Recaps

Tang Xiao recruited Solomon Lane to lead the Duchy of Dawn’s intelligence operations and ordered him to protect the Empire’s internal order. After Lane left, Tang Xiao prepared to meet intelligence founder Margaret Peggy Carter.

• Tang Xiao activated Solomon Lane and judged that his ambition made him suitable to expose corruption within the Duchy of Dawn.
• Solomon Lane agreed to serve Tang Xiao, welcomed the prospect of the Galactic Republic’s collapse, and eagerly accepted the idea of an Empire.
• Tang Xiao used the Dark Side to intimidate Lane and ordered him to lead his most efficient killers and maintain internal order, demanding a report in one week.
• After Lane left, Tang Xiao selected Margaret Peggy Carter to awaken and waited until his Dark Side power had settled before greeting her.

Tang Xiao offered Peggy Carter the position of head of the National Security Bureau and defended his autocratic rule as necessary to the Fourth Civilization’s survival and growth. Carter agreed to serve, prioritizing the nation’s stability, and Tang Xiao sent her to meet her two adjutants.

• Tang Xiao asked Peggy Carter about her plans for leading the National Security Bureau, and she said she needed time to understand the nation.
• Tang Xiao demonstrated his power by withering and reviving a potted plant, prompting Carter to question whether he wanted her to preserve his dictatorship.
• Tang Xiao argued that the Galactic Republic had collapsed because democracy could not hold together its diverse civilizations, and he described the Fourth Civilization as both prosperous and autocratic.
• Carter said she would work to maintain a stable and peaceful nation, while reminding Tang Xiao that its people’s welfare must remain the highest priority.
• Tang Xiao shook Carter’s hand and told her to meet the two adjutants he had arranged for her.

Tang Xiao introduced Peggy Carter to her new adjutant, Shi Aimin, and revealed that General Kalani would serve as her deputy at the National Security Bureau. Carter met both men and was left to work alongside two sharply contrasting partners.

• Tang Xiao took Peggy Carter to the Duchy Palace entrance after soldiers stopped a Thor Mech from entering.
• Tang Xiao introduced Shi Aimin as Carter's adjutant and bodyguard, and Shi eagerly greeted her.
• Tang Xiao explained that General Kalani was inside the Thor Mech and had been appointed Deputy Director of the National Security Bureau.
• A hovercar delivered General Kalani's body, and he introduced himself to Carter as the bureau's Deputy Director.

Tang Xiao appointed Peggy Carter to lead the National Security Bureau alongside Director Kalani and warned her not to put institutions above the state. Reviewing the imprisonment of eight million people after the Modell Sector autonomy incident, Peggy rejected mass execution and committed to punishing them through labor while preventing further unrest.

• Director Kalani transferred his chips from the Thor Mech into a new robot body and agreed to serve as head of the National Security Bureau with Peggy Carter and Shi Aimin.
• Tang Xiao told Peggy to investigate the Modell Sector autonomy incident and warned that he would kill her if she endangered the nation.
• Three days later, Peggy confronted Director Kalani over the imprisonment of nearly eight million people on Sonell Planet and accused Tang Xiao of intending to execute them.
• Director Kalani argued that the prisoners threatened the Duchy and offered to sign an extermination order, while Shi Aimin proposed putting them to work.
• Peggy ordered the prisoners to reclaim farmland through manual labor and vowed to prevent them from causing further trouble without relying solely on terror and slaughter.

Carl Kestis arrived on Annaj Planet as an immigrant and witnessed the wreckage of a Republic battlecruiser and competing accounts of the battle between the Galactic Republic and the Duchy of Dawn. After landing, she followed instructions to temporary accommodations and saw that the city was still under construction.

• Carl Kestis woke aboard an overcrowded passenger liner as it approached Annaj Planet and changed into a clean shirt.
• She spotted Kohl-class Battlecruisers escorting the liner and recognized a destroyed Hunter Class Battlecruiser in the debris field.
• The liner’s announcement praised the Duchy of Dawn’s victory over the Galactic Republic, while Carl recalled the Galactic Empire’s conflicting version of the battle.
• Carl felt the Force disturbed by the deaths and suffering in the debris field but resisted its pull toward the Dark Side.
• After landing, Carl followed the crowd to gate D-5 and boarded a passenger hovercraft bound for temporary accommodations.
• Carl saw workers performing primitive construction tasks in the unfinished city despite the presence of robots.

