Recaps

Francis Underwood told Claire that Tang Xiao had ordered a brutal search for the person who leaked intelligence from Aereen Planet and Krant Planet, and he believed Tang could become Emperor. At Kessel, Tang's forces launched a devastating assault and demanded that the culprit be surrendered.

• Claire Underwood told Francis that she had returned from leave after a Senate brawl over the Merchant Guilds refusing to reinforce Suluust.
• Francis explained that Tang Xiao had ordered Kessel to use any necessary means to uncover the intelligence leaker, and Claire condemned the order as an extermination order.
• Francis said he had signed the order willingly and toasted Tang as the future Emperor of the Empire.
• A black Hammerhead-class cruiser and four Grey Horse-class escort carriers arrived near Kessel, and their fighters attacked ships in orbit and settlements on the planet.
• Tang's forces broadcast a demand that Kessel surrender the leaker, then landed Caladanian troops at several major settlements.

Two thousand Caladanian mercenaries and Darth Malthael captured Kessel in under an hour, overwhelming its defenders. Malthael demanded to know who had leaked the information, killed one hundred prisoners as a warning, and heard someone confess.

• Two thousand Caladanian mercenaries attacked Kessel and used their marksmanship, swordsmanship, and stealth to defeat the defenders despite being outnumbered.
• Big Boss watched from the Ironfang as Titan Security's Caladanians routed the prisoners' forces with fewer than thirty casualties.
• Darth Malthael joined the battle, turned the defenders' attacks back on them, and used black wraiths to kill enemies and raise their corpses.
• Kessel surrendered, and Darth Malthael gathered its people in the prison yard and demanded to know who had leaked the information.
• The Caladanians executed one hundred people, and Darth Malthael began a countdown before someone stood up and confessed to leaking the information.

Darth Malthael forced Casal Fogg to identify the Jedi Master who received his intelligence, then made him choose which half of Kessel’s population would die. Near Velmor, Pruul Baren was being taken aboard a Republic cruiser when an unidentified red fighter appeared and triggered an alarm.

• Darth Malthael interrogated Casal Fogg, executed people from the crowd, and learned that Fogg had given information to Echu Shen-Jon.
• Darth Malthael forced Casal Fogg to choose between his family dying with everyone on Kessel or selecting half the population to be killed, and Fogg chose the latter.
• Darth Malthael ordered the mercenaries to supervise Fogg’s selections, keep his family alive as leverage, and place a blood-red Kyber Crystal on him.
• Clone Troopers escorted the handcuffed Trade Federation viceroy Pruul Baren toward a Galactic Republic cruiser near Velmor Planet.
• An unidentified red fighter approached the cruiser at extreme speed, and the commander ordered the anti-aircraft batteries to fire.

Darth Malthael attacked a spaceport, killed Prul Barron after forcing her to confess embezzling funds, and confronted Nute Gunray. He identified himself as the Archangel of Death and demanded victory in the war, threatening to kill Gunray if he failed again.

• A red transforming fighter destroyed the spaceport’s anti-air defenses, landed as a giant robot, and attacked the people inside.
• Darth Malthael emerged from the robot, deflected the Clone Troopers’ fire, killed them, and cornered Prul Barron.
• Darth Malthael made Prul Barron confess to embezzling more than 140 million credits from the Extractor Project on Aereen Planet.
• Darth Malthael killed Prul Barron during a call with Nute Gunray, who recognized him as the terrifying figure he knew as Darth Sidious.
• Darth Malthael identified himself as the Archangel of Death and warned Nute Gunray to secure victory in the war or die.

Darth Malthael warned Nute Gunray to win the war before fleeing as Republic reinforcements arrived. Hutt Ziro, desperate to reclaim influence from her family, accepted an offer of help and secretly traveled to war-torn Mimban.

