[IC] The Cradle

[Cath]

Freyr laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not sure the water even goes that deep!” She edged further into the gently lapping pool, enjoying the feeling of submerged sand on her feet. She got about two metres away from the shore before the water reached her knees and rolled-up trousers. "See? I think you're safe." She put her hands under the water and gently swished them around, watching the ripples spreading across the pool. “So…” She began, looking up at Vreta as he came a little closer. “What ideas did you have for ‘priming’ us tourists?”

[EliteCommander]

“Well, I didn’t say I was ‘worried’, exactly.” Vreta remarked as he stepped out further into the water. He first moved up next to her, then walked out a bit farther into the water until it came up above his knees. The depth grew at an increasing rate the farther out he walked, but it did not look like it ever became deeper than his own height.

“One moment. I’ll send you the unedited pamphlet.” Vreta answered, sending the file to her with but a thought. “The first thing that your team will need to get accustomed to is the planet itself, naturally. As I mentioned before, it is a warm planet. Nothing dangerous for your species, but from my understanding of your biology, you will probably end up frequently perspiring. There is also the matter of radiation, as Rothia receives much higher doses than Outremer. Fortunately, I think your team, being scientists, will understand the need for preventative treatment. Some visitors to our world are resistant to the idea of mandatory medical treatments.”

[Cath]

Freyr studied the pamphlet in her mind’s eye while Vreta talked. “I really should’ve packed shorts. Maybe I'll ask the quartermaster if there are any spare pairs aboard.” She mused upon hearing more about the climate. “It may be worth asking the senior staff if the soldiers have cooling tech in their suits ready for this trip? It sounds like something they’d have as standard, but really I have no idea. If not, provided they’re given enough time, I'm sure they could add this functionality in the ship’s auto-factories. My team could also use a civilian version. As for the anti-rad shots, is that something we could synthesize on the ship? We do have a state of the art bio-chem lab available.” She grinned. “As silly as it sounds, I can appreciate some people would find it easier to take their jabs from Human medics onboard, rather than on Rothia.”

[EliteCommander]

Vreta took a moment to lower himself deeper into the water. Being that it was already a comfortable temperature, he did not require much adjustment. “What are ‘shorts’? Sorry, you’ll have to forgive me, I’m not too familiar with your clothing customs, so I may not be of much help in that regard. As for the radiation treatment, if you are confident that your labs can perfectly reproduce the treatment, you can choose that option. However, for liability concerns, anyone who does not receive the official treatment will still have to sign a rather extensive waiver. Or…we could just give the official treatment to Human doctors to administer. That would be permissible.”

By this point, Vreta was about waist-deep in the water. His tail, by itself, was still buoyant, so it naturally wanted to float on the surface. As for the matter of discussion, he did feel that the physical concerns of the crew were the most obvious, but he was sure their leaders had already prepared to take care of their crew. It would be more important for Vreta to spend time addressing cultural and behavioral issues. “Honestly, I do think the ship’s crew will be well-prepared to ensure their physical health. If I was the captain, it would be my first priority going into this. For your team, though, you will be working much more closely with us than the soldiers will. I do want to make sure you and your people are comfortable with that. I think I want to emphasize in the pamphlet that they will be safe on Rothia. Crime, well…crime has not been erased, no matter what some Rothians might want to claim, but it is exceptionally rare. Not just in terms of violent acts, but unresolved cases of fraud, robbery, and other forms of crime against tourists are in the single digits across decades. People and transactions are simply watched too closely for it to go unnoticed. However, there are visitors to our world that take exception to that surveillance itself. There is no point, in any Rothian ship, city, or town, where you will not be watched. That is simply how we live our lives, and I do hope to convey that it will keep your people safe just as much as ours.”

[Cath]

“Shorts? Oh, they’re...well, they’re what the man with red hair is wearing over there.” Freyr pointed to a barrel chested sailor with incredibly muscly legs bound by tight navy shorts. He was part of a group of bare chested men playing volleyball on the sand. Freyr ripped her eyes away from the scene to look back at Vreta. “A waiver sounds like something Masgard or the Captain will want to know about. I’m sure if your meds are ready for import onto the ship straight away, that will be preferable.”

