He doesn’t say anything else. His eyes are fixed forward, gleaming. I hear people moving behind us, the elevator doors opening and shutting, a short laugh. The noises come and go. Outside, the fountains shoot their water jets and a few stray leaves tumble through the air.

I check the time after a while. It’s just past fifteen o’clock. I turn to Captain Blitner.

“Should we get lun—”

I stop talking. His eyes are closed, and his jaw is slack. When I spoke, he didn’t move.

“Captain Blitner?”

I watch his chest: it isn’t moving. In an instant, panic floods my brain. I reach up and shake his shoulder.

“C—Captain?”

His head falls sideways, limp. I let go of his shoulder and reel back. What do I do? What do I do? I snap my head around. Behind me, three Narvidian men are waiting for the elevator.

“I need help!”

The men look at me, and I point at Captain Blitner. It takes them a moment to realize what I mean, and then they jog over. The first Narvidian man puts two fingers to Captain Blitner’s neck and holds them there. Slowly, he looks up at the other two men.

“Daraat,” he mutters. His hand slips down from Captain Blitner’s neck. “Henall Garner naas Gantz vemiat.”

The other two men back off and tap the headsets they’re wearing. I stare at the first man, my jaw clenched too tight to say anything.

“They are getting help,” he tells me in his gruff accent. “You need to call your general.”

I swallow the sharp lump in my throat and nod. He grips my arm and helps me stand.

“Go.”

As I walk, I pull out my holotab and tap Orcher’s icon. I hold it to my ear and wait. One buzz…two buzzes…three buzzes…four—

“Go for Orcher,” his voice says in my ear. “What do you need, Arman?”

He doesn’t sound the least bit worried. He doesn’t know what I’m about to tell him. It’s weird in a horrible kind of way. But when I try to speak, my throat strangles the words.

“He’s dead.” My voice is lower than a whisper.

I hear voices coming from Orcher’s end, a man arguing with another.

“I’m sorry, Arman. Could you speak up?”

I grit my teeth. My arm quivers harder, my mind racing, until I can hardly bear to keep the words in my head.

“He was talking to me and he just…” I pinch the bridge of my nose as tears begin to well up in my eyes. “He’s dead. The Narvidians are getting help.”

“Arman, where are you?”

“Floor twenty in Stationary four.”

“Stay there. I’m on my way.”