• Darth Malthael warned Nute Gunray that he had to win the war, then escaped when Republic reinforcements arrived.
• Ziro’s history showed how she rose to become a Black Sun Vigo but was left isolated as the syndicate was devastated.
• Ziro resented Jabba and Giliac for excluding her from the Desilijic kajidic and sought a way to regain power.
• Ziro sought help from Count Dooku, but he dismissed her and offered no meaningful support.
• An unknown benefactor paid Ziro’s debts and promised a chance to return to Nar Shaddaa and challenge for control of the Desilijic kajidic.
• Ziro accepted the offer and secretly traveled from Coruscant to Mimban.

Darth Malthael intimidated Ziro on Mimban and stirred his hatred of Jabba and Giliac, urging him to return to Nal Hutta and reclaim his place in the Desilijic kajidic. Ziro agreed to act, with Zorba’s release and the proposed Desilijic-Besadi alliance looming over the family.

• Ziro arrived on Mimban with four B-2 super battle droids, but Darth Malthael destroyed them for disobeying his order to come alone.
• Darth Malthael showed Ziro the severed heads of the men who had forced him into debt and convinced him that he should have used his authority to resist them.
• Ziro declared that he would do whatever it took to claim his rightful position in the Desilijic kajidic.
• Darth Malthael proposed that Ziro join forces with his brother Zorba, who was soon to be released from Kip planet.
• Darth Malthael warned that Jabba and Gaddula planned to unite the Desilijic and Besadi kajidics, provoking Ziro to vow that the Besadi would die.
• Darth Malthael sent Ziro to Nal Hutta to reclaim what belonged to him.

After Zorba Desilijic Tiur was imprisoned on Kip planet for illegally mining Ulikuo gemstones, Governor Tang Xiao ordered a disguised Fourth Civilization fleet to raid the planet and capture him. The force took Zorba aboard the Grey Horse-class carrier, where Matt Hona was left enduring Mira Han’s teasing.

• Zorba Desilijic Tiur was arrested on Kip planet for stealing gemstones and sentenced to forty-five years in prison while the Hutt leadership left him there.
• Matt Hona commanded a disguised Fourth Civilization fleet’s raid on Kip planet, while Mira Han pressured him into giving her a kiss before her pilots launched.
• Kip planet surrendered after a brief bombardment and handed Zorba over to the raiders.
• Zorba tried to flee when he saw the human soldiers, but Kip planet’s soldiers stopped him and the raiders dragged him aboard their ship.
• Mira Han told Matt Hona that her lipstick would leave its mark for two days, while Zorba threatened them with a bounty hunter pursuit.

Matt Horner and Mira Han delivered Zorba Desilijic Tiure to Nal Hutta, where he reunited with Ziro Desilijic Tiure. After Ziro revealed that Jabba was set to marry Gaddula Besadi and that Giliac Desilijic had accepted the arrangement, Zorba decided to confront his brother while hiding that he had escaped prison.

• Matt Horner and Mira Han brought Zorba Desilijic Tiure to a secret spaceport on Nal Hutta and left with their pirate fleet.
• Zorba met Ziro Desilijic Tiure and angrily demanded to know why his younger brother had returned.
• Ziro told Zorba that Jabba was about to marry Gaddula Besadi, a match arranged by Alok Besadi and Giliac Desilijic.
• Zorba insisted Jabba must have been coerced and decided to contact Giliac.
• Ziro warned Zorba that Giliac might kill him and showed him a hidden room with a hyperspace signal relay that made it seem as if he were still imprisoned on Kip planet.

Zorba and Ziro joined forces against Giliac and Alok, using Titan Security to launch a massacre against Besadi properties across Hutt Space. Boorka and Ziro publicly protected Titan Security, sparking a wider conflict that soon brought the Besadi kajidic's retaliation against the Desilijic kajidic.

