Staring through one of the many portholes that dotted the station, the group eagerly watched for the arrival of Lord Shinji's ship. "Hey, how do you think it'll look like? Will it be like the ones we see here, all stream or sleek, or made up of several layers of Nanostatic fibres, causing it to exist in several different dimensions!? Ooooh, I can't wait..."
Squealing in delight, Asta couldn't help but ponder what the spaceship would look like. She knew that the previous musings were just a part of her imagination, as the heavy armour on Shinji's armour depicted him coming from a war-torn universe, and she expected their spaceships to be rough and sharp at the edges as well.
Just as she was bobbing left and right across the large screen in front of her, a large tap on the top of her head made her fall down. "Oww! What was that for, Madame Herta!?"
Waving her staff left to right, she glared at the impatient little girl in front of her. "Honestly, Asta! As Lead Astronomer, I expect you to lead with greater decorum, not as one of the many 'monkeys' Dr. Primitive uses! Have some sense of propriety..." Chiding Asta like a mother does to an unruly child, Herta scolded the fidgety astronomer, Asta blushing brighter than one of Ruan Mei's many (failed) experiments. "I mean, look - even the young Stelle over there has a greater sense of decency to you, and she's, what, only a couple of hours old! Your actions make me look bad!"
Off to the side, Dr. Killinger stood silent, his gaze never leaving the side of the port window. "Mhmm... Kid, how long will it take for your men to come here?" Turning from his musings, Shinji saw Killinger asking him when the ship would come. Chuckling at the question, he knew it was more of an attempt to slyly inform the people behind them when his ship would be coming. "Soon, old man, soon. Grazfynd's manning the helm, along with a very gung-ho decrepit husk of a man, Belisarius Cawl. Last I heard, he was fucking pissed that I had brought the tin can Traezyn to another world instead of him. Boy was he fuming for days..."
Just as he was about to begin recounting one of his many adventures, the curious gallery had to lower their ears, for the pace station had issued a warning...
[Warning, warning! Unknown energy transmission detected! Please brace for impact!]
And from the front, a giant purple coloured whirlpool emerged, out of which a gigantic, 26 km long Gloriana class Battle Barge escaped from what appeared to be Warp Travel. Their mouth agape, the crew realised that despite Herta Space Station being one of the greatest stations in existence (with a total length of 10 km), it was nothing compared to the monstrosity before them.
"Holy Nous..."
Though Herta showed nonchalance, her eyes betrayed her current sentiment, twitching ever so slightly near the edges. What the... How on earth is it being powered!? A ship of that calibre must require at least 5-6 fusion reactors, and that's being conservative!
"Look, what's that!?"
Pointing to the oncoming ship, March 7th pointed out the Gladius Frigate that was coming to the station, its blasters slowly inching by...
"Wait, why do these spaceships have Gothic-style buildings on top of them!?"
It was only then did they find out that instead of sleek, round domes they usually have for accommodating rooms, tall, dark towers loomed over them, their pointy corners giving a sense of macabre.
It was only then did Shinji make his move. Walking long, quick steps, Shinji went to one of the many ports that were closest to the incoming Frigate.
"Well, you coming or not...?"