"Engineering is reporting no damage," the ops officer said. "Commander Mullins is beginning post-flight inspections. We're cleared to maneuver."

"Keep us on a heliocentric track that will maintain line of sight with Exeter Base," Jackson ordered. "OPS, I want a multispectral scan done…best resolution they can manage at this distance."

"Aye, sir."

"Our transponder is still active," Ellsworth said. "If they weren't curious about us before, they'd damn well better be now after we just disappeared and reappeared right next to them."

"I think we're about to find out something has happened on the base," Jackson said. "My hope now is it was some sort of technical failure." Ellsworth just frowned at him, clearly not understanding the comment.

"Sir, CIC is reporting long-range optics show entire sections of the base dark. There's also smoke coming from some of the exhaust vents at the northeast end," the OPS officer said. "Com section is still not getting any response to queries. Not even the automated systems are answering."

"Are we being hit with active radar?" Ellsworth asked.

"Affirmative, sir. The automated tracking radar picked us up as soon as we transitioned in and has been hitting us with ranging pulses since," the tactical officer spoke up.

"That's a completely automated system." Jackson waved it off. "If it wasn't pinging us, all that would tell us is the system lost power. Coms, send a Bluebird message to the Broadsword and keep Captain Risher advised of our status. Let him know we're going to loiter down here and observe for the time being."

"We could move in closer and send a shuttle over with a couple Marines to check it out, sir," Ellsworth offered.

"Last resort only," Jackson said. "Let's not expose ourselves just yet. This is still a Fleet installation, and we're technically flying around in unregistered, illegal warships. The base commander would be compelled to report what he's seen back to CENTCOM."

"Understood, sir."

The mild concern Jackson had been feeling was now blossoming into full-blown fear. There were things on Exeter Base that could not, under any circumstances, be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Bluebird being compromised would be a devastating blow, but it was hardly the only black project the base handled.

Knowing what was really down there, deep below the surface brought back memories of his time heading up Project Prometheus and the self-aware alien AI that had emerged by accident from some old Phage War relics. The thought of losing control of what came from that project made his blood run cold.

"Admiral, where is the defense force for this system?" Captain Ellsworth asked softly, breaking him out of his reverie. "I know you're much more familiar with this base than I am, but I don't even see an automated patrol barge."

"They're here," Jackson said. "Just not in the way you're thinking. Rather than maintaining a rotation of Fleet ships and risking information of this base getting out through rumor, the defenses are automated. There are armed drone ships sitting inactive throughout the system that can be brought online and vectored into an intruding fleet, and there are also massive anti-orbital cannons and defensive batteries built into the base itself."