• Zorba failed to convince Giliac to abandon his alliance with Alok and vowed to rally his old subordinates against him.
• Ziro revealed that she had recruited Titan Security and the Calamity Legion with a payment of seventy million credits, and showed Zorba Titan Security's attack plan.
• Titan Security bombed more than a hundred Besadi kajidic properties across multiple planets, killing over four thousand people.
• Alok placed a bounty on Titan Security and called for its expulsion from Hutt Space, but Boorka declared that Titan Security worked for him.
• Ziro admitted that she had hired Titan Security, prompting fierce disputes in The Grand Hutt Council as the Besadi kajidic launched attacks on Titan Security offices.
• The Besadi kajidic directed its revenge at the Desilijic kajidic.

The Besadi and Desilijic kajidics escalated their conflict, while Giliac and Alok discovered that hidden allies were manipulating events. Tang Xiao confronted Alok and revealed that Gaddula had once dared to attempt the assassination of Hego Damask II.

• The Besadi kajidic hired pirates to attack Desilijic strongholds, and the Grand Hutt Council failed to mediate the conflict.
• Giliac-Desilijic confronted Ziro, then discovered Pazda had vanished and suspected members of the Desilijic kajidic were backing her.
• Alok failed to contact Zorba and left to seek Jabba's help.
• Alok accused Tang Xiao of interfering in Hutt affairs, and Tang Xiao accused Alok of conspiring with Jabba and betraying him.
• Tang Xiao warned Alok that Gaddula had once dared to assassinate Hego Damask II.

Tang Xiao and Gabriel Tosh arranged Alok Besadi’s poisoning, and Aruk Besadi Aora took temporary control of the Besadi kajidic. Meanwhile, Zorba Desilijic Tiur returned to Nal Hutta with a hologram of Alok’s corpse, deepening tensions within the Desilijic kajidic.

• Tang Xiao explained that Gaddula had ambitions of her own and that others in the Besadi kajidic wanted Alok dead.
• Gabriel Tosh poisoned Alok with food mixed with Roon acid, and Alok died after naming Aruk.
• Tang Xiao ordered Tosh to leave clues pointing toward Gaddula while preserving evidence about Aruk.
• Aruk Besadi Aora took over the Besadi kajidic, fought its external attackers, investigated its members, and ordered Gaddula to cut ties with Dawn Star Planet, the Fourth Group, and the Calamity Legion.
• Zorba Desilijic Tiur returned to the Desilijic headquarters on Nal Hutta and showed Giliac a hologram of Alok’s corpse.

Zorba reclaimed leadership of the Desilijic kajidic after killing Alok, dismissing Giliac and Jabba’s warnings about Sith influence and the danger posed by Aruk. On Tatooine, Darth Malthael instructed Gaddula to sever ties with the Calamity Legion and wage war against it, setting the stage for Aruk to fulfill a promise.

• Zorba forced Giliac aside and reclaimed the central seat as patriarch of the Desilijic kajidic.
• Giliac warned Zorba that Sith Lords had infiltrated Hutt affairs and that killing Alok would let Aruk take control of the Besadi kajidic.
• Jabba warned Zorba about the Calamity Legion’s ties to a Sith Lord, then left with Giliac and many senior members.
• Zorba remained in control with Pazda and Ziro’s forces supporting him, though Jabba’s departure displeased him.
• Darth Malthael told Gaddula to obey Aruk’s demand to cut outside support, then revealed that she must also wage full-scale war against the Calamity Legion.

Darth Malthael’s scheme plunged Hutt Space into conflict between the Desilijic and Besadi kajidics while General Grievous launched a sweeping offensive against the Galactic Republic. After Grievous forced Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to retreat from Bakura, the Jedi were sent to Jabiim, where another ordeal awaited them.

• Darth Malthael directed Gaddula to have Aruk send money and supplies while the Calamity Legion occupied Mos Espa Port.
• Zorba led the Desilijic kajidic in attacks on Besadi holdings, while Gaddula broke with the Calamity Legion on Tatooine.
• General Grievous diverted Republic reinforcements with a false attack on Ord Mantell, then struck Anoth and Bakura.
• A rebellion in Bakura joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker withdrew after suffering heavy losses.
• General Grievous won six battles in a month and opened a route from Kessel Planet to Mon Calamari before halting his offensive.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker received orders to end the civil war on Jabiim planet.

