"Helm, take us back to our search pattern," he ordered. "Comms, keep monitoring all channels. If anyone says anything about Jungle, the recorder, the Komodo, or there are any other TransSat communications, I want it saved and reported.”

  "Aye, Captain," came the chorus of replies.

  As the Wraith swung back into action, Soren leaned back in his chair, his gaze drawn once more to the vastness of space beyond the viewport. He thought of Dana, lost somewhere among the stars. Of Alex, fighting for his life on a distant world.

  Hold on, he thought, a silent plea to the universe itself. Hold on, both of you. I'm coming. I'll find you. I'll bring you home.

  Whatever it takes.

  CHAPTER 29

  Soren stared at the star-strewn expanse of space through one of the viewscreens in his quarters, his mind alight with possibilities and fears. It had been twelve hours since they'd intercepted the communication about the attack on Jungle, twelve hours of worry for both of his children. The waiting ate at him, a gnawing worry that threatened to consume his every thought. But he couldn't let it, couldn't allow his personal fears to jeopardize the mission. They had to stay focused on finding the missing drone and recovering the data recorder.

  A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He rose from sitting on his mattress with his back against a bulkhead. He left his bedroom as a second knock echoed impatiently as he approached the door. “Captain, Captain!” he heard Tashi call out with excitement from the other side.

  Soren hit the control to open the door. "What is it, Tashi? Are you okay?”

  Breathing heavy as he’d run all the way from engineering, the young mechanic nodded enthusiastically. “Better than okay, Captain. I’m amazing! Can I come in?”

  “You didn’t sneak any Jet on board, did you?” Soren asked.

  “What?” Tashi howled. “No, Captain. I’ve been clean for a long time. No drugs, no alcohol. Just a discovery I knew you’d want to know about straight away.” He motioned to the inside of Soren’s quarters. “Do you mind?”

  Soren stepped aside, allowing Tashi to enter.

  “Wow, your quarters are much bigger than mine. I see you have the same interior decorator, though.” He laughed, turning back to Soren, who couldn’t help feeling lifted out of his doldrums by the mechanic’s exuberance. Tashi held out one of engineering’s tablets. "Captain, you probably won’t believe this. Malthus always said I wouldn’t amount to anything. That I’d spend my life fixing junker shuttles for a few dollars a day and never escape the Dregs. He also said⁠—”

  “Tashi, calm down!” Soren snapped, bringing his run-on diatribe to a screeching halt. Tashi froze, buzzing like a squirrel that just ate a box of candy. “Now, tell me what this is about.”

  He nodded, visibly fighting to control his excitement. “Captain, I think I've got something. An idea on how to locate the drone more easily."

  The statement surprised him. "I'm listening."

  Tashi tapped on his tablet, bringing up a schematic of the vortex cannon. “I’m sure you’re familiar with this, right, Captain?”

  “The vortex cannon, yes.”

  “Such a cool name. And you know how it works?”

  “Ethan and Keira explained it to me, yes.”

  “Good. Good. Okay, so I was reading through the technical specs, trying to understand how it works myself. And then I started reading up on the components and the math, and looking at some of the equations and algorithms that describe how it functions. And this idea hit me.” He paused, staring at Soren, ready to practically ricochet around the compartment.

  “Go ahead,” Soren said, clapping his hand down on his shoulder to keep him in place. “What idea?”

  “What if we could modify the vortex cannon, so that instead of using it as a weapon, we could use it as a kind of ultra-long range sensor?”

  Soren raised a curious eyebrow. “Can we do that? I thought the cannon was short range and tore holes through things. Two properties I wouldn’t normally associate with a sensor.”

  Tashi laughed nervously. “Ah, Captain. You’re just messing with me now, aren’t you?”

  Soren wasn’t sure how he could be messing with him, but he shrugged. “I guess so. Please, elaborate.”

  “Sure, Captain,” he continued, his words tumbling out in an excited rush. "I think we can, for lack of a better term…diffuse the vortex. You know, like styling hair?”

  “I’m sorry, Tashi. I don’t follow.”

