Chapter Summaries

David and Lucy joined Squad 7 on a reconnaissance mission into Universe 10, a nuclear-blasted version of Los Angeles. As their Falcon Assault Craft headed toward Las Vegas, its pilot detected an aircraft, and Roach ordered the squad to follow it.

• David and the Trial Corps traveled through the tenth Space Gate to the Frontline Base in Universe 10, where Soap assigned them to mixed reconnaissance squads.
• David and Lucy boarded Falcon Assault Craft 7 with Lieutenant Gary "Roach" Sanderson, investigator Joseph Allen, a Synthetic, and AECS operatives.
• The Joint Reconnaissance Force flew beyond the Space Gate's shielding range and surveyed the nuclear ruins around Los Angeles.
• Squad 7 headed northeast toward Las Vegas, but the pilot detected an aircraft to the west.
• Roach ordered the pilot to follow the aircraft and said he would request approval from command and notify Squads 8, 9, and 10.

Roach’s team tracked an AI aircraft to Bakersfield and intervened in a battle between human survivors and a mechanical army. When Investigator Allen tried to contact the survivors, they mistook him for an Infiltrator Terminator, and Roach fired arrows set to sever the hands of the soldiers threatening him.

• Synthetic No. 7 identified the aircraft as an intelligent AI, and Roach ordered the team to follow it and prepare for combat.
• The Falcon reached Bakersfield, where machines were attacking thousands of human survivors, and Roach landed his team nearby to assess the fighting.
• Roach sent Investigator Allen to contact the survivors while the rest of the team held position and notified the Frontline Base that support might be needed.
• When machines detected Allen and opened fire, Roach ordered the team to attack, and AECS members, David, and Lucy struck the mechanical forces.
• Allen introduced himself as Forde Ross of the Atlas Armed Division, but the red-ribbon soldiers accused him of being an Infiltrator Terminator and threatened to cripple him.
• Roach released three guided arrows set to sever the soldiers’ hands as they prepared to shoot Allen.

Allen and Roach captured members of the Human Resistance Army and learned that Skynet’s machines were attacking them. After hearing that children were trapped at an abandoned school, Allen used Temporary Compound V and rushed to rescue them, destroying an attacking aircraft with laser beams.

• Roach ambushed the soldiers with homing arrows and hunting nets while Allen disarmed and questioned them.
• A soldier identified his group as the western branch of the Human Resistance Army and said the machines served Skynet.
• A radio message revealed that Squad Thirteen was protecting children and could not hold out.
• Allen injected Temporary Compound V, gained Roach’s approval to leave the team, and learned the children were at an abandoned elementary school west of the mall.
• Allen sprinted toward the school and destroyed one of the unmanned aircraft bombarding it with laser beams.

Allen used Temporary Compound V-enhanced abilities to destroy the machines threatening Bakersfield, while the company’s forces arrived to investigate the wreckage. A T-600 confirmed the universe’s connection to the Terminator setting, and Sui Yang reviewed evidence that Universe 10 was likely Terminator: 2018.

• Allen used his Laser Eyes and enhanced durability to destroy the machines surrounding the abandoned school, then cleared threats across Bakersfield.
• David and Lucy questioned Synthetic No. 7 about humanity’s distrust of machines, and she affirmed that she and her kind served humanity and Atlas.
• Roach ordered the team to inspect the machine wreckage, where Synthetic No. 7 identified a T-600 Terminator and extracted its processor.
• Atlas aircraft arrived over Bakersfield, drawing survivors from hiding as the team prepared to analyze the captured machines.
• Sui Yang reviewed intelligence aboard the New Era Carrier that suggested Universe 10 was probably Terminator: 2018.

Sui Yang ordered Atlas to deploy forces to Universe 10, seize Skynet’s technology, and prepare to crush its Terminator army, while reassuring Melissa that Celine could withstand Skynet. The chapter ended with Perturabo and more than five thousand young Astartes fighting an Orc assault on the Gears of War universe’s Frontline Base.

• Sui Yang reviewed intelligence on the Terminator universe and considered whether destroying Skynet could destabilize Universe 10.
• Sui Yang ordered Apu to send two thousand Clone Soldiers to Universe 10, assemble three Paris-class frigates, and have Atlas researchers reverse-engineer Skynet’s machines.
• Melissa warned Sui Yang that Skynet might try to turn Celine, but Sui Yang ordered her to stop doubting herself and said Celine could turn Skynet instead.
• Sui Yang continued monitoring the Gears of War universe, where an Orc army had attacked the abandoned city around the Space Gate.
• Perturabo and more than five thousand young Astartes fought the Orcs around the Frontline Base.

Orc forces assaulted the Frontline Base, but more than five thousand Young Astartes overwhelmed them with artillery and small-arms fire. Saul Tarvitz led his Sons of Humanity squad in a chainsword charge that drove back the Orcs at their line.

