The war room was quiet. No one spoke, yet the weight of unspoken thoughts filled the air.

  The only sound was the occasional flicker of the overhead screens, showing logistical data and projected flight paths.

  Each of them—Ren, Akira, Ryuko, and Yumi—sat scattered around the room, lost in their own heads.

  They were waiting.

  Waiting for the inevitable. And as they waited, they remembered.