Which brought Zachary right back to the Talbott Cluster, because Talbott had perhaps another twenty or thirty T-years to go until the League’s creeping frontiers brought the OFS to it.

“The Talbott Cluster,” she mused, half to herself, and Jefferson nodded.

“Yes, Ma’am. I did a little research when Rochelle identified Lynx, too. According to the most recent data in our files, which is probably at least ten or fifteen T-years out of date, the system population is around two-point-three billion. It looks to me as if economically they’re about where the Graysons were before they joined the Alliance, or maybe not quite that far along, although their base tech level is probably a bit higher. From what I’ve found so far, Lynx seems to be one of the two or three more heavily populated systems in the cluster, but the average seems to work out to around one-point-five billion.”

“And Lynx is only about fourteen hours from this terminus,” Thatcher pointed out.

“That thought had also occurred to me,” Zachary said mildly.

“Well, that certainly sounds good!” Kare said. The captain looked at him, and the scientist grinned. “We’re going to need someone to help us anchor the terminus, Captain. It might be nice if they were a bit closer than that, but it should still make developing this terminus a lot easier!”

“Yes,” Zachary agreed. “Yes, I suppose it will, Doctor.”

She watched Kare and Wix smiling at one another in delight, and then her gaze met Wilson Jefferson’s and she saw the reflection of her own worry in the exec’s eyes.

· · • · ·

Erica Ferrero reminded herself not to snarl. It wasn’t easy.

She stood at Lieutenant Commander Harris’ shoulder, gazing into his tactical display at a flashing crimson dot which had become entirely too familiar.

“Definitely Hellbarde, Skip,” Harris reported. “It matches her emissions signature across the board.”

“Still nothing from our friend Gortz, Mecia?” Ferrero asked without ever taking her eyes from the plot.

“Not a word, Ma’am,” the com officer reported.

“Figures!” Ferrero snorted, continuing to stare hard-eyed at the icon. At least Sidemore’s Intelligence files had been able to finally ID Kapitän der Sterne Gortz as one Guangfu Gortz. Intelligence didn’t have as much information on him as Ferrero might have wished, but what they did have clearly indicated that he was one of the IAN’s cadre of Manticore-haters. Which probably meant that he was enjoying himself immensely at the moment, she thought, baring mental teeth at the memory of the florid, jowly face from the ONI file’s imagery. Then she patted Harris lightly on the shoulder, turned, and stalked across to her command chair. She settled herself into it and glared at the small repeater plot that duplicated Harris’ in miniature.

Jessica Epps had been spared the company of IANS Hellbarde for almost four weeks—long enough for Ferrero to begin to hope Kapitän zur Sternen Gortz had found someone else to irritate. It had, she’d realized even at the time, been a triumph of optimism over experience, but she’d been properly grateful for the respite anyway.