Chapter Summaries

Calgar and the Imperial leaders learned that the Tyranids were reshaping Plantem into a forward base, and Robert argued that the invasion was part of a larger campaign targeting Ultramar. He proposed three ways to cleanse the planet, but his preferred plan would unite the Space Marines and Death Seekers into one army, leaving Calgar to weigh it against the Adeptus Astartes Codex.

• Calgar, Robert, Wick, and Kopftman arrived on Plantem, where Ego explained that Agman was fighting at the front and could not greet them.
• Wick and Kopftman reported that Tyranid plants had transformed much of Plantem into an ecosystem suited to the Tyranids.
• Robert conjectured that the Tyranids were preparing Plantem as a forward base for a larger invasion of Ultramar, possibly seeking Primarch Guilliman’s flesh and blood.
• Robert presented three strategies for cleansing Plantem: orbital destruction, a gradual conventional campaign, or a unified army of Space Marines and Death Seekers.
• Calgar said Robert’s preferred plan gravely violated the Codex and called for further discussion while insisting that the Codex could not be violated.

Calgar weighed Robert’s proposal to unite the Space Marine Chapters against the Ultramarines’ weakened position and growing political interference. The Angels of Death Chapter Master urged him to support closer coordination, leaving Calgar to consider a movement spreading among the Chapters.

• Calgar reflected on the Ultramarines’ dwindling manpower and the outer worlds’ growing independence, then smashed his desk in anger at the Imperium’s politicians.
• A servant told Calgar that the Angels of Death Chapter Master had requested an audience, and Calgar went to meet him.
• The Angels of Death Chapter Master described how poor coordination between Chapters had cost lives and argued that the gathered forces should unite their strength.
• Calgar suspected the command meeting’s proposal had been leaked and questioned whether the push to unite served more than military purposes.
• The Angels of Death Chapter Master said many Chapters wanted change and left Calgar with the claim that everyone awaited his good news.

At a military conference aboard the Glory of Macragge, Robert proposed a unified command system for the Adeptus Astartes and mortal forces. After silencing a bureaucrat who opposed the plan, Robert saw the proposal pass without further objection.

• Robert proposed coordinating the independent Chapters and mortal forces under a unified command and communications system.
• A Department of Munitorum bureaucrat objected, arguing that the proposal violated tradition and that Astartes and mortal troops could not fight effectively together.
• Robert countered the bureaucrat's arguments, while the Navy commanders and Death Seekers mocked the objection and the other factions stayed silent.
• The bureaucrat accused the united Astartes of potentially turning their weapons against the Imperium, prompting the Chapter Masters to glare at him until he fainted.
• Robert asked whether anyone else objected, and the conference approved his proposal without further opposition.

BUG’s Death Seeker squad was assigned to Sergeant Reinhard Roberts of the Emperor’s Scythes under Calgar’s Unified Command Ordinance. After Reinhard briefed them on a careful flanking plan, the squad charged the Tyranids head-on, leaving him stunned.

• A Death Seeker told BUG that a Space Marine had arrived, and BUG met Sergeant Reinhard Roberts, who said he had been ordered to lead the squad.
• Reinhard explained that Calgar had distributed Space Marines among Death Seeker positions to coordinate the Chapters and build cooperation.
• BUG reported the squad’s supplies and morale, while Reinhard discovered their Lasguns had improvised modifications, including a sharpened spoon bayonet.
• Reinhard planned to draw the Hormagaunts forward while the Death Seekers flanked them and established a crossfire position.
• As the Tyranids approached, BUG rallied the squad with a promise of canned food, and the Death Seekers ignored Reinhard’s plan to charge the swarm head-on.

Sergeant Reinhard watched the eleven Death Seekers destroy a Tyranid assault force and return unharmed, unaware that they had died and revived dozens of times. After testing Bug and declaring the mission complete, Reinhard recorded his observations and resolved to study the squad further.

