Chapter Summaries

Carroll showed Alvin the Forge Covenant’s damaged engine and revealed that its trinity Machine Spirits could manipulate time and repair damage, but their powers carried severe costs and risks. Alvin learned that activating the Causality Buffer required a Titan sacrifice and that the three spirits must never reach consensus.

• Carroll led Alvin to his laboratory, where Alvin saw a giant, Black Carapace-implanted man in a stasis pod that Carroll called a gift still needing work.
• Carroll showed Alvin the Forge Covenant’s engine, a relic from the Dark Age of Technology, and described its star-consuming reactor and Dimensional Siphon Array.
• Carroll revealed that the engine contained three intact Machine Spirits: the Logic Soul, the Anger Soul, and the Compassion Soul.
• Carroll explained that the spirits could activate the Causality Buffer to rewind nearby space and time by five to ten seconds, and use the Entropy Reversal Field to repair the ship.
• Alvin asked about the cost, and Carroll said the engine required a living silicon-based organism and at least a thousand Tech-Priests to operate, while each Causality Buffer activation sacrificed a Titan.
• Carroll warned Alvin that the three Machine Spirits must never agree, explaining that their consensus had caused Julius’s fleet to crash.

Alvin questioned the Trinity Machine Spirit about the Mechanicus Ark’s crash and learned that its three divided consciousnesses had concealed key details. As Alvin prepared to destroy it, the Logic Soul offered to make him the Trinity’s Fourth Pillar, binding their survival to his soul.

• Alvin suspected the Trinity Machine Spirit might be an Abominable Intelligence and asked Carroll to power up the engine so he could question it.
• The Logic Soul denied causing the Furnace Covenant’s crash and blamed Grand Sage Julius Davenport’s judgment, while the Anger Soul and Compassion Soul gave conflicting accounts.
• Alvin concluded that the three consciousnesses had hidden crucial details and questioned how they survived after their consensus activated the self-destruct protocol.
• The Logic Soul offered a new pact that would make Alvin the Fourth Pillar, linking the Trinity Machine Spirit’s destruction to the destruction of his soul.

Alvin refused to make an agreement with the Trinity machine spirit because he suspected it had played a role in Julius Davenport’s death, but decided to keep it under a new master’s control. He introduced Magradros, whose identity as the Void Dragon stunned the three machine spirits.

• Logic Soul proposed that the Trinity machine spirit become a fourth pillar alongside Alvin and the Valshius Family, but Alvin remained wary of its hidden past.
• Alvin rejected the proposed agreement, suspecting the Trinity machine spirit had helped cause Julius Davenport’s death and the Mechanicus Ark’s crash.
• After Logic Soul deduced that Alvin was likely to keep them, Alvin said he would find them a new master and have him control them.
• Magradros entered in metal armor, and the three machine spirits reacted with fear.
• Logic Soul recognized Magradros as the Void Dragon and asked how a C’tan could be there, and Magradros told them to guess.

Alvin left the Trinity Machine Spirit under Magradros’s control and continued his voyage after stripping planet CV-7721 of its resources. A system prompt revealed a one-time traversable node ahead, and Alvin prepared a team and troops to enter it.

• Magradros took control of the Trinity Machine Spirit, and Alvin ordered him to watch the machine spirits closely in exchange for a shorter sentence.
• Alvin’s fleet extracted the remaining resources from planet CV-7721 and sent a thirty-thousand-ton Adamantium ore deposit to Sentinel Prime for study and possible Power Armor production.
• Alvin chose to continue along the fleet’s current route, and the Trinity Machine Spirit improved the Sword of Redemption’s Warp navigation and speed.
• At the Mandeville Point, Alvin received a prompt about a small traversable node that led to a world he could visit only once.
• Alvin agreed to enter the node and summoned Winnie, Ilya, Hilda, Ollsen, and a company of troops to the bridge.

Alvin and his companions arrived aboard a mining ship and discovered a violent creature in the sealed lower levels. Recognizing its weakness, Alvin realized they were on the Ishimura.

• Alvin arrived in a clean office with Winnie, Ilya, and Hilda, then learned from the documents that they were aboard a CEC mining ship operating near Aegis VII.
• Alvin found the office hatch sealed, and Hilda kicked it open to reveal a dark, damaged maintenance corridor.
• Ilya led the group forward and killed a grotesquely transformed human that attacked from a hatch.
• Alvin recognized the creature and told Ilya to sever its limb joints, stopping it from moving.
• Alvin identified the ship as the Ishimura.

