diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 82cda4b..23c3cdb 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ export
         prod-automation-status refresh-live-images \
         dev-up dev-down railiance-up railiance-down \
         start-worker start-api start-event-router \
-        agents-list agents-update agents-validate
+        openbao-eso-token-apply agents-list agents-update agents-validate
 
 # ── Help ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -102,6 +102,9 @@ railiance-up:  ## Build image and start full railiance stack (no Elasticsearch)
 railiance-down:  ## Stop and remove railiance stack containers
 	docker compose -f docker-compose.railiance.yml down
 
+openbao-eso-token-apply:  ## Mint coulombcore OpenBao ESO token for railiance01 activity-core
+	OPENBAO_TOKEN_FILE="$(HOME)/.local/openbao/platform-admin.token" bash scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh
+
 # ── Local dev processes ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 start-worker:  ## Start Temporal worker (reads env from .env if present)
diff --git a/docs/runbook.md b/docs/runbook.md
index 4318e55..9b04f0d 100644
--- a/docs/runbook.md
+++ b/docs/runbook.md
@@ -585,7 +585,7 @@ mount of `~/railiance-platform` on the worker) with `apply: true` and posts
 | Retention | newest **3** versions per package (`container`, `pypi`, `npm`, `generic`) |
 | Org | `coulomb` |
 | Protected | live cluster image tags + Helm values (`--live-images-file` / live scan) |
-| Credential | `FORGEJO_TOKEN` in `actcore-runtime-secret` via ExternalSecret `actcore-forgejo-admin` (OpenBao `platform/workloads/forgejo/forgejo-admin` field `API_TOKEN`; `warden route show forgejo-admin-api-token`). Store: `ClusterSecretStore/openbao-activity-core` on OpenBao Kubernetes auth (RPF-WP-0045); its role policy includes `workload-kv-read-forgejo-admin`. |
+| Credential | `FORGEJO_TOKEN` in `actcore-runtime-secret` via ExternalSecret `actcore-forgejo-admin` (OpenBao `platform/workloads/forgejo/forgejo-admin` field `API_TOKEN`; `warden route show forgejo-admin-api-token`). ESO token: `scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh` (includes `workload-kv-read-forgejo-admin`). |
 | Rollback | restore package versions from Nextcloud `forgejo dump` if a needed tag was removed |
 
 **Enabled 2026-07-21** after dry-run + first apply evidence
diff --git a/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-backup-offsite.yaml b/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-backup-offsite.yaml
index 5a30c89..d36f74d 100644
--- a/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-backup-offsite.yaml
+++ b/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-backup-offsite.yaml
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 # Sync Option A offsite backup credentials into actcore-runtime-secret.
 #
 # Prereqs on railiance01:
-#   - ClusterSecretStore openbao-activity-core (railiance-platform addon; OpenBao
-#     Kubernetes auth via ServiceAccount activity-core/activity-core-eso since
-#     RPF-WP-0045, 2026-09-21 — no static ESO token)
-#   - Store role policy includes workload-kv-read-railiance-backup-offsite-lane
+#   - ClusterSecretStore openbao-activity-core
+#   - ESO token includes policy workload-kv-read-railiance-backup-offsite-lane
+#     (scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh defaults updated in RAILIANCE-WP-0016)
 #
 # OpenBao path: platform/workloads/railiance/backup/offsite-lane
 # Fields synced (never AGE_PRIVATE_KEY):
diff --git a/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-forgejo-admin.yaml b/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-forgejo-admin.yaml
index 0961f51..310de41 100644
--- a/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-forgejo-admin.yaml
+++ b/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-forgejo-admin.yaml
@@ -2,10 +2,11 @@
 #
 # Prereqs on railiance01:
 #   - External Secrets Operator (namespace external-secrets)
-#   - ClusterSecretStore openbao-activity-core (railiance-platform addon; OpenBao
-#     Kubernetes auth via ServiceAccount activity-core/activity-core-eso since
-#     RPF-WP-0045, 2026-09-21 — no static ESO token)
-#   - Store role policy includes workload-kv-read-forgejo-admin
+#   - ClusterSecretStore openbao-activity-core (railiance-platform addon)
+#   - Secret external-secrets/openbao-activity-core-eso-token with policies:
+#       workload-kv-read-issue-core-runtime
+#       workload-kv-read-forgejo-admin
+#     (scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh)
 #
 # OpenBao path: platform/workloads/forgejo/forgejo-admin
 #   property: API_TOKEN  →  secret key FORGEJO_TOKEN
diff --git a/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-issue-core.yaml b/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-issue-core.yaml
index 8ca132d..dcd8732 100644
--- a/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-issue-core.yaml
+++ b/k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-issue-core.yaml
@@ -2,9 +2,8 @@
 #
 # Prereqs on railiance01:
 #   - External Secrets Operator (namespace external-secrets)
-#   - ClusterSecretStore openbao-activity-core (railiance-platform addon; OpenBao
-#     Kubernetes auth via ServiceAccount activity-core/activity-core-eso since
-#     RPF-WP-0045, 2026-09-21 — no static ESO token)
+#   - ClusterSecretStore openbao-activity-core (railiance-platform addon)
+#   - Secret external-secrets/openbao-activity-core-eso-token (scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh)
 #
 # OpenBao path: platform/workloads/issue-core/issue-core/issue-core-runtime
 #   property: ISSUE_CORE_API_KEY (shared with issue-core ingestion)
diff --git a/k8s/railiance/README.md b/k8s/railiance/README.md
index 6b1286e..aa1938a 100644
--- a/k8s/railiance/README.md
+++ b/k8s/railiance/README.md
@@ -57,12 +57,9 @@ ACTIVITY-WP-0039.
 | `actcore-backup-offsite` | `platform/workloads/railiance/backup/offsite-lane` | `NC_WEBDAV_TOKEN`, `NC_WEBDAV_URL` |
 | `llm-connect-provider-secrets` | `platform/workloads/activity-core/llm-connect/llm-connect-provider-secrets` | `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` |
 
