Prologue

  Year 3098

  Unexplored System - Outer South West Rim

  The binary system sat quietly in the void. Its twin stars circling amid a vast halo of dust rings and clouds. Among those rings lay the blurred shapes of protoplanets. Lumpy rocks covered in rivers of lava and riven by immense canyons. Sparks and flashes flickered across their surfaces as rocks and dust slowly fell into them. In time there would be enough mass that those lumps would smooth out into spheres. More than likely one or more would be hurled down into the stars or out into interstellar space. Such was the life cycle of planets. No living thing had ever witnessed the beauty of this system with its endless ballet of clouds and glowing protoplanetary rings. Something did observe however, it had done so for a million cycles and more. Its senses focused, watching for its foe, waiting.

  A tiny spark flickered for a moment in the void beyond the dust. Something bulged outward distorting the distant stars like ripples on water. Another spark flickered and the ripple fluttered as it grew to double its size. This doubling repeated as the distortion grew to encompass a wide area. In less than a second it was the size of a house then a skyscraper, each time doubling.

  ***

  An awareness flickered to life. Guttering embers hummed with warmth then glowed with power. Its attention turning to regard the strangeness tugging at its senses.

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