Chapter Text
The station lights flickered softly across the walls of the ship.
Outside the massive viewing window, stars stretched endlessly across the darkness of space, the low hum of the station's engines vibrated beneath the floor, steady and familiar.
Normally, the septuplets shared lounge would have been loud in a fun way.
But today? It was loud in someone is about to get punched way.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"
Gempa's voice thundered through the room hard enough to shake the metal table in the center.
Blaze sat sprawled upside down on the couch with absolutely zero survival instincts, one arm hanging dramatically toward the floor while he stared at Gempa like this was mildly entertaining.
"I was thinking" Blaze replied casually, "That if I didn't do something, the entire station would exploded"
"You jumped into an unstable plasma chamber!"
"And saved everyone"
"You almost got vaporized!"
"Details" Blaze shrugged, Gempa looked ready to throw him out the airlock.
"The walls were collapsing" Gempa continued furiously, "The reactor was melting down, alarms were going off everywhere, and your brilliant idea was to RUN TOWARD IT"
"Worked, didn't it?"
"YOU WERE TWO SECONDS AWAY FROM DYING"
"But I didn't"
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
Blaze threw his hands into the air, "You guys acting like I planned to fail"
"You didn't plan at all!" Gempa shouted, "You were seconds away from being crushed, if-"
"But it worked" Blaze interrupted, "The station didn't explode, mission complete"
Gempa stared at him in disbelief, "You think surviving that means it was a good idea?!"
Blaze rolled his eyes, "oh come on, you guys treat me like I can't handle myself" he muttered under his breath.
"Well, You did run into an exploding reactor" Solar pointed out, "That's... not exactly helping your case"
The room turned toward Solar, the youngest sat casually on top of the table, holographic screens floating around him while he reviewed mission data with complete indifference to the tension in the room.
"Your move was irrational" Solar didn't even look up as he spoke, Blaze's eyebrow twitched immediately.
"Your chances of survival dropped below ten percent the moment the chamber destabilized" Solar continued calmly, "You got lucky"
"Lucky?" Blaze sat up straight slowly.
"Yes" Solar finally glanced at him, "If Thorn hadn't reacted fast enough to pull you back and Ice didn't freeze the debris behind you, you would have died"
"And what?" Blaze snapped, "You think your plan was any better?"
Solar blinked once, "It was"
The tension in the room immediately felt ten times more dangerous.
"Oh, now you wanna lecture me?" Blaze laughed once in disbelief.
"Yes, I am"
"Solar" Halilintar warned quietly, but the youngest continued anyway.
"You endangered yourself for no reason"
"No reason?" Blaze sat up straight now, "People would have died!"
"And you nearly became one of them"
"Well, at least I was doing something useful" The second the words left Blaze's mouth, the room went still.
Solar's eyes narrowed slightly, "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
Blaze clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Nothing, just funny hearing this from the guy who almost got himself killed a few days ago"
The fourth brother crossed his arms angrily, Gempa immediately looked toward Blaze, "Blaze, stop it"
But Blaze was already irritated now, "You are seriously criticizing me after THAT stunt?"
Solar's eyebrows furrows, "That was different"
"Really?" Blaze scoffed.
"Because from what I remember, disappearing into an abandoned cargo sector during a violent snow storm without telling anyone sounds pretty reckless too"
The words hit the room like a thrown knife, nobody liked talking about that mission, Solar's jaw locked, "I had a plan"
"And your plan almost got you frozen to death!" Blaze snapped back immediately.
"We found you barely conscious outside the station" Blaze sat forward now, frustration bleeding into every word.
"Your suit was destroyed, your comms were dead, your body temperature was crashing so badly we thought your heart stopped!"
"Blaze, drop it" Halilintar's warning came quickly, but Blaze barely heard him anymore.
"You vanished for hours!"
"I said I had a plan!"
"Yeah? Well your plan sucked!"
Solar stood up so suddenly the holographic screens around him flickered violently, "You don't even know what happened there!"
"Oh really?" Blaze laughed once, but there was no humor in it now, "Then explain it!"
"I don't need to explain myself to you!!"
The shout cracked through the room hard enough to silence everyone, Solar froze slightly after saying it, like even he hadn't expected his voice to come out that loud.
Blaze stared at him for a second before his own anger surged right back over it, "See? This is exactly what I am talking about!"
"What does that even mean?!" Solar shot back immediately.
"It means you disappear, almost die, then act like nobody's allowed to question you after!"
"That's because I can handle it!"
"You were basically asking us to clean up the mess after!"
"Blaze, Solar, enough" Ice stepped in, but Blaze shook his head hard.
