The Board chamber always felt a few degrees colder than the rest of Orion.
Mara had once asked Facilities about it.
They blamed the old ventilation.
She blamed the people.
Today the chill sank straight into her bones.
Thirty‑two panes of smartglass formed the outer wall, projecting a perfect, lag‑smoothed view of the city. From up here, District Twelve‑Lower looked like a smear of lights near the river, indistinguishable from any other sector.
On the central display, it was all anyone could see.
A paused frame from the stream.
An eight‑year‑old girl under a scanner arch, red light blooming over her head.
Above the image, the caption scrolled:
REGISTRY RECOMMENDATION: PREEMPTIVE CONTAINMENT.
OUTCOME: RELEASED.
PUBLIC REACTION: ACTIVE.
The Chair tapped her knuckles once against the table.
The sound cut through the chamber's polite murmur.
"Captain Kedan," she said. "Explain why this happened."
Every eye turned to Mara.
She kept her shoulders square.
