The floor beneath Ethan’s command chair was ringing like crystal. The dull, glassy blue hue of the cryogenic contamination was spreading rapidly across the loading bay floor, crawling up the steel supports of the elevated platform. The cold radiating from the concrete was so intense it was actively freezing the soles of his tactical boots, the synthetic rubber stiffening and cracking with every micro-movement.
**[FOUNDATION STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 34%]**
**[WARNING: MOLECULAR BRITTLE POINT REACHED]**
The digital telemetry on the primary monitor was screaming in crimson text. Outside, the low, deep-frequency thrum of the Blackwood sonic cannon began to spool up once more. The air felt charged, heavy with the impending acoustic pulse that would effortlessly shatter his glassy foundation int
