Recaps

Clone Battalion 99 escaped after sabotaging another Trade Federation shipment on Kato-Neimoidia and sought to uncover who was supplying the weapons. On Tatooine, a heavily guarded Goresla Family base held vast stocks of weapons and vehicles for shipment to the Trade Federation.

• Clone Battalion 99 vanished into Kato-Neimoidia’s jungle after its attack destroyed much of a shipment and droids pursuing salvage.
• Tech intercepted a transmission showing that the Trade Federation wanted more weapons and that a contact would soon arrive on Kato-Neimoidia.
• Hunter ordered Tech to learn the details of the operation and identify who was secretly supplying weapons to the Trade Federation.
• On Tatooine, the Goresla Family controlled a guarded base near Mos Espa Port, with Titan Security Company fighters and droids protecting it.
• B-1 battle droids loaded the base’s enormous stockpile of weapons and military vehicles into cargo containers for transport.

Yuri Orlov prepared a weapons shipment for the Trade Federation while worrying that its ties to the Duchy of Dawn would expose him to the Galactic Empire. Tang Xiao defended taking control of the Trade Federation as a way to delay the Empire until Operation Zero was complete.

• Yuri Orlov’s B-1 Battle Droid damaged blaster rifles while loading them, and Yuri shot the droid and ordered the loss recorded as routine.
• Yuri learned that Nute Gunray wanted more weapons and Scorpion Annihilator Droids, and he agreed to seek black-market weapons from Crimson Dawn before returning to Dawn Star Planet.
• Yuri’s assistant warned that the Trade Federation’s declaration tying it to the Duchy of Dawn made Yuri’s shipments riskier, and Yuri ordered the new hyperspace route tested quickly.
• Qi Jian warned Tang Xiao that taking control of the Trade Federation risked a confrontation with the Galactic Empire.
• Tang Xiao said the Trade Federation would buy time for Operation Zero and ordered Ling Liang to continue military exercises on Eriadu to distract the Empire.

The Galactic Empire isolated the Trade Federation through military pressure, propaganda, and the seizure of its assets, while resistance movements across the galaxy grew more organized. On Kato Neimoidia, Darth Vader’s surviving special-operation troops gathered intelligence and weakened defenses, bringing him closer to launching a general offensive.

• The Galactic Empire restored routes to isolated Outer Rim worlds and violently suppressed the uprisings there, while rebels went underground and began organizing across the galaxy.
• Major corporations accepted the Empire’s assurances and divided up Trade Federation assets, including Vulpter and Arakyd Industries.
• The Galactic Empire and the Duchy of Dawn staged military exercises against each other, but neither sent forces to fight directly over the Trade Federation.
• The Galactic Empire blamed the Trade Federation for high prices and created the Public Transportation Department, leaving the Federation isolated.
• Darth Vader sent more than two hundred elite units, including Clone Force 99, on Orbital Drops onto Kato Neimoidia to sabotage the planet’s defenses.
• Surviving troops destroyed key facilities and gathered extensive intelligence, while reinforcements strengthened Darth Vader’s fleet and prompted him to consider a general offensive.

The Empire’s special forces crippled the Trade Federation’s orbital defenses on Kato-Neimoidia, allowing Darth Vader’s fleet to breach the defensive line and besiege the planet’s shield. Meanwhile, the Arden Lin squad tracked the mysterious arms dealer Santa Claus to Tatooine.

• Tech reported that the Trade Federation planned a major arms deal with a mysterious seller called Santa Claus, and Hunter sent the intelligence to Imperial Intelligence rather than risk attacking the shipment.
• Hunter received Squad 197’s plan to disable the Trade Federation’s aerospace command center and joined the operation despite the risk to the special forces campaign.
• On January 16, the special operations forces destroyed the command center’s power systems and communications antenna, and Darth Vader ordered the Imperial fleet to attack.
• With the orbital defenses unable to coordinate, Darth Vader’s fleet defeated the installations one by one and breached Kato-Neimoidia’s orbital defensive line on February 7.
• The Arden Lin squad landed on Tatooine and reported that they had located Santa Claus’s trail and were tracking him.

