Chapter Summaries

Count Dooku gave Sefrans Tann command of the Conqueror-class battleship Destruction and tasked her with threatening the Republic while the Confederacy rebuilt its fleet. Alone afterward, Tann’s pride and fear over Tang Xiao’s treatment of her and apparent preference for Ling Liang left her questioning her place in the Fourth Civilization.

• Count Dooku presented Sefrans Tann with the Destruction, a sister ship of the Malevolence, and named it her new flagship.
• Count Dooku told Tann to lead the Confederacy’s strongest remaining fleet against the Republic during its military reforms.
• The Destruction completed weapons tests and returned to port, where Count Dooku left Tann in command.
• Tann tried to contact Tang Xiao, received no response, and crushed her communicator in anger.
• Tann recalled her fear of Tang Xiao, her hostility toward Ling Liang, and her belief that she had been replaced.
• Tann remembered Tang Xiao’s warning that she was no match for him and would still die, then slammed her fist into the wall.

Darth Malthael forced Obi-Wan Kenobi to take on the identity of Hermit and fight Shiri Tachi, his presumed-dead companion who had returned with her memories lost. On Coruscant, the Senate’s debate over funding clone factory repairs was interrupted by the assassination of pro-peace senator Onaconda Farr.

• Darth Malthael rejected Maris Brood’s plea to become his apprentice and ordered her to serve Darth Lilim.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi agreed to serve Darth Malthael as Hermit, provided he would not fight other Jedi Knights.
• Darth Malthael revealed Shiri Tachi and demanded that Hermit choose whether to kill her or him; Hermit lowered his weapon and tried to reach Tachi through memories of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
• Darth Malthael ordered Shiri Tachi to attack Hermit, and the two fought with their Lightsabers.
• On September 6, 21 BBY, senators argued over funding repairs to Kamino’s clone factories, and Chancellor Sheev Palpatine called a recess.
• During the recess, Onaconda Farr was assassinated, and suspicion of a pro-war conspiracy weakened the pro-war senators.

After Lolo Purs confessed to murdering senators Onaconda Farr and Mee Deechi, Bail Organa and Padmé Amidala used the killings to oppose military expansion. The Rodian and Ombara planets then left the Republic for the Separatists, and Sheev Palpatine used the Senate’s panic to pass the military expansion bill.

• Investigators traced Onaconda Farr’s murder to his assistant, Lolo Purs, who confessed that she had killed Farr for Rodia and poisoned Mee Deechi after he discovered her secret meeting with Farr.
• Bail Organa and Padmé Amidala blamed the assassinations on the pressures of war and Mee Deechi’s own schemes, putting the war hawks on the defensive.
• Ombara’s pro-Separatist forces took power and withdrew from the Republic, while Rodia also left the Republic and joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
• Sheev Palpatine called an emergency Senate session after the withdrawals, and panicked centrist senators helped pass the military expansion bill by a wide margin.

On Salust, Hermit struggled with having killed Shiri Tachi while Darth Malthael confirmed he could still be useful, and the arriving Xuanwu warship drew Hermit's attention. Meanwhile, the battle for Eriadu intensified as Republic reinforcements pressed the Fourth Civilization, and hyperspace sensors detected a new arrival.

• Hermit steadied himself after killing Shiri Tachi, while Darth Malthael sensed his resilient connection to the light and decided he could be used.
• Adi Gallia told Darth Malthael that the Xuanwu warship would reach the spaceport in ten minutes, and Hermit watched its arrival with alarm.
• At Eriadu, General Ling Liang directed the Fourth Civilization fleet with help from Givin probability calculations as Republic forces continued to arrive.
• Admiral Xiost ordered attacks on Eriadu's orbital star bases and surface targets, then divided the Republic fleet to intensify its assault.
• A radar officer reported massive hyperspace fluctuations to Xiost.

Admiral Xiost dismissed reports of Separatist reinforcements and kept the Republic offensive pressing around Eriadu, while the Fourth Civilization fleet fought to hold its defensive line. The chapter left Xiost expecting the Separatist fleet to raise its shields again as its Durov-class Battlecruisers finished charging.

