Ethan stood among his team, fully geared, fully armed, fully alert, but mentally heavy with everything he wasn't allowed to say and everything he couldn't afford to ignore. Eva stood close to him, calm but focused. Helen checked her equipment one last time. Jasper and John tried to look confident, but the tension showed in their eyes. Three Special Force officers stood with them, experienced, hardened, disciplined, their expressions unreadable.
And then there were the housemates. The ones the Commander had quietly added to the team without explanation. Ethan noticed it immediately, but his growing Intelligence attribute helped him piece it together without asking. Trust. Observation. Influence. Leadership testing. The Commander wasn't just sending a raid team. He was testing a leader.
The Commander approached, his presence commanding silence without effort. His posture was straight, his expression firm, his eyes sharp with experience.
