Barron’s own service record had been exemplary. He’d graduated first in his class at the Academy, and his postings as a junior officer had earned him commendations from every commander he had served. But he knew deserving had little to do with his command of Dauntless. If his name had been Garibaldi or Elione or Jacarde, respected naval families all, he’d still be a first officer somewhere. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind about that. But his name was Barron, and the Barrons were like royalty in the Confederation navy.

“Sentinel Three transmitting security protocols, Captain.” Lieutenant Vin Darrow manned Dauntless’s communications station.

“Authenticate.” Barron was sure the codes would be verified, but the command procedures were clear, and there were no exceptions. Barron agreed with the regs on this one. This close to the enemy on the eve of war, it didn’t make sense to take chances.

Darrow paused a few seconds. “Confirmed, sir.”

Barron moved his hand toward his own comm unit, flipping up a small cover and punching a series of numbers into the hexadecimal keypad. “Barron, Captain, CFS Dauntless. Transmit priority identification codes now.” He pressed his finger against a tiny scanner. It looked like a fingerprint reader, but it was much more. The device also analyzed DNA from a microscopic skin sample it harvested, making it as close to foolproof as Confederation science could manage.

“Identity confirmed, Captain Barron. Transmitting now.” The AIs voice sounded almost human, though Barron could pick up on the difference. The tell was the almost overpowering calm of the tone. Barron had confidence in his people and their courage, but no one human sounded that relaxed waiting for an invasion.

The fleet was already on wartime protocols, and that meant using the priority codes to confirm the identification of any vessels or installations. It tended toward the cumbersome, but it was worthwhile. In the unlikely event the crew of Sentinel Three were clustered in their control room under the guns of Union commandoes, he needed to know…just as they had to be sure his ship was really Dauntless, and that she hadn’t fallen under enemy control herself.

The Sentinel stations were the extreme forward vanguard of Confederation defense, positioned mostly in the empty systems between the inhabited space of the two powers. Their primary purpose was to keep an eye on the border and to warn the forces positioned farther back of any incursions. The stations were armed, but no one expected any of them to survive more than a few seconds in battle against a serious invasion fleet.

“Sentinel Three reports all codes confirmed, sir. Beginning data dump now.”

“Acknowledged. Relay to my screen after decryption.”