Completion

In addition to vast quantities of basic materials, building a Star Gate required many precision instruments and pieces of equipment. The Zerg lacked the corresponding industrial foundation, so these items could only be manufactured within the Inner-Ring Civilizations, then packaged and shipped over.

Fortunately, once the production machines of the Inner-Ring Civilizations were running at full capacity, their efficiency was astonishing. Even though the Star Gate required a bewildering variety of items, the Inner-Ring Civilizations prepared everything in an extremely short time.

The total volume of these materials was enormous, enough to fill thirty thousand large transport ships. In addition, they had to bring components for space factories, since those basic materials would need to be cast and formed there as well.

At the same time, vast numbers of personnel and engineering machines had to be transported along with them. Thus, by the time everything was ready to depart in the year 105 of the New Era, the number of transport ships had exceeded fifty thousand.

Although the Epoch Clan was not yet capable of launching a large-scale assault within Inner Circle Alliance territory under the border's tight surveillance and defenses, safety came first. They therefore dispatched a fleet of one hundred thousand ships to escort the Transport Team to the nearest Star Gate.

From there, they would be transported to the location of the XM1209 Star Gate. Once there, the Zerg would take over the Transport Team's defense and escort duties.

The Epoch Clan's greatest strategic mistake at this stage was its failure to recognize the importance of the XM1209 Star Gate. The Inner-Ring Civilizations, however, had understood its importance from the very beginning.

The first Star Gate they had captured through the use of an inside agent had been this one. Although the Epoch Clan later gathered the