An EMP detonates over the river, killing electronics and dragging Darrow’s force to the riverbed in dead starShells. Pinned and suffocating, Darrow uses his razor to slice himself out of the armor, tearing his forearms and flooding his suit. He barely frees himself, then carves Ragnar out before blacking out; Ragnar drags him to the mud of the riverbank, where Bellona Golds, Obsidians, and Grays are finishing paralyzed suits.

Camouflaged in mud, Darrow forces Ragnar to take a razor despite Obsidian taboo, and they stalk the executioners. Darrow sprints through rifle fire to fell the Grays; Ragnar smashes through Obsidians and confronts two Golds. One reveals himself as Gaius au Carthus and mocks Ragnar’s honor. Ragnar declares himself a man, demands surrender, and, after Gaius refuses to yield, executes him. They seize gravBoots to aid a rescue.

Using the stolen gravBoots, Darrow and Ragnar ferry trapped soldiers from the river. They find Sevro buried headfirst in the bank and pry him free with Clown and Pebble. The toll emerges: Weed, Rotback, and Harpy are dead; many new recruits are lost. Only Thistle, Clown, Screwface, and Pebble remain of the Howlers present, and just eleven of the original fifty Obsidians survive.

With communications dead and Mustang’s status unknown, Darrow warns they must hurry: if generators are blown and the shield falls, reinforcements can land but the Sovereign could escape. Sevro, shattered by the losses, admits he was wrong about war; when Darrow asks for him, Sevro answers, “Always, Darrow. Always.”