Steam from the stew pot fogged the tent. Wind pushed like it wanted to get in and didn't know how to ask. Obi bit a ration bar and tried to convince his stomach that it was food. Hikari logged the sample IDs with the care of someone who trusted order more than luck. Raizen stood at the pad's edge, listening for a hum that pretended it wasn't there.
Then, the comms snapped awake like someone slapped them.
"- Team One" Alteea's voice cut through, breathless, then gone, then back. Behind her: sirens, thin and metallic, rising and falling like a machine learning to sing. "Do not panic. That noise is not yours. Wraith alert, West… Unrelated to your position -"
A muffled shout on her end: "No, stack the east line - east-"
"Lighthouse?" Hikari said. "Your feed is -"
"Ugly" Alteea responded, the word almost a laugh. "Back to you. Two miners from Team Delta moved toward the deeper vein at dawn. They're not responding. You three - move. Right now."
