Chapter Summaries

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.

Tiber Zayne and Shen Jon forced Silri to lead them to a hidden Sith legacy on a nameless planet, where they uncovered an army preserved in carbonite. The army was identified as the Immortal Army, and the temple trembled as Silri spoke its name.

• Shen Jon subdued Silri, who agreed to guide him and Tiber Zayne to the relic’s coordinates and explained that only the Sith Emperor’s inheritance could gain recognition.
• Six days later, the Rugerus reached the dangerous RJ3771791 system, and Silri confirmed the location of the nameless planet.
• Tiber Zayne, Shen Jon, Silri, and Urai Fen uncovered a buried temple bearing the symbol of Emperor Vitiate’s True Sith Empire and opened its entrance.
• They found thousands of warriors sealed in carbonite and a statue of their commander, Darth Capranis.
• Silri read the inscription and revealed that the legion was called the Immortal Army, causing the temple to tremble.

Shen-Jon and Silri learned that Darth Kapranis had created an Immortal Army for Emperor Vitiate, but the warriors had sealed themselves in carbonite after being abandoned. The group searched the temple for a way to awaken and control them, then found a preserved Sith alchemy laboratory below it.

• Shen-Jon read the stele and learned how Darth Kapranis created the Immortal Army and sealed its surviving warriors in carbonite while awaiting Emperor Vitiate’s summons.
• Shen-Jon explained that Vitiate had been defeated before Kapranis could return with help, and Silri realized the star map had passed through many hands before reaching Jabba.
• Tiber-Zayne celebrated the discovery and asked Shen-Jon how to awaken and control the army.
• Shen-Jon told Tiber-Zayne to search the temple, and Tiber-Zayne sent Ula-Fen to explore.
• Ula-Fen uncovered a hidden entrance and led the group down to a preserved Sith alchemy laboratory, which excited Shen-Jon.

Shen-Jon studied the ancient Sith laboratory and discovered how to take control of the carbonite-preserved Immortal Army. He used Crimson Lightning to awaken the ten thousand warriors, who assembled and awaited their new masters.

• Shen-Jon stayed in the laboratory with Silri to study its equipment while Tiber-Zayne and Ulay-Fen returned to the ship.
• Shen-Jon spent two days examining the devices and Darth Kapranis's experiment logs, then told Tiber-Zayne he had found a way to control the army.
• Shen-Jon explained that the warriors received commands through Kyber Crystals implanted in their heads and that he needed to make them accept him and Tiber-Zayne as masters.
• Shen-Jon struck the laboratory's scarlet Kyber Crystal with Crimson Lightning, sending energy through the carbonite blocks in the plaza.
• The Immortal Army broke free of the carbonite and assembled into one hundred formations, awaiting its new masters.

Shepard traveled to Crakull to enlist the Korloks and their Mind-harp against Mongal-Mongal, but their distrustful society and decades-long civil war made cooperation impossible. After intervening against both factions, she forced the Pistol Faction and Elder Faction to agree to a ceasefire.

• Shepard learned that the monstrous giants covering Crakull were Force Illusions created by the tiny Korloks.
• Shepard assessed how Mongal-Mongal had trapped the Korloks, whose Lugubra breeding and resource shortages had fueled a decades-long civil war.
• Shepard identified the Pistol Faction and the Elder Faction as the last two warring factions and learned that the Elder Faction controlled the Mind-harp.
• Shepard and her team kidnapped commanders, misled armies, stole battle plans, and disrupted supplies to stop the fighting.
• Shepard's operations forced both factions to agree to a ceasefire.

Shepard and Vishal investigated the Mind-harp’s origins after the Elder Faction refused to let her examine it. An elderly Korlok revealed that he had found it among Saru ruins and admitted he had exaggerated its powers to sell it, though its ability to cut off a planet’s energy and signals was real.

• Shepard and Vishal searched Crakull for someone who knew the Mind-harp’s history, moving freely because the Korlok feared Shepard and her allies.
• They found an elderly Korlok who admitted that he had invented the claim about isolating the Mongal-Mongal to raise the artifact’s price.
• The elder told Shepard that he had found the Mind-harp in a towering pyramid on the fifth planet of the Rafa system, among ruins of the ancient Saru civilization.
• The elder recounted that removing the Mind-harp had plunged the planet into a strange field that blocked energy and signals, while a voice in their minds identified the artifact and its protective power.
• After the Galactic Republic arrived to investigate the anomaly, the elder’s group fought over the Mind-harp, and he escaped with it to Crakull and sold it to the Korlok.