Chapter Summaries

Aun'Ve rallied Sa'cea with a speech about the Greater Good, restoring the defenders' resolve. Saul traced the broadcast to an underground communications array and prepared to reach Aun'Ve with Vilen and the Custodian shield guards.

• Aun'Ve told Sa'cea's people that he would remain with them and urged them to stand together for the Greater Good.
• T'au across Sa'cea answered the broadcast, and Fire Warriors, civilians, and caste workers renewed their efforts.
• Saul listened to Aun'Ve's speech as a Tech-Priest located its source beneath Sa'cea.
• Saul ordered Vilen to prepare his men for a visit to Aun'Ve.
• Thirty-six Custodian shield guards prepared three Kestros-class assault craft in the Blade of Sorrow's hangar.

Saul led Vilen, the Adeptus Custodes, and the Sisters of Silence on a direct assault against the T'au central command headquarters beneath Sa'cea, intending to capture Aun'Ve. Their three assault craft punched through the planet's defenses and began drilling underground toward the target.

• Saul briefed Vilen and the assembled warriors on the headquarters' location and the plan to breach its defenses with assault craft.
• Saul ordered the force to depart, and three Kestros-class assault craft launched from the Blade of Sorrow.
• The craft plunged vertically through Sa'cea's atmosphere as surviving T'au missiles and Pulse Cannons attacked them.
• The assault craft struck the ruined industrial district at extreme speed, flattened the surrounding ruins, and drilled into the planet's crust.

Saul and Vilen’s force breached all twenty defensive layers and advanced toward the T'au Core Command Center, where Aun'Ve chose to stand and face them. Shas'la Kor assembled Sa'cea’s defenders in Corridor Seven as the Imperials approached.

• Saul, Vilen, and thirty-six Shield Guards exited the assault craft after it drilled through twenty defensive layers, then advanced toward the final alloy wall.
• Aun'Ve refused Monta’s offer to evacuate and ordered every available guard unit to defend Corridor Seven.
• Monta mobilized the command center’s armed forces while technicians and Fire Caste guards took up weapons and formed defensive lines.
• Commander Shas'la Kor positioned Sa'cea’s troops and battlesuits in Corridor Seven and urged them to hold their ground for the greater good.

Kor’s T'au defenders failed to stop Vilen and the Custodian Guards from breaking through the first defensive line. Kor regrouped the survivors at the second line and prepared a heavy-weapons volley as the golden warriors advanced.

• Kor ordered the first defensive line to fire, but Vilen’s twelve shield-bearing Custodian Guards formed a barrier that deflected the T'au bombardment.
• The Custodians advanced behind their shield wall and precisely destroyed T'au weapons and firing positions, forcing Kor to order a retreat.
• Vilen ordered the Custodians to charge, and their shield wall smashed through the T'au defenses and killed the Fire Warriors who could not escape.
• Kor withdrew to the second defensive line and ordered the Broadside Battlesuits and Riptide Battlesuits to prepare a concentrated volley.

Saul’s golden shock wave shattered the second defensive line, forcing Kor and fewer than fifty Fire Warriors to retreat to the final line. They fired and detonated Photon Grenades against the advancing Adeptus Custodes, but the golden shield wall remained intact.

• Kor ordered the second defensive line to fire Railgun projectiles and Ion Streams at the Adeptus Custodes, cracking their golden barrier.
• Saul leaped over the shield wall and unleashed a golden shock wave that overwhelmed the Broadside pilots and slowed the Riptide pilots.
• Vilen led the Shield Company through the breach, and the Shield Guards destroyed the Riptide Battlesuits in close combat.
• Kor retreated with fewer than fifty Fire Warriors and ordered them to gather Photon Grenades for a final defense.
• Kor and the Fire Warriors fired their Pulse Rifles and detonated the Photon Grenades, but the Adeptus Custodes’ shield wall kept advancing.

Kor and fifty fire warriors died trying to stop the Adeptus Custodes, while Aun'Ve prepared to make a final stand in the command centre. He sent the technicians through the Emergency Evacuation Passage, but Monta stayed beside him as the Custodes approached.

