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And for the first time since this started—
I let myself stop.
Just for a moment.
I breathe.
93
Aaron
Location: Same
Time: Morning
Delta Five is already peeling off.
No ceremony.
No debrief circle.
No lingering.
That’s how it always is.
They arrive like a storm—
and leave like it never happened.
Cal gives me a nod on his way out.
Respect.
Acknowledgment.
No words needed.
Jase claps my shoulder as he passes, grin already back in place.
“Try not to start any more wars without us.”
There’s humor in it.
But also truth.
Ethan—
Ethan is just… gone.
One second there.
The next—
absence.
Like he was never part of the room at all.
Lance pauses in front of Lark.