  “Okay. Well, right now the cannon creates this focused, powerful beam. But, if we manipulate its pattern, we should be able to spread it out into a ripple rather than a concentrated tunnel. By measuring how that ripple interacts with objects it crosses, we can theoretically detect them at extreme ranges."

  Soren still couldn’t grasp how it might be possible, but at this point, he was more interested in the outcome than the how of it. “And how far could this ripple travel?"

  “So, the effective combat range is around five thousand kilometers, right? That should be what Chief told you.”

  “Chief?”

  “That’s what I call Ethan.” He paused fearfully. “Is that bad?”

  “No, it’s fine. That’s what he told me, yes. Go on.”

  “And our long range sensors max out at about fifty AU, right?”

  “Depending on the equipment and the desired detail. It would be considerably less to pick up something the size of a drone.”

  “Exactly. If my back-of-my-hand calculations are correct, I think we can go a thousand percent farther.”

  “Five hundred AU?” Soren replied, astonished. He noticed Tashi’s left hand. There were scribbles all along it that vanished up his sleeve. “Wait, you really wrote it out on your hand?”

  “Well, my whole arm. I think better when I can write it down and make it physical, but we don’t have any paper on board.”

  Soren chuckled at that. “Did you ask Harry about paper?”

  “No, I didn’t want to bother him. He’s been real busy cataloging everything we brought on board and marking down everything we use.”

  “I’ll check in with him on the paper. Tell me more about your idea. The vortex cannon is limited by the amount of power it uses. Is the same true for the diffusion technique.”

  “I don’t think so,” Tashi answered. “According to my quick math, the ripple would use significantly less power. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. It could still damage anything at close range. Maybe not five thousand kilometers though. Maybe a thousand or less.”

  “So we wouldn’t really be able to use it as a weapon while it’s diffused.”

  “Not unless you were trying to hit something unshielded by nearly ramming it, I suppose.”

  Soren gave the plan additional consideration. It was audacious, brilliant even. But also risky. “I’m glad you brought this to me, Tashi. It’s fine work, and you could be onto something special. Let's bring in Ethan and the other engineers. I want their thoughts on this." He activated his comms patch. “Ethan, Wilf, Lina—meet me in the conference room in five minutes.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Ethan replied.

  “Does Wilf have to be there?” Tashi asked.

  “Are you two really still at odds over a girl back in the Dregs who doesn’t matter to either one of you anymore?”

  “She chose me over him, so I’m not the one who’s bitter. I don’t like the way he’s always scowling at me.”

  “As your Captain, it would mean a lot to me if you would try to get along with him.”

  Tashi made a face, drew a deep breath, huffed it out, and nodded. “For you, Captain. Because I owe you for getting me out of the Dregs.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Are you going to have the same talk with Wilf?”

  “And all of his fingers,” Soren confirmed, drawing a laugh from the young mechanic. “Let’s head to the conference room.”

  Minutes later, the engineering team was assembled. They walked through Tashi's proposal and intently examined the calculations on his hand and arm. They debated back and forth, discussing power curves and field geometries, the rapid-fire exchange of ideas filling the air.

  At last, Ethan straightened. "It's a hell of a gamble," he said. "But mathematically, I think it could work. The scientific principles are sound, and the potential payoff is huge."

  Soren nodded, his decision made. “Thank you, Ethan. Tashi, how long will it take to make the necessary modifications?"

  The young man hesitated. "At least a few hours, Captain. It’s not like flipping a switch. The cannon will be offline while we make the changes, and offline again when we want to revert them back. We won't be able to use it in combat while it’s diffused.”

  “Unless we want to move in too close for comfort,” Soren stated.

  “Aye, Captain. Even then, if the vessel is shielded, all bets are off.”

  It was a risk, a serious one. But one that Soren was prepared to take. He opened his mouth to order the engineering team to work on the modifications, pausing when Samira's voice exploded in his head.

  "Captain! I'm picking up transmissions from Recon Three. New ships have just entered the Wolf system near 1061. They're under attack!"

