Chapter Summaries

Mother Talzin showed Sola Balk the powerful Zabrak Savage Opress, whose immense Dark Side potential impressed him, while Tang Xiao learned of the turmoil on Mandalore and warned Jango Fett about the hidden mastermind. Jango insisted on fighting for Mandalore, and Tang Xiao told him to return and go to the Endor system for an opportunity.

• Mother Talzin took Sola Balk to watch Zabrak warriors fight and identified Savage Opress as a candidate for Count Dooku.
• Sola Balk sensed Savage Opress's strong Dark Side potential and agreed to observe him for several days.
• Jango Fett reported that Sola and Oola Khan had killed more than fifty Death Watch members in Sundari, while Prime Minister Almec struggled to contain the crisis.
• Tang Xiao said the Hermit and Duke Satine had disappeared and warned that a hidden mastermind intended to use Death Watch to control Mandalore.
• Jango Fett vowed to stop the mastermind and Death Watch, so Tang Xiao ordered him to return and go to the Endor system.

Tang Xiao and the Fourth Civilization’s military leaders analyzed Darth Tenebrus’s strategy across Semirres Planet and Mandalore. They concluded that he was maneuvering the Republic toward a later assault on the Fourth Civilization, especially the Yago-Dul system, while its enemies exhausted one another.

• Qi Jian said Darth Tenebrus had already secured his position in Mandalore and that the Fourth Civilization could not influence events there.
• Ling Liang explained that the Semirres Planet campaign diverted attention, drained both sides’ strength, and drew out the Republic’s Second Systems Army.
• Ling Liang said the Republic’s small and medium warships could overrun many planets but could not easily conquer heavily defended worlds without the trapped Fourth Army Main Fleet.
• Matt Hona and Qi Jian concluded that the Republic would likely send the Second Systems Army toward Mandalore, where Sefrans Tann could target it.
• Tang Xiao predicted that after the Republic’s forces were diverted or weakened, it would concentrate its remaining strength against the Fourth Civilization in the Yago-Dul system.

Tang Xiao and his advisers analyzed Darth Tenebrus’s scheme and planned to protect key systems and financial interests from the coming Republic and Tenebrus actions. Alone, Darth Malthael arranged to send Tenebrus’s corpse to Muunilinst and began preparing to turn it into a weapon.

• Tang Xiao and Helmut Zemo explained that Tenebrus was exploiting the war to draw Jedi Knights into battle and position himself to seize power after the Galactic Republic fell.
• Tang Xiao declared that Tenebrus must be killed and ordered his forces to protect the Yago-Dul and Eriadu systems, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Fourth Group.
• After dismissing his advisers, Tang Xiao went to his secret chamber, where Darth Malthael revealed that he planned to make Tenebrus’s corpse hunt its owner.
• Darth Malthael ordered a ship to take Tenebrus’s corpse to Abola Island on Muunilinst and required the Muuns to establish a month-long exclusion zone.
• Darth Malthael decided the corpse needed a vengeful soul and recalled that his master Darth Pregas had prepared one for him.

Darth Malthael returned to Abola Island and transferred his soul and Force talent from his failing clone into his original body. At the Sith altar, he addressed the spirit of Darth Venamis, whom Darth Pregas had once used in experiments and whose torment had tested Malthael.

• Darth Malthael landed on Abola Island and prepared the machinery linking his original body to Draper's stasis pod.
• Darth Malthael used Essence Transfer to awaken in his original body, while his former body became a zombie and then crumbled to dust.
• Darth Malthael descended to the hidden altar, where Darth Tenebrus's corpse remained in a neglected Bacta tank.
• Darth Malthael greeted Darth Venamis's spirit and recalled how Darth Pregas had tortured and revived Venamis for twenty years.
• Darth Malthael remembered enduring Darth Venamis's torment during his final trial under Darth Pregas and ultimately succeeding.

Darth Malthael used Darth Tenebrus's corpse and Death Force to restore Darth Venamis's vengeful spirit's connection to the Force. He sent Venamis into Tenebrus's body as a temporary vessel, and the corpse began convulsing.

• Darth Malthael opened the Bacta tank and revealed Darth Tenebrus's long-dead corpse, still saturated with Dark Side Force.
• Darth Venamis's vengeful spirit reacted to the Force emanating from Tenebrus's corpse.
• Darth Malthael used Death Force to torment Venamis and urged him to hate Darth Tenebrus and seek revenge.
• Venamis's spirit regained its ability to affect reality, but Darth Malthael quickly suppressed it.
• Darth Malthael gave Venamis Tenebrus's corpse as a temporary body, and Venamis entered it as the corpse convulsed.

Darth Malthael subdued Darth Venamis after the spirit possessed Darth Tenebrus's corpse, while Darth Tenebrus continued plotting through a new body and testing Tyber Zann. Obi-Wan Kenobi escaped with the captive Satine Kryze and vowed to bring her back.