Alvin recognized the Ishimura and explained the Corpse Mutants and the Marker’s influence before ordering a one-hour speedrun to clear the ship. The Dark Angels destroyed the mutants, resisted the copied Blood Marker’s mental attacks, and sealed it in a Blackstone case for Alvin.

• Alvin identified the Ishimura and explained that Corpse Mutants could only be stopped by destroying all their flesh.
• Ilya said her Blank abilities would protect the group from psychic and hallucination attacks, while Alvin clarified that the Blood Marker aboard the ship was a human-made copy.
• Alvin ordered a one-hour speedrun of the Ishimura, and Chapter Master Ollsen led the Dark Angels in a cleanup operation.
• The Dark Angels crushed the Corpse Mutants as Tech-Priests and Servitor Skulls burned their remains.
• Ollsen and his men ignored the Blood Marker’s hallucinations, sealed it in a Blackstone case, and finished clearing the Ishimura in less than an hour.

Isaac Clarke and the rescue crew crash-landed while attempting to dock with the Ishimura, then encountered towering armored warriors who identified Isaac and took the crew to the captain’s room. Their arrival left the crew captive and uncertain about what had happened aboard the ship.

• Zak Hammond, Isaac Clarke, Daniels, and Johnston tried to contact the Ishimura, but received no response.
• Johnston lost control of the rescue ship when the Gravity Cable malfunctioned, and Isaac helped stabilize it before it crashed into the Ishimura.
• Hammond ordered the crew to evacuate, and Johnston reported that the damaged ship would need extensive repairs.
• Daniels considered her secret mission to investigate the CEC’s activities aboard the Ishimura.
• Armored figures appeared around the rescue crew, and one of them knocked Hammond unconscious after he threatened to open fire.
• The armored warrior confirmed Isaac’s identity and ordered the others disarmed and taken to the captain’s room.

Isaac and the others were taken to Alvin after the Black Armored Warriors fought through the Ishimura, where Alvin explained the outbreak and demanded that Daniels retrieve the Marker from Shield V Planet. Daniels realized the mission could be deadly, but Alvin left her no choice.

• Isaac accused the Black Armored Warriors of slaughtering the Ishimura's crew and struggled against them before Iron Fist knocked him unconscious.
• The Black Armored Warriors brought Daniels, Johnston, Hammond, and Isaac to Alvin in the captain's quarters, where Daniels mistook Alvin's group for aliens.
• Alvin told Daniels that an unknown virus had turned the Ishimura's crew into monsters and demanded compensation for his forces' losses.
• Alvin showed Daniels an image of the Marker and ordered her to retrieve it from Shield V Planet in exchange for waiving compensation.
• Daniels protested that the mission was too dangerous, but Alvin used his psychic power to make clear that she had no choice.

Alvin offered Isaac a cure for Nicole in exchange for retrieving the Marker, and Isaac accepted the mission. After equipping himself and his companions with Imperial gear and protection against the Marker’s influence, Isaac set out for the planet’s surface.

• Alvin told Isaac that Nicole was alive but infected, then promised to cure her if Isaac brought back the Marker.
• Isaac accepted Alvin’s deal and vowed to retrieve the Marker so Nicole could be saved.
• Alvin assigned a Servitor Skull to accompany Isaac, Hammond, Daniels, and Johnston and offered them equipment.
• The group selected armor and weapons, and the Servitor Skull attached Purity Seals to their suits to protect them from the Marker’s mind control.
• Isaac and the others boarded the Planet Cracker Ship, took an elevator to the yellow-sand planet, and began their mission.

Isaac led Hammond and Daniels through a laboratory sector on Shield V Planet 2, revealing an unexpected talent for slaughtering Corpse Mutants. Meanwhile, CEC official Will threatened Alvin over the Marker, and Alvin laughed off the threat.

