CHAPTER 376: PLANET OWNER...

Noah’s personal phone buzzed at 0800 hours, dragging him from the first decent sleep he’d had in weeks. The message was short and to the point: "Training Room 7. 0900 hours. Come ready to work. - Lucas"

He rolled over to find Sophie already sitting up, reading the same message on her device. Her hair was still messy from sleep, and she had that slightly confused expression she always wore when waking up.

"Training?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Didn’t the commanders say we had downtime?"

"That’s Lucas for you," Noah said, stretching. "Probably couldn’t sleep thinking about the mission."

Thirty minutes later, they were walking through the station’s corridors, still feeling the effects of last night’s party. The base was quieter than usual—most of the soldiers were taking advantage of their authorized rest period. But Noah wasn’t surprised that Lucas had called them in. Their team leader had always been driven, but the weight of command seemed to be pushing him harder than ever.

They arrived at Training Room 7 to find Diana already there, looking perfectly composed despite having stayed at the party until nearly 0200. Kelvin stumbled in a few minutes later, his cybernetic arms still very much attached as he yawned dramatically.

"Morning, beautiful people," he said, his voice still rough with sleep. "Anyone else feel like they got hit by a transport shuttle?"

"That’s what happens when you drink like a civilian," Diana replied, but there was no real criticism in her voice. If anything, she seemed more relaxed than usual.

Lyra was the last to arrive, her tablet already in hand as she analyzed something on the screen. She looked up when she noticed everyone staring at her.

"What? I was reviewing combat footage from previous training exercises. I think I found some patterns we can exploit."

"Of course you did," Kelvin said with a grin. "Do you ever stop working?"

Before Lyra could respond, Lucas entered the room. He moved with his usual confidence, but Noah could see something different in his posture—a tension that hadn’t been there the night before.

"Thanks for coming," Lucas said, his voice carrying the authority that had developed over their missions together. "I know we’re supposed to be on downtime, but I’ve been thinking about the mission. About what we could have done better."

He activated the training room’s systems, and the sterile space began to transform. Holographic projectors came online, gravity simulators hummed to life, and the energy dampeners that kept their abilities from damaging the station’s infrastructure started their low, steady pulse.

"We’re good individually," Lucas continued, electricity beginning to crackle around his hands. "But we’re not good enough as a team. That three-horn should never have gotten as close as she did to killing us."

Noah felt directly attacked by this but knew Lucas was right and he was only allowing his emotions shadow his vision. "What did you have in mind?"

"Combination training," Lucas replied. "We’ve been fighting as individuals who happen to be on the same team. We need to fight as a unit."

Diana stepped forward, her expression serious. "I agree. When that Harbinger caught us off guard, we scattered instead of coordinating. If we’d been working together from the start..."

"We might have taken her down without Noah having to push himself as far as he did. However, the situation didn’t permit any form of partnership, remember? We were split across different planets. Still..." Kelvin finished, flexing his cybernetic fingers. The new arms were still strange to look at, but they moved with perfect precision. "I like it. What’s the plan, boss?"

Lucas activated the training room’s holographic interface, bringing up a complex battlefield simulation. Multiple enemy types appeared in the display—Harbinger constructs, environmental hazards, and tactical challenges that would require more than raw power to overcome.

"Rotating partners," he said. "Noah and Sophie first, then Diana and Lyra, then Kelvin and me. Each pair gets fifteen minutes to show us something new."

The room reconfigured itself, creating obstacles and targets that would challenge their combined abilities. Noah and Sophie stepped into the center, both of them falling into the familiar rhythm of combat partnership they’d developed over their missions.

"Remember," Sophie said quietly, her voice carrying that slight uncertainty she always had when discussing her abilities, "my probability field is unpredictable. I can’t control what happens."

Noah nodded, void energy beginning to swirl around his hands. "I’ll create openings. You just stay close and let whatever happens happen."

The simulation began with a wave of holographic Harbinger constructs—not as dangerous as the real thing, but programmed with enough intelligence to provide a genuine challenge. Noah immediately went on the offensive, void portals opening and closing as he teleported around the battlefield.

But something was different. As Noah moved, the constructs seemed to stumble at crucial moments, their attacks missing by inches when they should have connected. A construct’s weapon would jam just as Noah closed distance. A piece of debris would fall at exactly the right angle to block an attack aimed at Sophie.

"There!" Sophie called out, pointing to a construct that had tripped over seemingly nothing. Noah immediately capitalized, a void bullet materializing in his hand as he struck the vulnerable target.

The pattern repeated throughout their session. Noah would create aggressive openings, and Sophie’s field would ensure that luck favored them at critical moments. Small things, but they added up to a significant advantage.

