Chapter Summaries

Gillard-Perine stabilized Faida’s defenses, but Dark Jedi Knight Kriget was captured by the Geth after being lured into an ambush. Perine suspected the Geth planned to turn Kriget into a Force-sensitive Corpse Puppet, and Pah urged him to bombard the area even if Kriget died.

• Dunn-Vesex backed Gillard-Perine, who reorganized Faida’s fleet and used fighter attacks and targeted Orbital Bombardments to hold the front line.
• Gillard-Perine learned that Kriget had disappeared during a raid on a Geth communications station and might have been captured.
• Pah argued that only Force-sensitive people could have helped the Geth set the trap, while Perine suspected Kriget himself was the target.
• Perine proposed that the Geth intended to create a Force-sensitive Corpse Puppet from Kriget.
• Pah demanded that the army counterattack and bombard the area, and Gillard-Perine eventually nodded.

Tang Xiao argued with Ling Liang over halting warship production to accelerate the Rendili Planet relocation plan, then both were struck by a mysterious Force backlash. Palpatine confronted Tang Xiao about probing an unknown presence, and Tang Xiao demanded that the Geth stop their dangerous experiments on Faida Planet.

• Tang Xiao insisted that warship commissioning be delayed so production could focus on Whale-class passenger ships and Raloz-class Heavy Constructors for the five-year Rendili Planet relocation plan.
• Ling Liang objected that the Galactic Empire already had forty Knight-class and Imperial-class Star Destroyers at Kira planet, leaving the Duchy of Dawn without enough high-speed assault warships.
• Tang Xiao suddenly staggered after a Force clash, and Ling Liang collapsed unconscious; he sent her to the hospital and received a transmission from Palpatine.
• Palpatine accused Tang Xiao of probing a dangerous existence in the Northern Territory and warned that it could harm the Force itself.
• Tang Xiao contacted the Geth, learned that their failed experiment on Faida Planet had caused significant losses, and ordered them not to repeat it for now.

Gillard Perine launched a major counterattack on Faida Planet to reach the captured Dark Jedi Master Kriget, while preparing an Orbital Bombardment to keep the Geth from using him. After Pah sensed that Kriget had survived the strike but was in danger, she led two other Dark Jedi Masters toward the bombardment site to find him.

• Gillard Perine ordered an Imperial counterattack, and Pah led an elite force against the Geth defenses.
• Pah's army advanced over sixty kilometers before millions of Corpse Puppets and extensive underground bases forced the Imperials to withdraw.
• Gillard Perine directed the fleet to bombard the Geth's concentrated forces, despite the risk of lasting damage to Faida Planet.
• Pah sensed that Kriget was alive but that the bombardment had made his Force chaotic, and she feared he might kill them.
• Pah handed command of the army to a clone Commander and set out with the other two Dark Jedi Masters for the bombardment site.

Pah and three other Dark Masters searched the devastated bombardment zone for Kriget aboard a massive Turbo Tank, but they found no trace of him. After a day of searching, Pah ordered the area bombarded to flush Kriget out, risking exposure to Geth reinforcements.

• Pah led Mulumba, Boringi, Bangara, Dark Jedi, and Clone Troopers into the bombardment zone aboard a God-statue class Turbo Tank to rescue Kriget.
• The group advanced through toxic smoke, flames, and wreckage, relying on visual observation and the Dark Masters' Force senses to search for Kriget.
• After searching all day and finding nothing, Pah and the others rested inside the Turbo Tank; meanwhile, a crimson fighter left the Endor system and headed toward them.
• Pah's group resumed the search the next day but still could not find Kriget.
• Pah ordered the Turbo Tank to bombard the area, and told Bangara to watch for Kriget because their shared training under Windu had deepened Bangara's Force bond with him.

Pah and the other Dark Jedi Masters found an ancient Killik structure beneath the bombardment crater and followed evidence of Kriget and a massacre deeper underground. The chapter ended when Mulumba discovered something in the corpse warehouse and screamed that something was there.

• Bangara spotted a buried structure in the crater and sensed that Kriget was inside it.
• Pah led the group underground, where they identified the site as an ancient Killik relic used as a Geth base.
• Bangara used Psychometry on a Geth elite wreck and felt chaotic, murderous intent that threatened to overwhelm his Force.
• Pah split the teams to search the passages, where they found thousands of Geth wrecks destroyed by claws and equipment damaged by shockwaves.
• Mulumba found a Corpse Puppet manufacturing site and then a nearby corpse warehouse, where he screamed that something was there.

