Chapter Summaries

Keisha joined Carter’s Containment Task Force aboard Infinity, while William reorganized his forces and company operations after the Giant Beast crisis. He then asked Halsey to accompany him and the five Primarchs to Minos to inspect the Astartes’ training progress.

• Keisha introduced herself as William’s master, and William assigned her to Carter’s Task Force for her powerful Defense Barriers.
• Carter showed Keisha her teammates, including the Water Sprite, the Nine-Tailed White Fox, Elizabeth Green, and 049.
• William ordered the Second and Third Fleets to return to Reach, kept Fleet Zero and the First Fleet over Japan, and moved several teams and Containment Objects aboard Infinity.
• William directed Umbrella to assist disaster-stricken cities, buy land in heavily damaged areas, and support UNSC recovery efforts.
• William told Halsey that Rebecca had requested leave to go to Minos, then proposed that Halsey and the five Primarchs accompany them to inspect the Astartes’ training.

William arranged to visit Minos Island with Halsey and Rebecca, and arrived with Robert as the island’s students underwent intensive training. As the Phantom carrying William approached, Hunk and Kent prepared to receive him.

• William asked Serena to notify Robert and bring him aboard the Infinity for the trip to Minos.
• Minos Island’s former facilities had been converted into a city-like base, training grounds, and a large camp for recruits and Astartes candidates.
• Thousands of USS and Ghost Agent reserves and Astartes candidates trained on the beach under USS instructors.
• Hunk and Kent oversaw the island’s training program and supported giving Astartes candidates time to grow up before their modification surgeries.
• A communications officer told Hunk and Kent that the Phantom carrying William would reach Minos airspace in twenty minutes.

William arrived at Minos Island with his family, Sparta Blue Team, and other personnel, where Hunk and Kent greeted him. He introduced them to the newly established Damocles Containment Task Force and asked to see the trainees.

• Hunk and Kent left the watchtower, changed into officer uniforms, and went with Li Mu to the landing pad to meet William.
• The Phantom appeared above Minos Island, and instructors fired warning shots to make the students stop talking and resume their training.
• William, Serena, Rebecca, Halsey, Sparta Blue Team, Robert, Kolax, and the Water Sprite landed in two Pelicans.
• William allowed Li Mu to take Rebecca aside for a private conversation and told her she did not need to join the Astartes project.
• Kent asked why the Water Sprite was on Minos, and William explained that Serena had sent the colonels information about the Damocles Containment Task Force.
• William asked Hunk and Kent to take him to see the future USS personnel, Ghost Agents, and Astartes.

William visited the Minos training grounds, assessed the growing USS, Ghost Agent, and Astartes programs, and decided to address the recruits. The trainees ended their beach training and prepared to hear him speak at the Underground Facility.

• William and his group traveled to the beach, where Hunk reported that the first batch of USS and Ghost Agent recruits would graduate in two months.
• Kent criticized the third-generation Astartes candidates’ lack of battlefield experience, while Halsey explained how greater numbers and limited resources reduced their quality compared with the first generations.
• William accepted that the larger force would compensate for the candidates’ lower individual quality with numbers, ceramite armor, and Bolter Weapons.
• William asked Hunk to prepare the Underground Facility’s auditorium so he could explain the recruits’ purpose to them.
• The USS instructors received orders and ended the trainees’ beach training early so they could attend William’s speech.

Trainees at the Minos Island facility watched footage of soldiers facing an anomalous creature that tore through blast doors and slaughtered them despite their gunfire. As the trainees absorbed the soldiers’ desperate last stand, the projector began playing another video.

• The instructors seated the trainees throughout the auditorium and allowed them to talk while they waited for a presentation.
• A USS major told the trainees to quiet down as a holographic projector began showing first-person footage from an old individual camera.
• The footage showed soldiers preparing to defend a command center’s final line of defense while gunfire and screams sounded behind blast doors.
• A gray-skinned creature forced its way through the doors and killed the soldiers despite their concentrated fire.
• The video ended with the trainees shaken by the soldiers’ deaths, and the projector started another video.

