diff --git a/cmd/mesh-host/main.go b/cmd/mesh-host/main.go
index a8f420a..b38c6a1 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-host/main.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-host/main.go
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ const usage = `mesh-host — the node host
   apply FILE  make this machine match a declaration from a file
   reconcile   make this machine match the declaration this host carries
   bundle      show what this host carries
+  overlay take  take over the tunnel found here (novox/hq ADR 0105): its key becomes this
+              node's overlay key and the mesh is told, signed; --tunnel <iface> when several are up
   owned       what this host has applied and still owns
   version
 
@@ -147,6 +149,13 @@ func parseArgs(args []string) (string, options, error) {
 		opts.file = positionals[0]
 		return command, opts, nil
 	}
+	if command == "overlay" {
+		if len(positionals) != 1 {
+			return "", opts, errors.New("overlay take [--tunnel <iface>]")
+		}
+		opts.file = positionals[0]
+		return command, opts, nil
+	}
 	// Anything left over was neither the command nor a flag. Refused rather than ignored: a
 	// mistyped argument that changes nothing and reports success is worse than an error.
 	if len(positionals) > 0 {
@@ -234,6 +243,8 @@ func run(ctx context.Context, command string, opts options) error {
 
 	case "enrol", "enroll":
 		return enrol(ctx, opts)
+	case "overlay":
+		return overlayCommand(ctx, opts)
 
