Recaps

Archimonde the Dominator Sage trapped Gray in a gravity field, but a Dreadnought pilot’s machine-gun fire forced him to abandon his attack and defend his energy pack. Gray escaped the field and charged Archimonde with his Power Sword.

• Archimonde used a gravity gun to weigh Gray down, but a Dreadnought’s heavy machine gun interrupted his attack.
• The Dreadnought pilot taunted Archimonde and kept him pinned under fire.
• The pilot apologized to Gray for allowing Archimonde to ambush him, but Gray said the mistake was part of battlefield chance and ordered him to keep suppressing Archimonde.
• Gray left the gravity field, gripped his Power Sword in both hands, and charged toward Archimonde.

Gray used a teleportation beacon to appear beside Dominus Archimonde and attacked him, forcing the High Sage to roll desperately while Gray continued striking. As the Tech-priests saw Archimonde’s peril, some rushed to support him while others chose to hold off the Space Marines.

• The Dreadnought stopped firing as Gray charged Archimonde, who resumed attacking Gray with the weapons on his mechanical arms.
• Gray teleported beside Archimonde and swung his Power Sword, but Archimonde rolled aside and lost his eight mechanical arms to the strike.
• Gray pursued Archimonde across the ground, battering his Power Axe with repeated blows while mocking him and the Omnissiah.
• Several Tech-priests volunteered to go support Archimonde, while more than a dozen others offered to hold back the Space Marines.
• A Tech-priest explained that Archimonde’s survival might save them from punishment if they returned to Mars.

Gray fought Tech-Priest Dominus Archimonde while Archimonde’s subordinates tried to rescue him. Gray killed the rescuers, leaving Archimonde still defiant and promising that Gray’s advantage would not last.

• Wright’s Space Marines retreated from the Tech-Priests’ self-destructing power packs and shot at them as the packs exploded.
• Several Tech-Priests escaped through the dust and rushed toward Archimonde, ignoring the Space Marines’ fire to reach Gray.
• Gray and Archimonde traded taunts as Gray repeatedly knocked Archimonde back and argued over their rival gods.
• Gray evaded the rescuers’ melee attacks and killed the charging Tech-Priests with his Power Sword and empowered fist.
• Gray mocked Archimonde’s weakness, but Archimonde insisted Gray’s advantage was only temporary.

Gray defeated Archimonde by exploiting a teleport beacon as a distraction, then beheaded him and joined the battle on the bridge. The Tech-Priests and Kastelan Robots were close to defeat as Gray attacked the remaining Tech-Priests.

• Gray sent Wright and the others to fight the remaining oilheads and combat robots while he faced Archimonde alone.
• Gray used a teleport beacon to distract Archimonde, then cut through his axe haft and mechanical arm and smashed his lower body with a power fist.
• Gray pinned Archimonde down and severed his mechanical head with his Power Sword.
• Gray hung Archimonde's head from his waist and charged into the bridge battle as the Tech-Priests and Kastelan Robots neared defeat.
• Gray dodged the Tech-Priests' Power Axes and cut one Tech-Priest in half.

Gray and the Space Marines defeated the Adeptus Mechanicus forces on the warship’s bridge, and Gray comforted and praised the warriors after the battle. He confirmed that the enemy leaders had been eliminated and ordered Nack’s force to continue clearing the ship of hidden enemies.

• Gray destroyed the last Kastelan Robot, ending the battle on the bridge.
• Wright apologized for the guard squad’s slow progress, and Gray reassured the Space Marines that the Adeptus Mechanicus were formidable opponents.
• Gray praised Zack for supporting him with a teleport beacon, and Zack bashfully accepted the praise.
• Nack reported that the main force was advancing through the warship and that the Adeptus Mechanicus had become disorganized after Gray’s decapitation strike.
• Gray confirmed that his team had eliminated the enemy leaders and ordered Nack to search the entire warship for surviving enemies.

