Josef Venport turns VenHold’s normally commercial Spacing Fleet into an armed private strike force. Acting on Draigo Roget’s Mentat calculations, Josef targets the Thonaris system, where Draigo believes a hidden thinking-machine shipyard has been found and occupied by Arjen Gates’s Celestial Transport.

Guided by Navigators, the VenHold fleet arrives at the edge of the system and begins scanning. Draigo identifies suspicious energy emissions from a cluster of rocky planetoids, and Josef accepts this as the likely location of the depot. Josef places Draigo in tactical command, trusting the Mentat’s training in simulated military engagements.

The seventy VenHold vessels descend under communications silence, with orders to strike quickly but preserve as many ships and facilities as possible. Josef warns his captains that damaged prizes will be deducted from their bonuses, making clear that the objective is seizure, not destruction.

The depot proves to be a major prize: automated mining and processing equipment, orbital spacedocks, at least fifty large robot vessels being upgraded, more ships under construction, and dormant robotic factories. Celestial Transport workers have reactivated only part of the complex and have not established strong defenses, leaving them vulnerable to Draigo’s planned encirclement.

As VenHold ships surround the base, frightened Celestial Transport personnel broadcast demands and alarms. Arjen Gates himself appears on-screen, insisting that he has a legal salvage claim and fearing the attackers may be Butlerians bent on destroying the robot ships. Josef finally answers, revealing himself and assuring Arjen that he intends not to damage the ships but to take them. Josef then mutes Arjen’s protests and orders Draigo to begin consolidating control of the complex.