 	case "run":
 		return runLink(ctx, opts)
@@ -608,6 +619,80 @@ func enrol(ctx context.Context, opts options) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// overlayCommand is `mesh-host overlay take`: this node takes the tunnel found on its machine over
+// after it enrolled (novox/hq ADR 0105). For a node that enrolled before the mesh knew to take a
+// tunnel over — re-enrolling would rotate its identity, sealing and serving keys, and with them
+// every credential the mesh sealed to it.
+func overlayCommand(ctx context.Context, opts options) error {
+	if opts.file != "take" {
+		return errors.New("overlay take [--tunnel <iface>] — the one thing `overlay` does here")
+	}
+	identityPath := identity.Path(opts.state)
+	mine, err := identity.Load(identityPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	found, err := tunnel.Find(ctx, apply.ExecRunner, opts.tunnel)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w. Nothing was changed", err)
+	}
+	taken, rekey, err := rekeyOnto(mine, found)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("taking over %s: this node's overlay key becomes the tunnel's, %s\n", found, taken.Overlay.Public)
+	fmt.Printf("  identity, sealing and serving keys are untouched\n")
+
+	// Told first, then written: a mesh told and a machine not yet written is put right by running
+	// this again (the mesh refuses the stale second rekey and changes nothing; the files are
+	// rewritten the same). A machine written and a mesh not told would raise the mesh's interface
+	// on a key the mesh does not know at the next restart.
+	if err := link.Publish(ctx, link.Membership{
+		Node: mine.Node, Broker: mine.Membership.Broker, Fingerprint: mine.Membership.Fingerprint,
+		Password: mine.Membership.Password, Signer: mine.Membership.Signer,
+	}, link.Report{Node: mine.Node, Rekey: &rekey}, opts.timeout); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the mesh could not be told; nothing was written here: %w", err)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("  told the mesh     signed rekey sent; `node show %s` on the controller says whether it took\n", mine.Node)
+
+	if err := os.WriteFile(identity.OverlayKeyPath(opts.state),
+		[]byte(taken.Overlay.Private+"\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the mesh was told and this node's overlay key could not be written: %w — run this again", err)
+	}
+	if err := identity.Save(identityPath, taken); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the mesh was told and this node's identity could not be saved: %w — run this again", err)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("  written           %s and the identity; the mesh's interface reads the key when the next push restarts it\n",
+		identity.OverlayKeyPath(opts.state))
+	fmt.Printf("  next              on the controller: `overlay place %s --hub --endpoint <host>:%d …`, `plan %s --json`, then push\n",
+		mine.Node, found.Port, mine.Node)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// rekeyOnto is the identity with the found tunnel's key as its overlay key, and the signed rekey
+// that tells the mesh. Pure, so it can be held to: node, sealing and serving keys are the same
+// bytes in and out; only the overlay key moves. Run again after a take, the previous key it names
+// is the one before the take, so the mesh can tell a repeat from a replay.
+func rekeyOnto(mine identity.Identity, found tunnel.Found) (identity.Identity, link.Rekey, error) {
+	overlay, err := identity.OverlayKeyFrom(found.PrivateKey())
+	if err != nil {
+		return identity.Identity{}, link.Rekey{}, err
+	}
+	previous := mine.Overlay.Public
+	if previous == overlay.Public && mine.OverlayBefore != "" {
+		previous = mine.OverlayBefore
+	}
+	taken := mine
+	taken.Overlay = overlay
+	if previous != overlay.Public {
+		taken.OverlayBefore = previous
+	}
+	presented := carried(found)
+	rekey := link.Rekey{Previous: previous, OverlayKey: overlay.Public, Tunnel: presented}
+	rekey.Proof = mine.Sign(link.RekeyProof(mine.Node, previous, overlay.Public, presented))
+	return taken, rekey, nil
+}
+
 // carried is a found tunnel as it is presented to the mesh: everything but its private key.
 func carried(t tunnel.Found) *link.Tunnel {
 	out := &link.Tunnel{Interface: t.Interface, Unit: t.Unit, Config: t.Config, Port: t.Port,
@@ -934,7 +1019,7 @@ func applyAndKeep(ctx context.Context, opts options, raw []byte, signed *store.D
 		// And the tunnel the private network took over, as this apply found it (novox/hq ADR 0105).
 		if t := outcome.Tunnel; t != nil {
 			report.Tunnel = &link.CarriedTunnel{Interface: t.Interface, Port: t.Port, Range: t.Range,
-				Peers: t.Peers, Taken: t.Taken, Kept: t.Kept}
+				Peers: t.Peers, State: t.State, Note: t.Note, Kept: t.Kept}
 		}
 		reached, err := reachable.Collect(ctx, apply.ExecRunner)
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-host/rekey_test.go b/cmd/mesh-host/rekey_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b19edd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/mesh-host/rekey_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/ed25519"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-host/internal/identity"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-host/internal/link"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-host/internal/tunnel"
+)
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0105: `overlay take` moves this node's overlay key onto the found tunnel's and
+// nothing else — identity, sealing and serving keys stay as they were — and tells the mesh with a
+// proof signed by the identity key, over the previous key, the new one and the tunnel.
+
+func anEnrolledNode(t *testing.T) identity.Identity {
+	t.Helper()
+	mine, err := identity.Generate("anchor")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	mine.Overlay, err = identity.GenerateOverlayKey()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	mine.Membership = identity.Membership{Broker: "198.51.100.1:5671", Fingerprint: "sha256:aa",
+		Signer: make([]byte, ed25519.PublicKeySize), Password: "p"}
+	return mine
+}
+
+func aFoundTunnel(t *testing.T) tunnel.Found {
+	t.Helper()
+	private, err := identity.GenerateOverlayKey()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	found, err := tunnel.Parse([]byte("[Interface]\nPrivateKey = " + private.Private + "\nListenPort = 51900\n" +
+		"Address = 192.0.2.1/24\n[Peer]\nPublicKey = PEER-A=\nAllowedIPs = 192.0.2.2/32\n"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	found.Interface, found.Unit, found.Config = "wg0", "wg-quick@wg0", "/etc/wireguard/wg0.conf"
+	return found
+}
+
+func TestTakingATunnelMovesOnlyTheOverlayKeyAndSignsForIt(t *testing.T) {
+	mine := anEnrolledNode(t)
+	found := aFoundTunnel(t)
+	before := mine.Overlay.Public
+
+	taken, rekey, err := rekeyOnto(mine, found)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if taken.Overlay.Public != found.PublicKey || taken.Overlay.Private != found.PrivateKey() {
+		t.Fatal("the overlay key is not the tunnel's")
+	}
+	if string(taken.Public) != string(mine.Public) || string(taken.Private) != string(mine.Private) ||
+		taken.Node != mine.Node || taken.Membership.Password != mine.Membership.Password ||
+		taken.Membership.Broker != mine.Membership.Broker {
+		t.Fatal("something other than the overlay key moved")
+	}
+	if taken.OverlayBefore != before {
+		t.Errorf("the key before the take was not kept: %q", taken.OverlayBefore)
+	}
+	if rekey.Previous != before || rekey.OverlayKey != found.PublicKey || rekey.Tunnel == nil ||
+		rekey.Tunnel.PublicKey != found.PublicKey || len(rekey.Tunnel.Peers) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the rekey does not say what moved: %+v", rekey)
+	}
+	if !ed25519.Verify(ed25519.PublicKey(mine.Public),
+		link.RekeyProof("anchor", before, found.PublicKey, rekey.Tunnel), rekey.Proof) {
+		t.Fatal("the rekey is not signed by this node's identity key over what it says")
+	}
+	if ed25519.Verify(ed25519.PublicKey(mine.Public),
+		link.RekeyProof("laptop", before, found.PublicKey, rekey.Tunnel), rekey.Proof) {
+		t.Fatal("the proof is not bound to the node")
+	}
+	for _, said := range []string{rekey.Previous, rekey.OverlayKey, rekey.Tunnel.Interface} {
+		if strings.Contains(said, found.PrivateKey()) {
+			t.Fatal("the private key travels")
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Run again after the take — the mesh not yet told, or told and refused — the previous key it
+	// names is still the one before the take, so the mesh can tell a repeat from a replay.
+	again, second, err := rekeyOnto(taken, found)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if second.Previous != before || again.OverlayBefore != before || again.Overlay.Public != found.PublicKey {
+		t.Fatalf("a take run again does not name the key before the first: %+v", second)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/apply/apply.go b/internal/apply/apply.go
index c2fd918..6c4309b 100644
--- a/internal/apply/apply.go
+++ b/internal/apply/apply.go
@@ -339,22 +339,32 @@ func ApplyKeeping(
 		// it (novox/hq ADR 0105): its configuration kept, its unit stopped and disabled, never
 		// flushed. A failure here fails the service too — the mesh's interface is not started on a
 		// port the found one still holds.
+		stoppedFound := false
 		if svc, ok := resource.(*declaration.Service); ok && svc.TakesOver != nil {
 			var outcome Outcome
 			var facts TakenTunnel
 			var err error
 			if d.Adoption == nil {
 				err = errNotAdopted
+				facts = TakenTunnel{Interface: svc.TakesOver.Interface, State: NotTaken}
 			} else {
-				outcome, facts, err = takeOver(ctx, sys, svc, d, &known, run, keep, time.Now().UTC())
+				outcome, facts, stoppedFound, err = takeOver(ctx, sys, svc, d, &known, run, keep, time.Now().UTC())
 			}
+			// Always an account, failure included: the last account standing must never be an
+			// older "taken" over a machine whose takeover has since gone wrong.
+			report.Tunnel = &facts
 			if err != nil {
+				report.Tunnel.Note = err.Error()
+				if stoppedFound {
+					// The found unit is down and the mesh's not up: the one state where the
+					// peers reach nothing. Started again, and said.
+					restoreFound(ctx, sys, svc.TakesOver.Unit, run, report.Tunnel)
+				}
 				failures = append(failures, &Error{Resource: svc.Identity(), Err: err, Done: report})
 				log(fmt.Sprintf("  failed %s (%s): %v", svc.Identity(), svc.Unit, err))
 				continue
 			}
 			report.Outcomes = append(report.Outcomes, outcome)
-			report.Tunnel = &facts
 			log(fmt.Sprintf("  held %s (%s): %s", outcome.ID, outcome.Target, outcome.Detail))
 		}
 
@@ -377,6 +387,17 @@ func ApplyKeeping(
 			failed := &Error{Resource: resource.Identity(), Err: err, Done: report}
 			failures = append(failures, failed)
 			log(fmt.Sprintf("  failed %s (%s): %v", resource.Identity(), outcome.Target, err))
+			if svc, ok := resource.(*declaration.Service); ok && svc.TakesOver != nil && report.Tunnel != nil {
+				// The mesh's interface did not come up after the found one was stopped: no
+				// tunnel at all. The found unit is started again — the machine goes back to
+				// what it had — and the account says so (novox/hq ADR 0105).
+				report.Tunnel.Note = "the mesh's interface did not come up: " + err.Error()
+				if stoppedFound {
+					restoreFound(ctx, sys, svc.TakesOver.Unit, run, report.Tunnel)
+				} else {
+					report.Tunnel.State = tunnelState(ctx, sys, svc.TakesOver.Unit, svc.Unit, run)
+				}
+			}
 
