Chapter Summaries

The Blood Angels ambushed the Federation Expeditionary Fleet, disabling its warships and destroying its carrier aircraft before boarding the fleet. Sanguinius led the assault into the Roger Young, where Captain Delatier ordered her crew to keep fighting as the Rageblood Guard entered the hangar.

• The Blood Angels fleet revealed itself behind the Expeditionary Fleet, jammed its communications, and crippled its engines with a low-intensity barrage.
• The Red Tear destroyed the Federation carrier aircraft formation with its Hardlight Beam as the dreadnought advanced on the disabled fleet.
• Captain Delatier ordered Carmen Ibanez and Xander Barro to turn the Roger Young around, then directed its gunners to fire on Sanguinius and the Blood Angels aircraft.
• Sanguinius and the Rageblood Guard breached the Roger Young and entered its hangar aboard a Thunderhawk Gunship.
• Carmen questioned whether resistance was worthwhile, but Delatier armed herself and ordered the crew to fight the boarders.
• The Rageblood Guard and Sanguinius stepped out of the Thunderhawk into the Roger Young's hangar as the stunned ground crew watched.

The Blood Angels seized the Roger Young and began hacking the Expeditionary Fleet’s ships while the Arachnid biological fleet approached New Hope. The Red Tear destroyed most of the Arachnids and drove the survivors toward a prepared landing site near the Mobile Infantry and a bait town.

• The Blood Rage Guard incapacitated the Roger Young’s ground crew, security teams, and Mobile Infantry with Rubber Bolt Rounds and carefully measured blows.
• A Blood Rage Guard defeated Carmen Ibanez, Delatier, Xander Barro, and the bridge guards, then installed a Dumb AI to infiltrate the Roger Young’s control system.
• The Arachnid fleet arrived near New Hope with at least sixty thousand Transport Bugs and countless Space Flying Bugs.
• The Red Tear and half the escort ships destroyed ninety percent of the Arachnid fleet and herded the survivors toward the planet.
• A little over a thousand Transport Bugs fell toward a landing site near the Mobile Infantry’s drop zone and the Engineering Department’s bait town.

The Federation's Mobile Infantry landed in the desert and marched on a supposed New Hope Colony capital that the Blood Angels had prepared as a decoy. Leon's squad reached the town's outskirts, where they were ordered to fire missiles at its defenses.

• Blood Angels used false intelligence to lure the Federation's landing force toward a decoy town defended by Clone Soldiers and Heavy Tyrants.
• A suicide reconnaissance team of Thunderbolts triggered the town's air defenses, and the Federation formation landed to begin a ground assault.
• Leon, Maggie, Rico, and the other Mobile Infantry disembarked, established a defensive perimeter, and helped restore communications.
• Colonel Howard Thompson ordered the Mobile Infantry to continue toward the town despite seeing wreckage falling from the sky.
• Leon led the first squad north with the main force, while troops left at the landing zone prepared to investigate the crash sites.
• At the town's outskirts, officers detected Clone Soldiers behind the wall and ordered Leon's missile teams to fire at the fortifications.

After a sniper ambush stalled the Mobile Infantry’s advance, Leon Kennedy took command of his panicked platoon and arranged an airstrike despite Colonel Howard Thompson’s objections. The bombing cleared a path toward the town, and Leon led the troops into the assault.

• Clone Soldiers killed the platoon lieutenant, missile-team gunner, and other exposed officers, then pinned down the Mobile Infantry with superior firepower.
• Leon took command of the shaken 226th Combat Platoon, rallied the recruits, and ordered Ace to request air support.
• When the Thunderbolt squadron ignored the request, Leon took the radio and persuaded Lieutenant Norland to make a high-altitude bombing run.
• Leon cut off Howard Thompson’s challenge, warned nearby units to prepare to assault, and insisted that capturing the town was their only chance to escape New Hope.
• Thunderbolts dropped cluster bombs on the town’s western defenses before air-defense missiles shot them down, and Leon led his platoon charging through the smoke toward the town.

Leon led the Mobile Infantry into the town, where Clone Soldiers and Hunter-Killer tanks devastated the main force outside. After identifying the enemy as pain-insensitive Clones, Leon organized a forward command center and led an advance east while defying Colonel Howard Thompson’s authority.

• Leon and the 226th Combat Platoon entered the town, prompting Howard Thompson to order the rest of the Mobile Infantry forward as Clones attacked the main force with sniper fire and Hunter-Killer tanks.
• Howard Thompson led his troops through the ruined western wall, while Leon’s group joined other platoons in occupying a shopping mall as a defensive position and forward command post.
• Rico and Tiz suspected the Federation had walked into a trap, and the soldiers discovered that wounded Clone Soldiers could keep fighting despite severe injuries.
• Maggie identified the enemies as Clones whose pain receptors had likely been blocked, and Leon ordered soldiers to establish communications and collect enemy weapons and ammunition.
• Leon assigned Maggie to hold the mall and told her to follow Howard Thompson only if he gave the same orders; then Leon and Rico advanced east with reinforcements, clashing with Clone tactical squads.

