Chapter Summaries

The Xuanwu withstood the Republic fleet’s all-out assault by using reinforced armor and the Frenzied Defense System to repair damage while its allies supplied energy and repairs. As the battle continued, Jedi Knight Dover identified the spaces between the Xuanwu’s three hulls as its weakness.

• Ling Liang activated the Frenzied Defense System, and the Xuanwu’s reinforced armor resisted the Republic’s Turbolaser barrage while Nanobots rapidly repaired its damage.
• Admiral Siost watched the Xuanwu recover from attacks by the Hunter Class Battlecruisers and the Rosana, and realized that it might survive the battle with only energy loss.
• The Xuanwu continued using its Interference Matrix and Frenzied Defense System as the seven surviving Durov-class Battlecruisers and Star-class Repair Drone Motherships recharged and repaired it.
• The Republic fleet launched a desperate assault after the Katan was destroyed, while the Fourth Civilization’s other warships returned fire.
• Jedi Knight Dover told Gayett that the spaces between the Xuanwu’s three hulls were its greatest weakness.

Jedi Masters Dover and Gayett attempted to exploit a gap in the Xuanwu’s defenses by flying their ARC-170 fighters into the battle. They reached the Titan warship but were overwhelmed by its Interference Matrix, leaving Gayett’s astromech destroyed.

• Dover identified the Xuanwu’s hangar platforms and the unshielded gaps between its hulls as a possible approach.
• Dover and Gayett launched their ARC-170 fighters from the Rosana Dreadnought and raced through the fighting toward the Xuanwu.
• The Jedi evaded Vulture droids and ships’ point-defense fire while Republic forces and Fourth Civilization warships exchanged heavy attacks.
• The Xuanwu’s shields and self-repair systems held under the bombardment, supported by Durov-class Battlecruisers and Star-class Repair Drone Motherships.
• The Xuanwu’s Interference Matrix disrupted the fighters’ systems and eroded their hulls, while Gayett’s astromech R9-V7 was corroded apart.

Master Gayett flew his crippled ARC-170 into the Xuanwu after witnessing the Rosana and the fleet being destroyed, then fought his way toward the warship’s interior. He confronted the masked commander, who called himself the Hermit, and the chapter ended as the Hermit attacked him with a Lightsaber.

• Master Gayett saw the Xuanwu devastate the Rosana, though the dreadnought briefly breached the Xuanwu’s shields with its main guns.
• With his fighter breaking apart, Gayett flew through the Xuanwu’s hull gap and used a Proton Torpedo to breach a hangar door.
• Gayett fought through Fourth Civilization defenses, reached an elevator, and followed the Force into a nearby passage.
• A masked man in Jedi robes confronted Gayett and identified himself as the Hermit.
• The Hermit said the battle was over and attacked Gayett with his Lightsaber after Gayett challenged him over betraying the light.

Hermit defeated Master Gayett after the Republic fleet’s destruction and Master Dover’s death left him shaken. Adi Gallia and Hermit acknowledged that the battle of the Eriadu system was over and that the Archangel of Death had completed the first step of his plan.

• Gayett attacked Hermit in a furious duel, but Hermit held firm and urged him to survive.
• Adi Gallia revealed that she had shot down Master Dover and appeared before Gayett with golden eyes and a red Lightsaber.
• Gayett denounced Adi Gallia’s fall to the Dark Side and charged her, but Hermit stepped in and insisted that Gayett was his opponent.
• Hermit changed to Form IV Ataru and killed Gayett with a Lightsaber thrust through his face.
• Adi Gallia criticized Hermit’s final strike, and Hermit admitted he had wanted to spare Gayett pain and prevent the Archangel of Death from reviving him.
• Adi Gallia declared the battle of the Eriadu system over, arranged Gayett’s body, and said she was apologizing to the Jedi Knights who would die in the future.

The Galactic Republic fleet was destroyed in its failed assault on the Xuanwu, prompting Ling Liang to keep the Eriadu front stable while Kuat Drive Yards studied the Titan’s combat data. As Darth Malthael continued consuming Karness Muur through Celeste Morne, he suddenly lost consciousness.

• The Rosana’s final shot breached the Xuanwu’s shields, but Master Gayett failed to damage the Titan before the Republic fleet was defeated.
• After the Xuanwu was repaired, Ling Liang rejected a counterattack and chose to hold the Eriadu system as the Republic withdrew and began rebuilding.
• Lila Blythex assured Sheev Palpatine that the Eclipse-class could destroy the Xuanwu, then told Little Kuat that the greater challenge was the technological gap behind it.
• Ling Liang reported the Republic’s withdrawal to Tang Xiao, who accepted her decision to keep the Eriadu system secure.
• Darth Malthael continued draining Karness Muur’s consciousness from Celeste Morne, but suddenly lost consciousness before finishing.

