Laconia Gate
After nearly thirty years of isolation, Laconia's gate carries a public opening notice and the drive signatures of an unknown approaching fleet.
Story so far
The Laconia Gate once admitted Winston Duarte's breakaway Martian fleet and then remained behind a warning that discouraged contact. Admiral Anton Trejo removes that notice and broadcasts that Laconia will reopen the gate in 120 hours for a meeting at Medina Station. Light and radiation spikes through the ring confirm ships braking toward it, though Medina cannot determine their number or identity.
Camina Drummer's intelligence staff initially assumes the largest plume may belong to an aging Donnager-class battleship from Duarte's stolen fleet. With Medina's fixed rail guns waiting on the far side, the gate appears to be the mouth of a containable diplomatic or military problem rather than the threshold of an entirely new naval order.
Appearance
A colossal alien ring suspended in space, its dark opening now flashing with light and radiation from powerful drives braking toward the hidden side.
Role
The gate is the timed threshold through which Laconia will end its isolation and confront the wider human network.
Relationships
Sources — 2 recorded facts, by chapter
- The ring gate to Laconia admitted Duarte's breakaway fleet and links his isolated civilization to humanity's thousand-world network.
- After nearly thirty years of isolation, Laconia's gate carries a public opening notice and the drive signatures of an unknown approaching fleet.