Chapter Summaries

After an assassination attempt, Alvin agreed to conceal the truth and learned that his father, Edras Valshius, had vanished while carrying a Dark Age of Technology artifact. Horn kept the artifact’s importance secret and prepared to train Alvin as the Valshius Merchant Dynasty’s heir.

• Horn told Alvin to blame the assassination on Chaos and heretics, and Alvin agreed not to investigate the truth.
• Horn warned Alvin that future attempts might come and urged him to be wary of everyone, including Horn.
• Alvin asked about his father, and Horn said Edras Valshius had once stayed on the planet and was connected to something extremely important.
• Horn privately recalled that Edras had taken a Dark Age of Technology artifact into the Black Zone and disappeared in a Warp Storm.
• Horn promised to train Alvin as a qualified Imperial Rogue Trader after resupply was complete, and Alvin realized the training would be intense.

After surviving an assassination attempt, Alvin met his new personal butler and reunited with his former comrades, learning that Diz had died saving a can of Corpse Starch for him. He recruited the surviving men of Third Company, Tucker, and Aruman to join him, leaving him with the beginnings of a private force.

• Elsa Valshius introduced herself as Alvin's personal butler and explained that the household staff had been replaced during an investigation into the assassination attempt.
• Alvin asked Elsa to arrange a gathering with Tucker, Aruman, and the surviving men of Third Company of the 175th Regiment.
• Leo told Alvin that Diz had died after killing a Chaos Space Marine and gave him the bloodstained can of Corpse Starch Diz had saved for him.
• Alvin asked the surviving men of Third Company to follow him, and they agreed despite having turned down the Department of the Munitorum's invitation.
• Alvin invited Tucker and Aruman to join him; Aruman agreed if he received research materials and equipment, and Tucker accepted after Alvin offered him an instructor's role.

Horn learned that the assassin who targeted Alvin was a Daemon implanted in a Blank, suggesting Chaos wanted to eliminate Alvin because of his extraordinary deeds. After discovering that Horn had only months to live, Carroll promised to help Alvin succeed him as head of the Valshius family.

• Horn received Carroll's analysis showing the assassin was not up to Officio Assassinorum standards but contained traces of a Daemon implanted in a Blank.
• Carroll explained that such assassins were reserved for high-value targets, and Horn concluded that Chaos regarded Alvin as exceptionally dangerous.
• Horn recounted Alvin's battles against Chaos, including killing a Chosen of Khorne and surviving abduction into the Warp by a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch.
• Horn began coughing black blood, and Carroll warned that toxins from Horn's old wounds had left him only three months to a year to live.
• Horn refused a Stasis Field and asked Carroll to help Alvin become a qualified Rogue Trader head of the family; Carroll swore he would support him.

After the assassination attempt, Alvin sought swordsmanship training and Tucker directed him to Albert, a Primaris Space Marine. With Elsa urging Albert not to hold back, Alvin endured six hours of punishing practice and finished exhausted but more skilled.

• Alvin decided to improve his swordsmanship after surviving an assassination attempt and asked Tucker for advice.
• Tucker recommended Albert, and Albert hurried down from orbit to train Alvin.
• Elsa told Albert to train Alvin without holding back, saying it was also House Horn's head's intention.
• Albert knocked Alvin flying with one strike, and Alvin realized Elsa had set him up for a brutal lesson.
• Albert spent six hours defeating Alvin in practice, leaving him exhausted but better at swordsmanship and footwork.

After surviving nearly seven days of training, Alvin met with Rosales to discuss the Necron tomb and Garken Hadley, then used Black Goo to bargain for Space Marine genetic material and enhancement records. Rosales agreed to negotiate for a hundred milliliters, leaving Alvin’s request on the table.

• Albert put Alvin through nearly seven days of combat training, after which Elsa allowed him to leave the Upper-hive with a tracking device.
• Alvin met Rosales at a concealed Forge Factory laboratory and thanked him for the Armor of Vows that had protected him from the Daemon assassin.
• Rosales told Alvin he had investigated the Necron tomb but could not find its dimensional space, and said he had no intention of waking its unknown master unprepared.
• Rosales showed Alvin footage of Garken Hadley searching for the tomb’s entrance and trying to awaken the sleeping Necrons, and Alvin said he would send someone to deal with him.
• Alvin offered Rosales a vial of Black Goo, which Rosales identified as a powerful gene-altering substance, and asked for a hundred milliliters in exchange for ten untainted Gene Seeds and Space Marine enhancement surgery records.

