Chapter 33

"Hey! What are you two doing up there?" A brash shout cut through the control room's heavy stillness, jolting Syn from the fragile quiet of Vera's embrace. Pako's voice boomed from below, sharp and irreverent, followed by the heavy thud of boots as she and Aster stormed in, their faces flushed from sleep and liquor. The SOS signal Vera had triggered—a piercing wail that must've sliced through their drunken haze—had yanked them awake, propelling them here in a tangle of urgency and disarray.