Kikaru's eyes moved from Elias to the closed pods where the others were still fighting their own bodies.
"You are making this sentimental already tonight, Kael," she said.
"I am making it practical, because teammates treated like disposable weight become dead weight later, and panic gives command an excuse to tighten every rule in the building."
"You have only been here one day, Kael."
"Long enough to know people hate cages more when the people beside them start sounding like guards."
Kikaru did not like that. He could see it in her jaw, in the tiny shift of pressure behind her teeth.
Good. Maybe his perception had climbed by one angry point.
Paul came back from Tid's pod with a towel over one shoulder.
"Tid says he refuses to be inspired by anyone before breakfast. He also asked if the task reward is real."
"Tell him I am not testing it for his benefit," Elias said.
"Already did, and he called you worse things than old."
Colby helped Elias toward the nearest chair before he folded in public again. "You should sleep before you become a speech with legs."
Dot floated beside his face.
"He is right, because your body is shaking in several directions, and only half of them are intentional."
Elias wanted to argue.
His legs chose that moment to betray the argument.
Paul caught him under one arm and started steering him toward A 08. The reversed response made every step a negotiation. Elias tried to place his right foot forward, his left heel dragged. He tried to lean into Paul, his shoulder pulled away. By the time they reached the pod, he was sweating harder than he had during dinner.
Kikaru watched from the center of the room.
"Training starts at five thirty sharp tomorrow morning," she said. "If you can stand, be there on time. If you cannot stand, crawl toward the mats and I will decide whether that counts."
Elias almost smiled. "Your compassion needs maintenance soon enough too, Kikaru."
"Your coordination needs more work first tomorrow, Kael."
That was the last thing he heard before his pod door closed.
Far from Cube X, another world fell quiet one district at a time.
The city beneath the purple ship had lost its map. Streets split into black channels. Towers leaned into each other. Emergency signals blinked through smoke until orbital fire cut them off one by one. The locals had fought hard enough to make the invasion expensive, which meant their survivors were worth sorting.
Captain Vokar stood in the ruin with his staff planted against the chest of the last local commander.
The man under the staff wore broken armor and kept one hand wrapped around Vokar's wrist. He had no leverage left. Only refusal.
"Kill me if you want to, invader, now," the commander said. "My people will not stay buried under you."
Vokar looked down at him with black eyes that reflected the fires without taking warmth from them.
"Your people are already selected, and the useful ones will be processed while the rest feed the ground."
The commander's grip tightened, weak enough to fail and strong enough for Vokar to notice before he raised his communicator.
"Command, the receiver is active and location confirmed. Request clearance for planetary cleansing and extraction sweep."
The reply came through distortion, deep and controlled.
"Proceed with surface cleansing and secure fifty to one hundred compatible humanoids for processing. Prime Planet remains a priority after resource loss, but not under your current assignment."
"Understood and proceeding now under Central command authority."
The commander beneath the staff laughed through blood.
"There is always someone stronger than you somewhere. You just have not met them yet, Captain."
Vokar drove the staff down, and the laugh ended.
"Then they are hiding well from me today."
Back aboard the ship, Vokar entered the control room while his crew worked around a star map. Blue skinned officers moved between stations with quiet precision. Nobody rushed. Panic wasted oxygen and made mistakes look contagious.
The receiver rested inside a containment ring near the central console. Its pulse leaned faintly toward a region of space marked in red, then twitched toward Prime Planet, a blue green world far outside the current route. Vokar noticed the twitch and said nothing.
A transmission opened before he sat.
The figure on screen remained in shadow, voice filtered into calm layers.
"Captain Vokar, your next route is prepared now. Quadrant Three has revealed a world with energy bearing gems. The inhabitants use the stones for weaponized output. Collect core fragments and deliver them to Central for analysis and reserve deployment."
Vokar folded both hands over the top of his staff.
"Prime Planet resisted two extraction attempts against us already. Should my ship not return there before their defenses mature?"
"Prime Planet will be handled by a specialized squadron. Their defenses were sufficient against preliminary incursions, not against the next stage."
"And what about the infected world nearby, Central?"
The shadow leaned closer.
"Avoid it, because the contamination risk has been calculated. You are too valuable to waste there while the gem world remains open."
Vokar accepted the correction with a slow nod. He did not enjoy being redirected. He enjoyed worse being given a reason that sounded like preservation.
"What are the reward terms exactly for me, Central?"
"Standard vault payout, and you may select one gem from the batch before the rest are drained. Keep the receiver until return, then Central will integrate it and trace the next signal."
"As ordered, and I will avoid Galactic Patrol waypoints."
"That is expected, Captain, so report when the gems are secured."
The transmission cut.
Vokar looked at the star map. Prime Planet glowed in the corner, officially outside his route. The infected world sat near it under a quarantine mark. The gem world waited ahead, rich enough to justify obedience and close enough to invite shortcuts. Every route on the display served Central, but the receiver cared nothing for orders.
He touched the receiver's containment ring.
The pulse leaned toward Prime again.
Vokar kept his hand there until the ring burned cold against his palm.