Ceres erupts with bravado after the Donnager’s fall. Hungover and disillusioned, Miller forces himself to work, discarding his bourbon and reviewing open cases with Muss. He replays Dawes’s claim that Holden survived and considers how a ship could have escaped unnoticed.

Miller calculates that only an Epstein-drive vessel could have fled the battle and arrived within weeks. He narrows likely ports and quietly files broad public-record requests for docking logs, tacking them onto unrelated cases to avoid scrutiny. While waiting, a lab tech reports a DNA match in a rape case; Miller secures a warrant and arrests Immanuel Corvus Dowd at his firm despite the lawyer’s threats, observed by a woman who silently thanks him.

As the first port logs trickle in, Ceres’ government collapses: the UN, at Mars’ request, withdraws oversight. Shaddid tells her officers the transition is “peaceful” and that Star Helix remains on duty for now. Miller and Muss trade grim observations as he contemplates an OPA power vacuum, the risk of escalation, and what Julie might have uncovered to spark such upheaval.

The next shift brings brittle, manic normalcy. Shaddid summons Miller with Dawes present, says she needs a team she can trust, and—despite his promise to get clean—fires him. Miller is cast adrift just as Ceres’ authority fractures and his search for the mystery survivor begins to bear data.