Gray checked on the boarding operations, learned that Mo Tuo’s forces were still fighting the Astartes at a cost of fewer than one-tenth dead or seriously wounded, and ordered them to clear the warship. He honored the fallen with a promise to record their names on the Hero Memorial Monument, then contacted Anrida to ask about the Defense Force’s attack on the Imperium fleet.

• Gray confirmed that Nack and another battalion commander would carry out his order to clear the Adeptus Mechanicus flagship.
• Mo Tuo reported that his Second Company was still fighting four Astartes Chapters and had lost fewer than one-tenth of its forces to death or serious wounds.
• Gray and Mo Tuo mourned the fallen and agreed that their names would be engraved on the Hero Memorial Monument.
• Gray ordered Mo Tuo to eliminate all Imperium personnel in the warship who refused to surrender, and Mo Tuo agreed.
• Gray told Anrida that the Space Marines did not need assistance and asked how the Defense Force’s attack on the Imperium fleet was progressing.

Anrida spoke with Gray and confirmed that the Defense Force was advancing successfully without Space Marine support. He tried to recruit a captured Astra Militarum commissar for his command, but after the man refused, Anrida ordered his knowledge extracted.

• Anrida told Gray that the Defense Force was close to defeating the False Emperor's forces, and Gray offered Space Marine support if needed.
• Anrida recalled teleporting with his guards aboard an Imperial Navy warship, where his enhanced strength helped them break through the defenders.
• Anrida praised the captured Astra Militarum commissar's skill in leading resistance and offered him a place in the Defense Force.
• The commissar rejected Anrida and denounced him as a heretic, so Anrida ordered soldiers to extract the commissar's command and combat knowledge with the Mind Extractor.

Anrida accepted the surrender of the Astra Militarum soldiers after his forces subdued their commissar and extracted his memories. He left a squad to guard the prisoners and led the remaining Defense Force soldiers onward to attack Imperial troops.

• Anrida's soldiers restrained the commissar and used a Mind Extractor to extract his memories.
• Anrida offered the Astra Militarum soldiers the choice to surrender or die, and the exhausted soldiers laid down their weapons and begged for mercy.
• Anrida allowed the prisoners to live and ordered them to remain quiet.
• Anrida reviewed the commissar's combat-command memories and praised the soldier who extracted them.
• Anrida left a squad of twenty-five soldiers and two hundred combat robots to guard several thousand prisoners, then led the rest of his force onward.
• The Defense Force continued killing Imperial troops who resisted, while the surrendered soldiers watched their superior weapons and equipment with envy.

Gray continued clearing the Dictator-class Heavy Cruiser after Archimonde’s death, then joined David at a warehouse where they discovered ten captured Titans. The Titans were too large to fight effectively inside the warship, but Gray now had the chance to seize them.

• The Defense Force squad leader kept the surrendered Astra Militarum soldiers under guard and warned them not to move.
• Gray led his Space Marines and Dreadnoughts through the cruiser, exploiting the chaos among the Adeptus Mechanicus forces after Archimonde’s death.
• David contacted Gray and urged him to teleport to his location without revealing what he had found.
• Gray teleported to David’s warehouse and saw weapons and equipment intended for large war machines.
• David showed Gray ten seventeen-meter-tall Titans that the Adeptus Mechanicus had brought aboard the cruiser.

Gray and David inspected the captured Imperial Warhound Titans and discussed the Martian Mechanicum’s failed attack. Gray reprimanded David for wishing for a ground battle to test their Titan pilots, then discovered David’s forces had killed the Imperial pilots, leaving their own Titan program short of personnel.

• Gray and David noted that the Imperium’s Titans had been captured before they could fight because the Imperial fleet had been crippled and the warship’s corridors restricted the Titans.
• David wished the Imperial Titans had fought their own forces on the planet so their inexperienced pilots could be tested, and Gray angrily rebuked him for risking soldiers’ lives for that purpose.
• David apologized, and Gray ordered him to reflect on his conduct after the battle.
• Gray asked where the Imperial Titan pilots were, and David pointed to their corpses near the warehouse entrance.
• Gray lamented that the pilots had been killed, explaining that the Star Sea Galaxy had only forty Titan pilots for its twenty Titans, and David said the pilots had resisted during his attack.

