Upper Capital International Airport
Time: 10:00 a.m. One hour remaining.
The special apron at Upper Capital International Airport and the surrounding area had been placed under strict control.
Yet, for the first time ever, live feeds from the core area had been opened to global media.
A dark mass of reporters, camera tripods packed like a forest, flashing bulbs without pause.
The place had become the focus of the world's attention, the air thick with nearly boiling anticipation and doubt.
Everyone was waiting, waiting to verify the most horrifying and contradictory news of the past twenty-four hours.
The Bald Eagle claimed it had carried out a righteous elimination, while Rabbit Nation announced the return of its citizen. Which was reality?
Beyond the security line, reporters from every country whispered among themselves, their speculation, doubts, and analysis never ceasing.
Cameras repeatedly swept across the empty end of the runway, across the honor guard standing at attention and the welcoming crowd holding flowers.
They also passed over the calm, confident faces of Rabbit Nation's officials on site.
Across the Pacific Ocean, in Washington, in the PEOC beneath the White House.
Multiple live feeds from Upper Capital were playing simultaneously across the enormous curved wall of screens.
The images were clear and the sound was chaotic. The president, vice president, secretary of state, defense minister, CIA director, and other members of the inner circle had gathered there.
The atmosphere in the room was so heavy it seemed ready to drip.
No one spoke. Only the distant clamor from the screens and the low hum of the air-conditioning system remained.
The president sat at the head of the table, his hands clasped beneath his chin, his eyes unblinking as he stared at the screen.
His face was expressionless, but the slight twitch at the