Recaps

Chaplain Endo led the Word Bearers through the Star Fortress in a Contemptor Dreadnought while Captain Wilson fought Gul'dan. Endo crushed an Ork Warboss and cut down the advancing Orks, and Wilson killed Gul'dan, leaving the battle's outcome beyond their immediate fights unresolved.

• Chaplain Endo arrived in a Contemptor Dreadnought and led the Word Bearers into the Orks, crushing an Ork Warboss with his mechanical claw.
• Endo fired the Dreadnought's autocannon into the Ork advance, then pushed deeper into the Star Fortress with the Word Bearers following.
• Captain Wilson faced the wounded Gul'dan, whose warhammer was broken and one arm had been severed.
• Wilson and Gul'dan attacked at once, and Wilson cut Gul'dan's throat with his Power Sword.
• Gul'dan collapsed among the Ork corpses.

After killing Gul'dan, Will Wilson restored the Star Fortress and ordered his forces to support the ground troops. The Middle Hive's defenders were overwhelmed before reinforcements arrived, and the chapter ended with Major General Bernardo facing a group of nobles in the Upper Hive.

• Will Wilson sent Rocket and the veterans to clear the Star Fortress, then ordered a Techmarine to restore its controls and orbital position.
• Will Wilson answered the distress call and ordered his forces to support the ground troops as Orks overran the outer Defense Line.
• Imperial Army soldiers fought to evacuate civilians through the Middle Hive gate while the Orks tore through their rearguard.
• The final defenders held their position until the gate shut, but all Imperial Army soldiers in the Middle Hive were killed.
• Major General Bernardo faced a group of nobles in the Upper Hive.

General Bernardo confronted Jungle Hive City’s nobles over the failing defenses against the Orks and their theft of military resources. Baron Horace called for Bernardo to be dismissed and executed, leaving the general facing the nobles’ verdict.

• Baron Horace and Countess Della demanded that General Bernardo explain the Imperial Army’s retreat and the loss of the Spice Garden District.
• Treasurer Miles accused Bernardo of failing despite the funds and equipment the nobles claimed to have approved.
• Bernardo argued that soldiers were short of ammunition, medical supplies, fire support, and proper weapons because the nobles had diverted military resources.
• Baron Horace blamed Bernardo for the Ork advance and proposed that he be relieved of command and executed immediately.

General Bernardo exposed Baron Horace and his allies for stealing military supplies and funds, but Horace ordered his private guards to arrest Bernardo. Ork Stormboyz crashed into the council chamber and opened fire, leaving Bernardo fighting from behind cover.

• Bernardo accused Baron Horace and Miles of diverting shells, ammunition, food, armor, and military funds for their own use.
• Baron Horace called Bernardo a traitor and summoned his private soldiers to seize and execute him.
• The private soldiers aimed their weapons at Bernardo, while his Adjutant stepped in front of him.
• Ork Stormboyz smashed through the stained-glass window and sprayed the council chamber with gunfire.
• Bernardo pulled his Adjutant behind a stone pillar, shot two Orks, and called for the guards outside to come in.

Ork Boyz overwhelmed the Palace, and an Ork Warboss smashed through the ceiling and slaughtered House Horace’s defenders. General Bernardo wounded the Warboss with a Lasgun and drew its charge, leaving him facing the advancing giant.

• Ork Boyz stormed the Palace as General Bernardo fired at them and tried to organize a defense.
• House Horace’s private soldiers formed a firing line and briefly stalled the Ork assault.
• The Ork Warboss crashed through the ceiling, crushed more than a dozen soldiers, and attacked the remaining defenders.
• General Bernardo took a fallen soldier’s Lasgun and shot the Warboss at its armor joints, burning its skin.
• The enraged Warboss charged Bernardo and threatened to tear him apart.

General Bernardo blinded the Ork Warboss, rallied the palace survivors, and charged the wounded monster before killing it with a bayonet through its remaining eye. The Ork Warboss fell, ending the immediate threat.

