Innate Trigger – The cost of hope
Only two days had passed since the total annihilation of the Resistance’s underground facilities in Megacity 1, West Asia Grid. Every chamber and tunnel beneath the surface had collapsed, burying the fighters, engineers, and staff except for Major Alexey Lobov and Mikaela. Using the power of his exosuit to dig his way toward the surface, Major Lobov uncovered Mikaela buried deep in the debris, gravely injured but still alive. He carried her to the surface and found shelter in a nearby building with a basement level. There, with the help of local civilians, they slowly began nursing her back to physical health. But that was the easy part. Mikaela couldn’t recover from the psychological trauma. The bombing the obliteration of their comrades left a wound no medicine could heal.
“All of them… dead… all of them…”
It was the only thing she kept repeating. She refused to eat, barely sipped water. Her eyes were distant, haunted.Major Lobov had seen this before many times. Before the rise of the Grids and the overlords, he had been a high-ranking military officer, seasoned in countless combat operations. He knew what it meant to lose everything and how to keep going.
“Rest, Mikaela. You need to regain your strength. Don’t think of anything else now. War brings loss, always. But we endure. What matters is the purpose.”
At his words, Mikaela finally closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.
“She’ll come back to us, Alexey,” said the young woman who had helped care for her alongside him.
“She will. I just hope this doesn’t break her. I need her strong. The Resistance needs her strong.”
They left Mikaela to rest and stepped into the next room, where they prepared to contact the remaining Resistance cells in the West Asia Grid. The blow had been devastating. The cost, immeasurable. But the fight wasn’t over. The Resistance had to continue.
Innate Trigger : The cost of hope
Release date : 5 – 5 – 2025
Music by : Innate Trigger