Gray inspected the ten captured Warhound Titans and accepted David’s explanation for killing their pilots during the battle. He ordered David to resume the campaign against the Adeptus Mechanicus, leaving Gray to examine the Titans.

• David explained that he had teleported into the warehouse during the battle and killed the Titan pilots and support personnel while clearing the enemy.
• Gray decided David had acted appropriately and promised the Second Battalion rewards for seizing the Imperium Titans.
• Gray inspected the Warhound Titans and discussed their strengths with Wright, who argued that Earth Dreadnoughts could defeat them.
• Gray ordered David to continue eliminating the remaining Adeptus Mechanicus personnel, and David led his squad out of the warehouse.

After the boarding battles ended with the Imperium fleet nearly destroyed, Gray and Mo Tuo arranged to recover the captured warships and collect gene-seed. Gray then asked Mendeleev to send Navy sailors, since the Adeptus Mechanicus crews had all been killed in the fighting.

• Mo Tuo reported that his forces had cleared the Astartes Space Marines from their ships and that surviving sailors could pilot the captured battle barges back into the system.
• Gray asked whether Mo Tuo had captured any Astartes Space Marines, and Mo Tuo explained that he had killed them because they resisted capture.
• Gray told Mo Tuo to collect the fallen Astartes Space Marines' gene-seed, and Mo Tuo confirmed that collection was underway.
• Gray contacted Mendeleev and requested Navy sailors to operate the captured Imperium warships.
• Gray explained that the Adeptus Mechanicus crews had been sent into battle by the Tech-Priests and wiped out, so Mendeleev agreed to send sailors.

Gray arranged for Navy sailors to take over the captured Adeptus Mechanicus Dictator-class Heavy Cruiser and sail it back to Recruit Training Planet. Navy Second Lieutenant Wusi led engineers to assess whether the Imperial warship could be adapted for the Star Navy, while Gray and Wright watched it depart.

• Gray activated a teleport beacon so Mendeleev could send Navy sailors to the captured warship.
• Second Lieutenant Wusi arrived with the sailors, and Gray ordered him to sail the Dictator-class Heavy Cruiser back to Recruit Training Planet.
• Wusi assigned sailors to the ship’s stations and prepared engineers to inspect its capabilities and suitability for the Star Navy.
• Gray declined to join the inspection, and Wusi led the engineering analysts through the ship.
• Gray and Wright watched the slow-moving warship from the bridge viewport and spoke of their victory for the Lord of the Stars.

After the war ended, Gray and Anrida let Mendeleev give the order for the victorious fleet to return to the recruit training planet. The fleet arrived to cheers from the fortress soldiers and recruits, who welcomed the troops home.

• Gray and Anrida urged Mendeleev to issue the return order, and he commanded the fleet to head back to the training planet.
• The Star Navy Fleet sailed into the system with captured Imperium warships trailing behind it.
• Defense Force soldiers at the orbital fortress spotted the returning fleet and cheered for the Lord of the Stars.
• The recruits heard that the forces had won and celebrated their victory.
• Soldiers and logistics personnel gathered at the fortress gates to welcome Gray and the returning troops with cheers and a ceremony.

Gray, Mendeleev, and Anrida returned to the fortress after their victory and were greeted by a spontaneous assembly of cheering personnel. Inside, Hogood, Anglie, and logistics officials welcomed the commanders and congratulated them.

• Gray, Mendeleev, and Anrida watched the victorious troops disembark as the fortress personnel cheered them.
• Gray led Mendeleev and Anrida from the transport ship, and the crowd welcomed the commanders by name as they entered the fortress.
• Hogood and Anglie greeted the commanders inside with senior logistics officials and congratulated them on their victory.
• Hogood explained that the logistics personnel had come to the fortress after learning the Imperium fleet had entered the galaxy, and had waited together for the outcome.

