The damaged transmitter arrived at Basa before sunrise.
It traveled inside a sealed military case beneath armed escort, accompanied by two intelligence officers, three communications specialists, and a technician who had spent the entire flight insisting that nobody touch anything without wearing insulated gloves.
By the time the helicopter landed near headquarters, the eastern horizon had begun turning gray.
Adrian waited beside the command building with Ryan and Marcus while medical teams prepared to receive the wounded operators from the previous night. The base around them had already shifted into a higher state of alert. Patrol vehicles moved through the streets more often than usual, and armed guards stood outside communication facilities that most civilians had never noticed before.
Marcus stepped away from the helicopter with a bandage covering the cut above his eye.
Adrian looked at him.
"You should be in the hospital."
"I was in the hospital."
"For twelve minutes."
