While Ryan stood at the brink of cosmic revelation or utter madness, a very different kind of battle was unfolding in the crystalline heights of the Precursor city.
The game of cat and mouse had begun, but it was not yet clear who was the cat and who was the mouse.
Aboard the Odyssey, Emma and Zara worked with a desperate, focused intensity. They had found what they were looking for: a massive, hidden sub-level hangar, carved into one of the floating islands.
Scarlett had piloted the ship into the vast, silent space, and the great doors had sealed behind them, hiding them from view. The hangar was clearly a Precursor military depot, filled with rows of sleek, silent, and ancient starfighters that had not seen battle in millions of years.
"This place is perfect," Zara said, her eyes gleaming as she jacked her datapad directly into a glowing port on the hangar wall. "The entire city is one interconnected network.