Arden Lyn and her disciples attacked Yuri Orlov’s loading base to arrest him for illegally supplying the Trade Federation, while his guards and droids failed to stop them. Arden captured Yuri after destroying his escape ship, but an unseen shooter revealed that someone had ordered him killed rather than taken alive.

• Yuri Orlov hired ships to transport military supplies to Kato-Neimoidia, then tried to escape when Imperial Inquisitors attacked his base.
• Arden Lyn, Hora, and Sok stormed the base, while Jing Fang took out the Ghost Agent snipers.
• Assistant Jones attacked Arden with a Scorpion tank, but Arden stopped its shell with the Force and killed Jones by smashing the tank’s cockpit.
• Arden destroyed Yuri’s escape ship, killed the Ghost Agent guarding him, and arrested Yuri for his crimes.
• Arden blocked a bullet fired at Yuri, and Jing Fang confronted another Ghost Agent who had stayed hidden to prevent Yuri from being captured alive.

Jing Fang and Arden Lyn killed Ghost Agents and found Yuri Orlov dead after he poisoned himself, but his final weapons shipment escaped. Tang Xiao learned that Arden Lyn had tracked Yuri down and suspected the Trade Federation’s disorder had exposed his location.

• Jing Fang killed the Ghost Agent, while Arden Lyn told Yuri Orlov that Tang Xiao had ordered his death if the mission went badly.
• Yuri Orlov recalled his early journey with Tang Xiao, then died after smoking a poisoned cigar and pointed Arden Lyn toward the departing ships carrying his final weapons shipment.
• Arden Lyn, Jing Fang, Hora, and Sok regrouped; Arden Lyn declared their mission complete and ordered the recovery of Santa Claus's corpse and the Ghost Agents' bodies.
• Salatan Morse informed Tang Xiao that Arden Lyn had found and attacked Yuri Orlov's base, and Tang Xiao angrily questioned how she had tracked him down.
• Salatan Morse suggested that intelligence may have been intercepted amid the chaos on Kato Neimoidia, where Darth Vader's sabotage operations had disrupted supply lines.

Tang Xiao grieved Yuri Orlov’s death and vowed to avenge him, while Vitaly Orlov left Mandalore to preserve his brother’s supply network. Bo-Katan Kryze continued preparing the Night Owls for Mandalore’s coming conflict.

• Tang Xiao recalled Yuri Orlov’s contributions to the Fourth Civilization and vowed that Ardan Lyn would pay for his death.
• Vitaly Orlov learned that Yuri had been killed by the Galactic Empire and mourned his brother.
• Vitaly told Bo-Katan Kryze he would leave Mandalore to protect the weapons supply line Yuri had maintained, though he would not become an arms dealer.
• Bo-Katan agreed to Vitaly’s departure and reaffirmed the Night Owls’ policy of secretly building strength while staying out of the struggle between the Restoration Army and Pre Vizsla.

Mandalore edged toward civil war as Bo-Katan Kryze secretly built her strength, Jango Fett returned with the Mandalorian Restoration Army, and Pre Vizsla prepared to defend his rule. Vitaly Orlov left for Nashadda to seek Yuri Orlov’s legacy, while an officer reported Mandalore’s crisis to Master Windu at Tangrene.

• Vitaly Orlov appeared before Bo-Katan Kryze, analyzed Pre Vizsla’s rule, and advised her to build her forces and wait for the hidden enemy to act.
• Jango Fett returned to Mandalore with more than twenty True Mandalorian warriors and an unnamed warrior in Unit 117 armor, then declared the Mandalorian Restoration Army.
• Pre Vizsla branded Jango Fett a traitor and hid on Concordia, while Bo-Katan secretly resisted his orders and Mandalore neared anarchy.
• Vitaly Orlov departed for Nashadda to search for Yuri Orlov’s legacy and prepare to help Mandalore face civil war.
• At Tangrene, an officer told Master Windu that Mandalore was probably on the brink of civil war.

