diff --git a/data/masterofvega-music.json b/data/masterofvega-music.json
index e2f9ce0..d8d1272 100644
--- a/data/masterofvega-music.json
+++ b/data/masterofvega-music.json
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@
       "file": "vega/track-04.mp3",
       "artist": "Cy-Bro",
       "title": "Defend the Colony"
+    },
+    {
+      "file": "vega/track-05.mp3",
+      "artist": "Rrashaa",
+      "title": "Into the Void"
     }
   ],
   "volume": 0.6
diff --git a/data/mastervega-artwork.json b/data/mastervega-artwork.json
index e688d53..fadde41 100644
--- a/data/mastervega-artwork.json
+++ b/data/mastervega-artwork.json
@@ -16,6 +16,28 @@
     "lithox":    { "key": "vega-char-lithox",    "path": "assets/videos/vega/char-lithox.mp4" }
   },
 
+  "_shipVideosReadme": "Per-hull SHIP COMMANDER loops — the officer flying that class — 256x256, muted, ~10s, keyed species -> hull id. These are a different thing from portraitVideos above: that is the species' leader on the diplomacy screen, this is one face per hull. A species with none recorded yet is null, and a hull with no entry inside a recorded species falls back to that species' portraitVideos clip, so the roster fills one race — or one hull — at a time with no code change. NOTE: the human colony ship's file is 'ship-human-colony.mp4' while the hull id is 'colonyship'; the path below points at the real filename, same class of mismatch as char-cerebai.mp4. There is deliberately no 'starbase' clip yet — it falls back like any other gap.",
+  "shipVideos": {
+    "human": {
+      "scout":      { "key": "vega-ship-human-scout",      "path": "assets/videos/vega/ship-human-scout.mp4" },
+      "colonyship": { "key": "vega-ship-human-colonyship", "path": "assets/videos/vega/ship-human-colony.mp4" },
+      "transport":  { "key": "vega-ship-human-transport",  "path": "assets/videos/vega/ship-human-transport.mp4" },
+      "frigate":    { "key": "vega-ship-human-frigate",    "path": "assets/videos/vega/ship-human-frigate.mp4" },
+      "destroyer":  { "key": "vega-ship-human-destroyer",  "path": "assets/videos/vega/ship-human-destroyer.mp4" },
+      "cruiser":    { "key": "vega-ship-human-cruiser",    "path": "assets/videos/vega/ship-human-cruiser.mp4" },
+      "battleship": { "key": "vega-ship-human-battleship", "path": "assets/videos/vega/ship-human-battleship.mp4" }
+    },
+    "kestrelli": null,
+    "ursaal":    null,
+    "umbrix":    null,
+    "kkrix":     null,
+    "mekhan":    null,
+    "rrashaa":   null,
+    "cerebrai":  null,
+    "ssakar":    null,
+    "lithox":    null
+  },
+
   "_portraitStillsReadme": "High-resolution (1024x1024) still portraits, one per species. Every species now has a video too, so these serve as the recovery path if a video fails to decode. NOTE: kestrelli's file is spelled 'char-kestralli.png' on disk — the path below points at the real filename; rename the file and this one line together if you want the spelling fixed.",
   "portraitStills": {
     "human":     { "key": "vega-still-human",     "path": "assets/images/vega/char-human.png" },
diff --git a/docs/mastervega-build-plan.md b/docs/mastervega-build-plan.md
index 3c6a5c2..226d40f 100644
--- a/docs/mastervega-build-plan.md
+++ b/docs/mastervega-build-plan.md
@@ -263,6 +263,47 @@ Each of these was a real bug that produced a plausible-looking but broken game.
     has its own world transform and does **not** follow a moving parent — the
     flyout tween drags it along by hand in `onUpdate`.
 
+### Ship rows carry video, so they have to be pooled
+
+Every place a ship is listed — the side panel's task force, its in-transit,
+garrison and order lists, and the colony catalogue — now shows a looping
+**commander video** beside an upside-down picture of the hull, and opens a
+centred detail window (`VegaShipDetail.js`, depth `D.detail` 76) with the clip at
+its full 256px, the hull at 192px, `hull.desc`, the derived stat block and the
+loadout the knapsack settled on. Everything in that window comes out of
+`designFor`; no new data was added.
+
+Two things about it are load-bearing.
+
+**The portraits cannot be created inline.** Both hosts rebuild their entire body
+on every click — `VegaSidePanel.rebuild()` on each − / +, `rebuildFlyout()` on
+each enqueue — so building the portraits with the rows would tear down and
+re-create a decoder per row per click, restarting every loop under the player's
+cursor. `createShipMediaPool` in `VegaShipMedia.js` keeps them in a layer the
+rebuild does not touch, bracketed `beginFrame()` … `endFrame()`; unclaimed
+entries are hidden and paused, never destroyed. The colony catalogue wipes with
+`removeAll(true)`, so its pool layer is lifted out with `detachPool()` first and
+re-homed into the fresh scroll column afterwards — inside `content`, so it
+scrolls and masks with the rows it belongs to.
+
+**Duplicate Video objects on one cached video are fine — the note at the top of
+`openSpeciesDetail` is more cautious than it needs to be.** Checked against the
+Phaser 3.90 source: `Video.loadHandler` builds its own element with
+`document.createElement('video')`, and `preDestroy` → `removeVideoElement()`
+detaches only that instance's. The cache holds a URL, not a shared element. That
+is what makes the fallback ladder usable at all: a species with no ship clips
+shows its portrait video on all seven rows at once. The cost is decode time, and
+pausing is how it is paid — the panel pauses on `hide()`, and both hosts pause
+while the detail window is up, since that window has its own portrait at 256px
+and there is no point running both. (The reparenting in `openSpeciesDetail` is
+still fine and still halves the decoding there; it just is not a correctness
+requirement.)
+
+A missing clip is a **legitimate fallback, not a bug**, which is why the verifier
+reports `7/80 recorded` rather than failing. What it does assert is that nothing
+*declared* is wrong — every key must equal `shipVideoKey(species, hull)`, which
+is the trap the `colonyship` / `ship-human-colony.mp4` filename mismatch sets.
+
 ## Balance reference (27-game AI soak)
 
 ```
@@ -283,8 +324,8 @@ wins spread across 8 of 10 species
 ## Verification
 
 ```bash
-node tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js            # ~1082 checks, ~60s
-node tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js --quick    # 1081 checks, ~15s
+node tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js            # ~1221 checks, ~60s
+node tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js --quick    # 1220 checks, ~15s
 node tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js --games=50 # a deeper soak
 ```
 
diff --git a/src/data/assetManifest.js b/src/data/assetManifest.js
index 5525afc..e36cb8c 100644
--- a/src/data/assetManifest.js
+++ b/src/data/assetManifest.js
@@ -51,6 +51,24 @@ function videosFrom(scene, jsonKey, field) {
     .map(([, v]) => ({ type: 'video', key: v.key, path: v.path }));
 }
 
+// Same contract as videosFrom, one level deeper: a block keyed
+// group -> member -> entry, e.g. mastervega's shipVideos (species -> hull).
+// A group whose value is null has nothing recorded yet and is skipped whole,
+// which is what keeps the manifest short while nine species are outstanding.
+function nestedVideosFrom(scene, jsonKey, field) {
+  const art = scene.cache.json.get(jsonKey);
+  if (!art || !art[field]) return [];
+  const out = [];
+  for (const [group, members] of Object.entries(art[field])) {
+    if (group.startsWith('_') || !members) continue;
+    for (const [id, v] of Object.entries(members)) {
+      if (id.startsWith('_') || !v || !v.key || !v.path) continue;
+      out.push({ type: 'video', key: v.key, path: v.path });
+    }
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
 // Same shape as videosFrom, for image entries keyed by id.
 function imagesFromMap(scene, jsonKey, field) {
   const art = scene.cache.json.get(jsonKey);
@@ -98,6 +116,7 @@ export const MANIFEST = {
     { type: 'json', key: 'mastervega-rules', path: 'data/mastervega-rules.json' },
     (scene) => sheetsFrom(scene, 'mastervega-artwork', ['sheets']),
     (scene) => videosFrom(scene, 'mastervega-artwork', 'portraitVideos'),
+    (scene) => nestedVideosFrom(scene, 'mastervega-artwork', 'shipVideos'),
     (scene) => imagesFromMap(scene, 'mastervega-artwork', 'portraitStills'),
     (scene) => imagesFromMap(scene, 'mastervega-artwork', 'worldBackgrounds'),
     image('vega-menu-bg', 'assets/images/vega/background-menu.png'),
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/MasterOfVegaGame.js b/src/games/mastervega/MasterOfVegaGame.js
index 9d0e95f..7159acf 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/MasterOfVegaGame.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/MasterOfVegaGame.js
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ import {
   FONT, D, openResearchScreen, openDiplomacyScreen, openCouncilScreen, openLeaderScreen,
   showVictoryOverlay,
 } from './VegaScreens.js';
+import { openTurnReportScreen } from './VegaTurnReportScreen.js';
+import { NOTABLE_TYPES, isRelevantToHuman } from './VegaTurnReport.js';
 
 const SAVE_KEY = 'mastervega-save';
 
@@ -530,13 +532,16 @@ export default class MasterOfVegaGame extends Phaser.Scene {
       onStarClick: (idx) => this.onStarClick(idx),
       onFleetClick: (fleet) => this.onFleetClick(fleet),
       onEmptyClick: () => this.clearSelection(),
-      blockWheel: () => this.modalOpen,
-      // A modal blocks the map outright; otherwise only the side panel's own
-      // footprint does (so dragging a slider there doesn't pan the galaxy
-      // underneath it). The old `!this.modalOpen && ...` form always
-      // short-circuited to false while a modal was open, which let drags
-      // pan the star map right through the System View window.
