As the Resolute nears home, Kaia reopens the unresolved fragmentary signal and its impossible timestamp. The ship docks with commendations waiting, but one mystery remains pointed far beyond Shakedown.

Geneva begins shaping the official version of the mission while Marcus reads what the institution wants to make of him. The briefing, the pamphlet, and the unanswered weight of command follow him toward dock.

The Resolute begins the long return transit. Marcus admits what happened off the books, Brenda’s paragraph finds its place, and the captain finally sends a reply he has been avoiding.

Hana carries the watch into the memorial week. Brenda asks to add her own words to the family letter, the crew gathers, and the ship makes space for grief without letting the work stop.

Hassan prepares the death certificate, the institutional packet, and the family-facing truth of Khatri’s death. Medical procedure and grief sit side by side as the ship begins processing what survival cost.

The Splinter vessels withdraw, but the victory lands as loss. Marcus walks the medical bay, the engineering deck, and the corridor where command becomes responsibility for the letter he now has to write.

The primary-stack discharge triggers a cascade that must be sealed from inside the boundary-array assembly. Marcus refuses the cost. Aditya Khatri makes his own choice, and Park carries the engineering deck through the aftermath.

Reyes reads the engagement geometry as the Splinter formation boxes the Resolute against the junction. The options narrow to survival costs, and Marcus is brought to the decision before the decision.