Mace Windu and the Blood Knights debated whether to intervene as Pre Vizsla prepared for a purge on Mandalore, but they chose to wait and keep tracking Sefrans Tann. Ki-Adi-Mundi then told Windu that someone named Olegar was looking for him.

• An officer told Mace Windu that Pre Vizsla had gathered more than three million soldiers on Concordia and appeared to be preparing a worldwide purge.
• The Blood Knights argued over intervening in Mandalore, noting that Sefrans Tann's supercarriers were elsewhere but warning that her fleet remained dangerous.
• The Blood Knights discussed finding a Mandalorian proxy, considering Bo-Katan Kryze and Satine Kryze, and learned that someone besides the Rebel Alliance was backing Pre Vizsla.
• Mace Windu ordered the Blood Knights not to intervene yet and to continue gathering intelligence on Sefrans Tann without acting rashly.
• Ki-Adi-Mundi reported that the Rebel Alliance denied involvement in Mandalore's internal affairs and said someone named Olegar was looking for Mace Windu.

Mace Windu and Ki-Adi-Mundi discussed Olegar, who had come at Tang Xiao’s request, before the chapter traced how the Clone Wars and the Jedi Order’s military role damaged its standing. The chapter ended as Sheev Palpatine’s decree allowing Orbital Bombardment with a Jedi commander’s signature began splitting the Jedi Order.

• Mace Windu questioned Ki-Adi-Mundi about the unfamiliar Olegar, who had come seeking help at Tang Xiao’s request.
• Ki-Adi-Mundi’s prestige and political connections made him the Blood Samurai’s second-in-command and its main contact with the Rebel Alliance.
• Sheev Palpatine established the Grand Army of the Republic under the Military Creation Act and placed Jedi Knights in command of its forces.
• The Jedi Order’s battlefield losses and responsibility for wartime destruction brought criticism and tied the Jedi to political and military affairs.
• Sheev Palpatine permitted Orbital Bombardment if a Jedi Knight Commander signed off, pushing the Jedi Order toward a schism.

The Jedi Order split over the use of Orbital Bombardment and the revelation that Sheev Palpatine was Darth Sidious, leading Mace Windu to found the Blood Samurai. Years later, Windu grew wary when an Alliance contact told him that Olegar had come at Tang Xiao’s request, since he still wanted revenge on Tang Xiao.

• Jedi Knights divided over whether victory justified Orbital Bombardment, while Mace Windu backed the extremists after his injuries and Yoda’s withdrawal from the war.
• After learning that Chancellor Sheev Palpatine was Darth Sidious, Mace Windu led the Second Systems Army and extremist Jedi Knights toward the Mandalore star sector to build a base against him.
• Sefrans Tann defeated Windu’s fleet, and Order 66 later devastated the Jedi Order; surviving Jedi regrouped as the New Jedi Order while Windu’s followers became the Blood Samurai.
• The Blood Samurai secretly cooperated with surviving Separatist forces and supported resistance movements through assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, and terrorist attacks.
• Mace Windu became vigilant after an Alliance contact reported that Olegar had come to meet him at Tang Xiao’s request, and he suspected he might have been exposed.

Mace Windu agreed to meet Tang Xiao’s mysterious contact, Olegar, after learning the message concerned Haruun Kal. Aboard Olegar’s warship, Windu encountered the terrifying Protoss and demanded to know his purpose.

• Ki-Adi-Mundi told Mace Windu that Tang Xiao’s message concerned Haruun Kal, prompting Windu to agree to meet the sender.
• Mace Windu traveled to the Yavin System and met Olegar aboard a Deceiver-class destroyer.
• Mace Windu sensed Olegar’s immense Force power and noticed the diverse crew working together under what he suspected was mind control.
• Olegar revealed himself as a Protoss and the Soul of Vengeance, then asked whether Windu was a Son of Haruun Kal.
• Mace Windu confirmed he had been born on Haruun Kal and demanded that Olegar state his purpose.

