Chapter Summaries

James Bond underwent a cosmetic reconstruction and received the implanted identity of Sunil Chetri for an undercover mission on Byss. He entered a guarded bar with Nova and Gabriel Tosh, where they prepared to draw out a middleman who might be connected to a mysterious hyperspace device.

• Nova and the doctor transformed James Bond's appearance and briefed him on Sunil Chetri's identity and business.
• James Bond arrived on Byss with Nova and Gabriel Tosh, while Nova warned them that Dark Jedi Knights were patrolling.
• James Bond presented Sunil Chetri's credentials to the doorman and entered the bar as Tosh shoved aside a guard who tried to stop them.
• James Bond met a Bith in a private room, and Nova warned that the Bith was not the middleman they needed to find.

James Bond negotiated with a dark broker over illegally modified tractor beams, insisting on credit chips and assurances that the weapons would not reach pirates. The broker revealed that Kuat Drive Yards had massive projects that could use the equipment, but James remained suspicious as the negotiation continued.

• James Bond rejected the Bith's offer of neutron star matter and demanded credit chips and proof of a legitimate buyer.
• Nova explained that the Bith was a dark broker who could make millions reselling the tractor beams, and Gabriel Tosh praised James's bargaining ability.
• When a bodyguard tried to stop them, Gabriel Tosh seized him, and the Bith brought James and Tosh to meet the broker through a hologram.
• James told the broker that his company could supply five-hundred-thousand-ton tractor beams, and the broker asked for one hundred models and two one-million-ton models.
• James demanded payment in credit chips at one-fifth of the market price and a guarantee the beams would not be sold to pirates.
• The broker said the beams were for enormous Kuat Drive Yards projects, but James doubted the claim and turned to leave.

James Bond and Nova used a staged tractor-beam test to trace the Corellian broker while concealing their surveillance. James then negotiated access to the broker’s secret project, agreeing to visit alone so he could learn what the operation involved.

• James Bond brought the Bith assistant to an uninhabited system and showed him a crude tractor beam generator disguised as a black-market product.
• James Bond staged a failed test and argument, prompting the Bith to contact the Corellian broker; Nova traced the transmission through a hyperspace station in the Kiefer system.
• The tractor beam passed further tests, and Gabriel Tosh located the broker on Planet Tralus in the Corellian system while arranging for Crimson Dawn to keep him under surveillance.
• James Bond refused the broker’s offer to send photos or videos and demanded to inspect the project in person.
• The broker agreed to pay one million credit ingots and let James visit alone under his arrangements, and James accepted the deal.

James Bond set out alone to meet the Dark Broker and exchange five tractor beam generators, while the Republic fleet prepared to attack the Duchy of Dawn near Yag'Dhul. The chapter leaves Bond on an unknown mission and Gideon Tarkin awaiting reinforcements as a radiation storm disrupts communications and hyperspace travel.

• James Bond refused Nova, Gabriel Tosh, Sola-A, and Oola-Khan's offer to accompany him, arguing that acting alone was the only way to avoid exposing the mission to possible Dark Jedi Knights.
• Gabriel Tosh proposed tracking the tractor beam generators, but Nova warned that doing so could alert the Galactic Republic's intelligence operatives.
• James Bond agreed on an exchange method with the Dark Broker and left alone with five tractor beam generators.
• A radiation storm disrupted communications and made hyperspace routes unusable near Yag'Dhul on July 27, 20 BBY.
• Gideon Tarkin divided the Republic fleet into three groups and ordered them to seek a decisive battle against the Duchy of Dawn.
• Gideon Tarkin learned that reinforcements would be reduced and shifted toward smaller warships, with two Vindicator-class heavy cruiser prototypes expected for testing.

Gideon Tarkin launched a full assault on the Duchy of Dawn’s fleet and concentrated the Republic’s fire on one Agonev-class star base, confident that the electromagnetic storm had grounded the Swarm Drones. As the battle intensified and the star base inflicted heavy losses, Matt Hona asked an unidentified woman over the comms whether she could do it, and she answered that she could.

