Recaps

The Priestess assessed the catastrophic losses aboard the Glory mothership after Olegar escaped with the Soul Reaper Sword, while Fenix explained how hatred had driven Olegar to target the Khalai Protoss. The Mainframe confirmed that Olegar had been awakened by an unknown trigger, and the chapter ended as Emperor Palpatine convened a secret meeting on Imperial Center.

• The Priestess learned that Olegar had escaped with the Soul Reaper Sword after more than 50,000 combat robots were destroyed and 420,000 crew members became Rakghouls and had to be exterminated.
• The Priestess discovered that Olegar's control had also killed more than 20,000 soldiers and 500 Fourth Legion warriors who had joined the Rebirth Plan, while the Glory mothership sustained severe damage.
• Fenix explained that Olegar's exposure to the Nerazim's hatred of the Khalai Protoss had driven him to seek their destruction.
• The Mainframe told the Priestess that Olegar belonged to the Prisoner classification and had been awakened by an unknown event in the Unknown Regions.
• The Priestess ordered the Military Intelligence Bureau and National Security Bureau to warn Salatan-Morse and Peggy Carter and prevent Olegar from joining the Galactic Empire.
• Emperor Palpatine summoned more than a dozen powerful figures to a secret meeting on Imperial Center.

Palpatine learned that Darth Malthael had vanished from the Force and demanded an immediate offensive against the Duchy of Dawn. With Imperial forces stretched thin by rebellions and unrest, Darth Vader proposed targeting the Trade Federation to seize its resources and intimidate other potential opponents.

• Palpatine announced that he could no longer sense Darth Malthael in the Force and ordered an attack on the Duchy of Dawn.
• Kadan urged an immediate invasion, but Sate Pestage explained that nearly all Imperial fleets were occupied suppressing rebellions and other crises.
• Dunn Vesex proposed attacking Ord Mantell and Muunilinst, while Wilhuff Tarkin argued that DS-1 was needed to deter rebellion.
• Palpatine demanded that four thousand capital ships be assembled within a month, despite Sate Pestage warning that recalling them could provoke more worlds to seek independence.
• Darth Vader proposed declaring the Trade Federation guilty of treason and seizing its worlds, funds, and resources.
• Palpatine considered the proposal feasible, though attacking the Trade Federation risked driving it into the Duchy of Dawn's camp and disrupting Imperial logistics.

The chapter recounted how the Trade Federation began as a fair organization that brought order to the lawless Expansion Sectors by challenging shipping monopolies and protecting trade. After becoming a powerful galactic cartel, it left a celebrated legacy that was beginning to give way to corruption.

• The Republic expanded into the Outer Rim Territories, where weak law enforcement and the absence of a standing fleet left disputes largely unchecked.
• Major shipping companies monopolized navigation data, prompting smaller species, companies, and groups to form the prototype of the Trade Federation.
• The Trade Federation charted routes, shared navigation data, and ordered LH-3210 freighters and escort cruisers to protect its members' shipping.
• The Trade Federation defeated and absorbed its competitors, becoming the dominant authority across the Expansion Sectors and much of the Outer Rim Territories.
• The Republic tolerated the Federation's growing power because it maintained order and enabled the Republic to extend its influence into the Outer Rim.
• The Trade Federation's immense power and wealth fostered corruption, despite its origins as a force for stability.

The chapter traced the Trade Federation’s rise into a powerful, corrupt force that dominated the Outer Rim Territories and manipulated Galactic Republic politics. Darth Sidious’s plot during the Stark Hyperspace War failed, but the Trade Federation emerged stronger, and the Republic’s plan to revoke the Free Trade Zone fueled Outer Rim resistance and Count Dooku’s Separatist Movement.

• The Trade Federation used violence, bribery, secret navigation data, and debt to control planets and senators across the Outer Rim Territories.
• The Galactic Republic established the Outer Rim Free Trade Zone, giving the Trade Federation tax-collecting powers and tacitly recognizing its control of navigation data.
• Hego-Damask II and Sheev-Palpatine used Yako-Stark and the Stark Pirates to provoke a conflict over Bacta fluid and sabotage the Republic Judicial Fleet with a virus.
• Mace-Windu, Ploo-Koon, and other Jedi helped the Republic defeat Yako-Stark in the Stark Hyperspace War, while Darth Sidious concealed the Trade Federation’s role and strengthened Newt-Gunray’s faction.
• The Trade Federation later expanded its military operations, including the Siege of Naboo, as Chancellor Phineas-Valorum moved to revoke the Free Trade Zone and restore Republic control.
• Outer Rim resistance grew over the proposed taxes, creating fertile ground for Count Dooku’s Separatist Movement.