Leon and the Mobile Infantry pushed into the town while Maggie confronted Colonel Howard Thompson over his order to recall the frontline NCOs. The advance continued, but the chapter ended with news that Arachnid bugs were heading toward the town and would arrive in thirty minutes.

• Leon and Rico led the Mobile Infantry against Clone squads, suffering more than fifty deaths before killing over thirty Clone Soldiers.
• Leon ordered the troops to salvage weapons and ammunition from the fallen Clones, then continued the advance with Rico and more than two hundred infantrymen.
• Ace and Tiz coordinated reinforcements and battlefield communications as Howard Thompson arrived at the mall command center and ordered frontline units to hold and Leon and the NCOs to return.
• Maggie challenged Howard's recall order, citing the Federal Constitution and warning that it would endanger the troops, so Howard allowed the advance to continue.
• Tiz reported that unknown bugs had released Arachnid Warrior Bugs and Tanker Bugs, which were expected to reach the town's outskirts in thirty minutes.

Maggie dismissed Howard Thompson and his command team after they panicked over the approaching Arachnids, then arranged a ceasefire with the Blood Angels’ Clone Auxilia so both sides could fight the bugs. Leon’s troops received weapons and supplies from the Clones as the Thunderbolt Squadron began bombing the Arachnid force.

• Maggie marked the Arachnids’ likely main force on her map and ordered Ace and Flores to send the Thunderbolt Squadron to bomb it.
• Maggie knocked Howard Thompson unconscious and fought off his officers and guards, while Tiz fired into the ceiling and announced that the NCOs would forcibly dismiss the command team.
• Maggie ordered Flores to propose a ceasefire with the Clone Soldiers, and the Clone commander accepted and offered weapons, ammunition, and supplies.
• Maggie told the troops to fight the Arachnids first, while Leon, Rico, and more than four hundred Mobile Infantrymen went to meet the Clone supply convoy.
• The Clones delivered enough equipment for two thousand people and supplies for the troops; Leon accepted the offer, discreetly pocketed an object from a Clone’s hand, and heard the Thunderbolt Squadron’s bombing run begin.

Leon and the Mobile Infantry defended New Hope against a massive Arachnid swarm alongside the Clone army. After the Clones were nearly wiped out, Leon ordered his troops to secure the town and learned from the Wise AI that Federation transport ships awaited them for evacuation.

• Leon led Rico and more than six thousand Mobile Infantry to the southern wall while Maggie coordinated the other units and defenses.
• Leon ordered the Mobile Infantry to open fire as the Arachnid swarm approached, and they built up piles of bug corpses while holding the wall.
• Clone Soldiers, Heavy Tyrants, and tanks charged into the swarm, and Leon ordered the Mobile Infantry to cover them with full firepower.
• The combined forces destroyed the swarm, but the Clone army suffered grievous losses while the Mobile Infantry lost only a few dozen soldiers.
• Leon ordered Maggie and the others to persuade the surviving Clones to surrender and sent units to search the town for supplies.
• Leon examined the mobile terminal, and the Wise AI told him that more than ten Federation transport ships were at a surface spaceport for the Mobile Infantry to retake during evacuation.

Leon led the Mobile Infantry in seizing a spaceport, freeing the captured Federation crews, and escaping New Hope aboard the recovered ships. The fleet headed for a frontier colony, while Lion sensed that one of his brothers was about to arrive in Universe 13.

• Leon and Maggie organized an assault force after learning the Expeditionary Fleet had been captured and the Mobile Infantry needed a way off New Hope.
• Leon, Rico, and Ace led more than a thousand newly equipped Mobile Infantry to the supposedly lightly guarded spaceport, where they quickly defeated the Clone Soldiers.
• Rico freed the prisoners, including Carmen Ibanez and Zander Barcalow, and ordered the crews to prepare the ships for departure.
• More than thirty thousand people boarded twelve Escort Transports and a Paris-class Frigate, then left New Hope under Leon's command.
• Leon sent the fleet toward the nearest frontier colony, while Lion sensed that one of his brothers was about to descend in Universe 13.

Lion welcomed the newborn Lorgar Aurelian in the Trench Crusade universe, and Sui Yang brought him back to the Main Universe to be raised by Tinas Lothrian. Sui Yang then took Lion to Accra Park to meet his younger brothers and witness a new experiment before returning him to govern Universe 13.

