Chapter Summaries

Tang Xiao proposed using the Killik Swarm against the Grysk Hegemony, despite warnings about its danger and its ability to assimilate outsiders. Admiral Qiyala then revealed a preserved survivor from the FateSpinner, whose escape pod had kept him safe from the destruction.

• Tang Xiao proposed feeding selected Killik colonies the dead from the Grysk campaign so their numbers would grow.
• Rassidan and Admiral Qiyala warned Tang Xiao that the Killiks were dangerous, could assimilate people into their hive mind, and lacked meaningful space-combat ability.
• Admiral Qiyala said the Killiks had spread outward from Yoggoy and numbered at least tens of billions, while Tang Xiao promised to contact them personally.
• Rassidan dismissed Mongal-Mongal as a true threat, and Tang Xiao asked Qiyala what plans she had for the Grysk Hegemony.
• Admiral Qiyala revealed that an intact body had survived aboard the FateSpinner and explained that the survivor had locked himself in an escape pod.

Tang Xiao discovered that an Agbui survivor had resisted Grysk control and learned that the Agbui were telepaths who helped the Grysk prepare minds for control. The Agbui homeworld, Agb Planet, was known to lie along the Chasdemonus Route, giving the group a possible lead to the hidden Grysk homeworld.

• Tang Xiao deduced that an undead survivor had hidden in an escape pod instead of obeying Jikstus’s orders and summoned him for examination.
• Tang Xiao absorbed the Agbui’s soul and recovered fragmented memories identifying the species as telepathic.
• Tang Xiao explained that Agbui sensed minds through touch and could probe a person’s relatives and friends the longer contact lasted.
• Rassidan and Rosales concluded that the Agbui helped the Grysk synchronize with people before taking control of them.
• Kess Maxwell realized that finding the Agbui homeworld could lead them to the Grysk, and Tang Xiao revealed that Agb Planet lay along the Chasdemonus Route.

Tang Xiao assigned forces to confront the Grysk threat and planned to investigate the Killiks, while a Bosa mercenary investigated a massacre at a slave-trading bar on Chalseden Planet. The chapter ended when soldiers bearing a red-and-white umbrella insignia entered the bar for an inspection, provoking the Bosa's fury.

• Oola-Khan and Sola-A volunteered to secretly investigate the Chasdemonus Route for the Agbui homeworld, and Tang Xiao assigned them the mission.
• Tang Xiao assigned Admiral Qiyala and High Templar Rassidan to intercept the Illumine Kingdom of Kilji, while other forces guarded Csilla, aided Anita, and searched for Grysk activity.
• Tang Xiao set out for Catlia to establish contact with the Killiks and investigate how the Celestial Ones had caused their ancient decline.
• A Bosa mercenary questioned a bartender about the Royal No. 4 Bar, where nearly fifteen hundred people had been killed overnight after slave traders brought in more than twenty people from Cerea.
• A squad of soldiers entered the bar for an epidemic prevention inspection, and the Bosa reacted furiously to their red-and-white umbrella insignia.

Oliver learned that Umbrella Corporation was experimenting on Cerea with the T-Veronica Virus and that a Cerean girl suspected of being immune had escaped Royal No. 4 Bar. He returned to his group with information that she was last seen at Spaceport 19, and they prepared to find her.

• U.B.C.S. mercenaries searched the patrons at Red Water Bar while Oliver concealed his anger and avoided provoking them.
• The bartender told Oliver that infected Cereans had spread an unknown virus at Royal No. 4 Bar and that Umbrella had quickly sealed the scene.
• The bartender revealed that a Cerean girl had escaped and was last seen heading toward the spaceport after U.B.C.S. searched a cargo warehouse.
• Oliver told the bartender they would find the girl and stop Umbrella's experiment on Cerea.
• Oliver returned to his group at a thermal power plant and reported that the girl had been at Spaceport 19 that morning.
• A Cerean in Oliver's group called for them to find the girl and stop Umbrella's T-Veronica Virus research.

