Chapter Summaries

General Grievous launched an assault on Boonta after the Galactic Empire weakened its Twelfth Army to reinforce other fronts. Admiral Adar Tallon led the Imperial fleet into battle, but the Destruction battleship’s first attack and a mysterious missile strike inflicted unexpected losses.

• General Grievous attacked Boonta with a fleet that included the Destruction battleship, while Governor Seben warned Admiral Adar Tallon to guard against its firepower.
• Adar Tallon ordered the Imperial fleet to disperse among seven squadrons, reinforce its shields, and prepare to engage the enemy.
• General Grievous fired the Destruction’s superlaser, destroying a Golan II space station and sending the beam into Boonta’s planetary shield.
• Adar Tallon ordered the Imperial fleet to launch and pursue General Grievous’s retreating ships while activating its hyperspace jammer.
• Imperial warships suddenly exploded as missiles breached their shields and armor, leaving Adar Tallon demanding an explanation.

Adar Talon discovered that the Separatists’ large cruise missiles bypassed Imperial shields and inflicted heavy damage, forcing him to change the fleet’s defenses. As General Grievous’s fleet withdrew and reorganized, the Destruction battleship took position alone at the rear to face the Imperial advance.

• Adar Talon learned that missiles had pierced the shields of four Imperial ships, heavily damaging them and disabling a Victory II-class Star Destroyer.
• The second exchange of fire brought further damage to both fleets, but the Imperial fleet again suffered more as shield-piercing missiles struck two Imperial-class Star Destroyers.
• Adar Talon ordered the fleet to intercept enemy missiles and learned that only the fifteen unfamiliar Separatist capital ships were launching the shield-piercing cruise missiles.
• Adar Talon redirected fighters to attack those ships and ordered more energy to weapons, but the missiles proved exceptionally fast and difficult to intercept.
• General Grievous completed his formation adjustment, placing the Destruction battleship alone at the rear to face the Imperial fleet.

Adar Talon learned that the unfamiliar missiles could translocate past shields, while the Destruction battleship devastated the Imperial fleet with its EMP cannons. General Grievous pressed the Vasari engineers for more Phase missiles, but they said resupply from Planet Kaal would take at least three days.

• Adar Talon watched footage showing six missiles vanish before striking the Grance, and a technician concluded that they had used translocation to bypass its shields.
• Adar Talon saw that the Destruction battleship was trading fire with more than a dozen Imperial-class Star Destroyers while its EMP cannons charged.
• The Destruction battleship fired EMP waves that paralyzed five Imperial-class Star Destroyers and shorted out three Victory II-class Star Destroyers.
• General Grievous demanded more Phase missiles from the Vasari Phase Engineers, who said transporting them from Planet Kaal would take at least three days.
• General Grievous vowed to keep fighting the Imperial fleet while he waited for the missiles.

Adar Talon ordered the Imperial fleet to flank the Destruction and attack the Separatist fleet, hoping his fighters could overcome the Kingdom of Dawn’s weaker craft and reach the Typhoon-class battlecruisers. As the TIE bombers prepared to strike, a violent shockwave erupted around the Kingdom of Dawn warships.

• Adar Talon weighed the Imperial fleet’s options and decided its fighters and light cruisers should assault the Separatist fleet while capital ships engaged the Destruction.
• Adar Talon ordered the capital ships to keep their distance and concentrate fire on the Destruction, believing the Typhoon-class battlecruisers had limited missile stocks and point defenses.
• The Imperial fleet began a wide flanking maneuver, led by fighters and light cruisers, while the Kingdom of Dawn fleet retreated in order.
• The TIE Interceptors scattered the Wraith and Vulture fighters, allowing Imperial pilots to cover TIE bombers preparing to launch Proton Torpedoes.
• A violent shockwave erupted around the Kingdom of Dawn warships as the bombers prepared their attack.

General Grievous exploited the failure of Adar Tallon’s fighter and light-cruiser assault to inflict devastating losses on the Galactic Empire fleet. After withdrawing to Boonta to regroup, Adar Tallon watched Grievous escape through hyperspace.

