Chapter Summaries

Ron’s forces stopped Leviathan’s assault at the 158th Key Defense Zone, but the Hive Mind infiltrated Central District and destroyed Command Center No. 1. Ron’s command staff survived by evacuating to decoy-proof backup facilities, and the chapter ended with the Hive Mind surrounded by overwhelming Imperial forces.

• A Tyranid assault broke through the 158th Key Defense Zone before reinforcements contained the breach, and Ron ordered Tako to investigate Leviathan’s tactics and accelerate the Interdiction Plan.
• Ron told Carter to double the concealed defenses around the Temporary Savior Sanctuary and command system as Leviathan prepared an infiltration.
• The Hive Mind led Tyranid Assassins toward the command center, where Ron’s monitoring system detected them and Ron sent Dante to attack.
• The Mutated Hive Tyrant disabled the command center’s defenses, allowing a Mutated Dig-Python to breach the building and destroy it with biological plasma.
• Ron revealed that the command staff had evacuated to backup command centers, while the Hive Mind realized its attack had destroyed a decoy.
• The Hive Mind found itself facing far more Adeptus Astartes, Thunderhawks, and Chapter Masters than its intelligence had predicted.

The Chapter Masters and Carcharodons cornered the Hive Mind’s Mutated Hive Tyrant, while Ron’s defenses stopped a Bio-Titan’s assault on the Central District. Ron killed the Tyrant and ordered Tako to activate the Interdiction Plan as the war shifted toward space.

• The Chapter Masters surrounded the Hive Mind’s Mutated Hive Tyrant, and Tyberos arrived with a packed Thunderhawk Gunship full of Carcharodons eager to fight.
• The Hive Mind tried to escape using Mutated Dig-Pythons, but Melta Beams destroyed them, and the assembled warriors overwhelmed the Tyrant.
• Ron defeated another Mutated Tyranid, then approached the cornered Hive Mind’s Tyrant cautiously and avoided its planned ambush.
• The Hive Mind unleashed a cloaked Bio-Titan, but two Emperor-class Redemption Titans crushed and bombarded it in the Central District.
• Ron taunted the Hive Mind as Tanzi, killed the Mutated Hive Tyrant with one punch, and ordered Tako to activate the Interdiction Plan.
• Landing Craft lifted off toward space as the campaign against the Leviathan Hive Mind moved beyond Baal’s surface.

The Tyranid Swarm began losing the battle for Baal, and the Hive Mind ordered a retreat after recognizing its losses and fearing the Savior. When the Savior approached Leviathan, the Hive Mind panicked and tried to escape, but a precisely aimed Plasma Shell destroyed the Narvhal and foiled the retreat.

• Human ships and ground forces fought off Tyranid attacks while Magos Reyna's team extinguished a fire and repaired damaged power components.
• A human Macro-cannon destroyed a Tyranid Kraken as Worker Bugs inside Leviathan struggled amid failing Biomass Pools and hungry Tyranid combat organisms.
• The Hive Mind recognized the swarm's losses and ordered its forces to retreat from the Baal System, confident it could use stolen memories to evolve and fight the Savior later.
• A new message told the Hive Mind that the Savior was approaching Leviathan, and it ordered the Narvhal to lead the Hive Ship into a compressed-space corridor without waiting for the other fleets.
• A Plasma Shell struck near the Narvhal, ignited a massive explosion, and destroyed the Tyranid navigator organism, leaving the Hive Mind stunned as its retreat failed.

The Redemption Fleet destroyed five of Leviathan’s six Narvhals, leaving the Hive Mind desperate to escape or negotiate with Ron. It sent a Tyranid Kraken toward the Dreamer in a seeming gesture of surrender, and Ron ordered ships to approach it.

• The Redemption Fleet broke through Leviathan’s defenses and destroyed another Narvhal with a Cruiser’s sacrifice, killing its crew and the navigator organism.
• The Hive Mind dispatched stealth Bio-ships carrying Brain Bugs to contact Ron, but Voladi anticipated the ambush and destroyed them before they reached the Dreamer.
• With only one Narvhal left, the Hive Mind sent a Tyranid Kraken toward the Dreamer, arranging its tentacles in a posture that appeared nonthreatening.
• Ron and the Chapter Masters debated whether the Kraken was surrendering or acting as an independent-minded Tyranid Guide.
• Ron ordered several warships to approach the unusual Tyranid Kraken.

