It wouldn’t be the only unavoidable hiccup of the idea, and I did minimize the gap so it’s less like she’s mesmerized by the ship and more that she noticed it and then they’re all surprised by the remaining trooper. Also, I think it’d important to keep the whispers associated closely with the knife itself, in order to continue to get away with the compass removal while propping up the corpse of the legitimacy of the plot device.
And welcome!