Prologue In the year 2149, the United Terran Federation finally broke the barrier that had kept humanity from the outermost reaches of the galaxy. The breakthrough was a wormhole‑stabilization array, a lattice of quantum filaments that turned a two‑year‑old slipstream into a permanent tunnel. The first expedition to pass through it emerged not in a distant star system, but in an empty, dark sector that the Federation’s charts marked only as “Uncharted Space – 23‑Δ.”
Milo’s optical sensors zoomed in on a faint crack at the tower’s base. “Structural anomaly detected. Probability of breach: 12% if resonance continues.” adn 558
Ilya stepped forward. “The Federation will want this. They’ll see it as a weapon, or as a way to dominate the galaxy.” Prologue In the year 2149, the United Terran