The clamor and chaos of Horizon Port had temporarily subsided under the heavy Stasis Field and the Port Authority's forceful intervention. But for Lin Ye and his team, the real exploration had only just begun.
After reaching an agreement with Portmaster Ayla and gaining the status and privileges of an "Honorary Guardian," Lin Ye did not rush into action. He first spent several days in seclusion in the Safe House, fully stabilizing his mastery of [Chaos Return-to-the-Void Thunder], absorbing the insights gained from confronting and merging with the Chaos sample and the Observers' energy, and compiling and analyzing the information from the Nova Corps and Horizon Port.
Star-Lord and the others used their newly acquired access to search Horizon Port's vast intelligence network and parts of the Nova databases for further clues about the Observers, Hive's recent movements, and the responses of the Shi'ar and the Kree Empire.
"After withdrawing from the outskirts of Horizon Port, the Hive Fleet became extremely difficult to track. They seem to be gathering on a massive scale, but their objective is unclear." Gamora frowned as she summarized the intelligence. "Queen Bee Aishana suffered considerable losses this time. Knowing her, she won't let this go."
"The Shi'ar and Kree ambassadors have shut themselves away, but their faster-than-light communications with Homeworld have been extremely frequent. They're reassessing Lin Ye's threat level and value and drawing up new strategies." Star-Lord tapped the console. "Academician Orlan has submitted more than a dozen new proposals on 'control of and cooperation with high-risk energy entities,' while Talos has asked the empire to send more Sweepers."
"The Observers have vanished completely, without leaving a single trace. It's as though they were never here." Rocket scratched his head. "But that's even scarier. Who knows what they're plotting?"
Dr. Banner's projection flickered. "The