• Celine reported that surgery could restore captured Knights and nuns, and Lion ordered the Biological Department to prepare treatment for them.
• Lion ordered the corrupt officials and generals publicly exposed and left their fate to the locals.
• Lion spotted a golden flash in the eastern sky and flew to a village, where he found the infant Lorgar in a crater.
• Sui Yang recognized the infant as Lorgar Aurelian and told Lion to bring him to the Main Universe.
• Sui Yang asked Tinas Lothrian to raise Lorgar, and she accepted the role of his adoptive mother.
• Sui Yang took Lion to Accra Park to meet his younger brothers and see Dr. Ashford's experiment, then planned for him to return to Universe 13.

The Biological Department tested its Orc Clones in Accra Park, then sent a Custodes to face them in a demonstration for Sui Yang and Lion. The Custodes survived a Metal Hydrogen Bomb and swept through the Clones, leaving Lion to recognize the scale of the Custodes’ threat.

• Orc Clones overwhelmed and eliminated the D-Class Personnel in Accra Park, then assembled defensive positions for another test.
• Xenomorph Clones established Telepathy with the Alien Queen and plotted to seize technicians, but the Biological Department and Space Wolves destroyed them before they could act.
• Alexia ordered Kangton to enter the Simulated Town so Sui Yang and Lion could observe the next test.
• Kangton walked into a Metal Hydrogen Bomb trap and survived by using a Golden Psychic Barrier.
• Kangton cut through the Orc Clones’ defenses with his Thunder Power Halberd, prompting Lion to recognize that a Custodes could threaten even numerous Astartes.

Sui Yang reunited Lion and Vulkan for a casual outing in New Accra, where the brothers argued over the Empire’s treatment of nonhuman allies before sharing food and drinks. The chapter ended with the Hoinerd family celebrating Charlie’s upcoming Marine assignment to Universe 08.

• Alexia explained that Custodes gained their exceptional strength through personalized surgery and Sui Yang’s dangerous Psychic Power Blessing, which could not be applied to everyone.
• Sui Yang told Lion that he would govern Universe 13 and planned to use its Heaven and Hell to test a new system for the souls of the virtuous and serious offenders.
• Sui Yang disguised himself and Lion with Psychic Power, met Vulkan, and took both sons into New Accra for dinner and drinks.
• Lion and Vulkan argued over whether the Empire should trust its nonhuman allies, then reconciled after Sui Yang reminded them to enjoy their time together.
• The family shared drinks and stories at Huaxia Food House, while the Hoinerd family gathered there to see Charlie off before his Marine assignment to Universe 08.

The chapter described how Synthetics had become common in the Empire, from police partners to customizable Companion spouses, and outlined the protections and rules governing them. As Charlie Hoinerd traveled with Imperial troops toward Universe 08, his comrades discussed buying Companions, and one recruit’s declaration seemed to spark an idea in Charlie.

• Synthetics became valued as NAPD partners and potential military support, while their humanlike warmth came from programmed simulations rather than genuine feelings.
• Atlas Company's customizable Synthetic Companions grew popular despite their high cost, and the Empire enacted laws regulating their treatment, return, and reassignment.
• Gary "Roach" Sanderson spent nearly four million cR to commission his ideal Companion as Sui Yang, Lion, and Vulkan returned to the Imperial Palace.
• Charlie Hoinerd prepared to leave for Universe 08, while a train carried Imperial Guard recruits and Imperial Navy Marines toward the Halo universe.
• A recruit announced he planned to buy a 2D wife with his battle-honor bonuses, and Charlie wondered whether the idea might appeal to him too.

Charlie Hoinerd and his fellow Marine recruits traveled from Bountiful Star aboard the Phoenix-class Support Vessel Landang toward the Wild Wolf Star Region, where they would train and take part in an operation against Gnoll pirates. As they began their journey through Slipspace, the Space Wolves in Universe 15 also prepared to assault Earth-15.

• Charlie Hoinerd crossed the Space Gate to Bountiful Star with roughly twenty thousand Imperial Guard and Marine recruits and boarded the warship Landang.
• The recruits saw Bountiful Star from orbit as the chapter described its growth under the Imperium and Fulgrim's role governing the region.
• Landang left Bountiful Star and jumped toward the Wild Wolf Star Region, where the recruits would be assigned and the Marines would join the Imperial Navy 36th Fleet.
• Charlie and the seven other Marines in his combat squad settled into their shared quarters and discussed their upcoming training and operation against Gnoll pirates.
• Logan Sigurd received approval for an all-out Space Wolves assault on Earth-15.

The Weyland-Yutani Corporation sent an armed task force to exploit the Xenomorph infestation on the Moon of Forgotten River, but the Space Wolves 14th Company Fleet forced it to surrender. Realizing the Imperium’s presence would soon be exposed, Logan Sigurd led the main force toward Earth.

