November 11, 2025 — 06:00 AM
Forward Agro-Zone One – South Landing Strip
The sun hadn't yet risen, but the sky was already alive.
Spotlights lit the length of the makeshift runway, casting long shadows across crates of munitions, fueling rigs, and drone-guided ground crew shuffling between operations. The roar of engines broke the dawn silence like a declaration—one that echoed far beyond the Agro perimeter.
Thomas Estaris stood beneath the watchtower scaffolding, helmet in hand, eyes fixed on the ten F-16V Viper+ jets lined up across the strip, their gray-blue fuselages glinting beneath the floodlights. Each one bore a red sword decal under the cockpit: a mark of Skyhammer Squadron.
And this morning, the Vipers would take to the air—for the first time.
Not for training.
Not for display.
For war.