Darth Vader and Darth Sidious chose to destroy the Trade Federation while Darth Malthael was missing, and the Galactic Empire prepared a massive invasion as the Federation retaliated by cutting off Outer Rim routes. Nute Gunray sought help from Tang Xiao, but Francis Underwood told him the Duchy of Dawn would not enter the war.

• Darth Vader proposed attacking the Trade Federation, and Darth Sidious and Sate Pestage supported the plan.
• Darth Vader named the invasion Operation: Eradicate and assembled a force of 1,500 capital ships, thousands of other vessels, and four million Marines.
• The Galactic Empire launched a propaganda campaign, convicted the Trade Federation of treason in absentia, confiscated its assets, and stripped Lott Dod of his Senate position.
• The Trade Federation cut off its navigation services, urged its member systems to resist the Empire, and attacked Imperial merchant fleets as the Empire massed forces around its core planets.
• Nute Gunray appointed Mar Tuuk to command the Federation's defenses and traveled to Dawn Star Planet to request Tang Xiao's aid.
• Francis Underwood told Nute Gunray that the Duchy of Dawn lacked both the strength and the willingness to send troops against the Galactic Empire.

With Tang Xiao missing, the Regency Council met under six-year-old Tang Yun to address the Duchy of Dawn’s crises. As the Galactic Empire moved to destroy the Trade Federation, the council suspected it had recognized Tang Xiao’s disappearance as an opportunity.

• Newt Gunray demanded that Francis Underwood secure troops from the Duchy of Dawn, but Francis said the duchy could not risk open war with the Galactic Empire and arranged a summit.
• Adele Ulan convened the nine-member Regency Council, with Tang Yun presiding in her father’s absence.
• The Priestess reported that Protoss and Nerazim forces, alongside Judgment, were pursuing Olegar, and Tang Yun ordered them to keep his movements under control.
• Matt Hona told Tang Yun that Tang Xiao’s fleet had been ambushed by the Grysk Hegemony and that Tang Xiao vanished after pursuing a powerful Grysk; Tang Yun insisted her father was alive.
• The council turned to the Trade Federation, and the Priestess said the Empire’s move to destroy it suggested Emperor Palpatine had sensed Tang Xiao’s disappearance.

The Duchy of Dawn’s council debated how to respond to the Galactic Empire’s attack on the Trade Federation and decided against sending troops, instead choosing another way to help. Newt Gunray was summoned and told the Duchy would not intervene militarily as Ling Liang began explaining the plan.

• Tang Yun, Francis Underwood, Ling Liang, the Priestess, and Qi Jian debated the Trade Federation’s value and the risks of intervening against the Galactic Empire.
• Matt Hona warned that an attack would expose the Duchy’s fleets, weaken public support, and still fail to reach the Trade Federation’s Core Worlds planets.
• Francis Underwood proposed refusing Newt Gunray’s request for troops while using humanitarian aid to reduce the Trade Federation’s losses.
• Xian Hui suggested that the Duchy could help through the Rebel Alliance, and the council later summoned Newt Gunray.
• Tang Xiao’s projection told Newt Gunray that the Duchy would not send troops, and Ling Liang began explaining the plan after asking how long the Trade Federation’s defenses could hold.

Ling Liang demanded that the Trade Federation resist the Galactic Empire for up to two years, while Nute Gunray argued for surrendering to preserve his people and assets. Tang Xiao endorsed Ling Liang’s position, and she proposed a bet.