• Kor led fifty fire warriors in a charge against the Adeptus Custodes, and the Custodes killed them all.
• Kor died after watching Khaine's Photon Grenade fail to stop a Shield Guard.
• Aun'Ve took a combat sword as Monta told him the Emergency Evacuation Passage would remain open for thirty seconds.
• Aun'Ve ordered the technicians to lower their weapons and escape through the passage, and they obeyed.
• Monta refused to leave Aun'Ve, and the two prepared to face the approaching Custodes together.

Saul confronted Aun'Ve and Monta in the breached command center as the city burned and the T'au fleet was routed. Aun'Ve and Monta chose to face Saul in an oath-bound duel, and Aun'Ve learned that Saul attacked simply because they were xenos.

• Saul entered the command center and told Aun'Ve that his guards were dead, the defenses had fallen, the city was burning, and the fleet was losing.
• Aun'Ve refused to surrender, saying an Ethereal had to stand at the forefront in the darkest hour, even when death was certain.
• Saul ordered the others to withdraw, and Aun'Ve ordered Monta to leave, but Monta refused and stood beside his Ethereal.
• Aun'Ve and Monta raised their blades in the Fire Caste's Oath by the Blade salute before facing Saul.
• Aun'Ve asked why Saul attacked the T'au, and Saul answered that they were xenos.

Saul defeated Aun'Ve and Monta, then honored them as warriors before they died. As Shadowsun arrived at Sa'cea and learned of Aun'Ve's death, she ordered a sacrificial rearguard to delay the Imperium while the remaining T'au forces evacuated.

• Aun'Ve and Monta attacked Saul together, but Saul overwhelmed them and killed Monta.
• Saul caught Aun'Ve's final strike, praised him as a true warrior, and comforted him as he died.
• Saul covered Aun'Ve and Monta's faces with fragments of his Chapter banner, and Vilen agreed they had been worthy opponents.
• Shadowsun arrived in Sa'cea's orbit and learned that Aun'Ve's life signs had vanished and the planet had fallen.
• Shadowsun ordered Stealth Fleets and selected forces to delay the Imperium while the remaining warships evacuated from the system.

The Imperium advanced toward T'au and found the T'au had abandoned their outer worlds to concentrate their population and forces on their homeworld. The decisive battle began as both sides prepared their fleets for combat, with Shadowsun ordering the converted merchant ships held in reserve.

• Admiral Yanis and Saul discovered that the T'au had evacuated their colonies and concentrated their defenses at T'au.
• Aun'Va learned from Shadowsun that 143 billion evacuees and 1,537 warships had gathered at the fortified homeworld.
• The Imperial Combined Fleet arrived at T'au, where Yanis saw more than 1,500 enemy vessels and hundreds of orbital defenses.
• Saul ordered the Imperial fleet to attack, and its ships advanced toward T'au.
• Shadowsun deployed the T'au fleets and ordered the converted merchant ships to withdraw to the third defensive perimeter as reserves.

The Imperial and T'au fleets clashed in orbit around T'au, with the Imperium's heavy warships inflicting devastating losses despite the T'au's superior numbers and maneuverability. Shadowsun ordered the elite Stealth Fleet to begin the Assassin Plan and target the central Imperial warship carrying the God-Emperor Titan.

• The Blade of Sorrow destroyed the T'au's Shield of Heaven platform with its main gun, and Shadowsun ordered the fleet to clear the debris and return fire.
• The T'au and Imperial fleets exchanged heavy fire, destroying warships and orbital platforms on both sides.
• Shadowsun ordered the Flowing Water Tactic, and T'au ships used their speed to attack the Imperial fleet's flanks.
• The T'au cruiser Morning Star crippled an Imperial battle barge, but Adeptus Custodes frigates destroyed it in return.
• Shadowsun judged that the T'au could not sustain the battle and ordered the Stealth Fleet to carry out the Assassin Plan against the Imperial warship carrying the God-Emperor Titan.
• The Stealth Fleet commander activated maximum-power stealth mode and prepared to attack the central Imperial warship.

