SecUnit enters an unrestored section of Preservation’s original colony ship while Aylen guards the access point and Indah stays visible at the mobile command center. SecUnit intends to use an EVAC suit for a covert approach to the hidden hostile ship, but the suit’s active emergency transponder would alert anyone monitoring search-and-rescue channels. Because time is short, SecUnit searches the preserved emergency lockers instead.

Unable to read the old labels, SecUnit briefly contacts Ratthi and Gurathin, who identify a historical life-tender. The life-tender is an obsolete rescue vehicle with its transponder hidden under the colony ship’s delisted comm ID, making it suitable for stealth. SecUnit launches in the bag-like vehicle, navigates through the dark shadow of the colony ship, and reaches the hostile ship without triggering the expected alarms.

At the ship, SecUnit realizes the life-tender can seal directly around the missing module’s access hatch, allowing a rescue without first boarding and fighting through the hostile vessel. SecUnit takes control of the limited bot pilot, disables the ship’s SecSystem, and opens the module. Inside, SecUnit finds the BreharWallHan refugees frightened, bruised, and confined in a cargo container; they explain that bounty-catchers sent by their supervisors have abducted them.

SecUnit assures the refugees that contract slavery is illegal on Preservation and that they have refugee status, then sends the youngest and several adults back to the colony ship in the life-tender. While preparing for another trip, SecUnit discovers the module is dangerously jury-rigged to a raider-like ship lock with a manual release. When the hostiles try to dump the module and flee, SecUnit summons the responder, tells Aylen refugees are incoming, and shifts to a direct intervention.

SecUnit opens the jury-rigged hatch at the right moment, disables the armored hostile who tries to reach the manual release, uses drones to disrupt two more hostiles, and gets the remaining refugees out of the module and into the ship. After the danger of decompression passes, Human One shoots SecUnit with a dropped hostile weapon, apparently because the refugees realize SecUnit is a SecUnit and panic. SecUnit disarms Human One, leaves the refugees secured, and proceeds to capture the hostiles before the responder’s armed team boards.

Afterward, Indah finds SecUnit being patched by the hostile ship’s medical unit. She says the refugees admitted shooting SecUnit and asks whether SecUnit wants to file a complaint, which SecUnit refuses. SecUnit assumes the contract is complete, but Indah points out that Lutran’s killer and the local Port Authority collaborator remain unidentified; SecUnit concludes the case is now solvable through a broad surveillance audit, since the transport hack required the perpetrator to be physically aboard. Indah agrees, and they leave to begin the audit.