Chapter Summaries

After discovering that Hydra agents Sitwell and Crossbones Rumlow had plotted to kill Rogers, Rorschach prepared to attack them while urging Rogers to accept humanity’s struggle for survival. Rogers joined the assault to purge Hydra from S.H.I.E.L.D., while Rorschach sought vengeance for Madam Gao’s assassination.

• Silver Sable’s team took the wounded Punisher away, and Rorschach planned to brainwash him for future use.
• Iron Man David showed Rogers evidence that Sitwell and Crossbones Rumlow were Hydra agents, prompting Rorschach to order Sanguinary Company One and Whirlwind Missile Launchers prepared for battle.
• Rogers told Rorschach he was troubled by the world’s conflicts, and Rorschach argued that humanity had to keep advancing to survive threats beyond Earth.
• Rorschach and Rogers joked about Rorschach’s brother before heading to the Thunderhawk Gunships with their forces.
• Rogers chose to use Rorschach’s Astartes to purge Hydra from S.H.I.E.L.D., while Rorschach aimed to avenge Madam Gao by attacking Crossbones and the others.

Rorschach and Rogers prepared to assault S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Hub and purge its Hydra infiltrators while protecting innocent personnel. As their forces approached the headquarters, Rogers broadcast an appeal urging S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to resist Hydra.

• Rorschach persuaded Rogers, Dum-Dum Duggan, and Killer Monkey to wear Carapace Armor and explained the attack plan, agreeing to avoid heavy bombardment unless S.H.I.E.L.D.'s aircraft took off.
• Rorschach promised that his forces would not deliberately slaughter innocents and agreed that Rogers would call on genuine S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to resist Hydra.
• David concealed the approaching Thunderhawk formation from radar, while ten gunships carrying Weepers diverted to seize airports and landing platforms.
• David took control of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s communication channels, and Rogers broadcast Hydra's infiltration to the agents at the Hub, urging them to fight back.
• After the broadcast, Rorschach praised Rogers's speech, and Rogers joked that he would keep improving his public speaking.

Rorschach and the Astartes attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities as Hydra agents resisted, while Rogers and Doom helped secure the Hub. Inside headquarters, Natasha and Hawkeye searched S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets until Natasha confronted Coulson about a weapons program for the Tesseract.

• The Weepers changed their mission from occupying the airport to exterminating the Hydra agents after they met fierce resistance.
• Rorschach and five Terminators breached the Hub, while Rogers and Doom organized teams to identify allies and clear out Hydra.
• Iron Man David located Crossbones and other Hydra forces gathering to escape toward the airport, so Rorschach led the Terminators deeper into the base.
• Natasha and Hawkeye searched classified files while keeping Coulson bound, and Hawkeye argued that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed new leadership.
• Natasha interrupted Coulson's defense of Fury and demanded to know about a weapons program for the Tesseract.

Rorschach fought his way through S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and reached an underground plaza where an unfinished Sky Carrier was under construction. He ambushed a Hydra convoy, but Crossbones Rumlow survived and charged him.

• Rorschach and the Terminator Squad pushed through the headquarters, attacking armed Hydra agents while advancing past S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel.
• Rorschach entered an underground plaza and spotted an unfinished Sky Carrier, considering how he might obtain it or its blueprints.
• More than a dozen Hydra jeeps charged Rorschach, who used the Metal Ten Rings and Frost Grenades to stop the convoy.
• Rorschach attacked the trapped jeeps with his Chainsword and Metal Ten Rings, killing the Hydra agents around them.
• Crossbones Rumlow kicked open a battered jeep door and lunged at Rorschach, shouting, “Hail Hydra—”

Rorschach killed Crossbones Rumlow and confirmed that the Hydra leaders inside S.H.I.E.L.D. had been eliminated, but Rumlow survived through a life-substitute device. He demanded revenge from Mr. President Osborn, who rejected him and ordered General Ross to kill him.

• Rorschach defeated Crossbones Rumlow with his Metal Ten Rings and tore off his head, while Sitwell was found dead in a damaged vehicle.
• Rorschach recalled the Metal Ten Rings and headed toward a passage as the remaining Hydra agents continued fighting the Astartes, Captain America, and their allies.
• Rumlow revived from a life-substitute device and begged Mr. President Osborn to avenge him and destroy the Terra Astartes Legion.
• Osborn refused to help Rumlow and dismissed him as a worthless pawn, explaining that he had no reason to provoke the Terra Astartes Legion.
• Rumlow threatened to expose Osborn, so Osborn ordered General Ross to kill him, and the red giant charged at Rumlow.

Rogers and his allies cleared Hydra from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and Rogers prepared to lead the agency as its new director. Natasha revealed that Nick Fury had fled with the Tesseract to develop powerful weapons, while Coulson began explaining Fury’s motives.

