James nodded.  He’d reviewed the recordings of the battle during the long trudge back to Earth and one thing had become immediately clear.  They’d surprised the aliens, surprised them badly.  But that wouldn't last.  The aliens would realise their own weaknesses, then adapt, react and overcome, just like humanity.  By then, humanity had to be ready to close the gap.

The aliens might not be able to break Ark Royal’s armour – although the destruction of one of the frigates suggested that only applied to starfighter weapons – but they could certainly sweep her weapons and sensors off the hull.  If that happened, the carrier would be blind as well as defenceless, waiting helplessly for the alien capital ships to come into range and open fire.  So far, there was no proof that the aliens had any form of projectile weapon – either ballistic or powered – but that would certainly change.  Humanity definitely had to take the lead.

“I won’t disagree with you,” he said.  He looked down at the paper sheets, puzzling them out.  “Can we operate the rail-guns there, though?”

“We’d have to run a few extra power lines,” Anderson said.  “It would be simple enough to link them into the turrets we already have, but if we lost them ... well, we’d lose the entire subsection.  It will only take a few days if we have help from naval crewmen here.”

“That won’t be a problem,” James said.  After the battle, Ark Royal had been granted absolute priority over every other starship in the system.  Indeed, they’d even been able to convince the other powers to make contributions of older spare parts for the ship.  “Can you do it without putting us out of action?”

“Easily,” Anderson assured him.  “We will be able to spring back into battle within seconds.”

James allowed himself a moment of relief.  No one really knew how the aliens would react to the bloody nose they’d received, but it was quite possible that they would launch an all-out attack on Earth.  Careful analysis of the ship’s sensor records had revealed that the aliens could probably access at least a dozen new tramlines that would lead them directly to Sol.  Three of them, in addition to the unnamed star system, were so completely isolated that there would be no warning before the aliens advanced on Earth.

Beats them being free of the tramlines, I suppose, he thought.  If they were, we would be screwed.

“Make it so, then,” James ordered.  The Chief Engineer rolled up his papers, then headed towards the hatch.  “Send in Midshipwoman Lopez on your way out.”

The hatch opened and the Chief Engineer stepped through.  Moments later, Midshipwoman Lopez entered and closed the door behind her.  She looked tired, James noted, which wasn't too surprising.  When she wasn't tending to her duties, she was helping the senior officers with their paperwork and refusing requests for interviews from the media.