William showed Umbrella’s trainees how five newly augmented Spartan I Warriors contained Anomaly 096, then explained that becoming a Super Soldier meant accepting responsibility for protecting others. He introduced several Anomalies already fighting alongside humanity, leaving the trainees with examples of both dangerous and cooperative beings.

• The trainees watched footage of John, Mylon, Carl, Daisy, and Kage containing Anomaly 096 after it slaughtered soldiers at Camp Lemonnier.
• William told the trainees that 096 had killed 1,996 members of an elite Joint Task Force and had been classified as Euclid.
• William revealed that the five Spartans in the footage were fourteen-year-old Spartan I Warriors who had just undergone augmentation, with the Master Chief leading the operation.
• William told the trainees that extraordinary combat power meant shouldering responsibilities ordinary people could not bear, and they rose to salute him and the Spartans.
• Serena projected information about 049, Elizabeth Green, the Nine-Tailed White Fox, Angel Keisha, and the Water Sprite, and William explained that some Anomalies fought on humanity’s behalf.

William showed the trainees how the Water Sprite had helped B019 Korax defeat three giant beasts, then sent them to meet the five Spartan Primarchs and hear their experiences. He and Serena went to the lowest level of Minos Island’s vast underground facility, where the doctor was examining Achilles, the demigod Umbrella had contained more than ten years earlier.

• William introduced the Water Sprite and showed footage of her helping B019 Korax defeat three giant mantis-like beasts near New York.
• William warned the trainees that not every anomaly was hostile and told them to judge each encounter for themselves.
• John, Carl, Mylon, Robert, and B019 Korax shared their experiences with the trainees before William dismissed the gathering.
• William arranged for the five Spartans and the Water Sprite to meet the trainees, then asked Serena where the doctor was.
• Serena told William that the doctor was examining Achilles on the lowest level, so he went with her to explore the facility and see the demigod.

William and Halsey visited Achilles’ tomb beneath Minos Island and discussed reviving him to train Astartes candidates. They agreed to ask Athena whether retrieving Achilles from the Greek underworld was possible and safe.

• William and Serena descended to Minos Island’s lowest level and found Achilles’ tomb in an underground tropical garden.
• William and Halsey looked at Achilles’ body and discussed how his arrogance had led to his death and how he later became a true hero.
• Halsey proposed reviving Achilles to teach Astartes candidates humility and discipline.
• William questioned how Achilles could be revived and considered the risks of entering the underworld.
• William and Halsey agreed to consult Athena about the Greek underworld before deciding whether to retrieve Achilles.

William ordered Athena to lead an expedition into the Greek Underworld to retrieve Achilles’s soul, and she selected John and Mylon to accompany her. The team reached the secured entrance beneath Santorini volcano, ready to begin its investigation.

• Athena explained that entering the Underworld required Hades’s permission and that Cerberus guarded the gate where Achilles’s soul was believed to be.
• William ordered Athena to lead a team into the Underworld, and she agreed despite uncertainty about whether Hades remained there.
• Athena prepared for the expedition and selected John and Mylon as her companions.
• Athena, John, and Mylon flew to the military outpost on Santorini Island and traveled by Warthog convoy to Achilles’s tomb.
• The convoy reached the entrance, which Umbrella’s Engineering Team had fortified with a Titanium Alloy gate.

Athena, John, and Mylon traveled through the underground catacombs beneath Santorini in search of the Underworld’s entrance. Athena revealed a hidden platform beneath a lava fissure, where they opened a massive door and entered Hades’s realm.

• Athena, John, and Mylon crossed the ancient chambers beneath the volcano, reaching the end of the catacombs without finding an entrance to the Underworld.
• A UBCS lieutenant told John that researchers had found no entrance, though soldiers heard crying sounds underground at night.
• Athena jumped into a lava fissure and called for John and Mylon to follow, revealing a hidden platform below.
• John and Mylon used their jet systems to descend to the platform, where Athena warned Mylon against suggesting she could drown.
• Mylon activated his camera, and John and Mylon helped Athena open the door into the Underworld ruled by Hades.

Athena led John and Mylon through the Greek underworld, where they crossed a plain crowded with spirits and reached Charon's dock. Charon demanded a coin for each passenger before agreeing to take them to the Elysian Fields.

