Chapter Summaries

Sefrans Tann learned that the Kilik Swarm’s Joiners could not be cured and that destroying a hive would only stop their spread, so she took command of the Chiss defense effort. Equipped with signal-blocking helmets, she led a fleet to Jorib Planet to investigate the missing Imperial fleet and search for a hive.

• Abathur told Sefrans Tann that Joiners spread rapidly, could not be cured, and would remain part of the Kilik Swarm even if their hive was destroyed.
• Governor Shien Morabito warned Sefrans Tann that the Imperial fleet had vanished near Jorib Planet, whose moons and asteroids could conceal Kilik nests, and gave her tested signal-blocking helmets.
• Morabito said the Protoss were sending reinforcements and warned that conventional ship sensors could not reliably detect the Kilik Swarm.
• Three days later, Sefrans Tann confirmed that the helmets blocked the hive’s biological-wave signals and set out with twenty capital ships and one hundred cruisers.
• At Jorib Planet, Sefrans Tann ordered her fleet to conduct a thorough scan.

Sefrans-Tann sent Marines to investigate a crashed Victory-class Star Destroyer on Nogu Satellite, where Ye Chuan’s team discovered evidence of the Kilik Swarm and encountered bugs inside the wreck. The Marines called for support as more creatures rushed toward them through the darkness.

• Sefrans-Tann sent 200 fighters to scan Jorib Planet’s satellites, and one found a crashed Victory-class Star Destroyer on Nogu Satellite.
• Sefrans-Tann dispatched 500 Marines in CMC-300 powered armor, and Ye Chuan divided them between the wreck and a temporary camp.
• Ye Chuan’s group found a breach marked by green material and learned that two Proton Torpedoes had destroyed the ship’s armor and reactor.
• Ye Chuan’s Marines spotted and killed a giant bug inside the wreck, then heard more creatures approaching from the passageways.
• Ye Chuan ordered a retreat and called for support as the rear guard advanced and requested reinforcements from Sefrans-Tann.

Ye Chuan’s squad fought the Kilik Swarm inside the wrecked Star Destroyer as a gigantic underground creature swallowed the wreckage in quicksand. The Marines were rescued after the monster was driven back, and Abathur suggested the Kilik Creatures had evolved to use tools and exploit human technology.

• Ye Chuan ordered his squad to retreat while Second Squad reported that twisted wreckage and Kilik Creatures blocked its escape route.
• Kilik Creatures attacked with plasma, acid, bone spikes, and tentacles, killing and wounding Marines before reinforcements and battle droids arrived.
• The wreckage began sinking into quicksand as enormous tentacles dragged it underground, and General Sefrans Tann ordered the forces to attack the hidden monster.
• Ye Chuan’s squad withdrew under cover from the Destroyer droids and Scorpion Annihilator while transport ships and warships fought the creatures; the wreckage stopped sinking, and the surviving Marines were rescued.
• Sefrans Tann examined a Kilik Creature, and Abathur explained that the species had evolved to use tools and human technology.

Sefrans Tann’s forces uncovered Kilik Swarm brood tunnels beneath the wreckage on Nogu Satellite while Abathur prepared to locate the nests. Meanwhile, Palpatine secretly arrived in the Northern Territory with a massive fleet and surrounded Darth Malthael at Doku Planet.

• Sefrans Tann ordered the wreckage excavated, and an orbital mining ship lifted it to reveal two giant Kilik creatures and underground tunnels.
• Sefrans Tann sent battle droids into the tunnels, while Abathur arrived on Jorib Planet to study the creatures and find the Swarm’s signal organs.
• Darth Malthael learned General Trench would attack Bilbrin Planet on May 24, then sensed danger when Imperial ships began emerging from hyperspace near Doku Planet.
• More than fifty Imperial-class Star Destroyers arrived alongside the Lila Super Star Destroyer and surrounded Doku Planet.
• Palpatine revealed himself aboard the Lila, having secretly traveled to the Northern Territory, and Arden Lyn and the High Inquisitor knelt to greet him.

