The mission is chaotic on every front. On Earth, Vra'shek drifts through a dying city, unmoored without the Artifact's resonance, until a street vendor's peppers offer something unexpected: relief. Meanwhile, his handlers Cylas and Talryn debate how long they can manage a weapon that is slowly coming apart.

On Orryx Station, Sara, Castor, and Roger are escorted to Drimus's quarters, where reunion, humor, and hard questions collide. Roger Allen is having a very bad, very confusing day and he wants answers nobody seems willing to give him.

In the Council chamber, the debate over Conash-Rel reaches its breaking point. The Artifact named itself. It chose a human. And the patience of twelve council members has finally run out.