Chapter Summaries

Matt Hona launched a final offensive against the Republic fleet while the Fourth Civilization Army attacked Fermos City, exploiting mercenaries paid by Oruba Goresla to abandon their positions. As Republic forces withdrew into the city, a hidden Mass Driver aimed at the space battle prepared to fire a payload that was not ammunition.

• Matt Hona began a full-scale assault on the Republic fleet as Fourth Civilization forces attacked the western outskirts of Fermos City.
• Oruba Goresla paid the mercenaries to flee, opening gaps that Fourth Civilization mechanized forces exploited to strike toward the Clone Army's rear.
• The Clone Troopers held off the advance long enough to retreat into the fortified buildings of Fermos City.
• The Republic commander failed to notice what the mercenaries had left behind or that Matt Hona's satellite-mounted Mass Driver now aimed at the fleet battle.
• The Mass Driver was revealed to contain something other than ammunition.

Matt Horner ordered the Fourth Civilization fleet to concentrate its fire on the Galactic Republic flagship while the Northern Land acted as bait, leaving his ships exposed. The attack shattered the Prosecutor-class battlecruiser’s shields, but the satellite’s Mass Driver projectile was still approaching as the damaged flagship retreated.

• Matt Horner ordered every warship to attack the Prosecutor-class battlecruiser and told the Northern Land to draw enemy fire.
• The Northern Land lowered its forward shields and charged its Hypermatter Railgun while the Mass Driver on the satellite fired.
• Both fleets exchanged fire, and the unshielded Fourth Civilization ships suffered heavy losses, including a severely damaged Kohl-class Battlecruiser.
• The Fourth Civilization fleet shattered the Prosecutor-class battlecruiser’s shields and badly damaged its hull.
• The Prosecutor-class battlecruiser retreated behind Dreadnought-class cruisers, while the Mass Driver projectile remained in flight.

Matt Hona used the Fourth Civilization fleet’s firepower and a Mass Driver on Terminus Planet’s moon to breach the Republic flagship’s shields and launch a Droch-class boarding ship. The Enlightener emerged and tore through the Republic Marines, prompting Jedi Master Toka to lead a counterattack.

• Matt Hona ordered the fleet to concentrate fire on the Prosecutor-class battlecruiser, suffering heavy losses as the Republic flagship’s shields fell.
• A Droch-class boarding ship launched from the moon’s Mass Driver punched through the battlecruiser’s hangar armor.
• The Enlightener emerged from the boarding ship and resisted the Clone Troopers’ blaster fire and rocket attack.
• The Enlightener charged through the Republic Marines, killing and scattering them inside the battlecruiser.
• Jedi Master Toka drew his Lightsaber and led more than two hundred Marines to fight the Enlightener.

The Enlightener rampaged through the Republic flagship, killed Jedi Master Toka, and broke into the bridge. Meanwhile, Matt Hona launched boarding craft toward the flagship and sent more than a thousand assault craft toward Fermos City for an orbital drop.

• The Enlightener tore through the Republic flagship, hunted down its crew, and killed the engineer who pointed it toward the bridge.
• Jedi Master Toka confronted the Enlightener, but it overwhelmed him despite his Lightsaber and the Marines' blaster fire.
• The Enlightener reached the bridge and killed Toka in front of the Republic officers and soldiers.
• Matt Hona ordered the Corsev Battlecruisers to launch assault craft toward the silent Republic flagship.
• The Corsev Battlecruisers sent more than a thousand assault craft through Terminus Planet's defenses toward Fermos City.

Matt Hona launched a risky orbital drop on Fermos City, sacrificing many Fourth Legion soldiers to surprise the Republic forces and seize the city. As fighting spread and night fell, Lickers smuggled in by the mercenaries emerged from hiding.

• Matt Hona repurposed Corsev Battlecruiser assault craft for an orbital drop, committing 6,000 Fourth Legion warriors and biological weapons to the attack.
• More than a thousand assault craft descended through anti-aircraft fire over Fermos City, and surviving soldiers and Indjori Avenger Type 101 units attacked Republic forces.
• Only around 3,500 Fourth Legion warriors survived the descent, while all the Indjori Avengers landed safely and joined the fighting.
• Orbital drops across Fermos City disrupted the Republic army's ability to organize an effective defense.
• The mercenaries' smuggled Lickers crawled out of hiding after night fell.

The Fourth Civilization’s orbital drop shattered Republic defenses in Fermos City, while Matt Hona’s gambles let its forces exploit the chaos with a full-scale assault. The Republic army faced Indjori Avengers at close range as the battle turned into a citywide melee.