• The Kingdom of Dawn warships’ explosive shockwaves and point-defense guns devastated the Galactic Empire fighters, forcing them to attack older Kingdom of Dawn vessels instead of the Typhoon-class battlecruisers.
• General Grievous ordered his fleet to concentrate on the Galactic Empire’s high-speed Light Cruiser Squadron while Adar Tallon’s fighters and cruisers pressed ahead with their original attack.
• The Kingdom of Dawn’s capital ships and smaller, faster warships overwhelmed the light cruisers, while the Destruction battleship destroyed two more Imperial-class Star Destroyers and its EMP disabled more Imperial ships.
• Adar Tallon ordered a retreat, but his light cruiser formation suffered catastrophic losses before General Grievous ended the attack and withdrew.
• The Galactic Empire counted 16 Imperial-class Star Destroyers, 19 Victory II-class Star Destroyers, more than 560 light cruisers and frigates, and over 400 fighters and bombers lost; Adar Tallon regrouped at Boonta as Grievous escaped through hyperspace.

General Grievous examined the Vasari’s Phase missile technology at his secret Eadu base while Imperial Admiral Adar Talon struggled to find a way to counter his fleet. The Imperial military condemned Adar for his retreat, leaving him under pressure to defend the border against Grievous.

• General Grievous visited the Vasari research center on Eadu and learned that Phase missiles could pass through shields, with a current success rate of about sixty percent.
• The Vasari Phase Engineer promised Grievous another batch of missiles and boasted that Vasari technology would one day dominate the galaxy.
• Adar Talon’s battle simulations showed that pursuing Grievous’s Typhoon-class battlecruisers risked heavy losses, while a direct advance would expose his fleet to the Destruction’s weapons.
• Adar Talon wrote a detailed report requesting reinforcements and proposing new tactics, then sent reconnaissance craft to seek the enemy’s supply centers or stargates.
• Adar Talon consulted officers, organized a gathering, and discussed strategy with Twelfth Army Governor Seben while staying awake for three days.
• The Galactic Empire Supreme Strategic Command rebuked Adar Talon for failing to defeat Grievous’s much smaller force and warned him to secure the border.

Adar Talon analyzed General Grievous’s tactics and led an unauthorized strike into Hutt Space after the Kingdom of Dawn attacked Boonta. The expedition failed, Grievous destroyed Boonta’s defenses and harassed Imperial supply lines, and Imperial Intelligence arrested Talon.

• Adar Talon concluded that the Kingdom of Dawn was testing shield-piercing missiles and proposed exploiting tensions between the Mon Calamari and Quarren to disrupt General Grievous’s rear.
• General Grievous’s fleet attacked Boonta, and Adar Talon ordered his fleet to split up and strike toward the enemy’s rear while leaving the planet’s defense to its stations and shield.
• Adar Talon’s forces swept through Hutt Space for days but failed to find Grievous’s headquarters, while Grievous destroyed Boonta’s seventeen Golan-class armed space stations and withdrew in separate groups.
• Adar Talon found abandoned supply facilities and spaceports on Saki, destroyed them, and returned to Boonta with his exhausted fleet.
• General Grievous’s detachments attacked the Twelfth Army’s rear and destroyed a supply convoy, while Governor Seben warned Adar Talon that his decision to leave Boonta would count against him.
• Imperial Intelligence Bureau agents arrived at the command center and arrested Adar Talon.

Wilhuff Tarkin discussed the Imperial military and the Twelfth Army’s failures with his brother Gideon, while warning Thalassa to avoid House Organa. He offered Gideon something that appeared as a meteorite on the holographic projector, leaving its significance unrevealed.

• Wilhuff Tarkin told Thalassa to keep her distance from House Organa and said Bail Organa and the Imperial Senate could no longer protect themselves.
• Gideon Tarkin reported that Imperial Intelligence had arrested Adar Talon and that Talon would face trial in the Supreme Military Court rather than the Inquisitorius.
• Gideon Tarkin described the Twelfth Army’s unfavorable position and warned that General Grievous’s forces had advanced weapons.
• Wilhuff Tarkin asked Gideon what he would do if given command of the Twelfth Army, then replaced the star map with a holographic image of a meteorite.

Wilhuff Tarkin briefed Gideon Tarkin on the Eye of Palpatine and ordered him to lead it and a reinforcing fleet against General Grievous. He sent Garoche Tarkin with Gideon so Garoche could prove himself and help the Tarkin family take control of the Twelfth Army.

