Chapter Summaries

Carl presented General Bulon with intelligence on the heretics aboard his flagship and explained their growing occupation of the Provence Sector. She revealed that their main base was in the Star Sea Galaxy and that more than twenty nearby worlds had fallen under their control.

• Carl and her group entered Bulon's flagship bridge and faced General Bulon and his senior officers.
• Bulon demanded to know how much intelligence Carl had on the heretics.
• Carl handed Bulon a data storage device containing the intelligence, and a Servitor displayed its contents as a holographic map of the Provence Sector.
• Bulon ordered Carl to explain the heretics' position and activity.
• Carl identified the Star Sea Galaxy as the heretics' main base and said they had occupied more than twenty worlds within thirty light-years, plunging them into war.

General Bulon learned that heretics had invaded twenty Imperial worlds simultaneously and might soon control more than fifty, while his forces had gathered little intelligence. He ordered Carl to lead a suicidal charge in the coming campaign, leaving the Imperium’s response poised to begin.

• Bulon read Carl’s report about more than twenty worlds already conquered and anticipated reinforcements from nearly twenty Astartes Chapters and other Imperial forces.
• Carl revealed that the heretics had attacked twenty more worlds at once ten days earlier, and that the worlds had sent only one wave of distress signals.
• Bulon concluded that the twenty worlds had likely fallen and demanded more intelligence about the heretics.
• Carl admitted that the Provence leadership had gathered no further information and fell to her knees before Bulon.
• Bulon ordered Carl to lead her troops in a death charge and said she would be demoted to an ordinary soldier if she survived.

Bulon questioned Tyberos, Azrael, and Cawl about heretics attacking twenty Imperial worlds, while the Inquisition took Provanse’s officials into custody. Tyberos insisted that the Carcharodons should pursue the enemy for intelligence, but Cawl refused to distribute their resupply before the other forces arrived.

• The Sisters of Battle arrested Provanse’s officials after Bulon dealt with Carl, leaving them to face the Inquisition’s interrogation.
• Bulon asked Tyberos, Azrael, and Cawl how the Imperium should respond to heretics attacking twenty worlds at once.
• Cawl said he would provide equipment and ensure the Titan Legions and Raven Knights obeyed Bulon, but would not otherwise get involved.
• Tyberos volunteered to lead the Carcharodons against the heretics, while Bulon warned that they had already destroyed four Astartes Chapters and left no useful intelligence.
• Tyberos argued that the Carcharodons should gather intelligence, then asked Cawl to supply their equipment first; Cawl refused and urged a cautious plan.

Bulon and Cawl prepared their forces for war, while General Velov gathered more than thirty million soldiers and requisitioned weapons across the Provence System. After eighteen Astartes Chapters assembled at the Provence Sector capital, Bulon invited their Chapter Masters to his bridge.

• Cawl refused to give Tyberos weapons and equipment until the gathered forces were in place, and Tyberos agreed to wait.
• Bulon ordered General Velov to recruit more soldiers and collect Planetary Defence Force weapons throughout the system.
• Velov mobilised garrisons as Bulon’s personnel seized and distributed weapons, executing those who refused to surrender them.
• Three days later, Velov reported that more than thirty million soldiers had responded to the mobilisation order.
• Over the following ten days, Astartes warships arrived until eighteen Chapters had gathered at the Provence Sector capital, including the depleted Mantis Warriors and Black Templars.
• Bulon invited the Chapter Masters and their guards to meet on his battleship’s bridge.

Bulon briefed the Chapter Masters on the lack of intelligence about the heretics, sparking a dispute between Tyberos and Liekshi. After the others restored order, Bulon announced that Holy Terra had supplied the Chapters with weapons and equipment, and Gabriel asked what the shipment included.

• Bulon told the Chapter Masters that no intelligence had emerged from the worlds controlled by the heretics, prompting them to question his preparations.
• Tyberos insulted the Chapter Masters, and Liekshi challenged him to a death duel.
• Azrael, Arjinto, Gabriel, and the other Chapter Masters intervened, and Tyberos and Liekshi returned to their seats.
• Bulon announced that Holy Terra had provided every supporting Chapter with a large supply of weapons and equipment.
• Gabriel asked Bulon what the supplies included.

