The corridor was heavy with silence, broken only by the boured breaths of Unit 7 and the sharp stench of burnt meat and coppery blood. Dust sifted from the hole Dawson had bsted in the ceiling, coating their uniforms and making everything feel grimier. The floor was a mess—mud, shattered stone, and the twitching bodies of those four-winged creatures.

  Dawson shoved his sword into its sheath with a snap that made Kifah flinch. The purple afterglow from his psma railgun was gone, but he still looked ready to explode. He turned, boots scraping across broken rock, and gred at Kifah, jaw clenched so tightly the muscle jumped under his skin.

  “What the hell was that, Kifah?” Dawson snapped, his words cutting through the cramped corridor. “You completely killed our attack. You’re a liability.”

  Kifah shrank back, her bandaged hands shaking so much that her bow cttered against her leg. She pressed herself against the wet stone, wishing she could disappear. “I—I couldn’t control it,” she stammered, voice barely above a whisper. “The noise, the crossfire… the psma blinded me. My instinct just—”

  “Your instinct almost got us killed!” Dawson stepped closer, his shadow falling over her. “You threw a resonance bnket over my psma right as they attacked. You’re supposed to shield us, but you’re holding us back. If you can’t handle your anomaly, you should’ve stayed behind with the others.”

  Caelum watched Dawson tower over Kifah, and that old knot of frustration twisted in his stomach. Typical—when things went bad, the high-strata always punched down.

  It wouldn’t be the rift creatures that buried them, Caelum thought as he gripped his spear tighter. It would be Dawson’s oversized ego. The RMA warned them—act like a solo hero, and the team would fail. Dawson was too stubborn to see that his power was a risk in close quarters.

  A hot spark of irritation burned under Caelum’s ribs. He made himself loosen his grip on the spear, forcing his thoughts back to his training—flow, not storage. Exhale. Push the heat down to his boots. Losing control now would be a disaster.

  He stepped between Dawson and Kifah, holding his spear sideways. If Dawson wanted to get to her, he’d have to go through Caelum.

  "Step back, Hawkins," Caelum said, his voice low and even, showing none of the fear Dawson expected from someone below him.

  Dawson halted, his gaze flicking from the spear to Caelum’s face. He curled his lip in a sneer, letting his superiority show.

  "Move aside, Ward. I’m not taking orders from some lower-pipeline rat who fights with a stick. Know your pce.”

  "That 'rat' just kept your fnks clear while you tried to bring the ceiling down on us," Caelum shot back, standing his ground. He met Dawson’s gre with a cold stare. "You fired a railgun bst straight up in a weak tunnel. Kifah's null-field may have damped your power, but your ck of awareness nearly killed us. You telegraphed that strike like an amateur."

  élo?se's voice was frigid and precise, severing through the heated air like a scalpel. She stood several paces away, meticulously flicking a glob of foul, muddy water off the polished bde of her rapier.

  "Your raw output is undeniably impressive, Dawson, but you are tactically illiterate in this specific environment. You ck restraint. If you treat every close-quarters engagement as a blunt-force trauma exercise, you will ensure we all fail this certification."

  Dawson’s face went red, veins popping on his neck. Getting called out by Caelum was one thing, but having another high-strata cadet turn on him? That had to sting.

  "And your high-pressure hydro-bst was any better, Belrose?" Dawson spat, rounding on her. "You misjudged the ricochet and turned the floor into a frictionless hazard. Half of us nearly broke our necks slipping in your puddle. You’re all quota fillers slowing me down. I’m the only one here with the actual stopping power to handle a Category Yellow threat."

  "Arrogant prick," Caelum muttered.

  The spark under his ribs burned fiercer, itching to break out. Dawson’s entitlement was choking. He actually thought the ATS rank system mattered down here. As if the rift cared who his father was.

  Before Dawson could take the argument any further, a heavy, reinforced gauntlet nded firmly on his shoulder.

  Bncard moved between the group, towering over Caelum, built solid enough to break stone with his bare hands. Despite his imposing size, his expression was rexed, almost bored. He raised a hand, palm outward—a wordless signal to stand down.

  "That’s enough," Bncard said, his voice steady and calm, slicing through the tension. "Trading insults won’t get the sensor node out, and it won’t look good on the ARC logs. Remember, the interface records everything for this trial. The RMA is grading us on teamwork and discipline. Right now, we’re failing both."

  Dawson stiffened under Bncard’s grip, his eyes flicking to the blue glow of his ARC interface. The mention of RMA grading and surveilnce took the wind out of him. He cared about his record—his career was on the line.

  "Hawkins, you have the strongest firepower here," Bncard said, using a bit of fttery to calm him. He let go of Dawson's shoulder and stepped back. "We need your strength, but use it down the corridors, not on the supports. Kifah," he turned to her, his tone gentler, "Caelum told you to shrink the zone to two meters, and you did it. Next time, just start small, then expand as needed. You protect us from any resonance attack; we can handle the physical ones. élo?se, try to use piercing strikes instead of wide water jets until we find a bigger space."

  élo?se offered a curt, single nod, her blonde hair falling perfectly back into pce.

  Dawson straightened his colr. His pride was hurt, but his logical side was catching up to the situation.

  "Fine," he said, not looking at Caelum. "But if she drops that null-zone on my position again, I’m leaving her behind. I won’t be tied to a liability."

  Caelum gnced back at Kifah. She was pale, the white gauze on her hands almost glowing against her uniform, but at least she wasn’t frozen anymore. She knew exactly how close she’d come to getting cut loose. She met Caelum’s eyes and gave a small nod—a silent thanks for stepping in.

  "Check your HUDs," Caelum said, turning his back on Dawson and taking over. There was no point waiting for Dawson to py leader.

  Caelum tapped his neck, and the ARC interface shimmered blue across his vision, lighting up the rough tunnel walls for a second.

  UNIT 7 — SYNC: STABLE. COORDINATION EFFICIENCY: CRITICAL FAILURE.

  Critical failure. Unit 7 was about to wash out before they even found the node, Caelum thought as he swiped the warning away.

  "Sync is stable, but we’ve wasted enough time arguing in a hot zone," Caelum said, keeping his voice ft.

  Bncard took point with Dawson. He was strong enough to hold Dawson back if he got reckless.

  élo?se stayed centered with Kifah.

  Caelum covered the rear and watched their blind spots.

  From then on, they moved quietly.

  Dawson unsheathed his resonant-steel sword, the metal whispering free of the scabbard, and moved ahead into the heavy darkness.