As soon as we reached the war room, I knew something was happening. There was an energy in the air. Not quite nervousness but maybe anticipation. Something was happening.

It was like everyone was waiting for something but I didn’t know what. I knew that it must have been something big because Orion barely looked up at us before going back to typing furiously. Even Grus was sitting next to him, his eyes scanning his screens.

He shouldn’t have been. It was too early in the morning. I was pretty sure that his shift didn’t start for another few hours and then Peggy was meant to join him a couple of hours after that.

It must have been bad then.

The heavy vault doors finally opened and I surveyed the people sitting inside quickly. All of the seats around the table were full and the screen on the left wall was on.

My heart sped up slightly as I took in the spinning Council crest. A Council announcement. It had to be that. I somehow didn’t expect it even though I should have. A Councillor had been found murdered, even though I was pretty sure that Harvey had killed her, it would be weird if they didn’t say anything. Too much time had passed though. They’d put out the official report, of course, but they hadn’t actually said anything. It was weird.

I was pretty sure they hadn’t done any press reports or briefings or anything since they fled from Nova but I might have been wrong. Everything has blurred together.

I sunk into my usual chair, pulling the cup of coffee that Andy had placed on it towards me and shooting him a grateful smile. He returned it before turning back to Aquila who had barely paused. She was talking in a low tone to Elliot and Andy, her words rushed.

I immediately started to listen in but Chal started speaking to me, distracting me.

“Did you lot get any sleep?” he asked, looking at each of my crew members before his eyes landed on me.

He looked concerned. I wasn’t sure if he was worried about us or about what was going to happen.

“Yeah, we got some,” Cas said vaguely.

Chal’s eyes narrowed and Peggy was quick to jump in.

“They got a few hours,” she told him, her tone reassuring.

Did you not sleep? I asked quickly.

But Chal caught that too.

“And what about you?” he asked.

She ducked her head and I could almost feel her mind rushing to think of a way out of the question without lying.

Peggy, I prompted.

She sighed softly.

“I got about an hour,” she admitted reluctantly.

Chal’s eyes scanned her face.

“Do you need another prescription?” he asked so quietly I didn’t hear it.

No one else around the room seemed to either except Andy who I noticed look over at Peggy, his expression worried.

She didn’t see it though which I was glad about. I didn’t want her to know that he was worried about her too even though it was obvious. I could tell he worried about all of us. Whenever he looked at us or asked us how we were doing, I could see it. There was an underlying something. A current of concern.

Even now, after everything that happened, he still looked at us like that.

“Alright,” Aquila said, addressing the rest of us after finally finishing speaking to Andy and Elliot. “Thank you all for coming down, I know it’s not the best timing and that some of you have just finished your shifts so I do appreciate you being here.”

Across the table, Fornax raised her giant mug of coffee at her and I knew she was one of the people that Aquila was thanking. After all, Fornax worked more than most. It was rare that I ever went to the garage and didn’t find her in there.

Just as I looked back at Aquila, I saw Chal slip Peggy something under the table.

I turned away from her, sending her a thought.

What’s that, Peg? I asked.

Stimulant, she thought back. He wrote something on it though. He wants us to come to the medBay after the briefing.

I thought to keep a neutral expression, my mind already racing. It seems so strange that Chal would send a message like that. He could have just said it before the briefing started or sent me a ping.

But he clearly didn’t want anyone to see it. He must have known that one of us wouldn’t have slept well, we never really did. He’d planned for this.

Okay, I told her but anxiety washed through me.

What could it possibly be?

I’m not mad that he told us. Maybe I should have been but I’m not. He gave us all of the information we needed to know. We should have had that from the beginning. How were we meant to make decisions, how could we possibly do the right thing, if people don’t tell us what’s actually going on?

“I’ve asked you all to come down here because shortly, there will be a Council briefing. Now, this has been called by Harvey himself, as expected, and I assume that it is to do with the current situation in the galaxy as well as Councillor Ortiz,” Aquila told us.

Someone let out a single cheer but I didn’t even look away from Aquila to see who it was. I still didn’t get it. To me, it made no sense. She was a Councillor, yes, but she tried to do the right thing and I refused to celebrate her death.

“The current state of the Nova district is… tense. Many planets have now successfully revolted and have joined our side of the fight, including key manufacturing planets, but even more people have lost their lives in this fight. We must continue to be conscious of this moving forwards,” Aquila said, her eyes flickering in the direction that the cheer had come from.

I was glad that she’d said something. I was hopeful that it would stop them from celebrating every time someone mentioned Councillor Ortiz but I wasn’t sure.

“At the moment, we are focused on supporting the planets that have defected as well as placing the people who have fled in safe ships and planets,” she started before glancing at the screens behind us.

The logo had changed to a black screen that simply said “Council briefing incoming. Viewing is mandatory.”

“Ah and right on time. We’ll continue the briefing after we hear what Harvey has to say,” she said, turning her attention to the screen.

I looked back at her before turning my chair slightly so that I could watch the briefing without craning my head. Beside me, I saw Cas’ hands clench into tight fists.

You alright? I asked him.

Slowly, he opened his hands, taking deep and deliberate breaths.

Yeah. I just hate these briefings. Every time he shows up on the screen, I just want to throw something at him or hunt him down, Cas thought, his voice tight.

I know, I told him. One day.

Do you promise? he thought back, seeing me a half smile as he reached out to grab my hand.

I swallowed, debating my next words.

I wanted to agree immediately. To promise him that we would hunt Harvey down. That we’d storm the Council ship and… I wasn’t even sure what I thought would happen. But, it felt risky. I mean, what if we couldn’t? What if we didn’t get the chance to?

I promise.

It felt like a long shot as I thought that. I guess I never expected things to go down like that. I didn’t think we’d get the chance but I’m glad that we did. If I didn’t see what happened with my own eyes, I’d never believe it.

Cas smiled at me gently before turning back to the screen as the Council music blared through the speakers, almost deafeningly loud.