Darth Malthael escaped Celeste Morne after absorbing Karness Muur's ghost, then traveled to Planet Dagobah to use the Dark Reaper to control the ancient Sith's influence. The artifact began draining both his Dark Side Force and life force, which he believed he could withstand through his mastery of life.

• Darth Malthael awoke in the secret chamber as Celeste Morne threatened him, then blasted her away when she attacked.
• Darth Malthael failed to remove the Muur Talisman from Celeste Morne and left her in the chamber after forcing Lucien Drai back into Kresh's Gauntlet.
• Darth Malthael ordered Helmut Zemo to handle matters in his absence and send a T-850 robot resembling Tang Xiao to the Victory Celebration.
• Darth Malthael flew the Red Comet to Planet Dagobah, carrying the Dark Reaper's core to a cave outfitted with a machine and battle droids.
• Darth Malthael activated the Dark Reaper to extract the unstable Dark Side Force affecting him, but the artifact also began draining his life force.

After seven days of drawing on the Dark Reaper, Darth Malthael emerged from the darkness transformed and departed Dagobah. The Galactic Republic’s defeat at Eriadu secured the Fourth Civilization’s hold on the region and brought several valuable worlds and the Sothropp Corporation under its control.

• Darth Malthael endured the Dark Reaper’s extraction of his Force and life force while absorbing Karness Muur’s forbidden knowledge of Sith curses, alchemy, and eternal life.
• After seven days, Darth Malthael emerged from the darkened cave gaunt and pale, reconnected with Helmut Zemo, and flew away from Dagobah.
• The Galactic Republic’s failed counteroffensive annihilated the 18th Army, but Sheev Palpatine kept its designation and continued giving Wilhuff Tarkin forces to command.
• The Fourth Civilization secured Eriadu and the junction of the Rimma Trade Route and Hediah Route, protecting its rear territories and gaining strategic planets.
• The Sothropp Corporation joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems and allied with the Fourth Civilization, while Dolla Planet and Salust came under its control.
• King Antbbianplourr III surrendered Ayatu 6 Planet to the Fourth Civilization and kept his throne after accepting Dawn Star Planet’s administration and garrison.

During a rare pause in the fighting, the Fourth Civilization used its expanded territory and resources to strengthen its military and reorganize its industries. It began a secret second Ankollon-class Titan warship and established Holy Advent, an openly accessible institute for studying the Force.

• After securing the Eriadu system, the Fourth Civilization brought Mustafar, Malastare, and several other planets within its sphere of control, becoming a powerful state within the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
• The army planned new equipment and began training one million recruits, while its first hundred Scorpion tanks entered service alongside War Wolf and Goliath mechs.
• The navy prepared to mass-produce Doomsday Battlefield-class battlecruisers, upgrade Kohl-class ships, and advance the Hell-Angel and Calamity-class projects, including tests of the Particle Beam Lance.
• Tang Xiao began separating the Fourth Group from the state system, while the Yag'Dhul shipyard secretly started construction of a second Ankollon-class Titan warship.
• The Fourth Civilization established Holy Advent, a public, semi-religious and semi-scientific institute for studying the Force.

The Fourth Civilization established the Holy Advent Institute, making Force education and testing available across society and challenging the Jedi Order’s influence. Ghost Academy and the Holy Advent Cult also emerged, while Gabriel Tosh’s Ghosts began using Glitterstim to awaken recruits and Ni Yongxiao’s spice empire expanded.

• The Fourth Civilization founded the Holy Advent Institute, introduced Force courses in schools, registered Chlamydiae density, and passed laws declaring Force-sensitive people equal to ordinary citizens.
• Sith Lords and Count Dooku celebrated the setback to the Jedi Order before returning to their rival schemes.
• Ghost Academy and the Holy Advent Cult quietly appeared, and Gabriel Tosh gathered five Ghost warriors to train recruits with Force talent.
• Gabriel Tosh used Glitterstim to forcibly awaken people whose Chlamydiae density was too low for them to wield the Force through training alone.
• Ni Yongxiao’s gang controlled spice production and smuggling across the Fourth Civilization’s territory, with Dryden Vos, Madam Proxima, and Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group involved in the business.

Ghost Academy used Glitterstim to identify and train potential Force-users, while the Twilight Covenant reserved its advanced academy for the rarest talents. As social pressures grew in the Fourth Civilization, the Holy Advent Cult emerged and came to worship Tang Xiao as a messenger of God.

• Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group continued studying Glitterstim and began researching Sith Alchemy after Sherry Birkin received knowledge from Tang Xiao.
• Ghost Academy secretly abducted candidates with Chlamydiae densities between 1,000 and 4,000, testing them with Glitterstim and training those who reacted to the Force.
• Ghost Academy sent candidates who failed to react to the Force to Kessel's mines, while the Twilight Covenant invited fewer than fifty exceptionally gifted Force-sensitives to study at its academy.
• The Fourth Civilization encouraged colonization and expanded agriculture and entertainment to manage population growth and rising social pressures.
• The Holy Advent Cult formed around a mystical interpretation of the Force and began worshipping Tang Xiao as a divine messenger.

The Galactic Republic launched a counteroffensive against the Confederacy of Independent Systems, capturing Mimban after a costly battle and beginning a surprise landing on Ombara. Anakin Skywalker and Pong Krell were assigned to lead the campaign to retake Ombara, where the outcome remained unresolved.

• On September 24, 21 BBY, the Republic began the Second Battle of Mimban with 300,000 troops, most of them conscripted natural-born soldiers.
• The Republic soldiers struggled against the Separatist robots, suffering more than 20,000 casualties before Clone Troopers broke the deadlock and the Republic secured Mimban a week later.
• After Ombara seceded and joined the Confederacy, the Republic fleet secured its outer orbit and began landing troops.
• The Republic assigned Anakin Skywalker’s 501st Legion and a Clone Army led by Pong Krell to seize Ombara’s capital and restore the planet to the Republic.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death on Cerea led to his former 212th Attack Battalion being incorporated into Pong Krell’s Clone Army.

The Galactic Republic fleet began its landing operation on Ombara, a pitch-black world of immense strategic value, while Separatist frigates harried it from a distance. Anakin Skywalker discussed the dangers of black holes with Pong Krell as the Republic faced the challenge of landing in the planet’s darkness.

• Eight Hunter Class Battlecruisers and five Acclamator-class assault ships began the landing operation as ten Generous-class frigates exchanged fire with them from long range.
• The chapter explained how the Ghost Nebula blocked starlight while plasma in the planets’ atmospheres provided Ombara and Atoa with warmth and ultraviolet radiation.
• The chapter described Ombara’s resources and hyperspace routes, which made its sudden betrayal of the Galactic Republic strategically important.
• Anakin Skywalker said Ombara’s darkness made him feel as though he were beside a black hole.
• Pong Krell recounted how he had led a fleet past a black hole at Sarka, sacrificing one-third of his warships to attack the Separatists and win.

Anakin Skywalker and Pong Krell argued over the cost of an assault on Umbara, then divided their forces for the coming attack. As five Republic assault ships descended through heavy fire, Anakin ordered the advance force to make a forced landing.

• Pong Krell urged Anakin Skywalker to accept heavy Clone casualties and use an advance force to secure a landing near the Umbara capital.
• Anakin and Pong Krell split their forces, with Anakin's 501st Legion attacking the capital and Krell leading the 212th Attack Battalion to cut its supply lines.
• Ahsoka Tano objected to Krell treating the Clones as expendable, while Anakin defended Krell's record as a war hero.
• One hour later, five Acclamator-class assault ships descended into Umbara's atmosphere and came under intense anti-aircraft and Zenuas 33 starfighter attacks.
• After Anakin Skywalker's ship's shields were breached and its underside came under attack, he ordered the advance force to deploy and force a landing.

On Umbara, Clone forces established a landing zone after heavy fighting, but Pong Krell ordered the exhausted 212th Attack Battalion to advance on a heavily defended airfield. Cody obeyed and led his troops back into battle.

• Anakin Skywalker sent two companies into the darkness of Umbara, where one LAAT/I assault transport was destroyed by an ion cannon blast.
• Pong Krell assigned Cody to secure a landing zone, and Cody led the 212th Attack Battalion in destroying Umbarian defenders and anti-air artillery.
• Four Acclamator-class ships landed safely, and Clone Troopers established defensive positions around them.
• Pong Krell ordered Cody to feint against the airfield and cut off its supply routes despite the 212th Attack Battalion's losses.
• Cody gathered his exhausted troops, gave them a brief meal, and led them back into battle.

Pong Krell led the Clone Army’s costly assault on an Umbarian airfield, and a flanking attack helped them capture its first defensive line. Elsewhere, Cody’s outnumbered 212th Attack Battalion struggled to hold back the Umbarian advance before a trooper detected something moving beneath them.

• Pong Krell ordered the Clone Troopers to attack the airfield and slaughtered Umbarians while destroying a self-propelled artillery vehicle.
• Umbarian defenses and Ghost Tanks inflicted heavy casualties, but Krell forced the Clone Troopers to resume their assault after an initial retreat.
• Clone Trooper commanders sent AT-RT walkers around the flank, where they exploited the Ghost Tanks’ close-range blind spots and drove the defenders back.
• The Clone Army captured the Umbarian first defensive line outside the airfield.
• Cody led the 212th Attack Battalion in a delaying retreat against a force more than ten times its size.
• A Clone Trooper reported that sensors detected something passing beneath the battalion.

