Ephraim keeps a lonely night watch after two weeks of failed searching through debris fields and near-misses with Republic and Alltribe patrols. He and Electra have nearly abandoned hope, believing Volga dead, while Ephraim broods over the heartspike the Alltribe implanted in him and the hollowing grief it symbolizes.

A weak transmission cuts through the static. Ephraim wakes Electra and Pax, and together they reconstruct the fragmented message. The voice is Lyria’s, calling any enemies of the Red Hand to aid her at specific coordinates under siege, and claiming the site is the Red Hand headquarters. If Lyria survived, Ephraim dares to hope Volga might be alive too.

They immediately debate how to respond and who could help. Obsidian forces are depleted and likely to be captured; the Republic is mired in brink-of-war tensions with the Alltribe and unlikely to respond, and revealing Pax and Electra’s presence would invite bounty hunters. Their emergency codes and Howler contacts offer no immediate relief.

Concluding conventional allies will not come, Pax argues they must “use Mars,” meaning they should amplify Lyria’s call. Ephraim, Electra, and Pax agree to boost the signal to rally local enemies of the Red Hand, choosing speed and secrecy over official channels, and setting a course defined by desperation and the faint hope of finding Volga alive.