It didn't take long for the ship's sensors to begin receiving, and almost immediately the bridge was abuzz with activity and excitement. Ships with nuclear torches burning across the dark sky, satellites orbiting nearby planetary systems, very soon afterwards radio signals old and degraded flooded their antennae. It was evident to everyone present onboard those seven ships that there was life here and it was reacting to them. 

Radar came online, mapping the system around them, but even without it they could see a distant cluster of ships near orbit around the frozen world before them. The crew was already gathering firing solutions on these closest vessels, and parasited on the hulls of the various escorts, drone swarms and their accompanying fighters activated, hiding their emissions amog those of the larger escorts and waiting for the order to deploy. Nearly an hour passed as the bridge crew busied themselves with sorting through and decyphering the various sensor readings they'd picked up, or at least doing their best too, and splitting up the work between themselves and their fellow navy vessels.

"Admiral, the unidentified vessels are beginning to reorient and move towards us." One of the bridge crew called out.

"...Stay steady, we remain here. Let them come to us. We won't foul this up by appearing to be hostile." Admiral Erling could feel his veins tighten as he gave that order. Battle doctrine for the Terran Remnants involved shooting first, and then escaping before the enemy had time to orient and return significant fire, especially with their vessels' limited firing arcs. Sitting here and allowing these aliens to take the initiative went against all of his training. At the very least, their position so close to the rip lane meant they could make a hasty retreat back into the safety of an entire carrier fleet.

"We're recieving a hail!" The new, excited sounding, voice screeched shrilly, for an instant seeming to shatter all of the tension that'd been building up in the time spent waiting, before just as quickly seeming to make it twice as thick as the implication struck them. Admiral Erling blinked in response. His body was frozen. This was it. His reponse here would perhaps shape the entirety of Terran Remnant history.

"Nervous, sir?" The voice of Commander Ruthyard from besides him nearly had Erling jump in fright. He'd forgotten the man was there. Commander Ruthyard was his XO and right hand man, and while Admiral Erling was tall and commanding, Commander Ruthyard was easy-going and relaxed. A warm ember to Adiral Erling's cold focus. "You really shouldn't have any reason to be, you know? I mean... You think they'll understand us. You could call them all the worst things you could imagine, and it'd all be the same."

The Admiral simply stared back at the man for a moment before giving a gentle smile. His quiet words had been appreciated, and he nodded at the man before turning back towards the bridge. "Accept the hail. Broadcast my words to them."

He closed his eyes and took a breath, before speaking. Might as well have his first words be professional, no matter how much of a point his XO had made. "This is Rear Admiral Erling of the Terran Remnant Navy from onboard the TRNS [i]Audeamus[/i]. Humanity greets you with open arms and open hearts. To whom am I communicating with?"

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