A holographic image of the galaxy sprang up between them, and both men looked at it closely. A few sections were lit up, and with a swift hand movement, Eric zoomed in to see that certain stars were clearly marked.

“Precursor facilities.” He breathed, recalling his discussion with Admiral Tanner about the early history of the Priminae. “This . . . confirms a lot of theories, Captain.”

“Such as?”

“We’ve often thought that the Drasin . . .” Eric typed commands into the reader and the image shifted, showing one of the Drasin in profile next to a marked star. “We’ve often thought that someone was holding their leash . . . Here, a . . . prison? The Drasin were stored here.”

Eric leaned back. “Someone out there accessed one of these facilities, Captain, and in it they found the Drasin. They used them as a weapon against the Priminae, and against us. We cannot ignore that.”

Morgan signaled his agreement.

“Before the Odysseus was dispatched, the admiralty authorized a new long-term mission for the Rogue Class,” Eric said. “It’s contingent on what we find here, but I think I can confirm it now. You’re no longer going to be hunting for Drasin facilities, Captain.”

“We’re looking for the people who used them?” Morgan asked eagerly.

“No, that’s my job,” Eric said with authority. “You’re now in charge of Operation Prometheus.”

“Sir?”

“You said Palin called this fire of the gods, right?” Eric asked, indicating the gem in the reader.

“Yes sir.” Morgan understood the name now.

“Our enemies, whoever they are, used one of these facilities against us,” Eric said. “No more. Never again. We want you to go out and steal fire from the gods, find these facilities, confirm they’re intact, and secure them until a task force can arrive to take control.”

“Steal fire from the gods?” Morgan laughed. “I like the sound of that.”

“You accept, then?”

“Commodore, when my crew and I are done, the gods will have to bum a light from us.”

“That is exactly what I wanted to hear, Captain,” Eric said. “But first you need to get your ship repaired. Do you have damage assessments yet?”

Morgan nodded, handing over another data sheet.

Eric glanced over it, not quite able to disguise a grimace at some of the information, but overall the damages weren’t nearly as bad as they could have been.

“I’m shocked, Captain, that you didn’t tear irreparable chunks out of your interior framework. Those bottles had to have been placed carefully.”

Or with more luck than anyone deserved to have, Eric added mentally.

“The chief used the magnetic containment to direct the initial discharge,” Morgan said. “When the bottles blew, the antimatter discharge was focused along a predictable cone.”

That stopped Eric for a moment as he lightly set the sheet down and pinched his nose. “Captain, are you telling me that your engineer devised an antimatter shaped charge?”