Recaps

Darth Malthael used the Red Comet and the Death Force to seize Knight-class Star Destroyers in the Second Battlegroup, driving the fleet into chaos. As a third wave arrived at Annaj Planet, its commander learned the Second Battlegroup was finished and faced an advancing Separatist Defense Fleet.

• Aboard the crippled flagship, the battlegroup commander warned other ships that the fighter had escaped, then revealed that everyone aboard had become dead and shot himself as the corpses attacked.
• Darth Malthael used the Red Comet and the damaged flagship as cover to evade fire and destroy pursuing fighters.
• Darth Malthael approached the Lake Light openly, and the Death Force turned its crew into walking corpses who took control of the ship.
• The third wave arrived to find the first battlegroup under attack and the second battlegroup in disarray, while the First Battlegroup Commander warned them not to approach.
• The Third Battlegroup commander ordered fighter support and reinforcements, then learned that the Separatist Defense Fleet was advancing.

Cassio Tagge hesitated to reinforce the Republic fleet after reports that three battlegroups had encountered disaster near Annaj, until Chancellor Palpatine’s Dark Side advisors urged him to act. With Sa-Cuis and Jeng Droga promising protection, Tagge reorganized the Fifth Battlegroup and sent it toward the Modell Sector.

• A communications officer reported that the First Battlegroup was in crisis, the Second had collapsed, and the Third was urgently requesting reinforcements.
• Laszlo Dolit urged Cassio Tagge to reinforce the Fifth Battlegroup and head to the Modell Sector, but Tagge feared rushing into an unknown threat.
• Sa-Cuis and Jeng Droga arrived with masked warriors and said the battlegroups had likely encountered Force adepts serving the Archangel of Death.
• Sa-Cuis advised Tagge to depart under the Hands of the Chancellor’s protection, and Tagge agreed to redeploy the fleet.
• Tagge formed the Fifth Battlegroup around the flagship Tagge with 40 Hunter Class Battlecruisers and 5 Governor-class battleships, then sent it toward the hyperspace stabilizer.

The Republic’s Fourth and Fifth Battlegroups arrived at Annaj as the Duchy of Dawn fleet drove the Republic forces back, while the Second Battlegroup’s ships were revealed to be filled with reanimated dead. With the Fifth Battlegroup’s arrival shifting the balance, Sa Kuys and Jan Drolga discussed the threat posed by the Archangel of Death and Lord Sidious’s plans.

• The Fourth Battlegroup arrived to find the First and Third Battlegroups retreating and the Second Battlegroup motionless, while its commanders sent conflicting and fearful reports.
• The Fourth Battlegroup Commander ordered fighters to launch and the Acclamator-class assault ships to withdraw, as the Second Battlegroup continued transmitting distress calls.
• The Second Battlegroup Commander was revealed to be a reanimated corpse, and the dead crew still occupied the ships throughout the battlegroup.
• Volgograd-Kanidi kept the Duchy of Dawn fleet attacking, preventing the Republic forces from regrouping and reflecting on Tang Xiao’s power and the Republic’s unusual hyperspace arrivals.
• The Republic’s surviving battlegroups joined forces, then the Fifth Battlegroup arrived under Cassio Tagge with the Commander-class Dreadnought Tagge, forty Hunter Class Battlecruisers, and five Governor-class battleships.
• Sa Kuys identified the Archangel of Death as the force behind the Second Battlegroup’s destruction, while Jan Drolga warned him not to act rashly and said Lord Sidious had made arrangements.

Cassio Tagge learned that the Archangel of Death had wiped out the Republic’s Second Battlegroup by turning its crews into walking corpses. As B-1 battle droids took control of the abandoned ships, Darth Malthael sensed powerful Force users with the Republic fleet and prepared for a more dangerous fight.

• The First and Third Battlegroup commanders told Cassio Tagge that the Second Battlegroup had collapsed amid reports of red fighters, panicked crews, and decayed corpses that attacked the living.
• Jan Drouga explained that the Archangel of Death could turn people into walking corpses from a distance, and told Tagge to leave the Force to him and the other specialists.
• B-1 battle droids boarded a Second Battlegroup Star Destroyer, took over its stations, and used the corpses aboard as obedient workers they called “Low-Temperature Humans.”
• Darth Malthael watched the Republic fleet from outside the Red Comet fighter and held back because he sensed several powerful Force users among its forces.

Darth Malthael launched the Duchy of Dawn fleet against the Galactic Republic while using a fleet of reanimated corpses and B-1 battle droids to attack. As he prepared to strike the Republic flagship, he encountered a squadron of Dark Side Force-sensitive pilots and recognized Darth Sidious.

• Darth Malthael ordered B-1 battle droids to take control of the Republic warships crewed by walking corpses.
• Volgograd-Kanidi led the Duchy of Dawn assault fleet forward as hidden Calamity-class battlecruisers bombarded the Republic fleet.
• Hell-Angel Class Battlecruisers charged through Republic fire while the reanimated Second Battlegroup advanced and opened fire.
• Darth Malthael cloaked the Red Comet and spread the Death Force, killing a V-19 Torrent pilot as Republic fighters launched in response.
• Dozens of Eta-2 fighters piloted by Force-sensitives confronted Darth Malthael, whose Death Force collided with a dark power he identified as Darth Sidious.

