"Report: the target Star System has been cleared. Superstar has completed its final guidance calibration and reached its designated firing position. Energy core stable. Main cannon charging sequence complete. Awaiting final firing orders."
The cold, precise report came over the communications channel.
At the outskirts of the Novalors Star System, the space previously blockaded by the Combined Fleet had now been cleared to give a colossal construct an absolute, almost extravagant amount of room.
Conventional vessels, from the towering warships of the Dark Angels to the assault flotillas of the War Hounds, had all withdrawn to a safe distance, dispersing like an ebbing tide and leaving only the cold void and the distant planet shining with an even silver glow.
"All units, attention," Angron's voice sounded over the fleet-wide channel.
"Hold formation and maintain an absolute blockade of the Star System's perimeter. No object is permitted to cross the cordon during the firing window. Clear a completely unobstructed firing lane for Superstar."
The orders were swiftly carried out.
The vast Combined Fleet anchored itself in the void like silent stars.
Every prow turret, point-defense system, and sensor array turned outward, forming an impenetrable barrier against any possible interference.
At the center of the space they had vacated, a silver-white construct floated silently, its scale defying any conventional measure of a warship, yet its lines were unexpectedly sleek and simple.
It looked less like a warship than a meticulously polished work of colossal industrial art with an ancient aesthetic. Its hull was smooth throughout, with almost no visible external weapon platforms or armor seams. Only a massive annular recess at its prow, inset with a complex crystalline structure, broke that surface. Deep-blue veins of energy were spreading from its center, gradually growing brighter and more active.
Angron stood on the bridge