The Dead Zone

The Dead Zone is a vast region of space where stars die prematurely, entire systems collapse, and the Vexro presence is so dense that navigation instruments simply stop working. It is the most dangerous place in the known universe — and possibly the origin of everything.

Location

The Dead Zone occupies a band of space between Sectors Omega and Sigma. Its borders are not fixed — they expand. Every stellar cycle, more systems are swallowed by the darkness. The rate of expansion is accelerating.

What is known

Few missions to the Dead Zone have returned. Those that did brought back fragmented data and irreversibly corrupted pilots. Reports include:

• Stars that emit black light — they illuminate, but give no heat
• Impossible geometric structures floating in the void
• Radio signals that, once decoded, contain coordinates of systems that haven’t been discovered yet
• The constant feeling of being watched by something immense

The Icarus Mission

The Icarus Mission was the last official attempt to explore the center of the Dead Zone. A squadron of 12 Rank A pilots went in. Seven months later, a single ship returned. The pilot had been dead for weeks, but the Vytar kept flying — carrying data the Council classified as ultra-secret and sealed permanently.

Theories

• The Dead Zone is the home of the Vexro
• The Dead Zone is a wound in the fabric of spacetime
• The Dead Zone is a door to something beyond the known universe
• The Dead Zone is what is left over when the Vexro finish feeding