The last fragments of Relay's voice clawed through the relay shard on my desk—half scream, half static—then silence. A single high-pitched whine lingered in the air like the world itself was holding its breath.
The crystal pulsed once, dim and uneven, then died.
[Signal Node: Destroyed.]
[Substructure Breach: Confirmed.]
[Population Safety: Compromised.]
Amazing. The system could write an entire dissertation on how doomed we were and still skip the important detail, like where.
Quicktongue was already standing at the table, claws hammering against the wood as she tried to line up six reports at once. She wasn't just anxious—she was shaking. Her tail lashed once, twice, then she pressed it flat to her leg as if forcing it to calm. "The post is gone. No signal return. We don't know if they made it out."
