"The Aeena vessel is still not responding to our hails," Shomari Eboh said softly.

The bridge was deathly quiet, everything in combat mode.

But what a combat it would be, Jaya thought. The Craton was at every disadvantage; they were still extricating themselves from the moon's trail, a predictable path. They had to meet up with and recover their shuttles, which would leave them vulnerable. And on top of that, the diplomatic carrier was present and completely defenseless.

They were at optimal range for the enemy particle cannons, a weapon against which they had little defense except being at extreme close range or extreme far range.

"Coilgun shots!" Smith called. "They've struck the moon!"

"Are the shuttles out?" Jaya demanded.

"Still looking . . ." Smith replied. "We've got them! They appear to be intact, moving away from the moon on expected evacuation course."

"Establish contact with them," Jaya said. "And keep trying to get through to that Aeena ship!"

The Annihilator was still lazily cruising, nearly 5,000 kilometers out from the moon and planet.

Its particle cannons were still warmed up, but the ship was not aiming towards them.

With even longer barrels than coilguns, the Annihilator had to be built around its terrifying primary weapons. They ran the length of the vessel, all of that length a particle accelerator.

A single shot would reach them in less than a second at this distance.

The particle stream would punch excited electrons through the target. It wouldn't just cause physical damage, but overload and destroy computers near the course of travel . . . and each contact with an object would create a burst of deadly radiation that would poison thousands of people. And the Annihilator had six such cannons.

"Captain," Shomari Eboh said. "We have . . . received a response from the Aeena ship," he said, his voice incredulous.

"Put it on," she said.

An image appeared on the screen, hovering just over the Aeena ship.

Jaya had not expected an Aeena to be on-screen. The reclusive species did not show themselves, even if one must be in command of the Annihilator. Instead, it was a Fesha.

Some said the beings looked like creatures from old Earth mythology. Jaya did not see it in their crystalline bodies that were translucent to the human visual range.

The being was wearing a fine robe that seemed more fitting for some ancient kingdom than a warship. But it was finer than any petty emperor of the ancient world had ever possessed, every inch of it a work of art, inlaid with symbols that she knew told the story of this individual, and a highly creative history of his people, glorifying their position as Honored Slaves of the Aeena.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"You have been seeking an audience," the Fesha said.

Jaya's heart was pounding. Ships of the Union and Aeena had not interacted in decades; all correspondence and diplomacy was by messages. What she was doing now, attempting to speak to the captain of their ship, was not something she should be doing; it was far above her pay grade. Yet she had to; not out of anger, but to at least figure out what they hell they wanted.

Her hand moved in a command sign language, out of the view the Fesha had of her.

Contact the Ambassador-General.

Shomari Eboh signed back; they have not replied.

It seemed that the Entente was running silent on the other side of the planet. It made sense; signaling the Craton would betray their presence, and they were unarmed. That meant Ambassador-General Abashidze couldn't even know they'd actually made contact.

"I seek to speak to your master," she said.

The Fesha did not blink or even move in response to her words.

Which, she recalled from her classes, was their way. They simply would not respond to, or even acknowledge things that they would not comply with.

"Why do you bother me?" the Fesha said, his voice disdainful. "I am degraded by your presence. On top of this, you dare to bore me."

"You fired upon the moon," Jaya began.

"Oh? This upsets you?" the Fesha asked. "This is neutral space. We are free to test our weapons upon any uninhabited body we choose. You have no standing to complain."

He waved, dismissively.

Jaya bit back her anger. It was the point of such behavior, of course. Interrupting was another habit of Fesha representatives for the Aeena.

"I had people down on the moon," she said, forcing herself to stay calm. "You . . . put their lives in danger."

The Fesha was slow in replying, looking disinterested. "If only we had known," he replied calmly.

"I was attempting to tell you this," Jaya said. "But you refused my hails until it was too late."

"How sad," the Fesha replied.

"We will be filing a diplomatic complaint," she said. "To prevent further . . . misunderstandings, I request that your vessel leave the orbit of Ko."

"Why?" the Fesha asked. "You are free to leave."

"I have business here," Jaya said.

"As may we," the Fesha replied.

"Then perhaps we should set some boundaries," Jaya replied dryly. "To prevent any future 'misunderstandings'."

The Fesha smiled. Then the call ended.

Silence reigned on the bridge for long moments. Jaya was not sure what she could do except continue to recover the shuttles, and once they had, to pull back.

"Captain," Smith said. "The Annihilator is putting its weapons on standby."

A tension lessened in her chest, one she hadn't even realized was there.

Looking to the Aeena vessel, she saw that its weapons were all now powered down. But it was also rotating, so that they faced towards the Craton.

"How long until the shuttles are recovered?" Jaya asked.

"Twenty minutes," Commander Zhu answered.

"As soon as they are recovered," Jaya said. "Pull us back, out of range of their weapons. But keep them in sight if you can."