Sacrosanct.Messis' active prosecution of the war is not matched by those in charge back at headquarters, however. Despite the discovery of a new class of heavy fighter based aboard the base ship and the possibility of an alliance between Plumbum and Argentum, Messis and Chor Tempest receive orders to passively monitor the base ship's activities rather than attacking. Dominūra takes matters into her own hands, ordering Aer and Neviril to sortie to intercept the base and conduct an armed reconnaissance of it. She also orders Wapōrif to dismantle one of the hitherto sacrosanct Simoun to learn the secret of how they work. Wapōrif is shocked at this violation of one of Simulacrum's strongest taboos, but eventually accedes. His faith is shaken when he sees nothing obviously magical or divine inside the Simoun's helical motors; they appear to be mere machines to him. Dominūra, however, is able to see something inside that Wapōrif (who, being male, has already gone to the Spring) cannot — something profoundly shocking. She has to be helped away, screaming, from the flight deck.