The post-engagement debriefing room had become a familiar space of exhaustion and frustration. Both factions occupied their respective sides of the long table, bodies aching from another systematic defeat, minds struggling to process how they could be improving so dramatically yet still be so hopelessly outmatched.
Raya's holographic displays showed the brutal statistics: coordination efficiency up to 91%, retreat execution flawless, tactical adaptation faster than ever. And yet, the Archivist had defeated them in under four minutes. Four minutes of their absolute best effort against someone who treated the entire engagement like a mildly interesting afternoon exercise.
"We're getting better," Noha said, her martial artist's pragmatism cutting through the heavy silence. "Measurably, documentably better. But she's not getting worse. The gap is narrowing, but it's narrowing from 'impossible' to 'nearly impossible.' That's not sufficient progress."