"No, because he's standing there acting like I AM the reckless one!"
"You jumped into a collapsing reactor chamber!"
"And YOU walked into a frozen death zone ALONE!"
"I knew what I was doing!"
"No, you THOUGHT you did!"
Solar clenched his fists tight enough his hands started shaking, Gempa immediately stepped forward, "Both of you, stop right now"
"No!" Blaze shook his head again, his voice was unstable, angry enough to shake.
"Because every single time something goes wrong, he shuts everyone out and acts like nobody gets to say anything!"
"I shut people out?" Solar laughed once under his breath, and it sounded genuinely hurt, "You think you are any better?!"
"I don't disappear!"
"I didn't mean to!"
"Enough!" Halilintar moved forward, trying to stop the fight, but neither of them heard him anymore.
"You don't get to stand there and act like you are smarter than everyone when you nearly got yourself killed!" Blaze snapped.
"And you don't get to pretend you're fine after throwing yourself into a reactor core!" Solar shot back instantly.
"I SAVED PEOPLE!"
"AND WE SAVED YOU!"
Blaze recoiled slightly, his teeth clenched so hard his jaw trembled.
"Both of you, calm down!" Taufan said carefully. But it was too late now, everything hurt, every sentence, every word.
Blaze dragged a hand through his hair violently, breathing hard like the room suddenly had no oxygen left in it.
"God, you know what's really frustrating?" Blaze's voice dropped colder now, "You act like some genius who knows everything, but the second things go wrong, you become useless!"
"Blaze!"
Everyone in the room were shock by that, Blaze's own eyes widened for the briefest moment, as if he hadn't meant for them to come out like that.
But Solar spoke before anyone else could.
"Excuse me?"
The cold tone he used immediately reignited the anger inside Blaze's chest, "You heard me"
"Blaze" Ice's voice turned dangerously sharp, but the fourth brother couldn't stop.
"We all have problems, Solar!" Blaze shouted, "But the rest of us don't shut everyone out and act like the world revolves around our trauma!"
Thorn's face dropped immediately, Gempa looked horrified, while Solar just stood there as his expression slowly changed, not to anger, something worse.
Hurt.
"You really think that's what this is about?" Solar asked, the anger in his voice was gone, that alone made everyone tense.
Blaze folded his arms across his chest, "If the shoe fits"
For a moment, Solar simply stared at him, then he laughed. Not because anything was funny, not because he was amused.
Just a short disbelieving sound, as if he couldn't quite process what he had just heard, "wow"
"Solar, don't-" Halilintar warned.
"No" Solar cut him off without looking away from Blaze, his hands had curled into fists at his sides.
"Because apparently we're doing this now! Apparently after everything that's happened, you still think this is about me being frustrated with you!"
"Then what is it about?" Blaze shot back.
"It's about the fact that every single time something goes wrong..." Solar took a shaky step forward, his hands flying up in frustration before dropping helplessly to his sides.
"Every single time there's danger, every single time somebody needs help" He jabbed a finger toward Blaze, his voice rising despite himself.
"You decide it has to be YOU!"
Blaze's expression darkened, "Someone has to do something!"
"And it always has to be you, doesn't it?" Solar snapped. "That's the problem!"
"Because nobody else will!"
"Do you even hear yourself right now?!" Solar shouted, "Don't stand there acting like I'm being unreasonable!"
"Because you are!"
"I AM NOT, I AM TIRED OF THINKING THAT WE ARE LOSING YOU!"
The room fell silent, The words had torn themselves out before Solar could stop them.
"I'm tired of it" Solar's voice trembled.
"I'm tired of wondering if this is the day someone comes back without you!" He sucked in a shaky breath, trying to steady himself.
"Do you have any idea what that's like?" Solar shook his head, laughing bitterly through the frustration.
"Watching everyone risk their lives trying to save yours because you keep throwing it away like it doesn't matter!" He pointed at Blaze, his hand trembling,
"Like you don't matter!" His voice finally broke into a shout,
Blaze looked like he had been hit, "I don't throw it away!"
"Really?!" Solar laughed bitterly.
"Because from where I am standing, you throw yourself into death situations so often that I genuinely can't tell if you are brave or just addicted to people worrying about you!"
"I DID NOT!
"Then why do you keep making us watch this happen over and over again?!"
Blaze's hands clenched into fists, "Because someone has to protect people!"
"And what about us?!" The words exploded out of Solar, "What about the people trying to protect YOU?!"
Blaze froze, Solar didn't.
"You keep talking about sacrifice like it's some noble thing, but you're not the one left behind every time!" He jabbed a finger toward him, breathing hard.
