Time/Date: TC1853.01.23 — Afternoon (continuous)
Location: Long Estate underground cells
The knock at the study door came sharp and precise—military rhythm that cut through Serenya's confession like a blade through silk.
Kaelith's head snapped toward the sound, expression shifting from interrogator to strategist in the space of a heartbeat. "Enter."
Lieutenant Holt stepped through, scarred features set in lines that suggested he'd already made several impossible decisions today and wasn't finished yet. His pale eyes swept the room, cataloguing Serenya's tear-stained face, Darian's rigid posture, Wu's grim satisfaction, and Kael's barely controlled fury with the practiced ease of someone who'd walked into a hundred crime scenes and immediately understood the hierarchy of guilt.
"You said the Order." Holt's voice carried the flat precision of someone who'd learned not to waste words. "What exactly are we dealing with?"