• Orc infantry, giant beasts, flying creatures, and crude armored vehicles advanced on the Frontline Base.
• The base's Plasma Cannons and the Young Astartes' weapons inflicted heavy losses on the approaching Orc army.
• Saul Tarvitz's squad held an intersection, killing Orcs with Bolt Rounds and plasma fire.
• Tarvitz drew his Chainsword and rallied his squad to charge the Orcs for humanity.
• Tarvitz and three brothers fought through the Orc ranks, forcing them back while two gunners provided cover.

Five thousand Young Astartes and Perturabo routed an Orc force in the Gears of War universe, killing its general and forcing the survivors underground. Perturabo ordered several Cadet Corps to pursue the Orcs and search for their queen while the others secured the Frontline Base and prepared to unify Sera.

• The Young Astartes slaughtered Orcs across the city, with the Space Wolves charging into battle recklessly and the other Cadet Corps fighting in coordinated formations.
• Perturabo broke through the Orc defenses, killed their general, and destroyed the elite guards as their weapons failed to penetrate his Energy Shield.
• The Agile Shadow and aerial gunships supported the Astartes, and fewer than one in ten of the nearly million Orcs escaped into the underground tunnels.
• Saul Tarvitz and the Sons of Humanity compared Perturabo's fighting style to Fulgrim's while the Space Wolves collected Orc trophies.
• Perturabo assigned the War Hounds and Dawn Raiders to secure the Frontline Base and ordered the Sons of Humanity, Space Wolves, and Raven Guard to accompany him underground in search of the Orc queen.

Saul Tarvitz led the Young Astartes through Sera’s underground tunnels, where they searched for a living Riftworm and detected a cavern full of Orcs and Lambent. The Space Wolves, Raven Guard, and Sons of Humanity attacked the cavern, and the surviving Orcs’ resistance collapsed as the Astartes joined the battle.

• Alvarez Maun explained that Riftworms could grow ten kilometers long and that capturing one could benefit the Biological Department, so Tarvitz agreed to search for one.
• The Young Astartes sent probe spheres into nearby tunnels, collected samples of underground plants, and detected a large group of moving targets six kilometers north.
• Tarvitz ordered Logan Sigurd’s Space Wolves to lead, Maun’s Raven Guard to support them, and the Sons of Humanity to guard the rear as they advanced.
• The squads reached a cavern where thousands of Orcs were being attacked by Lambent—Orcs and creatures mutated by Imulsion.
• Logan led the Space Wolves in firing on the Lambent, but their weapons also struck the fleeing Orcs; the Raven Guard flew into the enemy formation, and Tarvitz’s arrival broke the Orcs’ will to resist.

Logan and the Young Astartes slaughtered Lambent and remaining Orcs in an underground hollow while Raven Guard captured an Orc officer. After five more squads arrived, the force prepared to finish clearing the hollow and use the captive to locate the humanoid queen or Riftworm.

• The Space Wolves, Raven Guard, and Sons of Humanity attacked the Lambent and Orcs, with Logan leading a brutal melee using his Plasma Field Power Axe.
• The chapter explained that Blood Angels could gain abilities and heal by drinking enemy blood, while Space Wolves could transform into powerful wolf-like forms at the cost of weeks of recovery.
• Tarvitz requested support and warned that capturing high-value Orcs could help the Astartes find the humanoid queen or Riftworm.
• Tarvitz and the Sons of Humanity destroyed a huge Lambent creature that tried to ambush the Space Wolves.
• Maun's Raven Guard captured and incapacitated a heavily armored Orc officer, and Tarvitz led his squad to join them.
• Five joint squads totaling ninety Young Astartes arrived, reducing the expected time to clear the hollow to about ten minutes.

Tarvitz’s squad collected Imulsion and captured an Orc field officer before returning to the Frontline Base, while Sui Yang reviewed developments across several universes and directed operations there. The chapter ended with Sui Yang preparing to lead the Thunder Warriors into a stalled battle.

• Tarvitz’s squad received Perturabo’s order, collected an Imulsion sample, and escorted the unconscious Orc field officer back to the Frontline Base.
• Apu and Melissa briefed Sui Yang on Universe 11’s progress, incoming Clone Soldiers, and plans to adapt Terminator designs for production and investigate Skynet.
• Apu reported that four Titan Combat Mechs were assembled in Universe 12 and that the base planned to investigate Kaiju and a shielded area in Asia.
• Sui Yang shared information about the Bilusaludo, Exif, and Vulsya with the Intelligence Department and ordered the Frontline Base to handle those groups accordingly.
• Sui Yang ordered his exclusive Power Armor prepared so he could lead the Thunder Warriors to help end the stalled battle.

