---
Morning settled into the mountain like a slow breath.
The noise of battle was gone. In its place came the clatter of mess lines, the low murmur of changing watches, the soft, constant hum from the egg chambers as the new egg hatched into a world that already expected too much of them.
Kai washed the last traces of sleep and forest from his face, strapped on his plates, and stepped out into the corridor.
There were a dozen things he could have done first.
He could have gone to Luna to let her poke at his ribs again, just to reassure herself he was not secretly dying. He could have gone to Miryam, who would no doubt have a list of questions about scarlet empires and why he smelled like queen and honey. He could have gone back to the ramp and stared at the scars until his mind found patterns in the cracks.
Instead, he sent a drone.
