Chapter Summaries

Ventress and Umbarian soldiers seized the Kent and turned its guns on the Republic forces, while Pong Krell blamed Cody and persuaded Anakin to help retake the ship. Cody escaped from the damaged prison and secretly made his way toward the bridge, suspecting the Umbarians had captured the Kent.

• Ventress bombarded the Kent’s hangar, then led Umbarian soldiers in a charge toward the bridge.
• Pong Krell’s assault on the Umbara capital suffered heavy losses before Anakin Skywalker’s 501st Legion attacked from another direction.
• The Kent destroyed a grounded Acclamator and bombarded both Pong Krell’s troops and the 501st Legion.
• Pong Krell falsely told Anakin that Cody had betrayed them and arranged to meet him at the Kent’s Hangar Platform.
• Cody woke in the damaged prison, escaped, and hid from Umbarian soldiers while making his way toward the bridge.

Cody discovered Pong Krell conspiring with Asajj Ventress aboard the seized Kent, but Ventress detected him and cut off his escape. Anakin arrived to investigate and found Cody, only to be ambushed by Ventress as Krell attacked Cody.

• Cody overheard Pong Krell and Asajj Ventress plan to retake the Kent and kill Anakin, but Ventress sensed him and destroyed the ventilation duct.
• Anakin and Ahsoka discussed their suspicions about Krell and the claim that Cody had seized the Kent; Anakin decided to board alone.
• Anakin flew into the Kent through its damaged hangar and met Pong Krell, who claimed he had found no one aboard.
• Cody emerged from a maintenance passage and warned Anakin that Krell was a traitor and Ventress was aboard.
• Krell attacked Cody, and Anakin intervened; Ventress then struck at Anakin with her crossed red Lightsabers.

Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano fought Asajj Ventress and Pong Krell aboard the Kent warship, where Krell revealed his fall to the Dark Side. Cody helped them escape, leaving Krell to turn toward the bridge and secure victory in the battle for the Ombara planet.

• Anakin Skywalker fought Ventress while Ahsoka Tano blocked Pong Krell from joining the battle against Anakin.
• Pong Krell attacked Ahsoka, and Anakin broke away from Ventress to protect her and confront Krell.
• Anakin and Ahsoka struggled against Krell and Ventress as Krell's power grew and his eyes began to glow gold.
• Pong Krell unleashed Force lightning against Anakin, but Cody fired from the LAAT/I transport to give the Jedi an opening.
• Anakin hurled fighter wreckage at Krell, then helped Ahsoka reach the transport as he covered their retreat.
• Ahsoka piloted the transport through the hangar ceiling and out of the Kent warship, while Krell berated Ventress and headed for the bridge.

Anakin Skywalker reported Pong Krell’s betrayal and retreated from Ombara as Sefrans Tann’s fleet destroyed the Republic fleet at Ambria. On Rendili, Gali Ulan saw an opportunity to sell the Victory-class Star Destroyer to the Republic, but Bangjila Ulan ordered him to contact the Archangel of Death.

• Anakin Skywalker reported Pong Krell’s betrayal to the Jedi Order, withdrew his forces, and requested reinforcements.
• Sefrans Tann led the Destruction and its fleet to crush the Republic force assembling in the Ambria system, ending its planned counterattack on Onderon.
• Chancellor Sheev Palpatine and Master Windu joined a military conference to discuss the Republic’s response.
• Gali Ulan told Bangjila Ulan that the Ambria battle data could help secure Republic orders for the Victory-class Star Destroyer and promote the Victory II-class plan.
• Bangjila Ulan dismissed Gali Ulan’s excitement and told him to contact the Archangel of Death.

Bangjila Ulan decided to seek the Archangel of Death’s support by offering Adele Ulan in a marriage alliance, while secretly preparing to seize control of Rendili’s defense fleet. At the Republic Ship Supervision Committee meeting, the Kallak-class light cruiser was approved for continued procurement.

• Bangjila Ulan told Gali Ulan that Rendili’s shipbuilding proposals were unlikely to survive the Republic’s review and ordered him to offer Adele Ulan in a marriage alliance with the Archangel of Death.
• Gali Ulan agreed to continue submitting the Victory-class and Victory II-class proposals while secretly arranging a dinner with the Ship Supervision Committee’s vice chairman.
• A cloaked woman appeared before Bangjila Ulan, and he ordered her to ensure his targets could be killed within ten minutes and to protect Adele Ulan.
• On October 22, 21 BBY, the Republic Ship Supervision Committee began reviewing recent naval combat performance and new shipbuilding proposals on Coruscant.
• The committee approved continued procurement of Damorian Manufacturing Corporation’s Kallak-class light cruiser for the next year.

