In the Luna Senate, Darrow steps to the plinth after roll call, with Mustang presiding and Sevro fidgeting beside him. He announces Mercury’s liberation, credits the First and Second Fleets, and urges a decisive push to finish the war at Venus despite the cost, masking his exhaustion for enemy eyes.

Daxo rises to sponsor the Resolution of Liberty Eternal, calling for a massive draft, ship reallocations, and new taxes to sustain the campaign. Publius cu Caraval endorses the measure, praising Darrow as the Republic’s sharpest weapon, and Mustang opens the floor to debate.

Dancer answers with a somber indictment: Darrow disobeyed the Senate’s order at Mercury, launched an Iron Rain, and caused a million deaths, including two hundred thousand Obsidians. He questions the endgame, the Republic’s capacity to govern and protect, and whether Darrow would even recognize peace, pressing concerns about the Rim and the true freedom of Mars. Darrow insists the only path is through.

Dancer claims there is another path and invokes a surprise witness. Julia au Bellona enters, prompting Mustang’s protest over diplomatic overreach. Julia declares the Ash Lord sent emissaries during the Mercury siege to seek an armistice and permanent peace talks; Darrow answered with an Iron Rain. Her revelation that Darrow hid the overture shocks the Senate and pivots the debate from escalation to the possibility of negotiated peace.