The ship had actually been the first to perform the radical maneuver, flying in the face of accepted engineering doctrine that it couldn't be done. CENTCOM, after learning how he'd used that capability to defeat the Darshik Specter, had ordered the updated field equations purged from the destroyer's flight control computers to make sure the capability didn't fall into the wrong hands.

The brass was terrified the ESA, with their hefty numerical advantage, would learn the secret and use it to destroy the Federation. Given the state of the art of Alliance RDS drives, that seemed unlikely, but nobody had asked Jackson what he'd thought. Either way, the Nemesis had proven in the real-world she could perform the maneuver, and Jackson needed that ship at full potential.

"Ensign." Jackson waved to one of the floaters that hovered near the back of the bridge.

"Yes, Admiral?"

"I need the technical specs on the Headhunter-class ships. The classified version. See if Archives has anything, and if not, send word to the Coyote I'll need it over here ASAP."

"At once, sir!"

The fast-attack cruiser was a new concept in Starfleet. The class was bigger and more heavily armed than a traditional corvette but far smaller than a destroyer or heavy cruiser. Jackson didn't doubt the Coyote's newly promoted captain, Commander Idris Accari. The kid had cut his teeth under Jackson's command, starting his career as an enlisted navigation specialist aboard the Ares.

He had played a crucial role in helping destroy the Phage core-mind, earning enough notoriety to get a slot to officer training school. While never having actually served aboard the famed destroyer, Accari was an honorary member of the Blue Jacket Mafia. It was a dubious distinction he used for evil not good. For all his admirable qualities, the man still thought with his pecker more than was good for an officer. At least, that was how Marcum put it.

What Jackson was unsure of was the Coyote herself. The ship class had never been tested in real combat, and he'd hate to see her get tossed into a fight she wasn't built for while flying in a formation of destroyers. Reading the full technical specs of the ship would help him better understand where Accari would fit into his revised tactical approach going forward.

The Nemesis was a huge gain, only hampered by the fact she was carrying one of the most important people in the government. Goddamn Marcum. What the hell was the man thinking sometimes? He still pretended he was Admiral Marcum, leading the charge, when those days are long gone.

A mild shiver of depression ran through Jackson as he realized he was now older than Marcum was during the Phage war when he was Captain Wolfe, and he had thought Marcum was older than dirt back then. He looked around the bridge and realized with alarm the officers at their stations appeared to be children, hardly out of school. Hell, the fact Specialist Accari, who was a teenager when Jackson met him, was the old man aboard his own ship told him he was well past his prime.