Chapter Summaries

Adi Gallia, believed dead, appeared in a Delta-7 and demanded that the Republic fleet let the damaged Plague escape, then fought against the fleet alongside Darth Lilim. After the Plague destroyed another Hunter Class Battlecruiser and endured the Republic’s counterattack, Eeth Koth launched to confront Adi Gallia.

• Adi Gallia transmitted to Eeth Koth and urged the Republic fleet to withdraw, saying the Plague needed a year of repairs and that the truth would emerge in time.
• When Eeth Koth refused, Adi Gallia attacked the Republic formation as Sefrans Tann ordered the Plague to fire its overloaded railgun, destroying a Hunter Class Battlecruiser.
• Eeth Koth vowed to destroy the Plague and launched from the Aquitenes-class light cruiser.
• The Republic fleet attacked the Plague while its shields were down, damaging its forward compartments.
• Adi Gallia and Darth Lilim held off hundreds of Republic fighters, forcing the Republic Fleet Commander to pull them back and focus fire on the Plague.
• Eeth Koth flew toward Adi Gallia and shouted that she had betrayed the Republic.

The Republic fleet nearly destroyed the Plague, but Sefrans Tann ordered a desperate, uncalculated hyperspace jump to escape. Left behind and surrounded, Adi Gallia surrendered to Eeth Koth.

• Adi Gallia defeated Eeth Koth by destroying his fighter's engines, then damaged a Republic battlecruiser with Proton Torpedoes.
• The Republic fleet's assault crippled the Plague, damaging its railgun, hangar, and reactor systems.
• Sefrans Tann rejected surrender and ordered the Plague to divert its power into a random hyperspace jump.
• The Plague vanished into hyperspace, abandoning Darth Lilim and Adi Gallia.
• Darth Lilim escaped using Adi Gallia's hyperspace ring, while Adi Gallia surrendered and was taken aboard a Republic battlecruiser.

Darth Malthael showed Adi Gallia a vision of the galaxy’s hidden darkness, revealing Coruscant, the Laxus system, and the Endor system as centers of profound Dark Side influence. The story left Adi wondering whether a powerful traitor was hidden within the Jedi Order.

• Adi Gallia escaped Eeth Koth’s capture by detonating her fighter and deflecting the clones’ blaster fire.
• Eeth Koth ordered a search for Plague and demanded confirmation of what had happened to it.
• Three days earlier, Darth Malthael met the Force-sealed Adi Gallia in Darth Pregas’s laboratory on Abola Island.
• Darth Malthael argued that the war stemmed from the Outer Rim’s desperation and showed Adi a vision of Coruscant shrouded in darkness.
• Adi also saw darkness in the Laxus and Endor systems and suspected a powerful Sith Lord was concealed within the Jedi Order.

Darth Malthael offered Adi Gallia freedom and a chance to oppose the Sith Lord on Coruscant if she helped bring Plague back, and she left with the fighter key. Meanwhile, Sefrans Tann awoke aboard the damaged Plague to learn that two hundred Galactic Republic warships were approaching.

• Darth Malthael refused to identify the Sith Lord on Coruscant, released Adi Gallia, and gave her the choice to leave or help bring Plague back.
• Adi Gallia demanded Shiri Tachi's release and threatened Darth Malthael, who said Shiri had fallen to the Dark Side and that only one of him and the Coruscant Sith Lord could survive.
• Adi Gallia took the Delta-7 fighter's ignition key and left.
• Sefrans Tann awoke on Plague's wrecked bridge as the crew returned to their stations.
• The radar officer reported that two hundred Galactic Republic warships were five light-minutes away.

Sefrans Tann discovered a motionless fleet of roughly two hundred Galactic Republic warships after the crippled Plague emerged from hyperspace. Unable to contact headquarters and uncertain why the fleet remained still, she ordered Plague to approach it despite the danger.

• Sefrans Tann learned that Plague was badly damaged, with its hyperdrive, shields, hangar, and most of its weapons disabled.
• Sola reported that the distant ships were probably Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers, though their engines were shut down.
• Sefrans Tann ordered the crew to prepare for battle and maintain communications silence because Plague could not contact headquarters.
• After the Republic fleet remained motionless for an hour, Sefrans Tann decided that Plague would fly toward it.
• The crew started Plague's engines and began the roughly twenty-five-hour journey toward the fleet.

Tang Xiao reacted furiously to the disappearance of the Plague and Sefrans Tann, then turned to the growing crisis on Mon Calamari. Meanwhile, the Plague drifted through a starless region of space at sublight speed, with its crew fearing they would never be rescued.

