31 Days Since First Strike — Southern Quezon Province, Perimeter Recon
A thin fog clung to the treetops as the Overwatch tiltrotor swept low over the canopy. Below, dense jungle stretched for miles—endless green broken only by the bones of old logging roads and the occasional ruined watchtower swallowed by foliage. This was one of the last unscouted regions on Luzon's southern interior.
Thomas Estaris leaned forward in his seat, visor down, eyes locked on the real-time topographic feed projected on his datapad. "We've never surveyed this area?"
Phillip, seated across from him, shook his head. "Pre-Fall charts mark this as low-priority terrain. Too mountainous, too remote. No functioning roads."
"And ground?"
"None," Phillip confirmed. "Not since the old world."
The pilot's voice crackled over comms. "Commander, picking up thermal anomalies—low and steady. It's not a fire. Looks like controlled heat sources. Possibly chimneys. There's more than one."