Mace Windu endured a vision of Haruun Kal's Dreamscape and decided to travel to the planet, hoping to rescue Luna Dream and Luna Illusion. Meanwhile, unrest on Mandalore continued to worsen as Jango Fett's forces captured cities, leaving Pre Vizsla with war as his only option.

• Mace Windu told Ki-Adi-Mundi that Olegar was an immensely powerful Protoss who had mind-controlled the crew of his ship.
• Mace Windu experienced a nightmare of Haruun Kal's Dreamscape, but used Shatterpoint and his Lightsaber to break the illusion.
• Ki-Adi-Mundi told Mace Windu that his meditation had lasted two days and that Olegar had already left.
• Mace Windu ordered a ship prepared for Haruun Kal and asked Ki-Adi-Mundi to contact Shaak Ti about Luna Dream and Luna Illusion.
• Mace Windu ordered the Blood Knights to hold off on acting in Mandalore until its civil war began.
• Jango Fett's Mandalorian Restoration Army captured cities as opposition to Pre Vizsla grew, forcing Pre Vizsla toward war.

Pre Vizsla imposed martial law, declared the Kryze family traitors, and proclaimed himself True Mandalor as Mandalore’s people resisted his rule. After a day of demonstrations, Death Watch and public security forces opened fire on the crowds and sealed the cities, leaving the civilian population under a lethal crackdown.

• On January 29, 11 BBY, Pre Vizsla imposed martial law, confiscated weapons and property, rationed supplies, and ordered residents into compulsory labor.
• Bo-Katan Kryze disavowed Pre Vizsla’s order, resigned as Grand Duke, and escaped after Death Watch fought the Night Owls sent to arrest her.
• Pre Vizsla denounced the Kryze family, ordered a manhunt for Bo-Katan Kryze and Satine Kryze, and proclaimed himself True Mandalor, with a coronation planned for February 30.
• Pre Vizsla demanded that residents return home and demonstrate support for his New Deal, prompting mass protests while public security forces stood aside.
• After the deadline passed, Death Watch and public security forces attacked demonstrators with gunfire, while soldiers barricaded streets and threatened to execute anyone outside.

Jango Fett and the True Mandalorians fought Death Watch and Mandalore's Public Security Department forces while John-117 sabotaged their corvette from within. After the corvette crashed and Pre Vizsla's fighter squadron approached, Jango, Resoth, and John-117 escaped into a valley.

• Jango Fett and the True Mandalorians attacked Public Security Department soldiers, but a corvette arrived and bombarded them.
• Jango Fett ordered the warriors to launch rockets at the corvette, but its shields held as Death Watch warriors joined the fight.
• A Z-95 Headhunter bought by Pre Vizsla crashed into the corvette's engine exhaust, and John-117 boarded the damaged ship.
• Jango Fett killed a Death Watch warrior in close combat, while Resoth broke another warrior's elbow and shot through his armor joint.
• John-117 destroyed the corvette from within and escaped as it crashed, while Jango's fighters finished off a fallen Death Watch warrior.
• Jango Fett, Resoth, and John-117 used the mountains to escape as Pre Vizsla's fighter squadron approached.

Jango Fett decided to seek Bo-Katan Kryze’s help against Pre Vizsla, while John 117 warned that Mandalore’s people had not risen up enough to defeat him. On a remote planet, a man called Big Beard comforted Satine as she desperately watched reports about Mandalore.

• Resk and Ventra told Jango Fett that Pre Vizsla was deploying troops across Mandalore and intended to exterminate its people.
• Jango Fett decided to find the hidden Bo-Katan Kryze and bring Boba Fett to convince her to join the fight.
• Jango Fett left John 117 in command, and John said Mandalore’s people had not truly risen up against Pre Vizsla.
• On a remote planet, Big Beard found Satine screaming over a news report about Pre Vizsla’s campaign on Mandalore.
• Big Beard turned off the news and told Satine they had nothing to do with Mandalore anymore.

Obi-Wan Kenobi learned that Pre Vizsla was carrying out a genocide on Mandalore and planned to crown himself in Sundari City, while Satine Kryze struggled against her brain damage to follow the news. The chapter left Obi-Wan facing Satine’s renewed determination to see what was happening to her homeworld.