Cody’s 212th Attack Battalion retreated toward a forest to wage guerrilla warfare as Umbarians launched underground attacks on Republic positions. Pong Krell confronted the Umbarians’ Impeding Assault Tanks, which devastated the clone forces, and he let one carry him away from the battlefield.

• Cody ordered the battered 212th Attack Battalion to fall back to a forest and delay Umbarian reinforcements with guerrilla warfare.
• An Impeding Assault Tank burst from underground and destroyed a Republic artillery position, while more underground attacks struck clone forces elsewhere.
• After hearing the 212th Attack Battalion’s warning, Pong Krell prepared his legion for an underground threat and attacked the ground with his Lightsaber.
• Three Impeding Assault Tanks emerged and inflicted heavy losses on the clone forces, destroying an AT-TE with their disintegration beams.
• Pong Krell clung to an Impeding Assault Tank, destroyed several of its blaster cannons, then stopped attacking and let it carry him away.

Pong Krell blamed Cody for the losses caused by the Impeding Assault Tanks, removed him from command, and ordered Gregor to hold back the Umbarians. After capturing the airport, Krell learned that an encrypted message signed by Archangel of Death had been found there.

• Clone Troopers destroyed one Impeding Assault Tank and drove the last one underground, then Pong Krell returned with the heads of two Umbarian tank drivers.
• Pong Krell accused Cody of disobeying orders and causing the surprise attack's heavy losses, then relieved him of command.
• Pong Krell ordered Gregor to take command, hold back the Umbarians, and arrest Cody; Cody accepted his arrest and urged Gregor to protect the Clone Troopers.
• Pong Krell led a full-scale assault that captured the airport, where Clone Troopers moved the command center and sorted through supplies.
• A Clone commander told Pong Krell that the airport control tower contained an encrypted message signed by Archangel of Death, startling him.

Tang Xiao contacted Pong-Krell and exposed his plan to betray the Galactic Republic, offering him a path to power if he helped the Confederacy win on Ombara. Pong-Krell agreed to consider the plan, and Tang Xiao told him to slow the Clone Army so the Umbarians could gather reinforcements.

• Pong-Krell sealed off the control tower after learning that a transmission bearing the name Archangel of Death had appeared.
• Pong-Krell opened the message and spoke with its sender, who revealed that he knew Pong-Krell intended to destroy two Clone Armies and join the New Order.
• Tang Xiao identified himself and challenged Pong-Krell to name what he wanted, prompting Pong-Krell to admit he sought strength, power, and wealth.
• Tang Xiao told Pong-Krell he was unworthy to join him directly and directed him to seek Count Dooku after helping the Confederacy win on Ombara.
• Tang Xiao instructed Pong-Krell to slow the Clone Army's advance and give the Umbarians time to gather reinforcements, noting that Asajj Ventress was heading to Ombara.

Pong Krell abandoned his plan to pit his troops against the 501st Legion after Tang Xiao exposed him, then prepared a risky assault on the Umbara capital. As the Kent lifted off under attack and the Clone Army advanced, Pong Krell ignored Anakin Skywalker and received a cryptic Sith message just before a Geonosis Fanblade fighter targeted the ship.

• Tang Xiao exposed Pong Krell's plan to provoke a clash with the 501st Legion, and Pong Krell submitted to his orders before destroying the communications terminal.
• Pong Krell accused the command data of being a virus, ordered the computers replaced, and sent Cody to the brig to face a court-martial and possible execution.
• Pong Krell ordered the reserves pulled into a full assault on the Umbara capital and sent the Kent Acclamator-class assault ship into the air for support.
• Umbara fighters attacked the Kent as Pong Krell's troops began their assault, while Anakin Skywalker's 501st Legion remained delayed by resistance.
• Pong Krell ignored Anakin's call and received the Sith-script message, “I will accept this fruit,” as a Geonosis Fanblade fighter rushed toward the Kent.

Asajj Ventress attacked the Republic assault ship Kent after coordinating with Pong Krell, while Cody was delivered aboard as a prisoner accused of desertion. Ventress destroyed the hangar’s failsafe and forced the doors open, leaving her fighter inside the ship.

• Clone Troopers brought Cody aboard the Kent, where its crew took him into custody and sent the 212th Attack Battalion troopers to the storage hold.
• The Kent's crew learned they were also supposed to receive starfighters and kept the hangar open while ordering point-defense guns to watch it.
• Asajj Ventress, acting on intelligence from Tang Xiao and Pong Krell, approached the Kent with six Umbara transport aircraft.
• The Kent opened fire as Ventress raced toward the hangar, but she destroyed both point-defense turrets and narrowly slipped through the closing doors.
• Ventress fired on the hangar's mechanical failsafe, destroying it and reopening the doors.