Assembly

Although the Wolf Striker had only appeared once, and Rowan had taken great care to keep it secret, the probes of advanced civilizations were everywhere. A moment's carelessness was enough to leave behind visual records, so the Wolf Striker's appearance had already been catalogued in The Alliance's database.

"This thing is a total unknown. We know nothing about what it can do." Since no footage had captured the Wolf Striker attacking, its entry in the database contained only an image and a codename.

"Maybe it's also a Zerg. From where I'm standing, they don't look all that different."

"Ha, people who walk on two legs all look pretty much the same too."

"I'm warning you, don't insult people. At least he can tell the difference in height."

"..."

There were many ordinary crew members aboard the warship, and their ability to withstand pressure was naturally nowhere near that of battle-hardened commanders. Perhaps the long-awaited response had finally arrived, or perhaps they simply needed to vent their stress. They teased one another and tried to bolster each other's courage.

The Wolf Strikers paid no attention to the whispers around them, nor did they worry about resistance. After all, there were more than just two Wolf Strikers on every warship. Many specialized spider war bugs surrounded them, and within the ship's cramped, complex environment, their close-range advantage was more than enough to control the situation.

Though the Wolf Strikers were stripped-down budget versions, they had been fitted with vocal organs in order to communicate better with other races—and to avoid exposing more technology.

"We represent Her Majesty the Queen and accept your surrender. Who is the captain?"

Ever since they had appeared, the Wolf Strikers had maintained a cold, iron-blooded bearing. Their more than ten centimeters of black-gray fur moved without wind,