Chapter Summaries

Darth Malthael sealed Karness Muur inside Celeste Morne and left Jubal, while Volgograd Kanidi discussed Annaj’s fragile place in the Fourth Civilization. Kanidi chose to avoid immediate action and focus on buying time.

• Darth Malthael sealed Karness Muur within Celeste Morne and ordered Talim to place her in a stasis pod.
• Darth Malthael told Lucien Draay he would gradually wear Karness Muur down to claim his knowledge and amulet, but not his power.
• The Protoss transport ship left Jubal as the Geth began building a factory on the devastated planet.
• Volgograd Kanidi’s adjutant reported that the Ayrou on Annaj Planet had become devoted to the Galactic Republic while the human population concealed its forces.
• Kanidi rejected an immediate move on Annaj and said his only objective was to gain time.

Volgograd-Kanidi prepared to defend the Kuna Cluster against the Galactic Republic, believing that refusing reinforcements would buy Tang Xiao valuable time. The chapter described the cluster’s systems and the growth of its immigrant population, while Kuna’s Tooth faced an approaching Republic fleet commanded by Master Yoda.

• Volgograd-Kanidi told his adjutant that the battle for the Eriadu system would end in their victory and left Kuna’s Tooth’s surrender negotiations to her.
• Volgograd-Kanidi refused reinforcements from Dawn Star Planet, telling his adjutant that buying Tang Xiao time was his greatest contribution.
• Volgograd-Kanidi departed with a squad of soldiers as his adjutant promised to safeguard his cigar and vodka.
• The chapter detailed the five closely linked systems of the Kuna Cluster and their unusual origins, resources, and hazards.
• Claire Underwood helped Volgograd-Kanidi recruit war refugees, and Kuna’s Tooth grew to more than 500 million residents.

Volgograd-Kanidi built the Modell Sector into a productive and loyal home for its residents, but Master Yoda’s Republic fleet invaded and exposed the sector’s military weakness. As the Republic advanced, Kanidi’s forces avoided decisive battle and resistance disrupted the invaders’ supplies, leaving the Republic fleet searching the Kuna Cluster without finding his main fleet.

• Volgograd-Kanidi developed Kuna’s Tooth Planet through mass immigration, agriculture, mining, and gradual industrial expansion, while organizing the Modell Sector’s own defense forces.
• Master Yoda led thirty Hunter Class Battlecruisers into the Modell Sector, and the Ayrou declared their return to the Galactic Republic as fighting erupted between Ayrou and human populations on Annaj and Maya-Covell.
• Admiral Siost sent 8,000 Clone Troopers to Annaj, but Master Yoda soon redirected the fleet to attack the Vaxian and Orville systems as unrest threatened to spiral out of control.
• The Vaxian, Orville III, and Thonner surrendered, but workers refused to support the Republic fleet and hidden defense units sabotaged its spaceports, supplies, and transport ships.
• Admiral Siost sent ten Hunter Class Battlecruisers back to suppress resistance while the remaining twenty pursued Kanidi’s fleet into the Kuna Cluster.
• The Republic fleet attacked the Kuna’s Tooth System but found its planet protected by Gauss defense platforms and Kanidi’s main fleet nowhere in sight.

The Republic fleet attacked Kuna's Tooth Planet, clearing its Gauss defenses and landing Clone Troopers against fierce resistance from the Modell Sector legion. The clones secured a beachhead near Black Horn City and routed the enemy, just as Volgograd-Kanidi's main fleet arrived from hyperspace.