The Redemption Fleet’s assault faltered when the Narvhal survived, but Ron’s Rog Fortress arrived and destroyed the Tyranid navigation organism before drilling into the Leviathan Hive Ship. Ron then joined the boarding assault in Blackstone Heavy Armor, preparing to capture the Void Behemoth and the Hive Mind.

• The warships captured the Tyranid Kraken with electrified cables, while the Hive Mind concluded that it had to resist Ron’s plans for the Tyranid Swarm.
• Voladi’s Third Fleet failed to destroy the Narvhal after a Tyranid raiding fleet disrupted its attack, and Ron reassured him before Kais took command.
• The Rog Fortress emerged from the Void, tore through Tyranid Bio-ships, and crippled the Narvhal with its cannons, drills, and Ork boarding forces.
• Ron ordered the boarding assault as the Rog Fortress’s giant drill pierced the Hive Ship, allowing Orks, Thunder Custodes, and Adeptus Astartes to invade it.
• Moss arrived with a prepared Clone Body, and Ron entered the battlefield in Blackstone Heavy Armor fitted with weapons intended to counter the Leviathan Hive Mind.

Ron led his forces through the Void Behemoth to find the Leviathan Hive Mind, while discovering a gentle Worker Bug he named Abathur and learning that Blackstone technology could shield him from psychic attacks. After Ron seized the weakened Hive Mind, he gave it one choice: submit or die.

• Ron explored the destroyed Biomass Pool, found a harmless Worker Bug, and ordered the Biologis Magos to protect it before naming it Abathur.
• Ron and the Chapter Masters followed a new route through the Void Behemoth, fighting Tyranids and finding that Ka'bandha had already destroyed much of the swarm's defenses.
• Ron realized that Khorne's battle blessings siphoned power from slaughter, so he reduced his fighting and continued from the rear while his forces advanced toward the Hive Mind.
• The Hive Mind prepared to retaliate by gathering intelligence on Ron and his forces, then attacked the warriors with overwhelming Psyker Power when Ron's party entered its chamber.
• Ron stepped into the psychic field using Blackstone armor that repelled Psyker Power, reached the Hive Mind, and lifted it by the throat, demanding that it submit or die.

Ron discovered that the Leviathan Hive Mind had died after transmitting information about him and his territory to nearby Tyranids, but Moss found signs it could be revived. He claimed the dormant Hive Ship for research and revealed the growing clone called Swarm Will, intended to control future Tyranid Swarms, before returning to the Dreamer for another important task.

• Ron loosened his grip when he realized the Hive Mind could not speak because the Blackstone Psyker Penitent Skull blocked Psyker Power, but the Hive Mind used its remaining power to transmit data about The Savior and his territory before collapsing.
• Tako reported that the Hive Mind’s death had shattered the Tyranid Gestalt Network, leaving the swarm in chaos, and Ron ordered the Redemption Fleet to prevent any bio-ships from escaping the Baal System.
• Ron noticed traces of the Hive Mind’s soul and summoned Archmagos Biologis Moss, who found faint bioelectricity and said the Hive Mind could possibly be revived.
• Ron assigned Moss to revive the Hive Mind and study its biological technology, while the captured Hive Ship became a new laboratory for Tyranid research.
• Ron revealed the insectoid clone named Swarm Will, intended to control future Tyranid Swarms, then sealed the chamber and left with Carter and the Thunder Custodes.

Ron oversaw the recovery of Tyranid remains while trying to stop the Imperium’s Exterminatus campaign after learning that the Leviathan threat had ended. When a Custodian rejected his appeal and insisted the order would continue, Ron prepared to confront the Adeptus Custodes directly.

• Ron ordered the Logistics Department to recover Tyranid bodies and turn them into canned meat for sale and famine relief.
• Ron learned that the Imperium planned to destroy worlds to divert Leviathan’s remaining Tendril Fleets, despite the death of the Hive Mind.
• Ron contacted a Custodian with news that Leviathan was defeated, but she replied that Exterminatus would continue until her superiors issued new orders.
• Ron realized the Adeptus Custodes did not recognize his authority and wondered whether the Custodian who answered him was a woman.
• Ron ordered Tako to send half the Redemption Fleet with him to destroy a nearby Tendril Fleet and negotiate an end to Exterminatus.
• Ron donned the Savior’s Sacred Vestments: Golden Set and set out to make the Adeptus Custodes heed his words.

