diff --git a/docs/audit/stepD-vmhost-20260720.txt b/docs/audit/stepD-vmhost-20260720.txt
index 7d8a36d..5f98731 100644
--- a/docs/audit/stepD-vmhost-20260720.txt
+++ b/docs/audit/stepD-vmhost-20260720.txt
@@ -6,3 +6,30 @@
   on ../modules/maas-vm-host/main.tf line 30, in resource "maas_vm_host" "dc":
   30: resource "maas_vm_host" "dc" {
 
+power_address = "qemu+ssh://jessea123@172.31.0.2/system"
+module.vr1_dc0_vm_host.maas_vm_host.dc: Creating...
+
+Error: ServerError: 503 Service Unavailable (Failed talking to pod: Failed to login to virsh console.)
+
+  with module.vr1_dc0_vm_host.maas_vm_host.dc,
+  on ../modules/maas-vm-host/main.tf line 30, in resource "maas_vm_host" "dc":
+  30: resource "maas_vm_host" "dc" {
+
+  + maas_reported_memory = (known after apply)
+  + vm_host_id           = (known after apply)
+module.vr1_dc0_vm_host.maas_vm_host.dc: Creating...
+
+Error: ServerError: 400 Bad Request (Pod vr1-dc0-inner with type and parameters already exist.)
+
+  with module.vr1_dc0_vm_host.maas_vm_host.dc,
+  on ../modules/maas-vm-host/main.tf line 30, in resource "maas_vm_host" "dc":
+  30: resource "maas_vm_host" "dc" {
+
+module.vr1_dc0_vm_host.maas_vm_host.dc: Creating...
+
+Error: ServerError: 503 Service Unavailable (Failed talking to pod: Virsh command ['domblkinfo', 'vr1-dc0-compute-01', 'vda'] failed: internal error: missing storage backend for 'volume' storage)
+
+  with module.vr1_dc0_vm_host.maas_vm_host.dc,
+  on ../modules/maas-vm-host/main.tf line 30, in resource "maas_vm_host" "dc":
+  30: resource "maas_vm_host" "dc" {
+
diff --git a/docs/changelog-20260719-dc0-deploy-stepB.md b/docs/changelog-20260719-dc0-deploy-stepB.md
index 2b6af51..4b056c4 100644
--- a/docs/changelog-20260719-dc0-deploy-stepB.md
+++ b/docs/changelog-20260719-dc0-deploy-stepB.md
@@ -590,6 +590,48 @@
 - **Revert:** the failed apply created nothing (state empty); `git rm -r
   opentofu/vr1-dc0-maas` removes the root.
 
+## 16. The pod path, chased to its end -- and a SECOND refutation: MAAS virsh
+## pods are incompatible with this repo's node-vm disks
+
+Sequence, each step measured (operator ruled the DEDICATED key: "Dedicated
+MAAS->libvirt key (Recommended)"):
+1. Minted `maas-virsh_ed25519` on the rack (0600, SEC-009 folder), pubkey into
+   the rack user's authorized_keys, private half into the RACK's MAAS snap.
+   Rack snap could then `virsh -c qemu+ssh://...` fine -- **but the apply still
+   failed the same way.**
+2. MEASURED why: MAAS attempts the pod connection from the **REGION**, not the
+   rack. voffice1's snap had no key and no known_hosts -> `Host key
+   verification failed`. Same key + keyscan installed there; region snap then
+   listed the inner domains. (Worth keeping: for a virsh pod, the credential
+   belongs wherever MAAS dials FROM, which is not necessarily the rack that
+   owns the hardware.)
+3. Next apply hit `Pod vr1-dc0-inner ... already exist` -- the two earlier 503s
+   had EACH created a pod server-side before erroring, so MAAS held two broken
+   `cores=0` pods outside tofu state. Deleted both (own residue), re-applied.
+4. Next apply reached the storage inventory and failed:
+   `Virsh command ['domblkinfo','vr1-dc0-compute-01','vda'] failed: internal
+   error: missing storage backend for 'volume' storage`.
+- **ROOT CAUSE, reproduced LOCALLY on the rack** (so not a snap/SSH artifact):
+  `virsh domblkinfo vr1-dc0-compute-01 vda` fails identically at the console
+  with an ACTIVE, autostart pool. libvirtd cannot run domblkinfo against disks
+  declared as pool+volume references -- which is exactly how `modules/node-vm`
+  builds them. **MAAS virsh pods are therefore incompatible with this repo's
+  node-vm disk shape**; making the pod work would mean converting node-vm to
+  file-path disks and re-applying all nine domains.
+- **BUT THE POD IS UNNECESSARY.** Its designed job (D-103) was DISCOVERY, and
+  discovery already happened via PXE enlistment. All MAAS still needs is
+  POWER. MEASURED, working: per-machine `power_type=virsh` +
+  `power_parameters_power_{address,id}` on the canary (`ace-oyster` =
+  `vr1-dc0-control-01`, matched by MAC) -> `maas admin machine
+  query-power-state` returns `{"state": "off"}`. No pod, no domblkinfo, no
+  module change, no touching nine live domains.
+- Roosevelt note that makes this more than expedience: on bare metal each
+  machine carries its OWN power parameters (IPMI/BMC). Per-machine power is
+  the SHAPE Roosevelt uses; the virsh pod is a VR1-only convenience. So the
+  per-machine route is the smaller Roosevelt delta as well as the smaller
+  change here.
+- Both routes are recorded for the operator's ruling; nothing further applied.
+
 ## 8. STAGE-CLOSE QUEUE ITEM (operator directive, 2026-07-20): OPNsense 26.7 review
 
 - Operator directive (verbatim intent): at the proper time/place, review the