diff --git a/assets/compose b/assets/compose
index a79fe9d..d97f1cb 160000
--- a/assets/compose
+++ b/assets/compose
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit a79fe9dffacebae6d4ee17502885e9cdfa852073
+Subproject commit d97f1cb1e5c762ce779f76ac26a61b5430f87f32
diff --git a/docker/hermes/Dockerfile.full b/docker/hermes/Dockerfile.full
deleted file mode 100644
index 1edd524..0000000
--- a/docker/hermes/Dockerfile.full
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,71 +0,0 @@
-FROM ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.11.6-python3.13-trixie@sha256:b3c543b6c4f23a5f2df22866bd7857e5d304b67a564f4feab6ac22044dde719b AS uv_source
-FROM tianon/gosu:1.19-trixie@sha256:3b176695959c71e123eb390d427efc665eeb561b1540e82679c15e992006b8b9 AS gosu_source
-FROM debian:13.4
-
-# Disable Python stdout buffering to ensure logs are printed immediately
-ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
-
-# Store Playwright browsers outside the volume mount so the build-time
-# install survives the /opt/data volume overlay at runtime.
-ENV PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH=/opt/hermes/.playwright
-
-# Install system dependencies in one layer, clear APT cache
-# tini reaps orphaned zombie processes (MCP stdio subprocesses, git, bun, etc.)
-# that would otherwise accumulate when hermes runs as PID 1. See #15012.
-RUN apt-get update && \
-    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
-        build-essential nodejs npm python3 ripgrep ffmpeg gcc python3-dev libffi-dev procps git openssh-client docker-cli tini \
-        curl poppler-utils imagemagick \
-        chromium xvfb fonts-noto-color-emoji fonts-unifont fonts-liberation fonts-ipafont-gothic fonts-wqy-zenhei fonts-tlwg-loma-otf fonts-freefont-ttf \
-        libasound2t64 libatk-bridge2.0-0t64 libatk1.0-0t64 libatspi2.0-0t64 libcairo2 libcups2t64 libdbus-1-3 libdrm2 libgbm1 libglib2.0-0t64 libnspr4 libnss3 libpango-1.0-0 libx11-6 libxcb1 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxext6 libxfixes3 libxkbcommon0 libxrandr2 \
-        texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-xetex texlive-science \
-        qemu-user-static binfmt-support qemu-user-binfmt \
-        emacs-nox \
-        libportaudio2 && \
-    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-# Non-root user for runtime; UID can be overridden via HERMES_UID at runtime
-RUN useradd -u 10000 -m -d /opt/data hermes
-
-COPY --chmod=0755 --from=gosu_source /gosu /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --chmod=0755 --from=uv_source /usr/local/bin/uv /usr/local/bin/uvx /usr/local/bin/
-
-WORKDIR /opt/hermes
-
-# ---------- Layer-cached dependency install ----------
-# Copy only package manifests first so npm install + Playwright are cached
-# unless the lockfiles themselves change.
-COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
-COPY web/package.json web/package-lock.json web/
-
-RUN npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit && \
-    npx playwright install --with-deps chromium --only-shell && \
-    (cd web && npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit) && \
-    npm cache clean --force
-
-# ---------- Source code ----------
-# .dockerignore excludes node_modules, so the installs above survive.
-COPY --chown=hermes:hermes . .
-
-# Build web dashboard (Vite outputs to hermes_cli/web_dist/)
-RUN cd web && npm run build
-
-# ---------- Permissions ----------
-# Make install dir world-readable so any HERMES_UID can read it at runtime.
-# The venv needs to be traversable too.
-USER root
-RUN chmod -R a+rX /opt/hermes
-# Start as root so the entrypoint can usermod/groupmod + gosu.
-# If HERMES_UID is unset, the entrypoint drops to the default hermes user (10000).
-
-# ---------- Python virtualenv ----------
-RUN uv venv && \
-    uv pip install --no-cache-dir -e ".[all]" && \
-    uv pip install --no-cache-dir sounddevice numpy faster-whisper
-
-# ---------- Runtime ----------
-ENV HERMES_WEB_DIST=/opt/hermes/hermes_cli/web_dist
-ENV HERMES_HOME=/opt/data
-ENV PATH="/opt/data/.local/bin:${PATH}"
-VOLUME [ "/opt/data" ]
-ENTRYPOINT [ "/usr/bin/tini", "-g", "--", "/opt/hermes/docker/entrypoint.sh" ]
diff --git a/hosts/lazyworkhorse/configuration.nix b/hosts/lazyworkhorse/configuration.nix
index 3963650..83b8db1 100644
--- a/hosts/lazyworkhorse/configuration.nix
+++ b/hosts/lazyworkhorse/configuration.nix
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     "transparent_hugepage=always" # because mucho ram
   ];
   # 2. Load the specific drivers found by sensors-detect
-  boot.kernelModules = [ "nct6775" "lm96163" ];
+  boot.kernelModules = [ "nct6775" "lm96163" "iptable_nat" "iptable_filter" ];
   # 3. Force the nct6775 driver to recognize the chip if it's stubborn
   boot.extraModprobeConfig = ''
     options nct6775 force_id=0xd280
@@ -49,6 +49,26 @@
   networking.networkmanager.enable = true;  # Easiest to use and most distros use this by default.
   networking.hostId = "deadbeef";
 
