Recaps

Ivan took control of the God Body while the human forces avoided Covenant ships carrying Terminators. On a CAS-class Attack Carrier, Kolax teleported in with thirty Dark Raven Terminators and joined the fighting amid a Covenant mutiny.

• Megan told Ivan that Covenant warships carrying Terminators were marked as friendly, and Ivan took over the God Body controls.
• The Elite captain of a CAS-class Attack Carrier ordered a ceasefire after doubting the Covenant, but Brutes staged a coup and killed him, triggering fighting between Covenant factions.
• Kolax and thirty Dark Raven Terminators teleported into the carrier's hangar as Elites and Brutes fought.
• Kolax announced that he would help Enzo Saum eliminate the Kilhani Tribe and seize the warship, then attacked the Brutes.
• The Dark Raven Terminators joined Kolax in slaughtering the carrier's Brutes and their allies.

Kolax and the Elites fought together to retake the hangar from the Brutes, while fleeing Grunts and Gnolls called the Raven forces demons. After two hundred Raven Astartes arrived by Falcon, the Brutes were defeated, and the Elite Commander thanked Kolax for helping them escape their predicament.

• Kolax killed the Brutes who charged him, impressing the Elites, who joined him and the Terminators in fighting the Brutes.
• Grunts and Gnolls began fleeing and shouting that Kolax and his allies were demons, while the Brutes tried to stop them.
• Ten Falcons forced their way into the hangar and deployed two hundred Raven Astartes, who opened fire on the Brute forces.
• Kolax, the Raven Astartes, and the surviving Elites took control of the hangar, and many Grunts and Gnolls surrendered to the Elite Commander.
• The Elite Commander spared the surrendering Grunts and Gnolls and praised Kolax and his troops as true warriors worthy of being called demons.

Kolax led the White Ravens and allied Elites in boarding and capturing Covenant warships, while most of the surviving fleet came under human control. William ordered a final volley against the Brute-held ships attempting to escape.

• Kolax and the White Ravens fought their way to a CAS-class carrier’s bridge and helped the Elites take control of it.
• A Crimson Armored Elite persuaded other Elite commanders to cooperate with humanity, and Kolax continued leading boarding operations against more Covenant ships.
• Serena reported that 317 surviving Covenant warships were under Astartes control and that 26 Brute-held ships were attempting to flee.
• William surveyed the battlefield and ordered all combat units to prepare a volley against the 26 escaping Brute warships, telling Serena to record the attack.

Humanity destroyed the last Brute warships at Bountiful Star, rescued survivors, and began repairing the captured Covenant fleet. The next day, William and Mike reviewed the still-fierce Covenant offensive and the thin defenses of humanity’s frontier colonies.

• William rejected the Kilahani’s offer to cooperate against the Prophets and ordered the human fleet to destroy their twenty-six remaining warships.
• Humanity’s victory crippled the Covenant, while its AIs gained access to Covenant communications and could expose the Prophets’ deception and the Elites’ conflict with the Brutes.
• Human crews searched for ejected human pilots and rescued Elite survivors or collected their remains, while William sent the jointly controlled 317 Covenant warships back to Bountiful Star’s orbit.
• Enzo Saum and the Elites who had signed the Confidentiality Agreement briefed the other Elites, and Serena counted the surviving Covenant forces and assessed the damaged ships as Umbrella and the Engineers began repairs.
• On September 28, Carmen took her place at the Star Killer’s helm as William and Mike reviewed the Covenant’s fierce offensive and the limited forces defending Earth and Reach.

William and Serena reviewed how their propaganda had weakened the Covenant and learned that the Prophets were summoning Sangheili leaders to the City of Brotherly Love. William recognized the gathering as a trap, leaving the Sangheili leadership in danger.

• William asked Saum whether his people would cooperate with humanity, and Saum confirmed that the surviving Sangheili were willing to ally with them.
• William ordered Serena to prepare Confidentiality Agreements for Saum's followers and other Covenant species who chose to join the Elite Commander.
• Serena identified the three Prophets and reported that nearly sixty percent of Sangheili fleet commanders had halted attacks, while all had refused orders to glass human colonies.
• Serena reported that the Prophets planned to replace Sangheili commanders with Kilhani and had summoned Sangheili councilors and senior officers to the City of Brotherly Love.
• William realized that the Prophets' invitation to explain the pilgrimage was a Covenant version of a Hongmen Banquet.

