The senior atrium opened up ahead of him, and the sound of it reached him before the room did.
It was the easy, overlapping noise of people comfortable where they sat, conversation layered over the low hum of service drones threading between the tables with their trays.
Holographic broadcasts hung in the open air above the floor, cycling through news feeds and Citadel notices that no one was bothering to watch.
On one of the holographic feeds, something caught his eye anyway.
It was a recruitment ad. He'd seen it before, the kind the Queendom ran to push more women toward the Warlady path. Enlist, serve, stand beside legends.
And there was Kayla Noctis, front and center.
They'd built the whole thing around her. Train hard enough, the ad promised, and one day you might stand beside the legendary Kayla Noctis herself. They painted her warm. Noble. The kind of woman worth following into a fight.
Zaeryn knew better.
