( Elizabeth Aurelius POV )
The moment the message appeared above the Citadel gate, my mind began calculating possibilities before I had consciously decided that calculations were necessary.
I hated that realization almost immediately.
Not because there was anything inherently wrong with assessing a situation efficiently, but because I understood exactly what I was calculating and how easily people were beginning to turn into numbers again.
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FINAL PHASE
CITADEL CAPACITY: 100
ONLY 100 LIVING BEINGS MAY ENTER BEFORE THE DEFENSIVE WARD ACTIVATES.
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One hundred spaces.
Approximately one hundred and seventy students still remained across the five classes, while the civilians gathered by Class One and Class Five added several hundred more people to the convoy.
The exact number hardly mattered anymore.
There were too many.
Far too many.
The most obvious solution surfaced first because it was also the easiest to justify.
Prioritize the students.
