeping the prototype.
• Tang Xiao put on Kresh's Gauntlet and heard Lucien Draay warn that its Dark Side power could corrupt him and that he had almost no chance against Darth Sidious.
• Tang Xiao ordered Zemo to test the gauntlet against a Siege Tank, and its Force barrier stopped repeated cannon blasts.
• Tang Xiao explained that the gauntlet needed him to sense a threat before it could lock onto attacks, and Zemo brought Jedi Masters Gryn Bettie and Aiden Ward into the testing ground.

Tang Xiao tested Green Beatty and Aiden Ward, who had fallen toward the Dark Side, and used Kresh's Gauntlet to overwhelm them without a fight. He left with renewed ambition but struggled to recover his composure after the gauntlet's power filled him with joy and arrogance.

• Tang Xiao offered Green Beatty and Aiden Ward a chance to defeat him, and they attacked with red Lightsabers.
• Tang Xiao reflected on how unchecked desire could destroy both individuals and civilizations as he touched Kresh's Gauntlet.
• Kresh's Gauntlet blocked the Jedi Masters' attacks, and Tang Xiao hurled them away with invisible Force power.
• Tang Xiao blocked a Siege Tank shell and turned its blast wave against Green Beatty and Aiden Ward, knocking them unconscious.
• Tang Xiao removed the gauntlet, ordered the two Jedi Masters taken for treatment, and declared that his road had only just begun.

The Separatists launched a massive assault on Bravo Base on Rhen Var, forcing Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to fight through overwhelming droid forces as they considered an evacuation. Afterward, Tang Xiao confronted the injured Sefrans Tann and spoke with Darth Tenebrus about the Sith and the balance of the Force.

• The Separatists attacked Bravo Base with six Luukri-Hok-class battleships, 300,000 B-1 battle droids, AAT tanks, and HAG self-propelled mortars, overwhelming the Republic defenders.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker fought hundreds of Vulture droid fighters, while Obi-Wan urged Anakin to answer him and warned him about his state of mind after Senator Amidala was injured.
• Obi-Wan decided the Republic forces should evacuate Bravo Base and told Anakin to destroy the HAG mortars, and Anakin charged toward their position.
• Tang Xiao visited the wounded Sefrans Tann, criticized her for confronting Jedi personally, and heard her insist on keeping her missing arm as a symbol of humiliation while requesting a mechanical one.
• Tang Xiao spoke with Darth Tenebrus, who said he had corrupted two of Tang Xiao's toys to the Dark Side, and asked what the Sith would become after the balance of the Force.

Darth Malthael proposed that he and Darth Tenebrus use Essence Transfer to preserve elite pilots by moving their life essence into prepared bodies. Tenebrus agreed to cooperate and demanded that Malthael prepare a body for him so he could return to the living once their research succeeded.

• Darth Malthael explained that Darth Pregas could transfer life, thought, and souls but had failed to transfer Force aptitude, the hardest part of Essence Transfer.
• Darth Tenebrus said the Chosen One could not be killed because the Force had already determined his fate, making Essence Transfer the only path forward.
• Darth Malthael proposed using Essence Transfer to preserve pilots lost in the war by transferring their life essence into backup bodies.
• Darth Malthael showed Darth Tenebrus memory-storage technology that could be upgraded to transfer pilots' souls, memories, and life essence.
• Darth Tenebrus agreed to cooperate and asked Darth Malthael to prepare a body for him immediately.

As the Republic struggled to defend its scattered worlds, Count Dooku consulted Ulic Qel-Droma’s spirit and departed for Luks Major Planet. On Dawn Star Planet, Tang Xiao punished Sefrans Tann for her failure at Sarabin and forced her to pilot the Red Comet as Darth Malthael pursued the captured Decimator prototype.

• Palpatine rejected the Republic military’s request to abandon vulnerable Outer Rim planets, and Master Windu proposed sending Jedi Knights to lead their defenses.
• Anakin Skywalker rescued Obi-Wan Kenobi after his fighter was shot down during the evacuation from Ren Var.
• Count Dooku spoke with Ulic Qel-Droma’s spirit in an ice-sealed cave, then left for Luks Major Planet to seek a way to strike the Republic.
• Sefrans Tann told Tang Xiao that the Republic had retaken Sarabin and captured the Decimator prototype, and she requested the Fourth Legion to intercept it near Umbara.
• Tang Xiao attacked Tann, revealed himself as Darth Malthael, and forced her to pilot the Red Comet toward the prototype.