• Darth Malthael restrained the resurrected Darth Venamis, destroyed the Proto-Body in the corpse with Crimson Lightning, and ordered him to regain his human wisdom within a month.
• Darth Tenebrus sensed that the Proto-Body in his own body had been destroyed and mused that Darth Malthael's body could become a valuable vessel.
• Tyber Zann reported killing a prisoner without extracting the secret Darth Tenebrus had tasked him with uncovering, and Darth Tenebrus threatened to abandon him and Zann Corporation if he failed.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi stopped the speeder in a white desert with the bound Satine Kryze and swore he would bring her back.

As the war entered its third year, the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems faced mounting casualties, financial collapse, and uprisings, while Fourth Civilization struggled to absorb Rendili StarDrive’s population and industry. With all three governments under growing pressure, they each chose to accelerate the war.

• The Galactic Republic’s offensives drove the Confederacy of Independent Systems out of much of the Mid Rim, while bombardments and the recall of the Clone Army left conquered planets devastated and hostile to the Republic.
• The Republic’s natural-born forces suffered more than sixty million deaths and over a hundred million wounded in one month, worsening the Republic’s financial crisis.
• Rush Clovis issued fifty trillion credits in encrypted paper currency, and protests and armed uprisings erupted as many families found the notes were not accepted.
• Count Dooku tried to secure the Confederacy’s economic independence, but corporate magnates resisted, the Technological Alliance considered returning to the Republic, and exploitation provoked further unrest.
• Daphne Clement struggled to integrate Rendili StarDrive’s sixty billion people and industrial facilities into Fourth Civilization’s strained resource system.
• As war pushed all three powers toward their limits, the Galactic Republic, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and Fourth Civilization each decided to accelerate the conflict.

Wilhuff Tarkin prepared a massive Galactic Republic invasion of Onderon, backed by Sheev Palpatine but limited by the Senate’s refusal to provide most of the requested escort fleet. With the operation moved forward, Tarkin set out to win a swift, brutal victory and secure control of the Fourth Army.

• Two months earlier, the Republic approved Tarkin’s plan to deploy seven million soldiers and vast supplies, but cut the escort fleet to five Hunter Class Battlecruisers and several retired Kallak-class light cruisers.
• A staff officer told Tarkin on Alderaan that Supreme Strategic Command had moved the operation forward by 49 standard hours.
• Tarkin told Palpatine he intended to crush the Separatists on Onderon and use fear to deter the Republic’s enemies.
• Palpatine promised to support Tarkin and said a flawless campaign could quiet Senate opposition and earn him the governorship of the Fourth Army.
• Tarkin declared that Onderon and its Behemoth-class battlecruiser production line would be destroyed, then departed for his flagship, Tarkin's Will.

The Galactic Republic Fourth Army’s fleet and ground forces were defeated in the Semirres system, though Admiral Trench’s fleet also suffered heavy losses. As the fighting wound down, the Republic’s Second Systems Army delivered an ultimatum to Mandalore, which Prime Minister Almec rejected, bringing war closer again.

• Dai Hongkui’s Scorpion tanks broke through and surrounded the Republic’s non-clone forces, and more than 700,000 soldiers surrendered to the Semirians.
• Marshal Davis led the Republic fleet’s assault on the Endless-class Super Carrier shipyard, but Trench held the shipyard and preserved its prototype vessel despite heavy damage and losses.
• Davis withdrew his fleet and launched guerrilla raids across the Semirres system, while Trench blocked most hyperspace routes and hunted the Republic ships.
• Republic Light Cruisers sent after the Spear-class Disaster Battlecruiser were destroyed by its Hell-Angel Class escorts.
• Twenty days later, Davis’s flagship was destroyed, and Sheev Palpatine ordered the galaxy’s flags lowered to half-mast in mourning.
• The Republic’s Second Systems Army demanded that Mandalore abandon neutrality and join the war, but Almec rejected the ultimatum.

Anakin Skywalker ordered Rex and the other Clone Troopers to retire after a Separatist genetic weapon made them too vulnerable for battle, then joined Wilhuff Tarkin aboard Tarkin’s flagship to prepare for the assault on Onderon. Their tense confrontation ended when Anakin sensed two unexpected figures nearby.

• Anakin Skywalker told Rex and the 501st Legion’s Torrent Company that they could not return to the battlefield and ordered them to retire on an agricultural planet.
• Anakin used the Force to punish natural-born soldiers who mocked the clones, saluted Rex and the others, and departed for Tarkin’s fleet.
• Echo suggested the clones could act without a plan, and Rex agreed after seeing the natural-born soldiers incapacitated.
• Anakin boarded Wilhuff Tarkin’s Consul-class Star Destroyer, Tarkin’s Will, to take part in Operation Fist of Tarkin, the assault on Onderon.
• Anakin and Tarkin argued over the operation’s scale and responsibility for victory, then Anakin sensed a presence behind him as Tarkin mentioned his companions.

