Dorian nodded mentally.
He was the only one who hadn't uttered a single word since Helion. Seventeen hours of travel. Seventeen hours of silence. Externally, of course. Internally, he did speak. Internally, he never stopped speaking — with Omega, with himself, with the voices in his head that were more real than any external conversation.
But they didn't know that.
Everyone was looking at Dorian.
He didn't get nervous. There was no need to be. But he felt the weight of his companions' gazes. Well, almost companions.
Now, of all times. They hadn't spoken to each other for nearly an entire day, and now that they were looking at him, one might think they were already friends.
But that wasn't the case.
They weren't enemies. They were just warriors. And now everyone had spoken. Everyone except Dorian.
The only mute one.
Theoretically.
"Sir," Omega said in his mind. "Your companions keep staring at you."
"I've noticed," Dorian replied.
He could feel it. The weight of three pairs of eyes on him. Kael, with his expression of "let's see if this guy actually exists." Hugo, with his analytical scrutiny of "tell me who you are without telling me who you are." Nayu, with her silent evaluation of "I already know everything about you even though you haven't spoken."
Dorian inhaled.
Exhaled.
A sigh.
"What a pain," he said.
And everyone was surprised.
Literally.
Kael stared at him for several seconds. He was already looking at him, but now it was different. Now their eyes met. Now there was mutual recognition.
Kael was leaning on Hugo's shoulders, bothering him, as he always did when he wanted to get attention without seeming like he was trying to get it. His right arm rested on Hugo's left shoulder, his weight slightly tilted towards him.
"So you can talk after all," Kael said.
And that smile... that smile wasn't fake either. It was genuine. It was the smile of someone who had just discovered that the mystery wasn't a wall, but a door.
Hugo, with his characteristic efficiency, removed Kael's arm from his shoulder. Not roughly, but with the familiarity of someone who had made that same movement thousands of times.
"Welcome," Hugo said.
And in that word, in that simple "welcome," there was more than any speech could have contained.
Then, Nayu's eyes and Dorian's crossed.
Like two oceans of emerald meeting in the middle of a storm.
"You're going to say something too," Dorian said.
It wasn't a question. It was an observation. A recognition that she too was outside the circle, observing from a distance, choosing silence as both weapon and shield.
A slight smile appeared at the corners of Nayu's mouth.
It was small. It was minimal. It was barely a muscle movement, an infinitesimal change in her expression.
But it was there.
"Of course not," she replied.
Pause.
"What would I have to say to you?" she said finally.
Dorian held her gaze for one more second.
"True," he replied.
And in that word, in that simple "true," there was more than any conversation could have contained.
---
Two hundred meters remained.
The creatures were approaching rapidly. The dust cloud was now a yellow curtain hiding whatever was running towards them. But they could be heard. They could hear the pounding of hundreds, thousands, several thousand legs against the ground. They could hear the roars, the screeches, the sounds of creatures that didn't know fear because they had never encountered anything that could hurt them.
Until now.
The four members had conversed among themselves. It wasn't a long conversation. It wasn't a deep conversation. Not like a complete team, not like a cohesive unit.
But they had taken the first step.
Have fun and don't die.
That was the order.
"Let's see who kills more monsters," Kael said, turning towards Hugo with a gleam in his eyes that only appeared before battle.
"Are you challenging me?" Hugo replied, one eyebrow raised, a crooked smile.
Kael opened his mouth to respond, but Hugo didn't give him time.
"Looks like you've forgotten..." He paused briefly, savoring the words. "...who your master is."
"Don't talk nonsense," Kael replied, but his tone wasn't offensive. It was the tone of someone accepting a challenge, savoring it, already counting the seconds to prove his friend wrong.
"These idiots," Nayu said.
And she dove off the cliff.
She didn't wait. Didn't warn. She simply... moved.
Her boots barely touched the rock as she descended, using small outcrops and crevices as footholds in a controlled fall that was more flight than descent. Her staff spun in her hand, preparing for impact. Veridia's wind whipped her emerald green hair, but she didn't seem to notice. Her face was a mask of pure concentration, her eyes already calculating the distance to the ground, the position of the creatures, the perfect angle of attack.
"Hey, wait!" Kael shouted.
But she was already down.
Kael and Hugo looked at each other. A second. Just one second.
Then, without a word, both dove after her.
Kael descended with feline agility. His light boots found purchase on every outcrop, every crevice, every minimal irregularity of the rock. He used his spear not as a weapon, but as a pole, propelling himself in jumps, gaining meters with each movement. His body moved with a fluidity that only years of training could grant, an almost animal grace that made the descent look like a dance.
Hugo descended with the solidity of a rock. His heavy boots resonated against the stone, but each impact was controlled, measured, perfectly calculated. Where Kael used agility, Hugo used brute force. Where Kael flowed, Hugo crushed. But both reached the bottom at the same speed.
And Dorian...
Dorian watched for a moment longer.
From above, from the top of the rock, he saw his three companions descending like shadows. He saw the dust cloud approaching, devouring the terrain. He saw the strange sky of Veridia, with its colors that weren't those of Helion.
The trench coat billowed behind him, whipped by the planet's strong wind. The smart nanofibers rippled like crow's wings, black as night, silhouetted against the alien horizon.
Habitable planet.
Breathable atmosphere.
Strong wind blowing.
Warm welcome.
Hundreds of monsters.
Dorian smiled.
It wasn't a wide smile. It wasn't a smile anyone could see from below. It was a small, intimate smile, just for himself.
"It seems the atmosphere has improved, sir," Omega said.
Dorian nodded.
"Indeed," he replied mentally. "It seems it has improved."
"Fifteen seconds," Omega said. "Until contact."
Dorian didn't reply.
Instead, he watched.
Below, Nayu had already touched ground. Her staff extended in a silver arc as she spun, evaluating the terrain, the distance, the position of the creatures. There was no fear in her stance. Only anticipation.
Kael landed to her left, his spear ready, his predatory smile wider than ever. He stepped forward, positioning himself slightly ahead of Nayu. Not for protection — she didn't need protection — but by instinct. Because that's how it worked.
Hugo was the last to touch ground. His heavy boots kicked up a small cloud of dust on impact, but he was already in motion, his gloves glowing with that faint red light, his quick eyes scanning the horizon.
Three silhouettes.
Three warriors.
Three predators.
Waiting.
"Ten seconds," Omega said.
Dorian was still above.
He could see the dust cloud clearly now. He could see the silhouettes of the creatures within: large forms, quadrupeds, moving on both hands and feet on the ground.
Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands.
"Eight seconds."
He could hear the roars. They weren't warning roars. They were roars of hunger. Roars of creatures that hadn't encountered resistance in a long time.
"Five seconds."
Below, Kael spun the spear in a circular motion, warming up his wrists. Hugo flexed his fingers one last time. Nayu adjusted her grip on the staff.
"Three seconds."
Dorian inhaled.
"Two."
The wind whipped his trench coat harder.
"One."