Recaps

Hego Damask II arranged for Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima to join the Corporate Alliance’s coming assault on Malastare, while Tang Xiao agreed to contribute ships. After the others left, Hego revealed himself as Darth Pregas and began teaching Tang Xiao how Force users fight one another; Tang Xiao tried to use the lesson to attack him indirectly.

• Hego Damask II outlined a plan to seize Malastare’s fuel supply, and Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima agreed to provide fleets for the operation.
• Hego said Trench would command the mercenary fleet assembling at Agomar in seven days, and Tang Xiao agreed to gather every usable ship he could.
• After Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima departed, Tang Xiao sent Ailiya Isabel to rest, and Hego revealed that he was Darth Pregas.
• Darth Pregas taught Tang Xiao that Lightsaber combat between Force users involved controlling the space around opponents, then immobilized him with the Force.
• Tang Xiao resisted, blasted a flowerpot with Force lightning, and extended his Force toward a bench behind Darth Pregas as the two powers collided and shattered it.

Tang Xiao completed a day of Lightsaber training with Darth Pregas, then hurried back to the Endor system to prepare for the Battle of Malastare. He brought Ailiya Isabel aboard the Glory mothership and welcomed her into his domain.

• Darth Pregas taught Tang Xiao how Lightsabers drew in the Force and explained the dangers of Lightsaber combat.
• Tang Xiao left Hego’s residence and told Ailiya Isabel to dress quickly because he needed to return to the Endor system.
• Ailiya Isabel accompanied Tang Xiao aboard a Ministry-class shuttle, and he avoided using the Glory mothership’s communications while leaving Sojourn.
• The shuttle arrived above Dawn Star Planet, where Ailiya Isabel saw the Glory mothership and learned it was Tang Xiao’s flagship.
• Tang Xiao reassured Ailiya Isabel and welcomed her aboard the Glory mothership as pilots and fighters trained in its hangar.

Tang Xiao asked Francis Underwood about Coruscant’s political rumors and learned how the Republic’s financial crisis, corporate monopolies, and bribery had fueled a power struggle over taxes in the Outer Rim. Francis revealed that Sheev Palpatine had pushed for the Republic’s intervention against pirates at Niele, leaving Tang Xiao to consider how that precedent might affect the Malastare dispute.

• Tang Xiao settled Ailiya Isabel aboard the mothership and went to his office to ask Francis Underwood about the situation on Coruscant.
• Francis explained that corporate monopolies and bribery had weakened the Republic’s finances and government, prompting calls for authoritarian rule.
• Francis described how Sheev Palpatine had built influence by helping Chancellor Phineas Valorum while appearing loyal to him and respected by Orn Free Taa.
• Francis said Orn Free Taa had exposed Valorum’s bribery through the Nebula Front and had launched two impeachment proceedings, both of which Palpatine helped Valorum survive.
• Francis explained that Valorum planned to tax the Outer Rim, prompting the Corporate Alliance to raise fuel taxes on Malastare as a challenge to his authority.
• Francis revealed that Palpatine had pushed the Republic to send its Judicial Fleet against the Bislanka pirates at Niele the previous year.

Tang Xiao and Francis Underwood discussed how Palpatine turned the failed Judicial Fleet campaign into political advantage, then prepared to influence the upcoming Galactic Senate session. Tang Xiao recalled Volgograd Kanidi from Tatooine and ordered him to return to the Endor system before departing for Malastare.

• Francis Underwood explained how Palpatine persuaded Phineas Valorum to support the anti-piracy campaign, whose losses and scandal fell on the Judicial Fleet while Palpatine emerged as a hero.
• Tang Xiao suspected that Hego Damask II had known the Bislanka pirates and that the Judicial Fleet's ambush depended on a deliberate leak.
• Francis told Tang Xiao that Palpatine had invited him to represent Dawn Star Planet at the Galactic Senate session, and Tang Xiao agreed to play his part.
• Volgograd Kanidi reported that his forces had destroyed thirteen smuggling fleets and twenty-nine ships near Tatooine, while Super Lotus's Trojan gave them control of local bounty hunters' movements.
• Tang Xiao ordered Kanidi to return to the Endor system, rest for two days, and then leave for Malastare; Kanidi eagerly accepted.