-      blockPointer: (p) => this.modalOpen || !!this.panel?.containsPoint(p.x, p.y),
+      blockWheel: () => this.modalOpen || !!this.panel?.detailOpen,
+      // A modal blocks the map outright; so does the panel's ship detail
+      // pop-over, which veils the whole screen without being a modal.
+      // Otherwise only the side panel's own footprint does (so dragging a
+      // slider there doesn't pan the galaxy underneath it). The old
+      // `!this.modalOpen && ...` form always short-circuited to false while a
+      // modal was open, which let drags pan the star map right through the
+      // System View window.
+      blockPointer: (p) => this.modalOpen || !!this.panel?.detailOpen
+        || !!this.panel?.containsPoint(p.x, p.y),
     });
 
     // The command panel is the only place a selection is acted on; the scene
@@ -772,10 +777,23 @@ export default class MasterOfVegaGame extends Phaser.Scene {
       if (this.state.over) { this.finishGame(); return; }
       if (this.state.current === this.state.humanIndex) {
         Logic.beginEmpireTurn(this.rules, this.state, this.state.humanIndex);
-        this.announceEvents();
-        this.refreshAll();
-        this.busy = false;
-        this.endTurnBtn.setEnabled(true);
+        const notable = this.processTurnEvents();
+        const finish = () => {
+          this.busy = false;
+          this.endTurnBtn.setEnabled(true);
+        };
+        if (notable.length) {
+          // openModal's own done() (MasterOfVegaGame.js:openModal) clears
+          // modalOpen and refreshes; finish() on top of that re-arms the End
+          // Turn button, which openModal has no reason to touch on its own.
+          this.openModal((done) => openTurnReportScreen(this, this.rules, this.state, notable, () => {
+            done();
+            finish();
+          }));
+        } else {
+          this.refreshAll();
+          finish();
+        }
         return;
       }
       const e = this.state.current;
@@ -787,41 +805,33 @@ export default class MasterOfVegaGame extends Phaser.Scene {
     step();
   }
 
-  // Turn engine events into log lines and map pings. `announced` marks a record
-  // consumed, since beginEmpireTurn trims rather than clears the event list.
-  announceEvents() {
+  // Turn engine events into log lines, map pings, and — for the events worth
+  // interrupting the player for — rows in the "New Turn" popup. `announced`
+  // marks a record consumed, since beginEmpireTurn trims rather than clears
+  // the event list. Returns the events the popup should show this turn.
+  processTurnEvents() {
     const me = this.state.humanIndex;
+    const notable = [];
     for (const ev of this.state.events) {
       if (ev.announced) continue;
       ev.announced = true;
+      if (!isRelevantToHuman(ev, me)) continue;
+
+      if (NOTABLE_TYPES.has(ev.type)) {
+        notable.push(ev);
+        continue;
+      }
+
       const star = ev.starIdx >= 0 ? this.state.galaxy.stars[ev.starIdx] : null;
       const name = (i) => this.state.empires[i]?.name ?? '?';
-
-      if (ev.type === 'techDone' && ev.empire === me) {
-        this.log(`Researched ${this.rules.techs[ev.techId]?.name ?? ev.techId}.`);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'refit' && ev.empire === me) {
+      if (ev.type === 'refit' && ev.empire === me) {
         this.log(`${ev.count} × ${this.rules.hulls[ev.hullId]?.name} refitted to Mark ${ev.toMark} at ${this.state.galaxy.stars[ev.starIdx]?.name} (${ev.cost} BC).`);
       } else if (ev.type === 'combat' && (ev.attacker === me || ev.defender === me)) {
         this.log(`Battle at ${star?.name}: ${ev.winner === 'attacker' ? name(ev.attacker) : name(ev.defender)} holds the field.`);
         if (star) this.fx?.ping(star.x, star.y, 0xffa050);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'captured') {
-        this.log(`${name(ev.empire)} has taken ${star?.name} from ${name(ev.from)}.`);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'colonyDestroyed') {
-        this.log(`${star?.name} has been bombed out of existence by ${name(ev.empire)}.`);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'colonised' && ev.empire === me) {
-        this.log(`Colony founded at ${star?.name}.`);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'contact') {
-        this.log(`We have made contact with the ${name(ev.other === me ? ev.empire : ev.other)}.`);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'warDeclared') {
-        this.log(`${name(ev.empire)} declares war on ${name(ev.other)}.`);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'councilRefused') {
-        this.log(`${name(ev.empire)} refuses to submit to ${name(ev.winner)}. The Council is void.`);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'council' && ev.winner >= 0) {
-        this.log(`${name(ev.winner)} is elected High Guardian of the Galaxy.`);
-      } else if (ev.type === 'eliminated') {
-        this.log(`The ${name(ev.empire)} are no more.`);
       }
     }
+    return notable;
   }
 
   finishGame() {
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaColonyView.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaColonyView.js
index 77ee30d..c8458ea 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/VegaColonyView.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaColonyView.js
@@ -35,7 +35,9 @@ import * as Phaser from 'phaser';
 import { GAME_HEIGHT, GAME_WIDTH } from '../../config.js';
 import { Button } from '../../ui/Button.js';
 import { FONT, D, ORBIT, slider } from './VegaScreens.js';
-import { worldBackground, buildingFrame, shipFrame } from './VegaArt.js';
+import { worldBackground, buildingFrame } from './VegaArt.js';
+import { createShipMediaPool, makeShipIcon } from './VegaShipMedia.js';
+import { openShipDetail } from './VegaShipDetail.js';
 import {
   CHANNELS, colonyMaxPop, colonyProduction, colonyFactoryCap, effectiveFactories,
   colonyDefenseCap, colonyTrade, colonyBuildRate, setSlider, enqueue, enqueueMany,
@@ -68,13 +70,14 @@ export const etaText = (turns) => (Number.isFinite(turns)
 /**
  * A vertically scrolling column. This is the first one in the game: every other
  * list either fits or drops its tail on the floor (`VegaSystemView` used to
- * `break` out of the catalogue mid-loop). Kept local until a second caller
- * wants it rather than promoted to src/ui/ on spec.
+ * `break` out of the catalogue mid-loop). Exported for reuse (VegaScreens.js's
+ * turn-report popup) rather than promoted to src/ui/, since this is still the
+ * only game that needs it.
  *
  * The mask is a Graphics with its own world transform, so it does NOT follow a
  * moving parent — `syncMask` is what keeps it aligned while the flyout slides.
  */
-function scrollColumn(scene, parent, x, y, w, h) {
+export function scrollColumn(scene, parent, x, y, w, h) {
   // The catcher goes in FIRST so it sits below the rows: it exists only to tell
   // the wheel handler whether the pointer is over this column, and an
   // interactive rectangle added afterwards would swallow every row click.
@@ -124,7 +127,7 @@ function scrollColumn(scene, parent, x, y, w, h) {
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /** The holographic frame both the panel and the flyout are drawn in. */
-function frame(scene, layer, x, y, w, h, alpha) {
+export function frame(scene, layer, x, y, w, h, alpha) {
   const box = scene.add.rectangle(x, y, w, h, PANEL, alpha).setOrigin(0, 0);
   box.setStrokeStyle(1.5, ACCENT, 0.55);
   layer.add(box);
@@ -214,13 +217,34 @@ export function openColonyView(scene, rules, state, colony, art, opts = {}) {
   const syncMasks = (dx) => scrollers.forEach((s) => s.syncMask(dx));
   const dropScrollers = () => { scrollers.forEach((s) => s.destroy()); scrollers = []; };
 
+  // Commander videos for the catalogue. The flyout wipes itself with
+  // removeAll(true) on every enqueue, so the pool's layer is lifted out first
+  // and re-homed into the fresh scroll column afterwards — it has to live in
+  // there to be scrolled and masked with the rows it belongs to.
+  const pool = createShipMediaPool(scene, rules, art);
+  let detail = null;
+  const openDetail = (hullId) => {
+    if (detail) return;
+    pool.setPaused(true);
+    detail = openShipDetail(scene, rules, state, art,
+      { empireIdx: colony.empireIdx, hullId },
+      () => { detail = null; if (flyOpen) pool.setPaused(false); });
+  };
+  /** Take the pool out of whatever is about to be destroyed. */
+  const detachPool = () => pool.layer.parentContainer?.remove(pool.layer);
+
   // ------------------------------------------------------------------ close
 
   let closed = false;
   function close() {
     if (closed) return;
     closed = true;
+    detail?.close();
     dropScrollers();
+    // Out of the tree first, or root.destroy() takes it and pool.destroy()
+    // then runs against a corpse.
+    detachPool();
+    pool.destroy();
     scene.input.keyboard?.off('keydown-ESC', onEsc);
     root.destroy();
     onClose?.();
@@ -416,6 +440,8 @@ export function openColonyView(scene, rules, state, colony, art, opts = {}) {
         onComplete: () => {
           flyLayer.setVisible(false);
           dropScrollers();
+          detachPool();
+          pool.setPaused(true);
           flyLayer.removeAll(true);
         },
       });
@@ -434,6 +460,9 @@ export function openColonyView(scene, rules, state, colony, art, opts = {}) {
     // back to the top under the player's cursor. Put them back where they were.
     const keep = scrollers.map((s) => s.offset);
     dropScrollers();
+    detachPool();
+    pool.beginFrame();
+    if (!detail) pool.setPaused(false);
     flyLayer.removeAll(true);
     frame(scene, flyLayer, FLY_X, PANEL_Y, FLY_W, PANEL_H, 0.9);
 
@@ -526,15 +555,38 @@ export function openColonyView(scene, rules, state, colony, art, opts = {}) {
       // concern only, so the visible band has to be checked explicitly.
       bg.on('pointerup', (p) => { if (scroller.contains(p)) onAdd(); });
       scroller.content.add(bg);
-      // Both sheets are optional and procedural until real art lands, so this
-      // always resolves to something.