Bulon presented the Chapter Masters with limited supplies of powerful weapons and armour from Mars, then led them in planning a campaign against the heretics. The Chapters left to prepare for a coordinated effort to rescue invaded worlds before striking the heretics’ headquarters, Star Sea World.

• Bulon described the weapons and armour each Chapter could receive, and Tyberos praised the generous supplies.
• The Chapter Masters welcomed the equipment and became more willing to cooperate with Bulon.
• Bulon and the Chapter Masters agreed to split their forces, destroy heretic outposts and invading troops, then unite to attack Star Sea World.
• Bulon rallied the Chapter Masters to fight for the Emperor, and they left the bridge to prepare their Chapters for the campaign.
• Belisarius Cawl told Bulon he would arrange delivery of the supplies, and Bulon thanked him before Cawl departed.

After swiftly reclaiming Manda World, Nack and Lilith received word that the Sunset cruiser was fighting the False Emperor’s forces, including Astartes Space Marines. They began checking the other fleets’ status and preparing defenses as Anrida returned to the bridge.

• Nack asked Lilith about the patrol fleet while the Third Fleet secured Manda World.
• Lilith told Nack that Anrida had gone to inspect the Defense Force on the planet.
• The bridge received an urgent message that the Sunset cruiser had engaged the False Emperor’s forces.
• Lilith reported that Astartes Space Marines were among the enemy, and Nack ordered her to check whether they had appeared elsewhere.
• Nack contacted forces in the star system to arrange defenses, and Anrida teleported back to the bridge to help plan them.

Lilith, Anrida, and Nack responded to coordinated attacks by the False Emperor's forces by sending limited reinforcements to the Sunset Fleet while preparing Manda Galaxy's defenses. As a powerful energy source appeared at the Mandeville Point, Lilith led the fleet to meet the incoming enemy.

• Lilith told Anrida and Nack that detachments from every fleet had encountered attacks by the False Emperor's lackeys, and the three debated whether to reinforce the Sunset Fleet.
• Anrida proposed sending a small patrol fleet to support the Sunset Fleet while strengthening rear-system defenses, and Lilith dispatched one frigate and four destroyers.
• The bridge alarm detected a powerful, rapidly spreading energy source at the Mandeville Point, and Nack vowed to destroy the attackers while Anrida took charge of the planetary defenses.
• Anrida ordered civilians into underground bunkers as the Defense Force prepared to defend the planets from invasion.
• Lilith ordered the fleet to sortie, and twenty-two main warships escorted the Emperor-class Battleship toward the Mandeville Point with their weapons charging.

Lilith’s Star Navy ambushed Imperial warships as they emerged from the Warp at the Mandeville Point, destroying them before they could activate their Void Shields. After learning that the ambush had killed a company of his brothers, Gabriel ordered the combined fleet to drop its Gellar Fields and enter realspace under Void Shields.

• Lilith ordered the Star Navy to attack an Imperial Cobra-class Destroyer as it emerged from the Warp, and the ship was destroyed before it could raise its Void Shields.
• The Star Navy continued destroying Imperial warships arriving at the Mandeville Point, following Lilith’s order to attack each ship immediately.
• Gabriel halted the remaining fleet’s Warp jumps after a cruiser’s transmission broke off, and the captain confirmed that heretics were ambushing ships as they emerged.
• Gabriel learned that all the brothers of one of his companies had perished and ordered the combined fleet to deactivate its Gellar Fields, activate its Void Shields, and enter realspace.

Gabriel led the Imperial Combined Fleet out of the Warp into a prepared Star Navy ambush, and both fleets exchanged fire. Lilith and Gabriel deployed their fighter forces, which moved into range as the battle intensified.

• At Gabriel's command, the Imperial Combined Fleet shut down its Gellar Field and entered realspace, where the daemons aboard vanished.
• Lilith's Star Navy fleet opened fire as the Imperial Combined Fleet emerged, but its Void Shields stopped the opening barrage.
• Gabriel ordered the Imperial warships to return fire, and both fleets exchanged lance and macro-cannon volleys in a standoff.
• Lilith launched one hundred Aerospace Fighters and a thousand Intelligent Wingmen toward the Imperial fleet.
• Gabriel sent Space Marines, Astra Militarum soldiers, and Combat Servitors aboard aircraft to intercept the incoming Aerospace Fighters.
• When the Imperial assault boats and fighters entered firing range, the Aerospace Fighter squadron commander ordered the attack.

