Timeline: TC1853.02.03 (Morning through evening)
Location: Federation territory, moving eastward toward the Empire border
Morning arrived with clinical precision.
No gradual warming, no gentle transition from darkness into dawn—just the sudden illumination of a sun rising over land where even natural rhythms had been systematized for maximum efficiency. Raven opened her eyes to harsh light cutting through their campsite, no clouds to soften the glare, no atmospheric variance to provide mercy.
The Federation didn't do mercy.
Around her, the team stirred with varying degrees of groaning protest. Jace muttered something uncomplimentary about mornings in general and Federation mornings specifically. Naida was already up, her Ghoststride instincts apparently immune to discomfort. Thorne stretched with military precision while Mira moved through healing stretches that suggested her ribs still bothered her despite divine intervention days earlier.
