"The Security Council sanctioned it," Alpha Chen interrupts, his voice a deep, dangerous rumble. He is looking at the financial records. "Look at the funding trails, Croft. The money for the mercenaries, the silence-tech, the stealth transport. It’s routed through three shell corporations, all of which are owned by members of the UN Security Council. This wasn't a rogue operation. This was a coordinated, state-sponsored attempt to seize the Architect programmable matter."
Silence falls over the war room. The implication is catastrophic. The human alliance, the foundation of the Iron and Aether Treaty, is compromised. The people we trusted to help us rebuild the world are actively trying to weaponize the very thing that nearly destroyed it.
"Luna," Croft says, her voice tight, "if this is