Alvin negotiated with Rosales for untainted Space Marine Gene Seed in exchange for Black Goo, then learned Rosales was leaving Losel on a mission to Alert Star. Alvin feared Rosales would die there and secured an emergency contact before planning to persuade the old man to leave once the Sword of Redemption recovered.

• Rosales suspected Alvin wanted Gene Seed to join Chaos, but Alvin insisted he remained loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium.
• Alvin and Rosales agreed to exchange five hundred grams of Black Goo for untainted Gene Seed.
• Rosales told Alvin he would leave Losel on a secret mission and contact him once he had gathered the Gene Seed.
• Alvin learned Rosales was going to Alert Star to investigate an ancient relic linked to Styx Eight and warned him not to go.
• Rosales gave Alvin a Servitor Skull so he could contact Amos, the Forge Grand Sage, if anything happened to him.
• Alvin decided he would avoid Alert Star and try to convince the old man to escape once the Sword of Redemption had recovered.

Alvin traded Black Goo to Rosales for a refitted Vengeance-type Valkyrie Gunship and a powerful Combat Servitor. Rosales then contacted Grand Sage Amos, brokered a deal for more Black Goo in exchange for Gene Seeds and Space Marine modification data, and secured Alvin’s demand that the Gene Seeds be free of Chaos corruption.

• Alvin negotiated with Rosales and agreed to provide one thousand milligrams of Black Goo for a Vengeance-type Valkyrie Gunship and a Heavy Cavalry Destroyer Type Combat Servitor, with the refit taking ten days.
• After Alvin left, Rosales contacted Grand Sage Amos and reported the Black Goo’s potential value for biological genetic engineering.
• Rosales offered Amos a deal for eight hundred grams of Black Goo in exchange for fifty Gene Seeds and complete Space Marine surgical modification data.
• Amos accepted the deal after Rosales relayed Alvin’s request for Gene Seeds free of Chaos corruption.

Alvin learned that Garken Hadley was hiding near Rosel Nest City and insisted on joining the operation to kill him, despite Elsa arranging Raimon's support. Meanwhile, Garken desperately searched the mountain for the Necron tomb, unaware of how to find it.

• Alvin completed a week of lessons in strategy, swordsmanship, and history under Raimon and Elsa.
• Elsa told Alvin that Garken Hadley had been found after Rosales's Servitor traced him and Alvin passed the information along.
• Alvin insisted on seeing Garken die himself, and Elsa arranged transport and a Tactical Squad from Raimon while warning Alvin not to act rashly.
• Garken dug through the mountain for more than a dozen days but found only Metal Scarabs and began to suspect Rosales had deceived him.
• Garken renewed his search, clinging to the hope that he could find the Necron tomb and advance his conspiracy for the Lord of Change.

Alvin led the Watchers and the Valshius Family's kill teams into the tunnel and found Garken digging in the rock. After Garken’s forces overwhelmed him, Alvin refused his duel and handed him over to Tarlos.

• Alvin assembled the Third Tactical Squad, Valshius Family kill teams, and Terminator Tarlos to eliminate Garken.
• Alvin’s team followed signs of excavation through the tunnel and found Garken digging in the rock wall.
• Lyon ordered the Astartes to open fire, and the kill teams rushed in and dismantled Garken’s wings.
• Garken demanded a duel, and Alvin pretended to accept before ordering the kill teams to withdraw.
• Alvin told Garken he could duel him only after defeating Tarlos, who advanced with his Power Fist.

Alvin finished off the wounded Garken after Tarlos left him a chance to settle their grudge, then led the group out of the mountain tunnel. A tiny Living Scarab secretly attached itself to Alvin, and after destroying it he feared a mysterious Necron was watching them and decided Losel was no longer safe.

• Tarlos beat Garken nearly to death and left him alive for Alvin to finish.
• Alvin ignored Garken's attempt to reveal a secret about Alert Star, shot him, and beheaded him with the Executioner Greatsword.
• Alvin ordered Elsa to have Garken's remains burned and sent for an Ecclesiarchy Priest to dispose of them.
• As Alvin's group left the tunnel, Metal Scarabs appeared, but he ordered everyone to keep moving rather than provoke them.
• A tiny Living Scarab attached itself to Alvin, and he detected and destroyed it with his Plasma Gun.
• Alvin suspected a mysterious Necron was watching them and decided to tell Rosales to leave Losel once the refit was finished.

Alvin returned to the Xenomorph Universe and learned that Peter Weyland and Vicks had created a Xenomorph but could not control it. After meeting Peter on LV-223, Alvin requested a special Bioroid and ten Xenomorph embryo eggs.

• Alvin worried that a mysterious Necron might be Trazyn, ordered Elsa to keep everyone out of his room, and returned to the Xenomorph Universe.
• Alvin read that Peter Weyland and Vicks had created a Facehugger that could produce deadly Xenomorphs, though they had not found a way to control them.
• Alvin considered using Xenomorphs in other universes and traveled to LV-223, where Peter and Vicks were working at a research base.
• Peter formally welcomed Alvin at the orbital station and apologized that the Xenomorph research had reached a control bottleneck.
• Alvin reassured Peter and asked him to provide a special Bioroid and ten Xenomorph embryo eggs.

Alvin arranged for Weyland to create a bioroid equipped with Engineer Bio-armor to help him explore dangerous places, then visited the Xenomorph breeding facility on LV-223. Two days later, Peter presented him with Hercules, a powerful bioroid designed for exploration and combat.

• Peter warned Alvin that the Xenomorphs were hostile and explained how Weyland had contained an earlier outbreak on LV-223.
• Alvin asked Peter to make him a bioroid for exploring unknown dangers, and Peter suggested implanting it with Engineer Bio-armor.
• Alvin toured LV-223’s Xenomorph breeding facility and saw Hunter and Hound strains, along with a giant Xenomorph that was not a Queen.
• Peter presented Hercules, a two-and-a-half-meter-tall bioroid with physical abilities five times those of an ordinary human, and Alvin approved of it.

Alvin prepared to travel to another world after acquiring a modified Valkyrie Gunship and asking Elsa to conceal his absence. He left Nest City and activated the Navigator System to begin the journey.

• Alvin reviewed the Navigator System and prepared to travel once his affairs on Losail were settled.
• Rosales showed Alvin the modified Valkyrie Gunship and said he would contact him after hearing from the Forge Grand Sage on Alert Star.
• Alvin stored the Valkyrie Gunship in his Personal Space and returned to the Governor's Mansion.
• Alvin tested Elsa's loyalty and asked her to conceal his planned half-month absence from Lord Horn.
• Alvin left Nest City and activated the Navigator System to travel to a new world.

Alvin arrived in Raccoon City with Arno and witnessed a violent outbreak of fires and armed riots. After hearing reporter Helen Schlaifer identify the city and describe a rapidly spreading disease, Alvin realized he was in the world of Biohazard and wondered how its viruses might interact with his other creations.

• Alvin arrived in a secluded alley, where Arno crushed a threatening man's head and frightened the other men away.
• Alvin and Arno left the alley and saw fires, panicked crowds, and police rushing through the streets.
• Alvin found rioters looting shops and fighting police with guns and Molotov cocktails.
• Reporter Helen Schlaifer reported that a fast-spreading disease had sparked riots and that the southern American Midwest was under quarantine.
• Alvin heard Helen name Raccoon City, recognized the Biohazard setting, and considered combining its viruses with Black Goo or a Xenomorph embryo.

Alvin confirmed he had arrived in Raccoon City on September 28, 1998, and prepared to take advantage of the outbreak with his Valkyrie Gunship and advanced technology. After arming a shopkeeper for protection, he encountered a freshly deployed Nemesis and decided to use it to surprise Umbrella Corporation.

