The silence that followed was deafening.
Then the chaos resumed, worse than before.
"We can't wait anymore!" A squad leader shouted, his face reddening beneath his visor. "There's barely any time left!"
"Every second we delay is a second we could be working!" Another added. "We have to initiate something—anything—right now!"
"Our teams are ready, Lady Nadia! We have theories, we have protocols—give us the order and we'll try!"
Their voices overlapped again, each one more desperate than the last. They threw out technical explanations proposals, ideas that might work but might also trigger the bombs.
The longer they talked, the more frantic they became.
But Nadia shook her head.
"No."
The single word cut through the noise like a blade.
"We wait." She turned to face the main display, her expression hardening. "There's no need for any of you to do anything right now. Not a single thing."
One of the squad leaders opened his mouth to protest.
