At the Heliopolis races, Lysander confronts Cicero for breaking his promise not to compete. Cicero defends racing as a matter of honor for Mercury and House Votum. Tharsus au Grimmus intrudes, provoking tensions with the Carthii and, in private, boasts that Apollonius has snared both Darrow and Cassius. Lysander, staggered, weighs killing Darrow while considering leveraging Cassius by returning him to Julia Bellona to unlock support.

That night, Lysander attends a play and intercepts Helios au Lux and Diomedes au Raa. Diomedes apologizes for lying about Cassius’s death and they reconcile. Helios, present as a private citizen, brusquely reveals they are en route to Earth for a Rome summit where Atalantia will unveil the next war stage. He rebukes Lysander to stay in his domestic lane and signals the Rim’s isolationist intent.

Atlas au Raa then appears in disguise, needling the Rim men until they depart. Atlas explains Luna’s slow starvation and his Earth campaign, then declares he is on Mercury as a prefect to review Lysander’s expenditures for Atalantia. He praises Lysander’s popularity but warns that larger plans are in motion. Distrusting him, Lysander orders Kyber to shadow Atlas.

The next day, after politicking in the sun, Lysander visits Glirastes’s estate without Praetorians, heeding advice to be gentle with the anxious artificer. In private, he hints at celebratory news: Apollonius’s report that Darrow and Cassius are trapped, setting the stage for political leverage and shifting alliances.