Kaguya spent the first three days learning how Adrian's people moved.
Not the military reports Akira had collected.
Not satellite imagery.
Not intercepted communications.
Movement.
Real movement.
Human movement.
From the branches of trees overlooking roads reclaimed from the dead, she watched supply convoys rumble past carrying fuel, food, construction materials, and replacement parts toward settlements further inland. Some traveled under armored escort while others moved with only a pair of gun trucks nearby, a level of confidence that would have been unthinkable in most of the world.
The roads themselves fascinated her.
Someone maintained them.
Cracks had been patched.
Abandoned vehicles had been pushed aside.
Vegetation had been cleared from shoulders and intersections.
Signs had been repainted.
Some bridges even showed evidence of recent repairs.
In Europe, surviving enclaves fortified cities.
In China, isolated military remnants defended provinces.