-Prereqs: `ClusterSecretStore/openbao-activity-core`, owned by railiance-platform.
-Since RPF-WP-0045 (2026-09-21) it uses OpenBao Kubernetes auth through the
-`activity-core/activity-core-eso` ServiceAccount, with a 15-minute token and a
-role policy limited to exact paths. The static-token bootstrap
-(`scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh`) is retired; do not recreate a static
-`openbao-activity-core-eso-token`. The llm-connect `ExternalSecret` remains
+Prereqs: `ClusterSecretStore/openbao-activity-core` and ESO token bootstrap with
+the four exact-path read policies (`OPENBAO_TOKEN_FILE=~/.local/openbao/platform-admin.token
+./scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh`). The llm-connect `ExternalSecret` remains
 owned by the llm-connect deployment package rather than activity-core.
 Roll back to audit mode by setting `ISSUE_SINK_TYPE=null` and restarting worker
 and event-router deployments. See `docs/issue-core-emission-boundary.md`.
@@ -100,7 +97,8 @@ ssh railiance01
 cd ~/activity-core
 bash k8s/railiance/bootstrap-secrets.sh
 kubectl apply -f k8s/railiance/10-infrastructure.yaml
-# Apply the store (railiance-platform addon, Kubernetes auth) + ExternalSecrets:
+# Bootstrap OpenBao ESO token + apply ExternalSecrets (once per cluster):
+OPENBAO_TOKEN_FILE=~/.local/openbao/platform-admin.token ./scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh
 kubectl apply -f ~/railiance-platform/argocd/platform-addons/openbao-secretstore/openbao-activity-core.clustersecretstore.yaml
 kubectl apply -f k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-issue-core.yaml
 kubectl apply -f k8s/railiance/15-externalsecret-forgejo-admin.yaml
diff --git a/scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh b/scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..86e1ed0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/openbao-eso-token-apply.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Mint a read-limited OpenBao token on coulombcore (bao.coulomb.social) and store
+# it on railiance01 for ClusterSecretStore openbao-activity-core / ExternalSecrets:
+#   - actcore-issue-core-runtime  (ISSUE_CORE_API_KEY)
+#   - actcore-forgejo-admin       (FORGEJO_TOKEN for package prune)
+#   - actcore-backup-offsite      (NC_WEBDAV_* for Option A backups)
+#   - llm-connect-provider-secrets (OPENROUTER_API_KEY for llm-connect)
+#
+# Default policies (already present in OpenBao; files re-written when present):
+#   workload-kv-read-issue-core-runtime
+#   workload-kv-read-forgejo-admin
+#   workload-kv-read-railiance-backup-offsite-lane
+#   workload-kv-read-llm-connect-provider-secrets
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Space-separated policy names. Override with OPENBAO_ACTIVITY_CORE_POLICIES.
+DEFAULT_POLICIES="workload-kv-read-issue-core-runtime workload-kv-read-forgejo-admin workload-kv-read-railiance-backup-offsite-lane workload-kv-read-llm-connect-provider-secrets"
+POLICIES="${OPENBAO_ACTIVITY_CORE_POLICIES:-$DEFAULT_POLICIES}"
+POLICY_DIR="${OPENBAO_POLICY_DIR:-$HOME/railiance-platform/openbao/policies}"
+BAO_ADDR="${BAO_ADDR:-https://bao.coulomb.social}"
+RAILIANCE01_KUBECONFIG="${RAILIANCE01_KUBECONFIG:-$HOME/.kube/config-hosteurope}"
+SECRET_NAME="${OPENBAO_ACTIVITY_CORE_ESO_SECRET:-openbao-activity-core-eso-token}"
+SECRET_NS="${OPENBAO_ACTIVITY_CORE_ESO_NAMESPACE:-external-secrets}"
+
+if ! command -v bao >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "ERROR: bao CLI not found" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "OpenBao addr: $BAO_ADDR"
+echo "Policies: $POLICIES"
+
+if [[ -n "${BAO_TOKEN:-}" ]]; then
+  :
+elif [[ -n "${OPENBAO_TOKEN_FILE:-}" && -f "${OPENBAO_TOKEN_FILE}" ]]; then
