Chapter 177 - CHAPTER 177 — Decision Window

The low ridge offered partial cover and four narrow exit cuts. None of them were clean. Pursuit platforms had already settled into positions that covered three of the cuts with sustained suppression fields and were seeding binding arrays toward the fourth. The residual wills maintained dual collection pressure without pause. Second-stage primary claim and parallel secondary claim remained under active investment. The decision window for sequential or coordinated completion stayed open while the conventional forces finished the work of closing the remaining ground.