• Reinhard expected the Death Seekers to be wiped out, but they fought the Tyranids for half an hour and returned with the head of a Tyranid Warrior.
• Bug explained that the Tyranid vegetation quickly digested organic matter, while Reinhard examined the severed head and marveled that the squad had no visible injuries.
• Reinhard suddenly attacked Bug with his combat knife to test whether he was human, but Bug blocked the strike with his Lasgun and the rest of the squad aimed their weapons at Reinhard.
• Reinhard explained that he had been testing the squad and confirmed that their mission was complete, prompting the Death Seekers to celebrate and discuss dinner.
• Reinhard recorded his observations about the Death Seekers’ combat ability, behavior, and desire for formal mission completion, then decided he needed more examples.

Reinhard questioned Bug about the Death Seekers’ habits before a Tyranid attack forced him into combat, where he saw both Bug’s uncanny toughness and the squad’s unusual tactics. The Death Seekers’ poison gas overcame the Tyranid spore cloud, leaving Reinhard surprised by their effectiveness.

• Bug prepared to burn the purple vines in the trench, explaining that Promethium shortages limited how often the squad could do it.
• Reinhard asked Bug whether it was strange that he had spent a month writing and drawing instead of fighting, but a Tyranid bombardment interrupted their conversation.
• A Carnifex charged through the spores, and the Death Seekers argued over who would carry out a suicidal bombing attack until Reinhard ordered them to follow his command.
• Four Tyranid Warriors ambushed the group, and Reinhard killed three while Bug finished the fourth despite suffering a deep wound.
• The Death Seekers’ artillery released poison gas that overcame the Tyranid spore cloud, and Bug told Reinhard the squad was accustomed to the gas.

Reinhard and Bug fought off a Lictor and a wounded Carnifex during the Tyranid assault, but Bug died protecting Reinhard. Walker Veleser arrived with reinforcements, and Reinhard was left mourning Bug and unable to repay his lost Lasgun.

• Bug explained that the Tyranids targeted commanders with elite decapitation units, and warned that a Lictor would come if their first attack failed.
• A Lictor attacked Reinhard and Bug, then vanished into the toxic fog after Reinhard wounded it with his Bolter.
• The Lictor lunged at Reinhard again, and Bug stabbed it before it tore open his chest; Reinhard killed the creature with a close-range Bolter burst.
• A wounded Carnifex emerged from the fog, but a supporting Space Marine killed it with a bolt to the head.
• Walker Veleser introduced himself and offered support, while Reinhard looked down at the dead Bug and said he could no longer replace his Lasgun.

Reinhard asked a Techmarine to make a mortal-sized Solex Death Ray Lasgun as a memorial for a soldier killed by a Lictor. The Techmarine agreed and began work while Reinhard prepared to return to the ongoing battle.

• A Techmarine and three Pedetia Tech-Priests debated improvements to a Lasgun in the workshop.
• Reinhard asked the Techmarine to make a mortal-sized Solex Death Ray Lasgun for a soldier who had died helping him during battle.
• Reinhard said he planned to give the weapon to the soldier's squad, though the squad had been wiped out, and hoped the Death Seekers Legion would restore its designation.
• The Techmarine said the Legion would readily restore the designation and reflected on how the war might change the relationship between Space Marines and mortals.
• The Techmarine praised the Pedetia Tech-Priests for sharing their research and collaborating, then agreed to make the Death Ray immediately.

Reinhard returned to the Death Seekers with a newly assembled Lasgun and met the replacement squad, discovering that its members had simply retained their old designation. He gave Bug the weapon in honor of the squad’s fallen leader and sent the squad back to duty.

• Reinhard returned to the front with a new Lasgun and told Vork that Tech-Priests had supplied the parts for it.
• Reinhard and Vork watched the Death Seekers sing and dance in the toxic fog, and Reinhard recognized their strong morale.
• A new squad arrived, and Reinhard realized its members were the same Death Seekers whose previous squad had been killed in action.
• Bug explained that temporary Death Seeker units could keep their designations and reform with new members while a war continued.
• Reinhard gave Bug the Lasgun, whose special effect allowed a powerful attack by consuming all its magazine energy, in memory of the fallen squad leader.
• Bug told Reinhard his name, and Reinhard sent him and his squad to fulfill their duties.

An Ultramarines sergeant replaced the Death Seekers’ dangerously poor deployment with a position on a crescent of hills, and Reinhard and Walker joined a command meeting there. The sergeant began planning how to counter Tyranid spore fog as the battle’s next threat.

