diff --git a/packages/api/src/agents/steering/request.ts b/packages/api/src/agents/steering/request.ts
index 929db8010c..fb0bfef524 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/agents/steering/request.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/agents/steering/request.ts
@@ -363,19 +363,21 @@ export async function handleSteerCancel(
     return { status: 200, body: { removed } };
   }
   /**
-   * Awaited: a dropped disarm leaves the owner armed for a steer that no
-   * longer exists, costing one sealed-and-empty boundary — a visibly
-   * truncated answer, not just a stale label.
+   * Awaited so a failed disarm is retried and logged before the response,
+   * but its outcome is deliberately NOT reported to the client.
    *
-   * `removed` stays true regardless: the steer really did leave the queue,
-   * and reporting otherwise would make the client re-show a chip for a steer
-   * that can never arrive. `disarmed: false` surfaces the residual risk
-   * without lying about the removal.
+   * A resolved publish is not proof the owner heard it — the delivery count
+   * includes this replica's own facade subscription — so any `disarmed` flag
+   * would claim a certainty the transport cannot provide, which is the same
+   * over-promise the `preempt` flag was corrected for. Disarm is best effort
+   * with a bounded, self-healing failure: if the clear is lost the owner
+   * seals once, its empty boundary self-clears, and the turn is persisted
+   * `unfinished: true` rather than silently truncated.
+   *
+   * `removed` stays true because it is true — the steer really did leave the
+   * queue, and inverting it would make the client re-show a chip for a steer
+   * that can never arrive.
    */
-  const disarmed = await GenerationJobManager.noteSteersRemoved(
-    streamId,
-    [body.steerId],
-    job.createdAt,
-  );
-  return { status: 200, body: { removed, ...(disarmed === false && { disarmed: false }) } };
+  await GenerationJobManager.noteSteersRemoved(streamId, [body.steerId], job.createdAt);
+  return { status: 200, body: { removed } };
 }
diff --git a/packages/api/src/stream/GenerationJobManager.ts b/packages/api/src/stream/GenerationJobManager.ts
index e38c7668bf..ad29a63162 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/stream/GenerationJobManager.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/stream/GenerationJobManager.ts
@@ -3302,15 +3302,21 @@ class GenerationJobManagerClass {
       return Promise.resolve(true);
     }
     /**
-     * Awaitable so a CANCEL can react to a failed disarm. A dropped clear is
-     * worse than a dropped arm: the owner keeps a level-triggered request for
-     * a steer that no longer exists, seals its next chunk, drains nothing,
-     * and truncates an unrelated answer. Retried once — a transient publish
-     * error is the common case and the retry is cheap — then reported to the
-     * caller so it is not silently swallowed.
+     * Awaitable so a CANCEL retries and logs before responding. A dropped
+     * clear is worse than a dropped arm: the owner keeps a level-triggered
+     * request for a steer that no longer exists, seals its next chunk,
+     * drains nothing, and truncates an unrelated answer. Retried once — a
+     * transient publish error is the common case and the retry is cheap.
      *
-     * Damage is bounded even if both attempts fail: the empty-boundary
-     * self-clear disarms the generation after that single seal.
+     * The returned boolean means "published without error", NOT "the owner
+     * disarmed": the delivery count includes this replica's own facade
+     * subscription, so publication cannot prove receipt. It is for logging
+     * only and must not be surfaced as a guarantee. Proving receipt needs a
+     * correlated request/response over pub-sub.
+     *
+     * Damage is bounded regardless: if the clear is lost the owner seals
+     * once, the empty-boundary self-clear disarms the generation, and the
+     * turn is persisted `unfinished: true` rather than silently truncated.
      */
     const publish = (): Promise<unknown> =>
       Promise.resolve(