• Qi Jian and Helmut Zemo discussed Tang Xiao's anger over the Plague's disappearance and Sefrans Tann's fate.
• Tang Xiao argued with Zemo about the loss, then vented his fury before asking Qi Jian for his report.
• Qi Jian reported that the Quarren and Mon Calamari had reached armed confrontation and that General Grievous might attack the planet.
• Tang Xiao ordered Qi Jian to contact Rosana Goodes and Muira about approaching the Quarren, leaving the matter to the Selurites.
• The Plague traveled through a desolate region at sublight speed as its crew faced the prospect of drifting indefinitely without rescue.

Sefrans Tann led the Plague warship to a silent fleet of 200 Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers and sent boarding parties to investigate. After cutting through a bulkhead, she and the Marines discovered a mass of grotesquely killed Republic Judicial Fleet crew, with no signs of gunfire.

• Sefrans Tann announced the Plague warship’s surrender to the silent fleet, but received no reply.
• Sefrans Tann sent exploration craft to board three cruisers, and the crews entered through hangar doors opened by a maintenance request.
• The boarding Marines found parked fighters and sealed interior bulkheads, leading Sefrans Tann to suspect someone had wanted outsiders to enter while trapping those inside.
• Sefrans Tann boarded a cruiser and cut through a bulkhead with her yellow Lightsaber.
• Sefrans Tann and the Marines found a doorway blocked by heaps of Republic Judicial Fleet corpses, and she observed that the bodies showed no signs of gunfire.

Sefrans Tann’s team explored three abandoned Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers and found crews dead after a violent outbreak, while the ships remained largely intact. After discovering one cruiser was mostly operational, she ordered the fleet secured and communications established with Governor Tang, hoping to claim two hundred warships.

• Sefrans Tann confirmed that the dead aboard the first cruiser had starved, killed one another, or died by suicide, and ordered everyone to keep their protective suits on.
• Exploration teams reported similar scenes aboard the other two cruisers, with sealed hangar decks and escape-pod areas trapping the crews.
• Sefrans Tann concluded that a virus-like outbreak had prompted someone to seal the ships, then ordered her crew to secure all three cruisers and contact Dawn Star Planet.
• Sefrans Tann cut through the bridge hatch and led the team inside, where an engineer found that eighty-seven percent of the cruiser’s systems were operational.
• Sefrans Tann ordered the communications equipment activated so she could report the coordinates to Governor Tang.

Tang Xiao learned that Sefrans-Tann had discovered 200 abandoned Dreadnought-class cruisers near the Halm system and identified them as the long-lost Blade Fleet. He ordered a secret relief mission toward Cerea while explaining the fleet’s history and disappearance.

• Sefrans-Tann reported that 200 cruisers lay crewless near Halm and that her remaining forces could activate only five ships.
• Tang Xiao realized Halm was close to Cerea and ordered Cun Te back, then sent a transport convoy toward the Cerean system without entering Republic-controlled Halm.
• Tang Xiao named the vessels the Blade Fleet, and Sefrans-Tann asked how he knew their history.
• Tang Xiao explained that the Republic had formed the fleet in 46 BBY from 200 upgraded Dreadnought-class cruisers, but it vanished during its maiden voyage.
• Tang Xiao described the political fallout from the fleet’s disappearance and said Republic orders shifted from Rendili StarDrive to Kuat Drive Yards.

Sefrans Tann learned how the Brain Plague doomed the Blade Fleet, whose 440,000 crew vanished after an uncontrolled hyperspace jump. She located the fleet’s flagship and began securing the ships for Tang Xiao, while worrying about the time needed to crack their systems.

• Tang Xiao told Sefrans Tann that the SBI had traced the Blade Fleet’s disappearance to Brain Plague carriers but had never discovered what happened aboard the fleet.
• Tang Xiao warned Sefrans Tann that her actions had nearly ruined his plan, then ended their communication as she acknowledged his warning.
• Sefrans Tann’s engineers traced the final jump order to the flagship Blade, and she led a squad aboard it to clear the ship and crack its controls.
• Records from the Blade revealed that the Brain Plague spread among the crew after their pre-voyage party, and the commander ordered the fleet to jump to prevent the virus reaching Coruscant.
• The infected commander failed to specify a destination, and the infected navigator entered no coordinates, sending the fleet on an uncontrolled hyperspace jump that left everyone dead near the Halm system.

Eeth Koth searched for the Plague until Shen-Jon arrived and offered to track Sefrans Tann through dangerous Force-guided hyperspace navigation. Eeth Koth agreed to join him, and Shen-Jon found the Plague’s location, setting the fleet on course for a final confrontation.

