At the edge of Enrojet's central stellar system.
Under faint light, a dark-gray solid planet quietly followed its orbit.
It was the outermost planet in Enrojet's central stellar system.
Noli-that was the name the Enroget Civilization had given it.
Its core had cooled long ago.
Now, like a long-dead corpse, it was dragged along by the primary star's gravity.
There were countless planets like it in the vast universe.
If a planet's core temperature were the measure of its life, then this immense universe was probably a gigantic "morgue" that sent chills down one's spine.
As an iron planet rich in mineral resources, its fate under normal circumstances would have been to be mined by a nearby civilization, its resources turned into all manner of technological creations.
But it had been fortunate.
Located in Enrojet's central stellar system, it was protected by the Enrojet Alliance's interstellar resource extraction laws.
That protection had allowed it to remain undisturbed as it accompanied this civilization's gradual rise from weakness to strength.
The craft passing nearby had also evolved from probes less than a meter long into enormous starships thousands of meters in length.
Light from the primary star crossed the immense distance, struggling to reach this remote corner and bring a fleeting, illusory warmth to this frozen world.
A million kilometers away.
An enormous warship nine thousand meters long slowly emerged from the darkness.
The powerful radiation generated by its Antimatter Engine swept past the planet like a tide, leaving traces in the dust on its surface.
This time was different.
Instead of passing by, the enormous warship hovered silently in this cold, dark stretch of space.
Within spacetime beyond the reach of conventional instruments, tachyons traveling faster than light carried message after message.
"The output of all Antimatter Reactors aboard the