Jessyn Kaul and Else Yannin sit shivering in an overcrowded, low-ceilinged metal holding chamber lit by dull orange crystals. Prisoners trade rumors of slaughter and fires on Anjiin. Else periodically pushes through the crowd to look for familiar faces as new captives are brought in.

Security officer Urrys Ostencour introduces himself to Jessyn and explains he has noticed a pattern: the aliens seem to be pulling out “top” people from many fields rather than acting randomly. He points out the water and food dispensers and the humiliating absorbent mat used as a toilet. When Ostencour asks about medical supplies or weapons, Jessyn lies and conceals that she still has her psychiatric medication.

Else returns with Synnia, who is exhausted and traumatized, and they confirm that Nöl was taken in the one-in-eight cull and killed. Soon after, Campar arrives with Dafyd Alkhor; Campar reports Tonner Freis and Irinna were separated from him, and no one has seen Jellit. The group tries to reason that the captives are being kept alive for a purpose, while Dafyd observes the aliens’ violence seems detached and procedural, and Else labels the servant species as slaves.

An omnipresent voice announces a shift into asymmetric space, and the transition briefly warps the prisoners’ sense of time and memory. The narration then cuts to an infiltrating “swarm” inside a host, pleased to have been captured with the Carryx because it has gathered intelligence and now hopes to transmit it later; it also registers an echo of Ameer Kindred. The swarm chooses to conserve itself while mimicking the host’s fear.

Back with Jessyn, time becomes indistinct as the captives settle into routines of sleeping in clumps, eating the black “food,” and using the mat. Jessyn secretly takes a capsule and later grows anxious as her supply dwindles, recognizing the return of ritualized counting behavior. Ostencour collects shoelaces and hair to make rope, implying preparations to restrain someone or act against the guards.

After what feels like weeks, Synnia returns energized and tells Jessyn that Ostencour is organizing an escape attempt: when the next Soft Lothark guard comes to replace the waste mat, a group will overpower it and rush out together. Synnia urges Jessyn to stay quiet, do nothing now, and simply be ready when the moment comes.