Tang Xiao prepared the Fourth Civilization to enter a major fleet battle on Malastare as a mercenary, while he and Baron Zemo discussed using the conflict to advance their plans. He traveled to the Engineering Science Department's research station, where Qu Xuewen told him a new frigate had rolled off the production line.

• Tang Xiao learned from Ni Yongxiao that Black Sun was entrenched and that Vigo Kash Garulan appeared to be directing operations toward the Endor system.
• Tang Xiao invited Ni Yongxiao to return to the Endor system and join the Fourth Civilization's fleet for the coming battle on Malastare, and Ni Yongxiao agreed.
• Baron Zemo told Tang Xiao he had acted to keep Gaddula alive and proposed a plan for the Malastare battle; Tang Xiao asked that Professor Chi arrange the Engineering Department's part.
• Tang Xiao went to the Engineering Science Department's research space station after notifying Qu Xuewen.
• Qu Xuewen greeted Tang Xiao and reported that a new type of frigate had rolled off the production line.

Tang Xiao inspected a Pulsar-class light frigate and heard Xiao Guanghua's demands for better army equipment. The frigate appeared ready for mass production, though Chi Jianjun explained that its powerful ion cannon could not fight independently.

• Qu Xuewen took Tang Xiao to the research spaceport, where he found a Pulsar-class light frigate under construction.
• Xiao Guanghua introduced himself as the Army General and asked Tang Xiao to improve the army's outdated weapons and equipment.
• Chi Jianjun said the M-8 Avenger assault rifle was entering service, and Tang Xiao promised the army would receive vehicles, missiles, and other gear as resources allowed.
• Tang Xiao asked whether the Pulsar-class frigate could be mass-produced, and Chi Jianjun said it could but lacked independent combat capability.
• Chi Jianjun explained that the frigate's miniature short-wave ion cannon could damage shields and light armor from up to 15,500 kilometers away.

Tang Xiao reviewed the Fourth Civilization’s new warship and energy research before gathering the fleet to plan the Battle of Malastare. The chapter ended with the Supreme Operations Command presenting the ships available for deployment, including five newly completed Cobalt-class heavy frigates.

• Tang Xiao admired the Pulsar-class light frigate, while Chi Jianjun explained that it still needed inspection and would take about a month to enter mass production.
• Chi Jianjun reported progress on antimatter research and estimated that cold fusion would take at least a year to master and antimatter energy at least five years to apply.
• Tang Xiao told Chi Jianjun that the technology database gave the Fourth Civilization a path to rapid advancement, while Chi Jianjun insisted that research still required proper facilities, equipment, and personnel.
• Ni Yongxiao’s fleet and Kanidi’s Black Ship returned to the Endor system, and Tang Xiao began planning the Battle of Malastare with the Supreme Operations Command.
• Qi Jian presented the deployable fleet, and Tang Xiao learned that five Cobalt-class heavy frigates had been completed ahead of schedule.

Tang Xiao ordered the Fourth Civilization’s entire fleet to deploy to Malastare as a mercenary force, assigning Igor Zavalov command while Qi Jian stayed behind to defend the Glory mothership. The fleet gathered outside the mothership, and Tang Xiao ordered it to depart for war.

• Tang Xiao told the navy that it would fight on Malastare as a mercenary legion under an outside commander and ordered every ship to deploy.
• Tang Xiao appointed Igor Zavalov fleet commander and Carl Walton deputy commander, while Volgograd Kanidi was told to operate independently.
• Tang Xiao ordered Qi Jian to remain aboard the Glory mothership and organize its defenses, despite Qi Jian’s concerns about leaving the Endor system exposed.
• Tang Xiao reassured Volgograd Kanidi that the fleet was going to war as mercenaries and claimed the battle was certain to be won.
• The Fourth Civilization assembled 72 ships and 42 Wraith fighters outside the Glory mothership, and Tang Xiao ordered the fleet to depart.

