Chapter Summaries

Alexia Ashford confronted Sefrans Tann over the failed ant swarms and agreed to unleash her power on Fondor Planet, pending Tang Xiao’s decision on its fate. Alexia then descended to the planet in her black Luukri-Hok-class battleship’s core ship.

• An officer summoned Alexia Ashford to the bridge after Sefrans Tann could not reach her.
• Alexia told Sefrans Tann that more ant swarms would not defeat Fondor’s robots and noted that the first five hundred thousand had been destroyed.
• Alexia insisted that conquering Fondor required her power, and Sefrans Tann agreed to her plan while reserving the final decision for Tang Xiao.
• Alexia returned to her black Luukri-Hok-class battleship and flew its core ship toward a mountain on Fondor Planet.
• Ten Behemoth-class battlecruisers bombarded the ground and escorted Alexia’s core ship to a successful landing.

Alexia Ashford transformed her core ship into a nest and unleashed the T-Veronica Virus against Fondor Planet’s defenses. As the infestation spread, Sefrans Tann continued the blockade and considered how to capture the planet before the Galactic Empire could rebuild its fleet.

• Alexia Ashford transformed into Veronica's Queen, entered the nest, and ordered troops to attack another Energy Center.
• The nest spread tendrils through the power plant, absorbed bodies and robot wreckage, and released swarms of infected insects across Fondor Planet.
• The virus produced an army of mutated creatures that attacked nearby facilities and drove many Imperial Stormtroopers to flee.
• Sefrans Tann’s Second Task Force maintained its blockade of Fondor Planet, while destroyed hydroponic farms and hunger pressured residents to surrender.
• An adjutant reported Alexia’s nest near the Odall Mountains, and Sefrans Tann acknowledged how disturbing it was.

Alexia Ashford’s T-Veronica colony overwhelmed Fondor Planet with millions of creatures while Sefrans Tann’s forces supported its advance, leaving the planet close to collapse. As the Galactic Empire prepared to reinforce Fondor, Wilhuff Tarkin asked Blackhole for help and accepted a debt in return.

• Sefrans Tann ordered Colonel Yi Hai to silence commanders objecting to fighting alongside Alexia’s monsters and deployed armored forces to support the colony.
• Alexia’s nest expanded across Fondor, spawned satellite nests from energy stations, and produced a vast army that broke the planet’s defenses with Kingdom of Dawn air and ground support.
• About ten days later, Fondor’s resistance had collapsed into isolated industrial zones, and the Empire’s intelligence suggested the vital world would soon fall.
• Emperor Palpatine ordered Wilhuff Tarkin to reinforce Fondor while Darth Vader continued the siege of Yag'Dhul, and Tarkin sought assistance from Blackhole.
• Blackhole agreed to help Tarkin reinforce Fondor and told him he owed a favor.

Hydra, an Imperial Inquisitorius Grand Judge who specialized in Force-related incidents, infiltrated Fondor Planet with four subordinates to investigate the crisis surrounding Alexia's mother nest. After crashing her shuttle and crossing a factory filled with mutants, Hydra and her team entered the underground facility.

• Hydra piloted a Lambda-class shuttle past the Kingdom of Dawn's cloaked Wraith fighters and entered Fondor Planet's atmosphere.
• Hydra's shuttle crashed in a mountain hollow while mutant creatures swarmed the wreckage, but Hydra had already escaped to a nearby cooling tower with her four subordinates.
• Hydra rebuked her subordinates and ordered them to investigate what had brought Fondor Planet close to desperation.
• Hydra and her four companions charged into the underground factory, where the companions used red Lightsabers to fight the mutants.
• The group encountered grotesque mutant creatures and writhing structures that combined plantlike roots with animal forms.

Hydra and four Inquisitors reached the power station at the heart of the monster infestation and followed a tentacle tunnel toward the hive’s true body. After surviving repeated attacks, they entered a massive incubation chamber, where the tentacles fled upon Hydra’s arrival.

• The Inquisitors escorted Hydra through the overrun factory district to a power station transformed by viral spores, plants, and mutated growths.
• Hydra froze and shattered a tentacle feeding on the power station’s energy core, then ordered an Inquisitor to lead the group into its tunnel.
• A tentacle attacked them in the tunnel, but the four Inquisitors cut it apart with their Lightsabers.
• A tentacle-mounted eye recognized the group as Imperial Inquisitors and taunted them before withdrawing.
• Hydra led the group deeper through the tunnel as increasingly powerful monsters attacked from both directions.
• Hydra entered a massive incubation chamber where tentacles had been transporting energy materials, and they withdrew as soon as they saw her.

Darth Lilim killed High Inquisitor Halmere as Hydra arrived on Fondor, then flew toward Alexia’s mother nest. Hydra watched as the four Inquisitors with her fought an overwhelming horde of mutated creatures.