Darth Malthael fought dozens of Republic fighters in the Red Comet while sensing Darth Sidious's immense Dark Side Force on the battlefield. He realized the Republic was using a powerful Force-sensitive pilot to keep him occupied in space combat, and ordered his fleet to continue attacking.

• Darth Malthael sensed Darth Sidious's Blackhole-like Force during the fighters' high-speed battle and struggled to explain why it seemed both near and far away.
• Darth Malthael shot down two enemy fighters while the fleets withdrew from the fighters' increasingly dangerous combat zone.
• As the Red Comet ran low on energy, Darth Malthael returned to a Hunter Class Battlecruiser and had droids and walking corpses refuel and service it.
• Volgograd Kanidi asked how the battle was going, and Darth Malthael ordered him to keep attacking until the enemy's next reinforcements arrived.
• Darth Malthael concluded that the Republic intended to tie him down with a Force-sensitive fighter pilot while its fleet decided the battle elsewhere.

The Duchy of Dawn fleet and the Galactic Republic fleet fought to a costly standstill near Annaj Planet until Darth Malthael’s Second Battlegroup forced the Republic to retreat. After the Death Fleet returned to the defensive perimeter, the Republic’s Sixth Battlegroup arrived, leaving the Duchy of Dawn outnumbered with no reinforcements.

• Volgograd-Kanidi and Cassio Tagge committed their fleets to battle, with ion-equipped Republic ships attacking the Hell-Angel Class Battlecruisers while the Duchy of Dawn targeted the Republic’s Governor-class battleships.
• Darth Malthael avoided the Republic’s Eta-2 fighters and advanced under the Second Battlegroup’s fire, forcing Cassio Tagge to withdraw and send two hundred fighters after him.
• The Duchy of Dawn destroyed four Republic Hunter Class Battlecruisers, while two Hell-Angel Class Battlecruisers were heavily damaged; the Republic’s fleeing Hunter Class ships used their rear-mounted turrets effectively.
• Darth Malthael shot down five more Eta-2 fighters and used the Death Force to control two Hunter Class Battlecruisers, while the Republic destroyed all four of the Second Battlegroup’s Hunter Class Battlecruisers.
• After hyperspace fluctuations prompted both Duchy of Dawn forces to redeploy, the Republic’s Sixth Battlegroup arrived with twenty Hunter Class Battlecruisers, worsening the outlook for the Duchy of Dawn.

Darth Malthael learned that the Galactic Republic’s fleet greatly outnumbered the forces defending the Annaj system, and Volgograd-Kanidi proposed drawing the Republic onto Annaj Planet to divide its forces. The chapter ended with Kanidi asking Malthael to remember the people of the Modell Sector after victory.

• A B-1 battle droid commander reported severe losses among the Low-Temperature Humans, and Darth Malthael ordered more B-1 droids sent to the battle.
• Volgograd-Kanidi told Darth Malthael that the Annaj system could not be held against the Republic’s fleet of at least three hundred warships.
• Darth Malthael considered the Republic’s vast industrial advantage and asked Kanidi how he planned to win by surprise.
• Kanidi explained that the Republic might attack once it gathered more than two hundred capital ships, then described its earlier attempt to encircle the defenders.
• Kanidi proposed exposing a weakness and letting the Republic land on Annaj Planet, giving it another objective and dividing its forces.
• Kanidi asked Darth Malthael not to forget the people of the Modell Sector after victory.

Volgograd-Kanidi agreed to let the Galactic Republic land on Annaj Planet, accepting that the planet’s residents would suffer in order to protect the Modell Sector. As Republic reinforcements continued to gather, Cassio Tagge prepared to launch a decisive attack against the Archangel of Death.

• Volgograd-Kanidi recognized that his plan would expose Annaj Planet’s residents to bombardment but concluded he had no other way to resist the Republic fleet.
• Darth Malthael told Volgograd-Kanidi that the Modell Sector’s fate depended on him, and Kanidi agreed to proceed with the plan.
• The Galactic Republic fleet continued receiving waves of reinforcements, widening its advantage over the Duchy of Dawn.
• Cassio Tagge celebrated the approaching victory, but Sa Kuise warned him that defeat would carry grave consequences after the price paid to stop the Archangel of Death.
• Cassio Tagge declared that the fleet was ready for a final attack and said a supply convoy would arrive in five hours.

The Galactic Republic Expeditionary Fleet launched a full-scale assault on Annaj, while Volgograd Kanidi’s Duchy of Dawn fleet countered with its powerful ships and defenses. The battle left the Republic with heavy losses, but its massed starfighters overwhelmed the Agonev-class star bases’ defenses and enabled a bombardment that continued as both fleets fought fiercely.

