“Get me Optiomagis Hyllus.” Hyllus was her fighter commander. He and his four squadrons had launched ten minutes earlier, and they were deployed around Vindictus in a standard defensive formation. She knew she probably should have passed the order through Wentus, but she had a bad feeling about what was going on, and she intended to stay on top of it.

“Optiomagis Hyllus on your com line, Commander.”

“Optio, I want you to move your squadrons forward. Scout out the far side of the second moon, and report back immediately.”

“All squadrons, Commander?”

“Yes, Optio, all squadrons. Now.”

“Yes, Commander.” Hyllus’s response was hard, disciplined, but she caught a hint of surprise too. Kat knew the chance she was taking. Without her fighters, or at least a few squadrons on defensive patrol, her ship would be vulnerable to enemy sorties. The Helians hadn’t shown so much as a single interceptor yet, but she knew that was only a matter of time. The intelligence reports suggested there were more than three hundred fighters in the orbital forts, and Kat suspected the true number was close to double that.

But there’s something beyond that moon…

“Get me Commander Quellus.” Her orders to her fighter groups had come close to exceeding her authority, an act of instinct and not of procedure. That fact hadn’t stopped her, and it didn’t compel her to cancel the orders. But she had to report it to the commander of the advance guard.

“Commander-Altum Quellus on your com.”

“Sir, I believe we have detected something behind…”

She twisted to the side and pulled off her headset as a loud screeching sound blared through the speakers. Her eyes darted up to the main display, but in her gut she knew what had happened.

She stared at the screen, at the empty spot where Quellus’s flagship had been. She paused, just for an instant. Then she sprang into action, instinct taking over.

“All fighter squadrons, full thrust. Move around the moon, and engage any enemy vessels or installations.” She snapped the order toward Wentus, and before he’d even acknowledged, she was crouched over her small workstation, running a calculation.

She looked up a few seconds later. “Engine room, full thrust now, course 134-67 mark 3.6.” Her eyes darted back to the operations officer, catching a slight, surprised hesitation. “Now!” she snapped. “Get us around the far side of that moon!”

She reached down, grabbing her restraints and clicking them into place. The rest of the bridge officers were doing the same. Full thrust meant a rough ride, heavy g-forces, especially with the radical course change. But Kat knew she had to get around the moon, and she had to do it from the far side. Before the rest of the fleet advanced into a deathtrap.

I just hope we’re in time…

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