"You're not the one sitting there wondering if you're alive! You're not the one getting dragged through hell every single time you decide to play hero!"
The room froze harder than before, Blaze looked like he had just been slapped. Solar looked furious now too, years of bottled up emotion finally ripping out all at once.
"You want to talk about me falling apart?" he shouted. "Fine! At least MY breakdowns didn't nearly get everyone killed!"
"Solar!" Gempa barked, but he wasn't listening anymore.
"You act like you are protecting people, but half the time we are protecting YOU from your own stupid decisions!"
Blaze's breathing had become uneven, his hands trembled at his sides, the anger was still there, but it was losing ground to something else.
Something hurt, something raw, something Solar was too angry to notice.
"Fine" The word came out terrifyingly quiet, everyone immediately tensed as Blaze looked directly at Solar.
"Then next time..." His voice was cold enough to make the room feel smaller, "Don't bother saving me."
Solar's eyes widened slightly, like even he hadn't expected that.
"Blaze-" Taufan started, but Blaze suddenly turned away violently.
"Forget it!" The station doors hissed open.
BANG
They slammed shut behind him hard enough to shake the walls.
"Blaze!" Halilintar shouted after him, no answer, only heavy footsteps disappeared down the hallway toward the training rooms.
The silence afterward felt horrible, then Solar moved too, fast.
"Solar, wait!" Ice stepped forward immediately but Solar backed away before anyone could touch him.
His expression looked cracked now, angry, humiliated, hurt.
"Solar!" Gempa called after him sharply, no response.
A few seconds later
SLAM.
His bedroom door echoed through the entire station, then nothing, only heavy silence remained in the lounge.
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Hours had passed since the fight.
Most of the lights inside the shared sectors had dimmed into softer nighttime mode while the endless stars outside drifted silently beyond the windows.
But two rooms on opposite sides of the station were still awake, and neither occupant was doing okay.
Solar's room glowed softly with warm light, the ceiling lamps were still on despite how late it was, mixing together with the faint golden glow of the small star shaped nightlamp sitting near his bed.
Solar's eyes are now fix on the screen infront of him.
Mission report, navigation equations, energy calculations. Anything he could use to distract himself.
Solar sat curled slightly forward at his desk, one leg pulled against the chair while lines of blue light reflected across his tired eyes.
His fingers moved quickly over the controls, trying to focus on the data in front of him.
Trying... Because every few seconds, his brain betrayed him.
"You become useless"
Solar's hand froze mid input, silence filled the room again, his jaw tightened hard.
No, focus.
He forced himself to continue reading the report in front of him, reactor stabilization percentages, damage estimates, probability calculations.
Easy and simple, except the words kept blurring together.
"The rest of us don't shut everyone out and act like the world revolves around our trauma!"
Solar inhaled sharply through his nose, his chest hurt.
Stupid.
Why did it hurt this much?
Blaze had been angry, people said things during arguments, Solar knew that, logically he knew that.
So why did those words keep replaying so clearly?
His hands slowly clenched, because part of him hated that Blaze wasn't completely wrong, that was the problem, Solar stared down at the glowing screen silently.
The snowstorm mission had been a disaster, he knew it. He remembered the freezing cold eating through his suit, the panic.
The moment his comms died, the terrifying realization that he couldn't find the way back, then waking up afterward surrounded by terrified faces.
His brothers fussed over him relentlessly afterward, refusing to let him out of their sight for even a second.
Solar understood why, anyone would react that way after almost losing someone they loved. For a brief moment, he could still remember the fear in their eyes when they finally found him.
Solar immediately shoved the memory away before it could settle deeper.
No, don't think about it.
He squeezed his eyes shut briefly before letting out a big sigh, he knew Blaze cared, that's what made this worse.
Because Blaze's words hadn't sounded angry near the end, they sounded hurt, deeply hurt.
Solar stared blankly at the unfinished equation floating in front of him, part of him wanted to be furious, but another part... felt guilty instead.
Then suddenly...
The holographic screen flickered violently, a warning sound chirped as the calculation corrupted itself, Solar blinked.
Only then he realize the light around his hands had become unstable, his powers were reacting again, great.
Frustrated, Solar shut the screens off with a sharp motion, he looked away afterward, jaw tightening faintly, then he leaned back in his chair and covered his face with one hand.
Now there was nothing left to distract him.
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CLANG.
The sound of metal being sliced apart echoed violently through the training chamber, Blaze barely paused.
Sweat dripped down his face as another blazing chakram spun from his hand hard enough to cut directly through three combat drones at once.
