Disclaimer: I don't own Tomb Raider. All rights go to respective owners.
Commander
"You should not be here."
Sofia knelt before the small boy. He was no older than eight years old. Slight for his age, the bow strapped to his back looked awkward and unusable, but she knew better. Looking into his bright blue eyes, she saw that he—like most Remnant children—had grown up far too early. He knew how to use that bow and the hidden dagger on his belt.
He would not have survived otherwise.
"I am here to fight," he said stubbornly. Ivan, the hunter who had found him sneaking back into the valley, scowled.
"Trinity is coming, boy. Do you have a death wish?"
"Do you?" the boy snapped. "I can fight."
While Sofia respected his nerve, they were wasting time. Ivan was right. Trinity would be arriving any moment now, and as brave as this boy was, this was no place for a child.
"What is your name?" she asked, interrupting Ivan's retort.
"Alek," the boy replied. He drew himself a little straighter and squared his shoulders. Sighing, she stood and thought Lara was one person too many that was blinded by glory in the valley. They did not need another.
"Alek, Ivan will escort you back down the evacuation route," she ordered, ignoring both of their sputtering protests. "And if you want to be a fighter—a soldier—you must first learn to follow orders."
Sofia said the last part sternly, and her gaze flickered to Ivan. The older man glared momentarily before nodding his head in acceptance.
She had said that in a tone she had once rarely used, but seemed to be using more frequently. There was no room to argue with her, and she was not going to back down. It would be foolish to do anything other than to listen to her. This had nothing to do with who her father was, either.
She had the voice of a commander—and the skills and character to back it up.
"Alek, your mother must be worried about you," Sofia continued, her voice still firm. "And did you stop to think what would happen if the valley fell? What it would mean if we all died here?"
"We would die heroes?"
It was a child's response. Sofia and Ivan knew it, and since Alek started uncomfortably shuffling his feet, he understood that, too.
"You would leave your mother and the rest of the evacuees down a fighter," Sofia said. "And sometimes, one fighter can make all the difference."
She rested a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up into her eyes.
"Evacuate, Alek. That is an order. And if we fall, protect them at all costs."
The change was like night and day. The disappointed child disappeared, and Alek nodded his head resolutely. He adjusted the bow on his back.
"Yes, ma'am."
Sofia was surprised, though did not show it, to hear Ivan reply in unison with Alek. They both looked at her with respect. If she had been anyone else, Sofia might have felt overwhelmed by the weight of their gaze.
But she was not just anyone.
She was a daughter of the Remnants, second-in-command to her father and a skilled huntress and fighter. Her home might be in the valley, warm and relatively safe, but she had spent most of her life in the ice and snow of the surrounding mountains. The trust they placed in her was a privilege and a responsibility.
And she would not fail them.