-      scroller.content.add(scene.add.image(28, cy + 26, icon.key, icon.frame)
-        .setDisplaySize(40, 40));
-      scroller.content.add(scene.add.text(58, cy + 5, label, {
+      // A ship gets its commanding officer beside the hull; a building keeps
+      // the single icon it always had. Both sheets are optional and procedural
+      // until real art lands, so either always resolves to something.
+      let textX = 58;
+      if (icon.hullId) {
+        pool.get(emp.speciesId, icon.hullId, 26, cy + 26, 40);
+        scroller.content.add(
+          makeShipIcon(scene, rules, art, emp.speciesId, icon.hullId, 72, cy + 26, 40),
+        );
+        // Its own target over the two thumbnails, so the row's primary action
+        // stays "queue one" and inspecting is a deliberate second gesture. It
+        // is added after bg, which is what puts it on top — and which is also
+        // why it has to light itself up: sitting over bg, it swallows the
+        // row's own hover and would otherwise read as dead space. Same
+        // masked-row guard as every other handler in this flyout.
+        const info = scene.add.rectangle(0, cy, 100, 52, 0x6fc4ff, 0.0)
+          .setOrigin(0, 0).setInteractive({ useHandCursor: true });
+        info.on('pointerover', () => info.setFillStyle(0x6fc4ff, 0.16));
+        info.on('pointerout', () => info.setFillStyle(0x6fc4ff, 0.0));
+        info.on('pointerup', (p) => { if (scroller.contains(p)) openDetail(icon.hullId); });
+        scroller.content.add(info);
+        textX = 108;
+      } else {
+        scroller.content.add(scene.add.image(28, cy + 26, icon.key, icon.frame)
+          .setDisplaySize(40, 40));
+      }
+      scroller.content.add(scene.add.text(textX, cy + 5, label, {
         fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '17px', color: colour,
       }));
-      scroller.content.add(scene.add.text(58, cy + 27, sub, {
-        fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '13px', color: '#7f97b3', wordWrap: { width: w - 180 },
+      scroller.content.add(scene.add.text(textX, cy + 27, sub, {
+        fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '13px', color: '#7f97b3',
+        wordWrap: { width: w - textX - 70 },
       }));
       if (onAddFive) {
         // The repeat count. Its own button so the row click stays "add one".
@@ -555,7 +607,7 @@ export function openColonyView(scene, rules, state, colony, art, opts = {}) {
 
     for (const hull of rules.hullList) {
       const d = empireDesign(rules, state, colony.empireIdx, hull.id);
-      entry({ key: art.ships, frame: shipFrame(rules, emp.speciesId, hull.id) },
+      entry({ hullId: hull.id },
         d.name, `${d.cost} BC  ·  ${turns(d.cost)}  ·  ${hull.desc}`, '#9fd8ff',
         () => { enqueue(rules, state, colony, 'ship', hull.id); rebuildFlyout(); },
         () => { enqueueMany(rules, state, colony, 'ship', hull.id, 5); rebuildFlyout(); });
@@ -570,6 +622,12 @@ export function openColonyView(scene, rules, state, colony, art, opts = {}) {
         queued ? '#6f8aa3' : '#ffd88a',
         () => { if (enqueue(rules, state, colony, 'building', b.id)) rebuildFlyout(); });
     }
+    // Back into the live scroll column, after the rows so the portraits draw
+    // over the row backgrounds, and inside `content` so they scroll and mask
+    // with the list they belong to.
+    scroller.content.add(pool.layer);
+    pool.endFrame();
+
     scroller.contentHeight = cy;
     scroller.setOffset(keep[1] ?? 0);
   }
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaLogic.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaLogic.js
index 8cf2d3c..aea69f1 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/VegaLogic.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaLogic.js
@@ -1021,8 +1021,12 @@ function moveFleets(rules, state, e) {
       f.fromStar = -1;
       f.progress = 0;
       f.total = 0;
+      const wasExplored = !!state.empires[e].explored[f.starIdx];
       state.empires[e].explored[f.starIdx] = true;
       pushEvent(state, { type: 'arrive', empire: e, starIdx: f.starIdx, fleetId: f.id, turn: state.turn });
+      if (!wasExplored) {
+        pushEvent(state, { type: 'discovered', empire: e, starIdx: f.starIdx, turn: state.turn });
+      }
       makeContactAt(rules, state, e, f.starIdx);
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaScreens.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaScreens.js
index 4bf27b9..8561cbf 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/VegaScreens.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaScreens.js
@@ -18,8 +18,10 @@ import { makeSpeciesPortrait } from './VegaArt.js';
 
 export const FONT = '"Julius Sans One"';
 // `colony` sits above `modal` so the colony screen can stack over the system
-// view that opened it without either having to be torn down.
-export const D = { map: 1, hud: 30, modal: 60, colony: 70, toast: 80 };
+// view that opened it without either having to be torn down. `detail` is the
+// ship pop-over, which opens from the star map's side panel AND from inside the
+// colony screen, so it has to clear both.
+export const D = { map: 1, hud: 30, modal: 60, colony: 70, detail: 76, toast: 80 };
 
 /**
  * Orbit numerals. Worldgen rolls at most five planets, but
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaShipDetail.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaShipDetail.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5314c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaShipDetail.js
@@ -0,0 +1,235 @@
+// Master of Vega — the ship detail pop-over.
+//
+// Clicking any ship row anywhere opens this: the commanding officer at the full
+// 256px the clips are recorded at, the hull at 192px, and everything the empire
+// knows about the class — the hull's own description from the rules file, the
+// stat block the Mark currently resolves to, and the loadout the knapsack put
+// on it.
+//
+// It deliberately does NOT go through MasterOfVegaGame.openModal, which refuses
+// a second modal while one is up. This window opens from the star map's side
+// panel (nothing else open) and from inside the colony screen (which is itself
+// a full-screen layer that must stay up), so it draws its own veil at D.detail
+// and clears both.
+//
+// Chrome and the grow-from-nothing entrance mirror openSpeciesDetail: built at
+// full size and scaled up, so the type renders crisp at its final size instead
+// of as a magnified thumbnail.
+
+import * as Phaser from 'phaser';
+import { GAME_HEIGHT, GAME_WIDTH } from '../../config.js';
+import { Button } from '../../ui/Button.js';
+import { markNumeral } from './VegaRules.js';
+import { empireDesign } from './VegaLogic.js';
+import { refitCost } from './VegaShips.js';
+import { makeCommanderPortrait, makeShipIcon } from './VegaShipMedia.js';
+import { FONT, D } from './VegaScreens.js';
+
+const ACCENT = 0x6fc4ff;
+const PANEL = 0x0b1220;
+const PANEL_W = 1000;
+const PANEL_H = 700;
+
+const ROLE_NAMES = {
+  recon: 'Reconnaissance', colony: 'Colonisation', troops: 'Troop carrier',
+  warship: 'Warship', base: 'Orbital fortress',
+};
+
+/**
+ * @param {object} opts  { empireIdx, hullId, mark } — `mark` is the stack's own
+ *   Mark where the caller has one (a fleet row); omit it for a catalogue entry,
+ *   which is always quoted at the current Mark.
+ * @param {function} onClose  called after the window has finished closing.
+ * @returns {{ close: function }}
+ */
+export function openShipDetail(scene, rules, state, art, opts, onClose) {
+  const { empireIdx, hullId, mark = null } = opts;
+  const emp = state.empires[empireIdx];
+  const species = rules.species[emp.speciesId];
+  const design = empireDesign(rules, state, empireIdx, hullId);
+  const hull = design.hull;
+
+  const halfW = PANEL_W / 2;
+  const halfH = PANEL_H / 2;
+  const accent = Phaser.Display.Color.HexStringToColor(species.color).color;
+
+  const layer = scene.add.container(0, 0).setDepth(D.detail);
+  const veil = scene.add.rectangle(0, 0, GAME_WIDTH, GAME_HEIGHT, 0x00060e, 0)
+    .setOrigin(0, 0).setInteractive();
+  layer.add(veil);
+  scene.tweens.add({ targets: veil, fillAlpha: 0.8, duration: 180 });
+
+  const pop = scene.add.container(GAME_WIDTH / 2, GAME_HEIGHT / 2);
+  pop.setScale(0.2).setAlpha(0.3);
+  layer.add(pop);
+
+  const panel = scene.add.rectangle(-halfW, -halfH, PANEL_W, PANEL_H, PANEL, 0.97).setOrigin(0, 0);
+  panel.setStrokeStyle(2, accent, 0.85);
+  pop.add(panel);
+
+  const ticks = scene.add.graphics();
+  ticks.lineStyle(3, accent, 0.9);
+  const t = 30;
+  for (const [tx, ty, dx, dy] of [
+    [-halfW, -halfH, 1, 1], [halfW, -halfH, -1, 1],
+    [-halfW, halfH, 1, -1], [halfW, halfH, -1, -1],
+  ]) {
+    ticks.lineBetween(tx, ty, tx + dx * t, ty);
+    ticks.lineBetween(tx, ty, tx, ty + dy * t);
+  }
+  pop.add(ticks);
+
+  // ------------------------------------------------------------ left column
+  // The officer at full recording resolution, the hull beneath them. This is
+  // the window's own portrait, not one borrowed from the caller's pool — the
+  // caller pauses its thumbnails while we are up, so nothing decodes twice.
