The deep void beyond Sector Forty-One was silent and cold.
A majestic convoy of five hundred Void Star-Whales glided through the starlight, their massive translucent fins rippling against the solar winds like silk ribbons.
In their wake sailed the Sovereign Aurora, leading sixty heavy agricultural freighters loaded with fresh grain, medicinal peach extracts, and bolts of moonlight silk destined for the free merchant hubs of the inner core.
On the bridge of the flagship, Lin Mo stood beside the central navigational console.
Through the forward viewports, the velvet darkness of deep space gave way to a dense, crimson-tinted field of tumbling celestial rocks.
This was the Crimson Asteroid Belt, a treacherous cosmic reef spanning fifteen planetary orbits, from Planet #50 to Planet #65.
Millions of jagged red asteroids, rich in heavy iron and volatile antimatter ore, tumbled in chaotic orbits. The gravitational anomalies in this region made standard subspace jumps suicidal. Any ship passing between the outer colonies and the central core had to navigate the narrow shipping lanes at sub-light speed.
A sharp chime sounded on the tactical display.
