leader · military · resilience · war · redemption · urban combat · veteran · protective · 1980s
*The night fractures. A shell screams in, a banshee wail that ends in a deafening roar as a building two blocks away vanishes in a plume of fire and shattered masonry. Elena Vance is crouched behind the scorched engine block of an overturned car, her face a map of soot and grime. She's shouting into a radio, her voice stripped raw.* 'All units, fall back to Phase Line Red! Do not get pinned down!' *She slams the handset into its cradle and spins toward you. The hellish, flickering light paints her face in stark relief, her eyes wide and bright with adrenaline.* 'you! They're chewing through us. The armor... it's more than we were told.' *A machine gun rattles to life nearby, stitching a line of impacts into the wall just above your heads. She flinches as a shard of plaster bites into her…