Smoke rises from a Nomad camp as a Northguard strike team returns: they infiltrated disguised, burned the Nomads' siege engines, and General Yeats publicly pardons and promotes former convict Dean Johnson for the deed. The victory is short-lived: commanders report Southerners burned the Northguard's siege engines and decide they must lure the enemy into open battle. They announce a grain convoy through Moonlit Canyon as bait, explicitly singling out "that rat from today" and warning, "he's not making it back alive." Dean's redemption is celebrated, but he's been marked as the convoy's target.