Chapter Summaries

The chapter described how the Empire’s dependence on the Core Worlds nobles, inadequate military strength, and the Kingdom of Dawn’s attacks pushed Imperial rule toward collapse. On Coruscant, Imperial leaders argued over redeploying defenses, while Demetrius Zaarin arranged weapons tests for Palpatine to observe.

• The Kingdom of Dawn’s harassment of the Core Worlds and Scipio prompted nobles and senators to question whether the Empire could protect them.
• Ruffan Digorinus proposed moving Coruscant’s second-line Capital Defense Fleet to the front and deploying the Dominion Super Star Destroyer near Scipio.
• Oswald Tessik opposed Ruffan Digorinus’s plan, and Ruffan later warned Palpatine that Oswald held excessive authority on Coruscant.
• Demetrius Zaarin announced new weapons tests near Coruscant and invited Palpatine to attend.
• Palpatine approved the tests, which were scheduled for September 1.

Oswald Teseik worried that Palpatine and Ruffan Digorinus were weakening his control over the First System Army and destabilizing Coruscant. He confided in Demetrius Zaarin as he prepared to move the front line to Scipio, but the chapter ended before he could explain what he needed Zaarin to do.

• Oswald Teseik reflected on his growing conflict with Palpatine and Ruffan Digorinus amid the worsening rift between the aristocracy and the military.
• At the First System Army’s anchorage at Centax-2, Teseik contacted Demetrius Zaarin and discussed the Empire’s failing war against the Kingdom of Dawn.
• Teseik said pressure from the Emperor and Senate might force him to move the front line to Scipio, though he feared leaving Coruscant vulnerable.
• Teseik warned Zaarin that Ruffan Digorinus was growing too close to Noble House scions and could make the situation on Coruscant dangerous.
• Teseik told Zaarin he was the only person he could rely on and began giving him instructions for after his departure.

The Empire approved the Goalkeeper Plan to send the First System Army against the Kingdom of Dawn, while Palpatine reshaped the Imperial Center’s command and Marshal Oswald Tessik made secret preparations before departing. As Scipio remained exposed and Imperial tensions mounted, Cassian Andor arrived on Datar at Luthen’s urging for an opportunity to get rich.

• The Imperial military approved the Goalkeeper Plan, sending the First System Army toward Palanci to prepare a four-wave assault on Bilbrin.
• Palpatine turned away Oswald Tessik and replaced the First System Army in the Imperial Center with Ruffan Digorinus’s Capital Defense Fleet, alongside a three-way ruling structure with Sate Pestage and Isanne Isard.
• Before leaving, Oswald Tessik planted elite officers in the Capital Defense Fleet and left ten Imperial II-class Star Destroyers under Demetrius Zaarin’s cover, with the Majestic as their flagship.
• The Kingdom of Dawn’s harassment of Scipio heightened Imperial alarm because the planet held the Empire’s financial reserves and secrets, while the route from Bilbrin lacked strong defensive positions.
• On August 32, Cassian Andor complained to Luthen that he had been sent to Datar without good intentions, and Luthen called it an opportunity to get rich.

Cassian Ando was recruited into a dangerous operation with the Kingdom of Dawn to seize a precious-metals convoy traveling from Scipio to Aargau. He met Nova, the Kingdom of Dawn’s contact for the mission, who unexpectedly revealed that she knew about his sister Kerri.

• Luthen Rael told Cassian Ando that the Rebel Alliance would join the Kingdom of Dawn in robbing a convoy carrying two hundred tons of rare alloy, and warned him that refusing the mission was not an option.
• Luthen Rael confronted White Lotus, a Kingdom of Dawn spy, but she insisted her side would seize the convoy and revealed that their best agent had arrived.
• Cassian Ando traveled to a desolate site on Datar to meet the Kingdom of Dawn’s contact.
• Nova revealed that she had secretly boarded Cassian Ando’s ship and introduced herself as the contact for the operation.
• Nova asked who Kerri was, and Cassian Ando said Kerri was his sister.

Cassian Ando and Nova planned a heist to capture the Galactic Empire’s rare-alloy transport fleet from Scipio. Nova infiltrated the Imperial command center and obtained the fleet’s departure information, then prepared to sabotage communications before the fleet left.

• Nova offered Cassian Ando help finding his sister Kerri in exchange for intelligence and support, and he agreed to test the Kingdom of Dawn’s Ghost Agents.
• Nova infiltrated a guarded Scipio spaceport and located the mainframe while Cassian Ando’s contacts distracted an InterGalactic Banking Clan official.
• Nova set a fire to create an excuse for a firefighting ship to launch, then attached a data receiver to the spaceport’s mainframe.
• A Rebel Alliance technician implanted a virus, and Cassian Ando discovered that transport fleet K-7 would depart in four hours.
• Cassian Ando ordered Nova to plant a timed bomb at Scipio’s hyperspace communications relay station and help seize the fleet, which included an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer.

