`attemptBranchAutocorrect` was the only branch-creation site in the
engine that ran `git checkout -B <expected>` without a start point.
When the worktree's HEAD was at a previous occupant's tip, the new
label silently captured that commit — the "branch: Created from HEAD"
contamination pattern that the cross-contamination guard then refuses
to auto-resolve (see FN-5456: orphan FN-5477 commit 268574b9a stranded
on fusion/fn-5456).
Replace the unsafe fallback with verify-then-`git checkout`: only switch
to an existing expected ref; return `failed` when it does not exist so
upstream recovery — which knows the proper base SHA — can re-anchor via
`prepareForTask` / `reanchorBranchToBase`.
Tests updated for the new command sequence; new case covers the
"expected ref missing → fail without creating from HEAD" guarantee.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
a3ec2e55c8