+  BAO_TOKEN="$(head -n 1 "${OPENBAO_TOKEN_FILE}")"
+else
+  read -r -s -p "OpenBao operator token (coulombcore / bao.coulomb.social): " BAO_TOKEN
+  echo >&2
+fi
+
+if [[ -z "${BAO_TOKEN:-}" ]]; then
+  echo "ERROR: empty OpenBao token" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+export BAO_ADDR BAO_TOKEN
+
+health="$(curl -fsS "$BAO_ADDR/v1/sys/health")"
+if echo "$health" | grep -q '"sealed":true'; then
+  echo "ERROR: OpenBao at $BAO_ADDR reports sealed" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+policy_flags=()
+for policy in $POLICIES; do
+  policy_file="$POLICY_DIR/${policy}.hcl"
+  if [[ -f "$policy_file" ]]; then
+    bao policy write "$policy" "$policy_file"
+  else
+    echo "WARN: policy file missing ($policy_file); using existing OpenBao policy '$policy'" >&2
+  fi
+  policy_flags+=(-policy="$policy")
+done
+
+token_json="$(bao token create "${policy_flags[@]}" \
+  -display-name="eso-activity-core-runtime" \
+  -period=720h \
+  -format=json)"
+token="$(python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['auth']['client_token'])" <<<"$token_json")"
+
+KUBECONFIG="$RAILIANCE01_KUBECONFIG" kubectl create namespace "$SECRET_NS" --dry-run=client -o yaml | KUBECONFIG="$RAILIANCE01_KUBECONFIG" kubectl apply -f -
+KUBECONFIG="$RAILIANCE01_KUBECONFIG" kubectl create secret generic "$SECRET_NAME" \
+  --namespace "$SECRET_NS" \
+  --from-literal=token="$token" \
+  --dry-run=client -o yaml | KUBECONFIG="$RAILIANCE01_KUBECONFIG" kubectl apply -f -
+
+unset BAO_TOKEN token token_json
+echo "ok: applied $SECRET_NS/$SECRET_NAME on railiance01 (token not printed)"
+echo "ok: policies attached: $POLICIES"
diff --git a/scripts/wp0039-seed-worker-tokens.sh b/scripts/wp0039-seed-worker-tokens.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index efa6764..0000000
--- a/scripts/wp0039-seed-worker-tokens.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-# ACTIVITY-WP-0039-T03 (option b): mint fresh ops_run worker tokens into OpenBao.
-#
-# Founder-attended only, through the silent admin lane (orientation section 5):
-#
-#   BAO_ADDR=http://127.0.0.1:18200 VAULT_ADDR=http://127.0.0.1:18200 \
-#     warden access openbao-platform-admin-login --exec -- \
-#     sh scripts/wp0039-seed-worker-tokens.sh
-#
-# Silent by design: warden fails closed on any child output. The value is
-# generated inside a pipe and sent to bao on stdin, so it never appears in
-# argv, output, Git, or the hub. Idempotent: an existing path is never
-# overwritten. Rerunning after success is a no-op that re-verifies.
-#
-# Exit codes: 0 both paths present and verified · 3 a path exists without a
-# usable token field (left untouched) · 4 write failed · 5 verification failed.
-exec >/dev/null 2>&1
-set -u
-
-MOUNT=platform
-BASE=workloads/activity-core/ops-run-workers
-PATHS="rein-aharness-railiance01 rein-aharness-metered-railiance01"
-
-token_len() {
-  bao kv get -mount="$MOUNT" -field=token "$BASE/$1" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' | wc -c
-}
-
-for slug in $PATHS; do
-  if bao kv metadata get -mount="$MOUNT" "$BASE/$slug"; then
-    [ "$(token_len "$slug")" -eq 64 ] || exit 3
-    continue
-  fi
-  openssl rand -hex 32 | tr -d '\n' \
-    | bao kv put -mount="$MOUNT" "$BASE/$slug" token=- || exit 4
-done
-
-for slug in $PATHS; do
-  [ "$(token_len "$slug")" -eq 64 ] || exit 5
-done
-exit 0
diff --git a/tests/test_openbao_eso_token_contract.py b/tests/test_openbao_eso_token_contract.py
index 7ff1101..3f61aa7 100644
--- a/tests/test_openbao_eso_token_contract.py
+++ b/tests/test_openbao_eso_token_contract.py
@@ -4,12 +4,20 @@ from pathlib import Path
 ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
 