• Lickers ambushed Republic troops in the darkness, while local garrison soldiers panicked and fled from the orbital drops.
• The Fourth Civilization Army captured more than a third of Fermos City in under an hour, bypassing the Republic’s prepared defenses and heavy weapons.
• Republic media predicted victory on Terminus, while Count Dooku advised Tang Xiao to consider retreating and promised General Grievous would later assist.
• Fourth Legion soldiers and Indjori Avengers destroyed Republic artillery, anti-aircraft positions, and AT-TE walkers as assault craft landed across the battlefield.
• The Fourth Civilization Army launched an all-out offensive before the Republic could reorganize, forcing clone troopers into close combat with the powerful Indjori Avengers.

The Fourth Civilization turned the Battle of Terminus Planet around when its forces seized the Republic flagship, captured the orbital defense system, and forced the planet’s officials to surrender. After reinforcements and defecting ships joined the fight, the Fourth Civilization defeated the Republic fleet.

• The Fourth Civilization’s operators boarded the abandoned Prosecutor-class battlecruiser, restored its shields, and attacked the Republic fleet from within its formation.
• Fourth Civilization fighters emerged from Terminus Planet’s atmosphere while Major General Xiao Guanghua’s assault team seized the orbital defense system and fired its cannon at the Republic fleet.
• Fourth Legion soldiers and Indjori Vengeance creatures forced the Planet Governor and other officials to surrender, after which the Governor broadcast the planet’s surrender.
• Bounty Hunters and local troops switched sides, and more than a hundred bounty Hunter vessels joined the space battle.
• The Fourth Civilization won the Battle of Terminus Planet after less than three hours of fighting.

The Fourth Civilization won the Battle of Terminus but suffered losses so severe that Tang Xiao said Dawn Star Planet could no longer launch strategic offensives. He moved to fortify Terminus Planet and keep the Republic occupied while another part of his plan began acting more openly.

• The Galactic Republic retreated from Terminus after losing most of its fleet and abandoning its scattered ground forces.
• The battle left both sides with enormous casualties, though the Fourth Legion’s dead were revived through the Rebirth Plan.
• At the Confederacy Parliament on Raxus Prime, Tang Xiao declared that Dawn Star Planet had lost its capacity for strategic offense and emphasized Terminus Planet’s importance as a transportation hub.
• The Cooperative Alliance, the Givin, the Trade Federation, and the InterGalactic Banking Clan helped reinforce Terminus Planet and prepare new warships and defenses.
• As General Grievous’s campaign on Bosavic neared defeat, Tang Xiao ordered Sefrans Tann to keep expanding into the Republic Core Worlds and draw the Republic’s attention.
• Another piece of Tang Xiao’s earlier plan began taking more blatant action at his instigation.

Wilhuff Tarkin submitted his report on the Battle of Terminus to Sheev Palpatine, explaining how he lured Dawn Star Planet into battle and used attrition to blunt its fleet. He argued that Dawn Star Planet would be unable to recover for thirty years, while Palpatine considered how to present the costly battle to the Senate.

• Wilhuff Tarkin traveled to Coruscant and submitted his report on the Battle of Terminus to Sheev Palpatine.
• Tarkin’s report described how he exploited Dawn Star Planet’s infiltration and assassination attempts to draw its forces into a battle at Terminus Planet.
• Tarkin explained that Dawn Star Planet’s fleet relied on rapid assaults, so he used reserve forces, piecemeal tactics, and attrition to exhaust it while awaiting reinforcements.
• Tarkin said Dawn Star Planet attacked in early October, prompting Terminus Planet to abandon neutrality and Tarkin to commit his prepared fleet.
• Palpatine questioned how he could call the battle a victory after the Republic withdrew from Terminus and lost seven Jedi Knights, including Master Gallia.
• Tarkin replied that Dawn Star Planet would be unable to recover its strength for thirty years.

Sheev Palpatine and Wilhuff Tarkin presented the Battle of Terminus as a Republic victory, allowing Tarkin to advance his political ambitions despite the 18th Army’s setbacks. On Terminus Planet, a huge new Fourth Civilization vessel resembling a scaled-down Glory mothership arrived.

• Sheev Palpatine portrayed the Battle of Terminus as a Republic victory, and Wilhuff Tarkin received praise and a campaign medal.
• Wilhuff Tarkin accepted the 18th Army’s declining reinforcements and territorial losses while pursuing a place at the Galactic Republic’s center of power.
• Tarkin’s commanders judged that another attack on Terminus Planet was nearly impossible as Dawn Star Planet sent more ships and built a large framework nearby.
• Republic intelligence officers learned that Separatist ships had appeared near Utapau, possibly preparing to connect Dawn Star Planet with the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
• A 2,138.1-meter crescent-shaped Fourth Civilization vessel arrived at Terminus Planet under Garda Flak Frigate escort, stunning the monitoring-station employees with its resemblance to the Glory mothership.

