"But the Alliance's antimatter weapons could nullify all of that, hence why you raced to get us here first," Ellsworth said, the last piece of the puzzle snapping into place for him.

"Correct. That, and I don't wish to leave anything to chance when it comes to keeping Exeter secure. Realistically, with the location possibly compromised to the ESA, the entire operation will need to be moved to one of the secondary backup sites."

"How much money has Fleet R&S spent on these black sites?" Ellsworth asked. "We're barely scrounging by out here, and they have contingency bases just lying around?"

"They're mostly holdover installations from the last two wars," Jackson explained. "Back when it didn't look like things would break our way in the Phage War, a lot of these secret, hardened locations were quickly constructed by the Tsuyo Corporation to be used as lifeboats for humanity."

"Fascinating," Ellsworth said. "But I see a fatal flaw in this system's defensive grid."

"It has to be remotely activated from the base itself." Jackson nodded. "I know. But I still want to wait and see before making any rash decisions. There's little we're equipped to do if the base does have a problem, so let's not tip our hand." His comlink pinged softly, the tone letting him know the Bluebird connection to Pike had activity.

"Maintain posture and course, Captain. I'll only be a minute."

"Aye-aye, Admiral."

* * *

"Full video this time. Must be important." Jackson noticed Pike's face was pinched, and he barely even acknowledged the lame attempt at a joke.

"You're still in B-1171?"

"We are."

"CENTCOM just informed CIS they've lost contact with the base, but no distress calls have been received," Pike said. "At this time, all that's happened is they've missed their regular check-in from base operations, and there's not a scheduled cargo convoy heading that way for another two months."

"We're monitoring the base at as close a range as I'm comfortable with given the classified nature of this ship," Jackson told him. "We're seeing some…unusual…activity, and they're not answering com requests but, so far, nothing that leads us to believe it couldn't be an engineering issue."

"Do me a favor and keep me in the loop so I can send it uphill to my handlers," Pike said. "The actual reason I'm contacting you is we've spotted Vadim Kohl's taskforce. A reliable source within Alliance Material Command reported a battlecruiser flying under the name Implacable came through with a full-strength taskforce and pulled munitions and fuel for an extended expedition. The system this spotter works in is one of the last Alliance depots before you hit Federation space."

"Damn!" Jackson hissed. "Is there anyone nearby who can relieve us here? Chasing Kohl is the mission, but not at the expense of losing technology that will win the war. I can't leave until I know this base is secure."

"I hear you," Pike said, sounding genuinely sympathetic. "We have major Alliance military mobilizations all along the border region. They're either playing games or about to execute a major offensive. We have a credible sighting and an exit vector for Kohl, but nothing that would warrant you flying your taskforce out to meet. Let me keep working it and, in the meantime, you camp there and babysit Exeter Base."