“Reverse telemetry. They’re running black at this point, but the tachyon burst lit them up,” Perez told him. “That’s how the bogeys spotted them.”

“Damn.” Eric grimaced. “What happened?”

Perez advanced the plot, running the imagery at several times normal speed. “Three of the pocket destroyers broke off from the main group and pursued the shuttle. It appeared that Eagle One made for the planet, and we lost telemetry in the atmosphere. Two of the alien ships and the shuttle went in. So far, we don’t have any imagery of any of them coming out.”

“Lovely,” Eric muttered, worried about Steph and Milla but knowing that there really wasn’t a thing he could do about them just then. “Alright, good work. Keep scouring the incoming data. Let me know if you find anything.”

“Yes sir.”

He walked back to the command station, calling up the imagery of the ships they were currently on course to intercept. Originally, the main ship had largely appeared to be similar to Priminae design, but that was before it launched the pocket destroyers, or whatever they wanted to call those smaller craft.

There was actually a reference in the Priminae database dealing with vessels of this sort. He’d done a search, obviously. Parasite ships. Unfortunately, there were no technical specifications available—not that they’d be up to date at this point.

The distance between the Odysseus and the contact was now only a few light-minutes and dropping fast. Soon they’d be able to speak without FTL relays.

This assumed that the contact used compatible frequencies, but Eric suspected strongly that wouldn’t be a problem. Whoever these people were, they were clearly linked to the Priminae somehow. And since the Odysseus was mostly based on Priminae construction and systems, he expected that they’d all be able to talk—assuming the contact wanted to talk, of course.

Eric watched the numbers fall until they were within two light-minutes and closing. He decided that was enough.

“Give me an open comm,” he ordered. “All Priminae frequencies.”

“Aye Captain. Comm open.”

Eric took a brief moment to still himself before speaking.

“This is Captain Eric Stanton Weston of the AEV Odysseus. You have sent vessels to pursue one of my shuttles. Recall your vessels. You are in Priminae Colonial Space without clearance from Ranquil Central Command. Identify yourself. Weston out.”

He chopped his hand across his chest and the signal was cut, leaving them all waiting.

“Helm, give me a one-kilometer slip to starboard,” Eric said as he settled back in his seat. “Adjust forward armor for best deflection against Priminae frequencies . . . the old ones, please, not the ones we gave them.”

“Aye Captain,” Lieutenants Kinder and Sams responded as one.

The Odysseus smoothly slid to starboard as the gleaming armor shifted slightly, becoming faintly iridescent in the slight illumination of the distant star.