The Republic struggled to recover from the Festival Offensive while borrowing heavily and accelerating its warship production. The discovery of valuable Durasteel-making minerals on Jabiim drew eager Republic officials to the remote planet, where they hoped to secure the deposits cheaply.

• The Festival Offensive crippled the 12th Legion, the 4th Army, the 16th Legion, and the 13th Army, while the 14th Legion remained under siege.
• The Republic Supreme Strategic Command reinforced Lantillies and prepared to withdraw the 14th Legion, but Orn Free Taa's Senate influence obstructed the plan.
• Sheev Palpatine borrowed 100 billion credits from the InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Kuat Drive Yards began building more than a thousand Hunter Class Battlecruisers.
• Rendili StarDrive fell behind after misjudging demand for Dreadnought-class cruisers, and the Republic rejected its delayed 900-meter Victory-class Star Destroyer.
• The Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems turned their attention to Jabiim after valuable Durasteel-making mineral veins were discovered beneath its swamps.
• Republic officials arrived on Jabiim with an agreement, hoping to trade cheap grain and surplus goods for the planet's mineral deposits.

Alto Stratus led the Jabiimi Nationalists in a rebellion against the Republic, backed by Count Dooku and the Fourth Group, while the Republic sent Jedi and clone forces to defend the collapsing Jabiim government. As the conflict intensified, both sides brought in powerful reinforcements, including Asajj Ventress, Selurite troops, and the Dark Jedi Ulu Ulic.

• Alto Stratus condemned the Republic’s failures and seized power in a coup, founding the Jabiimi Nationalists and starting a civil war.
• Count Dooku and the Fourth Group supported Alto, supplying the Nationalists with battle droids, combat suits, and M-15 Defender assault rifles.
• The Republic’s government forces collapsed, prompting Orliss Gillmunn to request aid and the Republic to send Jedi Master Selius, Nokuna, Laiska, and thousands of clone troops.
• The Jedi’s strikes against Alto failed, and brutal fighting spread across Jabiim’s swamps as the Nationalists inflicted heavy losses on the Republic forces.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were sent to Jabiim after their defeat on Bakura, while Asajj Ventress arrived with 10,000 Series-A Amphibious Battle Droids.
• Dawn Star Planet sent Selurite and Kig-Yar troops and advisers to support Alto, and the Dark Jedi Ulu Ulic joined the battle.

The Fourth Civilization’s Ragnarok-class Titan warship Plague arrived at Manaan to salvage ancient wreckage and resupply before moving toward Cato Neimoidia. Darth Lilim warned Sefrans Tann about the danger of using the Force to guide hyperspace travel, while droid-controlled transports joined Plague in hiding among the ruins.

• Plague appeared in orbit around Manaan, where Darth Lilim ordered engineering ships to collect ancient Sith warship wreckage for ammunition and called for the rendezvous party to resupply within three days.
• Darth Lilim praised Sefrans Tann for bringing Plague into the Inner Rim, then warned that connecting to hyperspace through the Force could attract unknown entities.
• Sefrans Tann insulted Darth Lilim, and Plague concealed itself among Manaan’s war ruins near its target, Cato Neimoidia.
• Plague’s engineering crews began hauling wreckage aboard to be processed into shells for its massive main cannon.
• Several hours later, droid-controlled transport ships delivered supplies and hid beside Plague rather than departing.

Qi Jian presented Tang Xiao with a plan to attack Terminus Planet and explained how it could break the Fourth Civilization's deadlock with the Republic 18th Army. Despite his misgivings about the risks, Tang Xiao approved the operation as long as the defensive zone remained secure.