The Dawn's Radiance-class mothership Shining Spirit arrived at Terminus Planet, where Colonel He Ru explained its capabilities to Admiral Matt Hona. Its factories and industrial equipment promised to strengthen the planet's defenses and ease its dependence on limited supply routes.

• Shining Spirit requested an anchorage at Terminus Planet, and the dispatch officer directed it to orbit Satellite Three while fighter escorts guided and monitored its approach.
• Admiral Matt Hona boarded Shining Spirit and began the formal handover with its captain, Colonel He Ru.
• He Ru explained that Shining Spirit was a prototype frontline mothership equipped to build ships, fighters, missiles, and industrial equipment.
• Matt Hona recognized that Shining Spirit could produce urgently needed warships, fighters, Fire Cloud missiles, and manufacturing tools for Terminus Planet.
• Matt Hona concluded that Shining Spirit would greatly strengthen Terminus Planet's defenses and help the Fourth Civilization establish its foothold in the Western Reaches.

Jedi Knight Barloi and Clone Troopers investigated a deserted mining colony and found evidence of a fierce battle against an unknown attacker. A scout then reported that thousands of bodies had been found impaled on steel spikes outside the mining area.

• Barloi and the Clone Troopers searched the empty colony and found battle damage, abandoned weapons, and no bodies.
• A Clone Trooper technician analyzed the weapons and footprints, concluding that an unknown, roughly two-meter-tall bipedal species may have attacked.
• Barloi questioned whether the attacker was a robot or a living creature, but he could sense no presence of life.
• A Clone Trooper scout reported finding thousands of bodies outside the mining area, all impaled on steel spikes.

Barloi and his Clone Troopers discovered thousands of deadly, partly mechanical corpses at Valk Planet’s mining area and fled the colony after the corpses advanced on them. After reporting the threat to Republic Command, Barloi received a distress signal from a mining spacecraft near Planet Three and decided to investigate for survivors.

• Barloi arrived at the mining area and found corpses impaled on rows of steel spikes.
• The spikes retracted, and the corpses rose and attacked; Barloi and the Clone Troopers fought them as they pursued the soldiers.
• Red-glowing corpses exploded with powerful EMPs, injuring Barloi and prompting the group to flee back to the colony.
• Barloi ordered an emergency withdrawal, and the Clone Troopers abandoned their supplies and escaped aboard their spacecraft as more than ten thousand corpses approached.
• Barloi reported the partly mechanical corpses to Republic Command, which promised reinforcements and research.
• A communications officer reported a distress signal from a mining spacecraft near Planet Three, and Barloi chose to investigate for survivors.

Jedi Knight Barloi and his Clone Troopers boarded a damaged mining ship, where they discovered an ambush by armed humanoid robots. As the ship's inverse-reaction bomb began to detonate, Barloi sacrificed himself to launch robot wreckage into an escape pod, and the explosion swallowed him and the surrounding area.

• Barloi led thirty Clone Troopers into the damaged mining vessel to search for survivors and investigate the attack.
• Barloi and the troops found corpses killed by plasma weapons and followed the distress signal to three chained crew members in a power distribution room.
• The three crew members exploded in an EMP blast, activating robots hidden in cargo crates that attacked the Clone Troopers with plasma rifles.
• Barloi and the surviving troops fought toward the exit as more than a hundred robots swarmed them, while their cruiser provided covering fire.
• The Clone Trooper Commander discovered that an inverse-reaction bomb was about to explode, and Barloi charged the robots while the cruiser tried to retreat.
• After the Clone Troopers were killed and Barloi was wounded, he shoved robot wreckage into an escape pod before a massive explosion engulfed the area.

Tang Xiao met with the Geth, whose fleet had recovered robot wreckage from the destroyed mining ship in the Valk System. He argued that the Geth should risk joining the war against the Galactic Republic, and the Geth fleet ultimately prepared to act.

• A Geth fleet arrived at the Valk System wreckage and killed surviving Clone Troopers while collecting robot wreckage.
• Tang Xiao watched the recovery footage aboard the Geth fleet's Homeworld-class escort carrier and discussed the Geth's alliance with them.
• Tang Xiao urged the Geth to accept the risks of war, arguing that the Fourth Civilization needed their help to tie down the Galactic Republic.
• Tang Xiao warned that the galaxy might blame the Geth if the Fourth Civilization fell, and the Geth fleet began a hyperspace jump.