After the Lord of the Stars' forces defeated the Imperium fleet, Gray, Anrida, and Mendeleev returned to the fortress and received praise from the senior administrators. They shared credit with the soldiers and logistical staff, then led everyone to the conference room to celebrate and talk.

• The senior administrators gathered in the fortress monitoring room and cheered as the Lord of the Stars' forces defeated the Imperium fleet.
• Hogood brought the administrators to greet Gray, Anrida, and Mendeleev, praising their forces' victory.
• Gray, Anrida, and Mendeleev credited the soldiers and the administrators' logistical support for the victory.
• Mendeleev pointed out that the group was blocking soldiers entering the fortress, and Anrida reminded Gray to mind their image.
• Gray invited Hogood, Anglie, and the others to continue their conversation and celebrate in the conference room.

Art Student praised Gray, Anrida, Hogood, Anglie, and the others for defeating the Imperium fleet, crediting the logistics department and the soldiers’ preparations. Gray and Anrida accepted that the victory had cost many soldiers their lives and admitted they had used the battle as a training exercise, leaving them asking Art Student for forgiveness.

• Gray and his group entered the fortress conference room and found Art Student waiting on the throne in golden power armor.
• Art Student praised everyone for their victory and said they deserved rewards.
• Art Student credited the logistics department for sustaining the soldiers and supporting their families, then promised rewards to Hogood, Anglie, and their colleagues.
• Art Student praised Gray and the other commanders for defeating the Imperium fleet and capturing its warships.
• Gray and Anrida said the victory belonged to the soldiers, acknowledged the heavy casualties, and asked Art Student to forgive their decision to use the battle for training.

Gray, Anrida, and Mendeleev admitted responsibility for the casualties sustained while boarding Imperium warships, but the Lord of the Stars absolved them and accepted blame for the shortage of ships. He ordered them to honor their agreement with the logistics department, while Mendeleev offered the department captured Imperium warships that the navy did not need.

• Gray knelt before the Lord of the Stars and took responsibility for the new Space Marines’ heavy casualties.
• Anrida joined Gray in admitting fault, and Mendeleev knelt too, explaining that the boarding operations had been agreed upon to fulfill the logistics department’s request.
• The Lord of the Stars told the three to rise, praised their performance, and blamed the ship shortage on his own decision-making.
• The Lord of the Stars told Gray, Anrida, and Mendeleev to honor their agreement with the logistics department.
• Hogood offered to wait for the promised ships, but Mendeleev said the navy would give the department captured Imperium warships it did not need.

Art Student reminded the logistics department that the military needed priority access to newly built warships, while promising that logistics staff would receive their due rewards. He approved Anglie's proposal to modify captured Imperium warships and left the technical department with a chance to prove itself.

• Art Student explained to Hogood that the military needed newly constructed warships first to secure the force's position.
• Hogood clarified that he and the logistics administrators had come to the fortress to witness the battle and help if necessary, not to demand warships.
• Art Student praised Hogood and reminded him that the logistics department's work supported the frontline soldiers.
• Art Student asked Anglie whether the technical department could modify captured Imperium warships, and Anglie confirmed that it could.
• Art Student assigned the navy's allocated captured warships to Anglie's department for modification, and Anglie vowed not to disappoint him again.

Art Student heard reports on the battle’s spoils and casualties, including dozens of captured Imperium warships and heavy Defense Force losses. He ordered that the wounded receive proper care and said captured enemy soldiers could join his forces after evaluation.

• Mendeleev reported that the navy suffered no casualties and captured thirty-five usable Imperium warships, with many more damaged vessels potentially recoverable.
• Art Student praised Mendeleev’s performance and noted that the captured ships would ease his forces’ urgent needs.
• Anrida reported that the Defense Force had lost more than twenty thousand soldiers and suffered over a hundred thousand wounded, who were receiving treatment in the fortress.
• Art Student told Anrida to ensure every wounded soldier received the best treatment and deserved respect and compensation.
• Anrida reported capturing many Astra Militarum and navy soldiers, and Art Student approved evaluating willing prisoners for recruitment.

