The Rogue Arrives
General Stone's message came at 2 AM. Lyra grabbed her phone from the nightstand, squinting at the screen. Six words. Rogue faction inbound. Thirty minutes. No markings. She was dressed in ninety seconds. Solace met her at the door. "What is it?" "Someone's coming. Not the Council. Not Stone's people. Rogue." "How do you know?" "Stone told me. That means he can't stop them." --- They gathered in the war room. Charles pulled up satellite images. A convoy of six vehicles, black, no insignias, moving fast across the desert toward the sanctuary. "ETA twenty-three minutes." Delta stood by the window. "Trench says the folds are agitated. The third thing is aware of them." "The bridge knows they're coming?" "The bridge knows everything." Lyra turned to Solace. "Wake everyone. Defen
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