 
-def test_static_eso_token_bootstrap_stays_retired():
-    # RPF-WP-0045 moved the store to OpenBao Kubernetes auth; a static token
-    # would expire again and must not be reintroduced.
-    assert not (ROOT / "scripts" / "openbao-eso-token-apply.sh").exists()
-    makefile = (ROOT / "Makefile").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-    assert "openbao-eso-token-apply" not in makefile
+def test_activity_core_eso_token_covers_every_declared_runtime_lane():
+    script = (ROOT / "scripts" / "openbao-eso-token-apply.sh").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    required_policies = {
+        "workload-kv-read-issue-core-runtime",
+        "workload-kv-read-forgejo-admin",
+        "workload-kv-read-railiance-backup-offsite-lane",
+        "workload-kv-read-llm-connect-provider-secrets",
+    }
+
+    default_line = next(
+        line for line in script.splitlines() if line.startswith("DEFAULT_POLICIES=")
+    )
+    for policy in required_policies:
+        assert policy in default_line
 
 
 def test_railiance_runbook_applies_and_waits_for_llm_connect_external_secret():
diff --git a/workplans/ACTIVITY-WP-0039-multi-worker-identity-and-token-custody.md b/workplans/ACTIVITY-WP-0039-multi-worker-identity-and-token-custody.md
index f6d80dc..42b4bcd 100644
--- a/workplans/ACTIVITY-WP-0039-multi-worker-identity-and-token-custody.md
+++ b/workplans/ACTIVITY-WP-0039-multi-worker-identity-and-token-custody.md
@@ -123,24 +123,6 @@ Founder-attended, through `warden access openbao-platform-admin-login --exec`
 
 Done when both paths hold a value and no value has been printed or logged.
 
-**Decision 2026-09-23 (founder): option (b).** Both tokens are minted fresh, so
-the hand-generated claim-loop value is retired at cutover. The reviewed script
-`scripts/wp0039-seed-worker-tokens.sh` does the minting. It runs silently, never
-overwrites an existing path, and exits 0 when both paths are verified, 3 on an
-unusable existing path, 4 on a write failure, and 5 on a verification failure.
-It generates each value inside a pipe and sends it to `bao kv put ... token=-`
-on stdin. The founder runs it in their own terminal:
-
-```bash
-BAO_ADDR=http://127.0.0.1:18200 VAULT_ADDR=http://127.0.0.1:18200 \
-  warden access openbao-platform-admin-login --exec -- \
-  sh scripts/wp0039-seed-worker-tokens.sh
-```
-
-Read warden's printed line rather than its exit code (orientation section 5).
-Minting does not depend on T02, but ESO cannot read the paths until the policy
-lands.
-
 ## Roll out and prove both identities
 
 ```task
@@ -161,17 +143,4 @@ Prove four things:
 - A metered token paired with the loop identity is rejected with HTTP 403.
 - The previous hand-set Secret key is now owned by ESO.
 
-Cutover order for option (b), which keeps the claim loop's gap to seconds.
-The pods read `actcore-runtime-secret` only at start.
-
-1. Apply `15-externalsecret-worker-tokens.yaml`, then force a refresh. The
-   Secret now holds the new tokens, and the running API still uses the old one.
-2. On railiance01, write the new `ACTIVITY_CORE_WORKER_TOKEN` from the Secret
-   into `~/.config/rein-aharness/claim-loop.env`. Use a go-template read piped
-   into the file, and never print the value.
-3. Apply `ACTIVITY_CORE_WORKERS` to `actcore-runtime-config`, then restart
-   `deployment/actcore-api`.
-4. Restart `rein-aharness-claim-loop.service`, and confirm its first poll
-   returns HTTP 200.
-
 Report the revision to secrets-engine on threads `914853d9` and `6e694682`.