diff --git a/cmd/event-processor/main.go b/cmd/event-processor/main.go
index dd15f93..22688ec 100644
--- a/cmd/event-processor/main.go
+++ b/cmd/event-processor/main.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
+	"sync"
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
@@ -69,15 +70,60 @@ func main() {
 
 	log.Printf("subscribed to %s (%s)", natsTopic, natsURL)
 
+	const (
+		maxBatchSize  = 100
+		flushInterval = 200 * time.Millisecond
+	)
+
+	eventCh := make(chan postgres.InsertEvent, 1000)
+
+	// Flush goroutine
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	wg.Add(1)
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		batch := make([]postgres.InsertEvent, 0, maxBatchSize)
+		ticker := time.NewTicker(flushInterval)
+		defer ticker.Stop()
+
+		flush := func() {
+			if len(batch) == 0 {
+				return
+			}
+			if err := db.InsertEventBatch(ctx, batch); err != nil {
+				log.Printf("batch insert error (%d events): %v", len(batch), err)
+			}
+			batch = batch[:0]
+		}
+
+		for {
+			select {
+			case evt, ok := <-eventCh:
+				if !ok {
+					flush()
+					return
+				}
+				batch = append(batch, evt)
+				if len(batch) >= maxBatchSize {
+					flush()
+				}
+			case <-ticker.C:
+				flush()
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+
 	err = sub.Subscribe(ctx, func(msg []byte) error {
 		var env envelope
 		if err := json.Unmarshal(msg, &env); err != nil {
-			return err
+			log.Printf("unmarshal error: %v", err)
+			return nil // don't fail the subscriber
 		}
 
 		ts, err := parseTS(env.Event.TS)
 		if err != nil {
-			return err
+			log.Printf("timestamp parse error: %v", err)
+			return nil
 		}
 
 		e := postgres.InsertEvent{
@@ -97,9 +143,17 @@ func main() {
 			e.ParentSpanID = sqlNull(env.Correlation.ParentSpanID)
 		}
 
-		return db.InsertEvent(ctx, e)
+		select {
+		case eventCh <- e:
+		default:
+			log.Printf("event channel full, dropping event %s", env.Event.ID)
+		}
+		return nil
 	})
 
+	close(eventCh)
+	wg.Wait()
+
 	if err != nil && err != context.Canceled {
 		log.Printf("processor stopped: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/ingest-gateway/main.go b/cmd/ingest-gateway/main.go
index 397b701..5c863ef 100644
--- a/cmd/ingest-gateway/main.go
+++ b/cmd/ingest-gateway/main.go
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ func main() {
 	})
 
 	r.Post("/v1/events", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		r.Body = http.MaxBytesReader(w, r.Body, 10<<20) // 10MB limit
 		var events []json.RawMessage
 		if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&events); err != nil {
 			httpx.WriteJSON(w, http.StatusBadRequest, map[string]any{"error": "invalid_json"})
diff --git a/internal/queue/nats/nats.go b/internal/queue/nats/nats.go
index 74d9bb2..adc9333 100644
--- a/internal/queue/nats/nats.go
+++ b/internal/queue/nats/nats.go
@@ -26,9 +26,5 @@ func (p *Publisher) Close() {
 }
 
 func (p *Publisher) Publish(ctx context.Context, data []byte) error {
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, p.timeout)
-	defer cancel()
-
-	_ = ctx
 	return p.conn.Publish(p.topic, data)
 }
diff --git a/internal/sdk/emitter.go b/internal/sdk/emitter.go
index d95b255..387139c 100644
--- a/internal/sdk/emitter.go
+++ b/internal/sdk/emitter.go
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ func (e *Emitter) Emit(ctx context.Context, event Event) error {
 
 	e.buffer = append(e.buffer, event)
 	if len(e.buffer) >= e.bufferSize {
-		return e.Flush(ctx)
+		return e.flushLocked(ctx)
 	}
 	return nil
 }
@@ -235,6 +235,11 @@ func (e *Emitter) Flush(ctx context.Context) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("emitter is closed")
 	}
 
+	return e.flushLocked(ctx)
+}
+
+// flushLocked sends buffered events. Caller must hold e.mu.
+func (e *Emitter) flushLocked(ctx context.Context) error {
 	if len(e.buffer) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -281,7 +286,7 @@ func (e *Emitter) Close(ctx context.Context) error {
 	}
 
 	if len(e.buffer) > 0 {
-		_ = e.Flush(ctx)
+		_ = e.flushLocked(ctx)
 	}
 
 	return nil