She looked back at him, perfectly calm now that the situation had become simple again.
"Commander?" she asked.
There was a faint dryness in that one word, like she was politely asking whether he wanted her to continue pretending this was complicated.
Aurelian almost laughed.
"Lysara," he said, "end this quickly."
"Understood."
Her clothes shifted in a blink.
The refined, elegant look she had worn since waking disappeared, replaced by a sharper combat form that still somehow suited her, dark fabric lined with pale metallic accents, one hand already bringing a narrow beam-blade into being with a bright snap of light.
For the first time since meeting her, several of the awakened units near the front line actually hesitated.
Caedrin did not.
"Fire."
The chamber erupted.
Gauss rounds tore through the air in dense, bright lines, but Lysara moved before the first full volley reached her.