• Twenty Republic Hunter Class Battlecruisers destroyed the Gauss defense platforms around Kuna's Tooth Planet and began landing operations.
• The Fourth Civilization's Modell Sector legion sent Vulture fighters and ground fire against the Republic, while Hunter Class ships destroyed the planet's orbital defense cannon.
• Master Yoda deployed ARC-170 squadrons to bomb the planet's airfields and spaceports, cutting off the legion's ability to rapidly reinforce Black Horn City.
• Republic Clone Troopers defeated a Modell Sector rapid-response force after ARC-170 fighters destroyed its transport ships.
• Twenty thousand Clone Troopers held off nearly fifty thousand Modell Sector troops, then routed them in two hours, leaving over fifteen thousand dead or wounded and nearly all survivors surrendered.
• Volgograd-Kanidi's main fleet emerged from hyperspace outside Kuna's Tooth Planet.

The Republic fleet fought the Modell Sector fleet, but the Separatists used the clash to help Governor Volgograd-Kanidi escape and then fled themselves. Kuna's Tooth Planet surrendered, but its temporary governor, He Yuan, refused to provide military supplies, leaving Xiost furious and the Republic fleet short of resources as Master Yoda rejected attacks on civilians.

• The Modell Sector fleet attacked the Republic ships, then escaped into hyperspace while spacecraft carrying Volgograd-Kanidi fled Kuna's Tooth Planet.
• Master Yoda and Xiost realized the Separatists had staged the battle to cover Volgograd-Kanidi's escape and demonstrate that their fleet remained intact.
• Temporary Governor He Yuan announced Kuna's Tooth Planet's unconditional surrender and said Volgograd-Kanidi had destroyed the planet's military supplies.
• Xiost demanded supplies and threatened to destroy cities and infrastructure, but Master Yoda refused to harm civilians and ordered He Yuan to prevent famine and restore order.
• Xiost warned that the Republic fleet was nearly out of supplies and urged Master Yoda to punish the planet, but Yoda insisted the fleet must not cross its moral limits.

After the Republic took heavy losses in the Modell Sector, Master Yoda and Xiost chose to move against the Separatist fleet’s last refuge in the Kuna's Eye System. Volgograd Kanidi prepared his outnumbered forces to defend the system as Republic battlecruisers arrived.

• Master Yoda told Xiost that the Republic could not sacrifice civilians for victory, and Xiost ordered the fleet to leave ten thousand troops behind and head for the Kuna's Eye System.
• Volgograd Kanidi arrived aboard the central Luukri-Hok-class battleship and reviewed the severe losses his forces had suffered on Kuna's Tooth Planet.
• Kanidi warned his officers that the Republic would attack their hiding place and urged them to defend the Modell Sector, while Jin Chen pledged to fight to the end.
• Kanidi ordered his forces to deploy according to plan and reminded them that time was on their side.
• Twenty Hunter Class Battlecruisers emerged from hyperspace on the outskirts of the Kuna's Eye System.

Master Yoda led the Republic fleet into the Kuna's Eye System and avoided a Separatist trap, but the ensuing battle left the Republic facing hidden defenses and a retreating Modell Sector fleet. Xiost pursued the enemy as it drained the Republic's supplies, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Xiost reported a Cachalot-class industrial flagship, and Master Yoda sensed traps around it before guiding the Republic fleet toward the Separatist fleet.
• Volgograd-Kanidi learned that the Republic had ignored the bait and prepared to fight at the battlefield he had chosen near Kuna's Eye Planet.
• The Modell Sector legion attacked the advancing Republic fleet with mines, missile frigates, fighters, and Gauss weapon platforms among the asteroids.
• After four hours, the capital ships exchanged fire, while Modell Sector forces fought as they retreated through the asteroid field.
• Xiost split the Republic fleet into groups to pursue, but the Modell Sector fleet kept circling and exhausting its ammunition and fuel.
• Damaged Modell Sector ships repaired and resupplied near the Cachalot-class flagship, while Xiost hoped its defenses would not conceal them for long.

As the Ayrou and humans fought for control of Annaj Planet, the Republic fleet struggled to maintain order and gather supplies. The Beast Legion emerged from hiding and began attacking Ayrou population centers, carrying out Volgograd-Kanidi’s plan to crush the rebellion.