• Rogers fought through Hydra agents with Agent Thirteen and said he would take responsibility for leading S.H.I.E.L.D.
• About three hours later, Sanguinary Company One finished searching headquarters, and Rorschach reported that Hydra’s leader inside S.H.I.E.L.D. had been eliminated.
• Natasha and Hawkeye brought the bound Coulson to Rorschach and Rogers, and Natasha said Fury had fled with the Tesseract.
• Rogers learned that Howard Stark had salvaged the Tesseract and that Fury planned to use it to create powerful energy weapons, and he condemned Fury’s actions.
• Coulson told Rorschach that the Slums massacre had pushed Fury toward drastic measures to protect humanity.

Rorschach denounced S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury over the Blood Pact, then reached an agreement with Rogers that gave him the unfinished Sky Carrier. As his forces departed, Rorschach ordered a search for Fury and the Tesseract, revealed the Infinity Stones’ power, and asked Hawkeye whether he would join his team.

• Rorschach condemned Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. for the Blood Pact’s atrocities, while Natasha and Hawkeye sided with him and Rogers offered to strip Fury of his positions.
• Rorschach negotiated compensation with Rogers, who handed over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s unfinished Sky Carrier as he began his new struggle against politicians.
• Rorschach departed S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters with his forces and ordered David to find Fury and recover the Tesseract, prioritizing the Space Stone within it.
• Rorschach explained the Infinity Stones and the threat posed by a powerful alien enemy, and Doom volunteered to lead the assault team pursuing the Space Stone.
• Rorschach agreed to Doom’s request and asked Hawkeye whether he would join his team after learning its secrets.

Hawkeye joined Rorschach’s team and left with Natasha to relocate his family, while Rorschach returned to Twin Islands Base. There, he discovered Sage Neil and Raditus locked in a fierce battle, with Raditus revealed as a massive transforming metal construct.

• Hawkeye told Rorschach he wanted to stay and help humanity, and Rorschach allowed him to serve alongside Natasha with the option to leave later.
• Natasha accompanied Hawkeye to help move his family, while Doom departed for Imperial Heavy Industries and continued pursuing Nick Fury with two Astartes Combat Squads.
• Iron Man David told Rorschach that Sage Neil and Raditus had clashed at Twin Islands Base, though the Forge Factory’s production lines remained operational.
• Rorschach’s Thunderhawk Gunship flew toward Second Son Island, where explosions and missile fire alerted him to renewed fighting.
• Rorschach saw Sage Neil battling Raditus, who commanded Auto-Servitor Robots and appeared as a massive transforming metal construct.

Rorschach stopped Raditus and Sage Neil’s battle by wrecking Raditus’s miniature Knight Titan and disabling both combatants. After revoking their positions and benefits, he heard how Sage Neil’s remarks about Raditus’s failed mission and teacher had provoked the fight.

• Rorschach descended into the battlefield, severed a Castellan Robot’s limbs, destroyed Sage Neil’s weapon and mechanical arm, and cut through the Auto-Servitor Robots.
• Rorschach split open Raditus’s miniature Knight Titan, ordered David to take over Forge Factory production, and revoked Raditus and Sage Neil’s positions and benefits.
• At Eldest Son Island, Rorschach summoned Raditus and Sage Neil and demanded an explanation for their violent conflict.
• Sage Neil admitted she had tried to ease tensions, while Raditus revealed that her mockery of its failed planetary mission and Master Sage Fastinious had provoked it to bring out the Titan.
• Raditus explained that it had intended the battle to end in mutual destruction, staking its life on defending its beliefs and past.

Rorschach punished Sage Neil by exiling her to Hydra Island to build a Forge Factory and complete a Sky Carrier, while Raditus explained its unfinished miniature construct Knight Titan project. Rorschach promised to promote Raditus to Mechanical Sage if it finished the machine and established a production line.

• Rorschach sentenced Sage Neil to exile on Hydra Island, where she would build a Forge Factory and complete a Sky Carrier under Astartes surveillance.
• Iron Man David escorted Sage Neil away to prepare for her relocation.
• Raditus praised Rorschach, but Rorschach demanded an explanation of its miniature construct Knight Titan.
• Raditus explained that it had designed a transforming war machine with Scythe and Gear forms, while its Sky Eagle form remained unfinished.
• Rorschach promised to make Raditus a Mechanical Sage if it completed the Knight Titan and established its production line.

Rorschach disciplined Raditus, prepared his forces and Hydra Island for future threats, and learned that Mordo was building a sorcerer corps using Morgan le Fay’s magical legacy. He then began another simulation, hoping to strengthen himself and his war technology.