Shadowsun's stealth fleet sacrificed itself to damage the Titan-carrying warship's shields, armor, and main gun charging system, but the T'au suffered far heavier losses overall. Aun'Va ordered the remaining fleet to withdraw to the surface, where he intended to face the Imperial landing forces.

• Shadowblade led fifty cloaked warships in a surprise attack on the Titan-carrying warship, damaging one secondary engine but failing to cripple it.
• Shadowsun ordered the trapped Stealth Fleet to launch a suicide charge, and nine ships overloaded their reactors beside the Titan-carrying warship, collapsing its shields and damaging its main gun charging system.
• Shadowsun saw the Stealth Fleet's signal disappear as the T'au lost more than five hundred warships and began running short on ammunition.
• Aun'Va told Shadowsun to withdraw the fleet, explaining that the planetary shield remained operational and that he would confront the Imperial forces once they landed.
• Shadowsun relayed Aun'Va's order, and roughly nine hundred surviving T'au vessels withdrew to the planet's surface for repairs and resupply.

Saul chose to land troops on T'au after the planet's shield withstood orbital bombardment, while Shadowsun prepared the planet’s defenses. Aun'Va used pheromones to turn the T'au into fanatical defenders, leaving Shadowsun worried about what would happen to them after the war.

• Saul halted the Imperial Fleet’s pursuit and ordered a bombardment to test T'au’s planetary shield.
• The shield absorbed the bombardment, so Saul ordered Imperial forces to prepare a landing operation and destroy its generators.
• Shadowsun received reports on the T'au defenses, including their weapons, troops, and limited supply reserves.
• Shadowsun watched Aun'Va’s broadcast, in which he urged the T'au to fight and used pheromones to intensify their resolve.
• Shadowsun questioned the cost of Aun'Va’s influence, then ordered the officers to return to their posts and prepare to repel the human landing forces.

After winning the orbital battle, Saul planned a mass assault to weaken T'au’s defenses and capture its cities. The landings began, and Sergeant Victor descended toward his first battle against the T'au.

• Shadowsun looked up at T'au’s shield as Imperial warships waited in orbit.
• Saul briefed the Imperial commanders on the T'au defenses and ordered a combined Astra Militarum airborne assault and Astartes strikes against the shield generators.
• Saul warned that the invasion would bring heavy casualties and rallied the commanders to fight in the Emperor’s name.
• Three hours later, Imperial Drop Pods pierced the shield and began landing troops on T'au.
• Sergeant Victor checked his weapons inside a Drop Pod as it neared touchdown for his first battle against xenos.

Victor and the Cadian Third Division established a defensive camp on T'au before a massive T'au force launched an assault. The Imperials destroyed one Crisis Battlesuit but were overwhelmed by enemy fire as Victor fought from the trench.

• Victor and the Third Division landed on T'au and built defensive positions across the purple grassland.
• A T'au missile struck the camp's ammunition stockpile, killing soldiers as an armored column advanced.
• Crisis Battlesuits attacked the Imperial lines, and an anti-armor rocket knocked one down for Victor's squad to destroy.
• Thousands of T'au fire warriors opened fire, devastating the trenches and killing the soldiers inside.
• The Commissar shot an officer who called for retreat and ordered the troops to hold their positions as Victor continued firing.

Victor survived the T'au assault as Imperial air support arrived, followed by the Sons of Sorrow Chapter. The Space Marines joined the fight against the T'au, leaving the battle raging as their reinforcements charged into the enemy lines.

• A T'au Crisis Battlesuit killed Anton and crushed Victor's squad leader before a Thunderhawk destroyed it.
• Imperial aircraft attacked the T'au forces, giving the battered Imperial soldiers a chance to counterattack.
• Three Sons of Sorrow Terminators landed and the Veteran Sergeant tore a T'au pilot from his Crisis Battlesuit.
• A T'au Stormsurge wounded the Sergeant with a plasma beam, but he stayed on his feet.
• The Sons of Sorrow Seventh Company arrived in five Thunderhawk Transporters, and their Company Captain led one hundred Space Marines in a charge against the T'au.

