Chapter Summaries

The Cybrex Prototype Warform and the Empire's Army crushed Sedal IV's resistance, then rounded up the surviving aliens for forced labor and reconstruction. Months later, the warform still stood beside the central business district, clearing the city's ruins and keeping the survivors subdued.

• For three days, the Cybrex Prototype Warform devastated Sedal IV's city until its ammunition ran out, and the aliens surrendered to Commander Ningdi Lingling.
• The Army took control of the city, and guards lured the surrendered elite prisoners out of their camp before the Prototype Warform crushed it.
• The Army rounded up hundreds of millions of survivors, and Grand Marshal Xi Yan ordered the aliens segregated and assigned to labor and resource production.
• Over the following months, the Prototype Warform remained beside the central business district, deterring unrest and clearing the city's wreckage.

After taking Sedal IV, the Human Empire rebuilt it as a major trade hub, using alien bodies to supply its factories with energy and food. The planet reopened and prospered, while foreign investigators uncovered evidence of the human takeover and the vanished population.

• The Empire built factories on Sedal IV and processed a hundred million aliens into biomass for power generation and food production.
• The Empire rebuilt infrastructure around the Central CBD, agreed with the Zirick Cooperative to promote trade, and relocated human workers and robots to staff the planet.
• The Fleet lifted the blockade, and merchant convoys and foreign visitors arrived to find a transformed planet dominated by factories and the Cyberlex Prototype Warform.
• Trade surged under the new regime as rebuilt infrastructure and lower commercial taxes made Sedal IV more prosperous than before.
• Foreign investigators examined the ruins, construction waste, corpse fragments, Prototype Warform, and missing population, piecing together what had happened.

Xi Yan and the Three-Nation Alliance divided the M'tok Union’s colonies, leaving Xi Yan to govern most of the criminal-ridden worlds. After restoring Sedal IV and beginning the long work of administering the other colonies, he turned his attention to Faus VII and its habitable moon, Faus VIIa.

• The Zirick and the Nier judged Xi Yan to be a powerful, pragmatic leader, though his obsession with racial purity unsettled them.
• Sedal IV prospered after Xi Yan rebuilt its infrastructure, restored commerce-friendly policies, and sent Ashes Organization agents there.
• The Three-Nation Alliance divided the M'tok colonies, with Xi Yan receiving most of the remaining worlds.
• Xi Yan abandoned or destroyed colonies with poor habitability, preserved valuable research worlds, and rebuilt Sedal IV with humans in charge.
• Xi Yan’s government confiscated property, suppressed crime, and restricted aliens’ movement and reproduction on ordinary colonies.
• As Beta calculated resource routes and the empire faced at least ten years of stabilization work, Xi Yan focused on Faus VII and Faus VIIa.

Xi Yan investigated Faus VII and its industrial moon, Faus VIIa, and weighed how to bring their productive M'tok Stone People colonies under Imperial rule without disrupting output. He favored a peaceful transition, but had yet to settle on a plan as he watched the damaged Delta Segment and the sleeping Hosgar of Endless Flames.

• Xi Yan learned that Faus VII was a mineral-rich desert world and Faus VIIa was a densely industrialized moon, together supporting more than six billion M'tok Stone People.
• Xi Yan judged the stable, low-crime system to be vital to the M'tok Sector because it produced large quantities of alloys and consumer goods.
• Xi Yan rejected demolishing the colonies with Cyberlex Prototype Warforms because the destruction would harm production.
• Xi Yan considered peaceful negotiations instead of a costly military crackdown, which risked heavy losses against the Stone People.
• Xi Yan looked across the ring world at the devastated Delta Segment, where the Cyberlex Foundry and the sleeping Hosgar of Endless Flames remained.

Ulrom, a M'tok miner on Faus VII, worked alongside his talkative coworker Limonite as they discussed human rule and rumors of political change. The two miners ended their shift trapped underground in their vehicles, while Limonite wondered what the future held for the Faus System.

• Ulrom met Limonite at the mine, where Limonite chatted about a Skin Refinement Shop and his favorite rocks to eat.
• Limonite wondered why humans had not punished the M'tok after their nation fell, and Ulrom reflected that life on Faus VII and VIIa had improved under human oversight.
• Limonite said rumors suggested the Planetary Government would be reorganized and humans would take charge.
• Ulrom and Limonite drove their mining vehicles into the designated area and crushed the underground rock until rubble trapped them a hundred meters below the surface.
• Limonite puffed on his electronic device and asked what human rule would bring to the Faus System, while Ulrom lay down without replying.