• Ling Liang demanded that the Trade Federation hold out for eight months on outlying planets and two years on Balmorra, Cato Neimoidia, and Neimoidia.
• Nute Gunray protested that the Trade Federation lacked the strength to resist and warned that prolonged fighting would cause devastating casualties.
• Ling Liang recognized that Nute Gunray was using the Duchy of Dawn’s refusal to intervene as cover for negotiating a surrender with the Galactic Empire.
• Nute Gunray revealed that the Trade Federation planned to resist before splitting its holdings, with one part surrendering to the Empire and the other remaining with the Duchy of Dawn.
• Ling Liang offered assistance and opened Rendili Planet to Trade Federation refugees, but Nute Gunray insisted that the Empire’s two thousand capital ships made a long resistance impossible.
• Tang Xiao agreed with Ling Liang’s demand, and she challenged Nute Gunray to make a bet.

Ling Liang forced Nute Gunray to accept the Duchy of Dawn’s plan by threatening to confiscate Trade Federation assets and hand the matter to the Geth. Meanwhile, the Galactic Empire intensified its campaign against the Trade Federation and issued warrants for its leaders, leaving war closer than ever.

• Nute Gunray refused Ling Liang’s proposed bet, but she threatened the Trade Federation with asset confiscation and Geth intervention unless it met the Duchy of Dawn’s demands.
• The Priestess used the Force to throw Nute Gunray against a wall after he accused Ling Liang of extortion, and Tang Xiao ordered him to listen.
• Nute Gunray feared that the Geth would exterminate the Neimoidians and realized Tang Xiao had planned to keep the Trade Federation under control wherever it moved.
• The Galactic Empire’s propaganda blamed the Trade Federation for poverty, corruption, and unrest across the Empire, prompting public demonstrations against it.
• The Galactic Empire Supreme Court summoned Lott Dod, Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, and other Trade Federation officials to trial, then issued warrants for more than ninety executives when they failed to appear.

The Galactic Empire and the Trade Federation began seizing each other’s assets, turning the campaign against the company into an all-out war. The Trade Federation destroyed cargo it could not save and cut off many routes to the Mid Rim and Outer Rim, leaving Imperial forces reliant on a few major hyperspace lanes.

• The Empire’s agencies struggled to arrest Trade Federation associates, while Darth Vader’s forces seized the Federation’s assets and cargo facilities in the Imperial Center.
• Darth Vader’s confiscations angered companies and individuals whose goods and investments were caught in Trade Federation facilities.
• The Trade Federation froze Imperial assets and used battle droids to kill clients, seize cargo, and destroy goods when escape was impossible.
• The Trade Federation recalled its escort fleets, sent loaded freighters toward its core planets, and adopted a defensive posture as both sides raced to seize or destroy supplies.
• The Trade Federation deleted navigation data and stopped sharing route information, restricting Imperial ships to major hyperspace routes.

The Trade Federation’s cutoff of navigation services left much of the Galactic Empire’s Outer Rim unreachable and disrupted the reconstruction of the 14th Army, which remained under Rebel Alliance influence. As Palpatine ordered the Empire to reconquer lost territories, Darth Vader deployed the Third Army to blockade the Trade Federation’s core worlds.

• The chapter contrasted the Trade Federation’s control of at least 85% of hyperspace routes with the Empire’s access to no more than 50%, and described how the cutoff stranded many Outer Rim systems.
• The navigation crisis halted reconstruction of the 14th Army, while the Tusken uprising and Padmé Amidala’s maneuvers kept Ryloth unstable.
• Jan Dodonna remained Acting Governor of the 14th Army, leaving the half-rebuilt force under Rebel Alliance control.
• Palpatine ordered Darth Vader to reconquer the Outer Rim territories, showing no concern for the destruction Imperial forces might cause.
• Darth Vader deployed the Third Army around Trade Federation worlds and concentrated forces at Rosha and Vulpter to begin a blockade.

Darth Vader led an Imperial fleet of 200 capital ships and 1,700 smaller warships to attack the Trade Federation planet Rosha. The battle began with the Empire breaking through the planet’s outer defenses, while Rosha’s planetary shield and remaining defenses still stood.

• Darth Vader assembled 200 capital ships and 1,700 medium and small warships and launched an attack on Rosha.
• The Imperial fleet emerged from hyperspace near Rosha and endured a barrage from armed space stations, Gauss platforms, and missile platforms.
• Imperial ships intercepted most of the incoming fire and began scanning Rosha’s defenses, finding more than 160 armed space stations and a planetary shield.
• Darth Vader ordered the fleet to attack Rosha’s outer defensive line, with Imperial II-class Star Destroyers leading the assault.
• Imperial fire breached the shields of an armed space station, destroyed its Gravity Generator, and shattered the station into fragments.