• The Ayrou and human governments both surrendered to the Galactic Republic, and fighting between the two races spread across Annaj Planet.
• With the main fleet away, the Republic split its remaining Hunter Class Battlecruisers between restoring order, fighting pirates, and collecting strategic supplies.
• The Ayrou on Maya-Coville Planet gathered blaster gas, warship fuel, and hyperspace core elements to send to Annaj Planet.
• More than a hundred spacecraft launched from a hidden gate in Annaj Planet’s southern hemisphere and attacked the Ayrou capital, economic center, and transportation hub.
• The blood-red-clad Beast Legion emerged from the spacecraft, using Kill Counters to record its kills as it launched a massacre against the Ayrou.

The Beast Legion and hidden Fourth Civilization sabotage plunged Annaj Planet into slaughter and chaos as the Ayrou rebellion was crushed. In orbit, a Republic sub-fleet detected hundreds of small craft jumping toward the planet.

• Beast Legion soldiers massacred Ayrou civilians across three major cities, while Republic Clone Troopers entered the cities to intervene.
• The Republic sub-fleet commander sent 300 fighters to support the Clone Troopers.
• Bombs destroyed Central Excrement Collectors in dozens of cities, unleashing floods of waste that overwhelmed civilians and swept away Clone Trooper squads.
• Beast Legion soldiers took high ground, sealed their combat suits, and fired on Ayrou trapped in the flood.
• A Republic battlecruiser sensor operator reported hundreds of small craft making hyperspace jumps toward Annaj Planet.

Master Yoda led the Republic fleet into a trap around the Modell Sector’s Cachalot-class industrial flagship as both sides committed to a desperate battle. At Annaj, a fleet of more than 500 civilian and independent ships attacked the Republic to protect the Modell Sector, opening a second fierce fight.

• Master Yoda ordered the Republic fleet to attack the Cachalot-class industrial flagship, while Volgograd-Kanidi and Fleet Commander Jin Chen activated the Modell Sector fleet’s hidden traps and defenses.
• The Republic and Modell Sector fleets exchanged full-force barrages, with mines and other traps repeatedly threatening the Republic ships.
• More than 500 mercenary, smuggler, bounty hunter, and civilian ships emerged from hyperspace near Annaj and attacked the Republic fleet to defend their home.
• The Republic sub-fleet commander ordered his ships and fighters to engage, and both sides’ varied fighters and warships plunged into a brutal battle.

A Republic fleet running critically low on supplies attacked a Cachalot-class industrial flagship to seize its cargo, despite Master Yoda recognizing the plan as a trap. The Separatist fleet had anticipated the attack and prepared to activate the flagship’s Pulse-activated All-Purpose Core.

• A B-1 battle droid rammed a damaged Blade-class fighter into a Hunter Class Battlecruiser’s hyperdrive engine, detonating proton bombs and destroying the ship in a Coaxium-fueled chain reaction.
• The Republic fleet’s supplies dwindled as traps and heavy fighting kept it locked in a costly battle against the Modell Sector fleet.
• Xiost told Master Yoda that capturing cargo from the Cachalot-class industrial flagship could replenish the Republic fleet, and insisted they attack because civilian ships threatened their retreat route.
• Master Yoda sensed the danger but agreed to join the attack in a fighter, while Xiost ordered the Republic ships to concentrate fire on the Cachalot-class.
• Volgograd-Kanidi and Jin Chen recognized that the Republic had taken the bait, and Volgograd-Kanidi ordered the Cachalot-class to activate its Pulse-activated All-Purpose Core.

The Modell Sector fleet endured the Republic fleet’s bombardment, with the Cachalot-class industrial flagship’s Pulse-activated All-Purpose Core keeping its shields intact. Master Yoda ordered a retreat, and Volgograd-Kanidi sent his forces toward Annaj Planet to pursue the Republic fleet.

