Chapter Summaries

Ron ordered Bayev to secretly restore and lavishly gild the God-Emperor Statue before Emperor's Ascension Day, hoping its staged miracle would generate the Power of Hope and solve the Palatine District's food crisis. As the project proceeded, Ron reassured Linda that he would not send her away.

• Ron told Bayev that restoring the Holy Icon was the Palatine District's top priority and ordered him to prepare a detailed plan.
• Bayev proposed relocating residents near Sacred Plaza, tightening patrols, and finishing the secret restoration before Emperor's Ascension Day; Ron approved the plan and ordered compensation for residents and efforts to prevent casualties.
• Ron ordered the statue covered with gold and gemstones, then stripped the decorations from Spire Mansion when the treasury lacked enough gold.
• Linda feared the mansion's furnishings being removed meant she would be sent away, so she tearfully confided in Ron.
• Ron comforted Linda and promised that he would never send her away.

Ron tried to secure Bishop Dony’s support for a grand Ascension Day of the Emperor ceremony, but the Bishop rejected the plan as blasphemous. Ron left determined to proceed and use Plan B to persuade him.

• Ron restrained himself with Linda at Spire Mansion, then left to meet Bishop Dony at the Ecclesiarchy Cathedral.
• After praying, Ron gave Bishop Dony a Data-slate outlining a ceremony that would present Ron as The Savior and promise relief for the people.
• Bishop Dony denounced the plan as deception and blasphemy, refused to cooperate, and left with his staff.
• Ron decided the ceremony had to continue despite the Ecclesiarchy’s opposition and set off for Spire Mansion to activate Plan B.

Ron used the Psionic Core in the God-Emperor Statue to send Bishop Dony a vision of the God-Emperor choosing Ron to lead Earth Planet out of darkness. Convinced he had received a divine decree, Dony set out to revive the cathedral and serve Ron.

• Ron projected prepared visions into the sleeping Bishop Dony's mind, exhausting his Power of Hope.
• Dony dreamed that the God-Emperor's light dispelled the darkness consuming Earth Planet.
• In the vision, the God-Emperor showed Ron Grant leading an army and receiving the loyalty of his followers, with Dony presiding over the ceremony.
• Dony woke free of his nightmares and believed the God-Emperor had chosen Ron to guide Earth Planet.
• Dony rose and decided to revive the cathedral and offer his loyalty.

Ron secured Bishop Dony’s cooperation by letting him believe the God-Emperor had chosen Ron to save Earth Planet, and arranged to take the Ecclesiarchy’s supplies for the ceremony. He then turned to the dissatisfied Defense Force, as mutants poured from their nests in the Pipeline Defense Zone.

• Ron learned Bishop Dony had come to see him and met him after getting dressed.
• Bishop Dony agreed to support Ron and the ceremony, believing Ron was the God-Emperor’s chosen Savior.
• Ron persuaded Bishop Dony to provide the Ecclesiarchy’s treasury and ordered Bayev to collect its valuable contents and send the Bishop restorative tonics.
• Ron identified the Defense Force’s shortages and mounting dissatisfaction as a problem he needed to address before the ceremony.
• Mutants poured from their nests into the Upper Hive District’s Pipeline Defense Zone.

Ari and Kais led the Defense Force in holding off a mutant tide, but Kais realized the mutants were fleeing from something more dangerous. After an explosion struck the regiment commander's headquarters, a massive creature approached through the transport pipeline, leaving the soldiers braced for its arrival.

• Ari and the Defense Force fought back waves of mutants as dwindling rations and mounting casualties strained the line.
• Kais rescued Ari from attacking mutants, and they noticed the tide seemed weaker because the mutants were fleeing something behind them.
• Kais ordered a warning sent to the regiment commander, but an explosion behind their line struck near the commander's headquarters.
• Ari and Kais heard a huge creature approaching through the transport pipeline and ordered the soldiers to aim their weapons at its entrance.
• A terrifying roar sounded from the pipeline, and the soldiers felt Fear as the monster arrived.

