Back in Expansion, Sasha showers in the communal bathroom. Romantic thoughts of Tristian prevent her from sleeping, and the chapter shifts into an extended flashback.

Three years earlier, Tristian was brought to the Hospital Ward, near death from an illness he picked up on the surface. Dr. Uri Foster, the Ward’s senior leader, dismissed the case as hopeless and passed Tristian to Sasha, who moved the sick man to isolation and sat vigil beside him. On day five, he woke and remembered her urging him to stay alive. He immediately began dismantling her stoic distance with his optimism and questions, but when he asked about her family, she fled. She came back later to find his bed empty and was surprised to realize that she missed him.

Months later, Tristian returned with Levi Williams, a member of his unit who needed stitches. Tristian revealed that they both knew Sasha had falsified Tristian’s health records to minimize the damage to his health score. Rather than reporting her, Tristian asked her to covertly treat his entire unit whenever they became injured. She agreed. For two years, she secretly cared for Unit Seven in a hidden room near the Ward, quietly finding purpose in their recovery and camaraderie—until a member named Lily fell terminally ill. Over the furious protests of Lily’s partner, Ingrid Sorenson, Sasha transferred Lily to the official Ward, where she died. Ingrid’s violent, grief-driven rage shattered the rapport that Sasha had built with the unit.

The narrative returns to the present. Unable to sleep, Sasha visits Jaxon, a Force member with whom she has a strictly physical arrangement, and then wanders the tunnels until exhaustion returns her to her cot.

At the fifth bell, Ingrid wakes Sasha and orders her to follow, saying that Command wants to see her. Patrick McMurphy, a Force member, accompanies them. Sasha asks about Rumi Sato, Patrick’s former patrol partner on the “witching-hour” shift; he replies bitterly that she has been off that shift for months. They direct Sasha to the Force Gym and leave without explanation.

Sasha spots Tristian on the mats before Levi intercepts and steers her to a back meeting room. Inside, she faces Force Commander Lyssa Burdon, Dr. Uri, and Leon Terral (leader of Expansion). Burdon announces that Sasha’s time in Expansion is over. Tristian enters, and Burdon reveals that his long-standing petitions for a unit medic have been approved. Citing Sasha’s immunity and medical ability, Burdon assigns her to Unit Seven.

Burdon demands a live firearms demonstration. At the range, infuriated by a random Force member’s public slur about Sasha’s relationship with Jaxon, Sasha empties the magazine with near-perfect accuracy. Then, without checking the target, she correctly identifies which single shot drifted because Tristian exhaled mid-sequence. Burdon welcomes “Cadet Cadell” to the Force, and the use of her family name visibly staggers Sasha. Burdon assigns her the vacant bunk in Unit Seven and orders her to be mission ready when the storm clears.

Sasha leaves the Gym alone, rejecting Tristian’s offer of an escort, and wanders the tunnels for hours before entering Unit Seven’s empty common room. A flag bearing the unit’s insignia hangs on the wall. The repeated use of her last name, Cadell, has shaken her because it forces her to relive memories of her family’s deaths, stirring remorse over the younger siblings she failed to save. Patrick finds her on the sofa, gives her a confused look, and leaves.

The full unit then enters together: Levi, Patrick, Isla, Rumi, Ingrid, Damien, and Tristian. Ingrid, the late Lily’s former partner, immediately accuses Sasha of taking Lily’s spot and ridicules her for her sexual trysts with Jaxon. Patrick attempts to calm things down, and Damien points out that Ingrid’s hostility has driven away every other candidate. When Tristian declares Sasha part of the unit, Ingrid grows infuriated, but he silences her with a quiet but commanding tone that makes the entire unit tense up. Patrick comments that he wouldn’t trust Sasha to guard his back above ground when she can’t even take care of herself. A frustrated Tristian clears the room.

