Marked in Time

Squad GX and Squad NX stood side by side amidst the rubble and twisted remains of ancient chrono constructs as Rhea’s voice cut through the quiet.

“We’re splitting up.” Her sharp eyes moved between the members of both squads. “NX, you’ll take the eastern perimeter. Keep your comms open and maintain a tight formation. We can’t afford any surprises.” She turned to her own team. “GX, we’ll push west. If there’s even a hint of the hourglass, we’ll call for backup immediately. Stay sharp, and don’t let your guard down.”

Calian Lager nodded, “Agreed. If we find anything, we’ll signal.” His gaze flicked to his squad. “Let’s move.”

The two squads exchanged brief nods, before they split.

As Squad NX disappeared into the growing darkness, Squad GX advanced westward. The remnants of the battlefield stretched before them, a graveyard of shattered life and time.

Talia’s voice broke the silence. “Do you think the Aequitas really believe the hourglass is here?”

Rhea’s expression hardened. “They wouldn’t risk this much if they didn’t. They want the hourglass as much as we do, and if they get it first…”

Jessie walked beside Mira, his blade resting on his shoulder. He cast a glance at her, noticing the tension in her posture. “Hey, you holding up?”

Mira forced a smirk, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m fine. Just… wish we weren’t racing the clock. No pun intended.”

“Well, lucky for us, we’ve got a great team,. We’ll find it before they do. No sweat.”

The squad pressed on, their footsteps crunching against the uneven ground. The comms buzzed faintly with updates from other units and Liriana’s comments on the distortions.

Hours passed as they combed the terrain. The tension in the air grew heavier with each passing moment, the oppressive weight of the mission pressing down on them.

As night fell, Squad GX reached the edge of a ravine. The terrain here was jagged and treacherous, with the sound of rushing water echoing faintly below. Rhea raised a hand, signaling the squad to stop.

“We’ll set up here for now, how’s that sound Liriana?” she said.

“I don’t sense any growing distortions nearby.”

“Good. Mira check the scanners as well.”

Mira nodded, pulling out her holo-tablet. The screen flickered to life, displaying a map of the area overlaid with faint chrono signatures. “There’s no interference,”

However, the readings on the device quickly spiked, and Tidus voice cut through the stillness, “Danger! Enemies inbound!”

The ground shook violently with an explosion, and a deafening roar filled the air as Aequitas soldiers emerged from the shadows.

“Ambush!” Rhea shouted, drawing her whip. “Defensive formation!”

The squad sprang into action, their training kicking in as they faced the onslaught. Jessie darted forward, intercepting an attacker with his sword. Talia fired off her arrows, each one finding its mark with deadly accuracy. Dax’s gauntlets crackled with energy as he slammed them to the ground, creating energy ripples through it that disrupted the enemy’s charge.

Amid the chaos, Mira struggled to maintain her focus. She fired her blaster, but her shots went wide, her hands trembling. Jessie noticed her faltering and moved to cover her, deflecting a strike aimed at her back.

“Focus, Mira!”

Before she could respond, a second explosion erupted nearby, throwing both of them off balance. Jessie grabbed Mira’s arm, but the edge of the ravine crumbled beneath their feet, and with a gut-wrenching lurch, the two of them fell.

“Jessie! Mira!” Talia’s voice rang out, panic cutting through the din of battle.

The two knights disappeared into the darkness, the sound of rushing water swallowing their cries. For a moment, the battlefield seemed to still, the loss hanging heavy in the air.

“We… we have to find them!” Talia shouted, her bow trembling in her hands.

“We will,” Rhea said, her tone steely despite the worry in her eyes. “But right now, we hold the line. We can’t let the Aequitas win this.”

Dax’s fists clenched, his eyes narrowing, “They’ll be fine. They’re tough… they have to.”

The squad redoubled their efforts, driving back the Aequitas forces with a renewed fury. But even as they fought, their thoughts remained with their fallen teammates, swept away into the unknown.

◔

The river twisted and churned, carrying Jessie and Mira further away from the battle. Their bodies slammed against jagged rocks as the roaring current dragged them relentlessly. The Anchor Suits absorbed most of the impact, but faint crackles hinted at the strain the suits endured. Finally, the river spat them out onto a rocky ledge, leaving them sprawled and gasping as red warnings flashed across their HUDs.

Jessie dragged himself onto the ledge, his limbs trembling as he rolled onto his back. His translucent helmet display flickered erratically, red alerts flashing at the corners of his vision.

“Mira,” he rasped, sitting up with a groan. “You… good?”

Mira hauled herself up onto the ledge with an audible grunt, collapsing against the damp stone. Her suit emitted weak sputters of light, just like his. She quickly tapped at her wrist console, her helmet’s interface lighting up with a chaotic mess of error codes. The GPS map, which had once shown a clear battlefield grid, was now a scrambled haze of unreadable coordinates. “Tch,” she muttered, frustration bleeding into her voice. “Prototypes.”

