The ship didn't move. Instead, the world outside the windows began to sharpen. The colors of the grove intensified until they were blinding, then shattered. For a heartbeat, there was nothing but the hum of the V2, a sound like a thousand voices whispering in unison. Then, the snap.
The air in the bioluminescent grove of Xylos-4 didn’t just carry the scent of ozone; it carried the weight of a revolution. High above the canopy, the "V2 Imaginar 16x"—a craft that looked less like a ship and more like a splinter of polished obsidian—hung motionless against the violet sky. V2 imaginar 16x
The obsidian hull groaned as reality realigned. The violet sky of Xylos-4 was gone. In its place stood the twin suns of the Ophiuchi Reach, their light reflecting off the V2’s wings with a brilliance that shouldn't have been possible. They had crossed fifty light-years in the time it took to draw a breath. The ship didn't move