Chapter Summaries

Ron defended his policy of uniting humans, Xenos, and Chaos Daemons against the Great Devourer, and The Emperor agreed to develop a weapon for the coming war. Several years later, Ron surveyed the flourishing Galaxy and Warp, where population and production had surged as the Imperium prepared for the threat.

• Ron calmed The Emperor after Fulgrim's provocative performance, then walked with him and discussed the Warp's changing environment.
• The Emperor questioned Ron's alliance with Xenos and Chaos Daemons, but accepted that the Galaxy needed every available force to face the Great Devourer.
• The Emperor returned to his laboratory with Perturabo to research a powerful weapon, while Ron reassured the Primarchs and continued the Victory Celebration.
• The Victory Celebration lasted more than a month before Ron and the Primarchs turned to expanding resources and armies for the coming war.
• Several years later, Ron inspected the increasingly prosperous Galaxy and Warp and saw that the population had grown many times over.

An enormous Tyranid swarm led by the Great Devourer consumed a deep-space observation platform near Andromeda and set its sights on the Galaxy, while the Human Federation received the platform’s final warning. On Central Star, Kryfis XIII reflected on the Federation’s prosperity and considered returning to the Galaxy to save its people.

• An Adeptus Mechanicus observation platform detected a vast, devouring nebula approaching the Galaxy, and one Explorator Sage killed himself in despair.
• The surviving Explorator Sage sent the Human Federation a final warning before the Tyranid organisms overwhelmed and devoured the platform.
• The Great Devourer identified the Galaxy as a rich new feeding ground and directed the Tyranid Swarms toward it.
• An emergency signal reached the Human Federation, ruled by the Kryfis Family across thousands of prosperous Civilized Worlds.
• Kryfis XIII recalled how his family had fled the Imperium and built the Federation, then considered returning to the Galaxy to rescue its suffering humans.

Kryfis XIII led the Human Federation council to unanimously approve a resolution to return to the Galaxy, believing they could liberate humanity from the Imperium. As the Federation celebrated, an invasion alert revealed a terrifying unknown enemy approaching from beyond the Galaxy.

• Kryfis XIII discussed the return plan with the chief steward, who reported that Duke Seru worried the Federation lacked enough Gene Warriors to face the Imperium’s Adeptus Astartes.
• Kryfis XIII promised reconnaissance, military reassessments, and five years of preparation, then ordered the council to convene in nine days.
• The Federation council gathered at Central Star and unanimously passed the resolution to return to the Galaxy.
• Kryfis XIII celebrated the vote and looked toward the Galaxy, but a highest-level invasion alert interrupted the gathering.
• Kryfis XIII and the lords learned that a vast pitch-black nebula with enormous tentacles, not the Imperium, was approaching from beyond the Galaxy.

The Human Federation learned that the Tyranid Scourge would overwhelm its defenses within a week, so Kryfis XIII ordered an evacuation toward the Galaxy and pledged submission to The Savior in exchange for aid. As refugee ships departed and Federation forces stayed behind to delay the enemy, Ron received news of the Federation’s existence.

• The Naval Commander reported that the Human Federation could not stop the Scourge and that its defensive line would collapse within a week.
• Kryfis XIII chose to evacuate the population toward the Galaxy and send The Savior a request for aid, offering the Federation’s complete submission.
• The Federation lords unanimously approved the evacuation, and Kryfis XIII ordered military personnel to remain and fight while their families could flee.
• The Federation began evacuating its citizens, and Kryfis XIII led the remaining troops toward the advancing tentacles to buy time.
• Ron read an intelligence report about the Human Federation and wondered whether the Imperium had an illegitimate child outside the Galaxy.

Ron learned that the Human Federation, a distant human society beyond the Galaxy, faced possible destruction by the Great Devourer, and he decided to lead an Imperial Fleet to rescue it. The chapter left Ron preparing to confront the enemy early and test its strength.

• Inquisitors captured human spies in a reconnected fringe sector and discovered they belonged to the Human Federation, which had fled the Old Imperium thousands of years earlier.
• Ron reviewed the intelligence, sympathized with the Federation, and waited for reconnaissance while the Imperium continued preparing its defenses against the Great Devourer.
• Ron inspected the thirteen-layer Space Steel Wall in the Halo Stars and discussed the defensive preparations with Guilliman, who was coordinating the lines.
• Ron teased Guilliman about holding a bonding ceremony with Yvraine after the war, and Guilliman returned to his urgent work.
• The Departmento Munitorum found a route to the Human Federation and reported that the Great Devourer's tendrils could threaten its territory, prompting Ron to lead an Imperial Fleet to its rescue.