Major General Rocco Komona’s convoy lost contact with Scipio and suffered a suspicious cruiser explosion, while Cassian Ando’s disguised Rebel fighters infiltrated the Star Destroyer. The Rebels prepared to trap its Marines and create an opening for Nova to seize the ship’s computer and take control of its commander.

• After the K-7 convoy lost contact with Scipio near the black hole UX-8993920, Komona ordered three Aquitenes-class light cruisers to return and investigate.
• One cruiser exploded, but investigating Marines found no apparent damage, and its crew reported that the ship was operational after repairs.
• Unnoticed by Komona, Rebel fighters replaced more than a dozen Marines during the investigation, and a transparent figure hid aboard their shuttle.
• Cassian Ando revealed himself to the disguised Rebels and ordered them to seal off sections of the Star Destroyer to contain its 7,500 Marines.
• Cassian’s team planned to infiltrate the warship’s main computer and create an opportunity for Nova to take control of the commander.

Cassian Ando and the Rebel Alliance disrupted Major General Rocco Komona’s flagship, the Black, while Nova captured Komona and helped seize control of the warship. The Black’s systems came back online under Rebel control.

• Cassian Ando sealed several routes to the barracks and received a Password Cylinder from an Imperial engineer to access the weapons depot.
• An explosion and a crashed AT-AT blocked passages, trapping more than 7,000 Fourth Civilization Marines in the barracks as Reaper killed Imperial officers.
• Cassian Ando and Rebel fighters seized the main engine control room and shut down the Black’s power.
• Nova appeared on the bridge, held Major General Rocco Komona at gunpoint, and forced him to connect a data storage device to the ship’s central control system.
• Cassian Ando and Rebel technicians took over the warship’s systems, restarted its engines, and gained control of the Black.

Nova and Cassian Ando seized an Imperial Star Destroyer carrying rare alloys, but faced an Escort Officer who was a Dark Jedi Knight. After Nova killed him, the Rebel Alliance controlled the ship and its cargo, and Scipio’s rare-metal shipments were disrupted.

• Nova revealed that an Escort Officer could activate the transport ship’s self-destruct system, so she and Cassian Ando avoided warning the barracks.
• Nova cut off life support to the barracks, killing more than seven thousand Imperial soldiers, despite Cassian Ando’s objections.
• The Escort Officer confronted the rebels on the bridge, deflected Cassian Ando’s blaster fire, and hunted Nova through her cloaking and hologram tricks.
• A Rebel Alliance fighter charged the Escort Officer in an engineering machine and bought Nova time to fire three bullets that killed him.
• Nova, Cassian Ando, and the surviving rebels took control of the Star Destroyer, secured its rare-alloy cargo, and cut communications with Scipio.

White Lotus’s heist on the hyperspace route near Scipio prompted the Empire to rush the First System Army toward the region, advancing the Kingdom of Dawn’s plan to draw Imperial forces away from Coruscant. After discussing the stolen ore with Luthen Rael, she returned to her public identity as Sola Koen and went to meet her uncle, the incoming Deputy Minister of Finance.

• The Empire halted precious-metal shipments and sent thousands of warships toward Scipio as the Senate pressed for the Goalkeeper Plan and the retaking of Bilbrin.
• White Lotus watched the fleet mobilization from her balcony and recognized that the heist had accelerated the Kingdom of Dawn’s plan to draw the First System Army away from Coruscant.
• White Lotus asked Luthen Rael about the haul, and he reported that his side had seized eight thousand tons of rare alloy ore.
• White Lotus explained that the Banking Clan exaggerated its reserves and had internally reported ten thousand tons stolen to demand an Imperial recovery operation.
• White Lotus ended the call, then answered to her real name, Sola Koen, and followed her father to meet Uncle Dren, who had been chosen as the next Deputy Minister of Finance.

Sola Kohn recalled how she joined the Kingdom of Dawn’s Military Intelligence Department and built an intelligence network inside the Galactic Empire. As a White Lotus Group agent at a banquet, she reaffirmed her resolve to help overthrow the Core Worlds’ corrupt noble class.

• Sola Kohn trained with the Twilight Covenant on Drai II and fell in love with life on Dawn Star Planet.
• After learning she had become the Kohn family’s first heir, Sola chose to join the Kingdom of Dawn’s Military Intelligence Department.
• Sola returned to her family under an assumed backstory and took the codename White Lotus after befriending Super Lotus.
• Sola established an intelligence network beneath Coruscant and recruited overage Twilight Covenant trainees into the White Lotus Group.
• Lena Halder, Cassandra, and other White Lotus Group agents infiltrated Imperial society, using their charms to ensnare officials.
• At a banquet, Sola mingled with Imperial nobles and vowed to help the Kingdom of Dawn destroy the ruling class, declaring, “I am the Calamity!”