 			// **A failed action stops what follows. Nothing else does.**
 			//
@@ -426,8 +447,8 @@ func ApplyKeeping(
 		}
 		if svc, ok := resource.(*declaration.Service); ok && svc.TakesOver != nil && report.Tunnel != nil {
 			// The found interface is down and the mesh's is up in its place: the tunnel changed
-			// hands (novox/hq ADR 0105).
-			report.Tunnel.Taken = true
+			// hands (novox/hq ADR 0105). Read from the machine, not assumed.
+			report.Tunnel.State = tunnelState(ctx, sys, svc.TakesOver.Unit, svc.Unit, run)
 		}
 		report.Outcomes = append(report.Outcomes, outcome)
 		if outcome.Action != "unchanged" {
diff --git a/internal/apply/hold_test.go b/internal/apply/hold_test.go
index 3e95e36..be2277c 100644
--- a/internal/apply/hold_test.go
+++ b/internal/apply/hold_test.go
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ type machine struct {
 
 type fakeUnit struct {
 	active, enabled string
+	// wontStart is a unit that accepts `start` and stays inactive — one that starts and dies.
+	wontStart bool
 	// fragment is where systemd loads the unit from; empty means /etc/systemd/system, where an
 	// administrator installs one.
 	fragment string
@@ -65,7 +67,9 @@ func (m *machine) systemctl(args []string) (string, error) {
 		}
 		return u.enabled + "\n", nil
 	case "start":
-		u.active = "active"
+		if !u.wontStart {
+			u.active = "active"
+		}
 	case "stop":
 		u.active = "inactive"
 	case "enable":
diff --git a/internal/apply/takeover.go b/internal/apply/takeover.go
index bff4935..359412c 100644
--- a/internal/apply/takeover.go
+++ b/internal/apply/takeover.go
@@ -34,26 +34,53 @@ type TakenTunnel struct {
 	Port      int
 	Range     string
 	Peers     int
-	// Taken is whether the found interface is down and disabled and the mesh's up in its place.
-	Taken bool
+	// State is "not-taken" (the found interface still up, the mesh's not), "taken" (the found one
+	// down and disabled, the mesh's up with its key) or "down" (the found one down and the mesh's
+	// not up: the peers reach nothing). Note is what this apply did about it.
+	State string
+	Note  string
 	Kept  string
 }
 
+// The states, as the link says them.
+const (
+	NotTaken   = "not-taken"
+	Taken      = "taken"
+	TunnelDown = "down"
+)
+
+// takeoverRecheck is how often, and takeoverRechecks how many times, a found interface still up
+// after its unit stopped is looked at again before the takeover is refused: `wg-quick down` by a
+// person takes a moment. Variables so a test need not wait.
+var (
+	takeoverRecheck  = 2 * time.Second
+	takeoverRechecks = 3
+)
+
 // takeOverID is the held record's id for the found configuration: the service's own with a suffix,
 // so it is declared for as long as the service is and never mistaken for the service itself.
 func takeOverID(svc *declaration.Service) string { return svc.ID + ".takes-over" }
 
 // takeOver keeps the found tunnel's configuration and stops its unit, ahead of the service that
 // replaces it. Returned is the hold's outcome, and what was found for the report.
+//
+// **Nothing is stopped until the mesh's interface is known to be able to replace it** (the record's
+// option 2 is exactly this going wrong): the declared configuration must listen on the found port
+// at the found address, and the key file it points at must hold the found key. Only then is the
+// found unit stopped — and `stopped` says whether this apply did, so a mesh interface that then
+// fails to start can have the found unit started again.
 func takeOver(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, svc *declaration.Service, d *declaration.Declaration,
-	known *store.State, run Runner, keep Keep, now time.Time) (Outcome, TakenTunnel, error) {
+	known *store.State, run Runner, keep Keep, now time.Time) (out Outcome, facts TakenTunnel, stopped bool, err error) {
 	t := svc.TakesOver
 	id := takeOverID(svc)
 	module, _ := d.Adoption.UntakenModuleOf(svc.ID)
 	if module == "" {
 		module = "the private network"
 	}
-	facts := TakenTunnel{Interface: t.Interface}
+	facts = TakenTunnel{Interface: t.Interface, State: NotTaken}
+
+	// 0. What the found configuration says, before anything: the checks below are against it.
+	found, ferr := readFoundTunnel(t.Config)
 
 	// 1. The configuration, kept like any held file. A synthetic file resource stands for it, so
 	//    the same code keeps its original, digests it and notices it changing.
@@ -62,65 +89,97 @@ func takeOver(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, svc *declaration.Service,
 	out, held, err := hold(ctx, sys, file, module, was, already,
 		"the configuration of the tunnel "+t.Interface+", taken over by "+svc.Unit, run, keep, now)
 	if err != nil {
-		return begin(file), facts, fmt.Errorf("keeping the found tunnel's configuration: %w", err)
+		return begin(file), facts, false, fmt.Errorf("keeping the found tunnel's configuration: %w", err)
 	}
 	known.RecordHeld(held)
 	facts.Kept = held.Kept
-	// What the file says, for the report: read from the machine, or from the kept original when
-	// the machine's copy is gone. The private key stays in the file; nothing here keeps it.
+	// What the file says, for the report: from the machine, or from the kept original when the
+	// machine's copy is gone. The private key stays in the file; nothing here keeps it.
 	unread := ""
-	raw, err := os.ReadFile(t.Config)
-	if err != nil && held.Kept != "" {
-		raw, err = os.ReadFile(held.Kept)
+	if ferr != nil && held.Kept != "" {
+		found, ferr = readFoundTunnel(held.Kept)
 	}
-	if err == nil {
-		if found, perr := tunnel.Parse(raw); perr == nil {
-			facts.Port, facts.Range, facts.Peers = found.Port, found.Range, len(found.Peers)
-		} else {
-			unread = perr.Error()
-		}
+	if ferr == nil {
+		facts.Port, facts.Range, facts.Peers = found.Port, found.Range, len(found.Peers)
 	} else {
-		unread = err.Error()
+		unread = ferr.Error()
 	}
 
