diff --git a/src/movement/movementScheduler.js b/src/movement/movementScheduler.js
index 0ba6d93..39956b8 100644
--- a/src/movement/movementScheduler.js
+++ b/src/movement/movementScheduler.js
@@ -14,11 +14,16 @@
 //      (stopping / coolingdown / unknown) are skipped.
 //   3. Rendezvous time t* = max(eta_i over ALL non-noop moves). The
 //      slowest move (typically a startup ladder + ramp) sets the deadline.
-//   4. Every command is delayed by (t* − eta_j) so it FINISHES at t*.
-//      Exception: a startup's `execsequence` command must fire NOW so the
-//      ladder can begin — its own duration is what defines eta and thus
-//      t* — but the startup's queued flowmovement (held in the pump's
-//      delayedMove) lands at t* by construction.
+//   4. Every command — including a startup's `execsequence` — is delayed by
+//      (t* − eta_j) so its move FINISHES at t*. A startup is delayed as a
+//      whole: its ladder begins at (t* − eta) and completes at (t* − rampS),
+//      then the queued flowmovement (held in the pump's delayedMove) ramps to
+//      finish at t*. The slowest mover (t* − eta == 0) fires immediately.
+//      Delaying the ladder — rather than firing it at tick 0 — is what keeps a
+//      faster-than-slowest startup from reaching `operational` early and
+//      sitting at its MINIMUM flow before t* (calcFlow at min position is not
+//      zero), which otherwise leaks ~min-flow into the group total ahead of
+//      the rendezvous (the staging bump).
 //
 //   Net effect: ALL pumps reach their per-pump flow target at the same
 //   wall-clock instant t*. Sum-of-flows is monotonic during the transition
@@ -177,38 +182,31 @@ function plan(profiles, combination, currentPressure, options = {}) {
         const isUnchanged = q.direction === 'unchanged';
 
         if (q.action === 'startup') {
-            // execsequence MUST begin NOW — the ladder duration is
-            // baked into eta and can't be compressed.
+            // Just-in-time start. Delay the ENTIRE startup — ladder AND ramp —
+            // by (t* − eta), so the warmup ladder finishes (and the ramp
+            // begins) at (t* − rampS) and the flow lands exactly at t*.
+            //
+            // The ladder duration can't be compressed, but it CAN be delayed.
+            // Firing the execsequence at tick 0 (the old behaviour) made a
+            // faster-than-slowest startup reach `operational` early and sit at
+            // its minimum flow from warmup-end until its delayed ramp — leaking
+            // ~min-flow into the group total before t* (the staging bump). For
+            // the slowest pump (eta == t*) fireAtTickNDelayed is 0, so it still
+            // fires immediately. The flowmovement fires on the same tick; the
+            // pump holds it in delayedMove through the ladder, then ramps over
+            // rampS to finish at t*.
             commands.push({
                 machineId: q.machineId,
                 action: 'execsequence',
                 sequence: 'startup',
-                fireAtTickN: 0,
+                fireAtTickN: fireAtTickNDelayed,
                 eta: q.eta,
             });
-            // flowmovement timing.
-            //
-            // Default behaviour: queue it at tick 0; the pump's
-            // delayedMove holds it until warmup completes, after which
-            // the pump ramps at its own velocity. That ramp finishes at
-            // ladderS + rampS = eta. For a single pump (eta == tStar)
-            // this naturally lands at tStar — no extra delay needed.
-            //
-            // Mixed-speed multi-startup: if this pump is FASTER than
-            // the slowest one, its natural landing (at its own eta)
-            // is EARLIER than tStar. Delay the flowmovement so the
-            // ramp starts at (tStar − rampS), making the ramp finish
-            // at tStar regardless of per-pump speed.
-            const naturalRampStartS = q.ladderS;
-            const rendezvousRampStartS = tStar - q.rampS;
-            const flowMoveFireAtS = rendezvousRampStartS > naturalRampStartS
-                ? rendezvousRampStartS
-                : 0;
             commands.push({
                 machineId: q.machineId,
                 action: 'flowmovement',
                 flow: q.targetFlow,
-                fireAtTickN: Math.max(0, Math.round(flowMoveFireAtS / tickS)),
+                fireAtTickN: fireAtTickNDelayed,
                 eta: q.eta,
             });
         } else if (q.action === 'flowmove') {
diff --git a/test/basic/movementScheduler.basic.test.js b/test/basic/movementScheduler.basic.test.js
index c230d83..13f4c7e 100644
--- a/test/basic/movementScheduler.basic.test.js
+++ b/test/basic/movementScheduler.basic.test.js
@@ -242,34 +242,29 @@ test('plan: mixed-speed multi-startup — fast pumps wait so all land at tStar t
     // tStar = max(eta_A, eta_B, eta_C) = 130 s.
     assert.ok(Math.abs(out.tStarS - 130) < 0.01, `tStar should be 130; got ${out.tStarS}`);
 
