Holsten Mason is dragged awake from suspension, disoriented and fearing he has been sent to the bleak moon colony. Instead, strangers in shipsuits haul him from the Key Crew room. One guard carries a pistol, and as they hustle Holsten through the corridors, a firefight erupts with ship security using disruptors. A thin mutineer with a withered face is shot dead, while armed rebels escort Holsten onward.

Holsten is thrown into a cramped systems room where he finds Isa Lain bound and guarded. Whispering, Lain explains their captors are colonists who refuse to be consigned to the moon and have raided the armoury, outgunning Karst’s security. The rebels appear numerous and organized, and Holsten realizes he and Lain are hostages.

The leader, Scoles, keyed-up and exhausted, tells Holsten that people’s lives are at stake and that Holsten’s knowledge is valuable. Scoles orders a comms link and contacts Commander Guyen to negotiate, using Holsten and Lain as leverage.

Scoles argues that Guyen needs Holsten for the ancient technology at their next destination and presents Nessel, a rebel with relevant expertise, as further bargaining power. Guyen remains unmoved, stating Lain’s team can cover her absence and that he already has the codes to activate Imperial installations. He refuses to negotiate with those defying his authority, ending the call and leaving Scoles furious and the ship locked in a perilous stalemate.