The Zoraath attacked a human colony called New Carthage, a young world on the edge of Terence Base. The Zoraath Armada advanced, 400 warships, sleek and golden, driven by quantum engines, their weapons strong enough to shatter moons. The human ships formed a thin defensive line near New Carthage's orbit, small, still, and silent. When Kroll's shattered flagship limped home, the Imperial Council of Lords demanded an explanation. And across the ruined sectors of Zoraath space, a single phrase spread from world to world whispered in fear.