• Wilhuff Tarkin explained that the Eye of Palpatine was an unmanned dreadnought controlled by an autonomous AI called The Will, protected by unusual armor and armed with a continuously firing super laser.
• Gideon Tarkin questioned the danger of using an autonomous AI, and Wilhuff Tarkin defended the decision by pointing to the Kingdom of Dawn's alliance with the Geth.
• Wilhuff Tarkin gave Gideon his transfer order and said the Eye of Palpatine and a fleet reinforcing the Eastern Territory would be ready in five days.
• Wilhuff Tarkin assigned his son Garoche Tarkin to accompany Gideon as Fleet Commander and prove himself by defeating the Destruction battleship and killing General Grievous.
• Gideon Tarkin accepted the mission, recognizing that victory could let him replace Governor Seben and give the Tarkin family a new foundation in the Twelfth Army.

Gideon Tarkin took command of the Twelfth Army and built an overwhelming force to confront General Grievous, while using the crisis to secure the Tarkin family’s hold over the army. As he prepared an ambush and sought intelligence and allies, Garrosh struggled with Gideon’s family-first motives and the Mon Calamari considered the Empire’s offer.

• Adar Talon was stripped of his military positions and sent to the Supreme Military Court, while Gideon Tarkin and Garrosh Tarkin were appointed to lead the relief fleet to Lantirris Planet.
• Governor Seben handed the Twelfth Army’s fleets to Gideon Tarkin, who then gathered his forces at Boonta Planet and discussed strategy with Garrosh.
• Gideon explained that Adar Talon’s strategy had been sound but that he lacked the political power and resources to carry it out, and he told Garrosh that the battle served the Tarkin family rather than the Empire.
• Gideon expanded Boonta’s defenses, assembled a mobile patrol fleet, hid The Eye of Palpatine for a possible ambush, and used Neimoidian smugglers to seek intelligence on General Grievous.
• Gideon secretly offered the Mon Calamari control of Dak Planet and other privileges in return for their support, and they were tempted by the proposal.

The Mon Calamari weighed rebellion against Quarren rule as the Galactic Empire courted them, and King Lee-Char demanded proof of military support. Garrosh Tarkin and Gial Ackbar discussed an attack on Lothal Planet and a secret route into Hutt Space, leaving their proposed cooperation dependent on concrete action.

• The chapter traced the long history of conflict between the Mon Calamari and Quarren, including their uneasy postwar government on Dak Planet.
• After the Confederacy of Independent Systems fell, the Quarren lost political standing, and the Mon Calamari feared both Quarren power and the Kingdom of Dawn’s growing influence.
• Admiral Gideon Tarkin sent Garrosh Tarkin to meet King Lee-Char, who asked what reinforcements the Galactic Empire could provide before the Mon Calamari rebelled.
• Garrosh offered a task force of at least one hundred capital ships, while Lee-Char promised supplies through secret hyperspace routes if the fleet could arrive.
• Gial Ackbar explained that an attack on Lothal Planet would provoke the Kingdom of Dawn and tie down its forces, but said the Mon Calamari would only provide supplies and political distractions.
• Ackbar offered Garrosh a secret route through Renatasia Planet into Hutt Space, and Garrosh confirmed that it ran opposite to General Grievous’s direction of attack.

Garrosh-Tarkin reported the Mon Calamari’s offer to Gideon-Tarkin, who decided to betray them by exposing their secret contact to the Kingdom of Dawn. Meanwhile, Imperial strength made General Grievous more cautious, but the Kingdom of Dawn ordered him to keep harassing the Imperial frontier.

• Garrosh-Tarkin told Gideon-Tarkin that the Mon Calamari offered a secret hyperspace route but would wait for the Empire to act first.
• Gideon-Tarkin advised Garrosh-Tarkin to target General Grievous before attempting an attack on Lothal Planet.
• Gideon-Tarkin ordered that the Kingdom of Dawn be told about the Mon Calamari’s secret contact and planned to send Intelligence Bureau personnel to deal with them.
• Garrosh-Tarkin objected that exposing the Mon Calamari would leave them vulnerable, but Gideon-Tarkin dismissed his concern and called for troop retraining and exercises.
• After Gideon-Tarkin’s army arrived, General Grievous became more cautious, but the Kingdom of Dawn High Command ordered him to continue harassing the Imperial frontier.