• Bernardo shot the Ork Warboss in its right eye, giving the survivors a chance to recover and fight back.
• Bernardo rallied the nobles and private soldiers, directing them to fire and use grenades against the wounded Ork Warboss.
• The Ork Warboss charged Bernardo, but two grenades wounded its leg and forced it to one knee.
• Bernardo dropped his empty rifle, seized a bayonet-fitted Laser Lasgun, and charged the Ork Warboss.
• Bernardo drove the bayonet into the Ork Warboss's remaining eye and twisted it until the monster died.

After defeating the Ork Warboss, Bernardo received the arriving Word Bearers Astartes, whose captain demanded an account of the Hive City's failed defenses. Bernardo accused Baron Horace and the nobles of embezzlement and abandoning the front, then swore that his charges were true.

• Bernardo killed the Ork Warboss, recovered his rifle, and waited for reinforcements amid the ruined council chamber.
• Bernardo's Adjutant arrived with Imperial Army survivors, and Bernardo ordered them to clear the battlefield and count the living.
• Company Captain Wilson and a squad of Word Bearers Astartes landed in the chamber, prompting the survivors to kneel before them.
• Wilson questioned Baron Horace about the collapsed defenses and demanded a full report within one Terra Standard Time hour.
• Bernardo stepped forward and accused Horace and the Hive City's nobles of stealing defense funds and keeping their private soldiers from the front.
• Bernardo swore to Wilson that his accusations were true and accepted the prospect of execution if he had lied.

Company Captain Wilson arrested Baron Horace, placed the Hive City and Low Orbit under lockdown, and led the Word Bearers toward the Middle Hive. As Orks battered the gate, the Word Bearers arrived to reinforce its defenders and prepare the counterattack.

• Wilson ordered two guards to restrain Baron Horace and declared that unauthorized departures from the Hive City or Low Orbit would be treated as treason and heresy.
• Wilson ordered a ground counterattack and led the Word Bearers toward the Middle Hive access points in armored transports.
• Bernardo rallied his surviving troops to gather ammunition and equipment and fight alongside the Angels.
• Major Ivan Petrov organized the defense of the gate between the Middle Hive and Underhive as Imperial forces and civilians fought off the Orks.
• Orks blasted a hole in the gate with an explosive-laden siege engine, but a Contemptor Dreadnought held it against further attacks.
• Wilson and the Word Bearers arrived, struck Ork positions, and drew cheers from the Imperial Army soldiers and civilians.

The Astartes drove the Orks from Jungle Hive City with a Terminator counterattack and surgical strikes, while the fleet brought in militia and relief supplies. In the Underhive, a Word Bearers Space Marine rescued the wounded boy Kais, who set his heart on becoming a Space Marine.

• Cataphractii Terminators opened the gate and blasted through the Ork front line as Drop Pods carried Word Bearers into the Ork command positions.
• Word Bearers killed Ork leaders and destroyed key weapons and supplies, throwing the Ork forces into disarray and forcing them to retreat from the Hive City.
• The fleet delivered Imperialis Militia troops, medicine, food, and other supplies to support the fighting and relief effort.
• An Ork Choppa Boy found Kais hiding in the Underhive and reached to seize him.
• A Word Bearers Space Marine shot the Ork, removed shrapnel from Kais's leg, and directed him to a temporary aid station.
• After the Space Marine left to continue his mission, Kais began dreaming of becoming a Space Marine.

After House Horace was executed for its abuses, Wilson arranged for the Word Bearers to recruit Auxilia from the planet. Meanwhile, Chapter Master Colin led the Fourth Chapter’s assault on the Ork homeworld and killed its Warboss, Ursor the Bloody.

• The Legiones Astartes tried House Horace and sentenced its members to burn, while sending their private soldiers to the Penal Legion.
• Wilson negotiated with Major General Bernardo to establish a Word Bearers Auxilia levy in one Terran year in exchange for the planet’s protection.
• Chapter Master Colin’s fleet bombarded the Ork homeworld, then deployed the Fourth Chapter to destroy its strongholds.
• Colin led an assault on the Ork rallying point and confronted Ursor the Bloody, who wore a fallen Ultramarines warrior’s helmet as a trophy.
• Colin killed Ursor with his Power Fist and raised the Warboss’s corpse as he called for the destruction of the remaining Orks.

