?So to sum all that up“, Nicodemus Hallows said from the video screen of the Aegis Prime, ?Major systems are coming back online, minor damage all around, lots of injuries but most are minor. Thanks for your offer of assistance.“


    ?Still valid.“, General Norge replied, ?We do have a fully equipped trauma center on board. If your medical facilities can’t handle a case, we can take him. Well, as soon as you get at least one docking bay working again.“


    In the background, out of view of the pirate governor, the data analysis team of Sgt. Sharma was still working to figure out the hyperspace pulses behind the planet.


    On the screen, the pirate governor was looking weary and exhausted from the past few hours. Even so, there was respect in the general’s voice. The pirate had demonstrated that he had a capable team down there, and was able to lead them. Getting things under control so quickly was an astonishing feat.


    ?General“, the pirate continued, ?We’ve lost a good amount of food and other essentials in this. I don’t have a full inventory yet, but I don’t think we still have the usual amount of reserves. If you want to help, let the supply ships we are expecting through. I’ll pay them extra for having to stay longer if you insist they can’t leave again until we’ve sorted this out.“


    Norge gave this a second, with a quick glance sideways to the monitor showing the convoy nearing quickly. ?Reasonable request.“, he said, ?I’ll allow two of the haulers to dock.“


    ?Oh come on!“, Nico pleaded from the screen, ?This ain’t the time for games. Two out of three just out of principle?“


    ?Two out of …?“, the general began, then stopped himself. ?I’ll get back to you.“, he concluded and ended the call. He turned to the sensors team: ?Scan those freighters again and tell me their status!“


    ?Sir“, Sgt. Sharma responded. She had been waiting for him to finish his call. ?They aren’t slowing down and will reach the one million line in“, she glances to her side to read the current number from a display, ?fourteen seconds.“


    ?Battle stations!“, the general commanded, ?These are not supply ships.“, then more quietly to himself and those immediately around him: ?What are these pirates up to?“


    Men and women were now rushing about, commands were given through headset communicators to other parts of the ship. A well-practiced urgency. In training, the Aegis Prime could be ready for combat in forty-five seconds.


    Fourteen seconds later, the seven dots on the hyperspace sensors crossed the one-million klicks line without so much as slowing down. One second after that, seven large transport vessels dropped out of hyperspace halfway between the Aegis Prime and Binary Bloom. Sgt. Sharma nodded in appreciation of those navigators’ precision.


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    The ships had entered normal space with zero velocity relative to Binary Bloom. Human ships did not do that. They needed some speed to enter hyperspace and likewise left it with at least a few percent of light speed in their direction of travel.


    The general’s jaw tightened. He had seen this before, many years ago. The memory still haunted him from time to time. The utter inferiority of the human space fleet. The humbling defeats they suffered and the so rare lucky victories that had never seemed to matter much.


    The haulers vaporized their outer shells, thin layers of meta-metals that had hidden the actual space ships inside and created a false sensor echo. Underneath each one, two dozen cubes connected by long struts appeared. Some of the cubes were clearly propulsion systems, some contained fusion generators, others hyperdrives. Many of the outer cubes were weapon platforms. All the individual parts of a spaceship were present, set up so that most shots fired at the vessel they made up would pass through it in-between the structures. It was the typical design of the Qyrl.


    ?Human warships.“, the AI translation rang across the bridge, ?Stand down or you will be fired upon.“


    General Norge had no intention of taking orders from the Qyrl. ?Give me“, he once more asked Sgt. Sharma, ?an estimate of their capabilities ASAP.“, and without waiting for the affirmative, turned to the communications officer who had done right patching the broadcast through without asking first: ?Answer by asking identity and intention. Broadcast so the Dephyr’s receive it, too. At the same time, send an encrypted burst to HQ, seven Qyrl warships, engagement immanent.“


    He turned back to the main screen in front of him, now showing the tactical situation.


    ?Disruptors?“, Commander Frason asked. He had been studying the screen while the general had barked his orders. With a grin passing quickly over his hardened face, General Norge nodded. Human technology had advanced since the Qyrl war. The twin Disruptor beams that the Aegis Prime carried could shatter Qyrl shields, making them susceptible to ordinary human weaponry. At least in theory. A badly damaged Qyrl ship wreck with barely functioning shield projectors was the only testing ground the Erulas weapon experts had to try the technology.


    ?We’ll find out today.“, Frason mumbled to himself. With a glance, a nod and a few unspoken words, he assumed command of his ship again. He was more suited to guide the ship through the upcoming battle than the general, and he knew the Aegis Prime and her capabilities better.


    He quickly gave his orders to the weapons crew and checked on the ready status of various crews on the ship. Medbay, fighter squad, engineering all went green within the next few seconds. Then one by one the weapon systems of the battleship set their status to ready. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed that the general had moved over to the data analyst team to assess the enemy.


    ?Fast attack ships.“, one of the analysts in Sharma’s team was interpreting the sensor readings for the general, ?I’d classify them as light cruisers. Total armament of all seven about twice ours. Moderate defensive capabilities. But they are within mass driver range.“


    General Norge nodded. The heavy mass drivers of the Aegis Prime were its most potent weapon, and could be set to scatter shots, greatly increasing the chance to hit parts of the Qyrl vessels. They could accelerate hardened projectiles to almost one percent light speed. Technically speaking, in the empty void of space, they didn’t have a range per se. But across the hundreds of thousands or even millions of kilometers distance in most space battles, they were too slow to actually hit something, and their tactical purpose was area denial. But at the short range of a few hundred kilometers, the enemy would have no time for evasive maneuvers. Neither would the Aegis Prime. They would need the trauma center today, and not for wounded from the pirate outpost.