The Last Station Standing
Every world that had been touched by the Architects was now being purged, and the survivors were all being drawn to the same final coordinate: The Omega-Station, the place where the first line of code was written.
"Kazimir," Elara said, her hand finding his in the weightless dark. "The war didn't end in the vault. It just moved to a bigger map."
Kazimir looked at the hundreds of ships, his soldier's heart finding a new, grim purpose. He squeezed her hand, his fear of the Void hardening into a Protector-Stance.
"Then let's go meet the neighbors," Kazimir said. "And tell them we brought a virus."
The crystalline ship surged forward, joining the fleet of ghosts as they raced toward the center o