All I have to do is give the order.
Instead—
“Hold position,” I say.
The silence on the comms is immediate.
Then—
“You’re kidding,” Vihl says.
“No.”
“This is the cleanest advantage we’ve had,” he pushes, his voice sharper now. “They’re divided. We can break them before they stabilize.”
“And then what?” I ask.
“We win,” he says.
“No,” I reply, my voice flattening. “We confirm their narrative.”
That stops him.
“They’re already fractured,” I continue. “If we attack now, we give them a reason to unify.”
“They’ll unify anyway,” he argues.
“Yes,” I agree. “But on whose terms?”
The silence stretches longer this time.
“…Yours,” he says finally.
“Yes.”
“And you’re just going to wait?” he asks.
“I’m going to let them choose wrong,” I reply.
Stacy shifts slightly beside me, and I don’t look at her, but I feel it—the recognition, the alignment.
“You’re changing your approach,” Vihl says.
“I’m refining it,” I correct.
“You’re holding back,” he says.
“Yes.”
“That’s not like you.”
“No,” I agree. “It isn’t.”
Another pause.
Then—
“…This is her,” he says quietly.