• Cassio Tagge divided the Republic fleet into four detachments and ordered attacks on Annaj’s poles and Agonev-class star bases.
• Volgograd Kanidi pulled his warships back to defend the star bases while ten hidden Calamity-class battlecruisers attacked the advancing Republic fleet.
• The Calamity-class battlecruisers destroyed eleven Republic capital ships before Cassio Tagge ordered the moon bombarded, forcing them to reveal themselves.
• Martha-class missile heavy cruisers and Garda Flak Frigates devastated Republic starfighter formations, but Cassio Tagge sent more fighters against the Agonev-class star bases.
• Republic pilots overwhelmed the star bases’ anti-air defenses, allowing other ships to bombard them while Duchy of Dawn warships fought back and eight Hell-Angel Class Battlecruisers struck the Republic formation.

The battle around Annaj Planet intensified across five fronts as the Galactic Republic concentrated its attacks on the Duchy of Dawn’s defenses. Volgograd-Kanidi ordered the damaged Agonev-class star base to descend into a planet-synchronous orbit, leaving Annaj Planet exposed.

• The Republic fleet bombarded the satellite, the Calamity-class battlecruiser, the planetary shield, and the Agonev-class star base across separate combat zones.
• Darth Malthael fought Sa Cuis, Jan Droga, and their Dark Jedi Knights, while a strange trace of Darth Sidious’s power blocked his Death Force.
• The Republic’s superior numbers overwhelmed the Duchy of Dawn’s defenders, and concentrated bombardment broke the Agonev-class star base’s Deflector Shield and damaged its weapons.
• Volgograd-Kanidi ordered the Agonev-class star base to release its spatial anchoring and descend under Annaj Planet’s gravity, opening the planet’s defenses.

Cassio Tagge ordered the Republic fleet to bombard Annaj Planet’s shield with every available weapon as Volgograd Kanidi directed the Fourth Civilization’s forces to counterattack. The chapter ended with thirty-nine Hyena bombers launching a surprise attack on a Governor-class battleship.

• Cassio Tagge ordered the Acclamator-class assault ships forward and directed the Republic fleet to bombard Annaj Planet’s shield with warships, bombers, and nuclear missiles.
• Volgograd Kanidi ordered the Calamity-class formation to hold and transferred three squadrons of Wraith fighters to support it.
• Kanidi learned that thirty-nine Hyena bombers remained and ordered them to attack a Governor-class battleship launching nuclear missiles.
• The Hyena bombers launched from a cloaked hangar platform with Vulture droids covering them and approached the Republic battleship from its rear flank.

Cassio Tagge’s forces broke Annaj Planet’s shield and launched a costly invasion as the planet’s defenses fought back. On Dawn Star Planet, a pregnant blonde woman called for James, who watched the bombardment of Annaj on a holographic projection.

• Thirty-nine Hyena-class Droid Bombers destroyed a Governor-class battleship, whose crash and reactor explosion collapsed Annaj Planet’s Planetary Shield.
• Cassio Tagge ordered an immediate landing, and five Acclamator-class assault ships descended under cover from Hunter Class Battlecruisers.
• Three J-1 Proton Cannons crippled an Acclamator-class assault ship, which crashed with most of its Clone Troopers still aboard.
• Annaj’s defenses and Republic forces traded heavy blows as orbital bombardment and ground fire destroyed ships on both sides.
• Fifteen more Hunter Class Battlecruisers arrived in the Annaj system and rushed toward the battle on Cassio Tagge’s orders.
• On Dawn Star Planet, a pregnant blonde woman prepared breakfast and called for James, who watched the bombardment of Annaj on a holographic projection.

James Bond agreed to consider a new mission in the Modell Sector, despite having retired, because the war still threatened Dawn Star Planet. After Nova, a new Intelligence Department agent, arrived to recruit him, she knocked his beloved unconscious so they could discuss the top-secret operation.

• James Bond's beloved urged him to enjoy retirement, but he accepted that the war made further service necessary.
• An unseen female voice told James Bond that the Intelligence Department needed his help in the Modell Sector.
• Nova appeared, introduced herself as a new Intelligence Department agent, and asked James Bond to send his beloved away from the secret discussion.
• James Bond insisted that his beloved had the right to know about his mission and invited Nova to discuss it openly.
• Nova suddenly appeared beside James Bond's beloved and knocked her unconscious.

Nova recruited James Bond for a mission to discover and destroy the external object enabling the Galactic Republic’s massive offensive against the Modell Sector. After making a memory backup, James left with Nova aboard a prepared spacecraft, leaving his pregnant lover behind.

• Nova explained that the Republic’s unexplained route to the Modell Sector might have been opened by an external object, and James deduced that the mission was to locate and destroy it.
• Nova said she and Gabriel Tosh had found an intermediary with secret information about the Republic’s unusual material flows, but they could not get close enough to him.
• James’s pregnant lover woke, learned he was leaving on a mission, and asked him to return alive; he reassured her.
• Nova and James rode in a disguised hovercar to a spaceport and backed up their memories in case they did not survive.
• James saw that their spacecraft was ready, and Nova said its equipment could change his appearance before they departed.

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.