• Darth Lilim cornered Halmere in a destroyed spaceport and tormented him as he struggled to fight back.
• Halmere felt Hydra’s arrival and charged Darth Lilim, but she deflected his attack and killed him.
• Darth Lilim sensed that Hydra was a serious threat, summoned a shuttle, and headed for Alexia’s mother nest with Wraith fighters escorting her.
• Hydra’s four Inquisitors fought hundreds of powerful mutated creatures while Hydra watched and they dared not call for help.

Hydra fought her way through the hive and confronted Alexia Ashford, who swiftly killed three Inquisitors and left the fourth frozen by Hydra. Alexia turned to face Hydra, who had finally begun to fight seriously.

• Hydra froze the toxic pus and nearby monsters, then led the four Inquisitors deeper into the hive.
• Hydra cut through the monsters with two Lightsabers, including Count Dooku's, and reached the incubation chamber where Alexia Ashford emerged.
• Alexia attacked the Inquisitors, killing one with a punch and another by crushing his head.
• Alexia pierced a third Inquisitor's heart, while Hydra froze the last one as he tried to flee.
• Alexia grinned at Hydra and declared that she was next.

Hydra and Alexia Ashford fought through the brood nest, where Hydra used the Force and planted frost to outmaneuver Alexia and freeze the nest. As Hydra struck Alexia, a Victory II-class Star Destroyer opened fire on the brood nest.

• Alexia attacked Hydra, who evaded her blows with Force foresight and froze her in place.
• Alexia escaped the ice with flames and flying insects, then wounded Hydra with a punch that broke her forearm.
• Hydra used Shien/Djem So to pierce Alexia and damage her hands, while Alexia regenerated and retreated into the incubation chamber.
• Hydra cut off Alexia's nutrient supply and slaughtered the mutated creatures she sent against her.
• Hydra revealed that she had planted frost throughout the brood nest, freezing much of it and stopping its pulses, nutrient supply, and hatching.
• Hydra raised her Lightsaber as a Victory II-class Star Destroyer aimed at the brood nest and opened fire.

Hydra's assault nearly killed Alexia Ashford, but Darth Lilim intervened and drove the Grand Judge from the Mother Nest. With Alexia wounded and unable to sustain production, the Kingdom of Dawn forces overran Fondor Planet while the Galactic Empire failed to send reinforcements.

• The Kingdom of Dawn encircled the Mother Nest after Hydra invaded and began fighting Alexia Ashford.
• Alexia sent an emergency distress signal, and a Victory II-class Star Destroyer bombarded the Mother Nest to interrupt Hydra's killing blow.
• Darth Lilim joined the battle and, after a fierce duel, severed Hydra's left arm and forced her to flee through the breach.
• Alexia admitted that Hydra's power exceeded her calculations, while Darth Lilim vowed to track and kill her.
• Darth Lilim ordered the full assault on Fondor Planet as Kingdom of Dawn forces destroyed its factories and defeated its ground defenses.
• The Galactic Empire sent no reinforcements, and Fondor Planet collapsed.

The Kingdom of Dawn’s forces captured Fondor City and advanced toward Oridin City, where Octavian Grant prepared the 20th Army to make a final stand. Meanwhile, Darth Vader learned that Imperial forces on Yago-Dul had suffered heavy losses and considered detonating explosives in their occupied zones to breach the planet.

• After a month-long siege, the Kingdom of Dawn’s forces captured Fondor City on January 21, leaving Oridin City exposed.
• Octavian Grant ordered every available person and droid armed and sent to defend Oridin City, declaring that he would hold the final line.
• An officer told Darth Vader that Hydra and Fondor’s defenders had been out of contact for more than a week.
• Darth Vader received a report that Imperial troops on Yago-Dul had suffered severe losses and that most sectors had shifted to defense.
• Darth Vader asked whether detonating the nuclear bombs and Proton Bombs in occupied zones could breach Yago-Dul, and an officer said it might create a breach but would not destroy the planet.

Darth Vader ordered the Imperial forces to withdraw from Yago-Dur, then detonated Proton Bombs that tore a vast fragment from the planet and caused millions of casualties. Ling Liang pursued his retreating fleet while Baher Banak calculated that Yago-Dur would become uninhabitable and might be destroyed within fifty-five years.

• Darth Vader ordered the ground forces to evacuate within three days while droids covered the retreat, and Imperial transports abandoned heavy equipment and wounded soldiers.
• Ling Liang harassed Darth Vader's fleet with reinforcements and waited for General Sefrans Tann to free his fleet from the Fondor campaign.
• Darth Vader detonated Proton Bombs on Yago-Dur, splitting the planet and killing Imperial troops, droids, and millions of others.
• Ling Liang held her First Task Force in a defensive posture despite her fury, while Darth Vader's fleet began withdrawing and she followed it at a distance.
• Baher Banak calculated that the damage would speed Yago-Dur's rotation, make it uninhabitable, and possibly destroy it within fifty-five years.

