diff --git a/ui/docs/battle-viewer-ux.md b/ui/docs/battle-viewer-ux.md
index 4a4d7e2..93f8773 100644
--- a/ui/docs/battle-viewer-ux.md
+++ b/ui/docs/battle-viewer-ux.md
@@ -135,14 +135,31 @@ stay drawn so the user can study the current shot.
 ## Phantom destroys
 
 Legacy emitters (the `dg` engine format that feeds the synthetic-
-report path) occasionally log more `Destroyed` lines against a
-ship-group bucket than the bucket's initial population — the
-emitter keeps recording hits past the moment the group emptied.
-`buildFrames` clamps each per-group remaining count at zero and
-only decrements race totals on a real shrink, so a race stays on
-the scene until its actual ships are gone. The phantom shots still
-draw a line during the frame they belong to; only the running
-counters are protected.
+report path) occasionally log more `Destroyed` (and `Shields`)
+lines against a ship-group bucket than the bucket's initial
+population — the emitter keeps recording hits past the moment a
+group emptied. `buildFrames` marks every such frame as
+`phantom: true` and skips the race-total decrement so the race
+stays on the scene until its actual ships are gone.
+
+During play the BattleViewer fast-forwards through streaks of
+phantom frames via a 0 ms timer so the user never sees a silent
+gap (KNNTS041 had ~30 phantom frames between shots 224 and 255
+right after the last `Nails:pup` died). Step controls and the
+scrubber can still land on a phantom frame deliberately — useful
+when inspecting the protocol entry that the engine emitted into
+the void.
+
+## Final-frame freeze
+
+When the last protocol action eliminates a race, the surviving
+side would otherwise reflow alone to the planet ring at the very
+last shot — visually jarring and uninformative. `displayFrame`
+freezes the layout-determining state (`remaining` and
+`activeRaceIds`) at the penultimate frame's values while keeping
+the final frame's `shotIndex` and `lastAction`, so the killing
+shot still renders as a line + flash against the picture the user
+saw a moment earlier.
 
 ## Header + layout
 
diff --git a/ui/frontend/src/lib/battle-player/battle-viewer.svelte b/ui/frontend/src/lib/battle-player/battle-viewer.svelte
index f2395a8..e1704d6 100644
--- a/ui/frontend/src/lib/battle-player/battle-viewer.svelte
+++ b/ui/frontend/src/lib/battle-player/battle-viewer.svelte
@@ -46,17 +46,62 @@ matching `pkg/model/report/battle.go` and it plays back.
 	let shotVisible = $state(true);
 	let logEl = $state<HTMLOListElement | null>(null);
 
-	const frame = $derived(frames[Math.min(frameIndex, frames.length - 1)]);
+	const rawFrame = $derived(frames[Math.min(frameIndex, frames.length - 1)]);
+
+	// displayFrame freezes the layout at the penultimate frame's
+	// state once the protocol's last action eliminates a race, so
+	// the surviving cluster does not suddenly reflow onto the
+	// planet ring on the very last shot. The frame counter still
+	// advances to the final shot and `lastAction` still drives the
+	// killing line + flash; only `remaining` and `activeRaceIds`
+	// (the layout-determining state) freeze.
+	const displayFrame = $derived.by(() => {
+		const last = frames.length - 1;
+		if (
+			frameIndex === last &&
+			last >= 1 &&
+			frames[last].activeRaceIds.length < frames[last - 1].activeRaceIds.length
+		) {
+			const prev = frames[last - 1];
+			const cur = frames[last];
+			return {
+				shotIndex: cur.shotIndex,
+				lastAction: cur.lastAction,
+				phantom: cur.phantom,
+				remaining: prev.remaining,
+				activeRaceIds: prev.activeRaceIds,
+			};
+		}
+		return rawFrame;
+	});
 
 	// One tick per frame: blink the shot line off during the last
 	// 10 % of the frame's interval, then advance. Effect re-arms
 	// whenever frameIndex / playing / speed changes; previous
 	// timers clean up through the return.
+	//
+	// A phantom frame (shot against an already-empty defender)
+	// would otherwise hold the scene silent for the full interval.
+	// During play we fast-forward to the next non-phantom frame
+	// through a 0 ms timer, so streaks of phantoms (KNNTS041
+	// frames 225..255, 401..414, …) collapse into a single tick
+	// from the user's POV.
 	$effect(() => {
 		void frameIndex;
 		void speed;
 		shotVisible = true;
 		if (!playing) return;
+		if (rawFrame.phantom && frameIndex < frames.length - 1) {
+			let next = frameIndex + 1;
+			while (next < frames.length - 1 && frames[next].phantom) {
+				next++;
+			}
+			const target = next;
+			const skip = setTimeout(() => {
+				frameIndex = target;
+			}, 0);
+			return () => clearTimeout(skip);
+		}
 		const intervalMs = 400 / speed;
 		const blinkOff = setTimeout(() => {
 			shotVisible = false;
@@ -77,7 +122,7 @@ matching `pkg/model/report/battle.go` and it plays back.
 	// Auto-scroll the visible log row into view so the highlight
 	// keeps up with the timeline on long battles.
 	$effect(() => {
-		void frame.shotIndex;
+		void displayFrame.shotIndex;
 		if (!logOpen || logEl === null) return;
 		const current = logEl.querySelector(
 			'li[data-current="true"]',
@@ -150,12 +195,12 @@ matching `pkg/model/report/battle.go` and it plays back.
 			})}
 		</h2>
 		<span class="progress" data-testid="battle-frame-index">
-			{frame.shotIndex} / {report.protocol.length}
+			{displayFrame.shotIndex} / {report.protocol.length}
 		</span>
 	</header>
 