Lorgar ordered the destruction of Bluewater Star’s alien civilization while preserving its honey wine recipes and biological samples. Reviewing his plans to secretly build strength for the coming Horus Heresy, he remembered a Blackstone Fortress near Colchis.

• Lorgar admired Bluewater Star’s honey wine but ordered Chapter Master Rockefeller to exterminate its inhabitants and preserve the drink’s production methods and biological samples.
• Rockefeller relayed Lorgar’s order, and the Word Bearers slaughtered the rulers and the rest of the alien civilization.
• Lorgar studied the Imperial star chart and reflected on secretly gathering strength for the Horus Heresy rather than trying to prevent it.
• Lorgar considered helping Angron, Mortarion, and Curze, while avoiding dangerous campaigns such as the Rangdan Campaign and the war against the Ork Empire.
• Lorgar cursed his former roommate Yang Cheng and then recalled a Blackstone Fortress near Colchis.

Lorgar recalled that reaching the Blackstone Fortress required navigating a perilous region of wreckage and chose Rogue Traders to scout it before his Fleet advanced. He dispatched more than twenty flotillas, hoping at least one would find the fortress and report back.

• Lorgar remembered that the Blackstone Fortress lay beyond the Silent Zone and a deadly belt of ancient wreckage, and that reaching it required a small, agile ship.
• Lorgar decided to use Rogue Traders as scouts so his Fleet could avoid costly losses while searching for the fortress.
• Lorgar showed Charles Fettman a star chart and ordered his flotilla to investigate what he described as valuable ancient ruins.
• Charles Fettman accepted the mission on behalf of House Charles and the Pathfinder, and Lorgar told him to prepare to depart quickly.
• Lorgar revealed that he had contacted more than twenty Rogue Trader families and waited for one of their flotillas to return with information.

Charles Fettman brought the Pathfinder to a vast wreckage barrier and navigated through it toward an enormous Blackstone Fortress marked with Aeldari script. He ordered the crew to find a docking point and prepare to board.

• Charles Fettman recalled the Pathfinder's crew, raised combat readiness, and ordered the armed merchant ship to depart on its mission from a Primarch.
• Three days later, the Pathfinder emerged from the Warp and discovered a huge, unstable wall of shipwrecks blocking the route ahead.
• Charles ordered the Pathfinder to accelerate through the wreckage while Tech-Priest Anthony Voss praised the ancient artifacts and urged the crew to recover samples.
• After several hours, the Pathfinder reached the Blackstone Fortress, whose surface bore markings identified as Aeldari script.
• Charles ordered the crew to find a docking point and told the armed personnel to prepare to board.

Charles Fettman found a silent House Canary ship near the ancient ruins and sent Old John and an assault team to investigate. They discovered signs of a massacre and reached the Bridge, where the crew had been horrifically killed.

• Charles Fettman spotted a motionless House Canary merchant ship near the ancient ruins and ordered the Pathfinder to battle stations.
• After the House Canary ship ignored their hails, Charles ordered Old John to lead an armed team aboard and investigate.
• Old John’s team found the ship’s entrance unlocked and encountered a foul smell, bloodstained corridors, and strange patterns in the stains.
• The team reached the Bridge and found three crew members dead, their heads melted behind their helmets.
• Clawven urged Old John to continue deeper into the ship to find out what had happened.

Old John’s team searched the abandoned House Canary while Wink accessed its records and Clawven reported the grisly discovery to Charles Fettman. Fettman turned the ship into a forward base, then sent John and five veterans to survey the nearby Ancient Structure from outside.