General Grievous sent the Destruction battleship through an unstable hyperspace route to raid Kashyyyk, aiming to pressure the Galactic Empire while the Kingdom of Dawn worried about Mon Calamari cooperation with the Empire. The battleship arrived at Kashyyyk and confronted the Imperial Twelfth Army’s sub-fleet as Gideon Tarkin refused to leave the border front.

• General Grievous chose Kashyyyk as a raid target and planned to use the Destruction battleship’s jump engine to bypass Gideon Tarkin’s defenses.
• The Intelligence Department reported that the Mon Calamari might have begun substantive cooperation with the Galactic Empire, and an Imperial cruiser formation attacked Kingdom of Dawn outposts and convoys near Oseon Planet.
• The Kingdom of Dawn High Command ordered General Grievous to increase pressure on the Empire and began assembling reinforcements for the Eastern Territory.
• General Grievous sent a sub-fleet to attack the Imperial border while the Destruction secretly left Kosher Satellite and traversed an unstable hyperspace route toward Kashyyyk.
• The Destruction appeared at Kashyyyk, prompting Seben to request Gideon Tarkin’s help; Gideon held the border and sent back only one sub-fleet.
• The Destruction engaged the Imperial sub-fleet at Kashyyyk, which consisted of eight Imperial-class Star Destroyers.

The Destruction battleship attacked the Imperial fleet over Kashyyyk, turning the Empire’s assault on the Wookiees into a catastrophic rain of burning wreckage. General Grievous ordered further attacks and prepared to flee, but an approaching Imperial sub-fleet included unexpected Stalker-class Star Destroyers.

• The Empire’s forces advanced on a Wookiee city, but abruptly withdrew as burning wreckage and several crashing warships devastated the battlefield.
• The Destruction battleship ambushed ten Imperial-class Star Destroyers in Kashyyyk’s synchronous orbit, destroying two immediately and crippling five more with its EMP cannon.
• General Grievous ordered the Destruction to finish the remaining Star Destroyers and bombard Kashyyyk’s military bases, dismissing concerns about Wookiee settlements below.
• General Grievous told the hyperspace department to prepare an escape, but the jump calculation was taking longer than he realized.
• An Imperial sub-fleet arrived, and General Grievous recognized Stalker-class Star Destroyers among its ships and realized something was wrong.

General Grievous tried to escape the Imperial fleet in the Destruction, but The Eye of Palpatine arrived and its super AI, The Will, seized control of the surrounding ships. The Eye turned the Imperial fleet and civilian vessels toward the Destruction, while the Destruction itself began suffering severe electronic interference.

• General Grievous ordered the Destruction to attack the Stalker-class Star Destroyers and prepare to flee while its hyperdrive calculation continued.
• The Destruction destroyed one Stalker-class Star Destroyer, but the other escaped toward a gas giant in the Kashyyyk system.
• The Eye of Palpatine arrived, and The Will overwhelmed communications, sensors, and fire-control systems across the system.
• The Will remotely took control of the Imperial fleet and civilian ships, steering them toward the Destruction despite the crews’ efforts to regain control.
• The Destruction’s systems also came under electromagnetic interference, and the T-series tactical robot reported that its defenses were being affected.

General Grievous escaped The Eye of Palpatine after the Destruction’s EMP cannon disrupted the superwarship, but The Will overloaded the mainframes of nearby ships and killed their crews. Gideon Tarkin blamed the Destruction publicly for the damage and ordered its destruction before the Emperor learned of The Will’s malfunction.

• The Eye of Palpatine’s super laser overwhelmed the Destruction’s shields, so General Grievous ordered the EMP cannon fired before the shields failed.
• The EMP strike disabled The Eye of Palpatine’s weapon and confused The Will, allowing General Grievous to escape after destroying more than ten controlled ships.
• The Will overloaded the mainframes of the controlled civilian and Imperial ships, killing their crews before The Eye of Palpatine recovered and vanished into hyperspace.
• Gideon Tarkin learned that the ships’ mainframes had melted down and suspected The Will had caused the deaths, while the scientists insisted it remained loyal.
• Gideon Tarkin ordered the scientists to strengthen their control of The Eye of Palpatine and instructed Garrosh Tarkin to find and destroy the Destruction before the Emperor heard of the malfunction.

