The K'tharr delegation observed the humans' handling of the Gray Sorrow with intense interest. Their lead diplomat, a crystalline entity Elias had come to call "Shard," communicated a surprising request.The Continuity Council remains divided," Shard's light-patterns indicated. "The faction that advocated for your containment proposes a final test. They have declassified and transmitted data on a world once 'pruned' by our species, a civilization that failed the Architect's criteria. The coordinates are provided. They wish to see what humanity will do with this knowledge—and with this world."
It was a trap, or a test, or both. The world, designated Xylos, was a tombstone, a warning of the fate humanity had narrowly avoided. To go there was to stare into a potential mirror of their own extinction.
Captain Elara Thorne, Aris's successor and now commander of the nearly-complete Uncharted Shore, was vehement. "We can't let them dictate our first journey. This is a provocation."
"But it's also an opportunity," Kaela argued. "To see the enemy's handiwork. To learn. To show them that we don't look away from hard truths. That's who we are."
The debate raged. To go would be playing the Continuity's game. Not to go could be seen as fear, validating the "containment" faction's argument. The decision would define their newfound sovereignty.