• Gideon Tarkin ordered more than 200 Republic warships to advance while Matt Hona pulled his fleet back behind the two Agonev-class star bases.
• Gideon Tarkin began a long-range bombardment of Yago-Dur, but the planet’s shield and reinforced shelter cities protected its inhabitants.
• Gideon Tarkin sent light cruisers to disrupt the Calamity-class battlecruisers and directed the Republic fleet to concentrate fire on the smaller Agonev-class star base.
• The star base’s Pulse Lasers destroyed a Hunter Class Battlecruiser, while Gideon Tarkin launched Y-wing bombers to intensify the attack.
• Matt Hona asked a woman over the comms if she could do it, and she replied that she could.

Matt Horner timed the Separatist counterattack to coincide with the electromagnetic radiation storm as Starbase B’s shield failed under the Republic fleet’s bombardment. He launched more than twenty thousand Swarm Drones against the distracted Republic fleet, which lacked an effective layered anti-air defense.

• Matt Horner learned that Starbase B’s shield would fail within minutes and ordered the fleet to prepare a counterattack.
• Baher Banak predicted that the electromagnetic radiation storm would peak in thirty-seven minutes.
• The Republic fleet breached Starbase B’s shield and began pounding its armor while Gideon Tarkin’s assault fleet pressured the Calamity-class battlecruisers.
• Matt Horner ordered the counterattack, and Starbase B launched more than twenty thousand Swarm Drones at the Republic warships.
• The Swarm Drones tore through the Republic fleet’s defenses while its ships were focused on bombarding the station.

The Swarm Drones and the Duchy of Dawn fleet turned the battle against Gideon Tarkin’s Republic fleet, whose communications and fighters were crippled by the electromagnetic radiation storm. Matt Hona revealed that Maris Brood had been wired into the Consul-class aircraft carrier as the drones’ command core, while he waited for a planetary orbital shift.

• More than 20,000 Swarm Drones poured out of Starbase B and attacked the Republic fleet as Matt Hona ordered the Duchy of Dawn ships to counterattack.
• The drones overwhelmed Republic fighters and light cruisers, forcing the high-speed assault fleet to retreat toward the main fleet.
• Gideon Tarkin ordered a withdrawal, but communications interference left many Republic warships unaware as his flagship turned away.
• Matt Hona ordered signal flares launched and the Duchy of Dawn ships to attack at full force while normal communications failed.
• Matt Hona visited a sealed compartment and confirmed that Maris Brood, connected to cables and needles, served as the Swarm Drones’ command core.

Matt Hona collected combat data on the Swarm Drones as Tang Xiao confronted the challenge of finding a Force-sensitive operator for them. Tang Xiao chose Maris Brood for Arroyo Barlow to study after killing and resurrecting her.

• Matt Hona came to gather real-time combat data on the Swarm Drones controlled by Maris Brood.
• Arroyo Barlow selected the Consul-class aircraft carrier as a suitable platform for the Swarm Drones, but Tang Xiao learned that operating them effectively required a powerful Force-sensitive pilot.
• Tang Xiao reviewed the few Force-sensitive people available to the Fourth Civilization and found no suitable operator among them.
• Tang Xiao summoned Maris Brood aboard the Glory mothership, ran her through with a sword, resurrected her with Resurrection Spell, and handed her to Arroyo Barlow for research.

Matt Hona checked on Maris Brood, whose Force-powered command system controlled the Duchy of Dawn’s Swarm Drones, and ordered her workload reduced after the battle’s objective had been achieved. With communications disrupted by the EMP storm, both fleets acted independently, and the Republic fleet retreated as the Duchy of Dawn pursued.

