Aurelian opened a long-range command link.
The connection formed quickly since the people he needed were not far away, but it still came with the usual pressure behind his eyes.
He felt it build as the link stabilized, a dull strain that reminded him his strength was still not at the level where this kind of communication was effortless.
Even after reaching Tier II, holding a link across that distance was not something he was able to do with ease or something he enjoyed doing too often, but it worked, and that was all that mattered. It was never comfortable.
The first image to appear was Astercourt.
She looked exactly as expected. Calm, composed, and already working. She sat behind a stack of reports and data layers that had clearly been building up for a while. Even through the projection, it was obvious she had not been idle.
