Chapter Summaries

Tang Xiao and Adele Ulan secretly arrived on Semirres Planet for the maiden voyage ceremony of the Endless-class Super Carrier, Infinity. Semirres leaders welcomed them and showed them the enormous carriers, beginning with Infinity.

• Tang Xiao's cloaked frigate passed through Semirres Planet's defenses and landed at the planetary administrative palace.
• Toonbak-Tula and the Planet Governor greeted Tang Xiao and praised his role in Semirres Planet's industrial and military growth.
• Toonbak-Tula gave Adele Ulan a silver tiara that unfolded into a radiant cape.
• Tang Xiao and Adele traveled with Toonbak-Tula toward the space docks where three Endless-class Super Carriers were under construction.
• Toonbak-Tula piloted their ship around the colossal Infinity before entering its interior.

Tang Xiao inspected the Infinity, where Mar Tuuk explained how the Endless-class Super Carrier had been redesigned with the Duchy of Dawn’s advanced weapons and production systems. The ship’s new armament was intended to make it capable of confronting the Galactic Empire’s Imperial-class Star Destroyers.

• Tang Xiao and Adele Ulan entered the Infinity’s Hangar Platform, where Nute Gunray and Mar Tuuk welcomed them.
• Mar Tuuk described the carrier’s dimensions, onboard factories, and ability to operate for years beyond its supply zone.
• Mar Tuuk explained that the ship’s four electromagnetic cannons had been replaced by three Particle Beam Lances and that its power systems and weapons layout had been redesigned.
• Mar Tuuk detailed the carrier’s layered armament of missiles, Turbolasers, heavy laser cannons, and close-in defenses.
• Tang Xiao approved the modifications, which gave the Endless-class Super Carrier greater anti-ship firepower while retaining defenses against fighter attacks.

Mal-Tuk described the Endless-class Super Carrier’s troop capacity, aircraft, docking facilities, crew accommodations, and vulnerabilities to Tang Xiao. The ship was revealed as a versatile, shield-reliant carrier whose enormous internal capacity came at the cost of structural resilience.

• Mal-Tuk explained that the Endless-class could carry 8,900 Marines, their vehicles and tanks, numerous aircraft, and drop pods for orbital assaults.
• Mal-Tuk said the carrier could dock ten elongated warships up to 600 meters long, and named the Stalwart-class and Twin-Blade-class frigates planned to fit its spaceport.
• Mal-Tuk described the carrier’s barracks, training grounds, cinema, two bars, and ecological plaza, and said its total crew numbered 17,000.
• Mal-Tuk warned Tang Xiao that the carrier had vulnerable areas, few blast-proof bulkheads, and was easily damaged if its deflector shield failed.
• Tang Xiao understood that the Endless-class traded armor strength and structural integrity for extensive internal capacity and equipment.

Tang Xiao explained that the Infinite Super Carrier was built to explore the Unknown Regions and serve as a strategic base near Mandalore, while defending Doctor Halsey's costly hyperspace transition system. As the Infinite prepared for its maiden voyage at Semirres Planet, Sefrans Tann and Count Dooku arrived with powerful warships, creating an unprecedented gathering of giant vessels.

• Tang Xiao explained the Endless-class Super Carrier's exploration mission and threatened Newt Gunray for opposing the Forerunner hyperspace transition system.
• Adele Urlan explained that the system could break through mass-shadow limitations and help the Infinite navigate the Unknown Regions.
• The Destruction battleship arrived at Semirres Planet, and Sefrans Tann came aboard the Infinite to meet Tang Xiao.
• Representatives from several factions arrived for the maiden voyage ceremony, but Tang Xiao and Adele Urlan withdrew to the captain's office.
• Count Dooku arrived with a fleet that included the Dark Titan Warship and the newly equipped Slaughter-class battleship.
• The Infinite, two other Endless-class Super Carriers, two Conqueror-class battleships, and the Dark Titan gathered around Semirres Planet.

Count Dooku and Tang Xiao attended the grand maiden voyage ceremony for the Confederacy of Independent Systems’ new Endless-class Super Carriers, signaling the Confederacy’s determination to resist the Galactic Empire. After the ceremony, Tang Xiao emerged from concealment, and Count Dooku recognized him.

• Count Dooku brought the modified Conqueror-class battleship Slaughter to Semirres Planet as a show of the Confederacy of Independent Systems’ strength.
• Count Dooku arrived aboard the Infinity, where Sefrans Tann and the others greeted him, and declared that the war would continue and the Confederacy would win.
• Count Dooku gave a rousing speech about freedom, fairness, and democracy at the maiden voyage ceremony, bolstering support for the Confederacy.
• Tang Xiao watched from the captain’s office and was satisfied that the Confederacy would keep the Galactic Empire occupied while he grew stronger.
• Tang Xiao left the captain’s office after the ceremony, and Count Dooku alone sensed his presence and addressed him.