+  # WireGuard VPN client -- always up, connects to wg-easy server
+  # Create age-encrypted secrets before deploying (run on the host):
+  #   echo -n "<private_key>" | agenix -e secrets/wireguard_private_key.age
+  #   echo -n "<preshared_key>" | agenix -e secrets/wireguard_preshared_key.age
+  networking.wireguard.interfaces = {
+    wg0 = {
+      ips = [ "10.8.0.3/24" ];
+      privateKeyFile = config.age.secrets.wireguard_private_key.path;
+      peers = [
+        {
+          publicKey = "rY9zII3AOm8rog2rv02PyA3Bq7zdvTOGkZapfCV1DkE=";
+          presharedKeyFile = config.age.secrets.wireguard_preshared_key.path;
+          allowedIPs = [ "10.8.0.0/24" ];
+          endpoint = "vpn.lazyworkhorse.net:51820";
+          persistentKeepalive = 25;
+        }
+      ];
+    };
+  };
+
   # Set your time zone.
   time.timeZone = "America/Montreal";
 
@@ -221,6 +241,11 @@
       path = self + "/assets/compose/homepage";
     };
 
+    vpn = {
+      path = self + "/assets/compose/vpn";
+      envFile = config.age.secrets.containers_env.path;
+    };
+
     # tak = {
     #   path = self + "/assets/compose/tak";
     # };
@@ -264,6 +289,20 @@
         mode = "0440";
         path = "/run/secrets/openclaw_gateway_token";
       };
+      wireguard_private_key = {
+        file = ../../secrets/wireguard_private_key.age;
+        owner = "root";
+        group = "root";
+        mode = "0400";
+        path = "/run/secrets/wireguard_private_key";
+      };
+      wireguard_preshared_key = {
+        file = ../../secrets/wireguard_preshared_key.age;
+        owner = "root";
+        group = "root";
+        mode = "0400";
+        path = "/run/secrets/wireguard_preshared_key";
+      };
     };
   };
 
@@ -332,14 +371,17 @@
     ];
     
     allowedUDPPorts = [
-      # Add UDP ports if required
+      51820 # WireGuard VPN
     ];
     
     # Rate limiting and attack prevention
     extraCommands = ''
-      # Rate limit SSH connections (max 4 new connections per 60 seconds)
+      # 1. Wipe the INPUT chain clean at the start of every activation
+      iptables -F INPUT
+      
+      # Rate limit SSH connections (max 20 new connections per 60 seconds)
       iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 2424 -m state --state NEW -m recent --set
-      iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 2424 -m state --state NEW -m recent --update --seconds 60 --hitcount 4 -j DROP
+      iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 2424 -m state --state NEW -m recent --update --seconds 60 --hitcount 20 -j DROP
       
       # Rate limit HTTP/HTTPS (protects Traefik)
       iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -m state --state NEW -m limit --limit 25/minute --limit-burst 100 -j ACCEPT
@@ -350,6 +392,10 @@
       
       # Log dropped packets (rate limited)
       iptables -A INPUT -m limit --limit 5/min -j LOG --log-prefix "IPTables-Dropped: " --log-level 4
+
+      # 3. CRITICAL: Re-link the NixOS default firewall chain
+      # Without this line, the 'allowedTCPPorts' in your Nix config will be ignored!
+      iptables -A INPUT -j nixos-fw
     '';
   };
 
@@ -428,7 +474,7 @@
   services.openssh.settings = {
     PermitRootLogin = "no";
     MaxAuthTries = 3;
-    MaxSessions = 5;
+    MaxSessions = 10;
     LoginGraceTime = 30;
     ClientAliveInterval = 300;
     ClientAliveCountMax = 2;
diff --git a/secrets/containers.env.age b/secrets/containers.env.age
index 2466978..90b91ed 100644
--- a/secrets/containers.env.age
+++ b/secrets/containers.env.age
@@ -1,34 +1,36 @@
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