  CHAPTER 30

  Soren was moving before she'd finished speaking, racing for the bridge with the others close on his heels. He burst through the door, his eyes immediately drawn to the viewscreen.

  There, against the blackness of space, the ships of Recon Three were already embroiled in a fierce battle. Enemy vessels swarmed around them, weapons flashing as they poured fire into the Navy ships.

  "Report!" Soren barked, dropping into the command chair, which Jack hastily vacated on his arrival.

  "Multiple hostile contacts," Mark replied. “Valkyries, but not like the ones that attacked us at the station. And…it looks like one Rhino class battlecruiser.”

  “A different flotilla, then,” Soren said, a cold anger settling in his gut. They may be a different squadron but belonged to the same fleet. They were still responsible for so much death and destruction, like the ones who had taken Dana. And now they were here, attacking his fellow spacers.

  He had a decision to make, and he had to make it fast. They could stay hidden, letting the cloak conceal them from the enemy's sensors and from his own Navy fleet. He could let the battle play out without them.

  Or they could fight.

  He looked around at his crew and saw the courage in their eyes, the readiness for action. They were looking at him, waiting for his orders. And in that moment, he knew he could only make one choice.

  “Sang, set an intercept course," he commanded. “Keira, charge the vortex cannon. Let's show these bastards what happens when they pick a fight with our Navy."

  A chorus of acknowledgments rang out as the crew sprang into action. On the viewscreen, the stars wheeled as Sang brought the Wraith around, her engines thrumming with power as they accelerated toward the battle.

  “Ethan, keep an eye on our power levels,” Soren said. “We don’t need some glitch to pop up and catch us off guard again.”

  “Aye, Captain,” the engineer replied.

  “ETA to contact?” Soren requested.

  “Three minutes,” Bobby answered.

  Like he’d told Ethan and Keira, not that they didn’t already know—three minutes was a lifetime in a fight like this. The seconds passed like hours while the Wraith continued accelerating, rocketing toward the scene as a ghost in the darkness.

  As they neared the battle, the brutal reality of it became clear. The recon ships were outgunned and outclassed, their lighter weapons no match for the enemy's firepower. Three Hermes cruisers were already drifting wrecks, clouds of debris and bodies billowing from their ravaged hulls. Others fought on valiantly but were clearly taking heavy damage.

  And amid it all, a ship that made Soren's blood run cold. The Rhino wasn’t as nimble or all-around dangerous as a Komodo, but it had much more robust shielding and carried much more heavy ordnance. Where the Komodo was like a boxer, the Rhino was a sumo wrestler.

  "That's their flagship," Jack said, his voice tight. "If we can take it out..."

  Soren nodded. “We’re going to take it out. Sang, arc us around the edge of the field, and line up a shot on that Rhino with the vortex cannon. Keira, stand by to decloak and fire on my mark."

  Sang guided the Wraith with expert precision, sweeping around the chaotic battlefield under cloak, the enemy ships none the wiser to their presence. They were a phantom, a specter of vengeance gliding silently towards their target. Even so, the maneuver took time, and in that time one of Recon’s Valkyries went dark.

  “Cut main thrust, come about ninety degrees,” Soren snapped. “We’ll hit her broadsides.”

  Sang replied by cutting the engines and swinging the ship to drift sideways across the field.

  Soren watched the flagship on the viewscreen. They would only get one shot at this, one chance to strike a devastating blow. He had to make it count. “Keira, get a firing solution and get ready.”

  “Already done, Captain,” she replied. “Ready when you are.”

  The enemy ship filled the screen now, its brutal lines and vicious armaments painting a picture of raw aggression. The Wraith drifted toward its starboard side, distance closing quickly as they prepared the knife.

  “Keira, drop the cloak.”

  He felt the shift in the ship around him, a barely perceptible change in the deck plates. The cloak was dropping, their protective veil sliding away to reveal them to the enemy.

  “Disabled,” she replied, voice tight with focus.

  "Fire!" he roared.

