The fleet dropped out of the rift straight into hell. A massive Seeker remnant armada blocked the choke point near the galactic spine.
Rogue AI fragments had joined them, turning the formation into a solid wall of ships. Their null-field generators created a dead zone that killed conventional resonance links and threatened to cut off entire battle groups from support.
Elizabeth stood on the flagship bridge. The new bioluminescent patterns from the Symbiont Crucible pulsed across her skin and uniform in steady rhythms. She studied the tactical display.
"They think dead space will stop us. We bring the garden straight to them."
The Symbiont Fleet Layer activated for the first time in full combat. The bio-world-ship expanded rapidly, releasing adaptive evolution swarms. The swarms latched onto imperial vessels across the formation. Hulls changed on contact.