Freyr really wished she’d brought some shorts with her to the beach room. Vreta looked quite comfortable half submerged in the water, if a little bit predator-esque to her evolutionary watering hole instincts. She contented herself by moving each of her legs back and forward to get the sensation of rushing water on her skin. “Yes of course, how stupid of me. Obviously the captain would’ve thought of that for her soldiers. I’ll just need to ask her to provide suits for my team as well.”

Freyr was surprised to learn about the level of surveillance on Rothia. While she personally didn’t mind too much - she worked in an environment that ostensibly was scanning her entire being a trillion times a second, she knew some people took their privacy very seriously. “I see. Do you not feel uneasy about being watched all the time? How long has that been going on? Studies have shown that humans who know they’re always under surveillance are more prone to stress-related illnesses. Have you found that to be the case with Rothians too, or not?”

[EliteCommander]

Briefly, Vreta observed the nearby Human males. They wore considerably less than Humans usually did, though he did not pretend to understand their social norms for when that was or was not acceptable. Modesty was a Human concept he knew of, but it was still alien to him.

Vreta submerged himself under the water for a few moments, though he made sure his implants modulated the sound waves from Freyr’s voice so he could continue to make out her words from underwater. He emerged somewhat deeper than he had been, though he replied to her without skipping a beat. “Not at all. Our society under the Rahn’Saki have accepted such surveillance since widespread video recording became practical. It has only grown more robust ever since. I personally have never known anything different. I…suppose I might be able to imagine how one who is not accustomed to it might be unsettled, but the benefits are immense. Our safety is all but guaranteed, every transaction guaranteed. You can be assured that any contract can be enforced, even if it is just verbal. Unlike on Outremer, where you have to get everything in writing.”

Standing up straight out of the water, Vreta approached Freyr once more. “Perhaps you are worried about making mistakes accidentally while under surveillance? I seem to recall that being a common worry among visitors. You can rest assured that, especially for outsiders, automated law enforcement is programmed with that concern in mind. For minor crimes, and commonly broken rules that may not be obvious, they will give warnings at first. You can even link your implants to the city network to receive alerts if it appears that you are about to do something against the law. Tourists rarely actually get into any real trouble. Do you think that might calm some worries for your team?”

[Cath]

“I think so.” Freyr nodded. “I can vouch personally for my team; some of them are slightly...eccentric but overall they’re very well behaved. We all spend a lot of our working time in the Cradle, where surveillance is also extensive and the environment itself is analysing your DNA every second of the day. As for the soldiers, i’m sure they’ll have enough discipline to respect your planet’s rules while on the ground.”

Freyr made a cutting motion on the top of the water, sending a small jet of water out into the empty pool to her side. “From what i know of our target site, it’s not particularly close to any population centres. So hopefully the impact on Rothian civilians will be minimal. Well, as long as whatever we find decides to play nice…” She trailed off, deep in thought. The itch at the back of her head to get back to the lab was growing more persistent. She moved slightly further into the pool; water lapped around the hems of her trousers. “What do you know of the evolution of your species? Specifically early period?” She asked suddenly.

[EliteCommander]

Vreta tilted his head curiously. Her words had started him thinking about potential precautions they might need to take to protect from any potential dangers they might find, but her last question caught him off-guard and derailed his thoughts. “Our evolution? We have a reasonably complete fossil record. I would not say there is anything exceptional about it, at least to our knowledge. Though, I’m no paleontologist. If my memory from the last time I went through a university serves me well, I think modern Rothians evolved relatively quickly after life became established on our planet, compared to most other intelligent species out there. That is to say, our planet has been through less cycles of extinction before our people arose, compared to your world.” He answered.

Seeing as Freyr did not seem willing to go any farther out into the pool, Vreta sat himself down in the water alongside her. “Why do you ask? Is my answer helpful, or is there something more specific you want to know?”