+  const artX = -halfW + 176;
+  pop.add(makeCommanderPortrait(scene, rules, art, emp.speciesId, hullId, artX, -halfH + 190, 256));
+
+  pop.add(scene.add.text(artX, -halfH + 336, 'COMMANDING OFFICER', {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '14px', color: '#6f8aa3',
+  }).setOrigin(0.5));
+
+  pop.add(makeShipIcon(scene, rules, art, emp.speciesId, hullId, artX, -halfH + 470, 192));
+
+  pop.add(scene.add.text(artX, halfH - 78, species.name.toUpperCase(), {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '18px', color: species.color,
+  }).setOrigin(0.5));
+
+  // ----------------------------------------------------------- right column
+  const colX = -halfW + 340;
+  const colW = PANEL_W - 40 - (colX + halfW);
+  let y = -halfH + 44;
+
+  const text = (str, size, colour, gap = 6, wrap = colW) => {
+    const o = scene.add.text(colX, y, str, {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: `${size}px`, color: colour, lineSpacing: 3,
+      wordWrap: { width: wrap },
+    });
+    pop.add(o);
+    y += o.height + gap;
+    return o;
+  };
+
+  const heading = (label) => {
+    y += 10;
+    pop.add(scene.add.text(colX, y, label, {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '14px', color: '#6f8aa3',
+    }));
+    y += 22;
+    pop.add(scene.add.rectangle(colX, y, colW, 1, ACCENT, 0.22).setOrigin(0, 0));
+    y += 10;
+  };
+
+  text(design.name, 38, '#cfe8ff', 2);
+  text(`${ROLE_NAMES[hull.role] ?? hull.role}  ·  ${design.cost} BC`, 17, '#9fd8ff', 8);
+  text(hull.desc, 18, '#a8c4e0', 4);
+
+  // --- the stat block, two columns of label/value pairs
+  heading('SPECIFICATION');
+  const stats = [
+    ['Hull', `${design.hp} HP`],
+    ['Armour', design.armorName],
+    ['Shields', design.shield > 0 ? `Class ${design.shield}` : 'None'],
+    ['Engines', design.engineName],
+    ['Speed', design.immobile ? 'Immobile' : `${design.speed}`],
+    ['Range', design.immobile ? '—' : `${design.range} parsecs`],
+    ['Targeting', `+${design.targeting}`],
+    ['Initiative', `${design.initiative}`],
+  ];
+  if (design.attack || design.defense) {
+    stats.push(['Attack', `${design.attack >= 0 ? '+' : ''}${design.attack}%`]);
+    stats.push(['Defense', `${design.defense >= 0 ? '+' : ''}${design.defense}%`]);
+  }
+  if (design.repairPerRound > 0) {
+    stats.push(['Repair', `${Math.round(design.repairPerRound * 100)}% / round`]);
+  }
+  if (design.troops > 0) stats.push(['Marines', `${design.troops} divisions`]);
+
+  const statTop = y;
+  const cellW = colW / 2;
+  stats.forEach((pair, i) => {
+    const cx = colX + (i % 2) * cellW;
+    const cy = statTop + Math.floor(i / 2) * 30;
+    pop.add(scene.add.text(cx, cy, pair[0], {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '15px', color: '#6f8aa3',
+    }));
+    pop.add(scene.add.text(cx + 120, cy, String(pair[1]), {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '16px', color: '#c8dcf0',
+    }));
+  });
+  y = statTop + Math.ceil(stats.length / 2) * 30 + 4;
+
+  const flags = [];
+  if (design.cloaked) flags.push('Cloaked');
+  if (design.planetCracker) flags.push('Planet cracker');
+  if (design.immobile) flags.push('Never leaves its system');
+  if (flags.length) text(flags.join('  ·  '), 15, '#ffd88a', 4);
+
+  // --- the loadout the knapsack settled on
+  heading('LOAD-OUT');
+  if (hull.space <= 0) {
+    text('Unarmed — this hull carries no weapon tonnage.', 16, '#7f97b3', 4);
+  } else if (!design.mounts.length) {
+    text('No weapons researched yet. This hull builds, and flies empty.',
+      16, '#e08a8a', 4);
+  } else {
+    for (const m of design.mounts) {
+      const w = m.weapon;
+      const dmg = w.min === w.max ? `${w.min}` : `${w.min}–${w.max}`;
+      const tail = w.kind === 'missile'
+        ? `${w.shots} salvo${w.shots === 1 ? '' : 'es'}`
+        : 'every round';
+      text(`${m.count} × ${w.name}   ·   ${dmg} damage   ·   ${tail}`
+        + (w.shieldPierce ? `   ·   pierces ${w.shieldPierce} shield` : ''),
+        17, '#9fd8ff', 3);
+    }
+    y += 4;
+    const summary = [];
+    if (design.beamDamage > 0) summary.push(`Beams ${Math.round(design.beamDamage)} per round`);
+    if (design.missileSalvo > 0) {
+      summary.push(`Missiles ${Math.round(design.missileSalvo)} × ${design.missileSalvos} salvoes`);
+    }
+    summary.push(`${hull.space} tonnage`);
+    text(summary.join('   ·   '), 15, '#7f97b3', 4);
+  }
+
+  // A stack that has not been refitted yet is flying an older Mark. The older
+  // Mark's LOADOUT cannot be reconstructed — designFor only ever builds at the
+  // empire's current tech — so say plainly that the block above is the new one.
+  if (mark !== null && mark < design.mark) {
+    const cost = refitCost(rules, emp.known, hullId, mark, species.traits);
+    text(`This stack is still Mark ${markNumeral(mark)}. The figures above are the `
+      + `Mark ${markNumeral(design.mark)} refit, which costs ${cost} BC and happens `
+      + 'automatically over a friendly colony.', 15, '#ffd88a', 4);
+  }
+
+  // ------------------------------------------------------------------ close
+  let closing = false;
+  const close = () => {
+    if (closing) return;
+    closing = true;
+    scene.tweens.add({ targets: veil, fillAlpha: 0, duration: 160 });
+    scene.tweens.add({
+      targets: pop,
+      scale: 0.2,
+      alpha: 0.25,
+      duration: 180,
+      ease: 'Cubic.easeIn',
+      onComplete: () => {
+        layer.destroy();
+        onClose?.();
+      },
+    });
+  };
+
+  pop.add(new Button(scene, halfW - 110, halfH - 52, 'Close', close,
+    { width: 180, height: 52, fontSize: 22, variant: 'ghost' }));
+  veil.on('pointerup', close);
+
+  scene.tweens.add({
+    targets: pop, scale: 1, alpha: 1, duration: 260, ease: 'Back.easeOut',
+  });
+
+  return { close };
+}
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaShipMedia.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaShipMedia.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27eec58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaShipMedia.js
@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+// Master of Vega — ship pictures and ship-commander videos.
+//
+// Two pieces of art travel together everywhere a ship is listed: the hull
+// itself, cut from the `ships` sheet, and a looping video of the officer who
+// flies it. This module is the one place that knows how either is addressed.
+//
+// The commander clips follow the same drop-in contract as the species
+// portraits, one tier deeper:
+//
+//   1. this species' clip for this hull   (shipVideos[species][hull])
+//   2. the species' own portrait video    (portraitVideos[species])
+//   3. its high-resolution still          (portraitStills[species])
+//   4. a frame on the procedural sheet    (always present)
+//
+// Tiers 2-4 are exactly makeSpeciesPortrait's ladder, so a species with no ship
+// clips recorded still shows a moving face on every row — which is why only
+// `human` is filled in today and the other nine are a single `null` each in the
+// artwork manifest.
+//
+// Ships are drawn facing UP on the sheet. Thumbnails and the detail window turn
+// them a full 180°, which is a ROTATION and not a mirror: setFlipY would flip
+// the hull's asymmetries with it.
+
+import { makeSpeciesPortrait, sizeSpeciesPortrait, shipFrame } from './VegaArt.js';
+
+/** Source resolution of the commander videos, and of a `ships` sheet frame. */
+const COMMANDER_VIDEO_PX = 256;
+const SHIP_FRAME_PX = 192;
+
+export const shipVideoKey = (speciesId, hullId) => `vega-ship-${speciesId}-${hullId}`;
+
+export function hasShipVideo(scene, speciesId, hullId) {
+  return !!scene.cache.video?.exists(shipVideoKey(speciesId, hullId));
+}
+
+/**
+ * The hull itself, `size` px square and turned upside down, centred on (x, y).
+ *
+ * Scales from the texture width rather than calling setDisplaySize so repeated
+ * resizes stay correct — displayWidth changes as it is scaled, width does not.
+ */
+export function makeShipIcon(scene, rules, art, speciesId, hullId, x, y, size) {
+  const img = scene.add.image(x, y, art.ships, shipFrame(rules, speciesId, hullId));
+  img.setScale(size / (img.width || SHIP_FRAME_PX));
+  img.setAngle(180);
+  return img;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The commanding officer, `size` px square and centred on (x, y). Returns a
+ * Phaser Video or Image — the caller adds it to its own container and never has
+ * to know which tier it got.
+ *
+ * `onReplaced` fires if the clip is present but the browser refuses to decode
+ * it and the portrait is swapped underneath; a pool holding a reference needs
+ * to hear about that, or it keeps handing out a destroyed object.
