Recaps

The Carcharodons Chapter made more than ninety thousand soldiers fight hand-to-hand to select recruits under the Defense Force’s ban on unjustified killing. Fewer than ten thousand remained standing and qualified to join, and the Astartes ordered them to gear up and follow him.

• The Carcharodons Astartes ordered the soldiers who wanted to join the Chapter to remove their power armor and fight one another.
• The soldiers fought fiercely for nearly half an hour while Tyberos watched, pleased by the wounded fighters who kept getting back up.
• Tyberos signaled an Astartes to stop the fight when fewer than ten thousand soldiers remained standing.
• The Astartes declared the survivors qualified to join the Carcharodons Chapter, and they celebrated while the fallen soldiers regretted losing their chance.
• The Astartes told the victors to put on their power armor, take their weapons and equipment, and follow him.

As the Chapters filled their depleted ranks with recruits, Tyberos asked two medical robots to save a grievously wounded Carcharodons warrior. The robots said they could restore him by either replacing his body with steel prosthetics or rebuilding it with bioengineered organs, leaving Tyberos to choose.

• The Astartes Chapters completed recruitment, with Tyberos leaving some Carcharodons vacancies to fill later and the other Chapters selecting enough recruits to meet their targets.
• The Chapters sent candidates for Astartes transformation to the cruiser where Nack was stationed.
• Tyberos, El, and an Apothecary pleaded with two medical robots to save a badly mutilated Astartes who had been removed from a Dreadnought.
• The medical robots scanned the warrior and determined that they could save him and free him from the Dreadnought.
• The robots presented Tyberos with two options: a body of steel prosthetics and advanced life-support systems, or a body rebuilt with bioengineered organs.

Tyberos chose bionic organs to restore Kurland while preserving his human senses and emotions. The medical robots said the surgery required a day to grow the organs, and the Apothecary received permission to study their treatment methods.

• The medical robots explained that steel prosthetics would rob Kurland of his senses and gradually dull his emotions, while bionic organs would preserve his humanity.
• Tyberos looked to El and the Apothecary for advice, but both stayed silent, leaving the decision to him.
• Tyberos ordered the medical robots to use bionic organs to replace Kurland's lost body parts.
• The medical robots said they needed genetic samples and maintenance robots to grow the organs, a process expected to take one day.
• The Apothecary asked to learn the robots' methods, and they allowed him to bring his apprentices.

The Apothecary and medical robots completed Kurland’s restorative surgery, and the Apothecary confirmed that he had recovered perfectly. The Carcharodons celebrated the prospect of healing their other Dreadnought-bound veterans, while Kurland remained unconscious from the anesthesia.

• The Apothecary and two apprentices watched medical robots install Kurland’s bio-engineered organs, which were made from his own genetic samples.
• Tyberos, El, and several Captains anxiously waited outside the operating room, hoping Kurland’s successful treatment would offer the other Dreadnought-bound veterans a chance to recover.
• The Apothecary announced that Kurland’s operation had succeeded and that his physical condition was flawless, prompting the waiting Carcharodons to cheer.
• Tyberos asked to see Kurland, and the group entered the infirmary to find him fully restored but still unconscious.
• A medical robot explained that Kurland remained unconscious because the surgical team had administered a large amount of anesthesia to spare him unbearable pain.

After Kurland and the Carcharodons Chapter’s other Dreadnought-bound veterans were healed, Tyberos faced their fury over surrendering to the Lord of the Stars. The veterans learned that their Chapter had gained an Emperor-class Battleship, leaving Kurland stunned.

• Kurland awoke fully healed, and Tyberos ordered the medical robot to treat the other wounded Chapter veterans.
• Over two days and nights, medical robots, Apothecaries, and apprentices rescued the Carcharodons Chapter’s five remaining veterans from their Dreadnoughts.
• On the Emperor-class Battleship’s bridge, former Chapter Master Garland accused Tyberos and the others of betraying the Imperium by surrendering.
• Tyberos and El explained that surrender had saved the Chapter and won it the battleship, advanced weapons, and other equipment.
• Kurland condemned the surrender, then froze in disbelief when El revealed that the Chapter had received an Emperor-class Battleship.