[Cath]

“Hmm...very interesting.” Freyr scooped up some water in her hands and watched it leak back into the pool. “Is it just the lack of extinction events that spurred this accelerated evolution, or were any other factors at play?” In her mind’s eye, Freyr was quickly spooling through available Rothian paleontological and biological evolution records. “That thing in the Cradle - it said it’d watched your species develop, right? Like it had a vested interest…” She looked at Vreta, who sat watching her. “Sorry, this may seem strange, but can i take a sample of your DNA? I want to test out a theory.”

[EliteCommander]

Freyr question was surprising and sudden, though given the context of the conversation, Vreta would not actually consider it strange. If he was right about where he thought Freyr was going with this, it did actually make sense. “I don’t think there would be anything preventing me from helping you with that. I would need to give you my history of genetic modification if you want to learn anything useful from it, but that should be fine. Our technology for how we perform genetic modification is secret, not the actual results.”

Vreta took a moment to look around the room. It was not terribly crowded, but from the people he could see, Freyr did have a noticeably different demeanor from most of the other Humans around them. He had a feeling she was not relaxing quite as effectively as they were, as long as he was correctly interpreting her body language, which, admittedly, was not a guarantee. “Is this something you want to do right away, or can you afford to take some time for yourself without fixating on your work? You do seem stressed.” He said, showing some apparent concern.

[Cath]

“Not stressed, just...thinking. Lets go to the lab; i need to try something.” Freyr confirmed, wading out of the shallows to her clothes. She quickly unrolled her trouser legs, put her shoes and socks on and folded her jumper over her arm. “Can you send your records on to the lab?” The team might need a little bit of time to work through them.

---

Freyr power walked back through the ship, her mind buzzing with possibilities. She called ahead to briefly outline her theory and what she needed to test it. So when they walked back into the open plan lab area, she didn’t even need to say anything. Dr Hou just ran over and handed her a swab set.

Freyr deftly primed the swab while turning to Vreta. “Open your mouth, please.” She commanded. Her stomach tightened when she got a full, uninterrupted view of all the sharp teeth in Vreta’s long snout. Waiting a moment to ensure it was locked in place, Freyr carefully rubbed the swab long the roof of his mouth.

Satisfied she had a good sample, Freyr gratefully retrieved her hand. “Thank you, Vreta. Sequence this for me, please.” She handed the swab in a test tube back to Dr Hou, who took it and ran back around the lab to a console several more colleagues were clustered by.

“The question I want to answer is this - how did the Cradle know to ping that very specific location on Rothia?” Freyr began, gently leading Vreta toward the console. “Did it remember something from the distant past, or did it obtain new information? Either answer has big implications for our understanding of the Cradle's history and capabilities.”

[EliteCommander]

Vreta had quick access to all of his own records, so it was a simple matter for him to forward his genetic records to the lab on their way through the ship’s halls. They outlined the changes made to his genetic code and included the original sequences, so it would be trivial for them to simply substitute in the originals for the observed sequences.

Though it felt primitive to him, the Human process for sequencing his DNA was at least not too slow, from his understanding. They would have their results soon enough to follow through with Freyr’s train of thought. Though, her explanation did give him pause as he tried to work out where she was going with this line of inquiry. When he approached the console with her, it was with a questioning expression on his face. “That is an interesting question, though…I am not sure how my genetic code will help. I could imagine this being a combination of both scenarios. It may have gained information from me in order to identify me, but there is nothing on my person or in my genetic code that would give it the location of my people’s homeworld. Unless…there was two-way communication with some object on Rothia? Is that what you are getting at? That perhaps the Cradle observed me, and an object on Rothia identified what I was?”

[Cath]

“Perhaps. Direct communication between the Cradle and anything outside Babylon’s biosphere is basically impossible. In theory, you could transmit information indirectly through all of the connections the Cradle has with our infrastructure on Outremer.” Freyr mused as they rounded a large bank of workspace to the console. She shooed Dr Hou away from the interface's main seat in Cantonese and began manipulating a holo of a double helix, regressing Vreta’s DNA back to its original form.

