diff --git a/internal/link/engineseat.go b/internal/link/engineseat.go
index 43605eb..045e94e 100644
--- a/internal/link/engineseat.go
+++ b/internal/link/engineseat.go
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ package link
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding/hex"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
@@ -12,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-contracts/go/seats/nodeengine"
 	oc "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-contracts/operator-and-conversation/go/seats/operatorchannel"
 	stdio "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go"
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/busretry"
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/seatlist"
 	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
@@ -198,15 +201,30 @@ func EngineEndpointMetadata(v catalogue.Verb, node string) map[string]string {
 		"tool": v.Name, "node": node, "interchangeable": "false", "description": v.Description, "schema": string(schema)}
 }
 
-// SayEngine says one of the seat's events about this node, on the events stream.
+// SayEngine says one of the seat's events about this node, on the events stream, said again through a transport fault
+// (sayOnce).
 func (l *natsLink) SayEngine(event string, body any) error {
 	raw, err := json.Marshal(body)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
-	defer cancel()
-	_, err = l.js.Publish(EngineEventSubject(event, l.node), raw, nats.Context(ctx))
+	subject := EngineEventSubject(event, l.node)
+	return sayOnce(func(id string) error {
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
+		defer cancel()
+		_, err := l.js.Publish(subject, raw, nats.Context(ctx), nats.MsgId(id))
+		return err
+	}, subject, raw)
+}
+
+// sayOnce publishes one event under a message id made of its subject and its body, and publishes it again through a
+// transport fault (no responders, a deadline) within the bus's retry bound: the stream takes the id once, so a publish
+// that was stored and whose acknowledgement was lost is not stored twice (novox/hq ADR 0668 §1; issue 1966 note 155, a
+// manifest-reads-changed that one publish lost was never said, and the assigner kept a bootstrapped statement).
+func sayOnce(publish func(id string) error, subject string, raw []byte) error {
+	sum := sha256.Sum256(raw)
+	id := subject + "." + hex.EncodeToString(sum[:12])
+	_, err := busretry.DoRepeatable("saying "+subject, func() (struct{}, error) { return struct{}{}, publish(id) }, nil)
 	return err
 }