Chapter Summaries

Tang Xiao told Leia that Bail Organa could not take her back to Alderaan because it could not protect her, then began teaching her about her biological father and the power called Darth. He left Leia with her first lesson: only those with power could choose for themselves.

• Bail Organa apologized to Leia and ended their communication, leaving her devastated that she could not return to Alderaan.
• Tang Xiao carried Leia to the training room and told her that her biological father's title included the word Darth.
• Tang Xiao revealed that he was Darth Malthael, then demonstrated his power by twisting a heavy barbell into a knot.
• Tang Xiao used an apple, a drink, and a towel to show Leia that without power she could not choose what she wanted.
• Tang Xiao told Leia he would personally train her, beginning with the lesson that power gave her the right to choose.

General Lepix’s remnant fleet launched a desperate assault on Levik to destroy the nearly completed stargate, while the Exploration Fleet and the rebelling Pia'ek people fought to hold the planet. The Eternity was badly damaged, but a multicolored beam struck the Xilu cruiser that rammed it, and several dark silhouettes appeared inside the stargate.

• General Lepix committed his dwindling fleet to a final attack on Levik, hoping to stop the stargate from opening a passage for the Duchy of Dawn.
• The Pia'ek people allied with the Exploration Fleet, formed rebel bases across Levik, and used weapons and supplies from Kriyak Palace to overthrow Xilu rule.
• Lieutenant General He Ru and Shepard continued defending the stargate, while the Pia'ek people used Xilu captives as human batteries during the transition away from the technology.
• After a day of fighting, the Eternity’s Particle Beam Lances overheated, and both fleets suffered heavy losses as General Lepix ordered his forces to press the attack.
• A Xilu Wurrif-class light cruiser rammed the Eternity’s bow spaceport, but a multicolored laser beam struck the cruiser and triggered a chain explosion.
• Several dark silhouettes appeared in the center of the stargate.

Five Hell-Angel Class Battlecruisers broke the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium remnant fleet and captured General Lepix, who had secretly injected himself and his officers with a mysterious substance. With the stargate to Levik planet complete, Shepard received orders to establish a foothold there and exterminate the Xilu, but she refused Tang Xiao's demand for human-battery research samples, leaving him resentful.

• Five Hell-Angel Class Battlecruisers joined the battle, sank a Xirui-class battlecruiser, and drove the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium remnant fleet to scatter.
• General Lepix and the senior Xilu officers injected themselves with gray sludge, then surrendered; as Duchy of Dawn Navy Marines took Lepix prisoner, he whispered, “God of Decay... long live...”
• The stargate connection between Vaxian Planet and Levik planet was revealed, and the remaining Xilu warships surrendered, were captured, or fled.
• Shepard received orders from Dawn Star Planet to repair the Endless-class Super Carrier, establish a colony, ally with the Pia'ek people, and carry out an Extermination Order against the Xilu.
• Tang Xiao demanded Xilu human-battery data and samples, but Shepard refused and destroyed every battery; Tang Xiao raged, then let the matter go while harboring resentment toward her.

After opposing the extermination of the Xilu people and the transfer of human battery technology, Shepard was relieved of command while the Xilu were executed and their captured leaders imprisoned. A living sludge escaped from General Lepix and infected guards and prisoners, then one possessed guard attacked a soldier.

• Shepard opposed the Extermination Order against the Xilu people and Tang Xiao's order to hand over human battery technology, so Tang Xiao relieved her of duty and Ashley Williams took command of the Normandy.
• The Exploration Fleet sent Xilu people to a colony and executed them by robot-controlled Orbital Bombardment, while General Lepix and other senior officers were imprisoned on Levik planet.
• Brown sludge flowed from Lepix and the other imprisoned officers, slipped out of their cells, and burrowed into the guards' ears.
• The sludge spread among people it encountered and reached a camp holding ten thousand Xilu prisoners.
• When a relieving soldier confronted an infected guard who was standing crookedly and speaking hoarsely, the guard lunged at him.