Pah rushed toward a powerful Dark Side presence after the comms failed and found Kriget transformed into a horrifying, powerful creature. As Kriget unleashed a deadly shriek, Pah leaped back and raised a Force barrier, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Pah sensed a chaotic Dark Side presence and ran toward it after the comms were cut off.
• Pah found Clone Troopers retreating from an invisible, fast-moving attacker, and one of the injured clones died from the effects of a powerful Force impact.
• Pah entered the corpse storage area and saw Kriget floating above the ground, transformed with mechanical parts, claws, and an eerie crystal.
• Kriget blocked the Clone Troopers' blaster fire with a Force barrier and struck down another clone.
• Pah sensed danger as Kriget opened his mouth, leaped backward, and formed a Force barrier before his terrifying shriek.

Kriget slaughtered the Dark Apprentices and Dark Warriors in the underground base as Pah and Mulumba struggled to stop it. Outside, Boringi fled to the Turbo Tank but encountered Darth Malthael, who killed her and split the vehicle in two.

• Kriget teleported through the fighters, killed several Dark Apprentices and Dark Warriors, and grew stronger by draining blood and Force.
• Mulumba warned Pah that Kriget absorbed Force through blood, and the surviving fighters tried to retreat.
• Bangara charged Kriget after losing control to the Dark Side, but Kriget quickly knocked him aside.
• Boringi fled the underground base and found Darth Malthael waiting beside the Turbo Tank.
• Boringi ran into the Turbo Tank, but Darth Malthael struck it with his black plasma blade and split it in two.

Darth Malthael defeated the God-statue-class Turbo Tank, forced Boringi to submit, and enslaved her soul before entering the underground base. There, he shattered Kriget’s Force barrier, while Pah and Mulumba fled.

• Darth Malthael destroyed the God-statue-class Turbo Tank, and Boringi surrendered to him.
• Darth Malthael stabbed Boringi, bound her soul with the Soul Stealer Lightsaber, and forced her to serve him.
• Boringi told Darth Malthael that Kriget had been taken by the Geth and that Bangara had gone mad after encountering Kriget’s chaotic Dark Side Force.
• Darth Malthael entered the underground base, where Bangara, Pah, and Mulumba were fighting Kriget as risen corpses attacked it.
• Darth Malthael struck Kriget repeatedly and broke its Force barrier, prompting Pah to drag Mulumba away as they fled.

Darth Malthael killed the remaining Dark Jedi and Kriget in the underground base, then discovered a corrupted black Kyber Crystal in Kriget’s body. When he touched it, an enraged voice accused him of harming the Force.

• Mulumba and Pah tried to flee, but Boringi—already dead—blocked their way and attacked them.
• Darth Malthael beheaded Bangara, and Kriget drained the corpse’s blood before attacking Pah and Boringi.
• Darth Malthael struck Kriget with blood-red lightning, and Boringi killed Pah and Mulumba after they begged to serve him.
• Darth Malthael tore Pah and Mulumba’s souls from their bodies, then beheaded Kriget and found no survivors in the base.
• Darth Malthael recognized the black crystal in Kriget’s abdomen as a corrupted Kyber Crystal, and a furious voice spoke to him when he touched it.

Darth Malthael survived a mysterious Force attack from a black Kyber Crystal and realized that Father of the Ones blamed him for Geth's experiment and Anakin Skywalker's fall. He explored the base and discovered that its underground passage protected something buried beneath it, its walls encased in tough chitin.

• A voice called Darth Malthael a thief before the black Kyber Crystal exploded, striking him with an evil Force and then disintegrating.
• Darth Malthael concluded that Father had attacked him and feared that all three of the Ones, and possibly Mother, posed a threat to him.
• Darth Malthael sent Boringi, Pah, and Mulumba to guard the Red Comet and told the Galactic Empire garrison not to disturb him.
• Darth Malthael explored the underground base and found a narrow passage leading deeper beneath it.
• Darth Malthael realized the passage had not been widened because its walls were covered in an exceptionally tough chitinous shell.

Darth Malthael investigated the Geth’s research site in ancient Killik-like ruins and learned that a black Kyber Crystal had powered a preserved corpse. The Geth explained that their attempt to use the crystal in Kriget had failed, and Darth Malthael ordered them to stop and surrender their data.

• Darth Malthael found resilient chitinous carapace and traced the ruined tunnels to a hall where the Geth had concentrated their research equipment.
• Darth Malthael connected to an intact terminal and questioned the Geth about their discoveries at the site.
• The Geth said they had found a corpse preserved by a black Kyber Crystal, which turned the body to dust when removed.
• The Geth revealed that they had used the crystal to create a Banshee corpse puppet with Kriget as its vessel, but he lost control and attacked them.
• The Geth said Darth Lilim had helped trap Kriget, was injured when he broke free, and escaped afterward.
• Darth Malthael ordered the Geth to end the experiment and hand over their research data.

