Snow fell in thick, silent sheets, coating the wreckage of Outpost Helion like a burial shroud.
Kael sat inside a makeshift bunker constructed from scavenged sheet metal and broken concrete slabs. His small hands wrapped around a steaming canteen of bitter tea. He didn't drink it. He just held it, trying to feel something other than the cold creeping through his bones.
Hours had passed since the outpost fell, yet his mind remained locked in that burning moment—the woman's voice, the soldier's grip on his neck, the disk glowing against his palm. The memories felt too vivid to be dreams and too fragmented to be trusted.
Across from him, the scar-jawed soldier cleaned the barrel of his rifle with methodical precision. He hadn't spoken much since the escape. His face was hard, his eyes sharper than the mountain wind outside.
Kael wondered if he blamed him.
Or feared him.
The man finally looked up. "You awake?"
Kael nodded slightly.
"Good. Eat."
He tossed a ration bar lightly toward the boy. It landed beside him on a torn map. Kael didn't move to grab it.
The man exhaled. "Listen. You don't have to be scared of me. I'm not here to hurt you."
Kael lowered his gaze. The steam rising from the canteen blurred his vision.
The soldier came closer and sat down, knees cracking from exhaustion. "My name's Commander Rovan. Coalition Phantom Regiment."
Kael remained silent.
Rovan wiped snow from his gloves. "Those Dominion bastards weren't burning your village just to kill civilians. They were after something—or someone—important. And that someone was you." He paused, studying Kael's reaction. "So before we take another step, I need to know: do you remember anything about who you are?"
Kael shook his head.
Rovan sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Thought so. Dammit."
Outside, the howling wind scratched at the bunker walls. The fire they kept burning in a metal drum hissed as flakes of snow drifted inside.
Kael finally spoke, voice barely above a whisper.
"…Why did they want me?"
Rovan leaned back. "Kid, I wish I knew. But I saw what you did back there."
His eyes lingered on the metal disk clutched protectively in Kael's hands. "That wasn't normal tech. And you… you're not an ordinary child."
Kael pulled the disk closer to his chest, as if the world might take it from him too.
Rovan noticed. His voice softened. "I'm not taking it, relax. But you should know—whatever that thing is, it's broadcasting a signal. That's how they found us so fast."
Kael's heart tightened. "It… talks to me."
Rovan froze. "Talks to you?"
Kael nodded hesitantly. "When I touch the center… it whispers things. Not with words. Inside my head."
Rovan swore under his breath. "That's Dominion tech for sure. Old. Experimental."
His voice lowered. "Classified."
Kael didn't know what that word meant, but the tone was enough to deepen the knot in his stomach.
Rovan stood, pacing. "This complicates everything. I can't bring you to a Coalition base. If the Dominion tracks you again, they'll flatten the entire outpost. And if Coalition command finds out what you are, they might dissect you before the Dominion can."
Kael flinched at the image.
The soldier stopped pacing when he noticed. He knelt and placed a firm, reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Kael. Look at me."
Kael slowly met his eyes.
"I don't care what they made you for. You're a kid. And I'm going to get you somewhere safe. That's a promise."
Something warmed in Kael's chest—not hope exactly, but something near it.
Rovan stood. "Finish your ration. We move in fifteen."
---
By the time they set out, the snowfall had slowed. Kael trudged behind Rovan through the broken valley, each step sinking knee-deep into the cold slush. The world around them was silent except for distant artillery booms—far away, but never far enough.
Rovan led them onto a frozen river, easier to walk on than the jagged ruins. He checked the treeline constantly, finger near the trigger of his rifle.
"Stay close. Dominion drones love open terrain like this."
Kael hurried to keep up. His breath appeared in thin clouds. His fingers ached despite being wrapped in Rovan's oversized gloves.
They traveled for nearly an hour before the surface of the ice quivered faintly beneath their feet.
Kael froze.
Rovan felt it too. He raised his fist, signaling silence.
A low hum rolled across the valley.
Kael recognized it instantly.
Thrum… thrum… thrum…
His blood turned cold. The same sound from the night his home burned.
Rovan grabbed him and pulled him into the shadow of a fallen watchtower half-buried in snow. He whispered, "Don't move. Don't breathe."
Kael pressed himself against the cold metal.
A Dominion aerial scout drone swept across the river, its red scanner beam cutting through the frost like a knife. A six-legged machine leapt across the ice behind it, claws gripping the surface with mechanical screeches. Both moved slowly, methodically—searching.
Kael felt the disk in his pocket vibrate.
No—no, not now.
He pressed his hand down on it, trying to silence it. Trying to will it quiet.
The drone's scanner beam turned.
Red light passed over their hiding place.
Rovan's hand tightened on his rifle.
The drone paused.
Kael held his breath. His heart hammered so loudly he was sure the machines could hear it.
Then—
The disk pulsed.
The red scanner beam flickered, stuttered… recalibrated.
Rovan's eyes widened.
But instead of locking on their position, the drone rotated and sped off in the opposite direction, its partner machine bounding after it.
Rovan waited ten full seconds before he exhaled.
