CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE CORE --- The shaft descended without end. Leo had lost track of time somewhere in the amber dark. The Sable Wind flew on instruments alone, the forward viewport showing nothing but smooth precursor walls and the occasional flicker of geometric patterns that pulsed in rhythm with the Node's dying heartbeat. ECHO had been silent for nearly a ral, her processing cycles fully consumed by Lyrin's fragmented data. she reported at last. "How slow?" Leo asked. "Give us a guess." "ECHO." Two to three hours. Leo looked at the shaft walls sliding past. "And how long until we reach the core?" Seren answered from the navigator's station. "At current speed, one ral. Maybe less. The shaft is straightening. We're close." "Then she won't be finished before we arrive." "N
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