 	<div class="scene">
-		<BattleScene {report} {frame} {shipClassLookup} {shotVisible} />
+		<BattleScene {report} frame={displayFrame} {shipClassLookup} {shotVisible} />
 	</div>
 
 	<input
@@ -188,7 +233,7 @@ matching `pkg/model/report/battle.go` and it plays back.
 				{#each report.protocol as _action, i (i)}
 					<li
 						data-testid="battle-protocol-log-item"
-						data-current={i + 1 === frame.shotIndex ? "true" : "false"}
+						data-current={i + 1 === displayFrame.shotIndex ? "true" : "false"}
 					>
 						<button
 							type="button"
diff --git a/ui/frontend/src/lib/battle-player/timeline.ts b/ui/frontend/src/lib/battle-player/timeline.ts
index 267eb79..63dfe1c 100644
--- a/ui/frontend/src/lib/battle-player/timeline.ts
+++ b/ui/frontend/src/lib/battle-player/timeline.ts
@@ -19,12 +19,19 @@ import type {
  * `BattleReport.ships`; `activeRaceIds` are the race indices with at
  * least one surviving in-battle group. `lastAction` is the action
  * applied to produce this frame, or `null` for the initial frame.
+ * `phantom` is true when the action's defender ship-group was
+ * already at zero before the action ran — legacy emitters keep
+ * logging hits past the moment a group emptied. The viewer fast-
+ * forwards through phantom frames during play so the user never
+ * sees a silent gap; the frame is still in the sequence so step
+ * controls and the scrubber can land on it deliberately.
  */
 export interface Frame {
 	shotIndex: number;
 	remaining: Map<number, number>;
 	activeRaceIds: number[];
 	lastAction: BattleActionReport | null;
+	phantom: boolean;
 }
 
 export interface NormalisedGroup {
@@ -95,6 +102,7 @@ export function buildFrames(report: BattleReport): Frame[] {
 		remaining: new Map(initialRemaining),
 		activeRaceIds: collectActiveRaces(raceTotals),
 		lastAction: null,
+		phantom: false,
 	});
 
 	const groupRaceByKey = new Map<number, number>();
@@ -104,26 +112,20 @@ export function buildFrames(report: BattleReport): Frame[] {
 	const runningRaceTotals = new Map(raceTotals);
 	for (let i = 0; i < report.protocol.length; i++) {
 		const action = report.protocol[i];
-		if (action.x) {
-			// Decrement only when the targeted group actually has
-			// ships left. Legacy emitters (the `dg` text format used
-			// by the synthetic-report path) sometimes ship more
-			// `Destroyed` lines than the group's initial population —
-			// looks like the engine keeps logging hits against an
-			// already-empty ship-group bucket. Without this guard
-			// `runningRaceTotals` decrements on every phantom and the
-			// race vanishes from `activeRaceIds` long before its
-			// real groups were all destroyed (KNNTS041 battle on
-			// planet 7, frame ≈ 406 of 2317). The line still draws
-			// for that frame so the user sees the shot happen.
-			const left = current.get(action.sd) ?? 0;
-			if (left > 0) {
-				current.set(action.sd, left - 1);
-				const raceId = groupRaceByKey.get(action.sd);
-				if (raceId !== undefined) {
-					const t = (runningRaceTotals.get(raceId) ?? 0) - 1;
-					runningRaceTotals.set(raceId, Math.max(0, t));
-				}
+		// A shot whose defender group was empty before the action
+		// ran is a phantom: legacy emitters keep logging hits past
+		// the moment a group emptied. We keep the frame in the
+		// sequence (step controls and the scrubber can still land
+		// on it deliberately) but mark it so the play loop fast-
+		// forwards across the silent gap.
+		const leftBefore = current.get(action.sd) ?? 0;
+		const phantom = leftBefore === 0;
+		if (action.x && !phantom) {
+			current.set(action.sd, leftBefore - 1);
+			const raceId = groupRaceByKey.get(action.sd);
+			if (raceId !== undefined) {
+				const t = (runningRaceTotals.get(raceId) ?? 0) - 1;
+				runningRaceTotals.set(raceId, Math.max(0, t));
 			}
 		}
 		frames.push({
@@ -131,6 +133,7 @@ export function buildFrames(report: BattleReport): Frame[] {
 			remaining: new Map(current),
 			activeRaceIds: collectActiveRaces(runningRaceTotals),
 			lastAction: action,
+			phantom,
 		});
 	}
 
diff --git a/ui/frontend/tests/battle-player.test.ts b/ui/frontend/tests/battle-player.test.ts
index c735c05..b5af86e 100644
--- a/ui/frontend/tests/battle-player.test.ts
+++ b/ui/frontend/tests/battle-player.test.ts
@@ -208,6 +208,15 @@ describe("buildFrames phantom-destroy clamp", () => {
 		// the only active race for the remainder of the protocol.
 		expect(frames[5].remaining.get(10)).toBe(0);
 		expect(frames[5].activeRaceIds).toEqual([1]);
+		// Phantom flags: first two destroys land on a non-empty
+		// group → real shots; the remaining three are phantoms.
+		expect(frames[1].phantom).toBe(false);
+		expect(frames[2].phantom).toBe(false);
+		expect(frames[3].phantom).toBe(true);
+		expect(frames[4].phantom).toBe(true);
+		expect(frames[5].phantom).toBe(true);
+		// The initial frame is never a phantom.
+		expect(frames[0].phantom).toBe(false);
 	});
 
 	it("keeps a race active while phantom destroys hit one of its empty groups", () => {