Chapter Summaries

Tina and the four Judgement Custodes fought their way through the Black Ship, defeating the Sisters of Silence and breaking the Imperium’s defenses. They continued deeper into the corridor as surrendering soldiers were spared and the resistance collapsed.

• The three Sisters of Silence attacked Tina and her companions with Bolters, but their fire failed against the group’s force-field shield.
• The Sisters of Silence charged with Power Swords, and Tina killed all three with her Ripper Rifle.
• Tina ordered the four Judgement Custodes to continue forward, and they advanced through the Black Ship.
• The Judgement Custodes overwhelmed the Imperium’s defenders, killing those who resisted and sparing soldiers who surrendered.
• The Sisters of Silence were driven back by the Judgement Custodes’ superior strength, training, and weapons.

The Sisters of Silence commander ordered all remaining defenders to regroup at the Black Ship’s bridge as Judgement Custodes overran the ship. Tina’s squad headed there, passing imprisoned psykers and criminals whose pleas for freedom they ignored.

• The commander received reports that the Sisters of Silence supporting the auxiliary soldiers had been wiped out, leaving only a handful alive aboard the Black Ship.
• The commander ordered every remaining defensive force to gather at the bridge, dismissing the captain’s concern that the unguarded psykers might cause further destruction.
• The captain contacted the guard divisions and ordered their soldiers to hurry to the bridge, where the Sisters of Silence began assigning defensive duties.
• Tina’s squad passed a cell block where imprisoned psykers and criminals begged to be released, but the group continued without responding.
• The captives’ pleas turned into furious insults and curses as Tina’s squad walked away.

A psyker broke free of his psychic suppressor and attacked Tina and the Judgement Custodes. Tina removed her wrist suppressor, unleashing an invisible force across the Black Ship that dispelled his psychic lightning and left him frozen.

• A psyker began to rampage, but Tina stopped a Judgement Custodes from intervening so she could observe him resisting his suppressor.
• The psyker shattered his neck suppressor and charged Tina and her group, firing bolts of psychic lightning.
• Tina and the others evaded the attacks, and Tina removed the suppressor from her wrist.
• An invisible force spread across the Black Ship, dispersing the psyker’s lightning and freezing him in place.

Tina unleashed her Soulless Field, leaving the psykers in the corridor unable to use their powers and wracked with suffocating agony. She confronted the first psyker who had attacked the Judgement Custodes and held him up while mocking his earlier arrogance.

• Tina removed her inhibitor, and the psykers in the surrounding corridors collapsed in pain as her Soulless Field took effect.
• Tina walked toward the first fallen psyker, whose terror grew as she vanished from his sight while her footsteps continued around him.
• The psyker crawled toward the Judgement Custodes, repeatedly bowing his head and begging them to spare his life.
• The psyker collided with Tina's leg, recognized her as his target, and pleaded for mercy.
• Tina lifted the psyker to eye level and asked where his earlier arrogance had gone.

Tina killed the pleading psyker and warned the prisoners against trying to escape, leaving them terrified and submissive. She then turned toward the bridge as the Judgement Custodes fought off waves of Servitors and auxiliary soldiers.

• Tina rejected the psyker's pleas, punched his head apart, and smashed his corpse onto the deck.
• Tina put on her inhibitor and warned the prisoners that she would grant anyone who tried to escape their wish.
• The prisoners begged Tina and the Judgement Custodes for mercy and agreed that the dead psyker had deserved punishment.
• Tina told her companions to leave and turned toward the bridge.
• The Judgement Custodes unleashed Blast Guns and Heavy Ripper Rifles, killing the charging Servitors and auxiliary soldiers.

Servitors and auxiliary soldiers retreated toward the bridge under orders while the Judgement Custodes pursued and slaughtered them. An auxiliary company commander tried to organize a counterattack and orderly withdrawal, but another commander accused him of obstructing the retreat as the corridor descended into chaos.

