Darrow awakens in dead armor amid chaos, pinned by a furious Heliopolitan mob trying to crack his helm and crush him beneath a toppled statue. As the statue tips, young Heliopolitan Reds crash into the lines, letting Darrow twist the pull and use the falling stone to pulverize his captors. He tears free and, in rage, slaughters attackers until a terrified boy’s pleas halt him. The Reds salute; Darrow reveals his face, orders them to find his slingBlade, and scares off a forming crowd.

He surveys Heliopolis: streets dark, ships down, mobs hunting his soldiers. Seeing a patrol stoned to death, he sends runners to marshal at the Water Plaza. Drawn by firelight, he discovers highColor youths trying to burn Thraxa alive in her armor. After scattering their pursuers and killing most in a brief chase, Darrow returns, opens Thraxa’s suit, and resuscitates her. Thraxa revives raging at Lysander’s treachery, and they move toward a square where the Howlers assemble survivors.

With Screwface coordinating thousands of infantry from multiple legions, Darrow outlines the situation: the EMP likely hit orbit, leaving Atalantia’s fleets and armor briefly dead but soon to recover. He judges the city untenable and prioritizes evacuating support personnel toward mountain tunnels. Expecting the newly freed Core veterans to drive south from the POW camp and threaten the retreat, he orders his forces to buy time and protect the exodus.

Darrow sketches a defense: barricade six main boulevards south of the Water Plaza, concentrate scarce gunpowder weapons with rooftop snipers, and pair them with melee support against Golds running the roofs. He assigns boulevards to Howlers, putting Screwface on the right flank near the tunnels. Declaring that he and Thraxa will hold the Via Triumphia—where he expects glory-hungry Lysander to attack—he sets the fallback to the Mound if lines break. The troops answer with “Hail libertas! Hail Reaper!” and move to their posts.