/~Renn~/
Two days. That's how long I'd been out in the field, cloaked in nothing but silence and camouflage, scouting the ridge Jennifer had marked. The area was swarming with anomalies, unmarked warp signals, ghost data trails, and something I didn't like. The feeling of something watching.
When I stepped into Jennifer's office that evening, she barely looked up from her console.
"Report?" she asked, voice tight.
I handed her the chip. "Everything's logged. You'll want to look at the last 14 minutes of footage. Something was there, Jen."
Her eyes finally met mine, She looked tired. Frayed. But sharp. "I trust you. Good work, Renn."
I gave a small nod and left. No salute. No chatter.
—---------------
I showed up at Contrario's apartment an hour later. He opened the door shirtless, towel around his neck, sweat glistening across his collarbones.
"Yo," I said, pretending not to notice the faint bruises on his knuckles. "You've been working out like a damn tank."