The machines exploded against the far wall, warning alarms flashed red across the room.
TRAINING DAMAGE LIMIT REACHED
Blaze ignored it.
A burst of fire exploded around him as he lunged forward again, slamming his fist into another drone hard enough to dent the metal plating inward.
His breathing was uneven now, too fast, too harsh, but he kept moving anyway.
Attack, burn, destroy.
Again and again and again.
Because stopping meant thinking, and thinking meant hearing Solar's voice again.
"I genuinely can't tell if you are brave or just addicted to people worrying about you!"
Blaze's next attack missed completely, the chakram struck the wall instead with a violent explosion, the training room shook as Blaze stood there, breathing hard.
"...Shut up" he muttered to nobody, but the words wouldn't leave.
"It's about the fact that every single time something goes wrong, every single time there's danger, every single time somebody needs help, you decide it has to be YOU!"
Blaze's chest tightened painfully, that one hit deeper than Solar probably realized.
Because Solar was wrong, but he wasn't entirely wrong either.
Blaze never ran toward danger because he wanted glory, praise, or recognition.
He ran because every instinct in him screamed that if he didn't move, nobody would.
Rationally, he knew that wasn't true, he had six brothers, he had teammates, he had people he trusted.
But when alarms started blaring, when people were in danger, when seconds mattered, logic always disappeared beneath a crushing sense of responsibility.
What if he was the closest?
What if he was the fastest?
What if someone got hurt because he hesitated?
What if waiting for someone else cost lives?
The reactor chamber had been dangerous, yes. But standing outside while hoping somebody else handled it had felt impossible.
Because if the worst happened, if people died while he stayed behind, Blaze knew exactly who he would blame.
Another drone charged him, Blaze reacted instantly, fire erupting violently from his arms as he destroyed it head on.
Too much force.
The explosion blasted heat across the entire room, warning sirens screamed again.
POWER OUTPUT EXCEEDING SAFE LIMITS
Blaze laughed once under his breath, it sounded exhausted, his entire body hurt now, good.
Maybe if he pushed hard enough, the ache in his chest would disappear too.
But it didn't.
Because underneath the anger, underneath all the shouting, one thing kept replaying over and over.
"What about us?!, What about the people trying to protect YOU?!"
Blaze suddenly stopped moving, silence filled the training room except for the crackling fire around his hands, his fingers curled tighter.
He hated that part.
Hated how much those words had gotten under his skin, because as much as he wanted to argue, as much as he wanted to be angry, there was a part of him that knew Solar wasn't completely wrong.
Back in the reactor chamber, for one horrible second, Blaze had genuinely thought he wasn't getting out.
He remembered the heat, the collapsing structure, the certainty that this was it, and afterward...
The only thing he really remembered was opening his eyes and seeing his brothers around him, terrified.
Blaze stop, breathing heavily as he looked down at the flames flickering uncontrollably around his hands.
The fire slowly dimmed around his fingers, shrinking into weak embers before disappearing entirely, the silence afterward felt unbearable.
"...Damn it" His voice came out barely louder than a whisper.
He dragged a hand down his face, squeezing his eyes shut for a brief moment before letting out a shaky breath.
"Why won't you just get out of my head..." The words hung in the empty room, swallowed almost immediately by the silence.
Then
A sharp beeping noise suddenly echoed through the station speakers.
"Attention, Boboiboy Unit. Command briefing in two hours, all members are required to attend"
The voice was short, flat, and serious.
Every single brother froze somewhere, Gempa immediately straightened, Ice lifted his head from his pillow, Thorn nearly dropped his drink.
Blaze let out a long, exhausted groan, "...You've got to be kidding me"
He leaned back until the back of his head thudded lightly against the wall, staring up at the ceiling with tired eyes.
"Fantastic"
As if today hadn't already been exhausting enough.
Meanwhile, Solar looked up as the announcement echoed through the speakers, he slowly lowered his hands from his face.
"Of course" he sigh deeply.
Out of all days, ofcourse a briefing had to be scheduled today.
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Two hours later
The septuplets stood in complete silence inside the command deck and wow.
The tension was awful.
Blaze stood at the far left with his arms crossed tightly over his chest, on the opposite side of the room, Solar stared straight ahead, looking anywhere except at his brother.
Neither of them acknowledged the other's existence as the rest of the brothers were painfully aware of it.
Right in front of them, their commander stared silently from behind the glowing control table.
Commander Kokoci was... visually difficult to take seriously sometimes.
He was short, very short.
His head was literally a green square, not square shaped but actually square, perfect ninety degree angles and everything.