• Eeth Koth’s fleet searched for the Plague as reports of possible hyperspace disturbances arrived from several outposts.
• Shen-Jon arrived in a modified Hunter Class Battlecruiser and revealed that he had fallen to the Dark Side while pursuing Sefrans Tann.
• Shen-Jon asked Eeth Koth to use forbidden Force-guided hyperspace navigation, warning that this was their last chance to destroy the Plague.
• Eeth Koth agreed, and he assembled five Hunter Class Battlecruisers, eight Aquitenes-class light cruisers, and another Jedi Master to join the search.
• Shen-Jon used his hatred of Sefrans Tann to guide the fleet through hyperspace and pinpointed her location.

Shen-Jon and Hunter Squad emerged from hyperspace to find the Plague Titan warship, a Separatist fleet, and the long-missing Blade Fleet locked in a struggle over control of the Republic cruisers. As Eeth Koth ordered an attack on the Separatist transports, Shen-Jon turned his ships toward Plague.

• Shen-Jon told Hunter Squad that his mission would end once Plague was destroyed and Sefrans Tann was killed, then prepared to exit hyperspace.
• Shen-Jon’s ship emerged beside the battered Plague Titan warship and more than 230 other ships, including the Blade Fleet, missing for twenty-five years.
• Separatist Rescue Boats began infiltrating the Blade Fleet’s Dreadnought-class cruisers, and several Republic cruisers joined the Separatist battle line after being seized.
• Eeth Koth ordered the Republic fleet to attack the Separatist transports and called for reinforcements as more Dreadnoughts fell under Separatist control.
• Shen-Jon turned his Hunter Class Battlecruiser and the ships under his command toward the Plague Titan warship.

Shen-Jon warned Eeth Koth that pursuing Sefrans Tann’s retreating fleet was a trap, but Eeth Koth ordered the Republic ships to attack. Sefrans Tann recognized Shen-Jon as the Jedi who had severed her arm and prepared to confront him as her fleet withdrew toward the Blade Fleet.

• Shen-Jon urged Eeth Koth to attack the Plague Titan warship first, but Eeth Koth rejected his advice and ordered the ships to sever their navigation links with Shen-Jon’s warship.
• Shen-Jon returned his ship to formation rather than face the Plague Titan alone.
• Sefrans Tann identified the presence watching her as the Jedi Knight who had cut off her arm and resolved to kill him.
• Sefrans Tann ordered her fleet to withdraw and slip into the Blade Fleet’s formation while the Plague Titan circled around it.
• Eeth Koth ordered the Republic ships to pursue the retreating fleet, but Shen-Jon shouted that they should fall back because it was a trap.

Is- Koth ignored Shen-Jon's warning and led the Republic fleet into Sefrans Tann's trap. The Blade Fleet launched a surprise fighter attack at point-blank range, leaving the battle's outcome unresolved.

• Is- Koth dismissed the danger posed by the Blade Fleet and pressed the attack on the fleeing transports, while Shen-Jon fell back cautiously.
• Sefrans Tann's staged engine restart helped convince Is- Koth that the Dreadnought-class cruisers were helpless and worth pursuing.
• A sudden warning from the Force made Is- Koth and Shen-Jon realize the danger, and Is- Koth ordered the fleet to retreat.
• Sefrans Tann ordered the Blade Fleet to charge, and 120 Dreadnought-class cruisers launched 1,440 Z-95 Headhunter fighters.
• The Z-95 fighters fired Proton Torpedoes at close range, while 300 cloaked Wraith fighters revealed themselves and attacked the Republic fleet.

The Fourth Civilization ambushed the Republic fleet with Z-95 fighters and concentrated its attack on Hunter Class Battlecruisers as the battle raged near the Blade Fleet. Meanwhile, the factions mobilized to claim the lost fleet, and Octavian’s route through Yag'Dhul revealed that the Givin were secretly mass-producing warships.

• The Fourth Civilization launched 1,440 Z-95 fighters and thousands of Proton Torpedoes against the Republic fleet, while Wraith fighters intercepted the Republic fighters with Gemini missiles.
• Sefrans Tann ordered the Fourth Civilization warships to turn and concentrate their fire on the Republic’s Hunter Class Battlecruisers.
• Tang Xiao sent General Trench and Fleet C toward Cerea, while the Gran of Kinyen dispatched 300,000 troops aboard three Luukri-Hok-class battleships.
• Count Dooku ordered General Grievous to gather a fleet at Antar to threaten the Republic’s Mid Rim defenses.
• Octavian led the Republic fleet toward the Halm system, destroying Givin Interdictors despite their protests.
• Octavian’s fleet detected a powerful reaction near a moon in the Yag'Dhul system, revealing that the Givin were mass-producing warships.