Xi Yan praised Faus VII and Faus VIIa for their stable, productive Stone People population and ordered population controls, property buyouts, and a gradual transition of local institutions while banning violence. The miners Limonite and Ulrom heard that the government planned major reforms, but they remained hopeful as Xi Yan prepared to reshape the system.

• Beta reported that the Faus System had high stability and output, and Xi Yan declared its Stone People to be hardworking foreign citizens deserving protection.
• Xi Yan ordered population control and birth restrictions in Faus, along with public ownership of property and a gradual transition of local institutions, while forbidding violence.
• Underground miners Limonite and Ulrom discussed imperial politics and used a human-made electronic cigarette while waiting to be lifted out of the mine.
• The crane driver warned Limonite and Ulrom that the authorities planned to reform their planetary government, and Limonite suspected the humans were targeting them.
• Xi Yan compared Faus to a pristine industrial region and planned to impose the Empire's institutions to increase its productivity.

Xi Yan’s representatives negotiated reforms for Faus VII and VIIa, proposing compulsory property buyouts and a labor-point economy under the Empire’s public ownership system. As residents debated the plan and worried about human rule, miner Ulrom heard that reforms were imminent but remained calm.

• Xi Yan’s team presented a public ownership system for the Faus colonies, with residents’ property exchanged for labor points and local goods becoming scarcer and more expensive.
• M’tok representatives questioned whether the humans would treat Faus fairly, and Xi Yan said he cared about output and would tolerate the colonies if they behaved themselves.
• The M’tok representatives informed local media about the proposal, prompting widespread debate and resistance to abolishing private property and adopting labor points.
• Ulrom, a miner in Light City, learned from his neighbor that the finalized reform plan would soon take effect.
• Ulrom considered the coming changes and stayed unworried, believing he could find work again if he lost his home or job.

Xi Yan inspected new Army technology developed to counter the Stone People and discovered that his scientists had created genetically modified super soldiers in power armor. When the warriors swore loyalty to him, he realized their resemblance to Astartes made him seem like the Emperor.

• Human officials and resources arrived on Faus VII as the new government established Labor Points and began buying out local property.
• Ulrom exchanged his old currency and assets for Labor Points, profited from the transition, and came to support joining the human economy.
• Xi Yan inspected the Army base on Amat Eiro II and sought ways to strengthen the Army against the Stone People.
• Scientists showed Xi Yan five-meter-tall genetically modified warriors wearing retro-styled power armor.
• The warriors knelt and declared loyalty to Xi Yan, who wondered whether that made him the Emperor.

Xi Yan inspected the Empire’s Gene Warrior project and read how the scientists had developed genetic engineering by modifying Plant People before attempting to enhance humans. The report ended with the team realizing that cloning and accelerated maturation had invalidated their earlier experiments, leaving them to start over.

• A scientist presented Xi Yan with a five-meter-tall Gene Warrior whose organs had been enhanced but who had lost his reproductive and digestive functions.
• The Gene Warrior declared his loyalty to the Empire, and Xi Yan saluted him as he vowed to fight for it.
• The scientists tested the Gene Warrior’s genetic stability while Xi Yan read their research report.
• The report described how researchers had modified Plant People to produce biomass and then shifted their genetic experiments to humans.
• The research team discovered that cloning and accelerated maturation had compromised their test subjects and experimental results, so they needed to begin again.

Xi Yan read the Academy of Sciences report describing the creation of genetically enhanced Space Marines and their massive powered armor. He approved of the scientists’ work and expected the warriors to become a powerful asset for the Empire.

• Xi Yan read how scientists used genetic modification and nineteen surgeries to create five-meter-tall enhanced humans with two hearts, three pairs of lungs, and abdominal energy machinery.
• Engineers designed neural-linked powered armor, then added a miniature cold-fusion reactor, life support, powered mechanisms, and extremely thick armor plating.
• The research team combined the enhanced humans and armor into Space Marines and Power Armor, naming them Astartes after an old Earth myth.
• The report said successful recruits needed strong bodies, indomitable wills, and loyalty to the Marshal, and noted that the Empire might soon put the technology to use.
• Xi Yan praised the scientists after reading their report.