His brown eyes blinked once behind his usual black sunglasses, singular... For now atleast.
"... Why" he said slowly, "Does this room feel like a funeral?"
Nobody answered, Kokoci expression flattened further somehow, then his eyes landed briefly on the scorch marks across Blaze's shirt.
Then Solar's exhausted face, then the fact the two of them were standing approximately ten light years apart.
"Hmm" nobody moved as the commander tilted his square head slightly, "...Did I interrupt a murder attempt?"
Silence returned once more, the commander stared at all of them for a few seconds before he sighed deeply.
"...Right" He reached into his coat.
Without a word, he pulled out a second pair of sunglasses and carefully placed them on top of the first, nobody reacted.
At this point, all of them already accepted this as one of the commander's many unexplained habits.
"I've decided" Kokoci said solemnly, folding his hands behind his back, "that I will not be asking any follow up questions"
He reached into his coat again.
Halilintar immediately pinched the bridge of his nose, "...Commander"
A third pair of sunglasses emerged.
Gempa looked genuinely distressed now, "Commander, why do you even have that many sunglasses?"
Commander Kokoci slowly slid the third pair into place with complete seriousness, "...Authority multiplier"
"That's not a thing" Ice muttered.
"I outrank your opinion"
Ice blinked, "...Fair enough"
Without another word, Kokoci turned toward the command table.
Now wearing three perfectly stacked pairs of sunglasses like some kind of highly emotional fashion disaster, he tapped the holographic controls.
The room darkened slightly as a massive planet appeared above the control table, it looked almost like Earth at first glance.
Blue oceans, green continents, cloud systems drifting peacefully across the atmosphere, but then the differences became obvious.
The forests glowed faintly violet beneath the night side of the planet. Massive spiral shaped trees stretched above the clouds like twisting towers, and strange glowing creatures moved slowly through the atmosphere itself.
Thorn blinked softly, "...Pretty"
"It was" Kokoci corrected flatly.
The hologram shifted, the peaceful lights vanished, now entire cities burned across the surface.
Smoke clouds spread through the atmosphere while warning markers flashed violently over multiple continents.
Destroyed transport lines, collapsed cities, missing civilian zones. The room immediately became serious again.
Kokoci folded his tiny hands behind his back, "Planet designation, Erythra" Another hologram appeared beside the planet, a symbol.
Black sharp jagged lines twisting together into something almost claw like.
The moment the symbol appeared, Halilintar's posture stiffened slightly, Ice's expression darkened, everyone looked uneasy.
Blaze finally uncrossed his arms, "...No way"
Solar's eyes narrowed at the symbol silently, "The Varkalis"
The room fell quiet as Taufan spoke this time, unusually serious. "I thought they disappeared after the war"
"So did several governments" Kokoci replied calmly, "Unfortunately, the Varkalis enjoy proving people wrong"
The holographic display shifted again, security footage appeared, blurry and chaotic.
Civilians running through narrow streets while explosions tore through buildings behind them.
Then figures entered the screen, tall armored soldiers wearing dark metallic plating with glowing red visors. One of them casually fired into a fleeing transport vehicle.
The footage cut violently afterward, Thorn visibly flinched, "They shot civilians?"
"They execute civilians" Kokoci corrected.
The commander tapped the screen once more, more reports flooded the hologram, missing settlements, raided medical stations, entire districts gone silent.
"They attack supply lines first" Kokoci explained.
"Food, medicine, communications, then they isolate population zones until resistance collapses"
Gempa's fists slowly clenched, "How many victims?"
Kokoci was silent for a moment, "...Current estimates exceed two million"
Nobody spoke after that, Solar stared quietly at the burning planet floating above them, jaw tightening slightly.
"The Varkalis are no ordinary enemies" Kokoci continued, his voice remained calm, "They are organized predators"
Another image appeared, this time a massive warship, black metal covered in crimson markings, large enough to eclipse entire city sectors.
Ice muttered quietly, "That's a siege carrier"
"Correct" Kokoci enlarged the image, "One of many currently orbiting Erythra"
Halilintar finally pushed himself away from the wall slightly, "So what's the mission?" Kokoci looked directly at them.
"Simple" the commander pointed toward the burning planet, "You are going down there"
The hologram zoomed rapidly into one of the remaining cities near the northern side.
"Your primary objective is civilian evacuation and stabilization" Another screen appeared, enemy movement, attack routes, red zones spreading rapidly.
"Secondary objective, locate and disable Varkalis ground operations before they fully overrun the final population sectors"
Halilintar's eyes narrowed slightly, "...And if we encounter resistance?"