• Rorschach demoted Raditus from managing the Forge Factory but allowed it to continue developing the miniature construct Knight Titan.
• Rorschach ordered Sanguinary Company One and Company Two to train the Stormtroopers in auxiliary Power Armor and Astartes combat techniques.
• Rorschach and Wong moved the unfinished Sky Carrier to Hydra Island, where Sage Neil began renovating the former Hydra base and building a Forge Factory.
• Wong told Rorschach that Strange was receiving private lessons from the Master of the Mystic Arts and that Mordo was assembling sorcerer troops using magical artifacts linked to Morgan le Fay.
• Rorschach warned Wong that Mordo should handle the ancient magical creations carefully, and Wong left to report their progress to the Master of the Mystic Arts.
• Rorschach boarded a Thunderhawk Gunship, opened the Simulator, and tossed a Throne Gelt to begin another simulation.

A newcomer awakened in Asterion Morok’s body aboard the Minotaur flagship, learned that Guilliman had become Regent, and prepared to intervene in Holy Terra’s turmoil. The Minotaur fleet was redirected to the Lunar Spaceport, while Morok sent Calgar a coded message intended to bring him into an urgent meeting with Guilliman.

• The newcomer awoke in Morok’s Terminator armor and recovered memories identifying him as Chapter Master of the Minotaurs aboard the Daedalus's Might.
• Ivanus the Hermit told Morok that the Imperial Fists had barred the fleet from the Lion Gate Spaceport, so it would dock at the Lunar Spaceport instead.
• Morok ordered Ivanus to send Calgar the message, “The odd changes, the even remains,” and said Calgar would arrange an urgent meeting with Guilliman.
• Ivanus bowed and left, and Morok armed himself with Black Spear and the Minotaur Shield before heading for the bridge.
• Morok recalled that Terra faced cultists, displaced civilians, and a brewing rebellion among the High Lords, and considered using the Minotaurs to cleanse the bureaucracy if necessary.

Morok prepared the Minotaur Chapter to intervene in Terra’s unrest, despite Guilliman’s warning and a covert order from the High Lords directing the Chapter toward a political objective. He left the Chapter on combat readiness, with the Firstborn pledging loyalty to him and the Emperor.

• Morok ordered the ship’s captain to prepare Thunderhawks and summoned the Chapter’s Astartes after learning that purges in a ruined region of Terra had left civilians trapped and unrest ongoing.
• Morok directed the captain to notify the Imperial Fists and the Custodes that the Minotaur Chapter would help quell the unrest on Terra.
• Ivanus the Hermit brought Morok a message warning him not to act rashly, which Morok recognized as a reply from Guilliman.
• Morok read and tore up a private instruction from a former Minister of the Department of the Interior that aimed to pressure Guilliman into returning to Terra and submitting to the High Lords.
• Morok placed the Chapter on combat readiness, ordered its veterans to await his command, and made the Firstborn pledge loyalty to the Emperor and himself.

The Minotaur Chapter arrived at Holy Terra, where its Chapter Master confronted Tor Garadon over entering the Solar System without authorization. After Garadon allowed them through, the Chapter Master secretly passed him a small parchment, leaving its contents and purpose unknown.

• The narrator reflected on Holy Terra’s suffering and resolved not to ignore the people’s plight or the High Lords’ failures.
• The Minotaur fleet crossed Terra’s defenses and landed at Lion Gate Spaceport, where scanners from several factions scrutinized the narrator.
• Tor Garadon challenged the Minotaur Chapter’s unauthorized arrival, and the narrator explained that they needed Gene-seed after a Death Guard raid.
• The narrator armed himself, but Tor Garadon suppressed his hostility and ordered the Imperial Fists to let the Minotaurs pass.
• The narrator shook hands with Tor Garadon and slipped a small parchment between his fingers before departing.

Morok weighed Terra’s factions and chose to prioritize the cultist chaos and the suffering civilians over confronting the conservative High Lords. He led four companies of Firstborn into the streets, where a hungry boy’s request for food helped win the citizens’ first glimmer of hope.

• A junior official delivered Morok a transfer order from the former Minister of the Department of the Interior, and Morok sent one hundred Firstborn to provide the conservatives with “close protection” while he continued on.
• Morok led four companies of Firstborn to the designated location to address the cultist crisis, though the civilians reacted to the Astartes with fear and suspicion.
• Morok offered civilians fresh water and food in exchange for the locations of the Hive Gangs oppressing them.
• A gaunt boy asked Morok for extra supplies in return for information about Hive Gangs, and Morok lifted him onto his shoulder and promised they would take food and water together.
• The boy smiled as Morok rallied the Astartes to attack, and the surrounding citizens began to feel hope that the Minotaur Chapter might help them.