Oliver’s group planned to find the surviving Cerean girl and expose Umbrella’s experiments, even as they feared U.B.C.S. Alfred Ashford then faced a warning from Major General Lin Nanyi over the Ant Colony Plan’s failures and Alfred’s ambitions to marry Sherry Birkin.

• Oliver explained that the surviving Cerean girl was valuable because she alone had survived infection with the T-Veronica Virus, and his group planned to search for her near Spaceport 19.
• A Cerean man volunteered to disguise himself in women’s clothes and draw U.B.C.S. away from the girl, while the Bosa condemned Umbrella’s experiments and the prospect of war.
• Alfred Ashford praised expensive wine with Major General Lin Nanyi, who challenged him over deaths in the Ant Colony Plan trials and the T-Veronica Virus outbreak on Chalseden Planet.
• Alfred claimed that four U.B.C.S. battalions would contain the outbreak, but Lin poured out his wine and warned him against pursuing a marriage alliance with Sherry Birkin or mishandling the plan.
• After Lin left, Alfred slammed his fist on the table, furious at the warning and still intent on gaining more control of Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group.

Alfred Ashford struggled to contain a crisis in the Ant Colony Plan after a suspected T-Veronica-compatible host was found among trafficked Cereans, while Alexia Ashford had already dispatched U.S.S. to capture the target. Alexia warned Alfred to keep the experiments secret and ordered him to advance the project, leaving their rivalry and her ambition to surpass Sherry Birkin unresolved.

• Sergei Vladimir told Alfred Ashford that U.B.C.S. had failed to capture the compatible host and recommended deploying U.S.S., warning that Rebel Alliance members might include Jedi Knights.
• Alfred refused to deploy U.S.S. and panicked that Tang Xiao would discover the experiments on Cereans, then contacted Alexia Ashford.
• Alexia revealed that she had already sent U.S.S. after the host and explained that she had concealed the experiments by reporting they were being conducted on Noi-Haang Planet.
• Alexia reminded Alfred that the Cerean experiments could expose him to severe consequences, and Alfred insisted that the host would be captured that afternoon.
• Alfred argued that he deserved to pursue Sherry Birkin, but Alexia said Sherry was a perfect G-Virus-compatible host and beyond mortal reach.
• Alexia told Alfred to continue the Ant Colony Plan because Sherry had made progress on Mongar-Mongar research, and revealed that she had dealt with his toys.

Alfred Ashford reacted to Alexia Ashford’s contempt by slaughtering everyone at his estate, while Alexia dealt with a Rebel Alliance raid that stole a compatible subject from Spaceport 19. The rebels escaped to Chalseden Planet with the girl and planned to expose Umbrella’s experiments and find a way to stop the Ant Colony Plan.

• Alexia warned Alfred that the Ant Colony Plan could not fail, then ended their communication, and Alfred discovered that his secret room of Alexia clones had been exposed.
• Alfred raged over his devotion to Alexia and his resentment of Sherry Birkin, then ordered thousands of B-1 battle droids to kill everyone at his estate.
• Sergei Vladimir reported that Rebel Alliance fighters and a Jedi had stolen a compatible subject from Spaceport 19, and Alexia ordered him to contain the incident and conceal the Cerea experiments.
• Alexia continued testing the Ant Colony Plan, a biological weapon intended to create controllable outbreaks and armies on target planets, before Lin Nanyi warned her to manage the fallout and keep Alfred in check.
• On Chalseden Planet, Bosa Oliver brought the rescued Cerean girl to Demi, who urged the rebels to relocate her, publicize Umbrella’s crimes, and study her T-Virus antibodies before seeking a chance to destroy the plan.

Oliver arrived on Takodana Planet and met with a contact to arrange the transmission of evidence that Umbrella Corporation was conducting human experiments on Cerea. The chapter left him preparing to publicize Umbrella’s crimes as the Rebel Alliance weighed how to oppose the Sith and the Duchy of Dawn continued settling Takodana.