+ */
+export function makeCommanderPortrait(
+  scene, rules, art, speciesId, hullId, x, y, size, onReplaced,
+) {
+  if (!hasShipVideo(scene, speciesId, hullId)) {
+    return makeSpeciesPortrait(scene, rules, art, speciesId, x, y, size);
+  }
+  const v = scene.add.video(x, y, shipVideoKey(speciesId, hullId));
+  v.setMute(true);
+  v.setLoop(true);
+  // Scale from the known source size rather than setDisplaySize: a Video's
+  // texture can still report zero width before its first frame is decoded, and
+  // setDisplaySize would then divide by it and blank the portrait.
+  v.setScale(size / (v.width || COMMANDER_VIDEO_PX));
+  v.play(true);
+  v.once('error', () => {
+    if (!v.scene) return;
+    const fallback = makeSpeciesPortrait(scene, rules, art, speciesId, x, y, size);
+    v.parentContainer?.add(fallback);
+    v.destroy();
+    onReplaced?.(fallback);
+  });
+  return v;
+}
+
+/**
+ * A scene-lifetime cache of commander portraits, keyed by species and hull.
+ *
+ * Every view that lists ships rebuilds its whole body on each click — the side
+ * panel on every − / +, the colony catalogue on every enqueue. Creating the
+ * portraits inline would tear down and re-create a decoder per row per click,
+ * restarting every loop and burning CPU for no visible gain. So the portraits
+ * live in `layer`, which the caller parents wherever it likes and deliberately
+ * does NOT clear during a rebuild:
+ *
+ *     pool.beginFrame();
+ *     ... rows call pool.get(...) ...
+ *     pool.endFrame();
+ *
+ * Anything not claimed this frame is hidden and paused rather than destroyed,
+ * so dialling a stack to zero and back does not restart its loop.
+ *
+ * One pool per view. Two pools may each hold a portrait on the same cached
+ * video: verified against the Phaser 3.90 source, every Video game object
+ * creates its own HTMLVideoElement and destroys only that one, so this costs
+ * decode time and nothing else.
+ */
+export function createShipMediaPool(scene, rules, art) {
+  const entries = new Map();
+  const claimed = new Set();
+  const layer = scene.add.container(0, 0);
+  let paused = false;
+  // A view can be torn down while one of its own close tweens is still
+  // running, so every entry point has to survive being called after destroy().
+  let dead = false;
+
+  const play = (e) => { if (e.isVideo && e.obj.scene) e.obj.resume?.(); };
+  const halt = (e) => { if (e.isVideo && e.obj.scene) e.obj.pause?.(); };
+
+  return {
+    /** Parent this where the portraits should draw; never removeAll(true) it. */
+    layer,
+
+    beginFrame() { claimed.clear(); },
+
+    get(speciesId, hullId, x, y, size) {
+      if (dead) return null;
+      const key = `${speciesId}|${hullId}`;
+      let e = entries.get(key);
+      // A destroyed object still answers to its variable. Phaser nulls `scene`
+      // on destroy, which is the only reliable liveness check we have.
+      if (e && !e.obj.scene) { entries.delete(key); e = null; }
+      if (!e) {
+        const obj = makeCommanderPortrait(
+          scene, rules, art, speciesId, hullId, x, y, size,
+          (replacement) => {
+            const cur = entries.get(key);
+            if (cur) entries.set(key, { obj: replacement, isVideo: false });
+          },
+        );
+        e = { obj, isVideo: obj.type === 'Video' };
+        entries.set(key, e);
+        layer.add(obj);
+      }
+      claimed.add(key);
+      e.obj.setPosition(x, y);
+      sizeSpeciesPortrait(e.obj, size);
+      e.obj.setVisible(true);
+      if (!paused) play(e);
+      return e.obj;
+    },
+
+    endFrame() {
+      for (const [key, e] of entries) {
+        if (claimed.has(key)) continue;
+        e.obj.setVisible(false);
+        halt(e);
+      }
+    },
+
+    /** Stop decoding entirely — the view is hidden, or something is over it. */
+    setPaused(value) {
+      if (dead) return;
+      paused = !!value;
+      for (const [key, e] of entries) {
+        if (paused || !claimed.has(key)) halt(e);
+        else play(e);
+      }
+    },
+
+    destroy() {
+      if (dead) return;
+      dead = true;
+      layer.destroy();
+      entries.clear();
+      claimed.clear();
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaSidePanel.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaSidePanel.js
index ed10c4b..c8cfad4 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/VegaSidePanel.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaSidePanel.js
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ import {
   colonyDefenseCap, habitableForEmpire, reachableStars, atWar,
 } from './VegaLogic.js';
 import { FONT, D, ORBIT } from './VegaScreens.js';
+import { createShipMediaPool, makeShipIcon } from './VegaShipMedia.js';
+import { openShipDetail } from './VegaShipDetail.js';
 
 const W = 400;
 const PAD = 18;
@@ -94,8 +96,25 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
 
     this.body = scene.add.container(0, 0);
     this.root.add(this.body);
+
+    // The commander videos outlive the body. Every − / + rebuilds `body` from
+    // scratch, and re-creating a decoder per row per click would restart every
+    // loop, so they live in their own layer that the rebuild never touches.
+    // It is added AFTER body because a Container renders its children in
+    // insertion order and ignores their depth.
+    this.pool = createShipMediaPool(scene, rules, art);
+    this.root.add(this.pool.layer);
+    this.detail = null;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * True while the ship detail pop-over is up. It veils the whole screen, so
+   * the star map has to be told to keep still everywhere and not just under
+   * the panel's own footprint — the same job `modalOpen` does for the modals
+   * this window deliberately does not go through.
+   */
+  get detailOpen() { return !!this.detail; }
+
   // Used by the star map to keep a drag or a wheel over the panel from panning
   // and zooming the galaxy underneath it.
   containsPoint(x, y) {
@@ -131,6 +150,8 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
 
   hide() {
     if (!this.root.visible) return;
+    // Nothing should be decoding while the panel is parked off-screen.
+    this.pool.setPaused(true);
     this.mode = null;
     this.fleet = null;
     this.starIdx = -1;
@@ -148,6 +169,7 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
   }
 
   open() {
+    if (!this.detail) this.pool.setPaused(false);
     if (this.root.visible && Math.abs(this.root.x - this.x0) < 0.5) return;
     if (!this.root.visible) {
       this.root.setVisible(true);
@@ -179,7 +201,11 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
     this.rebuild();
   }
 
-  destroy() { this.root.destroy(); }
+  destroy() {
+    this.detail?.close();
+    this.pool.destroy();
+    this.root.destroy();
+  }
 
   // -------------------------------------------------------- text primitives
 
@@ -255,10 +281,90 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
 
   rebuild() {
     this.body.removeAll(true);
+    // The pool survives the wipe; claim what this pass actually uses and let
+    // endFrame() hide and pause the rest.
+    this.pool.beginFrame();
     this.y = 90;
     if (this.mode === 'star') this.buildStar();
     else if (this.mode === 'fleet') this.buildFleet();
     else if (this.mode === 'order') this.buildOrder();
+    this.pool.endFrame();
+  }
+
+  // ------------------------------------------------------------ ship media
+
+  /** Species flying a given fleet — the row art is keyed on it. */
+  speciesOf(empireIdx) { return this.state.empires[empireIdx].speciesId; }
+
+  /**
+   * Commander video + upside-down hull, side by side, vertically centred on
+   * `cy`. The video comes from the pool; the hull is a plain Image and is
+   * cheap enough to rebuild with the rest of the body. They land in different
+   * containers but share the panel's local coordinates, so they stay aligned.
+   */
+  shipThumbs(empireIdx, hullId, x, cy, size) {
+    const speciesId = this.speciesOf(empireIdx);
+    this.pool.get(speciesId, hullId, x + size / 2, cy, size);
+    this.body.add(makeShipIcon(
+      this.scene, this.rules, this.art, speciesId, hullId,
+      x + size * 1.5 + 6, cy, size,
+    ));
+  }
+
+  /** A transparent click target over a row, opening the detail window. */
+  detailHit(x, y, w, h, empireIdx, hullId, mark) {
+    const r = this.scene.add.rectangle(x, y, w, h, 0xffffff, 0.001)
+      .setOrigin(0, 0).setInteractive({ useHandCursor: true });
+    r.on('pointerup', () => this.openDetail(empireIdx, hullId, mark));
+    this.body.add(r);
+    return r;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * The full-resolution pop-over. The panel's own thumbnails stop decoding
+   * while it is up — the window has its own portrait at 256px and there is no
+   * point running both.
+   */
+  openDetail(empireIdx, hullId, mark = null) {
+    if (this.detail) return;
+    this.pool.setPaused(true);
+    this.detail = openShipDetail(
+      this.scene, this.rules, this.state, this.art,
+      { empireIdx, hullId, mark },
+      () => {
+        this.detail = null;
+        if (this.root.visible) this.pool.setPaused(false);
+      },
+    );
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * A read-only `N × Name` line with thumbnails — the in-transit list, the
+   * garrison and the order screen's task force all take this shape. The
+   * task-force rows in fleet mode need the − / + cluster and build their own.