Tyberos told Garland and four other Carcharodons veterans that their Chapter had gained a vast fleet, expanded numbers, gene-seed, and mortal auxiliaries after pledging loyalty to the Lord of the Stars. He offered them the choice to leave and remain loyal to the Imperium, but Garland and the others chose to stay with the Chapter.

• Tyberos described the fleet and resources the Carcharodons had gained after surrendering to the Lord of the Stars.
• Tyberos revealed that the Chapter could expand to five thousand Space Marines and command a million power-armored mortal auxiliaries.
• Garland accepted that Tyberos's decisions as Chapter Master were final, while El and the other officers urged Tyberos not to dismiss the veterans.
• Tyberos offered Garland and the other four the chance to leave and continue serving the Imperium, severing ties with the Chapter.
• Garland chose to remain with the Carcharodons, and Kurland and the others followed; Tyberos welcomed them as Astartes officers applauded.

After more than a year of fighting and preparations in the Provence Sector, Garland returned to the Carcharodons Chapter with recruits who had completed their enhancements. Tyberos welcomed him aboard the Emperor-class Battleship and learned the modifications had taken two months, followed by a year of training.

• The Star Army captured hundreds of systems in the Provence Sector while its logistics department worked to make barren systems habitable.
• Astartes sailors trained with their new warships, and the mortal auxiliary forces received power armour, weapons, and vehicles.
• Tyberos studied how to command the Carcharodons Chapter's fleet aboard an Emperor-class Battleship.
• Garland arrived on the bridge and told Tyberos he had returned with the modified recruits.
• Garland explained that the recruits' enhancements took two months and their training took a year.

Garland praised the logistics department’s rapid augmentation of the recruits and agreed with Tyberos that the Carcharodons Chapter was moving in a better direction. After Tyberos urged him to become Vice Chapter Master and command the First Company, Garland accepted the posts.

• Tyberos and Garland praised the logistics department for completing the recruits’ augmentation in two months and reflected on how much the Chapter had improved.
• Tyberos asked Garland why he had previously refused to resume leadership, and Garland said Tyberos’s experience and the warriors’ loyalty made him the right Chapter Master.
• Tyberos told Garland that the Chapter had agreed to appoint him Vice Chapter Master and First Company Captain.
• Garland hesitated, considering how another refusal might be seen as resentment toward Tyberos, then accepted both positions.
• Tyberos joyfully welcomed Garland’s decision.

Art Student completed a Blackstone Obelisk that strengthened the barrier between the real universe and the Warp, then began testing its range. He sent four escort ships in different directions to test Warp travel and report when the barrier could be breached.

• Art Student finished refining the Blackstone Obelisk until it retained only its barrier-strengthening ability.
• Art Student ordered the Lord of the Stars Flagship out of the Star Sea Galaxy, prompting the garrison fleet to follow.
• Art Student placed the Blackstone Obelisk in space, where it began reinforcing the barrier between the real universe and the Warp.
• Art Student gave four escort ships enhanced Warp engines and ordered their commanders to test Warp breaches at ten-light-year intervals.
• Gaia provided the captains with mission guidance, and the four escort ships departed in their assigned directions.

Art Student used four patrol fleets to measure the Blackstone Obelisk’s coverage, which had reached one hundred light-years as they tested their Warp engines. As the fleets continued their mission, their passage through unfamiliar star systems triggered panic and military alerts, though they did not attack.

• Art Student sent four patrol fleets in the cardinal directions to map the Blackstone Obelisk’s range, while Gaia monitored them.
• The fleets’ Warp engines failed to respond despite repeated tests, and Art Student concluded that the Obelisk’s energy field extended one hundred light-years so far.
• Art Student estimated that the Obelisk could eventually cover a radius of around five hundred light-years, though he was uncertain.
• After leaving the Lord of the Stars’ territory, the expeditionary fleets entered other star systems and departed without attacking, alarming their governors.
• Governors and nearby sectors raised their combat readiness and requested aid, fearing the fleets were heretical forces preparing to invade.