Tang Xiao met Count Dooku and discussed their shared opposition to the Galactic Empire and preparations for Palpatine’s DS-1 project. Dooku offered to share Dragon’s breath technology and sought Dawn Star engineers for his Extractor research, while Tang Xiao agreed to send teams familiar with the Decimator cannon.

• Count Dooku welcomed Tang Xiao and his wife, saying he understood why the Duchy of Dawn had made peace with Palpatine, though Tang Xiao suspected Dooku still resented the agreement and coveted Dawn Star’s technology.
• Dooku showed Tang Xiao the Slaughter-class battleship’s Dragon’s breath launchers, which could spread the Trihexalon bioweapon across a planet and make it uninhabitable.
• Tang Xiao and Dooku discussed Palpatine’s DS-1 project and agreed that the weapon threatened both their forces; Dooku offered to share Dragon’s breath technology as a deterrent.
• Dooku asked Tang Xiao to provide Particle Beam Lance engineers for his Extractor research, but Tang Xiao declined and offered teams who had worked on the Decimator cannon instead.
• Dooku accepted Tang Xiao’s offer after learning that Tang Xiao knew the Devastation-class battleship was already under construction.

The Infinite Super Carrier entered service under Mar-Tuuk and joined Sefrans Tann’s fleet as its flagship, while Jango Fett, his Mandalorian warriors, and Master Chief John 117 secretly boarded it. The chapter outlined the Confederacy’s three-part deployment and explained how Sefrans Tann’s destruction of the Republic’s Second Systems Army opened the way for her to expand around Mandalore and protect the exposed industrial base on Akiva.

• Mar-Tuuk was appointed captain of the Infinite Super Carrier, which replaced the Destruction as Sefrans Tann’s fleet flagship.
• Jango Fett, his Mandalorian warriors, and Master Chief John 117 secretly boarded the Infinite Super Carrier as it was outfitted with Marines.
• General Grievous’s main force remained stationed on Saleucami, where the Dark Titan Warship and the Confederacy’s growing fleet deterred the Galactic Empire.
• The Smuggler Fleet worked with Titan Security and the Calamity Legion to protect supply lines through Hutt Space amid conflict between the Desilijic and Besadi kajidics.
• Sefrans Tann annihilated the main force of Master Windu’s Second Systems Army, creating a power vacuum around Mandalore and weakening the Republic’s influence over the Neutral Alliance.
• With the Confederacy’s industrial base on Akiva exposed, Sefrans Tann sought to establish her forces around Mandalore and the Neutral Systems Alliance, where Count Dooku would need to support her operations.

Tang Xiao planned to strengthen Sefrans Tann’s position around Mandalore as the Neutral Systems Alliance collapsed and competing factions prepared for conflict. As Pre Vizsla faced unrest and multiple figures watched the sector, Tang Xiao diverted to Nal Hutta on his way back to Dawn Star Planet.

• Tang Xiao decided to send Darth Lilim to assist Sefrans Tann and protect her, while Jango Fett and Master Chief supported operations around Mandalore.
• Pre Vizsla overthrew Almec, declared himself Grand Duke of Mandalore, submitted to Palpatine, and appointed Bo-Katan Kryze as prime minister and his deputy.
• Planets left the Neutral Systems Alliance, which dissolved as the sector split among supporters of the Galactic Empire, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and neutrality.
• Pre Vizsla, Sefrans Tann, Jango Fett, Master Chief, Shen Qiaoen, Darth Tenebrus, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Satine Kryze, and the surviving Jedi each faced the unfolding crisis from different locations.
• Tang Xiao changed course while traveling through Hutt Space and headed for Nal Hutta.

On Nal Hutta satellite, Darth Tenebrus used a blood-red Kyber Crystal and dangerous spice to restore his connection to the Dark Side of the Force. He fled into the moon’s underworld, certain his pursuer had sensed him—and that the pursuer was himself.

• A Bith slipped out of a bar on Nal Hutta satellite and returned to his dilapidated room with a blood-red Kyber Crystal, liquor, and low-grade spice.
• Darth Tenebrus mixed the spice into the liquor and drank it, then used the Kyber Crystal to restore his strength in the Force.
• The crystal crumbled to dust as Darth Tenebrus rose, newly empowered by the Dark Side.
• Two Nikto threatened Darth Tenebrus, and he killed them by piercing their throats with pebbles before continuing his escape.
• Darth Tenebrus realized his pursuer had detected his restored Force—and that the pursuer was himself.

A grotesquely decayed Bith searched Nal Hutta satellite for another Bith, killing several people at a bar before fleeing toward a spaceport. He sensed something in the empty air, but left without explaining what he had detected.

