diff --git a/plugin/hooks/gateway-start.ts b/plugin/hooks/gateway-start.ts
index 26aee53..de3f6ab 100644
--- a/plugin/hooks/gateway-start.ts
+++ b/plugin/hooks/gateway-start.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,20 @@ export function registerGatewayStartHook(api: any, deps: {
   pushMetaToMonitor: () => Promise<void>;
   startCalendarScheduler: () => void;
   setMetaPushInterval: (handle: ReturnType<typeof setInterval>) => void;
+  onCronServiceAvailable?: (cron: any) => void;
 }) {
   const { logger, pushMetaToMonitor, startCalendarScheduler, setMetaPushInterval } = deps;
 
-  api.on('gateway_start', () => {
+  api.on('gateway_start', (event?: any) => {
+    // Extract cron service from gateway startup event (same as memory-core dreaming)
+    if (event && deps.onCronServiceAvailable) {
+      const context = event?.context;
+      const cron = context?.cron ?? context?.deps?.cron;
+      if (cron && typeof cron.add === 'function') {
+        deps.onCronServiceAvailable(cron);
+        logger.info('HarborForge: cron service acquired from gateway_start');
+      }
+    }
     logger.info('HarborForge plugin active');
     const live = getPluginConfig(api);
 
diff --git a/plugin/index.ts b/plugin/index.ts
index 2a66a23..48be1fd 100644
--- a/plugin/index.ts
+++ b/plugin/index.ts
@@ -187,100 +187,46 @@ export default {
       return null;
     }
 
+    // Cron service reference, acquired from gateway_start event
+    let cronService: any = null;
+
     /**
-     * Wake agent via gateway WebSocket API.
-     * Uses callGateway("agent") to trigger an agent turn — the same mechanism
-     * used by sessions_spawn and cron internally.
+     * Wake agent via cron service — same mechanism used by dreaming/memory-core.
+     * Creates a one-shot cron job with wakeMode: "now" and deleteAfterRun: true.
      */
     async function wakeAgent(context: AgentWakeContext): Promise<boolean> {
       logger.info(`Waking agent for slot: ${context.taskDescription}`);
 
+      if (!cronService) {
+        logger.error('Cron service not available — cannot wake agent');
+        return false;
+      }
+
       const agentId = process.env.AGENT_ID || 'unknown';
+      const slotId = context.slot.id ?? context.slot.virtual_id ?? 'unknown';
 
       try {
-        // Connect to gateway via WebSocket and trigger an agent turn.
-        // Uses the same gateway RPC that sessions_spawn and cron use internally.
-        const cfg = api.runtime?.config?.loadConfig?.() ?? {};
-        const gwCfg = cfg.gateway ?? {};
-        const gwPort = gwCfg.port ?? 18789;
-        const gwToken = gwCfg.auth?.token ?? '';
-        const gatewayUrl = `ws://127.0.0.1:${gwPort}`;
-
-        const result = await new Promise<{ sessionId?: string; error?: string }>((resolve, reject) => {
-          const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
-            try { client.close(); } catch {}
-            reject(new Error('Gateway connection timeout'));
-          }, 15000);
-
-          // Pass token via Authorization header in the upgrade request
-          const wsUrl = gwToken ? `${gatewayUrl}?token=${encodeURIComponent(gwToken)}` : gatewayUrl;
-          const client = new (globalThis as any).WebSocket(wsUrl);
-
-          client.onerror = (err: any) => {
-            clearTimeout(timeout);
-            reject(err?.error || err);
-          };
-
-          client.onopen = () => {
-            // Gateway uses "connect" method with auth in params
-            client.send(JSON.stringify({
-              jsonrpc: '2.0',
-              method: 'connect',
-              params: {
-                clientName: 'harbor-forge-calendar',
-                mode: 'backend',
-                ...(gwToken ? { auth: { token: gwToken } } : {}),
-              },
-              id: 1,
-            }));
-          };
-
-          let helloAcked = false;
-
-          client.onmessage = (ev: any) => {
-            try {
-              const msg = JSON.parse(typeof ev.data === 'string' ? ev.data : ev.data.toString());
-
-              if (!helloAcked && msg.id === 1) {
-                helloAcked = true;
-                client.send(JSON.stringify({
-                  jsonrpc: '2.0',
-                  method: 'agent',
-                  params: {
-                    message: context.prompt,
-                    agentId,
-                    timeoutSeconds: context.slot.estimated_duration * 60,
-                  },
-                  id: 2,
-                }));
-                return;
-              }
-
-              if (msg.id === 2) {
-                clearTimeout(timeout);
-                try { client.close(); } catch {}
-                if (msg.error) {
-                  resolve({ error: msg.error.message || JSON.stringify(msg.error) });
-                } else {
-                  resolve({ sessionId: msg.result?.sessionId || 'ok' });
-                }
-              }
-            } catch {
-              // ignore parse errors
-            }
-          };
+        await cronService.add({
+          name: `hf-calendar-slot-${slotId}`,
+          description: `[managed-by=harbor-forge.calendar] Slot ${slotId}: ${context.taskDescription}`,
+          deleteAfterRun: true,
+          wakeMode: 'now',
+          agentId,
+          payload: {
+            kind: 'agentTurn',
+            message: context.prompt,
+            timeoutSeconds: context.slot.estimated_duration * 60,
+          },
+          delivery: {
+            mode: 'none',
+          },
         });
 
-        if (result.error) {
-          logger.error(`Gateway agent call failed: ${result.error}`);
-          return false;
-        }
-
-        logger.info(`Agent woken via gateway for slot: session=${result.sessionId}`);
+        logger.info(`Agent wake cron job created for slot ${slotId}`);
         return true;
 
       } catch (err) {
-        logger.error('Failed to wake agent via gateway:', err);
+        logger.error('Failed to create wake cron job:', err);
         return false;
       }
     }
@@ -363,6 +309,9 @@ export default {
       setMetaPushInterval(handle) {
         metaPushInterval = handle;
       },
+      onCronServiceAvailable(cron) {
+        cronService = cron;
+      },
     });
 
     registerGatewayStopHook(api, {