diff --git a/components/home.tsx b/components/home.tsx
index 154f054..200e23b 100644
--- a/components/home.tsx
+++ b/components/home.tsx
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import { CornerDownLeftIcon } from "lucide-react";
 import { GraphView } from "@/components/graph-view";
 import { SetupDialog } from "@/components/setup-dialog";
-import { useZeroKeys, ZeroKeysPill } from "@/components/setup-cta";
+import { useStrongKeyless, useZeroKeys, ZeroKeysPill } from "@/components/setup-cta";
 import { useDefaultSettings } from "@/components/default-settings";
 import { DictationBar, useDictation } from "@/components/dictation";
 import { SidebarToggle } from "@/components/sidebar";
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ export function Home({ initialSettings, initialConfigured }: { initialSettings:
 	// The zero-keys truth (zero-keys wave): no provider key = the pill
 	// takes precedence over the models CTA (keys come first in the chain).
 	const zeroKeys = useZeroKeys();
+	// The strong slot's keyless truth (pre-send key guards, owner interlude
+	// 2026-09-25): keys may exist generally while the STRONG slot's pinned
+	// provider has none — the same skip-everything treatment on send.
+	const strongKeyless = useStrongKeyless();
 	const [setupOpen, setSetupOpen] = useState(false);
 	// Voice dictation (STT wave, 2026-09-17): finals append at the end of the
 	// topic draft; the strip lives in the stats bar's middle slot.
@@ -56,6 +60,17 @@ export function Home({ initialSettings, initialConfigured }: { initialSettings:
 			setSetupOpen(true);
 			return;
 		}
+		// The pre-send KEY guards (owner interlude, no-orphan-chats): the
+		// models case guards BEFORE creation; the key cases must too — a
+		// refused first send would otherwise leave an orphan error-shell
+		// chat in the sidebar (the 503 lands only after POST /api/chats
+		// already created the record). Same skip-everything-and-open-setup
+		// treatment; `force` (setup's onDone replay) bypasses, and the
+		// server's 503 gate remains the belt for /chat/[id] sessions.
+		if (!force && (zeroKeys || strongKeyless)) {
+			setSetupOpen(true);
+			return;
+		}
 		setBusy(true);
 		try {
 			const res = await fetch("/api/chats", {
diff --git a/components/new-session.tsx b/components/new-session.tsx
index 4285bfe..74e99db 100644
--- a/components/new-session.tsx
+++ b/components/new-session.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { DictationBar, useDictation } from "@/components/dictation";
 import { useDefaultSettings } from "@/components/default-settings";
 import { SidebarToggle } from "@/components/sidebar";
 import { SetupDialog } from "@/components/setup-dialog";
-import { useZeroKeys, ZeroKeysPill } from "@/components/setup-cta";
+import { useStrongKeyless, useZeroKeys, ZeroKeysPill } from "@/components/setup-cta";
 import { StatsBar } from "@/components/stats-bar";
 import type { ChatSettings } from "@/src/core";
 
@@ -168,6 +168,10 @@ export function NewSession({
 	// The zero-keys truth (zero-keys wave): no provider key = the pill
 	// takes precedence over the models CTA (keys come first in the chain).
 	const zeroKeys = useZeroKeys();
+	// The strong slot's keyless truth (pre-send key guards, owner interlude
+	// 2026-09-25): keys may exist generally while the STRONG slot's pinned
+	// provider has none — the same skip-everything treatment on send.
+	const strongKeyless = useStrongKeyless();
 	const [setupOpen, setSetupOpen] = useState(false);
 
 	const send = useCallback((force = false) => {
@@ -178,6 +182,16 @@ export function NewSession({
 			setSetupOpen(true);
 			return;
 		}
+		// The pre-send KEY guards (owner interlude, no-orphan-chats): guard
+		// BEFORE startDraftSession creates the record — a refused first
+		// send would otherwise leave an orphan error-shell chat in the
+		// sidebar. Same skip-everything-and-open-setup treatment; `force`
+		// (setup's onDone replay) bypasses, and the server's 503 gate
+		// remains the belt for /chat/[id] sessions.
+		if (!force && (zeroKeys || strongKeyless)) {
+			setSetupOpen(true);
+			return;
+		}
 		setBusy(true);
 		void startDraftSession(text, settings, fetch)
 			.then((target) => {
@@ -185,7 +199,7 @@ export function NewSession({
 				else setBusy(false);
 			})
 			.catch(() => setBusy(false));
-	}, [text, busy, settings, router, configured]);
+	}, [text, busy, settings, router, configured, zeroKeys, strongKeyless]);
 
 	return (
 		<>
diff --git a/components/setup-cta.tsx b/components/setup-cta.tsx
index 246399f..dcf32c0 100644
--- a/components/setup-cta.tsx
+++ b/components/setup-cta.tsx
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import type { AuthKeyStatus } from "@/src/core";
 import { classifyKeys, type ProviderKeyInfo } from "@/components/settings/keys-section";
+import { useModelCatalog } from "@/components/model-picker";
+import type { ModelCatalogResponse } from "@/src/core";
 import { useSettingsSaved } from "@/components/settings-signal";
 