• Hammond appointed Daniels deputy captain and ordered the team to advance together, but Isaac kicked open the laboratory door and charged inside alone.
• Isaac killed seven or eight Corpse Mutants before Hammond and Daniels entered, leaving them stunned by his combat skills.
• Isaac insisted he was a certified chief engineer and said a voice seemed to guide his actions, so Hammond put him at the front of the group.
• Alvin watched Isaac's fight aboard the Ishimura, then accepted a communications request from senior CEC official Will.
• Will demanded the Marker and threatened to destroy the Ishimura if Alvin refused, while Alvin laughed and asked whether Will was threatening him.

Alvin rejected Will’s demands and revealed the Church’s secret plans for the Marker, prompting Will to mistake him for an agent of the Earth United Government and end negotiations. Alvin explained to Winnie that he had staged what the CEC saw to provoke them into attacking, and prepared to take on the corporation.

• Alvin refused Will’s terms and suggested that Will hand over the Markers and the CEC in exchange for a quick death.
• Alvin described the Church’s Marker research and Blood Moon plan, shocking Will with knowledge of the CEC’s greatest secret.
• Will assumed Alvin worked for the Earth United Government and decided the CEC had to destroy the Ishimura and eliminate Alvin’s group.
• Will ended the call, and Alvin told Winnie that he had deliberately baited the CEC by controlling what it saw through the Ishimura’s systems.
• Alvin revealed that the CEC’s attack would give him a chance to claim the corporation.

Alvin explained that he wanted CEC to collect Markers so he could study their advanced bioengineering and use their mental influence to protect a new legion of Daemon hunters. Winnie feared his growing military power and plans would lead him down Vandire’s path, but Alvin reassured her that he had no ambition to reform the Imperium and was acting to protect her.

• Alvin told Winnie he wanted CEC to gather Markers for their technology and their potential use in safeguarding a legion of Daemon hunters.
• Winnie realized Alvin intended to create a force like the Grey Knights and warned that the plan crossed a dangerous line.
• Winnie listed Alvin’s vast forces and feared his growing power could make him a threat to the Imperium like Vandire.
• Alvin reassured Winnie that he did not care about changing the Imperium and said he wanted to prevent what happened to Elsa from happening to Winnie.

Alvin prepared for CEC’s attack on the Ishimura by installing a powerful Bastion-class Energy Shield, which easily withstood the fleet’s opening barrage. With the CEC commander mistaking the Ishimura’s defenses for technology belonging to the United Government, Alvin turned the initiative over to Dark Angels Chapter Master Ollsen.

• Winnie worried that Alvin’s growing power and mysterious origins could draw him into a role like Vandire’s, while Alvin knew he was preparing for dangers he could not reveal to her.
• A thousand CEC warships appeared near the Ishimura and fired energy beams at the mining ship without attempting negotiations.
• The Ishimura survived the barrage unharmed because Alvin had installed a Bastion-class Energy Shield from his Personal Space.
• The CEC fleet commander assumed the Ishimura belonged to the United Government and realized his superiors had concealed the truth about their target.
• Alvin told Ollsen, Chapter Master of the Dark Angels, that it was their turn to act.

A CEC commander mistook the Ishimura's occupants for Earth United Government rebels and ordered his fleet to attack an approaching Thunderhawk Gunship. The Dark Angels boarded his command ship, crushed its defenses, and left him defeated and realizing his enemies were not ordinary humans.

• The CEC commander ordered his ten warships into Plan One after identifying the Ishimura's occupants as the Earth United Government.
• A Thunderhawk Gunship flew toward the fleet, survived its barrage, and rammed the CEC command ship.
• The Thunderhawk pilot opened the transport bay, and ten Dark Angels split into three squads to attack.
• One Dark Angels squad took a Plasma Cutting Gun blast on its armor and killed the ambushers with Bolters.
• Another squad disabled a CEC heavy combat suit with a Chainsword and smashed it into a wall.
• The Dark Angels swept through the commander's defenses in three minutes, leaving him defeated and aware they were not Earth United Government forces.

Will learned that Rudolf’s fleet had been defeated and captured by the forces aboard the Ishimura, and that Alvin was leading an attack toward CEC. Alvin revealed that he was neither with the United Government nor another corporation, but a Rogue Trader, as streaks of light crossed the sky outside Will’s office.