Art Student received reports of heavy Star Space Marine losses in the battles against the False Emperor’s forces and comforted Gray over his guilt. The chapter ended with Art Student discovering that the captured mechanical head of Archimonde, the Dominus Sage, was still alive and could contain valuable knowledge.

• Art Student ordered Anrida to leave the prisoners with the Defense Force and continue recruiting them.
• Gray reported the Star Space Marines’ casualties and the destruction of the Adeptus Mechanicus forces, while Art Student assured him that he and Mo Tuo had commanded well.
• Gray gave Art Student the mechanical head of the Adeptus Mechanicus leader, hoping it held useful technology.
• Art Student examined the head and realized that Archimonde, the Dominus Sage, was still alive because his brain remained protected inside its mechanical structure.

The Art Student read Dominus Sage Archimonde’s memories through the brain-computer interface in his mechanical head, but found little useful technical knowledge. He turned his attention back to hunting the remaining fragments of the Void Dragon, including one he vaguely remembered escaping a Necron dynasty about ten years earlier.

• The Art Student discovered Archimonde’s brain-computer interface and created a data-reading port to access his memories.
• The data-reading port broke through Archimonde’s firewall, extracted his memories, and destroyed his brain.
• The Art Student found mostly routine military knowledge in Archimonde’s memories and was disappointed by the lack of valuable technology.
• The Art Student recalled that a fragment of the Void Dragon had escaped from a Necron dynasty around ten years earlier.
• The Art Student crushed Archimonde’s lifeless brain into ash and resolved to focus on the remaining Void Dragon fragments.

Art Student found no useful technological knowledge in Archimonde’s memories but shared the data with his administrators and gave three of them ports to read the memories of future Adeptus Mechanicus captives. He then ordered Hogood to ensure that the families of soldiers killed in the war received their compensation, leaving Hogood to carry out the task.

• Art Student said Archimonde’s memories contained no useful technology, though the information could help his administrators, and sent it to them.
• Art Student gave Gray and two others data-reading ports so they could read Adeptus Mechanicus members’ memories directly in the future.
• Art Student ordered the administrators to handle the war’s aftermath and ensure the families of fallen soldiers received their compensation promptly and accurately.
• Hogood promised to manage the compensation carefully, and Art Student said he trusted Hogood to handle the work.

Art Student promised to broadcast footage of soldiers who distinguished themselves in battle across the galaxy, motivating Gray, Mendeleev, and the others to pursue recognition through their work. Gray then asked how to handle captured Adeptus Mechanicus Titans, and Art Student considered whether to add them to his Titan Legions.

• Art Student announced that Milos would compile and broadcast footage of those who performed exceptionally in battle across the galaxy.
• Gray and the other two celebrated the prospect of becoming famous, while Mendeleev expressed his excitement and Hogood and the others watched enviously.
• Art Student reassured Hogood and the other administrators that they could earn similar recognition through future work, and they promised to work harder.
• Art Student asked whether anyone had other matters to report, and Gray asked what should be done with the captured Adeptus Mechanicus Titans.
• Art Student considered the captured Titans and noted that his own Titans were mainly short on pilots and did not match the Adeptus Mechanicus machines.

Art Student assigned the captured Adeptus Mechanicus Titans to Anglie’s technical department for research and learned that the Imperium’s warships were too costly to refit for the Star Navy. He gave those ships to Hogood’s logistics department before departing to resume his research.

• Art Student gave the captured Titans to Anglie for research after Gray asked how they should be handled.
• Mendeleev reported that the Imperium’s warships could not be adapted for the Star Navy without excessive cost, so the Navy would pass them to Hogood and the logistics department.
• Art Student approved the transfer, and Mendeleev said the Navy would hand the damaged ships to Anglie and his team for modification.
• Art Student thanked everyone, rose from his throne, and disappeared with the four maids in a flash of blue light.