Darth Sidious used Battle Meditation from the Lila Super Star Destroyer to empower and control the Imperial fleet as it attacked Darth Malthael. Malthael slaughtered waves of fighters, then raced toward the Lila and used the Force to slow the Red Comet just enough to pass inside its shields.

• Darth Sidious enveloped the fleet in Battle Meditation, strengthening its forces, erasing their fear, and helping them resist the Death Force.
• Arden Lyn and the High Inquisitor launched in elite TIE fighters with two squadrons of fanatical pilots to hunt Darth Malthael.
• Darth Malthael used the cloaked Red Comet to destroy dozens of TIE Advanced fighters while Imperial interference slowed his hyperspace calculations.
• Arden Lyn and the High Inquisitor engaged Malthael, but he outmaneuvered their fighters and the surrounding fleet’s fire.
• Darth Malthael charged toward the Lila Super Star Destroyer and used the Force to slow the Red Comet enough to slip inside its shields.

Darth Malthael controlled Son as he battered the Lila Super Star Destroyer’s armor, while Darth Sidious attacked him and searched for a weakness. Sidious then unleashed repeated Force Storms against the Red Comet, where Malthael’s real body lay in a stasis pod.

• Arden Lyn sensed Son’s overwhelming power and fled as Son crushed dozens of TIE fighters with the Force.
• The High Inquisitor prepared to fight Son, but Sidious warned him to stay back; Son instead began punching through the Lila Super Star Destroyer’s armor.
• Sidious called for Gethzerion’s help through her gemstone, but it did not respond, and he cursed her before concluding that Malthael was being corrupted by Son’s power.
• Sidious gathered the fleet’s firepower against Son and shut down the Lila Super Star Destroyer’s shields so the bombardment could hit its own superstructures.
• Sidious used the battle as a feint, directing Son to the Red Comet and attacking it with repeated Force Storms while Malthael’s real body remained inside its stasis pod.

“Son” fought his way aboard the Lila Super Star Destroyer while Darth Sidious fled, and Darth Malthael struggled to keep control of the body. Malthael escaped in a shuttle as the uncontrollable Lila hurtled toward Doku Planet, where three Imperial-class Star Destroyers rammed it in an attempt to stop it.

• “Son” withstood Darth Sidious’s Force Storm, destroyed part of the Lila, and carried the stasis chamber into the ship while searching for the bridge.
• “Son” broke into the bridge, resisted Sidious’s lightning, and killed the High Inquisitor when the latter attacked from behind.
• Sidious fled after suspecting Night Queen Gethzerion was waiting to exploit the battle, while “Son” crushed the bridge crew and set the Lila on a collision course with Doku Planet.
• Sidious escaped in a TIE fighter, and Darth Malthael took a Lambda-class shuttle into hyperspace as he lost control of “Son.”
• The Lila continued toward Doku Planet, and three Imperial-class Star Destroyers rammed it in an attempt to stop it.

Darth Sidious discovered that Darth Malthael had escaped and executed the Imperial fleet captains he blamed, while his injuries worsened. Lila was brought down safely on Doku Planet, and General Trench resumed the Kingdom of Dawn’s offensive against Bilbrin Planet despite being outnumbered.

• Darth Sidious learned that a shuttle had escaped from the Lila Super Star Destroyer and realized Darth Malthael had fled; he ordered the captains across the fleet executed.
• The Imperial fleet worked to prevent Lila from crashing into Doku Planet, slowing it with three Star Destroyers and repairing its backup command system until it made a damaged landing.
• Lila was left stranded on Doku Planet, unable to take off, while Darth Sidious coughed up blood from his injuries.
• General Trench resumed the Kingdom of Dawn’s attack on Bilbrin Planet after repairing Archangel and gathering reinforcements, while Lieutenant General Dagon Niriz strengthened the Imperial defenses.
• General Gillard Perine continued his offensive against Ord Mantell, expecting the Empire’s superior numbers and the difficult hyperspace routes to wear down the Kingdom of Dawn.

General Trench's forces struck the Imperial fleet at Bilbrin Planet, then withdrew their two Titan warships from the system. Dagon-Nilz suspected they were heading to Ord Mantell, where the two Titans soon appeared.