The Republic Ship Supervision Committee reviewed warship procurement, approving orders for some vessels and rejecting others. Gali Ulan arrived to find the major manufacturers divided into powerful blocs, then watched Kuat Drive Yards secure enormous contracts while Rendili StarDrive remained sidelined.

• The committee ordered 1,219 Kallak-class light cruisers from Damorian Manufacturing Corporation and directed the company to revise them to carry starfighters.
• The committee rejected further procurement of the Centax-class heavy frigate because it could not counter Separatist Javelin-class missile frigates.
• Gali Ulan arrived as Rendili StarDrive's representative and saw Kuat Drive Yards and Corellia Engineering Company surrounded by allied companies, while Rendili's group had only its subsidiaries.
• Gali Ulan greeted the committee experts and privately cursed them for taking his money without helping him, while a Rendili/Van Jervaris Drive Yards representative signaled that everything was settled.
• The committee approved continued orders for 2,193 Pelta-class frigates and increased the Aquitenes-class light cruiser order to 4,000, prompting Gali Ulan to resent Kuat Drive Yards' political advantage.

The Ship Supervision Committee reviewed Kuat Drive Yards’ Hunter Class Battlecruiser, with Sheev Palpatine questioning its vulnerability to newer Separatist ships. Lila Blythex explained the design’s limitations and presented the Knight-class Star Destroyer as Kuat’s contingency plan.

• The committee chairman described the Hunter Class’s strengths and its growing vulnerability to the Kohl-class and Behemoth-class battlecruisers.
• Sheev Palpatine asked whether the Separatists had designed those ships to exploit the Hunter Class’s weaknesses, and the chairman confirmed they had.
• Lila Blythex explained that the Hunter Class was built to support planetary operations, leaving little room for armor, blast compartments, or future upgrades.
• Gali-Ulan privately accused Lila of claiming credit for her father Willix Blythex’s design.
• Lila presented the Knight-class Star Destroyer as Kuat Drive Yards’ contingency plan.

Lila Blythex presented Kuat Drive Yards’ Knight-class Star Destroyer, which Sheev Palpatine approved alongside a major Hunter Class Battlecruiser order. Gali Ulan later learned that Willix Blythex had designed the warship’s original basis and discussed the Republic’s fighter programs, while Rendili StarDrive appeared to be losing ground to Kuat and Republic Sienar Systems.

• Lila Blythex presented the Knight-class Star Destroyer, a 1,600-meter artillery-focused vessel with no hangars, and said Kuat was also developing the more versatile Imperator-class.
• Sheev Palpatine approved an order for 500 Knight-class Star Destroyers at 122 million credits each and ordered 600 Hunter Class Battlecruisers to transition toward carrier duties.
• Gali Ulan contacted Willix Blythex, who explained that Lila had based the Knight-class on his original Victory-class design and that the new ship fell short of its potential performance for its price.
• Willix Blythex said he had designed the V-wing fighter at Jedi Master Sass Tinn’s request because the V-19 could not adequately counter the Geth, and Gali expected the V-wing to replace it in a large production order.
• Gali Ulan told Willix that Republic Sienar Systems had Kuat’s support for a TIE fighter program seeking 10 billion credits in research funding, then ended the call without explaining Rendili’s position.

The Republic Ship Supervision Committee gave Rendili StarDrive only a token order for Victory-class ships, despite Gali-Ulan presenting their combat performance. Sheev Palpatine recognized that Rendili had been sidelined and expected it to descend into chaos.

• Kuat Drive Yards and Corellia Engineering Company secured hundreds of billions in orders while the Committee stalled Rendili StarDrive’s review and questioned the Victory-class combat data.
• The Committee ordered only twenty Victory-class ships, leaving Gali-Ulan furious at the paltry support for Rendili.
• Gali-Ulan announced that the Victory II-class preliminary design was complete and that five prototypes would be built within three months.
• Sheev Palpatine grinned at Gali-Ulan’s announcement and persuaded the Committee chairman to promise a special review of the prototypes.
• Palpatine summoned Mas Amedda and predicted that Rendili would descend into chaos because it could not receive orders; Mas Amedda questioned why Rendili would betray the Republic while it still hoped to sell the Victory II-class.

Palpatine suspected Rendili of planning a betrayal and ordered Mas Amedda to seize its Planetary Defense Fleet at the first sign of unusual activity. On Corellia, Tang Xiao met with Crimson Dawn leader Dryden Vos, who welcomed him nervously.