Serena explained that the Prophets had likely recalled the Sangheili commanders to the City of Brotherly Love to eliminate them, but William rejected Saum’s plan to attack its overwhelming defenses. Serena then revealed that the City of Brotherly Love was probably a Forerunner vessel protected by the same advanced defense found near its star system.

• Serena estimated that the Prophets intended to kill the recalled Sangheili commanders and replace them with Kilhani leaders.
• Saum asked William to let him lead his people in a raid on the City of Brotherly Love, and Mike asked Serena what it was.
• Serena described the City of Brotherly Love as a massive flying vessel far from human territory, and Saum explained that an Invincible Fleet guarded it.
• William refused to approve the raid, citing the Covenant fleet's defenses, the damaged state of Saum's forces, and the danger of a long Warp journey.
• Serena reported that the vessel's defenses matched Forerunner technology and that the same defense existed near its star system.

William and his allies identified the Forerunner Shield World APEX in the star system containing the City of Brotherly Love and decided to raid it before the Covenant could claim its Dreadnought Fleet. William prepared a small elite force for the mission and left Mike in command of humanity’s remaining forces.

• Halsey identified APEX as a Forerunner Shield World and Dreadnought Fleet starport located in the same star system as the City of Brotherly Love.
• Saum and Mike urged William to raid the City of Brotherly Love to stop the Covenant from securing the Dreadnought Fleet and to rescue Saum’s people.
• Serena warned that the Warp journey would take at least a month, while William concluded that obtaining the fleet or destroying it would have decisive strategic value.
• William placed Mike in command of the five Umbrella fleets and the UNSC forces while General Ostrovsky focused on defending the Solar System.
• William ordered Serena to ready one COS-class ship and ten CCS-class ships, transfer Doctor (049) and his team to Star Killer, and prepare the fleet for the raid.
• William asked Saum to select fighters for the mission and warned him that his people might already be dead when they arrived.

William and Saum prepared a joint expedition to Collins Prier to confront the Prophets and seize the Forerunner Dreadnought Fleet. During the month-long warp voyage, Halsey and Rebecca studied ways to understand and contain the Flood, eventually producing a clone of Elizabeth Green.

• Saum vowed to kill the Prophets and Jiralhanae, while Mike promised to defend humanity with Andre and Halsey insisted on joining William's raid.
• William directed Serena to send Robert's Limit Legion and Falcons to the First Fleet for boarding operations.
• Mike left one UNSC fleet and one hundred Limit Astartes to guard Bountiful Star, then led the other fleets away to redeploy.
• Saum and William's Fleet Zero began traveling to the Collins Prier Star System, with Serena matching the Covenant ships' warp speeds to prevent their arriving too early.
• Halsey and Rebecca abandoned their study of the Ancient Humans' virus samples and turned to cloning Elizabeth Green, successfully creating a perfect copy after ten days.

On October 9, 2026, William, Halsey, and Rebecca tested a stable clone of Elizabeth Green aboard the Star Killer-class Flagship to determine whether Green could control it. Green successfully controlled the clone, clearing the way for her to command the alien army against the Flood.

• Researchers had bred more than two hundred thousand worker drones, five thousand Beast Forms, ten Praetorians, and two abominations for the coming battle against the Flood.
• Rebecca and Halsey explained that the clone in the Isolation Chamber was their most stable attempt, while earlier clones had collapsed or become monsters.
• Green learned that she had sensed the deaths of her failed clones and calmed down after William explained that the cloning was meant to protect her from Flood Spores.
• Halsey asked Green to control the stable clone and make sure it obeyed her completely.
• Green used the Hive Mind to make the clone stand and perform simple movements, confirming it had no independent consciousness and could not take command of the alien army.

William left Halsey and Rebecca to continue their clone research with Green, while the Star Killer’s combat personnel prepared for the coming battle. Athena led Ivan toward her quarters and told him that her first kiss would grant the recipient the blessing of the Goddess of Wisdom and War, then accused him of thinking something lewd.