• Athena led John and Mylon into a dark passage and ordered them to stay close and fire only on her command.
• Mylon discovered they could no longer see the entrance, and Athena explained that the underworld prevented visitors from leaving without its ruler's permission.
• The three emerged onto a barren plain surrounded by flowing lava, where Athena warned John and Mylon not to speak to the wandering spirits.
• Athena led John and Mylon across the plain to a dock and greeted Charon, the ferryman of the Styx.
• Athena paid Charon one gold coin and asked to be taken to the Elysian Fields, but Charon demanded one coin per person.

Athena led John and Mylon across the Styx to the Land of Everlasting Flowers, where she explained the routes to Elysium, Tartarus, and Hades’ palace. A howl from ahead suggested Cerberus was still there, and the three hurried toward the palace to continue their search for Achilles.

• Athena paid Charon to ferry her, John, and Mylon across the Styx, and the two Spartans nearly capsized his boat.
• After reaching the far shore, the group left Charon behind and traveled through the Land of Everlasting Flowers.
• Athena found ruined marble pillars and worried that Hades and Persephone might have left the Underworld.
• Athena pointed out the paths to Elysium and Tartarus, then identified Hades’ palace as their destination and said Achilles should be nearby.
• A howl sounded from ahead, and Athena identified it as Cerberus before leading John and Mylon toward Hades’ palace.

Athena, John, and Mylon reached Hades’s palace in the Underworld, where Cerberus recognized Athena and Hades welcomed his niece. The group discovered that Hades and his divine servants had adopted modern technology and clothing.

• Athena explained to Mylon that humanlike divine servants had built the Underworld’s gardens, palaces, and roads.
• The group met Cerberus, who wagged his tail when he recognized Athena, and Hades explained that it knew her by her scent.
• Athena identified Hades’s voice and led John and Mylon toward his palace after he welcomed them.
• The divine servants opened the palace gates and escorted the visitors into a reception hall furnished with modern technology and served them tea and desserts.
• Hades came downstairs dressed casually and greeted Athena, who stood and respectfully greeted her uncle.

Athena visited Hades in the Underworld and asked him to help revive Achilles so she could inspire humanity’s fighters. Hades agreed and set off with Athena, John, and Mylon for the military camp.

• Hades welcomed Athena and explained that he enjoyed human entertainment technology, while Persephone joined them in the hall.
• Hades mistook John and Mylon for Athena’s children, and Athena clarified that they were human companions.
• Athena asked Hades to let Achilles return to the human world, explaining that she hoped he would inspire and teach humanity’s fighters.
• Hades agreed to help revive Achilles and ordered attendants to prepare a vehicle for the journey to the military camp.
• Persephone asked John and Mylon if either wanted to become her son-in-law, and both declined.
• Athena, Hades, John, and Mylon left the palace while Persephone watched them go.

Athena, John, and Mylon visited Achilles in the Underworld and asked him to train humanity’s demigod warriors. Achilles agreed to return to the mortal world, but first asked to test John and Mylon’s skills.

• Hades took Athena, John, and Mylon to the Underworld barracks in a stretch Humvee and talked about enjoying modern conveniences and online games.
• At the barracks training ground, Achilles trained soldiers and offered them instruction after defeating them in sparring.
• Hades asked Achilles to return to the mortal world, and Athena explained that she wanted him to train John and Mylon.
• Achilles initially refused, but Hades insisted that he go with Athena, and Achilles agreed on the condition that he first assess the two Spartans’ skills.

Athena, Mylon, and John persuaded Achilles to leave the Underworld after Mylon defeated him in a sparring match. They returned to the surface with Achilles in spirit form, and Halsey and William discussed how easily the mission had gone.

• Athena arranged for Mylon to spar with Achilles, who had challenged the pair.
• Mylon used his Power Armor and Herculean Strength to overpower Achilles and hold him immobile.
• Achilles agreed to return to the mortal world, and Hades sent Athena, Achilles, Mylon, and John back to the surface after Athena promised to visit.
• Athena explained that Achilles's immortal body awaited him at Minos and warned that his spirit form could not be exposed to sunlight, so UBSC technicians prepared to transfer him.
• William questioned how easily the mission had gone, and Halsey suggested that Hades's affection for Athena had helped.