A suspected biological outbreak turned the prison district into a mass escape as infected people burst into sludge and attacked others. Lieutenant General He Ru learned that the hundreds of thousands of rioters had overwhelmed the defenses, leaving the outbreak spreading across Levik planet.

• A sentry exploded into sludge after a soldier shot him, and the splatter made the soldier who had been covered in it violently ill.
• The prison gates opened, and Guardians, prisoners, and administrators charged out together as Duchy of Dawn soldiers fired on them.
• Three Banshee Fighters attacked the crowd, but the infected surged through the defensive line after a sick soldier vomited sludge and attacked a comrade.
• An intelligence officer reported the prison riot and suspected biological threat to Lieutenant General He Ru, who ordered nearby forces to establish a defensive line.
• Drone footage showed hundreds of thousands of rioters overrunning failed barricades while Banshee Fighters and Wraith fighters provided ineffective fire support.

Lieutenant General He Ru and Shepard responded to a sudden, highly contagious infection that began in Prison Sector V, where tens of thousands of Xilu people were being held. Shepard ordered the stargate sealed and suspected the outbreak was tied to the Xilu fleet's counterattack, then questioned what the Xilu outposts had been guarding against.

• An intelligence officer showed He Ru footage revealing that infected bodies released living sludge that rapidly infected anyone it touched.
• He Ru learned that Prison Sector V held about 80,000 Xilu people alongside guards, staff, and prisoners, and that the outbreak had infected more than 100,000 people overnight.
• Shepard asked about evacuees and, after learning that more than 4,000 civilians had escaped into quarantine, warned that the infection's stealth could have allowed it to spread beyond the prison sector.
• Shepard urged He Ru to seal the stargate, and he ordered it closed to departures and guarded by five robot-controlled warships.
• Shepard suspected the outbreak was connected to the remnant Xilu fleet's counterattack and called for scrutiny of prisoners of war from the campaign.
• Shepard recalled that the Xilu had exterminated the other races in the star sector and wondered what their outposts had been guarding against.

Shepard and the Exploration Fleet investigated a suspected Mnggal-Mnggal outbreak and found signs that the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium had concealed the threat. After learning that two fleets had vanished and that biologists were missing from interrogations, the team discovered the location of the laboratory.

• He Ru ordered troops to contain the sludge outbreak while the Exploration Fleet launched an investigation into Mnggal-Mnggal.
• Shepard interrogated captured Ssi-ruuvi officials but found little information, including a lead about a secret virus laboratory.
• Shepard and Senluo realized that no biologists had been captured and suspected the Ssi-ruuvi leadership had purged them.
• Ashley Williams told Shepard that two Ssi-ruuvi fleets sent to search for the Exploration Fleet had vanished.
• An officer informed He Ru that the laboratory had been found.

Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group arrived at Levik planet and took control of the suspected Mongal-Mongal research site beneath Kriyak Palace. Sherry Birkin led her team into Laboratory 101 after testing General He Ru and Shepard for infection.

• A black Luukri-Hok-class battleship bearing Umbrella's emblem emerged from the Stargate and headed toward Levik planet.
• He Ru explained that an investigation into Kriyak Palace's power usage had uncovered the hidden Laboratory 101 beneath the rubble.
• Sherry Birkin arrived with Umbrella personnel, declared the site a Level One infection zone, and ordered everyone tested while taking over all Mongal-Mongal matters.
• An Umbrella soldier tested He Ru, then attempted to test Shepard, who briefly fought back before another soldier called Victor to stop.
• Shepard tested herself and was found uninfected despite having nanobots, then warned Sherry that Mongal-Mongal was dangerous.
• Sherry led Umbrella's team into Laboratory 101.

Sherry Birkin’s team searched the ruined Laboratory 101 for clues about Mongal-Mongal while Shepard and Lieutenant General He Ru discussed Umbrella’s hidden agenda and the dangers of exploring the Unknown Regions. Shepard decided to continue the investigation aboard the Normandy and planned to ask Ashley Williams and the others to join voluntarily.

