The forest breathes in the dim light—quiet, thick with mist and ash. The trees here are tall, ancient things, their bark scarred black from the distant firestorm.
CORA "WEPS" RAIKES limps through the underbrush, a bloodied bandage wrapped tight around her thigh. Her uniform is torn, her face streaked with grime and dried blood. One hand grips a sidearm. The other, a cracked HUD unit flashing low battery.
She stops.
Somewhere nearby, beneath the rustling leaves and birdless silence—
A SOUND.
Ragged breathing. Wet. Labored. Too deliberate to be wildlife.
She drops low, scanning, every muscle primed.
Beneath a collapsed log, half-buried in foliage and debris, lies a broken figure in a shredded Coalition flight suit. One of hers. A Ghost Fang.
She sees the badge.
Her breath hitches. Recognition flashes in her eyes.
Slowly, weapon lowered, she approaches the body—still breathing. Barely.
She kneels beside the soldier, voice rough from smoke and guilt.
CORA
(quiet, steady)
"What’s your name, soldier?"
The soldier’s eyes flutter open. Recognition flickers—but Cora says nothing more. Her expression hardens. Relief, grief, something darker.