The A.F.R.'s mirror-ambush plan — "Marathe selected young Balbalis, the one…"
Marathe selected young Balbalis, the one still with both the legs—albeit paralyzed and stickishly withered, them—to lead the A.F.R. field-detail which must intercept the provincial players.
Context
The cohort's marking system inverted: in the A.F.R., having legs is the distinguishing feature, flagged with a concessive apology ("albeit paralyzed and stickishly withered, them"). Balbalis is individuated by the least-damaged body in the van — a one-clause portrait of a world where the unmutilated body is the anomaly needing explanation.