A high-profile ceremony convenes as families and elites assemble to meet the soul arbiter and guard three artifacts. Jared and Ms. Topp arrive while General Topp, George and Thomas run late with the items. Nora corrects Ms. Topp: their group only guards the artifacts, they don't own them. Ms. Topp plans to speak as "the commander's sister" to outrank Nora and secure her family's standing in Stanton. The arbiter appears amid murmurs, and the crowd suddenly spots Quinn, a presence that shifts attention and puts Ms. Topp's timed status play at risk.