Chapter 24 The Awakening Protocol

• Lena stared at the dust swirling in the chamber. It glowed faintly, caught in a silent, unnatural wind. Every part of her body was alert—heart pounding, muscles tense—but her mind was the battlefield now. She could feel pieces of thought that weren’t hers, memories she hadn’t lived threading through her consciousness like spiderwebs.
• Mira stood guard beside her, scanning the walls, pistol drawn and eyes narrowed.
• “Status?” a voice crackled through Lena’s earpiece. It was Syra from the command deck.