• Qi Jian reported to Tang Xiao with an operational proposal from the General Staff, Supreme Operations Command, and Admiral Horner to attack Terminus Planet.
• Qi Jian said Terminus supplied the Republic 18th Army and that Ni Yongxiao had smuggled prohibited stimulants and spices onto the planet to create a pretext for intervention.
• Tang Xiao questioned the plan's political risks and the difficulty of supplying a campaign along unstable hyperspace routes near the busy Corellian Trade Route.
• Qi Jian argued that General Grievous's attacks had isolated the 18th Army, while Wilhuff Tarkin was unable to command after being wounded in an assassination.
• Tang Xiao weighed his instincts against the strategic opportunity and approved the attack on Terminus Planet, provided the Fourth Civilization's defensive zone remained intact.

Alto Stratus and his allies prepared the Jabiimi National Army to fight the Republic, while Republic forces launched a two-pronged counterattack. Three days into the battle, Clone Troopers came under fire and an AT-TE was hit by an anti-tank missile.

• Alto Stratus vowed to destroy the invading Republic forces, and Ventress and Uru-Ulic joined him at the Jabiimi Nationalist headquarters in Rezaal.
• Alto addressed thousands of Jabiimi National Army soldiers, who cheered and fired their weapons into the rain.
• Oris Gilman and Jedi Master Selius planned a two-pronged attack on Rezaal and Elberta, while the Republic forces deployed from Cobalt Camp.
• On the third day of battle, a Clone Trooper Commander directed his unit under fire, and CO-0817 was wounded.
• An anti-tank missile struck an AT-TE, and the blast covered the Commander and the wounded CO-0817 in mud.

On the tenth day of the battle on Jabiim, Clone Troopers faced a coordinated attack by Kig-Yar snipers and Jabiimi Nimbus commandos. Ulu-Ulix killed the Jedi Knight as Alto Stratus led the assault, and Separatist droids arrived behind the collapsing Clone Army.

• Clone Troopers continued their slow advance through the rain, fighting Jabiimi soldiers who refused to surrender and used grenades to avoid capture.
• Kig-Yar snipers ambushed the Clone Troopers, forcing the Jedi Knight and his troops to charge their positions.
• A green laser destroyed an AT-XT walker and missiles struck the clone positions as Nimbus commandos broke into the formation.
• Ulu-Ulix killed the Jedi Knight with the Lightsaber on his mechanical arm and attacked the Clone Troopers.
• Alto Stratus led the Nimbus commandos into battle as droids marched onto the battlefield behind them.

Jedi Master Selius struggled to coordinate the Republic army in Jabiim’s torrential rain as Separatist forces closed in. Meanwhile, Asajj Ventress ambushed a Jedi patrol, and in Chuka City, Republic troops unknowingly settled above a hidden army of battle droids.

• Selius sent Jedi Knights with soldiers to search for five missing companies, while Master Nokuna’s force prepared to attack Chuka City.
• A pilot reported a Separatist legion with at least ten OG-9 Nest Spider battle mechs nearby, and Selius ordered the army to prepare for battle.
• Asajj Ventress and Kig-Yar snipers ambushed a Jedi Knight and his Clone Troopers, and Ventress killed the Jedi Knight.
• Master Nokuna arranged for the Clone Army to rest in Chuka City while residents hid in basements and Trade Federation Series A battle droids waited in the drainage network.

Series A battle droids attacked the Clone Army from Chuka City’s sewers while a droid legion and Nimbus commandos struck its defenses from outside. Jedi Master Nokuna tried to lead the clones toward safety as Alto Stratus and Ulu Ulix helped devastate the Republic forces.