Darth Vader’s forces broke Rosha’s orbital defenses and began a costly ground invasion against determined Roshan resistance. As Imperial troops struggled to capture a fortified town, Vader ordered the execution of Order 37.

• Darth Vader’s fleet destroyed Rosha’s orbital defenses and brought down its Planetary Shield.
• Rosha’s hidden defense fleet ambushed the Imperial landing ships, but Vader ordered the landing to continue and sent Imperial fighters into the atmosphere.
• The Imperial fleet overwhelmed Rosha’s Planet Defense Fleet and established air superiority by July 23.
• Imperial troops landed east of Rosha’s capital and advanced toward a town defended by more than one hundred thousand Roshan troops.
• The Imperial army’s first assault faltered under heavy fire, and Darth Vader ordered, “Execute Order 37.”

The Galactic Empire invaded Rosha, where Prime Minister Torres-Bore rallied troops and civilians to resist. Darth Vader invoked Order 37 and threatened to execute captured prisoners unless Rosha surrendered its leaders; after Rosha refused, Imperial guns fired on more than 100,000 prisoners.

• Prime Minister Torres-Bore urged Rosha's people to resist the Empire's invasion as Imperial forces bombarded the planet and attacked its cities.
• Rosha armed civilians and fortified cities and industrial areas, while Darth Vader sent waves of Imperial troops to seize the population and its wealth.
• Darth Vader issued Order 37, authorizing mass arrests and killings of civilians to force the capture of Torres-Bore and four other leaders.
• On July 27, Imperial forces occupied defended towns, killed more than 20,000 defenders, and captured over 30,000 militia and nearly 100,000 civilians in one city.
• Darth Vader demanded the five leaders' surrender within 24 hours or threatened to execute all prisoners; Rosha continued resisting.
• After the deadline passed, Imperial forces gathered more than 100,000 prisoners on a plain, and a Victory II-class Star Destroyer fired turbolaser beams at them.

The Galactic Empire invaded Vulpter to seize its warship manufacturing capacity, fighting a slow, mechanical battle against the planet’s vast robot forces. Meanwhile, the Empire’s execution of a million Rosha civilians failed to break resistance, and Rosha’s leaders called for continued defiance before taking their own lives on live broadcast.

• The Galactic Empire sent more than forty capital ships and over two hundred smaller warships to take control of Vulpter’s undefended space and land troops.
• Trade Federation ruler Tu Duosi ordered Vulpter’s robots armed and its factories to produce K-X series robots at full capacity.
• Imperial and Vulpter robot armies fought across the planet, with the Empire later deploying captured B-1 and B-2 battle droids as reinforcements.
• On August 4, after Rosha’s resistance did not surrender, the Empire executed more than one million civilian hostages and broadcast the killings across the planet.
• Torreso-Bore and four other Rosha leaders appeared on a global broadcast, urged resistance until the end, transferred the movement to the Rosha Resistance Committee, and committed collective suicide.

Toreso-Bore’s martyrdom strengthened Rosha’s resistance, while the Galactic Empire escalated its attacks under Order 37. On Skako, Lott Dod tried to persuade Watto Tambor to aid the Trade Federation, and the chapter ended with him requesting Scorpion Annihilator Droids and super tanks.

• Toreso-Bore and four other wanted Roshan leaders killed themselves in a live broadcast, inspiring resistance against the Galactic Empire.
• Darth Vader expanded Order 37 to target everyone fighting the Empire, and Imperial forces attacked cities across Rosha.
• As the Confederacy of Independent Systems weakened, the Technological Alliance fell behind Dawn Star Planet and eventually surrendered to the Galactic Republic, losing much of its former power.
• Lott Dod warned Watto Tambor that the Galactic Empire would target Skako after the Trade Federation and said the Trade Federation could hold out for only six months without more aid.
• Watto Tambor refused to risk the lives of 230 billion Skakoans by openly joining the fight, but Lott Dod asked him to provide Scorpion Annihilator Droids and super tanks.

