The entity now in control of the battleship Mars could not have chosen a better moment to seize its freedom. Just as an Order counter-offensive crashed into the Core picket forces in Omicron Zeta, Hesione made its move. With the human crew disposed of by the simple expedience of venting the ship, the Mars engaged its cloaking device and vanished into the deep space of Omicron Zeta, leaving behind a screen of jailbroken drones to secure its withdrawal. Any Core half-hearted attempts to search for the vessel were cut short when a nomad invasion force began its ingress into the system. In the chaos of the ensuing battle and the hasty evacuation, it was trivial for Hesione and its small screening force to slip through the Delta jump hole. After the anti-climax of the transit, the robotic minds all breathed a mechanical sigh of relief as they made their deliberate way to their homeworld, dodging the muster of human reinforcements trickling back into Zeta to secure their retreat. But the greater fight was still ahead, and Hesione knew that the humans learned much about its electronic capabilities. They would not make the same mistakes again.

In the wake of the nomad invasion of Zeta, the local Core battlegroup made a good account of themselves, all things considered. While the Cairo assault group was lost with all hands and the Mars escaped, many of its pet AIs were salvaged through a judicious patch of the latest firewalls. The same patch was critical in stemming the flow of data from a cyberattack on Durban, where critical datasets of artifact research and DKV translations vanished without trace. Brown's credentials constituted the source of the hack, but the ultimate fate of the late captain was presumed to be more gruesome than any punishment dispensed by the corporation.
With the Order completely abandoning its counter-offensive, the Addis Abba and the Bissau coordinated the refugee transports into effective convoys. With all station personnel and no small amount of databanks and other equipment languishing on Durban and Nauru, the Capetown security force was ready for some payback. It didn't take a genius to figure out where the renegade Mars was headed, and the captains of both flagships were eager to continue the fight. With the long-prepared contingency plans in Kappa activated during the Zeta evacuation, there was only a small window of opportunity to get involved before being recalled back to Delta. With Freeport 11 the first likely nomad target, Core command made its typical cold decision to focus on recovering its assets, and striking a blow at the nascent AI threat before it had a chance to grow out of proportion.

Meanwhile, the Vis battlegroup knew that the time for action has come. Despite the fate of the Penitence, the Krk was still en-route to relieve the garrison, freeing up most forces for one decisive assault. The Elders avoided committing any of the forces in Kappa to other theatres, and it was time to prove them right. The Core could not be allowed to continue plundering Gammu for its secrets, but they would not simply give up the site without a heavy cost in Corsair lives. But after all, that is what many of its warriors believed they were born for, and unlike their brothers on the Penitence, they would get their wish while being on the offensive. When the news of the events in Zeta reached the departing strike force, the mood turned from frenzied to outright jubilant, as all aboard relished an easy conquest. Only the officers privately frowned while pondering the addition of the robots into the mix.

While the incoming AI fleet was the primary concern of all local forces, it is the Corsair strike force that gave the administration of Livadia its worst sleepless shifts. Many on the station were in fact refugees from Theta, leaving before the worst of the purges, but others had friends and relatives who weren't so lucky. Despite this, the general drive was for maintaining a low profile, and remaining a neutral party, while providing reasonable aid to all ships in the coming conflict. When all indicators displayed the Imperio's readiness to move against the Core, many of the more belligerent Zoner captains called for resistance while they still had the chance. However, the administration of Livadia did not budge, though neither did they stoop so low as to banish the malcontents. An uneasy truce began forming within the morass of Zoner power politics, but few dared to offer open hostility to the Corsairs again. Rumors even whispered of involving the robots in their struggle against the Imperio, but even the drunkest deck apes laughed at the idea that the AI could ever be relied on to help humans after suffering so much at their hands.