The twenty-one ancient machines did not rush forward in a single group.
That was the first thing Lysara noticed.
They spread out almost immediately, leaving enough space between one another that a concentrated attack would not catch several at once.
Six moved toward the front while the rest separated into smaller groups and began approaching from different angles.
Selvarin watched their movement from her cruiser.
"They are using fleet spacing."
Veylora looked over the new sensor readings.
"Not just fleet spacing. Their formation is old Directorate doctrine."
That made the situation more complicated.
These were not oversized maintenance machines that happened to have weapons attached to them.
They were behaving like warships.
Aurelian stood beside the tactical display at Sanctuary Ardent and watched the delayed feed update every few seconds.
"Can you identify the class?"
Lysara shook her head.
"Not exactly."
The nearest machine finally moved into clearer sensor range.
