The low, restless hum of the campus drifted up to Sophia Vale’s oval office in muffled waves—hundreds of student voices, the deep idle rumble of armored engines, the electric buzz of a departure that had become public theater. Golden evening light poured through the tall curved windows, bathing the room in warm amber and long, dramatic shadows.

Sophia sat behind her massive desk like a queen on her throne, posture flawless, expression unreadable.

Across from her, General Sinn filled the guest chair. The scars on the left side of his face caught the light brutally, jagged white lightning frozen in weathered skin. He watched her with the steady, unflinching gaze of a man who had buried too many people to waste time on pleasantries.

"Sinn," she said calmly, "I’m putting my students in your hands. All five of them come back."

He met her eyes without flinching. "You know I can’t promise that. You knew it when you signed their names on that register."

Sophia let out a soft, elegant laugh. She rose gracefully and circled the desk, moving with that effortless authority that made rooms rearrange themselves around her.

"Listen to what you’re saying." she said, stopping beside his chair. "These children belong to powerful families" She let that sit for a moment.

Sinn stood as well. He was not a man who remained seated when the conversation turned sharp. He towered over most people, but in this room, the power balance was clear.

"I’m a soldier, ma’am. I’m going out there with forty-eight people and I don’t intend to lose any of them. But we both know how these missions work." His voice was gravel and steel. "I can’t even guarantee I come back myself."

Sophia placed a manicured hand lightly on his broad shoulder and guided him back down into the chair with the ease of someone who had been managing powerful men for a very long time.

"You’re not understanding this," she said softly. She leaned in just a little.

She placed a folded paper on the desk in front of him. He opened it. The paper crackled softly in the quiet office. Sinn’s jaw tightened before he even finished reading the names.

Owen. Harmione. Oddo. Speed. Code.

"I don’t care if you die out there," Sophia said pleasantly, as if discussing the weather. "Just make sure none of those five do."

Sinn stared at the list for a long moment, then lifted his gaze to hers. The scars on his face seemed to deepen in the slanting light.

"Then why did you agree to Bala’s—"

"I agreed on paper," she cut in smoothly. "Nobody wants to be at war with the government. That’s not your concern."

He opened his mouth, then closed it. After a weighted pause he said, "No man controls life." His voice was quieter now. It was the only response he seemed willing to give after weighing everything else.

He had authority and rank and thirty years of service. He also knew who Sophia Vale was.

Her family had contributed to the fall of the first government of the walls. Lord Bala visited without security. These were not things you forgot when you were deciding how much to push back.

"I don’t care how you manage it," Sophia continued, circling back behind her desk. "They could remain in the life layer zone just outside the gates while the rest of the team operates. Keep them inside the vehicles. Use your judgment." A faint, almost amused smile touched her lips. "I’m sure your bosses have eyes out there. So... be creative."

Sinn processed the order in silence. The weight of it settled visibly on his shoulders.

"What about the other three?" he asked finally.

"Where are they from?"

"Bala told me two were outsiders," he said. "The girl and the boy."

"Then they are outsiders," Sophia said, and the words carried the full weight of her position on the matter. "Same category as the forty Guardians."

Outside, one of the armored engines revved hard enough to rattle the windows.

Sinn’s face moved. Something crossing it that he pulled back before it became an expression. He had spent his career believing that soldiers were not expendable, which was what made him good at bringing them home. He had not spent his career believing it comfortably.

But Sophia Vale was right in the specific way that people are right when they understand the architecture of power and you don’t yet have a counter-argument that survives contact with reality.

He looked at the list again, then at the door, then at her.

"I understand, ma’am," he said, and stood. He straightened his shirt. A small, useless habit.

"Thank you, General."

He gave a curt nod. "Thank you for the information." The words were flat, professional. "It’s time."

He turned toward the door without waiting for dismissal. He walked out.

The moment the heavy door clicked shut behind him, Sophia’s watch vibrated against her wrist.

"Sophie." Steff’s voice. The oldest Vale. "He’s still missing."

She sat with it for a moment.

Vince. The family dinner. The anger he had carried out of the room with him. She had assumed he needed space. He had disappeared before and always come back, because whatever Vince did and wherever he went, he always came back. But Steff didn’t call about things he wasn’t worried about.

"The walls are small," she said evenly. "He’ll come back."

She ended the call. Outside her window, the three armored vehicles idled at the main gate, their engines a low predatory growl. General Sinn strode through the gathered crowd of students, uniform sharp, scarred face betraying nothing of the conversation that had just occurred.

The team was assembled. The massive gate stood open, revealing the city beyond. The mission was starting.

Sophia leaned back in her chair, fingers steepled, and watched the small figures below move toward the waiting vehicles. The golden light of evening had begun to bleed into twilight. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Somewhere out there, the plain waited.