diff --git a/atlasbot/engine/answerer.py b/atlasbot/engine/answerer.py
index 5b904e8..a37069a 100644
--- a/atlasbot/engine/answerer.py
+++ b/atlasbot/engine/answerer.py
@@ -203,7 +203,15 @@ class AnswerEngine:
                 timeout_sec = min(self._settings.ollama_timeout_sec, time_left)
             call_count += 1
             messages = build_messages(system, prompt, context=context)
-            response = await self._llm.chat(messages, model=model or plan.model, timeout_sec=timeout_sec)
+            try:
+                llm_call = self._llm.chat(messages, model=model or plan.model, timeout_sec=timeout_sec)
+                if timeout_sec is not None:
+                    response = await asyncio.wait_for(llm_call, timeout=max(0.001, timeout_sec))
+                else:
+                    response = await llm_call
+            except asyncio.TimeoutError as exc:
+                time_budget_hit = True
+                raise LLMTimeBudgetExceeded("time_budget") from exc
             log.info(
                 "atlasbot_llm_call",
                 extra={"extra": {"mode": mode, "tag": tag, "call": call_count, "limit": call_cap}},
@@ -240,6 +248,61 @@ class AnswerEngine:
         classify: dict[str, Any] = {}
         tool_hint: dict[str, Any] | None = None
         try:
+            if mode in {"quick", "fast"} and not limitless:
+                if observer:
+                    observer("factsheet", "building fact sheet")
+                kb_lines = (
+                    self._kb.chunk_lines(
+                        max_files=plan.kb_max_files,
+                        max_chars=max(1200, plan.kb_max_chars),
+                    )
+                    if self._kb
+                    else []
+                )
+                fact_lines = _quick_fact_sheet_lines(
+                    question,
+                    summary_lines,
+                    kb_lines,
+                    limit=max(14, plan.chunk_top * 5),
+                )
+                if observer:
+                    observer("quick", "answering from fact sheet")
+                classify = {
+                    "needs_snapshot": True,
+                    "needs_kb": bool(kb_lines),
+                    "question_type": "quick_factsheet",
+                    "answer_style": "direct",
+                    "follow_up": False,
+                }
+                quick_context = _quick_fact_sheet_text(fact_lines)
+                quick_prompt = (
+                    "Question: "
+                    + question
+                    + "\nAnswer using only the Fact Sheet. Keep it to 1-3 sentences. "
+                    + "If the Fact Sheet is missing key data, say exactly what is missing and suggest atlas-smart."
+                )
+                reply = await call_llm(
+                    prompts.ANSWER_SYSTEM,
+                    quick_prompt,
+                    context=quick_context,
+                    model=plan.fast_model,
+                    tag="quick_factsheet",
+                )
+                reply = _strip_followup_meta(reply)
+                scores = _default_scores()
+                meta = _build_meta(
+                    mode,
+                    call_count,
+                    call_cap,
+                    limit_hit,
+                    time_budget_hit,
+                    time_budget_sec,
+                    classify,
+                    tool_hint,
+                    started,
+                )
+                return AnswerResult(reply, scores, meta)
+
             if observer:
                 observer("normalize", "normalizing")
             normalize_prompt = prompts.NORMALIZE_PROMPT + "\nQuestion: " + question
@@ -3307,6 +3370,92 @@ def _state_from_payload(payload: dict[str, Any] | None) -> ConversationState | N
     )
 
 
+def _quick_fact_sheet_lines(
+    question: str,
+    summary_lines: list[str],
+    kb_lines: list[str],
+    *,
+    limit: int,
+) -> list[str]:
+    tokens = {
+        token
+        for token in re.findall(r"[a-z0-9][a-z0-9_-]{2,}", question.lower())
+        if token not in GENERIC_METRIC_TOKENS
+    }
+    priority_markers = (
+        "snapshot:",
+        "nodes_total",
+        "nodes_ready",
+        "nodes_not_ready",
+        "workers_ready",
+        "workers_not_ready",
+        "control_plane",
+        "worker_nodes",
+        "hottest",
+        "postgres",
+        "pods",
+        "longhorn",
+        "titan-",
+        "rpi5",
+        "rpi4",
+        "jetson",
+        "amd64",
+    )
+    scored: list[tuple[int, str]] = []
+    for raw in summary_lines:
+        line = raw.strip()
+        if not line:
+            continue
+        lowered = line.lower()
+        score = 0
+        if any(marker in lowered for marker in priority_markers):
+            score += 4
+        overlap = sum(1 for token in tokens if token in lowered)
+        score += overlap * 3
+        if len(line) <= 180:
+            score += 1
+        if score > 0:
+            scored.append((score, line))
+
+    scored.sort(key=lambda item: item[0], reverse=True)
+    selected = [line for _, line in scored[:limit]]
+    if not selected:
+        selected = [line.strip() for line in summary_lines if line.strip()][:limit]
+
+    kb_selected: list[str] = []
+    for raw in kb_lines:
+        line = raw.strip()
+        if not line or len(line) > 220:
+            continue
+        lowered = line.lower()
+        if "kb file:" in lowered or "kb: atlas.json" in lowered:
+            continue
+        overlap = sum(1 for token in tokens if token in lowered)
+        if overlap > 0:
+            kb_selected.append(line)
+        elif any(marker in lowered for marker in ("runbook", "titan-", "rpi5", "rpi4", "amd64", "jetson")):
+            kb_selected.append(line)
+        if len(kb_selected) >= max(4, limit // 3):
+            break
+
+    merged = []
+    seen: set[str] = set()
+    for line in selected + kb_selected:
+        if line not in seen:
+            seen.add(line)
+            merged.append(line)
+        if len(merged) >= limit:
+            break
+    return merged
+
+
+def _quick_fact_sheet_text(lines: list[str]) -> str:
+    if not lines:
+        return "Fact Sheet:\n- No snapshot facts available."
+    body = "\n".join([f"- {line}" for line in lines])
+    return "Fact Sheet:\n" + body
+
+
 def _json_excerpt(summary: dict[str, Any], max_chars: int = 12000) -> str:
     raw = json.dumps(summary, ensure_ascii=False)
     return raw[:max_chars]
diff --git a/tests/test_engine.py b/tests/test_engine.py
index 34768bc..f66d5af 100644
--- a/tests/test_engine.py
+++ b/tests/test_engine.py
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ class FakeLLM:
             return '[{"id":"q1","question":"What is Atlas?","priority":1}]'
         if "sub-question" in prompt:
             return "Atlas has 22 nodes."
+        if "Answer using only the Fact Sheet" in prompt:
+            return "Atlas has 22 nodes."
         if "final response" in prompt:
             return "Atlas has 22 nodes."
         if "Score response quality" in prompt: