#Chapter 115: Planning the Mission

Aurora's POV The war room looked like someone had detonated a paperwork bomb. Maps were sprawled across every flat surface. Intelligence reports hung from boards along the walls, creating a tapestry of threat assessments and political calculations. Empty coffee cups littered the tables, evidence of planning sessions that had stretched through the night. Kane and I arrived together. No more pretending we weren't a team. No more walking three steps apart like strangers. The difference was immediate and obvious. Yesterday's conversation had transformed something fundamental between us. We moved around the tactical displays like we shared the same brain. He'd point to a security weakness. I'd already be pulling the corresponding intelligence file. "We need to figure out our priorities before the Alpha Council meeting," Kane said, spreading fresh intelligence reports across the central table. "The political situation has gotten worse overnight." I grabbed the diplomatic corresp