Susan Lamont stiffened. “Sir?”

“Status of the preparations?”

“We’re ready to run silent, Captain,” she replied, with a satisfied tone.

Weston nodded, not noticing the sharp look Commander Roberts threw across the bridge as he noted the use of the term.

“All right. Let’s test the system, then, while we still can,” Weston said, settling in. “Engage black hole stealth systems. Kill all unnecessary power use. Make us invisible.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

An unseemly shout jerked Admiral Tanner around in surprise, pulling him away from his status board.

“What?”

“The alien ship, Admiral…She’s gone.” The technician’s face was pale.

“She left orbit already?”

“No, sir. She just…We lost visual, sir.”

“What about sensors?” Tanner frowned, reaching over the man’s shoulder and tapping in commands.

Nothing. Every system he checked said the same thing: there was nothing there. He accessed the logs with a few quick taps and blinked as he watched the oddly configured ship simply vanish.

“Sir…I…I think they’re still there,” a young woman said, pointing at the screen.

Tanner looked at the screen for several seconds, wondering what the woman was talking about, until he saw it himself. There was a black spot in the middle of the screen where the ship was supposed to be, one that moved against the background of stars as it orbited the world.

“Fascinating,” he whispered, a touch of a smile showing on his lips.

“Admiral?” Milla said.

“They’re still there, Ithan,” he said absently, pointing out the screen. “Watch the stars.”

With that comment, Tanner headed over to another console. “Casa,” he said to the young woman seated there. “Active scan, if you please.”

“Yes, Admiral,” she replied, tapping out a command.

“We’re being scanned, Captain,” Waters said, looking up from his console. “All across the spectrum, very high power.”

“Source?”

“The planet, sir.”

Weston nodded. “Good. That means they noticed something when we shifted. Let’s hope our signal is low on their systems.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Lamont?”

“Sir,” Susan Lamont responded.

“Have all decks made ready for acceleration drills,” Weston told her. “We’ll have a rough ride for the first hour or so.”

“Aye, sir.”

“And in the meantime, put me through to Milla and the admiral.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

“Incredible,” Admiral Tanner said in a low voice. “They really are there, aren’t they?”

“Yes, Admiral, but their signal has dimmed considerably. Even knowing where to focus our sensors, all we get is a marginal return,” the technician said. “Admiral…if they wished to sneak up on any of our ships…”

“Our captains would have to know that they were coming to have a chance of spotting them,” Tanner finished for her. “Let us hope that the Drasin are the same.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

“Admiral…”

Tanner turned and saw that Milla was approaching in her impressively sized armor. “May I assume that Captain Weston wishes to make contact?”