• William left the observation room and told Green to assist Halsey and Rebecca with their clone research.
• Marines, Helljumpers, and Astartes trained in the Star Killer’s hangar for the coming battle against the Covenant and possible Flood threats.
• Athena demonstrated Body Techniques with Ivan, but Nova and Xia said their psychic powers, magic, and durability made martial arts unnecessary.
• Technicians invited Nova to test a special weapon William had prepared, and she brought Xia along.
• Athena led Ivan toward her quarters instead of the cafeteria and said the person who received her first kiss would gain the blessing of the Goddess of Wisdom and War.

Athena gave Ivan her first kiss, granting him Goddess’s Blessing to help him survive the coming attack. Meanwhile, William learned of Ivan’s enhanced abilities and unveiled a custom MS unit for Nova.

• Athena explained that she gave Ivan her first kiss to grant him Goddess’s Blessing before the dangerous attack on the Covenant fleet, and she took him to her quarters.
• William’s system reported that Ivan had gained Goddess’s Blessing and detailed how it enhanced his combat abilities, luck, and exclusive God Body.
• Nova arrived with Sia at the MS workshop, where William prepared to show Nova her specialized unit.
• William had the gray covering removed, revealing a gray MS unit with a large shield attached to its back and left shoulder.

The chapter described a tall, slender mobile suit with a transparent orb embedded in its chest and no obvious ranged weapons. It was said to resemble a mobile suit from the Gundam 00 theatrical film, with minor differences and a different engine.

• The narration described the mobile suit's tall, slender frame and transparent chest orb.
• The narration noted that the mobile suit lacked obvious ranged weapons.
• The narration compared its appearance to a mobile suit from the Gundam 00 theatrical film, noting minor differences and a different engine.

William ordered the United Fleet to exploit the Covenant's blindness and destroy the Invincible Fleet before seizing City of Brotherly Love. The surprise attack devastated the Covenant formation, and a Tactical missile carrying a Quantum Bomb raced toward the remaining ships.

• William ordered Serena and the Artificial Intelligences to disable the Covenant's scanning systems for three hours, then directed the United Fleet to attack City of Brotherly Love and the Invincible Fleet.
• Serena, Athena, and Megan blinded the Covenant, allowing the Flood ships to resume attacking while the United Fleet advanced undetected.
• The United Fleet released its aircraft and opened fire on the Invincible Fleet with Mag Electromagnetic Cannons, Tungsten projectiles, Yamato Cannons, Plasma Cannons, and Tactical missiles.
• The Tactical missiles released nuclear and Hydrogen Bomb warheads inside the Covenant formation, destroying half the fleet and stripping the shields from the other half.
• The Star Killer launched a Tactical missile carrying a Quantum Bomb toward the Invincible Fleet.

William ordered the United Fleet to destroy the battered Covenant fleet, then led his God Body into battle against its carrier-based aircraft. As William and Serena fought deep among the Covenant warships, Ivan and Mylon arrived to help overwhelm the enemy.

• The Quantum Bomb and earlier attacks destroyed most of the Covenant fleet, though more than five hundred damaged warships remained.
• William ordered the United Fleet to use its weapons freely, sent Ivan to attack with Super Speed, and called on Hya, Nova, and Athena to strike the enemy.
• William and Serena entered Super Speed and attacked Covenant carrier-based aircraft with their Ship Slicers.
• Ivan raced through the Covenant formation, slicing through warships, while Serena took over piloting after William's Super Speed left him exhausted.
• Mylon arrived beside William's God Body and destroyed a CCS-class Cruiser with a barrage from his Rotary Gauss Cannon.

William’s fleet destroyed the Covenant’s Invincible Fleet and left the City of Brotherly Love exposed. William prepared to attack the Covenant capital and rescue the trapped Elites, while keeping Heya’s reality-warping ability secret.

• William docked Mylon’s salary for disobeying an order and told him to destroy CCS-class ships.
• William and Serena coordinated their attacks, while Heya summoned Skeleton Knights to strike the Covenant fleet.
• Nova used a Psionic storm to immobilize the Flood fleet, and the Phoenix-class carriers destroyed its infected warships with hydrogen-bomb missiles.
• The Human Elite’s United Fleet wiped out the Invincible Fleet, leaving the City of Brotherly Love without its protection.
• William resolved to defeat the Prophets and the Covenant forces in the capital and rescue the Elites trapped there.

