31.Cleanup

Marcus and his allies deal with the aftermath of the Council's fleet defeat, discovering that the Council had hidden additional ships and launching coordinated attacks on multiple cities. Marcus deploys military assets to defend the cities and tracks the fleeing attackers to a secret airbase on a remote mat, where he leads an assault that captures Council member Brennan and eliminates the organized military resistance.

Following the takeover of strategic ground assets, Gina alerts Marcus to simultaneous attacks on three cities using modified Heaven vessels that the Council had kept hidden. Marcus realizes the Council accessed BobNet's design information and orders busters from Pelias to defend the cities, successfully downing six attacking ships while two escape. Using cloaked drones, Marcus tracks the fleeing vessels to a small mat in the northern current that conceals a secret airbase. After discovering his buster and roamer reserves are depleted from earlier engagements, Marcus coordinates an assault combining security personnel with remaining combat AMIs. Gina leads the charge while Marcus uses a ship buster to breach a weak point in the airbase's western wall. The defenders, stunned and exhausted, surrender. The team captures Brennan, confirming he ordered the attacks, and Gina concludes that with his detention, organized Council resistance has effectively ended. Marcus notes that system printers are now back under his control and he has begun replacement construction, though additional assets will take days. The group acknowledges the larger task ahead of rebuilding society while remaining alert for potential remaining pockets of resistance.