Art Student used the expeditionary fleets’ movements to determine the Blackstone Obelisk’s coverage, then created an Adamantium Stargate and integrated the Obelisk into it. He left the Stargate equipped with both powerful defenses and weapons.

• Gaia reported that the four expeditionary fleets had reached 530 light-years away, and Art Student inferred that the Blackstone Obelisk covered about 520 light-years.
• Art Student recalled the fleets and transformed a rogue planet into a massive Adamantium Stargate with dimensional transport devices.
• Art Student transferred the Blackstone Obelisk into the Stargate, strengthening its ability to reinforce the barrier between the real universe and the Warp.
• Art Student realized the Stargate needed offensive power and added arrays of lances and Dimensional Shock Cannons to its surface.
• Art Student admired the completed Stargate, satisfied with its defenses and weapons.

Blackstone Obelisks near the Provence Sector prevented Imperial ships from entering the Warp, isolating several sectors and forcing their leaders to appeal to Terra. The crisis also disrupted Aeldari prophecies, leaving Segmentum Pacificus’s future impossible for the seers to discern.

• Sector authorities dispatched reconnaissance fleets after reports that the heretic fleet had appeared in nearby systems.
• The fleets reached Mandeville Point but could not activate their Warp engines, and further ships failed to enter the Warp as well.
• System governors confirmed that every attempt at Warp travel had failed, isolating the sectors beneath the Blackstone Obelisk’s influence.
• Sector officials sent urgent psychic messages to the High Lords of Terra, the only communication channel still functioning.
• Aeldari seers learned of the upheaval in Segmentum Pacificus, and their prophecies could no longer reveal the region’s future.

Aeldari seers could not foresee the upheaval in Segmentum Pacificus, so Great Seer Shano rallied them to send warriors there to investigate. As their forces set out, Kairos Fateweaver discovered that the Blackstone Obelisk had blocked its blessings from reaching the real universe.

• Aeldari seers gathered to probe the changes in Segmentum Pacificus but found their prophecies blocked by an unknown force.
• Great Seer Shano calmed the panicking seers and urged them to send warriors to investigate the upheaval directly.
• Craftworld Aeldari forces traveled through the Webway toward Segmentum Pacificus, while Exodites and Commorrites also dispatched elite forces to learn why the Craftworlds had mobilized.
• Kairos Fateweaver tried to bless a Tzeentch follower resisting the Star Army but found that the Blackstone Obelisk had stopped its magic from entering the real universe.
• One of Kairos Fateweaver's heads speculated that their failure might be punishment from the Lord of Change.

Tzeentch punished Kairos Fateweaver for his fearful, contradictory behavior, then explained that the stowaway had gained the Void Dragon Mag'ladroth's power. Kairos realized the stowaway's flaming sword contained a C'tan fragment, but took comfort in the fact that the Warp was the Chaos Gods' home ground.

• A bolt of lightning struck Kairos Fateweaver as Tzeentch mocked his fear and authority.
• Kairos Fateweaver's two heads argued with each other until Tzeentch saw their behavior and angrily summoned a barrage of lightning.
• Kairos Fateweaver begged Tzeentch for mercy, and Tzeentch stopped the assault and revealed that the stowaway had gained Mag'ladroth's power.
• Kairos Fateweaver recognized that the flaming sword had contained a fragment of The Burning One, explaining The Flayer's disappearance from the Warp.
• Tzeentch slapped Kairos Fateweaver and reminded him that the stowaway would not dare enter the Warp, leaving Kairos reassured.

Tzeentch sent Kairos Fateweaver to the Maelstrom to beguile the soon-to-awaken Roboute Guilliman, sparing him from confronting the stowaway. Khorne attacked the barrier around the Star Sea Galaxy but failed to break it, then vowed that war would keep his power growing.

• Tzeentch reassigned Kairos Fateweaver to go to the Maelstrom and persuade Roboute Guilliman to believe in him.
• Kairos Fateweaver accepted the mission and rejoiced at escaping the dangerous task of confronting the stowaway.
• Khorne sensed the stowaway’s use of Blackstone to strengthen the barrier between the material universe and the Warp.
• Khorne hurled an axe-light at the barrier, causing a massive Warp explosion that erased countless daemons, but the barrier held.
• Khorne declared that war and slaughter would continue to strengthen him, while his laughter blasted nearby daemons apart and terrified the survivors.