The Jedi High Council discussed the destruction of Valk Planet and the death of General Barloi as Saesee Tiin led a Republic search-and-rescue and extermination operation. The Council considered how the enemy’s Corpse Puppets could be used to terrify and weaken colonies, and the chapter ended when Clone Troopers found Barloi’s ship.

• Ploo Koon confirmed through the Force that General Barloi had died, while Saesee Tiin reported that Valk Planet’s residents were likely beyond saving and Barloi’s ship was missing.
• Saesee Tiin ordered Clone Troopers to land on Valk Planet, search for survivors, and avoid unnecessary bombardment while fighting the Corpse Puppets.
• The Republic forces attacked a horde of more than a hundred thousand Corpse Puppets, and technicians collected samples for analysis.
• A technician reported that nanoscale devices powered and controlled the dried, hardened corpses, while Master Yoda and Ploo Koon reasoned that the creatures were meant to spread fear and break colony defenses.
• Clone Troopers reported that they had found General Barloi’s ship.

Jedi Master Sass Tiin’s search for the attackers uncovered footage of Barloi protecting an unknown creature, but the Jedi Council refused to send more forces to the Perrin Sector. The chapter ended with a distress signal arriving from Ganderos VI.

• Sass Tiin and his team found Barloi’s wrecked ship and concluded another vessel had destroyed it with a close-range reactor explosion.
• The Republic’s forces defeated most of the Corpse Puppets on Valk Planet but found no records because an EMP had destroyed the colony’s equipment.
• Reconnaissance crews recovered an escape pod whose protected components yielded six seconds of footage showing Barloi shielding an unknown creature.
• Sass Tiin recommended sending more warships to the Perrin Sector, but Master Yoda said the Senate had ordered the Republic to concentrate its forces in the Core Worlds against the Plague Titan warship.
• A communications officer reported that Ganderos VI had sent a distress signal.

Master Sass-Tiin led a Republic fleet to Ganderos VI to investigate the lost exploration ship and defend the planet’s besieged towns. After Republic aircraft halted the ground assault, more than a hundred enemy warships emerged from hyperspace and attacked the fleet.

• Sass-Tiin recalled 6,000 Clone Troopers and took the remaining fleet toward Ganderos VI after Yoda urged him to seek the truth behind the devastation.
• Sass-Tiin learned the planet had gone silent two days earlier but continued the investigation because three million people were at risk.
• Reconnaissance shuttles found five towns under attack and eight silent, so Sass-Tiin sent bombers and fighters to support the surviving settlements.
• Republic pilots bombarded Corpse Puppets and Geth positions, relieving the towns’ defenders and stopping the assault.
• Sass-Tiin sensed an incoming attack and ordered the fleet to prepare and fire at a marked hyperspace arrival point.
• More than a hundred enemy warships emerged into the Republic barrage; several were destroyed, but the rest charged the fleet and opened fire with ion cannons and plasma weapons.

Geth forces ambushed Republic units at Valk Planet while their main fleet attacked Sass Tiin’s forces, forcing the Jedi general to retreat. The chapter ends as Sefrans Tann’s fleet engages Master Windu’s forces above Nubia.

• Sass Tiin’s fleet encountered the Geth, whose powerful ships overwhelmed Republic fighters and battered its battlecruisers.
• Twenty Geth frigates attacked the Acclamator-class assault ship above Valk Planet while transports deployed more than four thousand Geth soldiers to the ground.
• The Geth and more than fifty thousand corpse puppets overwhelmed the Clone Troopers, and the Acclamator-class assault ship was destroyed.
• Sass Tiin ordered a retreat after losing a Hunter Class Battlecruiser and more than seven hundred fighters, returning to Coruscant with a battered fleet.
• Sefrans Tann’s fleet engaged Master Windu’s forces above Nubia, opening the battle with the Plague’s massive railgun.

Sefrans Tann launched a surprise assault on Nubian Planet, hoping to strike the Republic 2nd Legion’s headquarters with the Plague Titan warship. Master Windu recognized how the enemy used Force users to locate fleet flagships and prepared a fighter counterattack while ordering the Republic fleet to maximize its shields.

• Sefrans Tann diverted the Republic’s attention toward Balmorra-Neimoidia, then turned her fleet toward Nubian Planet.
• The Plague’s Hypermatter Railgun struck a Commander-class Dreadnought, but the ship survived by concentrating its power on its forward shields.
• Sefrans Tann realized the damaged Dreadnought was not the enemy flagship because the Republic fleet’s command remained orderly.
• Master Windu identified the Plague’s Force users as the means of locating enemy flagships and explained how the tactic had defeated the 7th Fleet.
• Master Windu ordered the Republic ships to maximize their shields and prepared to counterattack with fighter squadrons.