The constant dimness of R22's eternal dusk cast ghostlike glimmers over the mecha squad as they moved out, jagged rock fields reflecting a purple-gray hue. The radiation scanners were flickering—unstable but not enough to abort the mission.
Kael's Ravager moved like a phantom—stealthy, fluid, deathly. Behind him, Brawler's heavy steps followed, each one echoing across the hollow earth. The Siren Squad mechas brought up the rear in a tight V formation, still unused to the weight of real tension.
Target: A newly spotted lizard-type Kaiju with unusually long limbs, scouted lurking near uranium-infused cliffs.
They had barely reached the ridge when it hit.
A sudden screech pierced the comms—metal against rock—and a blur darted from a hidden ravine.
"Hostile—engage!" Kael snapped.
---
The Hunt Ignites
The Kaiju was freakishly fast. Its legs extended twice the normal ratio, and its tail was armed with needle-like spikes that it hurled like shrapnel.
Kael immediately brought Ravager to the front. His blades ignited in electric blue as he spun to block a volley of spikes.
"Keep formation. Siren Squad, DO NOT scatter!" Ryssa ordered.
But the command was already too late.
Ziya panicked at the sudden charge and swerved left, bumping Misha, whose mecha teetered dangerously close to the edge of a sinkhole.
"Focus, damn it!" Tyren growled.
The Kaiju closed the gap in a blink—its claws slashing down toward Misha's exposed flank.
Kael's Ravager collided midair, deflecting the Kaiju with a hard shoulder blow. Sparks and dirt burst from the impact.
The beast rolled mid-air, recovered unnaturally fast, and spat a second barrage of bone-shards from its throat cavity.
Brawler intercepted two. One embedded in his shoulder plate, the other scraped his cockpit glass.
"Ravager, right!" Tyren yelled.
Kael pivoted—too slow.
The Kaiju latched onto Ravager's side like a giant parasite, claws digging into the chassis. Red warning beeps screamed inside Kael's cockpit. He grunted, activated pulse boosters, and flipped Ravager into a spin, launching the Kaiju off like a flung boulder.
It crashed into a mineral pillar.
"Cut it down!" Ryssa screamed.
Siren-2 advanced. Ziya's beam-saw ignited—then short-circuited. She had forgotten to re-calibrate after the last deployment.
"Move, idiot!" Tyren yelled.
The Kaiju struck again, but Ravager was already airborne—its boost thrusters activating mid-leap. Kael flipped his mecha mid-flight and came down like a guillotine. His blade cut into the Kaiju's shoulder, but not deeply enough.
It retaliated, its tail sweeping Ravager's legs.
Kael flipped the blade in his grip—stabbed directly into the tail as it passed, pinning the creature to the ground for just a second.
It was all he needed.
Kael drove a reinforced arc cannon point-blank into the Kaiju's mouth, and fired.
The head exploded. Bone fragments and black fluids sprayed across the rock. The Kaiju convulsed—then lay still.
---
Silence After the Storm
Everyone stood frozen.
The wreckage of the battle steamed in front of them.
Kael stepped out of Ravager's cockpit silently. His chest rose and fell slowly as he walked toward the Kaiju's carcass, boots crunching on irradiated dust. Tyren followed after a few seconds.
Misha's voice crackled nervously through the comms.
"I... thank you. Again."
Kael didn't answer. He just stared at the carcass. Then turned to glare at her cockpit.
Ryssa broke the silence. "Everyone, back to base. That's enough stupidity for one day."
---
The Argument Erupts
Inside the base tent, the tension was suffocating.
Ryssa paced across the room, her boots clicking sharply against the floor.
"What the hell was that performance?" she snapped.
Ziya crossed her arms. "We didn't get a proper training run, and this wasn't a fair deployment."
"You bumped Tyren's Brawler and nearly killed him!" Ryssa barked. "And Misha—you nearly got sliced three times! If Kael wasn't there—"
"You're always on his side," Misha snapped back, voice cracking.
Ryssa's eyes narrowed. "His side is the only reason any of you are still alive."
Rynn tried to interject, "We didn't expect the Kaiju to be so intelligent—"
"No one expects a knife in the dark," Ryssa growled. "That's why we train. That's why we follow orders. You were warned. By me. And by them."
Ziya slammed her fist onto the crate beside her. "We're not here to be babysat by some war-scarred hotshot who doesn't even trust us to speak!"
Tyren appeared in the entrance, his arms crossed, voice low but heavy.
"Don't worry," he said. "No one's asking you to speak. In fact, next mission, stay silent. Or stay home."
Ziya glared but didn't reply. Misha had tears in her eyes.
Kael hadn't entered the tent. He stood outside, overlooking the Kaiju carcass being broken down.
---
Later That Night
Ryssa stepped outside, seeing Kael still watching the horizon.
She walked up quietly. "They'll learn."
Kael didn't look at her. "They'll die first."
Ryssa sighed. "You saved her three times."
"I know."
"Why didn't you let her die?"
Kael looked at her now, his gaze empty but heavy. "Because I'm not like them."
Ryssa didn't reply.
They stood in silence, the radioactive dusk humming faintly around them. Somewhere far off, another Kaiju roar echoed through the barren dark.
Kael finally turned. "Prep the next deployment. And keep them behind the front lines."
Ryssa nodded.
And somewhere, behind the tents, Misha sat alone, trembling—not because she was afraid of the Kaiju.
But because she wasn't sure she could look Kael in the eyes ever again.