Sui Yang armed himself and led thirty Thunder Warriors toward the ground battle on a Covenant world, where overwhelming enemy numbers had stalled the Alliance advance. As Ultramarines attacked Covenant defenses near a shipyard, Sui Yang descended toward the battlefield.

• Sui Yang donned custom black-and-gold Power Armor, took the Emperor's Sword and Emperor's Claw, and boarded a Drop Pod with thirty Thunder Warriors.
• Sui Yang watched the Alliance fleet fight more than two thousand Covenant ships and prepared to land on a heavily defended world whose capture would threaten the Covenant Empire's hold.
• Humanity-Elite Alliance aircraft struck Covenant defenses near the shipyard, allowing Ultramarines, Clone Soldiers, tanks, and mecha to advance within twelve kilometers of their target.
• Thousands of Brutes and other Covenant forces poured out to defend the position, while the Ultramarines held back from a direct charge.
• Alliance aircraft bombarded the Covenant lines, and the Ultramarines began their assault through the smoke.

Leon and Chirrut Imwe uncovered Chaos corruption among the Kaminoan clones and searched the residential district for its source. Chirrut and the Spartans destroyed a corrupted researcher and the Chaos Mark, though the Imperium’s fleet had not yet arrived.

• Su Er Yi showed Leon the mutated clones, and Leon concluded that someone on Kamino was spreading Chaos corruption.
• Chirrut sensed a willing Chaos adherent in the residential district, so Leon ordered Jerome and the Spartans to find the source while Su Er Yi locked down genetic databases.
• Chirrut guided Jerome, Douglas, Alice, Cole, and Mullen to an apartment building sealed by Kaminoan guards.
• Jerome breached the target apartment, where warped gravity pinned him to the ceiling and black mist overwhelmed the room.
• Chirrut entered the Chaos Realm, cut down the mutated Kaminoan, and destroyed the eight-pointed Chaos Mark that had distorted the room’s physics.

Chirrut Imwe and the Spartans discovered that Chaos had sent attackers after Baze Malbus, who fought them off before helping repel a giant tentacle creature. After Kamino's Clone forces suppressed the corrupted sea monsters at great cost, the Thousand Wounds Sons fleet arrived and brought Kamino under the Imperium of Man's direct protection.

• Chirrut Imwe sensed a threat near the resting area, and Baze Malbus reported that creatures had attacked him before his transmission cut off.
• Baze Malbus and the Spartans drove off a giant tentacle creature, then found a Chaos-marked mass of flesh inside a damaged metal case.
• Su Er Yi deployed Kamino's deep-sea mechs and submersibles against the rising corrupted creatures, and the Clone forces suppressed them despite losing most of their vehicles.
• Twelve hours later, half of the Thousand Wounds Sons' First Fleet entered Kamino's orbit and integrated the planet's defenses into its network.
• Gabriel Angelos arrived at Tipoca City and established operational links with Su Er Yi and Leon, placing Kamino under the Imperium of Man's direct protection.

The chapter described New Accra and the Imperial Palace as the Imperium of Man’s thriving capital, then recounted the Empire’s expansion and reforms in Universe 17 over the past decade. It ended on May 1, 0050, Imperial Calendar, with the Empire governing a vastly enlarged population and rebuilding the Jedi under Master Yoda and Chirrut Imwe.

• New Accra was presented as a prosperous, multi-species city where Imperial welfare and strict security maintained order.
• The Imperial Palace was revealed as an immense fortified complex housing seventeen Space Gate Arrays and the Golden Throne.
• The Expeditionary Army conquered Universe 17 through a combination of severe military campaigns and policies that stabilized surrendered worlds.
• The Empire absorbed former Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance territories, bringing its total population to four quadrillion.
• Master Yoda and Chirrut Imwe trained forty thousand new Jedi, including the Twi'lek Anxi Sekurt, under the Heretic Inquisition Department.

Chris briefed Leon and Mike on unverified Intelligence Department predictions of a highly coordinated Zerg threat and sent infiltration teams to gather ecological data from a human settlement. Leon and Mike flew from the Frontline Base toward the settlement, which came into view over the planet’s barren, crystal-studded landscape.

• Chris explained that reports of the Zerg came from remote sensing and simulations, with no confirmed sightings or encounters beyond the Space Gate.
• Chris said the mission was to verify conditions and assess a human settlement, while Mike and Leon acknowledged the possible danger of the Zerg.
• Leon, Mike, and Chris arrived at the Frontline Base, where Leon and Mike received camouflage cloaks, reconnaissance drones, armor, and other equipment.
• Chris assigned the plainclothes agents to infiltrate the settlement while his Special Operations Group prepared to support them from orbit.
• Leon and Mike boarded Assault Craft 07 and flew north with the other teams, activating optical camouflage after leaving the base’s screening range.
• After half an hour over barren terrain and wild crystal mining zones, Leon and Mike saw the outline of a human settlement.