• Series A battle droids emerged from Chuka City’s sewers and attacked the unprepared Clone Troopers while Hailfire droids bombarded the city from outside.
• Jedi Master Nokuna fought through the sewer droids, was wounded, and directed the Clone Army to retreat toward the northwest side of the city.
• Alto Stratus led the Nimbus commandos in a charge across the swamp, where they used magnetic bombs to destroy AT-TE walkers.
• Ulu Ulix killed a female Jedi Knight, while Alto Stratus struck down another Jedi Knight who denounced the Jabiim rebels.
• The battle killed countless Clone Troopers and civilians, while Jabiim residents sheltered underground and sang their planet’s folk songs.

Jabiimi forces annihilated Master Nokuna’s exhausted army while Master Selius began retreating under attacks from Jabiimi troops, droids, Kig-Yar snipers, and Asajj Ventress. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived to find the Republic army devastated and falling back toward Cobalt Base.

• After days of pursuit through rain and mud, Alto Stratus’s Nimbus commandos attacked Master Nokuna’s dwindling force and killed Nokuna.
• Master Selius ordered a retreat after heavy losses and learned that Asajj Ventress was fighting alongside the Jabiimi forces.
• Jabiimi soldiers, droids, and Kig-Yar attacked Selius’s army as it withdrew toward Cobalt Base.
• Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived and learned that Nokuna’s eight thousand Clone Troopers had been wiped out and Selius’s army had suffered severe losses.

Kato-Neimoidia, the Trade Federation’s wealthy homeworld, was surrounded by Republic forces seeking to capture Newt Gunray during the war. As the Republic fleet maintained the encirclement, an unknown enemy force suddenly emerged from hyperspace and attacked the 2nd Legion for a second time.

• Kato-Neimoidia was described as the oldest and most prestigious Wealth World, where Newt Gunray held the greatest fortune.
• Newt Gunray backed Count Dooku’s Confederacy of Independent Systems with vast funds and production capacity, gambling on control of the galaxy.
• The Republic 2nd Legion and the 4th Army surrounded Kato-Neimoidia and were ordered to capture Newt Gunray without damaging the planet.
• The 2nd Legion’s fleet suffered heavy losses in the wider war and transferred some of its new warships to other legions.
• The 7th Fleet’s Commander-class Dreadnought detected a large, unidentified hyperspace arrival, and its crew confirmed an enemy attack.

The Plague arrived at Cato-Neimoidia and destroyed the Republic 7th Fleet’s flagship, the Golden Light, with a single Hypermatter Railgun shot. As the surviving Republic ships attacked, Sefrans Tann ordered the Plague to raise its shields and prepare a second firing.

• The Republic 7th Fleet identified the arriving Plague and prepared for battle under Admiral Rivers.
• Sefrans Tann diverted the Plague’s power from its shields to overload and charge the Hypermatter Railgun, aiming at the Golden Light.
• The Plague’s cannon destroyed the Golden Light, killing Rivers and all 43,000 people aboard.
• The remaining 7th Fleet ships opened fire and launched starfighters at the unshielded Plague.
• Sefrans Tann ordered the Plague to raise its shields and load scattershot rounds for a second firing.

Darth Malthael visited Nute Gunray aboard his flagship and proposed a surprise attack on Kato Neimoidia to destroy the Republic fleet surrounding it. Gunray feared the plan would provoke the Republic and endanger the Trade Federation’s holdings, so Darth Malthael suggested deactivating every battle droid with Gunray’s shutdown codes.

• The Republic 2nd Legion's 7th Fleet and the Trade Federation fleet surrounded Kato Neimoidia while its wealthy residents evacuated and more than two million battle droids remained to defend the planet.
• Darth Malthael flew through Nute Gunray's escort fleet in a red fighter, transformed outside Gunray's bridge, and entered to speak with him.
• Darth Malthael told Gunray he planned to attack Kato Neimoidia and destroy the Republic fleet, provided Gunray cooperated.
• Gunray objected that the attack could provoke the Republic and jeopardize the Trade Federation's holdings in the Inner Rim and Core Worlds.
• Darth Malthael asked Gunray whether he would use his shutdown codes to deactivate every battle droid.