Recaps

The Star Navy Fleet overwhelmed the Aeldari fleet, destroying several warships and preventing it from entering Webway space. With escape blocked, Guer Taige and Slock decided to use the Soul Stone to try to shake off their human pursuers.

• Aerospace Fighter pilots self-destructed near Aeldari warships, weakening their shields and giving the Star Navy Fleet openings to attack.
• The Star Navy Fleet destroyed multiple Aeldari warships as the fleet struggled to enter Webway space.
• An intelligence officer reported the Aeldari fleet’s losses and warned Guer Taige that the humans had left them no chance to escape.
• Guer Taige asked Slock for a way out, and she recommended using the Soul Stone to shake off the human fleet.
• Guer Taige hesitated over risking the precious Soul Stone, but agreed it was their only choice.

Guer Taige ordered the Aeldari psykers to sacrifice themselves through Soul Stones to boost their warships and escape the human pursuers. Dorak watched the fleet vanish while Jie'er explained that the Star Navy could not accelerate quickly enough to catch them.

• Guer Taige commanded the Aeldari psykers to use Soul Stones to increase the fleet's speed and escape.
• A psyker burned to ash, and his soul entered a Soul Stone, unleashing powerful psychic energy.
• The Soul Stone merged with the warship's control console, enveloping the vessel in psychic light and accelerating it to its limit.
• Dorak ordered an immediate pursuit, but Jie'er said the Star Navy needed time to prepare its systems for near-light speed.
• Dorak angrily watched the Aeldari fleet disappear, and Jie'er said the battle had provided useful intelligence for future encounters.

Jie'er ordered the Star Navy Fleet to abandon its pursuit of the elusive Aeldari and return to the Themis Galaxy. There, the fleet learned that the Defense Force had fully incorporated the galaxy into Lord of the Stars' domain, easing the disappointment over the unfinished battle.

• The Aeldari fleet escaped the Star Navy Fleet by accelerating away and changing course to evade its teleportation beacons.
• Jie'er reassured the angry Dorak that they would have future chances to fight the Aeldari, then ordered the fleet back to the Themis Galaxy.
• The Star Navy Fleet returned to the Themis Galaxy and learned that the Defense Force had successfully liberated and incorporated it into Lord of the Stars' domain.
• Jie'er praised the Defense Force's success, while Dorak insisted that victory was the least they should expect from troops equipped with advanced weapons.
• The Star Army's campaign achieved its strategic objectives and drove the Aeldari from the Themis Galaxy, though its perfectionist standards left it viewing the result as merely satisfactory.

After the Defense Force liberated the Themis Galaxy, Tina decided to return to the Star Sea and report to the Lord of the Stars. She told Jie'er and Dorak that her mission had captured twenty-five Blanks, then prepared to take them back to the Judgement Custodes.

• Tina learned that the Defense Force had liberated the Themis Galaxy and decided to leave for the Star Sea.
• Tina teleported to the flagship and told Jie'er and Dorak she had come to bid them farewell.
• Dorak asked about Tina’s gains, and she revealed that the Judgement Custodes had captured twenty-five newly recruited Blanks from the Sisters of Silence.
• Tina credited Jie'er and Dorak’s intelligence for the capture, and they said they had only fulfilled their duty to the Lord of the Stars.
• The author said they could not continue writing and would see readers in the next book.