• On May 20, 9BBY, General Trench opened the battle at Bilbrin Planet with a powerful bombardment led by the Archangel Titan warship.
• Dagon-Nilz dispersed his fleet behind armed asteroids, but the Kingdom of Dawn's Titan warships and other vessels inflicted heavy losses during four hours of fighting.
• The Archangel and Taowu Titan warships withdrew to the Kingdom of Dawn's forward base, where Dagon-Nilz continued strengthening his defenses rather than attacking.
• Sensor officers reported that both Titan warships had activated their hyperspace engines and left the Bilbrin system, prompting Dagon-Nilz to warn General Gillard Perine.
• After Dagon-Nilz began preparing an attack on the Kingdom of Dawn base, news arrived that both Titan warships had appeared at Ord Mantell Planet.

The Kingdom of Dawn’s two Titan warships arrived at Ord Mantell far sooner than the Galactic Empire expected, turning the battle against General Gillard Perine’s fleet. As the Imperial forces retreated, Rosen Fod destroyed Perine’s shuttle at the cost of his own life, and the Archangel’s Doomsday Weapon devastated the Imperial fleet.

• General Gillard Perine continued attacking Ord Mantell because he believed the Titan warships would take several days to reach the battlefield.
• The two Titan warships arrived unexpectedly, and Perine ordered his fleet to withdraw as General Trench launched the Kingdom of Dawn’s assault.
• The Taowu deployed its Fleet Shield while Kingdom of Dawn warships and fighters charged into the Imperial formation.
• Perine abandoned his flagship in a Lambda-class shuttle, but Rosen Fod pursued it and destroyed it with Gemini-III missiles before his own fighter exploded.
• Perine escaped in an escape pod, while the Archangel’s Doomsday Weapon destroyed four Star Destroyers and more than a dozen Light Cruisers, driving the Imperial fleet into retreat.

After the Imperial fleet suffered devastating losses at Ord Mantell and Kinasar Planet, Dunn Vesex withdrew forces toward Parlin-Minor while the Kingdom of Dawn expanded its Bilbrin base and prepared for a future assault on Scipio. The chapter ended as alarms sounded over Scipio and an unidentified fleet began destroying Imperial Interdictors along the hyperspace routes.

• General Trench pursued the retreating Imperial fleet to Kinasar Planet, where the Archangel Titan warship deployed a Hyperspace Beacon and Imperial forces fled in disorder.
• The Imperial fleet returned to Parlin-Minor with fewer than 300 capital ships, and Admiral Gillard Perine was hospitalized with serious injuries.
• Dunn Vesex ordered Lieutenant General Dagon Nielz to abandon Bilbrin Planet, requested Executor-class reinforcements, and recalled warships to Parlin-Minor.
• Dagon Nielz urged an attack on the Kingdom of Dawn's growing Bilbrin forward base, while General Trench ordered Luo Huacheng to hold the defensive line.
• On May 24, Luo Huacheng learned that Imperial warships were leaving Bilbrin Planet, and he requested more construction equipment and Dawn's Radiance-class motherships.
• On May 30, alarms sounded over Scipio as an unknown fleet attacked the Interdictors guarding its hyperspace routes.

The Galactic Empire’s defenses at Scipio came under attack as Geth fleets destroyed Interdictors and drew Imperial ships into pursuit. Major General Mosh Barris’s fleet was ambushed by an unfamiliar, fast-moving force whose powerful weapons began sinking Imperial-class Star Destroyers.

• The chapter described the Muun-Human struggle that split the InterGalactic Banking Clan and led to the Kingdom of Dawn’s earlier raid on Scipio.
• Alarms sounded as Geth fleets attacked Interdictors around Scipio, prompting Oswald Tessik to send Imperial forces after them and reinforce the system.
• Mosh Barris destroyed a Geth fleet and staged the destruction of another vessel for a war correspondent, dismissing further alarms.
• An unfamiliar fleet of thirty warships emerged from warp travel less than a thousand kilometers from Mosh Barris’s formation and charged at extreme speed.
• The unfamiliar ships unleashed rapid kinetic fire at close range, breached Imperial shields, and began sinking Imperial-class Star Destroyers within minutes.