 /** Pure: does a MODEL-PROVIDER key exist among the statuses? Reuses
@@ -72,4 +74,29 @@ export function ZeroKeysPill({ onOpen }: { onOpen: () => void }) {
 			</button>
 		</div>
 	);
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+/** Pure: the strong slot is pinned to a provider whose key is GONE (owner
+ *  interlude, 2026-09-25 — the original deleted-key scenario). The catalog
+ *  already knows both halves: slots.strong is the resolved pin, providers[]
+ *  lists only PRESENT-key providers (keyless ones are absent, the same
+ *  discipline as the search engines). False when the strong slot is unset
+ *  (the models guard owns that case — this check only runs when slots ARE
+ *  configured) or the catalog hasn't loaded (the server gate remains the
+ *  belt). Exported for pins. */
+export function strongKeyless(catalog: ModelCatalogResponse | undefined): boolean {
+	const strong = catalog?.slots.strong;
+	if (!strong) return false;
+	return !catalog.providers.some((p) => p.id === strong.model.provider && p.keyPresent);
+}
+
+/** The strong-slot keyless truth for the PRE-SEND guard (home / /chat/new):
+ *  the catalog seam with re-reads on BOTH signals that can flip it — "keys"
+ *  (a provider key saved or deleted) and "models" (the strong slot
+ *  re-pinned). Live-updates with the page, never mid-send. */
+export function useStrongKeyless(): boolean {
+	const { catalog, refresh } = useModelCatalog();
+	useSettingsSaved((section) => {
+		if (section === "keys" || section === "models") refresh();
+	});
+	return strongKeyless(catalog);
+}
diff --git a/tests/zero-keys.test.tsx b/tests/zero-keys.test.tsx
index c1fbf33..4c2907e 100644
--- a/tests/zero-keys.test.tsx
+++ b/tests/zero-keys.test.tsx
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { describe, it } from "node:test";
 import { createElement } from "react";
 import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
-import { hasProviderKey, ZeroKeysPill } from "../components/setup-cta.tsx";
+import { hasProviderKey, strongKeyless, ZeroKeysPill } from "../components/setup-cta.tsx";
+import type { ModelCatalogResponse } from "../src/core/index.ts";
 import { SetupKeysBody } from "../components/setup-dialog.tsx";
 import { DICTATION_KEYLESS, DEEPGRAM_KEY_ID } from "../components/dictation.tsx";
 import type { AuthKeyStatus } from "../src/core/auth-keys.ts";
@@ -115,4 +116,41 @@ describe("the dictation keyless seam (owner dictation trio)", () => {
 	it("the Deepgram row id matches the keys store (KeysSection openRow)", () => {
 		assert.equal(DEEPGRAM_KEY_ID, "DEEPGRAM_API_KEY");
 	});
-});
\ No newline at end of file
+});
+/** A minimal catalog double — only the two halves the strong-keyless guard
+ *  reads: the strong pin and the present-key providers list. */
+const catalog = (strongProvider: string | null, ...keyedProviders: string[]): ModelCatalogResponse => ({
+	models: [],
+	defaults: null,
+	rolePins: { researcher: null, demoBuilder: null, visualMaker: null, extractor: null, auditor: null },
+	slots: {
+		strong: strongProvider
+			? { model: { provider: strongProvider, id: `${strongProvider}/model` }, thinkingLevel: "low" }
+			: null,
+		cheap: null,
+		vision: null,
+	},
+	providers: keyedProviders.map((id) => ({ id, envVar: `${id.toUpperCase()}_API_KEY`, keyPresent: true })),
+});
+
+describe("strongKeyless — the pre-send guard's truth (owner interlude, no-orphan-chats)", () => {
+	it("strong pinned to a provider whose key is gone: the guard FIRES", () => {
+		// keys exist generally (anthropic), but the strong slot pins openrouter
+		assert.equal(strongKeyless(catalog("openrouter", "anthropic")), true);
+		// no keys at all with a strong pin: also keyless (guard case 1 fires too)
+		assert.equal(strongKeyless(catalog("openrouter")), true);
+	});
+
+	it("strong provider's key present: the guard does NOT fire — the normal send path stays open", () => {
+		assert.equal(strongKeyless(catalog("openrouter", "openrouter", "anthropic")), false);
+		// belt check: a provider row never counts when keyPresent is false
+		const lying = catalog("openrouter", "openrouter", "anthropic");
+		lying.providers[0]!.keyPresent = false;
+		assert.equal(strongKeyless(lying), true);
+	});
+
+	it("no strong pin (the models guard owns that case) or catalog not loaded: false — the server gate remains the belt", () => {
+		assert.equal(strongKeyless(catalog(null, "openrouter")), false);
+		assert.equal(strongKeyless(undefined), false);
+	});
+});