The morning sun cast long golden rays across the polished marble floor of the Crowncast central broadcast amphitheater.
Surrounding the main stage stood three hundred media correspondents, fifty federal army officers, and the senior commanders of the First Citadel.
Marshal Sabine Ardent walked up the central ramp in her pristine dark-blue dress uniform, carrying a leather-bound military dossier bearing the silver seal of the General Staff.
She placed the dossier upon the podium, looking directly into the bank of fifty high-definition broadcast lenses hovering in a semi-circle before her.
"Citizens of the realm, active-duty soldiers, and veterans of all provincial garrisons, hear the official decree of the Federal High Command," Sabine began, her voice ringing with unyielding authority.