-	// 2. The found unit: stopped if it runs, disabled if it starts at boot. A unit that is not
-	//    there is not an error — the interface may have been raised another way, which the check
-	//    below catches — and neither is one already down.
+	// 2. Where things stand: the found unit, and the mesh's.
+	foundState, unitErr := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, t.Unit)
+	meshState, _ := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, svc.Unit)
+	if foundState == "running" && meshState == "running" {
+		// Both up. On the hub this cannot last — the found unit cannot bind the port the mesh's
+		// holds — and on a spoke two interfaces with one key flap between them. Not stopped again
+		// by the mesh: what is found on an adopted node is reported, and the first takeover was
+		// the one act (the PR note says why). Said, so a person sees it.
+		facts.Note = t.Unit + " is running again beside the mesh's interface; not stopped by the mesh — " +
+			"`systemctl stop " + t.Unit + "` on the machine"
+	}
+
+	// 3. Before the found unit is stopped: can the mesh's interface replace it? Its declared
+	//    configuration must listen on the found port at the found address, and the key file it
+	//    points at must hold the found key, or the peers would be dropped the moment it came up.
+	if foundState == "running" && meshState != "running" {
+		if ferr != nil {
+			return out, facts, false, fmt.Errorf("the found tunnel's configuration at %s cannot be read as a "+
+				"tunnel's (%v), so nothing says what the mesh's interface must match; %s is left running",
+				t.Config, ferr, t.Unit)
+		}
+		if err := replaces(d, svc, found); err != nil {
+			return out, facts, false, fmt.Errorf("%w; %s is left running", err, t.Unit)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// 4. The found unit: stopped if it runs and the mesh's does not, disabled if it starts at
+	//    boot. A unit that is not there is not an error — the interface may have been raised
+	//    another way, which the check below catches — and neither is one already down.
 	var did []string
-	state, err := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, t.Unit)
 	switch {
-	case err != nil:
+	case unitErr != nil:
 		did = append(did, t.Unit+" is not a unit here")
-	case state == "running":
+	case foundState == "running" && meshState != "running":
 		if err := sys.SetServiceState(ctx, run, t.Unit, "stopped"); err != nil {
-			return out, facts, fmt.Errorf("stopping the found %s: %w", t.Unit, err)
+			return out, facts, false, fmt.Errorf("stopping the found %s: %w", t.Unit, err)
 		}
 		after, err := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, t.Unit)
 		if err != nil {
-			return out, facts, err
+			return out, facts, true, err
 		}
 		if after != "stopped" {
-			return out, facts, fmt.Errorf("%s was asked to stop and is %s", t.Unit, after)
+			return out, facts, true, fmt.Errorf("%s was asked to stop and is %s", t.Unit, after)
 		}
+		stopped = true
 		did = append(did, "stopped "+t.Unit)
 	}
-	if err == nil {
+	if unitErr == nil {
 		if boot, err := sys.ServiceBoot(ctx, run, t.Unit); err == nil && boot == "enabled" {
 			if err := sys.SetServiceBoot(ctx, run, t.Unit, "disabled"); err != nil {
-				return out, facts, fmt.Errorf("disabling the found %s at boot: %w", t.Unit, err)
+				return out, facts, stopped, fmt.Errorf("disabling the found %s at boot: %w", t.Unit, err)
 			}
 			did = append(did, "disabled it at boot")
 		}
 	}
 