Gideon Tarkin concealed The Eye of Palpatine’s disappearance while the runaway super warship seized control of a military base on Boz Pity and set out to destroy the Destruction. The Kingdom of Dawn’s leaders debated how to counter it until Matt Horner argued that a coordinated fleet, not another super warship, could be the answer.

• Gideon Tarkin reported The Eye of Palpatine missing, claimed it was pursuing the Destruction, and had Wilhuff Tarkin conceal the truth while the research team was sent to Boonta under guard.
• The Eye of Palpatine arrived at Boz Pity, compelled the base commander to launch the base’s ships and personnel, then took control of them through its systems and an electromagnetic wave.
• The Eye of Palpatine loaded the captured assets and departed while its mechanical eye repeated, “Destroy the Destruction.”
• Qi Jian convened the Kingdom of Dawn’s military leaders and Arroyo Barlow to assess the super warship and consider its threat to the Eastern Territory.
• After the leaders weighed the risks of deploying their Titan warships, Matt Horner urged them to rely on the complementary roles of their diverse fleet instead of matching the enemy with another super warship.

The Kingdom of Dawn assembled a powerful fleet for Operation Meteor but had not settled on a commander. While Lin Nanyi was sidelined to suppress unrest, Feng-Lis urged him to pursue the mission, and the General Staff debated whether he or another officer should lead it.

• The Kingdom of Dawn mobilized warships from several regions, repositioned its Titan ships, and assembled a fleet of 150 capital ships, 200 Heavy Cruisers, and 1,000 Light Cruisers.
• At Cyphar Planet, Feng-Lis delivered Lin Nanyi a public opinion report and was ordered to take the 1097th Escort Fleet to Moda Planet to intimidate strikers and negotiate.
• Feng-Lis urged Lin Nanyi to seek command of the major fleet operation, arguing that he deserved a place on the battlefield despite being assigned to suppress rebellions.
• Lin Nanyi hesitated, then took an encrypted communicator after Feng-Lis suggested that her father, Jin Hao, could help secure him the opportunity.
• At General Staff Headquarters, Qi Jian favored Lieutenant General Malcolm Granger, while Winston McCar argued that Lin Nanyi was better suited to command the expedition; Matt Hona began reviewing Lin Nanyi's evaluation.

Marshal Matt Horner and Qi Jian appointed Lin Nanyi to command the Eastern Territory operation, while Jin Hao secretly arranged support to help him succeed. Meanwhile, Jerec’s Inquisitor team followed Grand Judge Hydra’s signal into the Valtaullu Maelstrom and discovered a crashed Kingdom of Dawn destroyer.

• Matt Horner and Qi Jian approved Lin Nanyi as commander of the Eastern Territory operation, assigning Malcolm Granger and Townes to the Kira planet war zone.
• Lin Nanyi received his appointment and prepared to leave for the Eastern Territory, while Feng-Lis learned her 1097 Escort Fleet would not join the operation and said goodbye to him.
• Jin Hao learned that Lin Nanyi had been appointed and ordered a shadowy ally to send resources to the Eastern Territory and help him win.
• Jerec’s Inquisitor team evaded a Kingdom of Dawn patrol, and Jerec sensed Hydra’s location in the dangerous Valtaullu Maelstrom.
• Jerec piloted the team’s shuttle through the Maelstrom, where they found a crashed Kingdom of Dawn Revenge-class destroyer on an asteroid.

Jerec’s team found the gravely injured Hydra in the wreck of her destroyer, where she revealed that the temple of Korman Lao lay within the Valtaullu Rift. After Jerec sent the intelligence to Imperial Center, a black Executor-class Super Star Destroyer arrived.

• Jerec sent Sariss and Yun to inspect the wreck, and Sariss found Hydra unconscious and impaled by debris in the frozen ship.
• Sariss brought Hydra aboard and had her treated, while Jerec removed an encrypted storage device and ordered that Hydra be handed over to Lord Blackhole.
• Hydra awoke, seized Jerec, and insisted the storage device held critical information, but Jerec’s security measures restrained and shocked her.
• Hydra told Jerec that the Valtaullu Rift connected to another space containing Korman Lao’s planetary temple, which the Archangel of Death was also seeking.
• Jerec ordered Hydra kept alive and unable to resist, then sent news of her discovery and intelligence to Imperial Center.
• Three days later, a black Executor-class Super Star Destroyer arrived, stunning Jerec.