Chapter Summaries

Olegar fought Fenix with the Soul Reaper Sword while the Priestess realized the weapon might be connected to the missing Soul of Vengeance. Fenix was overwhelmed, but Olegar abruptly froze as he was about to run him through.

• The Priestess recognized Tang Xiao's Soul Reaper Sword and suspected the Soul of Vengeance had caused its strange behavior.
• Olegar offered to spare the Priestess if she agreed to kill all Khalai Protoss, but she refused to betray the Protoss.
• Fenix charged Olegar and blocked his energy blast, then attacked with renewed psionic strength.
• Olegar wielded the Soul Reaper Sword to drive Fenix back while the Priestess and Judgment were kept busy fighting four Dark Templar.
• Olegar staggered Fenix with a psionic blast and thrust the sword toward his chest, but suddenly stopped moving.

Olegar was immobilized by the Soul Reaper Sword, where the spirit of Marka Ragnos revealed himself and challenged him. Marka Ragnos verbally dismantled Olegar’s identity and hatred while Olegar’s attacks failed to reach him.

• Olegar froze while holding the Soul Reaper Sword, giving Fenix time to recover as the other Dark Templars returned to Olegar’s side.
• Marka Ragnos spoke through the floating Soul Reaper Sword, introduced himself as the former Sith Emperor, and demanded that Olegar kneel.
• Olegar threw the sword away and attacked it with energy blasts, but an invisible force blocked each strike.
• Marka Ragnos mocked Olegar as a bodyless remnant consumed by hatred and argued that Olegar had lost his sense of self.
• The narration recalled Marka Ragnos’s long history of abusing visitors and explained that Olegar was badly outmatched in their verbal confrontation.

Olegar battled Marka Ragnos, who had awakened within the Soul Reaper Sword, while the Priestess and Fenix fought Olegar’s Dark Templar followers aboard the Glory. The chapter revealed that the Soul of Vengeance’s absorption had awakened the Sith spirits sealed inside the sword.

• Olegar attacked the Soul Reaper Sword after Marka Ragnos enraged him with insults, but the sword evaded his grasp.
• Marka Ragnos appeared, seized the sword, and fought Olegar, whose energy blasts could not stop his attacks.
• The Priestess and Fenix charged into battle against Olegar, while his four Dark Templar followers engaged them and their allies.
• Olegar realized Marka Ragnos’s bodiless spirit could withstand his attacks and possessed formidable psychic power.
• The Soul Reaper Sword had absorbed the Soul of Vengeance after Darth Malthael destroyed it, awakening Marka Ragnos and the other Sith spirits sealed within it.

After the Soul of Vengeance was defeated inside the Soul Reaper Sword, Marka Ragnos and the Sith spirits broke free of Darth Malthael’s control, and Marka declared the sword a Sith holy relic. Olegar then stole the sword, stirring the sealed Soul of Vengeance and drawing Marka Ragnos’s fury.

• The Soul of Vengeance entered the Soul Reaper Sword in a chaotic state and tried to devour Marka Ragnos and the other Sith spirits.
• Marka Ragnos led the spirits in a brutal struggle that annihilated at least six Sith Lords before they defeated the Soul of Vengeance.
• Darth Malthael split the Soul of Vengeance and sealed it in two black Kyber Crystals, but Marka Ragnos escaped his control and began abusing him whenever he used the sword.
• Marka Ragnos declared the Soul Reaper Sword a sacred Sith relic, and Darth Malthael left it aboard the mothership while heading for the Unknown Regions with an ordinary Lightsaber.
• Olegar stole the Soul Reaper Sword, and his connection to it awakened the sealed Soul of Vengeance, enraging Marka Ragnos.

Marka Ragnos battled Olegar while Judgment secretly corrupted Olegar’s Void Crystal with the Muur Talisman, destabilizing his power and transforming his controlled crew into Rakghouls. The crystal exploded and swallowed Olegar and the four Dark Templars, who vanished with the Soul Reaper Sword.

• Marka Ragnos manifested his spirit and fought Olegar as Fenix and the Priestess battled the four Dark Templars.
• The Dark Templars noticed Judgment had slipped away and found her beside Olegar’s Void Crystal.
• Judgment used the Muur Talisman to corrupt the Void Crystal, weakening Olegar and turning the crewmen and soldiers he controlled into Rakghouls.
• Olegar seized the Soul Reaper Sword and declared that he would return before the unstable Void Crystal exploded.
• The explosion created a spatial vortex that swallowed Olegar and the four Dark Templars, and the Priestess called their disappearance a kidnapping.

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.