• Weyland-Yutani executives sent two armed ships, more than six hundred Mercenaries, researchers, and Biomen to exploit the infestation and seize the Cerberus System.
• During the task force’s long journey, the Joint Reconnaissance Force and Space Wolves 14th Company purged the Moon of Forgotten River, secured the Cerberus System, and established a Fleet.
• The Weyland-Yutani ships arrived near the Moon of Forgotten River and discovered the Space Wolves 14th Company Fleet waiting in orbit.
• The task force major and research director surrendered, and Auxilia boarded the ships and took their crews, researchers, and Biomen prisoner.
• Logan Sigurd left two Paris-class Frigates and four Fides-class Frigates to guard the Moon, then led the Fleet’s main force toward Earth.

The Space Wolves 14th Company returned to Earth in Universe 15 and demanded its unconditional surrender. When the countdown expired amid arguments among Earth’s leaders, Logan Sigurd declared that war would begin.

• Weyland-Tanggu revealed information about the Moon of Forgotten River, prompting Universe 15’s government to mobilize defenses and investigate the unknown force.
• The Space Wolves 14th Company emerged from a warp vortex near Earth, shocking the authorities with its unfamiliar faster-than-light technology.
• Logan Sigurd accepted a video call from General Logan Charles Marshall V and demanded Earth surrender within thirty seconds.
• Earth’s leaders argued over whether to surrender or fight, while a few Weyland-Tanggu representatives warned them about the Space Wolves’ strength.
• The countdown reached zero, and Logan Sigurd declared that they would fight a war.

Logan ordered the Space Wolves 14th Company to seize Universe 15 Earth's defenses and launch an assault on its capital. After crushing the Colonial Marines' forces in orbit, the company began its planetary drop, leaving Logan descending toward the city as interceptor missiles closed in.

• Logan ordered the shipboard Wise AI to take control of the Cerberus System and sent assault forces to attack the capital.
• The Wise AI seized the Cerberus System while the Space Wolves fleet launched fighters and overwhelmed the Colonial Marines' EVAC-3s.
• The Space Wolves fleet disabled the Marines' ships and broke through the orbital defenses, preparing to board the vessels and space stations.
• The Late Autumn-class moved above North America and launched Drop Pods carrying Logan, Helljumpers, Space Wolves, Tyrants, and combat mechs.
• Logan saw interceptor missiles racing toward his Drop Pod and laughed as he urged his forces to teach the local humans how to fight.

Drop Pods carrying Imperial forces struck the capital, and Logan Sigurd confronted Weyland-Tanggu security guards on the 72nd floor. He defeated them without killing them and ordered Auxilia to take control of the city, then heard an unusual cawing sound.

• Drop Pods descended through the city’s defenses and crashed into streets, government garrisons, and major buildings, including the Weyland-Tanggu Building.
• Weyland-Tanggu evacuated employees as hundreds of armed guards converged on the damaged 72nd floor to find the intruder.
• Logan Sigurd emerged from the smoke and demanded the guards surrender, but they opened fire on him.
• Logan’s Energy Screen stopped the guards’ shots, and he knocked them unconscious rather than killing them.
• Logan ordered the fleet to deploy Auxilia and seize the city, then heard a cawing sound as he prepared to leave.

Logan discovered and killed a Predator infiltrating the Weyland-Tanggu Building, then ordered his troops to warn off Predators unless they attacked. He joined the street battle as the Space Wolves 14th Company’s assault spread across Universe 15’s Earth.

• Logan detected a camouflaged Predator, dodged its plasma shot, and wounded it with his Linked Boltguns.
• Logan removed the dying Predator’s helmet, identified it, and ordered its body recovered and all units alerted to its camouflage and plasma weapons.
• Logan ordered troops to warn Predators to withdraw and kill them if they attacked, while privately favoring wiping them out.
• Logan broke through a wall and saw Helljumper squads and a Cyclops Mecha fighting government guards and Weyland-Tanggu security troops below.
• Logan leaped onto an armored vehicle, crushing it and disrupting the enemy line as the company’s assault continued across the planet.

Logan Sigurd and the Space Wolves 14th Company defeated the defenders and seized the capital of Universe 15 Earth, while tracking the Predators still hiding in the area. The occupation marked only the beginning of integrating the world into the Empire, with Logan left as its highest authority until a governor was appointed.

• The Space Wolves, Helljumpers, and their supporting forces broke the government defense at the Capital Building, driving many soldiers to flee or surrender.
• The combined forces captured the Capital Building, deployed troops and armored units throughout the city, and intercepted fleeing politicians, officers, and corporate representatives.
• Logan joined the Company Guards to target remaining leaders, while Wise AI tracked the Predators and located their hidden movements and gathering points.
• Logan outlined the military, governmental, economic, legal, and cultural steps needed to integrate Universe 15 Earth into the Empire, with Leman likely to govern it eventually.
• Leon, Maggie, and the others in Universe 14 successfully took tens of thousands of Federation soldiers.