• A mysterious Bith entered a bar in Nal Hutta satellite’s black-market district and asked the Gamorrean bartender for a Bith.
• When the bartender demanded payment and threatened him, the Bith removed his respirator, exposed his rotting mouth, and drank liquor poured into it.
• The Bith pierced the Gamorrean’s chest and tore out his heart, then killed a bar attendant while asking where he could find a Bith.
• As the bar’s patrons fired at him, the Bith vanished and reappeared among them, then suddenly turned toward an empty patch of air.
• The Bith escaped through the doorway, stole a speeding Speeder, threw its passengers and driver to their deaths, and headed for a spaceport.

Tang Xiao explained the Devastation-class battleship’s weaknesses to Adele-Ulan as their vessel approached Nal Hutta. He then took her to the planet, expecting an interesting event after sensing a presence in the Force.

• Adele-Ulan asked Tang Xiao about the Devastation-class battleship, and he explained that it was a Conqueror-class variant built around a massive beam cannon.
• Tang Xiao revealed that the cannon was poorly integrated, leaving the battleship vulnerable to starfighters and unable to destroy a shielded planet.
• Adele-Ulan praised the Quarren engineers for enlarging the Decimator cannon, while Tang Xiao claimed the DS project was far more advanced.
• Tang Xiao and Adele-Ulan became intimate before he told her to dress and join him for a stroll on Nal Hutta.
• Tang Xiao sensed an interesting presence in the Force and took Adele-Ulan down to wait for what he expected to happen.

Darth Tenebrus fled across Nal Hutta satellite while Darth Venamis, inhabiting Tenebrus’s original corpse, relentlessly hunted him. When Tenebrus sensed Darth Malthael fighting nearby, he turned his ship toward the tower, determined to take Malthael down with him.

• Darth Tenebrus evaded Darth Venamis by switching ships and routes while searching for supplies and a way off Nal Hutta satellite.
• Darth Tenebrus recalled how Darth Pregas had tortured Darth Venamis for more than twenty years before Darth Malthael placed Venamis’s spirit inside Tenebrus’s corpse.
• Darth Tenebrus realized his pursuer would not stop and sensed that his own death was near.
• Darth Tenebrus felt Darth Malthael’s powerful Dark Side presence erupt from a tower in the smuggler district.
• Darth Tenebrus turned his ship toward the tower, planning to make Darth Malthael die with him.

Darth Malthael learned that Darth Tenebrus had bought a Kyber Crystal and set out with Adele Ulan to hunt him on Nal Hutta. Their search was interrupted by a Jedi Master who targeted Adele and attacked Malthael, while Darth Venamis closed in on Tenebrus’s hiding place.

• Darth Venamis tracked the Kyber Crystal’s lingering aura to Darth Tenebrus’s former hideout and swallowed the powder left behind to locate him.
• Darth Malthael told Adele Ulan that he had created the Soul of Vengeance to hunt his treacherous Grandmaster, then searched a Nal Hutta bar for news about Bith.
• A waiter found reports of a Bith buying a Kyber Crystal, and Darth Malthael recognized that Darth Tenebrus had exposed himself by purchasing it on the black market.
• A middle-aged Jedi Master incited mercenaries to seize Adele Ulan for ransom, but Darth Malthael turned the bar’s patrons into undead attackers.
• The Jedi Master revealed his hatred of Darth Malthael and attacked; Malthael gave Kresh's Gauntlet to Adele and answered with Force lightning.

Darth Tenebrous tracked down Darth Malthael and attacked him after Malthael killed a Blood Knight, while Darth Venamis closed in on Tenebrous. Tenebrous revealed his knowledge of the Proto-Body and severed Darth Malthael’s connection to Darth Venamis, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Darth Malthael fought a Blood Knight using Juyo and killed him with Crimson Lightning.
• Darth Venamis slaughtered people at a spaceport, seized a Gozanti-class Armed Merchant Ship, and pursued Darth Tenebrous.
• Darth Tenebrous piloted his ship into the tower, but Darth Malthael protected himself and Adele Ulan from the impact and explosion.
• Darth Tenebrous confronted Darth Malthael and explained that he had prepared his own body and intended to use the Proto-Body for Essence Transfer.
• Darth Venamis arrived as Darth Malthael and Darth Venamis trapped Darth Tenebrous, who severed the connection between Darth Malthael and Darth Venamis.

Darth Tenebrus revealed how he had escaped Darth Malthael’s control, but Darth Malthael killed him before he could carry out his threat. Darth Venamis then absorbed Tenebrus’s ghost, leaving Malthael bracing for an unpredictable fight and urging Adele-Ulan to escape.

