The Old Republic : Annihilation The Old Republic : Annihilation is a novel by Drew Karpyshyn which was released on November 13 , 2012 . This novel is the fourth entry in the " " novel series . News of the book was released at the Del Rey " Star Wars " books panel at the 2011 New York Comic - Con . It takes place just after the events of the " " class stories and focuses on Theron Shan . The paperback edition was released on October 29 , 2013 , while the UK paperback was released on May 24 , 2013 . Publisher ' s summary . " The Sith Empire is in flux . The Emperor is missing , presumed dead , and an ambitious Sith Lord ’ s attempt to seize the throne has ended fatally . Still , Darth Karrid , commander of the fearsome Imperial battle cruiser Ascendant Spear , continues her relentless efforts to achieve total Sith domination of the galaxy . " " But Karrid ' s ruthless determination is more than matched in the steely resolve of Theron Shan , whose unfinished business with the Empire could change the course of the war for good . Though the son of a Jedi Master , Theron does not wield the Force — but like his renowned mother , the spirit of rebellion is in his blood . As a top covert agent for the Republic , he struck a crucial blow against the Empire by exposing and destroying a Sith superweapon arsenal — which makes him the ideal operative for a daring and dangerous mission to end Ascendant Spear ’ s reign of terror . " " Joined by hot - headed smuggler Teff ' ith , with whom he has an inexplicable bond , and wise Jedi warrior Gnost - Dural , Darth Karrid ’ s former master , Theron must match wits and weapons with a battle - tested crew of the most cold - blooded dark side disciples . But time is brutally short . And if they don ’ t seize their one chance to succeed , they will surely have countless opportunities to die . . . " Plot summary . The novel begins in a flashback in 3666 BBY with the birth of Theron Shan . His mother , Satele Shan , later Grand Master of the Jedi Order , names her son and then reluctantly gives Theron to be raised by Jedi Master Ngani Zho . The novel moves then to the present in 3640 BBY . Now a covert agent with the Republic Strategic Information Service , Theron Shan is on Nar Shaddaa to talk with Morbo the Hutt to plead for the life of Teff ' ith , a Twi ' lek female smuggler for the Old Tion Brotherhood that Theron has taken under his watch . Morbo the Hutt has decided to have Teff ' ith and the crew she is with killed for violating his terms of spice smuggling in his territory . Before talking with Morbo , Theron interrupts a 3 month long SIS operation to free several Republic Military prisoners of war who are being sold by Morbo . Though Theron frees the soldiers , the SIS operation falls apart . Unable to convince Morbo to back off , Theron races to the spaceport . He arrives in time to help Teff ' ith , though she is unaware of it , to kill the thug s sent by Morbo . On Coruscant , Director of Republic Strategic Information Service Marcus Trant meets with the Supreme Commander of the Republic Military , Jace Malcom . Together they discuss the state of the Cold War , now turned into the Galactic War . Trant and Malcom plan a new mission to destroy the " Ascendant Spear " , a dangerous prototype Imperial battle cruiser under the command of Darth Karrid , a Falleen Sith Lord . The mission is planned as a joint operation between the Republic Military , SIS , and the Jedi Order . Meanwhile , the Dark Council debates possible candidates to be promoted to the council . Darth Marr puts Darth Karrid ' s name forward , though the Council is hesitant because she was Darth Malgus ' apprentice and Malgus attempted to claim the Imperial throne and was branded as a traitor . Added to that , Karrid is a Falleen , not a pure Sith blood or a Human . The council comes to no decision and though Marr assures Karrid and urges her to be patient , she is angry , determined to be on the council . Theron Shan arrives on Coruscant and is escorted to SIS headquarters . He is chewed out by Trant for disobeying orders and causing the mission to fail . Trant reassigns Theron to the Analytics Department as a punishment . He asks Theron to trust him and to being planning a new special mission , Operation End Game . Theron is able to later develop a plan after a call from Teff ' ith and the mention of Ziost inspires him . Darth Karrid meanwhile joins the battle over Leritor where she manipulates Darth Gravus into attacking her and she proceeds to destroy him and the Republic forces . The move wins approval from the Dark Council and they decide to let Darth Karrid join them . Shortly there after , Minister Davidge of the Imperial Ministry of Logistics reports to Darth Marr that there is a risk of loosing Boranall and there is a growing number of Republic ships . Darth Karrid agrees to go there to ensure Imperial rule . On Coruscant , Theron ' s plans move forward with Jedi Master Gnost - Dural joining the group . Theron has been chosen by Supreme Commander Malcom to lead the operation . After the meeting , Malcom invites Theron to his apartment . During the conversation , Malcom reveals he was in a relationship with Satele Shan and that Theron ' s birth date confirmed to Malcom that he was Theron ' s father . The two agree to talk more later and they part on good terms . Theron and Master Gnost - Dural leave for Ziost . They are able to secure a black cipher from Minister Davidge ' s office . The black cipher allows the SIS to monitor Imperial transmissions and make further plans . Theron goes to see his mother and confronts her about not revealing who his father is . They argue but Satele stands by her position that it was the right course to take . At the she had believed that Jace Malcom could follow the dark side . After Theron leaves , Satele dreams a flashback . It involves an argument she had with Jace Malcom when she confronted him about brutally pursuing Imperial soldiers after the Battle of Alderaan . Malcom refuses to back down and Satele breaks down but decides to break off their 6 month affair and not reveal to him she is pregnant . Theron and Master Gnost - Dural leave for Desevro . They arrive at Jigani Port where Teff ' ith takes them to Gorvich who is