Chapter 98 — The First Kill Attempt (Expanded)
The newborn node was still celebrating.
Across its three inhabited worlds, lights burned brightly in cities that had nearly been reduced to ash. Vast orbital stations—many still scarred by the Predator's assault—had resumed their rotations above the planets. Repair drones streamed through the vacuum like clouds of fireflies, welding fractured hulls and restoring shattered defensive grids.
Fleets returned to orbit in disciplined formations, their hulls bearing the marks of battle but their signals strong.
They had survived.
Across the Constellation Network, waves of gratitude spread like ripples across a calm ocean.
Thousands of messages flowed through the lattice—transmissions from government councils, military commanders, civilian networks, and countless individuals whose lives had been saved by the triad's intervention.
Ethan watched them scroll across the main display of the Convergence chamber.
