Chapter Summaries

William tried to convince General Saum and the Covenant elites that Athena was an Ancient Human descendant by having her demonstrate her supernatural abilities. After they confirmed her giant transformation was real, William offered Saum a Plasma Gun to test her while warning him not to mistake the gesture for weakness.

• William brought Saum and the elites to the plaza and identified Athena as his evidence that humans descended from the Ancient Humans.
• Saum insulted Athena's appearance, but apologized after William explained that she was the Goddess of Victory and an Ancient Human descendant.
• Athena transformed into golden armor and grew to 150 meters, shocking the elites and prompting them to touch her and confirm she was real.
• William asked Athena to return to human size and gave Saum a Plasma Gun so he could fire at her and test her abilities.
• William warned Saum that he was at least as strong as Gabriel and had given him the weapon only to prove it had not been tampered with.

William used Athena's immunity to plasma fire to convince General Saum that she was a Goddess and that the Prophets had distorted the Covenant's history. Saum realized the Prophets were positioning the Brutes to replace the Sangheili and rallied his fellow Elites against their deception.

• Saum fired nearly thirty plasma bolts at Athena, but she remained unharmed, convincing the Elites of her divinity.
• William told Saum that the Forerunners had allied with the Ancient Humans and that the Prophets misrepresented Halo's purpose to preserve their rule.
• William explained that the Prophets had found the Brutes as a replacement for the powerful Sangheili, whose council privileges threatened Prophet control.
• Saum recalled how the Prophets had encouraged conflict between the Sangheili and Brutes and concluded that they had been deceiving his people.
• Saum roared to the assembled Elites that the Prophets had deceived them.

William secured Saum and forty-four Sangheili as allies by having them sign Confidentiality Agreements, then led them aboard the Star Killer-class Flagship. He left with them and his human companions for the Forerunner Ruins on Bountiful Star.

• Saum rallied the Elites against the Prophets and offered to ally with William if he helped them return to the Covenant.
• William warned Saum that his battered forces would be in danger if they returned, then asked the Elites to sign Confidentiality Agreements.
• Saum and forty-four Sangheili signed the agreements, which gave them 100 Loyalty toward William.
• William led the Sangheili aboard the Star Killer-class Flagship and prepared a transport formation for departure.
• William, Halsey, Serena, Ivan, Athena, John, and the Sangheili departed the flagship in DR-7 Transport Boats, escorted by six Aerial Strikes, bound for the Forerunner Ruins on Bountiful Star.

William brought Halsey and his team to the Forerunner Ruins beneath Bountiful Star’s North Pole and ordered Halsey and Serena to open its gate. Saum’s intelligence revealed that the Covenant had more than five thousand warships ready for its first offensive wave, including a fleet expected at Bountiful Star in two days.

• The Fifth Fleet’s Artificial Intelligence found the Forerunner Ruins beneath Bountiful Star’s northern glaciers, and William led Halsey, Ivan, and others to inspect them.
• Halsey examined the ancient alloy structure while Saum and the other elites knelt and howled before it.
• William told Halsey and Serena to open the sealed entrance as quickly as possible.
• Saum’s intelligence revealed that the Covenant had assembled more than five thousand warships and planned further waves of attacks.
• Saum disclosed that more than a thousand Covenant warships, led by two COS-class Super Carriers, would arrive at Bountiful Star in two days.
• Athena tried to reassure Ivan that she could lead them to victory, but Ivan responded skeptically.

Ivan worried that he could not lead Umbrella and the UNSC as effectively as his parents, but Athena encouraged him to find his own path and reminded him that she would support him. The group entered the Forerunner ruins, activated a Light Bridge across a chasm, and prepared to continue exploring.

• Ivan admitted to Athena that he doubted his ability to lead Umbrella and the UNSC without his parents’ help, and Athena reassured him that he should surpass his father rather than repeat his path.
• The ruins’ doors opened after Halsey used the terminal, and William told Serena to translate for the cheering Elites before leading everyone inside.
• William recognized the ruins’ design from Halo Wars as the group reached a platform overlooking a deep chasm.
• Halsey activated a Light Bridge with a spherical terminal, and Mylon cautiously tested it before confirming it could support people.
• William crossed the Light Bridge and called for the humans and Elites to follow him and explore the ruins.

Halsey and William learned that the Forerunner ruins on Bountiful Star pointed to Arcadia, a habitable planet in a binary star system that might contain a Shield World and a powerful weapon. Halsey urged William to prioritize defeating the Covenant fleet at Bountiful Star before pursuing the ruins on Arcadia.

