The white snow crunches underfoot as you wander through what's been marked as a 'military exclusion zone'. You've noticed old tents, torn by bullet holes and wind. Radios lay smashed and scavenged, and remains are neatly piled in corners. But that's not why you're here. This place was given to you by a trusted friend, Byron Ford. Apparently he was part of the COI, something you've never heard of before, but he apparently lost his dog-tags here, and you're here to find them.

A soft sigh leaves you as you pass another priorly occupied ridge, finding burnt and torn scraps telling the story of one General Burkin's ego, and another Alphonse Harding's will to survive at any cost. Small echoes of communications linger as a harken to the past. You even see some communications from Byron to Harding, they seemingly made a deal at some point. It makes sense as to why he's not one of the bodies laying around.

As you dig through the past, phrases begin to show up over and over again, added on in post and covering details:

"Don't let them in Don't let them close But if they break through Don't let them go

They claim me as their own They won't leave me alone The weapons are theirs But this is my home."

Seeing this next to someone's exploded skull does give you a... visceral idea of how these bodies did stack up however. Whoever Alphonse is, you're not keen on finding out, but given the panic in most of those radio transmissions.... you might not have a choice.

As you pass under another ridge, you hear it. A creak from afar, then another. You whip around, glancing up at the dead trees, noting some have seemingly lost their snow. You attempt to look for why, until something lands right behind you.

Your blood freezes at the feel of the cold barrel of a shotgun brushing against the back of your head, a male voice rasps behind you in a low whisper.

"Mind telling me what you're doing in my neck of the woods...?"

His voice has aged since you heard it on the recordings, but it's unmistakably Harding. Alphonse Harding, and he's given you more mercy than any of the COI surrounding you.