“However, these connections are basically all one way: outward from the Cradle. Which means any inward traffic would raise flags that are closely monitored. The most public devices I can think of that freely send information into the Cradle are the entry harnesses and implants. But even then, they serve the quite simple purpose of associating that person with a Cradle ID. No wiggle room for other information that i can think of...”

With the DNA strand returned to a pre-augmented state, Freyr and several of her team stripped it back even further. They pulled at the thread that was evolution, following a trail of mutations back through the entire history of the Rothian species. “So with conventional signals unlikely, where does that leave us? We know the Cradle has the ability to manipulate DNA, from the creatures that attacked us. What if, whatever may be on Rothia...did something similar to you, in the hope that you’ll find your way to the Cradle? With a similar ‘signature’ style, the Cradle would be able to recognise anything related to it straight away. Moreover, the Rothia entity could encode all sorts of information into your genes, including patterns that can be converted into coordinates.”

With Vreta's DNA now devolved to a very early point in Rothian development, Freyr motioned for her team to stop. Putting on a pair of overlay glasses to add some of the annotations back into her view of the holo, Freyr brought in a DNA sample found in all of the Cradle creature samples. Dr Hou and several more of the team activated a machine learning algorithm to detect similarities and patterns. Parts of each structure began quickly highlighting as the program cross-referenced them.

[EliteCommander]

Vreta could easily along with what Freyr was suggesting, though he had a hard time accepting it as anything more than a fantasy. For it to be true would upend their concept of the history of life on their planet. A planet that, as of right now, still did not show any evidence for the presence of intelligent life before themselves. Of course, if there was something related to the Cradle on Rothia, then that alone would rewrite their history.

“That is…well I can’t say that I can outright deny it as a possibility, but for that to be true would require our species to have been manipulated, maybe even formed, by an ancient species that left no trace of themselves on our planet. Our DNA has been thoroughly sequenced and explored, as has the DNA of nearly every living thing on our planet. We have never found anything we would identify as coordinates. Something like that would almost certainly have to be found in junk DNA, as it is highly unlikely that a set of spacial coordinates would just so happen to code for a useful protein. But even our junk DNA has been explored thoroughly. The only way I would imagine that being possible is if the Cradle’s software used a notation for coordinates that would be unfamiliar to us. My people, of course, have not been allowed direct access to Cradle software before, so I would not know how its notations for programming and mathematics would differ.” Vreta admitted.

[Cath]

“Yes, the Cradle has its own language that is baffling in scale and complexity. We don’t understand all of it yet, but we should be able to at least pick up this ‘signature’ if it appears.” Freyr explained as a shape moving into the lab caught her eye. Looking up, she saw Agent 595 approaching, a curious look on her face. “What’s going on in here?” She asked, wearing a polite smile. Freyr began to explain, but a noise from the console interrupted her halfway through.

“Oh my…” she murmured, utterly engrossed in the data displaying in her overlay glasses. Dr Hou began shouting excitedly in Cantonese and grabbed one of his colleagues to double check. “Vreta... i think we have a match!” Freyr looked up at the alien, eyes shining behind her glasses. On the hologram, numerous small patterns were simultaneously detected and pulled out of the double Helix. “Your DNA presents multiple similarities with a Cradle design!”

Pretty much everyone in the lab had stopped to watch this experiment unfold by this point. When the results came in, they all began excitedly whooping, yelling, chatting and crowding around Freyr to congratulate her. She grinned broadly, still unable to believe what she was seeing. She returned a few high fives before dishing out further orders; namely to decode the exact coordinates from the data. Her team swirled around her like a shoal of fish as they got to work.

595 came around to Vreta’s side and watched his expression with an inscrutable stare. “Welcome to the family. What’re you going to do now?”

[EliteCommander]

Vreta was not chatting and cheering as was most of the crowd. In fact, he was rather firmly silent. Despite all his training and mental fortitude, the magnitude of this potential revelation was enough to coax some visible reaction out of him, even if it was just a few seconds of a wide-eyed stare with his mouth slightly agape.