In 2145, Lott Dod forced Wat Tambor to hand over the Scorpion Annihilator, Super Tank, and other technological data, then advised him to move assets to Rendili and escape to the Duchy of Dawn. In 12 BBY, Palpatine criticized the Empire’s conduct and casualties on Vulpter and Rosha, then declared that the Empire had inherited the Republic’s failings as Sate Pestage reassured him that the Darkness Plan was proceeding.

• Lott Dod confronted Wat Tambor, who said the Scorpion Annihilator and Super Tank technologies had been lost.
• Lott Dod threatened Wat Tambor until Wat Tambor revealed a hidden data device containing the technologies and other Clone Wars research.
• Lott Dod took the device and told Wat Tambor to move what he wanted to Rendili and escape to the Duchy of Dawn.
• Palpatine reviewed the reports from Vulpter and Rosha and questioned why the fighting and deaths had not met his expectations.
• Palpatine told Sate Pestage that the Empire had inherited the Republic’s weaknesses, and Sate Pestage said the Darkness Plan was proceeding smoothly.

Palpatine demanded more money and Force-sensitive test subjects for his plan, while Sate Pestage warned that the Imperial treasury was already strained. On Tatooine, Kunto reached a hidden Kapisi-class Land Carrier and met its drunken owner, who asked after Cun Te.

• Palpatine ordered Sate Pestage to increase funding and find more test subjects, then directed him to make Core Worlds families pay.
• Palpatine questioned Sate Pestage about Sanya Tagge's visit to Dawn Star Planet and proposed that her sons bid to become the Tagge family's next head.
• Kunto arrived on Tatooine aboard a G-9 cargo ship and landed beside the concealed Kapisi-class Land Carrier in a remote canyon.
• Kunto let Jawas take the ship's cargo in exchange for a thorough overhaul, then entered the Land Carrier's bar.
• Kunto met the Land Carrier's owner, who welcomed him, asked how Cun Te was doing, and called himself Santa Claus.

Kunto visited Yuri Orlov to ask for his help with the Trade Federation and Rebel Alliance, but Yuri initially refused. After reflecting on his history with Kunto and his departure from the Fourth Civilization, Yuri agreed to help and revealed he knew about a shipment on Hypori planet.

• Kunto woke at Yuri Orlov’s residence with no memory of the previous night and tried to discuss his business with Yuri.
• Yuri rejected Kunto’s requests concerning the Trade Federation and Rebel Alliance, then explained that Cun Te had sent Kunto so Yuri could choose freely.
• Yuri recalled his twenty-three years of history with Kunto and described how he left the Fourth Civilization after realizing the scale of Tang Xiao’s war.
• Yuri told Kunto that he agreed to help with both the Trade Federation and the Rebel Alliance, and said he knew about a shipment on Hypori planet that Nute Gunray had asked him about.

Yuri Orlov accepted a weapons contract from the Trade Federation and arranged to collect the goods with Magtan Scar. As the Galactic Empire’s war against the Trade Federation intensified, the Duchy of Dawn deployed the Rebel Alliance as its trump card to aid the Federation.

• Yuri Orlov told Kunto he would supply the Trade Federation and said an arms dealer’s most important rule was never to get involved in a war.
• Yuri Orlov contacted Magtan Scar and told him to bring Jason Statham to Hypori to collect the Trade Federation’s shipment.
• Arakyd Industries rejected the Galactic Empire’s proposals and stood with the Trade Federation as battles continued on Vulpter and Rosha.
• Darth Vader gathered his fleet outside Deko-Neimoidia while the Trade Federation moved personnel and wealth to Rendili and prepared to resist.
• The Duchy of Dawn supported the Trade Federation with intelligence, sabotage, weapons, supplies, and the Rebel Alliance.

Padmé Amidala advanced the Rebel Alliance’s expansion on Columex with help from Shaak Ti and the New Jedi Order. Meanwhile, Olegar arrived at Haruun Kal seeking to purge the corruption in his psionic power and uncover the planet’s connection to the Void.

• The Rebel Alliance used Trade Federation navigation data to expand uprisings while the Galactic Empire concentrated its forces against the Trade Federation.
• Padmé Amidala decided to start an uprising on Columex by securing Simon Greyshade’s cooperation and severing the Galactic Empire’s connections there.
• Padmé asked Shaak Ti to monitor Simon and ensure the uprising succeeded, while Shaak Ti explained that Columex’s capture would help protect the Jedi Order on Osus Planet.
• Olegar’s damaged Revenge-class destroyer emerged near Haruun Kal, where he sought a place to purge the contamination in his psionic power.
• Olegar identified the apparent defenders around Haruun Kal as a psychic barrier, then ordered probes launched and prepared to investigate the planet himself.