The Imperium’s assault craft and fighters were destroyed by the Aerospace Fighters and Intelligent Wingmen, prompting Gabriel to order a ground invasion of Manda Planet. Anrida persuaded Lilith to let six Imperial cruisers carry the Astra Militarum to the planet while the Star Navy Fleet concentrated on defeating the weakened Imperial fleet.

• The Aerospace Fighters and Intelligent Wingmen overwhelmed and destroyed the Imperial assault craft and fighters.
• Gabriel ordered five cruisers and a Space Marines strike cruiser to withdraw and prepare to land the Astra Militarum on Manda Planet.
• Anrida stopped Lilith from intercepting the six cruisers, arguing that the Defense Force could defeat the Astra Militarum after the Imperial fleet was destroyed.
• Lilith ordered her forces to ignore the departing cruisers and continue attacking the Imperial combined fleet.
• The Aerospace Fighters dodged incoming fire as they closed in on the Imperial fleet.

Ato's Aerospace Fighter destroyed an Imperium Cobra-class Destroyer with a Three-Phase Torpedo after an Intelligent Wingman sacrificed itself to shield him. Ato and the other pilots continued attacking the Imperium joint fleet as Lilith praised his success.

• Ato flew through the destroyer's Void Shield defenses while an Intelligent Wingman blocked an attack and was destroyed.
• Ato launched a Three-Phase Torpedo at the Cobra-class Destroyer and escaped beyond the blast range.
• The torpedo destroyed the Cobra-class Destroyer, and Ato resumed searching for another target.
• The other Aerospace Fighter pilots praised Ato and set off to attack the Imperium joint fleet.
• Lilith praised Ato, who promised to keep fighting.

Ato and the Aerospace Fighter force destroyed six Imperial warships while suffering heavy fighter losses, with all pilots safely teleported back when their craft were in danger. Gabriel could not find a way to stop the fighters or teleport directly to the Star Navy flagship, so he ordered the Imperial fleet to advance through the attacks until Ivar could teleport an assault team aboard.

• Ato destroyed an Imperial destroyer, and the Aerospace Fighter pilots destroyed four more as nearly half their fighters and wingmen were lost.
• The fighter force's AI teleported endangered pilots back to their warship, keeping every pilot alive.
• Gabriel watched the fighters' attacks bring the Imperial Combined Fleet's total losses to sixteen warships.
• Gabriel asked Ivar to teleport an assault squad to the Emperor-class Battleship, but Ivar said the distance was too great.
• Ivar said he could teleport Gabriel and an assault squad aboard once the fleet drew closer, so Gabriel ordered the Imperial Navy to advance through the attacks.

The naval fleet commander ordered the Imperial Navy Fleet to charge the Star Navy Fleet, pushing the flagship forward under heavy fire. A lance struck during a Void Shield changeover, badly damaging the flagship, but the commander sealed the damaged compartments and continued the charge.

• The naval fleet commander ordered all warships to charge and commanded the Warp engine crews to raise output to maximum.
• The Star Navy Fleet's fire overwhelmed the flagship's Void Shields, and the commander ordered the crew to activate the final shield layer without slowing down.
• A lance struck the flagship during the shield changeover, piercing compartments and killing crewmen and Servitors exposed to space.
• Servitors reported destroyed weapon compartments and other damage as the commander ordered all compartments sealed.
• The naval fleet commander ordered the flagship to continue charging toward the Star Navy Fleet.

The Imperial Navy fleet commander led his damaged flagship through the Star Navy Fleet’s barrage, sacrificing the other ships’ advance to bring the flagship close enough to aid the Emperor’s angels. With its Void Shields nearing overload, he prepared to destroy the Warp engines once they failed.

• Lilith ordered the Star Navy Fleet to focus fire on the damaged Imperial flagship, and three more Imperial warships were destroyed.
• The Imperial flagship commander prayed to the Emperor and judged that the fleet had advanced close enough to open a path for the Emperor’s angels.
• The commander ordered the other Imperial warships to halt while the flagship continued forward under maximum Void Shield output.
• The commander ordered the crew to prepare the Warp engines for self-destruction once the Void Shields completely overloaded.

An Imperial Navy flagship overloaded its Warp engine, tearing open a rift that disrupted systems across both fleets before vanishing. With the opening created, Gabriel ordered Ivar to teleport the Flesh Tearers aboard the heretics’ flagship for a decapitation strike, and the Space Marines disappeared in a flash of blue light.

