Vesa waved her hand, and the three marked systems expanded.
"The first is Karthos Reach. This one is under the Human Empire faction.
It sits on the border of their controlled space, close to the edge of the known universe."
The hologram zoomed in.
Several planets orbited the star, some tagged as inhabited, others marked as restricted.
"Karthos Reach has four major planets and a belt of mining stations.
The rumor there is a hive incident.
An insect queen appeared on the third planet, and the ecosystem collapsed within weeks.
The Empire quarantined it, but they keep losing people."
Mingyue narrowed her eyes.
"So the queen is strong?"
"Yes. Saryx would see it as a chance to show off, and a chance to embarrass the human empire at the same time."
Alex stared at the red quarantine ring around the planet.
"And the second?"
Vesa shifted the display.
"The second is Vermillion Rift. It's not clearly owned by any faction.
