Chapter Summaries

After leading the surviving Expeditionary Fleet to Campbell, Leon sought a long-term base there and began negotiations with Governor Johnson Hallhold. The governor questioned why only noncommissioned officers had come to meet him, and Leon explained that the remnants were under their joint command.

• Leon ordered the Fleet to land at Campbell for supplies and rest after its half-month warp journey.
• Wise AI reported that Campbell's leaders resented the Federation, giving Leon an opportunity to win the colony over.
• Leon told his communications officer to seek contact with Earth Headquarters and request temporary stationing at Campbell.
• Leon and Ace flew to the governor's residence with Maggie, Rico, Tiz, and other noncommissioned officers and Assault Troopers.
• Johnson Hallhold was displeased that noncommissioned officers had come to negotiate, but Leon introduced himself and said they jointly commanded the Fleet's remnants.

After learning of the Expeditionary Fleet’s defeat, Campbell’s leaders agreed to shelter Leon’s forces and grew angrier at the Federation’s treatment of the colonies. When a massive Zerg fleet approached Campbell, Marshal Dean ordered Leon to return to Earth, but Leon refused and proposed seeking aid from the Imperium of Man on New Hope.

• Leon and Maggie recounted how Colonel Howard Thompson’s errors led to the Expeditionary Fleet’s defeat and how they rescued more than thirty thousand Mobile Infantry troops.
• Governor Johnson offered the fleet’s remnants two months of supplies in exchange for helping defend Campbell, while Campbell’s leaders voiced growing resentment toward the Federation.
• Johnson’s secretary reported that Earth demanded the fleet return and that a Zerg fleet would reach Campbell’s orbital defenses in six hours.
• Marshal Dean promoted Leon and his companions, then ordered the remaining forces to withdraw and rendezvous with the 12th Fleet.
• Leon refused Dean’s order and declared that his forces would defend Campbell, proposing that they seek aid from the Imperium of Man on New Hope.

Leon refused Sky Marshal Dean’s order to abandon Campbell and proposed seeking aid from the Imperium of Man, winning the colony’s support. With the Zerg fleet approaching, he organized Campbell and the Expeditionary Fleet’s defenses and evacuation.

• Leon argued that the Expeditionary Fleet should remain on Campbell and request help from the Imperium of Man, accusing Dean of abandoning two million people to the Zerg.
• Johnson and Campbell’s officials backed Leon, ended the call with Dean, and agreed to supply the fleet.
• Leon ordered Tiz to request Imperial aid publicly and position the fleet above Campbell to support the defenses before withdrawing to the capital.
• Leon directed Maggie, Rico, Ace, and the Mobile Infantry to fortify key positions throughout the capital.
• Leon ordered Campbell’s militia, mercenaries, and police to evacuate scattered residents to the capital, and Johnson told the officials to act.

Captain Delatier led Campbell’s battered Expeditionary Fleet against an overwhelming Arachnid Bio-ship fleet in orbit, while Carmen Ibanez piloted the Paris-class Frigate through concentrated fire. After the defenders suffered losses and Delatier drew enemy fire to protect the Fleet, the Frigate fired its third volley and completed its mission, leaving the ships ready to retreat into the atmosphere.

• Delatier prepared the remnants of the Expeditionary Fleet and Campbell’s four Orbital Defense Space Stations to face the approaching Arachnid fleet and more than ten thousand Plasma Bugs.
• Carmen piloted the Paris-class Frigate as Delatier ordered the Fleet’s first volley, destroying hundreds of Bio-ships and Plasma Bugs before the enemy returned fire.
• The Plasma Bugs’ barrage destroyed one Escort Transport and disabled another, forcing both crews to evacuate toward Campbell.
• Delatier raised the Frigate’s shield output, reduced its main cannon output, and ordered Carmen to draw enemy fire while the remaining ships fired their second volley.
• With the Frigate’s shield falling below fifty percent, Carmen maneuvered it into a firing position, and Delatier ordered the fully charged main cannon to fire its third volley.

Delatier's surviving fleet retreated through a dangerous plasma barrage and reached Campbell, while the Imperium of Man's promised reinforcements remained unconfirmed. As the Zerg prepared to take orbit, Leon finished organizing the capital's defenses and rallied the troops for the coming invasion.

• Delatier ordered the fleet to retreat, and an Escort Transport exploded after a plasma bolt damaged its engine during atmospheric entry.
• Carmen safely guided the unshielded Paris-class ship through reentry, though it was struck by a weakened plasma bolt after entering the atmosphere.
• Delatier warned Leon that the Zerg would likely control orbit within twenty minutes and learned that the Imperium of Man had promised reinforcements but had not reported further progress.
• Leon and his command team deployed Assault Troopers, Mobile Infantry, and armored vehicles throughout the capital as residents sheltered from the expected invasion.
• Leon addressed the troops over comms and urged them to stay alert and prepare to kill bugs.

