At Heliopolis, Darrow attends a mass cremation of the fallen amid heat and fallout. Colloway returns with Orion’s body, breaks down from exhaustion and grief, and is taken to medici. Darrow surveys depleted forces and concludes Atalantia will tighten the siege rather than assault, awaiting recruits while he lacks ships, officers, and anti-rads.

At the Tyche–Heliopolis GravLoop, convoys of refugees dwindle after days of evacuations credited to Griffin Knights. Rhonna, injured and hoping for Alexandar, accepts he is lost. Darrow orders the tunnel collapsed after 83,426 evacuations, denying the enemy an approach, and grants Rhonna’s return to duty.

In the Mound warroom, Harnassus reports radioactive rains, collapsing anti-rad stocks, and looming riots; he condemns Orion’s storm and urges considering surrender to save some lives. Thraxa argues to prioritize soldiers and dismisses the hostile populace, pressing cold-blooded pragmatism. Screwface confirms Gorgon infiltration, escape’s impossibility, and Atalantia’s orbital traps.

Darrow rejects surrender and despair, choosing faith in Virginia and the Republic. He orders the army to share anti-rads with civilians despite shortages, aiming to prevent revolt and honor their responsibility. As the council absorbs the decision, Rhonna brings a tightbeam: Atalantia requests an audience, claiming it concerns Virginia, raising immediate stakes.