Carl Kestis woke from a terrifying dream and began another day in a temporary labor city in the Duchy of Dawn, where immigrants endured indoctrination and strict routines despite being promised different jobs. He and Ferman discussed the camp’s purpose and Ferman’s sons before boarding a shuttle to work.

• Carl Kestis woke from a nightmare, ignored the Duchy of Dawn’s promotional hologram, and went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
• Carl joined the other workers at the cafeteria and met Ferman, a former Corellia Engineering Company engineer assigned to the same labor camp.
• Ferman told Carl that a riot in the Modell Sector had led the Duchy of Dawn to house new immigrants in temporary cities for two months.
• Carl and Ferman discussed the camp’s indoctrination, and Ferman said his sons had been placed in daycare.
• Carl and Ferman finished breakfast and boarded a passenger Speeder before their ten-minute meal period ended.

Carl Kestis continued his labor and training in the Duchy of Dawn’s immigrant settlement, where he learned about the Charger-class mining frigate and earned an extra food voucher. He ended the day by arranging a meal with Ferman, while remaining wary of revealing his connection to the Force.

• Carl Kestis and Ferman traveled to a construction site, where Carl struggled to assemble modular housing with a temporary team.
• Carl listened as a coworker complained that life in the settlement felt like prison, while Carl reflected on how immigrants built the city before moving on.
• Carl returned home after lunch and studied the Charger-class mining frigate’s maintenance in a professional course.
• Carl completed a thirty-question test with eighty percent accuracy and earned an extra food voucher.
• Carl visited Ferman, and they agreed to go out for a hearty meal before Carl returned home.

Clone Troopers, civilians, and gang members fought the Geth on Faida Planet and recaptured a ruined strongpoint called Big Guy. A Dark Jedi Knight then forced them into a counterattack to find and destroy a nearby Geth signal station, but a large enemy force appeared before they could locate it.

• The Clone Commander’s defenders fought off Geth units and Corpse Puppets, while a V-wing destroyed a Geth Colossus bombarding their position.
• The Clone Commander led soldiers and civilians into Big Guy, set up its defenses, and ordered mines planted in nearby shell craters.
• A Dark Jedi Knight arrived with reinforcements and ordered everyone, including exhausted militia members, to join his counterattack; he killed one who asked to finish eating.
• The Dark Jedi Knight led Clone Troopers and two TX-130 Saber tanks more than two kilometers through enemy territory toward the wreckage of a Geth Colossus.
• The Dark Jedi Knight searched for a Geth signal station, destroyed a wrecked Geth while sensing for it, and then spotted countless Geth lights illuminating the darkness.

Gillard-Perine’s forces fought to hold Faida Planet against the Geth, whose ambush captured Dark Jedi Knight Kriget and devastated the defenders. The chapter ended with Gillard-Perine directing a strengthened defense as the Geth intensified their assault.

• Geth ambushers overwhelmed the defenders, killed or scattered the militiamen and gang members, and captured Dark Jedi Knight Kriget after disabling him with explosive plasma fire.
• A Weequay Dark Jedi sensed Kriget’s suffering, while a human Dark Jedi Knight ordered him taken away to meditate and asked Gillard-Perine for his plans.
• Gillard-Perine had organized Faida Planet’s defenses around Chynesti City, mobilizing clone troopers and local forces while Wullf Yularen’s fleet contested the Geth in space.
• Lieutenant General Henderson’s rear warning line intercepted Geth raiding fleets attempting to bypass Faida Planet and attack the surrounding worlds.
• Gillard-Perine’s flexible defenses and coordinated fire support had held the Geth for nearly a year, and reinforcements brought his force to 400,000 clone troopers and more than 15 million regular soldiers.

Gerrard Peren rose through the Imperial military after repeatedly stopping the Geth offensive on Faida Planet and attracting Dunn Vesex's support. Six months after the Galactic Empire's founding, Dunn placed him in command of the Faida Defense Front Army.

• Gerrard Peren held the Faida Planet line and organized the blockade zone, slowing the Geth advance and earning Dunn Vesex's favor.
• After Wullf Yularen and his officers were purged, the leaderless Imperial fleet faltered, but Gerrard Peren's expanded militia again halted the Geth assault.
• Dunn Vesex brought Gerrard Peren's forces under his authority, gaining political advantage over Wilhuff Tarkin and consolidating control of the Northern Territory.
• Gerrard Peren was promoted to Rear Admiral and appointed deputy commander of the Faida Defense Front Army.
• After Admiral Henderson suffered repeated defeats, Dunn Vesex demoted him and appointed Gerrard Peren lieutenant general and Grand Commander of the Faida Defense Front Army.

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.