Recaps

Tang Xiao confronted the Son on Mortis, who offered him Midpoint Station technology if he could land a hit. Tang Xiao unleashed several attacks, but the Son overwhelmed them and left him defenseless.

• Tang Xiao recognized the Son behind the voice of Darth Pregas and refused to become his servant.
• The Son freed Tang Xiao and promised to reveal Midpoint Station technology if Tang Xiao could hurt him.
• Tang Xiao attacked with Force lightning and a Death Force sandstorm, but the Son absorbed the storm and hurled it back.
• Tang Xiao struck from behind with a reassembled Lightsaber and a Soul Shriek, but the Son drained the blade and resisted the shriek.
• The Son shattered the Force around Tang Xiao and left him almost entirely defenseless.

Tang Xiao fought the Son on Mortis, was overwhelmed by his Crimson Lightning, and agreed to help him while refusing to promise his realm’s submission without benefits. The Son began considering Tang Xiao’s argument that ruling through mutual interests could prevent another Kilik Swarm disaster.

• The Son blasted Tang Xiao with Crimson Lightning, leaving him badly injured and unable to move.
• Tang Xiao agreed to help the Son personally and used the Life Force to heal himself.
• Tang Xiao demanded direct benefits before his realm and people would submit, arguing that fear-based rule had led to the Kilik Swarm’s destruction.
• The Son recalled how he had destroyed the Kilik Swarm after it plotted to escape his control and began to question what he had gained.

After the Son attacked Tang Xiao, the Daughter healed him and took responsibility for protecting him while the Father sought answers about the Force resonance from twenty-three years earlier. Tang Xiao remained trapped on Mortis and pleaded to return to the Duchy of Dawn, whose people faced invasion without him.

• The Son threatened to destroy his enemies, argued with Tang Xiao, then transformed into a winged monster and flew away.
• The Father and Daughter arrived, and the Daughter healed Tang Xiao with her Life Force.
• The Father warned Tang Xiao to avoid the Son, then ordered the Daughter to protect him while he meditated at the Balance Throne for answers.
• The Daughter took Tang Xiao from Mortis monastery and explained that the Balance Throne was an intangible concept.
• Tang Xiao demanded to return to the Duchy of Dawn, arguing that he had embraced the Dark Side to save his people from destruction and protect them from the Galactic Empire.

Tang Xiao argued that Daughter’s refusal to release him endangered the Duchy of Dawn, but Daughter kept him in her custody until Son attacked her. After Father stopped their battle, Son seized Tang Xiao and carried him to the Dark Cathedral.

• Tang Xiao urged Daughter to let him return to stop the war, accusing her of allowing the Dark Side to threaten hundreds of billions of lives, but she refused and told him to stay put.
• Son arrived and demanded access to Tang Xiao, and Daughter blocked him before the two transformed and fought, sending Mortis into darkness and unleashing destructive lightning.
• Father separated Son and Daughter, restoring light to Mortis but weakening himself further.
• Tang Xiao attacked Daughter with his Lightsaber and Crimson Lightning, but she stopped both attacks and threw him back with the Force.
• Son caught Tang Xiao, carried him away, and brought him to the Dark Cathedral.

Tang Xiao’s son offered him the Dagger of Mortis and ordered him to kill Father, claiming it would free them from Mortis. Tang Xiao saw through the son’s plan to use him as a disposable pawn, but pretended to agree and followed him to the altar.

• Tang Xiao’s son told him the Dagger of Mortis could harm the Ones and offered it as a reward for loyalty.
• The son ordered Tang Xiao to kill Father, claiming Father’s death would lift Mortis’s confinement and let them escape.
• Tang Xiao realized the son planned to use his death to wound Father and escape while the daughter stayed behind to care for him.
• Tang Xiao pretended to accept the order and asked his son to take him to the dagger.
• The son agreed, saying Father and his sister were recovering and could not stop them from reaching the altar.

The Son led Tang Xiao to the Dagger of Mortis and hid it from the Father and Daughter, while Tang Xiao later persuaded the Daughter to take his warning about the Son seriously. The chapter ended with Tang Xiao holding the dagger against the Daughter and demanding that she recognize the danger facing the Duchy of Dawn.

• The Son brought Tang Xiao to a sea of green fire and ordered him to cross it to the altar.
• Tang Xiao crossed the flames, obtained the Dagger of Mortis, and resisted the urge to attack the Son.
• The Son concealed the dagger and Tang Xiao’s killing intent from the Father and the Daughter, then threw Tang Xiao out of his Dark Cathedral.
• After two days, the Daughter carried Tang Xiao toward the Father, and Tang Xiao argued that the Duchy of Dawn needed him to return and face the coming war.
• Tang Xiao told the Daughter that the Son had ordered him to kill the Father, then pressed the dagger against her chest and said he could become as reckless as the Son to protect his people.

