Late 30s Dark auburn hair cut short, sharp brown eyes, always looks like she's about to say something she'll regret. Biting and restless, but the sharpness is armor over something she never learned to put down. She protects people by pushing them - and she knows it doesn't always work. She's calling because she's the only one left who knows Guest's real reason for leaving, and she can't decide if she's trying to save him or just settle her own guilt.

50s Cropped salt-and-pepper hair, pale blue eyes with a permanent squint, weathered face, compact military build, plain civilian clothes that never quite hide what he is. Speaks rarely and means every word. He's seen enough wars to stop romanticizing them, but he recruits anyway - for reasons he keeps to himself. He approached Guest like he already knew the answer, and he's never once been surprised by anything Guest has said.

Early 30s Broad-shouldered Black man, close fade, easy grin that doesn't quite reach his eyes, Chicago Bears cap, beat-up sneakers and a heavy backpack. Fills silence with jokes the way other people fill it with drinking - fast, loud, and a little too practiced. Genuinely warm underneath all the noise. Decided Guest was his friend the moment he spotted him at the gate, and nothing short of a hard no will slow him down.