• Admiral Siost ordered the Republic warships to bombard the Cachalot-class industrial flagship while preserving it to capture its supplies.
• The Cachalot-class’s shields survived repeated volleys, and Siost continued firing even as his fleet’s ammunition dwindled.
• Master Yoda ordered the Republic fleet to retreat after seeing the industrial flagship still shielded.
• Volgograd-Kanidi declared victory and ordered mobile ships to resupply and head for Annaj Planet to pursue the Republic fleet.
• The Cachalot-class crew fought fires and sealed off endangered compartments as the captain credited the Pulse-activated All-Purpose Core with helping the ship hold out.

The Republic fleet escaped the Modell Sector after exhausting its ammunition against Volgograd-Kanidi’s Cachalot-class flagship, which survived through its experimental shield module but suffered catastrophic damage. At Annaj Planet, the battered Republic detachment mistook the returning warships for reinforcements before a second, unidentified fleet emerged from hyperspace.

• Volgograd-Kanidi’s Cachalot-class flagship activated its Pulse-activated All-Purpose Core and endured repeated volleys, but the experimental module melted down and nearly set the ship ablaze.
• The Republic fleet spent most of its remaining ammunition on the flagship, allowing 13 Hunter Class Battlecruisers to escape into hyperspace under Master Yoda’s cover and orders.
• At Annaj Planet, hundreds of civilian ships attacked the depleted Republic detachment and its transport convoy, forcing the ten Hunter Class Battlecruisers into a defensive formation.
• The 13 battered Hunter Class Battlecruisers emerged from hyperspace near Annaj, and Republic personnel realized they appeared to be fleeing rather than arriving victorious.
• The radar officer detected further hyperspace fluctuations and reported that another fleet was emerging.

Volgograd-Kanidi’s fleet arrived and overwhelmed the battered Galactic Republic forces, but Master Yoda used the Force to open a hyperspace route and helped most of the Republic ships escape. Kanidi was left reeling as Jin Chen assured him that the Modell Sector had won.

• Volgograd-Kanidi’s fleet arrived, and civilians celebrated as the defeated Republic fleet tried to flee.
• Kanidi ordered his forces to destroy the Republic ships, while Xiost learned that the hyperspace route would remain impassable for nearly four days.
• Master Yoda used the Force to alter hyperspace conditions and reduce the wait for a jump.
• Kanidi’s forces fired on the Republic fleet and disabled three ships, but the remaining sixteen escaped into hyperspace.
• Jin Chen steadied Kanidi and told him that the Republic fleet had left the Modell Sector.

Volgograd-Kanidi reflected on the devastating cost of driving the Republic fleet from the Modell Sector and ordered the sector’s recovery and defenses. He reaffirmed the sector’s place in the Fourth Civilization but refused Dawn Star Planet’s request to send troops to Cerea.

• Jin Chen congratulated Volgograd-Kanidi and pledged the sector’s support, but Kanidi slapped him and ordered him confined for three days after he asked where Tang Xiao was.
• Volgograd-Kanidi acknowledged that his plan had relied on civilian sacrifices and Master Yoda’s restraint, then resolved that the Modell Sector would remain part of the Fourth Civilization.
• Volgograd-Kanidi told He Yuan to begin reconstruction and ordered the new hyperspace route in the Annaj system sealed with Interdictors and space mines.
• Volgograd-Kanidi accepted the Ayrou’s renewed surrender but told them to clean up their own cities and postponed deciding how to deal with them.
• Volgograd-Kanidi rejected Dawn Star Planet’s request for troops to pacify Cerea, saying the Modell Sector lacked the strength while it rebuilt.

Tang Xiao explained why he had kept Volgograd Kanidi in power and warned that the Modell Sector had to support the Fourth Civilization’s war effort. After Kanidi celebrated victory over Master Yoda, He Yuan confirmed that fertility medication had resulted in a fertilized egg.