Francis Underwood met with Sheev Palpatine on Coruscant to settle the Trade Federation’s response to an assassination attempt and discuss Republic taxation in the Outer Rim. The conversation turned to Chancellor Phineas Valorum, whom Francis called incapable, while Palpatine urged him to offer support.

• Francis and Claire Underwood met Sheev Palpatine, who praised their advocacy for Outer Rim planets and apologized for the Senate’s rejection of Dawn Star Planet’s bid to join.
• Palpatine revealed that he had intervened to stop the Trade Federation from targeting Claire and offered the Federation’s proposed compensation for the assassination attempt.
• Francis demanded that the secretary responsible be severely punished and that the Trade Federation issue a public apology, while Palpatine proposed a freighter lease and trade agreement.
• Palpatine asked Francis about the dispute over fuel taxes on Malastare and Republic taxation in the Outer Rim.
• Francis said the Republic must take responsibility if it taxes the Outer Rim and called Chancellor Phineas Valorum a coward; Palpatine objected and said they should help him.

Francis Underwood attended a Senate session with Palpatine to discuss the dispute between Malastare and the Corporate Alliance, though he already knew how the meeting would end. As the sides traded accusations, Malastare appealed to Chancellor Valorum for arbitration and sanctions.

• Francis argued that the Republic should not let corporations exploit the Outer Rim, and Palpatine invited him to speak at the Senate meeting.
• Palpatine brought Francis and his wife to the Senate Chamber, where Chancellor Phineas Valorum convened a session on Malastare.
• Senator Tim accused the Corporate Alliance of raising Malastare’s fuel tax, exploiting its resources, and damaging its environment.
• Passel Argente defended the Corporate Alliance’s business practices and insisted its agreement allowed the tax increase.
• Senator Tim asked Valorum to arbitrate the dispute and impose sanctions, while Argente threatened him.

Francis watched the Senate descend into a bitter dispute over the Corporate Alliance and the Outer Rim, while Palpatine explained how earlier events had pushed the conflict toward violence. After Francis agreed to intervene, Palpatine silenced the chamber and called on the Mutual Aid Fund’s founder to speak.

• Palpatine told Francis that Senator Tim expected the Republic Judicial Fleet to intervene again, while Francis recognized that Palpatine’s secret plans were helping drive the crisis toward a battle over Malastare.
• Passel Argente challenged Chancellor Valorum’s authority to interfere with commerce, and Senator Onaconda Farr rallied the Rim Faction against the commercial giants.
• Palpatine explained that Valorum was trapped between the commercial interests and the Outer Rim senators, and asked Francis to help him.
• Francis agreed to intervene, calculating that he could gain influence by acting amid Valorum’s political decline.
• Palpatine quieted the Senate and announced that the founder of the Outer Rim Planets Mutual Aid Fund would speak.

Francis Underwood delivered a speech in the Galactic Senate that rallied support for sanctions while urging Chancellor Phineas Valorum to avoid unchecked power. The Senate rejected direct military intervention on Malastare, but the Corporate Alliance escalated the crisis by blockading the planet with a fleet of more than four hundred ships.

• Francis Underwood spoke in the Senate about Claire Underwood's assassination attempt, democracy, and the Malastare dispute, then left with Palpatine's praise.
• Phineas Valorum proposed sending an investigative delegation to mediate the dispute instead of using military force.
• The Senate voted against direct intervention on Malastare, with Inner Rim and Core Worlds senators joining against the Rim Faction.
• Phineas Valorum thanked Sheev Palpatine, unaware that the vote's outcome suited Palpatine.
• News reached the Senate that the Corporate Alliance had blockaded Malastare with a mercenary fleet of more than four hundred ships.

The Corporate Alliance blockaded Malastare with a vast fleet, while Chancellor Valorum struggled to find support after the local defense fleet refused to deploy. The chapter then rewound a day to reveal that the Alliance had assembled a ragtag force of corporate ships, pirates, and criminal syndicates at Agomar.

