Noah stared at the floating birthday message, completely speechless. The warm glow from the energy display reflected off his face as his teammates watched him with anticipation.
"I... I completely forgot," he finally managed, his voice softer than usual.
Sophie stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. "We know. You've been so focused on training and missions, but birthdays are important too."
Before Noah could respond, the door burst open and more recruits began filtering in—representatives from various Earth academies who had somehow gotten word of the impromptu party. Someone had clearly raided the station's recreational alcohol supplies, because bottles were appearing from seemingly everywhere.
"Eclipse!" called out a recruit Noah vaguely recognized from Academy 4. "Heard you took down three one-horns in vacuum! That's legendary, man!"
