The air in the command center felt thin.
Not because of smoke.
Not because of the burned wiring or the ruptured ducts still hissing above us.
But because of the truth the Coordinator left behind
Seventeen days.
Until not integration.
But erasure.
No one spoke for a long moment.
Halverson leaned against the console, breathing hard, staring down at Brenn’s limp form as if the answer might claw its way out of him.
Kira paced the floor, hands in her hair.
Rael simply stood beside me silent, still, watching me more than the room.
Finally, Kira spoke.
“Okay… Kyle… we need to break that down. Slowly. Carefully. Preferably without anyone fainting.”
Halverson snapped,
“He’s saying the Wastes are dead.”
I shook my head.
“No. Not dead.”
Halverson frowned. “Then what ”
“Gone.” I
