In the quiet Tween Watch, Tomas Nau and Ritser Brughel inspect the Suivire’s corpsicle hold while Kal Omo guards the door. With Watch A asleep and only a handful awake, Nau checks status and delays medical access. Brughel teases “bad apples,” pointing to the sleeping Pham Trinli, and signals he has uncovered deeper subversion.

Brughel reports that Qiwi Lisolet has diverted volatiles, factory time, and even her father’s Focus for private ventures. Nau decides to tolerate the violations to maintain flexibility with Qeng Ho practices. Brughel explodes, accusing Nau of protecting a lover, and edges toward violence, but Nau reminds him of Focus loyalties and Anne Reynolt’s control. Brughel backs down, confessing frustration with decades-long exile and dwindling satisfactions; Nau promises accommodations to stabilize him.

They argue strategy toward the Spiders. Brughel urges an aggressive takeover to accelerate the rebuild. Nau counters that control requires timing and infrastructure, citing Gaspr’s patient, total data capture as a model and Canberra as a cautionary tale of overreach that trapped conquerors in regression. Brughel accepts the slower approach as they agree on compromises.

Returning to Hammerfest, Nau reflects that Brughel is not a saboteur but a Podmaster with unmet needs; satisfying them could secure loyalty. Nau values Brughel as the only other Podmaster and plans assignments to ease his strain and align priorities.

Alone, Nau contemplates historical empires—Alexander, Tarf Lu, and Pham Nuwen—and concludes his unique advantage is Focus. He dreams of conquering the Spiders, mastering Qeng Ho automation, and, with Focus, forging a durable empire across Human Space.