diff --git a/.machine_readable/merge-orchestration/LEDGER.a2ml b/.machine_readable/merge-orchestration/LEDGER.a2ml
index 0acb1dc..ebc2739 100644
--- a/.machine_readable/merge-orchestration/LEDGER.a2ml
+++ b/.machine_readable/merge-orchestration/LEDGER.a2ml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
 [metadata]
 workstream = "merge-orchestration"
-version = "0.5.0"
+version = "0.6.0"
 last-updated = "2026-06-14"
 owner = "paraordinate (Jonathan D.A. Jewell)"
 branch = "claude/peaceful-pascal-IRlgq"   # same branch name across all in-scope repos
@@ -66,4 +66,4 @@ hold          = "6a2/STATE,META + anchors/ANCHOR in {hypatia,gitbot-fleet,.git-p
 other-agents  = "claude/nice-ptolemy-lNB8E (standards), claude/loving-cannon-AtUSm (echidna), claude/abi-tier2-and-l10-trans-cycle (vcl-ut), claude/affinescript-migration-wip (reposystem)"
 
 [next]
-step = "Wave-0 design COMPLETE (a1-a5). RUNTIME COMPLETE + OPERATIONALISED + LIVE LOOP. Pipeline merged to main: SENSE Sensor (#492); DELIBERATE Strategist (route_authority public) + Kin.Council competence-aware via KinCompetence (#494); RUNTIME TIER KinGate + FileStore (#494); ACTUATE Dispatcher -> merge-decisions.jsonl -> .git-private-farm actuator (#77); SENSE PRODUCER observe.sh (#78). LIVE LOOP (this commit, Loop module): one run(opts)/plan(...) over the shared store -- read observations -> Sensor.sense -> (KinCompetence weight if trust snapshot given) -> Strategist decide -> KinGate gate -> write merge-decisions.jsonl. THE GATE FINALLY BITES HERE: an arm stays auto_execute only if it CLAIMS the repo -- two mutual-exclusion layers: in-cycle (>=2nd same-repo arm per run -> deferred to report_only via MapSet) + cross-agent/cross-cycle (KinGate persistent per-repo lease; another holder -> deferred) + LE2 meta refuse (defence-in-depth). Token-free: loop only READS store + WRITES manifest/leases; actuator (separate process, holds PAT) reads manifest + merges. Store layout under opts[:store]: observations/ pools/ attestations/ leases/ + merge-decisions.jsonl. Tests: 58 ExUnit (was 54: +4 Loop -- in-cycle dedup, cross-agent conflict, mixed-stats, full store->manifest round-trip; +1 Jason-guarded), 0 failures, local elixir 1.14, mix-format-clean, scanner-clean. PR pending: hypatia (Loop). REMAINING (all owner-side or scheduling, NOT new brain logic): the SCHEDULED TRIGGER that calls Loop.run on a cron/GenServer with a live GoT trust snapshot (KinCompetence.trust_from_got(GraphOfTrust snapshot, bots)) -- pure wiring to an existing scheduler; a5 standards adoption (owner-applied); P3 handshake + mass_squash in actuator; .git-private-farm Actions billing is dead -- fix before the actuator runs scheduled."
+step = "MERGE-ORCHESTRATION SYSTEM COMPLETE + AUTONOMY LOOP CLOSED. Full pipeline on main: SENSE Sensor (#492) + producer observe.sh (#78); DELIBERATE Strategist (route_authority public) + Kin.Council competence-aware via KinCompetence (#494); RUNTIME TIER KinGate + FileStore (#494); LIVE LOOP (#495) -- one Loop.run over the store: observations -> Sensor.sense -> KinCompetence weight -> Strategist/KinCouncil decide -> KinGate gate (in-cycle MapSet dedup + cross-agent per-repo lease + LE2 meta refuse) -> merge-decisions.jsonl; ACTUATE Dispatcher manifest -> .git-private-farm actuate.sh (#77, independent re-verify + gh merge). SCHEDULED TRIGGER (this commit): Scheduler.cycle/1 + Mix task `hypatia.merge_orchestrate` -- the cron/CI entry point. cycle resolves store (opt | MERGE_ORCH_STORE env | data/verisim default), snapshots GoT into the council via KinCompetence.trust_from_got over the fleet roster (:got=:auto builds Hypatia.Neural.GraphOfTrust late-bound via apply/3, degrading to uniform on any failure so a cron never crashes; :got=nil forces uniform; a struct is used directly), runs Loop.run, logs the stats. GoT.trust_score defaults unknown entities to 0.5 neutral. Tests: 61 ExUnit (was 58: +3 Scheduler -- uniform-arms, zero-trust-recuses-to-flag [GoT engaged end to end], MERGE_ORCH_STORE env fallback), 0 failures, local elixir 1.14, mix-format-clean, scanner-clean. PR pending: hypatia (Scheduler + Mix task). The full sense->deliberate->gate->actuate loop now runs from a single `mix hypatia.merge_orchestrate`. REMAINING (all owner-side, NO new brain logic): wire a cron/GenServer-tick to invoke the Mix task on a schedule (e.g. add to learning_scheduler tick, or a CI cron) -- one-liner; a5 standards adoption (owner-applied); P3 handshake + mass_squash in actuator; .git-private-farm Actions billing is dead -- fix before the actuator runs scheduled."
