Meanwhile...
In a chamber deep within Liberator Headquarters—
Seran stood by the window with his hands behind his back, looking out toward a sky he was not truly seeing.
His reflection in the glass looked wrong.
It was too vacant.
As though part of his mind had stepped half a pace away from the rest of him and was now waiting for something his thoughts had not yet managed to catch.
The door opened softly behind him.
A woman in white entered without hurry.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
Seran did not answer immediately.
His gaze shifted from the window to the table behind him.
Two communication devices rested there.
He stared at them for a long moment before finally speaking.
"Do you know," he said quietly, "why there are two communication devices linked to the West?"
The woman frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Seran turned halfway toward her now, his usual smile nowhere to be seen.
