Lain arranges a tense meeting in neutral territory with Vitas, Karst, and Holsten to discuss stopping Guyen’s mind-upload project. Vitas appears composed and admits she was brought in by Guyen to assist, while Karst arrives armored, representing the ship’s only organized access to firearms and asserting his independence from Guyen.

Holsten probes how long Guyen’s plan has been in motion. Vitas recalls earlier Key Crew debates that postponed uploading due to unknown risks, though she favored experimentation. Lain counters by exposing Guyen’s secrecy: the moon colony died en route to the grey planet system and Guyen intercepted and buried their final transmissions. Vitas notes Guyen’s growing fixation on a possible Kern “ghost” within ship systems.

Lain lays out her judgment that uploading Guyen will likely overload the hybridized systems and kill everyone, urging action. Karst refuses to release guns or commit without a credible plan, arguing Lain lacks the numbers and would only get people killed. Vitas withholds judgment, intrigued by the technology but noncommittal. Karst departs, insisting he will reconsider only if presented with a plan likely to succeed.

Furious yet resolute, Lain vows to act regardless, ramping improvised weapons production in Engineering. She insists that preventing Guyen’s upload is a survival necessity, and Holsten pledges support despite doubts.

On their return toward Engineering territory, a sabotaged door stalls and Guyen’s knife-armed cultists spring an ambush. A chaotic close-quarters melee erupts; Lain loses her gun and Holsten is knocked down, injuring his knee. Two of Guyen’s followers seize Holsten and drag him away alive, revealing a targeted capture rather than random violence and signaling Guyen’s tightening grip.