Lysander meets Diomedes amid Sector Six’s ruins, confident their push from Sector Seven has them on the cusp of surrounding the Hollows. As they plan a joint westward advance, Rhone calls with an urgent report about Ajax, prompting Lysander and Diomedes to review the situation from a forward command tank.

Through drone footage, they see a sprawling industrial battlefield where Cicero chose to stand and fight. Ajax descended a hauler shaft to strike Victra but emerged into an ambush: Victra, another knight, and Obsidians were waiting. Outnumbered three to one, Ajax’s detachment fought hard but was overwhelmed.

The feed shows scalped bodies and, finally, a brutal end. Ajax, staggering between Victra and the other assailant, fends off the male but not Victra; she cuts him down, hacks him apart, and takes his head, roaring over his corpse. Asked about the wider battle, Rhone reports Cicero’s status is unknown and Apollonius withdrew to Julii’s dockyards citadel, claiming prudence while blaming Mercurian folly.

When Lysander asks about the second assailant, Diomedes suggests the style resembles Thraxa au Telemanus. He notes surprising Obsidian participation and judges their forces overextended, advising a pullback and offering condolences for Ajax.

Rhone recommends containing Victra and Pegasus Legion and holding defensible sectors while reinforcements arrive, accepting a grinding campaign. Lysander, grieving Ajax and tallying the cost—ships, money, Glirastes’s sacrifice—recognizes the failure of his swift encirclement. Rhone answers his despair with a stark truth: war.