Ted nodded, silently giving thanks for the alien commander’s paranoia.  He’d taken the time to enter the tramline at a different point, thwarting any planned ambush ... but, incidentally, giving Ark Royal some time to put distance between the two ships.  He watched, coldly, as the alien ship started after them, without waiting for any sensor reports.  It took his tired mind a long moment to realise that the aliens already knew their destination.  There was literally nowhere else the human ship could go.

“They’re keeping their distance too,” Farley added.  “They could overrun us well before we reached the tramline, if they pleased.”

“True,” Ted agreed.

He ran his hand though his hair, considering the possibilities.  Maybe the aliens weren't as confident of their predictions as they acted.  Or maybe they thought the human ship was powerful enough to best the battlecruiser, even though her starfighter squadrons had been shot to ribbons.  Or maybe they were still herding her towards a final ambush.  He silently cursed the alien FTL drive under his breath.  With a bit of luck, the aliens could muster an ambush while Ark Royal followed a predictable path.

“Continue on course towards the tramline,” he ordered.  There was no point in trying to hide, not now.  The aliens knew roughly where they were.  “And draw up a strike pattern for targeting the alien facilities in orbit around the planet.”

It was risky, he knew; if the aliens had a major colony on the surface there was a very definite possibility that one of the human projectiles would strike the planet’s surface and carry out an atrocity.  But there was no time to target their weapons more precisely – and he had no intention of wasting irreplaceable missiles on targets that couldn't shoot back.  He simply didn't have enough to spare.

“They didn't bring any starfighters,” Fitzwilliam said.  He sounded disgustingly alert after half an hour in the sleep machine.  He’d pay for that later, but for the moment he could carry out his duties without tiredness blunting his edge.  “What happened to them?”

Ted shrugged.  Maybe the alien pilots had made it back to Alien-One, maybe they’d been picked up by the battlecruiser ... or maybe they’d expired in the merciless reaches of outer space.  There was no way to know.

“Take command,” he ordered, surrendering to the inevitable.  “I’m going to take some rest in the sleep machine.  Alert me if the aliens start to run us down.”

***

Kurt cracked open the lid and sat up, feeling his head spinning slightly.  It wasn't quite a headache, but it was bad enough to blunt him.  His chronometer stated that he’d been in the sleep machine for barely an hour, nowhere near enough to replenish his reserves.  But there was no more time to rest, not now.  A quick look at the status display showed the alien battlecruiser, tracking Ark Royal with murderous intent.