The cold night air outside the Crowncast broadcasting tower reeked of diesel exhaust, burning sulfur, and ionized plasma capacitor discharge.
Fifty massive federal assault tanks formed a tight iron ring around the granite plaza, their eighty-millimeter cannons leveled at the entrance.
Behind the tanks stood five thousand disciplined infantry soldiers of the Federal Army, their rifles raised in standard firing posture.
At the center of the armored vanguard stood a massive command walker, its spotlight illuminating the front steps with blinding white light.
The hatch of the command walker opened, and Marshal Sabine Ardent stepped onto the raised observation platform in full dress uniform.
Her chest was covered in medals earned across thirty years of frontline service, and her steely gray eyes showed no trace of fear.