• Obi-Wan comforted Satine after she woke and asked to learn what had happened to Mandalore.
• Obi-Wan searched the news and learned that Pre Vizsla’s forces were massacring Mandalorians and that his coronation would take place in Sundari City a month later.
• Satine watched the reports despite the damage to her brain, and Obi-Wan held her as she trembled.
• Obi-Wan urged Satine to stay away from Mandalore, but she blamed herself for having made its people lay down their weapons.
• Satine insisted on watching the news, and Obi-Wan saw a spark of clarity in her eyes as her love for Mandalore fought against her brain damage.

Jango Fett brought Boba Fett to meet Bo-Katan Kryze, hoping to convince her that he would fight Pre Vizsla for Mandalore rather than sell it to the Duchy of Dawn. Bo-Katan rejected his claims and put a pistol to Boba's head, ordering him to remove his helmet.

• Jango Fett and Boba Fett landed in the Night Owls' stronghold and surrendered their weapons before asking to meet Bo-Katan Kryze.
• Jango Fett declared his loyalty to Mandalore, but Bo-Katan accused him of being a creation and agent of the Duchy of Dawn.
• Jango Fett admitted the Duchy of Dawn had given him the strength to challenge Pre Vizsla and offered to die with his warriors after victory.
• Bo-Katan condemned Jango for abandoning Mandalore and ordered her warriors to kill him.
• Jango Fett shielded Boba Fett and begged Bo-Katan to spare his son.
• Bo-Katan pressed her pistol against Boba Fett's helmet and ordered him to take it off.

Jango Fett sought Bo-Katan Kryze’s help against Pre Vizsla, arguing that Mandalorians had to resolve their own conflicts. He offered to follow her command and promised to take his own life after Pre Vizsla was defeated.

• Bo-Katan Kryze pointed her gun at Jango Fett and ordered Boba Fett to remove his helmet.
• Boba Fett recited the Six Actions and swore to follow them, while Jango explained that Mandalorian customs allowed different interpretations of helmet-wearing.
• Bo-Katan Kryze called Jango a traitor, and Jango insisted that Boba was a true Mandalorian raised to preserve their traditions.
• Jango asked Bo-Katan Kryze to help stop Pre Vizsla, accusing him of twice slaughtering Mandalorians.
• Jango asked Bo-Katan Kryze to lead him against Pre Vizsla and vowed to take his own life afterward, saluting with “This is the way!”

Bo-Katan Kryze secured the Mandalore Engine Company's covert support and declared open resistance against Pre Vizsla, starting Mandalore's civil war. The Rebel Alliance then organized local militias to evacuate civilians and disrupt the government forces' supply lines.

• Bo-Katan Kryze met secretly with the Mandalore Engine Company, which agreed to provide armed airspeeders and Scyk fighters while demanding a share of Death Watch's seized property.
• Bo-Katan Kryze refused the company's offer to broker black-market weapons because she trusted Vitaly Orlov more.
• On the third day of Pre Vizsla's massacres, Bo-Katan Kryze condemned his rule, declared herself temporary leader of the resistance, and placed Jango Fett's Mandalorian Restoration Army under her command.
• Bo-Katan Kryze's resistance movement became the Rebel Alliance, which recruited soldiers and built an army.
• The Rebel Alliance organized regional militias to evacuate civilians, sabotage transport and supplies, and attack government convoys moving across Mandalore.

Vitaly Orlov returned to Mandalore with weapons and gathered support for the Rebel Alliance as resistance against Pre Vizsla spread. The rebels struggled to hold their cities while Pre Vizsla prepared to crown himself Mand'alor in Sundari City, which Gal Saxon secured through mass purges.

