The cave wasn't cold.
It was heavy.
Every breath felt like it had weight. Every footstep sounded louder than it should. As if the shadows themselves were listening.
And in the quiet corner of the cave, lit faintly by the pale glow of the communication console, Vireya hesitated.
Kael's words echoed in her ears like a curse she couldn't shake:
> "Call them. Tell them it's Unit 404. Watch their tone change."
She swallowed hard and pressed the transmit key.
---
A buzz, then a static-laced voice crackled through:
"This is Sovereign Dawn. Identify."
She cleared her throat. "Rescue Unit Delta-Seven. Reporting from planet R22. Multiple survivors confirmed."
A short pause.
"Names, unit affiliation?"
She hesitated. Just saying it felt like opening a sealed wound.
"…Unit 404."
The silence was telling.
Then the voice returned. But it was different now — no urgency, no concern. Just cold, clipped professionalism.
"404?" The pause was longer this time. "That defunct penal unit? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Positive."
Another longer silence.
"…Is the rogue with them?"
Not "the soldier."
Not "Kael."
Just "the rogue."
She blinked, her mouth suddenly dry. "He is."
"Do not engage. Maintain distance. Avoid provocation. Observe from a safe range. Await further instructions."
And just like that, the line died.
---
The cave's silence returned — thicker than before.
Vireya stood still, staring at the blank panel, the buzz of Kael's prediction running through her mind like a scream in a tunnel.
> He was right.
They didn't ask if she was okay.
Didn't ask about casualties.
Didn't care.
They heard "404," and their tone curdled like spoiled blood.
---
Behind her, quiet footsteps.
Tyren.
He'd been close enough to hear it all — every bitter syllable.
"You called them," he muttered. "You actually said it."
She turned, startled.
He wasn't yelling.
That made it worse.
"They asked about Kael like he's a bomb," Tyren said, voice cold. "Not a person. Not a soldier. Just a problem."
Vireya opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
"You should've seen his face when they threw us into this mission," Tyren continued. "He didn't even flinch. As if he already knew the whole galaxy would turn its back."
---
Kael, sitting beside Ravager's shattered remains, kept his eyes closed, his fingers wrapped around a shard of the mecha's frame like a dying man holding onto hope.
Tyren walked over and dropped to one knee beside him.
"They called you the rogue," he said. "Didn't even speak your name."
Kael didn't move.
Tyren's voice hardened. "You were right. Their tone changed like they were talking about disease. Like we're infected."
Now Kael opened his eyes — slow, heavy.
"I told her they would."
---
Not far behind, Oris, who had been silently cataloguing metal scraps, looked over. He slammed his wrench onto the crate.
"I get it. They treated us like garbage," he said, frustrated. "But can we stop acting like martyrs for five seconds? We need that ship. That team. Their resources. If we're going to build anything—"
Kael cut in. "I don't want anything that drips of pity."
Oris gritted his teeth. "Then what? We die here? With rust and ashes?"
Kael stood slowly. "Better that… than bowing to the people who fed us to this place."
---
The tension was thick when Vireya, Lisette, Kira, and Freya approached.
Kira crossed her arms. "That conversation… We all heard it. And yeah, it was disgusting."
Lisette nodded. "I don't blame you for not wanting to return. But don't you think you've proven your worth already?"
"No," Kael said simply. "I didn't come here to prove anything. They know what I am. That's why they buried us."
Freya bit her lip. "So you'll throw away your chance to live just because they don't clap for you?"
"No," Tyren cut in this time. "We'll live. Just not on their leash."
---
The rescue team, standing further back, started whispering among themselves. One of them—a younger officer named Renn—stepped forward.
"I… didn't know what kind of unit 404 was. I thought you were just failures. That's what the records say."
Tyren turned his head slowly. "And now?"
Renn swallowed. "Now I'm ashamed to even wear this patch."
Kael said nothing, his back already turned.
---
"You still have time," Oris said. "We can repair the ship. Leave together. Make them regret it later, with action—not silence."
Kael picked up a sliver of Ravager's armor and ran his thumb over the charred surface.
"No," he said flatly. "This? This was the only thing that stood by me. When I was broken, this carried me. When I was abandoned, this fought beside me. I won't leave it behind."
Then he glanced over his shoulder at Vireya.
"You were right to be afraid when you saw my eyes."
Her lips parted slightly, confused.
Kael looked down at the scrap in his hand.
"Because I'm not angry anymore."
He stepped past them all, heading into the shadows of the cave.
"I'm focused."