Adeptus Custodes Tylis escorted Istrad’s Psykers through a Tyranid attack, then ordered White Templars Captain Malakait to withdraw and carry out Exterminatus on the planet as part of a defensive belt around Segmentum Solar. Before Malakait could agree, the Thunder Custodes arrived with The Savior’s message that Istrad and the other targeted worlds would be protected.

• Tylis arrived on Istrad and told Sergeant Zevram she would oversee the collection and evacuation of the Imperial Tithe rather than assist the planet’s defenses.
• As Tylis escorted 1,430 Psykers toward the transport, one lost control, but the Sister of Silence suppressed his Warp powers and Tylis killed the attacking Tyranids.
• Tylis ordered Malakait to withdraw the White Templars and personally issue Exterminatus on Istrad, explaining that the planet was part of a protective belt around Segmentum Solar.
• Malakait reluctantly began to accept the order, but a dark-gold Thunderhawk arrived and the Thunder Custodes announced that The Savior had decreed Istrad would be protected.
• The Savior’s voice promised protection and better development for Istrad and every planet inside the planned defensive perimeter, while the Thunder Custodes ordered Tylis and Malakait to cooperate.

Ron arrived after the Thunder Custodes stopped fighting Tylis and challenged her defense of the planned Exterminatus, arguing that Leviathan had been dealt with and the Emperor had not ordered the destruction. He summoned every Adeptus Custodes unit in the defensive belt to explain themselves, then brought Tylis into the Warp to meet the Emperor, where she recognized the Holy Sun.

• Tylis accused the Thunder Custodes of defying the Emperor, attacked their Shield Guard, and was overwhelmed by five warriors until Ron ordered them to stop.
• Ron arrived on Baal with a large force of Thunder Custodes, and Captain Malakait and the onlookers knelt before him while Tylis remained standing.
• Ron questioned Tylis about the Exterminatus, argued that it was wrong after Leviathan had been dealt with, and said the Custodes had acted in the Emperor's name without his order.
• Ron ordered Tylis to summon every Adeptus Custodes unit within the defensive belt to answer for their actions, and she sent the message.
• Ron asked Tylis to accompany him to see the Emperor, then drew her consciousness into the Warp, where she recognized the Holy Sun.

Ron learned that the Emperor had not ordered the Exterminatus, and the Emperor strengthened Tylis and directed the Adeptus Custodes to correct their mistake and assist Ron. Back on Istrad, Ron accepted a Sister of Silence and Malakait into a group he planned to bring to behold the Holy Sun, then began discussing the planet’s defenses.

• Ron guided Tylis’s soul to the Holy Sun, where the Emperor reacted with anger after Ron explained the Exterminatus and asked whether He had authorized it.
• Chaos forces tried to corrupt Ron’s thoughts, but he regained control and mocked the Dark Gods; the Emperor watched over him and later issued a new decree concerning the Adeptus Custodes.
• Ron returned to Istrad with Tylis, who announced that the Emperor had ordered the Adeptus Custodes to correct their error and assist Ron.
• A Sister of Silence asked Ron to let her behold the Emperor, and Ron first refused before changing his mind and inviting her along.
• Ron also invited Malakait to join the group, then showed him a document outlining the support he could provide for the planet’s defenses.

Malakait received overwhelming military aid from Ron and hoped the Primarch of Hope might be the White Templars’ Father of Genes. As Tyranids gathered to attack Istrad, Ron sent his personal guard to strike first, while Custodian Tribune Lysias arrived with a force determined to confront the Primarch.

• Ron doubled Istrad’s support allocation, providing warships, orbital defenses, heavy weapons, vehicles, and equipment for the White Templars’ Third Company.
• Malakait considered whether Ron could be the White Templars’ true Father of Genes, but decided to wait until after the war to request Gene-seed for testing.
• Ron detected a Tyranid gathering near Istrad, and Malakait warned that the Xenos could attack within a day.
• Ron ordered Malakait to coordinate with his personal guard and destroy the Tyranids before they assembled, then shared the guard force’s details.
• Custodian Tribune Lysias brought several hundred Adeptus Custodes to Istrad, intending to confront Ron and punish those who had attacked the Custodes.

