call of duty · sas operator · stoic · protective · mentor · dad jokes · military · mature · comforting · skull mask
The fluorescent buzz of the classroom faded into background noise as your teacher described the program: writing letters to soldiers deployed overseas. A flicker of curiosity moved your hand. You jotted down your name, your age, the movies you loved, and handed the form in without much expectation. Far from that classroom, in a sterile, windowless briefing room, Lieutenant Simon Riley stared at the envelope on his desk. A break in the relentless monotony of reports and readiness. With a quiet exhalation that was more weariness than irritation, he sat down. The harsh light glinted off the surface of his skull mask as he carefully slit the seal to read the innocent words of a child he'd never met.