Humanity-Elite Alliance forces pushed through Covenant defenses as Ultramarines fought a growing mass of High-ranking Brutes. Atriox knocked down an Ultramarine captain and raised his hammer to kill him, but six Drop Pods crashed into the battlefield.

• Clone Soldiers endured fatal wounds long enough to keep fighting while medics treated them, and Ultramarines and armored units advanced under Mothership fire.
• Ultramarines broke into the Covenant formation and used specialized Bolt Rounds to kill Covenant infantry, including Brutes, as resistance intensified.
• High-ranking Brutes surrounded four Ultramarine riflemen, forcing them into close combat while reinforcements rushed to help.
• Atriox joined the fight, blocked the captain's Power Sword, and helped two Brutes overload the captain's shields and knock him down.
• Atriox raised his Power Hammer to strike the fallen captain, but six Drop Pods slammed into the area.

Sui Yang arrived at the Covenant battlefield, destroyed the enemy forces with a controlled Psychic Flame Sea, and led the human troops to capture the shipyard. Afterward, he planted a psychic flower whose spreading blooms would cleanse the planet and carry humanity’s will across it.

• Sui Yang arrived with thirty Thunder Warriors, killed Atriox and the High-ranking Brutes, and healed the wounded Ultramarine captain, Calgar.
• Sui Yang unleashed a Psychic Flame Sea that destroyed the Covenant forces while sparing his allies, the Grunts, and the surrounding land.
• Sui Yang ordered the troops to seize the shipyard, and the Ultramarines, Blood Angels, Clone Soldiers, and other forces captured it with only a little over thirty wounded.
• Sui Yang went to a lake near the shipyard with Astartes guards and planted a psychic peony that spread glowing pollen into the soil.
• Sui Yang told Calgar that the flowers would multiply, filter harmful substances from the atmosphere, and carry humanity’s will across the planet.

Sui Yang explained that the Flower of Purity carried Human Will, which could reshape planets and alert humanity to threats, and he reflected on how it replaced Eywa on Pandora. He prepared to lead Atlas forces toward the planet’s largest mine, while the chapter ended with Atlas preparing to act from its hidden base in Universe 12.

• Sui Yang told Calgar and the Astartes that the Flower of Purity could monitor a planet and help make it suitable for human settlement.
• Sui Yang recalled overpowering and plundering Eywa, then creating Human Will, which transformed Pandora’s environment and influenced its native life.
• Sui Yang explained that the Human Codex would guide the Imperium of Man and offer protection against minor Chaos corruption.
• Sui Yang ordered the Elites to serve as the vanguard for an assault on the planet’s largest mine.
• The chapter shifted to Universe 12, where Atlas’s hidden Frontline Base prepared to take the initiative on an Earth rendered hostile to its original humans.

Atlas launched Operation Titan from the Universe 12 Frontline Base, sending reconnaissance teams toward suspected human activity while four Titans and four Paris-class Frigates deployed. Quan Ling transferred her consciousness into a Titan and led the Titans toward a nearby active volcano to eliminate the first local Kaiju.

• Engineers continued expanding the Universe 12 Frontline Base, where four Titans and four Paris-class Frigates completed their preparations.
• The Joint Reconnaissance Force boarded transport vehicles, and three squads of the Thousand Wounds Sons joined the mission.
• Quan Ling entered a cockpit and transferred her consciousness into a Titan, achieving a synchronization rate of 99.67%.
• Quan Ling ordered the operation to begin, and the Titans, frigates, and reconnaissance transports emerged from the underground hangars.
• Quan Ling directed the four Titans to fly toward the nearest active volcano and prepare to eliminate the first local Kaiju.

Quan Ling led three Titan Combat Mechs in a mission to hunt local Kaiju and draw the attention of Earth’s Godzillas. After killing a giant Kaiju and ordering its remains collected, she continued the hunt while a new spacecraft entered Earth 12’s gravitational range.

• A four-legged Kaiju attacked circling pterosaur-like creatures, then fired Plasma-like blasts at approaching targets near a volcano.
• Four Titans counterattacked the Kaiju with Gauss and Plasma fire, and Quan Ling approached it in her personal mech while the others provided support.
• Quan Ling discovered the Kaiju’s protective field failed against attacks below 120 kilometers per hour, then used her Titan’s greatsword to kill and dismember it.
• Quan Ling ordered technicians to collect samples and left Titan Number Four to guard the site while she and the other two Titans continued hunting to provoke Godzilla.
• Four Paris-class frigates arrived in low Earth orbit, and the Leviathan’s crew detected another spacecraft entering Earth 12’s gravitational range.