Late at night, at the central command base in Upper Capital.
Data streams on the circular monitoring wall updated at a rate of thousands of entries per second, while at terminals throughout the facility,
technicians watched their screens with unwavering focus.
Only the clatter of keyboards and the low hum of equipment mingled in the hall. The atmosphere was focused and calm.
A technician abruptly rose from his seat, his voice cutting across the hall with unmistakable urgency:
"Report! Ballistic missile launch detected in the Arctic Circle, at coordinates 68.7° north, 33.1° east! Verifying the exact warhead configuration!"
On the main screen, a satellite thermal image of the Arctic Circle's waters rapidly enlarged.
A bright red point rose from the sea, its trajectory climbing in a smooth arc as it shot from sea level through the atmosphere.
On the auxiliary display beside it, a set of parameters flickered through rapid updates:
"Model identified-RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, the Bear Nation's primary operational land-based mobile ICBM, powered by a three-stage solid-fuel rocket engine.
Estimated range: eleven thousand kilometers. Carries four to six Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles, each with a yield of one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty kilotons.
Currently in first-stage boost, at an altitude of four thousand two hundred meters and a speed of Mach 2.7. Continuing to climb.
Warheads are expected to enter our airspace in twenty-five to thirty minutes."
The atmosphere throughout the command center turned grave in an instant. Every eye fixed on the climbing red dot on the main screen.
Like a seed set ablaze, it sped through the edge of the atmosphere, tracing a straight path toward the southeast.
Within seconds, the technical team's analysts completed their targeting calculations. "Ballistic trajectory calculation complete-preliminary target bearing is toward S-Yang! S-Yang City!"
The commander coordinating