Ren Kaida had learned there were two kinds of silence.
The first was peaceful the kind you found just before sleep, or when you stood still long enough for quiet to drown out thought.
The second was the kind that came after a mission, when you returned to the ship covered in blood and no one spoke because there was nothing left worth saying.
The dropship was full of neither.
It rattled and groaned as it cut through the upper atmosphere, metal plates vibrating beneath Ren's boots. Red emergency lights lay dormant along the ceiling, slow and steady, like a heartbeat waiting to spike. The air smelled of coolant and ozone, sharp enough to sting the back of her throat.
All the Diamonds were aboard.
That wasn't unusual.
What was unusual was how loud they were.
Ren sat near the center of the troop bay, elbows resting on her knees, helmet balanced against her thigh. She let the noise wash over her without reacting, cataloging it the way she cataloged everything: weight, rhythm, threat.
Across the bay, Violent Diamond was doing squats.
Hard ones.
Each time he dropped, his armored boots struck the deck with a heavy clang that traveled straight up Ren's spine. The Cyber Frame around him hissed and flexed, thrusters venting heat like they wanted to launch without him. He moved with manic intensity, like a caged animal trying to convince itself the cage wasn't real.
Ren didn't look at him at first.
She didn't have to.
She could feel him. His energy filled the bay like pressure before a storm.
Omega Diamond could feel it too.
"Violent," Omega said, calm as gravity. "Relax."
Ren watched Violent grin, the sound of it clear in his voice even through the helmet.
"I'm good," he said. "Just turnt up. First piece of action in three weeks. My nerves get loud if I don't move."
He dropped into another squat. The deck shuddered.
Ren exhaled slowly through her nose.
Across from him, Emerald Diamond looked like she might come apart at the seams.
Emerald sat rigid in her jump seat, hands clenched, knees pressed together. Her visor was up, then down, then up again, indecisive. She tapped her fingers against her thigh, stopped, started again, then stilled them with visible effort.
Ren caught her glancing over, searching for something solid to hold onto.
Ren met her eyes.
Emerald mouthed, Is he always like this?
Ren gave the slightest shake of her head.
Emerald resumed tapping her fingers, faster this time.
Ren looked away before Emerald could panic harder.
She wasn't ignoring them.
She was preparing.
That was the difference.
Ren had been Dead Diamond long enough to know that calm wasn't a personality trait it was a survival mechanism. A reward earned through years of successful conflict. She didn't burn hot like Violent or fray like Emerald.
She compressed.
Everything went inward. Thoughts sharpened. Emotions flattened into something usable.
If the universe wanted violence, she would meet it cleanly.
Violent's voice cut across the bay. "Hey, Dead."
Ren didn't answer immediately.
"You hype?" he asked. "C'mon. Big mission. Medical base. Bad guys think they're bold today."
Ren lifted her gaze at last.
"No."
The word landed hard.
Emerald let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Violent laughed. "You're no fun."
"I'm alive," Ren replied. "That's the trade."
That shut him up for the moment.
Clear Diamond returned from the armory, moving with unhurried precision, handing weapons to each of them as she passed.
"Gear up," Clear said mildly. "Omega's got the mission laid out."
Omega turned then, and the room subtly realigned around her.
Silver and pink armor. Perfect posture. A presence that made even Violent still.
"Diamonds," Omega said. "Ninety seconds to deployment."
A holographic city bloomed beside her New Heaven City, marked with threat indicators. At its heart, a medical annex glowed white and fragile.
"We have an attack underway on a New Heaven medical bay," Omega continued. "Confirmed Outer Covenant involvement."
Ren's jaw tightened.
She'd trained to destroy.
She'd learned to protect later.
"We intercept before breach," Omega said. "No collateral. No civilian loss."
"No pressure," Emerald whispered, immediately regretting it.
Omega didn't look at her.
"Emerald. Healer and launcher duty. Your new missile implant allows multi-target deployment by neural command. Keep the skies clear."
Emerald swallowed and nodded.
"Violent. Ground extraction. Any civilians inside get them out."
Violent cracked his neck, grinning. "Copy."
"And finally Dead. Clear."
Ren stood.
Her armor responded instantly black plating unfolding, locking, sealing her into something heavier than flesh. The suit didn't make her feel powerful.
It made her precise.
"You'll run triangle formation with me," Omega said. "I take point. Clear on my left. Dead on my right."
Ren inclined her head.
"Goal," Omega finished, "take no prisoners."
The ship lurched violently. Alarms flared. Somewhere ahead, something exploded close enough to rattle Ren's teeth.
"Anti-air lock!" the pilot shouted.
The ramp lights switched from yellow to green.
Omega raised her fist.
"Positions."
Violent crouched, grinning like a disaster waiting for permission. Emerald whispered something frantic under her breath. Holographic drifted closer to the hatch. Clear rose smoothly.
Ren stepped forward.
She felt no anxiety in her mind or pull in her chest. The world narrowed to a single task for her. Fear didn't vanish because it never existed in Ren.
It became irrelevant.
The ramp dropped.
Wind and heat rushed in, carrying the sound of a city that didn't know it was about to pure mayhem."
"Diamonds," Omega said. "On me."
Omega jumped first.
The Diamonds followed.
The Infinite Circle has begun yet again