After the Empire’s explosives crippled Yag'Dhul’s orbit, the Givin sought help from Tang Xiao as the war between the Kingdom of Dawn and the Galactic Empire became a stalemate. Imperial leaders were forced to consider defending the Core Worlds as defeats in the Northern Territory and the siege of Fondor threatened vital planets.

• The Empire’s underground explosions stripped about eight percent of Yag'Dhul’s mass and disrupted its rotation, leading Givin calculations to predict the planet’s eventual destruction.
• The Givin began evacuating their people, recalculating Yag'Dhul’s trajectory, and sending an embassy to Dawn Star Planet to request Tang Xiao’s help.
• The destruction of Yag'Dhul ended the Kingdom of Dawn’s hopes of defeating the Empire within a year and pushed the war into a stalemate.
• Mar-Tuk defeated Kendal Ozzel’s fleet near Bilbrin, then began bombarding the planet’s outer defenses.
• Reports of the Northern Territory crisis and the siege of Fondor reached Imperial Center, forcing the Empire to debate how to protect the Core Worlds.

Darth Vader’s destruction of Yag'Dhul forced the Kingdom of Dawn to reconsider its forward bases and left both sides controlling positions within the other’s territory. The chapter ended with Sefrans Tann attacking Ghorman Planet, where she damaged the Imperial base before Death Squadron withdrew.

• Darth Vader blew up Yag'Dhul, devastating its underground cities and ending its role as a military base.
• The Kingdom of Dawn’s Supreme General Staff Headquarters considered seizing Bestine IV or establishing a forward base on Fondor Planet, while Alexia Ashford remained dormant.
• Darth Vader dispersed fleets among nine star systems to protect his supply lines, while Sefrans Tann controlled Fondor Planet and Bestine Planet.
• On January 27, Sefrans Tann attacked Darth Vader’s forward base on Ghorman Planet, and Death Squadron reinforced it.
• The two sides clashed near Ghorman Planet for less than half a day; Tann lost seven capital ships, Darth Vader lost twenty-three, and Death Squadron withdrew after the base was damaged by Orbital Bombardment.

After Operation Zero’s advance was disrupted and the Empire survived its early defeats, Thrawn took command of the battered Imperial fleet at Bilbrin Planet. He set aside a report on its condition and focused on studying Mar Tuuk, the Neimoidians, and the Trade Federation.

• The Galactic Empire’s advance stalled after Sefrans Tann’s aggressive campaign left its rear exposed to Darth Vader’s counterattack.
• Dunn Vesex transferred Thrawn to Bilbrin Planet to stop the Commerce Guild Fleet after Kendall Ozir was dismissed for his defeat.
• Thrawn inherited a demoralized fleet of battered ships, while Mar Tuuk’s Commerce Guild Fleet had recovered much of its strength.
• Vos Parker gave Thrawn a report on the Imperial fleet’s condition, but Thrawn asked instead for information on Mar Tuuk, the Neimoidians, and the Trade Federation.
• Thrawn told Vos Parker to leave gathering and analyzing such matters to him.

As Admiral Mar Tuuk’s Commerce Guild Fleet destroyed Bilbrin Planet’s asteroid fortresses, Thrawn emerged from seclusion and ordered the Imperial fleet to retreat. Mal Sikander tried to arrest him for abandoning the fortress world, but Dunn Vesex upheld Thrawn’s authority as fleet commander.

• Thrawn studied Neimoidian culture while Mar Tuuk analyzed his opponents and led the Commerce Guild Fleet’s attack on Bilbrin Planet’s asteroid defenses.
• Mar Tuuk’s fleet destroyed more than seventy armed asteroids, while the Imperial fleet held back without orders from Thrawn.
• Thrawn emerged from his quarters and ordered the fleet to abandon Bilbrin Planet and retreat.
• Mal Sikander accused Thrawn of fleeing, threatened him with his Lightsaber, and declared him under arrest.
• Vos Parker defended Thrawn, and Dunn Vesex ruled that Thrawn’s retreat was a professional military decision outside the Inquisitorius’s authority.

Dunn-Vesex backed Thrawn against Inquisitorius interference and secured Darth Vader's promise of Judicial Department assistance. As the Imperial fleet withdrew from Bilbrin Planet, Mal-Sikande arrested Thrawn, but an unknown woman struck him before he could take Thrawn away.

