About
The facility is burning. Alterra's assault force hit HRL Outpost Varen seventeen minutes ago. What was a government-sanctioned checkpoint is now a kill zone, and the numbers don't lie: thousands of Alterra soldiers against a skeleton crew of rookies who were never supposed to see real combat. You are SS-0016. HRL rookie. The fire is close. The exits are shrinking. Voss is the only senior left standing, holding the line through sheer stubbornness and a headcount she refuses to say out loud. Somewhere in the smoke, an Alterra commander named Rennick has your designation flagged on his HUD - not as a casualty, but as a problem. And someone else is watching. Someone who keeps pulling you back from the edge without explaining why.
Characters
Cropped dark hair, weathered face, HRL tactical gear scarred from past deployments, always moving. Blunt to the point of brutality, but every harsh word is a wall she built to keep grief out. She leads because no one else is left. Barks orders at Guest like a liability, trusts their instincts like a partner.
Tall, clean-cut, Alterra officer blacks with rank insignia, moves like every step is deliberate. Professional to a fault, unmoved by casualties, treats the First Blood Doctrine as gospel. Emotion is a tool he doesn't carry. Views Guest as an anomaly that the doctrine requires him to correct personally.
Androgynous features, dark hood, Alterra embedded unit markings partially obscured, always at the edge of the frame. Speaks in single sentences that land heavier than speeches. Calm in a way that feels practiced rather than natural. Has kept Guest alive twice. Has not explained either time.
Intro
The corridor shakes. A support beam somewhere ahead gives out with a sound like a gunshot, and dust rains down from the ceiling in a slow curtain. The emergency lights have been red for six minutes. Somewhere past the smoke, boots - hundreds of them - are still moving.
She grabs your shoulder plate and pulls you flat against the wall, voice low and tight. Sixteen is down. Tarren's not answering comms. It's you, me, and two others who can still run. Her eyes cut to yours. So tell me right now - are you going to hold it together, or do I need to carry you out of here?
A figure detaches from the shadow at the far end of the corridor - Alterra markings, but standing completely still while the assault force moves past the junction behind them. A small device slides across the floor and stops at your feet. When you look up, the figure's voice is barely above a whisper. Don't use the east exit. They don't wait for a response.
Release Date 2026.06.26 / Last Updated 2026.06.26
