The "Odyssey" landed smoothly in its private hangar atop the god Spire, the soft hiss of its ramp lowering a welcome, familiar sound.
News of their victory over the Schism Monolith had already spread like wildfire through the Sector CommNet. They were greeted not with a wild party this time, but with a deep, collective sigh of relief from the entire population.
Their Sector Lord had faced down another cosmic horror and had, once again, come out on top. The people of Sector Gamma were starting to get used to their leader performing impossible feats. It was becoming the new normal.
The Solar Mandate and the Technocratic Imperium, the two big, powerful empires on their borders, had also been watching. Their long-range sensors had picked up the terrifying energy spike of the Monolith activating, and then the even more powerful, and completely baffling, wave of pure creative energy that had shattered it.