Ron inspected the Imperium’s enormous Space Steel Walls, then prepared to lead a fleet to the Human Federation to rescue its people and test specialized weapons against the Great Devourer’s Tyranids. His fleet departed, leaving Guilliman and Rogal Dorn to manage the Imperium and its defenses as the dangerous first encounter began.

• Ron arrived at the Seventh Space Steel Wall, where Rogal Dorn showed him the vast defensive complex and its assembled forces.
• Ron asked Rogal Dorn for more troops for the Human Federation mission, but accepted that deploying more would weaken the defensive line and chose to bring specialized Tyranid weapons instead.
• Ron planned to bring researchers to gather biological data and test the Imperium’s weapons against the Tyranids, while keeping its newest weapons concealed unless necessary.
• Ron instructed Rogal Dorn to hold the Space Steel Walls and departed to finish preparing his fleet for the rescue mission.
• Half a month later, Guilliman saw Ron’s fleet depart and remained at the Temporary Savior Sanctuary to govern the Imperium, hoping Ron would return safely.

Ron led the Imperial Fleet beyond the Galaxy using Cawl’s Navigator Ship and its Gravity Route technology to reach the Human Federation. The fleet arrived at its destination, while Ron remained cut off from the Galaxy but had plans for relaying communications and intelligence.

• Ron questioned Cawl about whether the fleet could safely reach the Human Federation, and Tako reassured him before he ordered the High-speed Passage activated.
• Cawl’s Mechanical Narvhal detected the Federation’s gravitational signals and led the Imperial Fleet into a Gravity Route across the void.
• Ron worked aboard the Dreamer on government reforms and plans for future expansion while the fleet traveled beyond the Galaxy.
• A communications ship laid signal relay stations along the route so the fleet could exchange messages with the Galaxy and send back intelligence on the Great Devourer.
• The Gravity Corridor slowed as Ron saw distant celestial bodies grow larger, and the fleet arrived at its destination.

Ron brought the Imperial Fleet into the Human Federation’s besieged star system and ordered it to protect the Federation fleet and help evacuate its population. As the Federation’s defenses collapsed, Kryfis learned that an even larger Tyranid swarm had appeared behind the evacuation routes, trapping the worlds between two forces.

• Ron saw that the stars in the Human Federation’s system remained, then witnessed the Great Devourer’s tendrils draining nearby stars and attacking the Federation fleet.
• The Imperial Fleet completed Gravity Navigation, and Ron ordered it to advance cautiously, hold back the tendrils, and prioritize rescuing civilians and gathering intelligence.
• Kryfis watched the Federation fleet suffer devastating losses and refused to abandon the command flagship, urging his forces to hold the line for the worlds behind them.
• Kryfis received reports that a massive Tyranid swarm had appeared behind the Human Federation and blocked the evacuation routes, despite having been absent from earlier scans.

The Human Federation faced annihilation from the Tyranid Swarms until the Imperium arrived, giving Kryfis hope that its citizens might be saved. As Lictors infiltrated his command flagship and overwhelmed its defenses, Kryfis was on the verge of defeat when sacred music praising The Savior began to play.

• Kryfis prepared to lead the Federation fleet in a final charge, but scouts identified an approaching Imperial fleet, and he offered the Imperium unconditional submission in exchange for help evacuating civilians.
• Lictors boarded the command flagship, killed its Gene Warriors, and advanced toward the Bridge while cutting off escape routes and reinforcements.
• Kryfis led his bodyguards to intercept the Lictors, but the creatures vanished from Auspex detection, and he ordered the Bridge warned of a possible infiltration.
• Lictors revealed themselves within the defensive line after Kryfis withdrew, slaughtered defenders, and attacked his group as it rushed back toward the Bridge.
• Kryfis killed several Lictors but was exhausted and surrounded when sacred music praising The Savior suddenly sounded.

The Imperium’s golden warship arrived to aid Kryfis and the Human Federation, destroying several Tyranid bio-ships and restoring the soldiers’ hope. As Ron Grant announced an evacuation and sent Adeptus Astartes Drop Pods to the invaded ships, the Lictor Assassins prepared an ambush, but the chapter ended as a Space Marine violently kicked open a Pod’s hatch and crushed an attacker with it.

• Kryfis and the Federation soldiers saw the Dreamer arrive, withstand the Tyranid swarm’s assault, and destroy several bio-ships with its main cannon.
• Kryfis and his troops renewed their resistance against the Lictor Assassins as their casualties continued to mount.
• Ron Grant addressed the Human Federation, promised to rescue its people, and launched Drop Pods carrying Adeptus Astartes to invaded ships.
• Kryfis tried to warn the descending Drop Pods that Lictor Assassins were preparing an ambush, but the Angels of the Emperor replied only, “Mm.”
• The Lictor Assassins surrounded the landed Drop Pods, and one was crushed when an Adeptus Astartes kicked a hatch through it.