• The Ultramarines sergeant inspected the Company Commander’s deployment map and ordered the company to relocate to higher ground.
• Reinhard and Walker packed their squads’ equipment and moved to the new position.
• Reinhard and Walker entered the crowded command bunker and saw mortal officers and Space Marines planning together.
• The Ultramarines sergeant explained that poison gas was only a temporary answer to the spore fog and that artillery delays could leave parts of the line vulnerable.

Bug proposed using searchlights from the high ground to counter the Tyranid spore fog, and the Ultramarines agreed the simple plan was worth trying. That night, a Death Seeker investigating an explosion at the old position was killed, and the squad prepared for the Tyranids' arrival.

• Reinhard and Walker reviewed rejected plans for dealing with the Tyranid spore fog, including poison gas, Auspex devices, and saturation bombardments.
• Bug suggested placing searchlights on the high ground to illuminate the Tyranids, and the Ultramarines sergeant approved testing the idea.
• Two Death Seekers on sentry duty discussed the polluted sky when they heard an explosion near the abandoned position.
• One Death Seeker went to investigate while his companion stayed behind, but the investigator's marker vanished and he respawned beside the Squad Leader.
• The Squad Leader ordered his squad to prepare for defense and went to inform the Company Commander that the Tyranids had arrived.

An Ultramarines sergeant inspected the Death Seekers’ defenses and found them far better built than he had expected. He left after hearing a Squad Leader interrupt the Platoon Leader’s report to announce she urgently needed the toilet.

• The Ultramarines sergeant decided to inspect the position himself, worried that the Death Seekers might have left dangerous gaps in their defenses.
• The sergeant found the hilltop position well organized, with trenches, firing ports, communications lines, and camouflage netting in place.
• Platoon Leader Wang Goudan confidently reported the work being done by the squads led by Ye Liangchen, Gu Beixuan, and Long Aotian.
• Squad Leader Liu Ruyan interrupted Wang Goudan to say she could no longer hold in a bowel movement.
• The sergeant turned away and continued to the next position with the Company Commander, dismissing the exchange as part of Pedetia’s culture.

As the Tyranids attacked the hill position through purple spore fog, they used cover and precise ranged fire to overwhelm the Death Seekers’ defenses. The Company Commander ordered Bug’s searchlights switched on, blinding the Hormagaunts and disrupting the swarm’s tactics.

• The Tyranid swarm advanced in a loose formation, using ditches and other cover to evade the Death Seekers’ fire.
• The Hive Mind used the Hormagaunts’ sight to direct precise acid and biological artillery strikes against the defenders.
• The Company Commander remembered Bug’s searchlights and ordered every team to turn them on at maximum power.
• The searchlights blinded many Hormagaunts and disrupted their maneuvers, forcing the Tyranid ranged units to fire less accurately.

The Death Seekers fought off a full Tyranid charge, using their fallen comrades’ bodies to reinforce a shallow trench on the flank. As Tyranid Warriors broke into the position, Wang Goudan fled to preserve command and suddenly wondered where the Adeptus Astartes were.

• The Tyranids abandoned their failed infiltration and charged the hill, where the Death Seekers opened fire under Wang Goudan’s command.
• A Tyranid Warrior broke into Wang Goudan’s trench and killed a Player, prompting Wang to order the defenders to use grenades and focus fire.
• Long Aotian reported that his squad’s shallow trench left them exposed, and Wang told them to stack corpses as cover.
• Long Aotian’s squad built a wall of fallen Players in front of their trench, while Wang directed other squads to attack the swarm.
• Three Tyranid Warriors leapt into Wang Goudan’s trench and slaughtered defenders, so Wang ran to preserve command before stopping to ask where the Adeptus Astartes were.

An Ultramarines sergeant led a group of Space Marines through the spore fog to hunt the Tyranid synapse creature directing the biological artillery. After finding the powerful psychic target, he judged a direct assault too dangerous and called for artillery support and Thunderhawk Gunships.

• The Space Marines left the Death Seekers' defensive line to strike at the Tyranids' rear and find the creature coordinating their artillery.
• Reinhard reported that the Death Seekers' positions were under heavy attack, but the Ultramarines sergeant told the group to focus on their mission.
• The Space Marines passed the swarm's assault forces and found a synapse creature among the biological cannons, its blue psychic glow revealing its position.
• The sergeant assessed that the creature could immobilize the Space Marines and leave them exposed to the cannons' fire.
• The sergeant ordered the Space Marines to remain silent while he requested artillery support and a Thunderhawk Gunship squadron.

