Scout body. Reflex acceleration tuned past every safety threshold Csaba had marked. Akari's first morning she breaks a glass before it hits the floor. Rika laughs — for the first time since the war.
Akari wakes mid-morning. Rika and I have been working on the reflex-acceleration runtime for thirteen days. Akari sits up, sees the broken cup we left as a calibration test, and catches it in mid-air …
The lab floor was warm. I walked seven steps before I realized I was walking. Aika watched from the doorway. She did not help. She knew I had to do it alone. I love her for that. I always will.…