It did not take long for Vreta to compose himself externally, though he still did not give much attention to the others in the room. He became stony-faced and remained silent, not even giving a reply to Agent 595 before he calmly moved to the console and began checking and re-checking both the data and the signatures they had been looking for.

When the chattering between Freyr’s team started to soften, Vreta spoke with a strange, unemotional calm to his voice. “I would hesitate to celebrate so quickly. These results still need to be checked, and other explanations eliminated. I am noticing that your methodology for extrapolating our evolutionary history does involve some guesswork to bridge some gaps. Well-educated guesswork, granted, but there is some room for uncertainty. I will make sure to get you more comprehensive data on our genetic history so the test can be run under more ideal conditions. I suggest you keep testing and examining any potential source of error. If this is a conclusion that is going to be presented…we need to make sure it is undeniable. I believe I shall go…take some time to think. Perhaps finish editing those pamphlets. Though before I do…”

Vreta let out a sigh, then looked up from the console towards Freyr. “This test you just performed on my genetic code, this search for Cradle signatures…has it ever been performed on Human DNA?”

[Cath]

Freyr looked at Vreta and immediately realised she’d been insensitive. This discovery, if correct, could change everything he thought he knew about himself. She was still learning Rothian expressions, but her new friend seemed “Yes of course, we’ll make sure we’re one hundred percent certain before going any further.” She reached out and put her hand on Vreta’s as it lay forlornly across the console, giving it a squeeze. “Everything is going to be OK, i promise.”

Vreta’s last question caught Freyr off guard - she withdrew her hand and scratched her head. “I suppose, no...we haven’t. We’ve only been able to analyse organic tissue samples from Cradle creatures for a few months. I don’t think we’ve looked at our own DNA…” Freyr looked around at her team, and a few of them shook their heads. “But I can see your logic...Dr Hou, get me a swab kit!” The lab was now in a frenzy, and Freyr quickly blocked out all non-participants.

“I think we should leave them to it. We’ll only get in the way of this well-oiled machine.” 595 said, appearing at Vreta’s side again. She wanted to get the Rothian away from the lab in case another earth-shattering discovery was made; information was flowing a little bit too freely right now. Then, she could buy some time to report back to her superiors and get her orders.

[EliteCommander]

Vreta gave no objections to leaving, as he had his own concerns to deal with. Although the revelations did not do too much to increase his workload aboard the ship over the next two weeks, I did dominate many waking hours of thought. He had access to acceptable FTL communications, so he could send ahead data and alert his people to be prepared to test this new discovery, but there was little else he could do in that regard. Once he had distributed informative pamphlets among the crew, and held a few more meetings with certain important individuals to ensure they knew what to expect from Rothia, all there was for Vreta was to await their arrival.

In all his centuries, the two weeks aboard the Barbarossa were probably the longest two weeks of his life. Until their ship arrived, there was little progress that could be made on any front, just waiting and wondering. Even by his own high standards, there was plenty for Vreta to do to occupy his time, but it was never enough to distract his thoughts. Regardless, he still made the attempt. Most of his time he spent alone, browsing whatever entertainment the ship had on offer. Human media was not something that was new to him, even before taking his position on Outremer. Entertainment from multiple species were distributed and sold throughout the galaxy, wherever there might be a market for it. Some of their entertainment did demonstrate parts of their more peculiar facets, but Vreta could still enjoy it. Otherwise, he divided his time between relaxing in the beach room, and chatting with members of the crew. He decided to get to know some of the people he would be working with a bit better, like Freyr, her team, and even Magard. Agent 595…less so. Regardless, when it did finally come time for the ship to arrive at Rothia, he still invited her to join him in the observation room along with Freyr and the others.

