Chapter 44 - Cira
Cira sat on the edge of her cot, elbows on knees, gloves off. Her hands were still scratched from the climb, stained faintly with rust and someone else's blood. She hadn't even taken off her boots. The room—bare, steel-walled, and cold—was quieter than she remembered. Or maybe she'd just gone deaf to the hum of the vents and the low thrum of power flowing through the floor.
Outside, the base moved on like nothing had happened. But everything had happened.
She stood. Shoulders stiff, neck aching. She hadn't slept since before the breach, and her body felt like it was still crawling through tunnels. The adrenaline had long since faded. Now it was just bruises and weight. She needed to see Aren. Needed to know she was stable. Breathing. Awake.
The med station was half-lit, quieter than usual. The overheads were dimmed, casting a soft amber haze across the row of recovery beds.
She paused in the doorway.
Aren lay near the back, IV hooked to her wrist, heart monitor steady. Sierra had said she'd make it—but still, seeing her pale against the white sheets brought a knot to Cira's chest.
Then she saw the figure sitting at the edge of the room. Slouched in one of the metal chairs, arms crossed, hood half up.
Liora.
Cira stepped in slowly, making just enough noise not to startle her.
«You should be resting.»
Liora didn't look at her.
«I'm fine.»
The words were flat. Clipped.
Cira hesitated, then crossed the space between them and leaned against the frame of the next bed. Not too close.
«You haven't even let the medtechs run a proper scan.»
«I said I'm fine.»
Finally, Liora looked up. Her eyes were darker than before—not tired, but angry. Bitten down and simmering beneath the surface.
«You came for her.»
Cira blinked. «What?»
«You came back for Aren,» Liora said, standing now, low and quiet and sharp. «You climbed through the dark and cut her loose yourself.»
Cira frowned. «I came for both of you—»
«No. You didn't.»
The silence cracked like glass.
Liora stepped closer. Her jaw was tight, and when she spoke again, her voice shook—not with fear, but with fury held too long.
«You left us. Back on the first mission. You left us. You didn't even try to come back. Not even once.»
Cira shook her head slowly. «That wasn't my call. It was Evran and Sienna. They pulled us out—»
«And you didn't stop them.» Liora pointed a trembling finger at her. «You didn't fight. You didn't try. I waited for you, Cira. Every hour in that cell, I thought—she's coming. She has to come. But you didn't.»
Cira opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
Liora stepped back, tears welling—but they didn't fall. She'd burned through crying weeks ago.
«You got to be the hero when it was safe. When someone else gave you permission.»
«Liora—»
«Don't.»
She turned away.
Cira stood there, frozen, the words twisting in her mouth.
I tried.
I wanted to.
I didn't know how.
But none of it would matter now.
∆∆∆
Cira didn't remember walking to the strategy room. She must've followed the motion-sensor lights, one foot in front of the other, until the doors slid open with a hiss and she found them already inside.
Evran was leaning over the holo-table, hands planted on either side of the interface. Orlan stood near the far wall, arms crossed, watching the door. Bran paced in slow loops, never still. And Sienna sat on the edge of a bench, chewing at her glove, eyes flicking to Cira the moment she entered.
"Hey," she said quietly, a small nod.
Cira nodded back, shut the door behind her.
No one spoke right away.
Then Evran broke the silence. «Talos is having an Anonymous Vote with higher Ranking Members»
«Already?» Orlan asked, brows pulling tight. «He didn't waste time.»
«He's furious,» Evran said. «We disobeyed direct orders. Breached a blacksite. Brought two unstable targets back into base—one of whom might've been compromised—and didn't even debrief before locking ourselves down.»
Cira bristled. «We didn't have a choice.»
«You always have a choice,» Evran shot back, then looked down, muttering, «Just not one you can live with.»
Bran finally stopped pacing. «So what happens now? He throws us out? Cuts us loose?»
«He can,» Orlan said. «And if he thinks Aren or Liora pose a threat to operational integrity, he will.»
«That's bullshit,» Sienna snapped. «We risked our lives for them. We went into hell and pulled two of our own out. That's supposed to mean something.»
Evran exhaled, straightening. «It does. To me. To all of us. But Talos? He doesn't think with his heart. He thinks in survival metrics and political leverage.»
«We saved kids,» Cira said, finally stepping forward. «I don't care if Talos wants to gut us on a council table—we did the right thing.»
«That won't protect us,» Orlan said. «Not from protocol. Not from fallout.»
Bran nodded. «We broke chain of command. That makes all of us expendable.»
Sienna looked up at them. "Then we stand together."
Silence again.
Evran glanced across the table. «If he throws Cira out, we all walk. That was the deal.»
No one objected.
Even Orlan gave a sharp, quiet nod.
For a moment, the weight lifted—not gone, but lighter. Like the air in the room had changed. They weren't just a team. They were a wall. And walls didn't crumble that easily.
Cira leaned forward, palms braced against the edge of the table, meeting each of their eyes in turn. «Thanks. I didn't… I didn't expect that.»
«We don't leave our own behind,» Sienna said. «And we don't let each other burn alone.»
Bran let out a breath that might've been a laugh. «Talos can toss his tantrum. Let him have his dramatic vote. He's not gonna gut half his best field agents over a technicality.»
«Unless he thinks we're a liability,» Orlan reminded. «Which is possible.»
Evran pushed off the table. «Then we make ourselves indispensable. Run drills. Clean gear. Be visible. Show the others we're stable, functional, still useful. No friction.»
«No friction?» Bran raised a brow. «Have you met me?»
Evran's mouth twitched at the edge. «Just enough to avoid reassignment.»
Cira exhaled. «So we wait.»
Orlan nodded. «Wait. Hold formation. And act like we didn't just start a fire under Talos' entire command structure.»
Sienna slid off the bench. «Honestly? I think he'll let it slide. A warning, maybe a demotion threat—but that's it. We're too valuable, and he knows it.»
Evran nodded reluctantly. «Let's hope you're right.»
Bran stretched, rolling his shoulders. «If not, I hear the Wasteland always needs reckless idiots.»
Orlan muttered, «That's how you get yourself killed in the first two weeks.»
Cira half-smiled, but it didn't last. Her thoughts drifted, back to the med bay. To Liora's voice, that accusation buried like shrapnel in her chest.
You got to Play Hero when it was save.
She wasn't sure she'd ever stop hearing it.
Evran tapped the edge of the holo-table, pulling her focus back. «Go rest. All of you. We don't get many quiet nights.»
Sienna squeezed Cira's arm on her way past. «You did good. Even if it cost you.»
Cira didn't answer.
She just watched them all leave one by one, until she was the last one standing in the room.
And the silence returned.