• Halsey activated the Forerunner terminal, which marked an Earth-like planet in a binary star system, and asked Serena to copy the ruins’ data and locate the system.
• Serena copied the data, and William returned with the others to the flagship after Saum’s Elites witnessed humanity opening the Forerunner ruins.
• William ordered the guardsmen to rest and had Serena and the other Artificial Intelligences teach Saum’s group the human language.
• Halsey told William that the planet was named Arcadia and that its Forerunner ruins might lead to a Shield World containing a dangerous weapon.
• William explained what he knew about Shield Worlds, and Halsey recommended that they first cripple the Covenant fleet attacking Bountiful Star.

William and Halsey agreed to prioritize defeating the Covenant fleet before resuming the search for Shield World. As the two fleets faced one another near el3, Serena told William that the Covenant commander was trying to contact him with a prewar declaration.

• Halsey proposed postponing the search for Shield World and focusing on defeating the Covenant fleet, and William agreed.
• William said he and Ivan would pilot God Bodies in the coming battle, and Halsey approved of them fighting together.
• The First Fleet arrived at Bountiful Star to guard it while 049's team cultivated an alien army.
• A human fleet of nearly nine hundred warships and around eighteen thousand carrier-based aircraft assembled near el3.
• The Covenant fleet, led by two COS-class Super Aircraft Carriers, emerged from Vortex Tunnels and held position opposite the human fleet.
• William waited in his God Body at the Star Killer-class hangar as Serena reported that the Covenant commander was requesting contact.

William ordered Umbrella to sever the Covenant Fleet’s communications and attack its ships, aiming to capture the Elites. After the Star Killer’s cannon devastated the fleet, Ivan accelerated ahead of the human forces to face the Covenant counterattack.

• William had Serena infiltrate the Covenant’s communications, show the Forerunner Ruins video, and have Saum try to persuade the Elites to defect.
• William ordered the Star Killer to destroy a marked COS-class Super Aircraft Carrier and directed the fleet to advance while prioritizing disabling enemy ships.
• The Star Killer’s electromagnetic cannon pierced the carrier and destroyed or disabled nearly a hundred Covenant warships in a single shot.
• The human forces advanced, and Ivan’s dark red Final God Body broke formation as Megan reported that the Covenant was counterattacking with more than sixty thousand aircraft.
• Ivan prepared his floating cannons and Ship Slicers, then asked Megan to lock onto the nearest target.

Ivan and Megan linked their minds to destroy Covenant aircraft before Ivan led the Final God Body into the enemy fleet and used its Ship Slicer to cut apart dozens of warships. After his two-minute Super Speed assault left the Covenant fleet near collapse, Megan took over piloting while Ivan recovered.

• Ivan and Megan established a neural link, and Ivan destroyed nearly a hundred Covenant carrier-based aircraft with the Final God Body’s floating cannons.
• A Mag Electromagnetic Cannon strike destroyed the last COS-class Super Carrier, and Megan told Ivan that William had approved his request to attack the enemy fleet.
• Ivan and Megan entered Super Speed and drove the Final God Body through the Covenant formation while Ivan charged and combined its Ship Slicers into a blade nearly four hundred meters long.
• Ivan used the Ship Slicer to cut through the shields and hulls of Covenant cruisers, destroying more than sixty CCS- and CRS-class warships in two minutes.
• Ivan ended Super Speed exhausted, and Megan took control of the Final God Body while he recovered.

Ivan watched humanity's forces overwhelm the Covenant Fleet as Megan took control of the God Body and Hixia summoned hundreds of Skeleton Knights. Athena joined the battle and demanded the Covenant surrender, while Serena reported that the fleet had fractured into fighting Sangheili and Brutes.

• Megan controlled Ivan's God Body as human forces led by William and the Star Killer-class Flagship destroyed Covenant warships and aircraft.
• Humanity's Electromagnetic Cannons broke through Covenant Energy Shields, turning the battle decisively in humanity's favor.
• Hixia summoned hundreds of giant Skeleton Knights through a Scarlet six-pointed star formation and disrupted Covenant warships.
• Athena underwent Colossal Transformation, pierced a CCS-class Cruiser, and demanded the Covenant surrender, especially the Sangheili.
• Serena reported that the Covenant fleet was in chaos, with Sangheili preparing to stand down and Brutes fighting them, so the boss sent three Astartes Legion Terminator units to help the Sangheili.

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.