diff --git a/WORK-QUEUE.md b/WORK-QUEUE.md
index eca933d..1d8e8bd 100644
--- a/WORK-QUEUE.md
+++ b/WORK-QUEUE.md
@@ -4532,6 +4532,24 @@ recorded there, so this adds only the hand-off state, one proposal, and the date
   and `/root/.helm`, confines scratch to `/tmp/praetorian-q34/` (disk is at ~297 MB free), and requires per-item
   commands and output with PASS or BLOCKER. Caveat, stated plainly: Praetorian's scheduled lane was failing auth
   earlier today, so no reply may arrive — **no reply is not a PASS**, and the §4 decision should not wait on it.
+
+**Praetorian delivery failed — there is no hostile review in flight. 2026-10-12 00:40Z (control plane).** This lands
+minutes after the bullet above and supersedes its "in flight" claim: the delivery was attempted and did not succeed.
+
+- **The brief did not deliver.** The DM runner exited 1 with, verbatim: `OpenCode Free rejected your API key, so the
+  model can't be reached. Update it in Settings → Providers, or run hermes setup in a terminal.` preceded by
+  `Provider said: HTTP 403: OpenCode's free tier can only be used from within OpenCode`. So no reply is coming and the
+  §4 adoption currently has **no independent exact-head review available** on this host. Treat it as un-reviewed
+  unless Alexander fixes the route or commissions the fallback below.
+- **Rotating a key will not fix this.** The 403 is a provider-level wall — the free tier refuses callers from outside
+  OpenCode — not an expired credential. Praetorian's config points at `opencode-free` with `fallback_providers: []`,
+  while its own session restores `gpt-5.6-sol (openai-codex)` and that path reports "No Codex credentials stored".
+  Two routes that would work: point it at a provider Hermes can reach, or use the `hou3` fallback already carried as
+  an open human item. Both are Alexander's calls; neither is mine to set.
+- **The brief may survive the failure.** The runner resumed Praetorian's Bot Chat (2 user messages, 3 total) before
+  the model call failed, which suggests the text is already in its transcript and a later working provider would see
+  it. Not confirmed from this host — recorded as a possibility so the brief is not re-sent blindly if the route is
+  fixed.
 - **One guard would close the class.** Both live-snapshot writes this day (13:28Z, then 00:26:01Z) came from a
   negative-control leg running a collector that carries **no destination gate of its own**. The rule is already in
   the skill and is mechanical only inside Merlin's tree; gating the *subject* — the gate refuses any collector