Five days after the Carryx invasion, Dafyd Alkhor is among hundreds of prisoners forced to lie face down in a city plaza under guard by Rak-hund and Soft Lothark. He is filthy, exhausted, and terrified of drawing attention even to ask to relieve himself. He remembers hiding in Else’s rooms with Else, Tonner, and Irinna until the invaders found them, after which he was separated from the rest of his team.

Dafyd recounts being held in an open-air corral west of the city where prisoners are constantly added and removed for unknown processing. Studying the alien-made fence, Dafyd realizes it is precisely designed for human bodies, suggesting the invaders arrived with detailed prior knowledge of Anjiin and its inhabitants. Before dawn, a Carryx arrives using a device to communicate with Soft Lothark, and a group of prisoners—including Dafyd—are taken out on a neck-to-neck leash; when one captive protests, the aliens remove him and a Rak-hund stomps him to death.

The prisoners are arranged prone in the plaza, arms spread, while the aliens wait and patrol. Sirens then announce an Irvian Security Service action, and security transports arrive demanding the “alien invaders” surrender. The Carryx responds with a threat display rather than compliance as riot-armored troops deploy and open fire.

A dark, swarming cloud of tiny organisms or devices thickens the air around the security forces, producing sparks and disrupting them as Rak-hund surge into close combat. The security team is overwhelmed and torn apart; even when a soldier manages to wound a Carryx with rifle fire, the Carryx closes the distance and kills the attacker in a single, brutal strike. After the brief clash ends, more Rak-hund and additional Carryx arrive, reinforcing the invaders’ control and crushing any hope of immediate rescue.

A goat-and-cuttlefish-like servant species identifies itself as Sinen and confirms Dafyd’s identity and job as a research assistant, telling him his place “within the moieties” has been determined. The Sinen escorts Dafyd to a washroom and then through a damaged city to a waiting alien ship. Inside, Dafyd finds other captured civilians and scholars and reunites with an injured Campar, who grimly jokes that alien life has been proven real—and that the aliens are “assholes.”