Vora stood near the edge of the ridge, visor scanning the area.
Heat readings danced across her screen, unstable and rising fast.
A sharp beep came through her earpiece.
"Commander," one of her field heroes called out.
"We've got something. You need to hear this."
Vora tapped her comm. "Talk."
"We had eyes on the target zone. The volcano base."
She narrowed her eyes. "What happened?"
There was a pause. Then a second voice joined in, sounding shaken.
"It exploded. The whole place. We didn't even get close yet."
"Just boom. The ground cracked, and fire shot out from every side."
Vora took a step back, face tightening. "You're telling me they blew up the entire facility?"
"Yes, ma'am. The whole thing went down. No survivors detected so far."
"No escape signs either. We were about to move in when it happened."
"Any visuals? Playback feed?"
"We're sending it now."
A moment later, a window popped up on her visor.