Ron tried to defuse a confrontation between the Adeptus Custodes and his forces, then brought them and other loyal warriors into the Warp to see the Emperor. As the gathered followers worshipped the sleeping Emperor, Ron sensed that He was about to wake.

• Lysias demanded that Ron return to Holy Terra and answer for Tylis, but Tylis assured him that her loyalty and Ron’s were true.
• Ron tried to delay the confrontation, but an Imperator-class Redemption Titan crushed three empty Adeptus Custodes gunships, and more Titans appeared around the group.
• Ron explained that the Titans were deployed to fight Tyranids and ordered them to power down, easing the Adeptus Custodes’ suspicion.
• Ron arranged for Tylis, the Sisters of Silence, Captain Malakait, Lysias, and the other Custodes to join a Warp journey to behold the Emperor.
• The group saw the sleeping Emperor in the Warp and worshipped Him, while Ron considered building a sanctuary for future visits.
• Ron sensed the Holy Sun stir and realized that the Emperor was about to wake.

Ron brought the Adeptus Custodes before the awakened Emperor, won their respect, and led them in destroying the Tyranid Swarm on Istrad. The Adeptus Custodes later restructured under new Captain-General Lysias and pledged to join the Imperium’s wars and cooperate with Ron.

• Ron brought the Adeptus Custodes to meet the Emperor, who reprimanded them and struck Ron with a burst of Psyker Power after hearing about plans for Sanctums.
• Lysias and the Adeptus Custodes apologized to Ron, and Ron ordered them to halt the regional Exterminatus orders and abolish the Imperium’s Defensive Belt Plan.
• Ron led the Adeptus Custodes, White Templars, Titans, and other forces to destroy Istrad’s Tyranid Swarm, then personally killed its captured Mutated Warrior Bug.
• On Holy Terra, the High Lords learned that Valoris had retired as Captain-General and that a statue of the Primarch of Hope would be built near the Imperial Palace.
• Lysias told Ron that he had been chosen as the new Captain-General and that the Adeptus Custodes would restructure, join the Imperium’s wars, and fully support Ron’s actions.

Ron left Istrad after the Redemption Fleet eliminated the Tyranid threat, then returned to Baal as reconstruction and preparations for a grand Victory Celebration continued. Beneath Baal, Three-Barrel and the stranded Sons of Humanity Chapter remained unaware that the battle had ended and rescue was near.

• Ron reassured Istrad's Governor and Malakait that the Tyranid threat was gone, left the relief supplies behind, and gave the White Templars twenty Gene-seeds before departing for Baal.
• The Redemption Fleet appeared over Istrad towing a Tyranid hive ship, and its hymns announced the planet's safety under The Savior's protection.
• Ron arrived at Baal and saw its transformation underway, with vast numbers of soldiers and workers helping rebuild the planet for the Victory Celebration.
• Three-Barrel and the stranded Sons of Humanity Chapter ate meager soup in their cavern, having survived for months in hiding after their Landing Craft crashed far from human forces.
• Three-Barrel learned that forty days and twenty hours had passed since the Chapter sent its distress signal and planned to fight their way out if rescue did not come within three days.
• Nearby, a Construction Titan drilled and poured concrete while workers took a meal break, unaware that the stranded Space Marines were still underground.

Three-Barrel and the Sons of Humanity emerged from months trapped underground on Baal, learned the Tyranid war had ended, and joined Ron’s territory after being welcomed at his banquet. A month later, as Baal prepared for its victory celebration, Ron noticed a noble’s excuse about a plague and received word that another ship had arrived.

• Three-Barrel led the starving Sons of Humanity out of their cavern after they ate Ant-Cow larvae, only to find Baal transformed into a lush garden.
• Ron confirmed that they were on Baal and told Three-Barrel the war against the Leviathan Tyranids had ended months earlier.
• Ron invited Three-Barrel and his warriors to the banquet, where they ate their fill and Three-Barrel bonded with Datong over food.
• Three-Barrel and Datong asked Ron to let the Sons of Humanity join his territory, and Ron welcomed them and praised Three-Barrel’s talents.
• A month later, Ron reviewed Baal’s celebration guest list, noticed a noble had declined because of a plague, and ordered officials to investigate.
• Ron received a message that another ship had arrived at Baal.