• Will answered Rudolf’s call expecting news of victory and promised to recommend him for promotion.
• Rudolf told Will that his fleet had been defeated in thirty minutes, with 182 crew members killed and the survivors captured.
• Rudolf blamed Will for hiding intelligence and warned him that the attackers were already on their way.
• Alvin told Will that he was returning CEC’s attack and urged him to hold out.
• Will claimed Alvin needed permission to start a war in the Solar System, but Alvin said he was a Rogue Trader.
• Will saw streaks of light racing across the sky outside his office.

Alvin’s Holy Flame Arbiter crushed the United Government fleet after its leaders rejected a demand to surrender. The surviving forces surrendered, leaving the Solar System’s defenders defeated by the cruiser’s overwhelming weapons and systems.

• The Holy Terra fleet disabled military installations across the Solar System and demanded that the United Government surrender.
• Mayer rejected the demand and ordered the United Fleet to attack the Holy Flame Arbiter.
• Alvin ordered the cruiser to retaliate, and its machine spirits severed enemy communications and directed its weapons.
• The Holy Flame Arbiter destroyed the vanguard, broke through Mayer’s central fleet, and devastated the United Fleet.
• After losing over thirty percent of its ships in minutes, Mayer surrendered to stop further losses.

The Holy Flame Arbiter arrived at the spaceport, where Tech-Priest Iggs demanded that humanity become the Valshius Family’s property. After Richard Meyer rejected the terms, Alvin authorized the Divine Annihilation Protocol against humanity.

• The Holy Flame Arbiter docked at the spaceport, and Richard Meyer confronted the scale and strange appearance of the cruiser.
• Tech-Priest Iggs introduced himself to Meyer and declared that all organic beings would become the property of the Valshius Family.
• Meyer rejected Iggs’s demand and offered instead to accept responsibility and pay reparations.
• Iggs ended the negotiations and reported the rejection to Alvin, recommending an attack with the Sacred Arbiter Lance Array.
• Alvin authorized the Divine Annihilation Protocol and called for the Omnissiah’s flames to purge the heretics.

Tech-Priest Iggs declared that the United Government and CEC had been judged for their refusal to yield, and Alvin ordered the Holy Flame Arbiter to destroy a four-island nation. The Lance array obliterated the islands and left the region a radioactive dead zone.

• Meyer waited for Tech-Priest Iggs to return while his advisers insisted the other side would soften its demands.
• Iggs struck the deck with his staff and announced that the Dominator Lord of the Valshius Family had ordered Holy Annihilation as punishment.
• Iggs rejected Meyer's objections, and the Holy Flame Arbiter ignored the leaders' communications requests as it left port.
• Alvin ordered the ship to fire its Lance array at four islands until they sank.
• The ship's six Light Lances shattered the islands, triggered volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, and left the region devastated by storms and radiation.

After Iggs destroyed four islands with a Light Lance, he forced the United Government and CEC to surrender. He ordered them to deliver all information and fragments related to the Marker within seventy-two hours, and the United Government began purging CEC executives and XX cult members.

• Iggs threatened to destroy more countries unless Meyer and the advisers secured the United Government and CEC's agreement.
• The United Government and CEC surrendered unconditionally after witnessing the Light Lance's power.
• Iggs let the countdown reach its final seconds before accepting Meyer's surrender and warning him to remember Valshius and the Dominator Lord.
• Iggs demanded every piece of information and every fragment related to the Marker within seventy-two hours, threatening to destroy their country if anything was hidden.
• The United Government, its soldiers, and its people began dragging away CEC executives and XX cult members.

Alvin secured the Divine Seal Network and Creator Civilization Tombstone, then left the node after helping Nicole and gathering resources. In the Biohazard world, he learned Wesker had developed the Perfect-grade T-Virus and agreed to let him join Alvin’s new group of recruits.

• Alvin received the Complete-grade Divine Seal Network and the Creator Civilization Tombstone after the exploration reached 80%.
• Alvin helped Iggs heal Nicole, sent her away with Isaac, and packed the CEC’s rare minerals and supplies into his Personal Space.
• Alvin returned to the Biohazard world, where Wesker reported that Umbrella Corporation ruled the Solar System and the Perfect-grade T-Virus had been developed.
• Alvin asked for people who had awakened telekinesis after receiving the Perfect-grade T-Virus, and Wesker asked to join them.
• Alvin accepted Wesker’s request, leaving his suitability for the Grey Knights to be determined through assessment and training.