  The Wraith shuddered as the vortex cannon unleashed its fury, a blinding lance of pure destructive force erupting from the bow. It speared across space, the fabric of reality twisting and warping around it, and slammed into the side of the enemy flagship with the force of a small sun.

  The Rhino’s shields flared for a moment, desperately trying to absorb the titanic energies. But it was futile. The vortex tore through the barriers like they were tissue paper, ripping into the armored hull like a plasma knife through ice cream. Plating vanished, compartments ruptured, and the ship came apart like a toy in the hands of an angry child. The beam continued through the flagship and impacted the corvette behind it, tearing the smaller ship in two.

  Secondary explosions rippled through the dying ships as their reactors went critical and their ammunition stores exploded, the detonations surging outwards in a tsunami of heat and radiation.

  By the time Keira shut down the cannon, nothing was left of the Rhino except debris, spinning off into the depths of space for eternity. A ragged cheer went up from the Wraith's crew, but Soren had no time to savor the victory. They were exposed now, their presence revealed.

  “Recharge the cannon,” Soren ordered. “Mark, shut down the anti-gravity plates. We need all the power we can get.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Mark replied.

  “Captain, we’re being hailed by Vaunted,” Samira said.

  “Put it through,” Soren replied.

  "Unknown vessel, this is Commander Karlov of the Vaunted. Identify yourself immediately."

  “Yuri,” Soren said, using Karlov’s first name to prove he knew him. “This is Captain Soren Strickland. We're here to help, Commander."

  There was a moment of stunned silence, then Karlov's voice returned, disbelief coloring his words. "Strickland? But…you're retired. What are you…you came for Dana,” he realized.

  "I couldn’t stay out of this one,” Soren confirmed. “We can discuss it later, but right now we've got more⁠—”

  He stopped speaking as the enemy ships opened fire, a storm of missiles and bullets converging on the Vaunted, the deadly ordnance slamming into the cruiser's already weakened shields. The barriers flickered and died, unable to withstand the onslaught, and the Vaunted's hull began to buckle under the relentless assault.

  "Sang, bring us about!" Soren barked. “Keira, target the nearest Valkyrie with the railguns."

  “Captain, our ammo situation is⁠—”

  “We’ll use every last round if we have to, those are our spacers dying out there.”

  As if to accentuate the point, Karlov’s Valkyrie broke apart, three huge pieces slowly spinning away from one another, leaving Soren both saddened and furious. The Wraith swung around, its railguns swiveling to track the closest enemy ship.

  "Fire!" he ordered.

  The railguns thundered, spitting hypervelocity rounds at the enemy ship. The Valkyrie's shields flared as the projectiles slammed home, the impacts sending shudders through its hull. For a moment, it looked like the shields would hold. Already weakened by the Navy ships, they collapsed, unable to withstand the Wraith's firepower. The rounds tore into the Valkyrie's armor, ripping through bulkheads and compartments, leaving gaping wounds in their wake. Secondary explosions blossomed along its hull as critical systems failed, the ship listing drunkenly as it lost power.

  But even as the stricken Valkyrie drifted, the remaining enemy ships continued their merciless assault on Recon Three. Soren watched helplessly as first one, then another of the recon ships succumbed to the onslaught, their hulls shattering under the unrelenting fire.

  In moments, it was over. The last of the Navy ships exploded in a brilliant flash, leaving only the Wraith and three enemy Valkyries remaining. Their guys never even had the chance to escape.

  "Ethan, status on the vortex cannon?" Soren demanded.

  "Almost charged, Captain," Ethan replied, his voice strained.

  The deck shuddered beneath Soren's feet as the Valkyries opened fire on the Wraith, their weapons slamming into the experimental ship's shields. Warning lights flashed on the command console, but the barriers held, absorbing the impacts.

  "Sang, evasive maneuvers," Soren ordered. "Keep us moving, don't let them draw a bead on us."

  “Captain,” Jack said. “We can cloa-”

  “We aren’t leaving the field with any of those ships intact,” Soren snarled, shutting Jack down. “We’re going to win this.” There was no hesitation in his voice. No question. In Soren’s mind, it was already a done deal.