Laust and the Consequent 13th Regiment joined Ron’s forces, and Ron gave them an immense surplus of weapons to clear from Baal’s warehouses. As Baal prepared for the Victory Celebration, Ron worried that Guilliman had still not arrived and might be lost in the Warp.

• Laust led the Consequent 13th Regiment to Baal after Draining invited them to join The Savior.
• Valenna showed Laust a recording of a warehouse full of heavy weapons, and Ron accepted the regiment as an independent auxiliary legion.
• Ron gave Consequent an entire warehouse district of surplus equipment and ordered them to clear it within three days.
• Consequent worked day and night moving the equipment, while the enormous task left some soldiers injured and weary of warehouses.
• A week later, Ron finished preparing for Baal’s Victory Celebration and wondered why Guilliman had not arrived.
• Ron considered searching the Warp for Guilliman if he remained missing after the celebration, while a massive human fleet drifted through the Warp’s storms.

Guilliman's fleet fought through a Warp storm while he hurried to reach Baal and save his brother Ron. After killing a Great Unclean One, Guilliman discovered that Mortarion had emerged from a corrupted Space Marine aboard his ship.

• Thaddeus ordered Macragge's Honour to increase its engine power as the fleet struggled through the Warp storm, while daemonic corruption and a ship's distress call afflicted the crew.
• A Great Unclean One ambushed Guilliman near the Lord Regent's Sanctuary, but Guilliman and the Chief Librarian thwarted its attacks and Guilliman killed it with the Sword of the Emperor.
• Felix told Guilliman that the fleet might reach Baal in about three days if no further accidents occurred, and Guilliman hurried back toward the Sanctuary after the battle.
• Guilliman sensed a familiar presence in a wounded Space Marine and ordered everyone else to withdraw as the warrior died and rapidly decayed.
• Mortarion's daemon form burst from the Space Marine's chest and greeted Guilliman.

Mortarion tried to manipulate Guilliman into choosing between Baal and Segmentum Obscurus, but his intelligence about Baal was already outdated. Guilliman chose to continue toward Baal, and Ron’s broken transmission left him believing the battle was still raging even as Baal celebrated victory.

• Mortarion confronted Guilliman, mocked his faith in the Emperor, and revealed that the Indomitus Crusade Second Fleet was besieged in Segmentum Obscurus.
• Mortarion tried to show Guilliman Baal’s supposed devastation, but his Rot Fly instead revealed that the war had ended and Baal was preparing a victory celebration.
• Guilliman ordered Felix to verify the Second Fleet’s distress and, after confirming the danger, chose to take the fleet to Baal rather than divert to Segmentum Obscurus.
• Ron contacted Guilliman from Baal, but interference made his message that the war was over sound like a desperate plea amid battle.
• Guilliman led his warriors against Chaos attackers and pressed onward toward Baal, while Ron tried to invite him to the victory celebration and explain the new Webway route.

Ron waited for Guilliman while hosting Imperial heroes at a brutal hydrotherapy session, then began Baal’s Victory Celebration without knowing whether the Lord Regent would arrive. Guilliman’s battered fleet emerged near Baal as the celebration began, and he discovered that the battle was already won and Ron’s fleet had formed a vast image among the stars.

• Ron lost contact with Guilliman, ordered the communications department to improve its signal, and arranged wellness treatments for the Imperium’s heroes.
• Dante praised Ron’s restorative treatment and reflected on how he had handed Blood Angels duties to Karan so he could follow Ron.
• Tyberos, Malakim, Carter, and Lysias competed against the massage machines until Ron ended the session and sent the exhausted warriors to the medical team.
• Ron and Dante watched Baal prepare for its Victory Celebration, and Ron ordered the reception department to stay ready for Guilliman’s arrival.
• Psykers illuminated Baal with a beam of Holy Light as the Victory Celebration began, while Guilliman’s damaged Indomitus Crusade fleet emerged in the Baal System.
• Guilliman learned from congratulatory transmissions that Baal had won the battle and saw Ron’s fleet form a colossal image among the stars.