• Admiral Xiost judged the incoming Separatist fleet to number about ten warships and told his officers to continue the offensive, anticipating fifteen Hunter Class Battlecruisers and twelve thousand fighters in three days.
• The Republic fleet attacked the Agonev-class star bases at Eriadu’s poles while its main fleet battled the Fourth Civilization near Eriadu satellite, where Republic fighter numbers threatened the Separatists’ stronger capital ships.
• The Fourth Civilization used orbital defenses, fighters, carriers, and supply ships on Eriadu satellite to maintain its defenses, while factories across the region produced military supplies.
• The Republic continued bombarding Eriadu, whose population had fallen from a peak of 23 billion to fewer than 7 billion after famine and attacks.
• A staff officer told Admiral Xiost that the Separatist fleet was adjusting formation and that its Durov-class Battlecruisers would finish charging in five minutes, increasing the fleet’s shield strength.
• Admiral Xiost criticized the Separatists for using their charged ships to strengthen their defensive formation.

Admiral Siost’s Republic fleet paused its attack as Durov-class Battlecruisers replenished Separatist shields, while the Fourth Civilization fleet regrouped. A single enormous Separatist super warship then arrived, and Siost realized the fleet had been waiting for it.

• Durov-class Battlecruisers rapidly replenished the Separatist fleet’s shields, forcing Admiral Siost to halt attacks and order his ships to recharge.
• Siost resolved to have the Republic study ways to counter the Durov-class Battlecruisers and rested while awaiting Separatist reinforcements.
• The Fourth Civilization fleet drew into a circular formation with an empty space at its center.
• A radar officer reported that one Separatist ship, between 9,000 and 10,000 meters long and over 6,000 meters wide, had emerged from hyperspace.
• Siost rushed to the sensor display and realized the Separatist fleet had been waiting for the super warship.

The Republic fleet identified the Separatists’ new Titan warship, the Xuanwu, and Admiral Siost prepared his ships for battle after Darth Malthael taunted him. As the Republic fleet spread out, Malthael ordered the Xuanwu’s Fleet Shield and Interference Matrix systems charged and its forces to attack.

• Republic commanders watched a massive, unfamiliar Separatist warship approach and learned it was named the Xuanwu.
• Admiral Siost ordered Level 1 combat readiness and questioned why the Xuanwu was positioned in the middle of the Separatist fleet.
• Darth Malthael contacted Siost, mocked the Republic’s view of the Durov-class Battlecruisers as turtle shells, and warned that the turtle shell would counterattack.
• Siost ordered his ships to raise shields, charge their main guns, and spread out their formation.
• Malthael ordered the Xuanwu to activate its Fleet Shield, charge its Interference Matrix, maximize engine output, and send all forces to attack.

Admiral Xiost’s fleet attacked the Fourth Civilization fleet, but the Xuanwu Titan warship’s pale green protective field drastically weakened their weapons and let the Separatist ships push through the battle. Xiost learned that the field had limits: ships too far from the Xuanwu lost its protection.

• The Radar Department reported that the Xuanwu had three independent energy systems, and Admiral Xiost suspected its side hulls held a powerful secret weapon.
• As both fleets exchanged fire, the Xuanwu projected a pale green field over the Fourth Civilization fleet.
• Republic fighters and warships inflicted few casualties, while the Fourth Civilization fleet advanced and destroyed Republic vessels.
• The Radar Department told Xiost that the field reduced incoming attack energy by more than 70 percent, and he watched a Garda Flak Frigate survive a direct hit from a Hunter Class Battlecruiser’s main gun.
• A technician reported that the Xuanwu’s energy output was weakening and that ships moving too far from it lost the field’s protection.

Admiral Siost ordered the battered Galactic Republic fleet to counterattack, but Darth Malthael sent the Xuanwu forward and activated its electromagnetic interference matrix. Siost’s fleet suffered severe system failures and retreated, while Republic command dispatched two Commander II-class Dreadnoughts as reinforcements.