• Senator Tim asked Chancellor Valorum to defend Malastare, and Valorum promised to seek help without deploying the Republic Judicial Fleet.
• Valorum ordered the Dustig Sector Defense Fleet to aid Malastare, but its Dagg commander claimed every ship was under maintenance.
• Valorum realized the Dustig Sector fleet had been bribed, and Palpatine urged him to contact the Kwymar Sector Forces and Captain Wulff Yularen.
• Palpatine suggested that the Tyus and Var Hagen sectors could also send fleets, though their arrival would take at least three days.
• One day earlier at Agomar, the Corporate Alliance assembled more than three hundred ships, including vessels from pirate and criminal groups and five Fantail-class destroyers.

Tang Xiao's fleet arrived to join the siege of Malastare, shocking Crimson Dawn and the White Worm Gang with its size and military strength. The arrival ended with a 315-meter ship emerging from hyperspace.

• Dryden Vos spoke with Moloch about Madam Proxima's absence and learned that the Republic Judicial Fleet would not deploy.
• Dryden Vos heard that Tang Xiao's fleet had arrived and learned it contained seventy-two ships.
• Six Revenge-class light destroyers, five Cobalt-class heavy frigates, and sixty Hammer-class light frigates emerged from hyperspace.
• A 315-meter ship emerged from hyperspace without warning.

Tang Xiao joined Dryden Vos, Moloch, and the pirate leaders for a briefing with General Trench, who was impressed by Tang Xiao’s fleet and his promise to obey orders. Trench began outlining the operation and warned that breaking the Corporate Alliance contract would bring a heavy penalty.

• Dryden Vos recognized the Hammerhead-class cruiser as Tatooine’s Black Ship and learned that Tang Xiao’s fleet included unfamiliar, independently built ships and more than twenty Wraith fighters.
• Tang Xiao greeted Dryden Vos and Moloch over a holographic communication, then asked where the commander was.
• General Trench joined the conference, and Tang Xiao praised his achievements and pledged to follow his orders.
• Trench welcomed Tang Xiao’s commitment, while Dryden Vos joked that someone might betray him and Tang Xiao replied that he would wait for it.
• Trench began the combat briefing and reminded the assembled pirate and mercenary leaders that violating their Corporate Alliance contracts would incur a hefty penalty.

The Corporate Alliance and its allies blockaded Malastare, killing its patrol officers and demanding that ships choose whether to enter or leave. As the Fourth Civilization fleet moved to destroy Malastare’s orbital defenses, the battle began.

• Hundreds of ships led by the Corporate Alliance arrived in the Malastare Narrows and announced a total blockade.
• Tang Xiao ordered the destroyer Revenge to fire on Malastare’s patrol craft, and Crimson Dawn and the White Worm Gang destroyed the other two.
• Trench gave passing ships five minutes to enter Malastare or leave, then ordered Dryden and Moloch to take their positions and Tang Xiao to attack the planet’s defenses.
• Malastare’s people protested the blockade as Igor Zavalov led the Fourth Civilization fleet toward an orbital defense station.
• Igor ordered the Cobalt-class heavy frigates to fire on the station as Orec-class fighters launched, beginning the Battle of Malastare Canyon.

Igor-Zavalov’s Fourth Civilization fleet destroyed Malastare’s defenses and blockaded the planet, while Tang Xiao declared the battle only the beginning of the Republic’s turmoil. Chancellor Phineas Valorum secretly assembled a relief fleet and appointed Wullf Yularen to lead it, leaving Malastare’s fate in the balance.

• Igor-Zavalov’s fleet intercepted Malastare’s torpedoes, destroyed its fighters, and obliterated its first defensive space station.
• The Fourth Civilization fleet defeated Malastare’s hastily assembled Defense Fleet, and the station Commander died in the bombardment.
• Tang Xiao said the Battle of Malastare Canyon marked the beginning of the Republic’s turmoil as the Fourth Civilization destroyed Malastare’s communications and navigation satellites.
• General Trench completed the blockade at Malastare Narrows and used an Interdictor to cut off the planet’s hyperspace routes.
• Chancellor Phineas Valorum secretly arranged a mercenary relief fleet and placed Captain Wullf Yularen in command to lift the siege.