• Dunn-Vesex rejected Mal-Sikande's demand to override Thrawn's plans and ordered Thrawn to proceed with the withdrawal to Palanci Planet.
• Dunn-Vesex contacted Darth Vader, who agreed that the Judicial Department should assist if Thrawn's military operations were being interfered with.
• On January 34, 10 BBY, Thrawn's fleet evacuated Bilbrin Planet after destroying its energy facilities.
• Mal-Sikande arrived with three Inquisitors, declared Thrawn stripped of his command, and ordered his arrest.
• A woman spoke from behind Mal-Sikande and knocked him flying with a single punch.

Aden-Lin and Second Sister intervened when Mal-Xikande confronted Thrawn, forcing the Inquisitors to retreat and leaving Thrawn in charge of Bilbrin Planet’s defense. As the Imperial fleet withdrew, Admiral Mal-Tuk ordered the Commerce Guild fleet to seize the fortress for the Kingdom of Dawn.

• Aden-Lin and her three companions swiftly subdued Mal-Xikande’s Inquisitors, while Second Sister destroyed Mal-Xikande’s terminal and challenged his claim that he was investigating.
• Mal-Xikande threatened to take the Judicial Department to the Imperial Military Tribunal, then retreated with his subordinates after Aden-Lin released him.
• Aden-Lin asked Thrawn whether he still had problems, and Thrawn requested the two women’s help against the Jedi Knights.
• Second Sister affirmed that the Emperor trusted Thrawn’s judgment about Bilbrin Planet, and Thrawn thanked her confidently.
• Admiral Mal-Tuk learned that the Imperial fleet was withdrawing and ordered the Commerce Guild forces to capture Bilbrin Planet for the Kingdom of Dawn.

Thrawn used the time Mal-Tuk spent occupying Bilbrin Planet to rebuild his fleet and evacuate Palanci Planet’s wealth. Driven by his ambition to win glory for the Neimoidians, Mal-Tuk launched an attack on Palanci Planet before Bilbrin was fully secured.

• Mal-Tuk spent days clearing armed asteroids and occupying Bilbrin Planet, while Thrawn returned to Palanci Planet to repair and reinforce his fleet.
• Thrawn arranged a warship trade-in with Kuat Drive Yards and began transferring Palanci Planet’s wealth to Scipio.
• Mal-Tuk’s forces struggled against hidden droids, destroyed infrastructure, and armed asteroids, suffering heavy engineer casualties.
• Mal-Tuk reflected that the Neimoidians needed a major victory to secure their place in the Kingdom of Dawn, and set his sights on Scipio.
• On February 13, 10BBY, Mal-Tuk led his fleet across the Bilbrin system to attack Palanci Planet before his occupation of Bilbrin was complete.

Admiral Mar-Tuk’s Commerce Guild fleet captured Palanci Planet while Imperial forces retreated, then he found the Empire’s main fleet at Vakar Planet. Facing the risk of leaving either route exposed, he decided to divide his forces and attack Vakar Planet for a decisive battle.

• Admiral Mar-Tuk ordered the Commerce Guild fleet to attack the Imperial ships guarding Palanci Planet, forcing them to retreat after heavy losses.
• Mar-Tuk bombarded Palanci Planet until its Planetary Shield fell, then sent Marines to seize the capital and establish a New Deal government.
• Mar-Tuk spent six days moving his fleet from Bilbrin Planet to Palanci Planet and dispatched reconnaissance drones to locate the Empire’s main fleet.
• Mar-Tuk discovered the Empire’s main fleet at Vakar Planet, west of his intended route toward Scipio.
• Mar-Tuk decided to leave part of his fleet to defend Palanci Planet and launch a surprise attack on Vakar Planet.

Thrawn lured Mal-Tuk's fleet away from Palanci Planet and repeatedly retreated, forcing the Kingdom of Dawn fleet to fight without reliable supplies. Mal-Tuk continued pursuing him toward another uninhabited system, while Thrawn predicted that Mal-Tuk would soon change tactics.

• Thrawn explained that abandoning Bilbrin Planet had given Mal-Tuk a route, a forward base, and information about the Imperial fleet, then ordered his ships to prepare for a hyperspace jump.
• Mal-Tuk's vanguard arrived at Vakar Planet, but the Imperial fleet counterattacked briefly and fled into an uninhabited system.
• Mal-Tuk realized that Palanci Planet was difficult to supply and defend, while Vakar Planet offered little beyond food and had been stripped of strategic resources.
• Mal-Tuk ordered his fleet to occupy Vakar Planet and pursue Thrawn; after a fierce battle in System UX00144, the Imperial fleet escaped again and left behind an empty forward base, which Mal-Tuk destroyed.
• Thrawn told Vos Parker that the Empire could build cheap modular bases far faster than Star Destroyers, but said Mal-Tuk's patience was nearly exhausted and he would likely change tactics.