The Minotaur Chapter restored order across Terra’s hive cities, gained civilian support, and used intelligence from its new network to purge cultists. Shield-Captain Valerian, Sister of Silence Aleya, and their companions confronted the Chapter Master and asked why he was intervening.

• The Minotaur Chapter defeated Terra’s gangs, and the Chapter Master secured a warrant to requisition food and ammunition from the Department of the Interior.
• Hive civilians formed an intelligence network that exposed spies and cultists, allowing the Minotaur Chapter to strike their strongholds before Imperial Fists and Custodes forces arrived.
• The Chapter Master obtained a warrant to deploy Chapter vehicles on Terra as his actions drew support from the former Minister of the Department of the Interior.
• A Custodes squad led by Shield-Captain Valerian and accompanied by Aleya entered a hive city, where civilians gathered around them with hostility.
• The Chapter Master calmed the crowd and welcomed the visitors, and Valerian asked why he had restored order and purged cultists.

Chapter Master Morok provoked Shield Captain Valerian to expose his need for a secret meeting with Custodes Prefect Trajan and warned the Custodes that Terra faced threats beyond the Imperial Palace. He planned to keep posing as the High Lords’ pawn until their rebellion surfaced, then dismantle the conservatives’ power and turn Terra into a war machine for the Indomitus Crusade.

• Morok mocked the Custodes’ record, and Valerian nearly attacked him before Aleya calmed him and ordered the Custodes to stand down.
• Morok revealed that he had concealed nearly 150 Firstborn Astartes nearby and explained that he had provoked Valerian to secure access to Trajan.
• Morok urged Valerian and Aleya to recognize the dangers beneath Terra’s calm and the importance of its people to the Imperium.
• Morok recalled that he had secretly won the trust of Imperial Fists Company Commander Galaton by sharing evidence of the High Lords’ conspiracy.
• Morok planned to keep acting as the traitors’ pawn until the High Lords revealed themselves, then purge their foundations and remake Terra to support the Indomitus Crusade.

Morok prepared loyal hive-city forces while the Minotaurs and Imperial Fists fought cultists across Holy Terra. He met Trajan Valoris in secret and revealed that he was the 22nd Human Primarch, a claim that left the Custodes Prefect alarmed.

• Morok continued provoking the Imperial Fists while Mount Array entered combat readiness and Valerian investigated the cultists with the Sisters of Silence.
• Morok seized material transport routes from the Department of the Interior and armed loyal hive citizens, secretly deploying them across Holy Terra.
• By the fourth month, Morok joined Valerian on the palace walls after the campaign against the Master of Dreams shifted to open battlefields.
• Trajan Valoris confronted Morok, and their argument escalated when Morok said his Astartes body was borrowed from Chapter Master Morok.
• As sunlight broke through the clouds, Morok told Trajan that he was the 22nd Human Primarch and a brother by seniority to Robert Guilliman.

The narrator’s forces seized the rebel High Lords’ stronghold and used a broadcast to expose and execute the rebellion’s leaders. The chapter ended with the narrator ordering a purge of the traitors in the name of Regent Guilliman.

• Imperial Navy orbital bombardment struck the Cathedral of the Emperor’s Ascension as Minotaur forces descended and attacked.
• Hamo Talion began a broadcast declaring the cultists defeated, but the narrator challenged the High Lords’ claim to rule the Imperium.
• Four Callidus Assassins killed Avelisha Drakma and Baldo Slaister while the narrator restrained Hamo Talion.
• The narrator revealed that Minotaur forces had captured the High Lords’ relatives and household members, then told Hamo Talion that he was not Morok but had borrowed Morok’s body.
• The narrator killed Hamo Talion on the broadcast and ordered the Minotaur Chapter, Imperial Fists, Custodes, and Sisters of Silence to begin purging the traitors.

During the rebellion on Holy Terra, Morok’s plans helped the loyalists eliminate the traitorous High Lords and purge the conservative administration. After halting the purge because too few officials remained, he focused on rebuilding the Adeptus Arbites and Department of the Interior and supporting Guilliman’s Indomitus Crusade.

• Morok arranged safeguards to kill Fleet Admiral Perez if the Terminators failed to take her head immediately, while Shield Captain Valerian and the Sisters of Silence killed Army Marshal Asharil.
• Custodes, Imperial Fists, Minotaur, hive-city Astartes, and reorganized Terra Astartes forces broke conservative strongholds across Holy Terra.
• The loyalists executed hundreds of thousands of conservative officials and removed another million mid- and low-ranking officials from their posts.
• Morok ended the purge in the seventh month because the administrative departments had too few officials left to function.
• In the eighth month, the reformist Supreme Council gave Morok authority to fill vacancies in the Adeptus Arbites and Department of the Interior.
• Morok selected loyal elites for those departments and submitted further proposals to the Supreme Council to support Guilliman’s Indomitus Crusade.