William and Halsey discussed Hades’s abilities and the security risks posed by the Tomb of Achilles, while Achilles returned to the Phantom to be resurrected. The story then shifted to the prosperous colony of Sirius-4, where Lieutenant Hudson Williams arrived at a penthouse and found Hicks and other Umbrella officers waiting.

• William asked whether Hades qualified as a God-class Anomaly, and Halsey said there was not enough evidence to decide.
• Halsey classified the Tomb of Achilles as Euclid and recommended reinforcing its guards, and William said Serena would notify the soldiers.
• Achilles’s soul was placed in a special container and escorted by Athena, John, and Mylon aboard the Phantom to Minos Island for resurrection.
• Achilles signed a Confidentiality Agreement before learning the truth about divine bodies, to prevent hostility toward Umbrella.
• The account described Sirius-4 as a prosperous colony with seven dome cities and about twelve million immigrants.
• Hudson Williams watched a Megan Fox advertisement, went to a penthouse apartment, and found Hicks and more than a dozen Umbrella Marine Corps officers there.

Hicks and Hudson prepared the Marines to investigate Hozette Corporation’s sealed tin mine on Sirius-4, where the company might be researching an anomalous phenomenon. Hudson lamented missing out on the team’s lavish spending, then remembered his wife Gina and reaffirmed his loyalty to her before the operation began.

• Umbrella’s agents identified Hozette Corporation as the real power on Sirius-4 and discovered that the company had brought researchers to Dome City Seven and sealed off a nearby tin mine with help from bribed UNSC personnel.
• William sent elite Marines from the UNSC Infinity to Sirius-4, where Serena gave them cover identities as financial elites and they posed as wealthy vacationers in Dome City One.
• Hudson told Hicks that the agents would take the Marines to their base that night, where they would receive specialized gear before investigating the mine.
• Hicks told the fourteen Marines to prepare to determine whether Hozette’s research involved the anomaly Umbrella was investigating.
• Hudson complained that his comrades had enjoyed spending company money on models while he returned to the suite alone, and the Marines teased him about being a married man.
• Hicks mentioned Gina, prompting Hudson to say he would not disappoint his wife and children.

Hicks, Hudson, and the Marines met with Agent Yulia Keijins at a covert intelligence hub in Dome City One to prepare for an operation at a tin mine near City Seven. They planned to infiltrate the mine that night, with the Amber Frigate standing by to support them if they found abnormal phenomena.

• Hicks, Hudson, and the Marines entered a strip club that served as a female agents' base and intelligence hub, dropping their drunken disguises upstairs.
• Yulia Keijins briefed the Marines that Hozette Corporation and the UNSC had sealed off the tin mine and that attempts to enter a laboratory beneath City Seven had failed.
• Yulia said the Marines would infiltrate the tin mine near City Seven that night to search for evidence using new equipment.
• Hicks explained that the Amber Frigate would hide near Sirius-3 and that its forces would assist in taking control of Sirius-4 if the team confirmed abnormal phenomena.
• Yulia led the Marines to their Individual Equipment, revealing matching Power Armor prepared beside the female agents' suits.

Yulia equipped Hicks, Hudson, and the other Marines with Rogue Armor before leading the team through underground train tunnels toward a mine near City Seven. They reached the junction between City Six and City Seven and secretly boarded Hozette engineering vehicles bound for the surface of Sirius-4.

• Yulia explained the Rogue Armor's capabilities and equipped the Marines with the new suits.
• Hicks ordered the Marines and agents to gear up, activate camouflage, and follow Yulia through a concealed passage into the train tunnels.
• Yulia led the group west through the tunnels, while Hicks explained that their route helped conceal their investigation of Hozette Corporation.
• The team reached the junction between City Six and City Seven as Hozette technicians and soldiers prepared engineering vehicles for the surface.
• The thirty-two invisible Marines and agents climbed onto one of the engineering vehicles without being noticed.