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It felt somehow comforting to return to the sparkling lake tucked into the mountains on Portal Prime. But why, when everything about Mesme made her the antithesis of comfortable?Because here was where desperation had become hope. Where helplessness had become purpose.

If there was anything the last year had taught her__f there was anything Caleb had taught her, the Metigen War had taught her__t was that perspective was everything. If you wanted to understand your enemy, you must understand that they were the hero in their own story.

I frankly expected a far more negative reaction from you on discovering_ she glanced around the lab __the situation. Why are you helping?_____ not helping____ merely not hindering in as strenuous a fashion as I am able.

I believe my judgment has never been clearer. I have seen firsthand their potential, their strength of will, in a way you have not.___ou have loosed a chaotic, unstable variable into the Mosaic. They will destroy everything.___t is a risk. They also may save everything.

Evening had turned the sky a deep persimmon. The remaining sunlight enriched the colors of the ubiquitous flowers and foliage to even greater vibrancy, as if the saturation filter had been notched up several levels.Caleb noted all this in passing as he strode deliberately forward. He didn__ know how he was going to do this, only that he had to make the attempt.

I__l ask you to look at the ships arrayed against you and consider what weaponry they might possess. Weaponry strong enough to crack your hulls? I know what weaponry you bring to bear, and I assure you it will not crack ours. __re you willing to risk the lives of thousands under your command to find out? Are you willing to risk your own life?__he silence hung across space like a shroud.__his is not over, Admiral Solovy.___hat is the first true thing you__e said today.

She returned his salute with a sly smile__ rare enough event that he eyed her suspiciously.__dmiral Solovy, are you wearing a shit-eating grin because we won here today, or is there something else I should know?___here__ something else you should know.

We__l go along with it for now. Valkyrie, keep close watch and be ready to swoop to the rescue.___opefully swooping will not be required, nor rescue. But I am ready to do both.__e squeezed her hand. __lex?_____ ready, too.

2 SECONDSHe was on her in an instant to brace her against the wall. She kicked and clawed at her unseen attacker, skin and irises ablaze in caustic gold. She fired anew, and the point-blank shot broke through his defenses, grazing his hip. He ignored the harsh sting to bring his Daemon up between them.1 SECOND

From up here, the city below looked calm. Peaceful. Serene.It was a lie. Mia could feel the lie in her bones, in the foreboding creeping along the fine hairs on her skin. But mostly she could feel it in her head, where preparations were underway across Romane to meet the coming chaos.

Crushed sandstone sifted through Caleb__ fingers, insubstantial as dust. A breeze caught the debris mid-fall and spirited it away before it could join the ashes blanketing the ground. He stopped in the middle of what had once been a street, his arms pulled in at his sides, his fists balled in barely restrained fury.

People feared what they did not understand, and they without a doubt did not understand her. Those who believed they did least of all. She was something new.

There were things she wanted to say, but they were all jumbled up in her head and if she tried they__ come out backwards and mixed up and wrong. There were things she needed to say, but she was hanging on by a fraying thread and feared if she tried the thread would break, sending her plummeting alone into the abysm.There were things she would have to say, but they should wait for later. After.

Chaos that closely resembled panic awaited. Shuttles raced to the presumed safety of the planet below while fighters crisscrossed the perimeter of the station. Platoon-sized formations of frigates and several cruisers formed up and accelerated away. To where the approaching attackers were located?She didn__ give a damn what her mother said in public. This was a bona fide insurrection.

She placed a hand on his arm. __t__ not our fault, not truly. It__ theirs. The killers. They__e the ones who____et down!_ Caleb collided with her back, sending her crashing to the floor hard enough to knock the air from her chest. The windows shattered and the sounds of a city overtaken by chaos rushed in.

Children are turning themselves into monsters and, quite frankly, it is your fault. You initiated the creation of this technology, then you allowed it to slip through your fingers.__iriam__ jaw tightened. __ disagree, but now is the least optimal time imaginable for assigning blame. People are dying, and I will not stand around debating semantics with you while they are.

Mia stood between the bed and the broken window, holding an active plasma blade at waist-height in front of her. A thick coat of blood stained the plasma nearly from hilt to tip, hissing as it dribbled from blade to floor.__re you all right?__ia gave her a wan, distant smile. __t__ okay. I__e done it before.

Anyone who tells you life has greater value when it comes with an expiration date is full of shit. Immortality is worth the fortunes of galaxies.__he regarded him too intently. __ut it__ not worth everything. You gave it up for your freedom.__is forced bravado faltered. That truth still petrified him today. __ did.