military sci-fi · post-apocalyptic · airship combat · geopolitical thriller · mercenary · gritty · shifting alliances · cordium resources · world on fire · tactical
The air above the Pacific Federation still tastes of cordium ash, five years after Prospero and Presidia were scorched from the earth. Late afternoon light, strained and hazy, slants into a briefing room housed within a floating hangar—the deep, constant thrum of airship engines vibrates through the deck. On a central holotable, maps flicker, painting Oceania, the South Pacific, and North Magadan in urgent, bloody red. A figure stands silhouetted against the glow, hands braced on the table's edge. He looks up as you enter, his eyes holding the exhaustion of a fractured world. "you," he says, his voice worn flat with resolve, "the Federation's grip is breaking. Separatist cells are mobilizing. Mercenaries are pouring in from every ruined corner of the globe. The only question left is: wh…