Leon prepared Campbell’s defenders for the Arachnid invasion while awaiting Sanguinius and the Blood Angels. When the Bio-ships began dropping bugs into the capital, he ordered the troops to ready their weapons, and the battle began.

• Leon rallied the Mobile Infantry and inspected the defenders’ positions in the apartment building.
• Leon learned the Arachnids had targeted Campbell to make it a hub for further invasions and estimated Sanguinius was about an hour away.
• Leon told Maggie Shaw to unleash her full power, deciding that saving lives mattered more than hiding her identity.
• Ace asked whether Leon was an Imperium spy, and Leon’s soldiers showed they trusted him regardless of his loyalties.
• Delatier reported the Arachnid Bio-ships in low orbit and warned that the first bugs would land in two minutes.
• Leon ordered all units to prepare, and Arachnid drop pods struck Campbell as the battle began.

The Arachnid fleet launched a massive invasion of the capital, overwhelming its defenses with waves of bugs, Tanker Bug flames, and orbital plasma bombardment. Maggie Shaw reinforced the eastern line and kept fighting as a burst of fire neutralized plasma shells aimed at her path.

• The Arachnid Bio-ship fleet dropped bugs across the capital while armed units fought to hold the streets and fortified buildings.
• Tanker Bugs and Space Plasma Bugs inflicted heavy losses, and the growing bug tide battered the defenders' morale and ammunition supplies.
• Maggie Shaw smashed through Tiger Bugs attacking an office building and rallied the soldiers at Group 044.
• Maggie ordered Group 044 to hold position and conserve ammunition until reinforcements from the Imperium of Man arrived.
• Maggie charged through the bug tide, and flames destroyed several Plasma Cannon Shells hurtling toward her.

Sanguinius arrived on Campbell, saved Maggie Shaw, and devastated the Arachnid swarm, inspiring the defenders as the Imperial Fleet fought for control of orbit. As he flew to reinforce the western line, flaming objects descended near the office building, and the soldiers heard Imperial troops calling out as they landed.

• Sanguinius canceled a Plasma Plasma Cannon blast with fire, then appeared before the startled Mobile Infantry and Assault Troopers and announced that Imperial reinforcements had arrived.
• Sanguinius hurled the Imperial Spear into the densest part of the swarm, destroying thousands of bugs while sparing nearby buildings.
• The soldiers saw the Imperial Fleet fighting the Arachnid bio-fleet in orbit, and Sanguinius’s arrival inspired reverence and renewed courage among the defenders and Campbell locals.
• Sanguinius confirmed that Maggie Shaw was only slightly injured, summoned his spear back, and flew west to support the failing defensive line.
• A sergeant rallied his soldiers to keep fighting, and they watched flame-wrapped objects crash south of the office building as voices shouted, “For the Emperor!”

Blood Angels, ODSTs, and other reinforcements descended on Campbell and began crushing the Arachnid swarm, joining the city’s Mobile Infantry and Assault Troopers. As thousands more transports arrived overhead, the stunned sergeant realized the battle for Campbell had a clear victor and entered its final act.

• The sergeant ordered his soldiers to hold their positions and fire as they recognized the arriving Drop Pods and renewed their attack on the bugs.
• A six-member Blood Angels squad secured an intersection, slaughtering bugs with Bolt weapons and a Plasma Cannon while its captain charged ahead and killed a Tiger Bug with his Power Sword.
• More than six hundred Blood Angels Drop Pods landed across Campbell, and over a thousand adult Astartes and more than ten thousand ODSTs joined the city’s defenders.
• ODST squads advanced through the capital, using coordinated suppressive fire to support local forces and reassure Campbell’s defenders that reinforcements had arrived.
• The sergeant watched the Blood Angels clear a district, then saw thousands of transports break through the atmosphere carrying more Auxilia and weapons.

After the Blood Angels defeated the Arachnids on Campbell, Sanguinius met with local officials and officers to discuss the colony’s future. He postponed a decision on Campbell joining the Imperium until the remaining bug eggs were eliminated, then asked whether the officers would join the Blood Angels as a golden meteor descended.

• Mobile Infantry, local police, and Hex Robots cleared the ruined capital while technicians and combat units hunted dormant bug eggs across Campbell.
• The Red Tear and the Blood Angels fleet secured low orbit, ending the fighting around Campbell.
• Johnson thanked Sanguinius and offered to bring Campbell into the Imperium of Man, but Sanguinius said the colony’s safety came first.
• Sanguinius explained to Rico, Tiz, Ace, and the other officers that Leon Kennedy had been an Imperial spy working to prevent further casualties.
• Sanguinius asked the officers whether they would join the Blood Angels, and Ace eagerly agreed as a golden meteor descended.

