Ahcehera's body trembled as she sat on the ruined ground, the air thick with the stench of Zerg blood and burnt metal. The siege had finally begun to wane, and most of the creatures had retreated into the abyss of the battlefield.
Relief should have washed over her, but instead, a deep, unbearable pain seized her chest, so intense that it stole the breath from her lungs. She gasped, her fingers clutching at the armor covering her heart as if physically holding herself together would ease the torment ravaging her soul.
Then, her communicator beeped, a cold mechanical sound that cut through the silence. A single notification flashed across the screen, its content striking her like a death sentence. Her vision blurred as she read the words.
[MATE STATUS: DECEASED. MARITAL STATUS: WIDOWED.]
The message was brief, clinical, and devoid of emotion, but the pain it delivered was as ruthless as a blade to the heart. Ahcehera's mind reeled, her thoughts collapsing in on themselves.