Kokoci stared at him for exactly two seconds before he slowly reached into his coat again.
Pulling a FOURTH pair of sunglasses, the commander placed them carefully over the others.
"...Then hit them hard enough that they regret waking up that morning"
Blaze snorted before he could stop himself, Solar looked mildly offended by the existence of four sunglasses.
Kokoci ignored all of them, "The Varkalis are dangerous for few specific reason"
The hologram changed again, this time showing destroyed defense mechs scattered across ruined streets.
"They do not fear additional damage" Another image, a collapsed hospital.
"They do not negotiate" another image, destroyed evacuation ships floating in space.
"And they will absolutely target civilians and even kill one of their own if it gives them tactical advantage" the room became silent again.
Kokoci finally looked across all seven brothers carefully, "For this mission, carelessness gets people killed" his gaze briefly stopped on Blaze, then to Solar.
"And emotional instability will gets entire cities destroyed"
Blaze immediately looked away, Solar's shoulders stiffened faintly, Kokoci pretended not to notice.
"Which means I need all seven of you functioning properly" nobody answered.
Because unfortunately... he was right, the commander sighed softly before muttering under his breath.
"I wish you all the best of luck"
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The spaceship cut steadily through space as Erythra slowly grew larger beyond the main viewport. From this distance, the planet almost looked peaceful.
Almost.
The closer they got, the more visible the damage became, dark smoke spread across entire continents while scattered orange lights marked active fires burning through cities that should have been sleeping peacefully.
Nobody in the briefing room commented on it, the atmosphere was already heavy enough.
Blaze sat near one side of the room with his arms crossed, staring out the massive window.
Solar occupied the opposite side, several holographic screens floating around him as he worked through calculations that probably didn't need to be checked for the fifth time.
Neither acknowledged the other, the rest of the brothers noticed, of course they did, how could they not?
The tension between them practically filled the room.
Thorn sat quietly beside Taufan, occasionally glancing between the two before looking away again. Ice leaned against the wall with his arms folded, appearing calm as always, though even he seemed worried.
Halilintar stood near the rear of the room, watching everything without saying much, he looked like he wanted to intervene, but choose not to.
A notification suddenly flashed across the central table.
ARRIVAL ETA: 40 MINUTES
"Alright" Gempa immediately stood, every brother looked toward him automatically.
The mission display expanded above the table, replacing the uncomfortable silence with maps, evacuation routes, and casualty reports.
For the first time in hours, everyone's attention shifted toward something other than the argument.
Gempa zoomed the hologram toward one of the surviving cities, several sectors blinked red as it covered nearly half the hologram.
"Okay, here's the plan"
The room became serious.
"Evacuation comes first" Gempa continued. "There are still thousands of civilians trapped inside the city. If we don't move them before the Varkalis reach the inner districts, things are going to get ugly fast"
Gempa pointed toward the southern side of the city, "Ice, Thorn, you're with me"
Both looked up at him, "We'll secure evacuation routes and move civilians toward the transport zones"
"Okay" Thorn nodded immediately.
"Sounds simple enough" Ice shrugged.
Gempa switched the display, the central district appeared, this area was worse than the others, more enemy activity, more damaged buildings, more emergency signals.
"This is where most of the remaining civilian shelters are located" Several blue markers appeared.
Solar's attention sharpened immediately.
"I been tracking emergency broadcasts" his fingers moved across one of the screens, more markers appeared, "There are at least twelve active shelters still responding.
"Twelve?" Thorn asked softly.
"That's the confirmed number" Solar zoomed the map further, "There could be more."
Gempa nodded, "Which is why Hali, Blaze, Taufan, and Solar will be handling search and rescue operations"
The room fell quiet, not because of the mission, but because Blaze and Solar would be on the same team, neither seem to reacted, at least not visibly.
Halilintar crossed his arms, "We find civilians, get them out, and clear a path for evacuation."
Gempa nodded before he pointed toward Blaze, "You and Hali will handle enemy resistance"
"Got it" Blaze grin.
Gempa point toward Taufan next, "you will support them and protect the civilian"
Taufan gave a thumbs up, "No problem"
Finally Gempa looked at Solar, "You stay on communications and tracking."
Solar nodded, "I can monitor civilian signals and enemy movement in real time"
"And if things get bad?" Blaze asked.
"Then I help" Solar answered without looking at him, the answer was simple enough, but neither of them seemed to know what to do with it afterward.
Taufan pretended not to notice, Halilintar absolutely noticed, Gempa definitely noticed, everyone noticed, but nobody said anything.
