A small mechanical landing craft was lowered from the Winter's Wrath. It crossed the clear sea surface, calm as a mirror, and steadily docked at the foot of the "giant tower" that seemed to pierce the planet's atmosphere. Cassandra, who had spent half the day exploring the steel island, came to receive them. After securing the landing craft, Byron and Asalina led a loyal contingent of marines onto this ancient ruin, which had stood on this planet for 1.8 million years.
A gentle, faint sea breeze blew in from afar, bringing exceptionally fresh air. The giant sun had already shifted away from its highest point in the sky, and the slanting sunlight was no longer as scorching and deadly as it had been at noon. Brilliant golden-red light shone upon the giant tower before them, casting a shadow across the distant sea surface that could only be called spectacular. Along the edges of the steel island, Byron saw mineral deposits accumulated over countless years, masses of algae, and many other traces of life belonging to the sea.
He raised his head and strained to look upward—but just as their observations from every previous angle had shown, he simply could not see where the top of the tower was. All he could see was a magnificent silver-gray giant pillar rising into the clouds beneath the sunset, gradually becoming a thin black line at the edge of his vision, its end vanishing beyond the horizon—like a bridge hanging down from the heavens.
"How the hell did they stand this thing up here?" one marine could not help muttering. His voice sounded muffled beneath his helmet. "Is it really not going to fall over?"
"Who knows? Something the Voyagers left behind..." another marine muttered as well. "They could build ships that patrolled between