Anakin Skywalker learned that Luna-Dream and Luna-Phantom would join the delayed Republic operation on Onderon, where he was organizing an elite assault team. The chapter ended by describing Onderon’s frightened, Republic-hating population and its hope that the Confederacy could prevent the invasion.

• Anakin Skywalker greeted Luna-Dream and Luna-Phantom and learned Master Windu had assigned them to the Onderon operation.
• Wilhuff Tarkin explained that delays had given the Separatists two and a half months to prepare and assigned the sisters to Anakin’s command.
• Anakin set out with the sisters to select natural-born soldiers for an elite assault team and use an Acclamator-class assault ship as their command center.
• Onderon’s inhabitants feared the Republic’s impending invasion and hoped the Confederacy of Independent Systems could repel it or force a stalemate.

Tang Xiao’s development of Onderon turned it into a wealthy Separatist industrial center that secretly produced Behemoth-class battlecruisers, but the planet now faced a likely Republic invasion. After crushing a rebellion and reshaping Onderon’s government, General Kalani imposed military rule and began preparing for full-scale war.

• Tang Xiao established major factories and space docks on Onderon, and the planet’s population and industrial output grew as Tyran Heavy Industries employed millions.
• Onderon secretly developed and produced dozens of Behemoth-class battlecruiser prototypes, some of which fought at Christophsis.
• Sola Gerrera and Steela Gerrera’s rebellion failed, and its attacks and sabotage turned Onderon’s people against the rebels and the Republic.
• General Kalani executed Mina Bontri and other suspected collaborators, killed Sanji Rush, and announced Ramses Dundup’s release and possible return to the throne.
• Ramses Dundup disappeared rather than respond to Kalani’s invitation, while Kalani declared military rule and ordered full-scale war preparations.

On Onderon, Judgment entered a bar as protests against B-1 battle droids turned violent and General Kalani broadcast warnings about the Galactic Republic. After an explosion blocked the entrance, Seth pulled Judgment toward the back as Izzy City was placed under lockdown.

• Judgment ordered fruit juice at a bar in Izzy City, where Seth tried to flirt with her and she gave him the name Judgment.
• A crowd protested the B-1 battle droids, and after a protester set one on fire, the droids pursued him and chaos erupted outside.
• General Kalani appeared on the bar’s mandatory holographic broadcast and urged Onderon’s people to defend their land and way of life.
• Seth drank Judgment’s juice, and an exploding hovercar crashed outside the bar, blocking its entrance.
• Seth grabbed Judgment and ran toward the back door as General Kalani announced a lockdown and threatened to shoot anyone found in the streets after ten minutes.

A Republic surprise attack on Onderon prompted General Kalani to impose martial law and prepare the planet’s forces for battle, while Judgment and Seth tried to survive the violence in Izzy City. The chapter ended as a rocket struck an AAT assault tank near them.

• Five Republic Hunter Class Battlecruisers arrived in Onderon’s orbit and launched fighters toward the planet.
• General Kalani refused General Tanding’s request to evacuate civilians and ordered him to prepare Onderon’s understrength army for the invasion.
• Battle droids began killing residents in Izzy City, and Judgment and Seth slipped through the streets to find shelter.
• An AAT assault tank passed the apartment building where Judgment and Seth were hiding, and Seth feared they would die.
• Judgment pointed out a rocket that hit the AAT assault tank.

Judgment and Seth fought battle droids in the city, where civilians blamed Judgment for the Republic invasion and refused to shelter one another. Rebel Alliance fighters rescued the civilians, and the convoy took Judgment and Seth to an underground parking garage.

• Judgment destroyed more than thirty B-1 battle droids and disabled an AAT assault tank after Seth's rocket attack failed to penetrate its armor.
• Civilians accused Judgment of bringing the Republic Fleet and supporting the Rebel Alliance, then ran for shelter as reinforcements approached.
• Judgment defended Seth and the fleeing civilians from blaster fire, while Rebel Alliance fighters destroyed an OTT half-track troop carrier and called them to safety.
• The fighters evacuated the civilians in hover trucks, and Seth told Judgment that they were the Rebel Alliance; she denied being their ally and rejected his sudden request for a kiss.
• The convoy entered an underground parking garage.

Stila-Gerrera organized the evacuation of civilians from Izzy City and accepted Judgment’s offer to help, despite distrust of the Jedi among her rebels. Meanwhile, Republic forces began attacking Onderon’s defenses as the planet prepared its industrial moon Dexen Satellite for a fight.

