diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index 0476d8b..a004148 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "voyage",
   "description": "Voyage — brief, research, plan, execute, review, continue. Contract-driven Claude Code pipeline. /trekbrief, /trekplan, and /trekreview each end by building a self-contained operator-annotation HTML (scripts/annotate.mjs, modelled on claude-code-100x): select text or click any element, pick intent (Fiks/Endre/Spørsmål), write comment, copy structured prompt, paste back, Claude revises the .md.",
-  "version": "5.8.0",
+  "version": "5.9.0",
   "author": {
     "name": "Kjell Tore Guttormsen"
   },
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5827ae6..973a917 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,43 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 
+## v5.9.0 — 2026-07-02 — Fable model tier + deep-research engine
+
+Additive, plus one behavior alignment: profile `phase_models` now reach sub-agent spawn sites (previously documented but never wired), and the seven command orchestrators no longer pin `model: opus` — frontmatter omits `model:`, so the orchestrator follows the session model.
+
+### Fable model tier
+
+- `fable` (→ Claude Fable 5, Mythos-class, positioned above Opus) is an accepted model value throughout the validation chain: `BASE_ALLOWED_MODELS` widened to `['sonnet', 'opus', 'fable']` in `lib/validators/profile-validator.mjs` — the single source imported by brief-validator and phase-signal-resolver (two-layer gate preserved; accept-fable AND reject-unknown-model covered at both layers). No env gate — haiku's `VOYAGE_ALLOW_HAIKU` opt-in stays as-is.
+- `/trekbrief` Phase 3.5 tier loop offers a 4th option: `fable → {effort: high, model: fable}`. AskUserQuestion's 4-option maximum is now fully used — a 5th tier requires a loop redesign. The fable tier reuses `effort: high` orchestration semantics; `EFFORT_LEVELS` is unchanged.
+- New built-in profile `lib/profiles/fable.yaml` (all six phases on `fable`, modeled on premium; registered in `BUILTIN_NAMES` with a `loadProfile('fable')` canary test so a registry regression fails loudly instead of silently resolving premium). Premium stays the default.
+- Reasoning effort is inherited from the session: Fable 5's default effort is `high`, NOT xhigh, and switching model resets effort — set xhigh at session level (`/effort xhigh`, the `effortLevel` setting, or `CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL`). Documented canonically in `docs/profiles.md` §Model & effort axes.
+- `claude-fable-5` added to the cost `PRICE_TABLE` ($10/MTok input, $50/MTok output; cache write 5m $12.50 / 1h $20; cache read $1 — verified 2026-07-02 against the official platform pricing docs). `PRICE_TABLE_VERSION` bumped to `2026-07-02`. Without the entry, every fable run would report `cost_usd: null` in the observability export.
+- Profile tables + allowlist prose updated across README, `docs/profiles.md`, `docs/operations.md`, `docs/HANDOVER-CONTRACTS.md`, `docs/architecture.md`, `docs/command-modes.md`, templates, and CLAUDE.md; the S15 doc pins now machine-check the fable row cell-for-cell against `fable.yaml`. The `^(opus|sonnet)…` regex claim in two docs was corrected — validation is an exact string match against `BASE_ALLOWED_MODELS`; the regex never existed in code.
+
+### Behavior alignment: profile `phase_models` now reach sub-agent spawns
+
+- Pre-existing wiring gap (found in exploration): all four pipeline commands invoked only the brief-only `phase-signal-resolver.mjs`, so the `?? profile.phase_models[<phase>]` half of the documented composition rule never executed — `--profile <x>` never reached sub-agent spawns.
+- Fixed with a single composed resolver: `resolver.mjs --resolve-phase-model` now returns `{effort, model, source}` (brief > profile > default, with effort passed through atomically) and is the one CLI the four pipeline commands invoke. A doc-consistency pin requires the composed invocation and forbids the brief-only CLI in command Bash blocks.
