James hesitated.  The truth was that the alien battlecruiser would have no difficulty in crossing the tramline after them, although it might take the time to ensure that the humans couldn't lay an ambush.  He'd thought about advising the Captain to do that, but it would be chancy.  Too chancy, perhaps.

“We’ll be out of this system,” he said.  He didn't have the heart to tell her that they might fly straight into an ambush.  “I don't know what will happen afterwards.”

Shaking his head, he turned and walked out of the hatch.

***

“No sign of any picket ships,” Farley reported.  “The tramline seems to be empty.”

Ted nodded, although he knew it meant nothing.  The aliens could be hiding under stealth or simply running silent.  It wouldn't be hard to use passive sensors to track the carrier’s progress, not now they were close to the tramline.  And the battlecruiser was still keeping its distance.

“Sound the alert,” he ordered, quietly.  The alarm howled through the ship, bringing the crew to battlestations.  Ted watched as the ship’s weapons came online, followed rapidly by the starfighter pilots checking in.  Tired as they were, they were still ready to fight to defend their carrier.  “Reports?”

“All decks report ready, sir,” Farley reported.

Ted took a breath.  “Jump,” he ordered.  “Now!”

Space twisted around them, the display fading into darkness before lighting up again.  Ahead of them, there was a dull red star, surrounded by hundreds of asteroids.

“No contacts,” Farley said.  “No alien contacts detected at all.”

Ted stared at the display, wonderingly.  Had the aliens merely sought to keep an eye on them rather than placing an ambush ahead of their course?

An alarm sounded from the helm console.  “Captain,” Lightbridge said.  “There are no other tramlines here.”

Ted swore in sudden understanding.  The aliens hadn't engaged because they'd known Ark Royal was heading towards a dead end.  She’d been heading in precisely the direction the aliens wanted her to go.  Hell, the bastards could use the battlecruiser to keep the carrier penned in while they summoned additional reinforcements.  He thought, desperately, as the carrier moved away from the tramline, but nothing came to mind.  They were trapped.

“Silent running,” he ordered.  Unless the aliens had surveyed the system very carefully, Ark Royal could pose as just another asteroid.  One battlecruiser couldn't hope to identify them among the other pieces of space junk.  “Leave one powered-down drone by the tramline, but hold the others.  We need to hide.”

“Yes, sir,” Farley said.