Five minutes. That's all it took.
The door to Lyra's interrogation room opened, and Commander Brooks stepped out with an expression that gave away absolutely nothing. She walked the short distance to where Commanders Lein, Beaumont, and Volkov waited in the observation area, their faces arranged in various degrees of concern and frustration.
Brooks looked at each of them in turn, then shook her head once.
The commanders' shoulders relaxed fractionally. Mei nodded slowly, understanding passing between them in a way that required no words. Cassandra's expression shifted from tense anticipation to something like resignation. Even Volkov, who'd been wound tight enough to snap, seemed to deflate slightly.
Lyra emerged from the interrogation room a moment later. She stood at attention and delivered a crisp salute that belonged in a military recruitment video. "Ma'am. Sirs."
"Dismissed, recruit," Brooks said quietly.