• Takodana’s population grew as the Duchy of Dawn developed the planet, and its governor hired local smugglers to serve as public security forces.
• Oliver landed at a rough spaceport, hired a Dagg to repair his ship, and followed him to an inn.
• Oliver used a note to find an elderly Gran selling grilled meat at a roadside stall.
• Oliver paid the Gran to arrange transmission of information through a hyperspace relay station.
• Oliver told the Gran that the Rebel Alliance had evidence of Umbrella Corporation’s human experiments on Cerea and argued that the crimes had to be stopped.
• The Gran agreed to arrange the relay, while Oliver said the Duchy of Dawn was likely preparing Takodana for large-scale immigration from Rendili.

Oliver coordinated a rebel broadcast exposing Umbrella Corporation’s crimes on Cerea, but the operation was exposed and attacked by B-1 battle droids. Peggy Carter and Super Lotus stopped the broadcast, while Alexia Ashford faced prosecution threats and was left to handle the fallout on Chalseden Planet herself.

• The old Gran arranged for Oliver to receive a maintenance worker ID card through a soup shop and explained that local liberal groups would oppose the Duchy of Dawn but not help the Galactic Empire.
• Oliver sent a human comrade into a signal base station to broadcast accusations against Umbrella Corporation and call for a boycott of its products.
• When Oliver received no signal, he realized the operation was a trap and attacked the B-1 battle droids surrounding the base station with a rocket launcher.
• Super Lotus told Peggy Carter that she had intercepted the rebels’ public-opinion operation, and Carter credited her for identifying the likely communication sites.
• Alexia Ashford offered organizational donations to the National Security Bureau and Network Security Department, while Carter warned that Umbrella Corporation would be prosecuted for its crimes on Cerea.
• Alexia said she would explain the matter to the Grand Duke and agreed that Umbrella Corporation would handle the Chalseden Planet fallout without further help from Carter.

Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group deployed a Victory II-class Star Destroyer and searched Chalseden Planet for the immune Cerean girl whom the Rebel Alliance had rescued. Jedi Knight Demi remained trapped on the planet with the girl as Ghost Agents arrived, while Oliver and the others escaped aboard a cargo ship.

• A Victory II-class Star Destroyer bearing Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group's emblem arrived above Colony Seven, and Alfred Ashford ordered U.B.C.S forces to find the missing host.
• Alfred expanded the search across Chalseden Planet and concealed the situation to keep his sister from intervening.
• Jedi Knight Demi sensed Ghost Agents sweeping the area and realized that he and the Cerean girl could not leave the planet.
• The Rebel Alliance had rescued the immune Cerean girl after discovering Umbrella's experiments and suspected her immunity was important to its secret project.
• Oliver and the others escaped aboard a cargo ship, but Demi and the girl remained trapped on Chalseden Planet.

Jedi Knight Demi prepared to sacrifice himself to help the Cerea girl escape and destroy Umbrella Corporation’s experimental data. He attacked Alfred Ashford’s Star Destroyer in an Eta-2 fighter, drawing its fire over Colony Seven.

• Demi learned that Juke had been captured by a Ghost Agent and that the Rebels had killed him to spare him from having his mind destroyed.
• The Rebels told Demi they had secured a Republic-class transport and could assemble it in half an hour, and Demi promised to create an opening for their escape.
• Demi told the Cerea girl that he would also destroy Umbrella’s experimental data so the experiment could not continue.
• A mercenary Commander told Alfred Ashford that Umbrella had not yet found the compatible subject, and Alfred gave him two days to succeed.
• Alfred’s crew detected Demi’s Eta-2 fighter, prompting him to launch Vulture droids and fire the Star Destroyer’s weapons indiscriminately into the city.
• Demi evaded the Star Destroyer’s barrage and the Vulture fighters as civilians and buildings below were struck by the attack.

Jedi Knight Demi attacked Alfred Ashford’s Victory II-class Star Destroyer, forcing its crew to unleash energy pulses that devastated Colony Seven. After crashing into the warship and defeating its droids and a Ghost Agent, Demi continued deeper inside.