Undying Ari and Kais fought a giant mutant as it tore through their position and killed the soldiers. Kais saved Ari with a mining truck rigged with cluster mines, but the chapter ended with the explosion engulfing the mutant and Ari unsure whether it had been killed.

• The soldiers bombarded the giant mutant, but it survived and smashed their self-propelled artillery.
• The giant mutant attacked the position, killing soldiers, while Ari charged it and cut into the back of its head with his Chainsword.
• The giant mutant grabbed Ari and crushed his mechanical arm, but Kais drove a heavy mining truck into it and freed him.
• Kais pulled Ari away as the giant mutant lifted the truck and exposed the cluster mines in its cab.
• The cluster mines exploded and engulfed the giant mutant in flames, knocking Ari and Kais down.

Ari’s company faced a second giant mutant until Carter and the Praetorian Guard arrived and killed it. After the battle, Kais found mechanical parts suggesting the mutants were artificially created, while the Logistics Department began collecting the dead and injured for protein.

• Ari and his soldiers prepared to face a giant mutant, but Carter and two Praetorians arrived and killed it with Bolters and Chainswords.
• Kais found mechanical components in the mutant’s remains and suspected it had been artificially created.
• The Praetorian Guard reinforced the Pipeline Defense Zone, and the Defense Force defeated the mutant tide.
• Logistics Department personnel collected mutant and human corpses while Ari’s men searched for survivors and gave basic bandages.
• Ari saw Logistics Department personnel throw an injured, unconscious soldier onto a corpse transport truck and shouted at them.

Ari and Kais confronted the Logistics Department over its attempt to collect protein from wounded soldiers, but Devere invoked revised rules and threatened them with the Custodes and punishment of their families. Ari lowered his gun after Devere mocked his request to see the Governor, and the corpse collection resumed.

• Ari kicked over a corpse collector, and the Logistics Department's armed squad aimed its guns at him.
• Kais intervened and argued that the soldiers were still alive, but Devere claimed revised rules allowed collection from those deemed beyond treatment.
• Ari pointed his gun at Devere, and the company soldiers gathered to defend Ari and Kais as the standoff escalated.
• Devere threatened the soldiers with charges of rebellion and the execution of their families, and Kais urged Ari to stand down for their sake.
• Ari asked to see the Governor, but Devere mocked him and boasted of his own family's generations of service without an audience.
• Ari lowered his gun, and Devere ordered the corpse collectors to resume their work.

Governor Ron Grant halted the Logistics Department’s collection of living soldiers for protein and promised that the wounded would be rescued and honored. His intervention left the soldiers feeling recognized as heroes and the Logistics Department awaiting new orders.

• Devere ordered the corpse collectors to continue their work as an old soldier pleaded with them to spare his injured son.
• Ari and Kais prepared to join the soldiers in resisting, while Devere and the Black Armor Troopers stood ready to enforce the collection protocol.
• A Spire assault gunship ordered everyone to lower their weapons and announced that Ron Grant had abolished Article Nine and ordered aid for the wounded.
• Ron’s recorded speech praised the Defense Force soldiers, promised fair recompense, and declared that no one would be abandoned.
• Rescuers treated the old soldier’s son, and the old soldier knelt to thank the Governor as the soldiers celebrated their recognition.
• The Logistics Department personnel looked to Devere, uncertain how to respond.

Ron oversaw a rescue operation in the Pipeline Defense Zone, then reviewed Defense Force officer files and chose new leaders. He left the chapter satisfied with his selections as the Palatine District prepared for the Emperor’s Ascension Day.

• Devere ordered Logistics Department personnel to join the rescue effort and helped revive a wounded warrior with Ari’s treatment injector.
• Ron learned that the Departmento Munitorum had refused to send reinforcements, so he dispatched Custodes and ordered emergency rescue squads.
• The rescue operation succeeded and earned Ron nearly twenty thousand Power of Hope, though it depleted most of Spire Mansion’s medical supplies.
• Ron worked through administrative documents and ordered the Holy Icons restored before the Ascension Day ceremony.
• After the Departmento Munitorum reported the deaths of the Defense Force’s regimental commander and staff officer, Ron selected two lower-ranking officers to replace them.