The Galactic Republic challenged the Givin over their warship production while the Fourth Civilization occupied Halm and fought Octavian’s fleet to a stalemate. Near the Blade Fleet, Shen-Jon convinced Eeth Koth to board its ships, then concluded that killing Sefrans Tann was their only remaining chance.

• Speaker Sheev Palpatine demanded an investigation into the Givin’s shipbuilding, but the Givin denounced the Republic and refused to cooperate.
• General Trench’s Fleet C seized Halm, fortified its spaceport, and prepared to face Octavian Grant’s fleet, which withdrew after an inconclusive battle on January 14, 21 BBY.
• Tang Xiao arrived in Halm on January 15 and searched for a way to reach the Blade Fleet through the region’s unstable hyperspace connections.
• As the battle near the Blade Fleet turned against Eeth Koth, Shen-Jon urged him to board the Blade Fleet’s ships using their access codes and bring their turrets online.
• Eeth Koth sent Clone Troopers to board the Dreadnought-class cruisers while Sefrans Tann kept attacking the Republic’s Hunter Class Battlecruisers.
• Shen-Jon told Eeth Koth that their only remaining option was to kill Sefrans Tann.

Eeth Koth and Shen-Jon launched a desperate assault on the Plague, aiming to board the unshielded Titan warship and kill its commander, Sefrans Tann. Shen-Jon led Clone Troopers and crew toward the Plague as the Republic fleet fought to cover their approach.

• Eeth Koth accepted Shen-Jon's plan and ordered the Republic fleet to charge the Plague while fighters continued supporting the boarding of a Dreadnought-class heavy cruiser.
• Sefrans Tann concentrated the Fourth Civilization fleet's fire on the advancing Republic ships and targeted Eeth Koth's flagship.
• Shen-Jon's Hunter Class Battlecruiser endured heavy fire and flipped over to protect its Hangar Platform, buying the boarding force ten minutes.
• Shen-Jon told the assembled Clone Troopers and crew that killing Sefrans Tann was their only chance to survive.
• Shen-Jon took off in his Delta-7 fighter as shuttles and remaining fighters flew toward the Plague under fire.

Jedi-led Republic forces breached the Plague warship and pushed through its corridors toward Sefrans Tann. As the defenses collapsed, Sefrans Tann left the bridge with a squad and charged toward the Jedi Knights.

• Eeth Koth, Shen-Jon, Nat Reath, and an unknown Jedi Master escorted Republic shuttles through the Fourth Civilization fighters to the Plague warship.
• Clone Troopers landed through a damaged compartment and cut through a sealed bulkhead while Sefrans Tann ordered defenses assembled and Marines recalled.
• Clone Troopers and Shen-Jon broke through a corridor defense, destroying two Destroyer droids with rocket launchers.
• The four Jedi Knights led separate teams deeper into the Plague warship, breaching Fourth Civilization defensive lines as they advanced toward the bridge.
• Sefrans Tann gathered soldiers and robots, left the bridge, and charged toward the Jedi Knights.

Sefrans Tann tried to escape the Plague after her forces were pushed back, but Shen-Jon and Nat Rees trapped her in the storage area. The warship suddenly capsized after colliding with a Luukri-Hok-class battleship, leaving Tann’s fate uncertain.

• Sefrans Tann ambushed and killed the nameless Jedi Master leading the Clone Troopers, then fled toward the Plague’s storage area.
• Eeth Koth found the fallen Jedi and learned from Shen-Jon that he knew where Tann was.
• Shen-Jon confronted Tann at the storage-area entrance, while Nat Rees blocked her escape and attacked her over her brother’s death on Sarapin.
• Tann used the Force to throw wreckage at Shen-Jon and ran when a Marine briefly slowed him down.
• The Plague capsized after colliding with another enormous ship, which Sefrans Tann identified as a Luukri-Hok-class battleship.

A Luukri-Hok-class battleship collided with Plague, throwing the battle into chaos and trapping Sefrans Tann. Kresh’s Gauntlet saved her from Shen-Jon and Nat-Rees, while Darth Malthael watched as the Luukri-Hok-class battleship launched its aircraft.

• A Luukri-Hok-class battleship emerged from hyperspace and collided with Plague, damaging both ships and further disrupting the battle.
• Shen-Jon and Nat-Rees pursued Sefrans Tann through Plague until debris blocked her escape route.
• Shen-Jon knocked Sefrans Tann into the debris and raised his Lightsaber to kill her, but an ornate black gauntlet blocked the strike.
• Sefrans Tann put on Kresh’s Gauntlet, gained immense Dark Side power, and began attacking Shen-Jon and Nat-Rees.
• Darth Malthael watched Sefrans Tann fight, and the Luukri-Hok-class battleship launched swarms of transport aircraft and fighters.