• Darth Malthael realized Darth Tenebrus had severed his Death Force connection to Darth Venamis by using Proto-Body to remove the soul brand.
• Darth Tenebrus explained that he had secretly studied Darth Malthael’s Death Force and devised a way to escape its control.
• Darth Malthael severed Darth Tenebrus’s head with his Lightsaber, killing him as Darth Venamis held the head.
• Darth Venamis absorbed Darth Tenebrus’s ghost, transforming into a more dangerous Soul of Vengeance.
• Darth Malthael told Adele-Ulan to flee in a Gozanti-class freighter when the fight began, while she asked whether he would die.

Adele Ulan fled toward Darth Venamis’s Gozanti-class armed freighter while Darth Malthael fought the Soul of Vengeance to hold him off. She reached the ship and ordered it to the spaceport, determined to retrieve Tang Xiao’s Soul Reaper Sword.

• Darth Malthael told Darth Venamis to leave, but Venamis remained and the Soul of Vengeance attacked.
• Darth Malthael and the Soul of Vengeance battled with lightning, black fog, and Death Force, while Kresh's Gauntlet protected Adele Ulan.
• Adele Ulan ran toward the hovering Gozanti-class armed freighter and struggled through the freezing, thin air outside the damaged tower.
• A figure blocked a sword strike aimed at Adele Ulan and sent her into the freighter, where the hatch closed and its life-support restored her.
• Adele Ulan entered the cockpit, ordered the navigation droid to fly to the spaceport, and resolved to retrieve Tang Xiao's Soul Reaper Sword.

Darth Malthael blasted the Soul of Vengeance’s body apart with Crimson Lightning, but its fused Sith souls survived and struck back with a soul-piercing shriek. Meanwhile, Adele Ulan’s attempt to bring the Soul Reaper Sword to him ended in a crash, and she was confronted by scavengers who found her alive.

• Darth Malthael fought the Soul of Vengeance with lightning, the Death Force, and hurled debris before piercing its heart with a full-power strike of Crimson Lightning.
• The Soul of Vengeance re-formed as a twisted shadow of fused souls and shrieked, injuring Darth Malthael’s soul.
• Adele Ulan flew the Golden Magnate-class Private Frigate toward the tower, and the Soul Reaper Sword sensed Darth Malthael and flew out through the ship’s engine.
• The ship’s engine exploded, but Kresh’s Gauntlet shielded Adele Ulan from the crash and left her unharmed.
• Scavengers broke into the wreckage, spotted Adele Ulan, and called their companions over to her.

Adele Ulan fought off a mercenary in the wreckage of the Golden Tycoon-class starship, then discovered that her gauntlet’s golden gemstones protected her from fire and weapons. As the surviving scavengers tried to seize her, her shield kept turning their attacks aside and flinging away anyone who came close.

• Adele Ulan shot a mercenary who attacked her, then fled the burning wreckage after killing him.
• Nearly twenty scavengers surrounded Adele, and she shot a Rodian named Lodin before the others opened fire.
• Adele’s invisible shield deflected the blaster shots and protected her from a rocket explosion and surrounding flames.
• Adele recognized the gauntlet’s gemstones as the source of her protection and stood to face the scavengers.
• A Trandoshan urged the others to grab Adele, but her shield sent a mercenary flying when he tried to seize her gun hand.

Adele-Ulan used Kresh’s Gauntlet to withstand the mercenaries’ attacks and kill several of them, even surviving a ship-mounted turbolaser blast. As the remaining mercenaries tried to flee, Darth Malthael arrived and stopped their ships.

• Adele-Ulan’s gauntlet repelled a Trandoshan mercenary who tried to grab her, and she charged the mercenaries while their blaster fire failed to harm her.
• Adele-Ulan shot several mercenaries at close range, and the survivors fled toward their ships.
• A mercenary fired a ship-mounted turbolaser at Adele-Ulan, but she survived the blast unharmed.
• Darth Malthael cut down a fleeing ship with a flash of black sword-light, and Adele-Ulan cried out to her master.
• Darth Malthael used the Force to hold another ship in place as it tried to take off.

Darth Malthael forced Adele Ulan to kill the seven surviving mercenaries before taking their intact freighter. As he left Nal Hutta, he ordered Adele to contact Darth Lilim and wondered what Darth Tenebrus had left behind, while sensing that the Chosen One might soon appear.

• Darth Malthael stopped the fleeing ship and ordered Adele Ulan to finish dealing with the mercenaries who had threatened her.
• Adele Ulan hunted down and killed the seven mercenaries, with Darth Malthael using the Force to crush one who attacked him.
• Darth Malthael took the intact G-9 freighter and told Adele Ulan to contact Darth Lilim about the Geth-made super Dark Banshee and the changing situation on Mandalore.
• Darth Malthael reflected that Darth Tenebrus might have left a dangerous contingency for his heir and wondered whether Luke Skywalker, the Chosen One, was about to appear.