Titus and his Ultramarines rescued Kryfis’s forces by slaughtering the Tyranid Lictors and swarms, then Ron arrived before the Federation commander. Kryfis submitted to Ron, who welcomed him back into the Imperium and requested information to evacuate the Human Federation’s population.

• Titus led his Ultramarines into the transit area and killed the Lictors that ambushed them.
• Titus’s elite troops overwhelmed the Tyranid forces, sealed the exits, and exterminated the swarm while Kryfis and the Federation warriors watched.
• Ron arrived in a grand display, and the Federation warriors knelt before him.
• Kryfis finally knelt before Ron and accepted his authority as commander of the Human Federation.
• Ron welcomed Kryfis back into the Imperium and asked for information on every Federation planet so he could arrange the population’s evacuation.

Ron arranged for the Imperium to evacuate the Human Federation’s population and secured the Federation’s acceptance of his leadership. When the Tendril Swarm surrounded the Dreamer and the Federation fleet, the Imperial Fleet arrived in overwhelming numbers and encircled the swarm instead.

• Ron told Kryfis that Imperial logistics forces would evacuate the Federation’s population and important supplies, and Kryfis entrusted the citizens to him.
• Ron and Kryfis announced that the Human Federation would accept the Savior’s leadership, while Ron promised protection and a better life for its people.
• The Federation fleet and citizens welcomed the Imperium’s intervention, and Ron left evacuation planning and fleet command to Imperial administrators and systems.
• As the Tendril Swarm closed around the Dreamer, Kryfis and the Federation commanders feared the Imperial Fleet had not arrived in time, but Ron assured them that it was coming.
• The Imperial Fleet warped in around the swarm, forming inner and outer encirclement rings, and the Federation’s naval commander celebrated the prospect of annihilating it.

Ron’s Imperial Fleet surrounded and annihilated a Tyranid Tendril Swarm, impressing the Human Federation commanders and drawing them closer to the Imperium. After pushing the defensive line hundreds of light-years outward, Ron learned that more than a dozen tendrils would arrive within two weeks and ordered Cawl to deploy the TCS Insect-Killing System.

• The Imperial Fleet arrived and surrounded the Tyranid Tendril Swarm, restoring the Federation soldiers’ confidence and bringing their commanders under Imperial command.
• Ron watched the surrounded swarm contract its defenses while he and Kryfis drank wine aboard the Dreamer.
• The Imperial, Federation, and Dreamer fleets unleashed a coordinated barrage that overwhelmed and destroyed the Tendril Swarm.
• Federation commanders praised The Savior and the Imperium’s warships, while Kryfis recognized the vast difference between their power and the Imperium’s.
• Ron’s forces pushed the defensive line hundreds of light-years beyond the Human Federation after scouts reported that more than a dozen tendrils would arrive within two weeks.
• Ron told Cawl to deploy the TCS Insect-Killing System before the other tendrils reached the front line.

Ron and the Imperial Fleet prepared to hold back the Great Devourer Swarm while the Imperial Logistics Fleet arrived to evacuate the Human Federation. As the evacuation began amid widespread chaos and resistance, its enormous ships filled the skies over Federation worlds, leaving even a governor unsure whether they were truly allies.

• Cawl accepted Ron's order to deploy the TCS System and other anti-swarm weapons for testing against the Great Devourer Swarm.
• Ron saw more than a dozen Tendril Swarms gather after draining a star and realized they threatened the Federation's worlds, forcing the Imperial Fleet to hold the line while civilians escaped.
• Kryfis and the Federation commanders worried that the Logistics Fleet had not arrived, until Ron pointed out its vast armada approaching behind the Federation.
• Federation worlds descended into turmoil as citizens resisted evacuation, cultists rioted, and some nobles hoarded ships for their private assets.
• The Imperial Logistics Fleet filled the orbits of Federation worlds, and the Federation Governor stared at its ships and wondered whether they were really not enemies.

The Imperial Logistics Fleet and Inquisitor Barnes took control of a Human Federation planet to organize its evacuation, reassuring the Federation Governor that he would become an Imperial Archon. After Barnes’s forces intercepted the Vitan Family’s ships as they tried to flee, he led enforcers aboard them.

• The Imperial Logistics Fleet arrived, and its supervisor assigned evacuation duties while Inquisitors prepared to maintain order.
• The Federation Governor met transport supervisor and Inquisitor Barnes, then handed over the planet’s security responsibilities and administrative data.
• Barnes assured the Governor that he would retain authority as an Imperial Archon after the evacuation, and the Governor agreed to cooperate.
• The Governor reported families that had withheld ships and supplies, including the Vitan Family, and received a temporary role assisting Imperial security forces.
• The Vitan Family’s ships attempted to escape, but a Logistics Fleet vessel immobilized them with a gravitational wave, and Barnes declared that unauthorized departures were forbidden.
• Barnes led elite enforcers aboard the captured Vitan Family ships.