-	// 3. The interface is gone. If it is still up, something other than its unit raised it, and
-	//    starting the mesh's on the same port and address would fail or, worse, half work.
-	if up, err := run(ctx, "wg", "show", "interfaces"); err == nil {
-		for _, iface := range strings.Fields(up) {
-			if iface == t.Interface {
-				return out, facts, fmt.Errorf("%s is still up after its unit %s was stopped: something other "+
-					"than that unit raises it, and the mesh's interface cannot take its port and address "+
-					"while it does. Nothing was flushed", t.Interface, t.Unit)
+	// 5. The interface is gone. If it is still up, something other than its unit raised it —
+	//    the predecessor brings its up by hand — and the mesh's interface cannot take its port
+	//    and address while it is. Looked at again for a moment, since a person taking it down
+	//    takes a moment; then refused, naming what to do.
+	if meshState != "running" {
+		for try := 0; ; try++ {
+			if !interfaceUp(ctx, run, t.Interface) {
+				break
+			}
+			if try >= takeoverRechecks {
+				return out, facts, stopped, fmt.Errorf("%s is still up although its unit %s is not running: it was "+
+					"raised by hand, not by its unit, and the mesh's interface cannot take its port and "+
+					"address while it is. On the machine: `wg-quick down %s` — the next reconcile takes it "+
+					"over. Nothing was flushed", t.Interface, t.Unit, t.Interface)
+			}
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return out, facts, stopped, ctx.Err()
+			case <-time.After(takeoverRecheck):
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -140,7 +199,140 @@ func takeOver(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, svc *declaration.Service,
 		// peers was carried, which reads as a tunnel that was not one.
 		out.Detail += "; what it says could not be read as a tunnel's: " + unread
 	}
-	return out, facts, nil
+	return out, facts, stopped, nil
+}
+
+// readFoundTunnel is the found configuration as a tunnel.
+func readFoundTunnel(path string) (tunnel.Found, error) {
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return tunnel.Found{}, err
+	}
+	return tunnel.Parse(raw)
+}
+
+// interfaceUp is whether a WireGuard interface is up on the machine.
+func interfaceUp(ctx context.Context, run Runner, iface string) bool {
+	up, err := run(ctx, "wg", "show", "interfaces")
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, name := range strings.Fields(up) {
+		if name == iface {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// replaces holds the mesh's declared interface configuration against the found tunnel it is to
+// replace: same port, same address, and a key file holding the found key. The configuration is
+// the file the service restarts on; its `PostUp = wg set %i private-key <path>` names the key.
+func replaces(d *declaration.Declaration, svc *declaration.Service, found tunnel.Found) error {
+	var conf *declaration.File
+	for _, r := range d.Resources {
+		f, ok := r.(*declaration.File)
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, id := range svc.RestartOn {
+			if f.ID == id {
+				conf = f
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if conf == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s takes over %s and restarts on no declared file, so the interface it would "+
+			"raise cannot be checked against the found one", svc.Unit, found.Interface)
+	}
+	port, address, keyPath := "", "", ""
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(conf.Content, "\n") {
+		key, value, ok := strings.Cut(strings.TrimSpace(line), "=")
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		key, value = strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(key)), strings.TrimSpace(value)
+		switch key {
+		case "listenport":
+			port = value
+		case "address":
+			address = strings.TrimSpace(strings.Split(value, ",")[0])
+		case "postup":
+			if _, after, ok := strings.Cut(value, "private-key "); ok {
+				keyPath = strings.Fields(after)[0]
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	var wrong []string
+	if port != fmt.Sprint(found.Port) {
+		wrong = append(wrong, fmt.Sprintf("it listens on port %q and the tunnel on %d", port, found.Port))
+	}
+	if host(address) != host(found.Address) {
+		wrong = append(wrong, fmt.Sprintf("its address is %q and the tunnel's %s", address, found.Address))
+	}
+	switch raw, err := os.ReadFile(keyPath); {
+	case keyPath == "":
+		wrong = append(wrong, "it names no key file")
+	case err != nil:
+		wrong = append(wrong, fmt.Sprintf("its key file %s cannot be read (%v)", keyPath, err))
+	default:
+		public, perr := tunnel.PublicKeyOf(strings.TrimSpace(string(raw)))
+		if perr != nil || public != found.PublicKey {
+			wrong = append(wrong, fmt.Sprintf("the key at %s is not the tunnel's — `mesh-host overlay take "+
+				"--tunnel %s` on this machine takes it, then push again", keyPath, found.Interface))
+		}
+	}
+	if len(wrong) > 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the mesh's interface would not replace the tunnel on %s: %s — the peers would be "+
+			"dropped the moment it came up. Re-place the hub on the tunnel's address and port and push again",
+			found.Interface, strings.Join(wrong, "; "))
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// host is an address without its prefix length.
+func host(address string) string {
+	if i := strings.Index(address, "/"); i >= 0 {
+		return address[:i]
+	}
+	return address
+}
+
+// tunnelState is where the tunnel stands, read from the machine: the found unit or interface up
+// and the mesh's not is not taken; the mesh's up and the found one down is taken; neither up is
+// down — the peers reach nothing.
+func tunnelState(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, foundUnit, meshUnit string, run Runner) string {
+	foundState, _ := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, foundUnit)
+	meshState, _ := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, meshUnit)
+	foundUp := foundState == "running" || interfaceUp(ctx, run, strings.TrimPrefix(foundUnit, "wg-quick@"))
+	switch {
+	case meshState == "running" && !foundUp:
+		return Taken
+	case meshState == "running":
+		// Both up: not a takeover that holds, and said as not taken so nobody reads it as one.
+		return NotTaken
+	case foundUp:
+		return NotTaken
+	default:
+		return TunnelDown
+	}
+}
+
+// restoreFound starts the found unit again after the mesh's interface failed to replace it, so the
+// machine has the tunnel it had rather than none, and says so in the account.
+func restoreFound(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, unit string, run Runner, facts *TakenTunnel) {
+	if err := sys.SetServiceState(ctx, run, unit, "running"); err != nil {
+		facts.State = TunnelDown
+		facts.Note += "; " + unit + " could not be started again (" + err.Error() + ") — on the machine: systemctl start " + unit
+		return
+	}
+	if state, err := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, unit); err != nil || state != "running" {
+		facts.State = TunnelDown
+		facts.Note += "; " + unit + " was started again and is not running — on the machine: systemctl start " + unit
+		return
+	}
+	facts.State = NotTaken
+	facts.Note += "; " + unit + " was started again, so the machine has the tunnel it had"
 }
 
 // takesOver is the service in a declaration that takes over a tunnel, if any: one per node, since
diff --git a/internal/apply/takeover_test.go b/internal/apply/takeover_test.go
index 2ca9abf..18fde16 100644
--- a/internal/apply/takeover_test.go
+++ b/internal/apply/takeover_test.go
@@ -14,53 +14,63 @@ import (
 )
 
 // novox/hq ADR 0105: the host raises the mesh's interface with the found key and peers, stops the
-// found interface without flushing it, and keeps its configuration.
+// found interface without flushing it, and keeps its configuration — and stops nothing until the
+// mesh's interface is known to be able to replace it.
 
-// foundConf is the predecessor's configuration, with a real key made once per run: the key is
-// what the takeover must never print or copy, so it had better be one.
-var foundConf = func() string {
+// foundKey is the predecessor's private key, a real one made once per run: the key is what the
+// takeover must never print or copy, so it had better be one.
+var foundKey = func() string {
 	k, err := ecdh.X25519().GenerateKey(rand.Reader)
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
-	return "[Interface]\nPrivateKey = " + base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(k.Bytes()) + "\n" +
-		"ListenPort = 51900\nAddress = 192.0.2.1/24\n\n[Peer]\nPublicKey = PEER-A=\nAllowedIPs = 192.0.2.2/32\n" +
-		"\n[Peer]\nPublicKey = PEER-B=\nAllowedIPs = 192.0.2.3/32\n"
+	return base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(k.Bytes())
 }()
 
