Elise rose then, more than posture — a deliberate challenge. "If you make protocol only in the language of your men understand, then your law will become more of an edge than a shield. We need a plan that protects people without turning suspicion into an act of governance." She stood there for a long breath, eyes on Orsic. "You'd turn checkpoints into nets to catch 'untrustworthy units' instead of nets that should catch the enemy. I'll not be a part of that. If it goes that way."
Ardin's broad hand came down on a table. "Elise—"
"Elise." Ardin's voice was a halt, not a rebuke. "We will do as we need to do. Your air support is critical. You'll get the freedom to fly above the cordon. But what you say here is noted. Do not force us to turn this into a standoff."
Sie's face was set like a measurement tool. He tapped a finger on a printed schematic. "We are making a plan. Those dark riders have pattern. They test. They probe. If we set up a moving net — one that shifts at unpredictable times and uses decoy caravans and controlled challanges — they will either reveal themselves or they will move on. We can also use bait stashes to see who takes them."
"How do you mean bait?" Bronn's voice from the Postknight corner was small but earnest.
A captain from the K.P.P. nearby looked over sharply. "Bait sets can be dangerous. They also invite collateral damage."
Cassandra gave that captain a short look of approval and an almost imperceptible nod. "Bait with protection," she said. "Not with people. A guarded wagon, a sealed crate, and a visible patrol. If they take it, we will follow the trail. If not, the community has no more loss and we will have the intelligence we need."
Orsic's face darkened. "This is all very theatrical."
"It's tactical," Sie said. "Theatrical or not, if it nets more than noise, it's worth it." He fixed Orsic with the kind of gaze that told the room: "Move with us or move aside."
The debate threaded through the morning. Orsic spoke often and with the confidence of a man who believed central command should be law. Cassandra and Sie stressed local knowledge, the value of couriers who were not soldiers but knew the alleys better than any patrol. Elise demanded freedom in the air and intelligence shared swiftly. Ardin insisted on broad sweep lines while staying neutral. Colins kept making small but solid points about how the public needed visible, non-threatening demonstrations of safety.
Finally Orsic leaned back, tired of the resistance he'd meet at every corner. He put his palms down flat on the table. "We will proceed as follows," he said. "K.P.P. checkpoints at the middle ring and in major thoroughfares. Borderknights and Postknights will coordinate the bait caravans along roads leading to the city. Airknights will provide recon and maintain patrol lines. Octaknights will deploy mobility traps. We will share intelligence in a K.P.P-controlled secure house. All communications will flow through that house and be verified by the K.P.P."
Cassandra's mouth made a thin line, but she did not refuse. She spoke in the tone of someone who would not be broken but would bargain. "We'll work with you on communications as long as liaisons from each unit are present to ensure transparency."
"Accepted." Orsic's smile was small; its edges were not friendly. "We will begin tonight."
The commanders rose. Colins walked past Orsic with a look that did not quite meet his eyes. He had noticed how Orsic's orders threaded a new kind of control through their usual autonomy; he did not like it, but he could not openly challenge it now. The kingdom needed action more than confrontations.
Outside the hall the sky grew iron-sharp. The day that had been a routine meeting folded into a kind of uneasy alliance. Orders spread like a sudden weather front: bait caravans prepped, additional watch posts authorized, air gliders rigged, and a K.P.P secure house assigned to be the keystone for intelligence. The immediate plan felt good on paper — fairly perfect given the array of minds — but it cut across old boundaries and made new ones.
Cassandra watched the commanders leave the room and felt the bite of politics more acutely. She placed a hand on Colins's arm. "Keep Bronn close," she said. "Follow the files that lead away from Razille's arrest. I don't like how Orsic is wrapping this security in his own flag."
Colins gave a small, confident nod, with a little smirk on face. "We'll do our part. Quietly. So there's no need to worry sis."
---
That night the city watched itself with a sort of nervous attention as lanterns flared and guards took up positions. Bait wagons moved under the eyes of anxious traders. The Postknights' now have started their operations, patrols, were visible but gentle — people handing out blankets and tending to stray animals as they stood at market stalls. Almond made sure a shawl was offered to a shaking widow; Solis carried a parcel to a father who'd lost bedding; Ada checked the outer roadlights herself.
And high above the airknights' gliders hummed like cautious bees, their lenses sweeping while Elise's crew radioed sightings back to the K.P.P. secure house. Orsic's men manned the checkpoints with a serious air that made passersby clam up and give papers willingly. Everything moved in the rhythm of watchfulness.
Solis lay awake that night, listening to the muffled shouts of men and the distant rattle of wagon wheels.
"Tomorrow," Ada murmured from the other bed. "We will find out what's under the armor."
Solis turned toward her, sleep-fogged but aware. "Or they will find out that we're watching."
She smiled in the dark. "Either way, we'll be ready."