Darth Malthael convinced the Geth to halt their black crystal research, but a man awakened as their underground base was destroyed. The Imperial fleet drove the Geth from Faida Planet, while Gillard Perine celebrated victory and confronted the devastation the battle had left behind.

• Darth Malthael warned the Geth that studying the black crystal could provoke a powerful entity, explained the Killiks’ collapse, and persuaded them to stop the experiment.
• A man with entirely black eyes awakened in the Geth core, and pre-planted Proton Bombs destroyed the underground nest and base.
• Gillard Perine ordered a massive Orbital Bombardment after Pah and the other Dark Jedi died, while the Geth withdrew from Faida Planet.
• Emperor Palpatine ordered Gillard Perine to search the bombardment zone with droids and personally commended him for resisting the Geth.
• The Geth abandoned heavy units that could not be evacuated, and their fleet entered hyperspace as Gillard Perine watched Faida Planet burn.
• Gillard Perine mourned the ruined planet and resolved to seek Imperial help restoring its atmosphere.

Darth Malthael punished Darth Lilim for helping the Geth conduct an experiment without permission, then examined their data about a black Kyber Crystal. He suspected the crystal came directly from the Force world and wondered how it could have drawn the attention of The Ones.

• Darth Malthael returned to Dawn Star Planet and attacked Darth Lilim with Force lightning over her unauthorized involvement in the Geth experiment.
• Darth Lilim explained that she had gone to the Northern Territory after the Geth promised their experiment would eliminate the threat posed by Dark Jedi Knights.
• Darth Lilim described a black Kyber Crystal whose seemingly inexhaustible power reminded her of Kresh's Gauntlet.
• Darth Malthael connected the crystal's power to the Force world but concluded it was likely something from that realm itself, rather than a passage to it.
• Darth Malthael reviewed the Geth's experimental data and questioned why the crystal had attracted the attention of The Ones.

Darth Malthael ordered further study of the black crystal after suspecting Kresh's Gauntlet was a passageway, while planning to make the Ones his prey. On Faida Planet, Dunn Vesex refused an atmospheric modification facility but informed Gillard Perine that the Empire had deciphered the Geth's warp travel and summoned him to Imperial Center.

• Darth Malthael ordered Darth Lilim to take the research device to Drai II for joint study by the Priestess, Judgment, the Protoss, and themselves.
• Darth Malthael left Darth Lilim wounded and resolved to investigate the crystal, believing the Ones' anger suggested it touched on a forbidden power.
• Dunn Vesex rejected Gillard Perine's request for an Atmospheric Modification Facility, citing Faida Planet's low value and promising food aid in exchange for work.
• Dunn Vesex told Gillard Perine that the Empire had identified the Geth's faster-than-light method as warp travel, estimated at one thousand to three thousand times the speed of light.
• Dunn Vesex ordered Gillard Perine to come to Imperial Center to discuss the Geth travel threat with assembled astronomical scientists.

Gillard Perine joined an Imperial summit where Dunn Vesex and Dr. McCartan explained that the Geth had mastered warp travel, allowing them to reach any part of the galaxy over time and evade detection. Dunn proposed building defenses on every habitable Imperial planet, but Wilhuff Tarkin condemned the plan as financially ruinous and at odds with Palpatine’s earlier decree.

• Gillard Perine returned to the Imperial Center and spent the night studying the Geth report before attending the Imperial Navy summit.
• Emperor Palpatine praised Dunn Vesex and Gillard Perine for repelling the Geth and awarded Perine the Imperial Medal.
• Dr. McCartan explained that the Geth used warp travel to move at up to three thousand times the speed of light, and that their ships could remain undetectable inside warp bubbles.
• McCartan’s model showed that the Geth could bring the entire Milky Way Galaxy within their reach in just over two hundred years, while the Empire would need decades to develop warp technology.
• Dunn Vesex proposed establishing independent defenses on every habitable Imperial planet, and Wilhuff Tarkin objected that the cost could bankrupt the Empire and contradict Palpatine’s policy abolishing local Defense Fleets.

Palpatine settled the Empire’s priorities: Dunn Vesex would focus on containing the Geth, while Wilhuff Tarkin would pursue Count Dooku and later resume the war against Dawn Star Planet. After the meeting, Mathirin Wessel reported that an expedition into the Unknown Regions had contacted the Chiss but had not discovered the source of Dawn Star Planet’s advanced technology.

