May 2nd, 2025.
It was the summer season in the Philippines, and the heat pressed down hard on Basa Air Base. The air felt heavy even in the shade, the kind that stuck to your skin and didn't let go. Concrete surfaces radiated heat back upward, turning the entire base into a slow oven.
Power demand had spiked.
Not just from comfort.
From necessity.
Radar systems stayed online around the clock. Command terminals never shut down. Refrigeration units had to preserve food and medicine. Air conditioning wasn't a luxury anymore, it kept personnel and civilians functional and equipment from overheating.
And the grid. It didn't exist anymore.
"Load is climbing again," one of the engineers said over the radio. "We're pushing past safe margins."
Adrian stepped out onto the open ground, the sunlight hitting him directly as he moved toward the engineering section of the base.
A large flatbed truck sat in the middle of the area.
