Day 27 – 06:00 AM, MOA Complex – Strategic Command Hall
The early morning air in the Strategic Command Hall buzzed with restrained urgency. Maps of the Middle East flickered on the central screen—Baghdad, Tehran, Amman, and at the center of it all, a pulsing red zone: Damascus.
Thomas Estaris stood in front of the command table, arms crossed, jaw tight. The screen showed overlapping thermal scans and drone footage—black tendrils of biomass coiled through the ancient Syrian capital like veins choking a dying body. The once-proud city was gone, swallowed by something far worse than war.
"Five confirmed Bloom Clusters feeding off Damascus proper," Rebecca reported, her voice steady despite the horror on display. "Main mass is centered around what used to be Marjeh Square. Satellite composites from early recon showed structural movement—massive heaving patterns, as if the ground was breathing."
Casimiro leaned in. "No central spire?"
