The ship didn't feel like a place of rest anymore.
It felt like a waiting room.
Waiting for the next order.
"This is Supervisor Command."
The voice echoed again.
Akane sat still.
He already knew.
"New assignment for Nexarion units."
A map appeared.
Planet: Stellar.
"…We're going back there?" a soldier muttered.
"Location: Medical Research Facility – Sector 4."
Akane stared blankly.
"That's where they were studying the infected…" a stellar assault soldier said.
"Objective: investigate breach and recover any remaining data and personnel."
A pause.
"Status: lost contact."
Silence.
No one asked what that meant.
They all knew.
The danger they are entering.
The ship descended once again into the frozen wasteland.
Stellar hasn't changed.
Still cold.
Still dead.
But something felt different.
"There," a soldier muttered.
A massive structure came into view.
Half buried in snow.
Lights flickering.
Barely alive.
The ship landed near the facility.
No movement outside.
No signs of life.
"Too quiet," the squad leader said.
"Stay sharp."
The doors opened.
Cold air rushed in.
And with it—
The faint smell of something wrong.
The doors were already open.
Forced.
Scratches marked the metal.
"They tried to keep something out…" a soldier muttered.
"Or keep something in," akane replied.
They stepped inside.
Lights flickered overhead.
Alarms blinked silently.
Blood streaks marked the walls.
Equipment left running.
"This wasn't a successful evacuation," Akane said.
"It was a failure."
They reached a terminal.
A soldier activated it.
Static.
Then—
A recording.
"Day 14… subjects responding to stimuli… increased activity…"
Another voice.
"They're reacting to structure changes…"
The recording cut.
Akane's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Reacting…?"
A sound echoed.
Soft.
Dragging.
Then—
Silence.
Everyone froze.
"…Did you hear that…?" someone whispered.
Contact
A figure stumbled out from a hallway.
A scientist.
Alive.
"…Help…" he said weakly.
Akane rushed forward.
"…You're safe he-"
The man suddenly lunged.
Wrong.
Infected.
Akane stepped back—
Gunfire dropped him instantly.
Silence returned.
They moved further inside.
More damage.
More signs of struggle.
Doors broken.
Barricades failed.
Containment Breach
They reached the containment level.
Massive reinforced doors.
Open.
Destroyed from the inside.
"So this is where it started…" a soldier nearby said.
A terminal flickered.
Akane activated it.
A final log played.
"Subjects are no longer reacting randomly…"
"They're observing patterns…"
"We might have underestimated—"
Static.
Cut.
Akane looked at the screen.
That word again.
Observing.
Suddenly The lights went out.
Complete darkness.
"Night vision—now!" the squad leader ordered.
Green light filled their vision.
And then—
Movement.
Everywhere.
The infected rushed in.
Fast.
From vents.
From ceilings.
From broken walls.
Gunfire exploded in tight corridors.
No room to fall back.
Different Behaviors
One charged blindly.
Another—
Paused.
Watching.
Then moved only after others attacked.
"They're not all the same…" Akane muttered.
They pushed through the hallway.
Step by step.
Fighting in close quarters.
No room for mistakes.
Final Objective
"We've got the data core!" a soldier shouted.
"Then we're done—move!"
Escape
They retraced their path—
But the facility had changed.
Paths blocked.
New routes cut off.
"This wasn't like this before" a soldier said.
Akane's eyes narrowed.
"They're moving differently…"
After moving in random directions.
They finally reached the exit.
Barely.
Infected closing in behind them.
They ran—
Jumped into the ship.
"TAKE OFF!"
The ship lifted.
Silence fills the atmosphere around them.
The facility faded into the snow.
Silent again.
Like nothing happened.
Akane stared blankly at the metal floor
Thinking.
About the logs.
About what he saw.
"They were studying them…"
The squad leader nodded.
"And it still wasn't enough."
Akane looked out the window.
"…No…"
A pause.
"I think they learned something else."
The squad leader looked at him.
"What?"
Akane's voice was quiet.
"How we think."
Silence filled the ship.
And for the first time—
That idea felt real.