Marshal Oswald Tessik confronted Moff Barris over abandoning his fleet during a Geth attack that destroyed most of the Imperial force. As Imperial technicians examined the wreckage, they found a strange designation: T-34-1.

• Oswald Tessik reprimanded Moff Barris for fleeing the battle and leaving his fleet to fight alone.
• Tessik reviewed the battlefield, where thirty Geth warships had destroyed twenty-eight Imperial-class Star Destroyers before all were eliminated.
• Imperial reports revealed that the Geth warships could accelerate rapidly, warp precisely beside their targets, and inflict powerful close-range attacks through shields and armor.
• Imperial technicians collected wreckage from the battlefield and found the designation T-34-1 on a damaged bridge console.

Marshal Oswald Tessik received a technical report on the Geth-operated T-34-1 King of Kings-class battlecruisers and learned that their crude construction concealed powerful weapons and engines. He dismissed the Separatists’ attrition strategy until he heard that the ships’ armor was made from mining scrap and might eventually fall apart.

• Technicians identified the recovered warships’ model as Megathron and reported that nearly all carried the T-34-1 designation.
• The Head of Technical Department told Marshal Oswald Tessik that the King of Kings-class battlecruisers lacked shields, life support, and anti-gravity systems but had fifteen-meter-thick armor and were controlled by Geth.
• The Head of Technical Department explained that the ships had advanced engines and Large Neutron Rapid Cannons that attacked with both particle beams and physical force.
• Marshal Oswald Tessik concluded that the Separatists were using cheap Geth-operated ships for attrition and mocked their strategy against the Empire’s industrial capacity.
• The Head of Technical Department reported that the ships’ uneven, impurity-laden armor appeared to be mining scrap and could begin falling off after extended use, wiping the smile from Tessik’s face.

Dagon Nierz’s attack on the Kingdom of Dawn’s Bilbrin base failed against Luo Huacheng’s prepared defenses, triggering a struggle over the Imperial fleet’s orders and withdrawal. At Ord Mantell, Tang Xiao convened a conference to decide whether to proceed against Scipio as the uncertain movements of Darth Vader’s Death Fleet threatened the Northern Fleet.

• Dagon Nierz ignored Dunn Vesex’s demand to preserve the fleet and attacked Bilbrin Planet with roughly 600 capital ships and 1,500 smaller warships.
• Luo Huacheng’s four defensive formations held against the Imperial assault, while Kingdom of Dawn fighters gained air superiority and inflicted heavy losses.
• After the offensive faltered, Dunn Vesex removed Dagon Nierz from command, and the Imperial fleet began withdrawing as the two authorities disputed whether it should leave Bilbrin Planet.
• Dunn Vesex and Supreme Strategic Command compromised on a partial withdrawal from Bilbrin and sent two Assertor-class Dreadnoughts to reinforce Parlin Minor Planet.
• Trench led the Kingdom of Dawn Northern Fleet in capturing Ithor Planet and advancing toward Parlin Minor Planet.
• Tang Xiao convened a military conference on Ord Mantell, where Qi Jian recommended postponing the attack on Scipio because Darth Vader’s Death Fleet might threaten Fondor or Kira Planet.

Tang Xiao demanded that Scipio be taken within three months, forcing Qi Jian and General Trench to consider a landing operation. After the meeting, Qi Jian reviewed the Kingdom of Dawn’s sprawling territory and fleet deployments, which showed how its military was organized around Titan warships.

• Tang Xiao ordered Qi Jian to take Scipio within three months, regardless of the cost, and warned that the next battle plan might be Qi Jian’s last.
• General Trench told Qi Jian that a landing operation was the only way to attack Scipio.
• Qi Jian examined a classified star map detailing the Kingdom of Dawn’s thirteen sectors and four Special Defense Zones.
• Qi Jian assessed that the Kingdom of Dawn controlled territory approaching one-third of the galaxy and had become the Galactic Empire’s greatest threat.
• Qi Jian reviewed the mobile fleets, including the Northern Territory fleet formed by merging the Taowu-centered home fleet with the Archangel-centered commercial fleet.

