Someone – the file refused to say who – had named the red star Barong.  Ted puzzled over it for a long moment, then decided it didn’t matter.  Barong had nothing to interest anyone, apart from a pair of tramlines that led to New Russia and Vera Cruz.  Even the handful of asteroids and comets weren't particularly interesting.  There was barely enough of them to sustain a very tiny settlement.

“No sign of pursuit,” Farley reported.  “I ...”

He broke off as red icons appeared on the display.  “Contact,” he snapped.  The mood on the bridge sank rapidly.  “Four frigate-sized craft, Captain.”

Ted swore.  He'd known better than to think they’d fool the aliens for long, but he had hoped ... and now those hopes had been shattered.  But the aliens had come through the tramline at some distance from them, enough – he prayed desperately – for them to overlook the carrier when they started searching in earnest.  If they did start searching in earnest ...

“Keep a sharp eye on them,” he ordered.  It was possible that the aliens would merely maintain a watch for several hours, then pull back.  Or that they would go doggo themselves and wait for the carrier to reveal herself.  “Alert me if they start probing space near us.”

He silently ran through the vectors in his mind.  Ark Royal might have been unpowered, but she was still moving away from the tramline at a considerable speed.  Given enough time, they might make it far enough from the alien craft to be able to manoeuvre without being detected, although it would take days.  He shook his head.  Days of rest, recuperation and repair work sounded very good right now.

“Understood, sir,” Farley said.  He sounded tired, utterly exhausted.  “So far, they’re just holding position.”

Ted scowled, trying to put himself in his enemy’s shoes.  What would he think, if he thought he’d seen the carrier he was chasing accidentally destroy herself?  Would he suspect a trap or would he gloat over his victory and return to preparing the invasion of human space?  Ted knew, naturally, that it was a trick.  It was hard to imagine what the enemy would do when he knew that ... and that the enemy was thoroughly alien.  Who knew what would seem to make sense to them?

“Then we will do nothing,” he said.  He shrugged.  There was no shortage of repair work that had to be done.  The point defence network had to be repaired, the mass drivers had to be reloaded ... he smiled, thinking of the asteroids drifting in orbit around the dull red star.  A few days of intensive mining and processing and they’d have more than enough projectiles to rebuild their stockpiles.  “Contact the other ships.  I want a complete breakdown of their status.”