The liberation of Marcus Veil, when finally executed nearly four months after his initial, cautious correspondence with Oren, proceeded with considerably more confidence than their uncertain first attempt with Vess had required, though genuine risk remained present throughout every careful stage of the operation.Veil met them personally at a prearranged location along the Verdant Compact's territorial edge, having engineered legitimate reasons for travel that provided sufficient cover for the delicate liberation work Ethan had, by now, performed enough times to execute with genuine, practiced precision."I've spent considerable time preparing myself for this moment," Veil said, settling into their careful, private meeting space with visible nervous anticipation. "Though I confess, understanding what you're about to attempt doesn't fully prepare me for the actual experience.""The process itself is relatively brief," Ethan reassured him, "though I won't pretend it's entirely comfortab