diff --git a/crates/omnigraph/src/exec/query.rs b/crates/omnigraph/src/exec/query.rs
index 08400ec..b2d2fd8 100644
--- a/crates/omnigraph/src/exec/query.rs
+++ b/crates/omnigraph/src/exec/query.rs
@@ -789,6 +789,41 @@ fn should_use_indexed_expand(frontier_rows: usize, min_hops: u32, max_hops: Opti
     frontier_rows <= expand_indexed_max_frontier() && effective_max <= expand_indexed_max_hops()
 }
 
+/// Surface the C6 silent scalar-index fallback (commit `5a7ab6d`): warn when the
+/// per-hop `key_col IN (...)` won't route through the BTREE. Detection-only;
+/// never fails the query. Behavior-identical to the inline check it replaced.
+fn warn_on_degraded_coverage(
+    coverage: &Result<crate::table_store::IndexCoverage>,
+    key_col: &str,
+    edge_type: &str,
+) {
+    match coverage {
+        Ok(crate::table_store::IndexCoverage::Degraded { reason }) => tracing::warn!(
+            target: "omnigraph::traverse",
+            edge = %edge_type,
+            key_col = key_col,
+            reason = %reason,
+            "indexed traversal falls back to a full edge scan (results correct, perf degraded)"
+        ),
+        Ok(crate::table_store::IndexCoverage::Indexed) => {}
+        Err(e) => tracing::debug!(
+            target: "omnigraph::traverse",
+            error = %e,
+            "index-coverage check failed; proceeding with traversal"
+        ),
+    }
+}
+
+/// The (key, opposite) endpoint columns for a traversal direction. Out follows
+/// src -> dst (key on src); In follows the reverse. The persisted BTREE exists
+/// on both columns.
+fn endpoint_columns(direction: Direction) -> (&'static str, &'static str) {
+    match direction {
+        Direction::Out => ("src", "dst"),
+        Direction::In => ("dst", "src"),
+    }
+}
+
 /// Execute a graph traversal (Expand). Dispatches to the BTREE-indexed path
 /// (selective traversals — neighbor lookups via the persisted src/dst index) or
 /// the in-memory CSR path (dense / whole-graph traversals). The CSR index is
@@ -809,9 +844,16 @@ async fn execute_expand(
     params: &ParamMap,
 ) -> Result<()> {
     if should_use_indexed_expand(wide.num_rows(), min_hops, max_hops) {
+        // Open the edge dataset once here and thread it into the indexed path,
+        // surfacing the C6 coverage fallback at the same point.
+        let (key_col, _) = endpoint_columns(direction);
+        let edge_ds = snapshot.open(&format!("edge:{}", edge_type)).await?;
+        let coverage =
+            crate::table_store::TableStore::key_column_index_coverage(&edge_ds, key_col).await;
+        warn_on_degraded_coverage(&coverage, key_col, edge_type);
         execute_expand_indexed(
             wide, snapshot, catalog, src_var, dst_var, edge_type, direction, dst_type, min_hops,
-            max_hops, dst_filters, params,
+            max_hops, dst_filters, params, edge_ds,
         )
         .await
     } else {
@@ -845,6 +887,7 @@ async fn execute_expand_indexed(
     max_hops: Option<u32>,
     dst_filters: &[IRFilter],
     params: &ParamMap,
+    edge_ds: Dataset,
 ) -> Result<()> {
     let src_id_col_name = format!("{}.id", src_var);
     let src_ids = wide
@@ -862,34 +905,10 @@ async fn execute_expand_indexed(
         .get(edge_type)
         .ok_or_else(|| OmniError::manifest(format!("unknown edge type '{}'", edge_type)))?;
     let same_type = edge_def.from_type == edge_def.to_type;
-    // Out-traversal follows src -> dst (key on src); In-traversal follows the
-    // reverse (key on dst). The persisted BTREE exists on both columns.
-    let (key_col, opp_col) = match direction {
-        Direction::Out => ("src", "dst"),
-        Direction::In => ("dst", "src"),
-    };
-    let edge_table_key = format!("edge:{}", edge_type);
-    let edge_ds = snapshot.open(&edge_table_key).await?;
-
-    // C6 guard: surface the silent scalar-index fallback. If Lance won't route
-    // the per-hop `key_col IN (...)` through the BTREE (no index, or a fragment
-    // missing physical_rows), the scan is a correct but O(|E|) full scan.
-    // Detection-only (metadata, no IO); never fails the query.
-    match crate::table_store::TableStore::key_column_index_coverage(&edge_ds, key_col).await {
-        Ok(crate::table_store::IndexCoverage::Degraded { reason }) => tracing::warn!(
-            target: "omnigraph::traverse",
-            edge = %edge_type,
-            key_col = key_col,
-            reason = %reason,
-            "indexed traversal falls back to a full edge scan (results correct, perf degraded)"
-        ),
-        Ok(crate::table_store::IndexCoverage::Indexed) => {}
-        Err(e) => tracing::debug!(
-            target: "omnigraph::traverse",
-            error = %e,
-            "index-coverage check failed; proceeding with traversal"
-        ),
-    }
+    // The keyed/opposite endpoint columns for this direction. The edge dataset
+    // and the C6 coverage warn are owned by the caller (`execute_expand`), which
+    // opens the dataset once and threads it in.
+    let (key_col, opp_col) = endpoint_columns(direction);
 
     let max = max_hops.unwrap_or(min_hops.max(1));