Slaanesh ignored the upheaval in Segmentum Pacificus to focus on stopping the Ynnari, while Nurgle reacted to the Art Student's new power by spreading plague beyond the Blackstone Obelisk's reach. The God-Emperor and the Emperor argued over the Art Student's C'tan abilities, leaving the Emperor willing to risk humanity's fate for another possible path forward.

• Slaanesh dismissed the changes in Segmentum Pacificus and focused on thwarting the Ynnari, knowing one Crone Sword was hidden in His palace.
• Nurgle noticed that the Art Student had gained Mag'ladroth's power and hurled a flood of plague-filled soup toward regions beyond the Blackstone Obelisk's coverage.
• The God-Emperor and the Emperor argued over how the Art Student had shielded sectors and acquired powers resembling those of the Void Dragon.
• The God-Emperor asked whether they should let the Art Student continue, while the Emperor replied that humanity needed another path, even if it carried danger.

Art Student continued refining Blackstone and expanding the Star Army’s forces as the Carcharodons Chapter advanced into the uncontacted Jerma System. Governor Winston mistook the Chapter for heretics and ordered Jerma Hive World’s defenders to fight to the death.

• Art Student entered dimensional space to refine more Blackstone while Gaia arranged for Star Army forces to guard the new star gate.
• The battle-ready Chapters departed the Jesta Galaxy to conquer the remaining star systems in the Provence Sector.
• The Carcharodons Chapter arrived in the Jerma System, alerting the Planetary Defence Force on Jerma Hive World.
• Governor Winston recalled how his attempted escape had failed when Warp travel stopped working across the Provence Sector.
• Winston ordered the Planetary Defence Force to resist the invaders and threatened to punish anyone who defected.

The Carcharodons Chapter attacked Jerma Hive World, destroying its spaceport defenses and sending Hummingbird Assault Boats toward the planet. The assault craft evaded anti-aircraft fire and began wiping out the Planetary Defence Force’s gun positions.

• The spaceport opened fire on the Carcharodons Chapter’s fleet, and Captain Evans ordered the warships to return fire and destroy it.
• The Carcharodons Chapter’s macro-cannons battered the spaceport, wiping out the Planetary Defence Force stationed there.
• Tyberos ordered the Hummingbird Assault Boats to deploy, carrying recruits toward Jerma Hive World under veteran pilots.
• The assault boats entered the planet’s atmosphere and dodged the Planetary Defence Force’s guns, shells, and lasers.
• The assault boats used their plasma cannons to destroy anti-aircraft positions across Jerma Hive World.

A Hummingbird Assault Boat delivered Space Marines to a shelter on the Jelma hive world, then destroyed the Planetary Defence Force artillery emplacement that had attacked it. The pilot continued toward anti-aircraft positions identified by radar.

• The Hummingbird Assault Boat landed near a shelter, and an elite veteran led the recruits off the craft.
• After the assault boat lifted away, Planetary Defence Force artillery shelled its former landing site.
• The enraged pilot spotted the concealed artillery emplacement and fired a Melta Cannon at its ammunition depot.
• The explosion destroyed the emplacement and killed every soldier in the unit.
• The boat's intelligent system reprimanded the pilot for striking its control stick, and he apologized before continuing toward anti-aircraft positions.

The Carcharodons launched a massive assault on the Jerma Hive World, using Hummingbird Assault Boats to destroy its anti-air defenses before deploying tanks and human auxiliaries to overwhelm the Planetary Defence Force. As Tyberos watched the battle from the battleship, he defended sending two thousand recruits into combat and said heavy casualties would call his recruitment judgment into question.

• Hummingbird Assault Boats destroyed the Jerma Hive World's anti-air positions and dropped teleportation beacons onto the surface.
• Apocalypse Tanks, Chimera carriers, and human auxiliary soldiers emerged through the teleportation passages and began advancing under armored cover.
• The human auxiliaries seized advantageous positions and used their armor, advanced weapons, and artillery to smash Planetary Defence Force defenses.
• Tyberos, Garland, and El watched battlefield footage from the Emperor-class Battleship's bridge as the Space Marines fought across the world.
• Kurland questioned Tyberos for deploying nearly all the recruits, and Tyberos replied that their veteran captains and superior support should prevent severe casualties.