Wullf Yularen joined the Galactic Republic Navy fleet assembled to confront the Corporate Alliance's hired pirates and mercenaries, and assessed its aging ships and limited fighter strength. Confident in his plan to maintain distance and use the fleet's frontal firepower, he ordered the ships to prepare for departure.

• Captain Wullf Yularen arrived aboard the Dreadnought-class heavy cruiser Lord as the Republic's military observer and learned that the assembled fleet had no other available vessels.
• Yularen inspected the crowded, outdated flagship and confirmed that its twelve Z-95 Headhunter fighters were the fleet's entire starfighter complement.
• Yularen arranged the fleet to keep its distance, use the fighters to protect its battle line, and bring its frontal firepower against the enemy.
• Yularen and the captain discussed the Secudians pirates, the Corporate Alliance's expected ships, and the risks of letting the fight become a chaotic melee.
• Yularen took command of the operation and ordered the captains to receive his plan and prepare to depart.

Wullf Yularen led a Republic fleet to break the Corporate Alliance blockade of Malastare, while Tang Xiao sensed danger and warned his allies to prepare for battle. General Trench sprung a trap that disrupted the Republic fleet’s hyperspace jump, leaving it about to emerge unexpectedly.

• Senator Ainlee Tim pleaded with Wullf Yularen to lift Malastare’s three-day siege, and Yularen promised to help the planet return to negotiations.
• Tang Xiao sensed danger near Malastare Narrows, told Ni Yongxiao that the Republic fleet was coming, and ordered him to alert Igor Zavalov.
• Igor Zavalov readied the warships and informed General Trench, who sent the Fourth Group fleet forward and ordered Blocker Number Two activated.
• Wullf Yularen adjusted the Republic fleet’s hyperspace exit coordinates to avoid the interdiction device at coordinate 57.88.
• Trench activated Blocker Number Two, disrupting the Republic fleet’s hyperspace travel and forcing it to exit early.

Wullf Yularen’s Republic fleet was pulled out of hyperspace by an Interdictor and ambushed at close range by Tang Xiao’s Fourth Civilization-led coalition. The Republic fighters were overwhelmed, and the coalition fleet opened fire as Yularen struggled to control his disorganized ships.

• A Republic navigator detected hyperspace interference, and Yularen learned that an enemy fleet was waiting less than 200 kilometers away.
• Yularen ordered the Republic fleet to form up and launch its Z-95 fighters as Tang Xiao’s fleet accelerated into an attack formation.
• The coalition launched Wraith fighters, and Yularen ordered the Republic ships to conserve their main-gun fire while the fighters engaged.
• Kig-Yar pilots in eighteen Wraith fighters launched Gemini missiles, destroying five Z-95s and then shooting down three more.
• Republic ships opened fire to support their losing fighters, ignoring Yularen’s orders as the enemy fleet closed within range.
• The coalition’s laser beams struck the shields of several Republic shuttles, and the signalman announced that the enemy had opened fire.

General Trench’s Fourth Civilization fleet overwhelmed Wullf Yularen’s Republic fleet with superior firepower, fighter attacks, and an encircling maneuver. With both flanks broken and surrounded, Yularen realized the Republic had lost the battle.

• The Fourth Civilization fleet opened fire at close range, damaging a CSS-1 shuttle and destroying three PB-950 patrol boats as the Republic fleet struggled to respond.
• Trench sent eighteen Wraith fighters against the Republic fleet’s weak left flank, where they scattered its ships and split the formation apart.
• Igor Zavalov led most of the Fourth Group fleet around the Republic’s right flank while Yularen ordered his ships not to follow the enemy turn.
• Trench launched more than a hundred Vulture droid fighters and ordered a pincer attack as the Crimson Dawn fleet thrust into the gap between the Republic’s right flank and main force.
• Moloch moved the White Worm Gang fleet against the Republic’s left flank, while Trench’s main fleet and Sikudian pirates advanced on the Republic flagship and other ships.
• A staff officer reported that both Republic flanks had been disrupted and encircled, and Yularen realized that he had already lost the battle.