diff --git a/lib/merge_orchestration/scheduler.ex b/lib/merge_orchestration/scheduler.ex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d61af96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/merge_orchestration/scheduler.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+# Copyright (c) 2026 Jonathan D.A. Jewell <j.d.a.jewell@open.ac.uk>
+defmodule Hypatia.MergeOrchestration.Scheduler do
+  @moduledoc """
+  The scheduled trigger — closes the autonomy loop.
+
+  A cron / CI / GenServer tick calls `cycle/1`, which assembles the *live*
+  inputs the pure `Loop` doesn't: it snapshots Graph-of-Trust into the
+  competence weighting, resolves the store path, and runs one `Loop.run/1`.
+
+  The Mix task `hypatia.merge_orchestrate` is the canonical entry point:
+
+      mix hypatia.merge_orchestrate --store data/verisim
+
+  Trust source (`:got` opt):
+
+    * `:auto` (default) — build a live `GraphOfTrust` snapshot, degrading to a
+      uniform council if the neural layer / outcome data isn't available (a
+      scheduled job must never crash the cron);
+    * `nil` — force a uniform council;
+    * a struct — use it directly.
+
+  The `GraphOfTrust` call is late-bound (`apply/3`) so this module stays
+  decoupled from the neural stack at compile time and the logic tests run
+  dependency-free.
+  """
+
+  alias Hypatia.MergeOrchestration.{Loop, KinCompetence}
+  require Logger
+
+  # the fleet whose attestations the council weighs (the bots route_authority names)
+  @fleet ~w(echidnabot patch-bridge panicbot robot-repo-automaton rhodibot sustainabot ci)
+  @default_store "data/verisim"
+
+  @doc "Run one merge-orchestration cycle. Returns the `Loop.run/1` summary (+ `:manifest_path`)."
+  def cycle(opts \\ []) do
+    store = Keyword.get(opts, :store) || System.get_env("MERGE_ORCH_STORE") || @default_store
+    trust = Keyword.get_lazy(opts, :trust, fn -> trust_snapshot(opts) end)
+
+    passthrough = Keyword.take(opts, [:holder, :now, :encode, :decode, :acquire])
+    result = Loop.run([store: store, trust: trust] ++ passthrough)
+
+    Logger.info("[merge-orchestration] cycle #{inspect(result.stats)} -> #{result.manifest_path}")
+    result
+  end
+
+  defp trust_snapshot(opts) do
+    bots = Keyword.get(opts, :bots, @fleet)
+
+    case Keyword.get(opts, :got, :auto) do
+      nil -> %{}
+      :auto -> auto_trust(bots)
+      got -> KinCompetence.trust_from_got(got, bots)
+    end
+  end
+
+  # Build a live GoT snapshot; degrade to a uniform council if it can't be built.
+  defp auto_trust(bots) do
+    got = apply(Hypatia.Neural.GraphOfTrust, :build, [])
+    KinCompetence.trust_from_got(got, bots)
+  rescue
+    e ->
+      Logger.warning(
+        "[merge-orchestration] GoT snapshot unavailable (#{inspect(e)}); uniform council"
+      )
+
+      %{}
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/mix/tasks/hypatia.merge_orchestrate.ex b/lib/mix/tasks/hypatia.merge_orchestrate.ex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18936ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/mix/tasks/hypatia.merge_orchestrate.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+# Copyright (c) 2026 Jonathan D.A. Jewell <j.d.a.jewell@open.ac.uk>
+defmodule Mix.Tasks.Hypatia.MergeOrchestrate do
+  @shortdoc "Run one merge-orchestration cycle (sense → deliberate → gate → manifest)"
+  @moduledoc """
+  The scheduled trigger for the merge-orchestration runtime. Reads the shared
+  store, decides + gates every open-PR observation, and writes the merge-decision
+  manifest the `.git-private-farm` actuator consumes.