Alone with Sasha, Tristian tells her that he didn’t know until the recent meeting that Burdon would approve the transfer, but he does admit to petitioning for her. In the ensuing argument, Sasha accuses him of forcing her hand and convincing himself that their closer proximity will bring them closer as well. He holds firm, so she deliberately tries to wound him by announcing her intention to go to Jaxon’s room. Tristian hands over her new blue identification band and shows her the location of her bunk. She drops her old gray Expansion band on the floor and storms out, but she walks straight past Jaxon’s door without entering, spiraling into self-loathing.

Just after the fourth bell, Rumi wakes Sasha and presents her with a Force uniform and new boots, explaining that her old belongings have been sent to Recycling—Haven’s system for redistributing gear.

In the common room, Sasha spots Damien quietly tending his damaged left ankle—the same one she treated secretly in the past to protect his health score. She says nothing, reflecting on how easy it was for her to cheat the paper record system; she also believes that the health-score structure incentivizes everyone to conceal their health issues. Levi enters with coffee, and Rumi mentions that Tristian didn’t return to the room the previous night. Sasha declines the offer of coffee and heads for the bathroom, colliding with a shirtless Tristian as he steps out of the shower. She freezes with her hands on his chest as Damien and Levi observe with undisguised amusement. Tristian takes the coffee intended for her and warns her against being late. Chagrined, she shuts the bathroom door, and for the first time in years, she lets down her guard enough to fully close her eyes under the water.

Sasha trains with other cadets at the Gym, barely trying and doing poorly. She reflects on that morning’s assembly, when Burdon announced to the full Force that Sasha had bypassed the standard selection process to fill Unit Seven’s vacancy. Burdon then ordered everyone to help make the “Angel” fall.

Now, on the sparring mats, Sasha deliberately holds back her true skills when struggling against a fellow cadet; she can’t bring herself to treat fighting as a sport after spending years of using it purely for survival. Later, on the obstacle course, she manages most sections but fails the rope climb repeatedly while the rest of the unit clears it with ease. Damien warns her that refusing the team’s help will prove that Ingrid is right and that Sasha isn’t a good fit. Sasha reflects that after her failure to prevent Lily’s death, she can’t bring herself to try so wholeheartedly again.

At lunchtime, Sasha eats in the Force’s private mess hall and is struck by its relative abundance. Other cadets whisper about her identity as “Death’s Angel” while she sits alone.

Unit Seven joins her table. Damien raises rumors about Kaleo, the commander of Unit Five, who’s romantically involved with Burdon and whom Damien suspects of cheating on her; Rumi, who is reputed to “know everything,” refuses to confirm his suspicions. Damien then presses Sasha about her past sexual partners from different sectors. Irritated, she delivers a sarcastic assessment of each sector, concluding that the Force is the neediest and most insecure group. Tristian and Ingrid take the remaining seats, positioning Sasha between them. Across the room, Jaxon signals her. She stands, and Tristian reminds her that she’s due at the range in 15 minutes. As she walks away, she hears Tristian confirming to the unit that their primary mission has been approved.

In the locker room, Jaxon confronts Sasha about her transfer and mocks her for her reputation for sleeping around. He then insults Tristian and Unit Seven. When the unit enters and finds them together, Tristian observes the scene without comment and orders Sasha to the range. Jaxon then openly propositions her in front of the full locker room. She responds by loudly implying that his sexual performance is barely worth the effort, leaving him publicly humiliated as she walks out.

Rumi falls into step beside her and asks her several pointed questions. She states that a person’s lies reveal what they’re afraid of. Sasha insists that nothing matters to her anymore, but Rumi flatly disagrees. When Sasha orders Rumi to stop following her, Rumi reveals that she drew the shortest straw for the duty of escorting Sasha from place to place—a measure set up in response to Burton’s challenge to make the “Angel” fall. Rumi then warns Sasha that she and the rest of Unit Seven won’t let Sasha “ruin anything” for Tristian or for the team. She tells Sasha, “If you can’t get out of your own way, then get out of ours” (60).