• The captain ordered the defenders to retreat to the bridge, and the Judgement Custodes squad leader sent his five fighters after them.
• The Judgement Custodes caught retreating Servitors and shot down auxiliary soldiers as they fled.
• An auxiliary company commander ordered his soldiers to turn and counterattack, while Servitors and other soldiers continued toward the bridge.
• The two groups collided in the crowded corridor, and the company commander shouted for an orderly withdrawal.
• Another company commander accused him of defying the regimental commander's orders, and the first commander argued that the disorganized rush toward the bridge would get them killed.

The regimental commander ordered his officers to hold back the Judgement Custodes while the remaining soldiers withdrew toward the bridge. The officers mounted a desperate defense as the enemy advanced, leaving the bridge’s retreating soldiers dependent on the time they could buy.

• The regimental commander ordered the officers to stop the Judgement Custodes and sent the other soldiers toward the bridge.
• The officers forced soldiers who wanted to stay and fight to obey orders and retreat with the Servitors.
• The regimental commander fired his Plasma Pistol and urged the officers to hold the defensive line until the bridge defenses were ready.
• A burly officer fired a Lumberjack Machine Gun at the advancing Judgement Custodes, but a Ripper round exploded his upper body.
• Another officer charged the Judgement Custodes with Meltabombs strapped to himself, but a high-speed bullet killed him before he reached them.

The Judgement Custodes destroyed the Auxilia and Servitors as they pursued them toward the Black Ship’s bridge. Meanwhile, an Aeldari fleet led by Farseer Slock approached the Themis Galaxy, and Guer Taige admitted that he knew little about a nearby human star system.

• Meltabombs detonated throughout the corridor, killing officers and bringing down its steel walls.
• The Judgement Custodes cleared the wreckage and resumed their pursuit of the fleeing Auxilia and Servitors.
• The Judgement Custodes caught and killed the retreating forces as they advanced toward the Black Ship’s bridge.
• An Aeldari fleet led by Farseer Slock raced through the Webway toward the Themis Galaxy.
• Guer Taige asked whether they should investigate a nearby human star system, and Slock questioned what intelligence he had about it.
• Guer Taige told Farseer Slock that he knew only that the system belonged to the Imperium of Man.

Slock led the Aeldari fleet into the Themis Galaxy to investigate and found two Imperial human fleets fighting a civil war. As the Aeldari held back, El detected their arrival and reported it to Dorak, who was puzzled by their presence.

• Slock decided to lead the Aeldari fleet into the Themis Galaxy and ordered Guer Taige to guide them there.
• The Aeldari discovered two Imperial fleets fighting, with a Black Ship belonging to the Sisters of Silence under heavy attack.
• Guer Taige asked how the Aeldari should respond, and Slock ordered the fleet to hold position while the humans continued fighting.
• El detected the Aeldari fleet near the Themis Galaxy and urgently alerted Dorak.
• Dorak examined the projection and wondered why the Aeldari had appeared in the seemingly ordinary system.

Dorak and El decided to destroy the Aeldari fleet outside the Themis Galaxy without disrupting their ongoing campaign. El commanded nineteen Star Navy warships and their attack craft to launch a full-force assault, while Dorak prepared to lead Space Marines in boarding actions.

• Dorak declared that the Aeldari fleet should be wiped out, and El agreed that they should attack rather than investigate its purpose.
• El proposed recalling forces from Themis Planet and the battle against the Black Ships Fleet, but Dorak advised sticking to their existing strategy.
• Dorak assigned El to command the fleet battle and said he would lead the Space Marines in boarding the Aeldari ships.
• El ordered the fleet to attack, and nineteen Star Navy warships advanced toward the Aeldari fleet.
• El ordered the Aerospace Fighters, Intelligent Wingmen, and Hummingbird Assault Boats to sortie toward the enemy.

The Star Navy launched a massive barrage and fighter assault on the Aeldari fleet, forcing Guer Taige to order evasive maneuvers and deploy his carrier air wing. The Aeldari ships dodged the attacks and their aircraft charged the human craft, while the battle continued.