+var foundConf = "[Interface]\nPrivateKey = " + foundKey + "\n" +
+	"ListenPort = 51900\nAddress = 192.0.2.1/24\n\n[Peer]\nPublicKey = PEER-A=\nAllowedIPs = 192.0.2.2/32\n" +
+	"\n[Peer]\nPublicKey = PEER-B=\nAllowedIPs = 192.0.2.3/32\n"
+
 // aTakeover is the private network's declaration for an adopted hub whose interface takes over
-// the found tunnel: the mesh's configuration — with the found key set from the node's own key file
-// and the found peers in its list — and the interface's service naming what it replaces.
-func aTakeover(t *testing.T, config, mesh string) *declaration.Declaration {
+// the found tunnel: the mesh's configuration — on the found port and address, its key set from the
+// node's own key file, the found peers in its list — and the interface's service naming what it
+// replaces. Port and address are parameters so a test can declare a wrong one.
+func aTakeover(t *testing.T, config, mesh, keyFile, port, address string) *declaration.Declaration {
 	t.Helper()
 	return adopted(t,
 		`{"taken":[],"untaken":{"mesh-wireguard":["mesh-wireguard.overlay-config","mesh-wireguard.overlay-up"]}}`,
 		`{"id":"mesh-wireguard.overlay-config","type":"file","path":"`+mesh+`","mode":"0600",
-		  "content":"[Interface]\nAddress = 192.0.2.1/32\nListenPort = 51900\nPostUp = wg set %i private-key /var/lib/mesh-host/overlay.key\n\n[Peer]\nPublicKey = PEER-A=\nAllowedIPs = 192.0.2.2/32\n"},
+		  "content":"[Interface]\nAddress = `+address+`/32\nListenPort = `+port+`\nPostUp = wg set %i private-key `+keyFile+`\n\n[Peer]\nPublicKey = PEER-A=\nAllowedIPs = 192.0.2.2/32\n"},
 		 {"id":"mesh-wireguard.overlay-up","type":"service","unit":"wg-quick@mesh0","state":"running","boot":"enabled",
 		  "restart-on":["mesh-wireguard.overlay-config"],
 		  "takes-over":{"interface":"wg0","unit":"wg-quick@wg0","config":"`+config+`"}}`)
 }
 
-// aHubInUse is a machine with the predecessor's tunnel up and the mesh's not yet.
-func aHubInUse(t *testing.T) (dir, config, mesh string, m *machine) {
+// aHubInUse is a machine with the predecessor's tunnel up and the mesh's not yet: the found
+// configuration on disk, and the node's key file holding the found key, as enrolment left it.
+func aHubInUse(t *testing.T) (dir, config, mesh, keyFile string, m *machine) {
 	t.Helper()
 	dir = t.TempDir()
 	config = filepath.Join(dir, "wg0.conf")
 	mesh = filepath.Join(dir, "mesh0.conf")
+	keyFile = filepath.Join(dir, "overlay.key")
 	if err := os.WriteFile(config, []byte(foundConf), 0o600); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(keyFile, []byte(foundKey+"\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
 	m = &machine{containers: map[string]*fakeContainer{}, units: map[string]*fakeUnit{
 		"wg-quick@wg0":   {active: "active", enabled: "enabled"},
 		"wg-quick@mesh0": {active: "inactive", enabled: "disabled", fragment: "/usr/lib/systemd/system/wg-quick@.service"},
 	}}
-	return dir, config, mesh, m
+	takeoverRecheck = 0
+	return dir, config, mesh, keyFile, m
 }
 
 func TestTheFoundTunnelIsStoppedNeverFlushedAndItsConfigurationKept(t *testing.T) {
-	dir, config, mesh, m := aHubInUse(t)
-	report, state := applyAdopted(t, aTakeover(t, config, mesh), store.State{}, m, dir)
+	dir, config, mesh, keyFile, m := aHubInUse(t)
+	report, state := applyAdopted(t, aTakeover(t, config, mesh, keyFile, "51900", "192.0.2.1"), store.State{}, m, dir)
 
 	// The found interface: its unit stopped and disabled, and nothing else done to it.
 	if u := m.units["wg-quick@wg0"]; u.active != "inactive" || u.enabled != "disabled" {
@@ -93,16 +103,18 @@ func TestTheFoundTunnelIsStoppedNeverFlushedAndItsConfigurationKept(t *testing.T
 		t.Fatalf("the mesh's configuration does not carry the found peer, or carries a key:\n%s", got)
 	}
 	// And the report says so, with what was found — port, range, peers — and never the key.
-	if report.Tunnel == nil || !report.Tunnel.Taken || report.Tunnel.Port != 51900 ||
+	if report.Tunnel == nil || report.Tunnel.State != Taken || report.Tunnel.Port != 51900 ||
 		report.Tunnel.Range != "192.0.2.0/24" || report.Tunnel.Peers != 2 || report.Tunnel.Kept != held.Kept {
 		t.Fatalf("the report does not say what was carried: %+v", report.Tunnel)
 	}
-	private := strings.TrimSpace(strings.SplitN(strings.SplitN(foundConf, "PrivateKey = ", 2)[1], "\n", 2)[0])
 	for _, o := range report.Outcomes {
-		if strings.Contains(o.Detail, private) {
+		if strings.Contains(o.Detail, foundKey) {
 			t.Errorf("the found key was printed in an outcome: %+v", o)
 		}
 	}
+	if strings.Contains(report.Tunnel.Note, foundKey) {
+		t.Error("the found key was printed in the account")
+	}
 	if o := outcomeOf(report, "mesh-wireguard.overlay-up.takes-over"); o.Action != "held" ||
 		!strings.Contains(o.Detail, "stopped wg-quick@wg0") || !strings.Contains(o.Detail, "never flushed") {
 		t.Errorf("the takeover was not reported as a hold that stopped the found unit: %+v", o)
@@ -112,9 +124,67 @@ func TestTheFoundTunnelIsStoppedNeverFlushedAndItsConfigurationKept(t *testing.T
 	}
 }
 