+   */
+  shipLine(empireIdx, hullId, mark, label, opts = {}) {
+    const { color = '#c8dcf0', size = 40, sub = null } = opts;
+    const rowY = this.y;
+    const textX = PAD + size * 2 + 20;
+    const name = this.scene.add.text(textX, rowY, label, {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '15px', color, lineSpacing: 2,
+      wordWrap: { width: PAD + COL - textX },
+    });
+    this.body.add(name);
+    let textH = name.height;
+    if (sub) {
+      const s = this.scene.add.text(textX, rowY + name.height + 2, sub, {
+        fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '12px', color: '#6f8aa3',
+        wordWrap: { width: PAD + COL - textX },
+      });
+      this.body.add(s);
+      textH += s.height + 2;
+    }
+    const rowH = Math.max(size, textH);
+    this.shipThumbs(empireIdx, hullId, PAD, rowY + rowH / 2, size);
+    this.detailHit(PAD, rowY, COL, rowH, empireIdx, hullId, mark);
+    this.y = rowY + rowH + 8;
   }
 
   get viewer() {
@@ -473,8 +579,9 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
     if (garrison.length) {
       this.heading('Garrison');
       for (const s of garrison) {
-        this.line(`${s.count} × ${this.designName(s.hullId, s.mark)} — holds this system`,
-          { size: 13, color: '#8fa8c0', gap: 2 });
+        this.shipLine(fleet.empireIdx, s.hullId, s.mark,
+          `${s.count} × ${this.designName(s.hullId, s.mark)}`,
+          { color: '#8fa8c0', sub: 'Holds this system' });
       }
     }
 
@@ -485,31 +592,46 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
     this.action('Done', () => this.cb.onClose?.(), { variant: 'ghost' });
   }
 
-  /** A ship stack with a −/+ count selector. */
+  /**
+   * A ship stack with a −/+ count selector. The name sits on the first line and
+   * the counter on the second, so the thumbnails can take the left gutter
+   * without squeezing either into a column too narrow to read.
+   */
   stackRow(s, index) {
     const rowY = this.y;
-    const name = this.scene.add.text(PAD, rowY, `${this.designName(s.hullId, s.mark)}`, {
+    const MEDIA = 60;
+    const textX = PAD + MEDIA * 2 + 20;
+    const name = this.scene.add.text(textX, rowY, `${this.designName(s.hullId, s.mark)}`, {
       fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '15px', color: s.count > 0 ? '#c8dcf0' : '#5d7085',
-      wordWrap: { width: COL - 130 },
+      wordWrap: { width: PAD + COL - textX },
     });
     this.body.add(name);
 
     const boxSize = 26;
     const right = PAD + COL;
+    const ctrlY = rowY + name.height + 6 + boxSize / 2;
+    const rowH = Math.max(MEDIA, name.height + 6 + boxSize);
+
+    this.shipThumbs(this.fleet.empireIdx, s.hullId, PAD, rowY + rowH / 2, MEDIA);
+
+    // The hit target goes down BEFORE the buttons — it covers the whole row, so
+    // anything added after it stays clickable and anything before it does not.
+    this.detailHit(PAD, rowY, COL, rowH, this.fleet.empireIdx, s.hullId, s.mark);
+
     const set = (v) => {
       this.sel[index].count = Phaser.Math.Clamp(v, 0, s.max);
       this.rebuild();
     };
-    this.tinyButton(right - boxSize / 2, rowY + 12, boxSize, '+', () => set(s.count + 1),
+    this.tinyButton(right - boxSize / 2, ctrlY, boxSize, '+', () => set(s.count + 1),
       s.count < s.max);
-    this.tinyButton(right - boxSize * 2.9, rowY + 12, boxSize, '–', () => set(s.count - 1),
+    this.tinyButton(right - boxSize * 2.9, ctrlY, boxSize, '–', () => set(s.count - 1),
       s.count > 0);
-    const count = this.scene.add.text(right - boxSize * 1.7, rowY + 11, `${s.count} / ${s.max}`, {
+    const count = this.scene.add.text(right - boxSize * 1.7, ctrlY - 1, `${s.count} / ${s.max}`, {
       fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '15px', color: s.count > 0 ? '#e8f4ff' : '#5d7085',
     }).setOrigin(0.5);
     this.body.add(count);
 
-    this.y = rowY + Math.max(name.height, boxSize) + 8;
+    this.y = rowY + rowH + 10;
   }
 
   selectionSummary() {
@@ -544,8 +666,8 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
     this.heading('Ships');
     for (const s of this.fleet.ships) {
       if (s.count <= 0) continue;
-      this.line(`${s.count} × ${this.designName(s.hullId, s.mark)}`,
-        { size: 14, color: '#c8dcf0', gap: 2 });
+      this.shipLine(this.fleet.empireIdx, s.hullId, s.mark,
+        `${s.count} × ${this.designName(s.hullId, s.mark)}`);
     }
   }
 
@@ -579,8 +701,8 @@ export default class VegaSidePanel {
       this.line('No ships selected.', { size: 15, color: '#e08a8a' });
     } else {
       for (const s of ships) {
-        this.line(`${s.count} × ${this.designName(s.hullId, s.mark)}`,
-          { size: 14, color: '#c8dcf0', gap: 2 });
+        this.shipLine(fleet.empireIdx, s.hullId, s.mark,
+          `${s.count} × ${this.designName(s.hullId, s.mark)}`);
       }
       this.y += 4;
       this.line(`Power ${fleetPower(rules, state, { ...fleet, ships })}`,
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReport.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReport.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3e8e53e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReport.js
@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+// Master of Vega — turn-report classification and detail text. Headless, no
+// Phaser: this only turns entries from the event bus (`state.events`, pushed
+// by `pushEvent` in VegaLogic.js) into the headline+lines the "New Turn"
+// popup renders. Keeping the per-type text formatting out of
+// MasterOfVegaGame.js/VegaScreens.js keeps those files from ballooning.
+
+import { habitableForEmpire } from './VegaLogic.js';
+
+// Events worth interrupting the player for. Everything else (buildingDone,
+// shipDone, refit, spyCaught, techStolen, invasionFailed, leaderHired,
+// victory — which already has its own showVictoryOverlay) stays in the
+// small ticker log only.
+export const NOTABLE_TYPES = new Set([
+  'discovered', 'techDone', 'contact', 'colonised', 'captured',
+  'colonyDestroyed', 'warDeclared', 'peace', 'alliance', 'council',
+  'councilRefused', 'eliminated',
+]);
+
+// Exploring, researching and founding a colony are personal — only the
+// empire that did them cares. Everything else (contact, territory changing
+// hands, diplomacy, Council results, eliminations) is galaxy news broadcast
+// to the player regardless of who it happened to, matching the precedent
+// the old ticker-log code set (MasterOfVegaGame.processTurnEvents(), née
+// announceEvents()) for captured/colonyDestroyed/warDeclared/contact.
+const PERSONAL_TYPES = new Set(['discovered', 'techDone', 'colonised']);
+
+export function isRelevantToHuman(ev, me) {
+  if (PERSONAL_TYPES.has(ev.type)) return ev.empire === me;
+  return true;
+}
+
+export const TYPE_LABEL = {
+  discovered: 'Discovery',
+  techDone: 'Research',
+  contact: 'First Contact',
+  colonised: 'Colony Founded',
+  captured: 'Colony Captured',
+  colonyDestroyed: 'Colony Destroyed',
+  warDeclared: 'War Declared',
+  peace: 'Peace',
+  alliance: 'Alliance',
+  council: 'Galactic Council',
+  councilRefused: 'Council Refused',
+  eliminated: 'Empire Eliminated',
+};
+
+// Sort weight — diplomacy/territory/council news first (most consequential),
+// then discoveries, then research, mirroring how the plan orders the list.
