The strike was never part of the exercise.
Everyone on Training Ground Charlie understood that—whether they admitted it or not.
The morning at Fort Meridian unfolded like hundreds before it. Heat shimmered over the Nevada dust. Boots ground into earth hardened by repetition. Commands snapped through the air with mechanical precision. Delta Company had been assigned close-quarters combat drills—controlled engagements designed to test discipline more than dominance.
That balance collapsed the moment Staff Sergeant Lucas Harlan stepped forward.