• Arroyo Barlow completed Maris Brood’s integration into the Consul-class aircraft carrier, which used her Force abilities to command 20,000 Swarm Drones.
• Matt Hona checked Maris Brood’s condition, learned her neural load was at 67%, and told the Salarian engineer to recall a third of the drones to ease her strain.
• The EMP storm disrupted communications and disabled the carrier’s operators and AI, leaving Maris Brood’s Force as the drones’ effective command system.
• The Swarm Drones and the Duchy of Dawn fleet battered the Republic warships until their captains judged the battle lost and began retreating.
• Gideon Tarkin’s Republic fleet fled as the smaller Duchy of Dawn fleet pursued it.

The Duchy of Dawn fleet pursued the retreating Galactic Republic 20th Army but destroyed only about one-third of its main fleet. Matt Hona chose to move the damaged Starbase B into Yago-Dur’s synchronous orbit, while the chapter then shifted to the Republic’s landing on Annaj Planet and the use of Spaarti clone troopers there.

• The Galactic Republic 20th Army fled, and Knight-class Star Destroyers retreated with their rear firing blind spots exposed as Hunter Class Battlecruisers fired backward while pursuing them.
• The Swarm Drones ran out of energy and returned, and the Duchy of Dawn fleet destroyed only about one-third of the Republic fleet amid communications jamming and limited numbers.
• Matt Hona considered the damaged Starbase B’s options and chose to move it into Yago-Dur’s synchronous orbit.
• On July 26, 20 BBY, more than 80,000 Galactic Republic clone army soldiers had landed on Annaj Planet, where Spaarti clone troopers were being used as expendable reinforcements.

The Galactic Republic’s Spaarti clone troopers suffered heavy losses attacking Annaj Planet, while Cassio Tagge committed more troops to capture a stable supply base. Matt Horner asked Darth Malthael to send the Fourth Legion and the Indjori Vengeance to reinforce his next-stage battle plan, and Darth Malthael had not yet approved the request.

• The Republic’s Spaarti clone troopers advanced under heavy air support, while Annaj’s defenders used SJF-14D fighters and ground defenses to inflict severe losses.
• Cassio Tagge seized two spaceports for repair and sent all available ground troops into the battle, despite the loss of seven Hunter Class Battlecruisers, one Acclamator-class assault ship, and more than twenty transport ships.
• Matt Horner asked Darth Malthael for the Fourth Legion and the Indjori Vengeance to support his next-stage plan against the Republic fleet in the Yag'Dhul system.
• Darth Malthael questioned Matt Horner’s request, noted the larger threat in the Modell Sector, and asked what the General Staff Headquarters said.
• Matt Horner explained that Chief of Staff Qi Jian had left the decision to Darth Malthael, who challenged him to seek approval for the forces.

Darth Malthael approved Matt Hona’s high-risk plan while Volgograd Kanidi argued that the Republic had to be drawn into attacking Dawn Star Planet. On Anaji Planet, Cassio Tagge’s forces secured footholds but faced fierce resistance as the Republic expanded its landing zones.

• Darth Malthael warned Matt Hona that his gamble could cost the Fourth Legion, the Indjori Vengeance, both star bases, and the Givin, but approved it.
• Volgograd Kanidi directed the defense of Anaji Planet, deploying Umbrella’s B.O.W.s and dispersing Scorpion tanks to harass the Republic and buy time.
• Kanidi told Darth Malthael that the Republic’s superior numbers made a counterattack impossible and proposed drawing its fleet toward Dawn Star Planet.
• Darth Malthael acknowledged the danger of Kanidi’s proposal but recognized that another Republic failure in the Modell Sector could strike the Republic deeply.
• Cassio Tagge’s forces began landing on Anaji Planet after damaging the Agonev-class star base, but concealed J-1 Proton Cannons shot down two Acclamator-class assault ships.
• Anaji Planet’s defenders counterattacked with Scorpion tanks, forcing Tagge to send more than fifteen hundred fighters to support the landing forces before he ordered new landing zones established.

Cassio Tagge ordered a risky campaign of deep-penetration landings across Annaj Planet, despite Laslo Dorit's warnings that the Republic fleet could not safely support so many fronts. Tagge judged that capturing the planet quickly was essential to secure supplies and stabilize the Republic’s position, and began the widespread landings.