Senator Vitan’s attempted escape ended in arrest, and the Imperium’s public punishment of fleeing traitors drove Federation elites to cooperate with the evacuation. Ron and the Federation Governor also faced riots fueled by denial of the Tyranid threat; after security forces dispersed them, gunfire and explosions suddenly erupted nearby.

• Senator Vitan ordered his fleet to flee, but the Imperium’s force field trapped it, and Barnes arrested him and his family.
• Batus announced the Vitan Family’s verdict, and news of Imperial artillery destroying another fleeing ship frightened Federation nobles into supporting the evacuation.
• Cults and conspiracy groups claimed the Tyranid Swarms were fake and incited citizens to riot and seize evacuation ships.
• The Federation Governor ordered public security forces to break up the demonstrators, rescue citizens being attacked, and detain the ringleaders.
• The Governor joined the security forces in striking riot leaders with a plastic club, and the crowd was dispersed and taken into custody.
• As the Governor caught his breath, gunfire and artillery erupted around him, and flames appeared.

Barnes explained that the Imperium’s gunfire was part of a campaign to eradicate Genestealers, and the Imperium suppressed the infiltration across the Human Federation before beginning evacuation propaganda. With the Imperium’s Landing Craft and supplies easing the crisis, Osborne and his daughter reached a Federation ship, where he watched her eat as Tyranid Swarms approached.

• Barnes reassured the Federation Governor that Imperium forces were purging Genestealers rather than massacring citizens, then sent evidence of the threat.
• Imperium forces destroyed Genestealer nests, arrested infected nobles and legislators, and screened citizens across the Human Federation.
• After restoring order, Barnes authorized the Propaganda Department to reassure Federation citizens and explain the Great Devourer threat and evacuation plans.
• Osborne and his daughter escaped a deadly crowd crush and gunfire to board a Federation ship, while the Imperium’s Landing Craft gave other citizens a chance to evacuate.
• Some citizens who distrusted the Imperium chose to board Federation ships instead, and Osborne sat with his daughter as she ate in their crowded compartment.

Osborne and his daughter were removed from a Federation escape ship and sent toward an Imperial transport behemoth after officials cited scarce food and his stowaway status. As the shuttle approached the enormous Imperial vessel, they faced an unknown future alongside other transferred passengers.

• Osborne tried to make his single can of food last for himself and his daughter as Federation passengers protested the meager rations.
• Federation guards suppressed the complaints and warned passengers that disobedience could result in transfer to an Imperial vessel, while supply officers discovered the ship lacked enough food.
• Guards informed Osborne that he and his daughter would be transferred because he had stowed away and strained the ship's supplies; he submitted rather than risk harming her.
• At the docking area, Osborne met an elderly scholar who had chosen to transfer voluntarily, believing Imperial ships would be safer and better supplied.
• Osborne boarded a shuttle with his daughter and other transferred passengers as an Imperial transport behemoth loomed closer.

Osborne and the other Federation refugees boarded an Imperial Transport Leviathan, where they were processed as new Imperial citizens. After fearing they would be confined to a grim ship, Osborne discovered the Leviathan contained a vast, safe city, and he and his daughter were taken toward temporary housing.

• Federation guards urged Osborne and the other refugees off their shuttle, while Security Warriors escorted them into the Imperial passage.
• Osborne and the refugees were disinfected, given clean robes, and registered for Imperial citizenship with help from Administrator Linlin.
• Osborne emerged into a huge city beneath an Artificial Sun and saw its greenery and the Savior Statue, leaving him and the refugees amazed and relieved.
• The chapter explained that Transport Leviathans were self-sustaining mobile worlds built to evacuate citizens, and that larger Arks of Salvation were being developed for the war against the Tyranid Swarms.
• Hover vehicles arrived to carry Osborne and the other Federation citizens to their temporary homes.

Osborne and his daughter settled into a comfortable Imperial apartment, enjoyed a hot meal, and found him a machinery-repair job as they began rebuilding their lives among the Federation refugees. Before they could start his first day at work, artillery fire and frantic knocking shattered the morning calm.

• An Imperial servo-automaton assigned Osborne and his daughter a furnished private apartment with access to a nearby park.
• Osborne and his daughter explored their new home, then ate freshly cooked food at the Community Canteen using relief funds on his citizen card.
• Osborne learned that refugees could find work and secured a machinery-repair job at the Employment Office.
• Osborne took his daughter to the park, where Federation refugees prayed before the Savior Statue and pledged loyalty to the Imperium.
• Before the Artificial Sun rose the next morning, frantic knocking and the thunder of artillery fire woke Osborne and his daughter.