The Triad Veil system was a nightmare. Three stars locked in a messy gravitational dance, spitting flares every few hours.
Drifting between them were progenitor megaforges the size of small moons, half-active and unstable. The Seekers had labeled it the first assessment sector. The empire picked it on purpose.
Sabrina stood on the cracked surface of the largest forge-planetoid, her suit sealed against the thin, toxic atmosphere.
"All teams, confirm positions," she said into the command channel. Her voice carried across light-minutes thanks to the new Oath harmonics.
Luna answered from the flotilla command ship in high orbit. "Orbital net stable. Thirty-seven vessels locked in. Ember swarms at seventy percent coverage."
From the Worldship's central hub, Flora and Catherine monitored the big picture. "Harmonics integration holding," Flora reported. "Oath pulse at baseline. We're feeding real-time data to every unit."