• Cassio Tagge identified gaps in Annaj Planet’s anti-air defenses and planned landings at more than a hundred vulnerable sites.
• Laslo Dorit warned that Separatist ships, Gauss Defense Platforms, and space mines threatened transports, while escorting so many landing zones would strain the Republic’s forces.
• Laslo Dorit recommended establishing around five large landing zones and advancing steadily with concentrated air support.
• Cassio Tagge rejected the proposal, arguing that the Republic needed to capture Annaj Planet quickly to secure supplies and create a stable base for a new Hyperspace Stabilizer.
• Cassio Tagge increased the landing force and launched operations across dozens of battlefields at once.

Cassio Tagge spread the Republic’s assault across Annaj Planet, bringing the capital close to encirclement despite heavy losses and fierce resistance. In Kati City, T-Virus creatures slaughtered Clone Troopers, while a seemingly victorious armored unit failed to notice a mutated giant’s corpse had vanished.

• Cassio Tagge launched landings across dozens of zones on Annaj Planet, stretching the Republic’s forces and costing more than 30,000 Clone Troopers in space-mine losses.
• Republic landing forces broke through at multiple sites, but Separatist resistance kept the capital from being fully encircled.
• Lickers attacked a squad of Spaarti clone troopers in Kati City, killing them and turning wounded clones into zombies.
• A Republic armored unit destroyed more than a hundred mutated giants armed with rocket launchers, though it lost two Saber tanks and had an AT-TE damaged.
• SC-2227 noticed that a giant’s corpse had disappeared from beneath a collapsed wall, but dismissed his memory and returned to his tank.

Major General Cassio Tagge received reports of Separatist counterattacks across seventeen fronts as outdated battlefield information left him uncertain about the campaign around Annaj Planet. Laslo Dorit warned that scattered reports near Kati City might point to a Separatist plan, but Tagge dismissed the threat of the T-Virus mutants.

• Laslo Dorit reported counterattacks on seventeen fronts, and Cassio Tagge examined the delayed updates on his tactical map.
• Dorit explained that jungle, urban, and hilly terrain made air support ineffective against the counterattacks, including Ewok forces in difficult terrain.
• Tagge ordered the jungle bombed, but Dorit explained that their forces lacked bombers and faced hidden Separatist anti-air positions.
• Dorit reported that the 77th Legion had encountered T-Virus mutants in Kati City and that the 179th Armored Company had defeated mutant giants before stopping to repair its damaged AT-TE walker.
• Dorit suspected the reports indicated a Separatist plan near Kati City, but Tagge scoffed at the idea that mutant creatures could threaten Republic forces.

Cassio Tagge dismissed the T-Virus as a limited threat to the Republic military and ordered troops on Annaj to use lethal force and burn a path through the jungle. After the 77th Legion lost contact in Kati City, reports of screams and inhuman sounds forced Tagge to scramble reinforcements as Clone Troopers fled from Lickers and a larger threat emerged in the darkness.

• Republic research concluded that the T-Virus spread mainly through bodily fluids and posed a greater danger to civilians than to equipped military forces.
• Cassio Tagge ordered biological warfare precautions, told Clone Troopers to shoot suspicious targets, and approved incendiary bombing of the jungle despite Laslo Dorit's concerns.
• A messenger reported that the 77th Legion in Kati City had lost contact and that its scattered communications contained screams, gunfire, pleas for help, and inhuman sounds.
• Cassio Tagge ordered reconnaissance and transport craft to investigate while Laslo Dorit directed efforts to contact nearby armored forces and send them to Kati City.
• Inside Kati City, retreating Clone Troopers blasted Lickers apart, then saw scarlet eyes appear above them in the darkness.

Clone Troopers encountered a Frik-alloy-armored Talos Tyrant and mutated Lickers in the dark city, suffering heavy losses. Elsewhere, Sherry Birkin explained to Volgograd Kanidi how B.O.W.s could survive without supplies and adapt on the battlefield.