After helping rescue survivors at the Pipeline Defense Zone, Ari and Kais were summoned to meet Governor Ron at Spire Mansion. They entered Ron’s office, where he welcomed them warmly, leaving them nervous and unsure how to respond.

• A Departmento Munitorum official ordered Ari and Kais to go to the Spire because the Governor wanted to see them, while Devere watched their gunship depart and resolved to earn an audience himself.
• During the flight, Kais speculated that the Governor wanted to discuss the explosion at the First Pipeline Front command headquarters and the possible deaths of its senior officers.
• Ari and Kais arrived at Spire Mansion, marveled at its grandeur and fresh air, and underwent extensive security checks before being cleared to meet the Governor.
• Ron reviewed Ari and Kais’s files, admired their talents, and welcomed them into his office.
• Kais saluted Ron, and Ari hurriedly followed with a nervous greeting.

Ron appointed Ari and Kais as commander and strategist of the Earth Planet Planetary Defense Force, elevated the force’s status, and gave them autonomy over its recruitment and training. At lunch, Ari and Kais told Ron that the soldiers were starving, and he heard their plea for food.

• Ron appointed Ari and Kais to lead the Defense Force and raised the force’s administrative rank to match the Palatine District’s other combat units.
• Ari and Kais accepted the appointments and pledged their loyalty to Ron.
• Ron gave them full autonomy to recruit and train the Defense Force, then invited them to lunch at Spire Mansion.
• As they ate, Ari and Kais described the soldiers’ severe shortages, hunger, and deaths from starvation.
• Ari pleaded with Ron to provide food for the soldiers.

Ron increased the Defense Force’s supplies by advancing next month’s rations, promising that the Palatine District would solve its food shortage. Devere returned home to find his family struggling to eat, worried that the Governor’s latest transfer would leave many units without food next month, when an important notification arrived.

• Ron told Ari and Kais that the Defense Force’s supplies would be doubled and promised that conditions would improve.
• Ari and Kais thanked Ron and pledged the soldiers’ loyalty.
• Devere returned to his family’s home and found Marty and Lilith preparing a meager meal of Sawdust Bread and Corpse Starch.
• Devere worried that the Governor’s transfer of supplies would leave many units without Corpse Starch next month.
• The mailbox bell rang to announce an important notification from the Palatine District.

During a blackout, Devere’s family struggled with shrinking food rations and learned that conditions outside the Palatine District were dire. A notice from the Governor promised a plan to address the food crisis, and Devere woke the next morning ready to carry out his new assignment.

• Devere reassured Lilith that the food shortages were temporary, but Lilith revealed she and Jenny had sneaked out and seen workers being shot and bodies taken away.
• Devere and Marty reprimanded Lilith for leaving home and reminded her that the Lapp family owed its loyalty and security to the Governor.
• Devere shared his scarce Sawdust Bread with Lilith while Marty insisted he eat enough to preserve the family’s dignity.
• Devere read a Palatine District notice ordering Logistics Department personnel to report to headquarters and promising a plan to solve the food crisis and restore rations.
• Devere promised to work hard for the Governor and went to bed early, then jolted awake to his alarm-clock robot’s call to work for the Governor.

Devere prepared to serve the Governor as the Logistics Department gathered for Ron’s inspection. Ron delivered an inspiring speech to nearly ten thousand personnel, raising the Power of Hope by almost three thousand points.

• Devere followed his morning ritual, vowed to remain loyal to the Governor, and joined the Logistics Department personnel marching to headquarters.
• Ron listened to Bayev’s plans, then traveled with Carter’s protection to inspect the Logistics Department.
• Devere and the assembled personnel waited in formation as Ron arrived at headquarters.
• Ron took the podium and began his speech, prompting the crowd to give the Aquila Salute.
• Ron read a speech promising that the Palatine District would solve its problems, and the Power of Hope rose by nearly three thousand points.

