diff --git a/scarf/Packages/ScarfCore/Sources/ScarfCore/Models/HermesConstants.swift b/scarf/Packages/ScarfCore/Sources/ScarfCore/Models/HermesConstants.swift
index 6c21d1b..99c1941 100644
--- a/scarf/Packages/ScarfCore/Sources/ScarfCore/Models/HermesConstants.swift
+++ b/scarf/Packages/ScarfCore/Sources/ScarfCore/Models/HermesConstants.swift
@@ -32,10 +32,14 @@ public enum QueryDefaults: Sendable {
 /// consistent budget — and so we have one knob to retune if perf
 /// concerns shift.
 public enum HistoryPageSize: Sendable {
-    /// Initial chat-history load: covers the vast majority of
-    /// sessions in one fetch while keeping the snapshot read bounded
-    /// for the rare 1000+-message session.
-    public nonisolated static let initial = 200
+    /// Initial chat-history load. **Sized to fit the SSH wire payload
+    /// inside a 30-second `RemoteSQLiteBackend.queryTimeout`.** A
+    /// 157-message session at 200-row page size produced enough
+    /// JSON (with `reasoning_content` for thinking models) to time
+    /// out at exactly 30 s on a 420 ms-RTT remote, returning empty.
+    /// 50 rows comfortably fits that envelope. The "Load earlier"
+    /// affordance pages back through older messages on demand.
+    public nonisolated static let initial = 50
     /// Reconnection reconcile against the DB. 200 rows is plenty —
     /// disconnects don't generate hundreds of unseen messages.
     public nonisolated static let reconcile = 200
diff --git a/scarf/Packages/ScarfCore/Sources/ScarfCore/ViewModels/RichChatViewModel.swift b/scarf/Packages/ScarfCore/Sources/ScarfCore/ViewModels/RichChatViewModel.swift
index 8d6afa3..07e96c3 100644
--- a/scarf/Packages/ScarfCore/Sources/ScarfCore/ViewModels/RichChatViewModel.swift
+++ b/scarf/Packages/ScarfCore/Sources/ScarfCore/ViewModels/RichChatViewModel.swift
@@ -1019,6 +1019,18 @@ public final class RichChatViewModel {
     public func loadSessionHistory(sessionId: String, acpSessionId: String? = nil) async {
         await ScarfMon.measureAsync(.sessionLoad, "mac.hydrateMessages") {
         self.sessionId = sessionId
+        // Capture the session-id we're loading FOR so we can verify
+        // it's still the active one before assigning to `messages`.
+        // Without this guard, switching to a small chat while a
+        // larger one is mid-fetch can result in last-write-wins:
+        // the slow fetch finishes after the small chat's, drops
+        // the user back into the big chat's transcript, and the
+        // user has to reselect the small one. Observed in remote
+        // perf captures (parallel fetchMessages calls, one timing
+        // out at 30s for a 157-message session, the other 2-message
+        // chat completing in 425ms; the 30s one's assignment
+        // overwrote the small chat).
+        let loadingForSession = sessionId
         // Force a fresh snapshot pull on remote contexts. An earlier open()
         // would have cached a stale copy — on resume we need whatever
         // Hermes has actually persisted since then, or the resumed session
@@ -1028,9 +1040,21 @@ public final class RichChatViewModel {
         // messages the agent streamed during the user's offline window.
         let opened = await dataService.refresh(forceFresh: true)
         guard opened else { return }
+        // Race-check #1: session id may have changed during refresh.
+        guard self.sessionId == loadingForSession else {
+            ScarfMon.event(.sessionLoad, "mac.hydrateMessages.dropped", count: 1)
+            return
+        }
 
         let pageSize = HistoryPageSize.initial
         var allMessages = await dataService.fetchMessages(sessionId: sessionId, limit: pageSize)
+        // Race-check #2: session id may have changed during the
+        // long fetch (the most common race — a 30s timeout on a
+        // big session lets the user switch to a small one and back).
+        guard self.sessionId == loadingForSession else {
+            ScarfMon.event(.sessionLoad, "mac.hydrateMessages.dropped", count: 1)
+            return
+        }
         // The DB has more on-disk history when the initial fetch
         // saturated the limit. The "Load earlier" affordance reads
         // this flag.
@@ -1043,6 +1067,11 @@ public final class RichChatViewModel {
             originSessionId = sessionId
             self.sessionId = acpId
             let acpMessages = await dataService.fetchMessages(sessionId: acpId, limit: pageSize)
+            // Race-check #3: same guard, after the second fetch.
+            guard self.sessionId == acpId else {
+                ScarfMon.event(.sessionLoad, "mac.hydrateMessages.dropped", count: 1)
+                return
+            }
             if !acpMessages.isEmpty {
                 allMessages.append(contentsOf: acpMessages)
                 allMessages.sort { ($0.timestamp ?? .distantPast) < ($1.timestamp ?? .distantPast) }