Drawing on her training and experience, Rose outlined in short declarative sentences what she could see and interpret of the fighting—and fires—raging among the streets and buildings of the embattled city. "The Guard's getting hammered," she concluded. "My guess is they were in barracks and totally surprised when this went down. Looks like squads or individual guns—artillery, that is—got into action here and there, but without support, they aren't lasting very long. Those airships are nailing any tube and crew that gets off a shot. I don't see any gasbag wreckage, and with all that smoke it's hard to tell how many the enemy brought to the party. I'd say the city has another hour or so before someone there surrenders."