"Whoa... Crazy looking... But you might have to use it sooner rather than later. 5 colony planets I heard went dark, unable to communicate." He gripped his staff and tapped the crystal ball on his palm. "Let's hope whatever it is doesn't reach here."

"Huh, that could be problematic. Any chance of a pattern to keep track of?"

"Nope. Just the outside ones, gone silent and no ones heard from them since. But that's some worrying stuff, I'd rather not think about it." He sighed, and spoke to the woman again. "So what's your motivation to make such a machine?"

"Hand it over to the right people, indirectly keep certain people at bay, and probably have a backer or two into my research" The machine made a few noises and a clicking noise cane from the currently nonfunctional gun barrel. The thing started performing minor twitching like movements as the joints tested themselves for functionality. "Besides, if I get enough ground maybe this place will let me install a few railguns or something"