Seris did not move when the vehicle stopped, but something in her face changed, growing firmer and more tired at once, as she had finally reached the point where she had to say the dangerous part out loud.
"Not all awakened units want an outsider to take control of this bastion," she said. "Some fear their lives will be changed. Some fear they will be turned into tools again. Some fear that the moment authority is transferred, everything they have protected here will stop belonging to them."
Aurelian studied her for a second.
"So which side are you on?" he asked.
Seris looked at him directly.
"Until a little while ago, I was against letting any claimant take control," she said. "Not because I wanted things to stay as is, but because I did not trust what came after. Most of us have spent a long time imagining the worst."
That answer did not surprise him as much as it might have before they spoke in the vehicle.