"Time," Lucas called out, and the simulation ended. Both Noah and Sophie were breathing hard, but they’d cleared the field with an efficiency that impressed everyone.

"That was different," Diana observed. "Sophie, your field seemed more active than usual."

Sophie frowned, wiping sweat from her brow. "I don’t know what you mean. I can’t control it."

"Maybe you can’t control it," Lyra said thoughtfully, "but you might be learning to work with it better. The way you called out that stumbling construct—that wasn’t random. You saw the probability shift happening."

Before Sophie could respond, Diana and Lyra took their positions. Diana’s momentum nullification abilities had always been impressive, but paired with Lyra’s tactical analysis, they became something else entirely. Lyra didn’t even have to go on the offensive. Diana was the one fully on the aggressive.

"Three constructs approaching from the east," Lyra called out, her voice calm and precise. "The lead one will reach optimal nullification range in 2.3 seconds."

Diana waited, her stance perfect, until the exact moment Lyra specified. Then she activated her ability, and the charging construct suddenly stopped mid-attack, its momentum completely negated. It hung suspended in the air for a moment before dropping to the ground, completely helpless.

"Left flank, two seconds," Lyra continued, and Diana was already moving, her timing perfect as she froze another attacker at the crucial moment.

They worked with a precision that was almost mechanical, Lyra’s analytical mind feeding Diana perfect information while Diana’s abilities created the openings they needed. It was a completely different approach from Noah and Sophie’s dynamic partnership, but equally effective.

"Impressive," Lucas said when their time was up. "You two have been practicing."

"Data analysis improves with application," Lyra replied, though she was smiling slightly. "Diana’s timing has improved by forty-seven percent since our first training session."

"Your callouts are getting faster too," Diana added. "I don’t have to wait for confirmation anymore."

Kelvin and Lucas took the floor next, and their approach was more direct. Lucas’s lightning abilities provided devastating offensive power, while Kelvin’s cybernetic arms allowed him to manipulate the battlefield in ways that complemented the electrical attacks.

"EMP burst in three, two, one," Kelvin called out, his cybernetic systems temporarily shutting down the constructs’ defensive shields. Lucas immediately followed with a lightning strike that would have been impossible against protected targets.

The cybernetic arms weren’t just weapons—they were tools. Kelvin could interface directly with the training room’s systems, creating tactical advantages that his organic arms never could have managed fast enough. A wall would shift position just as Lucas needed cover, or a platform would rise to give him the perfect angle for an attack.

"Your integration is remarkable," Lyra observed as they finished their session. "The cybernetics aren’t just replacing your lost limbs—they’re enhancing your entire tactical capability."

Kelvin grinned, flexing his mechanical fingers. "Silver lining, right? Though I still miss being able to feel texture properly. Don’t get me wrong, I feel just fine,"

They were about to begin another round when the training room’s communication system activated. "Lucas Grey, report to Command immediately," came the crisp voice of the station’s duty officer.

Lucas frowned, glancing at his teammates. "Keep training. I’ll be back in a few minutes."

But it wasn’t a few minutes. Twenty-five minutes passed before Lucas returned, and when he did, he was holding a sealed envelope in his hand. His expression was carefully neutral, but Noah could see the tension in his shoulders.

"Everything okay?" Noah asked.

Lucas looked at the envelope, then at his teammates. "We need to talk."

The training room fell silent. There was something in Lucas’s voice that made everyone stop what they were doing and focus on him completely.

"I’ve been called home," he said quietly.

"Earth?" Sophie asked. "Did something happen to your family?"

Lucas shook his head. "Not Earth. My planet."

The words hung in the air like a physical weight.

"Your planet?" Diana asked carefully. "As in... your planet?"

Lucas nodded, his expression grim. "I have to leave. I don’t know for how long."

"Wait," Kelvin said, his cybernetic arms whirring softly as he gestured. "Hold on. Your planet? Like, a planet that belongs to your family?"

"It’s complicated," Lucas replied, but he wasn’t looking at any of them. His eyes were fixed on the envelope in his hands. "The Grey family... we have responsibilities beyond the EDF."

Noah stepped forward, void energy crackling around his hands. "Lucas, what aren’t you telling us?"

For a moment, Lucas looked like he might deflect the question. Then his shoulders sagged slightly.

"My family owns a star system," he said quietly. "Three planets, two asteroid mining operations, and a private military that’s larger than most planetary defense forces. The Grey family has been fighting this war longer than the EDF has existed."

The training room was completely silent except for the hum of the gravity simulators.

"And they’re calling me home."