Rosana Goodes celebrated the Separatist capture of Energy Planet Sarapin and gave Count Dooku the Extractor data, while the Republic debated a proposal to expand planetary forces. Count Dooku announced a medal ceremony for General Sefrans Tann, but Rosana said Tann was recovering from injuries and that her adjutant Lin Nanyi would attend instead.

• Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine introduced Proposal No. 426117 to strengthen local planetary forces, prompting opposition led by Bail Organa and enthusiasm from corporate representatives.
• Rosana Goodes addressed the Confederacy assembly and presented the capture of Energy Planet Sarapin and the Extractor data as victories by General Sefrans Tann's forces.
• Rosana handed the Extractor data to Count Dooku, limiting his ability to secretly develop it for Darth Sidious and leaving the costly project for the Confederacy to fund.
• Count Dooku accepted the data and announced a public medal ceremony where he would honor General Sefrans Tann.
• Rosana said Tann was recovering from injuries on Dawn Star Planet and that Lin Nanyi would attend the ceremony in her place.

Count Dooku uncovered the buried Dark Reaper on Luks Major Planet, while Darth Malthael destroyed an Umbrian base and the captured Decimator prototype. The chapter left the Dark Reaper recovered and the prototype in ruins.

• Count Dooku led a secret team into Luks Major Planet’s garbage dump and uncovered the Dark Reaper.
• Darth Malthael advanced through heavy fire and slaughtered the defenders at a hidden Umbrian base.
• Darth Malthael found Qian Phineas and asked Sefrans Tann to decide his fate.
• Sefrans Tann condemned Qian Phineas, and Darth Malthael beheaded him.
• An explosion destroyed the base and reduced the Decimator prototype to scrap.

The Republic-Separatist war spread into civil conflicts across more than 14,000 planets, while the Fourth Civilization prepared to attack Christophsis. The chapter ended with tensions rising on Christophsis after the Kroydon demanded autonomy and declared their intention to join the Confederacy.

• Civil wars and coups erupted across more than 14,000 planets, with the conflict causing hundreds of millions of deaths.
• The Republic and the Confederacy’s territories shifted rapidly as figures including Sefrans Tann, Matt Hona, General Grievous, Shen-Jon, and Wilhuff Tarkin gained prominence.
• Fleet A reinforced Bespin while Fleet B remained on Noe Ha On, and the fleets secretly rotated personnel on June 27.
• Matt Hona took command on Noe Ha On as Fleet B prepared to attack Christophsis.
• Passel Argente obtained an emergency loan from San Hill, and the Semirians sent thirty Hiigaran-class battlecruisers to Ando Planet on June 29.
• The Kroydon demanded autonomy and declared their intention to join the Confederacy on July 1, but Christophsis’s Planet Council rejected their demands on July 2.

The Retail Clan helped the Kroydon stage a coup on Christophsis, where riots escalated into armed conflict and prompted the Republic to send Bail Organa as an envoy. As Christophsis’s authorities tried to suppress the unrest, Passel Argente discussed the operation with arms smuggler Yuri Orlov.

• The Retail Clan recruited the Kroydon to stir unrest on Christophsis in exchange for generous compensation and a promise of support for joining the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
• After negotiations failed, Kroydon rioted across hundreds of cities, including within Christophsis’s security forces, and demanded autonomy while citing discrimination.
• Sheev Palpatine sent Bail Organa to lead a Republic delegation to Christophsis after the Senate approved mediation on July 6.
• Bail Organa arrived on Christophsis on July 7 as the riots intensified, with Kroydon attacking former employers and looting businesses and factories.
• Christophsis’s authorities reorganized their military and began armed suppression, but the Kroydon had obtained more weapons than expected.
• Passel Argente spoke with Yuri Orlov, who implied that he had arranged large-scale arms smuggling, and promised him more than ten times his profit if they took Christophsis.