• The Talos Tyrant resisted the Clone Troopers' weapons, crushed two soldiers, and drove the squad into retreat.
• The surviving Clone Troopers regrouped, then killed one mutated Licker whose keratinous armor weakened their blaster fire.
• Dozens of mutated Lickers attacked from a building wall, and gunfire, explosions, and screams spread through the city.
• Sherry Birkin told Volgograd Kanidi that B.O.W.s relied on self-sufficiency and mutability rather than sheer combat power.
• Sherry explained that B.O.W.s could consume organic matter for energy and be left behind enemy lines without logistical support.

Sherry Birkin explained to Volgograd-Kanidi how T-Virus biological weapons mutated to resist attacks, while Tang Xiao reflected on how her upbringing had made her a ruthless leader of Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group. The chapter ended as mutated monsters advanced on Republic forces in Kapo Town, shrugging off a Saber tank’s laser blast.

• Sherry Birkin told Volgograd-Kanidi that T-Virus creatures could feed on organic matter, survive without supplies, and mutate to resist attacks that nearly killed them.
• Sherry Birkin showed Kanidi mutated experimental monsters and explained that their evolution depended on available energy.
• Tang Xiao considered how Sherry Birkin’s upbringing and control of Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group had made her very different from her original-story counterpart.
• Sherry Birkin said she expected Hunters to engage Republic armored forces, and the chapter shifted to two TX-130 Saber hover tanks moving through Kapo Town.
• A tank crew reported that rocket-launcher giants had transformed into monsters and revived after being eliminated.
• The Saber tank fired at a detected target, but the crew saw that it survived the blast and was rapidly approaching.

Mutated Hunters overwhelmed the Republic forces at Kapo Town, while reports of T-Virus weapons and Separatist supply shipments forced Cassio Tagge to order an immediate assault on Annaj Planet’s capital. He also sought an orbital bombardment of the Kati City region, but the planet’s rotation made that attack difficult to carry out at once.

• A mutated Hunter tore into a TX-130 Saber tank, killed its commander, and joined other Hunters that had destroyed the AT-TE and pursued a fleeing tank.
• A communications soldier told Cassio Tagge that only seven TX-130 tanks remained and that the force was retreating from Kapo Town toward Kati City.
• Laslo Dorit urged indiscriminate orbital bombardment of the Kati City region, but Cassio Tagge worried about the troops needed to blockade it and the danger of spreading the T-Virus.
• Cassio Tagge learned that a Republic warship had found T-Virus weapons aboard a suspicious Separatist transport and ordered an immediate attack on Annaj Planet’s capital.
• Cassio Tagge also ordered a precise orbital bombardment of Kati City, but a staff officer warned that the fleet would need to commit more warships or wait thirteen standard hours for the region to rotate into a better position.

Cassio Tagge launched a massive Republic ground and fleet offensive on Annaj Planet, while Volgograd Kanidi’s forces resisted despite being outnumbered and outgunned. The Republic’s northern advance then vanished into a death-shrouded region, where something began moving toward the troops.

• Cassio Tagge sent sixty Republic capital ships to bombard Kati City and landed more than 38,000 Spaarti clone troopers to prepare an advance toward Annaj Planet’s capital.
• On July 34, 20 BBY, Cassio Tagge ordered 170,000 clone troopers to attack the capital from nine directions as Republic warships fought to seize synchronous orbit.
• Volgograd Kanidi countered with forty capital ships and 110 smaller warships, using the Hell-Angel Class Battlecruisers to strike Republic formations and transport convoys.
• Volgograd Kanidi ordered Annaj’s 2.8 million defenders to hold their positions against the Republic’s air-supported offensive.
• A Republic force on the northern battlefield lost contact after advancing more than forty kilometers, and its reconnaissance aircraft reported that something was advancing toward it before disappearing.
• The northern capital region became shrouded in black mist and deathly aura, and the Republic force there vanished within an hour.