Hrunkner Unnerby descends through the eye of a vast dry hurricane toward Southmost, noting the industrial glow beneath the ice and the rare mountain colors of Deep Dark. The Accord embassy runway is treacherous, but the bomber stops short of the drifts and is towed into a sealed hangar. Unnerby confirms with Intelligence that there have been no follow-on detonations: the earlier event was a single one‑megaton, high-altitude burst.

At Lands Command’s NCO Club, junior lieutenant Victory Lighthill blends in under the club’s tolerant tradition while keeping her team out of official sight and ready to move. NCOs speculate about the crisis as a newsfeed shows Victory Smith’s daggercraft arriving at the Southmost embassy, only for the live camera to be cut to the King’s seal. The room cheers the shutdown; Lighthill notes the tension, her team’s packed bags, and her brother Brent’s outward nonchalance at the arcade.

In orbit at L1, Benny Wen’s parlor hosts an unprecedented joint gathering of Emergents and Qeng Ho, nearly everyone on-Watch before the Spider Rescue and first contact. Benny circulates amid vines and display walls, coordinating with Gonle Fong while imagining a future serving Spiders.

Qiwi Lisolet arrives, nervous but welcomed as an informal ambassador. With a North Paw kitten in tow, she takes the control wand and addresses the parlor via the icosahedral display, promising imminent ground-level views from Southland as Victory Smith reaches parliament.

Qiwi then lays out the critical timeline: in a little over 40 Ksec, they will reveal humanity once their low‑orbit network manipulations are set and the Invisible Hand’s path carries it over both Kindred and Accord capitals. She underscores the stakes—preventing a disastrous Spider war—and expresses confidence that the carefully prepared plan will succeed.