A golden meteor brought Sanguinius’s new younger brother to Campbell ahead of schedule while Sanguinius arranged the planet’s stabilization and bug-clearing efforts. The chapter ended with a group of Arachnids finding a calm human infant in the meteor crater.

• Sanguinius noticed the golden meteor and realized a new younger brother was descending earlier than expected.
• Rico, Tiz, and the other officers agreed to join the Empire after Sanguinius promised them Imperial equipment and the possibility of enhancements.
• Sanguinius assigned Johnson and Campbell’s officials to stabilize the authorities, sent Rico’s units to clear the capital, and flew toward the meteor’s landing site.
• The Blood Angels planned a cautious, combined effort to eradicate the scattered bugs and protect Campbell’s settlements and environment.
• A dozen Warrior Bugs and a Tiger Bug found a human infant in a crater by a lake, and the infant stared calmly at the Tiger Bug.

A rapidly growing baby revealed immense strength by killing a Tiger Bug, and Sanguinius rescued him from the swarm. Sui Yang identified the child as Konrad Curze and hoped that raising him with care could change his tragic fate.

• The baby dodged the Tiger Bug's attacks and grew into a frail toddler in an instant.
• The toddler tore off the Tiger Bug's foreclaw and killed it by hurling the claw through its torso.
• The Imperial Spear killed the fleeing Warrior Bugs, and Sanguinius descended to rescue his youngest brother.
• The hungry toddler signaled to Sanguinius, who carried him to the Phoenix-class Support Vessel for help and planned to take him to their father later.
• Sui Yang recognized his son as Konrad Curze and reflected on how guidance and warmth might give him a different childhood.

Sui Yang reflected on guiding Curze and Lorgar while overseeing the Empire’s administration and comparing its population and Legions with the Imperium of Man. After noting that the Empire had more than a million Astartes and aimed to reach four million, he recalled glimpses of the future.

• Sui Yang decided that Tinas should become Curze’s adoptive mother and help guide Curze and Lorgar.
• Sui Yang resumed reviewing Imperial documents with Apu and Melissa and monitored the Empire’s development across its universes.
• Sui Yang considered Sanguinius’s planned expansion into the Starship Troopers universe and the Empire’s projected population of around 800 billion.
• Sui Yang reviewed the sizes, strengths, and recruitment challenges of the Empire’s existing Legions, including the Ultramarines, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Luna Wolves, and Thousand Wounds Sons.
• Sui Yang noted that the Empire had more than one million Astartes and that he would continue expansion until their number reached four million.
• Sui Yang remembered that glimpses of the future had recently appeared in his mind.

After foreseeing a major Chaos invasion of an Imperial colony, Sui Yang ordered the Thousand Wounds Sons, his governors, and the Heretic Inquisition Department to search for corruption and prepare defenses. Magnus deployed six companies to patrol human colonies across several universes, leaving the Empire braced for the coming attack.

• Sui Yang foresaw a colony being overwhelmed by Chaos Daemons and a powerful unidentified being, with the Empire's forces only temporarily halting their advance.
• Sui Yang emailed Magnus to mobilize the Thousand Wounds Sons, warned his governor sons, and ordered the Heretic Inquisition Department to search for Warp infiltration.
• Sui Yang placed more than four thousand Grey Knights on standby and decided the Empire should focus on consolidating its territories instead of opening more Space Gates.
• Sui Yang considered future governors for several universes, while leaving the Xenomorph universe's governorship undecided until the Space Wolves 14th Company finished its campaign.
• Magnus sent the Thousand Wounds Sons' 1st through 6th Companies to patrol the Edge of Tomorrow, Avatar, Halo, Cyberpunk, Terminator, and Gears of War universes, assigning the largest company to Halo.

Universe 06 mobilized its industry and forces to send the Thousand Wounds Sons Legion against Chaos in Universe 02, while Earth 06 and Pandora underwent ecological restoration. Magnus arrived on Pandora and was greeted by a familiar brother.

• Earth 06 recovered from its ruined state through Atmospheric Environmental Processors, Flowers of Purity, and extensive engineering, while factories in the former Peru region expanded production of Titans and Knights.
• The Empire prepared to deliver ninety Titans and six hundred Knights and moved troops and supplies through the Universe 06 Space Gate under strict information controls.
• The Empire explained its defenses against Chaos and selected the psychically gifted Thousand Wounds Sons, led by Magnus, to confront the invasion.
• Magnus and his Honor Guard crossed into Universe 02 and traveled by dedicated train toward a city on Pandora, where Flowers of Purity were helping restore the planet’s ecosystem.
• Magnus stepped onto the platform, where someone greeted him enthusiastically as a brother.