The United Fleet began its ground assault on the City of Brotherly Love under Xia’s defensive barrier while its AIs worked to weaken Covenant morale. Drop Pods carrying Elites, Helljumpers, Astartes, and Custodes reached the city, where Angel Keisha appeared as a Divine Barrier protected the Astartes.

• Xia’s Light Magic barrier shielded the United Fleet as it approached the City of Brotherly Love and destroyed nearby anti-aircraft defenses.
• Serena, Cortana, and Megan infiltrated the city’s communications network and urged the Grunts, Gnolls, and Bingfeng to surrender, while the Prophets and Brutes refused.
• Fleet Zero launched Helljumpers, and Saum’s CAS-class and CCS-class ships deployed roughly thirty thousand Elite Drop Pods.
• The Star Killer launched more than two hundred Large Drop Pods carrying Custodes and Dark Ravens, who landed amid Covenant forces and began fighting.
• A pale-yellow Divine Barrier protected the Astartes from Covenant weapons and crushed or repelled nearby troops, then Angel Keisha appeared before both sides.

Keisha, Kolax, and the human and Elite forces attacked the Brute-led Covenant army in the City of Brotherly Love. The battle became a rout, and the arrival of William and Ivan's God Body Squad left the Brutes with no chance of turning it around.

• Keisha flew overhead and shielded the Astartes with Divine Light, while the Gulu people and Gnolls panicked at the arrival of the so-called demons.
• Kolax and more than four hundred Terminators teleported into the Brutes' ranks, and Kolax offered the other Covenant races safety if they surrendered or helped fight the Brutes.
• The Gulu people surrendered and more than half the Gnolls defected, while the Bingfeng continued fighting beside the Brutes.
• Drop Pods brought in Helljumpers, Jaws, and Saum's Elite veterans, turning the fight into a slaughter of the Brutes.
• Thousands of transports delivered Marines and allied Covenant races, then William and Ivan's God Body Squad arrived alongside Xiya and Nova's White Ravens and Thunders.

The United Fleet and its ground forces crushed the Covenant defenses in the City of Brotherly Love, joined with the surviving Elite forces, and reached the Prophets’ sanctuary. William left his God Body to lead the forces inside, where Saum was eager to confront the Prophets.

• The United Fleet’s aircraft and Mylon’s Rotary Gauss Cannon devastated Covenant fighters while ground troops advanced through the city.
• Saum persuaded the exhausted surviving Elite forces to cooperate with humanity, and William arranged for them to rest aboard the warships.
• William’s God Body Squad and the MS Formation crushed the Scarabs and Jiralhanae bodyguards, clearing the way to the Prophets’ sanctuary.
• William ordered Serena to pilot his God Body, ejected from its cockpit, and leaped safely to the ground.
• William gathered the Jaws, Kolax, Custodes, Ravens, Keisha, and Saum to enter the sanctuary and confront the Prophets.

William and his allies confronted the Covenant’s three Hierarchs in the sanctuary and killed them after condemning their war against humanity and betrayal of the Sangheili. William left orders to use a recording of their deaths to break Covenant morale and to continue clearing Jiralhanae forces from the City of Brotherly Love.

• William entered the sanctuary with Angel Keisha, Saum, and his forces, where the three Hierarchs cowered among the dead guards.
• Saum killed Prophet of Truth after blaming the Prophets for the deaths of his people.
• William killed Prophet of Sorrow with a slap when he cursed Saum as a traitor.
• William rejected Prophet of Mercy’s pleas, saying the Prophets had no right to his mercy, and signaled Saum to kill him with an Energy Sword.
• William ordered the Jaws captain to send the combat recording to Serena for an edited morale-breaking video and to continue clearing Jiralhanae from the City of Brotherly Love.

After the Covenant fractured, William prepared to take Shield World 0459 without provoking its Templar Defenders. He ordered the Xenomorphs prepared for an immediate airdrop while Fleet Zero held its fire.

• Mike reported that nearly half the Covenant forces had collapsed or mutinied, while the Brutes’ elite forces withdrew from the Orion Arm.
• William learned that Kolax and Saum’s ground forces still needed nearly a month to clear the Brutes from the City of Brotherly Love before he could target the Dreadnought Fleet inside Shield World 0459.
• Carmen reported that surface contamination exceeded eighty percent and that Fleet Zero’s weapons were ready, but William ordered the warships to fire only on his command.
• Rebecca asked why Fleet Zero would not bombard the Flood-covered surface, and Halsey warned that Templar Defenders might interpret the attack as an assault on the Shield World.
• William told Serena to notify the doctor (049) to begin airdropping the Xenomorphs once their preparations were complete.

