"EVERYONE GET DOWN. NOW."
Sophie hit the dirt herself, arms over her head, and around her the whole defensive line dropped at once, Grey and Sterling soldiers alike pressing themselves flat against scorched ground, Angel yanking two stragglers down by their collars before either could ask why.
Above them, the light kept building.
Vel'kai was a small planet, smaller than Earth by a fair margin, its curve visible even from ground level on a clear stretch of terrain, and the light gathering in orbit was already large enough that it threw shadow across nearly the whole visible hemisphere, the horizon on every side catching a faint edge of gold that had no business reaching that far.
Sophie risked a look up between her forearms.
It looked, for one strange, suspended moment, like sitting on a beach at the exact instant the sun touched the water, that particular warm wash spreading across the sky and making the whole world look briefly, impossibly soft.