• Palpatine took Gali Ulan's composed expression as evidence that Rendili had a plan, though Mas Amedda doubted the conclusion.
• Palpatine ordered Mas Amedda to seize control of Rendili Planet's Planetary Defense Fleet if Rendili showed unusual activity, then told him it was time to end Rendili.
• The chapter described Corellia's shipbuilding industry, its five habitable worlds, the Corellian Corridor, and the criminal activity that had grown around the region.
• Tang Xiao visited Corellia and watched the industrial port as ships and construction machines worked around the planet.
• Dryden Vos, leader of Crimson Dawn, greeted Tang Xiao warmly and expressed gratitude that he had come to visit.

Tang Xiao visited Dryden Vos on Corellia while enjoying a temporary reprieve from the Dark Side’s influence. He warned Dryden that Darth Maul would target Crimson Dawn and told him to watch the Mandalorian system, while hinting at his own larger plans.

• Tang Xiao explained that the Dark Side’s influence had weakened, and that he had come to Corellia to recover and relax.
• Dryden Vos welcomed Tang Xiao, credited his spice supply for Crimson Dawn’s security, and said Madam Proxima had prepared a feast.
• Tang Xiao warned Dryden that Darth Maul was returning and intended to conquer Crimson Dawn.
• Dryden proposed striking first, but Tang Xiao said Maul had destroyed Black Sun and would be too powerful for Dryden to defeat.
• Tang Xiao told Dryden to watch the Mandalorian system for Maul within the next year so Tang Xiao would have time to respond.
• Dryden declined Tang Xiao’s invitation to become a Fleet Commander on Dawn Star Planet, and Tang Xiao hinted that he had a surprise planned.

Tang Xiao and Dryden Vos traveled through Corellia's underworld to meet Madam Proxima, where she welcomed Tang Xiao with a display of enslaved beauties. Tang Xiao showed no interest in the seduction but played along before Madam Proxima emerged from a pool to greet him.

• Tang Xiao and Dryden Vos walked through Corellia's violent harbor district, where Crimson Dawn's emblem kept passersby away.
• Dryden Vos complained about visiting Madam Proxima in the White Worm Gang's filthy territory, while Tang Xiao observed Corellia's underworld.
• Dryden Vos led Tang Xiao through an underground building and several checkpoints into Madam Proxima's chambers.
• Trained human and Tusken slave women surrounded Tang Xiao with a seductive dance, but he calmly surveyed the room.
• Tang Xiao laughed, grabbed the chains of several women, and approached the central pool as Madam Proxima emerged and asked whether he liked her surprise.

Tang Xiao reviewed the criminal businesses Madam Proxima and Dryden Vos ran for the Fourth Civilization, then offered them a major deal tied to Corellia’s future. He began explaining that Corellia was an artificially formed star system, setting up the revelation behind the proposed plan.

• Tang Xiao discussed how Yuri Orlov, Madam Proxima, and Dryden Vos supported the Fourth Civilization through arms dealing, spice smuggling, and slave trading.
• Tang Xiao dismissed the female slaves and had Madam Proxima secure the room against listeners.
• Tang Xiao told Madam Proxima and Dryden Vos that a major deal could let them rise into Corellian politics or become rulers of its underworld.
• Tang Xiao began telling them the origin myth of the Corellian system and revealed that Corellia was artificially formed.

Tang Xiao told Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima that the Kilik Swarm had created the Corellian system and hidden a planet-moving weapon in Midpoint Station. He revealed that the station could destroy planets across much of the galaxy, including Coruscant, and left Dryden and Proxima warning him not to activate it.

• Tang Xiao explained that the Kilik Swarm had artificially created the Corellian system by drawing planets from other systems with gravitational waves.
• Tang Xiao said the device was concealed at the Lagrange point between Talus and Tralus, inside Midpoint Station.
• Madam Proxima described Midpoint Station as an abandoned relic whose central sphere still powered Holo Town's lights and gravity.
• Tang Xiao warned that Midpoint Station could be activated and that its gravitational waves could move or destroy planets across at least half the galaxy.
• Tang Xiao revealed that Coruscant lay within the station's range, prompting Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima to urge him to leave the weapon alone.

Tang Xiao explained that Sacorria was secretly investigating Midpoint Station and suggested it might seek to make the Corellian Sector independent from the Galactic Republic. Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima were left shaken by the possibility.