+- **Behavior change (contract alignment):** `--profile economy/balanced` now genuinely reaches sub-agent spawn sites for the first time — behavior aligns with what the docs have long claimed. The premium default is unaffected in practice (premium resolves `opus`, which equals the frontmatter fallback).
+- Command frontmatter: the `model: opus` line is DELETED from all seven commands — omission (not the disputed `inherit` literal) is the spelling both official surfaces document as session-inheritance, guarded by a frontmatter-absence doc pin. Accepted tradeoff: in a sonnet session the orchestrator runs on sonnet; re-add a frontmatter pin for deterministic orchestrator choice. The 24 `agents/*.md` `model: opus` pins are untouched (spawn-time injection wins; frontmatter is the fallback). `/trekcontinue`/`/trekendsession` spawn no exploration swarm and get no spawn-site injection; the continue phase is covered at resolver level and follows the session model.
+
+### Bundled unreleased work (since v5.8.0)
+
+- `/trekresearch --engine {swarm|deep-research}` (`581489a..9374820`): opt-in delegation of the external research phase to Claude Code's built-in `/deep-research` workflow, with in-context adapter + self-check, availability fallback to swarm (never hard-fails), and doc-consistency pins across surfaces.
+- brief-validator CLI no-flag invocation fix (`926b768`).
+- Deep-research engine research notes + docs (`60e9e7a`, `9d8e043`).
+
+### Operator + consume-side notes
+
+- The operator-global CLAUDE.md policy "Opus 4.8 default for all subagents" predates the fable tier; updating it is an operator action outside this repo.
+- `/plugin update` compares against a stale local marketplace clone and can report "already at the latest version" after this release (Claude Code issues #35752 / #38271, both closed-not-planned). Reliable refresh: remove + re-add the marketplace, or `git pull --ff-only` in the marketplace clone. Cross-version skew consequence: a stale cached v5.8 brief-validator REJECTS fable-bearing briefs with `BRIEF_INVALID_MODEL` — enum widening is safe for new readers of old data, not old readers of new data.
+- Org `availableModels` with `enforceAvailableModels: true` can make an inheriting orchestrator silently fall back to the first allowed model.
+
+### Release hygiene
+
+- Suite (measured with bare `npm test` at release): **828 (826 pass / 0 fail / 2 skipped)** — +17 over the pre-release ground-truth baseline of 811 measured 2026-07-02 (allowlist/gate coverage, fable profile pins, composed-resolver + frontmatter-absence doc pins, PRICE_TABLE case).
+- Version sync: `plugin.json`, `package.json`, `package-lock.json`, README badge, CHANGELOG top entry all at `5.9.0`, guarded by `doc-consistency.test.mjs`.
+
 ## v5.8.0 — 2026-06-30 — offline gold-scored output eval (SKAL-1·4b)
 
 Additive — no behavior change, no breaking change. Internal eval infrastructure only (`lib/` + `tests/` + docs); no command, agent, profile, or Handover contract touched.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2ad066f..3bd57f1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # trekplan — Brief, Research, Plan, Execute, Review, Continue
 
-![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-5.8.0-blue)
+![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-5.9.0-blue)
 ![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-green)
 ![Platform](https://img.shields.io/badge/platform-Claude%20Code-purple)
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 4da4c04..15784cd 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "voyage",
-  "version": "5.8.0",
+  "version": "5.9.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "voyage",
-      "version": "5.8.0",
+      "version": "5.9.0",
       "license": "MIT",
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=18"
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5720b87..9a93156 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "voyage",
-  "version": "5.8.0",
+  "version": "5.9.0",
   "description": "Voyage — brief, research, plan, execute, review, continue. Contract-driven Claude Code pipeline. /trekbrief, /trekplan, and /trekreview each end by building a self-contained operator-annotation HTML (scripts/annotate.mjs, modelled on claude-code-100x): select text or click any heading/paragraph/list-item, pick intent (Fiks/Endre/Spørsmål), write comment, copy structured prompt, paste back, Claude revises the .md.",
   "type": "module",
   "engines": {