The former crawler captains Homecoming Queen, repeatedly watches Carl's escape, and leads 50,000 veterans back into the dungeon.
Tipid watches Carl, Donut, and Imani reach the eighth-floor stairwell over and over, relieved Carl never had to choose whom the bone key would save. His own similar memory remains painful.
Doctor Hu predicted the AI would remove sponsor protections and anticipated the council response. Tipid now sees those predictions fulfilled while tens of thousands of mercenaries board elsewhere.
After receiving clearance, he activates the converted freighter and announces that every hidden former crawler is officially a Princess Posse trooper. He and Rosetta accept that return means eventual death and eventual justice.
A veteran pilot at a vast freighter console, replaying a crawler escape while troop cheers rise from the hull.
Tipid delivers the former-crawler army and frames its return as a homecoming.