Battle at Birch

History (REV2.5)

Lead-up: RD10-003 escape

• 
  Rio Narro extracts
  
  Forza Ninetails from
  
  RD10-003, disrupting the Sun Jin living-weapon program and forcing an immediate flight from pursuit.
• The escape drives them into improvised cover on
  
  Caisteal, where they attempt to disappear into rural life.

Birch: hiding in plain sight

• Rio and Forza take refuge in
  
  Birch, a small farming community far from major power centers.
• The choice buys time—but also concentrates their vulnerability: if discovered, there’s nowhere to retreat without exposing civilians.

The battle

Opening move: Sun Jin recovery strike

• 
  Sun Jin Empire forces deploy to Birch with a single objective: recover Forza alive and terminate resistance.
• The strike includes heavy assets (tanks/armored vehicles) and ground troops sufficient to overwhelm a village-scale defense.

Flarion’s arrival (turning point)

• 
  Flarion enters the battle mid-engagement.
• In order to remove Forza from the recovery attempt, Flarion teleports Forza away.
• The removal requires direct physical contact, and the contact infects Forza—not as a deliberate act, but as an unavoidable consequence of the method.

End state

• With Forza gone, Flarion eliminates the remaining Sun Jin armor and troops (including tanks) and then teleports away.
• 
  Rio Narro is left behind in Birch to survive the aftermath, with Forza’s fate suddenly unknown.

Linkbacks

• 
  Birch
• 
  Caisteal
• 
  RD10-003
• 
  Rio Narro
• 
  Forza Ninetails
• 
  Flarion
• 
  Sun Jin Empire