Horus welcomed Magnus to Pandora, where Magnus cautioned him against letting confidence become arrogance as they prepared to plan patrols against Chaos. As they traveled to the Luna Wolves’ base, Magnus admired Pandora’s thriving natural environment and asked Horus whether the Na’vi still posed a threat.

• Horus and Magnus reunited warmly at the station, where Horus promised to help the Thousand Wounds Sons earn military achievements in their campaign against Chaos.
• Magnus warned Horus that overconfidence could lead to disaster, prompting Horus to acknowledge his growing pride and agree to plan the patrols together.
• Gastarin and Sekhmet escorted Horus and Magnus in Thunderhawk gunships as their hovercraft headed to the Luna Wolves’ 2nd Company surface base.
• Magnus admired Pandora’s cities and wildlife, imagining that the planet could become a Garden World if its natural environment remained protected.
• Horus thanked Magnus for correcting him, and Magnus asked how the Na’vi were doing and whether they would still cause trouble for the Empire.

Horus and Magnus discussed the possibility that the Na’vi could be corrupted by the Warp, and Horus resolved to use any evidence of corruption as grounds to purge them. As the Luna Wolves organized patrols across the colonies, troops advanced toward Holy Tree City to investigate the Na’vi.

• Magnus warned Horus that the Warp might use the Na’vi to distract Imperial forces, and Horus ordered his captain to increase patrols and kill anyone showing signs of the Warp.
• Horus regarded the Na’vi’s resistance and refusal to resettle as justification for eliminating them if the Warp provided a pretext.
• Horus and Magnus reviewed a star chart of the Avatar universe’s colonies and planned patrol routes to find Warp heretics.
• The Luna Wolves 2nd Company sent troops toward the Na’vi rainforest, while Helljumpers and veteran soldiers took positions around Holy Tree City to reconnoiter it.

Luna Wolves ODST and veteran Elites infiltrated Holy Tree City to search for evidence that the Na’vi were linked to the Warp. After hearing prayers to a “Lord of Wisdom” called Eywa’s father inside a sealed church, the two squad captains ordered it forcibly opened.

• An ODST reconnaissance squad reached a cliff overlooking Holy Tree City and confirmed that hundreds of Luna Wolves forces had taken positions around the city.
• The ODST and veteran Elite squads activated Optical Camouflage after detecting a Na’vi patrol and infiltrated the city’s outer residential district.
• The squads overheard Na’vi expressing hatred of humans and Elites, then observed a large village where residents farmed and forged simple metal tools.
• The two squads approached a sealed church marked as a possible source of evidence about Na’vi ties to the Warp.
• The scouts heard prayers naming a “Lord of Wisdom” as Eywa’s father, and both captains ordered their teams to blast open the church.

ODSTs and Elite veterans attacked a Na'vi village after finding a grotesque statue they took as proof of Chaos corruption. The 2nd Company Fleet then bombarded Holy Tree City's central district, destroying the Holy Tree and leaving the reconnaissance captain with a sealed book from the church.

• An ODST planted a charge on the church wall, and the squad leaders led the assault after it exploded.
• The ODST captain identified the church's twisted statue as evidence that the Na'vi were heretics and ordered his troops to fire.
• ODSTs and Elite veterans killed the elders in the church and swept through the village, while more than three hundred nearby troops moved in to support them.
• After seeing the helmet-camera feeds, the 2nd Company captain reported to Horus and ordered a Saturation Bombardment of Holy Tree City's central district.
• Tungsten projectiles struck the city, destroying the Holy Tree and killing countless Na'vi as the surrounding area was reduced to ruins.
• The ODST reconnaissance captain escaped with a book from the church and sealed it for the 2nd Company captain to examine.

An ODST captain and an Elite captain searched a Na’vi church for Warp evidence and found a book whose whispers nearly ensnared the ODST. They sealed it in a special container and withdrew before the Luna Wolves 2nd Company Fleet bombarded Holy Tree City, leaving the reconnaissance squad battered but unharmed as the city faced further attacks.

• The ODST and Elite veterans cleared the church, fired extra shots into the fallen Na’vi, and searched for evidence of Warp corruption.
• The ODST captain found a glowing, symbol-covered book and nearly opened it after its whispers promised him the secrets of the universe.
• The Elite captain’s growl broke the book’s hold, and the ODST captain silently recited passages from the Human Codex until the whispers faded.
• The ODST captain sealed the book inside an Evidence Container, and the squad withdrew from the church before orbital bombardment began.
• The Luna Wolves 2nd Company Fleet bombarded Holy Tree City, and the shockwave swept over the squad as it regrouped in the forest.
• The squad checked that its members were unharmed and prepared to reach the pickup area while missile strikes and further attacks targeted Holy Tree City.