The golden sky of the Reborn World was suddenly lanced by the cold, surgical beams of the International Cyber-Tribunal’s fleet. These weren't the jagged, chaotic shadows of the Pretorians or the sterile ivory of the Board. These were the "Arbiters" massive, white-hulled cruisers draped in the digital flags of a hundred nations. They moved with a slow, terrifying inevitability, their sensors locking onto the sapphire frequency of the Norton with a precision that made the air feel like it was thickening into glass.
Dax stood at the edge of the silver road, his hand shielding his eyes as the lead cruiser, the Aegis-Bane, descended. "They’re not here to fight, Mia," he whispered, his voice tight. "They’re here to 'stabilize.' Which in their language means they’re going to dissect everything w
