Darrow arrives at Quicksilver’s asteroid and is greeted by Matteo, who offers warmth and a moving eulogy for Theodora, Orion, Alexandar, and Dancer. Sevro joins brusquely, steering talk toward the urgent need for “metal.”

They enter Quicksilver’s study, masked by a hologram of Luna’s riots after the Day of Red Doves. Quicksilver, cynical about the mob and the Republic’s trajectory, trades barbs with Sevro. He quizzes Darrow about the time since Mercury, learning of Darrow’s marooning at Icarus Base and the Venus dockyards, then listens as Darrow lays out the desperate strategic situation and asks for ships.

Quicksilver says he cannot and will not provide weapons, doubting the people’s will and accusing both himself and Sevro of prioritizing their own over the masses. Darrow warns that Gold will hunt Quicksilver and Matteo if the Republic falls. Quicksilver counters with a different vision: a place to run where Gold cannot reach.

At Matteo’s urging, Quicksilver reveals his secret through a clearing window: a fully realized biosphere inside the asteroid, lit by a central sun and inhabited by children without Color sigils. He explains that the core problem is the Color hierarchy itself; the project, Tabula Rasa, is an interstellar generation ship intended to start anew.

Sevro, devastated and furious at the perceived abandonment, notes the hidden defenses, rejects their choice, and leaves. Recognizing this path is closed for war materiel, Darrow steadies himself and asks to see the new world, choosing understanding over confrontation.