Weapon ready, Zivahn replied from central control.
Hold until my order, I added, though I knew it was unnecessary. The crew of the Guardian Facility had trained their whole lives for the assignments they now held, and I had the utmost confidence in their abilities.
Sterilization procedure on standby. Quarantine suite ready.
And then a Maunhouser battleship came through the glowing portal. It was larger than any ship I’d seen, though I knew from the historical records that it was still small compared with some ships from before the severing of the Black Gates. The vessel’s hull was dark despite the brilliant light from the Gateway’s portal, and its bold lines conveyed a menacing aggression I had not realized possible from something as simple as a starship’s design.
Initiating communicat
