Location : Aegis Deep Command
Briefing Room
Time : 04:00 Hours
The briefing room inside Aegis Deep Command was quiet, save for the low hum of the holo-table. Blue light cast shifting shadows on the walls, illuminating the ten-seat table - though only nine seats were filled.
The woman at the head of the room stood like stone. Short, black-cropped hair, sharp jawline, and gray eyes that swept over the team without pause. No need for rank stripes her silence spoke enough authority, that is Captain Rhea voss.
"Sector Zero", she began, " is not a place you map. It's a place you survive. Everything that enters that zone either disappears..... Or stops making sense".
A red pulse glowed over the Amazonian topography projected in midair.
"Survey Team Theta entered forty three days ago. No signal. No return. Only one corrupted data burst with audio distortion and a screaming loop we're not playing again."
A man chewing gum in the middle row leaned back in his chair. "Sounds promising." He smirked. " So what's the plan, Cap?"
The woman didn't flinch. " We're not here to fight. We're here to record, survive, and extract. If you're looking for action, Park, you'll be disappointed."
He grinned. " Name's Park Turner. I just like when the plan's honest."
Next to him, a calm man with a machete strapped across his thigh murmured
" Jungle doesn't make promises." He didn't look up as he spoke. " Especially not this one".
Park elbowed him lightly. " Come on, Mendoza. You believe this place is alive?"
The tracker- George Mendoza - finally looked up, his voice low. "I think it's watching us already."
Across from them, a tech-heavy guy fiddled with a wrist pad, muttering to himself.
" Uplink latency's garbage even down here. God knows what it'll be out there."
"James," the captain said sharply, "keep your systems tight. I don't want a single signal leaking "
He nodded. " Right. Wang James. Tech discipline 's my religion."
A tall woman with a strict ponytail folded her arms. "You better pray hard, then."
He raised an eyebrow. " And you are?"
"Isabel white," she replied curtly. " Sniper, recon, no patience for amateurs."
A deep voice rumbled from the far end.
" Relax, Isabel. We're all amateurs in a place like this."
The medic, Evan Smith, offered a thin smile. "I'll be the guy patching you up when the jungle bites. Just try to keep your limbs attached."
Next to him, a calm, older man adjusted his glasses. " I suspect the jungle doesn't bite," he said softly. " It swallows."
Park blinked. " And you are?"
"Dr. Rami Das. Physicist. I specialized in places reality doesn't like staying fixed".
A younger woman with a data tablet beside him leaned forward. " And I'm Lyra. Lyra Holt biology. Environmental systems".
She paused, glancing at the captain. " What about Theta's biological data? We didn't see that in the briefing packet."
"You didn't," the captain confirmed.
" Because there wasn't any left to send."
Lyra's knuckles tightened around her tablet
Footsteps echoed in the hall outside.
The door hissed open
He stepped in like a shadow with boots. Silent. Controlled. Unsmiling.
The man said nothing as he scanned the room, cold eyes pausing on each face for barely a second. His gaze stopped on the captain.
She gave him a simple nod. " You're late."
He said nothing, just moved to the one empty seat at the edge of the table.
Tension crept in like smoke.
Isabel straightened. "That the ghost Warrick assigned?"
Evan chuckled under his breath." He looks like he's here to kill someone."
Mendoza muttered, " Maybe he already has."
The captain cut through the talk.
"Focus."
The hologram shifted again- showing a drop route and landing zone.
" We glide in at perimeter Bravo. Stealth flight. Four hour foot entry to the red zone. Minimal signal exposure. Mendoza leads nav. Wang runs the drones. Scientists collect samples and logs. White handles overwatch. Smith - medical. Carter- front- line defense. Turner - demolition support."
A massive man with a bald head and thick arms gave a curt nod. " Wilson Carter. I go where the noise is loudest."
"Good", the captain replied. " We'll need a wall."
Park raised a hand lazily. " So what's Ethan's role?"
The captain didn't look at him. "He's backup"
Park looked to Ethan "Backup for who ?".
"Rhea".
One word, No more needed.
Silence fell.
Lyra glanced over, uneasy " you work for her ?".
He didn't blink.
" I follow her. The rest of you are.. optional."
Isabel 's hand twitched near her sidearm.
Wang leaned back. " Cool. Glad we all feel safe now".
The captain's voice hardened and said " you don't have to like him. You just have to stay alive long enough for it to matter".
Rami titled is head, studying Ethan
"He speaks with precision and sharp".
Park muttered "yeah, we'll I don't trust anyone that quiet".
Rhea tapped the final slide.
"Mission begins in 55 minutes. You've got loadouts waiting. Review comms. The jungle doesn't give second chance".
As they stood to leave, The room fill with faint murmurs and shifting gears, some talked and some didn't.
Ethan remained seated a moment longer, eyes moving from face to face.
He didn't look at them like teammates.
He looked at them like Variables.