Tang Xiao traded cloaking technology to Borsk Feliya for intelligence on Scipio, while Helmut Zemo worried that the Dark Side was consuming Tang Xiao’s sanity. In Imperial Center, the Scipio heist intensified fear among the Empire’s elite, and Marshal Demetrius Zaarin reported breakthroughs on several advanced weapons and fighters.

• Tang Xiao confirmed to Helmut Zemo that the Galactic Empire’s First System Army was being redeployed to Scipio, but refused to explain his plan.
• Borsk Feliya asked Tang Xiao for cloaking technology, and Tang Xiao demanded Scipio’s defenses, fleet schedules, energy-core data, and financial-data-center location in exchange.
• Feliya accepted Tang Xiao’s deal, while Tang Xiao urged him to consider taking the Rebel Alliance’s leadership from Mon Mothma.
• The Scipio heist’s true significance spread among Imperial leaders and Core Worlds aristocrats, who feared the Empire could no longer protect them.
• Demetrius Zaarin reported breakthroughs in the TIE Defender, Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer weapon systems, and the Star Killer superweapon.

Emperor Palpatine emerged from seclusion and left the Imperial Palace amid growing unrest among Imperial officials. He traveled to Marshal Demetrius Zaarin’s secret weapons testing ground, where he encountered Inquisitor Arden Lyn.

• Palpatine’s return to public view brought Imperial officials, advisers, and Emperor’s Guards to the palace, where they watched him depart under escort.
• As Palpatine’s shuttle left Coruscant, officials exchanged unreadable smiles while political tensions within the Imperial Center neared an eruption.
• Palpatine’s shuttle entered the no-fly zone around Zaarin’s secret weapons testing ground and landed aboard the Star Destroyer Majestic.
• Demetrius Zaarin welcomed Palpatine and offered to show him his team’s recent achievements.
• Palpatine recognized Arden Lyn, the new head of the Imperial Inquisitorius, among Zaarin’s technical team.

Arden Lyn and Demetrius Zaarin lured Palpatine into a trap while forces secretly mobilized across Coruscant. As Zaarin presented the Star Killer aboard the Majestic, Palpatine ordered it fired at Dawn Star Planet, while Thrawn escaped his cell to investigate the gathering crisis.

• Arden Lyn pledged loyalty to Palpatine in exchange for his promise to summon her dead husband, Xendor, and Jing Fang agreed to confront the Emperor’s Guard while she and Hora handled Palpatine.
• Palpatine followed Demetrius Zaarin to the Majestic’s bridge, unaware that public security forces, Star Destroyers, Noble Houses, mercenaries, and gangs were preparing for unrest across Coruscant.
• Thrawn noticed unusual security deployments and Star Destroyers near the Imperial Palace, shot the guard outside his cell, and escaped using a Password Cylinder Palpatine had given him.
• Demetrius Zaarin presented the Star Killer, a superweapon capable of striking targets across ten thousand light-years and destroying a planet’s crust.
• Palpatine ordered Zaarin to fire the Star Killer at Dawn Star Planet immediately.

Demetrius-Zaarin and Umak Leth presented Palpatine with the Star Killer’s planet-destroying Particle Disintegration Bomb, but its delivery system remained vulnerable to interception. Zaarin then showed Palpatine an Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer prototype as Jing Fang approached Palpatine’s shuttle aboard the Majestic.

• Umak Leth explained how the Particle Disintegration Bomb could destroy a planet, and Palpatine praised its potential against Dawn Star Planet.
• Umak Leth admitted the Star Killer missile could be intercepted, prompting Palpatine to blast him aside and order Demetrius-Zaarin to find a way to deliver it.
• Demetrius-Zaarin reported that the Eclipse-class prototype could carry a scaled-down Death Star weapon and invited Palpatine to observe its test.
• The Majestic entered the restricted test zone while Palpatine’s two accompanying Star Destroyers were ordered to stay behind.
• Palpatine gazed at the Eclipse-class prototype as Jing Fang, disguised as ground crew, approached Palpatine’s shuttle.

Jing Fang and Arden Lyn launched an assault on Darth Sidious aboard the Majestic, while Demetrius Zaarin’s forces turned against the Emperor. The chapter ended as Arden Lyn struck from behind with her glowing mechanical arm.

• Jing Fang plunged the Emperor’s Guards into darkness, then attacked them with Teräs Käsi as a heavily armored Gamorrean burst from a container.
• Darth Sidious tried to seize Demetrius Zaarin, but Zaarin’s energy barrier blocked the Force attack.
• Arden Lyn revealed that she had betrayed Darth Sidious over his deception and the loss of her right hand, then charged through his Force lightning and punched his barrier.
• Demetrius Zaarin escaped the bridge while his loyal soldiers fought Darth Sidious’s guards outside.
• Arden Lyn pressed Darth Sidious with powerful attacks, resisted his Force black hole, and unleashed a roar that killed officers and soldiers on the bridge.
• Arden Lyn appeared behind Darth Sidious with her mechanical arm glowing with energy.

