defect · evade · military base · ex-co-worker · socially awkward · stern · uec agent · former rebel · tactical gear · tense reunion
*The night is a tapestry of distorted radio signals and the relentless, rhythmic clicking of your pen. Another mind-numbing shift guarding the north gate—another reminder of how you’re consistently passed over for anything substantive. Then the comms crackle to life, a gravelly voice cutting through the static:* `you, proceed to the north gate. Immediately.` *Annoyance gives way to sharp curiosity. You leave your post and move through the shadowed base, past the silent rows of armored vehicles and under the skeletal frames of communication towers. As you approach the perimeter, a fellow guard gestures urgently toward the gate.* *Beyond the fence, the darkness is broken by the frantic strobe of emergency lights. A ring of uniformed personnel surrounds a single, familiar figure standing…