Chapter 43 - Cira
They returned in silence.
The entrance to the Godhunter base hissed open like a sigh, and the lights overhead buzzed too loudly—too clean, too sterile after the cold dark of the facility they'd just stormed. Cira stepped in first, helmet clipped to her belt, Aren supported under one arm. Liora followed behind, quiet, her eyes hollow. Orlan and Bran and Sierra in Last. No one spoke.
Until they were met.
Six guards. Not Godhunters like Cira knew—these were Talos' loyalists. Faces hard, weapons not raised but ready. Behind them stood Myra Vos, second-in-command. Slate-gray armor. Clipboard in hand.
«Stand down,» she said. «All of you. Weapons to the floor.»
Orlan tensed beside her.
«You're serious?» he said.
«I don't make the rules,» Myra replied. «But you broke them.»
Cira raised her hands, slowly. «We brought them back. They're alive.»
«And you did it without command approval. You used off-grid gear. Broke containment protocols. Went into enemy territory with intel that wasn't verified by central.» Her tone was flat. «Talos is waiting.»
They were escorted to the central hall.
No cuffs. No words. Just that tense, quiet walk down metal corridors where other Godhunters stared without speaking. Some looked away. A few nodded. One even saluted Orlan. But none stepped in.
He stood at the center of the room, coat half-unbuttoned, gloves off, a datapad in one hand. His expression unreadable. Cira had seen him angry before—but never quiet like this. It was the stillness before an execution.
«You disobeyed a direct order,» he said.
Cira stepped forward. «We got them out.»
«That's not the point.» Talos tossed the datapad to the table with a clatter. «You jeopardized our network. Burned two safe routes. Broke chain of command. And you brought back someone who might be compromised.»
He looked past her—straight at Liora.
Liora didn't flinch. Didn't speak.
«She's clean,» Orlan said.
«Not your call to make,» Talos snapped. «None of this was.»
Bran stepped up beside them. «We did what had to be done.»
Talos looked at each of them in turn. «You think that matters? You think intent covers consequence? You think you're the first idealists to think saving one or two people is worth risking hundreds?»
His voice didn't rise. That made it worse.
«You don't trust us to make decisions,» Cira said, not a question.
«I trust command structure,» Talos replied. «Because it keeps us alive. You four broke that. You think you're heroes. You think what you did won't haunt us in a week when Cain tracks your trail back to our door?»
Silence.
Then Sierra, still bleeding, leaned on the table and said, «Then next time, don't make us choose between orders and people.»
Talos stared at her for a long moment.
Then he turned and walked to the far console. «You're suspended from field duty. Effective immediately. You'll stay on base, no external access. You move when I say. You speak when spoken to.»
"What about Liora and Aren?" Cira asked.
«Aren stays under med watch,» he said. «Liora's being evaluated. If she clears, she stays. If not—she leaves.»
«You'll just send her out there alone?»
«She wasn't supposed to be in here to begin with.»
Cira stepped forward, jaw tight. «So that's it. We brought them back, and now we're criminals.»
Talos looked over his shoulder. «No. You're still Godhunters. That means you'll live with what you've done. And what comes next.»
He turned away.
And the room emptied.