• Old John ordered Wink to retrieve House Canary’s voyage logs and Clawven to report the findings to Charles Fettman.
• Old John searched nearby rooms and found signs of a struggle but no bodies or survivors.
• Charles Fettman designated House Canary a provisional forward base and sent security teams and supplies to fortify its docking section.
• Fettman ordered Old John’s team to conduct an exterior survey of the Ancient Structure and withdraw if they encountered danger.
• Old John chose five veterans, including Clawven, and equipped them with recording helmets, sensors, communicators, and weapons.

Old John’s reconnaissance squad encountered a human fugitive and a nearly bulletproof Ughul Ghoul in Blackstone Fortress. The creature charged the squad, then fled when Old John ordered them to switch to armor-piercing rounds.

• Old John led his reconnaissance squad through Blackstone Fortress while the endless corridor and strange rustling sounds unsettled them.
• Clawven heard a metallic crash, and Old John alerted the squad to nearby hostiles.
• A House Canary fugitive ran toward the squad, but an Ughul Ghoul seized him and dragged him into a side passage.
• The Ughul Ghoul returned and charged the squad, shrugging off their Lasgun fire and most of their other shots.
• Old John ordered the squad to switch to solid armor-piercing rounds, and the Ughul Ghoul fled.

Charles Fettman and House Charles’s defenders fought off a Ughul attack at the merchant ship’s docking area, but an overwhelming swarm poured from the darkness. The defenders kept firing as the creatures surged toward their line.

• Charles Fettman rallied the defenders and ordered them to hold their positions as growls and scraping claws approached.
• Fettman ordered the Tarantula turrets and soldiers to fire when the Ughul emerged from the passage.
• A crewman killed an agile Ughul with a Plasma Gun after it broke through the turrets’ field of fire.
• Countless Ughul poured from the passage, vents, and ceiling, overwhelming the first creatures killed by the barrage.
• Fettman urged the defenders to keep firing as the swarm charged their line.

Old John’s scouting team lost contact with Captain Fetteman and encountered a swarm of Spindle Drones in the Blackstone Labyrinth. After the machines killed two team members and overwhelmed their weapons, Old John led the survivors in retreat.

• Clawven loaded a costly special shotgun shell as Old John’s team rested, then they continued through the labyrinth.
• Old John reported that their Navigation device might have failed and contact with Captain Fetteman had been lost; Clawven sensed that something was watching them.
• Spindle Drones erupted from the walls and attacked, killing one mercenary with their blades and dragging another into a hidden compartment.
• Old John and Clawven fought the drones, but their weapons struggled against the swarm; Clawven’s special shell destroyed several machines.
• Old John threw his last Frag Grenade and ordered a retreat, then led the survivors running back through the passage.

Old John, Clawven, and Tog fled the Hive Swarm until a hidden blade severed Clawven’s leg, forcing him to sacrifice himself so the others could escape. Old John and Tog reached the exit, where Ughul killed them too, leaving no survivors.

• Old John, Clawven, and Tog ran through the dark corridors as the Hive Swarm pursued them.
• A hidden blade severed Clawven’s lower leg, and he refused Old John’s attempt to carry him.
• Clawven stayed behind with his shotgun and Melta Grenade while Old John dragged Tog onward.
• Clawven fired at the pursuers and detonated the Melta Grenade, buying Old John and Tog time to escape.
• Old John and Tog reached the exit and found Captain Fetteman and dozens of others dead among the Ughul.
• More than a dozen Ughul attacked Old John and Tog, and no one survived.

Lorgar completed a virtual-reality training exercise against Giant Spiders aboard the Law of Faith. Chaplain Mathieu reported that the Rogue Traders had not returned, and Lorgar ordered a Chapter to accompany him to seize the fortress.

• Lorgar fought and eliminated the simulated Giant Spiders in his training chamber.
• Mathieu watched Lorgar and was filled with awe and devotion.
• Mathieu told Lorgar that none of the Rogue Traders had returned, but their equipment had recorded what happened to them.
• Lorgar ordered the Great Crusade fleet to detach one Chapter to help him seize the fortress while the rest continued on their original route.