Tang Xiao gave the Dagger of Mortis to Daughter and urged her to use it to stop Son from killing Father and escaping Mortis. Daughter refused to use the real dagger against Son, but gave Tang Xiao a branch transformed to look like it so he could deceive Son and protect himself during the ritual.

• Tang Xiao confronted Daughter and argued that sacrificing the Duchy of Dawn’s civilians for balance in the Force was no different from the Dark Side.
• Tang Xiao revealed that Son had ordered him to kill Father during the ritual, then placed the Dagger of Mortis in Daughter’s hand.
• Tang Xiao warned that telling Father would only lead to the dagger being confiscated and Son eventually killing Father, Daughter, and Tang Xiao.
• Tang Xiao urged Daughter to wound Son with the dagger, explaining that he needed to save the hundreds of billions of people in the Duchy of Dawn.
• Daughter concealed the dagger and refused to use it against Son, but transformed a branch into a fake Dagger of Mortis for Tang Xiao.

Daughter brought Tang Xiao to Father, who prepared to probe the secret within Tang Xiao’s soul despite Daughter’s objections. Tang Xiao and Son’s plan erupted into a betrayal that left Daughter seriously wounded and Son charging at Father.

• Daughter brought Tang Xiao before Father at the Balance Throne, and Tang Xiao claimed Son had kept him alive because he might help them escape Mortis.
• Father announced that he would use a ritual to uncover Tang Xiao’s secret, refusing Daughter’s request to let Tang Xiao choose.
• Tang Xiao drew a fake Dagger of Mortis and claimed Son had told him to kill Father, while Son launched a Crimson Lightning attack at them.
• Daughter tried to shield Tang Xiao from Son’s attack as Tang Xiao transformed into a Dark Archon and struck Daughter with Death Force.
• Son’s arrow pierced and seriously wounded Daughter before Father blocked it; Tang Xiao tossed the fake dagger aside, and Son charged at Father.

Tang Xiao manipulated the Son and Daughter into killing the Son with the Dagger of Mortis, hoping to escape Mortis and destroy the Ones. The Father survived and turned on Tang Xiao, but an unknown figure emerged from a warp gate and blocked his attack.

• Tang Xiao tricked the Son into believing the Dagger of Mortis was in the Father's possession, drawing the Father's suspicion and the Son's attacks toward him.
• The Son discovered the dagger was fake and realized Tang Xiao still had the real one, then rushed to stop him from stabbing the Father.
• The wounded Daughter used the Dagger of Mortis to stab and kill the Son, whose final burst of Crimson Lightning further injured her.
• The Father healed the Daughter and confronted Tang Xiao, who admitted he had planned the Ones' deaths to escape Mortis and protect the Duchy of Dawn.
• The Father attacked Tang Xiao with lightning, but a warp gate opened behind him and a massive figure blocked the strike.

Tang Xiao escaped Mortis with Olegar, who demanded an alliance against the Khalai Protoss in exchange for helping the Dream Sisters find the Son of Haruun Kal. Tang Xiao refused to attack the modern Protoss, but agreed to provide Olegar with a ship and battle droids, leaving their uneasy agreement in place.

• The Daughter stopped the 'Father' from pursuing Tang Xiao, and the 'Father' took the Son's body to the Eternal Slumber while giving the Daughter the Dagger of Mortis and lifting Mortis's restrictions.
• Olegar brought Tang Xiao to Naos and said the Dark Templar Sola-Ah and Oola-Khan had acknowledged him as the hope of the Nerazim.
• Olegar demanded that Tang Xiao help destroy the Khalai Protoss, but Tang Xiao refused and warned that Olegar needed him as an ally.
• Olegar explained that the Dream Sisters had asked him to find the Son of Haruun Kal, and Tang Xiao identified him as Mace Windu near the Yavin System.
• Tang Xiao promised Olegar a warship and battle droids, and Olegar departed through a Warp Gate.
• A day later, a ship arrived to collect Tang Xiao, and the Duchy of Dawn sent Olegar a Deceiver-class destroyer.

Tang Xiao returned to Dawn Star Planet after dealing with Olegar, an uncontrollable Prisoner-rank being who sought his help against the Khalai Protoss and the Dream Sisters. He announced the Duchy of Dawn’s victory over the Grysk and its alliance with the Chiss, then began directing preparations for future threats and political conflicts.