He turned slowly toward Kael. "You… forced it away?"
Kael shook his head violently. "I didn't mean to! It just happens when it wants to!"
Rovan studied him long and hard. Then he put a hand on the boy's head. "You saved our lives. Don't ever apologize for that."
Kael nodded weakly.
Rovan checked his rifle again. "Let's move. We're close."
---
They reached a steep ridge. Rovan helped Kael climb over jagged rocks until a hidden metal hatch came into view, half-buried under snow and camouflage netting.
Rovan brushed off the frozen latch. "Welcome to Haven-3. Phantom Regiment safe house."
He keyed in a code. The hatch opened with a hiss.
Inside was a narrow tunnel lit by dim amber bulbs. Warmth hit Kael instantly, and he almost cried at the relief.
They descended deep underground until the tunnel opened into a small bunker—three cots, shelves of ammo, crates of dried food, a radio station cracked open for repairs.
And two injured soldiers lying on the beds.
Both looked up as Rovan entered.
"Commander's back," one muttered with a pained grin.
The other squinted. "And… a kid? Sir, is that—"
Rovan cut them off. "He's under my protection. From this moment forward, none of you speak his name or ask questions about him. Clear?"
The two soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.
Kael shrank slightly behind Rovan.
The injured soldier with bandaged ribs nodded. "Yes, sir."
Rovan turned to Kael. "Set your things down. Get warm. You're safe here for now."
Kael stepped into the bunker, eyes wide, heart pounding. Safe. The word felt fragile.
He chose the corner furthest from the door and curled up on the cot. The room buzzed with generator hum and quiet conversation. But Kael's attention drifted to the disk again.
When he pressed it lightly, blue light shimmered faintly beneath the surface.
A whisper echoed inside his mind:
<
He swallowed hard.
"What am I…?" he whispered to himself.
No answer came.
Just the hum of the bunker.
And beyond it—the endless war waiting patiently outside.
---
That night, Kael's sleep was restless.
He dreamed of metal hands. Burning houses. The woman's voice calling his name. The Dominion soldier scanning him like he wasn't a child but an object.
Then another image surfaced—one he didn't recognize.
A white room.
Cold lights.
Needles.
Faces masked behind glass.
And a voice whispering:
<
Kael jerked awake, gasping.
Rovan sat across the room, cleaning a dismantled drone core. He looked up. "Nightmare?"
Kael nodded weakly.
Rovan didn't pry. Instead, he gestured to the cot beside him. "Come here."
Kael hesitated, then shuffled over.
Rovan handed him a small cloth-wrapped bundle. "Open it."
Inside was a metal dog tag, old and scratched.
Kael traced the engraved letters:
K. Voss
He frowned. "Who is that?"
Rovan answered quietly. "You."
Kael blinked in confusion. "But… that's not my name."
"You said you didn't have one. So I gave you one."
Rovan leaned back, expression softened with something like guilt. "Voss was the surname of the bravest soldier I ever knew. He saved my life once, a long time ago. I figured he wouldn't mind."
Kael stared at the tag for several long seconds.
"…Kael Voss."
The name felt heavy. Strong. Like armor.
Rovan nodded. "From now on, that's who you are. Dominion can take everything else from you—but not your name. Not anymore."
Kael closed his hand around the tag.
For the first time since his world burned, he felt a spark.
Not happiness.
But purpose.
---
Two days passed in the bunker. Kael learned to help Rovan's injured soldiers, fetching water, organizing supplies, cleaning rifles. Each task made him feel less helpless, less lost.
But the war never slept.
On the third day, the proximity alarms blared.
Rovan sprinted for the radio. "Status!"
The speaker crackled violently.
Then a voice—panicked, cut with static.
"Commander—Dominion mechanized unit—closing fast—found our signal—"
Rovan cursed. "Everyone, gear up! Move!"
The soldiers grabbed rifles, limped to defensive positions. The bunker shook as explosions lit the surface above.
Kael pressed against the wall, heart pounding.
Rovan knelt beside him. "Kael. Listen carefully."
The boy's breath trembled. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean—"
"This isn't your fault," Rovan said firmly. "But you need to run. Now. There's a vent tunnel behind the generator. Follow it until you find daylight. Then head north. Don't stop until you hit the mountains."
Kael shook his head, panic rising. "No—I'm not leaving you!"
Rovan placed a hand against his cheek. "You have to. They want you, not us. If you stay, they'll kill everyone here."
The bunker shook harder—metal bending as something heavy struck from above.
Rovan pushed him gently toward the vent. "Go."
Kael's eyes filled with tears. "Will I see you again?"
Rovan smiled sadly. "I hope so."
Another explosion tore through the entrance. Screams echoed. Gunfire lit the bunker like lightning.
Rovan grabbed his rifle. "Run, Kael."
Kael hesitated one last moment.
Then he turned—
—and crawled into the darkness of the vent as the bunker erupted behind him.
The last thing he heard was Rovan shouting:
"For the Coalition!!"
Then the world went white.
And Kael Voss was alone again.
---
End of Chapter 2