• Demi piloted his Eta-2 fighter through the Vulture droids and headed for the Star Destroyer’s open hangar.
• Alfred ordered a spatial bomb attack, whose energy pulse destroyed pursuing fighters and set fire to the western part of Colony Seven.
• Demi’s damaged fighter was destroyed by a second pulse, but he leaped into the hangar and fought through the droids.
• Alfred fled across the ship as Demi advanced into its interior.
• Demi sensed and killed a Ghost Agent, then escaped into a ventilation duct to continue deeper into the warship.

Jedi Knight Demi captured Alfred Ashford aboard Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group’s warship and demanded the destruction of the Ant Colony Plan’s research data. Alexia Ashford arrived, revealed her Force powers and mutated form, and attacked Demi while declaring her intention to study the Force.

• Alfred Ashford ordered the ship’s droids to hunt Demi, but Demi defeated them and forced Alfred to take him to the bridge.
• Demi interrogated Alfred about the Ant Colony Plan, demanded the experimental data be destroyed, and threatened him when he resisted.
• Alexia Ashford appeared and explained that she had come because she expected Alfred to fail; she dismissed the value of his life and refused to destroy the research data.
• Alexia revealed her Force sensitivity and transformed into a mutated creature covered in tissue resembling petals and vines.
• Alexia attacked Alfred with fireballs, but Demi pushed him aside and blocked them before Alexia struck Demi and announced she would use him as experimental material.

Alexia overwhelmed Demi, captured him, and injected him with mutagenic matter before heading for the bridge. After ordering the spaceport sealed to search for a compatible subject, she discovered that Alfred had surrounded the warship with fighters.

• Demi charged Alexia, but her fire and superior speed and strength drove him back.
• Alfred escaped to the hangar and ordered Umbrella's fighters and transports to surround the Star Destroyer and bring in reinforcements.
• Alexia seized Demi, burned him badly, and injected his neck with a tentacle, leaving him violently mutated.
• Alexia ordered a wider search for the compatible subject and told her forces to seal off the spaceport.
• Alexia saw the fighters packed around the warship and froze.

Alexia confronted Alfred over the escape of the compatible host and appointed him to Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group’s Supreme Board of Directors despite his protests. The destruction and deaths on Chalseden Planet became a major scandal, drawing widespread protests and the attention of Francis Underwood.

• Alexia told Alfred that several spacecraft had escaped and demanded he find the compatible host, while Alfred promised to search for her.
• Alfred rushed to the bridge, where officers restrained him as he tried to approach Alexia.
• Alexia appointed Alfred to Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group’s Supreme Board of Directors, and he warned that the decision would damage the company.
• Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group blamed slave traders and the Rebel Alliance for the viral outbreak and the Victory II-class Star Destroyer’s attack on Colony Seven, but offered no explanation for its role.
• The incident sparked protests across the Duchy of Dawn and drew the attention of Prime Minister Francis Underwood.

Francis Underwood struggled with the immense demands of relocating Rendili Planet and managing the Duchy of Dawn’s ties to the Galactic Empire and former Confederacy worlds, while worrying that Hari Seldon might replace him as prime minister. After Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group’s scandal on Chalseden Planet intensified his frustration, Francis sent Douglas Stamp to demand that Alexia Ashford take responsibility, leaving the response to be reported to Tang Xiao in three days.

• Francis Underwood dealt with the logistical burden of relocating Rendili Planet’s six hundred billion people and with diplomatic pressure from the Galactic Empire and former Confederacy planets.
• Francis saw Hari Seldon’s growing influence as a threat to his hopes of remaining prime minister and eventually becoming Imperial Chancellor.
• After Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group’s scandal on Chalseden Planet, Francis ordered Douglas Stamp to confront Alexia Ashford.
• Douglas accused Alexia of letting the incident turn into a public-relations disaster and threatened administrative action unless Umbrella accepted responsibility.
• Alexia agreed that Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group would handle the incident and assume responsibility, and Douglas said Francis would report the matter to Tang Xiao after their hyperspace call in three days.

Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group accepted heavy penalties for the Chalseden Planet disaster, while new troubles involving Alexia Ashford and Sherry Birkin threatened its work and Tang Xiao’s plans. Tang Xiao learned that Sherry’s research on Levik planet aimed to create a second Mongal-Mongal consciousness that could control and remove the existing infestation.

