Chapter 59: Ch59 William-1
John began, his voice steady and clear, "Let me start from the beginning."
With a sharp snap of his fingers, the central star map—composed of thirty-eight floating holographic sectors suspended in the air above the council chamber—flickered, shifted, and began to change.
The map zoomed out first, displaying the broader galactic sectors: blue fields marking Federation territory, red marking the Servance Alliance, and various other zones scattered throughout.
But then, the map zoomed in—toward a sector completely gray. It lay to the southern side of the Federation’s region, and from there, that entire sector appeared shrouded in a uniform gray hue.
The gray signified one thing: unclaimed space. It meant the region was either untouched or lay beyond the direct control of any major force in the galaxy.
"It wasn’t Federation territory—their regions were always marked in blue. Nor did it belong to the Servance Alliance, whose domains were denoted in red."
It was a neutral region—untapped and unexplored by any major power. And that made it ripe for the Federation to expand into
The council chamber grew quiet as the map narrowed further—homing in on a specific section of the gray zone. A single, unremarkable star system near the border of Federation space, separated only by one buffer system between them.
John raised a hand, gesturing toward the hologram as it settled into view. "This system... lies just one jump away from our border. Technically, it’s neutral. Legally, it’s empty.
"Strategically—until recently—it was considered irrelevant."
He paused. The chamber was dead silent. All eyes remained locked on the glowing gray system hovering midair within the hologram.
"But that changed about a week or two ago," John continued. "One vessel from my research fleet made a discovery in that very system—what we have provisionally named the Nova Star System for convenience."