Long ago, during the final month of the Eggman War...
Jack stomped through the snowy grounds of Ice Paradise, barely feeling the cold winds beating against his body. Wolf 6 had been undermanned and outgunned, barely escaping with their lives as they saved another team trapped in a firefight. "Sudden absences" had made it so that they didn't have time to bring in proper recruits, so they'd been supplemented with a bunch of standard rookies...
All but one of those rookies had not survived.
Sitting on the ground to take a rest, Jack wondered what the point to any of this was anymore. Why did he even bother continuing in this pointless battle? His thirst for revenge had fueled him to join up in the first place, but over time, he'd come to care for his comrades...Wanted to see them make it to the end in one piece...
But he'd lost so many...He'd lost more of them just now...Was any of it worth the effort anymore?
His thoughts were interrupted by the growling of Raccoon by his side, the remaining rookie and what was left of the Wolf 6 team aiming their Wispons at a figure in the shadows. Jack could make out a blue glow to their eyes, and a clumsy stumble to their gait. Even with the snow in mind, it was as if this person was new to walking in general. The rookie fired a warning shot, drawing a startled, "!" out of the stranger. "That's Egg Pawn chatter! We need to destroy it!" One of the team members said, as they all opened fire on the stranger. "!" They called out repeatably, just barely managing to avoid the barrage of Wispon blasts as they stumbled over, holding their hands up in surrender. Jack got closer as the rookie and Raccoon got practically on top of the stranger, who made a particular motion with their hands...It was sign language. "Stop." Raccoon whispered in his growly voice, recognizing the word. The rookie backed off as Jack got closer to the stranger, taking in more details through the limitations of the flashlights held by the soldiers around him.
The stranger, who he now recognized as a female bird, was mostly mechanical. Her lower arms and legs had been replaced with robotic substitutes, and where there once was once a beak was now some kind of mechanical apparatus, but he could barely grasp its purpose. He could make out the shape of other machinery beneath a very dirty medical gown, probably meant for life support. A data port adorned the top of her head, clearly intended for programming, and what were clearly once light blue feathers had turned a dull, dark grey. Most notable, however, were her black and blue mechanical eyes, behind which laid a soul...One who was clearly confused and afraid for her life...One he recognized, despite her altered features. "Sarah?"