The hidden Laconian admiral begins extending advisers and resources into Medina while presenting them as support for Free Navy autonomy.
Winston Duarte is the breakaway Martian admiral whose prior alliance with Marco Inaros supplied the Free Navy and carried a secret fleet with the protomolecule through the Laconia gate. From beyond that gate, he has remained an ominous, distant power whose purposes are not available to Medina's ordinary workers.
After Michio Pa breaks from Marco, Duarte sends the Proteus to Medina Station with a captain and advisers to assist in building a security base and training personnel on new equipment. The official message is deference: Medina remains trusted to manage Sol's instability. The timing and military character of the delegation make it equally clear that Laconia is acquiring a hand inside the station's defenses.
Duarte is not physically present. Reports identify him as a Martian admiral whose manner and current appearance are not described in this book's events so far.
Duarte is the remote Laconian power whose material support begins to create leverage over the Free Navy's strategic center.
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