Ron announced new restrictions for the Logistics Department and revealed a new unit within it that he would personally organize and train. Bayev selected two hundred people, including Devere, who realized his name had been called just as Ron approached the recruits.

• Ron announced limits on the Logistics Department’s authority while preserving its ability to use necessary force in emergencies.
• After Bayev reminded him, Ron announced a new department within Logistics that he would personally arrange and train.
• Bayev read the list of two hundred recruits, and Devere grew convinced he had been passed over when the final name was called.
• Devere discovered that Bayev had called him by his family name, Lapp, and felt overwhelmed with relief and pride.
• Bayev ordered the selected recruits to remain in formation as Ron approached them, tired from the meeting.

Ron formed a new department of young, loyal workers who would take orders directly from him, while Devere celebrated his selection and the return of his family’s normal food rations. The chapter ended with Ron reading a report that residential areas near Sacred Plaza had been attacked.

• Ron welcomed the selected workers into his new department and told them to report the next morning for assignments.
• Bayev arranged the workers’ handovers, freeing them from their Logistics Department duties and making them answerable only to Ron.
• Devere walked home with Popov, warned him not to question or discuss the Governor’s plans, and urged him to follow Ron’s orders.
• Devere learned that his family’s food rations had returned to normal and told Marty and Lilith about his new duties.
• Ron read a report that several residential areas around Sacred Plaza had suffered attacks.

Ron investigated a series of brutal killings near Sacred Plaza and learned that Heretics had infiltrated the Palatine District ahead of the Emperor’s Ascension Day. Bayev proposed purging more than a hundred thousand residents to stop them, but Ron rejected the sacrifice and faced the need to find another solution.

• Bayev told Ron that similar attacks had occurred in Homan House territory and were likely connected to the Shattered Eye cult.
• Ron suspected Homan House had helped the Heretics infiltrate the Palatine District to sabotage the Ascension Day ceremony.
• Ron ordered Bayev to clear the Heretics from the residential districts around Sacred Plaza before the ceremony.
• Bayev proposed sealing off the districts and purging everyone inside, claiming it was the fastest way to prevent further disaster.
• Ron could not accept killing over a hundred thousand residents and considered whether another way existed.

Ron struggled with the burden of ruling and vowed to find a better way, while Yosef Homan oversaw horrific experiments intended to create weapons against the Custodes. The mutated rat broke through its containment and cracked the chamber wall as Yosef watched.

• Ron dismissed Bayev, looked over his subjects from the Spire, and vowed to find a better way.
• Yosef visited Homan House’s laboratory, where a researcher showed him the monstrous creations being developed against the Custodes.
• Yosef activated the giant cultivation tank containing his suffering elder sister and harvested a glowing azure liquid from her flesh.
• Yosef ordered a young researcher to test the liquid on a grey rat, which mutated into an aggressive creature and killed the researcher.
• The mutated rat repeatedly smashed into the chamber wall until cracks spread across the glass in front of Yosef.

Yosef tested the Mutated Grey Rat and met with the Black-robed Figure, then reflected on the Homan House’s history and his plan to destroy the Grant House and become planetary Governor. He asked whether a gift had been delivered to Ron Grant.

• Yosef used his Miniature Conversion Field to repel the Mutated Grey Rat, which the Black-robed Figure controlled and then subdued.
• The Black-robed Figure knelt before Yosef and greeted him as his master.
• Yosef recalled murdering his father, taking control of the Homan House, and resolving to avenge its lost claim to the planetary Governorship.
• Yosef seized the opportunity presented by Earth Planet’s upheavals to rebel against the Grant House and take control of one-third of the Upper Hive District.
• Yosef asked the Black-robed Figure whether the gift for Ron Grant had been delivered.