"Ashes of Crestfall: The Rise of Aaron San Agustin"

The moonless desert lay silent under the rotors of the VSFU MH-6 Little Bird as it hovered just above the scarred dunes. Its wash scattered red sand across the yard of Camp Red Vulture where pillars of smoke rose from burning fuel tanks.

Inside the compound, chaos raged. Bursts of suppressed gunfire crackled under the wail of alarms as Aaron San Agustin led his team through the metal corridors. Rivera guarded their six, Hayes checked door angles, and Ghost's drone relayed real-time visuals of enemy movements.

Inside, Captain Elena Rivera and Corporal Victor Hayes braced on the cabin floor. Aaron San Agustin checked his suppressor, rifle slung across his back.

Lieutenant Marcus "Hawk" Alvarez guided the chopper over drifting dunes. "Insertion in thirty seconds. Sandstorm front moving fast—visibility will drop to near zero."

Rivera clipped in. "Assault Team ready."

Hayes gripped his breaching charges. "Let's move."

Aaron nodded. "Alpha on roof vent, Bravo on south breach, Ghost overhead. Move silent."

They fast‑roped in unison. Rivera and Hayes touched down on the steel roof of the supply compound, disappearing into the darkness. Aaron landed last, boots hitting corrugated metal. Ghost's drone feed crackled in his ear.

"Two guards at northwest turret, one patrol west gate in ten minutes. Container C12 tagged—hostage inside."

Aaron moved like shadow, following Rivera through a vent shaft. The compound's dim yellow lights flickered as an EMP pulse silenced electronic alarms.

Rivera's suppressed shots muted two turret gunners before they could react. Breaching charges whispered against the southern wall. A muffled thud signaled Hayes' charge: a breach point opened.

Ahead, in a dim-lit storage unit, Aaron kicked open the battered door. Two mercenaries turned in shock. His suppressed rifle snapped twice, sending them crashing onto rusted barrels. In the corner, Selena Fonte cowered, her wrists bound, hair matted with desert dust.

Her trembling gaze locked onto the figure now approaching her – armored chest rig, matte-black helmet, visor lowered. Only his eyes were visible under the tactical mask: steel-gray, cold with focus, but brimming with something unspoken. Familiarity.

"Aaron…?" Her voice cracked, hoarse and disbelieving. She muttered.

He ignored the question, his focus locked on her restraints. With swift precision, he cut the zip ties binding her wrists. "You're safe now," he whispered, the words roughened by emotion he forced down.

Rivera approached. "Extraction in two minutes, Captain."

Aaron nodded, pulling Selena to her feet. "Stay behind me," he ordered, slinging his rifle forward. They moved quickly through the hallways lined with bullet-pocked metal, each step echoing in her heart.

Outside, the burning fuel depot illuminated the compound in flickering orange. Mercenaries scrambled everywhere, disoriented by the explosions. Hayes tossed a flashbang over a barricade, stunning two enemies before Rivera finished them with precise bursts.

They reached the extraction zone where the helicopter hovered low, rope ladder whipping wildly in the storm winds.

"Go!" Aaron shouted. Rivera climbed first, Hayes securing her as shots ricocheted off the steel barrels nearby. Ghost covered from above with his drone-mounted rifle, dropping two approaching combatants.

Aaron lifted Selena onto the ladder. "Climb. Don't look back."

She hesitated, her tear-filled eyes locking onto his. "Come with me!"

He placed a gloved hand on her cheek briefly. "I'll be right behind."

She climbed, trembling as bullets sliced past her. Aaron raised his rifle, scanning the burning yard for hostiles. Hayes climbed after Selena, eyes wary. Just as Aaron grabbed the ladder to ascend, a mercenary burst from the smoke behind a toppled Humvee, rifle raised.

"Wolf, move!" Rivera screamed from above.

The shot rang out, louder than the rotor's roar. Aaron jerked, a bloom of blood spreading beneath his armor plate as the impact threw him backward onto the sand. His rifle clattered beside him.

Selena screamed from the ladder above, her vision blurring with tears as she watched him fall. She wanted to jump down, to run to him, to cradle him in her arms as she once imagined in childish daydreams. But Rivera grabbed her harness, forcing her to keep climbing.

On the ground, Aaron gasped, tasting iron. His vision tunneled. Through the pain, he saw Ghost's drone swoop down. An automatic burst tore through the mercenary who shot him, silencing his threat forever.

Hawk's voice crackled through Aaron's earpiece. "Wolf, respond! You're hit! We're coming down!"

"No…" he rasped, pressing his hand to the spreading wound under his ribs. His breath came ragged. He saw the chopper lowering, saw Rivera's face peering down with fierce worry.

"Don't… risk… the mission…" he forced out. "Mission… success… secure the… asset."

His voice faded. Pain radiated through his chest, searing and cold. He closed his eyes as memories flashed: muddy rice fields of Crestfall, his mother's soft humming, harsh army barracks, Selena's quiet laugh from university days long past.

The ladder jerked above him as the chopper lifted away, engines roaring to maximum climb. Selena reached down, arm outstretched, sobbing uncontrollably. "No! Please! Go back down for him! Please!"

Rivera grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her. "We can't lose two today. He gave the order."

Selena's cries shook her entire body. "Who is he… why… why does he feel so familiar…?"

No one answered as the helicopter banked away from the burning compound, racing into the smoky horizon. In the cabin, Hayes pressed gauze to his own wounded arm while Ghost checked ammo counts. Rivera kept one hand gripping Selena's trembling fingers, her eyes locked on the dark dunes below.

Back on the sand, Aaron lay still beneath the swirl of soot and dust. His blood pooled silently, soaking into the ochre earth. Consciousness flickered like a dying bulb. Through blurred eyes, he saw a figure step from the shadows beyond the burning trucks. A tall man, armored in tactical black without insignia, watched him with cold indifference.

The figure raised a suppressed pistol, aiming at Aaron's head.

But before darkness swallowed him, Aaron's last thought was not fear, nor regret. It was of Selena's tearful eyes, gazing down from that ladder with a grief he never imagined anyone would feel for him.

"At least… she's safe…" he thought, before everything went black.