Gempa sighed before looking at his brothers "The four of you will be operating deep inside enemy territory" The hologram highlighted several danger zones.
"If communication goes down, Hali and Solar has final say"
"Understood" Solar replied.
"Got it" Blaze said.
Neither looked at each other, Gempa resisted the urge to sigh. This will be a very long mission.
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The spaceship descended through Erythra's atmosphere, clouds rushing past the viewing windows as the planet slowly grew larger beneath them.
From up here, the destruction looked almost unreal. Entire districts were hidden beneath smoke while scattered fires burned across the horizon.
Inside the ship, the mood had become noticeably lighter after the briefing. Not exactly cheerful, but at least everyone had something to focus on now.
A mission was easier to deal with than unresolved feelings.
Taufan was talking to Thorn about something on the other side of the room, though neither of them seemed particularly invested in the conversation.
Ice occasionally threw in a comment from where he sat, earning increasingly offended reactions from Taufan.
Every now and then, Gempa's eyes drifted toward Blaze and Solar.
Blaze remained near the viewing window while Solar sat a few distance away, focused on one of his holographic screens.
The ship finally began slowing as the landing zone appeared below them. A damaged section of the city came into view, surrounded by collapsed buildings and abandoned streets.
Landing sequence complete
The ship touched down moments later, the familiar vibration traveled through the floor before everything became still.
Conversation died almost immediately.
Gempa stood first and looked toward the city through the opening view, the distant sound of sirens drifted through the air along with the faint smell of smoke.
Then Gempa turned around, "Alright, let's go"
The others rose to their feet and made their way toward the exit, but before anyone could leave, Gempa glanced over at Halilintar.
The two brothers held eye contact for a second, no words were exchanged, none were necessary.
Gempa knew exactly where Halilintar's team would be going.
The central district was the most dangerous part of the city, and between enemy activity, trapped civilians, and two stubborn brothers who had barely spoken all day, there were plenty of reasons to worry.
Halilintar understood immediately, his expression remain unchange, but the slight nod was an answer enough.
Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them.
Some of the tension left Gempa's shoulders.
Then Halilintar turned his attention to Blaze and Solar, the oldest brother narrowed his eyes, not enough to be intimidating, just enough to sent his message.
Don't do anything stupid
The message was clear, Blaze rolled his eyes so hard it was almost impressive, while Solar didn't even acknowledge it. Somehow, that translated into the exact same response from both of them.
We'll try.
Halilintar wasn't convinced, neither was Gempa.
Taufan noticed the entire exchange and grinned, "Wow, that was a lot of communication for people who didn't say anything"
"You're one to talk" Ice replied.
"Thank you"
"That wasn't a compliment"
"I'll take it anyway"
Thorn laughed softly while Gempa shook his head, some things apparently never changed.
Eventually it was time to split up, Gempa placed a hand on Thorn's shoulder before glancing toward Ice.
"Stay close"
Thorn smiled and nodded immediately, while Ice answered with a lazy salute beside him. "We will"
Gempa held their gaze for a moment, as if making sure they both understood before he gave a small nod.
A short distance away, Halilintar was already gathering his team, Blaze adjusted the gloves near his wrist while Taufan stretched his shoulders.
Solar was focused on his screen, reviewing the latest information one last time.
The moment everyone was ready, Halilintar turned toward the city with the others following him without hesitation.
Their destination was the central district, where enemy activity was at its worst, while Gempa's team focused on evacuating civilians.
Before they had gone very far, Taufan suddenly turned around and started walking backward.
"Watch where you're going" Halilintar said immediately.
"I am watching where I'm going"
"You are literally walking backward"
"I have excellent awareness"
A second later, he nearly walked straight into a damaged support beam. Blaze grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him out before he could fall.
Taufan blinked, "...Yep, excellent awareness"
Blaze let go with a smirk, "Not so excellent on that one."
For the first time all day, the corner of Solar's mouth twitched. It wasn't quite a smile but it was close enough.
Then the moment passed.
The two teams finally split apart, each heading toward their assigned sector as distant sirens echoed through the city, the mission had officially begun.
As Halilintar's team moved deeper into the city, there were still occasional signs of life.
Abandoned vehicles sat stranded in the streets, emergency broadcasts crackled from damaged public speakers. Columns of smoke rose from fires burning somewhere in the distance.
But the farther they went, the quieter everything became.
"I don't like this" Taufan muttered as he glanced around.
"Nobody does" Halilintar replied without slowing down.
Beside him, Solar studied the holographic map floating near his wrist, streams of data scrolled across the display as he searched for emergency signals, life signs, or anything else that could lead them toward survivors.
