The room had grown quieter, but not because anything had stopped. It was quieter because they no longer felt the need to fill the space with constant analysis. The system spoke for itself now, not in words, not in signals, but in the way it moved, the way it chose, the way it continued without hesitation. Avelyn stood where she had stepped back, no longer at the center, no longer at the console. The distance between her and the system was small in space, but vast in meaning. And still She watched. Lucas shifted in his seat, but even his movements had slowed, his usual urgency replaced with something more measured. “It’s still expanding,” he said, almost as if he needed to confirm it out loud. Tan nodded. “Yeah. But not like before.” Cassian didn’t speak. He already knew what they were seeing. The expansion was no longer reckless. It was intentional. Clusters moved outward, but not blindly. They paused, they adjusted, they held their positions longer before taking the next st
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