The bridge shuddered from ordinance meeting the Barin's shields. "Another barage like that will bring down our shields!" reported Ashfling, Second Quill of the Barin's. Primary Quill Chlorush's skin colored in irritation, "Turn 87 degrees port, rotate the shield frequencies and prepare for a broadside. Instruct the gunner crews to coordinate their fire on-"

Chlorush was interrupted by a fleet wide broadcast, "This is Alpha Prime Diphique, a human dreadnought has exited FTL in the system. Cease fire and maintain positions! Alpha Prime repeats, cease fire and maintain positions."

Barin's crew jumped at the orders, not needing Chlorush to repeat them. Immediately they safed the weapons and cut the engines, but maintained the shields. Incoming fire evaporated simultaneously, their enemy receving similar orders.

One of the junior crew members looked around on confusion. "Prime, why must we stand down when a human ship enters the system? Surely they are no threat to our entire war fleet?"

Chlorush's eyes nearly popped off their stalks in surprise. "Primary Chlorush knew the academy's were rushing recruits through, but Primary Chlorush had no idea just how much they skipped." he couldn't help but give his second in command a look of bewilderment that was returned in kind.

"Sven Quill Hyalyat, the humans are incredibly dangerous. Their first encounter with non-humans was the Imperium, our former masters. The imperium sought to add the humans as another vassal species, but humans balked at the idea, they refused."

Ashfling interjected, "The humans value independence, even when they enslave their own kind. The galaxy found out the hard way that humans must be masters of their own destiny."

Hyalyat's eye stalks were rigid in equal surprise and fear. "What happened?"

"The imperium went to war with the humans, but the humans have another trait - adaptability. They adapted to space warfare faster than any other species. They recovered and reverse engineered technologies from every species they could steal it from. Then they adapted those technologies into fearsome weapons."

"Do you know of the Travbend Nebula, Sven Quill?"

"Sven Quill Hyalyat does."

"That nebula is all that remains of the Imperium core worlds."

"Humans are the reason the Imperium no longer exists, why we are free. To invite the humans into battle-"

"-is to invite them to deliver your doom."