While most recruits leave base on Sunday, Wren remains confined, missing Lyddie and even Kaine’s banter. She tries contacting Tana telepathically but feels rebuffed, then searches Nexus for restricted topics, including Julian Ash and the Sun Post Bombing, receiving RESTRICTED DATA notices, and finds no record for Cross Redden. After Wolf refuses a link, she resigns herself to boredom but inwardly rejects Cross’s advice to accept her situation.

On Monday, Wren delays showering and overhears Kess Farren hooking up with Roe Redden in the lavatory. At morning meal, Matt Hadley outlines a week of drills, mock operations, tech training, and mental shields, including a brief self-assessment test on weaknesses that Wren answers honestly (impulsiveness, impatience, classroom learning). Recruits receive radio call signs; Lyddie is “Blue Jay,” Kaine Sutler is “Condor,” and Wren is “Broken Dove,” which she attributes to Cross making a point.

Lieutenant Xavier Ford introduces Lieutenant Hirai from Communications, who fits the cell with tiny advanced comms that record audio, track vital signs in real time, and route all data to Command. Ford emphasizes that every op is recorded and all comms and weapons are turned in after missions, with some ops occurring off base in the future.

That evening, Tyler Struck loads a 3-D map for a timed mock infiltration and elimination mission run in pairs, two pairs at once. Wren is paired with Kess, while Kaine is paired with Roe. The ground pair (Wren and Kess) and roof pair (Kaine and Roe) start equidistant from the second-floor target; fastest to eliminate and exfiltrate earns Lux credits, while the worst pair runs laps. Despite Wren’s plan to underperform, she and Kess progress effectively through guards and alarms, with Kess showing strong field skills.

Roe announces “Target eliminated” before Wren and Kess reach the room, after which Kess activates the sensor on their dummy target to complete that objective. On exfiltration, Wren deliberately trips a camouflaged alarm at the roof stair, triggering a guard response. Ford declares them “dead,” and their pair is marked Fail. Kess rages and asks to rerun with a new partner, but Struck refuses. During disarmament, Wren notices only rifles are scanned and quietly steals a thin dagger and sheath while Struck is distracted.

Back in the bunks before lights-out, Wren observes Kess complaining to her group, with Ivy increasingly aligned with them and openly hostile. In the lavatory mirror, Ivy confronts Wren about her poor performance and perceived arrogance, demanding to know why Cross has not cut her. Wren needles Ivy by implying Cross derives something from keeping her, which angers Ivy; Wren leaves Ivy fuming.