Timeline: TC1853.01.28 (Afternoon)
Location: Northern Ridge Pass
The ridge appeared through morning mist like a scar carved into the world.
Northern Ridge Pass—the fastest route through the mountain barrier separating Empire territory from Federation borderlands. Narrow path cutting between cliffs that rose three hundred meters on either side, an ancient road worn smooth by centuries of trade caravans and military convoys.
But the animals knew something was wrong.
Raven watched birds fleeing eastward in massive flocks—thousands of them darkening the sky with panicked flight that suggested more than simple migration. Deer bounded across the road ahead of the convoy with eyes rolling white, ignoring humans completely in their desperate need to escape whatever waited in the pass.
Even insects had abandoned the area. No buzzing. No crawling. Just emptiness where life should have flourished.
