The laser beam, a meter thick, flashed from the depths of space to strike Tsavong Lah's worldship.
It hit with the force of a turbolaser battery, pouring damage onto the worldship surface, superheating the yorik coral there, scarring deeply into it.
Less than a second later, a void materialized beneath it, intercepting it, swallowing all the damage. The void remained there as the damage continued to rain down. Then, a minute later, the laser attack ceased, and the void disappeared.
In the worldship control chamber, Tsavong Lah took the news of the attack with puzzlement in his manner. "Extent of damage?" he asked.
"Minimal," Maal Lah said. "The damage is already regenerating. Within a day, there will be nothing but a battle scar."
"And you have not found the vehicle or emplacement that fired it."
"No, Warmaster. Though it appears that it was fired from beyond the orbit of this system's outermost planet, and took considerable time to reach our worldship."
"Demonstrating merely that they have enough spotters on the planet below, and that those spotters have enough communications gear, that they can keep track of this worldship's position while it remains in orbit." Tsavong Lah shrugged. "Why would they demonstrate this knowledge in a way that gains them no advantage?"