The descent from the central structure was faster than the climb through its interior. Liam did not retrace every room. He took the route he had already judged stable, passed the upper corridor with the old signal grooves, crossed the broken stair gap by the wall ledge, and left through a side entrance that opened onto one of the inner roads. Wing followed above, its silhouette briefly crossing the moon before circling back toward the Southern District.
By the time Liam returned near the barracks and courtyard, the district felt different from the day.
