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an alarm sounded on my desk console.
    The captain spoke. "We have a problem. I have taken our speed down to zero, and I am reversing course. In front of us, there are about four thousand ships of unknown origin heading our way."
    I jumped from my chair and raced up to the bridge.
    As I entered the command room, I spoke. "What are we looking at, Mr. Hall?"
    The captain replied, "We have identified them as the same ships that were seen at the mystery signal planet, Sir. It looks like they are headed that way. I have changed course to match theirs."
    I looked at the view-screen. "Well, can’t we go around?"
    The captain shook his head. "They have pickets riding out to the extremes. It’s like a giant net coming towards us, Sir. I think we are just going to have to back up until they stop."
    I spoke. "We need to reach Tresha, Captain. Our people depend on it."
    The captain turned his chair towards me. "Mr. Grange, our current choices are to back up, which I have chosen to do initially, or to stand and fight. Now, we might do fairly well against this species, or we might just get slaughtered. Initial evaluations place those ships as at least equal in shielding to ours. Maybe the Yacabucci would work against them. At this point we just don’t know."
    I held up my hand. "I’m not faulting you, Captain; you did the right thing. Can’t we just duck in behind some star system and wait for them to pass?"
    The captain replied, "I don’t think that is possible, Mr. Grange. We were able to see them; it is very likely that they have seen us. Anything we do, or anywhere we go, they can follow. Their speed is equal to ours. At the moment, backing up is our only option."
    I pressed the comm button on my arm pad. "Frig, are you looking at this?"
    Frig replied, "I am, Sir. It would appear that given the situation, the captain has made the best choice. The mystery signal is a good five weeks away, Sir. Adding in the return trip from that will place us at least ten weeks further away from our arrival at Tresha. Our choices are to stand and fight against a possibly overwhelming opponent, or to retreat until we can find an alternate route around them."
    The Colonel walked onto the bridge. "I was looking this over on my way up. I have most of my men tied up with the York modifications right now; we are not ready to fight."
    I replied, "Isn’t that only about 10 to 15 percent of your men going through that, Colonel?"
    The Colonel nodded. "Indeed it is, Mr. Grange. However, much of the rest of my force is being used in support of that operation. Gy has been running half of them ragged assembling equipment, while the doctor has the rest doing post-op care and therapy. If we cease the conversions now, it will still be five weeks before I have a somewhat full force back and ready to fight."
    I spoke to Frig. "Can you raise Zimmerman or Chaulk on the comm?"
    Frig replied, "Connecting and patching them through now, Sir."
    Admiral Zimmerman spoke. "Mr. Grange. We understand there is an issue. Please elaborate."
    I found a chair and sat down as I talked. "Admiral, as you can probably see on your view-screen, we have run into a problem. We now have an unidentified fleet coming towards us, leaving us no choice but to retreat. How are preparations coming on your end?"
    Zimmerman replied, "The Gonta have been fully cooperative. I have heard a few rumblings about putting us planet-side so their own people can be brought up to the Orienta. Commander Grita has so far resisted that. Personally, I think that as the Durians draw closer, the real pressure will be brought to bear on him, and he will eventually fold."
    I looked back at the fleet on the view-screen. "What kind of defenses do they have down on the planet? Will you be fully exposed, or will you have a way to defend yourselves?"
    The Admiral replied, "They have a moderate level of planetary defenses down there. Any number of ion cannons capable of reaching a ship in near orbit and the power to keep