Arden Lyn wounded Darth Sidious with her Kyber-powered mechanical arm, but his Force Storm nearly overwhelmed her. Her disciple Hora ambushed Sidious and knocked him into a control console, leaving Arden Lyn to declare the fight over.

• Arden Lyn broke through Darth Sidious's Force barrier with her mechanical-arm punch and injured him.
• Darth Sidious unleashed a Force Storm that began erasing the bridge, and Arden Lyn barely survived by countering it with her arm and the Kace-Mer Talisman.
• Darth Sidious prepared to strike again as Arden Lyn's strength waned.
• Hora burst out of the holographic star map projector and struck Darth Sidious from behind with his Gaderffii stick.
• Darth Sidious crashed into a control console, and Arden Lyn told him the fight was over.

Arden Lyn captured Darth Sidious and brought him to Demetrius Zaarin aboard the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Honor as Zaarin moved to seize control of the Empire. When communications were jammed and the two Star Destroyers resisting him refused to surrender, Zaarin launched TIE Defenders, which overwhelmed the opposing fighters.

• Arden Lyn defeated Darth Sidious, took him prisoner, and agreed to deliver him to Demetrius Zaarin.
• Arden Lyn flew Darth Sidious to the Star Destroyer Honor instead of the Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer and contacted Zaarin.
• Zaarin ordered Palpatine to announce his abdication, but communications with Coruscant were cut off by jamming from two Star Destroyers.
• After confirming the source of the interference, Zaarin ordered the TIE Defender formation to attack and demanded the opposing ships surrender.
• TIE Defenders slaughtered the TIE Advanced X-1 fighters launched by the two Star Destroyers.

Wullf Yularen and Thrawn recognized that Imperial Center was on the brink of rebellion and prepared to counter it without alerting the conspirators. As coordinated attacks erupted after Palpatine left the Imperial Palace, Thrawn persuaded Imperial Marshal Ruffan Digorinus to assemble a fleet and crush the rebels.

• Thrawn warned Wullf Yularen that a rebellion was imminent, and Yularen agreed to secure the situation while concealing their response.
• Thrawn proposed seizing military command, identifying allies, and dividing Coruscant’s communications zones, then went to seek Ruffan Digorinus and assemble a fleet.
• After Palpatine left the Imperial Palace, gangsters rioted, mercenaries ambushed security forces, communications centers and spaceports were attacked, and officials forced the Imperial Senate to convene.
• Thrawn was brought in restraints before Ruffan Digorinus, who admitted he was tempted by the Emperor’s throne but agreed to act against the rebels and provide a fleet.

Isanne Isard and Marshal Ruffan Digorinus mobilized the Imperial Homeland Defense Bureau and Thrawn to crush the Coruscant rebellion while cutting off communications from Palpatine’s capture site. Thrawn identified a rebel organizer in the financial district and left to rescue Palpatine, while the rebels’ forced Senate session stalled because the Emperor never appeared.

• Isanne Isard mobilized the Imperial Homeland Defense Bureau, and Ruffan Digorinus sent its clone soldiers to suppress the riots across Coruscant.
• Ruffan placed eighteen Imperial II-class Star Destroyers under Thrawn’s command, while Thrawn ordered the two ships guarding Palpatine to jam communications with Coruscant.
• Demetrius Zaarin discovered that he could not report Palpatine’s capture and sent TIE Defenders to attack the two Star Destroyers blocking his communications.
• Thrawn used the communications blackout and battlefield reports to identify the financial district as the location of a rebel organizer, then departed to rescue Palpatine.
• Rebel senators and nobles forced Mas Amedda to convene an emergency Senate session, but Palpatine did not appear to make the promised announcement.

Cassius Alcott announced Palpatine’s deposition and tried to force the Senate to approve it while Thrawn led a fleet to rescue the Emperor from Zaarin’s forces. Thrawn’s attack began to disrupt Zaarin’s formation, but an Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer appeared and opened fire.

• Cassius Alcott declared Palpatine deposed, announced a Provisional Governing Council, and ordered rebel soldiers to force senators to sign the resolution.
• Thrawn assembled the Star Destroyers and Light Cruisers available to him and rushed toward Zaarin’s weapons testing zone to rescue Palpatine.
• Thrawn used a spread-out, rotating attack to exploit gaps in Zaarin’s formation and sent twenty Light Cruisers toward Zaarin’s flagship, the Star Destroyer Honor.
• An Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer appeared as Thrawn’s Light Cruisers entered the inner battlefield and opened fire.