---
Location: FOB Echo Point – Motor Pool / Repair Yard
Time: 08:45 | Day 11 of Infection Collapse
The morning sun broke through a curtain of low-hanging clouds, casting long shadows over the repair yard behind Echo Point. A steady hum of work buzzed through the air—metal clanging, tools grinding, engine blocks being hoisted by makeshift pulley systems rigged from scavenged steel.
Logan Hale stood near the operations tent, his gaze fixed on the trio of BTRs lined up along the fence. Their hulls were dented and scorched, painted with the scars of the Iron Shield's final stand at Roman. Next to them sat a hulking T-72, its engine partially disassembled, turret manually rotated to face the gate.
Beyond the armored giants, a fourth vehicle—an M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System—was perched on a raised platform. Hammer and two Iron Shield engineers crawled over it like bees, stripping away damaged panels and examining scorched wiring harnesses.
"Radiator's toast," Hammer muttered, sweat pouring down his brow. "Fuel line was patched with duct tape. Duct tape!"
"Think you can salvage it?" Logan asked.
Hammer glanced over with a grin. "I've made coffee machines outta tank parts. We'll get her running, Commander. Give us time."
> [VEHICLES UNDER REPAIR:]
– BTR-80 (x3): Estimated Ready Time – 48 hours
– T-72A MBT: Estimated Ready Time – 72+ hours
– M1128 Stryker MGS 'Stalker-2': Estimated Ready Time – 36 hours
> [New Objective Logged: Establish Vehicle Depot – Tier I]
[Cost: 300 WAR CREDITS | Status: Pending Materials Allocation]
Logan scrolled through the system interface, eyeing the numbers.
> [Current WAR CREDITS: 1,211.8]
[Passive Income: +7.5 / hr]
He issued the build order.
> [Vehicle Depot Construction Initiated – ETA: 6 hours]
"We'll need to secure additional fuel storage," Logan said. "And ammo compatibility. NATO and Warsaw Pact calibers don't play well together."
"That's why I started working with Marcel on converting the belts," Hammer replied. "We'll get 'em to speak the same language."
---
Location: FOB Echo Point – Central Compound
Time: 10:22
The base was shifting again.
With the Listening Post online and the perimeter expanded, Echo Point had taken on the look of a true military installation. Bunkers were reinforced with corrugated steel. A second-level guard platform was being constructed above the command module. The new arrivals from Iron Shield—some 28 survivors—had been integrated into daily operations.
Sofia stood near the new forward training yard, supervising Mihai and Lena as they practiced with unloaded carbines under Alexandru Petrescu's watch.
"You're not just pulling a trigger," Petrescu said. "You're reading the battlefield. Knowing when not to shoot is just as vital."
Lena nodded solemnly. Mihai, for once, didn't interrupt with a joke.
Nearby, Dr. Moraru moved between patients inside the expanded medbay tent. One of the Iron Shield medics, Andrei Stan, assisted her in organizing surgical equipment. Her expression had hardened since the last field mission—more focused, more clinical.
"I need better lighting for the triage zone," she told Marcel.
"I'll rig something from the salvaged bus batteries," he said.
---
Location: Echo Point – Command Room
Time: 12:37
Logan tapped through the new intel reports. Surveillance drones now covered a 15km grid. No large infected clusters were moving—yet. But movement patterns were changing.
The infected were organizing in smaller, denser units—stacking up near old highways, occasionally showing signs of flanking behavior.
> [INFECTED BEHAVIOR: TACTICAL EVOLUTION CONFIRMED]
[Node Alpha Signal Strength: 58%]
[Project Sentinel Observation: Ongoing]
Petrescu entered the room and dropped a clipboard on the console.
"Updated patrol schedule. Also, one of the BTRs had a handwritten message scratched into the rear plate."
Logan raised a brow. "What?"
Petrescu held up a photo: 'We are not dead. We are waiting.'
---
Location: FOB Echo Point – Mess Fire Pit
Time: 18:20
The fire cracked softly as the sun dipped below the horizon. Troops and civilians gathered around in quiet circles—some eating, others merely watching the flames dance.
Reaper One stood motionless nearby, his armor glinting in the firelight. Hammer leaned back on a crate, whittling wood.
Wraith sat sharpening his combat knife beside Dumitrescu, who sipped from a tin cup.
"Still no contact on the eastern ridge?" Wraith asked.
"Nothing but birds and echoes," she replied. "But I don't trust it."
Sofia passed out ration packets—crackers, meat paste, two cigarettes per pack. Mihai and Lena sat cross-legged near the fire, faces tired but alert. Even they could feel it: the calm was unnatural.
Logan stepped into the circle and crouched beside the flame. He placed a folded map on the log beside him.
"Tomorrow we push recon north again. We need to know what's coming."
Reaper One's voice crackled low. "Something is watching, Commander."
"I know," Logan said. "But this time, we'll be watching back."
> [FOB STATUS – NIGHT OPERATIONS ACTIVE]
[VEHICLE DEPOT: 36% Constructed]
[Combat Vehicles Online: 5 / 9]
[Personnel Active: 37 | Critical: 0]
[Next Update: Day 12 – 06:00]
> [CHAPTER END]