• Siost ordered the Republic fleet to reform and counterattack as the Separatist formation spread out and the Xuanwu’s shield protection waned.
• Darth Malthael praised Ling Liang’s coordination with the Xuanwu and ordered the Titan warship to advance, holding its interference matrix until his command.
• The Xuanwu charged into the battle and exchanged heavy fire with the Republic ships, drawing their attacks while deploying its powerful weapons.
• The Xuanwu activated its electromagnetic interference matrix, disrupting Republic engines, turbolaser charging, and other systems as the Separatist fleet attacked.
• Siost ordered his fleet to retreat beyond Eriadu’s gravity well and requested reinforcements after Proton Torpedoes struck his flagship.
• Republic command sent two Commander II-class Dreadnoughts from Quat Planet, expected to arrive at Dacanner with reinforcements in one day.

The Galactic Republic’s leadership and scientists analyzed the Xuanwu Titan warship’s combat footage and debated whether their ships could defeat it. Lila Blythex argued that the Separatists possessed a distinct technological system, while the dispute over the Commander II-class and Malevolence remained unresolved.

• Republic scientists and military departments studied the Xuanwu Titan warship’s combat data and discussed its shields, weapons, materials, and structure.
• Sheev Palpatine asked whether a Commander II-class Dreadnought could defeat Xuanwu.
• Lila Blythex claimed a Commander II-class could defeat Xuanwu in a one-on-one battle.
• Gali Ulan argued that the Commander II-class was inferior to Xuanwu and criticized Kuat Drive Yards for misleading the Republic about its costs.
• Lila Blythex said the Separatists had acquired a different technological system and challenged Rendili StarDrive to explain where Malevolence came from.

Palpatine presided over a tense meeting about how to counter the Separatists’ Xuanwu Titan warship, as representatives from Rendili, Kuat, and Corellia clashed over the Commander II-class dreadnoughts. The meeting ended with Palpatine declaring Xuanwu the Republic’s most urgent threat and postponing discussion of the Separatists’ possible technological inheritance.

• Gali Ulan and Lila Blythex argued over the origins of Malevolence’s technology and the merits of their companies’ warships, until Palpatine reprimanded Gali for provoking a dispute.
• Lila acknowledged that Xuanwu outmatched mass-produced Republic warships and proposed using the two newly completed Commander II-class vessels to strike it directly.
• The Corellia Engineering Company representative warned that Xuanwu’s defenses could make a direct attack disastrous, while Little Kuat defended the risk as a way to gather data for improving the Eclipse-class.
• Little Kuat argued that the Separatists had gained access to an advanced technological inheritance and called the Eclipse-class the Republic’s real trump card.
• Palpatine said Xuanwu was the immediate danger preventing the Republic from retaking the Eriadu system and set aside the question of the inheritance until after the Separatists were defeated.

A damaged Galactic Republic Hunter Class Battlecruiser tried to withdraw from the battle but collided with the Xuanwu, which Darth Malthael had deliberately ordered to ram it. Darth Malthael handed command of the Xuanwu to Ling Liang and ordered her to hold the Eriadu system, with Hermit as her adjutant.

• A Kohl-class Battlecruiser and Javelin-class missile frigates damaged a Hunter Class Battlecruiser, while Vulture droid fighters attacked it with Proton Torpedoes.
• The Hunter Class captain ordered the ship to retreat, but its sensors and navigation system had failed, so the controller turned it blindly and accelerated.
• The Xuanwu appeared ahead of the Hunter Class, fired its Pulse Laser main cannon through the ship, then crushed it into debris.
• Hermit watched the collision and realized Darth Malthael had deliberately ordered the ramming as a farewell gift to him.
• Ling Liang arrived to transfer the command center to the Xuanwu, and Darth Malthael put her in command of defending the Eriadu system with Hermit as her adjutant.