• Dunn Vesex argued that the Empire needed to stop the Geth in the Northern Territory, and Wilhuff Tarkin accused him of neglecting other threats and wasting capital ships.
• Palpatine ordered Dunn Vesex to build a deep defensive network against the Geth and hinted that the Fourth Group and San Hill’s forces on Makito might reveal the Geth’s movements.
• Palpatine directed Wilhuff Tarkin to capture Saleucami Planet within the year, then resume the war against Dawn Star Planet after Count Dooku was eliminated.
• Octavian Grant warned Palpatine that Sefrans Tann was expanding Separatist influence around Mandalore, and Palpatine ordered overwhelming force sent against her.
• After the other governors left, Mathirin Wessel told Palpatine that his expedition had contacted the Chiss but failed to find the source of Dawn Star Planet’s super-technology.

Palpatine ordered an investigation into the Chiss and the mysterious technology of Dawn Star Planet. Gillard Perine and Dunn Vesex examined intelligence about the Geth’s origins and planned defenses, while realizing Tang Xiao might have drawn the Geth to the Northern Territory under a frightening condition.

• Palpatine told his officials to question the exiled Chiss about Dawn Star Planet’s technology and demanded answers about the Unknown Regions.
• Gillard Perine reviewed intelligence describing how the Quarians created the Geth, whose collective network awakened before the Geth defeated and exterminated their creators.
• Dunn Vesex said the Geth might rely on a superintelligent network on an unknown planet, and Gillard Perine questioned why Tang Xiao had revealed that information.
• Dunn Vesex ordered scientists to simulate a Geth network and tasked Gillard Perine with establishing a defensive line.
• Gillard Perine suggested Tang Xiao might have drawn the Geth to the Northern Territory through a condition rather than bait, alarming Dunn Vesex.
• Dunn Vesex said he would uncover the truth and reminded Gillard Perine that the defensive effort took priority over installing an atmospheric transformation system on Faida Planet.

Tang Xiao learned that Jango Fett had completed the Spartan modifications and planned to return to Mandalore with Boba to oppose Pre Vizsla. Jango’s former True Mandalorian comrades then revealed that they had survived Galidron and joined the program, giving Tang Xiao a force to help reignite the Mandalorian Crusaders.

• Doctor Halsey told Tang Xiao that the Spartan Program had produced preliminary results and that the Endless-class Super Carrier was nearing completion.
• Tang Xiao met Jango Fett and Boba at Halsey’s laboratory, where Jango described his guilt over the Galidron massacre and his resolve to fight Death Watch.
• Jango said he planned to find Satine Kryze and Obi-Wan Kenobi, while Tang Xiao encouraged him to revive the Mandalorian Crusaders and agreed to look after Boba.
• Jango insisted that Boba would accompany him to Mandalore and pledged his service to Tang Xiao.
• Resoth and other surviving True Mandalorians entered the laboratory in their armor and revealed that they had joined the Spartan Program, though several recruits had died during the trials.

Jango Fett and the Mandalorian warriors pledged themselves to Tang Xiao’s cause, and Doctor Halsey returned Jango’s repaired armor. Halsey explained why Spartan enhancements had to be tailored to each person’s genes, leaving Tang Xiao to consider the limits of building a mass-produced super-soldier force and the value of the mothership’s cryo-embryos.

• Jango Fett declared that the Mandalorians would fight Death Watch and accepted Tang Xiao’s support in rebuilding the Mandalorian Crusaders.
• Doctor Halsey presented Jango with his repaired armor and offered to prepare combat equipment for him and Boba Fett.
• Tang Xiao asked Halsey about John’s health, and she explained that his earlier Spartan modifications needed adjustments to work with current materials.
• Halsey explained that Jango’s Taung and Ancient Sith genetic traces required customized second-generation Spartan procedures, while other Mandalorians had received less extensive first-generation enhancements.
• Halsey told Tang Xiao that Mandalorian genetic diversity made mass-produced Spartan soldiers impractical and advised preserving the mothership’s pure-blooded cryo-embryos.

Tang Xiao reviewed Doctor Halsey’s Crusader I power armor and assigned its twenty units to the Fourth Legion after the Mandalorians rejected them. He approved veteran Huang Yehao’s ambition to join the legion, while Halsey revealed she had been consulting Alexia Ashford on research.

• Tang Xiao agreed that John should go to Mandalore, and Doctor Halsey explained that she had designed new armor for him herself.
• Doctor Halsey described the Crusader I armor’s lighter, more compact design and said the Mandalorians had refused to use it.
• Tang Xiao reassigned the twenty Crusader I suits to the Fourth Legion, where they could help ordinary soldiers close the gap with its elite warriors.
• Huang Yehao tested the armor, told Tang Xiao he wanted to fight on the front lines as a Fourth Legion soldier, and received Tang Xiao’s approval.
• Doctor Halsey said she had been consulting Alexia Ashford about research and had also taken the Fourth Legion’s enhancement technologies into account.