“So the Loranna will try to create a disaster, then step in as heroes to save us from the disaster, and maybe skim a little off the top while they’re here,” I said.

“Yeah, I don’t know about the skim part,” Nat said. “I don’t get the impression the Loranna are that subtle. They’re kind of a cross between Cardassians and Ferengi. They actually sound kind of reptilian. And they apparently operate on the philosophical principle ‘What I can take, that is mine.’”

“Un-good.” I tapped my chin, thinking. “Did Alaric have any proof?”

“Not enough to get the Covenant interested. That was the problem. They wouldn’t listen to him, or they listened and dismissed his concerns. Sheldon’s not clear on exactly what went on, because of course Alaric never explained it to him. So anyway, Alaric targeted the Opah Mal Gennan Foundation, who’ve been studying Earth for decades. They have the ships, they have the language and culture files, and they have automated recording systems still monitoring us.”

“And what was the plan?”

“That’s the thing. Sheldon doesn’t know. Actually, Sheldon doesn’t think Alaric had anything like an actual plan either.”

“Brilliant. Sheldon?”

“Here, Jack.”

“Could we detect the Loranna? I mean other than one at a time. Do you have tech for that?”

“Yes and no. The technology exists to detect cloaking fields, as you know, but it is short range. So there would be no sitting in one place and scanning the entire system, for instance. And it wouldn’t matter in any case. The Loranna could legitimately be in this star system as long as they weren’t interfering with humanity or overtly harvesting resources. After all, the Foundation was here studying you, and they have no more authority within the Covenant than the Loranna.”

“So we would have to prove not only that the Loranna are in our system, but also that they’re actively interfering in some way.”

“Yes. That would get the attention of the Foundation, which would alert the Gennan government, which would kick it upstairs to the Covenant.”

“Then what?”

“I cannot predict that. Perhaps a strongly worded email. Perhaps a war fleet. The Loranna are not everyone’s favorite species. But they are not easily bluffed. It would require a threat with some substance to make them blink.”

Patrick had been silent through most of this exchange. Now he spoke up. “Alaric was carrying around that cloaking detector.”

“Correct.”

“So he was hoping to detect Loranna on Earth, presumably. Locally. Would that qualify as a breach of the Covenant?”

“Technically, yes. But that, in and of itself, would get a reaction more on the ‘strongly worded email’ end of the spectrum.”

“Why here?” Nat asked. “Why did he land here in Taft County? Was it just a random pick?”