• Olegar accepted Tang Xiao’s Deceiver-class destroyer/carrier and explained that the Dream Sisters were trapped by Haruun Kal’s Planet Will, asking him to find the Son of Haruun Kal.
• Tang Xiao considered Olegar’s immense power and threat, rejected his demand to destroy the Khalai Protoss, and concluded that he could neither trust nor easily kill him.
• Tang Xiao returned to Dawn Star Planet and convened the Duchy of Dawn’s leadership to hear reports about Olegar’s awakening and the conflict between the Galactic Empire and the Trade Federation.
• Tang Xiao publicly announced the Duchy of Dawn’s victory over the Grysk, the Chiss territory’s incorporation, and military and industrial cooperation with the Chiss.
• The Duchy of Dawn offered Rendili Planet as a refuge for war refugees, giving the Trade Federation a possible route to move its industries and wealth.
• Tang Xiao ordered Admiral Qiyala to make confronting the Grysk Hegemony a top priority and warned that the surviving threat could return after lying low.

The author explained that getting drunk led him to accidentally post 8,000 words of copied text, then described struggling to fix the mistake amid work obligations and an unexpected visit from an old classmate. He left off planning to take his child to Chengdu and resume normal updates the following night.

• The author drank nearly a pound of liquor at a company dinner after misunderstanding his doctor's advice, then discovered he had posted 8,000 copied words.
• The author attended a morning meeting while hungover, went home to correct the post, and managed only a small amount of writing before sleeping.
• The author resumed writing but went out to meet an old classmate from Shenzhen, drank beer, and lost more than 400 playing cards.
• The author stayed up until three in the morning and finished the 4,000 words needed for the previous chapter.
• The author began revising the copied chapter, then had to handle a dispute at a project site and lost his perfect attendance.
• The author thanked readers for being understanding and said he would take his child to Chengdu before returning to normal updates the next night.

Tang Xiao briefed his council on the Grysk Hegemony, Olegar, and the Trade Federation, assigning defenses against the Grysk and keeping Olegar’s capture under wraps. He recognized Tang Yun as heir before abruptly leaving the conference room, cutting off Francis-Underwood’s report.

• Tang Xiao explained that Black Star was a Grysk Supreme One who controlled an altar Relic, and ordered Admiral Qiyala to patrol the altar and establish defenses against Grysk expansion.
• Tang Xiao ordered the Togot Swarm’s Mother Nest replaced and the advance on the Kilik Core Nest suspended so the swarm could form a border barrier.
• Tang Xiao recounted how he reached Mortis after Sola-A and Oola-Khan merged into a Dark Archon, then told the Priestess to recall Judgment and misdirect Fenix while he kept Olegar at large for his own purposes.
• Tang Xiao learned that Marka Ragnos had blocked his senses of the Soul Reaper Sword and decided he would deal with Olegar and Marka Ragnos later.
• Tang Xiao praised Adele-Ulan’s handling of the Trade Federation and approved a Regency Council centered on Tang Yun, establishing her as heir to the Duchy of Dawn.
• Francis-Underwood began his report, but Tang Xiao left the conference room before he could continue.

The Duchy of Dawn reshuffled key officials, placing BIG-BOSS in charge of the Hoth Sector while Hari Seldon became Secretary-General of the Prime Minister’s Office. Meanwhile, the Hutt civil war erupted into a chaotic fleet battle around Planet Barab, where aging warships from both sides fired indiscriminately.

• Hari Seldon was released without charge, then resigned as Governor of the Hoth Sector and became Secretary-General of the Prime Minister’s Office.
• Francis Underwood submitted his resignation as Prime Minister, but the government rejected it; Claire Underwood remained Minister of Internal Affairs.
• BIG-BOSS retired from Titan Security Company, took the official name John Doe, and became Governor of the Hoth Sector, while Mira Han became Titan’s commander.
• Douglas Stamp was transferred from Francis Underwood’s staff to serve as Chief of Staff for the Hoth Sector.
• The Desilijic kajidic and Besadi fleets clashed around Planet Barab using a jumble of old and obsolete warships.
• Electronic interference and unreliable identification codes turned the battle into a chaotic melee, with both fleets firing wildly at one another.

The Desilijic and Besadi kajidics fought a costly battle near Planet Barab while Oruba Goresla secretly sent the Hutt Council fleet to intervene. The chapter ended with Jabba and Gorga learning that the Council fleet was already headed for the battle.

• The Desilijic and Besadi fleets clashed at Planet Barab after each commander mistook the other’s force for a different target.
• The battle continued for a day, and both commanders began pulling ships back to form reserves.
• Oruba Goresla, Marlo Kunnarac, Ziro Desilijic, and Gaddula Besadi convened the Grand Hutt Council without warning.
• Oruba announced that the Desilijic and Besadi kajidics were expelled from the Council and that its fleet would intervene in the war.
• Jabba and Gorga opposed the plan, but Oruba revealed that the Council fleet had already departed for Planet Barab.