• Stila-Gerrera reassured civilians that the rebels intended to get them safely out of Izzy City, while one man blamed her for the danger they had faced.
• Stila apologized for the tank attack, thanked Judgment for helping the civilians, and explained that she wanted to escort them to shelters outside the city.
• Judgment agreed to help evacuate the civilians, and Stila ordered her rebels to prepare for the departure.
• Seth insisted on staying with Judgment, and she promised to protect him as he teased her.
• Five Republic Hunter Class Battlecruisers began bombing Onderon’s defenses, while Dexen Satellite’s industrial district was converted to produce defensive artillery.

General Kalani’s forces defended Dexen Satellite’s Behemoth-class production base against Republic attacks while the Republic fleet assembled for an invasion of Onderon. Tarkin ordered Anakin Skywalker to land on Onderon first and isolate Dexen Satellite, leaving Anakin three days to execute the plan.

• Republic fighters attacked Dexen Satellite’s steel city, but its anti-aircraft defenses destroyed them before they could reach the unfinished Behemoth-class battlecruisers.
• Liu Zhichao told General Kalani he expected Onderon to fall within a week, but Kalani predicted the Republic would conquer it in one day as Republic warships began firing.
• General Kalani raised the City-class deflector shield and activated the odd-numbered orbital defense guns, which exchanged fire with five Republic Hunter Class Battlecruisers.
• More than 200 Republic ships arrived, including six Acclamator-class assault ships and Tarkin’s Will, a Consul-class Star Destroyer.
• Tarkin ordered Anakin Skywalker to begin the landing operation on Onderon instead of attacking Dexen Satellite, aiming to contact the Rebel Alliance and isolate the satellite.
• Anakin explained the plan to Ahsoka Tano, and Tarkin gave him no more than three days to carry it out.

Wilhuff Tarkin ordered a devastating orbital bombardment of Dexen Satellite while Anakin Skywalker and the others debated how to respond. Meanwhile, Stila Gerrera and Judgment continued evacuating civilians in Izzy City as Republic forces moved toward Onderon.

• Wilhuff Tarkin ordered the Republic fleet to bombard Dexen Satellite indiscriminately, setting vast areas of the satellite ablaze.
• Ahsoka Tano condemned Tarkin's bombardment, while Luna Huan and Luna Meng considered attacking his flagship and Anakin Skywalker said he would keep watch on Tarkin.
• The Republic transport fleet feinted around Dexen Satellite and then charged toward Onderon under cover of an Acclamator-class assault ship.
• Stila Gerrera and Judgment brought more than a hundred civilians to a shelter outside Izzy City after fighting off three Destroyer droids.
• Stila told Judgment she could not stop the war but would keep helping people within her ability.

Stila Gerrera explained why she would help the Galactic Republic oppose General Kalani, while Judgment questioned her motives and said he had come to save someone. When the Republic attacked Izzy City, Judgment guided Stila and her fighters to safety, where Anakin Skywalker contacted her and asked for her help.

• Stila Gerrera said she would help the Galactic Republic bring down General Kalani because she could not tolerate Onderon being ruled by a Separatist robot.
• Judgment challenged Stila's reasoning, revealed that he had come to save someone, and said he wanted to see everything.
• An air-raid siren sounded and the city went dark as the Republic assault began, so Stila ordered her fighters to stop operations and led them toward their hidden base.
• Republic fighters attacked Izzy City, and Judgment guided Stila, Seth, and the others around anti-aircraft positions and back to their warehouse hideout.
• Seth condemned the bombing, while Stila acknowledged that civilians would be caught in the crossfire.
• Anakin Skywalker contacted Stila, promised to resolve Onderon's problems, and asked for her help; Stila challenged him over the bombing.

Stila Gerrera agreed to help Anakin Skywalker overthrow General Kalani after securing his promise to protect civilians and return Onderon’s government to its people. As Judgment continued rescuing civilians independently, Sola Gerrera contacted Wilhuff Tarkin with a plan to crush the resistance in Izzy City.

• Anakin Skywalker argued that Onderon’s support for the Separatists required military action, while Stila Gerrera demanded an end to bombing and protection for civilians.
• Seth accused Anakin and the Rebel Alliance of bringing death and destruction to Onderon, and Judgment intervened when other warriors moved against him.
• Stila agreed to help the Republic overthrow General Kalani if it saved civilians and restored Onderon’s self-government, and Anakin promised to do so.
• Anakin asked Stila to share personnel deployments and intelligence as the Republic prepared to seize Unity Plaza and the royal palace.
• Stila ordered the Rebel Alliance to link its intelligence and command systems with the Republic, while Judgment left to continue saving civilians.
• Sola Gerrera contacted Wilhuff Tarkin and offered a plan to quickly crush the resistance in Izzy City.