“Our mission is accomplished,” she said finally. “We’ve confirmed your report, Captain. This is no longer a task for Third Recon; it is for the fleet.”

“I agree, My Lady.”

She turned to the console. “Give me squadron-wide communications.”

►►►

AEV Odysseus

► “They’re leaving, Captain!” Sams called as the enemy ships began to redshift on the screens.

Eric nodded slowly, almost surprised. Given the ferocity of the engagement, he’d been expecting the fight to run a lot longer. He was fairly certain that the enemy ships could have turned the tide. There were limits to how much even a Heroic could take, but the Imperials had apparently lost their taste for the battle.

Why doesn’t that make me feel good?

As long as they were withdrawing, he wasn’t in the mood to chase them. Well, honestly, he was, but he didn’t have the Delta-V to catch up, and he knew it.

“Continue engagement with the stragglers, unless they kill their drives. I want them burned out of my sky,” he ordered, “but I want combat rescue in the black in two minutes.”

“Aye Skipper,” Miram said. “Combat rescue is launching now.”

He slumped a little, oblivious now to the insanity running around him.

Why withdraw? They’re not cowards, not most of them at least. This fight could have been turned around. They had to know that.

He figured from the way the fight deteriorated that they’d gotten lucky and taken out a fair chunk of the command structure. After the engagement had passed, the enemy obviously didn’t know what to do.

That was the sort of thing he expected to see from a second-rate military, not from an advanced culture. Yet that sort of rigid command structure did fit the mold of an empire.

Eric was certain this wouldn’t be the last time the Alliance had the opportunity to test the Empire’s prowess and flexibility in battle.

►►►

► Amid the debris and horror of the battle, shuttles launched rapidly from the Odysseus, Bellerophon, and Boudicca as well as the three remaining Rogues.

The battle had taken mere minutes, a passing engagement that could easily have been counted in seconds, in fact. But the cleanup would take days to complete.

In the deep black, death was never far away.

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 25

Priminae System Por-Que

► Admirals Gracen and Tanner stood at the viewport as their fast courier ship slowed its descent into the Por-Que system, each observing the wreckage strewn across a light-hour of space and more. Nearly intact ships still drifted in space nearby, and the hulk of a Terran Rogue Class ship was first among them.

“Once again, I find myself in your debt,” Tanner said tiredly.

“Once again, I find myself wondering if I should commend Weston or kick his arse.”

Tanner shot her an odd look, but she assumed the humor had parsed well enough, because he didn’t have any questions.