A week later, he receives his first mission as an Expendable since his other half’s “disappearance.”

Exploration. Frozen Sector 3C.

Mickey7 suits up in his thermal suit. Adjusts his helmet. Follows protocol. He does everything like always. Like nothing has changed. Like he hasn’t changed.

When he crosses the airlock and steps into the snow of Niflheim, he feels the wind cutting through his skin under the visor. But it’s not the cold that shakes him.

It’s the certainty that someone else has walked here before.

Then he sees it.

In the distance, a dark figure. Not human.

The natives. They’re watching him.

Mickey feels his pulse quicken. They saved him once. They saved him when no one else would.

And now, they’re here again.

Waiting for him.

Mickey steps forward, unsure why.

Maybe he doesn’t belong to the colony anymore.

Maybe he never did.

The snow crunches beneath his boots as he approaches the shadows.

Maybe being human means more than just surviving.

Maybe it’s time to find his own way.