For years, the fleet had been floating through hyperspace, running through the void between stars. Each research ship had entered hyperspace under their own power, cutting themselves off from one another for the duration of the trip, some decade or more in length. Friends, colleagues, and even young loves would be isolated, victims of the fleet's organizational procedures. 

But it was an incredible privilege to be able to journey among the stars, something no Jhinga would forget in their lifetime. Each ship carried some hundreds of species, and thousands of genetic samples from even more. Sapience was rare among the stars, and the odds of any one of these lifeforms reaching space of their own will were astronomically unfavorable even if they did reach the level of wisdom required for civilization. 

The trip was nearing its end, however. The Pilots felt it with the whole of their being, the system that was their destination. Several more months passed before they finally reached its edge, and slipped out of hyperspace. The ships did not arrive simultaneously or even very closely, arriving hours and days apart, and landing hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from each other's own landing sites. The first two research ships and their escorts arrived within hours of each other, and immediately set out towards the system's gas giant for refueling, and to wait for their kin.

Their nuclear torches burned bright in the void, and they exchanged radio communications carelessly. Within hours, they would realize the presence of a civilization in this system, but for now, they remained ignorant, blind and deaf to the obvious signs of a space worthy species.