Three and a half weeks into the return to Ilium, Diomedes invites Lysander onto the Dustmaker’s bridge. Under the gaze of a memorial to Akari, the bridge guardian Ophelia au Zagra confiscates Lysander’s razor and praises his blitz on Phobos. Lysander observes a drill repelling Ascomanni boarders; despite success, Diomedes remains exacting.

In Helios’s office over a sparse meal, Lysander reports his injuries eased by a medical leech. Diomedes updates him: Helios destroyed an Ascomanni scout group and later two Volk torchShips still bearing Republic insignia before going dark. They doubt Virginia’s complicity, agree Fá threatens all, and note Darrow enabled the Volk navy’s rise, though not this atrocity.

Discussing tensions and drills, Diomedes describes the Ascomanni: descendants of a failed rebellion who enslave technical Colors and adapt quickly. Lysander recalls Sevro kidnapping him as a child and warns Diomedes to kill the “Goblin of Mars” quickly if ever faced. Diomedes wonders if Atlas’s massacres stirred the Far Ink tribes and helped birth the Fá movement.

In the map room, Diomedes reveals the approach: burn to Kalyke—retaken as Helios’s base—then execute twelve low-thrust slingshot maneuvers, “ghost sailing” beneath moon mass and Jovian radiation to mask the armada. With favorable orbital “weather,” they intend to hit Fá when most braves are on Io’s surface. Diomedes stresses the stakes if Demeter’s Garter falls: famine across dependent worlds.

They agree the operation begins at Kalyke, then Mars follows if Io is secured. Diomedes asks Lysander to be present on the bridge on arrival, both to model Rim–Core unity for the crew and to ensure Helios sees Lysander at his side; Diomedes accepts any displeasure this may cause.