The cold air of the Kagu command centre was tight with something close to fear. Analysts sat in the glow of a dozen displays, watching data streams that all said the same impossible thing. Officers from a dozen allied nations passed clipped orders down their lines, their voices held carefully flat. On the central display, Aegis Luna—Earth's thin silver tripwire—had gone from calm green to a solid, screaming red across every node. Then it dissolved into static, and its signal was gone.
They were here.
"All forces, final confirmation." Cecilia's voice cut through the room, crisp and cold. She wasn't standing as my fiancée now. She was the Crown Princess of the Slatemark Empire and a supreme commander in all but title, and the steady weight of her High Radiant aura held the room together. "Global Command is green. Slatemark, Creighton, Kagu and the Avalon garrison are in position at every designated passage."
