Six

Dafyd responds to Tonner’s call about a disruptive worker and meets Ver Cannedan, a renowned choreographer enraged at being assigned to clean birthing-lab equipment. When Dafyd refuses to rescind the order, Ver abruptly uppercuts him and flees, exposing simmering resentment over lost status and coerced labor.

Fearing fatal Carryx punishment if the assault is mishandled, Dafyd drafts a formal incident report in the alien spatial script. With his Sinen’s terse guidance, he corrects syntax to imply ongoing process and tempered discipline rather than outright defiance, choosing language to protect Ver while preserving order.

As Dafyd wrestles with the incomprehensible writing system and a flood of off‑world updates—including a first report from Ames Sofar undergoing evaluation in the Estian Morok Starweb—his fatigue and stress mount. He reflects on Ekur‑Tkalal’s delegation of work and his own need to know everything to keep options alive.

Jellit finds Dafyd bruised but conscious. They weigh how to enforce norms without eroding communal trust, debating consequences for Ver. Pressed on his health, Dafyd admits insomnia, pain, and emotional numbness. He confesses that without Else and the embedded spy, he feels severed from any outside allies.

Stepping away from the half‑mind to speak freely, Dafyd mourns the cost of their choices and the loss of that tenuous link to resistance. Jellit embraces him and quietly insists that Else and the spy are not gone, offering a fragile hope that their connection to the wider struggle may yet endure.