Humans don't conquer the galaxy-they keep it running. Long-lived clans drift between outposts in generational magsail ships; marriages are arranged to keep genes diverse; companions audit the messy bits. Law is public, recorded on a ledger, boring-and sometimes that saves lives.When a courier fires at a courtroom mirror, Kael-seventh child of a nomad clan-steps forward with his companion Iri and biologist Mara to make the most dangerous promise in space: we'll keep it boring. What follows is an odyssey of audits and auroras: sodium leak-maps, tether harmonics, a consent-driven synthesis pilot, and a magsail "hoop" that must stay clean while politics gets dirty.As the stewardship faction Vigil pushes central override by any means, Kael and Iri fight with welds, procedures, and the heresy of saying later. If they fail, doctrine owns the future. If they succeed, survival won't be a secret anymore-it'll be a standard.Songs on Rocks launches Consent Engines: hard-sci fi in a distant future where language has developed its own quirks, the grand gesture is a well-written manual, and the bravest act is filing the proof.