Sector Zero did not announce itself the way I had imagined.
There was no glowing boundary, no wall of light, no visible marker declaring that we had reached the heart of the Blue Spiral Galaxy. The stars ahead looked no different at first glance, still distant, still cold, still scattered across the void in familiar patterns.
It was the ship that knew.
The moment we crossed a certain threshold, the hum of the engines changed, subtle but unmistakable. The navigation array recalibrated on its own, star maps collapsing inward, routes rewriting themselves as if older paths were no longer valid. Even the light outside the viewport seemed sharper, cleaner, as though the void here had been scrubbed of noise.
Steve slowed the ship instinctively. "Okay," he said, leaning forward slightly. "That's new."
Aurora drifted closer to the main console, sparks flickering faintly along her hair as she studied the readings. "We're at the outer perimeter," she said. "Not inside yet."
