Nothing from Auraxis was ever allowed to come through the wormhole. That included personnel sent to Auraxis for observation. Every single one of them knew it was a one-way trip and that they'd live there forever. This wasn't just paranoia they would bring something dangerous back, it also prevented the knowledge gained there from entering society before the Republic had prepared society to receive that knowledge.

This was The Law.

To enable that Quarantine to be airtight, a livable situation had to be created around Auraxis. The Orbital Stations were set up at that time and quarters were created for the scientists and military personnel there.

Eventually, even an Expeditionary Force was assembled and sent down the wormhole to occupy the Stations.

While the Expeditionary Force continued to examine Auraxis, the wormhole was intentionally collapsed to a micro-hole, set up so it could be collapsed instantly if the panic button was pushed at any orbital station around Auraxis.

If scientists there started something horrible (like triggering some long-automated defensive device or making contact with hostile aliens), then they would be sealed away from Republic space. Microburst communication was maintained through the reduced wormhole so the Republic could keep tabs on its Expeditionary Force.

Occasionally, the wormhole would be powered up to allow new supplies or personnel to pass through to Auraxis after an "all clear" signal was given from the Stations. It was exorbitantly expensive to operate this way, but considering the consequences, the paranoia was considered justified.

So a single continent was chosen as the first colonization target.

The continent was christened Forseral, in part because of the abundance of forests that grew there. Amazingly Earth-like, the continent was lush and attractive to the colonists. The military began building several stronghold buildings in case of any Contact, but the colonists stayed localized to a small area at that time, since the majority of them were still up on the orbital stations.

The examination of the Warpgates was extremely slow. No further objects were sent onto the platform for months as they tried to decipher the power sources, to interpret the exposed technology, and to try to determine more about the "warping" effect itself.

Eventually, they finally started sending inert objects through the gates. That's how they found out about the global lattice that connects the Warpgate endpoints into a predicable pattern. Certain platforms were linked to other platforms on different continents and islands and the Warpgate lattice seemed to be a transportation device for moving around the world.

Scientists debated endlessly about whether or not to send living creatures through the Gates, but the subject became moot when a Drop Pilot took it upon himself to see what would happen, grabbed a fast air fighter, and flew into a Warpgate.

Almost immediately, he came out at the regular end destination point. His craft was completely intact, and he appeared to be also.

His incredibly irrational and irresponsible act was punished severely, of course. Despite the scientists' pleading to keep him alive so they could examine him, the military courts were swift. For endangering all of Humanity by potentially activating an alien device before Humanity was prepared for the consequences, his sentence was death.

They executed him that same day.

It wasn't until a day later that an automated orbital satellite found a lifesign in the center of a desert continent where no patrols or expeditions were planned. An aircraft was sent to investigate and found the executed man sitting beneath a palm tree waiting patiently to be rescued.