A Death Seeker arrived in a Thunderhawk Gunship to rescue the Ultramarines and destroy the Tyranid synapse creature with a nuclear bomb. The Space Marines escaped by air as the Death Seeker detonated the bomb, vaporizing himself and the surrounding swarm.

• A Player piloted a Thunderhawk Gunship through psychic lightning while attacking the Tyranid artillery and guards instead of the synapse creature.
• The pilot broadcast a request to collect the allied forces, and the Ultramarines sergeant sent the squad’s coordinates.
• A Death Seeker landed beside the Ultramarines carrying a black briefcase that contained a nuclear bomb.
• The Death Seeker urged the Space Marines aboard the Thunderhawk Gunship, and they took off while he stayed behind.
• As the Tyranid swarm closed in, the Death Seeker opened the briefcase and detonated the bomb, destroying himself and everything nearby.

Marneus Calgar reviewed the Plantem campaign and found that the Chapters’ dangerous integration period had passed without breaking their alliance. The Death Seekers’ repeated sacrifices had earned the Space Marines’ gratitude, leaving the coalition bound together by battlefield trust.

• Marneus Calgar reviewed reports on Plantem and judged that Chaos and the High Lords posed less immediate danger than divisions between the Chapters.
• Calgar noted that clashing tactics had caused some companies to become isolated and face desperate crises during the joint operations.
• The Death Seekers repeatedly held defensive lines, led breakouts, and used their bodies to protect Space Marines, bearing most of the integration period’s casualties.
• Calgar realized that the Death Seekers’ sacrifices would make more than a hundred Chapters and over a hundred thousand Space Marines grateful to them.
• Calgar concluded that the bloody campaign had forged close bonds between the Chapters, and that they would remain inseparable after the war.

The High Lords of Terra debated how to respond to Calgar gathering over a hundred thousand Space Marines, while most dismissed the threat of rebellion because he had cooperated with the Imperium. They agreed to send an inspection delegation led by the Ordo, leaving the matter unresolved.

• The Ordo representative angrily demanded action over the gathering of Space Marines, and Ritra mocked the prospect of confronting them directly.
• The Lord Commander, the Assassinorum Grand Master, the Astropatic Abbot, and the Forge Lord argued against treating the gathering as an imminent rebellion.
• Ritra noted that the Space Marines remained devoted to the Imperial Cult, while the Lord Commander and Forge Lord cited Calgar's cooperation on taxes and technical training.
• The Ordo representative calmed down after realizing Calgar had shown a willingness to compromise with Imperial factions.
• The High Lords agreed to send an inspection delegation, with the Ordo leading and the other factions providing supervision.

Bug learned that an armored division and additional forces had arrived to launch a major offensive against the Tyranids. He rallied the Death Seekers to prepare for an assault beginning in thirty minutes.

• Bug heard Leman Russ tanks approaching and saw a large armored force rolling past the front.
• Reinhard told Bug the arriving force was an armored division, with more military forces being redeployed for a possible general offensive.
• Reinhard explained that command had chosen the nuclear-blasted sector because radiation had weakened the Tyranids there.
• Reinhard ordered Bug's unit to follow the tanks as clearing infantry, secure the breach, and protect the tanks from smaller Tyranids.
• Bug returned to the Death Seekers and announced the offensive, ordering everyone to prepare to move out in thirty minutes.

Reinhard and Bug joined a massive Imperial assault force of Death Seekers, tanks, and Space Marines against the Tyranids. The armored column crushed through the Tyranid bio-barrier and reached the nuclear blast zone, where the Tyranid main force awaited.

• The Death Seekers rushed to arm themselves and clung to tanks and transports as they prepared to charge.
• Bug and Reinhard arrived at the assembly point, where hundreds of tanks and thousands of Space Marines gathered.
• At the command to attack, a Death Seeker played a suona and the armored force surged forward.
• The tanks smashed through Tyranid plants, vines, and spore clouds with little resistance.
• The armored column entered the glassy, radioactive center of the nuclear blast and confronted the Tyranid main force.