Mister Hermit saw the Xuanwu rapidly repair its damaged bow and struggled to contain his hostility toward the Archangel of Death. Over drinks, Adi Gallia revealed that she had been resurrected and was losing her sanity, warned that the Archangel was growing darker, and said she remained with him because of the darkness within Coruscant.

• Ling Liang explained that the Xuanwu's self-replicating Nanobots had repaired its shattered bow through the Rampage Defense system.
• Adi Gallia invited Mister Hermit to the bridge bar, where she questioned why a Light Side user had joined the Archangel of Death.
• Adi Gallia revealed that the Archangel of Death had resurrected her after defeating her in the Terminus campaign, and that the resurrected gradually lost their sanity.
• Adi Gallia told Mister Hermit that the Archangel was becoming more violent and might lose control of the Dark Side Force within him.
• Adi Gallia said she remained by the Archangel's side because she had seen the darkness infiltrating the Galactic Republic, and Mister Hermit identified Darth Sidious as Chancellor Sheev Palpatine.

After learning that Sheev Palpatine was Darth Sidious, Adi Gallia fell to the Dark Side aboard the Xuanwu Titan. The Republic fleet retreated, and Hermit agreed to face it when it returned with reinforcements.

• Adi Gallia confronted Hermit about the Sith Lord and declared that the Archangel of Death should fight all the way to Coruscant to destroy Darth Sidious.
• Adi Gallia learned that Sheev Palpatine was Darth Sidious, erupted in anger, and fell to the Dark Side as robot guards surrounded her.
• Ling Liang revealed that the Archangel of Death had intended for Hermit to help make Adi Gallia fall to the Dark Side, while Adi Gallia said the fall had been her choice.
• Ling Liang reported that the Republic fleet had scattered, with fifty-seven Hunter Class battlecruisers remaining and possibly awaiting reinforcements.
• Hermit promised to meet the Republic fleet in battle when it invaded again.

The Xuanwu and Ling Liang drove Admiral Xiost’s Republic fleet into retreat around Talastra until reinforcements arrived. With two Commander II-class Dreadnoughts joining his forces, Xiost received orders to attack the Xuanwu in a decisive battle.

• Darth Malthael pursued Xiost’s retreating fleet to Talastra, where the Republic lost three more engagements against the Xuanwu-led force.
• Darth Malthael left Ling Liang in command, and Xiost ordered his damaged ships to scatter and flee while awaiting reinforcements.
• Jedi Masters Dover and Gayett led two Commander II-class Dreadnoughts and twenty Hunter Class Battlecruisers into the Eriadu system on September 12, 21 BBY.
• The Fourth Civilization fleet regrouped around the Xuanwu and retreated toward Eriadu’s orbit as the Republic reinforcements arrived.
• Xiost boarded the Rosana and met Dover and Gayett, who delivered orders to attack the Xuanwu in a decisive battle.

The Republic’s reinforcements gave it a major fighter advantage and added two powerful Commander II-class Dreadnoughts, prompting Ling Liang to withdraw the Fourth Civilization fleet to Eriadu. Admiral Xiost found that even with the new ships, the Republic had little chance of victory unless it could break the Xuanwu’s protective formation.

• The Republic’s 18,000-plus fighters outnumbered the Fourth Civilization’s surviving fighters, while the Rebirth Plan helped preserve the Fourth Civilization’s scarce pilot corps.
• Ling Liang asked her intelligence staff about the Commander II-class Dreadnoughts and learned that their strength was largely based on engine-output calculations rather than combat tests.
• An Engineering Department scientist advised Ling Liang to bring the Xuanwu close to the Republic ships, and she punished him with a month without coffee and vegetarian meals.
• Admiral Xiost learned that simulations gave the Republic fleet less than a 20 percent chance of victory and that attacking the Xuanwu directly was difficult because the Fourth Civilization maintained a tight defensive formation.

The Galactic Republic fleet attacked the Fourth Civilization fleet near Eriadu, and its Commander II-class Dreadnoughts demonstrated devastating firepower before the Xuanwu's Fleet Shield activated. The battle continued with the Republic trying to draw the Fourth Civilization ships out of their protected formation.

