The Crownhold operative had been watching Bright fight Galan for three minutes, tracking patterns, identifying vulnerabilities, waiting for an optimal moment.
His orders were clear: eliminate Estovia Armand and destroy the evidence she carried. Everything else—Academy candidates, Covenant specialists, political optics—was secondary to completing that mission.
But the Academy candidates are defending her, he'd reasoned. Can't reach Estovia while they're coordinated and alert.
So remove the coordination. Kill their leader. Create chaos.
Bright Morgan was the lynchpin. The talent whose spatial foresight tracked everything, whose tactical commands kept the group functioning despite overwhelming odds.
Kill him, and the rest collapse.