+const CATEGORY_ORDER = {
+  contact: 0, warDeclared: 0, peace: 0, alliance: 0, council: 0, councilRefused: 0, eliminated: 0,
+  colonised: 1, captured: 1, colonyDestroyed: 1,
+  discovered: 2,
+  techDone: 3,
+};
+export const categoryWeight = (ev) => CATEGORY_ORDER[ev.type] ?? 9;
+
+const line = (text, color) => ({ text, color });
+
+function describeDiscovered(rules, state, ev) {
+  const star = state.galaxy.stars[ev.starIdx];
+  const cls = rules.starClasses[star.classId];
+  const lines = [line(`${cls.name} star — ${cls.desc}`, '#9fb6cc')];
+  if (!star.planets.length) {
+    lines.push(line('No planets in this system.', '#6b7f96'));
+  } else {
+    for (const p of star.planets) {
+      const type = rules.planetTypes[p.typeId];
+      const size = rules.planetSizes[p.sizeId];
+      const rich = rules.richness[p.richId];
+      const grav = rules.gravity[p.gravId];
+      const habitable = habitableForEmpire(rules, state, ev.empire, ev.starIdx, p.orbit);
+      lines.push(line(
+        `Planet ${p.orbit + 1}: ${size.name} ${type.name}, ${rich.name} minerals, ${grav.name}`
+        + `${habitable ? ' — habitable' : ''}`,
+        habitable ? '#7fd8a0' : '#9fb6cc',
+      ));
+    }
+  }
+  return { headline: `Our ships have discovered the ${star.name} system.`, lines };
+}
+
+function describeTechDone(rules, state, ev) {
+  const tech = rules.techs[ev.techId];
+  const emp = state.empires[ev.empire];
+  const gate = rules.techGates[ev.techId] ?? { buildings: [], prereqOf: [] };
+  const lines = [line(tech.desc, '#9fb6cc')];
+  const effects = Object.entries(tech.effects ?? {});
+  if (effects.length) {
+    lines.push(line(`Effects: ${effects.map(([k, v]) => `${k} ${v > 0 ? '+' : ''}${v}`).join(', ')}`, '#7fd8a0'));
+  }
+  const newBuildings = gate.buildings.map((id) => rules.buildings[id]?.name).filter(Boolean);
+  const newTechs = gate.prereqOf
+    .filter((id) => emp.available[id] && !emp.known[id])
+    .map((id) => rules.techs[id]?.name)
+    .filter(Boolean);
+  const unlocks = [...newBuildings, ...newTechs];
+  if (unlocks.length) {
+    lines.push(line(`Now available: ${unlocks.join(', ')}`, '#ffd88a'));
+  }
+  return { headline: `Research completed: ${tech.name}.`, lines };
+}
+
+function describeContact(rules, state, ev, name) {
+  const me = state.humanIndex;
+  let otherIdx;
+  if (ev.empire === me) otherIdx = ev.other;
+  else if (ev.other === me) otherIdx = ev.empire;
+
+  if (otherIdx === undefined) {
+    return {
+      headline: `The ${name(ev.empire)} and the ${name(ev.other)} have made contact.`,
+      lines: [],
+    };
+  }
+  const other = state.empires[otherIdx];
+  const spec = rules.species[other.speciesId];
+  const lines = [line(spec.desc, '#9fb6cc')];
+  if (spec.strengths?.length) lines.push(line(`Strengths: ${spec.strengths.join(', ')}`, '#7fd8a0'));
+  if (spec.weaknesses?.length) lines.push(line(`Weaknesses: ${spec.weaknesses.join(', ')}`, '#e08a8a'));
+  return { headline: `First contact: the ${spec.name}.`, lines };
+}
+
+function describeColonised(rules, state, ev) {
+  const star = state.galaxy.stars[ev.starIdx];
+  const planet = star.planets[ev.orbit];
+  const lines = [];
+  if (planet) {
+    const type = rules.planetTypes[planet.typeId];
+    const size = rules.planetSizes[planet.sizeId];
+    const rich = rules.richness[planet.richId];
+    lines.push(line(`${size.name} ${type.name}, ${rich.name} minerals.`, '#9fb6cc'));
+  }
+  return { headline: `Colony founded at ${star.name}.`, lines };
+}
+
+function describeCaptured(rules, state, ev, name) {
+  const me = state.humanIndex;
+  const star = state.galaxy.stars[ev.starIdx];
+  let headline;
+  if (ev.empire === me) headline = `We have captured ${star.name} from the ${name(ev.from)}.`;
+  else if (ev.from === me) headline = `The ${name(ev.empire)} have captured ${star.name} from us.`;
+  else headline = `The ${name(ev.empire)} have captured ${star.name} from the ${name(ev.from)}.`;
+  return { headline, lines: [] };
+}
+
+function describeColonyDestroyed(rules, state, ev, name) {
+  const me = state.humanIndex;
+  const star = state.galaxy.stars[ev.starIdx];
+  let headline;
+  if (ev.target === me) headline = `The ${name(ev.empire)} have bombed ${star.name} out of existence — our colony is lost.`;
+  else if (ev.empire === me) headline = `We have bombed ${star.name} out of existence, destroying the ${name(ev.target)}'s colony.`;
+  else headline = `${star.name} has been bombed out of existence by the ${name(ev.empire)}.`;
+  return { headline, lines: [] };
+}
+
+function describeTreaty(rules, state, ev, name, verb) {
+  const me = state.humanIndex;
+  let headline;
+  if (ev.empire === me) headline = `We ${verb} the ${name(ev.other)}.`;
+  else if (ev.other === me) headline = `The ${name(ev.empire)} ${verb} us.`;
+  else headline = `The ${name(ev.empire)} ${verb} the ${name(ev.other)}.`;
+  return { headline, lines: [] };
+}
+
+function describeCouncil(rules, state, ev, name) {
+  const need = Math.ceil(ev.totalPop * rules.council.winFraction);
+  const lines = (ev.candidates ?? []).map((idx) => line(
+    `${name(idx)}: ${Math.round(ev.votes?.[idx] ?? 0)} votes`, state.empires[idx]?.color,
+  ));
+  lines.push(line(`Abstained: ${Math.round(ev.abstained ?? 0)} · ${need} votes of ${Math.round(ev.totalPop)} needed`, '#7f97b3'));
+  const headline = ev.winner >= 0
+    ? `${name(ev.winner)} is elected High Guardian of the Galaxy.`
+    : (ev.refused
+      ? 'The Council election was refused — war has begun.'
+      : 'The Council failed to elect a High Guardian.');
+  return { headline, lines };
+}
+
+function describeCouncilRefused(rules, state, ev, name) {
+  const me = state.humanIndex;
+  let headline;
+  if (ev.empire === me) headline = `We refuse to submit to the ${name(ev.winner)}. The Council election is void.`;
+  else if (ev.winner === me) headline = `The ${name(ev.empire)} refuse to submit to us. The Council election is void — war has begun.`;
+  else headline = `The ${name(ev.empire)} refuse to submit to the ${name(ev.winner)}. The Council election is void.`;
+  return { headline, lines: [] };
+}
+
+function describeEliminated(rules, state, ev, name) {
+  const me = state.humanIndex;
+  const headline = ev.empire === me
+    ? 'We have been eliminated from the galaxy.'
+    : `The ${name(ev.empire)} have been eliminated from the galaxy.`;
+  return { headline, lines: [] };
+}
+
+/** Turns one event into {category, headline, lines} for the turn-report row. */
+export function describeEvent(rules, state, ev) {
+  const name = (i) => state.empires[i]?.name ?? '?';
+  let out;
+  switch (ev.type) {
+    case 'discovered': out = describeDiscovered(rules, state, ev); break;
+    case 'techDone': out = describeTechDone(rules, state, ev); break;
+    case 'contact': out = describeContact(rules, state, ev, name); break;
+    case 'colonised': out = describeColonised(rules, state, ev); break;
+    case 'captured': out = describeCaptured(rules, state, ev, name); break;
+    case 'colonyDestroyed': out = describeColonyDestroyed(rules, state, ev, name); break;
+    case 'warDeclared': out = describeTreaty(rules, state, ev, name, 'declare war on'); break;
+    case 'peace': out = describeTreaty(rules, state, ev, name, 'make peace with'); break;
+    case 'alliance': out = describeTreaty(rules, state, ev, name, 'form an alliance with'); break;
+    case 'council': out = describeCouncil(rules, state, ev, name); break;
+    case 'councilRefused': out = describeCouncilRefused(rules, state, ev, name); break;
+    case 'eliminated': out = describeEliminated(rules, state, ev, name); break;
+    default: out = { headline: ev.type, lines: [] };
+  }
+  return { category: TYPE_LABEL[ev.type] ?? ev.type, ...out };
+}
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReportScreen.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReportScreen.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18357b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReportScreen.js
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+// Master of Vega — the "New Turn" popup. Lists everything notable that
+// happened since the player's last turn (VegaTurnReport.js classifies and
+// writes the text); click a row to expand its synopsis in place.
+//
+// Lives outside VegaScreens.js because it needs VegaColonyView.js's
+// scrollColumn — importing that back into VegaScreens.js (which every other
+// screen file, including VegaColonyView.js itself, imports chrome FROM)
+// would make the two files import each other. Same one-way-dependency shape
+// as VegaSystemView.js, which already imports from both.
+
+import { modalShell, FONT } from './VegaScreens.js';
+import { scrollColumn } from './VegaColonyView.js';
+import { turnToYear } from './VegaRules.js';
+import { Button } from '../../ui/Button.js';
+import { describeEvent, categoryWeight } from './VegaTurnReport.js';
+
+const ACCENT = 0x6fc4ff;
+const ROW_BG = 0x142238;
+
+export function openTurnReportScreen(scene, rules, state, events, onClose) {
+  const shell = modalShell(scene, `New Turn: ${turnToYear(state.turn)}`, onClose, { width: 1180, height: 760 });
+
+  const ordered = events
+    .map((ev, i) => ({ ev, i, desc: describeEvent(rules, state, ev) }))
+    .sort((a, b) => categoryWeight(a.ev) - categoryWeight(b.ev) || a.i - b.i);
+
+  const listH = shell.body.h - 56;
+  const col = scrollColumn(scene, shell.layer, shell.body.x, shell.body.y, shell.body.w, listH);
+  const w = shell.body.w;
+  // Everything starts expanded — the player came here to read the news, not
+  // to hunt for it — but each row stays individually collapsible.
+  const expanded = new Set(ordered.map((o) => o.i));
+
+  const render = () => {
+    col.content.removeAll(true);
+    let cy = 0;
+    for (const { i, desc } of ordered) {
+      const rowTop = cy;
+      const isOpen = expanded.has(i);
+      // bg has to be built AFTER the row's text so its final height is known
+      // — Rectangle Shapes in this Phaser build don't tolerate a post-construction
+      // .setSize() (throws inside Phaser's own setSize). So it's built last and
+      // inserted at this index, which puts it behind this row's text instead
+      // of on top of it.