• The Prime Minister’s Office forced Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group to dismiss Alfred Ashford, demote senior managers, rebuild Colony Seven, and compensate the victims.
• Tang Xiao received news that Alexia Ashford had lost an important experimental subject and that rumors of illegal human experiments on Cerea were spreading despite Super Lotus’s intervention.
• Umbrella Corporation’s search for the missing subject drew the Rebel Alliance’s attention, and Alfred Ashford’s indiscriminate bombardment devastated Colony Seven on Chalseden Planet.
• Tang Xiao learned that Sherry Birkin’s research into Mongal-Mongal on Levik planet had run into serious problems while the planet and its hyperspace gate remained under lockdown.
• Sherry Birkin proposed cultivating a second Mongal-Mongal consciousness to command the existing fragments to leave Levik planet.

Sherry Birkin’s attempt to eradicate the Mongar-Mongar on Levik planet failed when a third consciousness escaped, forcing Tang Xiao to seal the planet again and reorganize Umbrella’s divisions. The chapter ends with Tang Xiao realizing the Duchy of Dawn’s expansion into the Unknown Regions had bogged down on both routes.

• Sherry Birkin’s second Mongar-Mongar consciousness secretly created a third consciousness, which escaped aboard cargo ships carrying clones.
• Lieutenant General He Ru’s fleet destroyed one cargo ship, but the others vanished, leaving Mongar-Mongar clones potentially drifting through space.
• Tang Xiao used the Force to threaten Sherry Birkin and ordered her to destroy the Mongar-Mongar; Levik planet was sealed and its stargate shut again.
• Tang Xiao split Umbrella into the Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group under Sherry Birkin, the secret Veronica Group under Alexia Ashford, and the Gene Engineering Company under Professor Modin.
• Professor Modin prepared to travel to Levik planet with a Geth squad to help contain the Mongar-Mongar threat.
• Tang Xiao concluded that the Duchy of Dawn’s two routes into the Unknown Regions had become mired in difficulties.

Tang Xiao forced the Togot Swarm to submit and fed its Mother Nest the corpses of more than seventy million Crustai. Afterward, he met Shien Morabito, the newly appointed governor of Chiss territory, and learned that another visitor was already examining the Killik specimens in the laboratory.

• Tang Xiao confronted the Togot Mother Nest, demonstrated his power, and demanded its submission in exchange for food.
• The Togot Mother Nest agreed to submit, revealed its core to Tang Xiao, and identified itself as the Togot Swarm.
• Tang Xiao delivered Crustai corpses to feed the swarm, prompting its workers to feast and the Mother Nest to lay eggs.
• An assistant told Tang Xiao that reinforcements from Dawn Star Planet had arrived, including his Gene Master, who was inspecting Killik specimens in the laboratory.
• Shien Morabito arrived, explained that he had taken a vacation before assuming his post on Csilla, and joked with Tang Xiao about meeting the Togot Swarm.

Tang Xiao discussed Chiss territory’s political problems with Governor Shien Morabito, who proposed using a campaign against the Killiks to rally public support. Evolution Master Abathur arrived and examined the Togot Swarm, revealing that the Killiks’ intelligence came from mysterious hidden genes; Tang Xiao then tasked him with controlling and strengthening the Togot Swarm so it could become the Killik Swarm’s sole heir.

• Tang Xiao asked Shien Morabito about Chiss territory, and Shien said the reforms had brought no visible benefits to the people.
• Shien proposed a great expedition against the Killiks to redirect internal conflicts and give the public a visible victory.
• Abathur entered Tang Xiao’s office and ate the collected Kilik specimens, prompting a laboratory biologist to report their disappearance.
• Abathur judged the Togot Swarm primitive but identified hidden genes as the source of the Kilik Swarm’s intelligence.
• Tang Xiao asked Abathur to bring the Togot Swarm under his control, strengthen it, and help it eliminate the other tribes; Abathur said it needed more essence and that Zerg genes could not be merged without comparative experiments.