The Enterprise had contacted them, and she’d eliminated the last of the enemy fighter drones, despite their trying to kamikaze the ship three separate times. The Big E’s defense screens and point defense weapons had proved up to the task, along with her fighter complement of Vorpals.

The Enterprise would take longer to join them in NEO simply because the purely Terran-built ships didn’t have the capability to handle the deceleration techniques that Michaels had employed. They would have to slow down the old-fashioned way, at least partially, before they could attempt to use atmospheric braking.

For now, however, Gracen looked across her boards and everything seemed to be in order, at least so far as the orbital situation was concerned.

She settled down at her station, eyes on the tactical maps they were receiving and collating from Earth. The situation on the planet, however, was far from under control. Gracen examined the reports, those listed as priorities, and finally got up to walk over to where Milla Chans was standing her watch patiently.

“Ithan Chans,” she said softly, getting the young woman’s attention.

It had taken a while, but they’d determined that ithan was roughly the equivalent of a lieutenant’s rank, and she knew that Milla was fairly senior in her own service. Given the other woman was a specialist with the weapons the ships of the Heroic squadron carried, she could think of none better to ask the questions she currently felt burning a hole in her brain.

“Yes Admiral?” Milla turned, speaking quietly and very respectfully.

“I have to confess that I neglected to fully inform myself on certain aspects of the weapons,” Gracen said. “I was hoping that you might tell me about them.”

Milla hesitated. “I can speak to the laser arrays, of course, but the . . . transition cannons are somewhat beyond my knowledge at this time. I can, of course, bring them to target and engage their action, but their limitations and workings are very new to me . . .”

“Yes, I know,” Gracen nodded. “Actually I wanted to know a little more about the lasers. Do you know their ship-to-surface capacity?”

Milla’s expression turned a little stony. “Firing on an inhabited world would be anathema to my people. You know this, I believe?”

“Even one that has been infested?”

Milla sighed unhappily, but nodded. “Yes, even then. I know, I know, it is not . . . rational, yes? However, few of our people would even consider such an action so long as there were humans still alive on the surface.”

“Are the lasers that dangerous?” Gracen was concerned. While she knew that the Priminae were a curious blend of pacifist and realist, she would have expected their realist side to emerge in this case. But perhaps it had been so long since the realist side was tested at this level that she was overestimating its influence in this matter.