"I'm still picking up civilian broadcasts"
"Where?" Blaze asked.
Solar tapped the display, "Multiple locations"
Blaze frowned, "That's not exactly helpful"
"I'm aware" the answer came out a little sharper than Solar intended.
Blaze didn't push the issue while Solar immediately returned his attention to the map. The tension between them lingered, not enough to start another argument, but enough to make the silence feel awkward.
Halilintar chose to ignore it, at the moment, they had more important things to worry about.
The city was far too quiet for a place that had become a battlefield, there were no civilians in sight, no enemy patrols, and almost no movement at all.
That usually meant something was wrong, a distant explosion suddenly rolled across the city.
The team stopped immediately.
The blast had come from several districts away, but it was still enough to put everyone on alert, Taufan looked toward the smoke rising above the rooftops.
"Gempa's side?"
Solar checked the data at once before shaking his head, "No, different sector"
Nobody relaxed, if anything that answer only raised more questions.
The group continued forward for several minutes, carefully making their way through the ruined streets before Solar's pace gradually slowed, his eyes narrowed as he stared at something on the holographic display.
"Hmm" Everyone stopped instantly.
"What is it?" Halilintar asked, turning toward Solar as their youngest's fingers moved rapidly across the display.
"I found something"
The others gathered closer as a cluster of blue markers appeared on the map, then another, dozen of mark appeard all at once.
Taufan's eyes widened, "That's a lot"
"Approximately four hundred civilians." Solar said after a brief calculation, the number hit hard, four hundred citizens are still alive, still trapped.
Solar enlarged the map and highlighted the location, "They're underground"
"Underground?" Blaze frowned and folded his arms.
Solar nodded without looking away from the display, "It appears to be an emergency shelter beneath a transportation hub"
Halilintar stepped closer and studied the map, "How far?"
"About two kilometers"
"Good, we move" Nobody objected, the team changed direction immediately, unfortunately they weren't the only ones heading there.
A warning suddenly flashed across Solar's screen, his silver eyes narrowed as he read it. The slight focus on his face vanished as he stared at the new data.
"we have a problem" Nobody liked that tone.
"What kind of problem?" Taufan asked, though the answer was probably going to be something he didn't want to hear.
Solar zoomed the map out.
Several red markers appeared, then more, the closer they looked, the worse it became, Blaze straightened, Halilintar's expression hardened, even Taufan look genuinely alarm.
"Enemy patrols"
Blaze's expression turn serious, "How many?"
Solar stared at the numbers scrolling across the display, his jaw tightened.
"Too many"
A heavy silence settled over the group, every patrol was moving toward the same location, the shelter, the civilians.
Taufan rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, Blaze swore quietly under his breath. For a moment, nobody seemed eager to say what they were all thinking.
Then Halilintar made a decision.
"We keep moving" the oldest brother lifted his gaze from the map and looked toward the route ahead.
"If those civilians are still alive, then they're depending on us" His eyes shifted briefly to the enemy markers before returning to the street in front of them.
"We get there first"
Blaze nodded immediately, Taufan squared his shoulders, Solar closed the warning window and fell into step beside them.
Nobody argued as the team picked up speed.
Buildings blurred past as they ran through the damaged streets, jumping over collapsed sections of road and weaving around abandoned vehicles.
The shelter was getting closer, so were the enemy patrols.
Solar barely looked up from his holographic map. His fingers moved constantly across the screen as new information appeared every few seconds.
"Turn left" The group immediately changed direction.
"Straight ahead" Another intersection, another ruined street.
"Thirty seconds until visual contact"
Everyone tensed, Blaze's hands ignited with faint flames, Lightning flickered briefly around Halilintar's fingers.
Taufan's expression lost its usual playfulness, the city seemed to hold its breath as the brothers ran, then Solar suddenly stopped.
"Wait" The word came out so fast that everyone froze, Halilintar turned immediately, "What happened?"
Solar didn't answer, his eyes were locked on the screen, the color drained from his face.
"That doesn't make sense..." Solar muttered, his fingers moving quickly across the hologram.
"What doesn't?" Taufan asked, immediately picking up on the concern in his voice.
Solar stared at the screen, "The patrols..." His voice dropped.
"They aren't heading toward the shelter"
The others looked at him as Solar zoomed the map out again, the route lines shifted. For a moment, nobody understood what he was seeing.
Then the pattern became obvious.
The patrols weren't moving toward the civilians, they were moving toward them.
The realization hit all four brothers at once.
A trap.
Someone already knew they were here, and judging by the number of enemy signals rapidly surrounding their position.
The Varkalis had been waiting.