• The Star Navy unleashed macro-cannon fire, lances, and swarms of aircraft against the Aeldari fleet.
• Guer Taige rushed to the command deck and ordered the fleet to evade while the carrier air wing launched a counterattack.
• The Aeldari crews recovered from their alarm and maneuvered their agile warships through the incoming fire.
• Aeldari carrier aircraft charged the Star Navy’s Aerospace Fighters, Intelligent Wingmen, and Hummingbird Assault Boats.

Human and Aeldari fighters and carrier-based aircraft clashed in a fierce space battle as human pilots sent Intelligent Wingmen charging through enemy fire. The chapter ended with one Intelligent Wingman catching up to the Aeldari carrier-based aircraft it had pursued.

• Human and Aeldari aircraft exchanged energy beams and torpedoes, but their elite pilots repeatedly evaded the attacks.
• A battle-hardened human Aerospace Fighter pilot rallied his formation to fight for the Lord of the Stars, and the pilots answered with fervent slogans.
• Human operators sent Intelligent Wingmen hurtling toward the Aeldari carrier-based aircraft, diverting their power to shields and thrusters for greater speed.
• One Intelligent Wingman locked onto an Aeldari carrier-based aircraft and pursued it through sharp evasive maneuvers and repeated energy-beam attacks.
• The Intelligent Wingman's plasma shield withstood the aircraft's attacks, and it finally caught up to its target.

Dier’s Intelligent Wingman destroyed an Aeldari carrier-based aircraft by self-destructing, and successive suicide attacks devastated the enemy squadron. After Guer Taige ordered a retreat, the Aerospace Fighter squadron leader sent his pilots and remaining Intelligent Wingmen after the fleeing aircraft.

• Dier’s Intelligent Wingman self-destructed near an Aeldari carrier-based aircraft, destroying it and killing its pilot.
• A pilot praised Dier, and the Aerospace Fighter squadron continued sending Intelligent Wingmen on suicide attacks against the Aeldari aircraft.
• Guer Taige watched the carrier-based squadron lose more than seventy percent of its forces and ordered the survivors to fall back.
• The surviving Aeldari carrier-based aircraft turned toward their fleet and retreated.
• The Aerospace Fighter squadron leader ordered his pilots to pursue, and the Intelligent Wingmen accelerated after the fleeing aircraft.

Intelligent Wingmen destroyed many carrier-based aircraft by self-destructing, prompting Guer Taige to order the Aeldari fleet to attack the human fighters. The Aeldari guns destroyed dozens of aircraft, while the surviving pilots were teleported back to their warship and prepared to return to battle.

• Intelligent Wingmen self-destructed among the fleeing carrier-based aircraft, engulfing them in explosions.
• Guer Taige ordered the Aeldari warships to attack the human fighters and protect the remaining carrier-based aircraft.
• Aeldari warships fired their energy weapons at the Aerospace Fighters, Intelligent Wingmen, and Hummingbird Assault Boats.
• Dozens of human aircraft were destroyed, while other pilots evaded the beams or were teleported to safety by the intelligent system.
• Two surviving pilots climbed back up and headed for the hangar, determined to make the Aeldari warships pay.

Surviving pilots and crews rallied to avenge their losses and returned to battle in reserve fighters. An elite pilot reached a Nightshade-class Escort and launched Three-Phase Torpedoes, one of which exploded nearby and battered the escort’s shield.

• A pilot urged the surviving pilots to press forward and avenge their fallen comrades, and they answered with renewed fury.
• Crew members heading for the hangars angrily rejected their comrades’ claims that they were as good as dead, then boarded replacement fighters.
• An elite veteran piloted an Aerospace Fighter through the Pulsar Lance Array’s attacks, sacrificing five Intelligent Wingmen to reach the Nightshade-class Escort.
• The pilot fired several Three-Phase Torpedoes at the escort, whose captain ordered a sharp turn to evade them.
• A torpedo passed the escort and exploded, sending a powerful shockwave into its energy shield and bringing it close to collapse.

