THE PAKHAN'S STOLEN OMEGA
But still they came, drawn by memory and loss and the ache of absence that never quite faded.
"Tell me something," Vera asked. "Something I don't know about her. Something from before I was born."
They thought. A century of memories, most shared countless times. But finally, Dimitri spoke: "She used to have nightmares. Even after years as Luna, even after therapy and healing. She'd wake up thinking she was back in Project Seventh, panicking about missions. And every time, she'd calm herself the same way—counting us. One, two, three. Alexei, Dimitri, Nikolai. She'd count until the fear passed."