That was odd, Senthe noted. There were few intermittent gravity sources in the universe, and almost every one of them was a constructed one. The only natural types that might qualify wouldn’t have gotten within a thousand light-years of Priminae space without him knowing about it.

“Secure the Heral’c for maneuvering,” he said thoughtfully. “Bring back any of our people on the planet.”

“Yes Captain.”

It was probably nothing, he supposed, maybe a scanner error or a freighter playing games. It did happen from time to time, usually when some intrepid transport captain spotted a comet or bit of space debris with valuable metals or chemical compounds.

He returned to his own station and checked the schedules. The only problem with that idea was that there weren’t any arrivals scheduled, and freighters were on fairly strict run times. One might be late, but it was quite rare that any would be early, and there hadn’t been any arrivals scheduled for several days before or after.

Quietly, just to be certain, Senthe ran the signals against the war database but came up with no match. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, since his worst nightmare was another encounter with the Breaker-damned Drasin.

“Crew are reporting back, but it’ll take time to get them up from the surface,” his second, Commander Corva, told him, approaching quietly.

“Not a problem,” Senthe told the young man. “We have time.”

“Is it . . . ?”

“No, no match to Drasin profile,” Senthe said with a humorless smile. “I checked.”

“Of course, Captain,” Corva said, trying very much to hide his relief.

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t trouble,” Senthe said, thinking about the Heral’c’s last mission before the refit and the end of the Drasin war.

The Terran vessel, the Odyssey, had discovered and reported someone else flying with the Drasin. No Priminae ship had seen them, but Priminae vessels had mostly encountered the Drasin within Priminae systems, not far out in unclaimed territory. Senthe remembered the report, and recalled thinking it was ludicrous at the time, but the Terrans had proved worthy of at least some trust. If they were right, there was more to fear out there than the Drasin.

He would therefore treat this situation with some care.

“Adjust our armor, combat settings,” he said. “And stand by to warp space as soon as everyone has returned.”

“Yes Captain.”

If nothing else, since the refit, they were better equipped to deal with threats than ever before.

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 20

IBC Shion Thon, Flagship, Third Reconnaissance Squadron, Outer System, Por-Que

► “There, Navarch, did you see that change?” Captain Aymes said, highlighting a piece of data that had streamed across the squadron feeds.

Misrem nodded thoughtfully, tilting her head to one side as she examined the intel.

“Most curious,” she admitted. “Did that vessel just alter the composition of its hull?”