The residual-shielded recovery space held a steady low hum, the kind that settled into bone after enough cycles. Soren sat with his back against the wall, legs stretched out, residual lag still working through the muscles of his arms and the base of his skull.
Extended recovery was mandatory. The second current was supposed to stay quiet while the body caught up.
It did not.
Ryn felt it first. Not lag. Not the familiar heavy bleed that came after residual-heavy work. Something older and sharper slid through the resonance like a second heartbeat that belonged to neither of them.
She was at her consultancy station when it arrived. Ambient residual weather showed nothing. The residual-medical channel stayed clean. Only the resonance carried the signal, clear and wrong.