• Vitaly Orlov brought one hundred thousand blaster rifles to Mandalore and secured support from local officials, security commanders, and merchants.
• Cities and settlements organized militias and resistance movements, while government troops struggled to control the population and some units defected to the Rebel Alliance.
• Pre Vizsla redirected his forces to seize rebellious cities' water systems and dust shields, but Bo-Katan Kryze's militias, local security forces, and Jango Fett's Mandalorian Restoration Army fought back.
• Vitaly Orlov left Mandalore again to gather resources from his brother Yuri Orlov's legacy on Nashadda and fund the resistance.
• Pre Vizsla planned to crown himself Mand'alor in Sundari City, where Gal Saxon stationed one hundred thousand troops and purged and massacred civilians.

Jango Fett and the Mandalorian warriors fought alongside the Rebel Alliance in Secypii City, but government forces overwhelmed the defenders and forced the city to surrender. Their resistance bought Bo-Katan Kryze’s movement time, and she rallied Mandalorians across the planet to rise against Pre Vizsla.

• Jango Fett and twenty Mandalorian warriors attacked government forces in Secypii City while Kom'rk-class fighters bombarded the defenders.
• The Rebel Alliance struggled to resist the government advance and evacuate civilians as Jango Fett’s group ran out of ammunition and fuel and withdrew.
• Government forces threatened to disable Secypii City’s dust shield, forcing the city to surrender after holding out for another half day.
• Government troops surrounded civilian evacuation sites and executed people suspected of supporting the Rebel Alliance.
• Jango Fett and the Mandalorian warriors escaped, while their resistance bought Bo-Katan Kryze’s movement time.
• Bo-Katan Kryze denounced Pre Vizsla and urged Mandalorians across the planet to rise up and resist.

Bo-Katan Kryze addressed Mandalore while trying to strengthen her Rebel Alliance, as the fighting against Pre Vizsla went badly. After Secundus City fell, she welcomed new civilian and security-force recruits, while Jango Fett and Master Chief John-117 prepared a raid to disrupt Vizsla’s supplies ahead of his coronation.

• Bo-Katan Kryze gave a speech using communications support secretly provided by the Duchy of Dawn forces, while keeping Mandalore Engine Company at arm’s length.
• Bo-Katan Kryze learned that the Rebel Alliance had lost Secundus City after holding government forces there for a week.
• Korkie Kryze reported that teachers and students from the Mandalore Royal Academy of Government wanted to join Bo-Katan’s team if she could guarantee their safety.
• Korkie Kryze said his classmate Lars’s father would bring five hundred armed public security officers to join the rebellion.
• Master Chief John-117 reported that Vizsla’s forces planned to airlift supplies near Secundus City, and Jango Fett chose to attack them with John despite Bo-Katan’s concerns.

Private Darko recalled happier days at Secundus City Stadium as he documented his fear and disillusionment after the Vizsla government forces executed civilians following the city's surrender. As his depleted company went to collect water, he saw the dead civilians and wounded prisoners forced to operate the damaged water plant.

• Darko remembered watching Mandalore defeat Alderaan at the Galactic Cup three years earlier and wrote about his father's death in a terrorist attack.
• He recorded that the Commander had ordered three thousand residents of Secundus City executed and that he had avoided taking part by claiming he was injured.
• Darko wrote that his company was nearly out of ammunition and supplies and hoped the fighting would end.
• Darko joined Company 17 to collect water after it had lost 120 men, with many wounded soldiers suffering in an inadequately equipped field hospital.
• Darko saw bound civilian corpses on the way to the water plant and found wounded Rebel Alliance prisoners operating its sole functioning machine.

Darko and Company 17 moved to defend the loading platform after Jango Fett and his Super Soldiers destroyed a transport ship carrying desperately needed supplies. Darko survived the massacre by lying still, then broke down at the sight of the ruined battlefield.

• Darko watched missiles destroy the transport ship just after he received water.
• The lieutenant ordered Company 17 to assemble and advance to the loading platform.
• Darko saw Jango Fett and his Super Soldiers attack the soldiers around the burning wreck.
• A warrior marked Unit 117 landed among Company 17 and killed the soldiers, while Darko dropped his empty rifle and lay still.
• After the fighting subsided, Darko saw the dead and wounded across the ruins and vomited in terror.