Lorgar led the Word Bearers’ Third Chapter and a powerful task force toward the Blackstone Fortress while Archmagos Cawl Grut’s fleet cleared a path through the surrounding wreckage. When Lorgar arrived, he discovered an unexpected faction at the site.

• Lorgar declined Rockefeller’s offer to lead the vanguard and chose to take the Third Chapter, commanded by William Theras, on the operation himself.
• Lorgar boarded the Tooth of Boraus as a task force broke away from the main expeditionary fleet and headed for the Blackstone Fortress.
• Archmagos Cawl Grut studied the fortress from the Ark Mechanicus Eye of Discovery and began clearing a safe passage through the wreckage in exchange for access to the ruins.
• Several days later, Lorgar’s fleet emerged from the warp at the clearance site and found an unexpected faction already there.

Company Captain Isas of the Dark Angels boarded the Word Bearers' ship and offered a weapon to help them explore an Ancient Structure in exchange for its technical data. Chapter Master Seras accepted, and Lorgar appeared behind them.

• Company Captain Isas identified himself to Chapter Master Seras and explained that he had boarded the Unyielding Faith without notice.
• Seras challenged Isas for entering Word Bearers territory, but restrained his anger rather than demanding a duel.
• Isas said the Dark Angels had detected a powerful energy fluctuation and brought a weapon to help explore the Ancient Structure.
• Isas offered the structure to the Word Bearers in exchange for full copies of all technical data inside.
• Seras agreed to Isas's terms, and Lorgar appeared behind them.

Lorgar stopped Seras and Isas from fighting and learned that Isas had brought six hundred Dark Angels, three Battle Barges, and an escort fleet. Aboard the Pathfinder, Isas led the Dark Angels Terminators in slaughtering the Ughul, then Lorgar introduced more than a hundred Stormboyz and claimed his gene-sons could do better.

• Lorgar recognized Isas as a member of the Sandalwood Order and halted his standoff with Seras.
• Isas told Lorgar he had brought six hundred legionaries, three Battle Barges, and an escort fleet.
• Dark Angels Terminators boarded the Pathfinder, drawing a swarm of Ughul into the corridors.
• Isas charged ahead and cut down the Ughul with his Disruption Field Greatsword while the Terminators covered him.
• After Isas confirmed the corridor was clear, Lorgar praised him and brought more than a hundred Stormboyz forward.

Lorgar and the Word Bearers advanced into the Blackstone Fortress with the Dark Angels, whose relic Quietus disabled the lurking Spindle Drones. Deep inside, they encountered a massive drilling construct that Quietus could not stop, and the machine charged as the warriors prepared to fight.

• Lorgar felt the fortress suppressing his Psychic Energy as the force advanced through its entrance passage.
• Seras raised the alarm when Spindle Drones emerged, and Isas ordered a Dark Angel to activate Quietus.
• Quietus disabled the Spindle Drones, allowing the force to continue deeper into the fortress.
• Near the central region, Lorgar sensed a powerful hostile energy source beyond a corner, and the Dark Angels spotted a giant construct unaffected by Quietus.
• Seras ordered the warriors to engage, but the drilling machine spun up and charged at them.

Lorgar joined the Word Bearers and Dark Angels in fighting a regenerating mechanical Construct, then destroyed it with his Warhammer. The Construct exploded before it could be studied, while a symbol of a twisted metal hand remained hidden beneath the rubble.

• The Construct battered the Space Marines, killing two Word Bearers and injuring several others as their weapons struggled to penetrate its armour.
• Captain Isas ordered missile fire against the Construct's legs, and Seras directed Melta Weapons at its joints to slow its regeneration.
• Lorgar charged the Construct, shattered its drill with his Warhammer, and smashed the humanlike figure inside its torso.
• Lorgar warned the others before the Construct self-destructed, and the Word Bearers and Dark Angels took cover as it exploded.
• Lorgar led the others onward, unaware that a symbol of a twisted metal hand lay beneath the rubble and ash.