diff --git a/Plugin/unraid/include/partnership.php b/Plugin/unraid/include/partnership.php
index 2283f53..c6ee6a1 100644
--- a/Plugin/unraid/include/partnership.php
+++ b/Plugin/unraid/include/partnership.php
@@ -189,11 +189,24 @@ function vv_pt_ts_peers(): array {
 
 // ── SSH helper — run a single command on a remote host ────────────────────────
 
+// Multiplexed, because this page makes several of these per render — a state read per partner,
+// plus whatever a card asks for — and each one was paying a full handshake to a node across a real
+// internet hop. Measured at about two seconds per call against 0.09s once a master is up.
+//
+// The socket lives in tmpfs so a reboot cannot inherit a stale one, and the path is kept short: a
+// unix socket path is capped near 108 characters and ssh appends the user and host to this.
 function vv_pt_ssh(string $ip, string $sshKey, string $cmd, int $timeout = 4): string {
     if (!$ip || !$sshKey || !file_exists($sshKey)) return '';
+
+    $sock = rtrim(VV_CACHE_ROOT, '/') . '/ssh';
+    if (!is_dir($sock)) @mkdir($sock, 0700, true);
+
     $full = sprintf(
-        'ssh -i %s -o ConnectTimeout=%d -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes root@%s %s 2>/dev/null',
-        escapeshellarg($sshKey), $timeout, escapeshellarg($ip), escapeshellarg($cmd)
+        'ssh -i %s -o ConnectTimeout=%d -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes'
+        . ' -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o ControlPath=%s'
+        . ' root@%s %s 2>/dev/null',
+        escapeshellarg($sshKey), $timeout, escapeshellarg($sock . '/pt-%h'),
+        escapeshellarg($ip), escapeshellarg($cmd)
     );
     return shell_exec($full) ?: '';
 }
@@ -513,11 +526,27 @@ function vv_pt_nodes(): array {
         $apiKeySet     = false;
         $apiKeyPreview = '';
         if ($isMe) {
-            $hn      = trim((string)shell_exec("hostname -s 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^[Uu][Nn][Rr][Aa][Ii][Dd]-//'")) ?: 'Varaverk';
-            $keyName = 'Varaverk ' . $hn;
-            $apiOut  = shell_exec('/usr/local/sbin/unraid-api apikey --name ' . escapeshellarg($keyName) . ' --json </dev/null 2>/dev/null');
-            $apiData = json_decode(trim($apiOut ?? ''), true);
-            if (is_array($apiData) && !empty($apiData['key'])) {
+            // Cached for a minute, because `unraid-api apikey` is not a file read — it starts
+            // Unraid's Node CLI, measured at 1.98s, and it ran on every render of this page. That
+            // was the single largest cost in assembling it, and this page is the one that opens
+            // the mesh chat, so it was two seconds in front of a conversation every time.
+            //
+            // Still reads the key store rather than the conf, so a key deleted in Unraid's own UI
+            // is still reflected — a minute later rather than instantly, which is the trade. The
+            // preview is eight characters of a key that changes when someone deliberately rotates
+            // it; nobody is watching it to the second.
+            $apiData = vv_cache_read('pt_apikey', 60);
+            if ($apiData === null) {
+                $hn      = trim((string)shell_exec("hostname -s 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^[Uu][Nn][Rr][Aa][Ii][Dd]-//'")) ?: 'Varaverk';
+                $keyName = 'Varaverk ' . $hn;
+                $apiOut  = shell_exec('/usr/local/sbin/unraid-api apikey --name ' . escapeshellarg($keyName) . ' --json </dev/null 2>/dev/null');
+                $decoded = json_decode(trim($apiOut ?? ''), true);
+                // Cached either way. A host with no key would otherwise pay the two seconds on
+                // every render forever, which is the case that needs the cache most.
+                $apiData = is_array($decoded) ? $decoded : [];
+                vv_cache_write('pt_apikey', $apiData);
+            }
+            if (!empty($apiData['key'])) {
                 $apiKeySet     = true;
                 $apiKeyPreview = substr($apiData['key'], 0, 8) . '...' . substr($apiData['key'], -4);
             }