The containment field stabilized.
Kael approached the body, now motionless, fragmented time dispersing like vapor.
He retrieved the core — the S86-WHITE fragment — now sealed in its stasis capsule.
Reading confirmed:
Residual charge: high. Temporal corruption: contained.
Mission success.
But the anomaly had spoken his name.
That changed everything.
---
He uploaded the event data to the League archive node, bypassing the automated relay.
Some records, he encrypted under private authorization.
Level Zero. No AI access. No internal review.
If someone within the League was feeding data to the field,
they'd expect compliance — not scrutiny.
Kael refused to be predictable.
---
He moved to the extraction point outside the base.
The Antarctic winds screamed against the ice, but inside the field, everything remained still.
Commencing jump.
The capsule pulsed once — light folded inward — and the world vanished.
---
[Return Log – Orb N-3]
Subject: Kael
Mission Code: ARX-SOUTH-147
Status: Completed
Anomaly Status: Fragment secured
Additional Note: Unauthorized recognition detected
Recalibration chamber initiated.
Vitals within normal range.
Neural latency: minimal.
---
Kael stepped out of the arrival platform.
The lights of Orb N-3 flickered softly — always dim, always quiet.
No welcome. No report required.
Only a voice over the comm:
> "Mission confirmed. Debrief not scheduled. Await next insertion point."
He didn't answer.
He headed for the recalibration chamber, fragment in hand, thoughts locked behind unreadable expression.
The mission was done.
But the questions had just begun.