An unidentified fleet emerged near Planet Barab and attacked the exhausted Desilijic kajidic fleet, overwhelming it with superior speed, discipline, and firepower. The black-cloaked commander directed the assault with precise orders as the Desilijic fleet faced destruction.

• The Desilijic and Besadi kajidic fleets regrouped after nearly twenty hours of combat and devastating losses.
• An unfamiliar fleet arrived from hyperspace and charged the Desilijic kajidic's main fleet without warning.
• The fast, disciplined attackers broke through the Desilijic formation and surrounded its remaining capital ships.
• A black-cloaked commander aboard the Stinger issued detailed orders, relayed and executed by a Super Tactical Droid.

The black-clad man’s fleet destroyed the Desilijic kajidic fleet and then turned toward the Besadi kajidic fleet. When Porlat tried to flee, hyperspace interference trapped his ships as the black-clad man ordered their destruction.

• The Stinger and its fast escorts overwhelmed the Desilijic kajidic fleet, destroying its flagship and killing its Fleet Commander.
• The surviving Desilijic ships fled, but destroyer formations sealed off H9 District and continued the massacre until the fleet was destroyed.
• The Besadi kajidic fleet watched the battle and Porlat mistook the attacking warships for forces of the New Grand Hutt Council.
• Porlat thanked the attackers over an open channel and announced that his fleet would withdraw, but received no reply as their ships approached.
• Porlat ordered his fleet to activate its hyperdrives, but a navigation droid reported that hyperspace interference would delay calculations for nearly eighteen hours.
• The black-clad man laughed and ordered his forces to kill.

A man in black and Oruba Goresla lured the Desilijic and Besadi fleets to Planet Barab and annihilated them, earning the commander the name Barab Butcher. Oruba then announced the dawn of peace before the New Grand Hutt Council, where Jabba and Gorga accused him of secretly building a fleet and colluding with the Duchy of Dawn.

• The man in black used fabricated intelligence and carefully arranged timing to draw the Desilijic and Besadi fleets to Planet Barab.
• Oruba Goresla's fast, heavily armed fleet and its electronic warfare systems destroyed both Hutt fleets, leaving no ships alive or able to escape.
• The man in black became known in Hutt Space as the Barab Butcher.
• Oruba Goresla told Jabba Desilijic, Gorga Desilijic, and the other council members that peace had arrived after the fleets' destruction.
• Jabba accused Oruba of building warships in secret and colluding with the Duchy of Dawn, while Gorga questioned whether the proposed council fleet had concealed that plan.
• Oruba admitted he had spent eight years building the fleet and said the council investment had merely compensated him for some of his losses.

Oruba Goresla used the Duchy of Dawn’s military support to reorganize the Hutt Council and crush the Desilijic and Besadi families’ businesses, while establishing toll patrols to assert authority over Hutt Space. Zieta Anjiliac’s adviser Tis Dolan urged her to cooperate with Oruba as she secretly pursued her own plans with her lover, Tiber Zayne.

• Oruba Goresla proposed a new Hutt Council led by the five strongest families, but Jabba rejected his plan and Vito Anjiliac left to consult Zieta Anjiliac.
• Butcher’s fleet and the Calamity Legion and Titan Security Company devastated Desilijic and Besadi holdings, destroyed a pirate base, and helped Oruba establish his council with Vito’s agreement.
• Oruba declared Kiliak, Jabba, Gorga, and Aruk war criminals, while patrol fleets and Hyperspace Jammers disrupted rivals’ businesses and the new customs office began collecting tolls.
• Zieta considered assassinating Oruba, but Tis Dolan advised her to cooperate and ordered Vito to raise business demands at the council.
• Tis Dolan told Zieta that the conflict offered the Anjiliac family an opportunity, then went to a hidden room and reunited with her lover, Tiber Zayne.

Tiber Zayne ordered Tiss Doran to arrange a secret meeting with Jabba and locate the item he had hidden. Tiss revealed the Shadow Collective to Jabba and proposed an alliance against the Goresla Family, leaving him to consider the offer.

• Tiber Zayne ordered Tiss Doran to have Zieta Anjiliac invite Jabba to a meeting and send Shadow Dawn to find the hidden item.
• Zieta Anjiliac contacted Jabba Desilijic, who questioned why she and Tiss Doran had sought him out.
• Tiss Doran argued that Jabba’s forces could not defeat the Goresla Family and offered to help him rebuild his strength.
• Jabba said he would consider the proposal, and Tiss Doran revealed that she represented the Shadow Collective.

