“Stealth tech,” Ashok said. “Same deal as the pods. Makes sense. Send another volley?”

Before Callie could answer, Janice said, “Incoming message from the ship.”

“Put it on my screen here,” Callie said.

The visual blurred and flipped and then she was looking into the bridge of a Liar starfish ship. A Liar in some sort of combination powered armor and environment suit peered at her with a cluster of eyes in various colors and shapes, slightly distorted behind a curved faceplate. “White Raven. You are in violation of the occulted treaties. Prepare to be boarded.” The Liar’s voice was so deeply bass it was almost subsonic.

“You prepare to be boarded, you spider-faced shit. You blew up Meditreme Station, and as a sworn officer of the Trans-Neptunian authority I am placing you under arrest–”

“We answer to a higher authority. However, we do regret the destruction of the station. We deemed it necessary to avoid greater loss of life. We realize you violated our treaties in ignorance, but the protocols are clear. Is the Axiom device still on your vessel?”

“You mean the bridge generator?” Callie said. “Of course not. Something that valuable? We put it somewhere safe until we can have it properly appraised.”

“You will reveal its location. You will–”

“Cut them off,” Callie said, and the screen went back to a tactical view. “Blow them up, Ashok, with everything. They admitted their guilt on the record, and since a proper trial isn’t feasible I’m authorized to deliver summary justice.” She paused. “Besides, I doubt my lie about the bridge generator is going to buy us more than a couple of minutes before they decide to destroy us anyway, since their boarding party failed.”

“Firing.”

Callie looked at the tactical screen, and the spray of projectiles flying from the kinetic cannons… which all spun harmlessly off in different directions. “Energy weapons!”

“I’m trying, but they aren’t moving,” Ashok said. “It’s like the cannons are locked in position, and it’s not a useful position. Drake, can you adjust the ship’s position, get the beam weapons lined up?”

“Reaction wheels won’t move,” Drake said. “The mechanisms check out, but… it’s like they’re frozen in place or something.”

“That’s what happened to our ship.” Elena hadn’t spoken in so long that Callie had forgotten her presence. “All the systems seemed operational, but nothing would move. Some kind of inertial control.”

The comms came back on, the same Liar peering out of the screen. “We have scanned your ship and taken control of your systems.”

“They’re right, captain,” the ship said. “It’s like everything’s suddenly locked up behind glass. I can’t access anything.”

“Your airlocks are under our control. Prepare to be boarded.”

“Anyone who tries to get on my ship is going to die,” Callie said.

“We have disabled your weapons systems.”