Timeline: TC1853.01.29 (Late Afternoon)
Location: Last Light → Federation Border Gate → No-Man's Ridge
The Federation border fort looked like a monument to paranoia.
Three-story structure built from reinforced steel and concrete, bristling with technological sensors that swept the approach road with mechanical precision. Guard towers at each corner mounted weapons that combined ballistic firepower with energy discharge capabilities. Walls covered in scanning arrays that glowed faint blue—spiritual detection technology designed to identify anything Federation authorities deemed threatening.
And everywhere—silence.
Not peaceful quiet. Oppressive silence that pressed against eardrums like physical weight. No birds sang near the fort. No insects buzzed. Even the wind seemed reluctant to blow across territory where nature itself had learned to hold its breath.