The Sons of Sorrow were overwhelmed by the T'au’s numbers and reinforcements, so the Company Captain called in the Iron Saints’ Descent. Three Imperial Knight Titans landed among the T'au armoured column and began destroying it, giving the Space Marines a chance to counterattack.

• Sons of Sorrow warriors fought through the T'au ranks, but Bruno was vaporized by a Stormsurge and Kroot swarms killed another Space Marine.
• The Company Captain ordered his forces into a defensive circle when T'au reinforcements approached.
• The Company Captain authorized the Wrath of Titans Protocol and called for the Iron Saints’ Descent.
• Three Imperial Knight Titans landed in the T'au armoured column, overturned tanks, crushed infantry, and destroyed a Stormsurge.
• The Company Captain rallied the surviving Space Marines to strike back for their fallen brothers.

Shadowsun kept the T'au forces on Aun'Va’s orders despite the destruction of the 7th Rapid Response Cadre, while Saul identified the shield generators as the key to breaking the planetary defenses. Saul led an assault on the third shield generator and stood amid the incoming fire as the attack began.

• Shadowsun learned that the 7th Rapid Response Cadre had been wiped out and ordered the remaining cadres to hold their positions.
• Saul explained that Aun'Va was using signals to control the T'au and ordered Imperial forces to target seven critical shield generators.
• Saul announced that he would personally lead the attack on the third shield generator.
• Kairas prepared the First Legion’s defenses after detecting the incoming human drop forces.
• Saul landed at the generator’s outer defenses, and Kairas ordered every unit to fire at him.
• Saul raised his hand and snapped his fingers as the weapons struck toward him.

Saul cut through the T'au forces and deflected the Tidal Battlesuits' weapons before disabling one of the giant machines. He reached its cockpit, with the other Battlesuits still in the fight.

• Kairas ordered the Tidal Battlesuits deployed after conventional weapons failed to stop Saul.
• Saul and the other Space Marines slaughtered T'au forces, and Saul destroyed a Crisis Battlesuit with a single slash.
• Shas'O Tor led three Tidal Battlesuits in a coordinated attack, but Saul split their railgun rounds, missiles, and plasma beams with his sword.
• Saul charged one Tidal Battlesuit, parried its power axe, and landed on its shoulder.
• Saul drove his sword through a gap in the machine's armour, disabled its right arm, and moved toward the cockpit.

Saul destroyed the three Tidal Battlesuits and ordered his forces to advance on the shield generator. As the Imperials approached, Shadowsun directed Kairas to evacuate most of his troops and prepare to overload the generator, leaving an elite rearguard behind.

• Saul killed Tor by stabbing through his Tidal Battlesuit’s cockpit, then destroyed a second suit after its pilot triggered the self-destruct sequence.
• The final Tidal Battlesuit pilot surrendered, but Saul shot him and ordered the Imperials to continue toward the shield generator.
• Kairas learned that the T'au defenses had collapsed and struggled to choose between holding the generator, retreating, or destroying it.
• Shadowsun contacted Kairas and ordered him to evacuate nonessential personnel before overloading the generator once the Imperials reached the core area.
• Kairas agreed to Shadowsun’s plan, ordered three battalions to withdraw, and kept the First and Second Battalions behind as a rearguard.

Kairas triggered the Mountain Fortress Shield Generator’s overload as Saul and the Space Marines fought to escape, destroying the fortress and opening a gap in the planet’s shield. Saul survived with 173 Marines, and Imperial warships began orbital strikes against nearby T'au installations.

• Kairas prepared the generator to overload while Saul led the Space Marines into the Mountain Fortress core and discovered the reactor was destabilizing.
• Saul ordered a retreat, but T'au Fire Warriors and Kroot launched suicidal attacks to trap the Marines near the generator.
• Saul used his psychic power to clear an escape route, then saw Kairas trigger the overload remotely.
• The generator exploded like a miniature sun, destroying the Mountain Fortress; Saul shielded nearby Marines, and 173 of the 210 survivors remained.
• Imperial warships detected the gap in the shield network and bombarded T'au military installations near the fortress.