• Tang Xiao told Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima that he did not expect them to seize Midpoint Station themselves.
• Tang Xiao said Corellia had not abandoned its research and that Sacorria was behind the investigation.
• Madam Proxima described Sacorria as a wealthy, strictly governed planet under the Corellian Sector’s authority.
• Dryden Vos argued that Sacorria’s close ties to Corellia made it unlikely to covet Midpoint Station.
• Tang Xiao proposed that Sacorria might be acting to free the Corellian Sector from the Galactic Republic, startling Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima.

Tang Xiao explained that the Sacorrian Triad planned to use Midpoint Station to overthrow the Corellian Governor’s Office, and he recruited Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima to prepare for the coming turmoil. He outlined a plan to expose the Triad and seize one of the Five Brothers’ control centers, leaving the next step unfinished.

• Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima asked Tang Xiao about Sacorria’s hidden rulers, and he identified the Sacorrian Triad as a secret council representing the planet’s three major races.
• Tang Xiao explained that the Triad sought to overthrow the Corellian Governor’s Office and had made Midpoint Station one of its research targets.
• Madam Proxima warned that her organization could not confront Sacorria alone, and Tang Xiao said he expected sector-wide unrest and wanted to secure an alliance with an independent Corellian Sector.
• Tang Xiao explained that Midpoint Station could be recharged through control centers beneath the Five Brothers, and Dryden Vos realized that occupying one could stop the process.
• Tang Xiao told Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima to put the Sacorrian Triad in the spotlight and find a way to seize one planet’s control center.

Tang Xiao recruited Madam Proxima and Dryden Vos to prepare for taking control of Midpoint Station, revealing that the Galactic Republic had less than two years left. Later, he encountered two young thieves in the Corellian district and recognized one of them as Han Solo.

• Tang Xiao explained that the five planets’ control centers could power Midpoint Station and told Madam Proxima to prepare to secure at least one of them before the Sacorrian Triad could act.
• Tang Xiao told Madam Proxima and Dryden Vos that the Republic would fall within two years, prompting them to celebrate and agree to prepare for the future.
• Alone on the streets, Tang Xiao reflected on his plans to expand the Fourth Civilization’s influence in Corellia and involve Darth Maul in his designs.
• Tang Xiao overheard a girl named Kira and Han Solo plotting to rob him, and recognized Han’s name.
• Han Solo ran into Tang Xiao and handed him a bundle while Kira stole the pocket from Tang Xiao’s waist, after which both young thieves fled.

Kira and Han Solo stole a bag of credits and a Lightsaber from Tang Xiao, then were cornered by Daggis and his men. As Han prepared to hold them off so Kira could escape, the Lightsaber ignited beside them.

• Tang Xiao discovered that Kira and Han Solo had tricked him and stolen his belongings, then followed their trail into the alleys.
• Kira and Han Solo counted 7,200 credits and recognized the stolen metal hilt as a Lightsaber.
• Daggis and his men blocked both ends of the alley and threatened to capture Kira and Han Solo for Madam Proxima.
• Han Solo urged Kira to escape while he held Daggis off, but a blood-red glow ignited beside them.

Kira accidentally activated Tang Xiao’s Lightsaber and slaughtered Daggis and his gang before Tang Xiao arrived. He rewarded Kira and Han Solo with two halves of a marked coin that could be exchanged together for one chance at his help, then left them with a cryptic remark about killing and a suggestion to dye Kira’s hair silver-gold.

• Kira’s Lightsaber activated and, while she panicked, killed Daggis and the other gang members in the alley.
• Tang Xiao arrived and stopped Han Solo from reaching Kira with an invisible barrier.
• Han Solo and Kira returned Tang Xiao’s belongings, and Kira claimed Daggis had forced them to steal.
• Tang Xiao kept the bag of credits and gave each teenager half of an ancient coin, explaining that the complete coin could buy one chance at his help for its holder.
• Tang Xiao left after warning Kira to remember the feeling of killing and suggesting she dye her hair silver-gold.

Tang Xiao finalized a plan with Madam Proxima and Dryden Vos to expand their influence on Corellia, then set off for Korriban. The story shifted to Ord Mantell, a tourist and banking hub renowned throughout the galaxy for its gambling industry.

• Tang Xiao watched the authorities collect the bodies left by his killings the previous night and noted that his Dark Side Force was recovering.
• Dryden Vos and Madam Proxima outlined plans to train children, build ties with Sacorria, and deploy Grindalyn enforcers.
• Tang Xiao arranged for specialists and intelligence personnel to support the Corellia operation, and told his allies to contact Yuri Orlov for weapons and equipment.
• Tang Xiao asked for a secret smuggling ship and announced that he was going to Korriban.
• The story introduced Ord Mantell as a tourism and financial center where strict banking privacy had helped gambling flourish.