Captain Jason Hunter appeared out of thin air at one end of a long conference table. After being run down by Kingsblade, the alien ship had been surrounded by Perseus vessels, and Hunter didn’t have to guess who was aboard. They had only detected one life sign.

At the opposite end of the conference table sat Vice Admiral Charles Hughes. Hunter drew a blaster and held it at his side, just in case. In his opposite hand he held the alien device. It was operating at full power and by his confident expression, it was clear Hunter knew how to use it.

“Vice Admiral Hughes, I have orders to take you into custody and return you to Skywatch Command to face charges of piracy and dereliction.”

Hughes’ chuckle became a thundering cough. The room wasn’t well lit, but the more Hunter observed the Admiral, the more he realized the man wasn’t at all well. “I have to hand it to you, son. I’ve never seen anyone pursue their quarry more doggedly.” Hughes dabbed at his face with a cloth and swallowed something before taking a drink of water. “I’m afraid I won’t be around long enough to see what you’ll do next, but I have no doubt whatever you decide, your enemies will have their hands full.”

Hunter realized the man was no threat. He tossed his blaster on the table. “Why, Admiral? Why would you put so many people in danger? Why would you join with alien invaders and abandon your home? Your family and fleet!?”

“I thought I could be diplomatic. I thought an intelligent race would be receptive to reason. But it never occurred to me a species could be so totally alien–” Hughes voice trailed off, as if he were remembering something traumatic. “It wasn’t until Colonel Atwell made me aware of the sheer magnitude of their civilization I was forced to accept humanity’s inevitable defeat.” Another coughing fit caused Hunter to physically cringe as he imagined the pain the Admiral was experiencing.

“You should have transmitted a distress call,” Hunter said softly. “We were here to help you and your crew.”

“There was nothing you could have done. They controlled my mind. Their technology can deploy starships nearly anywhere in an instant. Dunkerque was defeated in a matter of minutes. Most of my crew resisted. Some joined with the Ithis to save their own lives. The only reason humanity hasn’t already been overrun is because the Ithis only captured one crew.”

“One crew? Where are the others?”

“Out there, somewhere. Maybe dead. Maybe beyond that doorway in some other dimension. Who can say?” Hughes looked as if he might lose consciousness any minute. Hunter rounded the table and knelt by the Admiral’s chair.

“I have to rescue them, sir. I have to know the truth.”

Hughes smiled weakly. “You already do. You already know those ships out there are empty hulls. There’s no fleet for you to overcome. The only man you need to find is Colonel Atwell. He–” Hughes coughed again, and Hunter heard the shudder in the Admiral’s breath. “He knows the most about the obelisk. The Sentinel gun was his plan. He believes he can turn the alien technology against the invaders. Find him, and you’ll find the missing crews.”

“This entire battle was perpetrated by one breakaway faction of Dunkerque crew members?” Hunter asked in whispered astonishment.

“Their technology is beyond human comprehension, Captain. They will empty your mind and drain your soul. Beware.”

Hunter caught the Admiral’s body as he slumped out of his chair. He literally felt Hughes’ last breath. He held the older officer in the dim conference room and tried to understand what he had just seen and heard.

Three months later

“That’s the part I could not get over,” Jason Hunter said as he reclined at the head of his inboard cabin’s main table. “Skywatch was getting regular reports from every one of those ships just like I was hearing Annora’s voice in my headset when we first boarded Dunkerque. They had no idea we were facing anything but one missing ship.”

“We were lucky. The only reason anyone discovered the invasion is because Admiral Hughes filed a navigation schedule. If he hadn’t been declared overdue, we really could have had a full scale disaster,” Moo replied.

“Any word from Skywatch on our request, Zony?”

“Negative, Captain. I expect they’ve recovered all the missing ships by now and secured Station 19, but so far nobody has proposed a plan. We haven’t even received any orders yet. Maybe they’re leaving us here to keep an eye on things.”

“Figures. They’ve still got it in for us,” Moo grumbled.

“To be honest, Jason, I’d be surprised if they believed us. Even if they aren’t exactly fans, the fact they have hundreds of missing personnel isn’t likely to convince anyone at Skywatch our story about an invading species with mind control and teleportation devices is plausible,” Annora added.

“All I know is if Spades hadn’t figured out how to use the last of their energy-matter matrix to power that weird teleporter gizmo and make it teleport itself to the station and then get us all back to Dunkerque, we’d still be floating around Barker’s Asteroid,” Zony said.

Yili sat quietly oblivious, armed with two blasters in matching holsters and working with yet another of her endless supply of gadgets.

Jason stood and looked out the impressive bay window overlooking Argent’s starboard quarter. “I’m tempted to investigate on my own. If they’d let me keep Perseus and Kingsblade, I would already be putting a plan together. Too bad we blew up all the Sentinels. They’d make pretty good bases for such a mission. I want to know where those missing men and women went.”

“Well, Jayce is definitely on the short list for Captain, and I’m told her newest mini-bot got a commendation for bravery in action,” Annora said. “Perhaps if she joins us again Perseus will be even stronger.”

Zony giggled. “I love Jayce’s inventions.”

“Nobody says we have to go out there and pick a fight, Skipper. All our fighter, paladin and gunship wings are intact,” Moo said. “Second Marines are always ready for action. We can defend ourselves just fine, fleet or no fleet.”

“Maybe we just go take a look?” Zony asked. “We could be over the target in a couple days. It’s what Skywatch would expect from the Bandit Jacks.”

“Perhaps,” Jason Hunter said quietly. “Perhaps.”