+
+      mix hypatia.merge_orchestrate [--store PATH] [--holder NAME]
+
+  Invoke from cron / CI on a schedule. The competence weighting snapshots
+  Graph-of-Trust automatically (degrading to a uniform council if the neural
+  layer is unavailable). The brain only reads the store and writes the manifest;
+  the actuator (a separate, token-bearing process) performs the merges.
+  """
+  use Mix.Task
+
+  alias Hypatia.MergeOrchestration.Scheduler
+
+  @impl Mix.Task
+  def run(argv) do
+    Mix.Task.run("app.start")
+    {opts, _, _} = OptionParser.parse(argv, strict: [store: :string, holder: :string])
+
+    result = Scheduler.cycle(Keyword.take(opts, [:store, :holder]))
+    Mix.shell().info("[merge-orchestration] #{inspect(result.stats)} -> #{result.manifest_path}")
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/merge_orchestration/scheduler_test.exs b/test/merge_orchestration/scheduler_test.exs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb4b9d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/merge_orchestration/scheduler_test.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+# Copyright (c) 2026 Jonathan D.A. Jewell <j.d.a.jewell@open.ac.uk>
+defmodule Hypatia.MergeOrchestration.SchedulerTest do
+  # async: false — one test mutates MERGE_ORCH_STORE in the process env
+  use ExUnit.Case, async: false
+  alias Hypatia.MergeOrchestration.Scheduler
+
+  # a minimal struct exposing trust_score/2 (mirrors Neural.GraphOfTrust's neutral 0.5 default)
+  defmodule FakeGoT do
+    defstruct scores: %{}
+    def trust_score(%__MODULE__{scores: s}, bot), do: Map.get(s, bot, 0.5)
+  end
+
+  @now ~U[2026-06-14 12:00:00Z]
+
+  defp enc, do: fn t -> t |> :erlang.term_to_binary() |> Base.encode64() end
+  defp dec, do: fn b -> b |> Base.decode64!() |> :erlang.binary_to_term() end
+
+  # a store with one council-approved bump (sole approver "ci")
+  defp seed_store do
+    store = Path.join(System.tmp_dir!(), "sched-#{System.unique_integer([:positive])}")
+
+    for sub <- ~w(observations pools attestations leases),
+        do: File.mkdir_p!(Path.join(store, sub))
+
+    e = enc()
+
+    File.write!(
+      Path.join([store, "observations", "hyperpolymath__a__1.json"]),
+      e.(%{
+        "repo" => "hyperpolymath/a",
+        "number" => 1,
+        "branch" => "dependabot/cargo/x",
+        "files" => ["Cargo.lock"]
+      })
+    )
+
+    File.write!(Path.join([store, "pools", "hyperpolymath__a.json"]), e.(%{"pool" => "P2"}))
+
+    File.write!(
+      Path.join([store, "attestations", "ci.json"]),
+      e.(%{
+        "subject" => %{"repo" => "hyperpolymath/a", "number" => 1},
+        "bot" => "ci",
+        "verdict" => "approve",
+        "confidence" => 0.99
+      })
+    )
+
+    store
+  end
+
+  defp codec, do: [now: @now, encode: enc(), decode: dec()]
+
+  test "a cycle with no trust source runs a uniform council and arms the bump" do
+    store = seed_store()
+    r = Scheduler.cycle([store: store, got: nil] ++ codec())
+    assert r.stats.armed == 1
+    File.rm_rf!(store)
+  end
+
+  test "the GoT snapshot flows into the council: a zero-trust sole approver recuses → flagged, not armed" do
+    store = seed_store()
+
+    r =
+      Scheduler.cycle(
+        [store: store, got: %FakeGoT{scores: %{"ci" => 0.0}}, bots: ["ci"]] ++ codec()
+      )
+
+    assert r.stats.armed == 0
+    assert r.stats.flagged == 1
+    File.rm_rf!(store)
+  end
+
+  test "the store path falls back to MERGE_ORCH_STORE when :store is not given" do
+    store = seed_store()
+    System.put_env("MERGE_ORCH_STORE", store)
+
+    r = Scheduler.cycle([got: nil] ++ codec())
+    assert r.manifest_path == Path.join(store, "merge-decisions.jsonl")
+    assert r.stats.armed == 1
+
+    System.delete_env("MERGE_ORCH_STORE")
+    File.rm_rf!(store)
+  end
+end