Rook's accusation occupied every public screen that still accepted the emergency relay. His office placed Joy's face beside a red map of the Citadel and repeated the same phrase beneath it: civilian disappearance under unregistered dungeon control.
Nox watched the broadcast from the science wing while Vasa set out six paper ledgers on the old lab tables. The paper mattered because the city could mute a screen, change a search result, or claim a relay had failed.
"We have ration receipts from the first day of the claim: every intake, distribution, and loss from the south water break," Emilia said, opening the food book.
"The casualty ledger has names, injury locations, and the person who signed each medical transfer," Kendra said, placing a shorter list beside it.
"This is the tax record, including hunting-route income, commander core claims, work shifts, and every time the Citadel took material from a captured team," Vasa said, tapping the final ledger with one knuckle.