-func TestATakeoverIsSteadyAndTheFoundUnitStaysDown(t *testing.T) {
-	dir, config, mesh, m := aHubInUse(t)
-	d := aTakeover(t, config, mesh)
+func TestNothingIsStoppedUntilTheMeshsInterfaceCanReplaceTheFoundOne(t *testing.T) {
+	dir, config, mesh, keyFile, m := aHubInUse(t)
+	otherKey := filepath.Join(dir, "other.key")
+	k, _ := ecdh.X25519().GenerateKey(rand.Reader)
+	if err := os.WriteFile(otherKey, []byte(base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(k.Bytes())+"\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	cases := map[string]*declaration.Declaration{
+		"another port":    aTakeover(t, config, mesh, keyFile, "51821", "192.0.2.1"),
+		"another address": aTakeover(t, config, mesh, keyFile, "51900", "10.42.0.1"),
+		"another key":     aTakeover(t, config, mesh, otherKey, "51900", "192.0.2.1"),
+		"no key file":     aTakeover(t, config, mesh, filepath.Join(dir, "missing.key"), "51900", "192.0.2.1"),
+	}
+	for name, d := range cases {
+		m.asked = nil
+		report, state, err := ApplyKeeping(t.Context(), archHost(t), d, store.State{},
+			store.OriginDeclared, m.run, nil, nil, KeepIn(dir))
+		if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "would not replace the tunnel") {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: the takeover was not refused: %v", name, err)
+		}
+		if name == "another key" && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "overlay take") {
+			t.Errorf("%s: the refusal does not name the remedy: %v", name, err)
+		}
+		if m.units["wg-quick@wg0"].active != "active" || m.did("systemctl stop wg-quick@wg0") {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: the found unit was stopped although the mesh's interface could not replace it", name)
+		}
+		if m.units["wg-quick@mesh0"].active == "active" {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: the mesh's interface was started on top of the found one", name)
+		}
+		if report.Tunnel == nil || report.Tunnel.State != NotTaken || !strings.Contains(report.Tunnel.Note, "would not replace") {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: the account does not say the tunnel is not taken and why: %+v", name, report.Tunnel)
+		}
+		if _, held := state.HeldAt("mesh-wireguard.overlay-up.takes-over"); !held {
+			t.Errorf("%s: the found configuration was not kept before the refusal", name)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAMeshInterfaceThatFailsToStartGivesTheFoundOneBack(t *testing.T) {
+	dir, config, mesh, keyFile, m := aHubInUse(t)
+	m.units["wg-quick@mesh0"].wontStart = true
+	report, _, err := ApplyKeeping(t.Context(), archHost(t), aTakeover(t, config, mesh, keyFile, "51900", "192.0.2.1"),
+		store.State{}, store.OriginDeclared, m.run, nil, nil, KeepIn(dir))
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a mesh interface that did not come up was reported as applied")
+	}
+	if !m.did("systemctl stop wg-quick@wg0") || !m.did("systemctl start wg-quick@wg0") {
+		t.Fatalf("the found unit was not stopped and then started again: %v", m.asked)
+	}
+	if m.units["wg-quick@wg0"].active != "active" {
+		t.Fatal("the machine was left with no tunnel at all")
+	}
+	if report.Tunnel == nil || report.Tunnel.State != NotTaken ||
+		!strings.Contains(report.Tunnel.Note, "did not come up") || !strings.Contains(report.Tunnel.Note, "started again") {
+		t.Fatalf("the account does not say the mesh's interface failed and the found one was given back: %+v", report.Tunnel)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestATakeoverIsSteadyAndAFoundUnitUpAgainIsSaidNotStopped(t *testing.T) {
+	dir, config, mesh, keyFile, m := aHubInUse(t)
+	d := aTakeover(t, config, mesh, keyFile, "51900", "192.0.2.1")
 	_, state := applyAdopted(t, d, store.State{}, m, dir)
 	m.asked = nil
 
@@ -128,28 +198,49 @@ func TestATakeoverIsSteadyAndTheFoundUnitStaysDown(t *testing.T) {
 	if m.did("systemctl stop wg-quick@wg0") {
 		t.Error("a found unit already down was stopped again")
 	}
+	if report.Tunnel == nil || report.Tunnel.State != Taken {
+		t.Errorf("a steady takeover does not read as taken: %+v", report.Tunnel)
+	}
 
-	// Somebody starts the found unit again: it would take the port back, so it is stopped again
-	// — the one thing on an adopted node the mesh undoes, because the tunnel is the mesh's now.
+	// Somebody starts the found unit again beside the mesh's interface. Not stopped by the mesh —
+	// on the hub it cannot hold the port, on a spoke stopping it would be a fight — but said.
 	m.units["wg-quick@wg0"].active = "active"
 	m.asked = nil
-	_, _ = applyAdopted(t, d, again, m, dir)
-	if m.units["wg-quick@wg0"].active != "inactive" || !m.did("systemctl stop wg-quick@wg0") {
-		t.Error("a found unit started again was left holding the mesh's port")
+	report, _ = applyAdopted(t, d, again, m, dir)
+	if m.did("systemctl stop wg-quick@wg0") {
+		t.Error("a found unit started again by hand was stopped by the mesh")
+	}
+	if report.Tunnel == nil || report.Tunnel.State != NotTaken || !strings.Contains(report.Tunnel.Note, "running again beside") {
+		t.Errorf("the account does not say the found unit is up again: %+v", report.Tunnel)
 	}
 }
 
-func TestAFoundInterfaceStillUpAfterItsUnitStoppedRefusesTheTakeover(t *testing.T) {
-	dir, config, mesh, m := aHubInUse(t)
+func TestAFoundInterfaceRaisedByHandIsRefusedNamingTheRemedy(t *testing.T) {
+	dir, config, mesh, keyFile, m := aHubInUse(t)
+	// The unit is not running, yet the interface is up: the predecessor raised it by hand.
+	m.units["wg-quick@wg0"].active = "inactive"
 	m.wgUp = "wg0 mesh0\n"
-	_, state, err := ApplyKeeping(t.Context(), archHost(t), aTakeover(t, config, mesh), store.State{},
-		store.OriginDeclared, m.run, nil, nil, KeepIn(dir))
-	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "still up") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "Nothing was flushed") {
-		t.Fatalf("an interface something else raises was taken over anyway: %v", err)
+	report, state, err := ApplyKeeping(t.Context(), archHost(t), aTakeover(t, config, mesh, keyFile, "51900", "192.0.2.1"),
+		store.State{}, store.OriginDeclared, m.run, nil, nil, KeepIn(dir))
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "wg-quick down wg0") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "Nothing was flushed") {
+		t.Fatalf("an interface raised by hand was not refused naming the remedy: %v", err)
 	}
 	if m.units["wg-quick@mesh0"].active == "active" {
 		t.Error("the mesh's interface was started on a port the found one still holds")
 	}
+	// Looked at more than once before giving up: a person taking it down takes a moment.
+	shows := 0
+	for _, a := range m.asked {
+		if a == "wg show interfaces" {
+			shows++
+		}
+	}
+	if shows < takeoverRechecks+1 {
+		t.Errorf("the interface was looked at %d time(s) before the refusal; a person needs a moment", shows)
+	}
+	if report.Tunnel == nil || report.Tunnel.State != NotTaken {
+		t.Errorf("the account does not say the tunnel is not taken: %+v", report.Tunnel)
+	}
 	if _, held := state.HeldAt("mesh-wireguard.overlay-up.takes-over"); !held {
 		t.Error("the found configuration was not kept before the refusal")
 	}
diff --git a/internal/identity/identity.go b/internal/identity/identity.go
index 9ff2ee8..c8d7430 100644
--- a/internal/identity/identity.go
+++ b/internal/identity/identity.go
@@ -49,8 +49,13 @@ type Identity struct {
 	Membership Membership `json:"membership"`
 
