POV: Ayla

Dawn is still an hour away when I call them back into the east sitting room.

The facility team is already staging in the lower courtyard. The eastern funnel is live under its quiet configuration. The rest of the wall is running at the elevated density we set after the operative talked. There is nothing left to plan that will change the shape of the next hours. What remains is the line we intend to stand on when those hours arrive.

Caius enters first, fully dressed for the command link. Ryker follows with the muted readiness of a man who has already walked the lane he intends to...