living in Maslovar . Gorvich gives Theron a disguise to enter Reaver Station , an Imperial post . There Theron intends to infiltrate the " Ascendant Spear " . However , he learns that the Empire attacked Ruan causing massive devastation . Theron contacts Malcom and Trant who acknowledge they knew the attack was coming and the next attack will be to Duro . They plan on allowing the attack to go ahead since " Ascendant Spear " will not be there . Angered , Theron hatches a plan with Gnost - Dural to have the " Ascendant Spear " take part in the attack forcing Malcom and Trant to send a fleet . Theron also asks to Teff ' ith to inform Satele Shan of what is happening to have her convince Malcom to send the fleet . Meanwhile , Gnost - Dural , aiming to force Karrid to take part in the attack , infiltrates the " Ascendant Spear " and takes on Darth Karrid and several of her Sith apprentices . Gnost - Dural intentionally lets himself be defeated and taken alive . Theron meanwhile sets off a simulated Republic attack . The confusion allows Theron to also get on to the " Ascendant Spear " where he begins scouting the ship and hacking into the system . Following Theron ' s request , Teff ' ith fights with Gorvich who wants to keep the ship , the " Prosperity " . She is able to escape and make her way to Coruscant . Karrid starts torturing Gnost - Dural to find out what he knows . Teff ' ith meanwhile arrives on Coruscant and is taken into custody by two Coruscant Security Force police officers . She is able to surprise one of them and take his blaster and forces the other to contact Satele Shan . After arriving on the scene , Satele is told by Teff ' ith what has occurred . Gnost - Dural pretends to finally " crack " and " gives up " that he was hoping to keep Karrid away from Duro . Karrid decides to head for Duro . At the same Satele and Teff ' ith convince Malcom to send a fleet to Duro to intercept the coming Imperial attack and the " Ascendant Spear " . When the Imperial fleet under Moff Nezzor arrives , the Republic is waiting under the command of the " Aegis " and opens fire surprising the Imperials . The Imperials are routed and Nezzor attempts a suicide run but his ship is destroyed . The two remaining Imperial ships attempt to flee but are destroyed by the " Ascendant Spear " as Karrid arrives and executes them for cowardice . The " Ascendant Spear " then faces off with the Republic fleet . Theron meanwhile has started to slice the " Ascendant Spear ' s " systems . Targeting systems , shields , and sensors go awry or completely offline . Karrid recognizes a slicer on board and prevents further hacks . Theron frees Gnost - Dural who overwhelms his guards and a Sith apprentice . They both make their way to Karrid ' s command pod and begin the attack . Karrid ' s three apprentices attack Gnost - Dural as Theron starts slicing the command console . Meanwhile the Republic fleet is being hammered and Malcom is running of a time . Theron slices in to convince the ship it is damaged causing Karrid to leave her command pod . Moff Lorman fails to take command , unsure if Karrid is still alive . The Republic fleet begins to tear the " Ascendant Spear " apart and Lorman gives the order to abandon ship . Karrid runs for the command pod and Theron throws is ruined blaster inside , activating it just before the pod closes . The blaster explodes , killing Karrid . Gnost - Dural has meanwhile killed one of the apprentices and the other two flee with the abandon ship order . The " Ascendant Spear " falls apart , capsizing under the Republic attack . Malcom lets the thousands of escape pods leave the ship while hoping that Theron and Master Gnost - Dural make it out . The two are able to get into Karrid ' s personal escape pod , moments before the " Ascendant Spear " is vaporized by a hyper matter explosion . Theron and Gnost - Dural are brought aboard the " Aegis " and everyone celebrates . Gnost - Dural , Teff ' ith , and Theron are awarded the Cross of Glory . Three days later in the Supreme Commander ' s office , Malcom meets with Satele Shan , Gnost - Dural , and Director Trant for a debriefing . Theron sends his regrets and is unable to attend . Afterwards , Malcom and Satele discuss Theron as Malcom wants to be closer with his son . Satele tells him to be patient and the two part on good terms . Malcom finds a recording from Theron inviting him to a drink later and Malcom smiles . Meanwhile Theron visits Teff ' ith ' s hotel room and gives her the 10 , 000 credits promised for delivering the message to Satele Shan . Teff ' ith accepts the money but rejects a job offer . Teff ' ith tells Theron to stop watching her and leaves . Theron , to himself , vows to watch over Teff ' ith because that ' s what family does . The novel ends . Continuity . " Annihilation " was originally unconfirmed as to where the novel falls in the timeline . When " Rise of the Hutt Cartel " was released , the Codex entry for Darth Acina claimed that she was Darth Hadra ' s successor instead of Darth Karrid , though this was later remedied , placing " Annihilation " between the Battle of Ilum but before the events of " Rise of the Hutt Cartel " . " Annihilation " focuses on a number of primary characters : Theron Shan and Teff ' ith from " The Lost Suns " , Gnost - Dural from the Galactic Timeline videos , and Satele Shan and Jace Malcom from " The Old Republic " and its cinematic trailers . " Annihilation " directly references several elements from " The Old Republic " , such as Darth Malgus ' s betrayal on Ilum , the death of the Emperor , and the death of three Dark Councilors on Corellia . The novel was the first to give a name to the SIS Director , who had previously gone unnamed in " The Lost Suns " ; however , the novel did contradict the game and the rest of the metaseries by claiming that the Battle of Alderaan occurred thirty years prior to the novel in 3670 BBY . " Annihilation " also reveals Theron Shan ' s father to be Jace Malcom , expanding on the events of the cinematic trailers in which Satele Shan and Malcom appeared . Marcus Trant and Theron Shan have both been featured in promotional material framed as official SIS reports that were released to lead up to " Rise of the Hutt Cartel " .