• Admiral Siost, Master Dover, and Master Gayett agreed that the Republic had to attack Eriadu and use fast ships to engage the enemy across a broad area.
• On September 13, 21 BBY, the Republic fleet attacked in four groups, and the Commander II-class Dreadnoughts destroyed a Kohl-class Battlecruiser before the Xuanwu's Fleet Shield activated.
• General Ling realized the Xuanwu had activated too late because she had misjudged the Republic's range and attack timing.
• The Fourth Civilization fleet held its formation under the Fleet Shield, while the Republic fleet split up and advanced toward Eriadu to try to draw enemy ships away.
• The Commander II-class Dreadnoughts destroyed another Kohl-class ship and badly damaged a Durov-class ship, while the Republic fleet surrounded the enemy formation and tried to wear it down.

Ling Liang committed the Xuanwu to confront two Republic Commander II-class Dreadnoughts while the rest of the Fourth Civilization fleet attacked the Republic fleet. The three supercapital ships traded devastating fire, and the battle continued as their shields weakened.

• After the Hongyue was sunk and the Wuhe was badly damaged, Ling Liang ordered the Xuanwu to engage the two Commander II-class Dreadnoughts while the other ships attacked the Republic fleet.
• Admiral Siost ordered the Republic ships to target Fourth Civilization warships outside the Xuanwu's protection and directed the Commander II-class ships to fire on the Xuanwu.
• The Xuanwu accelerated toward the dreadnoughts, firing its heavy Pulse Laser cannons and launching more than a thousand missiles as the Republic ships returned fire.
• The Xuanwu activated its disruption matrix, interrupting the Rosana's main-gun firing sequence while the Katan scored a direct hit.
• The Xuanwu's electromagnetic interference reduced Republic ship efficiency as both sides continued exchanging fire until their shields began to fail.

The Xuanwu used its Fleet Shield and Interference Matrix to withstand the two Commander II-class Dreadnoughts while supporting the Fourth Civilization fleet across a vast defensive zone. Siost ordered an assault on the Xuanwu’s starboard side, but the Katan’s shields were breached before the attack could succeed.

• The Xuanwu alternated its Fleet Shield and Interference Matrix, weakening the Republic ships’ attacks while protecting nearby Fourth Civilization warships.
• He Keyou explained to Ling Liang that the Xuanwu was built to endure immense firepower and could withstand a fully assembled fleet.
• Siost ordered his forces to concentrate their attack on the Xuanwu’s starboard side, where he believed the Fleet Shield system was installed.
• The Interference Matrix disrupted Republic systems and eroded fighter armor, leaving more than four thousand Galactic Republic fighters unable to fight.
• The Katan’s shields were finally breached, and a pulse laser carved a burning scar across its hull.

Admiral Siost ordered the Galactic Republic fleet to concentrate its attack on the Xuanwu, whose flexible Fleet Shield and advanced defenses had kept the Fourth Civilization fleet safe. The Xuanwu activated its Frenzied Defense System and destroyed the Commander II-class Dreadnought Katan, leaving Siost staring in disbelief.

• Admiral Siost ordered every Republic ship to attack the Xuanwu, while Dover and Gayett planned to lead fighters against its weak points if its shields fell.
• Sixty-seven Hunter Class Battlecruisers charged through the Fourth Civilization blockade as Republic fighters attacked in waves and the Fourth Civilization fleet fired back.
• Ling Liang ordered the Xuanwu to concentrate fire on the unshielded Commander II-class ships, and Proton Torpedoes breached the Katan's hull.
• The Xuanwu's shields buckled under the Republic assault, and Ling Liang ordered the shields lowered and the Frenzied Defense System charged.
• Admiral Siost refused the Katan's request to withdraw, and the Xuanwu's missile salvo crippled the dreadnought and destroyed its superheavy turret.
• Ling Liang activated the Frenzied Defense System, and the Xuanwu's Pulse Lasers struck the Katan's exposed turret opening until the dreadnought exploded and split in two.