The Gray Tempest? A midgame crisis?
I don't buy it!
In the black hole system Succubus' Call, Science Ships and transport ships traveled back and forth around the black hole, working on the L-Gate.
(Honestly, Stellaris translations really went to two extremes. A perfectly good name like Banshee's Wail got translated as Succubus' Call-it felt deliberate. The funniest part was that this damn name had a high chance of appearing in every game, so Stellaris players were long past being surprised. Of course, there was also the Nima system and the Marauders' bizarre ship names.)
A fleet of cruisers packed with Kinetic Artillery held position in orbit around the Succubus' Call black hole, their menacing gun barrels aimed at the L-Gate.
Like a teammate who insisted on peeking after you warned them a sniper was watching the angle (teammate: "Let me see what's going on!"), Minamar Specialized Industries still wanted to witness the Gray Tempest's power firsthand.
As far as they were concerned, how could a fleet of Nanites that had spent who knew how many years rotting in the L-Cluster last even one exchange against their mighty guns and warships?
The Science Ship's mechanical arms secured the L-Gate and began removing the hardware limiters installed on it.
Xi Yan had already lifted the software lock on the entire L-Gate Network. Even so, every L-Gate still had physical limiters installed, which each nation would have to remove themselves.
With the information Xi Yan had provided with ill intent, Minamar Specialized Industries' Science Ship easily completed the procedure, dismantling the L-Gate's restrictions one by one. The brand-new L-Gate Network came fully online.
The miniature black hole, glowing with green fluorescence, began rotating steadily, emitting powerful but regular horizon signals and searching across the universe.
Soon, the L-Gate black hole at the