Xi Yan watched a five-meter-tall gene warrior demonstrate the power of the Empire’s new genetic and weapons technology by slaughtering the Stone People kept as livestock. Impressed, Xi Yan promised more funding for genetic research and engineering, and praised the warrior’s sacrifices for the Human Empire.

• Xi Yan watched a gene warrior attack the Stone People with a chainsword and bolter, while marveling at the warrior’s strength and equipment.
• The gene warrior caught a Stone Person’s punch, threw the captive to the ground, and crushed its head with a powered fist.
• The gene warrior research team told Xi Yan that their creation would make the Army unstoppable.
• Xi Yan promised the scientists more research funding and urged the engineers to build bigger warships, prompting cheers from both groups.
• Xi Yan praised the gene warrior and recognized the pain, sacrifices, and loss of his former life that the transformation had demanded.

Xi Yan reflected on his resemblance to Warhammer’s Emperor, then planned to expand his Gene Warrior forces. Six months into reforms in the Faus System, ordinary Stone People like Ulrom saw better living conditions, while Limonite worried that human teachers were turning his child against M'tok identity.

• Xi Yan realized how closely his role and powers resembled the Emperor, but resolved to avoid the Emperor’s fate and leave the Shroud alone.
• Xi Yan planned to recruit and screen tens of thousands of Gene Warriors to stabilize the Empire’s colonies.
• Six months after reforms began in the Faus System, state-owned mines, improved infrastructure, and new pay arrangements had raised workers’ living standards.
• Ulrom relaxed after work with Limonite, who admitted his child had begun praising humans and the Marshal while dismissing M'tok glory.

Xi Yan’s education policies aimed to make human and alien children loyal to the Empire, but they sparked protests among the M’tok in the Faus System. After Stone People gathered in Light City to oppose the schools’ indoctrination, Xi Yan decided to crack down.

• Xi Yan prioritized preschool and primary education, using ideology and politics classes to shape children into loyal citizens of the Empire.
• Xi Yan extended the Empire’s education system to the M’tok colonies, intending to replace their culture and secure the next generation’s loyalty.
• M’tok in the Faus System objected to human teachers indoctrinating their descendants and protested the loss of their heritage.
• Stone People gathered in Light City, the capital of Faus VII, and marched to protest at the Department of Education, while others boycotted schools.
• Xi Yan dismissed the M’tok’s demands and decided to punish the protesters.

After M'tok in Light City struck against human education reforms, Xi Yan sent First Airlift to disperse the protesters without casualties. As the Gene Warriors charged into the march, Ulrom and Limonite realized the strike had drawn a violent response.

• Stone People in Light City protested human education policies, then escalated their resistance into a general strike.
• Xi Yan ordered First Airlift to Faus VII, directing the Gene Warriors to disperse and intimidate protesters without causing casualties.
• First Airlift arrived in orbit and landed Gene Warriors on Faus VII as demonstrations continued across Light City.
• Ulrom joined his friend Limonite in the march, while Stone People in other cities backed down after warnings about their resource supplies.
• Gene Warriors blocked the procession, raised their iron clubs, and charged at the protesting Stone People.

Quan Xiaojiang led ten thousand Gene Warriors in brutally suppressing the Stone People’s protest, forcing the crowd to flee. Ulrom and Limonite were caught by the soldiers and beaten as they tried to escape.

• Quan Xiaojiang led the First Airborne Transport Division into the square and ordered the Gene Warriors to attack the protesting Stone People with iron clubs.
• The Gene Warriors drove the panicked crowd through the streets, beating Stone People who resisted.
• Ulrom and Limonite fled together toward the edge of the city but found Gene Warriors blocking their escape route.
• Ulrom and Limonite charged the soldiers, but a Gene Warrior stopped them and battered Limonite while Ulrom tried to run.
• Two Gene Warriors chased Ulrom and struck him with their iron clubs.

Quan Xiaojiang and the First Airborne Transport Unit violently suppressed Light City's Stone People after their protests, beating demonstrators and enforcing Imperial rule. After the citizens pledged not to interfere with Imperial policies, the Gene Warriors left to a fearful, ceremonial send-off, having completed their mission.

