The Sword Armada lies broken: many ships destroyed, more seized, and the rest fleeing with Antonia. Darrow dispatches Victra, Thraxa, and the Telemanus sisters to pursue Antonia and recover Kavax, whom Antonia captured during the boarding chaos. Sevro returns from Victra’s ship silent and angered, and Mustang hides deep concern for Kavax while stabilizing the fleet.

Darrow holds a guarded holo-parley with Romulus in Ganymede’s Hanging Palace. Pressed about the alleged nuclear stockpiles, Darrow lies that Roque kept them aboard Colossus. Romulus sees the manipulation but accepts it to preserve peace, imposing a boundary the Rising must never cross. They agree Darrow’s fleet will depart after three days of rescue and salvage; any return will mean war.

The fleet withdraws, repairing as it goes, buoyed by hard-won spoils yet haunted by loss and the tedium between battles. Communications remain blacked out, implying Narol’s relay strikes succeeded. Darrow withholds their destination from most, answering the officers only, “Where we must.”

In secret, Darrow gives Roque a sun burial to avoid inflaming the Rising. Mustang and the Howlers attend; even Cassius, unshackled briefly, kisses Roque farewell before Sevro seals the casket. Darrow recites lines Roque loved; after, Mustang stays to soothe Darrow’s guilt as he finally breaks down, then leaves him to grieve.

Alone in Roque’s stateroom, Darrow finds archived Institute vids and summons Cassius under Holiday’s watch. Over Lagavulin, they watch their younger selves: Quinn’s campfire tales, Roque and Lea’s tender beginnings, Antonia’s cruelty, and Cassius’s hopeful offer of brotherhood. The shared past softens them into candid debate about fate, identity, and the war—“All you have is thunder. All I have, lightning,” Cassius says. Both admit exhaustion; Darrow anchors his fear of breaking the world in trust for Mustang. They part with a toast, and Darrow gives Cassius a holocube to confront hard truths in his cell.