+      const bgIndex = col.content.length;
+
+      const tag = scene.add.text(0, cy, desc.category.toUpperCase(), {
+        fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '13px', color: '#7fb8e8',
+      });
+      col.content.add(tag);
+      const chevron = scene.add.text(w - 20, cy, isOpen ? '▾' : '▸', {
+        fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '16px', color: '#7f97b3',
+      });
+      col.content.add(chevron);
+      cy += tag.height + 4;
+
+      const headline = scene.add.text(0, cy, desc.headline, {
+        fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '19px', color: '#e8f4ff', wordWrap: { width: w - 30 },
+      });
+      col.content.add(headline);
+      cy += headline.height + 10;
+
+      if (isOpen) {
+        for (const ln of desc.lines) {
+          const t = scene.add.text(16, cy, ln.text, {
+            fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '15px', color: ln.color ?? '#9fb6cc', wordWrap: { width: w - 46 },
+          });
+          col.content.add(t);
+          cy += t.height + 6;
+        }
+        cy += 4;
+      }
+
+      const bg = scene.add.rectangle(0, rowTop, w, cy - rowTop, ROW_BG, 0).setOrigin(0, 0)
+        .setInteractive({ useHandCursor: true });
+      col.content.addAt(bg, bgIndex);
+      bg.on('pointerover', () => bg.setFillStyle(ROW_BG, 0.4));
+      bg.on('pointerout', () => bg.setFillStyle(ROW_BG, 0));
+      // A mask is a rendering concern only — a row scrolled out of the visible
+      // band is still hit-testable, so every handler has to ask the column.
+      bg.on('pointerup', (p) => {
+        if (!col.contains(p)) return;
+        if (expanded.has(i)) expanded.delete(i); else expanded.add(i);
+        render();
+      });
+
+      col.content.add(scene.add.rectangle(0, cy, w, 1, ACCENT, 0.18).setOrigin(0, 0));
+      cy += 16;
+    }
+    col.contentHeight = cy;
+    col.setOffset(col.offset);
+  };
+  render();
+
+  const btn = new Button(scene, shell.x + shell.width / 2, shell.y + shell.height - 34, 'Continue', () => {
+    col.destroy();
+    shell.destroy();
+    onClose?.();
+  }, { width: 220, height: 44 });
+  shell.add(btn);
+
+  return shell;
+}
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/sprites.md b/src/games/mastervega/sprites.md
index 80c8ed8..b69f2c0 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/sprites.md
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/sprites.md
@@ -18,12 +18,12 @@ world backdrops (§2b) are opaque 1920 × 1080 scenes for the colony screen.
 
 ---
 
-## 1. `ships` — ⬜ `assets/images/vega/ships.png`
+## 1. `ships` — ✅ `assets/images/vega/ships.png`
 
 | | |
 |---|---|
-| Sheet size | **768 × 960** |
-| Frame | **96 × 96** |
+| Sheet size | **1536 × 1920** |
+| Frame | **192 × 192** |
 | Grid | 8 cols × 10 rows = 80 frames |
 
 **One row per species, one column per hull.** Frame = `species.shipFrame × 8 + hull.frame`.
@@ -44,9 +44,61 @@ Columns (hull):
 Rows (species): 0 Human, 1 Kestrelli, 2 Ursaal, 3 Umbrix, 4 Kkrix, 5 Mekhan,
 6 Rrashaa, 7 Cerebrai, 8 Ssakar, 9 Lithox.
 
-**Ships face UP.** The star map and battle screen rotate them. Each species has
-a colour in the rules file — art can ignore it (the sprite is used as-is) or
-lean into it. Silhouette matters more than detail: these draw at ~24–58 px.
+**Ships face UP.** The battle screen rotates them ±90° so the two sides face each
+other. Each species has a colour in the rules file — art can ignore it (the
+sprite is used as-is) or lean into it.
+
+Only the human row is painted so far; the other nine fall back to the procedural
+stand-in, which is cut at the same 192px geometry.
+
+> The **thumbnails and the detail window turn the hull a full 180°** — a
+> deliberate look, not a correction. `makeShipIcon` in `VegaShipMedia.js` is the
+> one place that does it, with `setAngle(180)` rather than `setFlipY`: a flip
+> would mirror the hull's asymmetries, a rotation does not.
+
+---
+
+### 1b. Ship commander videos — 🟨 `assets/videos/vega/ship-<species>-<hull>.mp4`
+
+**Not part of the sheet.** One looping **256 × 256** muted clip per species *per
+hull* — the officer who flies that class — shown beside the hull on every ship
+row and at full size in the detail window.
+
+Declared in `shipVideos` in `data/mastervega-artwork.json`, nested
+`species → hull id → { key, path }`. A species with none recorded is a single
+`null`. Same drop-in contract as everything else: drop the files, add the lines,
+no code changes.
+
+The fallback ladder is one tier deeper than the species portraits:
+
+1. this species' clip for this hull — `shipVideos[species][hull]`
+2. the species' own portrait video — `portraitVideos[species]` (§ below)
+3. its 1024px still — `portraitStills[species]`
+4. a frame on the procedural `portraits` sheet
+
+So a gap is never a hole: every row shows a moving face from day one, and each
+new race lights up one clip at a time. `starbase` has no clip for anyone and is
+expected to keep falling through.
+
+| Hull id | File suffix | Human |
+|---|---|---|
+| `scout` | `ship-human-scout.mp4` | ✅ |
+| `colonyship` | ⚠️ `ship-human-**colony**.mp4` | ✅ |
+| `transport` | `ship-human-transport.mp4` | ✅ |
+| `frigate` | `ship-human-frigate.mp4` | ✅ |
+| `destroyer` | `ship-human-destroyer.mp4` | ✅ |
+| `cruiser` | `ship-human-cruiser.mp4` | ✅ |
+| `battleship` | `ship-human-battleship.mp4` | ✅ |
+| `starbase` | — | ⬜ falls back |
+
+> ⚠️ The colony ship's file is `ship-human-colony.mp4` while its hull id is
+> `colonyship`. Same class of mismatch as `char-cerebai.mp4`: the manifest points
+> at the real filename and the verifier confirms both the file and the derived
+> texture key, so wiring it the wrong way round fails immediately rather than
+> 404ing in the browser.
+
+Rows: kestrelli, ursaal, umbrix, kkrix, mekhan, rrashaa, cerebrai, ssakar and
+lithox are all ⬜ — nine species × seven hulls outstanding.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js b/tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js
index c6161ca..e177537 100644
--- a/tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js
+++ b/tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@ import {
   ensureSheets, shipFrame, planetFrame, techFrame, buildingFrame,
   speciesVideoKey, speciesStillKey, speciesSpeechClip, UI_SPEECH, worldBgKey,
 } from '../src/games/mastervega/VegaArt.js';
+// Ship media is addressed here and nowhere else, so the key convention is
+// checkable without a canvas.
+import { shipVideoKey } from '../src/games/mastervega/VegaShipMedia.js';
 
 const QUICK = process.argv.includes('--quick');
 const gamesArg = process.argv.find((a) => a.startsWith('--games='));
@@ -254,6 +257,56 @@ section('2. Procedural art');
     check(`species ${s.id} has a portraitStills entry`, stillIds.includes(s.id));
   }
 
+  // Ship commander videos, one per species PER HULL. Unlike the three blocks
+  // above, an absent entry here is not a defect — it falls back to that
+  // species' own portrait video, which is why nine of the ten species are a
+  // single `null`. So the count below is reported rather than asserted, and
+  // what IS asserted is that nothing declared is wrong: a key that does not
+  // match shipVideoKey() loads a video nothing will ever ask for, and is
+  // exactly the mistake the colonyship/`ship-human-colony.mp4` filename
+  // mismatch invites.
+  const shipVids = artJson.shipVideos ?? {};
+  const shipVidSpecies = Object.keys(shipVids).filter((k) => !k.startsWith('_'));
+  let shipClips = 0;
+  for (const id of shipVidSpecies) {
+    check(`shipVideos entry ${id} is a known species`, !!RULES.species[id]);
+    const hulls = shipVids[id];
+    if (!hulls) continue;
+    for (const hullId of Object.keys(hulls).filter((k) => !k.startsWith('_'))) {
+      const v = hulls[hullId];
+      check(`shipVideos ${id}.${hullId} is a known hull`, !!RULES.hulls[hullId]);
+      check(`shipVideos ${id}.${hullId} key matches the loader's key`,
+        v?.key === shipVideoKey(id, hullId), `${v?.key} vs ${shipVideoKey(id, hullId)}`);
+      if (v?.path) {
+        shipClips += 1;
+        check(`shipVideos ${id}.${hullId} file exists`,
+          existsSync(join(root, v.path)), v.path);
+        check(`shipVideos ${id}.${hullId} is an mp4`, v.path.endsWith('.mp4'));
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  for (const s of RULES.speciesList) {
+    // Declared-or-null, so adding a species cannot silently skip the question.
+    check(`species ${s.id} has a shipVideos entry (possibly null)`,
+      shipVidSpecies.includes(s.id));
+    // The fallback the gaps rely on. Without it a missing clip is a hole.
+    check(`species ${s.id} has a shipVideos fallback portrait`, !!vids[s.id]?.path);
+  }
+  console.log(`     (${shipClips}/${RULES.speciesList.length * RULES.hullList.length} `
+    + 'ship commander clips recorded; the rest fall back to the species portrait)');
+
+  // Every species x hull must land inside the declared `ships` grid, or a row
+  // of the fleet panel draws a frame that does not exist.
+  const shipSheet = artJson.sheets?.ships;
+  const shipCells = (shipSheet?.cols ?? 0) * (shipSheet?.rows ?? 0);
+  for (const s of RULES.speciesList) {
+    for (const h of RULES.hullList) {
+      const f = shipFrame(RULES, s.id, h.id);
+      check(`shipFrame ${s.id}/${h.id} is inside the ships sheet`,
+        f >= 0 && f < shipCells, `${f} of ${shipCells}`);
+    }
+  }
+
   // World backdrops for the colony screen. These are 1920x1080 opaque images,
   // NOT frames on the `planets` sheet — that one holds transparent 192px discs
   // for the orrery, which is a different picture of the same world. Same