• Quan Xiaojiang's First Airborne Transport Unit deployed ten thousand Gene Warriors to suppress the Stone People's demonstrations in Light City.
• The Gene Warriors beat protestors and fleeing citizens with iron clubs, driving the city into chaos.
• The unit established inspection offices and patrols, and its soldiers continued beating Stone People they caught outside or away from work.
• After another week, Stone People signed a pledge not to interfere with Imperial policies and asked the Empire to withdraw the Gene Warriors.
• The Empire agreed, and the First Airborne Transport Unit boarded its transports and departed amid a fearful send-off from Light City's citizens.

Xi Yan completed the Museum Celestial Pivot and invited neighboring civilizations to visit, while continuing to flatter the Rixian Seed Empire. His message unexpectedly triggered a special event with the Militant Isolationists, leaving their response pending.

• The Empire declared the M'tok Sector fully transformed and incorporated into its territory after suppressing unrest in the Faus System.
• Xi Yan oversaw the Empire's growing resources, research, and development after absorbing the M'tok Union's legacy.
• The Empire completed and opened the Museum Celestial Pivot, a starbase for displaying and studying rare specimens.
• Xi Yan sent diplomatic invitations to neighboring nations and asked the Rixian Seed Empire whether it needed anything.
• The Rixian Seed Empire responded differently than usual, and Xi Yan realized he had triggered a special event.

The Rixian Seed Empire sent an ancient ship to the Cybrex Alpha homeworld system, and Xi Yan mistook its sudden arrival for a demonstration of a Quantum Catapult’s power. He learned the vessel was a model of the Rixian Seed Empire’s Lost Escort and eagerly planned to display it in the Museum Celestial Pivot.

• The Rixian Seed Empire promised the Interstellar Human Military Junta a valuable exhibit for the Museum Celestial Pivot.
• A worn ancient ship appeared in a flash of blue light near the Ring World's Stellar Base, and the First Fleet surrounded it.
• Xi Yan recognized the arrival as resembling a Quantum Catapult transport and worried about the Rixian Seed Empire’s military reach.
• Xi Yan praised the Rixian Seed Empire’s technology, and it confirmed that the ship was only a model of its Lost Escort.
• Xi Yan celebrated the model as a generous gift and decided it would take pride of place in the Museum Celestial Pivot.

Xi Yan turned the Museum Celestial Pivot into a major research and tourism center after it accepted a Lost Escort model from the Fallen Empire. The Zirick Cooperative and Nier Guardians joined its scientific and tourism efforts, while the Curator Enclave praised the museum.

• The Museum Celestial Pivot ceremonially accepted the Fallen Empire’s ancient Lost Escort model, and Xi Yan invited neighboring empires to see it.
• The Zirick Cooperative and Nier Guardians sent envoys to the ceremony and praised the specimen alongside Xi Yan.
• Xi Yan opened interstellar tourism routes with the Zirick Cooperative and Nier Guardians, bringing alien visitors to the museum.
• The three nations agreed to scientific cooperation, and the Zirick Cooperative and Nier Guardians loaned specimens and sent research teams to the museum.
• The Museum Celestial Pivot filled nearly half its exhibition halls with the three nations’ specimens and brought their researchers together, drawing praise from the distant Curator Enclave.

Xi Yan welcomed Grand Curator Wànjī Ascendant to the Interstellar Human Military Junta and learned that the machine Curator had an independent, non-gestalt consciousness. The revelation astonished both Xi Yan and Beta, leaving them marveling at a machine intelligence born with an autonomous mind.

• Sunxia Xiachuan hosted Grand Curator Wànjī Ascendant at the Amaterro System starbase after the Curator Enclave came to visit the newly opened Museum Celestial Pivot.
• Xi Yan greeted Wànjī Ascendant and recognized that the Curator’s face and hands used living metal.
• Wànjī Ascendant praised Xi Yan’s knowledge and explained that they had heard favorable reports from the Zirick Cooperative’s Chief Coordinator and the Nier Guardians’ Supreme Shieldwarden.
• Wànjī Ascendant told Xi Yan they possessed an ordinary, non-gestalt consciousness, prompting Xi Yan to react with sudden respect.
• Xi Yan asked whether Wànjī Ascendant had become a machine through synthetic ascension, and Wànjī Ascendant said they had awakened as a robot with independent consciousness.
• Beta spoke through Xi Yan’s Wristband in astonishment at Wànjī Ascendant’s revelation.