Vreta himself simply took in the sights as well for the first few moments. He reacted briefly, nearly jumping when the Agent started patting his tail, as he was unsure of her meaning. Certainly, he doubted she intended the same meaning as he would have expected from a Rothian. Regardless, he did not dwell on her, and instead focused on the sight before them. 

“I was not hatched on Rothia. I am from Syr’Jakra, originally, so I can actually relate to the experience of seeing all of this for the first time. I first saw it I believe around five hundred years ago. I came here with my first, um…I believe you would consider her a ‘wife’ to me, in celebration of our bond. I find a black hole to be one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring sights the universe can provide. It is an object of extremes, bending the limits of physics itself. Although…if I can be candid for a moment, I do find the meaning of your words for it in your language a [i]little[/i] disappointing. ‘Black hole’ just sounds…inelegant. The closest meaning in our language for this object is a ‘void star’." Vreta explained.

The [i]Barbarossa[/i] was quick to approach Rothia’s orbit after dropping out of FTL, though they slowed considerably the nearer they came to the planet and the orbital dockyards. As their homeworld and center of government, Rothia had by far the most expansive set of planetary defenses of any Rothian world, if not the entire galaxy. Orbital platforms were, by and large, organized to orbit in an even hexagonal grid across the [i]entire[/i] planet. Many served as defensive weapon platforms, some were hangers for defensive strikecraft, but all of them doubled as emitters for the largest energy shield in the known galaxy. Together, the orbital platforms could essentially form a shell around the planet to protect entirely against bombardment. At its passive strength, the shield was not visible unless attacked, but at combat power, it formed a planetary aegis that could be seen even from the ground. Naturally, sections of the shield remained disabled to allow ships to move between orbit and the surface for everyday commerce, which also necessitated that every ship follow strictly pre-determined flight paths. That was part of the reason that Vreta had intentionally invited…certain observers. 

Of course, to bring a warship to Rothia had to be approved by the relevant Rothian authorities. For a scientific expedition, an armed warship was not necessary, but they had approved it without resistance, regardless. It was posturing, that much was obvious, particularly once Vreta had seen that they had chosen a state-of-the-art warship to carry their emissaries. So, although Vreta had not received explicit confirmation of it, he had a feeling he knew what kind of flight path the [i]Barbarossa[/i] would be given. In addition to their orbital emplacements, Rothia, of course, had the largest Rothian defensive fleet out of any of their worlds, and as they could easily see out the window, their flight path took them right in the shadow of a massive Rothian [url=https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/002/033/387/large/karoly-gogos-hajok01jav0111.jpg?1456268264]supercarrier[/url]: a vessel that dwarfed even the impressive size of the [i]Barbarossa[/i]. They were ships meant to be able to carry out entire invasions on their own, even if lacking support ships. 

Following her example, Vreta glanced down at 595 and patted her behind once with a flick of his tail, gesturing up to the supercarrier looming over them. “The [i]Niris’sho’Roth[/i], flagship of the entire Rothian fleet. Even to me, it’s a marvel. I would love to be able to see its new main weapon fire, though I don’t think it has ever been used against an actual target. It has earned the moniker of an ‘extinction cannon’ for a reason.”