Vreta stood up at the front of the room near the massive window that gave them their view of what was ahead of the ship. FTL warped spacetime in a way that was almost unrecognizable to the eyes, but once they dropped to sub-luminal speeds, everything came clearly into view. They had dropped out of FTL a safe distance from, but within clear view of Rothia. The planet itself, from high above, was a world of green continents and blue oceans, with the reddish brown of some deserts scattered around, like many habitable worlds. There was a notable lack of ice caps, with a green forest on the northern pole, and ocean on the south. Though, it was what was in space that was more eye-catching. It had a ring system about its equator to rival that of some gas giants, proportionally. They were mostly shades of white, brown, and tinges of other colors.

Ultimately, while Rothia itself was eye-catching in its own right, it was what was beyond the planet that would certainly capture the attention and imagination of any onlookers, for Rothia did not orbit a standard, main-sequence star. In fact, it did not orbit a star at all. The object at the center of the system was an active stellar-mass black hole. Instead of nuclear fusion, it was the intense energy of its accretion disk that provided Rothia’s heat and light. To see the total blackness of the void at its center, even from a distance, was a sight was was spectacular to many, and haunting to some.

[Cath]

The Welcome Wagon

The rest of Barbarossa's two week journey to Rothia passed in a flurry of activity for Freyr. The discovery of Cradle-like interference in Rothian genetics had to be verified beyond a shadow of a doubt. The team cross referenced seven different Cradle creature samples with the complete library of Rothian DNA history Vreta provided. On day four, Freyr could say with some certainty that a complex message was hidden in Vreta’s junk DNA. Part of that message was incomprehensible, but they were able to extract the same coordinates the comms array had pinged back on Outremer.

After a couple of mandated delays, they tested a sample of Human DNA in the same way on day three. 595 showed up with a delegate from the Security Council and classified it Top Secret, meaning the experiment was conducted behind closed doors.

Apart from work, which took up about seventy percent of her waking hours, Freyr spent time in the combat simulator with 595 and (sometimes) Masgard. They practiced on targets and gradually became more familiar with a variety of weapons. Freyr found out that Masgard was something of an Outremer aristocrat; he could trace his lineage back to the small first wave of colonists that landed on the planet. He had been a partner at one of Babylon’s top law firms before being poached to work for the Director-General.

Freyr couldn’t coax any details out of Agent 595, not even her real name. The captain had referred to her as ‘from Cradle Security’, but Freyr sincerely doubted that was the case. CraSec, up until a few months ago, had been a bunch of glorified night watchmen. Behind 595’s friendly, occasionally excitable persona was a vicious solo operator who seemed at ease in extremely dangerous situations. On day seven, she clinically dismantled multiple combat droids in hand to hand combat with Freyr and Masgard watching in disbelief. The same day, 595 insisted on clearing a kill house meant for four people on her own.

To unwind from all this, Freyr spent a bit more time in the beach room. However she couldn’t stay in there alone, often electing to invite Vreta. That was on her own, she always ended up thinking about how she never got the chance to take David and Amy to a beach. In fact, every one of Freyr’s waking moments not occupied by frenzied activity somehow wound back to thinking about her family. She did not sleep easily, and her dreams were plagued by Cradle monsters.

She was excited to see Rothia, having read up on what to expect beforehand. But when Vreta invited her to the observation deck on arrival day, it surpassed all expectations. “Oh, wow!” She exclaimed, covering her open mouth with both hands at the sight of the famed black hole. “Look at that..” Masgard murmured beside her. “Very picturesque, Vreta’Sori! I can see why you wanted us to come all this way now.” 595 grinned, patting the top of Vreta’s tail where a Human’s behind would’ve been. Freyr’s team were like kids in an aquarium, pressing their noses to the glass to get as close as possible. “Such a pretty planet, too!” Freyr cooed, taking in all the colours of the rings. She took pictures via her implant and resolved to show them to David and Amy when she saw them next.

[EliteCommander]

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 little disappointing. ‘Black hole’ just sounds…inelegant. The closest meaning in our language for this object is a ‘void star’." Vreta explained.

The Barbarossa 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 entire 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 Barbarossa 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 supercarrier: a vessel that dwarfed even the impressive size of the Barbarossa. 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 Niris’sho’Roth, 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.”