• Alvin deduced that the T-Virus outbreak had begun and left the fleeing crowds with Arno to find somewhere quiet.
• Arno stole a car, and Alvin stopped at a store to borrow a phone and learn the date and time.
• Alvin gave the shopkeeper a Laser gun and warned his family to stay inside and shoot anyone acting strangely.
• A helicopter dropped a metal crate onto Arno's stolen car, and a Nemesis emerged from it.
• Alvin realized the Nemesis might be implanted with a Xenomorph embryo and decided to give Umbrella Corporation a shock.

Alvin watched the Nemesis attack Jill Valentine and sent a Servitor Skull to guide her to safety. The skull led Jill to Arno, who struck the Nemesis and prepared to face it.

• Alvin identified Jill Valentine as the Nemesis’s target and told Arno to wait before intervening.
• Alvin sent a Servitor Skull into the apartment to scout and protect Jill if needed.
• The Nemesis battered Jill through the apartment, but the Servitor Skull stunned it with high-frequency sound and led her away.
• The Nemesis resumed chasing Jill, and the Servitor Skull stopped just before it caught up with her.
• Arno burst through a wall and punched the Nemesis, sending it crashing through another wall.

Arno defeated Nemesis in a brutal fight, survived being pierced through the chest, and compelled Jill Valentine to go with him to meet his employer. Nemesis fled, while Umbrella Corporation’s administrator ordered an investigation into what Arno was.

• Umbrella Corporation’s administrator changed Nemesis’s target to Arno and ordered him to attack.
• Arno threw Nemesis to the ground, tore off his arm, and stomped on his head, but Nemesis survived and pierced Arno’s chest with a tentacle.
• Arno revealed himself to be an artificial being, tore off Nemesis’s tentacle, and punched through his chest before kicking him away.
• Nemesis fled, and Arno told Jill Valentine that his employer wanted to see her; Jill agreed to go with him.
• Umbrella Corporation’s administrator ordered his staff to find out what Arno was after seeing Nemesis nearly beaten to death.

Jill met Alvin Valshius, who explained his interest in her and revealed that he knew about Umbrella’s bioweapons and the T-Virus. The chapter ended with Jill questioning Alvin’s claim that he was a wandering merchant.

• Arno took Jill to a ransacked coffee shop, where she met Alvin, the man Arno called “the gentleman.”
• Alvin offered to treat Jill’s wounds, but she chewed a Four-color herb that quickly stopped her bleeding.
• Jill tried to leave, but Alvin hinted that she no longer needed to rescue the other STARS members.
• Alvin explained that the hunter pursuing Jill was Nemesis, a bioweapon made by implanting a parasite into a T-Virus-infected host.
• Alvin introduced himself as a Rogue Trader and described himself as a wandering merchant, prompting Jill to doubt his explanation.

Alvin offered Jill a deal to help destroy Umbrella, and she accepted after asking what it would cost. He clarified that he wanted her loyalty and freedom, leaving Jill to consider the price.

• Alvin warned Jill that Raccoon City was about to become chaotic and said he hoped she would survive the day.
• Jill recognized Alvin as a merchant and asked whether she could buy his services; Alvin said the help he offered depended on the price.
• Alvin urged Jill to seek revenge on Umbrella, and she admitted that she wanted the company destroyed despite its influence and power.
• Alvin promised he could destroy Umbrella, and Jill asked what payment he expected.
• Alvin said he wanted Jill, then clarified that she would lose her freedom and become loyal to him; Jill had mistaken his offer for a sexual proposition.

Alvin sent Jill Valentine away after she refused his offer, then headed with Arno toward the Raccoon City Police Department. He planned to take control of Umbrella and announced he would speedrun the station before Leon arrived.

• Jill cautiously declined Alvin's offer and ran back toward the police station, while Alvin said he intended to recruit her and the other protagonists later.
• Arno revealed that he had secretly injected Nemesis with Black Goo and installed a monitoring device that could trigger its self-destruction if the substance spread dangerously.
• Alvin ordered Arno to find a route to the police station, and Arno recalled that it was about a fifteen-minute walk to the southeast.
• Arno punched through the zombie hordes blocking their path as he and Alvin crossed the chaotic streets of Raccoon City.
• Alvin reached the police station ahead of Leon and declared that he would speedrun it, targeting the zombies, Lickers, Tyrant, William Birkin, and Zombie Dogs inside.