The Ferans moved quickly once the dust settled.
Recovery units deployed across the surviving base, pulling injured soldiers from shattered positions, healing injuries and working on recoveries. Their rune masters began assessing what little remained of the defensive infrastructure, marking debris fields for later salvage and clearing paths where evacuation corridors would be needed. The shock of what had happened still lingered, but discipline took over fast.
They were used to war.
Just not to something ending this cleanly.
We didn't stay.
As Feran forces reorganized, all of us returned to the ship. The hatch sealed behind us, muting the sounds of the battlefield. Inside, the atmosphere shifted from battlefield tension to something quieter, heavier with thought.
North broke the silence first.
"Is it really all right for us to go there directly?" she asked, arms folded loosely as she leaned against the wall. "Feradros, I mean."
I nodded once. "It's fine."