Mira twisted her wrist, the helmet interface flickering out entirely. With a hiss, she disengaged the locks on her helmet and pulled it off, as she scowled at the blinking red warnings on her chrono anchor. “High exposure to water fried half the systems. GPS is dead, comms are fried, stabilizers are barely hanging on… This suit’s supposed to handle distortions, but apparently, it can’t handle a dip in the river.”

Jessie pulled off his own helmet and the cool, damp air of the cave rushed in. He leaned back against the cold rock, sucking in a breath. “Well… we’re not dead. That’s… a start.”

“Stranded is what we are. No comms, no squad, and no idea how far the current dragged us.”

Jessie sighed, glancing around the cavern. The eerie stillness pressed in on them, a stark contrast to the chaos they’d been swept away from. “So… what now?”

Mira shook her head, her fingers still working at her suit’s controls. “First? We figure out if anything still works in these fancy death traps. Then, we wait out the night. Can’t exactly go anywhere without seeing past our nose. Time only knows what we could encounter.”

Jessie nodded, his tone steadier now. “Splendid. Man, I miss the Strider’s camping comfort right about now.”

◔

The faint crackle of the fire filled the cave, its light casting flickering shadows on the walls. Jessie sat cross-legged near the flames, staring straight into them. Beside him, Mira sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, her gaze distant and unfocused.

Jessie glanced at her. She hadn’t said much since they’d crawled out of the river. Normally, Mira would be muttering about devising a dozen makeshift fixes by now. But now? Silence.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Jessie leaned back against the rocky wall, tilting his head toward her. “That’s not like you, Mira. What’s on your mind?”

Mira didn’t respond right away. Her fingers absently traced the edge of her holo-tablet, which was still malfunctioning from the water damage.

“It’s nothing,”

Jessie tilted his head, studying her. “Yeah, see, you saying ‘it’s nothing’ makes me think it’s definitely something.” He gave her a half-smile, though his tone was gentle. “Come on, spill. You know I’m not gonna let it go, right?”

Mira’s fingers stilled. For a moment, the only sound was the fire and the distant echoes of water dripping from the cave walls. She looked down, her brow furrowing, but still said nothing.

“You’ve been looking like you’re carrying the weight of the world ever since the fight began. No… even before that. Ever since we encountered the Aequitas… You’ve been acting odd sometimes.” He hesitated, his voice softening. “You can talk to me, Mira. No matter what it is.”

Her shoulders tensed, and for a long while, she remained silent. Just as Jessie was about to push again, she spoke—quietly, almost as if to herself.

“You… won’t… cast me away?”

Jessie’s eyes widened at such a seemingly absurd question.

“Of course not! Why would I Mira?”

“… You don’t know…” Mira muttered, her eyes filled with uncertainty. Cold, heavy fear. Fear of rejection? Of past wounds yet unhealed?

Jessie hesitated, his gaze falling to the fire. From within his suit he pulled out a pendant. The pendant his mother gave him the morning of their departure. A pendant that supposedly belonged to his late father. He took a deep breath and began talking.

“You know… Everyone says my dad caused the Valis Incident. Reckless experiment. Pushed the chrono stream too far, and all that usual crap they spout.” He swallowed hard. “But truth be told, I don’t know. It may sound disrespectful to the people who died that day but… I don’t believe it. The dad I knew wouldn’t have done something like that. He wasn’t reckless. He wasn’t selfish. He cared too much about people to risk their lives like that.”

He paused, his voice thick with emotion. “I think… I think there’s something about that day that none of us really know.”

Mira watched him quietly, her guarded expression softening. This was a side of Jessie she rarely, if ever, saw—the walls of humor and bravado stripped away, leaving only raw vulnerability.

“Jessie…” she started, her voice almost a whisper.

“Sorry,” He rubbed the back of his neck, his usual grin flickering back into place, “I guess I just wanted you to know… you’re not the only one who feels trapped by the past. But you accepted mine. Why wouldn’t I accept yours?”

Mira’s eyes went wide for a second. Her cheeks seemed to take on new color as she averted her gaze. There was silence for a long moment, then Mira stood abruptly.

Jessie raised an eyebrow as she turned away from the fire, her hands moving to the clasps on her Anchor Suit.

“Mira? Uh… what are you doing?” Jessie asked, a hint of panic creeping into his voice.

“I need you to see,” Mira said quietly, her tone devoid of its usual sharpness. She unfastened her suit’s chest piece, pulling it off and setting it aside. Underneath, she wore a thin undershirt, but her movements didn’t stop there. She reached for the hem, hesitating briefly before lifting it to expose her back.

Jessie’s eyes widened as his gaze fell on the mark etched into her skin, right beneath the center of her chest.

A crimson serpent coiled in the shape of an hourglass.

“Mira that’s… that’s…” Jessie’s voice faltered.

“The mark of the Aequitas,” Mira finished for him, her tone bitter. She turned to face him, her eyes hard but filled with pain.