In the Sovereign’s bunker, shock follows Octavia’s death as Mustang notes the battlefeed is down and chaos spreads across the fleets. Confronted, the Jackal calmly reveals the leverage he held over Octavia: hundreds of nuclear bombs hidden across Luna, controlled by his Praetor Lilath aboard the Lion of Mars. Realizing the threat is on Luna, not Mars, fear and urgency surge through Darrow’s group.

To prove his power, the Jackal orders a detonation over Mare Serenitatis, then another over Mare Anguis, killing millions and framing the blasts as invasion strikes. He demands Darrow’s public suicide to spare billions and secure his own ascension. Darrow rejects martyrdom, tackles the Jackal, and rips out his tongue, choosing to deny him the ability to command or manipulate further.

Darrow contacts Victra, urging the destruction of the Lion of Mars, but it sits protected at the fleet’s center. Jamming fails, and EMP solutions risk their army and Luna’s infrastructure; more bombs detonate while Cassius questions whether Lilath will proceed without certainty about the Jackal. Options narrowing, they seek another lever.

At Lysander’s urging, Mustang opens direct channels to the Gold Praetors and the Ash Lord. She declares the Sovereign dead and reveals the Jackal and Lilath as the source of the nuclear strikes, demanding the Gold command choose reform over annihilation. When a Praetor calls her a traitor, Lysander presents Octavia’s scepter to Mustang, proclaiming her conqueror and shifting legitimacy as the fate of Luna hangs on stopping Lilath.