The fragments were not supposed to be useful.
That had been the consensus.
Predator remnants were dangerous artifacts—residual code left behind by an organism designed to consume star systems and adapt faster than its enemies could respond.
They were something to be studied cautiously.
Or destroyed.
Yet Lysarra stood alone within the Constellation's research sphere, staring at a simulation that told a very different story.
The projection floated before her like a miniature galaxy.
Hundreds of luminous nodes formed a lattice of defensive pathways, their energy flows representing the Constellation Network itself.
Across the simulated void, an artificial predator construct advanced—its shape a shifting storm of shadow and fractal light.
A recreation of the enemy that had nearly torn them apart.
But this version was different.
This version was evolving.
Because of her.
Lysarra adjusted the simulation parameters again.
