The trees had opened into something almost pleasant, wide gaps in the canopy letting real sunlight down for the first time since they'd landed, dust motes hanging gold in the shafts of it, and the mood had loosened along with it. Somewhere behind them a bird Noah couldn't name called out three notes and went quiet, and for the first time in hours the jungle felt less like something waiting to eat them and more like a place people could actually walk through.
"So," Priya said, walking backward for a stretch so she could face Kelvin properly, tablet tucked under one arm. "Once this is over. Assuming we all survive whatever's generating that signature. I want full access to your research on the beast surge correlation. Everything. Raw data, not the summary you gave us at the meeting."
"That's a big ask," Kelvin said, grinning, both mechanical arms folded loosely behind his back the way they did when he wasn't actively using them for anything. "Raw data's basically my diary."
