Darrow waits on Io’s sulfur dunes with Sefi and Valkyrie, Holiday on overwatch, and Sevro and Clown scouting a nearby Red settlement. War rages across Jupiter’s moons as Darrow’s fleet lies dark and exposed at Sinope, unable to risk detection. The team weighs the danger of a face-to-face parley, noting they lack air cover beyond Sevro’s mobility and a sarrissa launcher.

As they wait, Darrow reflects on Io’s harsh environment and the Ionian character. Sefi has trained hard en route and counsels wariness in a land she deems cruel. Sevro grumbles about the terrain and the risk, pressing for caution while the fleet remains vulnerable.

Darrow recounts the Rim’s history: the Sovereign once nuked Rhea to enforce control, but recent events—Rim heirs’ escape from Luna, theft of the Calisto garrison fleet, and Romulus au Raa’s election—spark a new Moon Rebellion drawing Saturn and Uranus to the cause.

Three Ionian ships arrive. A squad of lanky, assassin-like Golds in skippers and light gear escorts Mustang and Vela au Raa. Romulus does not appear. Vela, speaking for her brother’s arrangements but not his voice, delivers terms: Darrow must come to Romulus’s private home on the Wastes of Karrack as a guest; Sefi and the assault craft cannot come. She insists the Rim honors guest-right, unlike Core treacheries.

Sevro hurls insults and warns of betrayal, while Vela coolly holds her position. Mustang vouches for Rim honor and underscores the political cost if Romulus harms Darrow—Mustang, the Telemanuses, and allied nobles would turn on him. Sefi simply says “Go.”

Darrow decides to accept, prioritizing the long-term diplomatic play over short-term security. He and Mustang prepare to depart under Romulus’s conditions. Sevro sets the fail-safe: if they do not return in six hours, he will “lay waste,” ready to strike in retaliation.