Olegar followed Haruun Kal’s call to Pelek-Baw City, where he uncovered the planet’s dreamlike memories and met its guardians. When they used his painful memories of the Khalai Protoss against him, he erupted in fury and attacked.

• Olegar learned that Pelek-Baw City was the only major settlement on Haruun Kal and took a shuttle there with crew members and four Dark Templar.
• Olegar saw the city as scorched ruins while his companions perceived a thriving settlement, and he concluded that the planet’s Void Energy was projecting its memories.
• Olegar tapped a ruined building with a sphere of purple flame, shattering the city illusion and revealing a jungle where two ethereal voices welcomed him to Haruun Kal’s world of dreams.
• Olegar demanded the location of the planet’s core, but the dream guardians refused and warned that he would become lost in Haruun Kal’s dream.
• Olegar attacked the jungle, and the guardians summoned visions of Khalai Protoss and a burning Nerazim village that awakened his buried hatred and nightmares.
• Olegar unleashed blood-red and purple energy that destroyed the illusions and reduced the accompanying crew to ash as the four Dark Templar charged forward.

Olegar defeated the Haruun Kal Dreamscape’s layered illusions and met the Dream Sisters, who asked him to find Tang Xiao and rescue a lost Son of Haruun Kal. After completing a ritual that transformed him into a black-hole-like being, Olegar left Haruun Kal, while Tang Xiao remained bound and powerless before the figure he called “Father.”

• Olegar and his four Dark Templars fought illusionary Zealots and High Templars until the Dream Sisters ended the vision and revealed the plateau and rusted warships.
• Luna-Dream and Luna-Illusion asked Olegar to find Tang Xiao, who would lead him to the confused Son of Haruun Kal, and promised to help purify his soul and complete his ritual.
• Olegar agreed to help the Dream Sisters in exchange for their aid in taking control of Haruun Kal, then used the seven Kylin Crystals to begin his ritual with his four Dark Templars.
• Three days later, Olegar emerged as a black-hole-like being, saw the Dream Sisters sleeping aboard a Victory I-class Star Destroyer, and returned to his ship in orbit.
• Tang Xiao, bound by beams of light and unable to use the Death Force, challenged the figure before him and called it “Father.”

On Mortis, the Father confronted Tang Xiao and explained why he considered him an uncontrollable threat to the Force. He revealed that he was nearing death and that his children could escape Mortis when he died, then disclosed that Yoda had arrived before the Chosen One.

• The Father appeared before Tang Xiao and declared that he would imprison him rather than kill him.
• Tang Xiao challenged the Father to imprison Palpatine as well, and the Father explained that Palpatine had not been captured because he stayed on Coruscant.
• The Father said a powerful resonance twenty-three years earlier had altered the Force and that he could find neither Tang Xiao’s past nor his future.
• The Father admitted that he was close to death after maintaining the Force’s balance for a hundred thousand years, and warned that his children would escape Mortis and cause bloodshed if he died.
• The Father told Tang Xiao not to call Alobeth the Mother and revealed that Yoda had come to Mortis before he intended to meet the Chosen One.

Tang Xiao learned that Father had spoken with Yoda on Mortis and kept him imprisoned until he judged it safe. As Tang Xiao’s Dark Side corruption eased, he resolved to find a way to escape and defeat the Ones, starting with Son and Daughter.

• Tang Xiao questioned Father about Yoda’s arrival on Mortis, and Father said they had spoken for a year about the Jedi, the Sith, the Chosen One, and Tang Xiao.
• Father refused to release Tang Xiao until he was certain it was safe, then vanished.
• Tang Xiao meditated and realized the Dark Side’s torment and the competing wills in his mind had subsided after his confrontation with Black Star.
• Tang Xiao considered Mortis and the Ones’ history, concluding they were powerful beings rather than gods and that Father maintained balance between Son and Daughter.
• Tang Xiao decided he had to escape Mortis, eliminate the Ones if possible, and exploit Son and Daughter to do so.