General Trench routed Wullf Yularen’s Republic fleet at Malastare Canyon, forcing Yularen to abandon his flanks and request aid from the Republic Senate. Tang Xiao and Baron Helmut Zemo prepared for what came next as Chancellor Phineas Valorum received the disastrous report.

• General Trench’s fleet shattered Wullf Yularen’s formation, and Yularen ordered his ships to regroup defensively around the Lord while requesting Senate aid.
• Yularen learned that General Trench led the Corporate Alliance mercenary fleet and struggled with the scale of his defeat.
• General Trench taunted the Republic fleet over the public channel before cutting the transmission.
• Tang Xiao told Ni Yongxiao that Trench’s cruelty was why he liked him, then told Baron Helmut Zemo that the next stage was about to begin.
• Phineas Valorum received the report of the Republic fleet’s defeat and angrily rejected the news.

Phineas Valorum struggled to contain the Republic’s defeat at Malastare, while Sheev Palpatine maneuvered to shape the political fallout and direct the crisis toward Jedi intervention. Tang Xiao warned Francis Underwood that the battle’s outcome had diverged from what he had foreseen, as Valorum considered Palpatine’s proposal to involve the Jedi Order.

• Phineas Valorum contacted Vice Chancellor Batan in alarm over the Republic fleet’s defeat and the threat it posed to his chancellorship.
• Sheev Palpatine told Mas Amedda about the defeat and urged him to prepare to become Vice Chancellor.
• Tang Xiao told Francis Underwood that Wullf Yularen’s remaining fleet was still resisting on Malastare and that the Jedi Order might intervene soon.
• Francis asked whether Valorum would resign and how the Corporate Alliance would proceed, and Tang Xiao said Valorum would stay while someone else became the scapegoat.
• Phineas Valorum demanded an explanation from Sheev Palpatine, who proposed that the Jedi Order intervene to force the Corporate Alliance to withdraw.

Sheev Palpatine persuaded Phineas Valorum to press the Jedi Order to intervene in the Malastare dispute, and Yoda agreed to send Master Kep-she to reassess it. Palpatine then discussed the looming conflict and the need for a Republic army with Master Dooku and Master Dias, while Dooku condemned the Jedi Order’s delayed response.

• Palpatine criticized the Jedi Order’s inaction, and Valorum resolved to ask Yoda to intervene in Malastare.
• Mace Windu welcomed Valorum to the Jedi Temple and led him to meet Yoda.
• Yoda told Valorum that the Dark Side was behind the unrest and said Master Kep-she was already on her way to reassess the situation.
• Palpatine told Master Dooku and Master Dias that the Republic faced turmoil and argued that it needed a powerful army.
• Dooku denounced the Jedi Order’s handling of the Malastare dispute and recalled losing his apprentice in the Galidrong Campaign.

The Republic fleet's Dreadnought-class cruiser kept the Corporate Alliance mercenary forces from breaking through the blockade of Malastare. Tang Xiao sensed the Jedi's arrival as three Delta-6 fighters entered the battlefield, and Kep Xi demanded that the Corporate Alliance return to negotiations.

• General Trench's mercenary fleet attacked the battered Republic fleet but lost nearly twenty ships to the Dreadnought-class cruiser, forcing both sides into a deadlock.
• Tang Xiao sensed the arrival of an unwelcome presence and suppressed his reaction by hiding his Dark Side Force.
• Three Delta-6 fighters equipped with hyperspace rings emerged from hyperspace, and Tang Xiao recognized that the Jedi Knights had arrived.
• Kep Xi identified herself on the public channel as a representative of the Jedi Order and called for the Corporate Alliance to lift its blockade and resume negotiations.
• General Trench challenged Kep Xi to prove that the Republic had a fleet there or legal authority to intervene.