The Naedar had been exploring space beyond their forest world of Ju'gera for centuries longer than most of the races in the galaxy, so Mavos' people had the most advanced engines and arrived at the rendezvous point ahead of all the rest. The transport ship waiting in space had a clear view of the incoming vessels. The first group appeared in flashes of light as they simply materialized in an instant.

The hundreds of dusty-brown ships belonging to the Naedar were flat disks stacked on top of each other in ever decreasing diameter. A similar design pattern was repeated on the underside of each vessel to create a staggered, spherical shape overall. On all the flat spaces of the disks, weapon emplacements protruded from the hull like the spines of a giant sea urchin. Hidden among the spines were light tipped towers of shield projection arrays and communication amplifiers.

The ships varied in size from small frigates capable of carrying a few hundred troops to massive battlecruisers equal in dimension to Earth's moon. The transport ship seemed to be extremely tiny by comparison.

Next to arrive were the ships of the Lekon. The ships were a blur of speed until they slowed down to join the fleet. Grown from crystals, the vessels gleamed magnificently wherever light touched the facets of their hulls. Certain sections of the crystal were more transparent than others, allowing a view of the energy coursing through conductive lines from power generators to the engines and weapons. The color of the crystal ships so perfectly matched the red, orange, and gold of the Escalore Nebulae many alien races had seen them from a distance and never realized it.

A hyperspace window opened to signal the arrival humans from Ceir. The darkness of space pulled back around a supernova of white light, and from within the brightness, four squadrons of stub-nosed craft flew out to join the fleet before the blinding gateway snapped shut behind them. The humans who lived in the frozen environment were hardy survivors, and their ships reflected it. Battered and scared, the scorched hulls testified not only to a long and hard existence but to prevailing over every challenge and threat encountered. Armed with primary and secondary shields, an arsenal of hard hitting weapons, and a reinforced hull, the human ships were not as large as those piloted by their alien allies, but they were a significant addition.

"My people are already on the human ships," Ror-ej mentioned to those standing near the observation window of the transport. "They've started enhancing whatever systems they can and will fight when the time comes."

"Very good," Virkine accepted with a nod of her glossy black head toward the giant. "My people are here."

"Where?" Ror-ej questioned, staring hard out the window. "I don't see anything."

"Look for the shifting of the other ships," Virkine told him. She pointed to a location. "See it?"

Outside the window, a sphere of glossy black approached the transport ship. Because of its mirrored surface, it was nearly invisible except for the stretched reflections across its curved hull.

"Shouldn't it be slowing down?" Tolen asked as the vessel continued to close the distance between them.

"We can't go into battle on a transport ship," Virkine stated. "They're coming to pick us up."

The alien sphere struck the transport and rippled around it, absorbing the smaller ship as easily as one drop of water merges with another. The interior of the craft pulled away from the transport, and the passengers found their small ship resting inside a landing bay. Every surface was smooth and reflective black as if coated in oil. A rectangular portion of one wall turned transparent when the passengers exited the transport, giving them a window outside.

"The fleet is ready," Virkine told her fellow passengers. "All that remains is for the insects to arrive."

As if summoned by the mention of them, a warp rift opened nearby. Expanding like a ring, the space distortion shimmered silver along its edges but gave no other indication of its presence. The stars and ships previously visible behind the warp were replaced with an orbital view of the planet Chalos.

Insect ships were deep blue in color and blended well with the darkness of space. Covered in thick exoskeletons, a few locations lacked a protective covering as the living vessels needed to remain flexible in order to move. It was in these unarmored sections where fibrous muscle of dark violet was visible, gelatinous fluid pumping through large tubules in rhythm to the ship's multiple hearts.

At first, only a few dozen of the massive creature-ships flew through the warp to join the assembly, but as time went on, the flow of ships continued unabated. Wave after wave of insect craft poured from the rift. Smaller insect vessels were also present, single pilot fighters composed of exoskeleton armor in a pointed needle shape around an engine and cockpit. They flew close to their assigned vessel in a swarm so numerous it resembled a haze around the larger battleships.

It took nearly five minutes for the entire insect fleet to transition to the assembly point. A trailing creature slipped through before the rift shrank away to nothing. The final insect resembled a giant millipede with its legs folded up underneath its segmented body, and it weaved its way between the ships of the attack fleet with a fluid grace until it reached the front of the formation. Curling into a ring shape and extending its claw-like legs, the insect began to crackle with silver energy between its numerous legs.

The millipede suddenly changed from a ring formation into a crescent shape. The energy spread out, guided by the many feet of the insect until a warp rift was formed and held in place by the creature. The space through the rift showed a clear view of the station targeted for the fleet's attack. Without waiting for anyone else, the insect fleet began flying through the rift to engage the station of Danvers and either destroy it or die in the attempt.