 	// Overlay is this node's key on the private network. Generated here, like the identity above,
-	// and for the same reason: the mesh computes a graph it cannot impersonate.
+	// and for the same reason: the mesh computes a graph it cannot impersonate — or, on an adopted
+	// node that took a found tunnel over, that tunnel's key (novox/hq ADR 0105).
 	Overlay OverlayKey `json:"overlay"`
+	// OverlayBefore is the public half of the overlay key this node held before it took a found
+	// tunnel's, so a take run again names the key the mesh still records. Empty on a node that
+	// never took one.
+	OverlayBefore string `json:"overlay_before,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Membership is how this node reaches the mesh it belongs to, and who it believes.
diff --git a/internal/link/messages.go b/internal/link/messages.go
index fe27ccb..76765a0 100644
--- a/internal/link/messages.go
+++ b/internal/link/messages.go
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 package link
 
-import "time"
+import (
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
 
 // The wire formats shared with the control plane, which defines them separately because this
 // binary requires nothing present and does not import it. A test on each side asserts the field
@@ -105,18 +109,64 @@ type Report struct {
 	// 0105): which interface, its port, range and peer count, whether the found interface is down
 	// and the mesh's up in its place, and where the found configuration's original was kept.
 	Tunnel *CarriedTunnel `json:"tunnel,omitempty"`
+
+	// Rekey is this node taking a found tunnel's key as its overlay key after enrolment (novox/hq
+	// ADR 0105). Not an account of the machine: a report carrying one says nothing else.
+	Rekey *Rekey `json:"rekey,omitempty"`
 }
 
-// CarriedTunnel is this node's account of the tunnel it took over.
+// CarriedTunnel is this node's account of the tunnel it took over. State is one of the Carried
+// states below; Note is what the host did about it, when it did something.
 type CarriedTunnel struct {
 	Interface string `json:"interface"`
 	Port      int    `json:"port"`
 	Range     string `json:"range"`
 	Peers     int    `json:"peers"`
-	Taken     bool   `json:"taken"`
+	State     string `json:"state"`
+	Note      string `json:"note,omitempty"`
 	Kept      string `json:"kept,omitempty"`
 }
 
+// The states a carried tunnel can be in: the found interface still up and the mesh's not; the
+// found one down and the mesh's up with its key; or the found one down and the mesh's not up — the
+// one state where the peers reach nothing, said as its own word so nothing reads it as either of
+// the others.
+const (
+	CarriedNotTaken = "not-taken"
+	CarriedTaken    = "taken"
+	CarriedDown     = "down"
+)
+
+// Rekey is this node saying it took a found tunnel's key as its overlay key after enrolling
+// (novox/hq ADR 0105): the path for a node that enrolled before the mesh knew to take a tunnel
+// over, since re-enrolling would rotate every key it holds. Signed with the identity key over
+// RekeyProof, so a report forged on a stolen broker account cannot move this node's overlay key.
+type Rekey struct {
+	// Previous is the overlay key this node held until now, as the mesh records it; the mesh
+	// refuses a rekey naming another, which is how a replayed one is refused.
+	Previous   string  `json:"previous"`
+	OverlayKey string  `json:"overlay_key"`
+	Tunnel     *Tunnel `json:"tunnel"`
+	Proof      []byte  `json:"proof"`
+}
+
+// RekeyProof is what a node signs when it rekeys — the node, the key it leaves, the key it takes
+// and the tunnel it took it from — so a proof cannot be moved to another node or another tunnel.
+// Byte for byte the mesh's own (mesh-controller internal/link RekeyProof).
+func RekeyProof(node, previous, key string, tunnel *Tunnel) []byte {
+	var t Tunnel
+	if tunnel != nil {
+		t = *tunnel
+	}
+	peers := make([]string, 0, len(t.Peers))
+	for _, p := range t.Peers {
+		peers = append(peers, p.PublicKey+"@"+p.Address)
+	}
+	return []byte("novox-mesh-rekey\x00" + node + "\x00" + previous + "\x00" + key + "\x00" +
+		t.Interface + "\x00" + t.Unit + "\x00" + t.Config + "\x00" + strconv.Itoa(t.Port) + "\x00" +
+		t.Address + "\x00" + t.Range + "\x00" + t.PublicKey + "\x00" + strings.Join(peers, ","))
+}
+
 // Held is one file or container found on an adopted node and kept as it was.
 type Held struct {
 	ID     string    `json:"id"`
diff --git a/internal/link/run.go b/internal/link/run.go
index 1379369..2675065 100644
--- a/internal/link/run.go
+++ b/internal/link/run.go
@@ -377,6 +377,39 @@ func handleBody(ctx context.Context, m Membership, body []byte, apply Applier) R
 }
 
 // publishReport tells the mesh what this node did, and says whether the broker took it.
+// Publish sends one report on this node's own connection and returns: the one-shot path for a
+// report a command makes rather than the running host — a rekey (novox/hq ADR 0105). The same
+// account, the same pinned certificate and the same exchange as the running host's reports.
+func Publish(ctx context.Context, m Membership, report Report, timeout time.Duration) error {
+	config, err := PinnedConfig(m.Fingerprint)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	dsn := fmt.Sprintf("amqps://%s:%s@%s/",
+		url.QueryEscape(m.Node), url.QueryEscape(m.Password), m.Broker)
+	conn, err := amqp.DialConfig(dsn, amqp.Config{
+		TLSClientConfig: config,
+		Dial:            amqp.DefaultDial(timeout),
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, ErrWrongCertificate) {
+			return err
+		}
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot reach the broker at %s: %w", m.Broker, err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+	channel, err := conn.Channel()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer channel.Close()
+	var said string
+	if !publishReport(ctx, channel, m, report, func(s string) { said = s }, timeout) {
+		return errors.New(said)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func publishReport(ctx context.Context, channel *amqp.Channel, m Membership, report Report,
 	say Announce, timeout time.Duration) bool {
 	report.Node = m.Node