They did it because they had to, Kade replies, his right hand gently stroking my hair. And they did it perfectly.
Before I can respond, Dr. Evans steps into our line of sight. He looks thoroughly traumatized. His tailored charcoal suit is covered in soot, his wire-rimmed glasses slightly askew, and his hands are trembling violently. He looks at the shattered dampeners, then at the zip-tied Baseline representatives, and finally at me.
"Luna Isla," Evans says, his voice cracking. "I... I had no idea they were going to do this. The UN Security Council did not authorize an overload. They were supposed to use standard calibration."
I look at him, my physical voice dropping to a lethal, icy calm. "They bypassed the UN security personnel. They manually overrode the safeties. They pushed the de