The chapter detailed the Kingdom of Dawn’s combat fleets, planetary defense forces, and immense logistical and escort networks. It ended by noting that the Kingdom’s military system also included the Geth, the Protoss, the Vasari, and former vassal states of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

• The Kingdom of Dawn’s main battle fleets, mobile squadrons, and defense fleets were described, including their deployments and strengths.
• The chapter explained how the Kingdom of Dawn’s defense fleets protected key worlds and strategic salients despite many of their ships being outdated or damaged.
• The Kingdom of Dawn’s logistics network was outlined, with more than 300,000 support vessels serving over 40,000 routes.
• The Kingdom of Dawn’s escort fleets were described, including more than 8,000 Grey Horse-class escort carriers and over 300,000 fighters.
• The Kingdom of Dawn’s military system was said to include the Geth, the Protoss, the Vasari, and former vassal states of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Former Confederacy of Independent Systems powers increasingly joined or supported the Kingdom of Dawn as its Eastern Territory expanded, while the Geth rebuilt their fleet with new technology and developed into three distinct factions. The chapter leaves the Kingdom of Dawn with a growing network of vassals and subordinate forces, including a Protoss community considering greater military involvement.

• Former Confederacy powers joined the Kingdom of Dawn as its fleet expanded into the Eastern Outer Rim, while others, including the Technological Alliance, secretly supported it or waited for protection.
• Lin Nanyi and General Grievous secured vassal states such as the Quarren and Semirians, giving the Eastern Territory greater stability and adding roughly 300 capital ships and thousands of smaller warships.
• Tang Xiao lifted technological restrictions on the Geth and supplied them with Gallente Federation technology, allowing them to build T-34-1 and standard King of Kings-class Battlecruisers.
• The Geth divided into Northern, Southern, and Drai II factions, with the Southern Geth integrating into the Kingdom of Dawn and the Drai II group developing under Protoss influence.
• The Protoss planned to combine their Purifiers technology with the Drai II Geth, and they began showing greater willingness to deploy their fleet alongside the Kingdom of Dawn.

The chapter contrasted the Protoss’ and Vasari’s plans to expand their power within the Fourth Civilization, while Qi Jian struggled to plan the Northern Territory Campaign without knowing the Vasari fleet’s strength. It ended with an Ayrou representative asking to deliver a Bird Spirit revelation directly to Tang Xiao.

• The Protoss planned to expand their forces by producing Geth Purifiers as laborers and combatants, while building up their fleet and increasing their population of Purifiers.
• The Vasari grew rapidly through genetic modification and prepared a hidden main fleet under Grand Strategist Kelslak, while adding warships to the Kingdom of Dawn Navy and secretly building a Titan.
• Qi Jian drafted plans to reinforce the Northern Territory and manage threats including Darth Vader, then summoned the Ayrou representative to ask about her people’s recent sacrifices.
• The Ayrou representative explained that the sacrifices celebrated the Bird Spirit’s revelation and said she wanted to report its contents directly to Tang Xiao.

Qi Jian reported that the Ayrou’s Great Bird Spirit God supposedly came from Dawn Star Planet, prompting Tang Xiao to investigate while he argued with Daughter about becoming the Force’s new Son. Tang Xiao rejected her proposed destiny but was shaken by the possibility that an unknown force had controlled his life, then left to meet the Ayrou.

• The Ayrou representative told Qi Jian that the Great Bird Spirit God had come from Dawn Star Planet, and Qi Jian agreed to report the claim to Tang Xiao.
• Daughter urged Darth Malthael to become the new Son, but he refused and questioned the sealed memories and downfall of the Kilik Swarm.
• Daughter argued that Darth Malthael’s use of Son’s power drew him toward that role, while he proposed joining forces to kill Darth Sidious.
• Qi Jian called Tang Xiao about the Ayrou’s oracle, and Tang Xiao ordered the representative to explain it in person after linking the claim to the Prisoner Olegar.
• Tang Xiao confronted Daughter about the unknown being that had brought him to this universe, but she said she knew nothing and called him the greatest variable in the universe.
• Tang Xiao declared that he would follow his own path and left for the Ayrou, while Daughter wondered whether even the Celestials could have experienced what he had.