• Sherry Birkin ordered her team to reboot Laboratory 101’s mainframe using an external power source before restoring the internal power.
• Ruper explained that the facility’s firefighting system had been turned into a way to burn people alive, and Sherry ordered a search for deeper areas and blind spots.
• Shepard told He Ru that Sherry Birkin wanted to claim Mongal-Mongal and might act recklessly despite knowing little about it.
• He Ru reflected on his vote to exterminate the Xilu people, saying he had supported it as a Fleet Commander despite doubting it was right.
• Shepard asked to continue exploring the Unknown Regions aboard the Normandy, and He Ru agreed after warning her about the dangers.
• Shepard declined an escort of Hell-Angel Class Battlecruisers and said she would let Ashley Williams and the others choose whether to join.

Sherry Birkin oversaw Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group’s containment operation in Prison Sector V after ultrasonic barriers detected impacts underground. She led U.S.S. Delta Squad into a hidden facility, where they found Mongal-Mongal samples and evidence that the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium had tried to control the organism, just as a shadow attacked her.

• Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group sealed Prison Sector V, collected Mongal-Mongal samples, and moved research operations to the Raccoon.
• A technician told Sherry Birkin that the ultrasonic barriers had registered 127 impacts underground, prompting her to order stronger barriers, a 200-kilometer monitoring zone, and more reinforcements.
• Ruper proposed turning the barriers into ultrasonic weapons, while Four-Eyes reported that Shepard had left aboard the Normandy to search deep space for Mongal-Mongal’s origin.
• Sherry Birkin suspected the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium had left something behind and led U.S.S. Delta Squad down a collapsed elevator shaft.
• Sherry Birkin and the squad found equipment surrounded by glass containers filled with Mongal-Mongal, and she concluded that the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium had tried to control it.
• Victor warned that some containers were broken as a black shadow lunged at Sherry Birkin from behind.

Sherry Birkin used her perfect G-Virus adaptation to destroy a Mongal-Mongal organism, then discovered that the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium’s facility concealed a vast chamber filled with the sludge. She ordered the area isolated for research rather than destroyed, despite the danger it posed to the planet.

• A Mongal-Mongal mass attacked Sherry Birkin, but she seized it with her altered hand and injected it with G-Virus until it became lifeless mud.
• Sherry Birkin explained that she hoped to force Mongal-Mongal into uncontrolled evolution so she could study its original biology.
• Ruper warned that the facility felt like a trap, and the floor collapsed, dropping the containers and several Umbrella personnel into a hidden chamber.
• Sherry Birkin used tentacles grown from her back to suspend the U.S.S Delta Squad above a vast lake of Mongal-Mongal sludge.
• Beltway proposed an Orbital Bombardment, but Sherry Birkin ordered more ultrasonic barriers and chose to study the aggregate.

Sherry Birkin confronted the intelligent Mongar-Mongar, ordered the laboratory sealed, and approved preparations for orbital bombardment. Elsewhere, Shepard’s crew detected three Xirui-class battlecruisers near a Ssi-ruuvi planet and considered whether they belonged to the missing squadrons.

• Mongar-Mongar spoke through Umbrella staff members controlled by tentacles and warned Sherry Birkin that mortals should not intrude on the domain of gods.
• Sherry Birkin used a drop of blue liquid on a controlled staff member, then escaped with U.S.S Delta Squad as they attacked Mongar-Mongar’s sludge.
• Sherry Birkin kept her plan to seal off the laboratory and study Mongar-Mongar, and she approved Ruper’s proposal to prepare a Kohl-class ship and an orbital bombardment window.
• Jeff Moro reported that the Normandy’s probe had detected capital ships near a Ssi-ruuvi planet, and Shepard identified three vessels as likely Xirui-class battlecruisers.
• Shepard ordered the probe closer for an optical scan despite Jeff Moro’s warning about the enemy ships’ stronger sensors.

Shepard’s crew discovered that the missing Ssi-ruuvi fleet had been infected by Mungal-Mungal and prepared to land on the planet. Tang Xiao learned that Mungal-Mungal was an intelligent life-form worshipped as the God of Decay and sent Legion to aid Sherry Birkin and Shepard.