As Jerma Hive World’s defenders prepared to hold the passage to the spire against the Carcharodons Chapter, the noble commander fed and threatened the Ogryns sent to fight. The Ogryns ate eagerly and vowed to crush the heretics once they were full.

• A minor noble ordered the soldiers guarding the chokepoint to stay alert and fight to the death to protect their families and the spire.
• The noble commander discovered that more than a hundred hungry Ogryns were demanding food.
• The commander had his guards bring the Ogryns a pile of canned food, and a servant threatened to withhold future meals if they did not fight.
• An Ogryn raised his spiked mace and promised to beat the heretics to pieces after the Ogryns filled their bellies.
• The Ogryns devoured the cans while the hungry private soldiers watched enviously from behind cover.

A Carcharodons squad led by its captain launched a decapitation strike against the Jerma Hive World’s leadership and attacked a heavily defended corridor. Their weapons destroyed several enemy guns, but the defensive position continued to pour fire on them.

• The captain halted the squad after detecting an enemy defensive position around the corner.
• The captain ordered two Space Marines carrying Void Shields to lead the assault, with the rest following close behind.
• The shield guards charged into a barrage of anti-tank shells and autocannon rounds, which their shields withstood but whose force stopped their advance.
• The squad returned fire, destroying an anti-tank cannon with a detonating round.
• The Space Marines’ Gauss rays disintegrated a firing autocannon.

The Space Marines shattered the Noble Coalition’s defensive line with precise gunfire, then their captain charged into the position with twin Power Axes. As the Ogryns finally took up their weapons and the battle descended into chaos, an enraged enforcer charged at the captain.

• A Gauss beam disintegrated a Noble Coalition soldier while Heavy Ripper Rifle fire killed defenders and weakened their barrage.
• The Space Marine captain rushed forward between the shield bearers as the Noble commander tried to restore order by threatening fleeing soldiers and having his guards shoot them.
• The Noble commander ordered the Ogryns to stop eating and attack, and more than a hundred Ogryns grabbed their spiked clubs and charged toward the front.
• The Space Marine captain broke into the Noble Coalition position, cutting down soldiers with his Power Axes and throwing the defensive line into chaos.
• An enraged enforcer charged out of the crowd as the Noble soldiers hesitated over whether to focus their fire on the captain.

A Space Marine captain's squad fought Noble Coalition soldiers and faced a charging group of Ogryns. After the Ogryns suffered heavy losses to the Marines' Ripper Rifles, their largest warrior hurled an anti-tank gun emplacement at them.

• A Space Marine killed a law enforcer charging the captain with two Meltabombs, and the captain praised him.
• The captain warned his squad to keep the Ogryns away from their defensive line and attack from range.
• The Space Marines fired on the Ogryns, who took cover and threw heavy debris at them.
• Several Ogryns charged behind a steel plate, but Ripper Rifle fire pierced it and killed them; more Ogryns were shot when they peeked out.
• The largest Ogryn lifted an anti-tank gun emplacement and hurled it at the Space Marines.

The Ogryns charged the Space Marines after one of their number hurled an anti-tank turret, and the fight turned into a brutal melee. After an Ogryn broke a Space Marine’s ribs with a mace, the wounded Marine recovered enough to fire his Plasma Pistol at the attacker.

• The Ogryns stopped firing their Ripper Rifles and charged as a Space Marine fled the anti-tank turret one of them had thrown.
• A Space Marine cut an Ogryn’s spiked mace in half with his Power Sword and killed him.
• Another Ogryn struck the Space Marine in the chest with a mace, breaking two ribs and sending him crashing to the ground.
• The Space Marine’s power armor injected medicine, easing his pain as the Ogryn charged to kill him.
• The wounded Space Marine drew his Plasma Pistol and fired an azure beam into the charging Ogryn’s head.