Mylon, John, and the assembled forces watched Elizabeth Green help 049 prepare thousands of aliens for deployment to Shield World. The drop pods landed amid a landscape overrun by the Flood, whose infected Covenant forces and forms were described.

• Mylon remarked to John that Green’s presence meant they would not have to face the Flood directly, while John simply nodded.
• 049 pressured the Pluto Research Institute researchers to ready the aliens, and Green helped load them into drop pods within six minutes.
• The ground crew released thousands of pods through the hangar’s airlock, sending them down into Shield World’s atmosphere.
• On Shield World, the pods descended over murky lakes and swamps covered in writhing Flood growths.
• The Flood-infected Brutes, Grunts, and Gnolls were described as Combat Bodies and Pure Forms, while Infection Forms spread from exploding sacs.

The Flood had overrun the Shield World’s surface, but remained trapped there after its infected fleet was destroyed. William sent thousands of alien drop pods to fight as vanguard troops, and the chapter ended with the aliens appearing well suited to counter the Flood.

• Thousands of disposable drop pods descended onto the Flood-infested Shield World, and green blood from failed pods corroded the living roots.
• Tiger Form aliens emerged from the landed pods and attacked the surrounding Combat Form Flood.
• A headless Combat Form pierced a Tiger Form’s abdomen, but its corrosive blood damaged the Flood’s arm and the alien tore the Combat Form apart.
• William’s plan to use aliens as vanguard troops was explained: they seemed resistant to Flood infection and avoided risking Umbrella soldiers and Astartes.

William ordered Elizabeth Green to test whether the Flood could infect her clone, while Alien forces fought the Flood on the Shield World. The clone resisted infection, and the Flood appeared to abandon their attempt to assimilate her.

• William ordered Serena to tell Elizabeth Green to expose her clone to the Flood and have an Alien Praetorian kill her if she lost control.
• Elizabeth Green sent the clone, guarded by Alien Praetorians and New Reverse Strain Aliens, toward the battlefield.
• The Alien Praetorians engaged the Flood while Infection Forms swarmed the clone and one entered her body through the back of her neck.
• The Flood infection failed, and the clone convulsed before becoming still without transforming.
• Serena reported that the Flood had not infected the clone and seemed to have detected her special nature, prompting Halsey to ask what was happening.

Halsey warned that the Gravemind might be pretending to fear Green's clone to lure the humans into infecting Elizabeth Green. William ordered Green to remain aboard the ship and organized a heavily protected, sterilized landing operation on the Shield World; the chapter ended as the technicians and their escorts prepared to deploy.

• Halsey argued that the Flood's easy defeat could be a trap, and that the Gravemind might have discovered Green's Hive Mind through the infected clone.
• Rebecca realized the apparent fear could persuade them to infect Green in hopes that she could control the Flood, and William ordered Serena to keep Green aboard the ship.
• William ordered Spartans, Terminators, technicians, the Shark Squad, Prus's Ghost Agents, and Noble Team with Keisha and Water Sprite to secure and sterilize the landing zone.
• John and the others teleported to the Shield World, while technicians and their escorts boarded Pelicans to join them.

The Aliens’ battle against the Flood turned against them as the Gravemind adapted its tactics and exploited their biological weaknesses. John and three other Primarchs arrived with more than four hundred Terminators, bolstering the defense and attacking the Flood.

• The Gravemind directed Flood Combat Forms to target the Aliens’ heads, shifting the battle toward the Flood’s advantage.
• John led four Primarchs and more than four hundred Imperial Guard and Raven Guard Terminators in a teleportation assault on the landing zone.
• John ordered the Astartes to clear the visible Flood, and the Primarchs divided the Terminators into four groups to attack from different directions.
• Mylon fired his Ultra-Heavy Bolter into the Flood waves, destroying Combat Forms and Tank Flood.
• The Terminators used their AT Shields, Bolters, and Energy Claws to withstand Infection Forms and fight the Flood.