The journey to the god Core was very different this time. Before, they had been a renegade fleet, sneaking and fighting their way through hostile territory.
Now, they were honored guests. As the "Odyssey" approached the heart of the galaxy, a fleet of Core vessels, sleek ships made of light and crystal, came out to meet them, not with weapons raised, but as a formal escort.
It was the universe's fanciest, most heavily armed welcoming party.
The "Odyssey" docked at the central station, a structure so vast it made planets look like small toys. Regent Vorlag did not greet them in person—it didn't have a "person" to greet them with—but its presence was everywhere, a calm, curious intelligence that hummed in the very walls of the station.