• After the Void Shield failed, the Imperial Navy commander ordered the flagship’s Warp engine to self-destruct, and the crew answered with cries of loyalty to the Emperor.
• The flagship’s explosion opened a Warp rift, sending chaotic energy across the star system and causing widespread mechanical failures in the Star Navy Fleet and the Imperium’s combined fleet.
• Captain Lilith learned that thirty percent of electronic equipment had failed while the Void Shields remained functional and the thrusters needed three minutes of repairs.
• Ivar told Gabriel that the Warp rift created an opportunity to teleport, and Gabriel ordered him to proceed.
• Ivar enveloped more than four hundred Flesh Tearers Space Marines in psychic energy, and they vanished from the Battle Barge in a flash of blue light.

Gabriel and the Flesh Tearers teleported aboard the Star Navy Fleet’s Emperor-class Battleship, but Librarian Ivar died from the psychic backlash. Gabriel sent the Black Rage-afflicted Space Marines charging ahead while he led the remaining warriors toward the bridge, as combat robots moved to intercept the invaders.

• More than four hundred Flesh Tearers appeared inside the battleship, and Gabriel found that Ivar had died after the mass teleportation shattered his skull.
• Gabriel urged the Space Marines to set aside their grief and avenge Ivar, then surveyed the armory and the dead warriors embedded in its walls.
• At the First Company Captain’s command, the restrained Space Marines afflicted by the Black Rage were armed and released.
• The Black Rage-afflicted warriors smashed through the armory door and charged toward Horus while Gabriel led the three hundred sane Space Marines toward the bridge.
• Combat robots detected the invaders and hurried toward the armory.

Blood Angels consumed by the Black Rage fought battle robots in a corridor, charging through lethal Gauss fire. A Chaplain broke into the robots’ ranks and cut them apart, allowing the other Blood Angels to surge forward as the robots called for reinforcements.

• The Blood Angels and battle robots exchanged Bolt rounds and Gauss beams, with casualties on both sides.
• A Blood Angels Chaplain charged through the barrage, dodged the Gauss beams, and destroyed a battle robot with his Chainsword.
• The Chaplain’s attack threw the robots into confusion, and the Black Rage-consumed Blood Angels rushed into their ranks and cut them down.
• The battle robots repeatedly requested reinforcements from the bridge to delay the Blood Angels until the main force assembled.

Nack and Lilith learned that the Flesh Tearers had used a Warp rift to teleport aboard the warship, and Nack led his Space Marines to stop them from reaching the bridge. Gabriel’s veteran companies cut through the ship’s defenders and continued their assault toward the bridge.

• A warship intelligence officer reported that the Astartes had teleported into the lower storage bays through the Warp rift created by the cruiser’s destruction.
• Nack and Lilith agreed that Nack would lead the Space Marines against the intruders while Lilith continued commanding the fleet battle.
• The intelligence officer reported that Gabriel and the Blood Angels were heading toward the bridge, and Nack summoned First Company reinforcements as he moved to intercept them.
• Gabriel’s veteran companies encountered naval crew and combat robots, but Gabriel blocked their Gauss fire with a steel door and destroyed the defenders.
• Gabriel ordered his warriors to continue, and the Blood Angels killed the forces blocking their path as they advanced toward the bridge.

Gabriel led the Blood Angels through the warship’s middle decks, where an Earth Dreadnought’s overwhelming firepower killed seventy of them before they destroyed it. With 230 survivors remaining, Gabriel ordered the assault to continue toward their decapitation mission.

• Gabriel ordered the Blood Angels to use meltabombs to blast through walls and avoid wasting time fighting endless combat robots.
• The Blood Angels entered a training ground, where an Earth Dreadnought’s anti-aircraft gun killed the vanguard and pinned down the survivors.
• Blood Angels in Centurion Armor attacked the Earth Dreadnought with missiles, but it destroyed them with its guns.
• Gabriel, three company captains, and a company champion rushed the Earth Dreadnought and threw meltabombs at it.
• The Earth Dreadnought teleported away with its pilot just before the meltabombs exploded and destroyed its empty chassis.
• Gabriel learned that seventy Blood Angels had died, then ordered the 230 survivors to continue the attack.