Julia knelt behind Conner and waited for his direction. The floor vibrated through her hands; explosions thudded in the distance. Fear gnawed at her; she had never been exposed to violence like this. In Five Points, her commands had been executed at a distance—surgical strikes whose results were reported in spreadsheets and financial reports. This was real, and deadly. Alice had been upgraded to deal with situations like this, but Julia’s body was built for analysis and communication, not combat. She knew her clock could dampen her emotions, make this all feel calm and neutral, but she didn’t want to take that escape hatch. If she was to die here, she was going to do it fully aware of everything that surrounded her.