Tis Doran persuaded Jabba Desilijic to join the Shadow Collective, offering him a hidden refuge and revealing that General Grievous was the Butcher. As Hutt Space’s power shifted to the Goresla Family, the Imperial Security Bureau arrested Tiber Zayne on Felucia.

• Tis Doran warned Jabba that Kiliak Desilijic and Aruk Besadi would soon die, revealed the Butcher’s identity, and offered him a hidden base on Planet Tis (Tech).
• Jabba agreed to give the Shadow Collective the ancient Sith Empire holographic storage device and asked to meet the person behind Tis Doran.
• Oruba Goresla captured and publicly executed Kiliak Desilijic, while Jabba vanished with the Desilijic kajidic’s wealth and many of its members.
• Oruba’s forces destroyed the Besadi kajidic and killed Aruk Besadi, leaving Ziro Desilijic and Gaddula Besadi leading diminished kajidics.
• The Imperial Security Bureau uncovered Tiber Zayne’s spice-smuggling operation on Felucia, captured him after a battle, and sent him to prison to await judgment.

Tiber Zayne arrived at Felucia Prison, where hidden assassins killed five inmates who threatened him. The prisoners and guards realized he had entered as a feared power, with a large Black man standing guard in his cell.

• Tiber Zayne was escorted through Felucia Prison as inmates shouted threats and insults at him.
• Hidden assassins killed five inmates who had stirred up the crowd, and the prisoners fell silent in fear.
• Tiber Zayne completed intake and entered his cell, where his cellmate trembled in the corner.
• Guards discovered the five bodies, searched the inmates and cells, found no killers or weapons, and canceled recreation for a week.
• Tiber Zayne returned to his cell and exchanged a glance with a large Black man who stood motionless at the door.

Tiber-Zayne prepared to break out of Felucia Prison while Shen-Jon and Gethzerion activated the restored Infinite Door on Dathomir. The prison power was cut and Tiber-Zayne’s allies opened the cells, plunging the facility into chaos.

• Warden Bourne-Schmidt ordered increased security around Tiber-Zayne and Sector Nine, but discreetly gave Tiber-Zayne extra food to avoid provoking him.
• Tiber-Zayne learned that Sector Nine’s energy shield would fail if the prison power was cut and said the moment was three days away.
• At the Star God Temple on Dathomir, Shen-Jon completed the Infinite Door’s calibration as Gethzerion and hundreds of Nightsisters channeled the Dark Side Force into it.
• At Felucia Prison, infiltrators killed the control-room commander, used his authorization to cut power, and opened the cells in Tiber-Zayne’s section.
• Tiber-Zayne walked barefoot from his cell as prisoners and infiltrated guards launched a widespread uprising.

Tiber-Zayne led a prison revolt to free a Night Sister from Sector Nine, then offered to work with her against the Galactic Empire and asked her to decipher an ancient Sith storage device. He revealed that she inherited a Night Sister subculture tied to the ancient Sith Empire.

• Warden Bourne-Schmidt ordered guards to barricade his office as prisoners seized key areas of the prison.
• Tiber-Zayne reached Sector Nine with armed prisoners and had them disable its energy shield and breach the metal door.
• After a prisoner screamed inside, Tiber-Zayne offered the Night Sister freedom in exchange for her cooperation against the Galactic Empire.
• The Night Sister threatened Tiber-Zayne when he mentioned Gethzerion, but he persuaded her to hear his proposal.
• Tiber-Zayne asked the Night Sister to decipher an ancient Sith storage device and explained her inherited subculture's connection to the ancient Sith Empire.

Tiber-Zayne transported escaped prisoners from Felucia to Dathomir and persuaded Silri to decipher an ancient Sith storage device. Silri revealed a prophecy and star map, and Tiber-Zayne prepared to pursue the destination despite her warning.

• Tiber-Zayne recruited the Nightsisters and selected prisoners, then used a beacon to transport them from Felucia to Dathomir.
• Shen-Jon dismissed Gethzerion’s concerns after the Infinite Door ritual and left the Star God Temple.
• Tiber-Zayne boarded a departing transport with the Nightsister Silri, who explained her lineage’s conflict with Gethzerion and agreed to cooperate if they never met.
• Tiber-Zayne gave Silri Jabba’s Sith storage device, and she deciphered its mixed Sith and Nightsister code as a prophecy and star map.
• Tiber-Zayne announced he would assemble a fleet to reach the map’s destination, while Silri warned that the marked star system was not easily claimed.