Darrow stands wounded on the bridge of the man-of-war Quietus during Academy war games, charged by Nero au Augustus to win and earn a fleet. He recalls the cost of his mask as a Peerless Scarred, the silence from the Sons of Ares, and his separation from Mustang, feeling swallowed by the Society’s vast machinery.

The Academy’s campaign is fought with dummy munitions and boarding actions across drifting asteroids until only two fleets remain. As Darrow’s force pursues Karnus au Bellona’s damaged ship through a narrow corridor, Roque warns it is a trap. Tactus clamors for speed and diversion, while Victra urges an aggressive finish and scoffs at caution.

Darrow weighs the vendetta with House Bellona: Karnus, brutal elder brother to Cassius and the slain Julian, hunts him under family orders. Protected only by Augustus’s badge, Darrow cares less for the feud than for winning the fleet to serve his concealed objectives. Roque cautions against hubris—“Remember Pax. Pride kills.”—but Darrow reveals he has set his own trap and vows Karnus falls today.

Darrow rallies his crew with the promise of rest, assigning Roque to cluster destroyers, Victra to targeting, and Tactus to defense. The helmsman Blue warns that metal-rich asteroids blind sensors, but Darrow drives the Quietus to sixty percent and commits to the choke point. He signals the charge with Augustus’s mantra: “Here be lions.”