Dawn of Mankind

Commander Cassian Reeve expected his survey run to end the way it always did. Tag the rocks, log the readings, go home.

Then object four fifty-three rolls across his display. Its surface reads like ordinary nickel-iron. Its core says something else entirely. Whatever is buried inside that asteroid has been waiting a very long time.

Reeve makes one mistake. He tells his crew to drill.

The moment the bit touches that ancient shell, a pulse goes out. Somewhere far beyond human space, something old and patient opens its eyes. A silent vessel shifts course through systems no human has ever charted, and another faction, older and far less forgiving, is already closing in.

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