Niels destroyed a Nightshade-class frigate with Three-Phase Torpedoes, drawing praise from the Aerospace Fighter pilots and El. El rebuked the Star Navy captains for their lack of results, and they explained that the faster Aeldari fleet was using hit-and-run tactics that drained their energy.

• Niels's Three-Phase Torpedoes overwhelmed the Nightshade-class frigate's shields and tore the warship apart.
• The Aerospace Fighter pilots celebrated Niels's victory and praised the Lord of the Stars.
• El congratulated Niels, then scolded the Star Navy captains for failing to destroy an Aeldari warship.
• The captains told El that the Aeldari ships were too fast and maneuverable to hit reliably.
• The Star Navy continued to expend energy as the Aeldari used their speed to harass the fleet and avoid direct combat.

Slock used her psychic sight to search for a way to defeat the Star Navy Fleet and discovered that its warships had no living humans aboard. Guer Taige rejected her finding because scans and visual feeds showed human soldiers working inside the ships.

• Guer Taige grew anxious as the Aeldari fleet’s attacks failed to drain the Star Navy’s energy, and human morale remained strong.
• The warships that had defeated the Sisters of Silence joined the encirclement of the Aeldari fleet, worsening its position.
• Slock used her psychic abilities to examine the Star Navy warships and saw no signs of life inside them.
• Slock told Guer Taige and Alecto that advanced intelligent systems operated the fleet and that no living humans were aboard.
• Guer Taige roared in disbelief, citing the Aeldari scans and screens that showed human soldiers working inside the enemy ships.

Slock struggled to understand why the human fleet’s crew disappeared from psychic sight despite being visible to scanners, then tried to use prophecy to find a way to defeat the fleet. Her psychic power suddenly cut out, leaving her collapsed and apparently drained as Alecto and Guer Taige rushed to help her.

• Slock told Guer Taige that the humans aboard the enemy ships vanished from her psychic perception, though scanners detected them, and she ruled out their being Blanks.
• Alecto and Guer Taige questioned how the humans could block psychic detection, but neither could explain the phenomenon.
• Guer Taige asked Slock for a way to defeat the Star Navy Fleet, and she focused her psychic powers on finding a strategy.
• Slock’s psychic surge intensified until she appeared close to losing control, then abruptly vanished, and she collapsed, pale and seemingly lifeless.
• Alecto and Guer Taige hurried to support Slock and asked whether she was alright.

After suffering a severe psychic backlash, Slock ordered Guer Taige and Alecto to retreat from the star system. She explained that her failed vision and growing intuition warned of annihilation, and that the humans they had encountered were their mission’s target and likely not the main force.

• Guer Taige and Alecto helped the exhausted Slock into a chair after her psychic exertion left her trembling and in pain.
• Slock ordered Guer Taige to retreat immediately, but he questioned leaving before their mission was complete.
• Slock said she had foreseen no specific events, but her intuition warned that staying would lead to their fleet’s destruction.
• Slock explained that the humans were their target and that nearby sectors’ blocked Warp travel made the danger more urgent.
• Slock told Guer Taige and Alecto that their small fleet should leave the star system and send its intelligence to the Craftworlds for the High Seers to assess.

After Slock’s explanation convinced Guer Taige that the Aeldari fleet had to withdraw, he ordered it to leave the Themis Galaxy. Jie’er and Dorak spotted the retreat and ordered the Star Navy to pursue and destroy the fleeing Aeldari.

• Guer Taige thanked Slock for her guidance, and she praised his clear thinking.
• Guer Taige ordered the Aeldari fleet to withdraw, overruling his commanders’ protests and citing the Seer’s decision.
• The Aeldari fleet turned away from its battle with the Star Navy and raced out of the Themis Galaxy.
• A destroyer reported the retreat to Jie’er, who and Dorak ordered the Star Navy to pursue and annihilate the Aeldari fleet.