• Shepard sent a probe toward the planet, and the Ssi-ruuvi fleet failed to detect it or transmit any communications.
• Shepard and Ashley Williams concluded that Mungal-Mungal had infected the planet’s population and that its cities were silent and likely full of walking corpses.
• Ashley Williams gave Shepard her captain’s insignia, and Shepard ordered the Normandy to activate stealth systems and prepare to land.
• Tang Xiao read Sherry Birkin’s report, which described Mungal-Mungal as an intelligent, complex life-form revered by some Ssi-ruuvi officials as the God of Decay.
• Tang Xiao met Legion, a specialized Geth unit, and sent it to Levik to assist Sherry Birkin and help Shepard if needed.
• Tang Xiao asked whether the Second Exploration Fleet had contacted the Chiss and told his contact to ask them about Mungal-Mungal.

Tang Xiao directed the Second Exploration Fleet to help address the Mongar-Mongar crisis while searching for the Chiss. On Kruda planet, Shepard questioned Mongar-Mongar’s motives and found a fortified town whose defenders were firing on infected Xilu people, including women and children.

• Tang Xiao noted that the Second Exploration Fleet was searching the Unknown Regions for the Chiss and would assist with the Mongar-Mongar problem.
• Shepard and her team explored Kruda planet and debated why Mongar-Mongar controlled Xilu people without directing their actions or infecting small animals.
• Senluo spotted a civilian ship taking off, and Shepard suggested Mongar-Mongar spread between planets in a deliberate, intelligent manner.
• The team heard gunfire and found a makeshift-walled town whose survivors and combat robots were fighting off infected people.
• Shepard watched infected Xilu women and children approach the town and wondered what Mongar-Mongar was trying to do.

Shepard and her team investigated Mungal-Mungal’s purposeful attacks on Xilu survivors and learned that the infection had spread across Kruda after a Lepix fleet detachment arrived. They concluded that the detachment’s warships might reveal the source of the infection, and Shepard proposed checking their navigation logs.

• A Mungal-Mungal infected tormented Xilu survivors with the remains of a victim until they fired on the infected.
• Shepard, Ashley Williams, and Senluo recognized that Mungal-Mungal acted intelligently, while Reaper detonated explosives and projected a fake attack to draw the infected away.
• Shepard approached the survivors and learned that Mungal-Mungal used infected hosts, could operate vehicles and weapons, and tortured its victims without gaining their memories.
• The survivors told Shepard that a Lepix detachment had arrived on Kruda before the infections spread across the planet.
• Ashley Williams wondered who had infected the detachment, and Shepard proposed boarding its warships to examine the Navigation Log.

He Ru struggled to contain Mongal-Mongal as stowaways and infections overwhelmed the Levik planet, while Sherry Birkin refused to share research and continued her experiments. Meanwhile, G.K. resolved to grow stronger after losing to Han Xiao, who prepared for the arrival of a new wave of players.

• He Ru learned that Mongal-Mongal had infiltrated ships and the civilian population, and ordered more B-1 battle droids to help secure the Levik planet.
• Huang Yehao reported that the Xilu rebels in Nuka City had surrendered after Mongal-Mongal outbreaks and incendiary bombings spread fear of the God of Decay.
• He Ru and Huang Yehao confronted Sherry Birkin for research findings, but she said they had no results to share and reminded He Ru that the G-Virus could stop Mongal-Mongal from spreading.
• Sherry Birkin ordered her researchers to begin a seventh experiment to test whether a juvenile Mongal-Mongal could develop an independent consciousness.
• After reviewing his defeat by Black Star, G.K. spent experience on mechanical engineering skills and prepared to resume research and manufacturing.
• Han Xiao anticipated the arrival of the second batch of players and returned to work at his workshop.

Shepard and her team escaped Kruda with a Navigation Log that pointed to six more planets possibly infected by the Mongar-Mongar. Back on Levik, they proposed investigating those planets with the Normandy to find the Mongar-Mongar’s homeworld, and He Ru agreed to send powerful companions with them.