-    // execsequence fires at 0 for ALL idle pumps (the ladder must start now).
+    // Just-in-time: the WHOLE startup (ladder + ramp) is delayed by (tStar −
+    // eta), so both execsequence and flowmovement fire at the same delayed
+    // tick. eta_A = 30 + 33.33 ≈ 63.33, eta_B = 40, eta_C = 130.
+    //   A: round(130 − 63.33) = 67
+    //   B: round(130 − 40)    = 90
+    //   C: round(130 − 130)   = 0  (slowest — defines tStar, fires now)
+    const delays = { A: Math.round(130 - (30 + 100 / 3)), B: 90, C: 0 };
     for (const id of ['A', 'B', 'C']) {
         const exec = out.commands.find((c) => c.machineId === id && c.action === 'execsequence');
+        const flow = out.commands.find((c) => c.machineId === id && c.action === 'flowmovement');
         assert.ok(exec, `${id} execsequence present`);
-        assert.equal(exec.fireAtTickN, 0, `${id} execsequence fires immediately`);
+        assert.ok(flow, `${id} flowmovement present`);
+        assert.equal(exec.fireAtTickN, delays[id], `${id} ladder delayed to land at tStar`);
+        assert.equal(flow.fireAtTickN, delays[id], `${id} flowmovement fires with the ladder`);
     }
 
-    // flowmovement gating — each pump's ramp must FINISH at tStar=130.
-    const flowA = out.commands.find((c) => c.machineId === 'A' && c.action === 'flowmovement');
-    const flowB = out.commands.find((c) => c.machineId === 'B' && c.action === 'flowmovement');
-    const flowC = out.commands.find((c) => c.machineId === 'C' && c.action === 'flowmovement');
-
-    // A (medium): rampStart = 130 − 33.33 ≈ 96.67 → fireAtTickN = 97.
-    assert.equal(flowA.fireAtTickN, Math.round(130 - 100 / 3));
-    // B (fast): rampStart = 130 − 10 = 120 → fireAtTickN = 120.
-    assert.equal(flowB.fireAtTickN, 120);
-    // C (slow, defines tStar): rendezvousRampStart = 130 − 100 = 30 == ladderS,
-    // so no extra delay needed — fall back to fireAtTickN=0 and let
-    // the pump's delayedMove fire it naturally at warmup-end.
-    assert.equal(flowC.fireAtTickN, 0);
-
-    // Sanity: with these schedules, all three pumps' ramps end at the
-    // same wall-clock instant (within rounding).
-    // A: 97 + 100/3 ≈ 130.33
-    // B: 120 + 10 = 130
-    // C: 30 (delayedMove) + 100 = 130
-    // Max spread ≈ 0.33 s — far better than the per-eta spread of
-    // 130 − 40 = 90 s the planner would produce without this gating.
+    // Sanity: with the ladder delayed, each pump reaches `operational` only at
+    // (delay + ladderS) and its ramp ends at the same wall-clock instant ≈ 130.
+    //   A: 67 + 30 (op) + 33.33 ≈ 130.33
+    //   B: 90 + 30 (op) + 10    = 130
+    //   C: 0  + 30 (op) + 100   = 130
+    // No pump sits at `operational` (and minimum flow) before its ramp — that
+    // early min-flow was the staging bump this just-in-time start removes.
 });
 
 test('plan: zero-velocity machine is demoted (infinite eta) but does not crash', () => {