Virginia narrates the battle for Phobos turning into attritional trench fighting, where progress is measured in meters and lives. With Victra lost behind enemy lines, Kavax still captive, no word from Darrow or Sevro, and the fleet pinned to the surface, she contrasts her leadership with Lysander’s willingness to spend lives. The enemy inches forward, and she sees no clear way to reverse the tide.

To resist numbing to casualty reports, Virginia visits the overflowing medical wing of Bastion Four. Holiday, ribs crushed by Apollonius, limps beside her. Amid horrific injuries, the wounded cling to hope and to Darrow’s myth, insisting he will return. Virginia weeps in private yet draws strength from their faith, resolving to find an escape from the meat grinder before Mars’s strength is bled dry.

Returning to the Hollows command center after her nightly rounds, Virginia finds a commotion. Niobe leads her to the assembly area, where cheers erupt so loudly she momentarily fears and hopes Darrow has returned. Instead, Victra strides in with Thraxa and fighters of the Pegasus Legions, battered but unbowed, having broken back through enemy lines.

Victra announces tidings from Sector One and presents “gifts”: Cicero au Votum bound as a prisoner and the rotted head of Ajax au Grimmus. The spectacle electrifies the gathered soldiers and medici, signaling a significant blow to the enemy and handing Virginia a valuable captive. The moment punctures the stalemate’s gloom and hints at new leverage in the broader struggle for Phobos.