• Shepard and her team escaped three pursuing Xirui-class battlecruisers by cloaking the Normandy and jumping to hyperspace.
• Sherry Birkin discovered that the Mongar-Mongar avoided the G-Virus and gave He Ru a refrigerated test tube to use if its spread became uncontrollable.
• He Ru struggled to manage Levik’s infections and unrest while the Duchy of Dawn’s leaders supported Umbrella Pharmaceutical Group’s research.
• Shepard returned to Levik with the Navigation Log from Kruda and identified six planets along the detached fleet’s route as possible Mongar-Mongar infection sites.
• Shepard proposed that the Normandy investigate the six planets without alerting the Mongar-Mongar, and He Ru agreed to send powerful companions with the team.

Shepard recruited Legion and set out to investigate Mongar-Mongar’s homeworld, while the Second Exploration Fleet prepared to explore the Unknown Regions under deputy commander Kace Thomas Maxwell. The chapter ended with the two expeditions beginning separate journeys toward the unknown.

• Shepard learned that Legion, a Geth collective with 3,149 bodies on Levik planet, would assist her Mongar-Mongar expedition.
• General He Ru told Shepard that Sherry Birkin remained isolated in Laboratory 101 and had stationed a cruiser overhead, so Shepard decided to proceed without her.
• Shepard ordered the expedition to depart and warned Legion not to cause trouble.
• The Eternal, an Endless-class Super Carrier, established communications with Dawn Star Planet from the Northwest Territory as the Second Exploration Fleet prepared to explore the Unknown Regions.
• Kace Thomas Maxwell, the fleet’s deputy commander, discussed the threat of Mongar-Mongar and prepared to lead the expedition aboard his Stetheus-class cruiser.

The Second Exploration Fleet discovered evidence of a destroyed colony and used its communications broadcast to draw the Chiss Defense Fleet into contact. Lieutenant General Brent sought diplomatic relations, but Admiral Ziyala rejected them until Brent mentioned Mnggal-Mnggal, which shocked her.

• General Brent warned Kace Maxwell to avoid confronting Mnggal-Mnggal and said the fleet needed to find the Chiss for information and assistance.
• The Second Exploration Fleet completed its route calculations and reached a barren planet marked in the Outer Rim Exploration Program records.
• Kace Maxwell deduced that a colony had once existed on the planet, and a probe confirmed radioactive contamination and buried structural remains.
• Brent deployed the fleet and broadcast communications signals, drawing a Chiss fleet of more than thirty vessels into the system.
• Admiral Ziyala rejected Brent's offer to establish diplomatic relations and dismissed Sefrans Tann as a disgraced former Chiss citizen.
• Brent solemnly mentioned Mnggal-Mnggal, and Ziyala's expression changed dramatically.

Lieutenant General Brent told Admiral Ziyala about Mongal-Mongal on Levik and sought peaceful relations with the Chiss, who agreed to meet a Duchy of Dawn delegation after three days of deliberation. When Kace Maxwell’s stealth cruiser appeared close to the Chiss fleet, Ziyala recognized how vulnerable her forces could be and reconsidered the threat posed by the Duchy of Dawn.

• Lieutenant General Brent learned from Admiral Ziyala’s reaction that the Chiss knew about Mongal-Mongal and explained the outbreak on Levik and the fall of Kruda.
• Brent described Levik’s population and defenses, and Ziyala warned that the planet could fall within a year and urged the Duchy of Dawn to prepare for the worst.
• Brent proposed a forward base and peaceful relations with the Chiss, and Ziyala agreed to report his intentions and the Mongal-Mongal crisis to the Chiss Senate.
• After three days, Ziyala told Brent that the Chiss ruling families would meet him, but permitted only one shuttle and required him to come personally.
• Brent summoned Kace Maxwell, whose Stetheus-class cruiser appeared within a thousand kilometers of the Chiss fleet and alarmed Ziyala.