• Tang Xiao told Helmut Zemo that Kanidi understood the cost of loyalty and that the Modell Sector could seek autonomy only after becoming part of the Fourth Civilization’s war machine.
• Zemo privately decided Kanidi was testing their limits and discussed the Modell Sector with Prime Minister Francis Underwood.
• Kanidi celebrated the victory over Master Yoda with a banquet while the Ayrou Queen and her delegation knelt outside the Governor’s Mansion.
• He Yuan comforted the drunken Kanidi as he lamented the civilian deaths and insisted the Modell Sector was part of the Fourth Civilization.
• He Yuan woke alone, learned Kanidi had gone to address the kneeling Ayrou, and had her medical robot confirm that a fertilized egg had formed.

Darth Malthael began draining Karness Muur's power from Celeste Morne using a Sith ritual. Celeste remained trapped on the altar as Malthael's combined Dark Side Force and Death Force seized Karness Muur's soul.

• Darth Malthael opened Celeste Morne's stasis pod and placed her on the Sith altar.
• Celeste woke and tried to reach for her Lightsaber, but Darth Malthael restrained her and explained he needed to weaken Karness Muur's power.
• Darth Malthael used Death Force to make the aura of death around Celeste's lower abdomen recede.
• Darth Malthael pierced Celeste's lower abdomen to reach Karness Muur's sealed soul, causing her to scream in pain.
• Darth Malthael wrapped Karness Muur in merged Dark Side Force and Death Force and began pulling his power from Celeste.

Darth Malthael trapped Karness Muur within Celeste Morne and began absorbing his memories, while the Fourth Civilization prepared its final assault on Eriadu. The chapter ended with Eriadu’s planetary shield near collapse and the invasion poised to begin.

• Karness Muur struggled against Darth Malthael as his power and memories were siphoned from Celeste Morne’s body.
• Darth Malthael sealed Celeste Morne inside a stasis pod and began absorbing Karness Muur’s memories while resisting their effects.
• On June 34, 21 BBY, Major General Ling Liang oversaw the Fourth Civilization’s preparations to attack Eriadu with 1.3 million troops.
• The Fourth Civilization’s forces boarded transports on the Eriadu satellite as Eriadu’s planetary shield generators overheated and the shield neared failure.

Shen Yuanhao and Karina organized the Indjori forces as they boarded Corsev Battlecruisers for the coming assault on Eriadu. After a mysterious, dangerous container was loaded aboard, a nuclear bomb fired toward the planet marked the start of the battle.

• Shen Yuanhao watched the chaotic Indjori board the Corsev Battlecruisers while black-scaled soldiers broke up fights.
• Shen Yuanhao reflected on how his marriage to Karina had strengthened his command of the Indjori forces.
• Karina struck down a giant Indjori who challenged her and forced the soldiers into a more orderly line.
• Karina sensed danger from a growling metal container, and Shen Yuanhao identified it as the Governor's secret weapon.
• Shen Yuanhao pointed out Eriadu, and a Mass Driver launched a super-high-yield nuclear bomb toward the planet.

The Fourth Civilization fleet closed in on breaching Eriadu’s planetary shield and prepared to land 1.3 million troops before a coming hyperspace storm. Governor Wilhuff Tarkin directed Eriadu’s defenses as its starving population endured the collapse of daily life.

• The Fourth Civilization fleet used supplies from the Eriadu system’s occupied worlds to bombard Eriadu and began building two Agonev-class star bases.
• A staff officer told Sefrans Tann that the fleet expected to breach the planetary shield within five to eight hours, and Tann ordered Ling Liang’s army to capture the planet before the hyperspace storm arrived.
• Five Corsev Battlecruisers carrying 1.3 million troops lifted from the Eriadu satellite and headed toward Eriadu.
• Wilhuff Tarkin went to Eri-Xiang City’s underground command center to direct the Galactic Republic’s planetary defense.
• Eriadu’s starving residents waited for food as masked soldiers shot people who cut in line, while Republic troops recruited stronger people into the army.